LONDON TRIP REVIEWS

Nov 97

Thursday morning I got off the plane and was watching MARTIN GUERRE by mid afternoon. I had enjoyed the CD , certainly nothing earth shattering, but good. The play was probably a little bit better than good. In fact, at times its choreography dazzled me. I couldn't get enough of it. I have never been a fan of LES MIS or MISS SAIGON, so I expected relatively little, but GUERRE was actually quite good and I'm glad I caught it.

THURSDAY NIGHT: CHIPS WITH EVERYTHING at the RNT. Wonderful production. Davies, the director, made this 30 year old play feel like it was written yesterday. It had a wonderful contemporary feel. Get looking production. A tremendous cast and I enjoyed it, but it will never go down as one onf my all time favorite plays. And I would be hard pressed to see it with any other cast or under any other direction.

FRIDAT AFTERNOON: The London Film Festival: MRS DALLOWAY. Great movie with a fabulous Vanessa Redgrave.It is everything an adult film should be and it will leave you in tears. Congratulations to all involved. Tremendous. I can't wait to see it again.

FRIDAY NIGHT: A DELICATE BALANCE. Loved the NYC production. Thought it was one of the most perfect productions I have ever seen of any play anywhere. THere was not a misstep on stage, and let's face it, the play is a gem, which helps a lot. Love Maggie Smith and Eileen Atkins, but although the production at the Haymarket was wonderful most of the way, it was not horrifying. The play should frighten the audience in spite of all the comedy and the West End version lost that very serious element. I also theough John Standing was entirely too whimpy. The character doesn't say much in the first two acts, but he should still be a dominant presence. Grizzrd was;Standing was not. Dame Maggie was wonderful , as was Atkins and I enjoyed it, but I wanted to be horrified and I wasn't. The play deserved more.

SATURDAY MATINEE: GUYS AND DOLLS the best of the bunch. I was completely blown away. It wipes out the Nathan Lane/Faith Prince production. This was a GUYS with heart. I was actually moved by the show. Never in a million years would I have expected that. What the National production did(and the Zaks version did not) was treat every character on that stage as a real person. There were no cartoons aboard. There were two moments when my eyes welled with tears -- "Sue me" because I was so emotionally affected and "Sit Down..." because it was theater magic. The two female leads were magnificent. But there was not a weak link in the cast. Thank you Richard Eyre for a production I will remember forever.This was never one of my favorite musicals, but this production jettisoned it into the top five. Thrilling, exhilerating and moving ...of all things. Who'da ever thunk it.

SATURDAY NIGHT: Rupert Everett as Sissy GoForth in MILK TRAIN... I didn't know what to expect. I had seen the play with Liz Ashley, whom I love, but after seeing it I could see why the play bombed originally. It's a talky bore. I hated it. This time I was held spellbound for two hours. It was absolutely fascinating. Everett was probably not quite ready to make it all it could be, but he comes damn close. However, he does make Goforth grotesque, and that is exactly what the play needs to work. The character must be not only larger than life, but genuinely scary, unreal, bizarre. Suddenly, the play made sense and I truly liked it. Is it an unsdiscovered Williams' masterpiece? Probably not, but after seeing Rupert and company have their way with it, I'd say it deserves its share of revivals. The men playing Chris and the Witch were terrific and the staging and set were wonderful, too. It was a truly surprising and engrossing performance. I am thrilled I saw it and wish I had seen it earlier during my trip because I would have gone back for a second viewing.

What a good day was Saturday!

SUNDAY: Home.

Joe Bravaco
Email : joeb@CYBERNEX.NET