Fringe/His Greatness

Dan Domingues, Peter Goldfarb, Michael Busillo in His Greatness

Reviewed by Cindy Pierre

Daniel MacIvor's His Greatness is a very entertaining play about the last two days of Tennessee Williams' life. Loosely based on facts, the play is mostly fiction, but it's as a good a theory as any about what may have happened to the Pulitzer-winning playwright before he died. The show takes place entirely in a hotel room in Canada (likely the Hotel Elysee in NY where Williams' body was found), where a late-rising, almost petulant Williams (Peter Goldfarb) spends much of the time in bed, attended by his young assistant/lover (Dan Domingues).

From the very beginning, MaciIvor establishes the things that he thinks made Williams' life go round, at least at the end: drugs, alcohol, sex with young men, sleep, and the hope that he would be able to produce more greatness in his work. Despite several flubbed lines, the otherwise engaging performers make the most out of MacIvor's fantastic script. This production is theatricality at its best: airs upon airs, a feisty young man (Michael Busillo) that challenges the routines of a somewhat happy home, inevitable drama and angst in a long-term relationship, rousing piano clips from Daniel Kluger, and good direction from Tom Gualtieri to streamline it all. MacIvor may have been referring to Williams when he gave his work the title “His Greatness”, but the name just as easily applies to the quality of his own writing.
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His Greatness (Running time: 1 Hour, 55 minutes)
The Cherry Lane Theatre (38 Commerce Street, between 7th avenue and Hudson Street)
Tickets: $15. www.fringenyc.org