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.
Despite its distinctive visual source, the optics generally disappoint. Scenic designer Michael Yeargan’s suburban living-room set and Jennifer Tipton’s lights clutter and flood the broad stage of Studio 54, when they ought to be boxing, isolating, and rotating domestic areas for detailed inspection. Everything looks a bit loud and obvious, as if the elder generation’s kitschy, bright-hued aesthetic were allowed to call the shots. Sultan’s photographs are projected to fill the rear wall, a digital blow-up that does the art a disservice and only underscores the compositional blandness around it. No matter how many millions producers poured into the affair, Broadway stars and a team of designers can’t manifest what Larry Sultan did with his camera: the mystery and grace of people we thought we knew our whole lives.
| 2023 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
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