TODAY: "Deuce"
"Deuce" is stage icon Angela Lansbury's first role on Broadway in more than 25 years. Given the quality of what was put on the boards earlier this evening at the Music Box, she might have been wise to hold off a bit longer. Although allowances must be made for the fact that this was only the second preview, I still don't see enough in the text from which to construct a Broadway hit. I'm willing to forgive the fact that Lansbury and her co-star Marian Seldes had to be prompted on at least half a dozen occasions. I can forgive a script that lags from time to time -- cuts can be made as the show develops. I can even forgive the use of a pair of broadcast blowhards commenting from the TV booth overlooking center court. (The show concerns Lansbury and Seldes as a pair of tennis doubles legends who are sitting in box seats at the US Open, where they are to be honored after the match.) That they can cut. What I can't forgive is the fact that there was only a single moment that felt true to me. (It was the moment near the play's end when the two women were bathing in the applause of the crowd in the stadium -- the two characters appeared to be genuinely touched by the ovation, even though it was pre-recorded.)
I think both women are tremendous performers, and even at this early stage of production they look comfortable on stage, even though neither knows her lines. (Thank goodness there is minimal blocking -- they are in their seats for almost the entire show.) But neither acts remotely like a former world-class athlete. I don't think that's their fault, but rather the fault of playwright Terrence McNally. The dialogue is not just overly stage-y, it has no ring of truth at all. How hard could it have been for McNally to watch a few tennis matches on TV, and maybe a few interviews with players? Or listened to what today's tennis broadcasters really sound like? Because the commnetators in the booth were simply ridiculous caricatures, unlike anything one hears during the broadcast of a Grand Slam tennis event. Then there's the fact that I never once cared about these characters as people. I never understood why there was tension between them, or if, in fact, what I was seeing was supposed to BE tension.
What a mess. Too bad, too, because the story of how women's professional tennis achieved its currently level of popularity, through the bravery and tenacity of women who spent their entire careers earning what many of today's pros get for wearing a pair of shoes for a single season. It was a dramatic time, and though "Deuce" touches on it, it's not even close to a central theme. In fact, I'm not sure I could FIND a central theme.
"Deuce" is filled with dozen of unforced errors, double faults, bad line calls -- and just that one winner. It goes down in the first round, 0-6, 1-6.
TOMORROW: "Our Leading Lady" "Los Angeles"
PHOTO: New York's finest dealing with a situation at 41st and Lexington. Don't worry - it's not smoke, just a whole LOT of steam.
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