Forget ticket lines, parking in Back Bay, and dressing up. While there's nothing like attending live theater, there is much to be said for curling up at home with a convenient adaptation of your favorite drama.
Film adaptations have come a long way from static cameras that record live performances. More so, film makes possible a range of temporal and spatial manipulations that are difficult onstage. So head to Tisch, rent these favorites, and enjoy fine theater - no tickets required.
Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest" is a comedy of errors, full of sly wit and mistaken identities. Lead character John "Jack" Worthing finds his country estate tiresome and slips away to London to visit his fictitious brother, Ernest. Naturally, this leads to a series of mishaps that only Oscar Wilde could dream up.
The 2002 film production directed by Oliver Parker captures the essence of Wilde's classic comedy; though purists may complain about his liberties with the script, some of Parker's adjustments work well. When Colin Firth (Jack) and Rupert Everett (Algy) break into a musical adaptation of Wilde's poem, "Lady, Come Down," the result is harmonious, to say the least.
In "The House of Bernarda Alba" by Federico Garc?a Lorca, a widow aggressively guards her daughters and drives them into spinsterhood. Her ostentatious piety is the root of the jealous tension that propels the play forward.
In an unexpectedly successful television adaptation of this renowned drama, Stuart Burge captures the essence of familial hostilities in his 1991 interpretation. Set in Northern England rather than Southern Spain, Glenda Jackson's performance as Bernarda Alba is magnificently compelling.
This adaptation does not seek to mimic the original but succeeds in building on the strengths of the director and the cast. It is carefully constructed and wholly enthralling.
"Everybody Comes to Rick's" is an absolute classic, known as the most famous play never produced. Never heard of it? That's probably because it was re-titled "Casablanca" after Warner Brothers filmed it in 1942.
Murray Burnett and Joan Alison wrote the script for the stage, but Hollywood had other plans for them. Once Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart were cast, there was no stopping this film from becoming one of the most famous love stories of all time.
For most of the filming, Bergman was unaware which man she would eventually choose, perhaps explaining the superb way she handles both men in the film. Dramatic and quotable, this is a memorable production by any name.
Another pair of Hollywood heavyweights lent their star power to the famous film version of Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire." Set in post-WWII New Orleans, the story follows Blanche DuBois through her mental collapse as she visits her pregnant sister and brother-in-law.
The 1951 adaptation won multiple Oscars, and features Vivien Leigh as Blanche, Marlon Brando as Stanley Kowalski and Kim Hunter as his wife, Stella. Many argue that Leigh's performance in "Streetcar" rivals her performance in "Gone With the Wind" (1939), and after seeing the film, it's easy to see why. Blanche's mental dissolution is both intense and restrained, and with Brando's breakthrough naturalism, this film is a must-see by any standard.
William Shakespeare is often referred to as one of the most popular screenwriters in Hollywood. Despite the hundreds of film adaptations of his works, Laurence Olivier's "Hamlet" (1948) remains a quintessential film experience. Olivier both directed and acted in this film, which won four Academy Awards. Criterion recently made this version available on DVD, so top-notch sound and picture qualities are available.
However, Shakespeare purists may miss several characters and scenes omitted from Olivier's version, and for them there is the 1996 Hamlet that clocks in at over 240 minutes. Well-acted and lavishly filmed, this adaptation satisfies those who just can't get enough of the bard.
No film version can ever capture the whimsical spontaneity of live theater, and films that attempt to do so are destined to fall short. When approaching big-screen versions of your favorite play, view it for what it is: a film. Don't let factual inaccuracies or new plot interpretations get in the way of fresh insights from a new medium.
With this in mind, make it a night in with some of Hollywood's best and Broadway's finest.
