My thoughts on A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE
My thoughts on A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE
Yankeefan007
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/20/04
#1My thoughts on A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE
Posted: 1/6/10 at 5:54pm
Let's tell it like it is: Scarlett Johansson delivers the worst performance I've ever, EVER seen, and manages to bring down a very decent production of Arthur Miller's A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE, one of my very favorite plays.
It's a real feat to watch her give absolutely nothing to anyone around her and how they struggle to give back. Some succeed, others don't.
Liev Schreiber, god bless him, tries SO hard to provoke something out of her so that way HE could create a character, but comes up short. He has a great one opposite his colleagues, Jessica Hecht and Michael Cristofer, who are always reliable. But in trying to craft the other side of Eddie, the one who's in love with his niece, he's just given nothing. She's not flirtatious, she's not sexy (and in her costumes, she's just frumpy), so it's impossible for there to be any attraction. And that bit is clear from Schreiber.
Santino Fontana, on the other hand, manages to create a wonderful Rodolpho opposite Johansson's Catherine. Corey Stoll is also very strong.
Greg Mosher's production doesn't try to reinvent the wheel, and that's a good thing. A groundbreaking production? Not really, but it doesn't need to be. It's a solid production of a classic and the key moments work - and, even more remarkably, still illicit gasps, 50-odd years later.
It's just a shame that Schreiber, who could turn the phonebook into a gripping yarn, is brought down by his co-star. Actually, it's just a shame that his co-star is his co-star.
Updated On: 1/6/10 at 05:54 PM
Yankeefan007
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/20/04
#2My thoughts on A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE
Posted: 1/6/10 at 6:00pmIncidentally, I would have bought a gay twist (Eddie/Rodolpho) - which I've seen played up in various productions - more than Eddie/Catherine.
WiCkEDrOcKS
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/13/04
#2My thoughts on A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE
Posted: 1/6/10 at 6:19pm
I'm sorry you didn't like it as much as I did!
And that you hated Scarlett. I understand what you're saying about her not being sexy and that the connection between her and Liev is a bit unclear in that way. But Liev is so great he made me believe in the connection between the two of them, even if Scarlett didn't. I do agree with you there to a certain extent but I thought she was solid enough.
#3My thoughts on A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE
Posted: 1/6/10 at 6:25pmI disagree with most of this... I didn't LOVE Scarlett but I certainly liked her more than you did. I also think that your assessment of Santino's performance is WAY off the mark. I thought it was forced, over the top, and just not good all around.
#4My thoughts on A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE
Posted: 1/6/10 at 6:43pm
<< I understand what you're saying about her not being sexy >>
She's not ??!! Could have fooled me !!! Didnt like the wig, but she is still gorgeous--- JMHO
Ed_Mottershead
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/20/05
#5My thoughts on A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE
Posted: 1/6/10 at 8:40pmIf you think that Scarlett Johanson gave the worst performance you ever saw on Broadway, you ain't lived unless you saw Madonna in Speed the Plow 20 years ago. I've been going since 1955 and that ranks as the all-time worst thing I EVER saw. Scarlett's performance is like a sublime work of art compared with Madonna. I felt so sorry for Joe Mantegna -- a fine actor totally defeated by his co-star. At least Ron Silver didn't have to share too much stage time with her.
BroadwayEd
Yankeefan007
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/20/04
#7My thoughts on A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE
Posted: 1/6/10 at 10:08pm
Funnily, I went in expecting to be underwhelmed by Scarlett and was actually quite impressed with her. I know you've seen a lot of theatre, Yankeefan, so I would imagine that describing her Catherine as the worst performance you've ever seen involves a little hyperbole.
Liev Schreiber is astounding, and once again proves his salt as one of--if not the--best young actors in New York. He may well be the last of the dying breed who could convincingly play everything from American classics to contemporary dramas to Shakespeare convincingly. His performance today was a thing of wonder, and complimented Gregory Mosher's handsome, well-paced production.
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
#8My thoughts on A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE
Posted: 1/6/10 at 10:23pmA serious question: did you see Katie Holmes last season? If so, do you really believe Scarlett's performance is worse that THAT abomination?
"We don't value the lily less for not being made of flint and built to last. Life's bounty is in it's flow, later is too late. Where is the song when it's been sung, the dance when it's been danced? It's only we humans who want to own the future too."
- Tom Stoppard, Shipwreck
#9My thoughts on A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE
Posted: 1/6/10 at 10:57pm
Two things. First, Katie Holmes was fantastic in ALL MY SONS. For a woman making her Broadway debut and up there with titans of the stage like Diane Weist and John Lithgow, she was phenomenal. It's easy to give her crap because of who she is but she truly impressed me. And secondly, the same goes tonight with Scarlet Johansson. She was luminous on stage and acted the role to utter perfection. I'd pretty much say this production of VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE is a flawless one and that has a lot to do with her. I'm sorry you didn't like her but she blew me away.
(Side note: with her accent I just REEEALLY wanted to hear her say "You gotta get yourself some porcelain fountains!")
#10My thoughts on A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE
Posted: 1/6/10 at 10:59pm
(Side note: with her accent I just REEEALLY wanted to hear her say "You gotta get yourself some porcelain fountains!")
My friend and I spent the entire time between leaving the theatre and arriving at a restaurant for dinner going, "YOU GOTTA GET A CHANDELIER!"
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
#11My thoughts on A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE
Posted: 1/6/10 at 11:01pm
LOL! That's too funny!
Dis one. Or dat one. Or dis one. Or dat one.
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