I am the man who came to Broadway and never left. As a fan of the theater, I love the opportunity to revisit plays that I have seen when they have been filmed for television and the opportunity to see professionally filmed presentations of plays that for some reason I missed. For this revival of the famous George s Kaufman/Moss Hart play, the Roundabout Theater Company went all out in presenting a glamorous and beautifully staged production. it is difficult to erase the memory of Monty Woolley in the original movie version, repeating his stage role that certainly would have won him the Tony Award had they existed at the time. Nathan Lane, now a recipient of three Tony Awards, is the perfect choice to take on Woolley's iconic role, and is just as bombastic as he would be the following year playing Max Bialystock in the smash-hit production of "The Producers". Every acidic remark out of his mouth is as if he squeezed a lemon with his teeth into a cocktail and then removed it without touching it.
Of course, Sheridan Whiteside is not exactly a lovable character although he does get to show a human side with people that he genuinely likes. Whom he doesn't like are the Stanleys, the small-minded well off Ohio residents who invited him for a Christmas holidayvisit that ends up with a nearly permanent stay when he is injured while entering their house thanks to their icy steps. Whiteside does like their children and precedes to interfere in everything they do, simply to spite their parents. He is also intrigued by Mr. Stanley's sister, a sweet woman of mystery who has a secret that we find out late in the show. Rudy Holbrook is quite delightful in this part.
Then there is doctor William Duell, attending to his medical needs and presenting him with a huge copy of the book that he has written. Duell, a familiar character actor, is absolutely adorable and every moment he is on stage you just can't take your eyes off of him just as you couldn't when he co-starred with Lane in the smash-hit revival of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum". Among Whiteside's colleagues and staff are Harriet Harris as his devoted assistant who falls in love with a local newspaper man and gives her notice, causing Lane to go into full scheme mode. Harris, who would win the Tony just a few years later for playing Mrs. Meers in "Thoroughly Modern Millie", is a far cry from the delicious eccentrics that she has played over the years but she is very memorable in playing a basically normal person who knows every scheme that Sheridan is capable of and just as capable of redacting them. Jean smart plays the glamorous movie and stage actress utilized in his schemes and is delightfully over-the-top.
Imitators of El Brendel, Jimmy Durante and Noel Coward are present in other roles and there's a huge cast of insomnia walls and servants, as well as Mary Catherine Wright taking on the role of nurse preen, so famously created on Broadway and in the film and TV versions by the beloved Mary Wickes. right does not do a Wickes impression and the character seems closer to Zasu Pitts (who also played that role) then the tougher Wickes. When Lewis J. Staden comes in during the third Act as the Durante character, laying basically steps to the side.
this is the type of play that if you see it in a theater you go in forgetting what year you are in and just take in the nostalgia. The references to people, trends and events of the late 1930's and early 1940's are overwhelming and it would take several viewings and research to get a lot of them. But for people who are culturally aware of these things from that time, it is a delightful trip to a long-gone era. The fantastic set and excellent direction by Jerry Zaks make this a revival that was certainly worthy of a television broadcast that PBS followed up the following year with their revival of "The Women". To quote Banjo, I never got the feeling that I wanted to go. I only wanted to stay and just recapture this over and over.
Of course, Sheridan Whiteside is not exactly a lovable character although he does get to show a human side with people that he genuinely likes. Whom he doesn't like are the Stanleys, the small-minded well off Ohio residents who invited him for a Christmas holidayvisit that ends up with a nearly permanent stay when he is injured while entering their house thanks to their icy steps. Whiteside does like their children and precedes to interfere in everything they do, simply to spite their parents. He is also intrigued by Mr. Stanley's sister, a sweet woman of mystery who has a secret that we find out late in the show. Rudy Holbrook is quite delightful in this part.
Then there is doctor William Duell, attending to his medical needs and presenting him with a huge copy of the book that he has written. Duell, a familiar character actor, is absolutely adorable and every moment he is on stage you just can't take your eyes off of him just as you couldn't when he co-starred with Lane in the smash-hit revival of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum". Among Whiteside's colleagues and staff are Harriet Harris as his devoted assistant who falls in love with a local newspaper man and gives her notice, causing Lane to go into full scheme mode. Harris, who would win the Tony just a few years later for playing Mrs. Meers in "Thoroughly Modern Millie", is a far cry from the delicious eccentrics that she has played over the years but she is very memorable in playing a basically normal person who knows every scheme that Sheridan is capable of and just as capable of redacting them. Jean smart plays the glamorous movie and stage actress utilized in his schemes and is delightfully over-the-top.
Imitators of El Brendel, Jimmy Durante and Noel Coward are present in other roles and there's a huge cast of insomnia walls and servants, as well as Mary Catherine Wright taking on the role of nurse preen, so famously created on Broadway and in the film and TV versions by the beloved Mary Wickes. right does not do a Wickes impression and the character seems closer to Zasu Pitts (who also played that role) then the tougher Wickes. When Lewis J. Staden comes in during the third Act as the Durante character, laying basically steps to the side.
this is the type of play that if you see it in a theater you go in forgetting what year you are in and just take in the nostalgia. The references to people, trends and events of the late 1930's and early 1940's are overwhelming and it would take several viewings and research to get a lot of them. But for people who are culturally aware of these things from that time, it is a delightful trip to a long-gone era. The fantastic set and excellent direction by Jerry Zaks make this a revival that was certainly worthy of a television broadcast that PBS followed up the following year with their revival of "The Women". To quote Banjo, I never got the feeling that I wanted to go. I only wanted to stay and just recapture this over and over.