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(05/28/04)
by KYW's Bob NelsonGood theatre is an impressive marriage of effective acting in the service of a good script.
However, there are times when such a marriage finds something lacking.
Witness the Philadelphia Theater Company's production of Edward Albee's "The Goat or Who Is Sylvia?" enjoying its area premiere at Plays & Players.
Albee, the author of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and other award winners, is a master craftsman. His style can be laceratingly direct, frequently farcical, and almost always hilariously naughty.
Better still, his work is a joy to the actor.
The play, regardless of what you might think of the subject matter, displays some brilliant acting -- especially from John Glover, an old hand here in the '70s and possibly the best Hamlet ever seen locally. It's good to see him again.
The same for the reliable Tom Teti and Elizabeth Norment (far right).
"The Goat or Who Is Sylvia?" deals with a happily married architect and his love affair (if you call it that) with a goat.
Albee's technique, the acting, indeed the production itself, are all first rate. However, there's still a strong and somewhat annoying undercurrent of unbelievableness to the entire evening.
"The Goat or Who Is Sylvia?" runs through June 20th at Plays & Players, 1714 Delancey Place, in center city Philadelphia.
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