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Acting surpasses script in McCarter's 'Herringbone'
Published: Thursday, September 25th, 2008
If you decide to see "Herringbone," the play currently featured at Berlind Theatre, chances are you won't ever have seen anything quite like it. This is a show imbued with a distinct self-consciousness that even lets us peek backstage ...(back to the article)
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I think you may have missed the point of this show.
The complexity of the score is in the same camp as Sondheim and Guettel, marked by its ability to transcend the simple melody-after-melody structure of so many contemporary musicals. Those songs that you found jarring and alienating are meant to instill a sense of pity for a character stuck in the ironic and vicious loop of acting out the story of how he came in to show business against his wishes - and act it every night for a living. By seeing into his dressing room, we're afforded a glimpse into his life, where even his down time is dominated by the stage. The music's rapid shifts in tone that you describe coincide beautifully with the different emotions Wong's young character is expected to supply at the request of his parents and mentor - your confusion mirrors his own, and this is the score's intention.
Having Wong's dressing room on stage serves to show that Wong's character has no rest from the relentless story he tells - the audience is rewarded with brief respites from his sad story, but he is still "on stage" even then. This does distance him from the audience, but that's precisely the point. Wong's characters in Herringbone are not meant to be comforting to the audience, and the way Wong's principal character breaks in and out of his performance continues to remind you that the *role* you are watching is that of an actor performing on stage. The audience becomes privy to the private moments and thoughts of a professional actor as part of the performance. You become close to him, but there is a permanent divide, as there always is between a performer and his audience. True, connections are made in theater, but you can't forge real relationships during a performance, which is a sad undercurrent throughout this whole play; none of George's relationships are of real significance due to his time spent on stage and his ever-present and oppressive mentor ("Frog"). A more intimate theater than the Berlind would only exaggerate this division, not bring participants closer together as you suggest.
If you are unsure of how to feel upon exiting this show, it very likely went over your head. Far from flawed, shows like "Herringbone" are the very reason the arts exist.