Margo's Review Update

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 3/6/06 at 12:02pm

For those who care --

Due to increased commitments and time constraints in my work schedule I have gotten way behind in my reviews as of late -- as several of you have pointed out to me via PM and other means. I sought to partially rectify the situation this past weekend by managing to finish 8 new reviews which are now posted in my blog.

I was going to reprint them all here in their entirety, but I think that the sheer length of such of post would be rather off-putting, so here are the links. You can either go to my blog and just scroll down the page

https://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/

or you can read them individually here:

HEDDA GABBLER [at BAM with Cate Blanchett]:
https://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/hedda_gabbler.htm

ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL [at The Duke on 42nd Street]:
https://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/alls_well_that_ends_well.htm

DEFIANCE [at The Manhattan Theatre Club]:
https://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/defiance.htm

BERNARDA ALBA [at The Mitzi Newhouse Theatre @ Lincoln Center]:
https://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/bernarda_alba.htm

GREY GARDENS [at Playwrights Horizons]:
https://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/grey_gardens.htm

[title of show] [at The Vineyard]:
https://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/title_of_show.htm

THE PAJAMA GAME [at American Airlines Theatre]:
https://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/the_pajama_game.htm

JERSEY BOYS [at the August Wilson Theatre]:
https://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/jersey_boys.htm

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 3/6/06 at 12:17pm

Very enjoyable and well thought out, Margo. Thank you for posting!

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 3/6/06 at 12:21pm

about The Pajama Game:
"I still personally can't get past thinking that this show belongs in a community theatre or a high school somewhere, not on Broadway. Take that for what its worth. I'm sure I'm in the minority on that score, so if light, mindless, plastic, inconsequential 50s frivolity appeals to your taste, then by all means, go see this show".
I couldn't agree more!!! Im glad im not the only one that felt that way about The Pajama Game.

[smartpenguin78]

Posted: 3/6/06 at 12:24pm

Excellent, as always, Margo.

I love your reviews, no matter how I feel about the show.
Thanks for sharing them with us.

Updated On: 3/6/06 at 12:24 PM

[touchmeinthemorning]

Posted: 3/6/06 at 1:03pm

I'm surprised to see you didn't believe Cate's Hedda was fully-realized. I'm seeing it tomorrow, and can't wait to be taught a few acting lessons from her.

I can see how she may seem calculated on stage. I'll let you know my impression Wednesday morning.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 3/6/06 at 1:21pm

Blanchett is a formidable presence and has outstanding technique, but there's something about her preformance that simply doesn't engender any sympathy, which is necessary to be a fully successful Hedda. Part of it is the director's fault, especially in Hedda's scenes with Lovborg. Usually its in those where we see the softer more vulnerable side of Hedda, who's desperately still in love, but cannot figure out how to be with the man she loves. Typically, it's there that Hedda removes the mask and shows us her heart without pretense.

Well, in those scenes in this production, Blanchett is STILL a cold, calculating bitch and you don't get a sense that she really loves Lovborg, or longs to somehow be together with him again. It's clear this Hedda is out for herself and doesn't care about anyone, so when she kills herself, it's more about her not wanting to compromise her enormous ego and pride than about her desperation and loneliness and feeling trapped. When the final shot rang out, I can't say that I cared. I felt nothing because Blanchett hadn't created one iota of sympathy for this hard and hateful woman. She's riveting to watch on stage, but unfortunately her (and her director's) take on the role, undermines some of Ibsen's basic intentions for the character.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 3/6/06 at 6:13pm

Bump.

[Glebb]

Posted: 3/6/06 at 8:28pm

Merci Margo.

[showinoff]

Posted: 3/6/06 at 8:47pm

Always a pleasure and right on target. Thanks Margo

[Phantom2]

Posted: 3/6/06 at 10:50pm

Margo is my favorite Broadway critic even though she called Matt Cavenaugh "attractive but bland."

Updated On: 3/6/06 at 10:50 PM

[junglered]

Posted: 3/6/06 at 11:15pm

Thank you for posting your reviews, Margo. I'm sorry that I will miss Hedda Gabler - I'll live vicariously through you on that one!

[touchmeinthemorning]

Posted: 3/6/06 at 11:28pm

If Ibsen had intended her to be played sympatheticly, why didn't he draw a stronger motive for her? She is easily the least motivated of all the famous female roles -- the Iago for women.

I guess I am not sure that it needs to played for sympathy in order to be effective. But, again, we'll see what I think tomorrow night!!

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 3/6/06 at 11:45pm

Phanty, you can't have everything -- and really that boy has everything else ....... though frankly, it's probably more a problem of the material being bland than him, necessarily.

And Touchme, it isn't so much that she needed to play it for sympathy as that if there's no real vulnerability, then you can't care when she kills herself. I've seen several other Heddas, some even bitchier than Blanchett, but they all found that quiet moment with Lovborg that suddenly justified and gave motivation to everything else that followed in the play. I didn't get that from Blanchett. But, anyway enjoy the play. You may love her interpretation and totally disagree with my assessment of this production and that's great if you do!

[BSoBW3]

Posted: 3/6/06 at 11:58pm

I love Margo's reviews, except when she called me "insipid and dull."

And I was only serving her crackers and caviar!

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 3/7/06 at 12:22am

You're lucky that's all I called you.

[BSoBW3]

Posted: 3/7/06 at 12:24am

Well, us prisoners talk all about you.

[catstagestud]

Posted: 3/7/06 at 12:56am

Thanks for the reviews Margo! Makes me re-think what I see in my few open spots next week for my trip to NYC!

Cheers,

C.

[bdwaygirl]

Posted: 3/7/06 at 8:49am

Margo, will you be seeing Measure For Pleasure at The Public Theatre? I'd love to read your thoughts on that.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 3/7/06 at 10:38am

I was supposed to see Measure for Pleasure a couple of weeks ago, but I was under the weather the night I was supposed to go, so I'll probably past date and see it sometime in the next week or so (my playgoing schedule is very hectic, so it's hard to find the time to squeeze in even more shows).

Updated On: 3/7/06 at 10:38 AM

[touchmeinthemorning]

Posted: 3/8/06 at 8:36am

On Cate:

Saw her last night. There is no doubt that her technique is light-years ahead of almost every stage actor I've ever seen. A truly technical masterpiece.

With that said, I understand how people can dislike her take on Hedda (the director's take on Hedda?). I think it definately makes her power less vulnerable to attack. But, I went with a couple of people hwo had never seen a production of Hedda before. They sobbed at the end.

I think the real error made in everyone's eyes is how she never really has a moment to reveal her love for Lovborg. However, I think Cate's version makes the choice to kill him flow more easily. My biggest problem with all the other Hedda's I've seen has always been that scene: if she loves him enough to kill herself, then why would she want -- under any circumstances -- to kill him. Most Heddas find too large a moment of vulnerability, and when that happens, they lose the arc, I think. Cate's makes sure that at the end you unnderstand that her suicide is not caused by a monolythic unrequited love, but rather an inability to face scandal, a torn love affair, being stuck in an unloving marriage, the threat of rape, the need to "go out beautifully", etc.

Her Hedda is more consistent (oddly enough) that other Hedda's I've seen because she allows for all these moments, and doesn't play her as weak or as strong constantly, but allows the different parts of her to come out.

And, her technical mastery of movement and the voice is just unmatched by anyone.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 3/8/06 at 11:39am

"However, I think Cate's version makes the choice to kill him flow more easily. My biggest problem with all the other Hedda's I've seen has always been that scene: if she loves him enough to kill herself, then why would she want -- under any circumstances -- to kill him."

The other Heddas you've seen obviously didn't understand what they were doing and played it wrong. In previous Heddas I've seen I never believed that she intended to kill him -- not for one second. It was just a case of her being dramatic again (she spends the whole play acting and manipulating after all) and trying to get his attention. It's a totally empty threat. Given that her maid is within earshot, it was always obvious to me she would never pull the trigger -- imagine the scandal. In one production I saw, after she pulled out the gun Lovborg burst into laughter, walked over and calmly took the gun out of her hands, and placed it on a nearby table, at which point she began to weep, not even looking at the gun after that. He'd called her bluff and she had nothing in return (and I've seen variations on that staging a couple of times). It was always very clear to me that she loved him too much to ever seriously consider shooting him.


"Cate's makes sure that at the end you unnderstand that her suicide is not caused by a monolythic unrequited love, but rather an inability to face scandal, a torn love affair, being stuck in an unloving marriage, the threat of rape, the need to "go out beautifully", etc."

I think every Hedda I've ever seen has shown that -- it's hard to miss in most translations of the script. But the Lovborg scenes are usually the spark that starts everything and the Brack situation is just the straw that breaks the camel's back. Other Heddas I've seen showed their vulnerability, then quickly resumed their character arc, though you could see the cracks gradually forming in the facade. It was a slow, logical unravelling that was set in motion by the last Lovborg scene and when the final shot occurs it's devastating. With Blanchett, I didn't feel anything for her Hedda. She was a cold, nasty bitch to everyone she ever encountered, including Lovborg, so when she was dead, for me it was a case of "so what?" and "good riddance." I shouldn't have felt that -- and I was FAR from alone in that sentiment -- so for me Blanchett's Hedda, for all of her formidable technique, ultimately didn't work.

Glad you enjoyed it however.

[touchmeinthemorning]

Posted: 3/8/06 at 12:37pm

I agree that the heart is the Lovborg scene, for sure. I found Blanchett had smaller cracks than i'd seen before (did I see cracks that you didn't see or did you see some, but not enough?).

What have other Hedda's made you feel at the end? Surely not compassion or loss? I wouldn't think that would be appropriate, either.

I guess I'm not finding out what your ideal emotion for an audience at the end is. If Ibsen's intention was to write a motivated character we could identify with, Ibsen could've done that. But, I think if a production is to be true to Hedda, it mustn't allow the audience to get too wrapped up into much more than the story (apart from the psychology). Do we approach Ibsen with a 21st century expectation of psychology, or with the 19th century view she was intended to have by her writer? It isn't an easy question to answer, I guess.