| 1 |
Worth your time – if you don’t mind a few tears. Review by: Tom Bestor, May 1, 2011 |
Dr. Juliana Smithdon has a brilliant mind. Perhaps even a beautiful one. But that’s where the beauty ends, because Juliana (played by the sort-of adorable Laurie Metcalf), a world-class medical researcher, is not necessarily fun to be around. She’s short-tempered, angry, mean even. But above all, she is deeply, deeply wounded. But her pain can’t kill her brilliance and wit. “Are you flirting with suicidal thoughts?” her husband asks her. ... read more “I’m dating them, actually,” she responds. “But they won’t put out.”
When you finally discover the source of the wound – or wounds, I should say, for she was hit from two directions – you’re willing to forgive her acid tongue. For with her brain under attack from within, Juliana believes she may not be able to count on her wits for long. Her brilliance may slip from her control and she wants to use it for as long as she has it.
Metcalf gives a stunning performance, falling apart right before our eyes in the tragic climax. And she does it against a set that echoes the fragmentation going on onstage – of minds and families and dreams.
“Mamma Mia!” it’s not. But “The Other Place” is well-constructed, funny, tragic, sharply-directed and worth your time – if you don’t mind a few tears.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 2 |
Bravo Laurie Metcalf! Don't Miss It! Review by: aseatontheaisle, Apr 24, 2011 |
This play is a splendidly complex work, part psychological thriller and part a depiction of the neurological breakdown of an unsuspecting and otherwise strong and competent woman. Laurie Metcalf really steals the show in her star turn as Juliana, a juicy role that gives her an opportunity to change her persona, chameleon-like, from moment to moment. She is sensitive and feeling in one scene, angry, jealous and paranoid in another, bitter,... read more, sarcastic and sardonic in yet a third; her personality and mood changes are dramatically effective and the stuff of which great theatre is made. It is worth seeing the play for her performance alone.
|
|
|
My recommendation:
Make an effort to see
|
| Acting: |
 |
| Production: |
|
| Story: |
|
I saw this show with:
Spouse/Partner
|
Recommended for:
Anyone
|
|
|
|
|
|
