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A Roundabout riddle: Let's hear it for the ''Boy''

Posted by:	WaymanWong 02:41 am EST 12/02/13

I happily returned to revisit the Roundabout's revival of Terence Rattigan's ''The Winslow Boy,'' which closed yesterday. I realized this Brit play isn't everyone's cup of tea, but it got rave reviews (from AP, the News, the Times, Time Out N.Y.; at Stage Grade, it got 16 reviews rated A, 9 more rated B). Tony winner Roger Rees led a classy cast, and director Lindsay Posner won acclaim when he did this at the Old Vic. It seemed like it'd be a hit with the ''Downton Abbey'' crowd. Yet unlike other acclaimed Broadway revivals this fall, ''The Winslow Boy'' never seemed to catch on. Except for one week, it played to less than 75% capacity at one of Broadway's smaller houses, American Airlines (740 seats). I'll admit this 1946 play is longer than it needs to be. (It's got some minor characters that I wish Rattigan had cut.) But I found the fight over whether a boy stole a postal order, and how his family sticks up for him, still compelling. And besides Rees, the first-rate cast included Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Charlotte Parry and Zachary Booth. If anyone stole the show, it was Alessandro Nivola, as the dashing but demanding Sir Robert Morton. His grilling of the boy (Spencer Davis Milford) was thrilling, and it was fun to watch him play cat-and-mouse with Catherine as he tried to hide his feelings. Nivola displayed such wit and even managed to get laughs from chowing down a sandwich. Well-played!

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Thread:	What should they have done? - NeoAdamite 11:32 am EST 12/02/13 (4) re: What should they have done? - AlanScott 01:41 pm EST 12/02/13 re: What should they have done? - FasterTheater 11:49 am EST 12/02/13 (2) re: What should they have done? - RDavidS 05:09 pm EST 12/04/13 (1) re: What should they have done? - singleticket 06:04 pm EST 12/04/13 re: A Roundabout riddle: Let's hear it for the ''Boy'' - lowwriter 10:13 am EST 12/02/13 "The Winslow Boy" (Spoilers) - mikem 06:08 am EST 12/02/13 (29) The Winslow Boy (Additional Spoilers) - BroadwayTonyJ 02:34 pm EST 12/02/13 (4) re: The Winslow Boy (Additional Spoilers) - beyondhope 04:09 pm EST 12/02/13 (2) re: The Winslow Boy (Additional Spoilers) - mikem 11:13 am EST 12/03/13 (1) How Roger Rees, Charlotte Parry & Alessandro Nivola see ''Winslow Boy'' - WaymanWong 12:55 pm EST 12/03/13 re: The Winslow Boy (Additional Spoilers) - AlanScott 03:00 pm EST 12/02/13 re: "The Winslow Boy" (Spoilers) - hitbycab 09:47 am EST 12/02/13 (14) re: "The Winslow Boy" (Spoilers) - lowwriter 10:10 am EST 12/02/13 (13) re: "The Winslow Boy" (Spoilers) - hitbycab 10:23 am EST 12/02/13 (6) re: "The Winslow Boy" (Spoilers) - lowwriter 10:33 am EST 12/02/13 (1) re: "The Winslow Boy" (Spoilers) - hitbycab 10:36 am EST 12/02/13 re: "The Winslow Boy" (Spoilers) - twocents 10:29 am EST 12/02/13 (3) re: "The Winslow Boy" (Spoilers) - hitbycab 10:35 am EST 12/02/13 (2) re: "The Winslow Boy" (Spoilers) - twocents 10:45 am EST 12/02/13 (1) re: "The Winslow Boy" (Spoilers) - hitbycab 07:11 pm EST 12/02/13 re: "The Winslow Boy" (Spoilers) - twocents 10:17 am EST 12/02/13 (5) re: "The Winslow Boy" (Spoilers) - hitbycab 10:25 am EST 12/02/13 (4) re: "The Winslow Boy" (Spoilers) - twocents 10:31 am EST 12/02/13 (3) re: "The Winslow Boy" (Spoilers) - hitbycab 10:38 am EST 12/02/13 (2) re: "The Winslow Boy" (Spoilers) - lowwriter 10:40 am EST 12/02/13 (1) re: "The Winslow Boy" (Spoilers) - hitbycab 10:41 am EST 12/02/13 re: "The Winslow Boy" (Spoilers) - TheOtherOne 06:55 am EST 12/02/13 (8) re: "The Winslow Boy" (Spoilers) - lowwriter 10:38 am EST 12/02/13 (4) re: "The Winslow Boy" (Spoilers) - mikem 12:13 pm EST 12/02/13 (2) re: "The Winslow Boy" (Spoilers) - BruceinIthaca 04:53 pm EST 12/02/13 re: "The Winslow Boy" (Spoilers) - AlanScott 02:20 pm EST 12/02/13 re: "The Winslow Boy" (Spoilers) - twocents 10:47 am EST 12/02/13 re: "The Winslow Boy" (Spoilers) - twocents 10:22 am EST 12/02/13 re: "The Winslow Boy" (Spoilers) - mamaleh 07:48 am EST 12/02/13 (1) re: "The Winslow Boy" (Spoilers) - huskyital 10:16 pm EST 12/02/13

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