TOO MANY . . .
. . . words.
It's a worthwhile drama of ideas, an inquiry the nature of genius, a useful venture into another time and culture, respectful of God in the sense of taking God seriously, funny.
But playwright Peter Shaffer surely could have used an editor to chop some of the speeches down to chewable portions.
As for the Alley, it was a typical Georgory Boyd-flavored production. (Yes, I know he didn't direct it. That doesn't mean he didn't favor it.)
First, at least one woman popped her top. The big-bucks subscribers in the front rows can usually count on a wee bit o' soft porn.
Second, the play featured a signature key word that explains all. For Amadeus, it was "mediocrity." For Jekyll and Hyde, "hypocrisy." For Cyrano de Bergerac, "panache."
Sure, the words are in the plays. The Boyd touch is to do everything but light a neon sign at the back of the stage to declare, "This is the meaning, and it's deep!"
Here's an assignment for someone with the time: Collect the key words from all plays at the Alley for the next couple of years, then work them into a small poem about how Houston's very own regional theatre labors so mightily for the moral improvement of the mediocre, hypocritical, panache-challenged bozarts in the audience.
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