(Community Matters) The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures – saw last night at Public Theatre with my friend Andy Tobias. It “explores revolution, radicalism, marriage, sex, prostitution, politics, real estate, unions of all kinds and debts both unpaid and unpayable.” It’s not really a “gay play”, but I like that homophobes are likely to deny themselves the pleasure of seeing it.
It’s big – layered, whipsaws, sophisticated, emotionally violent and lost me (you know, those 90 second places where one’s mind wonders) very few times during what turns out to be three long acts (though you don’t realize it; okay, maybe in the third act I realized it, but that passed; the play ended strong). Straight out of the gate, the dialogue blew me away – later, the parallel dialogue is so well written I could almost keep up with four conversations (ode to a great director & actors as well as a brilliant playwright). The layered topics are timely, even if the rest of us didn’t see the Wisconsin style GOP dismantling of unions forthcoming. Kushner pulls no punches of how we brought much of this on ourselves.
I want to see this again. Like Steven’s plays, I know if I saw it 16 times, I’d see something new each time (no, I wouldn’t/couldn’t see a near 4 hr play 16 times, maybe 3 or 4). Beyond outstanding direction and actors. Public acknowledgments to American playwrights O’Neil, Miller & Williams – even design of the play’s title.
Like Stoppard, Kushner (best know for Angels In America and the screenplay of Spielberg’s Munich) continues to earn distinction as one of the living great, to be included in the canons.
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