Last Friday, Beth and I went to see Faith Healer on Broadway. Although billed as a play, Faith Healer is really a series of four monologues told from three distinct points of view and details the life and ultimate conclusion of an Irish faith healer named Frank Hardy. In a remarkable, physical performance, Ray Fiennes' faith healer is a man who is plagued by a genuine gift that manifests itself only on occasion. The impotency of his powers and his personal vanity collide in rages that can only be subdued with whiskey and the verbal abuse that he heaps upon his wife, Grace Hardy. Cherry Jones, who blew us away with her Tony winning performance in Doubt, is unfortunately miscast in this role as any hint of an Irish lilt is crushed by her Southern American accent and her strong-willed performance, though powerful, is completely contradictory to a character who could remain devoted for years to such an abusive and demoralizing relationship.
The highlight of play, however, was Ian McDiarmid's performance as Frank's manager, Teddy. Unfortunately famous for his role as Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars, Ian McDiarmid's Teddy is at once comically blithe and tender. His is the most honest interpretation of the play's events and his performance is heart breaking and the most gripping.
Although overall enjoyable, seeing this play demands a high level of concentration from the audience as it unfolds in a non-linear fashion and the three unique perspectives in turn warp the portrayed events on a multitude of levels. We found it is an inspiring feat for these actors to hold an audience's attention through each of the 30-minute monologues. Yet, even though it goes against the play’s structure, I felt somehow cheated that these phenomenally talents never once have the opportunity to interact.
If you're up for an beautiful yet challenging piece of theater, go see Faith Healer.
I have spent the last two weekends out of town. The most recent of which, Beth and I traveled to Berkley, California for the wedding of our good friends Matt and Rachel. Beth went to high school with Matt (go BV!) and he stood in at our wedding as Beth’s Matron of Honor (to this day, he bemoans that we didn’t let him wear a dress). This time around, Beth had the honor of reading for them.