Photo: Carol Rosegg
By Brian Scott Lipton
To paraphrase an old commercial, a great plot is a terrible thing to waste. Take John J. Caswell’s disappointing “Scene Partners,” now at the Vineyard Theatre, which squanders an opportunity to be truly poignant by layering a lot of neo-absurdism and needless nonsense into a potentially compelling story,
Well-acted by its versatile six-person cast – led by the indomitably fierce and funny Dianne Wiest in a must-see performance that draws from her expertise with the works of Anton Chekov and Samuel Beckett -- this tall tale is likely to leave too many audience members baffled by its frequent non-sequiturs and copious omissions of facts. Indeed, when the play ends (in about 100 sometimes long minutes), you may feel like you’ve spent your time doing the Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle but will never get to see the answers. Continue Reading...
