Tom Stoppard is one of the most polarizing figures in modern theater. Those who love the playwright call him a genius, a master of the English language, a rare wit. Those who hate him say he’s pretentious, boring, a magnet for all the members of the audience with a need to announce to one and all “I get it! Look how smart I am!” If you hear laughter that’s a little too loud responding to the jokes, or repeated ummmmms at salient points in the play, you probably have the dubious pleasure of sitting near what are uncharitably called “pseudo intellectuals.” Travesties, now being revived by the Roundabout, provides ample ammunition for both sides of the discord. There can be no doubt about the brilliance of Tom Hollander’s performance. As Henry Carr, a minor figure in history, to be sure, he nimbly translates an old man’s demented remembrances into soaring pastiche of humor, pathos, and bitchiness. Though small in physical stature, Hollander is a giant when it comes to engaging an audience. From the moment he enters in a tattered straw hat, cream silk scarf, and what appears to be a brown plaid robe, he lets us know that we’re going on a wild ride, and he’ll be our mercurial guide. Hollander fairly glides through a monologue that must be several pages long, explaining all that’s going on around him, and the varied cast of characters. The fact that Carr’s reality keeps changing often makes the proceedings feel more like a dream than a memory. Stoppard has based his play on the curious fact that in 1917, Lenin (Dan Butler), James Joyce (Peter McDonald), and Tristan Tzara (Seth Numrich), the father of Dada, were all in Zurich. Henry Carr played Algernon—“the other one”—in a James Joyce production of The Importance of Being Earnest. The two fell out, and Carr sued Joyce for the cost of a pair of pants. Joyce counter sued and won. The bad blood between them is evident in Joyce mockingly referring to Carr in “Ulysses.” Stoppard makes many allusions to the Wilde tome, including naming the two women in Carr’s life Cecily (Sara Topham) and Gwendolen (Scarlett Strallen). Nadya (Opal Alladin), Lenin’s wife and Bennett (Patrick Kerr), Carr’s servant, are also in the eccentric mix. There are many memorable moments. Tzara is ably played way over the top by Numrich. In his eye-catching suit with purple cravat, socks, and pocket square, he leaps across the stage like a over-active preschooler on a sugar high. (Note to backstage crew: an actor should never reappear on the stage sweating, without having a blotting towel handy.) Joyce’s poetry sounds like what we today call rapping. Hollander’s evoking the nightmare of World War I through Carr’s eyes is bone chilling. In Flanders Fields… This is the first Broadway revival of the comedy which came to the Great White Way 1975 and won the Tony for Best Play; it’s the fifth Stoppard play produced by the Roundabout. Director Patrick Marber was also at the helm of the sold-out production at London’s Menier Chocolate Factory and the West End. Love him or hate him, Tom Stoppard continues to intrigue audiences both here and abroad. With as fine an actor as Tom Hollander leading the company, this current production of Travesties will continue to attract attention and spur many a heated conversation.
