| re: Straight Line Crazy May 21, 2022 - Bridge Theatre, London | |
| Posted by: aleck 08:12 am EDT 06/12/22 | |
| In reply to: Straight Line Crazy May 21, 2022 - Bridge Theatre, London - PurpleMoney 11:21 am EDT 06/11/22 | |
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| I saw it just after it opened (to mostly rave reviews) in late April. I thought it was like one of those old-timey West End star vehicles. A juicy part for a star in a play that was somewhat intellectually challenging for the audience -- but not TOO challenging. And like those old-timey productions, which I loved and which I have always associated with the backbone of London theatre, it's like the star is in one production and the rest of the cast is in another. The acting quality of the rest of the cast pales in comparison with Fiennes (and with the stars of such vehicles of the past) and I often thought this was done on purpose not to conflict with the real reason the audience had shown up. Namely, to adore the star and not be distracted by other creatures sharing the same stage. The audience got exactly what they came in to see -- Fiennes in a juicy part, including a second act star turn of a dramatic texture that shows off his range. That's the way these plays are structured. What surprised me was that Brits could be interested in Robert Moses. How many Brits ever heard of Robert Moses? In fact, how many Americans, outside of history students (mostly in New York City), ever heard of Robert Moses or, at this point in history, even care? Robert Caro's great biography of Moses, Power Broker, is an amazing scholarly achievement. But how many copies of that book sold and how many people actually read the door stopper all the way through. I would guess not too many. The play, therefore, is mostly exposition to explain who Moses was and why we should care. But as a star vehicle, it provides a juicy step up. The first act takes place in the 1930s and the second act in the 1960s. This allows Fiennes to show how the character "ages" 30 years. And done very effectively. The other characters who presumably should have also aged 30 years made very little attempt to express that -- offering a fascinating comparison between Fiennes "acting" and the limitations of the rest of the cast. The production may as well have just put a follow spot on Fiennes to emphasize his greatness even further. (Just like they do with Hugh Jackman in that Music Man travesty. This current Music Man production is not an ensemble effort to explore the wonders of the original Music Man script and score. It is a calculated star vehicle, period. It's what the audience apparently wanted, but it's not the Music Man.) I think the Bridge Theatre is problematic. I had a great seat on the side, just as it bend toward the main section of the auditorium that stretches far back from the stage. I was in second row and had a great, close-up view of Fiennes doing his thing. I think there are only four rows on the sides and many, many rows that would be in "front" of the playing area -- far, far away from the stage. The stage is also awkwardly deep, making scenery design very difficult. It's worse than the Beaumont, especially since the audience area is not equally spread out on the three sides of the thrust. But the location is great with lots of interesting restaurants around and a breathtaking night-time view of London form the south bank of the Thames -- with Tower Bridge to the left, Tower of London right ahead and the sprawl of modern London and its skyscrapers to the left. Not the London of memory or movies that tourists would expect (and as I first experienced over 50 years ago when no building was allow to be higher than St. Paul's) but London nonetheless. |
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