Review - Me, Myself & I: George and Martha Retire to Absurdia

There's a strong essence of familiarity to be whiffed at Edward Albee's latest, Me, Myself & I, especially if you have fond memories of his far superior absurdist effort, The Play About The Baby. Once again there's a bickering couple bearing a strong resemblance to an older version of ...Virginia Woolf?'s George and Martha, especially in their dominating relationship to a younger couple and the matter of a child who may or may not exist. This isn't necessarily a flaw in the piece, but when farce isn't funny, when wordplay lacks crackle and when a play about identity can't seem to claim its own, the mind tends to wander to sunnier days.

Elizabeth Ashley plays Mother, who has 28-year-old twins she named OTTO (Zachary Booth) and otto (Preston Sadleir), prompting a discussion of perfect palindromes between her and her gentleman friend named Dr. (Brian Murray), who has been sharing her bed (fully clothed in a three-piece suit) ever since the boys' dad ran off.

Unable to tell them apart, Mother asks, "Are you the one who loves me?" when OTTO drops by to announce that a) he's decided he wants to be Chinese, and b) he's decided that otto doesn't exist. This last conclusion leaves him free to have sex with his brother's wife, Maureen (Natalia Payne), but first he has to strip down to his briefs while chatting up the audience.

The repetitious banter, much of it directed at The Playgoers, trudges along under Emily Mann's lethargic direction. (You know you're in trouble when pulling a chain of linked hot dogs out of a picnic basket fails to get a laugh.) Dr. advises us that, "A confused audience is not an attentive one." The same can be said for a bored audience.

But whenever the old pros take the stage there is at least their admirable skills to watch. Beneath a fright wig and an unflattering nightgown, Ashley is a growling combination of hatefulness and pathos, always fascinating to watch. Playing the blustery, highbrow straight man, Murray brings out his well sharpened arsenal of bug-eyed reactions and double-takes. Hearing the rich vocal variety of these two actors, both melodic and surprising in their own ways, is enough to keep audiences attentive.

It's my hunch that there will be plenty of intelligent, perceptive people who will love this play. As for me, myself and I, I was never quite so happy to see a deus ex machina arrive; signaling that the darn thing would soon be over.

Photos by Joan Marcus: Top: Elizabeth Ashley and Brian Murray; Bottom: Preston Sadleir and Zachary Booth.

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-- Walter Kerr

The grosses are out for the week ending 9/12/2010 and we've got them all right here in BroadwayWorld.com's grosses section.

Up for the week was: MRS. WARREN'S PROFESSION (80.4%), MAMMA MIA! (7.6%), AMERICAN IDIOT (2.4%), MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET (0.9%),

Down for the week was: MARY POPPINS (-22.0%), THE ADDAMS FAMILY (-20.7%), A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC (-15.9%), PROMISES, PROMISES (-14.2%), NEXT TO NORMAL (-12.9%), CHICAGO (-12.1%), IN THE HEIGHTS (-11.6%), BILLY ELLIOT: THE MUSICAL (-11.4%), FELA! (-11.1%), ROCK OF AGES (-10.9%), WEST SIDE STORY (-10.8%), MEMPHIS (-10.8%), THE LION KING (-10.4%), LA CAGE AUX FOLLES (-9.1%), WICKED (-5.0%), JERSEY BOYS (-2.4%), THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (-0.5%),