I originally had tickets for Iceman Cometh tonight, but after that first preview cancelation I was able to go to Children or a Lesser God instead.
We have had a spate of revivals of award winning plays from the ‘80s/early 90s. After seeing the most recent incarnations of these shows it’s hard to believe how long the originals actually ran: The Real Thing (566), M. Butterfly (777), The Heidi Chronicles (622), Six Degrees of Separation (485) and lastly Children of a Lesser God (887).
Most of these won Best Play and were obviously commercial successes too. And yet, the revivals have all been major bombs, both critically and commercially (if Roundabout’s The Real Thing had been a commercial production it would have closed in a month).
It’s hard to know whether the plays have aged badly or the revivals simply stank; in reality it’s probably a combination of the two, and Children of a Lesser God I fear will follow in the footsteps of its fellow one-time hits.
I thought John McGinty, who plays Orin, was the most interesting character of the play now and the plot only seems to lurch forward when he’s onstage, which is sadly not too often.
Lauren Ridloff is great too and would have the potential to be phenomenal if placed in a better production with a livelier leading man.
Joshua Jackson is the weak link here. I know it’s just the first preview (after a run in Berkshires for most of the cast?), but the spoken portions of the play are essentially a 2.5 hour monologue for Jackson. He has to speak all of his lines, plus Ridloff’s lines AND there are super titles so we’ll all know if he screws up. He impressively has the words down, but his voice was so monotone in act one that it almost put me to sleep. Mike Baldassari’s lighting design is mostly dark blues and purples, which while pretty, can aid in lulling one into slumber!
Jackson perked up a bit in act two and the final confrontation is admittedly still moving, but it’s a long 2.5 hours to get to that little bit of payoff.
Kenny Leon is going to have to crack the whip, get the actors to pick up the pace and light a few sparks on stage.
I will say it was nice to see a diverse Broadway audience and a diverse cast on stage- still all too rare on both counts- but as much as I would like to rave about this production for these reasons the product isn’t good enough to warrant it.
Marie: Don't be in such a hurry about that pretty little chippy in Frisco.
Tony: Eh, she's a no chip!
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