A Moon For the Misbegotten (3/31 evening review)

[Cape Twirl of Doom]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 2:16pm

I didn't see any review threads on this show yet so I figured I'd start one myself.

I saw "A Moon for the Misbegotten" last night, the new revival of the Eugene O'Neill play. I had seen both "Long Day's Journey" & "The Iceman Cometh" w/ Spacey so I'm familiar with O'Neill's style. People seem to either love or hate him, and I'm one of those who thinks O'Neill is a great writer. I always enjoy his shows even though I am left feeling emotionally drained.

I picked up a student ticket and got front row, which was amazing in some ways and less than optimal in others. There were a lot of times when the actors were right in front of me, especially during some of the meatier moments in Act 2, so it was very cool & almost intimidating to see Spacey screaming & bawling his heart out no more than 3 feet away. However the staging is often such that the actors will be talking to each other from opposite sides of the stage, and I think to get a better picture of the full thing you'd need to sit several rows back.

Now onto the performances. Eve Best is the clear star of the show! Spacey is the draw and he has the name recognition, but I left the theatre singing Best's praises while being a bit disappointed by Spacey. (It made me very happy btw that Best was given the final curtain bow. I thought that would go to Spacey.) From the moment Best stepped onstage I believed she was that character. She was so raw and open and you could tell that she wasn't holding anything back. Being so close I had a great view of her facial expressions and she just made every word & movement of that character completely real. I had never heard her name before this show (I went because of Spacey) but I will be sure to look for her in the future!
As for Kevin Spacey, I wasn't as impressed by him as I was in "Iceman." I saw "Iceman" 4 times because his was such a star performance. He was that show and his entrance is built up so heavily that I think his persona fit perfectly and he sold it well, making his breakdown at the end of that show all the more wrenching. Here though, it kind of felt like he was trying to be another Hickey, it was way too similar to "Iceman" but it felt false. It didn't seem like the character came through, I didn't entirely believe him in the role. That's not to say that he didn't give it his all, but his line readings and the way he would move his arms really bothered me and never let me forget that it was "star Kevin Spacey!" up on stage and not Jim Tyrone.

The first act flew by and was much more humorous than I would have expected, but while Act 2 had the more heavy & dramatic scenes, the end tended to drag on a bit. There were a few times when I thought it would be over only to have a new scene begin. As of now the show clocks in at 3 hours (even though online it had said 2 hrs 45 mins.) It is a great show and I would definitely recommend it (especially those seats at the rush prices!) but it's very heavy. "Iceman" remains my favorite O'Neill play but I am very glad to have seen this one.

[mint0621]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 4:00pm

Thanks for the review!

I want to go see is asap...but depends on how strict they are on the "under 25" rule for students....