GOLDEN BOY is the story of Joe Bonaparte (to be played by Seth Numrich), a young, gifted violinist who is torn between pursuing a career in music and earning big money as a prize fighter. This will be a rare Broadway production for the Odets classic and the second Odets work to be presented by Lincoln Center Theater following its Tony Award winning revival of Awake and Sing!, also directed by Bartlett Sher, in 2006.
The play is dated and melodramatic, with slang-filled dialogue that can sound tinny. But it has decent theatrical bones, and if well-acted and offered on a humbly human level, might work well on both personal and political levels. But director Bartlett Sher, it seems to me, goes at it in exactly the wrong way, presenting 'Golden Boy' as a loud, brassy, tough-talking period piece. Add in unimpressive performances, and the result is a long evening that, for all its slam-bang moments, is tedious and uninvolving.
That line—like everything in Lincoln Center Theater’s powerhouse revival—comes through with brightly burnished force; the jazz rhythms and escapist pang are pure Odets, In a fall already steeped in excellent revivals—Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Heiress and Glengarry Glen Ross—Golden Boy is the champion. Director Bartlett Sher, a superb 19-member ensemble and an ace design crew lift a neglected American classic and send it roaring back into the ring.
1937 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1952 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1995 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
2012 | Broadway |
Lincoln Center Theater Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2013 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Featured Actor in a Play | Danny Burstein |
2013 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | 0 |
2013 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Set Design | Michael Yeargan |
2013 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Seth Numrich |
2013 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Tony Shalhoub |
2013 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Play | 0 |
2013 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | Danny Burstein |
2013 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | Tony Shalhoub |
2013 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | 0 |
2013 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Set Design (Play or Musical) | Michael Yeargan |
2013 | Theatre World Awards | Theatre World Award | Yvonne Strahovski |
2013 | Tony Awards | Best Costume Design of a Play | Catherine Zuber |
2013 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Play | Bartlett Sher |
2013 | Tony Awards | Best Lighting Design of a Play | Donald Holder |
2013 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play | Danny Burstein |
2013 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play | Tony Shalhoub |
2013 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Lincoln Center Theater |
2013 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Andre Bishop |
2013 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Bernard Gersten |
2013 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Golden Boy |
2013 | Tony Awards | Best Scenic Design of a Play | Michael Yeargan |
2013 | Tony Awards | Best Sound Design of a Play | Peter John Still |
2013 | Tony Awards | Best Sound Design of a Play | Marc Salzberg |
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