Were Critics Moved by Jane Alexander's Solo Turn in What of the Night?

Jane Alexander has returned to the New York stage in What of the Night, a one-woman show about author Djuna Barnes. The piece, which opened at the Lucille Lortel on April 6, is based on Barnes' writings and was created for the stage by Alexander, director/choreographer Birgitta Trommler and Noreen Tomassi. Were critics impressed by the production?

Here is a sampling of what they had to say:

Ron Lasko in his Broadway.com Review: "I didn't know much about Djuna Barnes, the subject of MCC Theater's new theater piece, What of The Night, before setting foot at the Lucille Lortel Theatre. After seeing the play, I still had no idea who Djuna Barnes was… In addition to Nightwood, Barnes wrote 19 plays. If Alexander and crew really want to honor Barnes' memory, I suggest that they mercifully shutter the unflattering What of the Night and do an evening of staged readings instead. Otherwise, it might be prudent to respect her wishes and just leave her alone."

Charles Isherwood of The New York Times: "When the most thought-provoking moment in a tribute to a colorful figure of 20th-century letters is the ordering of groceries, it's safe to say that trouble abounds… If the work gives an undeniable sense of Barnes's strange, hallucinatory style, it remains an uncomfortable amalgam of biography and literary homage. The authors would have better served their subject either by concentrating on a clearer evocation of her personality and her interesting history or by simply dramatizing the more bewitching passages from her prose and poetry. Trying to blend both, they have concocted a confusing morass of cranky chitchat, pointless stage business and arcane oration."

Marilyn Stasio of Variety: "Within the context of one-person shows, there is the full-bodied play that can legitimately be contained in a compact theatrical format and enacted by a solo performer. And then there is the audition piece--a rough character sketch showcasing a thesp who would dearly love for some scribe to pen an honest-to-God play for him or her. Despite a flawless acting turn from Jane Alexander, What of the Night, the elegantly designed but woefully thin outline of the exotic life of poet-author-playwright-journalist Djuna Barnes, falls in the latter category."