The Impossible Scream

"*Man of La Mancha* was BRILLIANT, and Bowen HATED it."
We figured he'd love it, and he didn't. He wrote The Impossible ... [scream]."

1. We tend (all of us, me included) to think in blacks and whites (extremes) like this. But my review (back on about May 24) wasn't entirely negative.
I even did a word count: As published in The Inlander, it had ...
230 words in sentences that were neutral or factual
340 words in sentences that were positive (praising)
350 negative
In other words, it was a mixed review, not a completely negative one.

2. Troy Nickerson is an exceptionally talented director, choreographer and actor. He's a Spokane theatrical treasure. We are lucky to have him. People like Troy and Michael Weaver and Nike Imoru (and I could name several others) are the kind of directors who make theater run in this city. I feel honored to know them. They inspire great affection in those who work with them.
(And Troy had better things to go than field phone calls about my stupid suicide "threat." I apologized to him then, and I apologize again now. I'm really sorry that I upset him and everyone else.)
But does that mean that Troy's directing choices can never be disagreed with? No.
(I haven't reread my review in the last two weeks. I'm going again tonight. Clearly, I'm in a minority in my opinion of the show. Too many actors whose opinions I respect have told me that they think very highly of this production.
I don't think I'm going to change MOST of my opinions about this show. But it seems like an opportunity not to be missed -- go see a show for a second time, and late in the run.)

3. One of the most perceptive comments in the flurry of anti-Bowen posts right after my La Mancha review suggested, all too briefly, that my insistence that the reality/illusion theme should be treated seriously in production is itself undermined by the fact that the prison inmates lead a dreary existence and are putting on a play to amuse and divert themselves.
I've seen this show twice (at Calif. community theaters, 20 years ago and more) and of course the movie.
This is (probably overall, certainly in many particular sections) the best of the four versions I've seen. Maybe I was too harsh on it. Anyway, I hadn't thought of that -- a critical blind spot, that the inset play is supposed to be funny ha-ha -- and so I'm eager to re-evaluate that aspect tonight. Not to mention Patrick's performance and Troy's staging and David's set and much, much else.