Review Roundup: MARY STUART
by Robert Diamond - April 20, 2009
Schiller's political thriller about the epic power struggle between Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots. Mary Stuart portrays the embattled Elizabeth as she struggles to defend her Protestant throne against the machinations of her charming and calculating Catholic cousin, Mary.
David Rooney, Variety: "Politics and power, in any age, are a dirty business. If the first Broadway transfer from the Donmar Warehouse, "Frost/Nixon," was a keen reminder of that point, the London company's second transatlantic traveler, "Mary Stuart," imparts the lesson even more trenchantly. The setting is late 16th-century England, and the writing dates back to 1800, but the spin, chicanery and ruthless self-preservation of a government that both abides by and manipulates public perception are timeless. Phyllida Lloyd's steely revival of the Friedrich Schiller play simmers and scalds as it should, but it's the deft balance of the parallel tragedies of two imprisoned queens that makes the production so enthralling."
Ben Brantley, NY Times: "You can argue all you like, as historians and theologians have for centuries, about which of them has the greater claim to the English throne. But after seeing the terrifically exciting new production of Friedrich Schiller's "Mary Stuart," which opened Sunday night at the Broadhurst Theater, you won't doubt that both the queens it portrays are born to rule. So, I might add, are the actresses who play them."
Joe Dziemianowicz, NY Daily News: "With Tony winner Janet McTeer ("A Doll's House") as Mary and Harriet Walter as Elizabeth, who signed her rival's death warrant, there's a pair of powerhouses on the thrones of Scotland and England."
Elisabeth Vincentelli, NY Post: "A London import as gripping as it is elegant, "Mary Stuart" is packed with political machinations, mind games and rhetorical bouts about justice and power. Think of it as "Frost/Nixon" with women, beheadings and ruffs."
Michael Kuchwara, Associated Press: "'Mary Stuart' superbly explores the link between Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots, royal relatives locked in a grim battle that only one can win. But what elevates this adaptation of Friedrich Schiller's venerable play to even greater heights are the thrilling performances of the actresses who portray these formidable ladies: Janet McTeer as Mary and Harriet Walter as Elizabeth."
John Simon, Bloomberg News: "Two of England's premier actresses, Janet McTeer and Harriet Walter, have returned Friedrich Schiller's "Mary Stuart" to Broadway after a 40-year absence. Once again two queens -- Elizabeth of England and Mary of Scotland -- are locked in mortal conflict where there is room for only one. One head must roll for the other one to rule."
David Sheward, Backstage.com: "Though the first few rounds are a trifle sluggish, the Donmar Warehouse production of Friedrich Schiller's Mary Stuart builds into a thrilling bout between battling royalty. As adapted by Peter Oswald and directed with a contemporary angle by Phyllida Lloyd, this 18th-century chestnut set in the 16th century has the look and feel of the 21st. "
Robert Feldberg, Bergen Record: "Guess again. The revival of Friedrich Schiller's 1800 play "Mary Stuart," which opened Sunday at the Broadhurst Theatre, is vibrant, audacious and, as the plots are hatched that will send Mary to the gallows, improbably funny. This alchemy is the result of a charged and witty adaptation by Peter Oswald, imaginative direction by Phyllida Lloyd and glorious performances by Janet McTeer (Mary) and Harriet Walter (Elizabeth)."
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