The Alchemist | Sepulchral Odors at Lincoln Center
While the author complains of the lackluster production in performance at Lincoln Center, he does note that Jonson's play is "one of the three most perfect plays in literature"—a fact that is not diminished by mundane performances and staging.
Jules Irving had two possible alternatives when he decided to stage Ben Jonson's The Alchemist— either to find some modern equivalent for the action which might point its relevance to contemporary America or to choose a more traditional mode of presentation and offer the work frankly as a revival. Irving made the latter option, setting the play near its own time (the seventeenth century) and adopting a style common on the English stage about fifteen years ago: measured pace, lots of props, elocutionary delivery. The initial decision was honorable enough— it is a...
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