THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE ... PLAYS (the top 10)
PART 1
Unlike
my top twenty-five musicals, I haven't seen professional productions of all of
my top twenty-five plays. Most of them, yes,
but there are a few exceptions. So how, you ask, can a play be among my top 25
if I've not seen a production of it? Simple answer: the script itself. Musicals
have cast albums and an outstanding cast recording can make even an average
musical sound good. Very often that's what makes the first impression rather
than the book of a musical. But a play is almost always just words and if the
words aren't compelling, the play doesn't work no matter how brilliant the
cast. Now let me state flat out that my favorites are not going to necessarily
be your favorites. You might look at a title and say, "Really? You like that play?" You'll notice
there's not a Shakespeare or a Stoppard or a Mamet or a Williams in the bunch
and an absence of many of the so-called Bests. (Okay, I admit it. I don't give
a crap about "Our Town.") And the list, like any "Bests"
list, is a fluid thing. This list is not set in stone. I'm positive there will
be plays in the future that will get top ten status and rankings will change.
So,
then, how does a play make my list. That's easy to answer. The play has to, for
lack of a better word, speak to me. It's more of an intuitive thing rather than
a quantitative one. What does my gut tell me? How did I react to it? Many of
the plays on my list have gay themes, plots or sub-plots. I'm a gay man and
rightly or wrongly, I am drawn to plays with gay themes, plots or sub-plots.
Sue me.
So…without
further ado, the Top 10-Part 1
# 10 - THE HISTORY BOYS by Alan Bennett
January,
2008. This play about adolescence, sex, the role of education, the teaching of
history and what history teaches us, and how young promise does not always
translate into adult success is literate, funny, touching and moving. We saw
the excellent film version first and this National Theatre production, with an
impeccable replacement cast, surpassed the film. Seeing it live…well, there's
just no substitute. Terrific performances by everyone. I loved every minute of
it. Truly remarkable. - at Wyndham's Theatre, London
June, 2009. We were so looking forward to
this production. TimeLine Theatre Company is one of the finest in Chicago and
one of the actors from Bob's production of The
Sum of Us was playing Dakin, the resident student stud. We figured TimeLine
would do justice to this wonderful play. The critics certainly thought so and
it ran and ran and ran for a total of six months or so and became TimeLine's
biggest success. Sadly, however, we were less than impressed. The alley staging
and the scenic design didn't do the show any favors as it scattered the focus
too much. There was no joy in
the production, no camaraderie between Hector and the boys or among the boys
themselves and except for a nice job by the actor playing Posner, no one was
even remotely interesting, including Donald Brearley's Hector, which just left
me cold. Why was Hector so popular? There was absolutely no indication in
Brearley's lackluster performance. Perhaps it was an off night. Perhaps we were
spoiled by the flawless West End production. Whatever the case, we left at the
interval. A rare misfire for TimeLine. - at TimeLine Theatre, Chicago
#9 - THE LARAMIE
PROJECT by Moisės Kaufman and the Members of the Tectonic Theater Project
December,
2004. This is one play I must see performed by professional actors, but I rather doubt it
would have the same emotional impact that this wonderfully acted high school
production had. Some background. In the
spring of 2004, Bob and I were reading plays and searching for the perfect one
for Bob to direct as his last directorial project as a high school teacher. (He
retired at the end of the 2004-2005 school year.) I was reading this just to be
reading it, but the minute I finished it, I handed it to Bob and said,
"You must do this." Like me, he read it in one sitting and he was
hooked. It took a bit of convincing, but the powers-that-be signed off on it
and with a cast of 22 (!!), this was a fitting finale to Bob's teaching career
and a tribute to his skill both as a director and as a theatre educator. What makes this play so extraordinary? Let me
quote what Bob wrote in his director's notes: "I chose The Laramie Project as my final
production because it speaks to the very core of who we are - of the heights to
which we can soar and the depths to which we can descend. The plays is a
testament of the enduring human spirit." This is a remarkable piece of
work. Remarkable because it creates something beautiful out of something so
horrific it is almost beyond comprehension. Bravo, Mr. Kaufman. Bravo. (Note:
we were honored to get permission from photographer Nanette Martin to use her
moving photograph for our program cover.) - at the McGee Theatre, New Trier
High School, Winnetka, IL
#8 - WHO'S AFRAID OF
VIRGINIA WOOLF? by Edward Albee
February,
2005. "We've played Humiliate the Host…we've gone through that one…what
shall we do now? … How about…how about…Hump the Hostess?" By the time the
curtain came down on this Broadway-bound revival of this legendary contemporary
American theatre masterpiece, I was simultaneously exhausted and
exhilarated. Exhausted because, well,
let's face it, spending time with George and Martha is exhausting. Exhilarated because, instead of being just braying,
showboating, over-the-top characters, as portrayed by Kathleen Turner, Bill
Irwin, Mireille Enos and David Harbour, they were infused with a humanity and a
vulnerability that ultimately made the play sad, yet oddly hopeful and rather
touching. A simply sensational performance by Bill Irwin earned him a well-deserved Tony Award. And while no one can really
quibble with Cherry Jones' win for Doubt,
I think the better choice would have been Kathleen Turner's phenomenal turn as
Martha. I was impressed with the local production I saw decades earlier at the Ivanhoe with Eileen Herlie. This production simply blew me away. Curiously, the
Playbill calls this "Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"
Well, duh! Whose else would it be? This is a trend. Stop it. - at the Wilbur Theatre,
Boston
#7 - MY NIGHT WITH
REG/THE DAY I STOOD STILL/MOUTH TO MOUTH by Kevin Elyot
Three exceptional
plays by the relatively unknown here in the States Kevin Elyot. Each of them confronts loneliness, loss,
love, unrequited love and the struggles of people just trying to live their
lives.
August,
1995. Written and first produced during the height of the AIDS plague in the
early-mid 1990s, I saw this during a time of great emotional upheaval, loss and
sorrow and felt the pain these characters felt with an heightened awareness
that made Elyot's fine comedy-drama seem personal. Crisp dialogue and acting
together with an appropriate physical production and invisible direction made
for a memorable, sad/funny evening. (Sidebar: before he started being Master of
the House in the divine "Downton Abbey," Hugh Bonneville, then billed
as Richard Bonneville, played Daniel in this production. Richard is his middle
name.)- at the Playhouse Theatre, London
Spring,
1998. As performed in the National Theatre's intimate Cottesloe Theatre, this
play lyrically moved between present and past with a fluidity that made this
both an exceptional memory play as well as a exceptional modern play. The
loneliness and the memory of unrequited love was almost palpable. As performed
by its talented cast, this haunting evening ranks very high on my
"best" list. - at the Cottesloe Theatre, London
Fall,
2008. When I first read Mouth to Mouth,
I was blown away by it. I still am. It's a devastating work that slaps you when
you least expect it, usually when you're laughing at one of Elyot's very funny
lines. That's what I love about Elyot: his ability to make you laugh and then
make you gasp in a beat. I love the play and thought I'd feel the same about
this performance. I didn't. Oh, the acting was fine, especially David Cale and
Lisa Emery, but there appeared to be a chilly efficiency to the whole affair
that robbed the play of both its legitimate humor and its legitimately slimy
creepiness. I felt I was watching really good actors play at characters rather than inhabit
them. Really glad I saw it, but a bit disappointed. The play itself, however,
is a winner. - at the Acorn Theatre (The New Group), New York
#6 - TAKE ME OUT by
Richard Greenberg
August,
2003. This Tony Award-winning play for 2003 was a stunning, brilliantly acted
play about baseball, life, prejudices and hope.
Daniel Sunjata, Neil Huff, Frederick Weller and Nat DeWolf (subbing for
Denis O'Hare) delivered performances of nuance and great humanity, even when
you didn't necessarily like the character (Mr. Weller played the show's bad
guy.) Top-notch direction and superb production values were the icing on this
cake. And, I would be remiss as a gay man if I didn't at least mention the nude
shower scene. Prurient perviness aside, the scene was crucial to the plot, but
it was an added bonus. Why is this in the top ten? Because it's an
amazing play, a true home run! - at the Walter Kerr Theatre, New York.
That's it for now. What show are YOU seeing this week? Ciao!
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