Diane Lane to Star in Goodman's SWEET BIRD OF YOUTH

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 7/11/12 at 3:34pm

Playing Alexandra Del Lago opposite Finn Wittrock as Chance Wayne under the direction of David Cromer, per the Chicago Tribune.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/theaterloop/chi-diane-lane-to-star-in-goodman-sweet-bird-of-youth-20120711,0,5066165.column

Updated On: 7/12/12 at 03:34 PM

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 7/11/12 at 3:42pm

Well, I've been hoping that she'd return to the stage. I'll be seein' the hell out of this.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 7/11/12 at 3:48pm

Would love to see this, will be interesting to see who's cast as Chance. I know that often Chance is cast as noticeably younger than the Princess, but of course Newman and Page were only a year apart in the original production and the (ridiculously re-written) film.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 7/11/12 at 3:48pm

Definitely going to see this!

[best12bars]

Posted: 7/11/12 at 3:49pm

Great choice!

[Jon]

Posted: 7/11/12 at 4:17pm

So I guess the Kidman/Franco Broadway revival is off.

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 7/11/12 at 4:25pm

As with every other show done at the Goodman, I'm sure Broadway is the goal with this production.

BTW, the article says Finn Wintrock is Chance. Updated On: 7/11/12 at 04:25 PM

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 7/11/12 at 4:58pm

Good thing Broadway wasn't the goal with The Trinity River Plays.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 7/11/12 at 5:03pm

Was just going to post about Finn Whitrock (or Slade Riprock as one of the myriad of names people used to call him on the soap opera forum). I've been a big fan since he was on All My Children--one of the better younger actors to be on a soap for a long time.

He's 27, and while I don't think Chance is as old as he's often played in modern productions (neither is The Princess), he does seme a bit young--Newman was close to 35, but so was Page as I mentioned (let's not even get started about the camptastic Marc Harmon/Liz Taylor version by Nicholas Roeg). But I suspect Dinae Lane will read on stage as younger than Page did, so maybe the ages balance each other out, and Chance is a role similar to Brick in Cat who we discussed on here as probably being younger than he is often cast--he's meant to have his chances as a movie actor washed up but still have his looks, and in your late 20s in the 1950s that's not all too hard to imagine.

I wonder if Cromer and his design crew will use any elements of Kazan/Mielziner's then fairly groundbreaking technique of so many projections and film elements in the staging. Definitely one of my favorite Williams' plays, and one that's hard to pull off so I'm curious to see how this goes.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 7/11/12 at 5:08pm

Jon said:
"So I guess the Kidman/Franco Broadway revival is off."

It seems to have been off for a while--plus Franco has spread himself so thin (he just announced doing a "gay art house sex film" with gay "arthouse-pornographer" Travis Matthews, if I Want Your Love "fame" in the coming months).

[bigbelterbaby]

Posted: 7/11/12 at 6:39pm

Diane Lane is a modern day goddess. I am so excited for this.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 7/12/12 at 2:14am

Diane Lane is perfectly cast, as is Finn Wittrock. I actually find the two of them a much more exciting pairing than Nicole Kidman and James Franco, though David Cromer's HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES was such a disaster that it has permanently tainted my expectations for his work.

This is certainly an exciting prospect either way.

Updated On: 7/12/12 at 02:14 AM

[peerrjb]

Posted: 7/12/12 at 5:07am

I'm so pleased that Kidman/Franco are no longer on the list. That production would have been the Hallmark Hall of Shame. Lane is stunning, and can pull off the "been" who became the "has". Wittrock isn't as self-serving as Franco (and probably the better actor). I don't think "Sweet Bird" is a great play, frankly; amalgamated issues overall, and the father-daughter story actually resonates...oops...except for one-more-castration-call.... ANyhow... Anybody who hated Cromer's last piece needs to remember that this is the theater (or theatre) and those of us who toil in it know that anybody who doesn't sometimes can't quite get the idea that experimentation doesn't always lead to what you "like". If one "disaster" PERMANENTLY TAINTS your feelings, you really should stop going to theater.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 7/12/12 at 9:17am

You may want to improve your reading comprehension skills before you start lecturing about those who toll in the theater, peerrjb.

What I said was that Cromer's HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES tainted my expectations for his work, not my permanent feelings about it in general. I'm perfectly open to the idea of him being able to do great things, since he's incredibly talented, but he was so blatantly off-base in interpreting that play that it's made me keep what I expect from him very contained. I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

Updated On: 7/12/12 at 09:17 AM

[peerrjb]

Posted: 7/14/12 at 4:26am

Thank you, somethingwicked. As one who actually does toil in the theater, I was only reacting to the fact that you said it "permanently" tainted your expectations. Which by virtue of the word "permanently" indicated you had been, in fact, PERMANENTLY tainted. So what does that, in fact, mean, unless it means nothing but a nice phrase? I only suspected that from now on, you were forever going to assume that he could not live up to whatever your expectations of his work might be. And quite honestly, I think that we should all simply appreciate the artistry of an artist as it is finally presented, and not bother ourselves with pre-show expectation. Contain all you wish. That is an audience member's choice.

[peerrjb]

Posted: 7/14/12 at 4:26am

Thank you, somethingwicked. As one who actually does toil in the theater, I was only reacting to the fact that you said it "permanently" tainted your expectations. Which by virtue of the word "permanently" indicated you had been, in fact, PERMANENTLY tainted. So what does that, in fact, mean, unless it means nothing but a nice phrase? I only suspected that from now on, you were forever going to assume that he could not live up to whatever your expectations of his work might be. And quite honestly, I think that we should all simply appreciate the artistry of an artist as it is finally presented, and not bother ourselves with pre-show expectation. Contain all you wish. That is an audience member's choice.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 7/14/12 at 4:12pm

I'd pay top dollar to see Diane Lane read the phone book. I've been a faithful fan ever since I saw her in A LITTLE ROMANCE. Underrated talent and so, so beautiful.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/14/12 at 4:37pm

Wow, I love irony.

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 7/14/12 at 10:55pm

---

Speaking by phone about her return to the stage for the first time since 1989, when she played Olivia in Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” at the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, Ma., Lane admitted: “I was kind of thunderstruck when David [Cromer] approached me because I had heard so much about his work. But then, after meeting him and talking with him, I felt confident that I would be in good hands. With a director it is part chemistry, part intuition and part sense of humor.

“Later, when we spoke again, we both had visual ideas and thoughts about wardrobe. And it reminded me of what a collaborative process theater is.”
Lane talks about coming on board