Pictures from Home

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Pictures from Home
Written by Sharr White
Directed by Bartlett Sher
Date premiered9 February 2022
Place premieredCalifornia
Original languageEnglish
SubjectMemory, family, mortality, photography
GenreDrama
Setting1980s California
Official site

Pictures from Home is a memory play written by Sharr White based on the book Pictures from Home by photographer Larry Sultan. [1] [2] The first production, directed by Bartlett Sher, opened in previews on 13 January 2023 at the Studio 54 theatre in New York City on Broadway. The play opened on 9 February 2023. The original Broadway cast includes Nathan Lane, Danny Burstein, and Zoë Wanamaker.

Contents

Background

Photographer Larry Sultan began taking photos of his parents beginning in the early 1980s and he spent a decade, interviewing, and writing about his parents, and his relationship with them. The book was adapted by Sharr White into the play Pictures from Home. The book chronicles his childhood, his upbringing and his relationship with his parents who live in California. [3] [4]

Sharr White developed his script from a reading in Houston's Alley Theatre "Alley All New Festival 2020." [5] [6]

Plot

The show is a domestic comedic drama, and exploration into the relationship between a son who is a photographer and his parents who live in California. The cast includes Danny Burstein as the son and photographer, Nathan Lane as the father and former razor salesman, and Zoë Wanamaker as his mother who later in life became a realtor. The production spans 1 hour and 45 minutes with no intermission.

Productions

The play originated on Broadway at the Studio 54 theatre where the roles were originated by Burstein, Lane, and Wanamaker. The production started previews in January 13, 2023 and officially opened on February 9. Those who attended opening night included Meryl Streep, Steve Martin, Martin Short, Phillipa Soo, Brian Cox, F. Murray Abraham, Patricia Clarkson, Richard Kind, Bernadette Peters and Donna Murphy. [7]

Cast

Role Studio 54, Broadway
January 2023
Larry Danny Burstein
Irving Nathan Lane
Jean Zoë Wanamaker

Critical reception

The play was generally well received. Greg Evans from Deadline Hollywood compared the play favorably to An American Family and Succession and that "By the play’s end, we can’t help but feeling sympathy for all concerned, characters and actors, but, sad to say, it’s the arguments we’ll remember." [8] The Wall Street Journal theatre critic Charles Isherwood praised Lane's performance writing "Mr. Lane makes the most of Irv’s sardonic commentary, landing laughs for almost every line, like a golfer hitting a hole in one with each swing." [9] In Jesse Green's mixed review from The New York Times , he wrote, "Though honorable, thoughtful and wonderful to look at, with crafty performances by Danny Burstein, Zoë Wanamaker and especially Nathan Lane, it caulks so many of the book’s expressive cracks that the best thing about it — its mystery — is sealed out." [10]

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References

  1. ↑ "Pictures From Home". Playbill. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  2. ↑ Paulson, Michael (25 October 2022). "Nathan Lane to Return to Broadway This Winter in 'Pictures From Home'". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  3. ↑ Bengal, Rebecca (21 January 2023). "Nathan Lane's New Play Is Photography Brought Alive". The New York Times . Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  4. ↑ Gross, Terry (13 January 2023). "Revisiting Larry Sultan's 'Pictures from Home,' a photo memoir of post-WWII life". NPR . Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  5. ↑ "Alley All New Festival 2020". alleypedia.alleytheatre.org. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  6. ↑ "Alley Theatre presents Pictures from Home - CultureMap Houston". houston.culturemap.com. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  7. ↑ "'Pictures From Home' Broadway opening night in New York City". Daily News. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  8. ↑ "Broadway Review: 'Pictures From Home' Starring Nathan Lane, Danny Burstein & Zoё Wanamaker". Deadline Hollywood . 10 February 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  9. ↑ "'Pictures From Home' Review: Family Out of Focus". The Wall Street Journal . Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  10. ↑ Green, Jesse (10 February 2023). "April 23, 2023". The New York Times.
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