October 16, 2006

Political 'Rachel Corrie' sometimes moving, but flat

"My Name is Rachel Corrie," the one-woman political play that stirred so much fuss when it was "postponed" by the New York Theatre Workshop, opened last night mostly to critical shrugs, at the Minetta Lane Theatre.

The real-life Corrie, an American activist, was kiiled in Gaza at age 23 by an Israeli bulldozer on its way to tear down a Palestinian home. The play is fashioned from her journal, e-mails and letters home.

It stars Megan Dodds and was directed by Alan Rickman. "My name is Rachel Corrie" plays through November 19 in Greenwich Village at the Minetta Lane Theatre, located at 18 Minetta Lane, map.

Some of the reviews:

Variety - "As a portrait of a young idealist finding a focus for the fire in her belly, it's intermittently powerful; as political theater, it's stirring but also naively simplistic in its account of a complex ongoing conflict."

Post - "But Corrie doesn't emerge as a particularly fascinating figure, and her commentaries on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, while clearly personal and heartfelt, add little to our understanding of it."

New York Times - "The play, directed by Mr. Rickman, is not an animated recruiting poster for Palestinian activists. Its deeper fascination lies in its invigoratingly detailed portrait of a passionate political idealist in search of a constructive outlet. And its inevitable sentimental power is in its presentation of a blazing young life that you realize is on the verge of being snuffed out."

Associated Press - "Dodds, with her wholesome blond good looks, never quite connects with the character as a little girl. She gives a distant, oddly detached performance that seems more like an acting exercise than a portrait of a passionate young woman. That passion comes through most forcefully late in the evening, in a raging e-mail Corrie types about the consequences of doing nothing.

Sun - "The creators are fortunate to have at their disposal Ms. Dodds, a coltish beauty whose imploring eyes and insistent, slightly guarded alto voice bring to mind a younger Laura Linney."

Daily News - "If you like your plays political, this one is for you."

October 16, 2006 08:44 AM in Broadway

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