4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A darkly comic nightmare, April 1, 1999
This plays differs soemwhat from the way in which it was described in a story on NPR. It was characterized as the story of how being the subject of endless interviewes leads to a kind of transendence for the Michael character. However, I would describe it as a logical extension of media-centered society. There is a dream-like quality to much of the play, similar to the best parts of Underworld. The plane setting inevitably brings to mind the "gleaming silver death machine" from White Noise. It is more outwardly funny than some of his other work, or at least it could played that way. I hesitate to give it 5 stars in that I found the "Delphina" character to be poorly drawn. Otherwise a very satisfying read for Delillo fans.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Go for his fiction, not drama, January 25, 2001
This is Delillo's second published play to go with (at the time, 1999) his eleven novels. It is a play in two acts with only five characters. Two of the characters, Michael and his wife Livia, appear in both actsThe basis of the play is that they are being interviewed due to a trip Michael took, thinking he was going to Valparaiso, IN and ending up in Valparaiso, Chile. This play takes on many of Delillo's usual topics, just not as well as he does in his novels.
Reviewing a reading of a play is always more difficult than a novel or a collection of short stories as you do not enjoy the work of art as it was meant to be presented to you. You can only imagine the interaction between the actors, the way the set looks, the manner and cadences of speaking. As it reads, the play is a darkly comic vision of the way Americans are developed by our media culture.
We see the development of Michael through a series of interviews of himself and his wife. Act I has numerous interviews by unnamed interviewers. In these we see Michael developing a larger sense of himself, and his worth, and the worth of his story. We see some interviewers helping him create this sense of self-importance by hanging on his every word. The media culture takes a beating in this play, as it does in most Delillo novels. They want to know everything that happened, everything that didn't happen, what he thought about what happened, what he thought about what didn't happen, what Livia thought, etc. It all has to be documented on their radio or television shows because if it isn't, it didn't happen. Act II has a single television show interview of both Michael and Livia and has an almost Jerry Springer feel to it as Livia at one point announces the child she is pregnant with is not Michael's.
This play falls flat in comparison to Delillo's novels and in terms of what it is trying to say. The play form seems too constrictive for Delillo's style. The same problems can be found in his first published play The Day Room. Without room to expound his ideas in narrative format, needing to use conversation, and in a tight format, Delillo relies too much on repetition, and topic jumping to make his points. They are made and done so quickly, leaving the reader feeling beaten about the head before Act II is halfway over.
Read Mao II, or White Noise if you want to get a great understanding of Delillo's views of modern day culture; if you only have a little time and feel the need to get a small glimpse of Delillo's talents, read Valparaiso.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
An airplane trip to the inner self, February 4, 2002
"Valparaiso" is a play by Don DeLillo. According to the book's copyright page, the play was first performed in 1999 at the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The play tells the story of Michael Majeski, a man who has attained celebrity status after an unusual journey: his business flight to Valparaiso, Indiana had become an unexpected odyssey that was both strange and ridiculous.
I read "Valparaiso" as a sometimes dark satire on television and the culture of instant celebrity. Majeski's story is also a reflection on individuality and free will (or the seeming lack thereof in the modern world). This is a surreal piece that is not, in my opinion, wholly effective, but nonetheless contains some sections with both real bite and pathos.
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