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Photo by Don Kellogg
Showing posts with label Patrick Wilson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Patrick Wilson. Show all posts

Friday, September 26, 2008

All My Sons

Arthur Miller's first Broadway play, All My Sons, was a stinging success in 1947 when it made it's debut.  It's the story of an American business man who sold defective parts to the US military with the tragic consequences of the deaths of 21 airmen.  Miller's play was, and is still today, a gripping tale of business and family, commerce and community, and the powerful intersection of them all.

The stellar cast includes:  John Lithgow (Third Rock from the Sun, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Retreat from Moscow), Diane Wiest (In Treatment, Law and Order, Edward Scissorhands), Patrick Wilson (Barefoot in the Park, Angels in America, Phantom of the Opera) and Katie Holmes (Broadway Debut).  

The play is an emotional atom-bomb.  Accusations, anger, and angst all buried below the surface in this family and community erupt when the son asks his brother's girl (3 years an MIA soldier and presumed dead) to marry him.  The father's past history of being exonerated in court for selling defective parts to the government come back to haunt him and the entire family.  The neighbors love their jobs in the factory, but silently remain doubtful that the family is innocent.  In a few short hours - ka-boom!  It all crumbles.

This is a limited run on Broadway - so get your hard hat on and catch this one at the Schoenfeld Theatre on Wet 45th Street.   It will all come crumbling down in 16 short weeks!

Friday, February 10, 2006

Barefoot in the Park

Barefoot in the Park - Neil Simon's 1960's classic comedy - back on Broadway in 2006! Well even if the acting is top notch- the story is stale and dated. In this day and age - who hasn't lived on their own and/or lived with their spouse before they were "official". Hardly believable and barely plausible today. There were quite a few funny lines - and the physical comedy made you chuckle. I just couldn't get over the feeling that I was sitting in front of a big "Nick at Nite" stage watching a re-run. A few times i turned to look around the theater to see if Patty Duke was there with me.


Jill Clayburgh and Tony Roberts turned in stand-up performances. Patrick Wilson was crisp and Amanda Peet was ravishing in her Broadway Debut. It's a shame the ensemble cast didn't have some updated material to work with - this group could have brought the house down!! I'm not sure this one will be out there for very long... Despite all the talent on stage.