Enron, the play, as bankrupt as the company itself
Oscar E. Moore “from the rear mezzanine” for Talk Entertainment.com
Why? Why would anyone in their right mind pay good money as opposed to the bad money reaped in by Enron to see a bloated, over produced, padded, gimmicky show called ENRON with a cast of odious characters with no redeeming or likable features whatsoever?
A highly toted, award winning British import, written by Lucy Prebble which attempts to document but hardly enlighten the biggest bankruptcy in corporate America with ironic humor, tasteless fun, complicated fraudulent financial explanations with primal/tribal music, debt eating dinosaurs, some rhythmic movement, a puppet and various and assorted other tricks that director Rupert Goold has come up with including Siamese Lehman Brothers and thee blind mice (or are they rats?) to enhance this sordid tale of greed and corruption.
A tale that should not be in any way glorified. A tale where hundreds of employees lost everything after being hoodwinked into investing by those oh so smart crooks in the company and stupid impressionable stock annalists. Employees told the boldest of lies – lies to the bitter end - that they where investing in their future - when all they were doing was raising the price of Enron’s stock so that Ken Lay (Gregory Itzin), Andy Fastow CFO (Stephen Kunken - whose name should be Andy Fast One) and others could take huge bonuses while the company tanked. How amusing it is to see them all pulling a fast one! Ha! Ha! Could it be that the British are also pulling a fast one on us?
We all know the sordid story. No need to remind us. Worse has happened since.
Claudia Roe (Marin Mazzie) is introduced on a corporate desk with her legs in the air, her red thong on the floor and Jeffrey Skilling (Norbert Leo Butz) pulling out. She knew how to get ahead by giving good head it’s revealed. He labors hard here. To no avail.
And so the story unfolds and you want to get up from your seat and scream “I’ve had enough and won’t take it any more.”
The London Telegraph called ENRON “a fantastic firecracker of a play.” Well, this firecracker fizzles at the Broadhurst Theatre.
www.EnronBroadway.com
Photo: Joan Marcus
Visit www.oscaremoore.com
04-28-10
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Comments:
Gussysax
wrote:
Enron collapses again. Read my blog to read my full thoughts - but I think the above is a little harsh. http://www.mtishowspace.com/pg/blog/101280/read/131106/enron-collapses-again
I should first say that I'm a Brit myself so am quite aware that maybe an American audience don't want to be told their own tragic story by an outsider. However, I have to admit that I did feel a little patronized as an audience member in this show. I felt that the direct audience address was just to make sure we normal citizens understood the economic jargon on stage. Yet, Prebble is trying to do a satirical, highly stylized production and it is original. It's a hybrid of vaudeville, musical and play which is exciting though perhaps confusing. I also wonder if Broadway audiences don't like shows which try to break form?
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