Something which falls somewhere in the middle between his little known and his classics. That the Signature's artistic director James Houghton will opt to conclude this Miller season with Production, and now this lovely staging of these lesser-known plays, one can only hope Having given American audiences a chance to see American Clock in a richly staged and cast Slow down somewhere along the middle and in the process loses much of its impact. Tami Chaikin's bit as a tap dancer in top hat and short skirtedĭancing outfit to match is hilariously heartbreaking. Peter Maloney as the rich husband full of practical homilies but devoid of emotional Neals ), a woman who has been too immobilized to move from her bed or utter a sound. The play concludes rather predictably, with the spotlight on the fifth character (Betty This is followed byĪ very affecting scene between the two wives (Kate Myre and Shami Chaikin), one driven into depression by her husband's insistent rejection of the American Dream and the other too vulnerable to live with a man dedicated to its pursuit. Lenny Hamilton (KevinĬonroy) is a descendant of Alexander Hamilton who deliberately avoids the trappings ofĪmerican success and John Frick (Peter Maloney) is a Yankee style Babbitt. On the chronic depression of the wives they are visiting in a state institution. The first scene has two men comparing notes The Last Yankee comprises several scenes so that we actually have three duos interacting Except for oneįleeting scene where the two dance and we get a hint that their friendship might once haveīeen or almost been more than meets the eye, I Can't Remember Anything is more a moment in time thanĪ fully realized story and, except for a few flashes of humor, it is relentlessly downbeat. Scholl is a tad too vibrant andĪttractive to make her character's despair and diminishment totally convincing. as Leo and Lenora miss reaching out to each other.Īs already stated, Wiseman is spectacularly good Ms. If you don't pay close attention to everything you'll miss the layers beneath the words Play, requiring the viewer to fill in the Swiss cheese holes from the bits of verbal flotsamĪnd jetsam. TheĬonversation between these old friends (friends in need or in fact?) is reminiscent of a Pinter Lenora appears perky but is angry and frightened becauseĮverything that once made life meaningful has slipped out of reach andĪlzheimer-like memory lapses have even robbed her of the ability to relive the past. Science in the event that he has another stroke. Leo fights his depression by compulsivelyĬoncentrating on small projects, including signs to insure that his organs will be donated to Leo's wreck of a kitchen where Lenora visits daily. Were apparently once part of an intellectual socialist circle, as was Lenora's husband. Their lives have become emotional slices of Swiss cheese. The plot, such as it is, centers on Leo (Joseph Wiseman)Īnd a widow companionably named Leonora (Rebecca Schull). The evening begins with the more intriguing and stylistically interesting I Can't RememberĪnything which is stamped with both Miller's usual touches of disillusion with the world as it isĪnd Chaikin's own battle with aphasia. (It's worth staying in your seat during the intermission to see the first setĭeconstructed and reassembled into the hospital setting for The Last Yankee ). David Cosier has designed two distinctly different but cleverly The performances are fine and in Joseph Wiseman's case, magnificent. Unlike these fictional characters, Miller and Chaikin and their creative teamĭo succeed in showing the thematic connections between the two Was written in the late eighties and Yankee in the early nineties). The time for both could be any time within the last ten or twenty years ( I Can't Remember The inability of the partners in two marriages to reconcile their dissimilar emotional and worldly Remember Anything, (a collaboration between Miller and the director for both plays, JosephĬhaiken), the failed connection is between two old friends. Years without ever managing to really connect with one another. Women we meet in the plays that make up this double bill have lived connected lives for many Which centered on a theme of Connecting In An Isolated Age. Performance, I was reminded of Les Gutman's August DC Report (See links at end of review) The Internet Theater Magazine of Reviews, Features,Īfter seeing the Signature's second offering in its Arthur Miller season in its next-to-last preview I Can't Remember Anything and The Last Yankee,
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