THE HANGOVER REPORT – Unsurprisingly, Frank Langella rules the stage in Florian Zeller’s THE FATHER

90Last night marked the opening of Florian Zeller’s much-hyped new play The Father on Broadway at the Samuel J. Friedman, courtesy of Manhattan Theatre Club. The play – which depicts the struggles of André (played, in a titanic performance, by Frank Langella), an aging man with a deteriorating case of dementia – was highly acclaimed in both its Paris and London incarnations (the New York production uses Christopher Hampton’s translation, which was also used in the recently-closed London mounting). The ingenuity of Mr. Zeller’s play lies in its use of the physical realities – some might call them limitations – of staging a play (entrances and exits, blackouts, lighting, scene changes, etc.) to replicate the sensation of being in André’s shoes. The result is a play that, while I think slightly over-praised, intriguingly plays with notions of memory, time, and reality.

The MTC production is handled with precision and antiseptic rigor by veteran director Doug Hughes (with the help of Scott Pask on sets, Donald Holder on lights, and Fitz Patton on sound), which has a double-edged effect. You see, André is a difficult character to warm up to, and this current production doesn’t make it any easier to sympathize with him. At the same time, however, Mr. Hughes’ detached objectivity – and, indeed, Mr. Zeller’s play – releases Alzheimer’s disease from the tragic sentimentality typically associated with it. Instead, the condition is treated as a reality as opposed to a melodramatic curse. It’s a fascinating perspective.

The performances here are top-notch. Once again, Mr. Langella proves why he’s one of our very greatest stage actors. His work here calls to mind and equals the lumbering giants he portrayed in King Lear and Frost/Nixon (no need for me to expand on which roles he played in either play). His ability to depict towering men with deep flaws is second to none. In The Father, he’s been given able support by Kathryn Erbe (who effectively plays André’s daughter), Brian Avers, Charles Borland, Hannah Cabell, and Kathleen McNenny.

RECOMMENDED

 

THE FATHER
Broadway, Play
Manhattan Theatre Club at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
1 hour, 30 minutes (without an intermission)
Through June 12

Categories: Broadway, Theater

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