#26
Posted: 12/7/08 at 7:47pm
I love Tony Kushner's introduction to the recently published edition of the playscript. He explores the play's legendary to the point of mythic rep in the pantheon of gay culture, and finds much to admire. As (I think) he should. It's a very affectionate examination of the play's importance, without any condescension, and makes a compelling case for the script both as a cultural artifact and a work of art. Read it, those of you eager to dismiss Mr. Crowley's play as a not-PC-enough view of gay men as victims, hedonists, or drama queens. (Gee, could gay men ever been any of those things?) Kushner pleads most persuasively for the play's value. Read it before you watch it again. But let's hope it comes out on DVD. I still have a vhs, and think the first act is still blistering. Sure, once it gets into Albee-ville -- he fun and games, post VIRGINIA WOOLF stuff --it's less fresh. But the play recovers late in aqct two, and there's something universal about its ending. And I see real testament to the survivor instinct in all gay people. Don't put it down until you've revisited it.
"I'm a comedian, but in my spare time, things bother me." Garry Shandling
