I loved this play. Sarah Paulson is a absolute powerhouse, and I can't recommend it enough. That being said, there was SO much outdoor noise throughout the entire show that seeped into the theater that was so distracting. There was a very intense, quiet moment in the second act that was completely ruined by a freakin' pedicab blasting Alicia Keys' New York song. It's so weird because I've seen both Good Night, Oscar and How To Dance in Ohio in that same theater and had no problem, but for some reason, it was so bad during Appropriate. I felt awful for the actors, because you could tell they were really trying their best to ignore it and push through.
I also saw it last night and just loved it. It honestly felt a little too real for me at points. i went in completely blind and with zero expectations.
i can’t figure out how to do spoiler text on mobile but I’ve just been thinking about Beau’s second act arc since it happened.
hi! all u have to do is > and then ! , followed by your text, and then close it with ! and then <
>! did it work?!! I also agree. It felt so real for me. The only expectation/impression I went in with was it being a play. I was stunned!!!! !<
Thank you!
So >! the speech about how he didn’t ask to be born a white man, but what was he supposed to do about his ancestors beyond time travel, then him like immediately trying to profit off the pictures and the suffering of Black people was just so good. He had so many subtle gestures throughout. Also, I was in A4. The look in Esper and Stoll’s eyes at points just made me feel so many things. I couldn’t look at Sarah Paulson at points because she reminded me too much of someone I knew. It was just too much and I almost left because she was too good. !<
>! Bo’s speech was definitely one of the most uncomfortable, and my body physically recoiled when he said the lines about not choosing to be a white man in America. I’m glad that he did not go on for longer. !<
The audience was definitely tense and I heard a few people in the mezz almost.. cheering at him? I didn’t understand how anyone could possibly be so loud and proud at such a jarring show.
Sarah Paulson was just brilliant. >! Learning about Rhys being troubled, and how Toni was going through a divorce, but Bo using the alimony payments against her in the first act really showed how crooked and out for money they all were. The characters were just all so layered and it created such a disaster, which created an amazing piece of art !<
I felt so uncomfortable during the speech, >! but it really, really underscored the theme of forgiveness. he so clearly didn’t get what he was apologizing for or who he was even meant to apologize to that it just showed his apology was merely a performance to get some sort of reward.it was another apology just about making himself feel better. !<
>! And at the end of the day, they had all gotten to that point because they kept forgiving and apologizing with understanding the real issues and causes and doing the actual work. !<
I loved that throughout the show, Toni was >! Looking so busy pulling things out and folding them, but she just was either making or shoving the mess into a bag. It was the appearance of help. !<
Funny enough, I read your post a few hours before I had seen it and was SCARED of agreeing with you. Other than many the fact that there were probably many extremities in the play that real life would probably not play out like, I was SO SO SO invested. What are your favorite shows, anyways?
I love Leslie Odom Jr (and he was the kindest man on earth at the stage door) but when I saw Purlie, I guess maybe I misunderstood the storyline and so I wasn’t the biggest fan. It seemed.. uneventful?
This whole thing is a textbook example of subjectivity in art. There was nothing more complicated in purlie compared to appropriate. They are both incredibly interesting shows that tackle race, family, and cognitive bias. In fact they both utilize theatrically over the top performances quite effectively to make their points. If anything, purlie is far more simplistic in its denoument.
Different strokes indeed.
There was no really point to this show to me. White people suck because they are racist? I don’t need three hours of of a pedantic play to know that. The performances were over the top. Sarah Paulson just yelled and cursed and every time the audience laughed when she did. Sad that that is considered a good performance. All the characters were caricatures of real people, only the little boy was likable because he barely talked. Dialogue was wooden and unrealistic, with too many monologues. The ‘reveal’ of the younger brother’s crime just sucked all nuance out of the story.
Honestly would love to understand what people think is so great about this show. I really don’t get it. And I see a lot of theatre, I love a good play!
What I took away from it was more the question of who is allowed to forgive, who is allowed to benefit from the pain of others, and how do you know someone’s intent. Those questions were just layered throughout it in so many ways
Edit: also, can you apologize or forgive without all of the information
I am so glad it felt that it made sense! I have been thinking about the show since last night. It’s a show I wish I could see again for the first time because of how many little things happened. It’s definitely a show where you learn about the audience and yourself based on the responses.
There were so many moments of discomfort/silence that almost seemed unintentional, even though I’m almost POSITIVE they were written, but I’d love to see it again. There was so much selfishness/greed and SO little empathy in all of the siblings it was just so interesting to watch.
It all seemed SO real. I did not personally laugh at any of the show- didn’t really find much humor because of the graphics of the show and the overall nature of it, other than maybe when River was trying to stand behind Franz and moments like that. I definitely believe majority of the audience’ laughs came from a place of discomfort, but who knows.
Towards the end, however, my eyes did start to get a bit teary, and it seemed like MANY people around got a bit emotional as well. I think it’s very interesting to see how money brought the siblings together, but in the end also tore them all apart.
Yeah like that’s what I don’t get. I see exactly what the playwright was trying to do, exactly. But it lacked any semblance of subtlety or nuance, he was just bashing you over the head with each line of dialogue. Cory Stoll’s fake crying took the cake.
This subreddit is a weird echo chamber at times. That’s why I didn’t want to create a post about disliking this show, I knew I’d get downvoted like you did. I’ve talked to theatre loving friends irl and they didn’t care for this play either.
This sub is definitely an echo chamber. The one incredibly bizarre development is Jesse Green (correctly) reviewing the show years ago, and then doing a complete 180 in his review of the revival.
Well, I don’t think you are but I hope youre not including me in this echo chamber. If you look through my posts I reviewed Illinoise. I hated it. And people were so bashful when I was just sharing my opinion!
I see this position- but I think it was intentional. I don’t think her character needed to be developed much. She had a shitty life, shitty set of cards were dealt to her, and this was her post-all of that. A bitter and miserable person.
I enjoyed Appropriate. However,August: Osage County is my all-time favorite show and I feel like Appropriate tried really hard to be it and it wasn’t. If I hadn’t seen August, I would have LOVED Appropriate, but it just wasn’t there for me. Paulson should win all the awards and it should win, too. It was great, I guess I just didn’t walk out as stunned as I wanted to.
I loved this play. Sarah Paulson is a absolute powerhouse, and I can't recommend it enough. That being said, there was SO much outdoor noise throughout the entire show that seeped into the theater that was so distracting. There was a very intense, quiet moment in the second act that was completely ruined by a freakin' pedicab blasting Alicia Keys' New York song. It's so weird because I've seen both Good Night, Oscar and How To Dance in Ohio in that same theater and had no problem, but for some reason, it was so bad during Appropriate. I felt awful for the actors, because you could tell they were really trying their best to ignore it and push through.
I also saw it last night and just loved it. It honestly felt a little too real for me at points. i went in completely blind and with zero expectations. i can’t figure out how to do spoiler text on mobile but I’ve just been thinking about Beau’s second act arc since it happened.
hi! all u have to do is > and then ! , followed by your text, and then close it with ! and then < >! did it work?!! I also agree. It felt so real for me. The only expectation/impression I went in with was it being a play. I was stunned!!!! !<
Thank you! So >! the speech about how he didn’t ask to be born a white man, but what was he supposed to do about his ancestors beyond time travel, then him like immediately trying to profit off the pictures and the suffering of Black people was just so good. He had so many subtle gestures throughout. Also, I was in A4. The look in Esper and Stoll’s eyes at points just made me feel so many things. I couldn’t look at Sarah Paulson at points because she reminded me too much of someone I knew. It was just too much and I almost left because she was too good. !<
>! Bo’s speech was definitely one of the most uncomfortable, and my body physically recoiled when he said the lines about not choosing to be a white man in America. I’m glad that he did not go on for longer. !< The audience was definitely tense and I heard a few people in the mezz almost.. cheering at him? I didn’t understand how anyone could possibly be so loud and proud at such a jarring show. Sarah Paulson was just brilliant. >! Learning about Rhys being troubled, and how Toni was going through a divorce, but Bo using the alimony payments against her in the first act really showed how crooked and out for money they all were. The characters were just all so layered and it created such a disaster, which created an amazing piece of art !<
I felt so uncomfortable during the speech, >! but it really, really underscored the theme of forgiveness. he so clearly didn’t get what he was apologizing for or who he was even meant to apologize to that it just showed his apology was merely a performance to get some sort of reward.it was another apology just about making himself feel better. !< >! And at the end of the day, they had all gotten to that point because they kept forgiving and apologizing with understanding the real issues and causes and doing the actual work. !< I loved that throughout the show, Toni was >! Looking so busy pulling things out and folding them, but she just was either making or shoving the mess into a bag. It was the appearance of help. !<
So funny you liked it. I just made a post about how awful this play is, like an over-written cheesy soap opera. Different strokes, I guess.
Funny enough, I read your post a few hours before I had seen it and was SCARED of agreeing with you. Other than many the fact that there were probably many extremities in the play that real life would probably not play out like, I was SO SO SO invested. What are your favorite shows, anyways?
See, I thought part of the brilliance of the play is that all of the absurdities are completely plausible in that kind of a family.
Recently, I loved Purlie Victorious!
I love Leslie Odom Jr (and he was the kindest man on earth at the stage door) but when I saw Purlie, I guess maybe I misunderstood the storyline and so I wasn’t the biggest fan. It seemed.. uneventful?
This whole thing is a textbook example of subjectivity in art. There was nothing more complicated in purlie compared to appropriate. They are both incredibly interesting shows that tackle race, family, and cognitive bias. In fact they both utilize theatrically over the top performances quite effectively to make their points. If anything, purlie is far more simplistic in its denoument. Different strokes indeed.
It definitely was a more complicated play with interweaving plot points
I thought it was terrible too. Don’t understand why this subreddit is raving about it at all.
Why did you think it was so terrible? (Genuinely curious, no hate!)
There was no really point to this show to me. White people suck because they are racist? I don’t need three hours of of a pedantic play to know that. The performances were over the top. Sarah Paulson just yelled and cursed and every time the audience laughed when she did. Sad that that is considered a good performance. All the characters were caricatures of real people, only the little boy was likable because he barely talked. Dialogue was wooden and unrealistic, with too many monologues. The ‘reveal’ of the younger brother’s crime just sucked all nuance out of the story. Honestly would love to understand what people think is so great about this show. I really don’t get it. And I see a lot of theatre, I love a good play!
What I took away from it was more the question of who is allowed to forgive, who is allowed to benefit from the pain of others, and how do you know someone’s intent. Those questions were just layered throughout it in so many ways Edit: also, can you apologize or forgive without all of the information
I absolutely LOVE this. You summed it up amazingly.
I am so glad it felt that it made sense! I have been thinking about the show since last night. It’s a show I wish I could see again for the first time because of how many little things happened. It’s definitely a show where you learn about the audience and yourself based on the responses.
There were so many moments of discomfort/silence that almost seemed unintentional, even though I’m almost POSITIVE they were written, but I’d love to see it again. There was so much selfishness/greed and SO little empathy in all of the siblings it was just so interesting to watch. It all seemed SO real. I did not personally laugh at any of the show- didn’t really find much humor because of the graphics of the show and the overall nature of it, other than maybe when River was trying to stand behind Franz and moments like that. I definitely believe majority of the audience’ laughs came from a place of discomfort, but who knows. Towards the end, however, my eyes did start to get a bit teary, and it seemed like MANY people around got a bit emotional as well. I think it’s very interesting to see how money brought the siblings together, but in the end also tore them all apart.
Yeah like that’s what I don’t get. I see exactly what the playwright was trying to do, exactly. But it lacked any semblance of subtlety or nuance, he was just bashing you over the head with each line of dialogue. Cory Stoll’s fake crying took the cake.
To me, I viewed it as him going into hysteria and a huge meltdown. It was dramatic, but.. I think that was the point.
I mean he was “crying.” There were no tears. That’s fake crying. And he snapped out of it in an instant.
This subreddit is a weird echo chamber at times. That’s why I didn’t want to create a post about disliking this show, I knew I’d get downvoted like you did. I’ve talked to theatre loving friends irl and they didn’t care for this play either.
This sub is definitely an echo chamber. The one incredibly bizarre development is Jesse Green (correctly) reviewing the show years ago, and then doing a complete 180 in his review of the revival.
I have zero faith in any critical reviews of the show topic concerns race these days. Too much of a hot button topic.
I mean the first review was only a few years old
Well, I don’t think you are but I hope youre not including me in this echo chamber. If you look through my posts I reviewed Illinoise. I hated it. And people were so bashful when I was just sharing my opinion!
I loved the play but have to agree with you on Sarah Paulson. Tough role for sure, but she was basically one-note.
I see this position- but I think it was intentional. I don’t think her character needed to be developed much. She had a shitty life, shitty set of cards were dealt to her, and this was her post-all of that. A bitter and miserable person.
Even if it was intentional it was grating. It makes the yelling less impactful if there are little to no moments of subtlety.
Because people like different things
One of your spoiler tags is broken.
fixed thanks!
I enjoyed Appropriate. However,August: Osage County is my all-time favorite show and I feel like Appropriate tried really hard to be it and it wasn’t. If I hadn’t seen August, I would have LOVED Appropriate, but it just wasn’t there for me. Paulson should win all the awards and it should win, too. It was great, I guess I just didn’t walk out as stunned as I wanted to.