I'm really behind - summary of several shows..

So time has been getting away from me lately and I've been so behind on posting - I think Kevin will stop letting me be his blog partner if I don't post soon, so here goes.

First, we saw Some Girl(s) at Lucille Lortel a few weeks back before it opened. I read the reviews and agreed with them - the show is pretty mediocre. Basic premise - "Guy" - Eric McCormack, is a man about to get married who goes back to four of his ex-girlfriends to try and make amends before the wedding. Eric doesn't have to stretch himself too far here in this role. His portrayal of Will in Will and Grace comes across the same here, except he's playing a straight, not gay man. The women of the cast are a pretty nice ensemble. Brooke Smith was the weakest, so it's a good thing she came on stage first. I remember hoping that her scene would end soon. Fran Drescher is actually a stand-out (if you can stand the toned-down Queens accent) in which she plays a professor with whom Eric had a fling. Maura Tierney is the most believable ex-girlfriend. For a moment I was hoping for a picture-perfect ending but "Guy" really screws things up in the end for everyone. As a woman, I really left this play a bit angry at men in general. I guess it can be said that both men and women really know how to screw up relationships, but here the emphasis is completely on men. For getting so much hype, this show was really only okay for me. I'm still not sure how I'm feeling about the playwright, Neil Labute. I've seen Fat Pig and This Is How It Goes, from last season. Seems like all of his plays have big name stars for really mediocre writing. It'll be interesting to see some more of his work in the future.

Second show is Stuff Happens at the Public. Wow. What a show. Absolutely. Fantastic. It's a poignant look at the Bush Administration from the start of Bush's first administration through current events happening up to today. David Hare, a brit (known also for his screenplay, The Hours), has written the play. His voice seems so accurate and so angry in many instances that you forget he's not American, at least I did. So the play is set behind-the-scenes showing us the intimate conversations of the Bush Cabinet - especially Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleeza Rice, and Colin Powell. It rehashes all of the events that have happened over the past 6 years or so. I should say that it's a very powerful to hear all of these happenings rehashed in a 2 hour play. For myself, there was a lot of anger at the events of the Bush administration and the situation our country is in to this day. A very smart powerful piece of theatre - whatever your political viewpoint, I say go see it...now...before it closes.

The third show that I saw is titled In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer at the Connelly Theatre. It was presented eloquently by the Keen Company. The play is set during Oppenheimer's security clearance hearing with the Atomic Energy Commission. It's set in 1954, the height of the Red Scare and McCarthyism. As you can imagine, this clearance hearing seems rather ridiculous. Questions are thrown back and forth from the attorneys and witnesses are brought in for accounts of the past. The play centers around its dialogue. There is very little action except for the coming and going of witnesses. But I must say that for three hours, I was enthralled with the words going around the stage. The end result shows us that Oppenheimer was denied his security clearance, but has become one of the most respected figures of his day. It just goes to show how heavily certain political viewpoints can bias our country. I'd say check this show out as well!