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Post by Martine on Feb 28, 2013 7:32:52 GMT 10
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Post by paigeelysec on Feb 28, 2013 22:01:29 GMT 10
Does anyone think that she really looks like Marcia Gay Harden now? The resemblance is uncanny!
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lilou
Junior Luby
New Mauraddict
Posts: 14
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Post by lilou on Mar 1, 2013 9:36:48 GMT 10
Ok! The D-day has finally come... So it's time for Lucky Guy's previews now! I know that some Maura's fans are going to NYC to see the play (I have to admit my massive jealousy!) and I hope you will share a bit of your "piece of heaven" with the rest of us! Enjoy (fully) this terrific play and please make us even more jealous with your pics, stories, videos,...! See y'a!
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Post by Martine on Mar 2, 2013 18:24:54 GMT 10
First Preview
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kathy
Duchess of Luby
Posts: 341
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Post by kathy on Mar 3, 2013 10:14:48 GMT 10
Paige did you go last night? How was it? Inquiring minds want to know!
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Post by Martine on Mar 4, 2013 3:55:39 GMT 10
Pandorama who used to post here regularly, long time ago, went to see the play yesterday. She posted her review on another forum. To Pandorama: I hope it's OK if I copy it here. If you want to post it yourself, go ahead, and I will delete my post ATTENTION: I AM MOSTLY NOT DEAD.
This is because 1) I did get three autographs 2) but not Tom's or Maura's 3) but Tom looked at me and 4) nobody else got Maura's autograph because she snuck out, presumably by climbing down the fire escape or being snuck out in a laundry cart.
I did get Courtney, Christopher McDonald (ie Shooter McGavin), and Peter Scolari. And I bought a poster that has the cast listed so at least I have Maura's name on something. And I'm really sort of OK with not getting the signatures I really wanted because I'm lucky enough to live here and have no social life, so I will be able to go back as many times as it takes to get them.
As for the play, wow. It was really, really good. The first act was quick, it was funny, the rhythm of the dialogue reminded me a little of NewsRadio, and there were a couple of flubbed lines, but nothing serious. And of course, our girl was perfection. She had a scene - which I might add was set in the 80s so she had curly hair and this hot, hot pink skirt suit showing some pretty serious leg - and her character, at Tom/Mike's behest, does a fast-paced recitation of all the stops on the train line. And she nailed it.
The second act was more on the tragic side. Very human stuff, and I think some of the criticism from the real McAlary's family that the play cast him in a negative light was dead wrong. It did a great job of capturing the pitfalls and successes and compromises that a reporter has to make, and he's not treated as a hero but as a man who is flawed. Maura's character was more critical to the second act in bridging the space between the professional scenes, which were more rough (drinking, swearing, ruthless pursuit of a story, etc.) and the human scenes in which McAlary expressed his doubt and the toll his health took on him as a person, a reporter, and a husband. I think the scenes with Maura and Tom had a very different tone overall and without them, the story might have been too critical.
She did get some nice emotional moments, but I'm afraid nothing that was big enough for that Tony. She does subtlety almost too well and she knows how to support and add to a story without stealing the spotlight. Darn her for being good at that! Also, poor thing had probably as many costume changes as everyone else combined. Not that I MINDED seeing her in the pink suit, or the red suit, or the red dress, or the clothes that were completely normal Maura clothes and probably came from her closet, or either of the two bathrobes, or the maternity nightgown (it was fairly well done in that the audience was able to tell the passage of time by the number of kids the McAlarys had), or a paper bag if she had decided to wear a paper bag. But I'm surprised she wasn't constantly out of breath from throwing clothes on and off.
Besides Maura, and obviously Tom as well, the other two who really knocked it out of the park were Courtney and Deirdre. Of course, they also said the "f" word a combined eight zillion times and everybody knows that I enjoy some theatric swearing, but they were really just fantastic overall.
Having seen all of Maura's plays besides Carnage (swear I'm not bragging), I can easily say that this is the best, with Some Girls as a close second. But really, if it was a matter of seeing either one of them without Maura, this would be the one I'd see again. And of course, I plan to, but with Maura in it. And I will get that Playbill Maura-tized.
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Post by Martine on Mar 6, 2013 1:41:53 GMT 10
A Fast Start for ‘Lucky Guy’ on Broadway By PATRICK HEALY The new Tom Hanks play “Lucky Guy” posted some big box office numbers by Broadway standards in its first weekend, as did the long-running musical “Mary Poppins” during its final week of performances, according to ticket sales data released on Monday by the Broadway League of theater owners and producers. “Lucky Guy,” a biodrama by Nora Ephron starring Mr. Hanks as the New York City tabloid columnist Mike McAlary, benefited from strong sales of premium-priced $348 tickets to audience members eager to see the two-time Academy Award winner make his Broadway debut. “Lucky Guy” had the second highest average paid admission of any Broadway show last week — $153.17 – only outdone by the hit musical “Book of Mormon” at $181.92. By comparison, the Scarlett Johansson-led revival of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” had the next highest paid admission for a Broadway play, at $92.56. For its first two performances last weekend, “Lucky Guy” grossed a total of $367,156 – or 125 percent of the maximum possible gross if all tickets were sold at the play’s standard price range of $85-$135. The show was sold out, and about 20 standing-room spots were also sold for each performance. With those numbers, “Lucky Guy” is easily on track to gross more than $1 million a week – fairly rare for a straight play – once full weeks of performances are underway. Disney’s “Mary Poppins,” meanwhile, ended its six-and-a-half year run on Sunday on a high note. The show grossed $1,006,157 for its eight performances last week – a number made even stronger by the fact that many seats were provided complimentary at the final performance for friends and relatives of the “Poppins” cast and crew as well as to production alumni, a spokesman for the show said. The top-five hottest sellers on Broadway last week were the musicals “Mormon,” “Wicked,” “The Lion King,” “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” and “Mary Poppins.” Overall, Broadway musicals and plays grossed $17.2 million last week, compared with $18.3 million the previous week and $16.9 million for the comparable week last season. artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/04/a-fast-start-for-lucky-guy-on-broadway/?smid=tw-share
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Post by Martine on Mar 12, 2013 22:31:55 GMT 10
Maura hanging out with some of the cast: credits: Courtney B. Vance
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Post by Martine on Mar 13, 2013 0:50:09 GMT 10
#ER doctor sandwich!!! by Deirdre
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Post by Tara on Mar 13, 2013 1:12:13 GMT 10
I told Deirdre on Twitter how much we all love that pic, so she tweeted this back to me: deirdre lovejoy þ@ddlovejoy tell the Luka/Abby fan base to follow me! More 2 come... #ER #Luckygirl Her Twitter page is: twitter.com/ddlovejoy
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Post by sissa on Mar 14, 2013 0:02:01 GMT 10
OMG so many pics, a video and lots of news. I´m in heaven. Thanks soooo much folks. Love her long hair. I just can´t imagine a better Broadway debut than this play with Tom Hanks and written by Nora Ephron. I´m wondering if there´s a chance of a "Lucky Guy" movie in the future (with this cast, of course). ER-luby reunion
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Post by Martine on Mar 14, 2013 1:23:16 GMT 10
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Post by sissa on Mar 15, 2013 10:41:10 GMT 10
“Lucky Guy”, starring Tom HanksPosted on March 11, 2013 by freakinandpeakin On my recent trip to New York I took in an early preview of Nora Ephron’s “Lucky Guy”, which is Tom Hanks Broadway debut. It is the story of the rise, fall and rise again of Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Mike McAlary before his death in 1998. The show opens with much of the cast in a bar singing the Irish drinking classic “Wild Rover” while remembering their colleague after his passing and recalling the professional and personal life of the man that was driven to succeed and his very healthy ego. The show uses the device of the friends and colleagues remembering McAlary to propel the story forward, stepping out and talking to the audience as if they were just another individual at the bar listening to the stories of their fallen comrade before melting seamlessly back into the show. Having not lived in New York City during the mid-1980s through the late 1990s some of the stories he wrote about and were re-told were only vaguely familiar to me at best and his personal life and jockeying between newspapers I was completely unfamiliar. Fortunately, there was no need to have an understanding of that history to enjoy the show. The first act takes place at an almost frenetic pace. The set was largely limited to desks you would find in a 1980s newsroom that could be rolled around the stage for different configurations. Nothing seemed to be stationary for more than a minute. It was as if they were capturing the breakneck pace of the newspaper newsroom, and the hustle that McAlary was putting in to move up the ranks from covering local borough meetings, to getting on the police beat, to getting his own column. The bar used in the opening of the show could also be rolled around when it was needed for a scene, but often was set at the back of the stage with some of the actors hanging around. Furthering the plot device that the acting at the foreground of the stage was the retelling of the stories McAlary’s colleagues were remembering at the bar. Of course the show is about the rise, fall and rise again of McAlary and the second act is the redemption of the fallen McAlary after some personal and professional missteps culminating with his coverage of the Abner Louima story. Fair warning, a fairly graphic re-telling (verbally) of the Louima story does take place during the show when McAlary visits Louima in the hospital. While the show itself was worth the price of admission, what truly drew the sold out crowd to the theater was Tom Hanks. The greatest compliment I can pay to Hanks is that this is more than just a star turn for him on Broadway. I’ve been to performances of Broadway shows before where I have been drawn in by the name above the marque and when I have left the best I can say is that I got to see actor X perform live. That doesn’t mean the performance was bad, but usually that the show itself was lacking. Fortunately, this time I walked away not only having seen an excellent performance from Hanks, but also a solid production from top to bottom, including the script from Nora Ephron. When someone is as famous as Hanks, it is near impossible to say you aren’t conscious that you are watching Tom Hanks the whole time. So, I won’t go as far as to say he completely disappeared into the character, but the fact you were watching Tom Hanks was no longer at the front of your mind. Instead it was the story and the performances on stage that really drove the evening and made it a wonderful night of theater. However, there were certain moments where certain intonations or mannerisms of Hanks appear that we are all familiar with and they satisfy those desiring those Hanksisms, but are not so distracting as to be just a ploy for the paying audience. Heck, I wouldn’t even say they were intentional. The remainder of the cast deserves recognition as well. Specifically, Courtney B. Vance as McAlary’s editor Hap Hairston. He was the most prominent of the supporting characters and the interaction and give and take between Hanks and Vance were some of the more enjoyable moments of the production. Whether it was McAlary suggesting Hairston got where he was because of his race, or the two of them both doped up on morphine while in the hospital. It made you wish for a larger role for Vance, just to get more scenes between the two characters and the two actors. The remainder of the cast was enjoyable to watch, but this is really a piece carried by Hanks with the rest of the cast in supporting roles as they come and go during moments in McAlary’s life. Please don’t read into that as a criticism of the performances, because that is not what is intended or what would be deserved. Rather, the show as written and as performed was dominated by McAlary/Hanks. I would add in a brief side note that Deirdre Lovejoy, in a small role, steals some of the spotlight briefly early in the show as a foul-mouthed veteran reporter who can’t get two words out without one of them being the f-word. As it was an early preview of the show there were some technical things that needed to be straightened out, like Hanks either not hitting his mark or the lighting being off, so half his head was outside of the spotlight. Or late in the first act when some of the characters are singing another Irish drinking song drowning out some of the dialogue going on at the same time. But these things are easily correctable. Fortunately, the more important issues, like the script and performances, were solid from top to bottom and the show will deserve all the accolades it gets. I don’t get to Broadway enough to make Tony predictions, I can say I would be surprised if the show did not at least receive nominations for best play, best actor for Hanks and best featured actor for Vance. @russellwaxman inthefieldofplay.wordpress.com/2013/03/11/lucky-guy-starring-tom-hanks/
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Post by Martine on Mar 21, 2013 5:59:54 GMT 10
Q&A: Maura Tierney Talks 'Lucky Guy' Tierney stars alongside Tom Hanks in a play by late writer-director Nora Ephron. Walking through Times Square on her dinner break before a Broadway preview of Lucky Guy, the Nora Ephron play in which she stars alongside Tom Hanks, actress Maura Tierney laughed and chatted with us about playing Alice McAlary, the loyal wife of Pulitzer Prize-winning tabloid columnist Mike McAlary (Hanks), and the meaning of friendship. What first appealed to you about this project? MAURA TIERNEY: Initially it was because I wanted to work with [director] George [C. Wolfe], and with Tom. They're both extremely talented, so that was my initial draw, and of course, Nora Ephron. It's a great show, it's a play about New York in as many ways as it’s a play about the character of McAlary. You’ve had roles on ER, Rescue Me, NewsRadio, and The Good Wife—and you performed in Yasmina Reza’s God of Carnage at the Gate Theater in Dublin. Had you done a lot of New York theater prior to the TV work? MT: No, I had not. The first play that I did here was about five years ago. It was a Neil Labute play called Some Girls. We did it downtown, Off-Broadway. Does theater bring out something different in you as an actor? MT: Yeah, absolutely. The kind of focus for me that I need to have on stage, all of us, you really do have to be incredibly focused on the moment you're in. If you don't like what you just did, if you spend one second thinking about the past, you're screwed. You constantly have to be looking forward and staring at the moment you're in. I've tried to translate that to film or TV work, but you can't trick your brain into the immediacy of theater. It's just a real, tangible thing. What's it like to work with Tom Hanks and the rest of the cast? MT: I've learned that everybody I worked with starts 'on time on time'—not kind of on time, on time on time! On time means 15 minutes early. They're all extremely professional. The cumulative experience of everyone I'm working with is just really overwhelming. My scenes are with Tom, kind of exclusively. He's very present as an actor. And that eliminates a lot of work, because if someone's very frank and open right away, it's easy to make a connection right away. What is it about the story of Lucky Guy that resonates today? MT: What the director has said is, ‘It’s a story about a man who had a tremendous amount of ambition but maybe not quite as much talent, and over the course of his career and certain challenges he faced, his talent kind of rose up to meet his ambitions.’ And that's an interesting story, I think. That's a part of a story people can dig into. He faced some huge challenges. He was in a very severe car accident, which he had to rehab from for a long time, [and] he got sick with cancer. He was sort of humbled by life, and I think had a tremendously loyal wife, who I play, and he just sort of reapplied himself in a different way. Loyalty is an interesting quality. MT: It is. I think he was a complicated guy, and I think she was a tremendous well of support for him. Their marriage is a little bit of a slice into the private life of this character. And of course, Nora Ephron and Tom Hanks were real-life friends and colleagues, so that must add something special to the play. MT: It's really moving to me how dedicated Tom is to Nora's work. It makes me really wish I had met her. She's lucky that people are so respectful of what she's done and nobody's messing with it, which I think is really great. We should all be so lucky. MT: That's exactly what I say. We should all be so lucky as to have friends like that. —Simona Rabinovitch gotham-magazine.com/channels/home-page/insights/q-and-a-maura-tierney-talks-lucky-guy-and-working-with-tom-hanks
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Post by Martine on Mar 23, 2013 6:01:13 GMT 10
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