The play was good. I saw a production of it at ND my senior year and therefore thought I knew what to expect. I was pretty shocked to discover that the version I saw was heavily censored. (Not that that’s a real surprise, considering some of the the subject matter – homosexuality – and the venue – American’s preeminent Catholic university.) Anyway, the story made a lot more sense this time. I thought Brendan Fraser and Frances O’Connor were fine in their roles, but Ned Beatty really stole the show as Big Daddy. I sat there for 15 minutes trying to remember where I’d seen Gemma Jones, who plays Big Mamma, before. Eventually I managed to sneak a peek at my seatmate’s program while they were out at the bathroom. Of course! She was Bridget Jones’s mom. The best part of the whole show, though, was the fact that they closed off the balcony (where our seats were) and upgraded us all to the stalls (on the floor). So we got to sit in £35 seats fifteen rows from the stage despite paying £17.50 for seats in the nosebleed section. Kickass. Here are some more in-depth reviews of the play if you’re interested: Variety, Brendan Fraser fansite, and London Theatre Online.

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