"I will take issue with your generalization that 'if script is in hand, then it's a rehearsal and not a performance.' There are productions where the aesthetic involves the presence of the script--Gurney's Love Letters, the 1950's version of Shaw's Don Juan in Hell, and so forth. I have no idea if that's the case with this show, but your 'argument' (and I use that term VERY loosely) is an almost perfect example of a faulty syllogism."
Good point, but I would say (at the risk of stating the obvious) that an early performance of a show that does NOT have the presence of script as part of its aesthetic, but has one or more of the cast members using scripts anyway (because of last minute changes or whatever), is a show that's arguably not ready for an audience, even if you object to the description of it as "not a performance." Of course there are exceptions, including productions that have limited rehearsal time and make it clear to the audience ahead of time that scripts may be used -- as, for example, was the case at Encores! until a few years ago. |
