The Reasons
Posted by Jon Michael Hill on 6/19/2008
Reasons to work on a Tina Landau show:
- Experience the application of Viewpoints in it’s purest form, and reap the benefits on stage
- Meet the most generous, caring, and talented actors and crew in the business because of her incredible instinct in assembling ensembles that meld as actors and friends
- Exercise your attention to detail because her eye for specifics is unparalleled in this business
- Her sense of humor
- Experience the collaboration of all aspects of the Theater, as it should be
- Work with a director who genuinely loves actors and respects what we do, and in turn gets the best results possible out of productive conversation and experiment
- Blunt honesty is not scarce in her rehearsal room, which saves a lot of time and energy that would be better spent getting work done
I could continue but you get the point. Great working conditions.
That being said I am incredibly happy with the way things are going. It’s like we are all raising this child together as a village. We all have our responsibilities to the play and everyone cares about doing their best for it. The play continues to grow and get stronger as Tracy makes improvements, Tina shapes and defines, stage management keeps oil in the machine, and actors get their footing in this new world.
This is as excited about a play that I have ever been. A lot of it has to do with Tracy and Michael McKean. I have two reasons you want to work with them too:
- To bask in their aura of brilliance and hope that some of it rubs off
- To laugh so hard that you can no longer tell what kind of sound your body is making (I laugh incredibly hard)
Alright, that’s all folks. Can’t wait to see you at the Theater!
June 19th, 2008 at 10:48 am
best wishes for tonight… i’ll be seeing the show mid - july, CAN’T WAIT!!
June 20th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
I saw the show last night and it was great. The actors’ performances showed a level of character depth I hadn’t seen in a long time. Maybe it was Mr. Letts’ writing or the actors’ skills, either way I was blown away. The set and lighting design were amazing as well. Just generally a well produced performance.
June 22nd, 2008 at 9:35 pm
I attended the matinee today and enjoyed the opportunity to discuss the play afterwards. The detail of the neighborhoods Mr. Lett’s writes about is impeccable. Many memories came back, some tears and laughter! The choices made by each Actor in this ensemble were strong and well executed. I loved it!! I was sucked in and am grateful for the ride that this cast takes the audience on.
June 25th, 2008 at 7:46 pm
I saw “Superior Donuts” and it was exceptional; I loved it, and it is SO much better than “Osage County”. It was warm as well as funny and it made emotional and psychological sense. I stayed to for the discussion and learned the ending had been revised. . . and the ending I saw was much better than the one I heard described. I liked all the characters and the acting by everyone is perfect; the young man who played Franco is extraordinary and Lady is priceless—all of them couldn’t be better.
Obviously, I have preview tickets and re “Osage County” I’m curious to know if some changes were made from the preview to the perfected performance. . . I found the characters interesting but I was completely frustrated with the many times when the actors were telling, not showing on stage—-often it happened after they’d already shown and the long explanations were unnecessary. This didn’t happen in “Superior Donuts.”
This is one of the best plays I’ve ever seen at Steppenwolf.
June 27th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
I attended a preview of “Superior Donuts” last evening and have been a subscriber at the Steppenwolf Theatre for 10 years.
This is a play that you think about long afterwards and I think is a “superior” Chicago play written, directed and acted with great care for an appreciative Chicago theatre audience.
The characters are richly and vividly developed throughout and remind us of persons we might have known at various points in our own lives. Yet here, these lives intersect simultaneously with varying degrees of humor, rage, arrogance, violence, sorrow and ultimately, acts of true bravery and friendship.
Michael McKean’s Arthur Przbyszewski is magnetic……..understated yet energized and fully dynamic.
Franco Wicks lives life in the affirmative and at his own expense offers to Arthur the gifts of encouragement and confidence, passionately played with a challenging range of emotions by Jon Michael Hill.
The ensemble is truly remarkable and creates not only an unforgettable evening of theatre, but also a lasting contemplation of how the human condition and it’s intricate relationships ought to be.
Thank you Tracy Letts and Tina Landau.
June 30th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Kudos to all for truly terrific and satisfying performances. Daughter (a former Steppenwolf intern) and I saw “Superior Donuts” on Sat. afternoon at the press preview, and enjoyed it immensely. We also both think that Chris Jones got it exactly right in his review today. (We’d been anxious to see what he was going to write.)
Everyone in this was wonderful, but Jon Michael Hill? Oh my, what talent. You have a long and rewarding career ahead of you. And Michael McKean? Daughter saw you perform in London last year and absolutely loves you. One interesting note: When you turned in profile on stage, you reminded me physically of George Carlin at his best, most thought-provoking moments. Given your character, I thought that was cool.
Tracy Letts? There are no words. We are such fans, and I just kept remarking to my daughter, “You can just IMAGINE him writing these words on this one.” Your particularly wicked sense of humor was just stamped everywhere on this play. You got it, guy; you got it. We are in awe.
July 24th, 2008 at 9:49 am
Last night was my night to sit ensconsed in row AA36. A great seat ’cause the set was thrust forward and tilted at an angle and gave me a perfect television stylized perception of Superior Donuts. Here are my feelings on last night’s performance. The Story: This play is not about donuts. I think that is correct. It’s not about a Chicago neighborhood, per se. It’s not about different waves of immigrants setting up shop whether they were forced here or came on their own merit. It’s not about love. I think it’s about making money and friendship? I think the play will continue to grow in irony. Starbucks has peaked. I wondered if the production got advertising compensation from the coffee king? I think The Russian will do well expanding his store and selling electronics. I wonder if Best Buy compensated too? The Acting: Without mentioning names. One main character’s volume was turned down so low, he appeared almost dead! My husband couldn’t hear hardly any of this person’s lines! Which made the story sort of one sided. The other main actor was turned up too high! Chill pill - chill pill. So, if one acter could turn up his volume a little (energetically and auditorially) and the other turn his down a little, we’d have balance and harmony! I loved Lady. Who wouldn’t? The Setting: Nice! I got angry when TWO cell phones went off during performance. But was impressed the actors stayed focused. I relish the day, actors take it upon themselves to stop the performance and scream at the culprit, “Turn our effing cell phone off, you effing moron! Gosh darn it anyway!” There would be a standing ovation and the culprit would be shamed into submission. I was tickled by the El sound affect. Very cool. Okay, so, I’m not going to write this in not July, Cook County (you know what I mean). It was a good evening at Steppenwolf. Anytime I attend theatre at Steppenwolf, it is a good evening because I absolutely worship the place as the greatest, most wonderful theatrical space on earth! XO PS: The play reminded me of a cross between a Spike Lee flim and sitcom (Alice).