Category Archives: Patricia N. Saffran

PATRICIA N. SAFFRAN ON EUGENE O’NEILL’S ‘RECKLESSNESS’ AND ‘NOW I ASK YOU’ · Jun 11th

(Above – Terrell Wheeler and Emily Bennett)

The Metropolitan’s double bill opened last night, 6/10–a must see. Patty

Metropolitan Playhouse performs two extremely rare Eugene O’Neill plays that were never staged during his lifetime, and rarely since then. Recklessness and Now I Ask You were written during O’Neill’s first summer in Providencetown in 1916, and both have a similar theme of women trying to break out of the rigid roles that society has proscribed for them. Kelly King is outstanding as the wealthy Arthur Baldwin, who extracts revenge on his much younger wife’s straying. While the play may be viewed as a tragedy, it’s also wildly satirical and the way that King plays the part, it’s almost a comedy. Now I Ask You features race neutral casting, that has the effect of updating a play set in 1916 among the Gramercy Park set. Terrell Wheeler as Tom Drayton and Emily Bennett, his love interest, Lucy Ashleigh, spar in a convoluted plot, while disguising their love. Terrell told me, “It’s my first time performing at Metropolitan, and I felt very relaxed here from the first preview on. Normally. I perform contemporary plays or Shakespeare, so this was my first revival and I found it very stimulating.” Metropolitan’s artistic director, Alex Roe, directed, masterfully, and said, “I found these two rare O’Neill plays listed on their website. Now I Ask You was never finished to O’Neill’s liking, and he handed it to his second wife to work on, but she just let it sit around, and the play was more or less forgotten.” Fortunately, both plays surface with wonderful revivals that reveal another facet of O’Neill’s talent.

PATRICIA N. SAFFRAN ON ‘EYE IN THE SKY’—ALAN RICKMAN’S LAST SERIOUS FILM · May 21st

Helen Mirren as a colonel and the late Alan Rickman as a general star in this espionage military thriller about the moral value of collateral damage caused by targeted drone killing. Tracking terrorists is shown in Nairobi with mini drones that are bugs and birds which are amusing even if deadly. Jeremy Northam sits around the planning table discussing morality and chain of command for decisions about when to strike, and with his talent he could be given more to do. The entire team in different locations is concerned about a child who is located where the drone needs to strike to remove fanatic Muslim terrorists that include a Brit who converted and her Muslim husband from the US. The chain of command gets a good workout asking others to take the blame for possibly killing one child. It just isn’t realistic that the military would be concerned with collateral damage that’s only one child, no matter how appealing. There also isn’t enough action compared to another espionage thriller concerned with the moral issues of ops – The Enemy of the State. Still this is a worthwhile movie because of the actors. – Patty

Trailer here –

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2057392/?ref_=ttfc_ql

PATRICIA N. SAFFRAN ON ‘TOAST’ BY RICHARD BEAN · Apr 27th

It’s hard to imagine how Richard Bean’s early play, from 1999, has come back on stage, now at 59 East 59th St Theaters (as part of the annual Brits Off Broadway festival). There is nothing but offensive, sophomoric crotch grabbing, swearing, and fist pumping, standing in for sex, with no recognizable plot. The play takes place in an outmoded, filthy bakery that should have been closed down by any kind of health inspector, but hey, these are lower-class bakers just doing their jobs, without any dignity given to them by the playwright. The set is comprised of all gray, dirty walls–from flour and used tea bags constantly being banged against them (the bags somehow always miss the over-filled, never-changed trash can). Matthew Kelly, as Nellie, leads a fine cast who have nowhere to go in this play. None of the actors seemed comfortable with their lines, nor should they be. Bean’s One Man, Two Govnors had the same problem regarding juvenile swearing. It made a US star of James Corden, but he would have been even funnier in the real Goldoni play, from 1743, which didn’t need updating to be relevant or comical. We saw a revival of the original not long before Bean’s version. Pass up Toast.

PATRICIA N. SAFFRAN ON BEVERLY JOHNSON AND ‘THE FACE THAT CHANGED IT ALL’ · Sep 10th

At the party last night for Beverly Johnson at the Museum of the City of New York.

I finished the book but couldn’t find anyone else who had to discuss it. I think Beverly was very brave to write what she did about her husbands, and the drug and alcohol problems. Surely this will help some to find a way out. She was way too easy on the modeling and magazine industries. Just one story about Ford? The Fords leaving her behind in Capri was so cruel so there had to have been more. What about the magazine editors standing around and making snide comments? Not in her book. I would also have liked to read more about Beverly’s one movie Ashanti and how it was to work with Michael Caine. She studied with Lee Strasberg and was great in her movie role. At the time she says there were few roles for African American women. Beverly would have been a sensational Bond girl, and she was a natural lighting up the screen so it’s a shame she couldn’t do more acting. – Patty

View THE FACE THAT CHANGED IT ALL on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Face-That-Changed-All/dp/1476774412

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