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The Good Liar (2019)
Directed by Bill Condon
Cinematography by Tobias A. Schliessler
The Jeffrey Hatcher rewrite really makes Susy more hardboiled
I mean, Susy’s always tough-fibered, but here, she’s cussing and openly bitter about her disability. She even calls Gloria a “bitch.” Her cutting dialogue had me imagining Barbara Stanwyck in the role the whole time.
Instead of an all-good Jekyll and an all-bad Hyde, it is not always clear which character is more empathetic. Instead of seeing Jekyll and Hyde as a battle between good and evil, I see a little bit of bad in Jekyll and a little bit of good in Hyde.
Jeffrey Hatcher ( the playwright of 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,' presented by Theatre Three in Dallas Jan. 18-Feb. 11, 2018 in Dallas.)
Thoughts on Jeffrey Hatcher’s Wait Until Dark re-write
FINALLY, I got the chance to read Jeffrey Hatcher’s 2013 rewrite of Wait Until Dark. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it! As someone who’s (to say the least) quite familiar with this story, it was a treat to experience a new version that really shakes things up. This is truly an “adaptation” of the Knott text, changing things liberally while keeping the spirit of the story intact.
Key differences:
Susan and Sam met at the hospital: she was recovering from her accident and he had shell shock from his time as a military photographer in Italy. He never rescues her in traffic; rather, she’s the one who rescues him by helping him get his life back together.
This adaptation also takes a bit from the 1967 movie: we see Lisa’s body on-stage, Lisa was met by Roat when trying to steal the goods, Carlino used to be a real cop, etc.
Susan and Gloria are not alone for the day: Gloria’s drunk mom is upstairs with a boyfriend the whole time.
Susan’s characterization is made much more hardboiled: she curses a lot and is way more openly bitter about being blind.
Gloria is given more time on-stage and actually interacts with the three men, who are flabbergasted by her presence.
Susan notices the phone line has been cut for the whole building before Gloria leaves, so Gloria climbs out a back window, since in this version, the sergeant did see her around and would stop her if she tried to escape. (I assume Susy can’t fit through the window herself.)
No cops in the last scene-- just Sam and Gloria.
We don’t learn what’s in the doll until Roat opens it at the end. In the original, we immediately learn it’s stuffed with dope. Now, it’s diamonds. I heard the change was made because the value of heroin’s gone down over time, so apparently, some people take issue with it being the Macguffin. (Gotta admit, I prefer it being drugs. It just makes the men’s mission all the sleazier. But that’s just me.)
The biggest change of all: Mike is not in the first scene. It’s just Carlino and Roat. Mike is never even mentioned. When Mike first shows up, to those unfamiliar with the story, he seems like he is what he says: a war buddy of Sam’s. It’s only after Mike tells Susan the house is being watched by the cops that we see him mess with the blinds when she is out of earshot-- dah dah DAH.
Things I liked:
Hatcher could have easily made all the changes cosmetic, putting the same script in 1940s drag, but he milks the setting for all its worth, incorporating the effects of the war into the lives of the characters. Giving Sam PTSD from the war, in particular, is a great touch—it links him more with Susan, who is similarly traumatized by her accident.
The characterization and dialogue are richer. This is actually my prime reason for preferring the movie over the original play as well-- not that fine actors are unable to do fabulous work with the original, but the dialogue is just so much juicier and gives performers more to work with. We get more of Susan’s anxieties about her marriage directly, with her talking about how she feels like one day her husband will “know” he made a mistake and walk out on her. Mike and Susan have cute banter. I really liked Gloria’s new scenes too-- she has a more upsetting home life.
Also, the dialogue is great, very snappy and witty in the classic noir mode. Like when Roat, annoyed with Gloria’s presence when he’s playing Junior, says, “I’d like to introduce her to my little girl. Geraldine.” Or when Gloria asks if she did well with the signaling and Susan says, “They were perfect. One day you’re going to make someone a wonderful mistress.”
By the way, it’s hilarious too. Susan complains about people pitying her for being blind, but when Mike calls the cops after Senior shows up, Susan shouts out, “Tell them I’m blind!” just so they’ll get there more quickly and feel sorrier for her. Such a great Machiavellian touch to the character!
The main two things I was mixed on (Mike and the pacing):
On one hand, I think making Mike’s participation a twist is brilliant. It puts the audience more firmly in Susan’s shoes and is a nice shock. For those unfamiliar with the story, it’s another way to keep them guessing.
On the other hand, one of the things I like about the original set-up is that we know just what Susy is up against from the start, and you wonder how she is going to see through all three of them.
It also eliminates the slow-burn of Mike’s arc: in the first apartment scene in both the original and the movie, we can kind of sense Mike is the least ruthless of the crooks, while there is still a sense of dangerousness about him that keeps the audience in suspense about just how far he’s willing to go.
(In the movie, I also like the obvious bro vibes between Mike and Carlino-- it’s not emphasized in the dialogue, but their interactions throughout the movie are just priceless.)
Oh, and because Mike is not in the opening, Hatcher cuts the part where the three men try to kill one another, and Mike uses a camera with a strap like a medieval mace and Carlino uses a bar stool like he’s a lion tamer. That scene is a highlight for me, so I was sad to see it gone. Instead, Roat just hands Carlino the key and basically says, “Go look lol.”
Also, while the faster pacing might suit more modern tastes, I prefer the slower pace of the original.
Take even that first scene with the three men. I like how cautious they all are, sizing one another up. It’s the one scene where we see all three interact the most and by taking Mike out of that, I feel we’re missing out a little on their uneasy dynamic.
Of course, I can understand combining some scenes (in the original, I think Act Two works best when scenes two and three are combined), but some parts were a little too fast for me. But that’s just a preference-- I could totally see others not sharing my view here.
Final thoughts:
Overall, I loved the Hatcher re-write and think on a technical level, it’s an improvement over the original text. I like the further development of Susan’s backstory and the snappier dialogue. Also, major props to how they fixed the bit with the phone-- that part was always my biggest problem with the original play.
Now, I read an interview once where there were claims that this version would definitely supplant the Knott original when it came to future stagings. I’m not sure if this will be so-- from what I can tell, 2010s community and school theater groups are performing both versions, with the Knott original always set in the 1960s (I think people stopped making the setting “contemporary” after the Tarantino revival went ass-up in the 90s). And the 60s setting does have its appeal (in my mind, Roat will always be a beatnik with John Lennon shades, no question). But who knows? Que sera sera.
And for all my criticisms of the Knott original, both here and when I’m talking about the 1967 movie, I still think it’s an exceptional piece of theater. And Hatcher very much retains everything that makes Knott’s work brilliant: the sinister atmosphere, the cat-and-mouse game, and Susy/Susan’s spunk overcoming her insecurity. I would love to see either version live.
However, I still like the movie best of all. But if you’ve read this blog for a while, you should have known THAT ;)
#RBImaginaryInvalid ##frontmezzjunkies shares an #ActonReview of: @redbulltheater's #TheImaginaryInvalid by #Molière adapted/directed by #JeffreyHatcher w/ #MarkLinnBaker #SarahStiles #EmilieKouatchou #JohnYi #ArnieBurton #RussellDaniels #ManoelFelciano #OffBroadway by #RedBullTheater
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REDIALING
Check out my review, online at Phoenix Magazine, of Arizona Theatre Company's production of Dial M for Murder...
...which plays through November 3 at Tempe Center for the Arts. I was fascinated to see ATC's production, which is revised for a contemporary audience by playwright Jeffrey Hatcher.
I've always had a soft spot for this show, having played Inspector Hubbard in it back in the '80s at the Peak'n Peek Dinner Theatre in Clymer, New York, directed by the late lamented Ben Agresti. It wasn't necessarily the best show I ever did, but it was certainly one of the most fun.
Do You Know “Compleat Female Stage Beauty”?
Yes, I’ve been in/worked on it
Yes, I’ve seen it
Yes, I’ve read it
No, but I’ve heard of it
No, never heard of it
I was less of a stranger. Less of a challenge. It was over very quickly.
The Good Liar (2019)
