COLLECTED STORIES Reviews

Not to step on LimelightMike's toes, but today is Wednesday, April 28, marking the official opening of the first Broadway revival of COLLECTED STORIES, from Pulitzer Prize winning playright, Donald Margulies, under the auspices of Manhattan Theatre Club at the Friedman. Previews began April 9. Linda Lavin and Sarah Paulson star in this incarnation.

Ms. Lavin plays Ruth opposite the Lisa of Ms. Paulson. Lynne Meadow directs the production.

According to production notes, "COLLECTED STORIES chronicles the relationship between two female writers - a celebrated New York author and her young protégé. As their fascinating story evolves, and the line between fact and fiction blurs, the twists and turns of this complex relationship weave a play that's as smart and witty as it is powerful."

Best to all involved!

Updated On: 4/28/10 at 11:17 AM

"marking the official opening of the first Broadway revival of COLLECTED STORIES"

Actually it's not a Broadway revival because it's never played in a Broadway house before.

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Well what else would you call it? It's a revival, and it's playing on Broadway. So it's a Broadway revival.

Absolutely loved this production and I'm hoping for great notices for at least Lavin's marvelous performance.

By the standard they used to qualify The American Plan as a new play last season, Collected Stories should also be a new play. I don't think that will happen, because Margulies already has Time Stands Still in the running.

Fret not, fret not.

As it's already well into the afternoon hours, and LaCageAuxFollesFan took the opportunity to create the thread, I'll 'approve' of this one being the 'official' thread for COLLECTED STORIES. Will happily and humbly return to my post for the final show of the 2009-2010 season tomorrow!

Best,
- M

Thanks Mike for being so kind. Again, just saw it was later in the day than you normally post the thread, so I thought I'd start it. It's been a busy week.

The Hollywood Reporter is very positive, with a love letter for Lavin:

It's easy to see why Donald Margulies' two-hander drama "Collected Stories" is receiving a Broadway revival with this third major production since its 1997 premiere featuring a pre-stardom Debra Messing. This literary variation on "All About Eve" contains two meaty roles for actresses in its portrait of the shifting relationship between a celebrated fiction writer and her young acolyte.
Collected Stories -- Theater Review

The AP is very positive, with great notices for both ladies.

Like its set, "Collected Stories" is a solid piece of theatrical craftsmanship — in the expert hands of two fine actresses.
Writers collide in Margulies' 'Collected Stories'

Isherwood likes Lavin, but it's a short, almost dismissive review of the play. Not sure what to make of it.
NYTimes - Isherwood

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"But lordy, lordy, what a boring play it is."

I can't agree with that statement, and I'd really like to see these two women in those roles.

Based on the snippet of her review, feminist Linda Winer over at Newsday seems to enjoy it (surprise, surprise):

Little wonder that, for the third time since 1997, a New York theater has turned to "Collected Stories." Donald Margulies' drama delivers an engrossing, if somewhat schematic, couple of hours with just a single set and two actors.

What sets this play apart from dozens of others with identical descriptions, however, is that the characters are interesting, intelligent women, for a change

'Collected Stories,' starring Linda Lavin

Updated On: 4/28/10 at 09:42 PM

Bloomberg seemed to enjoy Lavin, but dislikes the play:

As an aging New York writer who may have been a one-hit wonder, Linda Lavin runs roughshod over co- star Sarah Paulson, playing the talented protege who quickly surpasses her mentor in Donald Margulies’s “Collected Stories.”
Lavin Bellows at Paulson’s Writer in ‘Stories’: Jeremy Gerard