So I should preface this with: I am a massive Julie Taymor supporter and could not have been more excited to see this going into the evening. However, I agree with a lot of what the previous post said. Somehow Taymor has created a chaotic, sloppy production with 2 fairly good central performances.
The biggest issue right now is the set. It's made up of 20 something sets of panels that slide back and forth across the stage on tracks by actors and crew to make different locations. At times they were used effectively, but most of the time the slid around at random (often in the middle of scenes) and arrived at what looks like 90% of way to where they were supposed to land, looking haphazardly spread around the stage but you could tell where they were supposed to be. I seriously respect Taymor for going low tech with this production, but they need WAY more rehearsal time to get them to look presentable. And even then, I'm worried the panels would still look rather ugly.
The evening started strong, with an opening moment that felt like we were about to see an evening of Taymor at her best. The opening consisted of:
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Renee is seen in a dreamlike state in his prison cell, made up of two of the the panels with semi reflective silver material on them, meeting at a 90 degree angel, 1 metal chair the Renee is asleep in, and a flickering lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. The lightbulb keeps dramatically surging out as he calls out for Song, flickering back on to reveal passage of time, ending in a butterfly (a puppet, of course. This is Miss Taymor after all) flying down from above circling the bulb, which throws us back into Renee's memories.
There are a handful of other well staged moments (The girl from the magazine, the street, Song's trial) but most of it is severely missing focus, which really hurts the play. I knew the play going in and I felt confused as to some of the finer details of the plot with all the focus missing here. I can't imagine what someone who didn't know the material at all thought was going on some of the time.
The real winner of the evening are the two lead actors. Especially Clive Owen, who delivers a magnetic, grounded, yet awkward Renee. I really was unimpressed with him in "Old Times" a few years ago, but he shows up here. The new actor playing Song (I don't have the playbill in front of me) is also very good, but he is missing the magic spark people talk about BD Wong having. There are definitely moments built into that script for him to do some old school scenery chewing with that he really isn't taking advantage of. Ironically, I remember Brantley writing about Taymor's work that "you should never go for the performances"
Ultimately, I think they will figure their **** out, but it is going to take them all of the preview time they have to reign in this production. I have a feeling what they come out with will be worthwhile, and who knows, they may even really surprise us. Taymor could been seen in the back of the theater working with designers and not seeming anywhere near as manic or stressed as she's known to look, so I have a feeling she and her team will figure it out.
