I was there last night. Excellent center orchestra seats via TDF.
This, to me, is the surprise of the season. As I mentioned in previous posts, I haven't been the greatest fan of Hnath's previous plays--he's heretofore struck me as a writer with a lot of interesting ideas that he executes to varying degrees of success. So I was surprised by how smart, cogent, and entertaining this was from beginning to end. Hnath has something to say and fully understands how he wants to say it. The writing crackles with energy from the first line, and the momentum builds over the course of a brisk, high-voltage 90 minutes.
Gold's production perfectly balances the play's juxtaposition of period detail and modern sensibilities. And Laurie Metcalf proves once again why she is probably the most valuable stage actress currently working. I'm hard-pressed to think of another actor who can have the audience in stitches and then, a nanosecond later, rip your heart out with complete ease. It's a marathon performance--she never leaves the stage--packed with intelligence, wit, and ultimately, pathos. She will be a serious awards contender and may very well win.
Cooper's understated performance as Torvald, a man resigned to accept a choice he had very little say in making, really worked for me. Jayne Houdyshell will almost certainly receive another Tony nomination for Best Featured Actress. Surprisingly, I was not as taken with Condola Rashad's performance as some other early commentators--she's good, for sure, but she doesn't have a full grasp of her character yet. The foundation for a memorable performance is apparent, but I think she needs a few more weeks under her belt to fully get there.
This is definitely a play I'm excited to see again, although it's already running fairly smooth. I can definitely see this garnering a lot of nominations as awards season gets under way. To me, this is the work that really announces Hnath as a major American playwright.
Side note: If anyone else was there last night, does anyone have any idea what was going on in the lobby/area behind the orchestra about thirty minutes into the show? A lot of loud voices and banging was heard, and it was so disruptive that nearly everyone sitting in the last 5-6 rows were turning their heads in unison to see what was going on. If the people responsible are staff, they really need to get their act together.
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
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