Well, that was disappointing

For the first time in 6 years, maybe longer, I recently left a play unfulfilled, unexcited. I’m not educated in theatre and don’t see a lot, probably 15 plays in the last 5-6 years, usually something by a master like Beckett, Albee, Shaw whose work is brought to life by a well established house – Steppenwolf, Berkeley Rep, American Conservatory Theatre, the Abbey in Dublin. That’s pretty safe, but then I’ve also seen a few lesser known playwrights in smaller venues without being disappointed.

Maybe I’m easy to please because theatre is a big deal to me, and I’m always willing to buy the premise right away, whatever it is: A man falls in love with a goat, a happy woman is buried to her waist in stone, a library book 120 years overdue is returned (Underneath the Lintel is the last one, less well known than the others by Albee and Beckett).

I like walking into a theatre, looking at the set and the house as the lights go down and the players enter. I believe it, the stories and the discussions, and I care about the people. Kinda funny, huh? Sometimes a line or a character isn’t authentic – authentic being different than believable – but that’s been a very small problem in everything I’ve seen recently. I care about the characters in a way I never do in movies. (Nothing to say about TV since mine is seldom on. I did, however, binge watch Breaking Bad and I almost cared about Jesse and the teenage son, but not like real people on stage.)

I never read the play ahead of time. I might skim a review but barely. Looking at the people as the plot develops, not being sure what will happen and not even trying to predict, those are parts of the thrill. (Luis Bunuel has a very funny anecdote in his autobiography about predictable plots. He has another funny anecdote about Mexican actors and short sleeved shirts. I should quit buying new books and just reread the ones I already have… Hm, looks like I get distracted easily, but not in the theatre!!)  Maybe I should take a course and become more educated and knowledgeable, but I don’t have the patience for lectures any more. Last week I attended Berkeley Unchartered. Many of the presenters were decent speakers but few of them kept my attention for their full 20 minutes. I’m blaming me, not them. Lack of patience was something I learned in grad school and it seems to be the only skill I’ve honed since!

After seeing The Iceman Cometh several years ago I wrote a longish (gushing?) email to a colleague, a very smart, insightful, professional critic. I said something about the genius of writing, the daringness of the actors, the incredible creativity and teamwork, the combination of spontaneity with rehearsal, blah blah. His reply was, “Wow, that really moved you! To me it was just another piece in a theatre.” I feel like he does in most lectures I attend, but I’ll keep my artistic naiveté.

The name of the play that disappointed me. Ach, it doesn’t matter. If something looks good to you, go see it. If it’s not everything you hoped for, that’s OK. A bad night at the theatre is still a good night, unless, um, you’re Abe Lincoln.