Sunday, January 31, 2010

Theater Review: A View from the Bridge

Emotions Fail to Ignite in Revival of the Classic
By Lauren Yarger
A possessive uncle with lust-filled feelings for his niece; his jealous wife; the niece blinded by love for another man who might be gay. All these things are catalysts for what should be an emotionally-charged revival of Arthur Miller’s 1955 classic A View from the Bridge, but mostly phlegmatic performances by actors with no chemistry smolder in a production that never ignites.
Liev Schreiber stars as Eddie Carbone, the longshoreman who has worked his whole life to provide for his wife, Beatrice (Jessica Hecht), and their orphaned niece, Catherine (screen star Scarlett Johansson, making her Broadway debut). Catherine has grown up and has dreams of working as a secretary, but the blooming of her womanhood has Eddie over protecting while harboring some unseemly desires of his own.

His lust doesn’t go unnoticed by Beatrice who tries to advise Catherine to stand up to Eddie and pursue her own happiness with Rodolpho (Morgan Spector), Beatrice’s illegal immigrant cousin who, with his brother, Marco (Corey Stoll), work on the docks to earn money to send back to their family in Italy. While in America, they live with the Carbones in their tenement apartment (rendered in a loud rotating set by designer John Lee Beatty that doubles as the drab exterior of the towering brick buildings). The family lawyer, Alfieri (Michael Christofer), who serves as a sort of narrator for the tale, and who brings to mind Mayor Rudy Giuliani, also urges Eddie to let Catherine go.

Eddie’s irritation only grows, however, when the guys on the docks (Robert Turano and Joe Ricci) keep laughing at the blond Rodolpho who sings, make dresses, cooks and who Eddie insists “isn’t right” (translation from 1955 to 2010: gay). Turano’s contagious laugh is a highlight of the performance, though, Spector’s wooden performance doesn’t clue us in to what’s so funny.

Schreiber is convincing as the unhappy man who reaches terminal velocity and can’t keep himself from plummeting to his finish once he allows his lustful feelings to control him. We’re not sure what all the fuss is about, though, as Johansson, rather stiff while delivering her lines, looks dowdy dressed down in a brunette wig (Tom Watson, hair and wig design) and tailored skirts and sweaters (Jane Greenwood, costumes) and nothing like the screen bombshell who tempts King Henry VIII (“The Other Boleyn Girl”).

In addition, there’s no chemistry between the two stars and none between Johansson and Spector, either. Did Director Gregory Mosher really miss that or the fact that Johansson, 26, hardly looks like a 17-year-old? Maybe he was too occupied trying to make sense of some plot devices like Eddie’s planting a kiss on Rodolpho to prove that the object of Catherine’s affection is gay or Marco’s sudden, violent accusations that Eddie is robbing food from his children’s mouths that make you scratch your head and ask, “really?”

One thing that does fly in this production, however, is spit: lots of it, some scripted, some not. Look out if you’re in the front row.

A View from the Bridge plays through April 4 at the Cort Theatre, 138 West 48th St., NYC. Tickets are available by calling (212) 239-6200, or outside NY: (800) 432-7250. Discounted tickets for friends of Masterwork Productions are available at http://www.givenik.com/?code=Masterworks

Christians might also like to know:
• Show posts a Mature advisory
• God’s name taken in vain
• Language
• One male kisses another
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Our reviews are professional reviews written without a religious bias. At the end of them, you can find a listing of language, content or theological issues that Christians might want to know about when deciding which shows to see.

** Mature indicates that the show has posted an advisory because of content. Usually this means I would recommend no one under the age of 16 attend.

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

My Bio

Lauren Yarger 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 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. Her play concept, "From Reel to Real: The Jennifer O'Neill Story" was presented as part of the League of professional Theatre Women's Julia's reading Room Series in New York. Shifting from reviewing to producing, Yarger owns Gracewell Productions, which produced the Table Reading Series at the Palace Theater in Waterbury, CT. She trained for three years in the Broadway League’s Producer Development Program, completed the Commercial Theater Institute's Producing Intensive and other training and produced a one-woman musical about Mary Magdalene that toured nationally and closed with an off-Broadway run. She was a Fellow at the National Critics Institute at the O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT. She wrote reviews of Broadway and Off-Broadway theater (the only ones you can find in the US with an added Christian perspective) 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 was a contributing editor for BroadwayWorld.com. She previously served as theater reviewer for the Manchester Journal-Inquirer, Connecticut theater editor for CurtainUp.com and as Connecticut and New York reviewer for American Theater Web.

She is a Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter of the League of Professional Theatre Women. She is a former vice president and voting member of The Drama Desk.

She is a freelance writer and playwright (member Dramatists Guild of America). She is a member if the The Outer Critics Circle (producer of the annual awards ceremony) and a member of The League of Professional Theatre Women, serving as Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter. Yarger was a book reviewer for Publishers Weekly 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, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and served for nine years as the Executive Director of Masterwork Productions, Inc. She lives with her husband in West Granby, CT. They have two adult children.

Copyright

All material is copyright 2008- 2024 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.

Derogatory (category added Fall 2012) Language or circumstances where women or people of a certain race are referred to or treated in a negative and demeaning manner.

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.

Reviewing Policy

I receive free seats to Broadway and Off-Broadway shows made available to all voting members of the Outer Critics Circle. Journalistically, I provide an unbiased review and am under no obligation to make positive statements. Sometimes shows do not make tickets available to reviewers. If these are shows my readers want to know about I will purchase a ticket. If a personal friend is involved in a production, I'll let you know, but it won't influence a review. If I feel there is a conflict, I won't review their portion of the production.

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