I never understand when reviewers seem to miss major plot points. Jess doesn't stop at a convenience store and finds her boyfriend behind the counter by accident. She drove all around looking for his car to find where he worked. Ditto, he doesn't actually fail to recognize. He was invited to her party, didn't go, and is at first pretending he doesn't recognize her. There is a whole and very important exchange about this at the end of the play. Did the reviewer not stay to the end?
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Two quibbles. First, it's possible to doubt whether Albert Einstein actually wrote the doggerel attributed to him in the playbill. None of the web pages that claim he said it give a source, and its tone and import is almost the reverse of many Einsteinian observations on beauty.
Second, Mr. Isherwood seems shortsighted in claiming that "unflinching portraits…of the transitions of wounded veterans back to society are hard to come by outside journalism." The troubles of returning veterans have been told from The Odyssey (where it's only the tail end of the story) through The Best Years of Our Lives and beyond. It ought to be enough to praise Lindsey Ferrentino's play as an unflinching portrait (which I too admired) without pretending that it's some sort of rarity.
Second, Mr. Isherwood seems shortsighted in claiming that "unflinching portraits…of the transitions of wounded veterans back to society are hard to come by outside journalism." The troubles of returning veterans have been told from The Odyssey (where it's only the tail end of the story) through The Best Years of Our Lives and beyond. It ought to be enough to praise Lindsey Ferrentino's play as an unflinching portrait (which I too admired) without pretending that it's some sort of rarity.
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The creative team for Ugly Lies the Bone includes Tim Brown (sets), Dede Ayite (costumes), Jiyoun Chang (lighting), Jessica Paz (sound), Caite Hevner Kemp (projections) and Vincent T. Schicchi and Thomas Denier Jr. (prosthetics)
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On "Ugly Lies the Bone," by Lindsey Ferrentino, reviewed by Charles Isherwood, Oct. 13, 2015.
American drama has a great future. Why? Because women playwrights are
popping up all over. "Ugly Lies the Bone," which I haven't seen, seems an original play, no just because it's the first full-length play I know of written, perhaps, anywhere in the world, about a woman combat veteran. It's the first play of its kind that, without making concessions to entertainment-crazy audiences, forces us to look squarely at what war can do to a human being,
disfiguring his/her body and psyche, almost beyond repair.
Moliere said that all a playwright needs for a successful play is "Three boards and a passion." Lindsey Ferrentino's passion in "Ugly Lies the Bone" is the representation of human suffering that only a war can inflict.
Lindsey Ferrentino's play has a title derived from a great Einstein quote; it seems imaginatively directed by Patricia McGregor, and movingly performed by a cast headed by Mamie Gummer, as reported by your perceptive
reviewer, Charles Isherwood. "Ugly Lies the Bone," a profoundly antiwar play, I predict, will not disappear into the shadows, any time soon; professors of drama and producers will keep it alive for a long time.
American drama has a great future. Why? Because women playwrights are
popping up all over. "Ugly Lies the Bone," which I haven't seen, seems an original play, no just because it's the first full-length play I know of written, perhaps, anywhere in the world, about a woman combat veteran. It's the first play of its kind that, without making concessions to entertainment-crazy audiences, forces us to look squarely at what war can do to a human being,
disfiguring his/her body and psyche, almost beyond repair.
Moliere said that all a playwright needs for a successful play is "Three boards and a passion." Lindsey Ferrentino's passion in "Ugly Lies the Bone" is the representation of human suffering that only a war can inflict.
Lindsey Ferrentino's play has a title derived from a great Einstein quote; it seems imaginatively directed by Patricia McGregor, and movingly performed by a cast headed by Mamie Gummer, as reported by your perceptive
reviewer, Charles Isherwood. "Ugly Lies the Bone," a profoundly antiwar play, I predict, will not disappear into the shadows, any time soon; professors of drama and producers will keep it alive for a long time.
There's another great new play focusing on a woman soldier's scarring experience in the recent wars in the Mideast: Tammy Ryan's wrenching play "Soldier's Heart," which has been playing in productions across the country. See it if you can--it's astute, terrifying and deeply compassionate.
Albert Einstein,wow! Deep indeed.
Kuddos to the reviewer for not once mentioning Ms. Gummer's mother.
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Ms. Gummer has already established herself as a fine actress, so no need to mention her parentage. Also, it's spelled kudos.
This is Ms. Gummer's most moving and intelligent work to date, and she stars in a play that is worthy of her considerable talent. It's heartening to see an example of theater that is becoming increasingly rare: an original play that is both current and socially relevant.
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