| THE GOAT and PROOF | |
| Last Edit: JereNYC 03:44 pm EDT 10/30/24 | |
| Posted by: JereNYC (JereNYC@aol.com) 03:43 pm EDT 10/30/24 | |
| In reply to: Shows That moved you more or less the second time? - sc2 02:40 pm EDT 10/28/24 | |
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| I first saw Edward Albee's THE GOAT with the original two leads, Mercedes Ruehl and Bill Pullman. Ruehl was a powerhouse and the whole thing played like a contemporary take on MEDEA with Ruehl giving a volcanic performance that made the jaw-dropping climax seem like the inevitable result of all that had come before. Then I went back and saw it again with replacements Sally Field and Bill Irwin. Field seemed like a woman I might know. An aunt or neighbor or friend of my parents'. Someone entirely real and relatable. Even though I'd seen the play before, I legitimately had no idea how Field's version of the character was going to survive the events of the play. When what happens at the climax happened, it was all the more shocking because it came via the most unexpected pathway possible. You didn't see it coming at all, because Field didn't seem capable of such a thing. But you realized later than Field very cleverly planted the seeds of what happens throughout, but we just didn't notice until we did. Both interpretations were wildly right for the play and worked beautifully. Similarly, when I saw PROOF with Mary Louise Parker and Jennifer Jason Leigh, I had no doubt that the character was, basically, sane and the author of the proof in question. When I later saw it with Anne Heche in the role, I completely re-evaluated that take and wondered about the character's sanity and thought it was more than possible that she'd found the proof in her father's work. Again, both interpretations worked and it really showed me how strong the writing of this play is. |
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