| True West last night | |
| Posted by: BillEadie 11:20 am EST 02/15/19 | |
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| Roundabout’s True West, at the American Airlines Theater, boasts two bona fide stars in Ethan Hawke and Paul Dano, as well as a director, James Macdonald, who can bring out the best in them. Both Mr. Hawke and Mr. Dano respond with detailed and canny performances. Mr. Hawke’s is the showier part, from the very beginning. But Mr. Dano’s performance is patient and doesn’t reveal itself fully until deeper into the action. They are both at the home of their mother, and Austin is trying to finish the work he is doing on a screenplay while Lee has come to the house from his hermit-like life in the desert. Lee is both physically and verbally imposing, and Austin is holding his emotions in as he tries to tolerate his brother’s dominance. Especially in this first section of the play, Mr. Hawke’s speech and movements are detailed and present Lee as a savvier character than he seems from his dress and demeanor. After a rather sudden reversal, Lee finds that he has succeeded in getting the best of his brother but the position he puts himself in requires Austin’s help for him to move forward. Beyond this point, Mr. Dano’s performance opens up, emotionally, as does his physicality. Eventually, Austin’s emotions spill over, leading to catharsis. What I saw in these two performances that I particularly admired was how they portrayed the filial love between Lee and Austin. True, Sam Shepard’s play often makes it look as though the two hate each other, but I sensed from the performances a clear strain of brotherly love underlying the fighting that went on. Each actor worked the love angle differently, but it was there for me. I had jokingly told the friend who saw the show with me that we would see bromance on Valentine’s Day, and I was surprised to be more correct than I had imagined. I wish that I could say the same for Marylouise Burke and Gary Wilmes, but each seemed to be saying the lines perfectly well, though adding little in terms of characterization. As Mr. Macdonald worked so closely with his stars, I expected but didn’t get the same level of care with these two performances. Bill, away from San Diego for the weekend |
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