Theater: Coram Boy

It was announced on Friday that Coram Boy, the new Broadway production (and huge hit in London) will be closing is ticket sales do not pick up tremendously very soon. I was lucky enough to attend the opening night at the beginning of May and while I didn't have the same gut reaction that I had when I saw, say, Spring Awakening, I felt like it was a production unlike any I'd ever seen. It is cinematic, a huge cast of 40 actors and singers tell the amazing adventures of young boys over 15 years in the mid-1800's. Yes, it is a "period place" but don't let your disinterest in things historical turn you away.

The production is not perfect, but there are some performances that are not to missed. The young boys in the show are all played, quite convincingly, by adult women. It's not often that a play like this offers the kind of spectacle that one would usually find in a miracle.

Some of the actors are a little off the mark, but upon my second viewing, yeah I went back last weekend, I could see the production getting deeper, the connections of the actors to each other and with their characters is really sinking in and my friend, Tinashe, who is making her Broadway debut in the Chorus that sings from shadows in the loft above the stage, says the show is getting more solid every night. I recommend it.

Yes,there are people who leave the show saying they hate it. The critics were mixed with an emphasis on dislike. But, often, I think art does this, sometimes we look at theater too much at face value instead of the messages that it is trying to tell us.

I'd be interested to hear what other non-critics people who have seen the production have to say.

Discounts for Coram Boy and other Broadway and Off-Broadway shows are available with a free registration at Playbill.com. The show is currently set to close on May 27.