It's All About The Actors

As a theater critic I am always wrestling with the question: who/what is responsible for the quality of a performance? The director, the production value (sets, lighting, special effects), or the play itself?

I found the answer to that age old question when I was recently visiting Dallas, a city that has a new appreciation of its arts institutions. Despite the poor financial health of many of the US's arts institutions, Dallas is busy building a huge art complex in the city's downtown area.

The newest addition (Nasher Sculpture Center, Meyerson Symphony Hall and other small theaters are already there) is the stunning Winspear Opera House, named for the donors, Margot and Bill Winspear. They donated $42 mil that made the project possible.

The 2200-seat hall is bit big, but the horseshoe shape makes everybody close to the action and the acoustics seem excellent (although I heard an amplified show). It's a gorgeous facility and the stage is high tech in every way.

When I was there I saw the roadshow for the Mel Brooks musical "Young Frankenstein". What was interesting is that I saw the exact same company with the exact same show in Lansing one year before.

The only difference between the Dallas and Lansing version were a few of the lead roles. But that one change made a huge difference in the performance.

In Lansing, Roger Bart played Young Frankenstein, and Shuler Hensley was the monster. The Dallas production starred Christopher Ryan and Dave Schoonover in those parts.

The Dallas production was excellent - the direction was the same and the production was exactly the same. Even the actors were excellent. On the whole, I liked it very much, but something was missing - it didn't have that spark of personality and humor that jumps of the stage in a great production.

I remember very clearly the unique comic acting of Roger Bart in the lead role: Small understated actions, quirky expressions, quick and targeted reactions to other actors. And when it came to dancing, he was smooth and effortless.

And playing off Bart, Shuler Hensley was an outrageous monster. He was loud, large and very funny. He was hysterical during the "Puttin' on the Ritz" scene at the end.

If you hadn't seen Bart and Hensley in those roles, you would have been more than happy with Ryan and Schoonover as Frankenstein and his human invention. But what I witnessed that evening was the difference between good acting and superb acting. It is the stuff that makes a very good performance an exceptional one. It's the actors.

I witnessed a similar experience when I saw the roadshow of the Lincoln Center hit production of "South Pacific". I also saw the original cast (same director, similar sets) on a PBS special presentation. When Paulo Szot sang "You've Got To Be Taught" he did so with intense conviction and emotion. You sat up to take notice. Much different than the 'only good' roadshow acting and singing.

Great performers make great productions.