As aforementioned in my previous post, the Guthrie has kicked off their 2012/2013 season with three works by Christopher Hampton. At the outset, I had no idea who the man behind the plays was (I didn't know he wrote the script to Atonement - whoops). After three shows and some insight from my handy-dandy playbill, this is what I can tell you: When he is described as being "a creative writer of diverse work" it is spot-on. In fact, I still feel as if I don't REALLY know who Hampton is because of how different each of the shows were. Let me briefly break it down for you:

Tales from Hollywood
German writers find themselves in Hollywood in an attempt to escape the terror that is the Third Reich. Most of the play involves the personal story of playwright Ödön von Horváth and his interactions with more famous authors like Bertolt Brecht and the Mann brothers. At times the script is comedic, at others it tows the line between appropriate and "too soon" Holocaust humor (it will always be too soon for me) and sometimes it is dull. Mostly, it was dull... which is too bad. It had potential and had it's moments, but as someone who is mostly unfamiliar with Brecht and German writers in general, much of the humor went "woosh" right over my head. (All I can say is thank God for Professor Groven's insistence that I read "Galileo" Freshman year of college or all would have been lost.)

Lee Sellars as Ödön von Horváth

Appomattox
The first half of the play covers the year 1865 and the days leading up to and signing of the Appomattox Treaty. We get to see a tumultuous time in American history through the eyes of Lincoln, Grant and Lee which is always an interesting perspective. However, when the audience resumes their seats and the curtain rises after the intermission, we are suddenly in 1965 at the heart of the civil rights movement. While there is continuity in the themes of freedom, rights and a "stubborn belief in and hope for a brighter future" as the Guthrie puts it, it still feels very much like two separate plays. Fine on their own - it did feel a bit strange and a little long due to the density and severity of the topic at hand.

(At Center): Mark Benninghofen as Gen.Ulysses S. Grant and Philip Kerr as Robert E. Lee

Embers
I was surprised by this show. Why? Out of the three Hampton shows, this was my favorite. At last! The Dowling Studio comes through! (I always knew it would happen, I'm just excited it finally did.) In short, it is a play about two lifelong friends who must work through certain aspects of their difficult past including infidelity, death and desertion. Sounds saucy, doesn't it? While the play is largely monologue, I agree with Janet Preus (of HowWasTheShow.com) in her assesment that this is a show which is "beautiful, sad and absorbing... a piece to be pondered and savored." Hampton's writing here, in my opinion, is by far at its best.

Barbara Bryne as Nini and James A. Stephens as Henrik

Now, while Hampton only went 1/3 in my book, the novelty of having 3 productions by a single author run at the same time was certainly not lost on me. While I may be a part of a small yet fortunate few who were able to see all three, the best part of the first few months of the Guthrie season was the comparing and the contrasting of shows in a way I have never been able to before. So, Hampton? Not so much. Featured playwrites? HELL YES. I'd like to see much more of that in the future.

Later days, what's so special about writers?