The Homecoming

The Homecoming, by Harold Pinter. A Pinter Play. I've always wanted to experience one on Broadway. And now I have. I've seen it. I've read the professionals' reviews. I've even done some research on Harold Pinter. I still don't think I understand what on earth happened on the stage at the Cort Theater!

I do understand, after reading blog after blog, that what the actors were saying was supposed to be different from what we were comprehending. I understand the "layers below" are what you were supposed to come away with. The conflict. Family. Rivalry. Sexual Undertones. Leader of the Pack. Success. Failure. I get that. I do. I really do. However, there is such a sharp contrast between spoken word and message that it is difficult to keep such vastly different concepts separate in your head while the work is being performed. "What did this mean?" "Why did he say that?" A friend of mine used the word absurd to describe it. It seems to fit.

Given that I somehow understand that i don't understand it, I understand now that the actors did an outstanding job at what they did. The pregnant pauses, the stillness, the thoughts left unfinished. Brilliant acting. Brilliant delivery. Kudos to Ian McShane, Raul Esparza, Eve Best, Michael McKean, Gareth Saxe, and James Frain. It seems to me that the show can only be a success when they are all 100% "on" each evening.

Even after hours of rumination on the play and playwright - i get that I'm not supposed to get it - but i just don't get it. Well, i say, Forget it!