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The Four of Us Reviews
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The Four of Us Review by: Tom, Apr 28, 2008 |
Despite its title, "The Four of Us" is a two-hander, concerning two twenty-something writers, Benjamin and David. On holiday in Prague, David writes a play and Benjamin works on a novel. They enter into an agreement -- when David has a play produced, or Ben's novel is published, the other will buy lunch. Both end up picking up a check, but the equality ends there, for David's play is produced by a small theater in the Midwest,... read more, while Ben's novel provides him with a $2 million advance (including movie rights).
While this is ripe territory for drama, most of the juicy bits get left on the table. The green monster never rises to his full height, never breathes the fire of envy. He merely sticks a nostril above the surface, flashes one shiny fang, then slips back into the deep. Ben and David argue, but never with any real teeth. The jealousy David might feel comes out in an angry outburst during a Q&A session following a reading of his play, but Ben's not really a part of it.
,br/>In all, a rather bland, unsatisfying afternoon.
by Tom Bestor |
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THE DARK SIDE OF FRIENDSHIP Review by: Beth M, Apr 19, 2008 |
WHEN TWO OR MORE ARE GATHERED TOGETHER: ITAMAR MOSES’ THE FOUR OF US
By Beth Mandelbaum
I found The Four of Us to be a dark, very human, and accessible portrait of a 10 year old (on and off) friendship between two “20 something” writers, Benjamin and David. The play effectively moves back and forth in time, highlighting different and significant periods in their relationship. It offers a combination of very down to earth, naturalistic ... read more dialog but also works on a deeper level, with dialog that often becomes more philosophical and reflective.
In addition to the theme of the vicissitudes of a friendship filled with a profound unease, The Four of Us focuses on the emotions that are experienced when, to use the words of ABBA, “the winner takes it all.” It is about the extreme jealousy that one friend experiences at the enormous success of the other. The edgy nature of the competitive streak that perhaps lies within us all, and the feelings of almost consistently being the “loser” here explode into an extreme act of rage and public humiliation towards the other, near the play’s close. This play really made me think about the nature of friendship, about its darker side and how these feeling, as they evolve over time, can spin out of control. And while this play pitches such feelings to the extreme, I can certainly relate to them from my life experience, though in a less intense way.
It is striking and provocative that The Four of Us is ostensibly a two character play. But the fact that this play is to some degree autobiographical would seem to offer an explanation.
The Four of Us opens in an Indian restaurant. David, a struggling playwright, suddenly learns that Benjamin, who has just had a book accepted for publication in at least two languages, will be going on tour to meet with readers, film rights have been purchased, and that he has been offered the staggering sum of 2 million dollars for the package. David’s first reaction is positive and deeply congratulatory. However, within about one minute, David’s entire aspect changes—one can see it in his face and hear it in his voice. He utters words that are dripping with the green of envy as he expresses his concern that all of this good fortune will “spiritually corrupt” and “cheapen” Benjamin’s work.
The emotional make up of the two writers could not be more different. Benjamin generally seems appears throughout most of the play to be rather calm and unflappable, and seems surprisingly disinterested in all of the glamour trappings of the deal. To him, it is the book itself that matters. David, on the other hand, is far more emotionally high-strung and wears his deep envy on his sleeve. He is extremely vulnerable. He would love nothing more than to be a part of the world that Benjamin has entered. I was struck by David sharing that he is jealous of Benjamin’s capacity for self containment: in his words, he feels that Benjamin seems not to need anything outside of him, where he recognizes that what matters most to him are applause, recognition and the opinions of others. The personalities of the two men feed into the varied aspects of the plot, which is structured through vignettes.
And there are parts of the play in which Benjamin shows his jealousy. During a summer when they roomed together in Prague, Benjamin is highly critical and makes fun of David’s capacity for sexual conquest. David shares that he finds Benjamin’s one-nighters to be “philosophically meaningless” as well as disruptive to his carefully ordered regime of going to sleep early so he can get up at 7 write. He feels that David should be working as hard as he is on his writing, rather than having fun. There would seem to be an evocation of jealousy here as Benjamin spends his evenings alone.
There was a striking vignette which to me shows Benjamin’s deep insensitivity towards David. In this scene, David has just po |
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I saw this show with:
Alone
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Recommended for:
Seniors, Adults
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| * Review is an opinion of a BroadwayBox user and not that of BroadwayBox.com and BroadwayBox, Inc. |
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