The play mesmerizes-the cast is pitch-perfect-and this is probably Ms. Parks' masterpiece, But the image that will haunt me for a very long time is that of the "slave collar" around Leo's neck and he is forced to climb up on a table.
8
I saw it in previews last week. Staggering, bold, brave, brutal, raw. Full commitment and full emotional exposure by the actors, each of whom has got to be utterly spent by the end, having laid themselves wide open. Suzan-Lori Parks’ unshrinking willingness to tell these dark, ugly truths. Oskar Eustis’ support of his actors to go deep down into their core without compromise. Designers who put us directly into the guts of the play, close enough to feel the heat of the skin, the thunder below, to root out what’s hidden with bright harsh floodlights. Go to be shaken, to feel heavy shame, to be filled with awe and gratitude to this team of artists, each at the top of their powers, who have shown us the force and exigency of live theatre.
13
@SAMS We shared the elevator with Zoë Winters, going down after the play. I could sense that she appreciated that we pretended not to recognize her. She seemed tired to her core.
It is an amazingly brilliant play.
5
In addition to being fantastic in Hamilton, David Diggs is gorgeous. I could watch him read the phone book.
12
He’ll be happy to hear you enjoyed him in Hamilton. Many of us did. But we’re discussing his performance in this play, White Noise. And his name is Daveed, Matt.
5
@Donald, re "And his name is Daveed,"
The new spellcheck has changed Daveed to David whenever I've typed his name. Spellcheck had been so helpful in the "word" program cutting down time for work memos and scripts that I can't turn it off - but this is my long way of saying that this is a spelling that no one should regard as intentional or even careless disrespect. People just don't proofread their comments to personal emails they way we proofread business documents, and that's not disrespect to the actor.
PS. This "improved" Spellcheck (as of last October or November on my Mac) still can't register Barbra, and even with a billion-plus views for the Katy Perry song, seems incredulous that anyone would want to type "Firework" rather than Fireworks. (Those writing soon about Karen Olivo's painfully stunning take on "Firework" as the seemingly-doomed Satine in Moulin Rouge may want to be alert.)
6
Also Donald, my sense of the Times comments is that we readers write and "submit" what the article brings to mind, like here other shows with the same star (If only people who already saw the show reviewed commented on a review, it could be a ghost town or only friends of the show or those saw it in previews).,The screening or moderating by the Times decides if we've gone too far afield. Sometimes, after half a day, I've figured the moderators decided it was off-topic, but sometimes it will appear later, often seeming based on how chatty readers in the whole section of the paper have been. I
My Blackberry used to show date/time when people actually submitted and you could see when it got on - but for my phone, that stopped IIRC around when a new computer algorithm was announced, spring 2017 or so. It provided me with much time-passing fun on bus and train rides, and you could often guess why some comments were held for a little while, often it seemed so links could be checked.
6
I love the works of Suzan-Lori Parks. She never disappoints. Cant wait to see this show.
6
Bravo to the Public Theater, a continuing fortress for producing exceptional & contoversial theater. As an avid theatergoer, I was in awe of this show. The time flew by while my senses were on high alert. Kudos to an exceptional cast, including Mr. Diggs, and to the great Ms. Parks.
19
I used to live in NY many moons ago. I was an intern and a resident in Medicine there. I would say Broadway saved me from burnout and loneliness. Whenever I had any leisure I used to repair to Broadway or off Broadway shows, often alone, but I never felt lonely as long as I had those plays to watch. Tickets were far cheaper then and with a close friend, in India, who ran an English language amateur theater called The Madras Players, I have had a passion for plays. White Noise has a limited run and I cannot be in NY during the time frame of its performances. That makes me sad but may be one day I'll get hold of the script of this play and read it. The experience of reading a good play is wonderful. You can be all of the characters or none. You can read it silently or dramatically with flair and you can direct yourself in the play you're reading. They say a play is best when it is acted and has an audience. Not really. As for race in America, most Whites don't understand how enduringly America has been branded by slavery. I've heard Whites say that Blacks are victims of their past and should move on, that today's Whites, dissociated from slavery, can't set them free from their self imposed spiritual bondage. But modern Whites have to own the legacy of slavery. It is theirs to examine and incorporate, in all its sadism, into their own existence. Slavery is America's holocaust. There is no hollow way to dismiss it. "Get over it!" is deadly for race relations.
17
@Usha Srinivasan, re "I used to live in NY many moons ago. I was an intern and a resident in Medicine there. I would say Broadway saved me from burnout and loneliness."
In the 1970s and 1980s, we had a friend named Margie who was at Downstate Medical, and she would get discount vouchers, and for some reason, those Downstate vouchers always got really good tickets. Maybe they thought nurses and current and future doctors were a good audience to build.
I hope the place where you were a medical resident had a program like that. It makes sense that live theater could be restorative and make doctors able to face another day when it was inevitable that they'd have to deal with real-life tragedy at least a few times a week, and there is a communal feeling to almost any theater experience than you can't get in a movie theater. I suspect that's part of why even with 1,000 or more channels to watch at home, the need to experience theater seems to have thrived as the internet era has progressed.
6
Why on earth would you include such a spoiler? I saw this last night and to discover it fresh was a exceptional experience. I recommend no one who really wants to see the play read this. See it fresh. Discover as it unfolds. Shame on you Mr. Brantley.
12
Chatter on several of the Brroadway discussion boards says this show violates the cardinal rule of "show, don't tell." But this review gives me enough hope that this is yet another winner from Parks and worth seeing for the cast alone.
5
"Mr. Diggs — best known as a jaunty Thomas Jefferson in “Hamilton” and BLINDSPOTTING, the movie. I thought it was a sure Oscar winner for the fantastic performance by Mr. Diggs.
9
Blindspotting was my favorite film of 2018
4
@karen cosign 100%. "Blindspotting" was a wonder, a necessary film, and a terrific piece from beginning to end. Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casals created a legacy film.
2
The play seems to owe a debt to Paul Betty's novel, THE SELLOUT, in which the African-American protagonist seeks to reintroduce segregation and slavery into his home neighborhood as the only way to revive it.
8
What a wonderful review. Congratulations to SL - her genius is a gift to all of us. And congratulations to the brilliant actors and director who are bringing SL's original creative mind and words to life. Can't wait to see it!
8
"This sounds like the sort of desperate gimmick that might be used in the final season of a trendy sitcom"
Actually, tis sounds a lot like George Costanzas Pilot for "Jerry" the TVPilot that got the go ahead from NBC.
Jerry gets into a car accident, and the man is sentenced to be Jerry's butler, as he has no insurance.
5
Certainly the best play of the year. Ms. Parker has created a masterpiece that is thought provoking on a multitude of issues. I think that White Noise might help her to win a second Pulitzer Prize. All of the cast members are excellent, but it is Mr. Diggs in the role of Leo Nardo that will stay with me. My thanks to everyone associated with this masterpiece!
31
@Nancy I saw the play this evening and am still devastated and moved by the power and depth of the ideas and the performances. I think that Sadowski's performance was as powerful as that of Daveed Diggs - at least it was for me. Bravi to all concerned.
2