Helen Hayes Theatre
Speed-blogging Post #2: Next Fall
Oh my god oh my god oh my god. The flood of tears. The continuous, streaming, river of tears. But also the laughter. Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion, says Dolly Parton in Steel Magnolias, and I can relate.
As I've said before, it’s not hard to make me cry and that the presence of tears on my face does not always indicate that I am watching something of quality. However, I’m pretty sure that Next Fall was amazing. I say “pretty sure” because I became so emotionally involved in this play, I don’t think I can be a good judge of its merit. I just sat there in the third row, staring up at Patrick Breen’s loveable, laughable, scraggly little face, and his skinny legs and knobby knees, and thinking things like: god isn't it so wonderfully awful being human?...oh why do we have to lose people we love?... we're all gonna die someday and it's so painful and so funny at the same time. Yeah I was pretty far gone. But I loved it, and particularly loved Patrick Breen. I couldn't clap hard enough or high enough at the end and I really wanted to catch his eye and non-verbally thank him for his performance. So funny and heartbreaking and honest. So human.
I should also say that the play is largely about faith -- as in Christian, as well as "leap of" -- and it handles this very complex, personal, and often opaque subject with incredible insight, compassion, and wit.
Now go see it and tell me if I'm just a sucker or something.
No comments:
Post a Comment