Two time Academy award winning actress Glenda Jackson (Women in Love, A Touch of Class), returns to the New York stage after a 23 year run in the British parliament. She plays the 91 (or is it 92) year old “A.” Laurie Metcalf of the newly rebooted Roseanne and last year’s Tony winner for A Doll’s House, Part 2 plays B, a 52 year old woman. Alison Pill (The Lieutenant of Inishmore) is the 26 year old C. Edward Albee wrote Three Tall Women years after he had fallen out of favor. It was a triumphant return to form. Originally staged in 1994, he was awarded his third Pulitzer Prize.
The play opens with three women conversing in what is obviously a home of considerable wealth. Ms. Jackson plays the cantankerous older woman, regaling stories of the past while curtly admonishing her caretaker played by Ms. Metcalf. Ms. Pill is the lawyer who has been summoned to try to clean up the discarded unpaid bills and unsigned paperwork. An adopted child of wealthy parents, Mr. Albee was famous for his conflicted relationship with his mother. In Three Tall Women, he explores her attitudes and feelings through various stages of her life.
An exceptional piece of theater is given a grand staging. The set (Miriam Buether) and costumes (Ann Roth) are memorable. Under Joe Mantello’s fine direction, the story unfolds simply at first before turning boldly theatrical. This play is thoughtful, funny and rich with ideas while being elegantly introspective. These actresses get to entertain us, shock us, make us laugh and, best of all, give us insight into the human condition from the perspective of wisdom that only experience can muster.
I’ve now seen Laurie Metcalf on the stage a number of times. Given how famous she is I find it fascinating that somehow her well-known voice and body language somehow transforms from instantly recognizable to slowly morph into whatever character she is playing. Glenda Jackson’s A, however, steals the show here. Her role is rich with biting one-liners and hilarious life stories juxtaposed with encroaching senility and, inevitably, impending death. Her performance is crisp and heartbreaking. Three Tall Women is an excellent play given a sterling production. I hope I’ll get to see Ms. Metcalf tackle A in a couple decades.
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