Stage on Screen: The Women

Most of the criticism of this production seems to center on the lack of subtlety of the actresses. Were the production a film or television show, I might be inclined to agree, but this was a stage production and meant to be seen by an audience some fifty or more feet away.

I thought the performance good, though its script is dated in its outlook on women and their reliance upon men. The characters are stereotypes and obviously were written to be just that way. The actresses play them with gusto, and the audience's reaction indicates that the performances went over well in that theater - although I agree that Tilly's brassy and nasal portrayal of the 'other woman' left me wondering why any man would be interested in her Crystal for anything more than a quick fling.

The close-up camera work for this video production doesn't do the show justice as the actresses are not playing for a camera, and the video audience therefore sees only the "over-the-top" look of these women projecting for a theater audience.

The premise behind PBS' "Stage on Screen" -- recording a live performance of a Broadway play and broadcasting it for TV viewers at home -- is wonderful. But the source material for this particular episode isn't. The other episode I've seen, "The Man Who Came to Dinner" with Nathan Lane, gave me a great chance to "attend" Broadway and enjoy a quality production. But it had quality not just because the performers, sets, costumes, etc. were good, but because the script had something going for it.

Led to expect the original play of "The Women" to be a profound satire loaded with saucy wit, I found that the smart jokes are actually spread real thin, with lots of dead dialogue. But the melodrama is syrup-thick, to my surprise. The whole thing ends up in a shape resembling a comedy-drama, and an awkward one at that. At one point you'll watch one of the many ashen scenes with Mary Haines suffering the pain of losing her husband to a younger, prettier floozy. Then suddenly Luce throws in a quick low humor routine right at its heels. Fortunately, most of the actresses go into high gear to emphasize the humorous hypocrisy and silliness of their characters. But the script just isn't that funny. Most of the humor consists of familiar, basic gags (e.g. the elderly divorcée hunting for #5) or random bits done by minor players in the many throwaway roles. I can picture the playwright going, "Hmm, what else can I do to punch up this scene and kill twelve more seconds? Oh, why don't I have a Russian seamstress come in and do a silly walk...", after which the seamstress promptly disappears for the rest of the play. Many other minor bits, like Mr. Haines' officious secretary, fall flat.

At any rate, the jokes are outnumbered by the minutes spent on the heavy, "realistic" themes of Mary's heartbreak and divorce. The Mary character is rather a wet blanket, and with most of the attention on Mary and her soap opera plot line, the watching becomes tedious. This is not helped by Cynthia Nixon's portrayal of the character as weepy, oblivious, and ghostly-voiced; it makes her kind of creepy, really. But since the role seems lame from square one, any actress would be hard-pressed to make it interesting. (I haven't seen the 1939 film and don't know how they went about the character and script in that one.)

While all this goes on, you realize that the self-serious play doesn't have anything really notable to say. Perhaps the playwright's career at Vanity Fair and her marriage to the Time-Life mogul helped her get this work off the ground. Hey, if so, it would demonstrate what she presented in her play: women aim to marry rich, powerful men to get the comfort and privileges they want!

One other odd bit of fun. If you watch the PBS presentation, stay for the intermission discussion between program host Jason Alexander and the group of actresses. Things take a bizarre, surreal turn when Alexander, speaking in all seriousness and in confidential tones, gives a lesson on how to deal with marital infidelity, or an "accident" as he calls it. I think it went something like, "If you've had an accident, just forget about it and get over the guilt. But if you're thinking of *having* an accident, then we need to talk."

What a delightful surprise dusting off this furry warhorse after so long. This taped version of the Roundabout Theatre's 2001 stage production works remarkably well under the obvious constrictions. The camera work is clean and expedient, the outré costumes glorious, the hairstyles period-perfect, the sets fun and functional, and the performances frisky and stylish.

Claire Boothe Luce's stinging all-female play `The Women' was first filmed in 1939 and starred MGM's crème de la femme at the time: Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Paulette Goddard, Mary Boland, Virginia Weidler, etc. It's a wickedly cherished film that deftly chaffs at the idle rich (well, the idle FEMALE rich anyway) for all it's worth. A stage version is rarely seen these days due to the Luce estate, which is very protective of this property, and because of its enormous (ergo, expensive) cast, which has 24 women performing 36 roles.

Off-putting to some in that it continually punches home the fact that a woman's station in life at that time was to marry money and breed, Luce portrays her gadflies as little more than brainless, vindictive, status-seeking gossips who have absolutely no purpose in life outside marriage. Lying, cheating husbands were better than no husbands at all. Luce's contempt for the 30s woman is quite obvious. In fact, she was even accused of misogyny after writing this satire! The focus instead should be directed squarely on the delightfully sharp, acerbic dialogue, the incendiary characters, and the terrific interplaying of its distaff cast. It's amazing how well everything holds up after all these decades.

Though the performances are a mixed bag, nothing detracts from the overall fun to be had. Cynthia (`Sex and the City') Nixon heads the cast as that noble sufferer Mary Haines whose husband has been led astray after a solid decade of marital bliss. Highly appealing, Nixon effectively overrides the more treacly scenes (and she is given a few), while her quivery voice has an interesting Billie Burke ring to it. She gives the piece a strong center of gravity while justifying the more melodramatic intrusions in the play.

But it's the bitchiness, the cattiness, and the empty attitudes and platitudes that everyone wants served up. And, boy, do they ever get it! Kristen (`Third Rock from the Sun') Johnston as Nixon's `best friend' goes for broke in the hilariously gabby, astringent Roz Russell role. With her pearl-handled guns drawn, she draws instant blood while imposing a panther-like frenzy on the proceedings. Her antics are as wonderfully over-the-top as the Hedda Hopper-like headgear she gets to flaunt. She succeeds in putting her own indelible stamp on this wacky blueblood.

Jennifer Tilly, in the Joan Crawford role, has her scathing moments too as homewrecker Crystal Allen, especially while trading delicious barbs with her competition (Nixon), but she is far, far too obvious as the counter girl out to sleep her way into nouveau riche society. In a one-note performance, Tilly's screechy voice is so unappetizing, her nastiness so brash and her intentions so transparent, it's hard to believe any man would be foolish enough to tangle with her. Nothing subtle, nothing enticing, nothing clever...nothing special.

Give it up, however, for the incredible Jennifer (`Best in Show') Coolidge who induces laughter with every groan and grimace. Looking like she just ate a barrelful of persimmons, her grumpy, feather-brained socialite steals the limelight whenever she's on. An excellent comedy farceur, Coolidge has a series of uproarious moments, the best being her postpartum hospital scene following the birth of her fourth child. It's priceless.

In somewhat lesser roles, Rue McClanahan is quite marvelous as the flighty, French-spewing, love-hungry, often-divorced countess, while Mary Louise Wilson offers the perfect cutting edge as Nixon's all-knowing mother. But Hallie Kate Eisenberg (from the Pepsi commercials) is woefully wrong period-wise as Nixon's precocious daughter. It's an annoying, thankless part to begin with but she doesn't help things with her joltingly contemporary performance. As for the rest of the large cast, including the downstairs help (Heather Matarazzo and Mary Bond Davis), all are given the chance to shine.

The show moves at a fast clip and the jokes are rippingly fun. Most surprising is how coarse and risque the original play was. The 1939 version was obviously softened quite a bit to get past the censors. Here, they get to go for the throat. By the way, in 1956 there was a filmed MUSICAL remake called `The Opposite Sex' starring June Allyson, Joan Collins, Ann Sheridan, Dolores Gray, Agnes Moorehead, Ann Miller, and the wonderful, wonderful Alice Pearce as the loose-tongued manicurist. This interesting but misguided feature chose to give life to the husbands (Leslie Nielsen, Jim Backus, Dick Shawn, among them), which diminished its impact. Still, you might want to give it a once-over just for comparison's sake.

This is a wonderful version of this classic, but seldom-staged play. Mary Louise Wilson, Kristen Johnson, Jennifer Coolidge, Lisa Emery, and Mary Bond Davis

are all terrific in their roles. Far better than the1939 George Cukor version with watered down and censored script. Furthermore, unlike the 1939 version, the

costuming, lighting, and stage design are fabulous. The program also offers

interesting insights into the actress' work through the "intermission" interview conducted by Jason Alexander. Here's hoping that "The Women" is released on

DVD just like the 2000 Broadway version of "The Man Who Came to Dinner"

was.

i have read many of the comments here and i should like to add my own.

While i can see where there was room for improvement in some areas, over all this was good entertainment, and i will purchase a copy for later viewing.

all of the ladies play their parts well. the one thing i can say is that they all had a tendency to sing........... their words....... and that is where the improvements can and should be made. yes they are on stage and they had the need to project their voices so that those in the back may be heard. But speaking in clear tones from ones diaphragm does not require loud long.............. drawling singing words........

i do believe they had the right,(type casting), for the parts -the women did fit their roles, however, you could tell that a bit more live on stage experience is needed.

no, not tony award winning- but not a bomb either. good entertainment when all you want is to not think about your cares, and watch and listen in on others...........