On Saturday my wife and I had rare treat - an evening out with no baby
girl. After a mediocre dinner at a local restaurant we went to see
Stage Beauty at the
Bytowne (our local repertory theatre).
The movie is set in the time of Charles II, when all the women's roles were
played by men, among them Ned Kynaston (Billy Crudup) who is known for his
performance of Desdemona (from Othello). Ned's dresser Maria (Clare Dane)
desperately wants to be an actress in her own right but the laws of day won't
allow it, so she pays to play in second rate theatre that puts on plays in a
pub. The dramatic tension between Ned and Maria is wonderful and keeps the
movie going at an excellent pace. I've only two small complaints about the
movie: Rupert Everett's character (Charles II) was a bit too over the top
and some of parts of dialog were occasionally hard to make out. All in all
we were amazed especially since the two American actors playing the lead roles
never once slipped up with their accents. Billy Crudup deserves an Oscar
for this performance.