Отчет интересен тем, что девушка, которая его написала не является фанаткой Гейла. Поэтому как бы взгляд со стороны.
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Final report - Suddenly Last SummerReport from SLS
Here are my final comments on the Roundabout production of Suddenly Last Summer, briefly, which I saw today for the final time. And some digressions into fangirls who inspire my eyerolls; and finally, a big "guh" for Gale.
I love Blythe Danner, but I'm not a huge fan of her in this role, if only because I have a different interpretation of the character (I haven’t read the text, I’ve only seen this production from preview, once mid-way, and now in the final week[s]). I thought the Mrs. Venable needs to convey absolute steel under that charming surface, and I don’t think that strength came across enough, although the charm certainly did. There is one point where Mrs. Venable goes after Catherine, and this steely spine really comes out; but her final cry is more pained than strong – which is an interpretation, of course, and makes sense; Violet is ill, after all. I just think the fact that Violet is more concerned about her dead son’s legacy instead of the living people left in his wake (her husband’s relations, not hers, she is quick to point out), says something about her character, and her grief is not the focus of the play’s critique, in my opinion. Ending so that the emotional charge of her final line seems to focus on that human grief, instead of something less human, seems inappropriate to me. I would end this with Violet's cry sounding like a huge, devouring bird. If you know this play, you know what I mean.
Of course, the play doesn’t end with Violet’s pain, it ends with Gale Harold’s last line. I was so pleased to watch this. The first two times I saw the play, Gale delivered the line, “Perhaps we should consider that the girl is telling the truth…” [Someone correct this if I haven’t quoted correctly! It’s from memory, not text.] In the earlier stagings, he delivered the line as if it were a question, and I found it ambiguous in addressing the question of his position in the conflict between Catherine and Violet, although I believe Gale’s body language was definitely on Catherine's side.
This time, Gale’s delivery of the final line makes clear the doctor has become involved with the honesty and emotional devastation of Catherine’s testimony. He is responding to that raw truth, not responding to Violet's well-funded manipulations to suppress that truth's ugliness (this is why I think Violet’s final cry, that the doctor cut that memory out of Catherine’s brain, should focus on Violet’s hardness, not her grief – Violet's response is from a place that will not allow her pain to emerge fully because then she couldn't focus on her denial of the situation and her own role in it; measured against Catherine’s hysteria, Violet's hardness needs to be qualitatively different). The director has changed the staging of the final scene as well; the harsh white light fades on Catherine’s white figure, the final image left with the audience is Catherine's joyful face as she realizes the doctor believes her (in earlier stagings she did not react). I really like this interpretation, and Gale’s delivery of that last line makes it possible. It’s spot on.
I said before his performance was “hit or miss.” Specifically, I had commented:
There was one point where I felt his pitch was too staccato, as if he were so focused on delivering the correct lines that he hadn’t gotten to the tone yet (again, the reason I noted in the beginning of this commentary that this play is still in previews).
I’m happy to say that there are more hits now; he is much more comfortable in the role. Still, the delivery remains too studied in many places. This time I did notice, however, that part of the problem is the dialog as it’s written. At one point the doctor retrieves a lighter for Violet’s cigarette; she points to the lighter on a side table across the room and he responds with something along the lines of, “Yes, I see it,” or “Yes, there it is” (again, someone remind me; I should have taken notes). That’s not natural dialog. The doctor is set up to be staccato, out of sync with the lushness of the garden, the heat of the family dynamic. He’s been summoned by the promise of funding for his work; that’s how Violet wields her power over everyone in the play, the power Catherine’s honesty negates. Again, when the doctor flicks the lighter and the flame shoots up, his response is, “Lord, what a torch!” Notice all those long “o’s” – the phrasing is deliberately elongated so it seems an unnaturally studied reaction to what should be a panicked response to a flame shooting up in one’s face. “Shit!” or “Woah!” or something equally succinct would be more in keeping (although, the doctor might say, "My!"). So the doctor is supposed to be studied, and I think that the writing is in part responsible for how this comes across in Gale's delivery.
But, IMO, a stronger actor could overcome that. I think that there are places where Gale’s interpretation could allow the emotional man we see in that last line to peer through more to hint at the later contrast to the studied doctor who is hoping for Violet’s funding. There’s a point where Dr. Sugar opens up and tells Violet he needs the money in part because he really cares for his research and subjects, and he wants to marry his fiancé… and the lines come off stilted. I don’t think the doctor is lying; it’s that Gale seems too much into the early controlled doctor mode. At a point where he should make a fast shift into vulnerability and back, he either can’t, doesn’t think to, or isn’t directed to. The lines are delivered too staccato, his intonation is too forceful.
However, as I said, more hits than in previews. Dr. Sugar has an exchange deep in his interview with Catherine, where she’s imitating some sounds of the street musicians on the day her cousin died; she’s imitating “oom-pah, oom-pah, like a, like a…” And the doctor picks up, “Like a tuba…” So we see him getting in sync with her, and that lovely onomatopoeia in the lines there brings the audience into the weird-sounding horror as Catherine’s past is pulled into the present and acted out in the sounds of those “ooh, ah, oom-pah, tuba…” The first time hearing this exchange, I squirmed, because the timing was off and it was out of sync, and sounded kind of silly. This time, the tone and timing between the actors was perfect, and it worked.
So, my summing up is: This is a really, really difficult play to pull off, and it was pretty good, but not great (the set itself was the best thing on the stage, it was just gorgeous, but it didn't have to act). Gale was okay. His work into the role over time was really fun to watch, and I got a lot out of the play from having this experience, and analyzing it for you!
Okay, for the fangirl observations and desiderata:
1) There was a fangirl sitting behind me who kept pushing her knees up against the back of my chair, pushing me forward slightly, over and over, just enough so I couldn’t say anything without looking unjustifiably bitchy, but the movement of my seat was enough to be really annoying. But that wasn’t why I wanted to kill her. When Gale came out on the stage, I swear she was ready to orgasm right there, judging by the hot breath hitting the back of my neck the panting. Every so often, when Gale did something or turned our way, presenting that face in a certain light, she squeed just under her breath. And, of course, she let out a wild and very loud cheer when he took his bow. I checked her out when I got up, and I realized that I've seen her at every production I've gone to with either Gale or Randy. That kind of creeped me out. Plus, right before the houselights dimmed, I heard her say, distinctly, "six." So, I guess, if she goes to the play again (apparently the run has been extended), that will be "seven." She doesn't live in New York. Creepy.
2) Gale placed his hand on Blythe’s back and escorted her off stage after the bows. Last time I saw the play, he waltzed her off. What I’m saying is, he was very attentive to her.
3) I watched the post-show autograph signing. There were about fifteen people waiting for him, and he came out, signed, and then took off (followed by two fangirls hot on his heels). I stood back and watched an extremely charming Gale sign playbills. And I was completely blown away by how young he looks. What the fuck did S5 do to that man? It makes me wonder; you’d have to seriously work to make the man I saw post-show look as bad as he looked in S5. “Completely stunned” sums up my reaction to seeing him; he looks better in person even than on stage (is it the makeup and/or lighting?). And whatever his handling of his fans toward the beginning of the run, now he is charming. He very much impressed the women I was when they met him over their playbills. Apparently, he is most gracious and charming, very attractive. “His skin just glows,” as one of my friends said. He had on the reported black fedora with the feather – a great look for him (plus it hides the blond, thank goodness!). I was very amused by the security guard hovering in the background, although I suppose it is no laughing matter.
In all, it’s been a wonderful experience having Gale with us in New York! Are there any reports on where he’s off to next?