Oh come on, After Eight. A Life was not nearly as bad as you're making it out to be. In fact, when the play had a night to sink in I found it ambitious and strangely satisfying. David Hyde Pierce is very good, giving a different performance than we're used to seeing from him, and kudos to him for taking on a role like this.
Pierce's presence and star casting make for an even greater contrast with the role of a nobody in New York than if some unknown had taken on the part.
The following aren't necessarily SPOILERS, but if you plan on seeing the play I would suggest knowing as little about the plot as possible, so skip the next paragraph...
The first perhaps 2/3 of the A Life simply has Pierce sitting on a couch (he studied this from his future co-star's last Broadway visit) recounting his life. He led a relatively mundane existence. He was a gay man who eventually moved to New York and never quite found love, despite a revolving door of lovers. He did a have best friend, who we later get to meet in a conversation on a park bench. After this talk, Pierce returns to his apartment, has a heart attack, and dies. He sits slumped on the stage for maybe 3-5 minutes as the slowly changing lighting cues indicate the passage of several days until it is noticed that he is dead. Perhaps the most arresting scene takes place in a funeral home/morgue where two attendants perform body prep on Pierce's motionless corpse and they discuss the banalities of their own lives. Life is trivial and fleeting and meaningless indeed. The final segment has a nice surprise or two in store.
End plot summary/SPOILERS...
I'll admit that while watching the play I thought, what is going on here? Where is this going and what's the point? There is no point and that's the point. You have to stand back and look at the whole play to see what Bock is going for here. This is contemplative play- don't go if you're looking for action or plot. It's only 85 minutes, and although by no means perfect, I found it meditative and I'm glad I caught it.
Marie: Don't be in such a hurry about that pretty little chippy in Frisco.
Tony: Eh, she's a no chip!
