Nice to hear some thoughts and opinions from someone else who's seen the play. Matter of fact, I'm typing this reply from my motel in DC, where I've made the second trip from NYC to see it (and do mini vacation in DC -- would be bizarre to me to drive this far and not enjoy the city).
What I find interesting is that the aspects of the play that you weren't that fond of were the aspects that I really liked. It reminded me of the types of productions which I used to go to every summer at the late, lamented Shakespeare festival in Stratford, CT. They used to experiment with the classics; one I remember particularly clearly from the early 80s was a production of
Julius Caesar, reset in the 1960s with all the assassination echoes you would imagine that would create. And I DO envy you having seen him in Much Ado; I love Shakespeare and I would dearly have liked to have seen him in that.
James Sill did a wonderful job with the script, I agree. And in thinking about your points, I'm now wondering if any other mechanism other than what he used would have brought the conflicts and decisions forth to the audience in the same way. So much of that was used to illustrate the internal conflicts, and now I am wondering whether any other dramatic device could have worked the same way to make the audience understand those points. I particularly liked the fact that they didn't assume any preexisting knowledge on the part of the audience, and gave the non history buff all they would need to understand and enjoy the story as a story. However, it was done so that history wonks like me (and a lot of other people I encountered at the theater), who know a lot of this stuff through their reading, wouldn't stop paying attention.
He owned the stage when I was there for previews, and I can but assume the cast has done nothing but fine tune an already good job since then. Both nights most of the audience stood and applauded, but not quite enough that it qualified as a standing ovation. They only took two curtaincalls, and the audience stood and clapped for a long time, hoping they would return, but no.
FYI when I left, I did hear a few kids discussing DS and the werewolf....
But I left through the doors to the street, as I was taking the Metro back to my way cheaper motel in Arlington.
OH! And when I was at the theater yesterday for the Ranger talk, I noticed something new in the bookstore, that hadn't been there preview week. Autographed copies of
Lincoln's Better Angel.
If you or anyone else wants to compare noteson the play, the review I wrote is on my site, and the link is in my sig below (you guys know the drill....)
Jeannie