THE ANARCHIST Reviews

[egghumor]

David Merrick, infamous for his Broadway publicity stunts hired a woman pretending to be an audience member to run up on stage during he original run of LOOK BACK IN ANGER and slap the leading male actor.

CPD, your suggestion creates the perfect opposite: have LuPone get so upset at a male person for taking a flash photo that she comes down off the stage to slap the offending audience member.
That would kick up ticket sales!

[SondheimFan5]

Not every play can be as good as Glengarry.

[egghumor]

Too bad this production doesn't have regular casting rotation like LOVE, LOSS & WHAT WORE...

Two weeks from now we might see:

Florence Henderson as Cathy and Phyllis Newman as Ann

next:

Mary Testa as Cathy with Jackie Hoffman as Ann

followed by:

Jane Fonda as Cathy and Wanda Sykes as Ann

eventually:

Angela Lansbury as Cathy and Marian Seldes as Ann


Other casting suggestions?

[CalebMeyer]

I heard rumors of Toni Collette and Mandy Patinkin.

[Kad]

Miss Piggy and RuPaul.

[Mildred Plotka]

I know 70 minutes is a lot at your age Roxy, but you should probably just get over it.

[egghumor]

Reba McIntyre as Cathy with Bernadette Peters as Ann

Linda Lavin as Cathy with Tovah Feldshuh as Ann

Ann Reinking as Cathy with Bebe Neuwirth as Ann

Philip Seymour Hoffman as Cathy with John C. Reilly as Ann

Ally Sheedy as Cathy with Molly Ringwald as Ann

Leslie Jordan as Cathy with Lily Tomlin as Ann

Donna Murphy as Cathy with Brooke Shields asAnn

Nora Dunn as Cathy with Jan Hooks as Ann

Liza Minnelli as Cathy with Richard Simmons as Ann

Mia Farrow as Cathy with Diane Keaton as Ann

Faye Dunaway as Cathy with Ali McGraw as Ann

[CurtainPullDowner]

I was dismayed to learn that Mamet is a tea-party supporter.

[Auggie27]

Politics here are creaky and almost quaint. This piece's focus -- on subversive 60s radicals and their track record of violence -- is in 2012 an aging conservative retro-view of the "dangerous" left. The epater les bourgeoisie angle -- shoving something politically "provocative" in the face of the Manhattan theatergoers -- is giggle-inducing. The idea that thwarting the release of someone who killed two cops would offend most progressives in the age of Obama is Glen Beck-fueled paranoia. Mamet seems to be milking post-9/11 hysteria and tying it to an era with very different mindset and concerns (Viet Nam). But liberals of all flavors would hardly take up the cause of someone like the obnoxious Lupone character, and Mamet's decision to dilute her Jewishness with a "shocking" Catholic conversion not only gilds the wilted lily, it's patently tidy and rings false. And to take all of this on in 60ish minutes only allows for deep as a teaspoon exploration. If this were written by anyone else, it would languish in second stage development, be given a few readings, but probably not produced.

[oasisjeff]

"When I saw it last week, there wasn't a single curse word."

Just listen to the audience when the lights go up...

[aaronb]

It's a good play, damnit!
My review of THE ANARCHIST

[After Eight]

Well, damnit yourself!

I say it's not a good play, and many people share that opinion.

Moreover, if you're trying to convince people otherwise, you had better provide a compelling reason why, and not just a link. Not so long ago, having read some of your reviews, and having found them worthwhile, I advised you to provide a summary of your opinion, or a quoted passage from your review. It would save people unnecessary effort, as well as enabling them to respond to something that one could see right here.

You ignored my suggestion.

Well, now I won't be reading your review of The Anarchist, or anything else.

[Dollypop]

Why couldn't LuPone play both roles simultaneously. One only has to look at her rendition of "A Boy Like That/I have a Love" from WSS to realize she could certainly pull it off.

[aaronb]

Sorry After Eight, I didn't mean to offend you. It's a good idea, must have just slipped my mind.