Shawn's “Marie and Bruce” Opens

A revival of Wallace Shawn’s 1979 play Marie and Bruce opened in New York at the Acorn Theater on Theater Row, staged by The New Group,  on April 5.  A Harvard Magazine profile of Shawn took note of the production, then in preparation, which stars Marisa Tomei and Frank Whaley in the title roles.  Ben Brantley of the New York Times gave the play a thoughtful, complimentary review, nodding to “Mr. Shawn’s corrosive, original voice” and calling him  ”…a sort of spiritual godfather to talented contemporary sourpusses of the theater….” He identifies Shawn “as a significant and sui generis playwright, one who gives improbably elegant form to our lowest impulses.”