Iceman Cometh at BAM

[skynyc]

Sorry for long absence...here are my thoughts on O'Neill's marathon.

 

First of all, yes, it's almost 5 hours, with curtain calls, etc. But I did not drift off at any point except almost once during the first Act, in which the lighting was so dim I thought that the stage manager was the one who had dozed.

 

The play really is an extraordinary in the way it presents a large array of fully-drawn characters, and makes this stable of complete losers very relatable and sympathetic. And some of the monologues are extraordinary.

 

This cast is almost a complete transfer from the acclaimed Chicago production from last year, and I'm glad that they kept these folks, because the ensemble as a whole is pretty terrific. But of course, folks are going to see Nathan Lane as Hickey and Brian Dennehy as Larry. And they don't disappoint. Lane works well as the amiable con/salesman who drinks and womanizes his way through life, eternally forgiven by his wife. He makes it easy to understand Hickey's ability to ingratiate himself with those he meets.

And Dennehy is powerful as the tired-of-life-but-afraid-to-die Larry Slade. The role primarily broods for the whole five hours, but Dennehy manages to give it layers and interest.

 

Also extraordinary is Stephen Ouimette, who I only know from Slings and Arrows but is quite heart-breaking as the heartbroken Harry Hope.

 

My only performance quibble would be with Patrick Andrews who plays young Don Parritt. He had the self-serving, obnoxious persistance down, but I found it hard to find the abused, insecure youth underneath. I believe the character is supposed to be in his late teens, and this Parritt was older, less mercurial, and felt more emotionally "lost" than unformed.

 

All in all, this extraordinary play doesn't get a major revival often, and it's easy to recommend. My performance was not sold out...the back corners of the Rear Orchestra had empty seats...but it speaks well to the production that I didn't see any additional seats empty as the evening progressed...pretty remarkable for a Tuesday evening as nine, ten, eleven o'clock came and went.

[edjames]

I couldn't agree more with Skynyc's review. I saw the play yesterday afternoon and despite the long investment of time, it was mesmerizing. I never felt myself drift off. I was engaged in the production from beginning to end. Nathan Lane was just phenomenal. Dennehy, too. And the cast is as skynyc said "terrific."

 

Alas, a short run at BAM's Harvey theater and Nathan is back in "It's Only A Play" in a few weeks.

 

ED

[+ WilliamM]

I am on the same page with skynyc and edjames. I saw Iceman on Froday night to a sold-out house. Having never seen the play on stage, my memory went back to the film with Robert Ryan, Lee Marvin and Jeff Bridges. I had forgotten Eugene O'Neill received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1936. Very well deserved based on this play, Strange Interlude and Long Day's Journey into Night.

 

To single out one performance is difficult. For me, it was Brian Dennehy. I could not take my eyes off Dennehy even when he was sitting silently on the sidelines. I remember Jeff Bridges having trouble with the young man to whom Dennehy's character is a hero, so I was not surprised that Patrick Andrews had problems with role as well. Nathan Lane is the spark that pulls everything together as Hickey.

 

What a wonderful play with excellent direction and proformances. Glad I was willing to pay $180 for a great seat. It was money very well spent.