Love, Love, Love the play’s recently released scene pix and the Upstage Guide thrill! October 07, 2016 Gratiana Lovelace (Post #979)

 

The multi-generational saga in Love, Love, Love, produced by the Roundabout Theatre Company gave us some media to chew on this week!  Love, Love, Love Photos by Joan Marcus via RTC.

 

Act 1—set in 1967  (with the hipsters bo ho apartment chic and anti-establishment thinking)

Bare chest and bare feet—be still my beating heart!  (Richard Armitage as Kenneth, Amy Ryan as Sandra, and Alex Hurt as Henry)

The 60’s costumes with this Mondrian like quandrant dress on Sandra (Amy Ryan) are spot on Mary Quant style (below)!  And look at Alex Hurt’s skinny tie!  My Dad had a lot of those ties—before he went on to become bow tie man. Ha!  And is Sandra tempted by Henry (Alex Hurt) or is she trying to make Kenneth jealous?

 

Act II—1990 (hipsters with youngsters, 23 yrs later)—Getting established and becoming the establishment

Ah, family celebrations!  Love them or hate them, they are usually memorable.  And the slightly frazzled Super Career woman Mom—her blouse is half tucked in and half hanging out—while her audience watches in glum stupefaction.  Note that Kenneth’s tie has widened. Actually, I think my hubby has that tie.  Ha!

And the widening gap of Kenneth’s and Sandra’s relational disconnect  is apparent in their characters respective demeanors—he complaining, and she seeming to have heard it all before—as well as their body positions.  He is open legged and gesturing broadly while she is completely closed off with her legs and arms held close to her person.

 

Act III—2011 (present day, or 21 years later; hipsters with youngsters become oldsters)

Kenneth’s (Richard Armitage) and Sandra’s (Amy Ryan) characters’ body language above  is a mirror of them in Act II.  Although, his demeanor is more bored with it all, and hers seethes with unspent fury.  And I notice that Kenneth has ditched his tie in favor of we we called growing up a Dad sweater.  Whereas Sandra looks almost funereal in her lacy cocktail dress.  I don’t think Kenneth is getting any tonight—and he probably hasn’t for quite a while.  Not sure what keeps this couple together—except for a shared 401K.

So love may not be all they need, as the Beatles song goes:

And yet, early attendees attest to some laugh out loud moments throughout the play.  So it is not all sturm and drang—or at least mines that for its comedic possibilities.

And the  Love, Love, Love, Upstage Guide pdf does an incredible job situating the play within the context of the times—1967, 1990, and 2011—that each of the three acts of the play portrays.  The interviews and behind the scenes production development of the play are also very interesting.  Though I enjoyed Amy Ryan’s interview, I do wish that the other four cast members were also interviewed—especially the exquisitely talented British actor Richard Armitage who portrays Kenneth (above from Act II, courtesy of RTC) talking to his kids Jamie (Ben Rosenfield) and Rose (Zoe Kazan).  Thanks to Cristina J. Baptista for that RTC link!

 

Finally, below is a quick video that RTC shared with thoughts of all of the actors:

So for those of you, like myself, who won’t get a chance to see the play in person, I hope that you enjoyed the above!  And if you have or will see the play, enjoy as well!   Ha!

P.S.  I’m still hoping that RTC has the play filmed and then distributes it—much like The Crucible was–for the rest of us to enjoy it, too!  Hint, hint, Broadway World.  I would fork over $15 bucks or so for a digital download of Love, Love, Love.