Time to revive SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION?

[Auggie27]

Posted: 2/28/15 at 11:05pm

Just watched the stylish, eloquent Fred Shepisi film version again tonight and realized how relevant all of the attendant issues in the beautiful Guare play still are (a piece that didn't garner the Pulitzer, while {fill in the blank} did, and all too recently). I'd love to see it mounted again. Who should star? Could a Channing return to a role she excelled in? This time Stockard, not Carol?

Updated On: 2/28/15 at 11:05 PM

[Gothampc]

Posted: 2/28/15 at 11:45pm

The leads have to be believed as the parents of a college age boy, so I think Stockard is a little long in the tooth for that.

What about Laura Linney and Eric McCormack?

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 3/1/15 at 12:30am

The {fill in the blank} is Lost In Yonkers, no slouch of a play itself. Laura Linney is a nice idea as she made her Broadway debut replacing as Tess in the original production.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 3/1/15 at 1:08am

Marcia Gay Harden would be great in this, as well.

Updated On: 3/1/15 at 01:08 AM

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 3/1/15 at 1:29am

^ You bet!

[The Other One]

Posted: 3/1/15 at 6:14am

Yes, please!

[Auggie27]

Posted: 3/1/15 at 7:18am

Actually, I didn't mean to in any way disparage YONKERS, though my original post is worded to suggest I might be. I was more generally referring to plays I don't personally consider Pulitzer worthy that took the prize in subsequent years, including recently. I just stumbled on the last 45 minutes of YONKERS on cable and was moved to tears by its resolution, particularly Mercedes Ruhl. Who once would've been interesting in SIX DEGREES, too, but is now past the age.

[LarryD2]

Posted: 3/1/15 at 3:43pm

Lesley Manville was brilliant in the last London revival (about five years ago)--one of the best performances I've ever seen. I would love to see her return to the role in New York.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 3/1/15 at 4:58pm

Actually, Diane Lane, now appearing in the very space the original opened in (I went to the very second preview) might be wonderful in the role, too.

Wasn't it Blythe Danner who infamously left quite early, resulting in Channing creating the role? Apparently, she was completely wrong.

[The Other One]

Posted: 3/1/15 at 5:41pm

"Wasn't it Blythe Danner who infamously left quite early, resulting in Channing creating the role? Apparently, she was completely wrong."

I believe it was not a question of her being replaced because she was wrong for the role, but of her bailing on the production after one day's rehearsal because she did not like the play. Miraculously, everything worked out well.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 3/1/15 at 6:48pm

Yes, that's the story; I'd forgotten. Thank you. It's covered in the Guare forward to the script.

[sctrojan65]

Posted: 3/1/15 at 6:59pm

I love this play!

[ABB2357]

Posted: 3/1/15 at 7:05pm

I remember hearing the real reason Danner bailed is because she'd been offered the role in THE PRINCE OF TIDES.

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 3/1/15 at 8:50pm

Auggie, I didn't think for a moment that you were disparaging Yonkers. I would agree with you about some recent, questionable winners (although not Disgraced). And Diane Lane is a spectacular idea!

[LarryD2]

Posted: 3/1/15 at 9:38pm

Yes, Danner left during rehearsals to film THE PRINCE OF TIDES.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 3/2/15 at 6:35am

Yes, DISGRACED had and has my vote, too. A couple of years I would've given no award over the choices, two in particular in recent years. What troubles me, and I'm sure it's due to being a boomer facing the dark side, is doing a head count of the wonderful writers like Guare who have an extraordinary body of work and no Pulitzer, while many one-hit wonders have walked away with the prize. It's loathsome to compare the Oscars with a top literary prize, but the syndrome is a parallel: how many dramatists who've won created a body of work to match the promise awarded? Whereas someone like Guare has had an extraordinary career with at least 2-3 masterworks, all unacknowledged. As I said, it may be my age. I don't put much stock in the Pulitzer designation. Many ham sandwiches were awarded back in the 70s (we can all name a couple that decomposed on exposure to air in revival).

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 3/2/15 at 10:06am

LOST IN YONKERS is a lovely play, but SIX DEGREES is a masterwork. And I vote Annette Bening and John Slattery as the central couple. Is Anthony Mackie too old to play Paul?

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/2/15 at 1:08pm

I think Lost in Yonkers won the Pulitzer because it was an "embarrassment" award. Neil Simon had this huge body of work that had never won and so they gave him the "award him before he dies" award. It's a fine play, but not outstanding.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 3/3/15 at 9:17am

If Simon received a life achievement Pulitzer, there are worse things, like the one-hit wonders without follow-up body of work. (I do realize the Pulitzer is not awarded based on promised output, but as an imprimatur for talent, one can presume its honorees would write more.) Still, "Yonkers" is in many ways a unique and, if well done, satisfying play. I remember the audience's response to Ruehl's 11 o'clock spot, when she finally took on her mother. The tears all around me were not from sentimentality -- not jerked in the least -- but fully earned. The play touched people deeply. I'd love to see it again, and we have wonderful actors to fill the roles.

Updated On: 3/3/15 at 09:17 AM

[LarryD2]

Posted: 3/3/15 at 11:33am

I remember the audience's response to Ruehl's 11 o'clock spot, when she finally took on her mother. The tears all around me were not from sentimentality -- not jerked in the least -- but fully earned.

I would venture that had as much--if not more--to do with Ruehl's astonishing performance as with Simon's text. I've seen the play done several times since and it's never clicked like it did with Ruehl--never achieved that catharsis.

Updated On: 3/3/15 at 11:33 AM

[Auggie27]

Posted: 3/3/15 at 11:53am

More to do with Ruehl? To paraphrase ALL ABOUT EVE, I doubt very much you'd have that reaction to her in THE HAIRY APE. The synergy, indeed alchemy of role and actor is never to be underestimated. It's ever mysterious and one of the marvels of theatrical collaboration. Yet Ruehl didn't stand alone on the stage and improvise the words, the nuances of character or highly charged situation, all of which come exclusively from Simon. And how could the character's stand even resonate without the obstacle, the force of antagonism that is her mother? Again, Simon's contribution. I'm ever startled when acting is praised separate from text; in this case, one can fully acknowledge Ruehl's imprint on the role, and the benefits resulting. Yet I know someone who saw Lucie Arnaz in the role and adored the play and its emotional impact. If Ruehl's stamp is there, the role on the page (I have the script next to my computer) is beautifully shaded and crafted. Simon was lucky to have Mercedes Ruehl; she was damned fortunate to have the role, too.