...at the Huntington Theatre last night. Jonathan thought the acting carried the day and that the writing was sort of weak, but in a just-graduated-from-school-with-possible-real-talent-way (I'm doing a lot of this stringing words together lately, aren't I? I seem to be in the mood for it). I thought the same, but I was less impressed with the acting than he was: I thought that Leslie Lyles, who played the wife, was excessively 'actressy', but perhaps, she had no choice as her role required her to be unreal and ridiculous. We're supposed to believe that her husband loves her to distraction, but I can't see why. Dear Mr. Playwright - kooky characters are wonderful but even kooky characters have to have reasons for kookiness.
The man sitting next to me had a shaved head and seemed to be very invested in the success of the production. "Clap" he admonished the audience when the play was done.
The woman behind me kept complaining about the play and how awful she thought it was. Initially, I felt some sympathy for her point of view, but her constant commentary accompanied by the clicking of a mint against her teeth (click clack, click clack) turned me into a fan. Clap, I say, clap for the artists!
The Huntington does the best sets. Everything I've seen there is physically gorgeous - you marvel every time at the visual representation of the authorly ideal, as it were.
(Hmm, re-reading what I wrote, it sounds as if I didn't think the play was very good, but I think it had real strengths. An interesting idea, snatches of dialogue that gave you a little 'stop and start' because you recognized the truth to the words and a young actress from BU who was so natural it was as if she stepped off of the campus that night and just happened to wander into the theater).
*Totally off-topic, but I am listening to The Faders No Sleep Tonight as I type this if you'd like to know.....
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