A Steady Rain reviews - member and critics

[JEC57]

That's a really nice review, let down by one thing.....yet another pundit who has not bothered to do any proper homework on Daniel.

"Both guys are known for stripping off their shirts, not down to emotions."

.......not seen much of his back catalogue me thinks!

[Dunda]

Great read! But I thought premiere will be on Thursday, 29th September

[trueblue]

let down by one thing.....yet another pundit who has not bothered to do any proper homework on Daniel.

True!

But I thought premiere will be on Thursday, 29th September

29th September is this coming Tuesday,right?


I just hope most of the reviews(if not all)will be as nice as this one.

[Vesper Lynd 007]

Yap, it's this Tuesday .

[Germangirl]

I feel, its the point he wanted to make here, to show those ignorants, how good he is and since they don´t know about him, the surprise and the impact will be even bigger. So - this is actually good, because this is just one of many, many people, who have no idea about him aside from Bond and who might see him with different eyes now. Excatly THE eyes, he wants from his audience.

Craig, in particular, is a revelation as Joey, - Beauty - more please..

[Dunda]

But I thought premiere will be on Thursday, 29th September

29th September is this coming Tuesday,right?

Seems as if I'm not able to add 3 days on the today's date

Again, blame the old age

[trueblue]

But I thought premiere will be on Thursday, 29th September

29th September is this coming Tuesday,right?

Seems as if I'm not able to add 3 days on the today's date

Again, blame the old age

[agrippina]

A video review:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugYjzKRrC0o

"Daniel Craig comes off best"

[Vesper Lynd 007]

That's very nice . Tahnks for posting .

[Germangirl]

Steady hands in A Steady Rain

by Claire Prentice
BBC News reporter

Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig
The actors play two Chicago policemen

Even by New York standards, it was a starry occasion: Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman, two of Hollywood's hottest talents, appearing on a Broadway stage together.

The duo, best-known for their movie roles as James Bond and the mutant Wolverine from X-Men, are starring in A Steady Rain, a gritty two-hander about the friendship between a pair of cops.

The crowds started gathering outside the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre several hours before the curtain was due to rise. When it did, the two actors had to wait several minutes for the cheers and wolf whistles to die down before they could begin their performance.

Adopting convincing Chicago accents, Australian Jackman and Englishman Craig play childhood friends whose lives are changed forever by a tragic sequence of events.

Jackman plays Denny, a bullish Italian-American family man. Sporting a handlebar moustache, Craig was a world away from his sexy James Bond persona as Joey, Denny's police partner.

The audience lapped it up as the two actors delivered one funny line after another from the start of Keith Huff's 2006 play. But the atmosphere quickly darkened as the two cops took turns telling their version of the events that lead to the fracturing of their friendship.

For the next 90 minutes, Jackman and Craig took the audience on a compelling, fast-paced ride through the Chicago streets, without breaking for an interval.
Daniel Craig
It is understood Bond star Craig turned down films for the play

The audience, rooting for two flawed but believable heroes, gasped and groaned as the cops faced temptations and tough choices. The two actors had a natural rapport and shared the spotlight.

To help the actors develop a bond, director John Crowley reportedly installed a ping-pong table backstage in the theatre so they could play during breaks from rehearsals.

The audience had travelled from all over America and beyond for the chance to see two of the world's most popular movie stars up close. They were not disappointed.

Some did not have tickets but had come prepared to pay well over the odds for a seat at the sold-out show, with tickets priced from $66.50-$140 (£42 - £88).

Others were content to wait outside on the pavement, hoping for a glimpse of the actors when they left the theatre after the performance.

The audience included many theatre-goers who usually opt for splashy musicals over serious drama. Judi Rae had travelled from California. She said: "I had no idea what the play was about. I'm here to see Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig."

"Funny and heartbreaking"

A Steady Rain marks Craig's Broadway debut. A seasoned theatre performer, Jackman has appeared on Broadway once before, in a production of The Boy From Oz which won him rave reviews in 2004.

Theatre sources say Craig and Jackman could set a new Broadway box office record for a non-musical. They have to beat Julia Roberts, who sold more than $10m worth of tickets in 12 weeks in the play Three Days of Rain in 2006.

The buzz generated by previews of A Steady Rain suggests the predictions may well come true. When the curtain came down, the actors received a standing ovation for their raw, emotionally charged performances.
Hugh Jackman
Jackman won a Tony award for The Boy From Oz

Theatre-goer Pete Ruben summed up the sentiment of many. He said: "I came because I wanted to see two famous Hollywood actors in person and I was blown away. These guys can really act."

Shari Kaplan added: "They both exceeded expectations; their performances were outstanding - nuanced, funny and heartbreaking."

Craig and Jackman are said to have turned down film roles to do A Steady Rain, which is scheduled to run until 6 December.

The producers of the play, who include James Bond movie producer Barbara Broccoli, have reportedly bought the film rights though neither actor has yet signed on for that project.

Jackman and Craig are among a host of high profile film stars appearing on Broadway this year, many of them British. They include Catherine Zeta Jones, Sienna Miller, Jonny Lee Miller and Jude Law.

Law is currently appearing as Hamlet in a production which transferred from London's Donmar Warehouse.

The official run of A Steady Rain begins on Tuesday 29 September, after a fortnight of previews.

The first week of preview performances took A Steady Rain into the top three at Broadway's box office, grossing $1,167,954. Only Wicked and Billy Elliot scored higher.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8278044.stm

[Germangirl]

From Broadway.com

My two cents: I was fortunate enough to buy a last minute ticket to today's matinee. Very very good play...close to excellent. Subtle and strong performances by both men...Jackson's being the showier of the two. Direction is minimal but very effective. I didn't realize going in that the director had also done The Pillowman. He employs a lot of the same set devices and makes a very bare set illuminating and expressive. But, like the Pillowman, the focus of the production never strays from the narrative. A contender (though, dare I say, not likely the victor) in the best play category.

[Germangirl]

Early reviews of the sold-out play, which officially opens on Tuesday at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, have praised the two actors, with a BBC review saying the pair had a "natural rapport and shared the spotlight," meeting all audience expectations.

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/ ... 853324.ece

[Penelope]

Here's a review from the UK broadsheet, The Daily Telegraph:
Hollywood heroes Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig shine in Keith Huff’s A Steady Rain on Broadway. Rating: * * *
There's a lot of filler but the review, as such is:

But anyone fearing that the two actors needed a battery of special effects to make an impact was proved wrong. From the moment the curtain went up until the play’s poignant end, they held the audience spellbound.

A seasoned theatre performer, Australian-born Jackman plays tough-talking but loving family man Denny, who gets caught up in a dodgy but lucrative sideline. Englishman Craig, making his Broadway debut, plays Joey, a drink-loving bachelor, his police partner and second fiddle. The two are boyhood friends but some bad decisions turn their relationship upside-down.

This is theatre as stripped-down story-telling; a two-hander played out on a sparse set over a gripping 90 minutes.

The duo gave a tight, nuanced performance, complete with convincing Chicago accents. Jackman, who won a Tony Award for his 2004 Broadway debut in The Boy From Oz, was enthralling as the big hearted but corrupt cop.

By turns humorous, dark and tense, the actors handled Keith Huff’s evenly paced drama, directed by John Crowley, with a skill and subtlety which rarely gets chance to shine in Hollywood.

[Jana66]

Here's a review from the UK broadsheet, The Daily Telegraph:
Hollywood heroes Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig shine in Keith Huff’s A Steady Rain on Broadway. Rating: * * *
There's a lot of filler but the review, as such is:

But anyone fearing that the two actors needed a battery of special effects to make an impact was proved wrong. From the moment the curtain went up until the play’s poignant end, they held the audience spellbound.

A seasoned theatre performer, Australian-born Jackman plays tough-talking but loving family man Denny, who gets caught up in a dodgy but lucrative sideline. Englishman Craig, making his Broadway debut, plays Joey, a drink-loving bachelor, his police partner and second fiddle. The two are boyhood friends but some bad decisions turn their relationship upside-down.

This is theatre as stripped-down story-telling; a two-hander played out on a sparse set over a gripping 90 minutes.

The duo gave a tight, nuanced performance, complete with convincing Chicago accents. Jackman, who won a Tony Award for his 2004 Broadway debut in The Boy From Oz, was enthralling as the big hearted but corrupt cop.

By turns humorous, dark and tense, the actors handled Keith Huff’s evenly paced drama, directed by John Crowley, with a skill and subtlety which rarely gets chance to shine in Hollywood.

, esp. the last line (IMO).

[Germangirl]

Here´s to Good Luck for tonight and fair reviews for all those involved!