I "SROed" (standing room only) Thursday evening, June 11, at the Jacobs Theatre to see the 2009 Tony award winning best play GOD OF CARNAGE. The show was 90 minutes in length, so the standing room only was not difficult, and actually in the Jacob Theatre, it was a great view of a new play. The four person cast included Marcia Gay Harden (Best Actress, Tony 2009), Jeff Daniels, James Galdolfini and Hope Davis. The casting was superb and I certainly enjoyed seeing three well known actors but I was more taken emotionally by REASONS TO BE PRETTY than I was with GOD OF CARNAGE. As an acting instructor, I was concerned with the vocal strain, particularly in Marcia Gay Harden's performance. I felt that the directing was much more actor controlled and thus there were patterns of movement which became habitual, which is often the case with an interior set and the use of a couch. I also felt that the actors too often pushed emotions from their waists instead of from their entire body and they tended to use too many fist gestures, as if that might have been a metaphor. Honestly, I think it was the actors falling into patterns, which ought to be corrected by the stage manager. I expected more from these veterans.
I "SROed" (standing room only) Thursday evening, June 11, at the Jacobs Theatre to see the 2009 Tony award winning best play GOD OF CARNAGE. The show was 90 minutes in length, so the standing room only was not difficult, and actually in the Jacob Theatre, it was a great view of a new play. The four person cast included Marcia Gay Harden (Best Actress, Tony 2009), Jeff Daniels, James Galdolfini and Hope Davis. The casting was superb and I certainly enjoyed seeing three well known actors but I was more taken emotionally by REASONS TO BE PRETTY than I was with GOD OF CARNAGE. As an acting instructor, I was concerned with the vocal strain, particularly in Marcia Gay Harden's performance. I felt that the directing was much more actor controlled and thus there were patterns of movement which became habitual, which is often the case with an interior set and the use of a couch. I also felt that the actors too often pushed emotions from their waists instead of from their entire body and they tended to use too many fist gestures, as if that might have been a metaphor. Honestly, I think it was the actors falling into patterns, which ought to be corrected by the stage manager. I expected more from these veterans. 
Rambo, I love this review. I didn;t know you had a blog...very cool to see! Keep on!
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