Word: staging
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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When Chekhov, then 21, finished the play, he brought it to an actress. After the play was rejected, perhaps because its diffuse narrative would take six to seven hours to stage, he destroyed his manuscript. Another copy, found after his death, has given rise to several adaptations. Frayn's, which lasts 2 1/2 hours, shifts the focus from the leading lady to a man, the schoolteacher Platonov, and provides a wondrous star turn for Ian McKellen, who won a 1981 Tony Award for his portrayal of Salieri in Amadeus...
...beau ideal of a dusty country town, McKellen is all boisterous affection and puckish candor. From the moment he capers onto the stage, he seems infinitely more alive than everyone around him. No matter how thwarted or downcast, he never loses his vision of life as adventure rather than mere existence. But as his admirers gradually realize, the very boyish traits that make Platonov so appealing also render him irresponsible: unlike the safe and predictable dullards around him, he has simply never grown up. In the funniest yet most poignant scene, he feverishly debates whether to stay faithful...
Wild Honey originated at Britain's National Theater. This staging reunites much of the same creative team, including Director Christopher Morahan (TV's The Jewel in the Crown) and Set Designer John Gunter, who delightfully fills the stage with fireworks, birch forests, rustic homes and railroad cars -- the last achieved with special effects cheerily akin to "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" at Disney World. The one vital element not imported was the cast surrounding McKellen. Fortunately, the unevenness of the American replacements barely affects the savor of Wild Honey...
Even sophisticated audiences get a childlike enjoyment out of scenic prestidigitation, and when the anteroom of Orlofsky's villa rotates in the second act to reveal a banquet hall with a sit-down dinner for 57, the marvel is rewarded with outbursts of applause. A revolving stage, however, should not be the highlight of the evening...
MOST PROLIFIC AND IMAGINATIVE RESTAURANT DESIGNER Now that restaurants have become living theaters, it seems fitting that some of the most noteworthy are the creations of a would-be stage-set designer, Paris-born Sam Lopata. Taking New York City as his backdrop, Lopata, 45, has unveiled some half-dozen eateries in the past year alone, each in a distinctive style. Foremost among them are the reserved restoration of the haute cuisine Lutece; the playful deli-diner that is Lox Around the Clock; Casino Pascal, a barren redo of a plusher, earlier Lopata work; and Extra! Extra...