Well, we have reason to cavil. It's the transcendent moment of the play, when the oft-repeated controversial play-within-a-play's critical sequence is re-explored with exquisite realism, and performed in its original language. Its beauty is in its use of rain, of the wet nightgowns providing romantic and erotic charge, fueling the moment in mysterious ways. The women are wet, providing a transformation between them, inspiring a moment of touch. On the broadcast, they cut to the faces, the bodies all but blocked out. In the medium shots, the gowns may even be blurred (like the breasts when PBS showed Hawaii) . And then, they didn't even give us a moment to absorb the imagery. They smash cut to promo. It was a ruinous end to a lovely performance, 180 from the experience in the theater.
Perhaps I'm overreacting since I saw the play on B'way, and had both time and distance to reflect. But this moment -- rather like the final visual one in Wit, defines the play's poetic resolution. It was sad to see it semi-realized.
"I'm a comedian, but in my spare time, things bother me." Garry Shandling
Updated On: 11/18/17 at 08:13 PM
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