Miscasting At Williamstown — Page 2

I wish I could give this an unqualified rave. Audra is superb throughout, as is Glynn Turman as Phil. Phil Hogan is so often played as little more than a drunken Irish stereotype; casting someone so far away from that really makes you see the heart and the humanity of the character. Seeing Ming Cho Lee's legendary set recreated is breathtaking. Unfortunately, Will Swenson is out to lunch. I respect him for trying, but there's really not much there. The production also felt oddly paced, with those long scene changes and poorly chosen incidental music. It was worth seeing, though, for McDonald and Turman -- and any trip to Williamstown is worth it.

I wouldn't necessarily call the music poorly chosen, but it certainly ranged all over the globe, which struck me as a little odd.

I'd love to see this Josie again; I can only imagine she'd deepen an already lovely performance.

Audra blew us away. We knew she could sing, but her acting was incredible (and those guns! she does fill the role!). We were less impressed with the other castmembers, feeling that Glynn was a bit of a caricature and Will Swenson was playing somewhere between Bill Hader and Jimmy Fallon, but not funny.

Sets were amazing, as they usually are at WTF. Seemed like on Saturday night the 2nd act started a bit quickly as there were nearly 2 dozen late returnees to their seats, which was distracting.

I've been wondering about this production; the race thing is trivial, although those who don't know the play might wonder as they watch why miscegenation is never mentioned.

Beyond that, I (personally) don't think either McDonald or Swenson are really quite skilled enough actors to make this difficult piece of O'Neill really shine in a way Dewhurst and Robards could. I know it's considered anathema to state such a thing here, but I found McDonald's Lady Day performance to be little more than a practiced vocal imitation. Her acting always strikes me as exceptionally heavy-handed and obvious. Swenson seems to me to be little more than a singer who learns lines and conveys a general mood. This sounds similar to casting Clay Aiken as Oedipus or Stephanie Block as Lady Macbeth.

and yet newintown has done so without even seeing Audra's performance!

(and no, I never saw the Dewhurst/Robards production)