God Of Carnage (The SOB Revisit) - Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, New York, New York
***1/2 (out of ****)Late yesterday,
it was announced that the closing for
Yazmina Reza's
God Of Carnage -- last year's Tony Award-winning Best Play -- would be advanced to June 6.
What a pity, especially now that the show is finally in about the best shape I've ever seen it, and that includes performances on both sides of the Atlantic.
With original London cast member
Janet McTeer taking on the role of Vernonica, plus
Jeff Daniels now portraying Michael -- which honestly is much better suited to his talent -- the riotous play is even funnier and more fierce than ever. Topping it off in losing her lunch is
Lucy Liu alongside
Dylan Baker as her smarmy attorney spouse.
My only quibble with the Broadway production is a seemingly tiny change en route from the West End to the Great White Way. I never had any real issue with the comedy's setting being altered from Paris to New York, which was the biggest change between the two productions, along with the characters' names being tweaked accordingly.
But when I first saw
God Of Carnage in London two years ago, there was a line there that struck me to the point I even wrote about it in my initial
SOB Review there. Janet McTeer's character essentially shouted at one key point, "We're all fundamentally uncouth." The line and its delivery gripped me. It brilliantly exposed the incivility of this and every other conflict in our modern world.
When
I first saw the show on Broadway last year, I was waiting for, yet never heard, that remarkably transformative line. Neither did I hear it when I returned to see it with its current cast. I was left puzzled. Had I actually remembered the London incarnation incorrectly?
Since McTeer would certainly know, I decided to visit the stage door and pose the question to her directly to see if my recollection was just plain wrong. She told me that the line was replaced with "we're all f***ing neanderthals" for American audiences. Was I ever dismayed, particularly since the line had worked so well in London. Guess it just shows to go you what the
director, the playwright and the
translator must
really think of their American audiences -- we're apparently so uncouth that we can't even understand the meaning of the word.
Oh well. Irrespective of that nit, my third time with the show was the charm. And Janet McTeer? Well, she's just plain charming.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
In keeping with the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post.Labels: Broadway, Dylan Baker, God Of Carnage, Janet McTeer, Jeff Daniels, Lucy Liu, Matthew Warchus, Play, The SOB Revisit, Yasmina Reza
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
What Hath God Wrought?Yesterday, the Broadway incarnation of
God Of Carnage opened to a slew of
pretty decent reviews, including the
one that seems to matter most.
Helmed by
Matthew Warchus , the Great White Way staging of
Yasmina Reza's latest work (with translation from
Christopher Hampton) stars
Jeff Daniels,
Hope Davis,
James Gandolfini and
Marcia Gay Harden.
After having thoroughly enjoyed last year's brilliant London production with
Ralph Fiennes and absolutely mesmerizing
Janet McTeer -- click here for that
SOB Review -- I find this morning's favorable critiques to be very tempting for a revisit to this visceral comedy. Oh, and if you'd like to see McTeer, your opportunity comes later this month as the London-cum-Broadway revival of
Mary Stuart begins previews.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Broadway, Christopher Hampton, Critics' Capsule, God Of Carnage, Hope Davis, James Gandolfini, Janet McTeer, Jeff Daniels, Marcia Gay Harden, Mary Stuart, Play, Yasmina Reza
Get Ready For Carnage On BroadwayNo, I'm not talking about all hell breaking loose once all the myriad shows have closed on the Great White Way over the next week and a half.
Instead, I'm talking about the upcoming Broadway berth of
Yasmina Reza's wickedly funny and downright, um, visceral
God Of Carnage descending upon a Rialto stage later this spring.
According to
Baz Bamigboye of London's Daily Mail, the Main Stem incarnation will star
Jeff Daniels,
Hope Davis,
Marcia Gay Harden and
James Gandolfini.
After having enjoyed the West End mounting (which included what the West End Whingers have graciously named the "
year's best vomiting scene"), I'll be anxiously awaiting the new staging.
And with this cast, so should you.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Broadway, First Word On New Show, God Of Carnage, Hope Davis, James Gandolfini, Jeff Daniels, London, Marcia Gay Harden, Yasmina Reza
God Of Carnage (The SOB Review) - Gielgud Theatre, London, United Kingdom
***1/2 (out of ****)It doesn't take very long during
Yasmina Reza's latest effort
God Of Carnage -- as adapted by frequent Reza translator
Christopher Hampton -- to get to its very exacting, visceral guts.
By the time seemingly mild-mannered French housewife Véronique Vallon (an absolutely brilliant
Janet McTeer) declares, "We're all fundamentally uncouth," all hell has already broken loose. And what a riot it is.
Alain and Annette Reille (
Ralph Fiennes and
Tamsin Greig, respectively) have been summoned to the home of Véronique and her husband Michel (
Ken Stott) after their son has bullied the Vallon's boy. Civility goes out the window almost as quickly as Annette's lunch -- along with every defensive insult -- is hurled in every direction. Alliances quickly realign depending upon the argument
du moment.With
Matthew Warchus' razorsharp, precise direction and finely calibrated and downright funny performances from his superb cast of four, it doesn't really matter that Reza is telling all of us that like the characters in
God Of Carnage, we're all basically rude, too. Set against
Mark Thompson's appropriately stylish blood-red set, it's the delivery of this massacre that makes it an engrossing kill worth watching.
As Alain, Fiennes offers a steely slow burn as the ethically-challenged businessman who can't be bothered with the niceties or apologies he's been asked to submit. Turns out, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, but in this case, the junior Reille has branched out and uses sticks as his weapon. Try as she might, not even Annette can mask Alain's insouciance. Although in one of the most rip-roaring, ribald reflexes I've ever seen give way on a stage to date, Greig shocks as her Annette erupts quite literally.
Even as the aggrieved, put-upon Vallons, McTeer and Stott excel at slithering down to the most ignoble base of their beings. But it's McTeer's Véronique who steals the show with a meltdown from the responsible citizen of the world she fancies herself as being into the real human being she truly is.
Yet unlike
Harold Pinter's
The Homecoming, which presents a mostly vile family virtually lacking in any preposessing virtues, Reza's buoyant new work credibly serves up an assortment of readily recognizable, fully-rounded married couples who march to the beat of a drum we've likely thumped ourselves. And it's all done with a decent dose of humor that makes this 100 minute performance riveting entertainment.
Post Script: It looks as though that drum will be beating closer to home as it's been
announced today that Reza's play will see a New York mounting sometime next year.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:London Calling, Celebrity Sightings (April 22, 2008)
The Homecoming (The SOB Review) (January 17, 2008)
Labels: Christopher Hampton, God Of Carnage, Janet McTeer, Ken Stott, London, Mark Thompson, Matthew Warchus, Play, Ralph Fiennes, Tamsin Greig, The SOB Review, Transfer, Yasmina Reza
