News from the Helpers' Network US for fans of Beauty and the Beast...

News from Lisa of the Helpers' Network US for fans of Beauty and the Beast...

Last Saturday night, I had the great opportunity to see Linda Hamilton's new play, "Worse Than Murder", which is playing at the (75 seat) Ventura Court Theater in Studio City, California. The play, which is reviewed below courtesy of Reuters/Variety, is based on the Ethel and Julius Rosenberg case from the 50's. The review is good, and I will let it stand - except for a couple of comments.

I have to say that Linda was truly amazing, full of passion, crying real tears, over and over again, throughout the play. In her role of Ethel Rosenberg, she plays opposite Robin Thomas, whom she co-starred with in the play, "Laura", at the Tiffany Theater in Los Angeles back in 2000.

Now the review:

'Terminator's' Hamilton Resurfaces in Rosenberg Play
Wed Jun 19, 5:29 AM ET
By Julio Martinez

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Award-winning stage, TV and film scripter Lou Shaw (co-creator of "Quincy") delves into the passionate love affair between idealistic young Communist party members Julius Rosenberg and Ethel Greenglass, icons of the 1950s "red menace" witch hunts.

Director Tom Bissinger and an outstanding ensemble do great justice to the playwright's occasionally heavy-handed premise that the Rosenbergs were metaphorically "lynched" as cold war scapegoats for
the U.S. government's failure to curtail the Soviet Union's development of nuclear arms.

The central focus of Shaw's text is the awe-inspiring, almost "unbearable intensity" of the devotion they exhibited toward one another from the moment they met to their final parting. Bissinger wisely keeps the focus on Ethel and Julius, performed with sumptuous veracity by Linda Hamilton ("The Terminator") and Robin Thomas ("The Mommies"), allowing the events of their prosecution to swirl about them as mere accents to their relationship. The history of the Rosenbergs is told in episodic flashbacks as the Rosenbergs' adult sons Michael (Murray Rubinstein) and Robby (Dennis Gersten) attempt to make sense of the injustice done to their parents. Their imagined interactions with a rogues gallery of historical villains include dialogues with a ragingly unapologetic J. Edgar Hoover (Dennis Cockrum), smarmy young prosecutor Roy Cohn (Judd Trichter), a despicably corrupt Judge Irving Kaufman (William Knight), Ethel's cowardly brother David Greenglass (Tom Gibis) and his self-serving wife, Ruth (Rachel Malkenhorst).

These fact-filled dialogues provide a plethora of information that drives home the playwright's assertion that Ethel and Julius were framed by government prosecutors and the FBI. However, they often detract from the central issue, the hauntingly poignant interaction of two individuals who refused to save themselves if it meant
sacrificing their integrity and ideals.

Hamilton's Ethel actually appears to glow and expand whenever she is with Julius shrinks within herself when they are separated. Thomas' Julius is equally passionate toward his wife, but often exudes the infectious humor of a Borscht Belt comedian, as if he could not allow himself to fully comprehend the severity of his plight. When they are united at their place of execution, he quips, "If I follow you to the death house, obviously I would follow you anywhere." Knight exudes a laser-like intensity as the hanging judge who
condemns the Rosenbergs. Reva Rose is effective as Ethel's anguished, life-ravaged mother.

Scott Lane's crowded setting often clutters up the proceedings, but the production is enhanced by the evocative lighting of Derrick McDaniel and the period-correct costumes of Jerry Ross.

Ethel Rosenberg ....... Linda Hamilton
Julius Rosenberg ...... Robin Thomas
Robby Meeropol ........ Dennis Gersten
Michael ............... Murray Rubinstein
David Greenglass ...... Tom Gibis
Ruth Greenglass ....... Rachel Malkenhorst
J. Edgar Hoover ....... Dennis Cockrum
Harry Gold ............ Steven Houska
Roy Cohn .............. Judd Trichter
Judge Irving Kaufman .. William Knight
Manny Bloch ........... Michael Kagan
Tessie Greenglass ..... Reva Rose
Reporter/Guard ........ Jennifer Shawn

Pleasant Avenue Prods. presents a play in two acts by Lou Shaw, directed by Tom Bissinger. Sets, Scott Lane; lights, Derrick McDaniel; costumes, Jerry Ross; sound, Steve Bissinger. Opened May 18, 2002; reviewed June 14, runs through June 30.

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