To End Algonquin Saturday, A Trip To The Theater, Experiencing Oscar Wilde As One Never Has Before!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                         I used to think I was "The Picture Of Dorian Gray."  Though I never wished for eternal youth, I was carded for drinks and movies till my early Thirties.  I always thought a portrait of me would show all my past profligacy and promiscuity.  After seeing Kip Williams' production, I took a good look at myself in the mirror.  And while I tenderly moisturize my skin daily, I could not deny the lines and wrinkles on my face that certainly had not been on me while in my Twenties!!!!!!!!!!!

                                           So, I guess I am not Dorian.

                                           Being Dorian is hard enough.  But consider Sarah Snook who not only has to play Dorian, but every single character in Wilde's work.

                                              This is an extraordinary feat of acting by an actress and it is no surprise Snook took the TONY for "Best Actress In A Play" for her performance here.  But it could not have worked without the skilled camera work and film editing of its technical staff, a technique that failed to work with "Sunset Boulevard," but is used to heightened extremes here, taking the audience on a journey into Dorian's descending depravity.

                                                    In both this and the Wilde work, I still say the key instigator is Lord Henry Wotton, who I think, metaphorically, is the Devil. When the portrait is revealed to the young Dorian, Wotton is there and hears him wish for eternal youth--that he never ages, but the portrait does.  As the story continues, he gets this wish, but I believe if Wotton had not been present, he would not have been granted this request.

                                                      All of this is Sarah Snook running to God knows how many areas of the stage, talking to herself, in character, on pre-recorded film and using visual distortion to unique, almost campy effect, but never sinking into camp. And when the end does come, it is understated, but stark and chilling.  It is Wilde who has the last words, and his resonate.

                                                         Kip Williams, who also adapted the story, aided by his tech staff have done a remarkable job of combining theater and media.  It even inspired me; I thought of doing a one-person version of either "The Bad Seed," or "The Song Of Bernadette."  Which would you like to see, girls?????????  "The Song Of Bernadette" would be challenging, but "The Bad Seed" would be more fun.  Or how about "The Children's Hour????????????"

                                                              I wish this had not closed so soon, for I would have loved to have seen it again.  It made me reread the Wilde work, which I admire more than I did before.

                                                               But it is Sarah Snook's show all the way, and she deserves every bit of credit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                           How the hell did she learn all that blocking???????????????