The Model Apartment: An American Masterpiece at Geffen Playhouse

The Model Apartment: An American Masterpiece

Geffen Playhouse
10886 Le Conte Avenue Los Angeles

This masterful and rarely produced work from Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Donald Margulies (The Country House) finds a retired husband and wife in flight to Florida from much more than just colder climates. Desperately hoping to live out the rest of their lives in relaxation in the cozy confines of their new deluxe seaside condo, life quickly becomes a nightmare when the past comes calling and plunges them into the inescapable memory of brutality. Bear witness to a family's haunting history in The Model Apartment -- a "neglected American masterpiece" (Time) -- at the Geffen Playhouse's Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater.

Thru - Nov 20, 2016

Price: $60-$65

Show Type: Drama

Box Office: 310-208-5454

www.geffenplayhouse.com

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The Model Apartment: An American Masterpiece Reviews

Average Rating based on 6 reviews

Highly Recommended
Recommended
Somewhat Recommended
Not Recommended

Los Angeles Times - Somewhat Recommended

"...But the play, with its cramped single set and its tightly focused plot, requires more subtle engagement. Marks rises to the occasion in her climactic scene as Debby, but the production skirts the subterranean depths. The drama's basic floor plan is solidly rendered, but the figures in this revival of "The Model Apartment' remain hazy to the end."

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- Charles McNulty

LA Splash - Somewhat Recommended

"...Director Marya Mazor helms this production, often teetering on the edge of a razor. Despite the potentially emotional tale of pain and loss, Max and Lola seem bland and distant from the proceedings. Getting connected to others after life-changing trauma also seems distant and, in some important ways, may not engage the audience fully. In fact, Debby #2 is so bombastic in this flat, uninvolved space that it is difficult to empathize with her plight."

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- Elaine L. Mura

Stage Scene LA - Highly Recommended

"...Though likely to prove a considerably harder sell than the playwright's more audience-friendly later works, Pulitzer Prize-winner Donald Margulies' 1988 The Model Apartment has been given a Geffen Playhouse intimate revival worth seeing for its all-around superb performances, direction, and design."

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- Steven Stanley

ArtsInLA - Somewhat Recommended

"...But by having Marks play Debby right to the bone, her character's extreme behavior appears to be more like a superficial solo performance than part of an ensemble. Unless an actor is let alone to craft Debby as outrageously big-her personality, not what's stuffed into her well-padded velveteen jumpsuit-the play falls flat. Marks needs to be far more clownish or it feels as though she is playing at being a clown, not being one. As the uber-quirky Chloe Webb proved when the play first premiered at Los Angeles Theatre Center nearly 30 years ago (also starring Erica Yohn and the late great Milton Selzer), it takes a fearless actor willing to go all the way to extreme cartoon-like behavior to make the play work and the ending suitably jarring."

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- Travis Michael Holder

Will Call - Somewhat Recommended

"...The only reason to see this play is for the beautifully defined and acted performances, under the direction of Marya Mazor. Marks in particular, is brilliant in a difficult and demanding role. In a tour de force, she also plays the lovely, young Deborah, a figure that dominates Max' eerie dreams and memories, while Puccini's aria 'Il bel sognio' (beautiful dream) from the opera La Rondine , is heard in the background. He softly sings Yiddish songs to Deborah, his voice filled with love and longing. Max is not a happy man and Montell plays him with admirable sensibility."

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- Donald Margulies

Stage Raw - Recommended

"...The Geffen Playhouse has had a fruitful relationship with playwright Donald Margulies, resulting in memorable productions such as Shipwrecked! An Entertainment, Dinner with Friends and Collected Stories. It's only natural the theatre would want to continue this successful streak, which leads to the current revival of Margulies' earlier work, The Model Apartment. Although this play is uneven compared to the writer's more famous pieces, it's still an interesting character study and is brought to life here through some strong performances."

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- Terry Morgan

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The Model Apartment: An American Masterpiece at Geffen Playhouse