Of Mice and Men

Well depression is the first word that comes to mind......

Outstanding play. Great set, good acting and a well written script are the hat trick that make good plays (I'll leave the under-appriciated  costumes for later). Lets start with the set. Although elaborate in size, a simple effective set. Essentially, a dusty plain in the central valley of California. This spartan approach fits well as it doesnt distract from the overally dialogue laden script. The acting; very solid. The actor that plays George does a good job with a difficult part; he has to play a hard ass that is sensetive and this actor does that effectively. My favorate, as I am constantly bised, is the character of Candy. The actor was previously in Conor McPherson's "the Seafarer" which is one of the best plays I have ever attended. I mean come on, how can you not feel empathy for Candy. Lenny, well Lenny is Lenny and lets leave it at that.

 Manning did a great job of direction. I mean I dont know if the adaptation was written by him, if so then he is fucking amazing and it makes sense that The Rep is back to doing well, but that notwithstanding, the direction was simple and left the actors to carry out the Steinbeck quality dialogue that was the strength of the novel.

Now on a personal note. Dont go see a somber play in a somber mood. Ball call. Doesnt help with the overall theater experience. Then again, how can you walk away from this play feeling good about yourself. He had to fucking shoot Lenny for his own good for christ's sake. How the hell do you smile after that. Go straight to the bar, do not pass go, do not collect your 200 dollars. Whiskey, straight up, leave the bottle.

And last, but not least costumers. As always, under-appreciated, but not forgotten. Well done ladies and gentlemen. As always, well done. For those of you in the distressing game, I couldnt have distressed better if I gave those clothes to teen-aged boys for a year and told them to never stay clean. Dirty it UP!