China Doll - 2015 Broadway History , Info & More
Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre (Broadway)
236 West 45th St. New York, NY
A two-character play about a billionaire, Mickey Ross, who has just bought a new airplane for his young fiancee as he prepares to go into semiretirement; the other character is Carson, Ross's assistant.
Written by Pulitzer Prize and Tony winner David Mamet, CHINA DOLL will star legendary actor Al Pacino.
Mr. Pacino will be joined on stage by Fran Kranz (You Can't Take It With You, Death of a Salesman, "Dollhouse"), under the direction of Tony Award-winner Pam MacKinnon (The Heidi Chronicles, Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance, Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Clybourne Park).
China Doll - 2015 - Broadway Cast
FEATURED REVIEWS FOR China Doll
‘China Doll’ review: Al Pacino works hard
7 / 10
Little wonder there were rumors that Al Pacino couldn't remember his lines in David Mamet's new 'China Doll'...The playwright has given Pacino, apparently one of his favorite actors, almost no story to build around his character and given him lines that pick over the same obvious plot points, mostly with the same barking emphasis, to nonexistent people supposedly on the other end of his phone's Bluetooth earpiece...Pacino is legendary for his obsessive work for years on the same handful of plays, including Mamet's 'American Buffalo.' It is always a kick to watch him wrestle with a character - and this one is a beast...With his unsettling gray bouffant, his lizard eyes and his wrinkled black power suit, he cuts a scary yet baleful figure in a penthouse as big and cold as an airplane hangar...He yells at Carson, wheedles and hollers and goes mock-humble on the phone. Every so often, Mamet gives him a wonderful line that sums up the dark side of humanity. More often, however, the writing is as lazy as Mickey calling someone 'more fun than a Swiss Army Knife.'
BWW Review: Al Pacino and Christopher Denham Deliver The Goods in David Mamet's CHINA DOLL
8 / 10
And even if that Bluetooth device that's stuck in his ear for most of the night has someone cueing him for every line...Pacino's not letting on. He's detailed, committed and always interesting to watch. The play itself is pretty meat-and-potatoes Mamet with the star playing a standard Mametian patriarchal, alpha male son of a slime ball...While Pacino's Mickey is erratic and caustic, speaking in an unpredictable cadence and tone, Christopher Denham's Carson is soft and unobtrusively in control of every potential crisis. Though onstage for nearly the entire play, he spends much of it quietly handling matters in the background, while Mickey is bullying his way through an unseen cast of supporting characters...but the balance he adds to the play is invaluable and the most effective asset of director Pam MacKinnon's production.
China Doll History
Other Productions of China Doll
| 2015 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
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