I saw both of those productions; the 2010 "immersive" one was interesting as a novelty, but felt almost like contemporary kids playing dress up and pretending to be characters from an era entirely foreign to them.
The 96 production was tight but a bit slick and obvious, like a decent regional/summer stock production, except for the amazingly bizarre performance of David Greenspan as Harold - it may not have been quite "right," but it was a joy to watch.
I think that the film is and will always be the best surviving example of this piece; I think what being a 30 year old gay man meant in 1968 is an idea beyond the grasp of 30 year old actors today. The paradigm of being just past your prime, a grown sophisticated adult at 30? Today's 30 year old is still generally represented as a growing boy, just starting out on life as an adult, having difficulty transitioning out of college-age behavior (viz. Jonathan Groff, Gideon Glick, Miles Teller, Zac Efron, etc.).
Updated On: 6/29/17 at 08:11 AM