Unfortunately, at least for me, the report on Deuce is not good.
It is always wonderful to see two stars who are also excellent craftspeople (Angela Lansbury and Marian Seldes). I can watch them do most anything. The play in which they are appearing, though, leaves much to be desired. It's a new Terrence McNally piece and I have to ask why did he write this? The play is weak, trite and at times just plain vulgar. Did he think it was funny to have Lansbury spout the "F" word and the "C" word? If she had been consistently crass and vulgar as a character this might have worked but both characters are wildly inconsistent. I get the feeling things are being revised during previews because there are times when both actresses seem to be looking for lines. I purposely didn't read much about the show before seeing it so I thought it was a two-hander but it's not. The problem is, the other three people in the show are really expendable. They have little purpose and I didn't care for the sportscasters at all. The "fan" of the two tennis pros does have a nice scene with them but his other appearances could be cut without affecting the play at all, but then it would be even shorter than the 90 minutes (no intermission) it already is. The silly prattle by the sportcasters could also be cut and the play might be better for it.
As I said in the beginning, it's wonderful to see two stellar actors on stage and they work very hard to make a mediocre play better. Unfortunately, they don't always succeed. I think they will get good notices but I think Mr. McNally's play will be trashed by the time the show opens on May 6th. It has a "strictly limited engagement" of 18 weeks and I doubt that it will go beyond those 18 weeks.
