Left – Hayley Mills, Maxwell Caulfield and Juliet Mills. Photo – Greg GormanLegends! written by the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning co-writer of A Chorus Line, James Kirkwood, is a comedy about a fast talking, wheeler dealer producer trying to convince two famous enemies, who were the most esteemed actresses of their generation, to perform together in an off, off Broadway show. Now down on their luck, the two septuagenarian screen rivals meet to consider doing the show to stave off penury.
The play is a star vehicle for the two real life screen legends Hayley and Juliet Mills. It is a fairly flimsy and predictable work, but director, Christopher Renshaw’s strong cast work very hard to present an entertaining show.
The jokes, which are largely based on the sparring between these two rivals, come thick and fast and, while about two thirds of them hit the mark, some of them really struggle. Over the course of the evening the upper East side apartment in which the play is set, crackles with insults, accusations and deep-seated resentments as well as putdowns of other actors of their vintage, until, eventually, their mutual enmity softens to rapprochement. The plotting, however, loses its way in the second act, resorting to tired old gags around hash cookies and male strippers.
The two leads still have their acting chops and they make the very most of the script. There is a visible chemistry between the sisters that drives through even the weaker lines of their snarky comic banter. They exude a great deal of charisma and both maintain great energy throughout the show. Their performances really only falter in some of the post-hash cookie physical comedy which entails them falling about and knocking things over, and demands a little more agility than can be possibly expected of anyone of their age.
The best comedy comes from the supporting actors: Maxwell Caulfield as the shyster New Yorker producer Martin Klemmer and Leah Howard as the maid.
Caulfield opens both acts with marvellous one man set pieces, juggling numerous phone calls, lying and cajoling actors, theatre managers, financers in order to get his show on.
Leah Howard has an impressive comic flair, bursting with vitality and wit, as the busybody African American maid, but it is a little unsettling to see a Mammy figure in a play written in 1986, let alone performed in 2015.
There is nothing wrong with producing star vehicles. As Sirs Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart proved with their recent international tour of the Beckett double bill, Waiting for Godot and No Man’s Land, audiences have a genuine appetite for seeing renowned actors. But the material should match the calibre of the performers. While I am not suggesting the Mills sisters be cast in anything a lofty as Beckett, the entire cast is certainly more talented than the quality of the play and it seems like a wasted opportunity to cast a company of perfectly decent actors in a play with such obvious faults.
John Frost presents
LEGENDS!
by James Kirkwood
Director Christopher Renshaw
Venue: Theatre Royal, Sydney
Dates: 18 June – 5 July 2015
Times: Wed–Sat 8.00pm, Matinees Tues & Wed 1pm, Sat 2pm & Sun 3pm
Tickets: From $79.90*
Bookings: Ticketmaster.com.au | 1300 723 038
Visit: legendstour.com.au
