Matthew Rettenmund (of Boy Culture fame) found a stack of old Playbills dating back to the ’60s at the Broadway Flea Market yesterday. What makes them really fun is that the theater-goer who collected them jotted down his own (often scathing) reviews on the covers. Torch Song Trilogy? “Too much mugging and the fat fag with a gravel voice never could be believed.” Evita? “So so. Couldn’t understand words—2nd rate spectacle” and Gloria Swanson in Butterflies Are Free? “She is TERRIBLE.” Ouch. Check them out after the jump. (t/y Tom)
3-3-1976: “Eclectic Fosse—he’s done all this—and better. Interesting set but silly fable, caricature parts and no real dancing. Missed Rivera. Verdon supposed to be a dancer but he didn’t give her a thing. What worked in Berlin flops in Chicago. Bad book, music + direction. Stars not used. Come on Bob!”
7-22-1982: “4 hours of a comic gay love story. He can write, especially but acts 1 + 2 are too long and loosely constructed (?). III is fine (?) Mr. Fierstein has great energy but I didn’t believe his character til moments in Act III—too much mugging and somehow a fat fag with a gravel voice never could be believed. But he has talent—clip, clip.”
2-24-67: “Strange, amusing and light treatment of lesbian horribles. The idea is communicated with air of witty perversity. Well writte, flowed, few interest gaps. Excellent cast led by Reid. Dull set. Entertaining theater, no telling point to it all—girls will be girls.”
4-16-1970: “I didn’t know the play well and hared it was dated, but unless midle age is reaching me for more placid theater—I loved the show. It is easy and fun and structured—but it seemed to me also undated, fresh and relevant. We all need a bit of Ellwood P’s sincere concern for everyone—we all need to listen more. Hayes overacted a bit for my tastes, but Stewart was superb. I can’t imagine anyone else being Mr. Dowd. I thought of One Thousand Clowns. The sets were interesting and the direction moved along. Good production and a really enjoyable event. More revivals! I want to struggle, but it is fun to sit back and enjoy, too.”
2-2-1072: “She is terrible, but fine, traditional comic-drama. Liked play.”
9-4-1968: A too much entertainment. The most outrageous, bizarre, exciting opening I have ever seen. End of first act necessarily dropped a bit, but second act with more thematic atmosphere was once again vibrant. Whole show is delightfully irreverent and iconoclastic. Well directed, excellent cast which never broke character, set a bit continually weird without being particularly helpful or successful. While Hair may not create a new dramatic form, it will open the door for new technique. A marvelous entertainment experience—hold on to your hats + pants.
4-4-1971: “Only saw Beast, other cancelled. It seemed like ? to me poorly written, directed + acted. Allegory or symbolism has to communicate something or at least be head visual ? and attention holding. This had no substance and the form put me to sleep. Come on APT.”
1-15-1967: “Most enjoyable examination of relationships, friendship—do people ever relate outside themselves as they wish they could. Albee always writes good theater. Excellent cast—a real pleasure to see true pros like the Cronyns and Murphy. Dull set—excellent lighting. Much drinking and late hours reminiscent of V. Woolf.”
See them all at Boy Culture.
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