This play was inspired by the writings of Richard Feynman and Ralph Leighton's "Tuva or Bust!" Once upon a time Alan Alda, like many of us, became captivated by Feynman and got the idea to do (and star in) some kind of play about him. Peter Parnell and Gordon Davidson were recruited to work on it, and they decided to figure out who Feynman was. It ended up taking them six years, according to Alda's foreword in this. They had no idea how hard it would be--what do you focus on with him? There's so many different aspects of the dude. At one point Alda suggested, "You know what we ought to do? We ought to write a play about three guys sitting around in a hotel room, trying to figure out a play about Feynman. They never figure it out. They just drive themselves crazy." In the end, Alda concluded that despite them coming up with a play, he never really found Feynman--"I came close, but he was too many things. He had too many histories." But hey, it made it to Broadway!
This play is a two-person show, taking place on one fictional Saturday a few years before his death. Feynman is the star onstage alone for most of it, recounting his various awesome adventures in one go as he juggles his starring role as "the Chief" in Bali Hai that night, incoming Russian visitors, arguing about the Challenger findings, frequent calls from his doctor urging him to get more medical treatment ASAP, and a persistent young (fictional) physics student named Miriam Field (the other character in the show) trying to drop by to chat about physics. It's one giant sandwich in a day. In the second act, Feynman's in full costume after the show (which sounds delightful) and Miriam finally gets allowed in the door to have some in-person conversation rather than just outside the door, and there's some flirting but it doesn't go anywhere (thankfully).
"DWYER: The process seems to have gone very well for the three of you. How do you think it would have been if you’d had a fourth collaborator, if Feynman had been around?
DAVIDSON: He is around. He won’t leave us alone."
I don't really know how one reviews this exactly. It's a play and lord knows I didn't set up a framework to review a fictional play here, so it's in the closest category I have to "misc." It sounds like it's fun to watch. It certainly recounts all of your and my favorite Feynman bits and that tickles me. On the other hand, I don't know about the character of Miriam. Part of me is all "yay, it's showing that a woman can do physics too!" and the other part of me is all "oh, ugh, it's a young probably hot chick for him to flirt with while married, UNCOMFORTABLE." As far as I've been able to tell Feynman didn't play around while married, but still. She's not really a character so much as a placeholder for actual humans. I kinda wish an actual person in Feynman's life had made it to the play (see conversation link) instead, or it had stuck to a one person show which it mostly is...I don't know. Basically I'd give it 3.5 stars because I have to dock a star for the weirdness and weird feelings that "Miriam" brings out in me. Oh well. But otherwise, it sounds fun and I'd watch it if I could.
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