New York Post Online Edition: "Stoppard: 'Excuse me. Why are you leaving this play?'
Lincoln Center Theater subscriber (age, about 97): 'Who are you?'
Stoppard: 'I'm the playwright.'
Subscriber (fidgeting with infrared hearing device): 'We can't tell you!'
Stoppard: 'Please. I really want to know. Are you leaving because it's boring?'
Subscriber (crinkling a cough-drop wrapper): 'Well, yes.'
Stoppard: 'Why is it boring?'
Subscriber: 'Too much philosophy!'"
I do have to admit, Stoppard has guts. No one likes to hear thier work is bad, but coming from a 97 year old bitter theater goer could be funny. I think that MTC should putthe rights to the name of the theater on ebay, or make it a reality show. Both options would create buzz, and it would not be defacing the art since there is already the American Airlines type theaters. I would not see Broadway is for Dummies..... that would creep me out.
ReplyDeletei have to agree with the 97 year old. sometimes playwrights just try to put too much philosophy into things.
ReplyDeleteI hope that if Stoppard is going to ask people what they didn’t like about his show, he will use that criticism to make his plays better in the future.