Airline Highway: Wow.

Wondering if anyone else has had this reaction: went to see a dear friend of mine, Ms. Judith Roberts in "Airline Highway" and after seeing the reviews I was worried.

Then I saw the play. I was stunned by the excellent writing and acting.

The themes explored by this excellent cast and writer, those of personal loss, shame, rage at feeling marginalized by society, all resonated again and again as I thought about his lovely, devastating work of art.

Am I alone in this? I hope not. But if I am, I almost don't care because the work was so powerful. The subjectivity of art, I guess.

I guess my question is, would anyone else be kind enough to relay a similar experience here in this public forum?

If so, I would really appreciate it, I am still stunned by what I saw yesterday afternoon.

Judith Roberts turns in a terrific performance; however, I cannot agree about the writing. Particularly, I found Roberts' monologue particularly weak -- it's a testament to her talent that she elevates it.

d'Amour possesses no ear for poetry, which is essential to carry off this kind of play. It comes off like a third-rate imitation of Tennessee Williams or, more closely, Lanford Wilson.

I enjoyed the performances of Robert, Freeman and White; I didn't find much of the rest of the acting memorable.

Updated On: 5/28/15 at 10:09 AM

Williams' influence here is blatant to the point where I'm surprised the play wasn't titled The Airline Menagerie of the Streetcar Highway.

Bill, I think the audiences reaction to Roberts' truly great delivery of the monologue is due to a combination of her talents, lighting design and staging. Watching her for the first time I was truly mesmerized by it, but I also realized that she and the rest of the cast elevated the text far beyond what it deserved.

"Williams' influence here is blatant to the point where I'm surprised the play wasn't titled The Airline Menagerie of the Streetcar Highway. "

I would call Lanford Wilson's The Hot L Baltimore a pretty heavy influence, as well. The similarities of the plots are more than passing.

I'm not familiar with that play. I'm going to pick it up this weekend!

I disagree with Larry on the idea that an ear for poetry is necessary for a play like this. I think d'Amour wasn't going exactly for Tennessee Williams redux (which would require that poetic language) but rather something more approaching verisimilitude and documentary than the heightened, poetic collage of a Williams play. I haven't read enough Lanford Wilson but I would hazard a guess that HOT L is probably a closer ancestor to this play than Williams.

I found AIRLINE HIGHWAY to be transporting, as if the proscenium of the Friedman represented a portal directly to the Hummingbird Motel. It had the highest artistry in craft of appearing to be completely uncrafted to the casual observer. Mantello's staging, especially, was top-notch; I don't know if I can ever recall feeling my eye so invisibly yet so assuredly drawn around a stage picture by the craft of the director before.

For me, this play is an example of how a so-so play can be elevated by fantastic acting.

Everyone was superb, with highlights going to Caroline Neff and of course, Julie White, who both broke my heart. I was so sucked into Ms. White's performance, and the play touched me in a way that for some reason, I cried all the way home. Like, all the sobs.

I was really affected by this play, and I went back to see it again. the second time, I was not as emotional, but the acting was still just incredible. Not a weak link in the bunch.

Mantel did a great job with this, and I'm really holding out hope that White brings home her second tony for this. I think she truly deserves it.

I really liked it until the last 15-20 minutes when it totally fell apart because the writer had no idea how to finish her play. It was still pretty fantastic though. I've been recommending it to everyone.