I saw this on Friday after catching it twice in Berkeley when it premiered there earlier this year. The play has sharpened and gotten darker, which is I think to its benefit. But all in all, I think I preferred it in California. Which is great for me because I finally get to be one of those snobs who sniffs and says “weeeeeell it was better out of town” but also I am sad that New York is getting a version of the play that doesn’t quite work as well.
The rewrites Headland have done fascinate me. Most are minor and to the better. Pippa’s role, in particular. has been strengthened and in general things are tighter.
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The biggest change was in the confrontation between Evie and her mother; on broadway Ginny has become much more of a villain. In Berkeley the confrontation ended with Ginny, while not ever exactly expressing the pride her daughter needs from her, breaking down and reluctantly agreeing to go to the neurologist Evie has set up for Bill and facing up to her fears. We were left with the sense that Evie will in fact be continuing a relationship with her parents and taking the role of primary caregiver as they decline. On Broadway, that resolution is very much reversed. Given the play’s autobiographical nature I am fascinated by why Headland changed Ginny’s arc. It feels sadder but more natural. I can’t help wonder if this reflects her real life relationship with her mother, which theoretically could have been impacted by the election…or by your daughter putting an unflattering version of you onstage.
My biggest problems with the Broadway production was Shaline Woodley. And look, she does fine. She has ideas about the character and handles the music credibly. But when the play premiered at Berkeley Rep, Diana was played by Kerstin Anderson, who was spectacular, and I am so sad that they didn’t keep her in the cast for Broadway. She played the role with an affection and innocence that belied the horrible things she was saying (and she says some HORRIBLE things). Plus, she has a striking, angelic soprano, and Woodley is a competent-ish singer and that genuinely helps humanize the character. Combined with Woodley's more blunt and muted portrayal, it doesn't land the same way. In Berkeley Diana seemed genuinely driven by a warped sense of concern for her siblings, on Broadway she is more of an insufferable moralizer.
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Notably; when Diana spirals into her psychotic episode; Woodley is more understated, smaller, slower in this speech. Anderson not only seeded instability throughout, she jumped off the ledge with both feet first, spouting gibberish at a delirious pace that felt genuinely worrying but had a sense of internal logic. I understood why James believed she was channelling something divine - there was a beautific aspect to her horrifying madness. But here Diana feels very terrestrial. She’s just less three dimensional and interesting in Woodley’s hands.
The music is very important in the play - the family is coming apart at the seams and using singing and playing together to cover up the cracks. In Berkeley; the actors playing the Dahls were all very solid musicians, and here they are mostly actors who are…doing their best. Woodley and Quinto are currently very tentative whenever they start singing or playing. Rebecca Henderson manages okay but has the least music making to do; David Rasche and Mere Winningham are solid. There’s no need for this family to feel like professional musicians, but they have spent their entire lives making music together, and right now the only one who feels truly comfortable playing or singing is Christopher Sears.
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The staging of the end of the play has also been altered so it is less clear whether or not it is happening in reality; in Berkeley, the siblings stepped fully out of the scene to sing as the rest of the cast froze behind them; here they remain in the pose for the final photo. It’s a confusing choice. Did anyone else feel uncertain here?
Finally, the action and set feels a bit more stagey than they did in Berkeley. The Hayes is a narrower stage than Berkeley Rep and the action feels more cramped and less naturalistic, with more happening front and center. Action on the staircase is effected by this, as it feels way more prominent.
As for positives - Molly Bernard had gone from being a highlight of the show to walking away with the entire thing. She’s the one person who could grab a nom for this, I think. Barbie Ferrera is making a very credible stage debut in a tricky role. Mare Winngham and David Rasche are impeccable as always. Christopher Lowell and Christopher Sears (both highlights in Berkeley) are doing stellar work in tricky roles; Sears lights up the stage when he comes on after an hour of being talked about and Lowell is great at bringing just enough idiocy and weakness to his dickhead of a character that he remains human. Rebecca Henderson and Quinto do excellent work as the play’s nominal leads and I think once they settle in to the music, will give very worthwhile performances.
In answer to one of the other posters, no, nothing happens out in the audience for this and there’s no “special” place to sit. Good luck with the width of the seats though - along with the Lyceum's mezz this was the most cramped I was the whole trip.
All in all, I'd recommend the piece, but I hope that they really take the preview period to pick up the pace and find some additional shading. It's been fascinating watching the play evolve. Curious to see if any rewrites go in during previews and what shifts!
Updated On: 11/25/24 at 07:49 PM
