rOcKS @ 'Mary Stuart'

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 5/20/09 at 1:15am

All in all, yet another solid revival of a play from this season's quite remarkably long list. I wasn't really blown away by any part of it besides the two lead performances by Janet McTeer and Harriet Walter who deserve all of the accolades they are receiving and then some.

I found the production to be solid even if the first act is intermittently sluggish. The play is very long and you definitely feel the length (the second act is mostly fantastic but I thought it was over about three times before it actually ended). The first act had great moments (particularly McTeer's scene with the fantastic Nicholas Woodeson) and scenes that dragged on so I was a bit nervous as to how the second act would fare and it's much stronger than the first. I won't give anything away but the confrontation scene between McTeer and Walter was quite possibly the single most incredibly well-acted and absorbing scene on stage this year.

The long and short of it, despite the pacing dragging here and there in the first act, is that the reason to see this production is for Walter and McTeer. They are giving two of the best performances of the year and McTeer totally deserves the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. Like Rush in EXIT THE KING and Ripley in NEXT TO NORMAL, their performances are worth the price of admission and words simply can't describe how they sink their teeth into their respective roles. It must be seen live.

Nothing else about the production is really worth raving about besides Walter and McTeer...it's certainly a good production but not as good as the other absolutely fantastic Play Revivals this season offered. For any aspiring actors or anyone who wants to see and appreciates good theater, go see this show just for the experience of McTeer and Walter's absolutely breathtaking performances. Without them, this would be a fine revival...with them, there are moments of transcendence that are just textbook examples of how great acting can elevate a good production to something more.

*** out of ****
Updated On: 5/20/09 at 01:15 AM

[singtopher]

Posted: 5/20/09 at 7:51am

How long was the show? If you say 'you'll feel the length' then i'll definitely skip out of this being that I HATE long shows.

[flaemmchen]

Posted: 5/20/09 at 8:40am

It's close to three hours.

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 5/20/09 at 8:48am

Did you rush it, rOcKS? Or has anyone? I'm thinking of doing it tonight and I'm just wondering if getting there about 3 or 4 hours before curtain will still allow me a decent seat.

[TalkinLoud]

Posted: 5/20/09 at 9:01am

I got there 3 hours before a Friday night show and was in the 3rd to last row of the orchestra, right on the aisle.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 5/20/09 at 9:45am

I rushed it last week... got the tickets around 6:30, and they were dead center in row G of the mezzanine, I believe.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 5/20/09 at 11:39am

I rushed it. Row S in the Orchestra (second to last row) one seat from the aisle. The overhang sucks but there's nothing to see that it obstructs; the back wall is made of black brick. The seat was fine. And I got to the box office at 6:40; show started at 7:00.

The show started at 7:04 and I was on the street at around 9:55ish.

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 5/20/09 at 4:23pm

How's the front row? I got a ticket around noon and got center, front row.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 5/20/09 at 5:19pm

Front row looked fine; the stage is relatively low.