Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Vieux Carré

The Wooster Group revives Tennessee Williams' Vieux Carré -- which had played Broadway for a total of 17 performances back in 1977. I enjoyed it more than the last two Wooster shows I caught, "Hamlet" and North Atlantic, but still felt it petered out halfway through. May we have a case of diminishing returns here?

2 comments:

Luke N. Atmaguchi said...

Down here in Austin, the Harry Ransom Center - aka Public Storage For Major Authors - is also commemorating Tennessee's centennial, major exhibition up. Tonight they raked over how Summer and Smoke transformed into The Eccentricities of a Nightingale, with staged readings of scenes and the commentary of a Williams scholar.

YOU would be the perfect drama critic / webcast host for the Ransom Center. I envision you and, say, David Mamet (Ransom Storage client) b.s.-ing, then into the stacks for irreverent chats about Williams, Arthur Miller, etc.

Elisabeth Vincentelli said...

Aw shucks, that's very nice. I'm not sure how a debate between me and Mamet would go though!
I've been getting into Tennessee Williams' latter work. It's so weird and explicit about his obsessions. But to be done well, it really requires imaginative directors, of which there is a paucity.