Let me preface this review by saying that I was familiar with Peter Shaffer's play before I saw the performance this evening. I had read the play and seen the movie, both of which I was impressed with. I had read some of the rave reviews from London and I admire both Griffiths and Radcliffe as actors...needless to say, I had extremely high expectations for this production. I am proud to report that my expectations were exceeded...this play is absolutely brilliant...and it has a first-rate production to boot.
There is no show curtain, and when you walk into the theater, you see the six horse heads propped up on the six stables and four pillars in the center of the stage on top of another platform. Throughout the show, the four pillars are used as chairs, tables, beds, etc...they are periodically moved around by the actors during scenes. I was impressed by how "choreographed" the entire show had to be, even in the scenes without the six horses. The lighting was stunning, particularly in the final scenes in Act 1 and Act 2...WOW. There was also very effective use of a fog machine, which added to the atmosphere. I honestly don't think the production itself could have been any better.
Daniel Radcliffe as Alan Strang. This is such a tough role for anyone to play. Alan has such psychological issues and to portray that on stage a couple times is difficult, let alone eight time a week. Daniel was perfect in the role. His facial expressions, line deliveries, interaction with Griffiths, his hand gestures, his intonation...wow. His scenes at the ends of Act 1 and Act 2 were bloody brilliant. I also have to give him credit for doing the nude scene at the end of the show. Being totally exposed on stage, fo an extended period of time, in front of all those people must be so difficult, and he pulled it off brilliantly. He completely stayed in character the entire time and truly took the audience on this crazy journey with him. I admire him and am thrilled that he chose this play to make his Broadway debut.
Richard Griffiths as Martin Dysart. Perfection. I'm not sure there is anything else to say. He was Martin Dysart. Not only was he able to pull off being a psychiatrist, questioning Alan, questioning his parents, Hesther, etc. Through his interaction with others, he allowed the audience to psychologically evaluate him, which was so interesting. We found out little tidbits about his life, which you don't often get to delve into with psychiatrists...it is usually all about the patients. Griffiths even got applause after one of his lengthy monologues in Act 2, in talking to Hesther...well deserved too! I did not care for THE HISTORY BOYS at all, but his performance tonight was certainly Tony-worthy. Excellent job.
Oh, and in case you were wondering about the stage door scene...it was INSANE. When I got out of the theater (and I was one of the first out), there was already a mob scene out there. I will have to go back another time to get my poster signed...no big deal though.
Here is another account from a girl that tried to wait for Dan outside the stage doors:
I was walking by tonight when the stage door crowd was there. It was INSANE. There must have been 300-500 people there. People by the barricades, even more people across the street. Richard came out and got right into his car. Daniel came out and signed for the people in the front for a few minutes before leaving. And he was signing everything, including Harry Potter pictures.
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