"Some Men": A McNally Play Before Its Time

[fredric47]

"Some Men": A McNally Play Before Its Time#0

Posted: 6/11/06 at 8:48am

Here in Philadelphia, we theatre lovers have been waiting all year for the arrival of Terrence McNally's "Some Men" at Philadelphia Theater Company. Today (June 11) will be the final performance, which coincidentally or intentionally is also the day on which the area Gay Pride celebration is held.
This message is meant to be a wake up call to Terrence McNally, whom I believe to be the best and most prolific playwright now working on and off Broadway.
Terrence, while I love the body of your work, why do you have the nerve to deliver a half developed play like "Some Men" to those of us theatregoers who take the art of attending theatre seriously, looking for quality and not for just a night out escaping our problems in a darkened theatre. This play is so misdirected and misconceived as it now appears. Rumor has it that you haven't even changed a comma since the show reached Philly last month. True, the cast is brilliant but it is their sheer talent and magneticism as performers that gets them through the nearly 3 hour performance.
It pains me to tell those reading this message that you are acting recklessly of late, opening shows like "Some Men" and "Chita Rivera: A Dancer's Life" before they are finished and perfected. Is it because you survived lung cancer and you see the clock ticking faster and faster on the time you have left? If so, quit writing now and rest on your laurels. They are impressive enough to provide a legacy of stimulating, extremely well written and moving dramedies like "Love! Valour! Compassion!", "Master Class," "Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune," "A Perfect Ganesh" and the book for the musical, "Kiss of the Spider Woman."
Or give up theatre entirely and head for "La-la" land and a gig as head writer of a weekly TV series, where the churning out of scripts is required and appreciated far more by the non-paying audience of viewers watching from their homes.