A Steady Rain reviews - member and critics

[Germangirl]

From start to now - they got better with each week and are only slightly down now.


Broadway Grosses: Sept. 7-13
Production(Theatre) Gross Gross Attendance Prev. Perf. Seats Avg. Paid Admission % Cap.
A Steady Rain(Schoenfeld) $767,663 5,355 5 0 1,071 $143.35 100.0%

Broadway Grosses: Sept. 14-20
A Steady Rain(Schoenfeld) $1,167,954 8,570 8 0 1,071 $136.28 100.0%

Broadway Grosses: Sept. 21-27
A Steady Rain(Schoenfeld) $1,153,779 8,575 8 0 1,071 $134.55 100.1%

Broadway Grosses: Sept. 28-Oct. 4
A Steady Rain(Schoenfeld) $1,096,463 8,666 0 8 1,071 $126.52 101.1%


Broadway Grosses: Oct. 5-11
A Steady Rain(Schoenfeld) $1,276,106 8,685 0 8 1,071 $146.93 101.4%


Broadway Grosses: Oct. 12-18
A Steady Rain(Schoenfeld) $1,239,283 8,672 0 8 1,071 $142.91 101.2%


Broadway Grosses: Oct. 19-25
A Steady Rain(Schoenfeld) $1,213,983 8,676 0 8 1,071 $139.92 101.3%

Broadway Grosses: Oct. 26 - Nov. 1
A Steady Rain (Schoenfeld) $1,187,455 8,667 0 8 1,071 $137.01 101.2%

Broadway Grosses: Nov. 2-8
A Steady Rain (Schoenfeld) $1,201,252 8,663 0 8 1,071 $138.66 101.1%

Broadway Grosses: Nov. 9-15
A Steady Rain (Schoenfeld) $1,202,161 8,665 0 8 1,071 $138.74 101.1%

[calypso]

i steal

http://steveonbroadway.blogspot.com/200 ... eview.html

A Steady Rain (The SOB Review) - Schoenfeld Theatre, New York, New York

**1/2 (out of ****)

There are star vehicles, and then there are superstar vehicles. A Steady Rain easily offers the most revved-up four-on-the-floor to hit the Great White Way this season.

With a couple of the silver screen's biggest names, Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman, taking turns at the wheel of this full-throttled two-hander, it's no wonder Keith Huff's 90-minute play has already been breaking Broadway box office records.

In his Main Stem debut, Craig is nothing short of a revelation. Here, the mustachioed British thespian completely loses himself, accent and all, in the role of Joey, a flawed, yet dutiful Chicago cop desperately trying to stay within the lines. Craig's excellence suggests that despite the dapper duds he's become accustomed to as 007, he's at heart a character actor of the first order.

Craig's Joey is a recovering alcoholic. His newfound sobriety opens his eyes to the damage his lifelong police buddy Denny (Jackman) is inflicting upon himself, his family and even his community. As murky and outside the lines as Denny's self-destructive path becomes, Joey remains loyal to a fault, even putting his own career on the line.

As much as I forgot I was watching "Daniel Craig, movie star," I wish I could say the same for Hugh Jackman. While the latter turns in a completely riveting performance, he simply can't doff his star persona quite the way he did when he triumphed as Peter Allen in The Boy From Oz. Yes, he is good and he's deeply intense as the drug-addled, infidelity-proned Denny, but perhaps because of John Crowley's direction, I still saw Hugh Jackman, and that became a distraction, albeit a pleasant one.

As for the play itself, Huff's writing is cliché-driven and lacking in originality. He even borrows a key plotline out of a real cop drama that played out over a 13 year period just 90 miles to the north of the Windy City. To say we saw where he was hauling us from a mile away would be an understatement.

Fortunately, with Craig in the driver's seat, A Steady Rain steers into arresting play anyway.

[tbossmc2000]

Hi, I am back. Good review you found.
Thanls for posting it.

[Germangirl]

Opinions on the fundraising and stage dooring. Most people understand, though...

http://broadwayworld.com/board/readmess ... &boardid=1

[Linda]

Isn`t it great that so many people think Daniel`s acting is so wonderful that he `makes`the play. I know that Hugh is good, but Daniel is in a different world of acting. I am so happy everyone likes him and appreciates the great job he is doing. Good for him, he deserves all the fantastic reviews.

[Dunda]

what a strange thing to say (but maybe I just don't get it what this woman wants to say )


I recently interviewed Fisher for The Daily Beast and in the last year also interviewed both Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman for their cover stories in Parade. I found both men utterly charming and possessing their own kind of keen combination — not of cynicism and sentimentality, though each had a bit of both — but of equal measures of masculinity and camp.

There is more of the former in their expert performances in A Steady Rain at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, but the play itself is so over-the-top in its plotting and stereotypical in its blue-collar copper characterizations that it does at times border on a butch version of camp.

The two-hander, written by Keith Huff, and directed by John Crowley, concerns the symbiotic friendship of a couple of Chicago cops. Presented mostly in dueling monologues, the “play” is more like a pitch meeting for an HBO mini-series. Craig and Jackman, however, prove their mettle as stars as well as actors by keeping the audience’s rapt attention throughout as they relate the story of their character’s troubled and tangled lives. Craig’s is the more potent performance yet Jackman more ably jump-starts the evening from time to time with his visceral appeal when the drama lags. Both are miscast and yet overcome such miscasting with sheer talent and sexual appeal and professional aplomb. If you’re a fan of these men, you won’t be disappointed. If you’re a fan of the theatre, you probably will be.

T T 1/2 (out of 4 possible T's)

source: http://www.towleroad.com/2009/10/o.html

[Germangirl]

steveonbroadway A STEADY RAIN remains Broadway's top earning play & top average tix price: $1,187,455 and $137.01. Capacity was 101.2% http://bit.ly/3VB351

If we compare this to the other productions, its very visible, how this is really quite an achievement and the best thing is, that it wouldn´t be successful for so long on their star power alone - its the good word of mouth for their performances - where it really counts.

Broadway faces a busy, if uneasy fall season
The two-character "Rain" has proven to be particularly potent at the box office, regularly grossing more than $1.2 million each week, more than most musicals
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/art ... QD9BND4E80


Neil Simon Broadway play closes after just one week
A play by one of America's most popular writers has closed after just one-week on Broadway, reviving fears about the artistic perils brought by the economic slowdown.
By Tom Leonard in New York
Published: 6:13PM GMT 02 Nov 2009
A New York revival of Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs, a topical comedy about a family struggling to cope with the Great Depression, closed on Sunday with observers blaming poor ticket sales and an absence of stars in the cast.
An influx of big name stars, including Daniel Craig, Hugh Jackman, James Gandolfini and Jude Law – the last in a new production of Hamlet – has been credited with stemming a disastrous Broadway decline that saw dozens of shows close prematurely earlier this year.
The abrupt demise of Simon's comedy, the shortest-ever run for one of his plays on Broadway, has served as a reminder of the fragility of the recovery.
At the other end of the Broadway spectrum, a big budget musical version of Shrek will close next January, again because of poor ticket sales.
The closure of Brighton Beach Memoirs forced the cancellation of a second Simon production, Broadway Bound, which was to have opened at the same theatre in December.
Simon, 82, told the New York Times he was "dumbfounded", adding: "After all these years, I still don't get how Broadway works or what to make of our culture."
Star power is seen as increasingly crucial to Broadway success. A Steady Rain, a two-man play with Craig and Jackman as Chicago policemen, has been regularly outperforming musicals by making more than $1.2 million (£734,000) a week.
Fortunately for Broadway, there is no shortage of Hollywood stars – including Catherine Zeta-Jones, Scarlett Johansson and Liev Schreiber – lining up to tread its boards.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... -week.html

[Germangirl]

In a weelk, when almost all shows took major drops - not the least due to Halloween, ASR was down only 0,1%

http://www.broadwayworld.com/grosses.cfm

From the New York Times
November 3rd, 2009 11:54 am
Rating: 5
DC in top form

The play is good, but would be nothing without the stellar performance of both actors but mostly of Daniel Craig who has proved, that he is much more then Bond and indeed a top notch actor in his own right.
The audience seems to immensely enjoy the play and the standing ovation is well deserved.

[Linda]

Again and again people are saying what a great job Daniel has done. Music to my ears. He so much deserves this praise. Good for him!

[pamela_1903]

Does any one know whether there are still plans to take it to London? If it is not coming to Oz I may have to start saving to see it there!

[Germangirl]

Does any one know whether there are still plans to take it to London? If it is not coming to Oz I may have to start saving to see it there!

FSG asked Daniel and he said they are working on it. That was as of beginning of October. I think, IF they have a chance, they will do it. Maybe during the summer, when Hughs kids have their hols and he can take them all.
Saving money can´t hurt, I´d think.

[Germangirl]

http://gratuitousviolins.blogspot.com/2 ... -rain.html
Gratuitous Violins rating *** out of ****

[Laredo]

Hey I was wondering if anyone else who is going could get a program for me to give to my friend who lost her job and her house . I thught it might cheer her up a tiny bit . It doesn't have to be signed , pm me if you can

[Germangirl]

I have one more to share, Laredo..

[Germangirl]

Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig in Whatever. (Oh, Yeah. A Steady Rain)

As for the performances, Daniel Craig reveals himself as a remarkably versatile and nuanced actor, immersing himself entirely in his character. Hugh Jackman was fine, but I find I must repeat what a number of my fellow bloggers have said about his performance here: it's hard to forget that he's Hugh Jackman. Whether that's a function of the level of his super-stardom or a reflection of his acting abilities, well, I'm not sure I really care. He certainly looked great in a pair of chinos.
http://everythingmusicals.com/everythin ... -rain.html