One can visit this revival of Dale Wasserman's mental-institution drama about individuality vs. conformity and men vs. women without paying too much attention to those somewhat clumsily handled themes. It's enough to relish Gary Sinese taking a role utterly identified with another actor and giving it a compelling spin all his own. (By contrast, Amy Morton's Nurse Ratched is too reminiscent of Louise Fletcher's hushed control freak.)
The final confrontation feels forced, as does the contrivance of McMurphy not escaping through an open window only because the playwright needs him to stay and be martyred. But so many sequences remain sure-fire grabbers that Cuckoo's Nest is the rare show that really does stay rumbling in your head long after the curtain's come down.
Images:
Previews:
March 16, 2001
Opened:
April 8, 2001
Ended:
July 29, 2001
Country:
USA
State:
New York
City:
New York
Company/Producers:
Michael Leavitt, Fox Theatricals, Anita Waxman and Elizabeth Williams.
Theater Type:
Broadway
Theater:
Royale Theater
Theater Address:
242 West 45th Street
Genre:
Drama
Director:
Terry Kinney
Review:
Cast:
Gary Sinese, Amy Morton (Nurse Ratched), Sarah Charipar, Stephanie Childers, K. Todd Freeman, Eric Johner, Ross Lehman, Misha Kuznetsov, Bruce McCarty, Mariann Mayberry, Steven Marcus, Jeanine Morick, Bill Noble, Ron OJ Parson, Tim Sampson.
Technical:
Set: Robert Brill; Costumes: Laura Bauer; Lighting: Kevin Rigdon
Critic:
David Lefkowitz
Date Reviewed:
April 2001