Robes and Relationships: The Play's The Thing
Another night in the theatre. Again, my heart raced and my fingers flickered over my playbill as I sat in anticipation of watching great theatre. Tonight's offering was Steppenwolf's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, a masterpiece written by Edward Albee almost 50 years ago. The play holds solid to this day. However, the play's acts were moved (Act two used to end with the powerful lines, "Total war?" "Total war.") and some dialogue was cut (this information was offered to us by the assistant dramaturg following the performance). Still, while the material was solid and the acting strong, I had issues tonight with the comparatively simple tasks of casting and costuming.
The promo shot, featured heavily in newspapers and major theatrical websites, depicted Martha as a loose limbed and lipped woman, dressed in gathered silk, white fur and a sexy, tosseled short hairdo. George was a well-dressed, albeit nerdy man, with a firm collar but looser backbone.
However, this proved to be false advertising. Amy Morton, portraying Martha, entered the "dump" in a dumpy ensemble herself-not something a woman of her class and type would wear to a party. It was a light purple disaster to mid-calf, and looked like a cotton/polyester blend. Her outerwear was a car coat of an unmemorable texture and color. Her hair was up in a tight, boring twist. Later, she trades this 'do in for "Alice in Wonderland" long curls collected with a ribbon. Martha's leisure costume change was further confused with a pair of constricting slacks and a silk chiffon blouse with rhinestone buttons. For the period, stretch pants and a pony tail would have been more to the point. Also, a party hairpiece would have been appropriate and produced the volume the character would have striven for. Tracy Letts, as miserable husband George, was in a ill-fitting pair of grandpa slacks, and spent most of the show in an equally unattactractive sweater. George may be nerdy, but he still has sex appeal and is, in fact, six years Martha's junior.
Therein lies the first of the issues of casting. While both Mr. Letts and Ms. Morton are fantastic actors of great ability and range, I simply did not believe them as this husband and wife. Mr. Letts is obviously very much older than Ms. Morton, and the adding of grey to her temples did not hide the fact that he was practically bald with grey hair. He is supposed to be fortyish, although Mr. Letts is quite obviously about 60 (his headshot contradicts this point, as well). The pairing simply didn't work. However, it was incredible to see the actors at work on stage tonight. They are both incredible.
Also, it confused me as to why Ms. Morton did not wish to gain any weight for this triumphant role. There is a line in the script in which she is compared to the other female character, and and the weight of "one hundred and ten pounds" is mentioned. Mr. Letts, as George, viciously specifies that Martha is HIS wife...thereby stating that she could not be of that weight. Ms. Morton, in her current state, most certainly could be. I am not asking for an Elizabeth Taylor transformation (she needed to do this as she was about 30 and had to look older) but I would have eaten pizza and cake for a few months if handed this prime part. Perhaps hip or belly pads could have been utilized.
Quite notable was Carrie Coon, playing the visiting wife only referred to as "Honey." She maneuvered through her performance with grace and ease, all the while juggling multiple adjustments from tipsy to drunk, innocent and embarrassed to fierce and feel-good. I could have seen her doing this performance on the Broadway stage or in film. Her costuming, as opposed to the leads, was quite appropriate.
Staging issues. I'm not sure why George and Nick, the visiting husband, simply stood on opposite sides of the room for so long when left alone for the first time. George would have sat. Perhaps Nick would have scanned books on the shelf. The actors could, I tell, wanted to. The outcome was not effective and did not serve the play. Also, when Martha convinces Nick to light her cigarette, he should have sat beneath her as she was sitting on the back of the sofa. Instead, the entire audience only saw a rear end and a hand on the back of a knee. I don't care if that is what the director intended, it looked sloppy and awkward - and unprofessional. The natural thing to do would have been to sit. Plus, we are doing theatre. Not film. And I don't care if you want to be edgy and fringy. You still need to PLAY OUT.
All in all, I felt this effort was stifled by the intent to use Ms. Morton and Mr. Letts at all costs. Their relationship simply wasn't believable in the end, as the ages weren't correct in this pairing. Also, Mr. Letts does not have the sex appeal that Martha would still find desirable, and Ms. Morton does not have the broad-like qualities found maddening by George. I think that if these actors had been dressed suitably, and perhaps coached into a more appropriate state by director Pam MacKinnon, the show would have sent shock-waves to me. Instead, it sent fix-it notes.
The promo shot, featured heavily in newspapers and major theatrical websites, depicted Martha as a loose limbed and lipped woman, dressed in gathered silk, white fur and a sexy, tosseled short hairdo. George was a well-dressed, albeit nerdy man, with a firm collar but looser backbone.
However, this proved to be false advertising. Amy Morton, portraying Martha, entered the "dump" in a dumpy ensemble herself-not something a woman of her class and type would wear to a party. It was a light purple disaster to mid-calf, and looked like a cotton/polyester blend. Her outerwear was a car coat of an unmemorable texture and color. Her hair was up in a tight, boring twist. Later, she trades this 'do in for "Alice in Wonderland" long curls collected with a ribbon. Martha's leisure costume change was further confused with a pair of constricting slacks and a silk chiffon blouse with rhinestone buttons. For the period, stretch pants and a pony tail would have been more to the point. Also, a party hairpiece would have been appropriate and produced the volume the character would have striven for. Tracy Letts, as miserable husband George, was in a ill-fitting pair of grandpa slacks, and spent most of the show in an equally unattactractive sweater. George may be nerdy, but he still has sex appeal and is, in fact, six years Martha's junior.
Therein lies the first of the issues of casting. While both Mr. Letts and Ms. Morton are fantastic actors of great ability and range, I simply did not believe them as this husband and wife. Mr. Letts is obviously very much older than Ms. Morton, and the adding of grey to her temples did not hide the fact that he was practically bald with grey hair. He is supposed to be fortyish, although Mr. Letts is quite obviously about 60 (his headshot contradicts this point, as well). The pairing simply didn't work. However, it was incredible to see the actors at work on stage tonight. They are both incredible.
Also, it confused me as to why Ms. Morton did not wish to gain any weight for this triumphant role. There is a line in the script in which she is compared to the other female character, and and the weight of "one hundred and ten pounds" is mentioned. Mr. Letts, as George, viciously specifies that Martha is HIS wife...thereby stating that she could not be of that weight. Ms. Morton, in her current state, most certainly could be. I am not asking for an Elizabeth Taylor transformation (she needed to do this as she was about 30 and had to look older) but I would have eaten pizza and cake for a few months if handed this prime part. Perhaps hip or belly pads could have been utilized.
Quite notable was Carrie Coon, playing the visiting wife only referred to as "Honey." She maneuvered through her performance with grace and ease, all the while juggling multiple adjustments from tipsy to drunk, innocent and embarrassed to fierce and feel-good. I could have seen her doing this performance on the Broadway stage or in film. Her costuming, as opposed to the leads, was quite appropriate.
Staging issues. I'm not sure why George and Nick, the visiting husband, simply stood on opposite sides of the room for so long when left alone for the first time. George would have sat. Perhaps Nick would have scanned books on the shelf. The actors could, I tell, wanted to. The outcome was not effective and did not serve the play. Also, when Martha convinces Nick to light her cigarette, he should have sat beneath her as she was sitting on the back of the sofa. Instead, the entire audience only saw a rear end and a hand on the back of a knee. I don't care if that is what the director intended, it looked sloppy and awkward - and unprofessional. The natural thing to do would have been to sit. Plus, we are doing theatre. Not film. And I don't care if you want to be edgy and fringy. You still need to PLAY OUT.
All in all, I felt this effort was stifled by the intent to use Ms. Morton and Mr. Letts at all costs. Their relationship simply wasn't believable in the end, as the ages weren't correct in this pairing. Also, Mr. Letts does not have the sex appeal that Martha would still find desirable, and Ms. Morton does not have the broad-like qualities found maddening by George. I think that if these actors had been dressed suitably, and perhaps coached into a more appropriate state by director Pam MacKinnon, the show would have sent shock-waves to me. Instead, it sent fix-it notes.