Anton Chekhov's The Seagull (Broadway Theatre Archive) (1975) Review

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(More customer reviews)The actress Blythe Danner is Gwyneth Paltrow's mother, and some of us think she could have been just as big a star. Here is one of her very best performances in this PBS version from the 1970's of Anton Chekhov's classic play, "The Seagull." She plays Nina, a country girl who falls in love with the dissolute novelist Trigorin (Kevin McCarthy). She is the very incarnation of innocence and happiness in the first three acts. She uses that throaty voice, enormous eyes and piercing sweetness to make us care deeply about the character. Then in act four she transforms herself into Trigorin's destroyed victim and the result is heartwrenching. A great performance by a sadly neglected great actress. This video is part of the "Broadway Theatre Archive", a collection of plays taped for PBS as part of their "Theatre in America" series. Every drams buff should seek them out.

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This quintessential Chekhov drama--his first success--is both comic and tragic. A group of friends and relations gather at a country estate to see the first performance of an experimental play written and staged by the young man of the house, Konstantin (Frank Langella), an aspiring writer who dreams of bringing new forms to the theatre. Among the audience are Konstantin's self-centered mother, the actress Arkadina, and her lover, the novelist Trigorin. Their glamorous presence not only disrupts the performance, but also soon takes on a more profound significance for the lives of all those present.

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The Trial of the Moke (Broadway Theatre Archive) Review

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(More customer reviews)Henry O. Flipper (played with subtlety by Franklyn Seales), the son of a white mother and a black father, particularly resented being called a "moke," a crossbred ass, the equivalent of a mule. "Moke," however, was just one of the names he was called as a cadet at West Point. Though there had been other non-white cadets, Flipper was the first to ignore all the harassment and actually graduate. In this play, Flipper is in his third year as a lieutenant in the army, stationed at Fort Davis, Texas, and his race has become an issue. A new, grassroots colonel (crudely played by Robert Burr) and a group of uneducated fellow officers frame Flipper, the only black officer, and put him on trial for stealing funds from his commissary job.
Produced in 1978, this play by Daniel Stein, set in 1881, illustrates the depth of resentment against educated black men, even in the army. Seales carries the weight of the play's message, but he keeps the drama under control, resisting the temptation to push the message by "emoting" for dramatic effect. Instead, he portrays Henry Flipper with the dignity and self-respect which were his due. Alfre Woodard sensitively portrays Lucy, the black maid who is attracted to him, representing Flipper's opportunity to become part of black society and anchoring the play thematically. Johnson Whittaker (Samuel L. Jackson), a fellow cadet at West Point, appears and reappears as a ghost through Flipper's memories. Whittaker was dismissed from West Point when Flipper did not support him in a trial.
Black/white issues permeate the visual aspects of the drama, which features tasteless entertainments starring a white man in blackface playing Frederick Douglas, "the head of the Miscegenation Society"; blackfaced minstrels appearing in black and white (though the rest of the film is in color) as ghosts during Flipper's trial; and repeated references to "twilight," when the day is part white daylight and part black night. The trial is a foregone conclusion from the beginning, but Flipper and his lawyer fight the authorities for weeks.
A true story, the play, directed by Stan Lathan, drew public attention to this injustice when it was presented by the Milwaukee Repertory Theater in 1976, and was instrumental in having the court martial reversed, posthumously. Flipper, after serving as a respected mining engineer, was reburied with military honors later that year. The acting is superb, the production is thoughtfully presented, though a bit didactic, and the message is still pertinent. Mary Whipple


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The Good Doctor (Broadway Theatre Archive) (1978) Review

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(More customer reviews)The cream of the Broadway Theatre Archive, this production has it all--the stories of Anton Chekhov, Neil Simon to mold the stories into exquisitely timed and hilarious theatre, and a cast that is hard to duplicate. Starring Marsha Mason, who plays everything from a maid to a lady of the night; Ed Asner who is a terrific, blustering general; and Lee Grant, who ranges from a wily and assertive employer to a wild woman with a "nervous disorder," the production also includes Bob Dishy, who has an elastic face and expressive eyes, starring in "The Sneeze" and "The Seduction," and Gary Dontzig as the "Drowned Man" and a 19-year-old son about to be introduced to sex for the first time.
The seven Chekhov stories which become one-act plays here are filled with dry humor, surprise endings, and clever common people in confrontations with "superiors" which end in absurdity. "The Sneezer" cannot apologize enough to the general who is his boss at work, then believes that he himself has been humiliated. In "The Governess," an employer (Grant) tricks a subservient governess (Mason) out of 80% of her pay. "The Seduction" shows a man-about-town (Chamberlain) using a husband as the conduit for his seduction of the man's wife, a story with a twist at the end. "The Drowned Man" (Dontzig) claims to be in the "maritime entertainment business" and will "drown" for a small fee. "The Defenseless Creature" gives Grant her star turn, and she is hilarious as the clever wife who wants money from a banker (Chamberlain), threatening him with a curse if he refuses. In "The Arrangement" a father takes his shy, 19-year-old son to a house of ill repute, then realizes that the son will no longer be a boy.
The most stunning episode is "The Audition," and anyone interested in acting would do well to study Marsha Mason, who is magnificent here. Playing the parts of all three sisters from the conclusion of Chekhov's The Three Sisters, she is sensitive, bursts into tears on cue, then becomes rational and straightforward. As Mason convincingly plays the three different roles, one witnesses a truly great acting moment. Each of the scenes is beautifully produced and sensitively acted, and the viewer comes away from the production awed by Chekhov's writing, Simon's dramatic sense, and the ensemble cast's incredible talent. Mary Whipple


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Let Me Hear You Whisper (Broadway Theatre Archive) (1969) Review

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(More customer reviews)Ruth White was a Broadway stage, film, and television actress with an enormous range of talent. None better than in this 70 minute display. She plays a lonely night cleaner in a science laboratory. She befriends the dolphin and they form a unique communication between them that they understand. The dolphin represents her in many ways. The dolphin is trapped in a pool of water with no where to go. He wants to go to the sea and Ruth's character would do anything for him. If the dolphin does not talk to others, he will lose his life. Ruth's admirable performance is worth watching. If you're a Ruth White fan, you will certainly appreciate this drama. Bil Baird is the puppeteer behind the dolphin and Elizabeth Wilson plays a very cold well-meaning night manager. All of the characters appear to be as lonely as the dolphin in the cage.

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Wendy Wassertein's Kiss, Kiss, Dahlings / Terrence McNally's The Last Mile (1992) Review

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(More customer reviews)This show was broadcast in 1992 for the 20th anniversary of "Great Performances."
Hard to believe, but the DVD contains two plays, each only about 15 minutes long. With this much brevity, it won't surprise you to hear that neither play outstays its welcome.
The first, "Kiss, Kiss, Dahlings," is divided into three short acts. The three actresses (Blythe Danner, Cynthia Nixon and Nancy Marchand) play three generations of stage actresses in three different time periods. This is a love letter to the theater from the late Wendy Wasserstein, and light fare.
The second is about a nervous opera soprano about to make her debut at the Met in "Tosca." Written by Terrence McNally, this is the better piece. It stars the incandescent Bernadette Peters, who is astonishingly vulnerable at times.
Opera fans will get a couple of big laughs from the inside jokes McNally weaves in, but even non-opera folks can enjoy it. A relatively restrained Nathan Lane, a relatively unrestrained Paul Sorvino and a very funny Bill Irwin also register in their roles.
All that said, I'm not sure it's worth buying the DVD for only 30 minutes of drama. Perhaps rent it first and then determine if it's something you'll want to view again and again.

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The Patriots (Broadway Theatre Archive) Review

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(More customer reviews)Here's a little-known gem from 1976.
"The Patriots" tells the tale of a struggling, post-Revolution America from Thomas Jefferson's point of view. Easily on a par with the more famous musical "1776", this serious drama outlines Jefferson's conflict with the philosphy of Alexander Hamilton (Philip LeStrange).
The performances are top notch, especially Jefferson (Robert Murch) and Washington (Ralph Clanton). Both forefathers spring to life under the steady hands of the actors who portray them. You'll be hard pressed to find a better or more memorable portrayal of these two men once you sample "The Patriots". Madison, Monroe and Hamilton also become real human beings, in place of the marble statuary we are so used to.
Also of note is the accurate depiction of the little-known danger facing the young American nation in the 1780's-90's, as forces conspire to impose a monarchy and dissolve the Constitution. Jefferson helped to stem the tide, and his role in that conflict is ably demonstrated here.
There is some minor television-acceptable cursing, but nothing kids can't handle today. Kids ought to watch this anyway, as it makes history come alive in ways that books sometimes cannot.
The transfer here is excellent, so you won't suffer the common video errors from some poorer transfers to DVD. If you like Jefferson, Revolutionary Era history, or just good theatre, this one's a keeper.

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Zalmen or the Madness of God (Broadway Theatre Archive) (1975) Review

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(More customer reviews)Most familiar with the works of Elie Wiesel will think of his memorable semi-autobiographical novels, his two-volume memoir or his long and unflagging effort to bring the issue of human rights--not only Jewish human rights--before the eyes of the world. Here, we see a different Wiesel, even different than the man who stood up to Ronald Reagan when he urged him (unsuccessfully) not to visit Bitburg. it is not so much that his theme--the plight of oppressed Jews-- is unfamiliar. Rather, it is how it is revealed. Not only is it a play, and brilliantly cast, but, as some may remember from its appearance many years ago on PBS, it focuses us on post-World War II history, the struggle of Jews in freshly post-Stalinist Russia. Joseph Wiseman is the old Rabbi of the town who has nearly given up hope of ever seeing his people breath the brisk air of freedom, and, at the same time, grieving for his spiritually wayward daughter, while he and his neighbors and congregants alike cow-tow to the local officials who gently strong-arm them to behave and shut up. Richard Bauer, as the synagogue beadle, and crazy like a fox, tries to lift Wiseman out of his spiritual malaise and speak out. There is great humanity here, and--please--it is not just for a Jewish audience, much like, I would argue, is the case with most of the Wiesel canon. Watch this and be changed.

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Neighbors (Broadway Theatre Archive) (1971) Review

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(More customer reviews)Many may know the author, Arkady Leokum, as one who writes "Tel Me Why" childrens' books. As a playwright, Leukom has written the humorous short play "Enemies".
"Neighbors" is mostly one-on-one dialogue which doesn't entail any grand or lengthy monologues. The 70s performance is a television cast with veteran actor Andrew Duggan, Jane Wyatt (Father Knows Best), actress Cicely Tyson and Raymond St. Jacques (Roots). The scene takes place in the living room of a nice suburban New York home.
A well-to-do elderly white couple, Chuck and Mary, prepare for a visit to their home from prospective buyers, a young, also well-to-do, black couple, Bill and Vicky, from Harlem. Bill and Vicky's reason for buying into a "lily-white" neighborhood is for the schools, to buy their children an education. That's it!
Owners Chuck and Mary Robinson are stay-at-homes who thrive on community social involvement and indirectly, they lead the black couple to believe that involvement and responsibility to the community is the "thing" to do.
On the other hand, perspective buyer, Bill, a salesman, is a world traveler, and not home much, and he is confident with himself. Vicky is a Soul Sister who does for herself, has a maid, gets her nails and hair done, shops, and is strictly into being a w-o-m-a-n for her man. Bill and Vicky have absolutely no interest in community involvement.

The action begins after looking around the home and chatting about themselves. The sale is made and things get crazy when the black couple assumes that the white couple suggests "they behave like whites and get involved in the community"!
This short play is great! ....Rizzo


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