Word: osvald
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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...first two acts of the play--before the audience learns of Osvald Alving's disease--are like a drawing room comedy, only with little humor. Even if the cast were superb, all that could hold the audience's attention is the pomposity of Parson Manders' (spiritual advisor to Mrs. Alving) and his inability to contend with Osvald's defense of illicit marriage. At great length, the characters speak to each other seriously, but pointlessly, setting up the few magnificent scenes before the final curtain...
Only toward the end of the second act does Mrs. Alving's character begin to evolve. Goaded by Parson Manders, she tells of her life with her husband. The third act includes some exquisitely written dramatic moments, as Mrs. Alving learns of her son's disease and Osvald (who has always lived away from home) of his father's profligacy...
...other major performers are mostly wooden or inconsistent. In the first act, Daniel Markowich (Osvald Alving) fails to suggest any of the intense fear which must haunt him. After one convincing scene--when he tells of his disease--Markewich's performance again trails off until, toward the end, his hysteria occasionally appears a joke...