3 Kinds of Exile
3 Kinds of Exile
3 Kinds of Exile#1
Posted: 5/25/13 at 10:25pm
I caught at The Atlantic today and was somewhat mixed, but very much enjoyed some aspects.
The play is really 3 one acts, all involving Poles in one form or another of exile.
The first one act is a solo piece for Martin Moran, and was my least favorite of the three parts. Moran tells the audience a story that his friend told him, so he isn't even narrating in the first person. He simply relates a story for about 15 minutes about a man who had a horrible red rash that nearly covered his body and was seemingly impossible to cure. It wasn't uninteresting, but the telling wasn't written in a dramatic way.
The second one act was my favorite, and frankly wish the whole play had been about this story. It only had two characters, A and B, played by John Guare and Omar Sangare respectively. Sangare gave the best performance of the evening; I LOVED this guy and will keep any upcoming work he does on my radar. Guare was also very good.
This play dealt with a Polish actress named Elzbieta Czyzewska who immigrated to the US in 1960s during the Soviet regime in Poland. Her story is fascinating, and given her resemblance to Helen Mirren, a biopic should be made starring the British actress as soon as she's done playing the Queen.
I don't want to spoil anything, but the story becomes quite [tos]-y and that was when the real delight set in.
The last one act starred David Pittu as the Polish exile, a second-rate writer who was sent to Argentina in 1939 right before Germany invaded Poland. This play was performed by a full cast, and had a score by Josh Schmidt, who wrote Adding Machine and The Minister's Wife. I like the music a lot, and the telling was more on the surreal side compared to the other two pieces.
Pittu did a nice job, and looked very hot; he appeared in his undergarments and my mind wandered to other thoughts for a minute or two...
It was slightly hard to concentrate on the third story becomes my mind still hadn't full been able to process the second story yet. It may be nice to have an intermission between the second and third story to give the audience a chance to catch their breath.
The play wasn't without its problems, but I think it's worth checking out, especially for the chance to catch Guare on stage and witness Sangare's excellent performance.
Broadway Star Joined: 9/13/09
3 Kinds of Exile#2
Posted: 5/29/13 at 8:36am
I saw this this weekend and was disappointed, guess I was expecting more. The first story, while nicely told was just OK. The second story, was better, probably the best of the three, had more substance, more depth, and I agree Omar Sangare was awesome. The third story is told differently and compared to the first two seemed to be out there. I agree, maybe an intermission would help between two and three. I could not get in to the third one at all.
Thinking of Exiles, I was expecting darker stories, scandalous, with more depth and twists, like in Red Dog Howls. With the exception of the story of Elzbieta Czyzewska, the other two were just OK. Still early in previews, I suppose conviction can be added, stories/telling can be enhanced.
3 Kinds of Exile#2
Posted: 5/29/13 at 9:13amLuv2go, I agree that it was hardest to get into the third story after the style of the first two. Pittu's "exile" was the least compelling I guess.
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/9/04
3 Kinds of Exile#3
Posted: 6/12/13 at 11:33amPittu in his undergarments = I'm there!
3 Kinds of Exile#4
Posted: 6/12/13 at 6:31pm
I thought I had given my thoughts on this one right after I saw it a couple weeks ago but I guess not. I'll keep this one short and sweet (unlike the show itself).
I wish it had been called ONE KIND OF EXILE because that's about how much of it was enjoyable. The first was kind of a throwaway for me as it didn't really lead up to anything. Might have served better as a break between the second and third since those had a little more meat to them.
The second was the highlight for me because Elzbieta Czyzewska did have a fascinating life. I wish Guare had just focused on her story and made a more traditional play out of that because it would have been far more engaging.
The third feels like it comes out of nowhere and is terribly disjointed from the preceding two. I didn't get the absurdist comedy at play here. And while Pittu is in his undergarments during a portion there isn't really much to see because it's basically a romper.
I also thought there needed to be an intermission because while the whole play is short (an hour and 45 mins) there is so much information thrown at you in the first two that a breather would have been nice to digest what you had already seen. Part of me wonders if it was done to keep people in the theatre until the end though. I can't say I would recommend this one.
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