Monday, February 27, 2006
A Trying Play at Ford's Theater; Lovely Trapier "Secret Garden"
Take a fascinating man, Judge Francis Biddle, who oversaw the internment of the Japanese during WWII and served as a judge at the Nuremberg Trials, and pair him a wonderful, energetic young Canadian secretary, and what do you get? A very dull play at Ford's Theater.
What a waste, I thought, as the man's aches and pains, his time at the boy's school of Groton, and the secretary's background in Saskatoon, Canada were explored in greater depth than anything this fascinating man did during his career.
The author was obviously intimidated by her subject and unwilling to probe too deeply into his wartime activities. It was as if a play about Alberto Gonzalez mentioned nothing about Guantanamo except the how hot it was in Cuba. On the other hand, issues in the secretary's life--her lonely marriage, her unplanned pregnancy--were left unresolved.
I have no doubt that this play was faithful to the secretary's memories of her work with Judge Biddle. But a play, to be worth an audience, must be bolder, go beyond mere steneography of what happened, especially with such two fine actors --James Witmore & Karron Graves--on stage.
As usual, much of Ford's audience was composed of young people dragged there to see the theater where Lincoln died. I felt so sorry for them as they sat through this three-hour ordeal. But they were well-behaved on the whole. At intermission, they said they were "Trying" not to fall asleep, and my conversations with them were more entertaining than anything that happened on stage. This play had such wonderful buzz on the Footlights' discussion list--I must find someone who shares my taste!
**
I also went to see "The Secret Garden" at the Trapier Theater at the St. Albans' School. Perhaps it was low expectations--perhaps it was my memories of how much I loved the book--but I was surprisingly impressed with the production! The students have trained voices and I could hear every word. The musical is deeper than the book, but this production was never as gloomy as I recalled the NY production as being. The acting was solid and the show was quite moving. Washington theater can surprise you. The theater that has everything (Ford), including tour buses and professional actors, can disappoint. A high school can do a great, moving job with a tricky musical. That's theater for you.
I'm feeling particularly bereft of good reviewers (by which I mean people who share my taste). For a while I relied on the City Paper's reviews, but we have parted ways. (Their taste has deteriorated, that is, diverged from mine). Must see "Measure for Measure" at the Folger. A difficult play, and not much buzz about it, but I don't trust buzz anymore. I'll go based on a friend of mine's recommendation. She's an English teacher, and we have the same taste in books, so I will use her now as a guide. It's a tricky world out there. One might almost say "Trying."
What a waste, I thought, as the man's aches and pains, his time at the boy's school of Groton, and the secretary's background in Saskatoon, Canada were explored in greater depth than anything this fascinating man did during his career.
The author was obviously intimidated by her subject and unwilling to probe too deeply into his wartime activities. It was as if a play about Alberto Gonzalez mentioned nothing about Guantanamo except the how hot it was in Cuba. On the other hand, issues in the secretary's life--her lonely marriage, her unplanned pregnancy--were left unresolved.
I have no doubt that this play was faithful to the secretary's memories of her work with Judge Biddle. But a play, to be worth an audience, must be bolder, go beyond mere steneography of what happened, especially with such two fine actors --James Witmore & Karron Graves--on stage.
As usual, much of Ford's audience was composed of young people dragged there to see the theater where Lincoln died. I felt so sorry for them as they sat through this three-hour ordeal. But they were well-behaved on the whole. At intermission, they said they were "Trying" not to fall asleep, and my conversations with them were more entertaining than anything that happened on stage. This play had such wonderful buzz on the Footlights' discussion list--I must find someone who shares my taste!
**
I also went to see "The Secret Garden" at the Trapier Theater at the St. Albans' School. Perhaps it was low expectations--perhaps it was my memories of how much I loved the book--but I was surprisingly impressed with the production! The students have trained voices and I could hear every word. The musical is deeper than the book, but this production was never as gloomy as I recalled the NY production as being. The acting was solid and the show was quite moving. Washington theater can surprise you. The theater that has everything (Ford), including tour buses and professional actors, can disappoint. A high school can do a great, moving job with a tricky musical. That's theater for you.
I'm feeling particularly bereft of good reviewers (by which I mean people who share my taste). For a while I relied on the City Paper's reviews, but we have parted ways. (Their taste has deteriorated, that is, diverged from mine). Must see "Measure for Measure" at the Folger. A difficult play, and not much buzz about it, but I don't trust buzz anymore. I'll go based on a friend of mine's recommendation. She's an English teacher, and we have the same taste in books, so I will use her now as a guide. It's a tricky world out there. One might almost say "Trying."
