The Lovesong of Alfred J. Hitchcock – Location, Tickets, Reviews
59E59 Theaters present the U.S. premiere of David Rudkin’s The Lovesong of Alfred J. Hitchcock, a stage version of Rudkin’s award-winning radio play for the BBC. This production is part of the Brits Off Broadway Festival.
The Lovesong of Alfred J. Hitchcock explores the famous filmmaker’s dreams, desires, and frustrations. It introduces Hitchcock as a man “imprisoned in his director’s chair” (to quote the play) who projected shame about his body, Catholic guilt, and an obsession with blondes into his archetypal films.
Maxamoo
Rudkin utilizes an adventurous format for storytelling in this play. It begins with Hitchcock sitting in his director’s chair, conceiving typical Hitchcockian scenarios for his movies, and then steps in and out of Hitchcock’s thought process for a psychological examination of his mind. The audience is given a voyeuristic look into his life, as he is simultaneously tormented and inspired by his anxiety over love and art. Rudkin supplements this examination with an auxiliary plot line that depicts Hitchcock from the point of view of Alma, Hitchcock’s wife, who sees him as a man with a head full of murder and melancholy.
The play is an in-depth study of Hitchcock’s inner world. It is a well-executed production with strong performances from the whole cast of four. Martin Miller, especially, delivers a powerful performance portraying the formidable and ingenious Hitchcock. Director Jack McNamara ably creates a cinematic, if gloomy and anxious, feel to the production. It is a subtle and slow play with a dark subject matter and it demands a degree of patience to appreciate its beauty.
Public Opinion
From Twitter:
@SandyMacDonald: The Love Song of J. Alfred Hitchcock at @59E59 not one of those lazy Wikipedia bioplays. Fascinating script, superb ensemble.
Have you seen The Lovesong of Alfred J. Hitchcock? What did you think? Comment below or tweet to us at @maxamoo.
Critics’ Review
New York Post
Unhitch from ‘The Lovesong of Alfred J. Hitchcock’
TheaterMania
David Rudkin revamps his radio play for a staged exploration of the man behind the camera.
NY Theater
This show is essentially one part commentary, one part black insight and one part pitch-perfect deadpan humor.
TICKETS
$70 (click here for tickets)
DATES
Performances through May 25, 2014
LOCATION
59E59 Theaters
59 East 59th Street
New York City
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RUNNING TIME
1 hour 50 minutes, 1 intermissions
CAST & CREW
(partial list)
Written by David Rudkin
Directed by Jack McNamara
Featuring Martin Miller, Roberta Kerr, Anthony Wise, Tom McHugh