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The brouhaha usually boils down to a simple question, Whyare we doing this play again?
Ive asked it, and Ill keep asking it.
Regardless of its tone, its a really important thing to keep poking at.
Anna and Larry are in mourning.
They both care about presenting, in their own particular world and idiom, as successful and in control.
Theyre both afraid of their own desires and cripplingly lonely.
Wilson is messing with myth inside his own urban microcosm, thereby expanding it.
Hes also complicating the turgid self-seriousness of traditional romanticism by digging smartly into background and privilege.
Part of the plays power lies in the broad, generous humanity that Wilson gives to both.
But Driver keeps the show aloft.
Hes an unstoppable force and an immovable object.
And hes funny as heck.
Pale just has a way of … bringing things out in people.
Believe me, you cant imagine a feeling everyone hasnt had.
Make it personal, tell the truth, and then write Burn this on it.
Wilsons voice still feels lively in part because he combines intellectual curiosity with compassion.
Hes as interested in people as he is in ideas.
All the characters inBurn Thisget to have their moments of wisdom and of weakness.
But only one of these actors really commands our attention.
Those initial scenes, however, are a long haul.
Then, weve all got to hang out for what feels like ages at an overblown exposition party.
And to Plato the real one.
Hes a master of scale, leaping from self-effacing delicacy to towering oratory with elegance and ease.
And hes got the plays best writing to work with, which happens when Nelson essentially dramatizes PlatosDialogues.
Which if true might argue for the extended nature of our souls.
Burn Thisis at the Hudson Theatre through July 14.Socratesis at the Public Theater through May 19.
