| One of those unusual times when I thought the play was much stronger than the production. McNally has written quite an interesting, thoughtful play with some great characters dealing with some difficult artistic and moral issues, but the direction is very plodding and minimal. The supporting cast is largely excellent -- John Glover, Marsha Mason and Marin Mazzie all give fully realized performances, but Douglas Hodge as Diaghilev was quite disappointing. Hodge is no stranger to larger than life characters, and the part clearly is written as a flamboyant, but revered, monster, yet the performance was very small and crabbed, and his accent was oddly and inappropriately midwestern at times. This is a play I certainly would like to see again, but done with some real panache. And, by the way, not sure why the big nudity warning was necessary - nothing I haven't seen on network television on occasion. |
