A common criticism of Neil Simon plays is that the jokes are fed to you and doesn't require any actual acting (or on the audience's part, thinking). This play is an exception as it is a dramedy. It has funny moments, but overall, it is a serious piece.
The actors all seemed to give the show their all, especially because they knew it would be the last time they would perform it. The boy who played Eugene really stood out. He managed to be really funny while capturing the overall essence of the piece, the depression era, pre WWII.
I particularly enjoyed the woman who played Blanche. She provided both comic relief and drove the plot forwards. She was very physically into character, which is something I really admire. She committed to a character and stuck to it. I also really liked the girl who played Laurie. The character was annoying, but the actress pulled it off.
It's such a shame that crap like Shrek plays a year or so and a good play like Brighton Beach Memoirs plays a week (not including previews.) It's a sad truth that today, in order for a straight play to succeed, it needs a big name (ala Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig.)
We were talking about this last night at dinner. And my Mom said the EXACT same thing. If people are going to spend 100 bucks to see a show they're going to choose something they've heard of (Shrek, Bye Bye Birdie, Grinch, Batman or spiderman or whatever -man it is that's coming to Broadway) They don't want to risk their money on something like BBM which ironically would probably be the better way to spend their moola.
ReplyDelete"Spiderman, Turn Off the Dark", coming in february. It hurts my soul.
ReplyDeleteSuch superhero stories have been rewritten so many times, there's only so much you can do.
They're apparently now aiming for summer. theatre fans and comic fans everywhere mourn.
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