Standing on Ceremony

[theatergeek76]

Posted: 11/11/11 at 8:44am

Has anyone seen or heard about Standing on Ceremony? I was thinking about getting tickets but couldn't find any reviews about it.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 11/11/11 at 9:14am

I saw it this week and it's a mixed bag. It's natural with something like this that some of the playlets will be better than others, and even the good ones go on for a little too long. I wish it had been more like Love, Loss and What I Wore or Motherhood Out Loud, but for the gays. There isn't the cohesiveness to the evening that these other similar shows possessed.

The real reason to go I guess would be for the performances. Harriet Harris and Beth Leavel both have their moments of over the top hilarity. The best play of the night probably was from Moises Kaufman and performed by Richard Thomas.

To give you an idea about some of the writing the first play involves a gay couple rewriting the standard wedding vows. Instead of "in sickness and in health" they insert something like "try to stay well because I can't visit you in the hospital" type thing. Pretty heavy-handed and gets old.

Harris has a monologue were she is a Focus on Family spokeswoman and a gay couple has moved in next door. She plays it to the hilt and gets some pretty good laughs.

I feel a little guilty criticizing it though as it felt like the focus was more on being a fundraiser (it is) than an actual piece of theater.