They definitely have shortened the book -- the show ran about 3:55, including three (relatively brief) intermissions. In contrast, the Lane version was said, in reviews, to run 4:45, and the Spacey version 4:15.
However, to me, the cuts didn't seem all that obvious. And in a couple cases, where I thought I noticed them, it was because I was expecting a redundancy that didn't arrive. For example, as I look back on the text, I think this was cut from Larry's lines about disillusionment with the "movement": "When man's soul isn't a sow's ear, it will be time enough to dream of silk purses." Since Larry had already, in the same speech, talked about "the breed of swine called men in general," I didn't mind losing the additional pig imagery.
Nonetheless, as I think about it, given cuts along these lines, Larry probably does now come off as less of a blow-hard and more of a solid antagonist to Hickey, which could be viewed positively or negatively. I thought it worked (and I especially liked David Morse in the role). Also, I guess similar cuts may be why other conflicts between characters struck me as more vital in this production than they have in the past. |
