Hero’s of the Fourth Turning — Page 2

It was some Pulitzer level chirping got to admit.

Updated On: 2/19/22 at 10:43 PM

I had seen this on stage and felt that I didn't really "get it"; the most interesting part to me was about the 4 turnings. Watching it again during an actual "crisis" does draw out different parts of it though, and I think there was more for me to discover in the earlier half (which I thought dragged on and was unnecessary in my original viewing). I don't know if I'm necessarily convinced that it "deserved" to be a Pulitzer finalist or get all the hype, but I do think getting the script would be an interesting read. Maybe it's just a slow burn kind of a piece for me *shrugs*

I thought they did a pretty great job setting the mood and ambiance, though, given the limitations of Zoom (the green border was a little distracting, as was the switching around of positions). But for just acting in front of a camera in an empty room, I thought the actors gave excellent performances, even if you lose the physicality of their motions.

I saw a regional production Friday night at San Francisco Playhouse. There were some excellent performances, especially by Ash Malloy as Teresa, the most pro-Trump character in the play, and Susi Damilano as the college president, Gina, who wage an interesting political (and personal) squabble that works in part because it’s an actual argument I could imagine happening in 2017.

But a lot of it didn’t really work for me, as there are too many long monologues and bits of weirdness that either grow tiresome or come out of right field (pardon the pun). Worth seeing for the performances, but parts of it already feel dated.