Play

The review I posted below is missing the apostrophes. I typed them in originally but the character is not recognized in this forum.

rating: no rating  ·  posted on 6/11/2009 at 10:31 PM

I attended the Sunday, June 07 performance. Having seen the play off-Broadway in its first run and having seen the film version many times, Im afraid I went to this performance of "Oleanna" with high expectations. With all due respect to Ms. Stiles and Mr. Pullman, I dont think they quite nailed it, though Ms. Stiles came awfully close. For the uninitiated, however, this production is a decent introduction to the play. I encourage all theatregoers to see this play at least once, if for no other reason than for the post-show discussions it will provoke. Mr. Pullman seemed to have difficulty finding a comfortable physical stage presence in the first scenes. He stood with one or both hands in his pockets. I cant believe that was a character choice because the character of John the Professor is no wet noodle. It really made Pullman look like he was inexperienced with stage movement and posture. Director Doug Hughes should have put a stop to that during rehearsals. Mr. Pullman also has a tendency to swallow some of his lines. Mostly, however, the show lacked the necessary ferociousness in key moments. The two actors sounded very rehearsed in their line readings and thus the verbal exchanges often lacked the feel of a real and troubled conversation violently unfolding. Mamets dialogue is meticulous and specific -- many lines of dialogue are written and structured with the intention that the speaker will be interrupted before he/she can finish his thought. But delivering those lines can be difficult because one must "intend" to proceed past the last scripted word in a given line, and that can significantly change the intonation one gives the last scripted word before the pause or interruption. Too often Ms. Stiles will improperly intone the last scripted word, as if her character knows it will be the last word spoken before she is to pause or be interrupted. The two characters in this play engage in verbal sparring where almost every interruption should be in some way jarring, but Stiles and Pullman too often play those like a tennis volley, yielding to the other person rather than grabbing the conversation control away from them. With all due respect, the definitive performances of these characters are in Mamets own filmed version starring William H. Macy and Debra Eisenstadt. Macy brings the necessary pompousness to the Professor that Pullman only hints at. Do I recommend this production to anyone who has yet to see the play? Oh yes. Unfortunately I cannot recommend it as highly as I recommend Macys and Eisenstadts performances in the film now on DVD.

rating: no rating  ·  posted on 6/11/2009 at 10:26 PM

Oleanna Merchandise

Poster $14.95	Baseball Hat $19.95
Coffee Mug $14.95	Magnet $4.95

» Julia Stiles and Bill Pullman Exchange Fighting Words Feature
» Bill Pullman and Julia Stiles to Star in L.A. Revival of Oleanna Theater News