Saturday, December 3, 2011

Theater Review: Seminar

Sphere: Related Content Note:
ALAN RICKMAN TO PLAY HIS FINAL PERFORMANCE SUNDAY, APRIL 1; JEFF GOLDBLUM TO ASSUME THE ROLE OF ‘LEONARD’ BEGINNING TUESDAY, APRIL 3
Constructive Criticism without the Constructive Part
By Lauren Yarger
You know all those bad guys Alan Rickman plays so well in  movies like Hans Gruber in "Die Hard," Professor Snape in "Harry Potter," the evil Sheriff of Nottinham in "Robin Hood Prince of Thieves" or Judge Turpin in Tim Burton's dark "Sweeney Todd"? They all look pretty tame compared to Leonard, Rickman's literary teacher/critic who tears apart four wannabe writers enrolled in a Seminar, Theresa Rebeck's play directed on Broadway by Sam Gold.

Leonard redefines the term "thick skinned" for Douglas (Jerry O'Connell), Martin (Hamish Linklater), Kate (Lily Rabe) and Izzy (Hettienne Park) when his barbed tongue whips over their short stories and novels during private seminar sessions at Kate's posh New York apartment (David Zinn provides the scenic and costume design). Kate never quite recovers from Leonard's blistering criticism of just the first sentence of her story, never mind that he was able to discern so much about her from it. She considers quitting and recouping some of the $5,000 she paid for her place in the group.

Douglas, whose story has sparked some interest over at New Yorker magazine gets off a little easier -- or does he? Leonard seems to be able to spew scathing criticism even while complimenting the "whorish perfection" of Douglas' piece. Izzy decides to improve her chances for success by sleeping with the professor, much to the chagrin of Martin who also has the hots for Izzy. He steadfastly refuses to share his work with the class. Kate's rejection at the hands of Leonard is made worse by Martin's -- she has had feelings for him since they were pals in high school.

Rebeck addresses every writer's fear -- that what you have put on paper is a "sucking waste of words." And Rickman is there in delicious wickedness to tell us that they are indeed. Call me a sadist, but I wish Rickman had even more opportunities to stab with his rapier tongue. Those cuts are more fun than some of the sexual relationship drama that unfolds.

Seminar plays at the Golden Theatre, 252 West 45th St., NYC. For tickets, call 800-432-7250.
Christians might also like to know:
-- Show posts a Mature Advisory
--Language
--Lord's name taken in vain
--Nudity
--Sexual dialogue
Posted by Lauren Yarger at 4:06 PM

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My Bio

Lauren Yarger is Executive Director/Producer with Masterwork Productions, Inc. She has written, directed and produced numerous shows and special events for both secular and Christian audiences. She co-wrote a Christian musical version of “A Christmas Carol” which played to sold-out audiences of over 3,000 in Vermont and was awarded the 2000 Vermont Bessie (theater and film awards) for “People’s Choice for Theatre.” She also has written two other dinner theaters, sketches for church services and devotions for Christian artists.

Yarger trained for three years in the Broadway League’s Producer Development Program, completed the Commercial Theater Institute's Producing Three-Day Training and produced a one-woman musical about Mary Magdalene that toured nationally and closed with an off-Broadway run.

In 2008 she was a Fellow at the National Critics Institute at the O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT. She writes reviews of Broadway and off-Broadway theater with an added Christian perspective for Masterwork Productions at http://reflectionsinthelight.blogspot.com/. She is editor of The Connecticut Arts Connection (http://ctarts.blogspot.com), an award-winning website featuring theater and arts news for the state. She is a contributing editor for BroadwayWorld.com and previously served as Connecticut theater editor for CurtainUp and as Connecticut and New York reviewer for American Theater Web.

Yarger is a book reviewer for Publishers Weekly and freelances for other sites. She is a member of the National Book Critics Circle.

She is a freelance writer and playwright and member of The Drama Desk, The Outer Critics Circle, The American Theater Critics Association and The League of Professional Theatre Women. She is a judge for the SDX Awards presented by the Society of Professional Journalists. She also is a member of the CT Press Club, the Connecticut SPJ and the Connecticut Critics Circle.

A former newspaper editor and graduate of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, Yarger also worked in arts management for the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. She lives with her husband in West Granby, CT. They have two adult children.

Copyright

All material is copyright 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 by Lauren Yarger. Reviews and articles may not be reprinted without permission. Contact reflectionsinthelight@gmail.com

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Key to Content Notes:

God's name taken in vain -- means God or Jesus is used in dialogue without speaking directly to or about them.
Language -- means some curse words are used. "Minor" usually means the words are not too strong or that it only occurs once or twice throughout the show.
Strong Language -- means some of the more heavy duty curse words are used.
Nudity -- means a man or woman's backside, a man's lower front or a woman's front are revealed.
Scantily clad -- means actors' private areas are technically covered, but I can see a lot of them.
Sexual Language -- means the dialogue contains sexually explicit language but there's no action.
Sexual Activity -- means a man and woman are performing sexual acts.
Adultery -- Means a married man or woman is involved sexually with someone besides their spouse. If this is depicted with sexual acts on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.
Sex Outside of Marriage -- means a man and woman are involved sexually without being married. If this is depicted sexually on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.
Homosexuality -- means this is in the show, but not physically depicted.
Homosexual activity -- means two persons of the same sex are embracing/kissing. If they do more than that, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.
Cross Dresser -- Means someone is dressing as the opposite sex. If they do more than that on stage the listing would include the corresponding "sexual activity" and/or "homosexual activity" as well.
Cross Gender -- A man is playing a female part or a woman is playing a man's part.
Suggestive Dancing -- means dancing contains sexually suggestive moves.

Other content matters such as torture, suicide or rape will be noted, with details revealed only as necessary in the review itself.

The term "throughout" added to any of the above means it happens many times throughout the show.

Our Reviewing Policy

Our reviewer Lauren Yarger receives free tickets to Broadway and Off-Broadway shows made available to all voting members of the Outer Critics Circle and The Drama Desk, the two professional critics organizations with journalists covering NY theater. Journalistically, she provides an unbiased review and is under no obligation to make positive statements. Sometimes shows do not make tickets available to reviewers. If these are shows our readers want to know about (we review all Broadway shows and pertinent Off-Broadway shows), Masterworks purchases a ticket.

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