"A Number"

It's brilliant, but very understated and minimalist in construction. A very dense 75 minutes and every single line must be paid attention to. Beyond cloning, it's about the nature of personality and individualism and uniqueness -- what is it that makes you, you? It goes beyond genes and experience and childhood memories. It's something truly ephemeral.

It's also about regret and trying to make up for one's past mistakes and fathers and sons and the futility (usually) of trying to fix the past.

It's quite a headtrip which isn't easy to take in all at once, but upon reflection, I found the questions it posed haunting me. A very different kind of theatrical experience. The acting is suerb. I hope you enjoy it, but don't be surprised, if by the end, you feel like you've been put through a ringer.

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Arliss Howard replaced Sam Shepard as the father. Howard actually is a better and more nuanced actor (though Shepard was quite good). Dallas Roberts is still playing the sons/clones and is absolutely amazing (one of the best young actors in the business). I hope you enjoy it (though, again, this play makes you WORK a bit as an audience member in order to appreciate it).

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Roberts is simply incredible (this is the fourth play I've seen him in and I saw "Home at the End of the World"). His performance is a tour de force -- a master class in acting. Simply mesmerizing.

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Updated On: 2/5/05 at 02:31 AM

What other plays did you see him in, Margo? I saw him in Burn This and A Number.

Go see 'A Number' before it closes next week -- Arliss Howard made me not feel bad at all that I missed Sam Shepard, and Dallas Roberts performance CANNOT BE MISSED. It's a very 'still' experience -- you feel like you shouldn't and cannot move during the entire show -- but it's really transfixing if you can get involved. One of the best things I've seen all season.

Roberts was outstanding in Adam Rapp's NOCTURNE at New York Theatre Workshop about 4 years ago, the show that first brought him to the attention of NY theatregoers. In addition to it being remarkably assured and nuanced performance, it was also a fairly stunning feat of memorization (Roberts effortlessly handled some two hours+ of dense prose-like text -- he was narrator and had 99% of the dialogue in the play).

He was also terrific in Charles Mee's True Love at the Zipper as part of an ensemble that also included Laurie Esterman, Paul Mullins and Jayne Houdyshell.

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