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| Wasn't Sigourney Weaver's performance intentional and given Durang's imprimatur? | |
| Posted by: portenopete 12:07 pm EDT 04/11/21 | |
| In reply to: re: I should mention at this point that I thought Sigourney Weaver gave a wonderful, perfectly gauged, heartfelt performance in THE GUYS.... - mikem 11:46 am EDT 04/11/21 | |
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| Is the other poster suggesting that Sigourney Weaver THOUGHT she was giving a naturalistic, verisimilitudinous account of a real actor of a certain age and was embarrassingly unaware of the results seen from the stalls? As I read (all) and saw (a few productions) of Durang's one-acts written in the 1970's and '80's, the impression they left on me was that everyone in his world was living in a madhouse and infected with a warped sense of behaviour cobbled together from excessive exposure to modern popular cultural (high and low). As I recall his one-acts rarely had a "normal" character ( a Marilyn Munster type) through whom the audience was meant to interpret the play. EVERYONE was nuts and the fun of the plays was to revel and bask in their collective lunacy. V&S&M&S is admittedly a different beast. A generally formulaic and simple family comedy in two acts and over 2.5 hours in which we get the hint that we should invest in an emotional attachment to the titular siblings (if not the fourth arriviste "other"). Except I don't think that he has successfully found a way to blend that rather run-of-the-mill knock-off of Chekhovian family dramedy with his innate, three decades-old anarchic and antic humour. Because Weaver worked so closely with him in their professional adolescence, her rhythms seem perfectly attuned to his early work and I can only think he wanted that voice in this new piece. I would hardly call Kristine Nielson's performance- or her work in general- "naturalistic". She is forever gazing out at the audience with her wide, stunned mullet expression, to my mind reminding us that what she just said or is just about to say was funny. If there was one performance that seemed of a piece with the play it was DHP (or in my experience in L.A., Mark Blum)'s performance as Vanya. Maybe by necessity he was quiet, reserved and deeply felt. (I do think that being a middle-aged man, it's easy to view the play through his lens and in a way it could just as easily be called VANYA AND HIS SISTERS. (Perhaps this was a title considered but the proximity to Woody Allen seemed unwise?) |
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| re: Wasn't Sigourney Weaver's performance intentional and given Durang's imprimatur? | |
| Posted by: writerkev 03:11 pm EDT 04/11/21 | |
| In reply to: Wasn't Sigourney Weaver's performance intentional and given Durang's imprimatur? - portenopete 12:07 pm EDT 04/11/21 | |
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| I don’t think anyone is suggesting they expected or wanted a realistic portrayal. As you suggest, Nielsen was offering a highly exaggerated portrait in the Durang style. Weaver was—again, my opinion—hopelessly amateurish. It’s not about degree of naturalism. | |
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| re: Wasn't Sigourney Weaver's performance intentional and given Durang's imprimatur? | |
| Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 12:43 pm EDT 04/11/21 | |
| In reply to: Wasn't Sigourney Weaver's performance intentional and given Durang's imprimatur? - portenopete 12:07 pm EDT 04/11/21 | |
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| ***Is the other poster suggesting that Sigourney Weaver THOUGHT she was giving a naturalistic, verisimilitudinous account of a real actor of a certain age and was embarrassingly unaware of the results seen from the stalls?*** I don't think anyone is suggesting that. I certainly did not mean to, and I think/hope I was clear about that. Regarding your comments about Nielsen, no, I don't think anyone would describe her performance as "naturalistic," but in my opinion, her style of acting worked beautifully in this play. Same for David Hyde Pierce -- and, I'm sure, Mark Blum -- in a VERY different role. That character is meant to be quiet, reserved, and deeply felt, as you said -- also, not quirky at all. So any comparison of the actors who performed that role with Nielsen seems rather pointless to me. |
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| re: Wasn't Sigourney Weaver's performance intentional and given Durang's imprimatur? | |
| Posted by: portenopete 04:31 pm EDT 04/11/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Wasn't Sigourney Weaver's performance intentional and given Durang's imprimatur? - Michael_Portantiere 12:43 pm EDT 04/11/21 | |
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| Fair enough. To my surprise I seem to be painting myself into the corner of being a huge Sigourney Weaver fan, which I'd never really considered myself. Although it's not so much that I LOVED her as much as I thought she didn't stick out unfavourably the way most people here seem to feel. I'll stick to my guns, such as they are, and remember her Masha fondly! Looking forward to the day when we can have these conversations about new productions! |
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