The Homecoming

I was eagerly looking forward to seeing the revival of Harold Pinter's play, The Homecoming at the Cort Theatre. We had excellent seats located in the fourth row and even though I was suffering from a bout of the flu, could not believe my good fortune when the smallest old lady in the world sat directly in front of my wife and I. The British actor, Ian McShane, plays the patriarch of this very disfunctional family that included McShane, his brother, and two grown sons who get a surprise visit from their professor brother and his very provocative wife. If any of you remember the HBO drama Deadwood, you'll remember McShane as the foul mouthed owner of a saloon/whorehouse. He really is an impressive actor in full command of his craft. The play was beautifully acted but the play itself is a dismal commentary on a bleak bunch of unhappy misfits and the strange happenings that occur in the second act of the play. Outside the theatre was a banner proclaiming Pinter's play as "an erotic masterpiece". It very well may have been one in 1964 when it first appeared on Broadway, but now it seemed drab and sad. The men hatch a plan to use their brother's wife for profit and their own lustful desires with the full blessing of the woman's husband.  It was a very weird play and I heard some older theatre goers describe the play as "brutal".  I usually like to identify with a sympathetic character when seeing a play. There was none on stage. I guess I should've stayed home and nurse myself back to health.