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These shows do not qualify as a vast right-wing conspiracy in the bleeding heart of the theater scene, but they do give the lie to the notion that producers have no room for conservative viewpoints. As for Rand, this production reveals that there are reasons this drama hasn’t been mounted that have nothing to do with politics.
For one thing, plays with a dozen actors cost a lot of money, and in the theater that commodity is particularly scarce. Also, the show’s clumsy mix of long bursts of theory and a laborious plot would test the endurance of even Alan Greenspan, a famous Rand admirer and veteran of long, boring meetings.
On the run after being accused of murder, Kay Gonda, a glamorous movie star played with a lopsided grin and a hard-boiled pluck by Jessie Barr, visits six fans in the hopes of finding a place to hide. The diverse group includes a bitter, impoverished socialist (Andrew Young), a naďve priest (Lee Kasper) and a humble, sad-eyed husband (Ted Caine). Many are weak men struggling against the demands of duty voiced by a series of shrill women who pale next to the mysterious Gonda, who is turned away each time.
Before long you wish someone had advised Rand to make it three visits, since the predictability of the introduction of a new character, Gonda’s surprise entrance and the inevitable disappointment becomes tedious. But she probably wouldn’t have listened, because never compromising your vision, no matter how strange, is one of the messages of this message-filled play.
The play’s director, Jenny Beth Snyder, does her best with a baby-faced cast and a load of exposition, but this lumbering drama remains most interesting as a historical document.
http://theater.nytimes.com/2010/06/2...ml?ref=theater
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