Were Critics Drawn to Mercedes Ruehl in Woman Before a Glass?
Here is a sampling of what they had to say:
William Stevenson in his Broadway.com Review: "Lanie Robertson's new one-woman play about Peggy Guggenheim sheds light on the wealthy New Yorker who moved to Paris in the 1920s and amassed one of the greatest private collections of modern art. Since she was a friend--and sometimes the lover--of many of the leading artists and writers of her time, Guggenheim's life story is fascinating. But it's star Mercedes Ruehl who makes this theatrical biography so enjoyable. Woman Before a Glass is the actress' first one-woman show, and it's a triumph."
Charles Isherwood of The New York Times: "Written by Lanie Robertson and directed by Casey Childs, the play is flashy and moderately fun, basically a big chunk of theatrical costume jewelry. Apparently the kind Guggenheim favored, if Willa Kim's costumes and Thomas Lynch's curatorial nightmare of a set are to be believed. It concentrates, as these borderline morbid celebrity showcases often do, on the declining arc of its subject's worldly career, and gives us the usual generous doses of dysfunction and despair beneath the glittering résumé... Ms. Ruehl, in an unflattering wig and mildly gaudy makeup blame the 60's, gives a vigorous, enjoyably big performance, delivering Guggenheim's stream-of-consciousness screeds in a smartly contrived mid-Atlantic accent suggesting the loose seams in Guggenheim's patchwork personality."
Marilyn Stasio of Variety: "With Mercedes Ruehl blazing away like a Roman candle in Casey Childs' stylish production, the show does for Guggenheim what a cruel looking glass never could: It reflects her inner beauty. Soul bared and heart afire, she's not just pretty, this gawky goose--she's gorgeous. When Ruehl strides barefoot onto the stage with murder in her eye and a bundle of designer dresses in her arms, it's a full blast of the Peggy Guggenheim popularized and patronized by the international press--the filthy rich and scandalously vulgar American heiress notorious for buying up art and sleeping with artists. Brandishing her signature sunglasses and screaming at an Italian TV crew patiently waiting for an overdue interview, she launches into a hilarious routine of a woman with hundreds of dresses in her closet and nothing to wear... The wonder of Ruehl is that while she revels in Peggy's raunchiness, she never vulgarizes her character."
Michael Kuchwara of The Associated Press: "Robertson depicts the bohemian Guggenheim in bold, broad strokes, not leaving much room for nuance, but then there is a whole lifetime to cover--not to mention a parade of names to be dropped--in a little more than 95 minutes. It makes for rapid-fire, often breathless biography. Fortunately, this one-woman show, which opened Thursday at off-Broadway's Promenade Theatre, has the divine Mercedes Ruehl at center stage. The actress is tailor-made to play this bawdy, exuberant creature... Ruehl, wearing a curly, close-cropped wig, gives an ingratiating performance--frisky and amusing when Guggenheim discusses not only her own bedroom escapades, but those of her friends, and quietly touching when she talks about her disappointing and often tragic domestic life."
Linda Winer of Newsday: "Ruehl's Peggy is both classy and a raunchball, oddly innocent but nobody's fool. Her hair is a dark poodle cut--not the white bob she wears in later photos. The actress' welcoming dimples are padded in what appears to be a subtle putty mask. She talks in a percussive, conversational bark about her 'children'--that is, her collection--with more understanding than she has for her son and beloved, doomed daughter. Despite her worldly life, she moves through the world with a touching gawkiness. Willa Kim's costumes are classic couturier chic, worn and shown off by Ruehl with an offhand, earthy comfort."