Fish In the Dark is the new comedy written by Larry David, the creator and star of HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and co-creator of "Seinfeld." Fish In the Dark is directed by Anna D. Shapiro and marks Tony-winner Jason Alexander's Broadway return and features Jayne Houdyshell, Jake Cannavale, Jonny Orsini, Rosie Perez, and Jerry Adler.
In Fish in the Dark...David plays what we can assume is another version of his real self...The Anna D Shapiro-directed play...looks in on a family grappling with a tragedy and what comes after, something he calls 'death etiquette'. It's a topic that puts David in his element. Dealing with parents, sex, death and the marital strife that comes with it: it's all there, and at times it's hilarious...he has the ability to slay the crowd with a gesture: standing on stage, arms out to both sides in mock outrage, a colossal grin on his face...While the set pieces are concocted with genius, and some...turn toe-curling into an art form, they don't come sublimely full circle in the way that David's plots are known and praised for. The show is very linear, and some of the funniest and cleverest scenes are cut off before they can really blossom. By the admittedly exceptional comic standards David has laid down, this ranks alongside an average episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
It has been a long time since Broadway had a comedy so flush with Jewish-mother jokes and giddy about finding synonyms for breasts. Many decades have passed since the sound of an offstage toilet flushing was intended as a sure source of hilarity...If anyone could get away with such a throwback, it is Larry David...But, really, the draw is David himself, full of trademark grandiosity and self-loathing, that oddly charming mix of excruciating self-consciousness and diffident selfishness...Still, don't expect a hip, retro, wry spin on the old-time formula. This is a comedy which, despite the occasional amusing twist, could have been written by someone who hasn't seen a play since the early days of Neil Simon...then there is David, an endearing, querulous beanpole, leaning back on his skinny hips and doing what fans have come to see him do, only with bigger arm gestures. Everyone around me seemed to be having a wonderful time. Wish I were there.
2015 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
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