Breaking: Claire Danes doesn't suck!

In fact, she's excellent.

I'm still reeling that I'm writing these words - "she's excellent". Truth be told, I have utterly detested Claire Danes ever since she abandoned Angela Chase characters in favor of playing precious, mannered good girls in films far and wide. From Juliet to Cosette in that awful film of Les Miserables to T3 to The Family Stone, she made me want to slap her. Oh, and I hated her in The Hours. And I didn't see Evening, but I hated her in the previews.

Well, imagine my surprise when I found myself charmed by her performance in Roundabout's surprising revival of Pygmalion. Rather than her usual wide-eyed, lost soul film acting, the role of Eliza Doolittle immediately pitches Danes into a character who is gritty, imperfect, gutsy, and not always a good girl. She sinks her teeth into the role pretty fearlessly, especially for an actor still in previews who has never once performed in a play. (She's done two dance shows, but no actual plays). It's not an easy role technically or emotionally, but Claire Danes embodies Eliza with aplomb - from the brassy, salty flower girl to the newly proper lady who will never quite fit in, she is convincing, dynamic, and charismatic enough to make every one of her scenes more interesting than the last. She's not entirely there yet and falters a few times, but as performances continue and she gains the confidence of commanding the stage, there's no doubt that her performance will only deepen and strengthen.

In less surprising but equally satisfying news, Jefferson Mays is triumphant as Henry Higgins. I have to confess to never having seen Pygmalion onstage, but it's hard to imagine that this interpretation of Higgins has been seen before. Mays' Higgins is not the patriarchal taskmaster, but an energetic, set in his ways little boy who never grew up and just wants to play with his linguistics toys. The boys' club created by him and Boyd Gaines' Colonel Pickering reminded me of high school science club, populated by adolescent males who are more interested in the behavior of molecules than the feelings of human beings, let alone women. This new interpretation of the character is fascinating, and just watching the minutiae of Mays' performance is bewitching.

The rest of the cast is more spotty - Boyd Gaines is as lovable as ever, Helen Carey is wonderful as Mrs. Higgins, but Jay O. Sanders seems like he hasn't quite figured out what he's playing yet, and Brenda Whele's painfully general Mrs. Pierce seems yanked off a regional theater stage. But those few hitches aside, it's a totally respectable production with two leading performances that may be the most surprising of the season.

Also - I should note that I saw Pygmalion for $20 through their Hiptix program, which is totally convenient and easy to use. I just called up the hotline, joined the program, and order two tickets. Our seats were far back, but the American Airlines Theatre isn't huge enough for that to be a problem, and it sure beat doing student rush.

Journey's End: Review, and Closing Notice Reactions

After finally seeing the terrific, devestating Journey's End last night, I came into the office this morning to find its closing posted for 6/10. It's very sad... Journey's End is a lovely play that manages to posess plenty of the archetypal war drama plot points, while also seeming fresh, unexpected, surprising and shocking. Written in 1928, it's a beautifully told story of a just a few of the millions of soldiers lost to war, beautifully and lovingly performed by Boyd Gaines, Jefferson Mays, Stark Sands, Hugh Dancey, and a very fine ensemble.

After seeing so many sweeping, epic war films with thousands of CGI soldiers and extras storming beaches and deserted cities, how refreshing and simple to see the experience through the lives of these few guys. Much of the action takes place while the men are waiting for news of an imminent attack, and the opportunity for sitting and talking allows an intimate, raw look inside the terror of being at war, the love and respect between the soldiers, and most of all, their simple humanity. Whereas the big war epics find maximum drama in maximum slaughter, often missing the human element (or being so heavy-handed with emotion that you can't take it seriously), the audience at Journey's End is given a whole first act just to fall in love with these guys, to understand exactly who they are, where they come from, what they care about, and what they fear. I have never seen and felt so clearly that these boys could easily be my brother, my dad, my boyfriend, my schoolteacher.

The raw and beautiful humanity present in the play may, in fact, be it's downfall. Before the curtain rose, I chatted with the woman seated next to me about how empty the house was - even on the day after the Tony nominations. The show has been selling 30, even 20% recently - unbelievable for such a critically lauded show. We wondered aloud if the poor attendance was due to stiff competition from more fun/punchy/exciting plays like Talk Radio, Radio Golf, Frost/Nixon, and other vehicles with more star pull, like The Year of Magical Thinking, Inherit the Wind, and A Moon for the Misbegotten.

Though I'm sure the bevy of alternatives hasn't helped at the Journey's End box office, at the play's conclusion, I had a different theory: it's too difficult, and too painful. During the lead-up to the most emotionally difficult parts of the play, I found myself checking out, even rolling my eyes. "Come on," I thought, "Will we really have to suffer through these boys getting killed?" I couldn't engage in the world of the play, because accepting it's reality was akin to accepting the reality of war. I feel utterly horrified by what our country has engaged in in Iraq, and what we're putting our troops through - no, what we're putting our sons, daughters, dads, moms, boyfriends, girlfriends, brothers, sisters through (not to mention the people of Iraq, or course). My horror and anger is usually back-burnered, however, in favor of escapist cynicism that allows me to keep the terrible truth at bay. When I realized how the connection between this WWI setting and current events was making me keep the play at arm's length, I decided to gently push myself into the play, open up, and accept these characters that you can't help but care immensely for. Of course, that was when I really started enjoying the play, in spite of the waterworks that made me feel like I was back in 8th grade at Les Miz. However, I wouldn't be suprised if many people aren't ready to get in the trenches for 2 1/2 hours via this play. I have a cousin and a few friends at war, and certainly wouldn't blame their families for not wanting to go through this.

This brings up a lot of questions for me - Can a war drama be effective during wartime, or would this play be more useful cathartically if it were staged after the war in Iraq ends? Art certainly can't be put off while war goes on, but we clearly don't have a climate in which Journey's End can survive. Stuff Happens, on the other hand, was a huge success. Perhaps the answer in this case is both - some need to see this play now, and some just can't go there yet. It's just too bad that more people won't get to experience the fine performances in this small, intimate, beautiful play. Here's a link to some discounts - catch it before June 10th if you can.