Review - Seminar: Class Dismissed

Theresa Rebeck provides plenty of mindless fun for the aggressively hip in Seminar, a breezy and enjoyable new comedy that will especially appeal to those who love showing off their urban cultural elitism by laughing very loudly at derogatory references to short stories published in The New Yorker and howling with yuks when a pseudo-intellectual mispronounces Inigo Jones' name while passionately giving a vapid description of the Yaddo artists' colony.

And it will most definitely appeal to women who want to scream, "That's me!!" whenever they see a Jane Austin loving, Kerouac hating well-spoken but insecure female dealing with career issues by changing into her most comfy togs and binging from a gallon container of Edy's Grand or a fresh bowl of cookie dough.

The story centers on the relationship of Kate (Lily Rabe) and Martin (Hamish Linklater), two young writers who have been "just friends" since high school. Born into affluence and living in a 9-room Upper West Side apartment that she pays very little for because it's been in the family for years ("It's socialism for the rich," insists Martin.), Kate has arranged for Leonard (Alan Rickman), a famous novelist and editor, to teach a 10-week fiction Seminar at her place, at $5,000 per student. The cost has left Martin without rent money and he begs Kate to let him stay with her until he's back on his feet.

As they did playing lovers in The Merchant of Venice at the Delecorte, Rabe and Linklater show tremendous chemistry as a pair of overthinkers who share creative and romantic frustrations. Kate has been working on the same story for six years, always believing it needs just a little more work, while Martin hesitates to have anything he's written be seen.

Rounding out the class are Douglas (Jerry O'Connell), a people-pleasing dolt with connections, and Izzy (Hettienne Park), who might as well put "sexual manipulation" on her resume under special skills. The four of them handily banter about Rebeck's smart and amusing dialogue, but the sparks really start flying whenever Rickman's Leonard enters the scene.

Leonard is definitely not one of those teachers interested in creating a safe environment where artists can make mistakes. His criticisms are unapologetically blunt with a cynical grasp on the realities of the business. He calls one student's work "whorish," suggesting the pursuit of a lucrative screenwriting career instead of seeking respect in the literary world. ("You'll be invited to cocktail parties. You'll get to go to exclusive events at the Public Library. But you will never be on a panel. Because too many people who know shit will know: It's hollow. The work is hollow. I'd think about Hollywood.")

In Rickman's presentation, Leonard's emotionally detached nastiness - exceptionally literate bullying - is extremely funny, since we're not on the receiving end of it. Of course, life is not as splendid for Leonard as it first appears, allowing the evening to evolve into more serious bouts with bitterness and self-reflection that also involve Kate and Martin.

Seminar may not be an especially deep play, but it's a sturdy and entertaining one, given a sharp and lively mounting by director Sam Gold. Special mention must be made of David Zinn's set, which places scenes in Kate's apartment in front of a large painting that depicts an upward view of a skyline formed primarily in multiple shades of pink, suggesting a kind of strength through girliness. When the unit is lifted off the stage, it reveals Leonard's extremely high-ceilinged, skylight-lit residence; an enticing display of real estate porn that, by comparison, makes all the simulated sex scenes of Burning combined seem as chaste as Mary Poppins.

Photos by Jeremy Daniel: Top: Hamish Linklater and Lily Rabe; Bottom: Alan Rickman.

Click here to follow Michael Dale on Twitter.

Click here for Michael Dale's Twitterized theatre reviews.

"A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal."
-- Oscar Wilde

The grosses are out for the week ending 11/20/2011 and we've got them all right here in BroadwayWorld.com's grosses section.

Up for the week was: MAN AND BOY (7.0%), Hugh Jackman, BACK ON BROADWAY (1.2%),

Down for the week was: LYSISTRATA JONES (-33.4%), CHINGLISH (-28.4%), THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (-16.5%), CHICAGO (-16.0%), MEMPHIS (-15.8%), THE MOUNTAINTOP (-15.1%), MAMMA MIA! (-12.7%), THE ADDAMS FAMILY (-12.0%), RELATIVELY SPEAKING (-11.9%), PRIVATE LIVES (-10.2%), BONNIE AND CLYDE (-9.2%), ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER (-8.5%), SEMINAR (-8.4%), FOLLIES (-8.0%), MARY POPPINS (-7.9%), SPIDER-MAN TURN OFF THE DARK (-7.5%), HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING (-7.5%), GODSPELL (-7.3%), OTHER DESERT CITIES (-7.2%), ROCK OF AGES (-6.9%), BILLY ELLIOT: THE MUSICAL (-6.6%), PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT (-6.2%), ANYTHING GOES (-5.1%), WICKED (-4.7%), JERSEY BOYS (-2.8%), THE LION KING (-1.7%), SISTER ACT (-1.6%), VENUS IN FUR (-0.6%), WAR HORSE (-0.4%),