The Real Thing Previews — Page 2

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I am in total agreement with you. I could not have said it any better.

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Saw the matinee today. I've never seen a production of this Stoppard play before, although I have read the play several times over the past few years. If you don't want to know how this production handles certain points, consider the rest of this post SPOILERS.





My first objection is the group singing that starts each act. What lovely voices these people have! But essentially - who cares? This is not a play where the addition of performed music (even as a scene setting convention, and referencing Henry's love of 60's and 70s pop music) seems appropriate since the characters are not, frankly, a warm, cohesive group. The song at the beginning of the second act in particular had me rolling my eyes and thinking of "Cumbayah" at summer camp.

I had no problem figuring out what is going on from scene to scene and the various plays within the play, probably because I have read the play and know where the quirks are. I found the physical production pretty serviceable, although the creation of the train effect - shouldn't that have disappeared in scenes NOT on the train?

Oddly, the second act was at times far superior to the first act. There seemed to be very little chemistry among any of the characters in the first act, which left poor Josh Hamilton (as Max) having a highly emotional scene in a vacuum. The first scene of the second act caught fire, and I thought, momentarily, NOW we're seeing something happening. But that tension, that spark seemed to dissipate by the end of the act. MacGregor is effecting in his "revelation" moment, even though it didn't feel like his character had actually "earned it." It can be hard to make Stoppard's tricky, wordy, self-consciously clever dialogue seem like something people say to each other, but I don't think anyone in this cast has mastered it.

Ewan MacGregor is lovely to look at, but he seems youngish for Henry. Cynthia Nixon seemed too old for him by half (although she had the best grasp of her character). Maggie Gyllenhaal left me completely cold. She has quite an edge, which makes her Annie feel pretty calculating, whereas I wanted to see someone warm and impulsive who could have wrapped Henry around her little finger. She seemed driven and confused, and it made her confrontational scenes with Henry seem bitchy rather than desperate. Her English accent also came and went.

Last week, the three hours of INDIAN INK seemed to go by in a flash for me. The two hours of this production seemed tedious. I fear this level of production only reinforces most prejudices against Stoppard but it isn't the play here. It's the players.

McGregor is pretty much in line with everyone else who's played the role, age-wise, and I didn't think he seemed too young at all. In fact, he's older than both Roger Rees and Jeremy Irons were, and the exact age Stephen Dillane was.

I saw it yesterday, as well, and thought him and Gyllenhaal were both excellent. I can see how Gyllenhaal's style might not be to everyone's taste, but Annie seemed a good fit for her. I actually thought Nixon was the most uncomfortable of the three main characters (four if you're counting Max), and didn't connect very much with the character. The first act does have a fair amount of static, and none of the three younger actors do much of anything to distinguish themselves.

As with his production of LOOK BACK IN ANGER, Sam Gold is trying to improve upon something that really doesn't need it with obnoxious stage business.

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