Comments for His Girl Friday | Melbourne Theatre Company at http://www.australianstage.com.au , comment 1 to 1 out of 1 comments http://www.australianstage.com.au Thu, 20 Jun 2013 23:32:57 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.australianstage.com.au/201208175702/reviews/melbourne/his-girl-friday-|-melbourne-theatre-company.html#comment-1193 The Front Page was the best MTC play we’ve seen this year (we saw the 31 August performance). A tour de force of rapid fire dialogue, superb timing and direction, and knockout performances by the main characters. The physicality and stage business were breathtaking and the cast were having fun, as witness Pamela Rabe and Phillip Quest giving each other high fives while taking curtain calls at the end. The performances were tremendous. Pamela Rabe never better: tremendous acting, great movement and theatrical business - and she looks fantastic after all the workouts she's been having with this delightful production. Phillip Quest excellent as the male hero antihero – handled all the rapid-fire changes of tone from hectoring to gruff love to newspaperman speeches superbly. Christopher Stollery did the straight man new fiancé well. Deidre Rubinstein;s performed superbly a harridan character with a tremendous amusing feminist (?) literary rant and then a short reprise of it later. Some reviewers have said the play is a bit movie-esque and not sufficiently deeply developed but I disagree. After all The Front Page was a theatrical production first before it was converted to the movie starring Roz Russell and Cary Grant. And in my view having Hildy Johnson as a woman gave the play additional emotional resonance – rather than a boring bromance which might have arisen if Hildy was a man there was romance with Hildy a woman: artistically it opened the play out and gave it more emotion to add to the political and journalistic repartee. And what a script – it was originally written in the 30s but, adapted by John Guare, it has all the resonance of a fresh modern take on political venality, journalistic venality and the immorality of the fourth estate. It was a long play: with intermission about three hours, but had no longeurs. The setup before intermission translated into tremendous screwball comedy, wordplay, physical antics and theatrical pleasure in the second half. The pace ran at machinegun tempo, but with excellent timing and rhythm. Loved it. This is a wonderful production, hugely enjoyable. Theatre goers from around Australia should flock to it. It will live in your memory. I hope the ABC or someone does a video/movie of it. In my view it's as memorable as the first movie and as well acted and directed. (Small correction in the review above: it was Ben Hecht's original play adapted by Guare). - Tony Stolarek Sat, 01 Sep 2012 10:05:04 +0100