Greater Clements

See it if you like complex chars in unusual setting. Some stg acting (esply Donovan/Ivey). Slice of life, w/high tension. Some humor. Gd pace, but lg.

Don't see it if you want believable plotting and a satisfying ending. Interesting material, but it doesn't add up. A set sh never interfere w/audience.

Also Joe's char was fascinating, but I don't know what his illness was. He presented as Aspergers (including verbal tics and inability to make eye contact)...but what about the pervasive hallucinations? And why did his mother think his issues were related to her father's dementia? If a playwright is going to depict a char w pronounced mental challenges, it sh be an identifiable (clinical) illness. Still, Donovan gave an outstanding performance. His scene about being "weird" had people weeping.... Read more Read less

See it if Legacy of suffering in a dissolving town, abandoned mine, and a family's last generation. Burdensome love. Aimlessness, despair, defeat.

Don't see it if You are not up for a long, deep, absorbing 3 act play that draws out its bleak feelings. Blocked sight lines (especially avoid front rows).

Also (Spoiler alert) ..... After all the that has happened, with Maggie's and Billy's families, the mine, and the town, there is an ironic ending. A young Californian fondly recounts her annual visits to the town of Clements and tours of the mine. She says her family did not get along well at home, but had a nice time vacationing in Clements. Maggie gives the young woman the damaged gold watch, representing Maggie's family legacy, for $20. The legacy is worth little to Maggie, but at least in the young woman's hands, there are some positive feelings and the suffering will be forgotten.

The hopefulness of young love cannot be revived between Maggie and Billy. For a while it seems possible, but in the end Maggie realizes that her burden is too much to bring, and moreover, she cannot take on Billy's burdens. The cost of love is too high.... Read more Read less

See it if Edmund Donovan is the stand-out in an outstanding cast in Hunter's noble yet bleak drama about loss of identity through loss of community

Don't see it if McCallum's finely wrought staging is essential in allowing this well crafted, deliberate melodrama to unfold as various plot lines converge

See it if you like great drama that is realistic, intense, thought provoking and heart wrenching. It is a story of sad times and sad people striving.

Don't see it if you do not like long plays that keep revealing bits and in the end leave you thinking rather than provide a conclusive end.

See it if Fan of the playwright, get a feel for dying Idaho towns, enjoy complex characters with strong female lead, see mine created as part of set

Don't see it if Don’t like 3-act 2-intermission plays, stories about dying towns, many scenes in low lights, manufactured suspense

See it if you miss plays with plot points, climaxes, themes and intermissions. Good performances and interesting staging,

Don't see it if you are not prepared for a 2 hour 50 minute run time.

See it if See it for Edmund Donovan (Joe), he is incredible. Other actors fantastic too.Very well written play, riveting. Interesting & surprising set

Don't see it if Show is long (although it didn't feel that way). Two intermissions worked because each section was fairly short. Bad sightlines...

Also ...Set is impressive but there are many seats from which you'd be unable to see what is happening, who is on stage, etc. Too much going on with the set, although it is also a very impressive set. I'm not sure there is a seat in the house that wouldn't have action blocked at some point in the show. I'd have given the show a perfect score it if hadn't been for the problems with viewing the set. That was a little distracting but overall Greater Clements is absolutely wonderful.... Read more Read less

See it if You enjoy perfect and realistic family dramas that will keep you captivated for three hours

Don't see it if You are looking for something light. I can’t imagine anyone seeing this play and not being emotionally moved to tears

Also Last year I saw Lewiston and Clarkston. These were my first two Samuel Hunter plays. I loved both of them. I believe this is not only better but perfection.
Every word he writes is mesmerizing. Every character is incredibly believable. I came from a small coal mining town in Pennsylvania so I can tell you firsthand that every character in this play was completely real. But you don’t have to be from a small town to appreciate this play. All the acting was incredible across the board. But the performance by Edmund Donovan may very well be the best performance I’ve ever seen on a stage in my entire life.
Just about every one of the negative reviews complain about the staging. I liked the staging but I don’t really care about it. I will go back and see this again with a blindfold that’s how incredible it is. I beg you if you’re reading this to go see this play.... Read more Read less

See it if you like shows that are all flash, no depth.Set is unnecessarily complicated,resulting in VERY bad sight lines.Judith Ivey was wonderful

Don't see it if you are looking for something worth sitting through 3 hours of predictable theatre.Except for Ivey, acting was weak.That = bad direction.

See it if you like a masterclass in acting by Judith Ivey. Andrew Garman stands up to her perf. The show is long depressing but tells a sad true story

Don't see it if a long sad play with characters talking over themselves and a pole for the set design blocks the front middle of the stage is not for you

See it if A dying Idaho mining town & it's greatly troubled inhabitants are the focus of this well written, superbly acted 3 act play.

Don't see it if you want to walk out of the theater on a high note. This is not that play. It is, however, very moving & Ivey & Donovan are riveting.

Also The configuration of the theater is such that many seats will have partially blocked sight lines. Very annoying, but not a game changer.... Read more Read less

See it if the great Judith Ivey and Edmund Donovan give incredible performances in a 3 hour play that flew by for me.

Don't see it if you are looking for a light short play this is not for you.

Also Two objections: this poorly designed show with obstructed views is unforgivable and the ending is a bit of a cop out.... Read more Read less

See it if the decline of the American West, its stories and history, and the complicated lives of diverse people who struggle there are of interest.

Don't see it if you'll be annoyed by sometimes-impeded sightlines or some meaningless characters; dislike 2-intermission dramas; triggered by loud sounds.

Also This is my first Samuel D. Hunter play; I’m impressed enough by his ability to craft gritty worlds and characters to seek more. Greater Clements is a fictional mining town with a fiery past, and the people remaining in this dying place are no less feverishly burning, with fears, unrest, and failures. Some characters (a dull sheriff; a busybody friend) are predictable, even fatuous. There’s a lot happening: the West’s death, cancer, mental illness, racism, ancestry, homosexuality, single-mothers, nostalgia, alcoholism, love, and working-class America are all themes. It’s Edmund Donovan’s Joe, 27-year-old son to Judith Ivey’s Maggie, who grabs the heart. His undefined mental illness—from physical tics to certain obsessive talks to delusions—feel captivatingly realistic (in him, I see a reflection of a relative who IS this character). Donovan’s performance is among the year’s best: I’m keeping my eye on him, and Hunter. Finally, GC, despite its flaws, will break you in some shocking ways.... Read more Read less

See it if great acting in a well written drama. relevant to today's times. plays like this used to be on Broadway, why is this not?

Don't see it if want something fluffy. this is serious work.

See it if you are a fan of Judith Ivey.

Don't see it if sitting through a slowly movie three hour play is NOT your cup of tea.

Also Yale School of Drama alum Edmund Donovan's performance is NOT TO BE MISSED! Even though the play is three hours long and the first act drags, acts the second and three more than make up for it and then there is the play ending that is just so powerful. It was truly worth getting through to the end of this play.... Read more Read less

See it if You want to see a drama about a dying mining town and how the relationships of the remaining citizens are affected by the events. Great cast

Don't see it if You would be bothered by depressing characters dealing with issues of mental illness and cancer.

See it if Are patient with a play that unfolds too slowly and quite unevenly. Are a Judith Ivey fan. Like American tales of small town life and woes.

Don't see it if You need the storytelling to clip along and for all the acting to be top notch.

See it if You are a Samuel Hunter completist.

Don't see it if You want compelling writing, interesting characters, fresh plotting, or any sense of chemistry among the actors.

Also Hunter can do better. Predictable. I expect him to open my eyes in some way. Plus LCT blew it with the house: I sat behind a pole, and in certain scenes, a light shone directly in my eyes. The whole thing was a miss.... Read more Read less

See it if Just super clever in every way-- with its intensity and sensitivity, temporal playfulness, incredible acting, and unique plot.

Don't see it if Ther are definitely trigger issues for people, and although deep and thoughtful it is also tremendously sad and resonant.

Also I saw Judith Ivey's understudy who was excellent and I am sure that to see the show with Judith Ivey is really something. The set has this unnerving issue which is that there are several metal bars blocking just about everyone's site at some point during the play. I assume this is intentional​ but very frustrating. Otherwise, the complexity of the set is so clever-and the sound mechanics thrilling.... Read more Read less

See it if Maybe I just really like Sam Hunter, but this play really did it for me. Gripping, heartrending, naturalistic, and compelling...

Don't see it if ...without being obviously great. The plot, as it is, doesn't sound that great, and some of the actors are much stronger than others, but...

Also ultimately the dialogue, the tempo, and the human scale of the drama kept me rapt for the (long) duration of this great new play.... Read more Read less

See it if You like Hunter’s heartbreaking stories of dying mid-west towns. Ivey & Donavan are superb, but all cast are very good.

Don't see it if A slow moving family tragedy is not for you.

See it if to see great acting, Ivey and Donovan especially. Sad, bleak story about troubled characters and loss of a town.

Don't see it if you want something light and uplifting. Interesting staging makes it often hard to see. Actors at times talk over each other, hard to hear.

Also This was almost 3 hours with 2 intermissions. I think it would be stronger if 30 minutes could be cut but still worth seeing.... Read more Read less

See it if Two leads do great acting. The rest of the cast was very uneven, though characters were caricatures or underwritten. Interesting parts.

Don't see it if You want a great play. There is one here, buried in a lot of filler. The last few scenes were unnecessary, and pretty unbelievable.

Also What happens near the end is haunting, then they keep going, and the lead character acts pretty ridiculous, given what’s just happened. Just bad choices, which made a good story just okay. And the choice to put steel beams all over the stage, which block important plot points repeatedly, was really odd.... Read more Read less

See it if One of the best plays of 2019 this is a moving and beautiful portrayal of characters rarely seen on stage.

Don't see it if You do not like character study focused plays.

Also Judith Ivey and Edmund Donovan give astoundingly great performances, and are well supported by the entire fine cast.... Read more Read less

See it if You'd like to cover as many issues and minorities as possible in one evening. (see other for a partial laundry list)

Don't see it if Awkward exposition,uninspired dialogue,predictable plots not what I expected from someone I previously thought of a sophisticated playwright

Also Mental illness, racism, corporate greed, Japanese internment camps, gentrification, gay husband, alcoholic father, busybody neighbor, damaged vet, abusive cop - this play has it all. And, therefore, has nothing of substance imho.... Read more Read less