by Edward Precht. @pertoltprecht.
NEW YORK, NY - Attendees of this past Sunday’s matinee screening of The Irishman at Broadway’s Belasco Theater expressed their disappointment after the much-anticipated Martin Scorsese feature was replaced by its’ understudy - the 1990 American crime film Goodfellas, sources have confirmed.
“The Irishman needed some time to relax and spend time with its family,” said Scorsese. “I mean, three hours a day, however-many times a week, plus matinees? They were gonna run the reel dry. Plus it was a great opportunity to welcome back a classic film to the stage, you know, the ideal place to watch a movie,” he added.
This is Goodfellas’ first Broadway show -- though, according to their resume, they’ve been performing in theaters all around the country for nearly thirty years, and have even racked up one or two smaller awards during their tenure. Still, many audience members were disappointed by the last-minute change.
“When I saw the little leaflet in the program about the understudy, I was pretty bummed,” said Lonnie DiFalco, wearing about $150 worth of The Irishman merchandise. “I mean, Goodfellas is great, don’t get me wrong. It’s just, I mean… you come all this way, you pay all this money, and you expect the person you came to see - or in this case ‘mob film epic’ you came to see - to have the same respect for their performance,” he trailed off, half-heartedly tossing his The Irishman Playbill to the floor.
Other fans chimed in with similar gripes.
“I was excited to see the next generation of old Italian actors playing with guns and suits,” said Max Talmadge, her disgust palpable from within her Percy Jackson hoodie. “Instead they truck out this movie that’s just so old. Like, 90s old. Ugh,” she added.
Luckily, some attendees were more understanding.
“Hey, live theater, man,” said Tricia Spiegman. “You never know what you’re gonna get. For instance, Goodfellas brought their own interpretation to The Irishman. Instead of telling the story of Frank Sheeran’s involvement with the Bufalino crime family, they do a whole thing about the rise and fall of mob associate Henry Hill. It feels like a totally different story - like, completely and fully different in every way - but everybody’s got their own take on Hamlet, too.”
At press time, many fans were left without an opportunity to see The Irishman take the Broadway stage, as the film took its final bow earlier this week. However, fans will have further opportunities to catch the film when it begins its’ “web revival” on Netflix later this month, due to the fact that it is, as previously mentioned, a movie.