MEF on

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 10:40pm

Tonight I attended the first preview of Primo, the new one-man play written and performed by Sir Antony Sher, based upon the life of the renowned author, chemist, and Holocaust survivor Primo Levi. I was absolutely dazzled by this tightly directed, brilliantly acted, and incredibly moving piece.

Primo comes to Broadway's Music Box Theatre direct from a sold-out engagement in London. In the show, Sir Antony plays Primo as a man looking back on his harrowing past, and trying to bring closure and understanding to the horrible genocide that almost killed him. It allows you to venture into the soul of a tortured genius; a man who survived the greatest tragedy of the 20th Century, only to eventually commit suicide (in 1987, by throwing himself down the stairs of his Turin apartment building).

In watching this show, I did not see Sir Antony. I saw Primo Levi. This is the kind of total transformation into a character that only comes along once in a blue moon (Christopher Plummer in Barrymore would be an example.) Although the show is opening so early in the season, I would expect Sir Antony to be a major Tony contender come spring.

While the show only runs a brisk hour-and-a-half, I know that it will stay with me for days. It is that moving. A word to the wise: This engagement is strictly limited. It will play only 32 (31 now) performances and close on August 7. Get to see it as fast as you can. I give it my highest recommendation.
Updated On: 8/11/05 at 10:40 PM

[Corine2]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 10:59pm

Great. Thanks. I go manana.