It is perhaps like "actually" walking on eggshells, the feeling I get as I write this post, in fear that I may receive some backlashing tweet from James Franco for disagreeing with his very principles of American theater.
And yet, the very famous film actor may have a point or two in which he expresses via Vice, possibly exposing his very philosophy embodying the play as whole, the play which was Steinbeck's only contribution to the stage, Of Mice and Men.
Franco as the thickened George and Chris O'Dowd as the oblivious wanderer he must protect (Lennie) seem like an--well--unconventional appropriation. But it isn't uncommon for big name stars to take to the stage (or even have moments of poor judgment re: Neil Patrick Harris).
What seemed to me, though, as an obvious attempt at putting more rears in the seats may actually be something worth catching at least a glimmer of.
At a recent dinner with one of my associates who has been on set with James Franco in past years, say his philosophies and theories on art and expression, particularly honed in on stage performance, and at this specific juncture, aren't for show--they are in fact his real ideologies (he was a bit of a recluse, too, reading his "book," quotations implimented because I couldn't get the title, in between stage directions).
So if you're wondering what Franco's beliefs are in regards to his latest endeavor into Steinbeck's heavy chronicle of two isolated spirits working and searching (unsuccessfully) for their own slice of heaven (something that echoes a crucial Steinbeckian device, i.e. Grapes of Wrath) make your way over to Vice and read the article.
But I wasn't kidding with that "putting rears in the seats" comment either. Perhaps Franco can tap into his acting philanthropy and do something to pull the Met Opera out of the proverbial toilet, too
Check him out and see what him and his co-stars say about the performance.
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