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Theater review
God of Carnage
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre. By Yasmina Reza. Dir. Matthew Warchus. With Jeff Daniels, Hope Davis, James Gandolfini, Marcia Gay Harden. 1hr 30mins. No intermission. Tickets
SPOUSE ARREST Harden, left, bawls out Gandolfini.Photograph: Joan MarcusIf James Gandolfini is trying to shake the long, menacing shadow of Tony Soprano, he's only halfway there as Michael, the deceptively beta family man who forms one side of Yasmina Reza's marvelously nasty parallelogram, God of Carnage. At first, Michael is all deferential smiles as he and his wife (Harden) negotiate an apology with the parents (Daniels, Davis) of a child who bashed theirs in the face with a stick during a schoolyard fight. Michael tries to be polite but eventually the viciousness that broke out between the children replicates in the progenitors. Before long, Gandolfini is swearing, swilling rum and lighting up a stogie. Welcome back, T.
To be sure, the HBO icon holds his own with a first-rate ensemble that breathes life into Reza's arch civility-versus-savagery comedy. God of Carnage is the author's most satisfying work since Art (1998), which also balances her very French tendency to jumble philosophy and farce with a surgical dissection of bourgeois pretension and slippery social identity. Matthew Warchus masterfully stages the work, heeding the playwright's command to eschew strict naturalism and embrace the artificial nature of the action. The characters exist as stock types (Daniels as the callous lawyer and Davis as an icy wealth-management consultant), yet the loopier script convulsions allow for ridiculous (and theatrically bracing) psychological leaps. Framed by Mark Thompson's looming, stylized set (suggesting a modernist-chic abbatoir), this skilled quartet makes wonderful music—part classical harmony, part wilderness howl.—David Cote
See more Theater reviews
Time Out New York / Issue 704 : Mar 26–Apr 1, 2009
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Quite honestly, the worst play I've seen on Broadway in a long while. The writing is sitcom level at best, and the premise is so thin, that I checked out after 15 minutes. Simply put, these people would not have remained in the same room with each other. And the contrivance just doesn't work. I remain shocked at this play's great reviews. I guess the starry cast is blinding. But frankly I'm appalled at their taste levels--did they really think this was quality work? 0/4 stars.
We saw this play last night & enjoyed it very much The play is 88 min of thought provoking drama splashed w/ comedic 1 liners, suble facial expression & the stages most graphic Spit Take! The set-up from the start: Polite Conversation between 2 couples who don't know each other. After 5 min you say "I wouldn't be so polite" Soon they aren't! The actors make the play. Thier High Energy saved what could have been soap opera/TV writting. See it! Great acting by great actors. They make it thiers!
Enormously enjoyable. Phenomenal acting. One of the best plays I've seen in years. A MUST SEE from start to finish.
A solid good time. Stylized performances, amazing set, fantastic, hilarious action. Worth the price of admission just to watch Jeff Daniels wolf down 3 pieces of pie in 10 minutes!