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Talk Radio Reviews
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| 1 |
Complex but worthwhile! Review by: cinepinion, Jun 13, 2007 |
| Talk Radio, Eric Bogosian's (apparently pronounced Buh-GO-zhin) 1987 drama currently in revival at the Longacre, inspects and dissects Reagan-Bush-era America, exposing the sinister substratum hidden beneath the bogus sheen of "It's Morning Again!" sloganeering; and with what's his name still in the Oval Office, it's lost little of its original sting or relevancy. It's almost a one-man show, which Mark Wendland's set design italicizes-Barry ... read more Champlain (Liev Schreiber, on the stage where he belongs), radio host, sits in the middle of the stage, underneath a spotlight and in between two inwardly pointed radio microphones, making it difficult to look anywhere else. Every time Barry goes to the bathroom and/or commercial, however, the secondary characters get their opportunity to deliver a monologue about how they met Barry and offer their opinions as to his mental state (apparently following the Poochie rule of drama: "Whenever Poochie's not on screen, all the other characters should be asking-'Where's Poochie?'), but primarily Barry-the-character is developed through the telephone conversations he has with his listeners, an assortment of xenophobes, addicts, racists, promiscuous teens and sycophants-in a word, Americans. "We're discussing America here tonight," Barry Champlain announces in the middle of his show, though it's actually more like a one-sided rant than a discussion, as Barry often exercises his license to hang up on his pre-screened callers. Barry views himself as something of a self-appointed straight talker whose purpose is to "tell it like it is"; as one caller aptly notes, he's a "prick (beat) in the conscience of this country." Other callers are not so flattering: "you think you are God," accuses one such caller bitterly, but it's Bogosian himself who's pitching Barry as a god. Or, more appropriately, in a world where God is apparently dead, the people cling desperately to mortal, terrestrial leaders, and Barry's just another ersatz deity to tell the freedom-despising populace what to think and what to do. If it's not Barry, it's Reagan, or leftist tracts about the World Bank's abuse of third-world countries, or any other ideology that promises to make people feel superior to one another by offering some iota of moral certainty. The calls to the show become like prayers, answered by an exasperated, misanthropic God with an unfailingly sardonic cynicism; Champlain has no compassion or pity for his supposed friends and lovers, let alone for the strangers calling in to his show, and he finds some way to push away or berate each and every one. Barry is the Mr. Hyde to Frasier Crane's Dr. Jekyll. A lot of it's posturing for the sake creating good ratings and good radio, but some of it goes farther than that, a symptom of Barry's unraveling; he's a winding-down train, as one character notes, at times forgetting that it's just a job and wallowing in self-destruction. (He dabbles in the preferred drugs of the loquacious—cocaine, whisky and cigarettes.) The action is set on a Friday night airing of the show and it's a big night for Barry, as executives, considering his show for a vacant slot in their nationally syndicated line-up, are listening in. But the show's teetering and Barry blames it on his producer, Stu, who keeps putting through calls that Barry can't work with, a bunch of mild kooks and garden variety whackos. While it may be true to some extent that Stu is intentionally needling his colleague and once upon a time friend, the poor quality of the calls is primarily not his fault but that of America. No one has anything meaningful to say, a point Talk Radio makes from the get-go as it opens with a dial flipping through the AM/FM band, a sound effect that serves to express the banality, conformity and dullity of American discourse, overrun as it is with rock music and baseball games. That substantially vacuous America disgusts Barry and it must disgust Bogosian as well, although both are also addict |
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My recommendation:
Make an effort to see
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I saw this show with:
Family
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Recommended for:
Romantic Date, Seniors, Tourists
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| 2 |
bitter sweet Review by: puck, Jun 12, 2007 |
| the play mixes bitterness and humor seemlessly. it's like an angry comedian's hour and a half HBO special. liev schreiber is mesmerizing and you're left reflecting on the sad spectacal that is our culture of celebrity and personality, and lonely isolated people who are connected by it. |
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must see!
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Spouse/Partner
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Romantic Date, Business Assoc., Seniors
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| 3 |
WHAT A PLEASANT SURPRISE! Review by: BigKen, Jun 8, 2007 |
| I went to see it not expecting much, but walked out LOVING it! Liev Schreiber gave the best performance I have experienced this year. The cast, the set, the pace was just right. I plan on seeing it again. |
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My recommendation:
must see!
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Recommended for:
Seniors, Adults
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| 4 |
Less than thrilling to say the very least Review by: holly, May 8, 2007 |
I found the show to be very disappointing
The material was bland -
Not terribly intersting and or funny
I expected more and am still perplexed at the rave reviews
One mans met as the saying goes .................... |
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| 5 |
Lieve is Reason to see TALK RADIO Review by: Joe M, Apr 30, 2007 |
| We saw Talk Radio Sunday matinee April 22.. Liev Schreiber is terrific....He has a beautiful speaking voice...and a very convincing stage presence.,The rest of cast was fine...but I don't think I would have enjoyed the show if Schreiber wasn't in it. |
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My recommendation:
Make an effort to see
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I saw this show with:
Spouse/Partner
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| 6 |
Liev Schreiber is perfect, but the show is disappointing Review by: theatregirl, Apr 30, 2007 |
I couldn't wait to see this show. The first scene - in which talk show host Barry Champlain challenges a caller's understanding of the phrase "third world country" led me to believe this play was going to be thought-provoking and intelligent. Unfortunately, it was downhill from then on. Liev Shrieber is pitch perfect in the role, but the play itself disappointed. The production is excellent - good actors and a wonderful set - but the ... read more play itself was so much less than I expected. |
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My recommendation:
Go see if you get a chance
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I saw this show with:
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| 7 |
Enjoyed Talk Radio!! Review by: Canadian Visitor, Apr 16, 2007 |
| Saw the play April 11th - I really enjoyed the story line - the characters- Liev's performance as Barry Champlain is riveting. Go see it you wont be disappointed. |
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My recommendation:
must see!
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Anyone
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| 8 |
Unshock Jock Review by: folkyboy, Mar 18, 2007 |
TALK RADIO speaks so candidly about a trite and cliche society that falls for everything lackluster thrown their way with such wit and irony that it almost, in turn, dates itself. We've become so calloused as a society that some of the biting material delivered by our anti-hero, Barry Champlain, becomes lost in the wayward hey-day of 1987. Luckily for us, Liev Schreiber is at the helm.
With little minute details, our Tony Award winning ... read more actor turns this would-be pandered piece into a full-fledged biting drama. It's actually nice to say that a majority of my problem with the revival of this play was actually the play itself! Not saying the play was in any form bad, but it does lend itself to a time when much wasn't needed to shock us on stage. Even some of the monologues were so cliché for me, that I almost had to stop myself from calling into the radio show too!
Drugs, trannies, Nazi parties, and self-deprecation just aren't really the "oohs" and "ahhs" they once were before. Granted, they may still be in Ohio, but this isn't Ohio. This is Broadway.
The premise relies around a self-deprecating "shock deejay" who helms a microphone in Cleveland and the all too sordid details of his fan base that call in. From the beginning we see his personal life unfolding before he even is on the air and therein lays our story. It's hard to really tell much else without giving away any of the meaty details, but again, this is because it might be due to the skin and bones of the script.
With tiny methodical detail, Liev actually begins to get me to feel for the script, however. The rest of the cast delivers such precise reactionary acting genius that I sort of forget sometimes that this isn't the pile of canned television garbage that it is. I understand the sentiment behind running such a politically charged gripping drama of yesteryear and foisting our Leading Man at the wheel behind it, but I suspect that Robert Falls missed his mark with this story.
The directing, the acting, the staging, the costumes were all DEAD ON. It's the script that left me with a bit of "dead air". |
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My recommendation:
Go see if you get a chance
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Recommended for:
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| 9 |
Talk Radio Review by: Golfer727272, Mar 17, 2007 |
Fascinated by this show, mainly because of the my radio background. Schrieber is very powerful, delivering a stirring performance. The wackiness of overnight radio has been captured perfectly!!!
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My recommendation:
Make an effort to see
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I saw this show with:
Alone
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Recommended for:
Business Assoc.
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| 10 |
Good. Review by: Terry, Mar 17, 2007 |
I thought it was good, not fantastic like the other reviewers opinions , can't really tell you why, thought Liev Schreiber was very good, but for me, it was missing something.
When I go to the theatre I want to care about the characters, even the evil ones on some level, and I found myself really not caring, so that dimishes the effect for me.
I was really looking forward to this show after the stellar reviews but was ... read more disappointed - maybe it was my hight expectations. Not bad, but not great for me.
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My recommendation:
Don't go
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| 11 |
Well worth seeing Review by: JW, Mar 9, 2007 |
Eric Begosian's "Talk Radio" is just that--an insightful look into radio call-in shows. If you're not into this sub-culture, you may not enjoy this play; on the other hand, the cutting dialogue is of such a high calibre, and the characters are fleshed out so brilliantly that you may be entranced by this production. I was. First staged in the 1980s, the play is still relevant today as evidenced by the popularity of radio talk show programming,... read more, although to be fair, the play's age shows somewhat by references to headline-making figures of a bygone era (John Hinckley, Charles Manson etc.)
The performances are all first-rate, with Liev Shreiber's portrayal of a cynical talk show host alone worth the price of admission. |
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My recommendation:
Make an effort to see
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I saw this show with:
Spouse/Partner
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Recommended for:
Adults
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| 12 |
Review by: , Mar 1, 2007 |
| Liev's the real deal. The writing's great even if a bit dated, drama as prologue of reality. |
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My recommendation:
must see!
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I saw this show with:
Spouse/Partner
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Recommended for:
Romantic Date, Business Assoc., Seniors
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| 13 |
Powerful, well-acted and a great production Review by: Fronter, Feb 26, 2007 |
| Anyone who leaves this production without fully enjoying it should stick to the lighter, formulaic fare that permeates Broadway, mainly the insipid Disneyized productions or jukebox musicals. This is for thinking people who want good drama, witty, acerbic dialogue and aren't easily offended. The performances are excellent. I was a fan of the movie and Liev Schreiber fills the lead role perfectly. Good theatre! |
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My recommendation:
must see!
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I saw this show with:
Spouse/Partner
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Recommended for:
Adults
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| 14 |
TALK RADIO Review by: C, Feb 22, 2007 |
| SAW THIS SHOW WED 2/21 - EXCELLENT PERFORMANCES BY ENTIRE CAST AND MUCH BETTER THAN THE MOVIE CAST SEEMS TO WORK BETTER ON BWAY - AUDIENCE REACTED WELL TO IT - IF YOU ARE A FAN OF TALK RADIO IN GENERAL OR LEIV SCHRIBER WHO SHINES IN HIS ROLE AS BARRY CHAMPLAIN THIS IS FOR YOU - CASUAL THEATRE GOER NOT REALLY WORTH THE TOP TICKET PRICE FOR ADULTS ALOT OF DRUG USE AND SEX INNUENDOS ONSTAGE |
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My recommendation:
Go see if you get a chance
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I saw this show with:
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Recommended for:
Adults
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| 15 |
uninspiring Review by: parker, Feb 22, 2007 |
| The play was an hour and 45 minutes and was too long! Liev Schreiber performed, as well as he could have w/the uninspiring script. There were some humorous lines, but he smoked throughout most of the show. The point that he was a miserable, obsessive and uncaring human being was gotten quickly. Why he had to keep chain smoking was beyond me. The other characters weren't developed enough to make it a more interesting work. |
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My recommendation:
Don't go
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I saw this show with:
Spouse/Partner
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| * Review is an opinion of a BroadwayBox user and not that of BroadwayBox.com and BroadwayBox, Inc. |
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