‘An Enemy of the People’ review: Jeremy Strong and Michael Imperioli duke it out on Broadway
6 / 10
But Gold, whose Broadway “Macbeth” starring Daniel Craig was a bells-and-whistles disaster, nearly bungles it by serving the audience free shots of Linie Aquavit between the first and second halves from a hopping bar onstage. The otherwise riveted man next to me said, “This is so stupid.” Twice. I’m sure there is a high-minded rationale for the pop-up pub. Perhaps it’s there to confront us with our own hypocrisy, or lull us into a false sense of security before the untethered town meeting where Thomas is attacked. Whatever the reason, the silly trick flattens the tension the cast built and leaves it up to Strong to pick up the pieces. He ably does, thank goodness, and prevents his director from becoming the enemy of the play.
