I've posted about that production several times, often to note how Lithgow handled going up in the middle of act one -- the Nick-George scene. He was stuck, badly, you could see the gifted actor blanking. And Kerwin, in Nick mode, couldn't quite bail him out. I know the play well, but couldn't tell if Lithgow jumped several pages. The scene is devilishly repetitive in very small ways as George tries to corner/nail Nick's agenda via his academic focus. Lithgow finally called out to the stage manager by his first name, "You're gonna have to help me out here." The line or lines were read on mic, and Lithgow returned to the text without dropping another beat, to my ear.
I remember that Jackson's attraction to Kerwin played very differently than in other productions. She made the seductive side of Martha very cool and calculated, and Kerwin played the moments as if highly flattered and amused. In general Jackson found all of the comedy in the first act -- it was Albee as Coward -- but (I saw a preview) hadn't nailed the depths of Martha's anguish in the last act, brilliant as she is. Kerwin was game and winning and cute. |
