Customer Reviews

Visiting Mr. Green - Acting Edition

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There is plenty to like about this play by Jeff Baron, who has written more for television and film. The premise, in which a young corporate man is compelled by a judge to make regular visits to an elderly Jewish man he struck with his car, is loaded with opportunities for character conflict and humor. Initially the men, who are of different generations and different attitudes about their "Jewishness," are so badly matched the playwright has to cash in some disbelief credit to keep the arrangement going. The terms of their friendship tug at the heartstrings with the neatness and economy of a television 'dramedy.'

If you ask more than this of an evening of theatre, for perhaps a deeper and more surprising exploration of a dramatic theme, you will find the water shallow here. Moreover, the playwright's orientation toward film and video shows via some unwieldy scene changes. At one point, the playwright orders the hopelessly cluttered apartment to be spic and span after a blackout between scenes - not after an act break, which would be more practical. The camera can do that; in theatre, we have to move things around in real time.

The dialogue is quick, lean, and pretty funny. It might be a wonderful television special, and is much closer to a teleplay than dramatic literature.

This little book, the published script for a play I am currently appearing in, was a real find! Inside are photos of Eli Wallach, the actor who originated the role, along with an interview with Wallach and the playwrist, Jeff Baron. Top notch product!!

I ordered it and I found it is just the playbill, which I've already got one as I entered the theature in New York City. In case the real playwrite it out, somebody please kindly tell me where to find it. :)