(Please click on the title to see the complete review.)
No one can accuse playwright Madeleine George of lack of ambition for her new work at Playwrights Horizons. The action, set in 1876, 1889, 1931 and 2011 with three actors playing multiple roles, alternates time periods and characters in rapid succession. We are presented with four Watsons -- Alexander Graham Bell's assistant; Shelock Holmes's sidekick; Jerry Watson, a present-day computer repairman, and a supercomputer based on IBM's, reprogrammed to be empathetic. All are played by the delightful John Ellison Conlee. The talented Amanda Quaid plays Eliza, the supercomputer's creator; Mrs. Merrick, a troubled Victorian wife who consults Holmes's Watson; and an unnamed BBC interviewer. David Costabile, master of high dudgeon, appears as Merrick, a Tea Party-style politician and ex-husband of Eliza; a mysterious Victorian inventor also named Merrick, and Alexander Graham Bell. Present-day Merrick inadvertently brings ex-wife Eliza and Jerry together with surprising results. Some of the ideas touched upon are dependency and the fear thereof, usefulness, and the downside of finding a soulmate. The alternation of times, locations and characters is greatly assisted by Louisa Thompson's amazingly flexible set and Anita Yavich's excellent costumes. Playwright George successfully keeps her juggling act going through the first act and into the second, before she drops the ball with a thud. The play whimpers to an end, which is all the more disappointing since it started with such promise. Director Leigh Silverman keeps things moving along smoothly until the play trips over its own cleverness. In what my sound like a left-handed compliment, let me say that even the plays that fall short at Playwrights Horizons fail in interesting ways. Running time: two hours, 20 minutes including intermission.
Showing posts with label Amanda Quaid. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amanda Quaid. Show all posts
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Friday, February 15, 2013
Luck of the Irish **
(Please click on the title to see the complete review.)
Ownership of a house in a formerly all-white neighborhood is the focus of a play that takes place in two time frames -- the present and 50 years ago. That may sound like "Clybourne Park II," but it turns out to be something quite different. Playwright Kirsten Greenidge and director Rebecca Taichman, who had a solid success together with "Milk Like Sugar" at Playwrights Horizons in 2011 are teamed once again in this latest production of LCT3 at the Claire Tow Theater. Did lightning strike twice? Not quite. The new play lacks the clear focus and intensity of their earlier collaboration. Two sisters, the married Hannah (Marsha Stephanie Blake) and her single sister Nessa (Carra Patterson) have inherited the home which their recently deceased grandparents Rex (Victor Williams) and Lucy (Eisa Davis) Taylor purchased 50 years back. A young impoverished Irish Catholic couple Joe (Dashiell Eaves) and Patty Ann (Amanda Quaid) Donovan are enlisted as "ghost buyers" who, for a fee, are to make the purchase and then sign the title over to the Taylors. In what seemed to me an implausible development, the Taylors move into the home before the title has been signed over to them. Hannah and her laid-back husband Rich (Frank Harts) are now living in the house with their unseen son Miles, who has ADHD, and whose problems at school Hannah sees as racially based. She stubbornly wants to keep the house although her sister wants to sell it. Out of the blue, the elderly Mr. Donovan (now played by Robert Hogan) shows up to tell the sisters that the title was never signed over to their grandparents and his wife now wants the house. Eventually, his wife (now played by Jenny O'Hara) shows up, title in hand. I won't say more about the outcome. The first act is burdened with too much shouting -- parents shouting at misbehaving children, shouting spouses, shouting siblings. The dialog between shouts is often banal. However, this is one of the rare plays that improves in the second act. There is a lovely scene between Lucy and Joe and a powerful scene between Lucy and Patty Ann. The elderly Patty Ann has a fine speech near the end. Surprisingly, at least for me, the Donovans -- both the young and old versions -- came across as more sympathetic than any of the black characters. Lucy is an intriguing creation -- beautiful, refined, well-traveled, well-read and well-dressed (and superbly played by Davis), but is too much of a stereotype turned inside out. Joe, as portrayed by both Eaves and Hogan, had more humanity than all the others. There were a few things that puzzled me. Why does the playwright bring up the mysterious deal broker John, whom we never meet and whose existence seemed superfluous? Why have the sisters been raised by their grandparents? Mimi Lien, whose set for "Dance and the Railroad" I greatly admired, has created another attractive minimalist set. Oana Botez's costumes, especially for Lucy, are a treat. Taichman's direction is fluid and assured. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes including intermission.
Ownership of a house in a formerly all-white neighborhood is the focus of a play that takes place in two time frames -- the present and 50 years ago. That may sound like "Clybourne Park II," but it turns out to be something quite different. Playwright Kirsten Greenidge and director Rebecca Taichman, who had a solid success together with "Milk Like Sugar" at Playwrights Horizons in 2011 are teamed once again in this latest production of LCT3 at the Claire Tow Theater. Did lightning strike twice? Not quite. The new play lacks the clear focus and intensity of their earlier collaboration. Two sisters, the married Hannah (Marsha Stephanie Blake) and her single sister Nessa (Carra Patterson) have inherited the home which their recently deceased grandparents Rex (Victor Williams) and Lucy (Eisa Davis) Taylor purchased 50 years back. A young impoverished Irish Catholic couple Joe (Dashiell Eaves) and Patty Ann (Amanda Quaid) Donovan are enlisted as "ghost buyers" who, for a fee, are to make the purchase and then sign the title over to the Taylors. In what seemed to me an implausible development, the Taylors move into the home before the title has been signed over to them. Hannah and her laid-back husband Rich (Frank Harts) are now living in the house with their unseen son Miles, who has ADHD, and whose problems at school Hannah sees as racially based. She stubbornly wants to keep the house although her sister wants to sell it. Out of the blue, the elderly Mr. Donovan (now played by Robert Hogan) shows up to tell the sisters that the title was never signed over to their grandparents and his wife now wants the house. Eventually, his wife (now played by Jenny O'Hara) shows up, title in hand. I won't say more about the outcome. The first act is burdened with too much shouting -- parents shouting at misbehaving children, shouting spouses, shouting siblings. The dialog between shouts is often banal. However, this is one of the rare plays that improves in the second act. There is a lovely scene between Lucy and Joe and a powerful scene between Lucy and Patty Ann. The elderly Patty Ann has a fine speech near the end. Surprisingly, at least for me, the Donovans -- both the young and old versions -- came across as more sympathetic than any of the black characters. Lucy is an intriguing creation -- beautiful, refined, well-traveled, well-read and well-dressed (and superbly played by Davis), but is too much of a stereotype turned inside out. Joe, as portrayed by both Eaves and Hogan, had more humanity than all the others. There were a few things that puzzled me. Why does the playwright bring up the mysterious deal broker John, whom we never meet and whose existence seemed superfluous? Why have the sisters been raised by their grandparents? Mimi Lien, whose set for "Dance and the Railroad" I greatly admired, has created another attractive minimalist set. Oana Botez's costumes, especially for Lucy, are a treat. Taichman's direction is fluid and assured. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes including intermission.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Cock ****
(Please click on the title to see the entire review.)
The sensationalistic title of this British play by Mike Bartlett, now in previews at the Duke, may sell tickets, but it ill serves the play by coarsening audience expectations. Those who arrive expecting nudity and graphic sex will go home disappointed. The actors remain fully clothed and physical contact between them is sparing. In the play's sexiest scene, the only body parts to touch are foreheads. The plot revolves around John (Cory Michael Smith), a youngish gay man who is tired of being a trophy boy and who, during a brief split from his longtime lover "M" (Jason Butler Harner), meets and begins an affair with "W" (Amanda Quaid), a divorcee. Vacillating between his two lovers, John is finally forced to choose at an awkward dinner at which the three are joined by M's father "F"(Cotter Smith). The staging contributes greatly to the play's impact. A five-row wooden circular arena fills The entire Duke Theater. There are no sets or props and the house lights remain on. The short scenes are punctuated by an electronic tone. The actors are like combatants in a high-stakes competition. The rapid-fire dialogue is voluminous and often very funny. The acting is simply superb, reason enough to see the play. Never have I seen American actors so comfortable with British accents. James Macdonald, who directed the Olivier-winning Royal Court production, does an outstanding job. The ending will probably satisfy no one, but that almost doesn't matter. The play raises complicated issues and treats them both intelligently and humorously. Running time: 95 minutes without intermission. Warning: the stadium-style seating has no seat backs and only a thin foam cushion. If your back needs support, get a seat in the last row.
The sensationalistic title of this British play by Mike Bartlett, now in previews at the Duke, may sell tickets, but it ill serves the play by coarsening audience expectations. Those who arrive expecting nudity and graphic sex will go home disappointed. The actors remain fully clothed and physical contact between them is sparing. In the play's sexiest scene, the only body parts to touch are foreheads. The plot revolves around John (Cory Michael Smith), a youngish gay man who is tired of being a trophy boy and who, during a brief split from his longtime lover "M" (Jason Butler Harner), meets and begins an affair with "W" (Amanda Quaid), a divorcee. Vacillating between his two lovers, John is finally forced to choose at an awkward dinner at which the three are joined by M's father "F"(Cotter Smith). The staging contributes greatly to the play's impact. A five-row wooden circular arena fills The entire Duke Theater. There are no sets or props and the house lights remain on. The short scenes are punctuated by an electronic tone. The actors are like combatants in a high-stakes competition. The rapid-fire dialogue is voluminous and often very funny. The acting is simply superb, reason enough to see the play. Never have I seen American actors so comfortable with British accents. James Macdonald, who directed the Olivier-winning Royal Court production, does an outstanding job. The ending will probably satisfy no one, but that almost doesn't matter. The play raises complicated issues and treats them both intelligently and humorously. Running time: 95 minutes without intermission. Warning: the stadium-style seating has no seat backs and only a thin foam cushion. If your back needs support, get a seat in the last row.
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