You and I often line up, April, but I confess this left me puzzled, irritated, and, more often than not, bored. Taylor Mac and David Turner are compelling and know how to play heightened reality engagingly. Likewise, I loved the musical interludes. But when the focus was not on the songs, Shen Te/Shui Ta, or the water seller, my attention all but evaporated. The reality-TV-stereotype characterizations of every other actor grated on my nerves, and as my mind increasingly wandered, I kept thinking that, if these un-nuanced, broad, and, frankly, icky stylistic choices are what it takes to make Brecht “lively” and “playful” for the general public, I’ll be limiting myself to more traditional Brecht productions in future. I’m heavily in the minority here, but for me it was a very, very long 2 ½ hours… and I say that having just, in the couple of days before this, seen both 3-hour Globe productions and Bedlam’s 3 ½-hour HAMLET, all of which I’d eagerly return to (especially the HAMLET, which is a marvel of economy, energy, and ingenuity).
For the record, I thought GOOD PERSON ended strongly, but those last 10 minutes weren’t enough to make up for how exhausted I was by the slog that preceded it.
CHURCH DOOR TOUCAN GAY MARKETING PUPPIES MUSICAL THEATER STAPLES PERIOD OIL BITCHY SNARK HOLES
(March did strike me as an oddly long run.) 
