| At least two critics reviewed Ameche in the Times and both said that he was struggling with the lines. Howard Kissel saw his first performance, and Mel Gussow saw him at the Saturday matinee that week. Gussow seemed more bothered by Ameche's struggle with the lines than Kissel, suggesting that perhaps he did not get better (or possibly even got worse) during the week. Also, I have a friend who has long worked at Lincoln Center. He was working there even back then, and I believe he told me that Ameche just could not learn the lines with any degree of security, and that the problem wasn't really getting better. |
