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Old 04-24-2014, 05:33 AM
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Curley's wife | Of Mice and Men on Broadway S&S #3: Leighton impresses critics with her interpretation of Curley's wife, and us too!

OF MICE AND MEN
on Broadway
#3



x


SYNOPSIS
Of Mice and Men is a novella written by John Steinbeck and first published 1937. The novella set during The
Great Depression on a ranch in California centers around the intelligent but uneducated George and Lennie,
a man with limited mental abilities. They have an unlikely friendship with George acting as Lennie's protector.
The friends are soon approached by their boss' son, Curley; an aggressive man who has a inferiority complex,
and the situation is deteriorating as the days go by.




CURLEY'S WIFE
Leighton will take on the role of Curley's wife in the Broadway peoduction. A lonely woman with crushed
dreams about becoming a movie star. To her this is the reason for her behavior on the ranch.




ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
The Broadway production will be directed by Tony award-winning director Anna D. Shapiro. It is produced by
David Binder with Kate Lear, Darren Bagert, Adam Zotovich, Barbara Whitman and Latitude Link. The production officially
opened at the Longacre Theater on April 16, 2014.


CAST
James Franco - George Milton
Chris O'Dowd - Lennie Small
Leighton Meester - Curley's wife
Jim Norton - Candy
Jim Parrack - Slim
Alex Morf - Curley
Ron Cephas Jones - Crooks
Joel Marsh Garland - Carlson
James McMenamin - Whit
Jim Ortlieb - The Boss




LINKS
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Website

PREVIOUS THREADS
1 . 2 . 3 .


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Last edited by tranquility; 09-09-2014 at 02:46 AM
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Old 04-24-2014, 07:01 AM
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Quote:
I thought Daisy Egan's article was completely over the top. I mean, I get her point and it's terrible that she suffered so many awful things in her past, but I don't think I wake up every morning with terrible anxiety about clothes sending off 'the wrong message'. Or maybe that's because I am overweight, so I don't need to worry too much. But I think it's sad that she feels that way.

Hmm. I think generally theatre is more on-the-nose than TV/film. You can't afford to be as subtle in theatre. If you're playing an overtly sexual character, that should be portrayed in some way, but I think it comes down more to the performance, as the costume can only do so much.

I am looking forward to seeing the show and deciding for myself.
Egan's criticism of the victim-blaming mentality and rape culture is on point.

I, however, disagree with her point about it's a sad day for art that Shapiro made the conscious decision to de-objectify Curley's wife. That's a valid argument -- if they feel like they have to neuter a character or dumb down the story because they don't want to perpetuate rape culture or don't have faith in the audience to "get it" -- but I think making Curley's wife less about sex and titillation is more powerful because it shows that the men will objectify her regardless. And that's something every woman will deal with her life. Society will always find an excuse to be undermining and scapegoating of women. It's too bad some of the critics don't see the irony.

Also reading about Curley's wife being more provocative in contrast with the working men is one thing, but having to see an actress be the only sexually desperate figure, live and in-person, in a cast of full men is a different story. It would be unfair to her.
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Last edited by clair carlyle; 04-24-2014 at 07:14 AM
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Old 04-24-2014, 03:28 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by clair carlyle (View Post)
Egan's criticism of the victim-blaming mentality and rape culture is on point.

I, however, disagree with her point about it's a sad day for art that Shapiro made the conscious decision to de-objectify Curley's wife. That's a valid argument -- if they feel like they have to neuter a character or dumb down the story because they don't want to perpetuate rape culture or don't have faith in the audience to "get it" -- but I think making Curley's wife less about sex and titillation is more powerful because it shows that the men will objectify her regardless. And that's something every woman will deal with her life. Society will always find an excuse to be undermining and scapegoating of women. It's too bad some of the critics don't see the irony.

Also reading about Curley's wife being more provocative in contrast with the working men is one thing, but having to see an actress be the only sexually desperate figure, live and in-person, in a cast of full men is a different story. It would be unfair to her.
But the point is that she is acting a part. It's set in a different time. It doesn't make sense to neuter a part because of discussions going on in 2014 about the objectification of women. It's a role. The fact that Curley's wife is sexually desperate because that's the only avenue she sees open to her is the point. The power is lost otherwise.
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Old 04-24-2014, 05:28 PM
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Originally Posted by coconut5 (View Post)
But the point is that she is acting a part. It's set in a different time. It doesn't make sense to neuter a part because of discussions going on in 2014 about the objectification of women. It's a role. The fact that Curley's wife is sexually desperate because that's the only avenue she sees open to her is the point. The power is lost otherwise.
The part doesn't seem neutered to me. It seems more enriched and more appropriate for this medium. Steinbeck did go back and reworked Curley's wife to give more dimension to he rwhen he translated his novel to a play and in his letter to Claire Luce, the first actress to portray the character, he specifically mentions that Curley's wife is still chaste and somewhat of an innocent so there's plenty of room to how to interpret her. If the character's power is solely or mostly relied shallow, male glaze, that's actually more lazy and not so powerful in the first place.
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Old 04-25-2014, 07:20 AM
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Old 04-25-2014, 07:34 AM
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I put some of the reviews in the OP. If I missed one you think should be there just let me know
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Old 04-25-2014, 08:30 AM
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Originally Posted by clair carlyle (View Post)
The part doesn't seem neutered to me. It seems more enriched and more appropriate for this medium. Steinbeck did go back and reworked Curley's wife to give more dimension to he rwhen he translated his novel to a play and in his letter to Claire Luce, the first actress to portray the character, he specifically mentions that Curley's wife is still chaste and somewhat of an innocent so there's plenty of room to how to interpret her. If the character's power is solely or mostly relied shallow, male glaze, that's actually more lazy and not so powerful in the first place.
Anyway, as I said, I will see it myself in May, I'm sure I will love it.
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Old 04-25-2014, 09:09 AM
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Have fun! I'm seeing it June

Drama Desk Awards announced.

Chris O'Dowd for Best Actor and Of Mice and Men for Best Revival.

Anna D. Shapiro scored one but for her other play, Domesticated. This is excitingggg!

2014 Drama Desk Award Nominations - GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE Leads with 12; Followed by BRIDGES, FUN HOME, ALADDIN, ROCKY & More

---

New commercial w/ new pic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-D5BXxvPeo0
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Old 04-25-2014, 01:41 PM
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I just saw this on James' Insta. I guess it's the closest we'll get to a pic of Zooey there.
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Old 04-25-2014, 05:09 PM
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So happy for them! Hope we'll see the whole cast there.

That new pic has to go in the OP

No Leighton/Zooey
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Old 04-26-2014, 08:22 PM
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thats amazing news, i wish leighton and zooey pic happened too
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Old 04-27-2014, 12:26 AM
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Maybe they'll meet at another event.

I added that new pic to the op
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Old 04-27-2014, 10:40 AM
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So happy the show is getting nominations!

I meant to include this with my review and forgot, but here is Leighton's bio in the "Who's Who in the Cast" section of the Playbill.

Quote:
LEIGHTON MEESTER (Curley's Wife) began her career performing in regional theatre. She had recurring roles on a variety of long-running shows including "24" and "Entourage" before receiving critical acclaim for her work on the hit show "Gossip Girl." Meester is a singer/songwriter, and among other movies, starred opposite Gwyneth Paltrow and Time McGraw in the feature film Country Strong; alongside Hugh Laurie, Allison Janney and Oliver Platt in The Oranges; and will soon be seen in the upcoming features The Judge with Robert Downey, Jr.; Frank Whaley's Like Sunday, Like Rain; and starring in Life Partners, which premieres at the Tribeca Film Festival, 2014.
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Old 04-27-2014, 12:07 PM
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I would love Leighton to have been part of a Tony winning broadway show

Random thought, but I wonder which of the lovely male cast members picks up Leighton and carries her off stage after her death scenes. I bet they think she is light as a feather.

Another review...
Quote:
The attitude of the play towards Crooks is far less problematic for modern sensibilities than that towards Curley’s wife, credibly portrayed by Leighton Meester, best-known as the star of Gossip Girl. She, like Franco and O’Dowd, is making her Broadway debut. George and most of the other ranch hands at various times call her a bitch, a tart, and a tramp – which could be Steinbeck’s comment on the attitudes of George and the other men, except the woman is not even given a name: She’s just “Curley’s Wife.” Whatever the playwright’s intention, the director and the actress have chosen, wisely I think, to tilt us towards thinking the men all sexist by playing down the character’s sexuality.
http://newyorktheater.me/2014/04/26/...at-depression/

Quote:
But it’s the acting that makes this song sing so truly. Every role is cast with the proper grit and texture, with all the ranch hands seeming like the rough, broken men they are and Leighton Meester playing Curley’s Wife as the tawdry rag doll with her eye on a non-existent prize that she has to be.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment...rt_review.html

Quote:
Although the production is very much an ensemble effort, each actor is permitted to shine: James Franco’s intensity and his concern for Lennie; Chris O’Dowd’s warmth and innocence; Jim Norton’s striving in the face of adversity; Alex Morf’s sheer meanness; Leighton Meester’s complex opposition of flirt and damaged soul; and Ron Cephas Jones’s decency in the face of discrimination.
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/6259...-mice-and-men/

Last edited by Rachel Leigh; 04-27-2014 at 12:18 PM
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Old 04-27-2014, 02:41 PM
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Originally Posted by varietyofwords (View Post)
So happy the show is getting nominations!

I meant to include this with my review and forgot, but here is Leighton's bio in the "Who's Who in the Cast" section of the Playbill.
Everyone writes their own bio - it's interesting to see what they emphasise.
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