My memory of this play was murky at best and I only went to see it because I got free tickets. I'd remembered not liking the play all that much when I read it during an Odets binge in college. We saw a very early preview, during which there were several uncomfortable moments with lines being dropped and even an entire scene had to be cut, I assume due to someone's trouble getting off book.
But what surprised me was how much more interesting the play is than I'd remembered. This play paints a portrait of an unlikely type, a man who is so desperate to be liked that he hides his true feelings behind the shadow of his protective wife. The play shows, perhaps more starkly than any other I can think of, the infinite damage such fear leaves in its wake. There were several moments, particularly during the start of Act II, that felt as though they had the potential to be spine-tingling theatre. But, alas, the performance I saw was an early preview when too much mental energy was obviously focused on remembering what bit of text came next. I'm curious whether anyone who saw a later performance did in fact get a powerful theatrical experience out of this production. Certainly there's enough talent on that stage to have arrived at something great.
