THE ANARCHIST Reviews

[LimelightMike]

Today is Sunday, December 2, marking the official opening night performance for two-time Tony Award winner Patti LuPone and three-time Academy Award nominee Debra Winger's debate on faith, politics, persecution and redemption in the world premiere of David Mamet's new two-woman drama The Anarchis at the John Golden Theatre.

LuPone is cast as an inmate serving a life sentence and Debra Winger as the woman who must determine whether she is fit for parole in the tautly-penned, 70-minute play that began previews November 13 for a 14-week run through February 17, 2013, at the newly renovated Golden. Tony Award-nominated and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Mamet directs.

According to producers, "LuPone plays the title character and Winger plays a prison official. These actresses will make theatrical fireworks as one character, put away for life, wants out while the other wants to make sure she stays inside. This explosive new work by Mamet is about passion, redemption, deception, and revolution."

[Jordan Catalano]

This is going to be interesting.

[PianoMann]

Has our general consensus been to this point that LuPone is excellent in a weak role, Winger is weak, and the play weaker?

[Mr Roxy]

Any good review would be a shock

[April Saul]

I'd say two fine actresses who deserve better material kind of sums it up. I thought they both tried their best.

[wecrazy]

Backstage is in and it is negative.


Backstage Anarchist Review

[AC126748]

I'm usually not a member of the spoiler alert squad, but seriously Backstage, spoiler alert!

[egghumor]

Backstage seems to be an uber-blunt version of what most posters offered on the preview thread. If the critics showed no mercy for Reback's new play, I seriously doubt they'll give Mamet a break -- especially considering the issues in play and the brief duration...

[AC126748]

How long before knowitall shows up to do spin control?

[Jordan Catalano]

Knowitall is probably at the show right now. Unless he's just one of Jeff's lowly paid slaves than he's at home drinking to forget the past week at the office.

[egghumor]

They need to give serious consideration to incorporating Jordan's version of the play into the next edition of FORBIDDEN BROADWAY.

[AC126748]

Matthew Murray is fairly positive with some very good words for Patti.

Even so, what is present finds full expression in Mamet’s quietly explosive staging, which contrasts the raging humanity of the story against the harshly institutional setting of Patrizia von Brandenstein’s stark office set beneath Jeff Croiter’s piercing lights, and particularly the actresses’ performances. LuPone does her finest, and most restrained, Broadway work in more than a decade, infusing Cathy with palpable angst and anger that seem destined to burst through her thickened skin. Yet these attributes are tempered by an oddly casual serenity that unquestionably imparts the impression that this is a woman who, for better or worse, is at peace with herself. You therefore believe both necessary halves of the equation, and are left guessing until the climactic revelations — and perhaps beyond — what her true motives are.

Link

[Mystic Pasta]

It took 3 people to cast a 2 person play? That says something right there.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Murray is clearly on crack.

[Bettyboy72]

I agree with Murray. I liked the play and the performances. Just because someone liked something you did not does not mean they are "on crack."

[iluvtheatertrash]

I think calling Debra Winger's monotone snooze-fest of a performance "subtle" might...

Phew. This stunk. Either that or it just went RIGHT over my head.

[showchoirguy]

^ Don't worry. You weren't the only one.

[Auggie27]

"...the printed script is so populated with periods that it could stop the earth from spinning..." Backstage

That explains why it's 70, instead of 45, minutes.

[Mr Roxy]

It would be 90 minutes but when you remove Mamets customary F bombs you are lleft with 60 minutes

[Jordan Catalano]

That word is only used once so what you wrote makes absolutely no sense in this situation.

[givesmevoice]

Apparently the sole f-bomb has been cut.

[AndersonTours]

One of the worst nights in the theater I've ever had. Well, most boring, really. Even crazy Patti was boring. This was like my college productions or community theater productions.
Run away.

[Mr Roxy]

It does make sense. 60 minutes minus f words. 90 MINUTES if it had them. Really not that difficult to comprehend

[everythingtaboo]

Matthew Murray loves to be contrary to the general consensus of most critics, when he doesn't flat out hate something, so if he liked it, it's definitely gonna get trashed.

[iluvtheatertrash]

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

[Jordan Catalano]

I guess he realized that they weren't appropriate given the subject matter.