Review by Brenda Repland
You and I by Philip Barry (author of The Philadelphia Story) will open this week at the Metropolitan Playhouse. Directed by Michael Hardart.
Mr. Barry looks at conditions in the 1920’s, but – what is it the French say? plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. (The more things change, the more they’re the same.) We, today, can identify with the very challenges facing each character in determining a life’s focus and freedom.
Maitland White (Timothy C. Goodwin) – employed by a soap manufacturer and living comfortably between his New York apartment and his country home – has never lost the craving to paint. But with the demands of business, there has been no time to indulge it.
Not until his son (Aidan Eastwood) faces a similar crossroad when his passion for architecture and an opportunity to study abroad are derailed by the financial demands of his pending marriage does Maitland realize the emotional toll of ignoring one’s destiny. His wife (Elisabeth Preston) too, is becoming aware of the pain acquiescence can cause as she listens to Maitland counsel his son.
Aidan Eastwood,
Elisabeth Preston, and Timothy C. Goodwin
photo: Anna Paola Pizzocaro
More than once in the play, Thoreau’s quote “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation” is uttered. It serves as a warning not to ignore what one must do!
Mac Brydon and Meredith M. Sweeney photo: Anna Paola Pizzocaro
This is a potent play with an almost universal message. The cast is excellent. Elisabeth Preston’s subtle reactions speak volumes; Timothy C. Goodwin is most convincing as the conflicted adult; Albert Warren Baker as Maitland’s boss delivers the kind of exuberant enthusiasm that is blind to all but business.
Timothy C. Goodwin
photo: Ed Forti
The play will run through October 7. My advice? Don’t miss it! You will come away thinking about the role of destiny in your own life.
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