When should a play be revived? Is it ever too soon? These were questions I though of when The Roundabout Theatre announce it's revival of the Craig Lucas play, Prelude to a Kiss. These questions were again front of mind tonight after seeing the production. Originally staged in NYC in 1990 at the now defunct Circle Rep, the production starred Alec Baldwin (who would become too hot of a film commodity to do the Broadway transfer), Mary-Louise Parker (in her break-through role) and the legendary Barnard Hughes. The original production won three OBIE Awards, transferred to Broadway, was nominated for a Tony for best play and was subsequently adapted for film starring the then-very-famous Baldwin and Meg Ryan. Flash-forward to 2007, and the play is again on Broadway. Whom did this revival serve? None of the performers live up to the original cast. The play now looks quaint and slightly obvious. The Roundabout Theatre Company looks pathetic with such an uninspired choice. And while lots of set pieces move around and spin, this production doesn't hold a candle to the original. When should a play be revived? When there is a reason to revive it; maybe when a director has something new to say about it. Is it ever too soon? Sadly, yes.For info & tickets: www.roundabouttheatre.org
2 comments:
This is 17 years later! Should we not revive a play simply because the original cast was good? Audiences and critics seem to thoroughly enjoy this production - why deny them a chance to see this enchanting play in a fully realized production?
I was stunned by the critics' opinions of this Prelude to a Kiss. Every “real” person I knew who saw it was completely underwhelmed. This was a third-rate community-theater production certainly not worthy of Broadway prices. I say rent the movie – it's better. This is more like Prelude to a Yawn.
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