God Of Carnage (The SOB Revisit)
God Of Carnage (The SOB Revisit) - Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, New York, New York*** (out of ****)
Consider this my visceral tribute to Yasmina Reza's exceptionally brilliant writing that I must now look back on my SOB Review of the 2008 London mounting of her God Of Carnage and revise my overall rating to three and a half stars. Credit the absolute, blissful perfection in the performances from its four stars, Ralph Fiennes, Tamsin Greig, Janet McTeer and Ken Stott.
By finally taking in the Broadway mounting of God Of Carnage with a New York-centric translation from Christopher Hampton, I suffered from the inevitable affliction of comparisons. Yes, the Broadway cast -- Jeff Daniels, Hope Davis, James Gandolfini and Marcia Gay Harden -- is certainly top drawer, but with the sole exception of the magnificent Davis, none of these actors come close to the far superior West End performances that singed themselves into my memory well over a year ago.
Harden may have won the Tony for Best Actress, but she's no McTeer, whose earlier, breathtaking portrayal of Véronique (now Veronica) seemed so much more genuine -- particularly from the start. Daniels is fine, but nothing could be finer than Fiennes' slow steely burn as Alain (now Alan). Gandolfini never quite finds the nuances of Michel (now Michael) quite the way Stott did.
Hope Davis, on the other hand, manages to upstage everyone else, and it's not merely because she literally erupts. It's because she plumbs the depths of Annette's pathos with such natural ease, and yes, grace, that she delivers one of the year's most exciting performances period. Ironically, for the one sole character whose name has not changed in translation, Davis provides a vibrant and exciting new take.
And coming full circle, aside from Davis, the real star of God Of Carnage is Reza's razorsharp wit and ingeniously constructed story, making this a recommended show nonetheless.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Broadway, Christopher Hampton, God Of Carnage, Hope Davis, James Gandolfini, Janet McTeer, Jeff Daniels, Ken Stott, Marcia Gay Harden, Play, Ralph Fiennes, Tamsin Greig, Yasmina Reza
posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Saturday, July 25, 2009
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