PURLIE VICTORIOUS by a country mile.
While both are farces with very talented ensemble casts, PV feels like a momentous event because it’s the first time the play has been remounted in 60 years, the satire feels very current, and it’s led by two actors who are at or near the top of their game. With PV, the supporting cast also has more moments to shine that make sense to the story as opposed to the constant mugging and upstaging of The Cottage. Plus the tickets are very easy to get and there is not a bad seat in the house. (I’ve seen it three times now.)
The Cottage…desperately wanted to be this year’s POTUS (and all-star ensemble doing a summer comedy), but ultimately it feels like a zero-calorie Noel Coward or Boeing-Boeing knockoff that, other than providing a welcome return for Laura Bell Bundy, is just two hours of mugging and predictability that grows exhausting. The cast gives their all, but the material is weak as hell.
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