Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
When you go thumbing through Broadway listings of the yonder years, one thing jumps out.
Its hard to imagine now.
I dont mean thatPlaza Suiteis sexy.
But the subject of each comedy is a heterosexual couple riddled with vanity, misapprehension, and weariness.
We leave them as composer Marc Shaiman brings up the groovy beat theyre about to get down to.
History repeats as Mamaroneck tragedy then as Forest Hills farce, as somebody said.
Broderick rushes it; it bounces him back tenderly.
Its firm but forgiving; it holds fast.
Is this a flaw in the original or in this revival?
Its tricky to work out since so much depends on rhythm.
The same is true for the evening as a whole.
That ones a cold cocktail frankfurter, Ill tell you that.
(I used to ask, What is a funny situation?
he once said in an interview.
Now I ask, What is a sad situation, and how can I tell it humorously?)
While hes tremendously antic inForest Hills,hes the Tin Man without oil inMamaroneck.
Thats still the one of the three Im going to remember, though.
For both characters, Parkers voice sounds sharpened on a whetstone,plaintive but already resigned.
You wouldnt want to sound too old, would you?
Its just the thing to make the men stop listening.
Plaza Suiteis at the Hudson Theatre.
Thank you for subscribing and supporting our journalism.
