Absurd Person Singular

The theater season has begun for us.  A little late, but better late than never.  We got 3 subscriptions this year.  One to the Manhattan Theater Club, one to The Roundabout Theater and the last one to the Public Theater.   MTC runs a very smooth operation.  You sign up at the beginning of the season for the number of plays you’d like to see, 5 or 7 or whatever, and then you pick a night that works best for you.  They then ship you a package with all of your tickets over the course of the season.  If you want to exchange them, you fill out a form and they are happy to oblige.  The Roundabout basically works the same but they are just not as organized.  My guess is that they will get there.  On the other hand, the Public is a nightmare.  I have actually decided against doing the Public next year just because I can’t stand the way they operate.  You sign up and then you are on your own to get tickets.  You need to call in advance, they let you know about 2 weeks in advance for members, to get a seat.  So, it is more on the fly.  I already missed one show I wanted to see.  My feeling is if you pay to be a member, you shouldn’t have to do so much work to get the seats to the show you want. 

Last night we saw the first show from MTC, Absurd Person Singular.  As a whole, the MTC really puts on top productions.  I hope last night’s play is not a prelude to the season.  Certainly well produced but not that interesting.  3 couples, 3 Christmas eves over 3 years.  Set in England.  Each couple develops differently over the 3 years but I didn’t care for the characters.  3 acts.  The first act was ok, the second act was better, the third was the worst.  Oh well.  You can’t get it right every time when you are a theater company.  This particular play, I wouldn’t recommend.