2pm performance
Who knew Mamet had a nostalgic side? Well, at least until the first use of "c*nt" about five minutes into the first act. Oh, that Mamet. Which, by the way, doesn't sound quite as nasty intoned in Sir Patrick Stewart's regal baritone. Mamet obviously has (or had) - given the play was written in the late 70's - a great love and respect for the stage and specifically, actors. He understands the insecurity and doubt actors may feel offstage, even though their onstage (and stage door) persona might suggest otherwise.
Patrick Stewart is a stage God. Unfortunately, I just couldn't buy him completely as a sad, washed up, stage relic. I guess I can't get past that Macbeth-meets-Captain-Picard image in my head. And that voice. I could listen to him read the ingredients off a candy wrapper. But it's just not the voice of a man fragile enough to attempt suicide. T.R. Knight is cute as a button, but I think a more conventional leading man type would have served the piece better. He's obviously got stage chops, but he was just a bit too "cute" for my taste (in the play, at least). I wanted him to be more of an asshole. My fantasy pairing would be a young Sean Penn (or Tom Cruise) and an older Philip Seymour Hoffman (or for fun, Nathan Lane). Or how about another Trekkie, William Shatner, who I think could have pulled off the Knight role in his youth but would be an interesting choice now for the Stewart role. But until physicists figure out how to harness that wacky time / space continuum, it just ain't gonna' happen.
The director's pacing is uneven at best. He and his actors works up tremendous forward momentum, only to be shot dead by sleepy set changes. What up wit dat? Yikes. The play is episodic, with lots of short scenes and cuts. Some scenes don't even last as long as the scene change that follows it. I mean, those damn walls move so... friggin'... slow - in silence, no less.
OK, reading over this again, it seems like I hated the performance, but I actually enjoyed myself. It's a funny and almost touching production. The actors are wonderful (if perhaps miscast) and some of the sight gags (the rocking boat is genius) are laugh-out-loud funny. I just think there were a few missed opportunities. And I know this sounds creepy, but anyone else think Patrick Stewart is hot for an old guy? Maybe it's the uniform.
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