Metro Weekly magazine: 2019-01-10 edition (PDF)
By Metro Weekly Contributor
on
January 11, 2019
READ THIS REVIEW IN THE MAGAZINE
Let's cut to the chase: those who appreciate Sinclair Lewis' satirical novel Babbitt may find Joe DiPietro's theatrical adaptation a gratifying box-checker. However, for those who haven't (recently or ever) read it, director Christopher Ashley's production is too thin on the ground to resonate.
In fact, dramaturg Drew Lichtenberg's elegantly concise program essay should be seen as a companion -- and required pre-curtain reading. Along with an excellent summary of Lewis' oeuvre, it does a grand job of shoring up some of what never quite translates from book to stage. Whatever Lewis may have achieved in his novel (which, in fact, was called a book without a plot), neither adapter nor director have managed to meet the challenge of bringing it wittily and wryly to life.
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Denzel Washington revealed that a scene in which he kisses another male actor was cut from the final version of the movie Ridley Scott's upcoming Gladiator II.
The Oscar-winning actor plays Macrinus, an ambitious, wealthy Roman businessman who is presumed to be bisexual in the film.
"I kissed the man in the film but they took it . I think they got chicken," he told Gayety. "I kissed a guy full on the lips, and I guess they weren’t ready for that yet."
The gesture, at least in the context of the movie's plot, was not a romantic one, but more of a sealing of one's fate.
