Three of the theatre's most inventive, inspired and award-winning artists will bring to vivid theatrical life a comic and dramatic portrait of a mother, a father and the son who photographed their lives. Based on the landmark photo memoir by Larry Sultan, adapted to the stage by Sharr White, starring Nathan Lane, Danny Burstein and Zoë Wanamaker and staged by award-winning director Bartlett Sher, Pictures From Home will evoke memories of childhood, parenthood, and the hard-won wisdom that comes with both.
But the three Broadway veterans who comprise the entire cast give the play heft. Tony winner Burstein (Moulin Rouge! The Musical) is convincingly brash, letting dad’s insults fly right over him, while hiding an appealing vulnerability. Wanamaker is also terrific, resolutely going about her business and eventually even showing a soft side. And Broadway titan Nathan Lane doesn’t play down to his character, lands every laugh, and has a volcanic explosion late in the play that is brilliantly pulled off. Unfortunately, Irving—who describes himself as a deeply vulnerable person who doesn’t want to be seen as vulnerable—is pretty insufferable company, and director Bartlett Sher lets Lane exacerbate that by screaming so many of his lines. When Irv starts giving Larry the silent treatment out of seething resentment, you’re relieved for his vocal cords.
When contemplating the talent involved in Broadway’s “Pictures From Home”—a cast comprising Nathan Lane, Danny Burstein and Zoë Wanamaker, under the direction of Bartlett Sher—managing expectations is hard. But necessary. For while the production is impeccable and the performances polished and funny, the play, adapted by Sharr White from Larry Sultan’s memoir-cum-photography book, feels like a snapshot that hasn’t been fully developed, to borrow the handiest simile. Diffuse and sometimes repetitive, it uncomfortably resembles the scrapbook of sorts on which it is based.
2023 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
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