Sight Unseen
Jonathan Waxman's paintings are in such demand, people from Park Avenue to Tokyo are buying work he's yet to do "sight unseen." He's enjoyed far more than 15 minutes of fame. What he misses, as he's having a retrospective of his work in London, are his 15 minutes of inspiration - 17 years ago. A story rarely has just two sides. Good ones, like Donald Margulies's 1991 drama, can have a dozen. Sight Unseen refuses to stand still. Waxman, for example, is a montage of competing impulses. Why has he come to see his ex-lover Patricia? Lord his success over her? Ask forgiveness? Rediscover lost inspiration? Or just connect with someone, anyone? All, and possibly more, of the above. Like Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along (also about an artist who has lost his way), Sight moves back in time. Given its technical experimentation (Waxman's one of the best examples we have of a deconstructed character), you'd think the play would be stiff and depersonalized. It isn't. It's alive and unfolds like a slowly turning prism, revealing new, unexpected twists. Although the Old Globe's opening night had some rough edges, the Esther Emery-directed production served Margulies's fascinating script. Anthony Crane (Waxman), Ron Choularton (Nick, the ex-lover's husband), and especially Kelly McAndrew as Patricia effectively probe the play's twisting, emotional core.
Worth a try.
When
Ongoing until Sunday, September 7, 2008
Hours
| Sundays, 2pm & 7pm |
| Tuesdays, 7pm |
| Wednesdays, 7pm |
| Thursdays, 8pm |
| Fridays, 8pm |
| Saturdays, 2pm & 8pm |