I did not see the production and I have not watched it yet (I did record it). I would like to think that some of what you describe can be explained by performances pitched to the audience not playing well on camera, although your opinion of Tom McGowan makes that questionable.
I could not get through the recent broadcast of Buried Child due to three broadly played performances and wondered the same thing, but Ed Harris's strong performance at the core all but negated that defense.
