| ACT ONE – The Sparknotes Dramatization |
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| Posted by: |
Major 01:52 pm EDT 04/01/14 |
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Well, if I was disappointed in Violet (see posting below) then Act One left me downright depressed. Act One is my favorite book of all time. Is there a book anywhere that so eloquently describes our passion for the theatre? Anybody who’s ever had a romantic notion of what the theatre can and should be will find relevance in Moss Hart’s masterpiece.
I will admit a little bit of trepidation at the thought of James Lapine bringing this book to the stage given his recent work. No stage version of this book could ever capture all the stories within Act One. So I was prepared for some favorite parts to be missing. Gone are most of the summer camps, Hart’s first sight of Broadway and many other such moments.
Yet it still feels like Lapine is cramming so much, particularly in the first act, that the play is about everything and nothing at the same time.
Things come into greater focus in the second act and there are moments of eloquence in the relationship with Kaufman. But this feels like an incredibly wasted opportunity. I doubt anybody will ever again attempt to present this in my lifetime. Unless the gods of HBO deem it worthy of a miniseries.
I’ll make one plea to Lapine and the creators of the show. The ingredient that seemed most missing to me was hunger. And I mean that in the literal sense. My memory of the book is that Moss Hart is hungry quite a lot. His poverty is demonstrated over and over and his diet of coffee and candy bars to pull late night sessions is often referenced. The Hart we see on stage is about as well fed, energetic (not to mention well groomed) a man I can imagine. That hunger plays into the book thematically. But we never see it on stage.
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re: ACT ONE – The Sparknotes Dramatization - mridley2 01:16 pm EDT 04/02/14 |
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