Life and its many responsibilities have gotten in the way of actually posting anything here for almost a month, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been seeing plenty of shows that I have opinions about. Brief notes follow:
Restoration: I thought this play was completely lovely. A clever, poignant story about redemption and Italy and art. Anything about Michelangelo totally captivates me, ever since I read The Agony and the Ecstasy in high school.
Oliver Parker: Something about Oliver Parker rubbed me the wrong way (see Behanding, actually, I think the reasons are similar). I laughed, I got why it was relevant, what the “drama” was, but I think it got stuck in a place where no pay-off could be satisfying. And it’s messiness did not serve me as an audience member, which is odd, because I usually like a bit of messiness.
Metal Children: A fine example of why I never want to direct my own work. Theatre is about collaboration. And the things you learn from having other people work with you on your script. This play started out with a great premise (it’s about a children’s author whose book is banned in a Midwestern town), but devolved into confusion and too many scene changes. But Billy Crudup was pretty excellent, so all was not lost.
Red: I think I would have preferred this play in London. The Broadway audiences laughed a bit too broadly for my tastes and I love the Donmar’s intimate space. But it’s a well-crafted play about art and mentorship and the changing of the guard, artistically speaking. Some stunning performances and one exhilarating painting scene.
The Libertine: This play was perfect for my role as dramaturg of an upcoming production of The Country Wife. It was a really ambitious off-off production with a high production value, a consistently good cast, creative use of a funny space (it used to be a courtroom) and lots of bawdy humor.
A Behanding in Spokane: Despite the bad reviews, and accusations of racism. I had to see this show. Martin McDonagh has consistently been my favorite playwright since I saw The Pillowman in 2005 and the buzz around the book shop has been pretty positive. So while I enjoyed it, I found it pretty inconsistent, stuck in one place and more of a vehicle for Christopher Walken and Sam Rockwell than a play. Which is too bad. I definitely laughed, but I think that McDonagh’s humor is much more striking when it’s not trying to make itself American. And I noticed inconsistencies with BrE/AmE that threw me off (and could have easily been changed by one of the four American cast members). I’m glad I saw it, but it hasn’t been seared into my brain in the way his other plays have.
As for things that I’m working on… I’m dramaturging two plays this summer. Fuente Ovejuna opens on June 17th, The Country Wife opens on July 10. More info on those will follow.
There will also be a reading of my new play The Tutor on June 29 at CSV. I just need to finish writing it first.
And I’ve made a list of the 36 plays I should read before the end of the summer. Am in the middle of David Lindsey-Abaire’s Rabbit Hole to kick it off.
