Water by the Spoonful reports?

[broadwaybelter]

Anyone?

[Blockhead24]

Meh. I still don't understand why it won the Pulitzer.

[RJ COMMUNICATIONS]

I don't understand why it won the Pulitzer either, particularly against something as deep and ravishingly wonderful as "Sons of the Prophet". "Water By the Spoonful" was a cynical, paint-by-the-numbers NONDRAMA that just used every trick in the book to be prize-bait: let's put in one character of every ethnicity, never mind that there's no characterization or depth to said character, let's throw in the Iraq war for no reason whatsoever except to be topical, and Presto! Pulitzer Prize. How sad and depressing that this putrid insincere GARBAGE won. The material was essentially non-dramatic (people who don't know each other chatting online) and of no interest. YECH.

[CapnHook]

But how do you REALLY feel?

[iluvtheatertrash]

The Iraq war isn't there for no reason. It's a trilogy of plays, the first one being Elliot's story (the handsome young soldier who is the son of HaikuMom).

I enjoyed it. I found it moving, as addiction has hit home in my family. But not sure it deserves a Pulitzer.

[RippedMan]

If it's about people chatting online then that poster makes no sense.

[iluvtheatertrash]

It is hardly non-dramatic. There is a direct through-line that connects all of these individuals. It's sort of like the film CRASH - entirely over-rated but satisfying.

And the artwork does make sense (if that's what you meant by poster, RippedMan) when you experience the show as a whole.

[SonofRobbieJ]

I felt that if Coltrane was the inspiration of the piece, and that if dissonance really is such an important concept in jazz (and in art in general...something I don't disagree with), then the piece was, in fact, too linear and neat to approximate that.

I thought act two delivered some dramatic punch...but, in general, I felt SONS OF THE PROPHET had something new to say in a way that was quirky, original and accessible. I was left shattered by it.

[iluvtheatertrash]

I agree, RobbieJ. I didn't quite see how Coltrane inspired it, to be honest. But I also don't think the director took that far enough.

And while I enjoyed it, I still think SONS OF THE PROPHET deserved the prize.

[Play Esq.]

I was quite impressed by this piece.  Perhaps not a perfect play, but I found the story completely engaging and the method of storytelling unique.

On the latter point, I was somewhat wowed by the use of "cyber-speak" for dialogue.  Such a simple concept, but it's execution was effortless and effective -- as though this were a common practice (in a lesser writer's hands, I could imagine this being rather eye-rolling and annoying). It's execution reminded me a little of Tribes: another play where the form of dialogue (or it's absence) added thematically to the play.  That aside, I enjoyed the minimal use of magical realism and theme of "connection," however, I felt these aspects of the play were less flushed out.  

Generally when an artist takes effort to re-think the form dialogue, the level of enjoyment one can take from the piece suffers (Tribes and Tender Napalm being exceptions).  Not the case here.  Each character in this ensemble piece grabbed my attention. The relationship between "little monkey" and Shoots-and-Ladders I found particularly engaging...and touching.  Someone further down this thread compared this play to Crash and though I can appreciate the analogy, I felt the connection of the characters was intended to be a bit less abstract. Less Crash or Amores Perros and more Magnolia: these peoples' lives are actually and physically intersected, it just takes an act to find out how. Simply: I loved the ride toward that discovery and felt as though I was witnessing fleshed out humans and not characters on a stage. 

I won't single out performances as all were superb (well...or will be at least...some line flubs were apparent throughout the first act but less so in the second), but I can't leave this post without saying: Bill Heck looked DAMN good. Of course, since Orphan's Home Cycle, I've had the biggest crush on him, so take my word with a grain of salt :-p

[Play Esq.]

Sorry, not to go on and on...but how good has off-broadway been this season - especially compared to the dreary Broadway season (Woolf being the only exception)? Detroit, Water, Whale, Piano Lesson, Mis Julie, Sorry, Giant (the last three I admittedly did not love, but could appreciate): is it me, or is this broadway v. off-broadway season been more disproportionate than usual in quality this season?

[Mildred Plotka]

Seems to have been that was for a few seasons now.

[GilmoreGirlO2]

Sorry to bring this thread back, but I was wondering if anyone knew what Yazmin’s age is supposed to be? I have read “Elliot” and “Water by the Spoonful” and saw “The Happiest Song Plays Last” at Goodman Theatre last month and the woman playing Yaz was much older than I was expecting. There are even lines in “Happiest Song” referring to how young she is in comparison to the man she is interested in and it was hard for me to reconcile that in my head, as their age difference didn’t seem that dramatic to me. I am not sure if it is ever mentioned in “Spoonful” or I had just (wrongly) assumed she was younger.

Also, did anyone see “Happiest Song”? Interested to hear what others thought about it. It was probably my least favorite of the three. I really loved Yaz in “Spoonful,” but not so much in “Happiest Song.”