Greater Clements

See it if You can stand watching paint dry for 3 hours. Donovan is an amazing performer.

Don't see it if All others give very mediocre performances on top of the sophomoric and soporific script. Awful staging partial views 85% of the seats

Also A big parenthesis is owed to Donovan whose scenes and acting provide the sole respite from this snoozer of a play. This is an actor to look for in the future.
What were they thinking with this staging?! Built for the show columns block at least 1 character in every scene for everyone except the on-stage seats.
The only surprise on the play is to get to the end and realize there were no surprises, nothing new nor creative not inventive to show for the 3 excruciating hours of utter boredom.
Most shows can be bettered by self-critic reworking. I can't see how to save this one.... Read more Read less

See it if You enjoy dreary stories about family & relationships. Actor playing the son is really good.

Don't see it if Show is VERY slow and low energy. It's a 3 hour "epic" that should be an hour shorter. Lots of convos that add up to nothing.

Also There are 2 intermissions and I wish I had left after the first one. VERY little happens in this show and what little does happen is muddled with so many conversations that don't amount to anything. Casual conversations that you would overhear your grandparents having while catching up with old friends... not entertaining or interesting.

There was promise at the end of the 2nd act but it ultimately fizzles like the rest of the play.

Also because of the way the show is staged I would say that at least 70% of the seats have an obstructed view at some point during the play due to the large beams and blocking.... Read more Read less

See it if If you like a deep tragedy that is well acted and staged. Has a good story to it.

Don't see it if 3 hours long. Was slow at two parts but a pretty good pace to the show. If your not into deep thought tragedies.

See it if A stunted son,a returning lost love,and her town is closing down; Clementstine native,Ivey, is having a really bad day.There may be an exit.

Don't see it if Ivey's fine acting and the final pulpy twenty minutes,aren't compensation enough for three acts over three hours.Hydraulic stage.Duck faces!

Also "I was born with nothing but problems, you're not, you're smart, you're lucky/I'm really grateful for you and I'm sorry/Guy falls down a mine/Did you break anything?/No, just rocks down here"... Read more Read less

See it if Excellent acting by Judith Ivey as the mom to her troubled son. Tough luck in life with guy she was married to. Heart wrenching despair.

Don't see it if You dislike epic 3 hour soap opera dramas that fly by. Powerhouse acting fraught w raw emotions. Shocking scene late in 3rd act.

See it if You appreciate good acting and a play that is still finding it's voice.

Don't see it if You want a well done finished play.

Also The production value is very problematic. There are pillars all around the stage and anyone sitting behind the pillars have a blocked view part of the time. BIG PROBLEM and many audience members were unhappy.... Read more Read less

See it if you want very good acting (esp. Judith Ivey & Edmund Donovan) - and want a VERY BLEAK and LONG soap opera-like tale in small Idaho towns.

Don't see it if you want to smile. This is a dreary/bleak story & sudsy storytelling. Mundanely-staged; columns block many views. Good acting can't rescue.

Also Audience members departed at both intermissions - voting with their feet.... Read more Read less

See it if A long, very bleak but well-written tragedy is what you're in the mood for. You don't mind a show that's almost three hours (first preview).

Don't see it if You're looking for something light that won't requite much brain space on your part.

Also I am a fan of Sam Hunter and enjoyed Lewiston/Clarkson last year. This play is set in Idaho, as you'd expect, in the fictional town of Greater Clements. The "greater" is kind of a wry joke. The town is heading for extinction, and so is the family headed up by Judith Ivey's character. (She's great.) Edmund Donovan is excellent as her troubled son.

The plot keeps you guessing, and there is an extraordinary scenic effect that must have cost Lincoln Center Theater an arm and a leg and a kidney or two.

My friend and I were in it until the end and were not tempted to split during either of the two intermissions (although people did). But I found the ending unsatisfying, despite one crucial scene in Act 3 that was illuminating.

The character of Kel was somewhat underwritten, and that's not excusable in a play of almost three hours. Ken Narasaki was excellent as Billy.

Just be prepared for a whole heap of sadness!... Read more Read less

See it if You like the playwrights work. Superb performances esp mother and son dynamic. Very bleak theme and a surprise ending.

Don't see it if This play is 3 hours long...It needs to be cut down nd there is really no need for 2 ten minute intermission...Amazing set.

See it if You’re interested in a story that unfolds like a puzzle. The acting is quite good also.

Don't see it if You’re not interested in a play that is long. The play can benefit from cutting the last 15 minutes.

See it if You like 3 hour plays with 2 intermissions so you have multiple options for leaving. Or plays that drag on with unresolved conflict.

Don't see it if you like plays where characters develop. This is a sad, slice of life story where everyone is stuck.

See it if you like a drama of how people try to make the best of what life has dealt them and how hard it is to fix bad decisions made earlier in life

Don't see it if bad sight lines are a deal breaker for you. There are 3, maybe 4 floor to ceiling steel beams that I had to look around to see the actors.

Also The staging is very unique. I had what would normally be considered a good seat but there were times I could see so little of the actors that I wondered if this was what it was like to listen to a play on the radio. Also, there's seating in the back of the stage that I was unaware of when I bought the tickets. No columns to block you but you spend more time looking at the back of the actors' heads.
I also found the end to be strange in that the lead fails to take certain actions that anyone would normally take in that situation, and there's nothing to enlighten the viewer as to why she didn't.
Notwithstanding, I found the show very absorbing. Even though it was 3 hours long, I had no problem keeping my interest in it.... Read more Read less

See it if if you appreciate Great Acting, Excellent writing, and although it was 3 hours with 2 intermissions it moved very quickly.

Don't see it if questionable set that some times gets in the way of seeing actors bothers you.