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James Marino (6:58)

Does anybody else feel like these Factor ads are little vignettes of Matt and Grace? It's like there's so much subtext. Anyway, let's move on to Peter, Felicia, Michael Portent here and I discussed the Broadway transfer of English on this Week on Broadway last week on February 2nd, and we thought we'd bring you a little snippet of it here. It's something that I'm thinking about doing on Broadway. Radio is having standalone reviews of shows. We're not quite sure how it would work or if it's even feasible to do, but I thought I would include it here and give us some feedback of what you think. All our contact information are in the show notes@broadwayradio.com so the three of us.

Peter (7:52)

Got over to the Todd Haymes to see English. So, Peter, why don't you get us started on this transfer from Off Broadway's Atlantic Theatre Company.

Michael Portantiere (8:03)

Well, it's a terrific play and it has a very, very smart idea behind it. And that is the fact that when people are speaking English, these Iranians, they haltingly do it, and they have thick accents and all that goes with that. However, there are times when they speak Farsi, but when they speak Farsi, they sound perfectly normal to us in English. That's what's really so skillful. The playwright Sanaz Tusi was very smart in doing that. That we switch back and forth from English that we hear as English, but it's really Farsi and English that we hear as broken English, so to speak, with a thick, heavy accent. It's not heavy enough to drive us crazy the way that the production. New York Theatre Workshop, knock at the door, which is very hard to understand, but the people here are very, very easy to understand, I'm happy to say. And this is a transfer from the Atlantic Theatre, and it's a very successful one with one drawback, and that's the set. The set is. Rotates. You're laughing.

Peter (9:20)

I was going to say this and I thought to myself, am I being petty or not? But the set drove me insane. And I. Yeah, yeah.

Michael Portantiere (9:27)

I mean, the thing is that the same problem that maybe happy ending has, the fact that if you're on the sides, you're going to really suffer because you're not going to see nearly as well. I don't understand why the set has to rotate at all. But in. In doing the rotating, a lot of people are going to miss things, especially because there are curtains from floor to ceiling in the room where the class. It's about a class of teacher teaching students how to speak English. So I think that's a real problem. That said, I really have to point out the fact that the cast is spectacular. They're all making their Broadway debuts and it's going to drive us theater world nominators crazy in determining who gets a prize. I won't be surprised if my fellow nominators think that it's a good idea to give them all an ensemble award for their Broadway debuts. But really very impressive that five people do so well.

Peter (10:29)

Okay, Michael, what did you think of English?

Felicia (10:32)

Well, I did not see it at the Atlantic. I don't remember why. I guess this was a co production of the Roundabout and the Atlantic that started there and then and then moved here. And it was at the Atlantic in 2022, I believe. And am I correct that this play won the Pulitzer?

Michael Portantiere (10:52)

Yeah.

Felicia (10:53)

Yes. So that's quite a statement, isn't it? I really loved it. I've always been fascinated by language and people speaking in different languages and the effort involved, what that means. And here there's discussion of. Really interesting discussion of how some of these characters feel so different when they're speaking in Farsi, their native language, or in English. I think one of them says, basically comes down and says, I feel Like a different person. And I can completely understand that. I mean, of course, the more fluent you become in another life, language that lessens. But I suppose there's always a bit of that feeling that remains regardless of how fluent you become. So I really appreciated all of that discussion. I'm going to admit something, and maybe it'll make me seem stupid, although a friend of mine said the same thing. It took me a while to figure out that when they were speaking Farsi, quote, unquote, they were actually speaking English with no accents, and that when they were speaking English, they were speaking with Farsi accents. At first I thought for the first scene or two, that I said to myself, gosh, that dialect work is really very inconsistent, because I didn't get it. But then I'm not sure when it kicked into me, but it did eventually. And I was like, oh, I see. And I think that a really great device that they used. It seems to me that I've seen that in at least one or two other plays in the past, but not used to this extent. So I loved it. I love the way that the individual dramas of the individual characters fit into the larger story here of people studying English for their various reasons. And yes, the cast. Tala Ash Puia Mohsani Marjan Nishat Hadi Tabal. And now let me say this last one really slowly, and maybe I'll get it. Ava La Lezarzadeh, La Lazar Zadeh, directed by Knud Adams. And as Peter mentioned, the playwright's name is Sanaz Toussi. So I think this was a really wonderful choice by the Atlantic Theatre Company and the Roundabout. And I loved seeing it. And I. And I turned to a friend and I said, you know, this is now, I guess, the third really excellent play, you know, as a opposed to musical that we've seen on Broadway recently between Eureka Day, Cult of Love and this one. And I just think they're all stellar, and that doesn't always happen where you have a really great streak like that. So I'm very happy with the plays we've been seeing on Broadway recently. And I know they never obviously sell as well as the musicals, but I really urge people, you know, maybe people who think they only want to see musicals. When a play is this good, I think if you check it out, you're very likely to be very, very happy. So that's my advice.

Peter (14:53)

Michael, I'm right there with you, with the not understanding at first the difference between the Farsi and the English. And I thought exactly the. So I Don't think you're stupid for that.

Michael Portantiere (15:06)

I agree entirely. And I think it takes everybody a while because we're not used to this type of thing, but it. Eventually the moment of alignment comes and it kicks in. So. Yeah, I'm with you, James. I agree with.

Peter (15:17)

And the other thing is, is that you did see it before at the Atlantic, correct?

Michael Portantiere (15:23)

Yeah.

Peter (15:23)

So this is, you know, in your second viewing. It seems. You know it. Your mind fills it in.

Michael Portantiere (15:30)

That's exactly right.

Peter (15:31)

This was the first time I saw it, the first time Michael saw it. So I. I do agree with that. Did you guys see Vladimir at City Center?

Michael Portantiere (15:41)

Huh?

Peter (15:43)

And they. They did this as well with the Russian when. When they were speaking in Russian versus speaking in English and.

Felicia (15:52)

Right, though. Yeah. That was another example. Right.

Peter (15:55)

You know, so I was right there with you, Michael. And also Peter. It just drove me crazy with the set. Had that fourth wall post at the corner of the thing.

James Marino (16:15)

That was the problem that it divided.

Peter (16:18)

The stage in half for me. And. And it seemed to always be exactly where the action was. And I was like. And there was no need for it because they could have not had the post there and it wouldn't have made any difference whatsoever. They didn't need it for structural support or anything like that. There's nothing very tremendously interesting happened there. But that post made me crazy. I just hope that they don't do it. And it took away from an absolutely stellar five star product. What a cast, what direction, a great story. I really loved English and I think it's gonna. I think it's gonna get a lot of awards.

Michael Portantiere (17:05)

I agree.

Peter (17:06)

I think it's gonna get a lot of awards and which it deserves. Did the Tony Awards give any rulings on English? I. I can't remember if English was in any of the rulings about who they're going to consider for lead and supporting and if this is going to be a revival or a. Or a new production or anything like that. Do you have heard anything?

Felicia (17:32)

No. But you did read that, if I'm correct, that Eureka Day.

James Marino (17:37)

Yeah.

Felicia (17:38)

Will be a revival.

Peter (17:39)

Revival.

James Marino (17:40)

Yeah.

Peter (17:40)

Eureka Day is going to be a revival. All right, so English at the Todd Haymes. It's running through March 2nd and we'll have a link to that in the show notes.