When I think about transcendent theater performances that I've seen over the years, Vanessa Redgrave's name keeps rising to the top. One of the first productions I saw after I moved here in 1989 was Orpheus Descending, with Vanessa Redgrave and Kevin Anderson. I can still feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up when I think of the scene where the two finally consummate their passion - Redgrave dropping the robe and Anderson taking her behind a shadowy scrim. She was revelatory to me - such unbridled passion and fearlessness on stage. Wow. I also found her to be heartbreakingly amazing in Long Day's Journey Into Night, which also leaps to the top of my list of amazing performances. Of course, she was fantastic in The Year of Magical Thinking and the recent Driving Miss Daisy, though I was less sold on those productions as a whole. Anyway, having said all that, when I saw that Vanessa Redgrave was doing a new play at the Cherry Lane, I knew I had to be there. Had to.
I'll admit to not really being familiar with Jesse Eisenberg. I haven't seen The Social Network and I missed his last play, Asuncion. I will also admit to a skepticism about the recent rash of plays written by reasonably famous young actors - would these plays have been produced if they had been written by an unknown playwright? The world may never know. After seeing The Revisionist, now playing at the Cherry Lane, I can honestly say I think there's some writing talent in Jesse Eisenberg and I wouldn't be adverse to seeing what he presents next. Not that this play is perfect, it's not, but there was enough honest character development and interesting dialogue to intrigue me.
In The Revisionist, Eisenberg plays David, a young writer who has come to stay at a distant relative's apartment in a small town in Poland. David is a smug, entitled, insenstive hipster who can barely acknowledge anyone else in the room, let alone their needs. Vanessa Redgrave plays the distant relative, Maria - the utter joy Maria takes in welcoming this youngster to her world is so touching, and you just want to slap him for not responding to her. The play takes place over a few days - how their relationship grows and changes is the driving force of the piece. Actually, Maria is the driving force of the piece. Her story arc and late-in-the-play revelation are the wonderments of the evening.
Leading up to that is a fascinating character study, on Redgrave's part, of a woman who has built a life for herself out of the ashes of great pain. Contrasting her joy in the idea of family with the apathy of the visiting youngster and his disregard of what he has is one of the strengths of the script. A lot of the 'odd couple' -ish exchanges between the two are quite amusing and much of the Polish-into-English dialogue sounds very authentic. But ultimately there's not really a lot of there there, at least script-wise. The show is about 100 minutes long and it seems longer. There are parts that meander and I think a trim here or there would be beneficial. Paying more attention to the young man's character development would also help. Most of the strength in the production comes from the genius of Redgrave's performance.
Again, she is giving an absolutely fearless performance - I swear, next to the word 'radiance' in a dictionary must be a picture of Vanessa Redgrave. Maria is a fully complete character and you can see her past and present struggling within herself throughout. Every gesture, every move, is a beautifully natural extension of this woman who inspires such affection and empathy from the audience, while the audience wonders why the youngster doesn't 'snap out of it.' The other characters actually seem more like devices (there's a third character, a Polish friend of Maria's, terrifically played by Daniel Oreskes) than real people. With a little more life (and playwriting) experience, I think all of the characters could be more fleshed out by Eisenberg. But the evening is made completely worth it for Redgrave's performance alone.
There was a talkback after the show, and, frankly, the talkback was more engaging and illuminating than much of the play itself. I found the discussion fascinating, hearing how Eisenberg was inspired to write this play and I wish some of his personal charm had made itself known in the text. Also, when Vanessa Redgrave was talking about some of her inspirations during her process, the director said wished he had read the book, too. I think I wished he had, as well. But I'm glad I stayed for the talkback, because it was an interesting additional facet to what had come previously.
During the performance, I found
myself thinking of my grandmother. Again. I was reminded of her during Ann and I was reminded of her again during The Revisionist. The first time Vanessa Redgrave put her handkerchief inside her sweater sleeve, I thought, awwwwwwww. It was so familiar to me! But, also, Maria's sweetness/internal steel and utter devotion to family also was so much like my grandmother (not to mention the generosity of spirit Redgrave showed during the post-show talkback). Maybe the older I get, the more I miss my grandmother and the more I look for her in whatever I do. Regardless, even when I was already quite moved by the journey Redgrave took in this play, it became even more moving to me when superimposed by the image of a woman I loved so much and miss even more. The picture at left is from Rattlestick's website, taken by Sandra Coudert (and I will take it down immediately if they ask me to). The picture at right is of my grandmother. Even their physical spaces are similar! Who knew my grandparents' house in Ohio resembled an apartment in Poland!! :)
I'm very glad I saw The Revisionist and spent so much time up close and personal with Vanessa Redgrave and Maria. I'll say the play was a better-than-good effort from Jesse Eisenberg and I look forward to what he brings us next. Especially if he teams up with Vanessa again...
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