From: davidf@HQ.Ileaf.COM (David Fristrom)
Subject: Review of A.R. Gurney's THE FOURTH WALL
Reply-To: davidf@HQ.Ileaf.COM (David Fristrom)
Organization: Interleaf, Inc.
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 92 16:53:25 GMT

Last night at the Hasty Pudding Theater in Cambridge I saw A.R.
Gurney's newest play, THE FOURTH WALL.  The program claims it is the
"World Premiere," although the director David Saint's bio says he
directed THE FOURTH WALL for a two week run at the Westport Country
Playhouse this August -- I suppose as long as it is the same
production they can continue to claim it as a world premiere no matter
how many times it moves (the plan is apparently to take it next to
Off-Broadway in New York).

According to the program, the place is "The living room of a New York
apartment" and the time is "The Present," and that is exactly what it
looks like on stage -- or at least, a stage version of a NY apartment.
Then two well dressed people enter (Roger and Julia, played by Tony
Roberts and Kelly Bishop), engaged in witty backchat about a problem
he has, and you know exactly what kind of a play it is going to be
("infidelity among the architect class" I believe Stoppard calls it in
THE REAL THING).  But as they face the audience and discuss the
problem, it soon becomes clear that the characters are just as aware
as we are of how artifical the whole thing is.  Roger's problem is
that his wife, Peggy (E. Katherine Kerr) has redecorated their living
room to look like a stage set, including an obtrusive blank wall,
which they can't avoid because all the furniture faces it.  And the
staginess of the room makes everyone in it act self-conciously to the
fourth wall, as if they were actually in a play.  Peggy believes there
may be an audience on the other side of the fourth wall, and yearns to
break through.

This meta-theatrical joke is essentially the plays only joke; the rest
of the evening is spent on variations of it.  But it's enough.  Gurney
has filled the play with funny lines, many of them theatrical jokes.
And just when it looks like he has worked the theme to death, he pulls
a new twist which opens up whole new possiblities.  His stage-craft
("keeping the ball in the air and the air in the ball," as one of the
charcters describes it) is impressive, especially since he continually
calls attention to his tricks as he employs them, which might be
expected to lessen their effectiveness.

One of the plays conflicts is over what kind of a play it will be.
Julia wants to retain the love-triangle story implied by the set and
situation ("We have to have a plot, and it's the only one I know," she
says, an example of Gurney skewering himself), while Peggy wants
something grander.  The fourth character, Floyd (Jack Gilpin), a
professor of modern drama called in by Roger as an expert, and a
wonderful satire of academia, wants to cast Peggy as St. Joan (she
likes the idea, but is a bit worried about the ending).  And a player
piano that only plays Cole Porter tunes keeps trying to turn the whole
thing into a musical.

The play is nothing but fluff, but hilarious fluff.  It is supported
by good direction and fine performances by all the actors.  Things
being how they are in the theatre, I'm sure it will be reworked before
moving to NY, but as far as I'm concerned it's ready now.

David Fristrom		|
Interleaf, Inc.		|	"Another opening, another show."
davidf@ileaf.com	|