Critical Essay | Critical Essay by John Simon

Critical Essay by John Simon

[Reunion] consists of two wretched curtain raisers of about 10 minutes apiece, which finally raise the (figurative) curtain on a 45-minute play that, though appreciably better, is still nothing on which a curtain especially needs to rise. In The Sanctity of Marriage, a few feeble comments on the evanescence of conjugal love are implied; it is all rather as if a couple of pages from a mediocre but full-length play were ripped out and served up as an autonomous and astonishing whole. The only astonishing thing here is the impudence.

Dark Pony is a children's play…. The eponymous pony turns out otherwise than expected. That might be enough for a postprandial joke, but it is lean fare for a play, particularly given the flavorless language.

Finally, Reunion concerns an unhappily married daughter's seeking out her feckless and lonely father…. They have little to give beyond frequently disconcerting platitudes, but keep...
(read more)