semifreelife: you would think

Friday, October 26, 2012

you would think

that all we do is eat out, go to the theater and museums and travel-

well- come to think of it that is pretty much the gist of it- so tonight we again headed to the theater- this time to Raven-

because it is so near where we live we had our pre-theater dinner here at home- cedar plank grilled salmon, asparagus, stuffed mushroom caps and Caesar salad.

then on to Clfford Odets "The Big Knife".... a few years back we had seen another Odets play at the Northlight and honestly I hated it... called "Awake and Sing" - it had not one character that was sympathetic or likable... here is a plot summary of "Awake and Sing":

Awake and Sing! (1935) The Bergers, a lower‐middle‐class Jewish family in the Bronx, are a miserable lot. The mother, Bessie is shrill and selfish; the father, Myron, a drudging ne'er‐do‐well; and their unmarried daughter, Hennie is pregnant with an unwanted child. If there is any hope for redemption, it rests with the Berger son, Ralph a bitter but ambitious young man, and his grandfather, Jacob, who long ago found his consolation in philosophy. Seeing only one way out for Ralph, Jacob quietly makes him the beneficiary of his $3,000‐life insurance policy, then “accidentally” falls from the roof of their tenement. His death allows Hennie to run away with Moe Axelrod, a crippled war veteran who offers her financial security. It also liberates Ralph: “Did Jake die for us to fight for nickels? No! ‘Awake and sing,’ he said . . . I saw he was dead and I was born!” Ralph departs, resolved to become a left‐wing agitator. (you can see why I found it less than fabulous... awful people- no one was even remotely likable even the grandfather was annoying)

so when Phil said he wanted to see this one I was extremely skeptical....

and here is my review tonight: very very dark but excellent - well casted and an engrossing tale of a time not that far in the past but very different from today-

well worth seeing