Prodigal Son

[angelenroute]

Last night I went to see the Manhattan Theatre Club production of a new play called Prodigal Son, written and directed by Tony, Oscar, and Pulitzer Prize winning playwright John Patrick Shanley (Doubt and Moonstruck). I went in with high hopes due to all the online praise I'd seen from critics and audience members alike, but I don't think I could have expected what I ended up getting.

I won't mince words. This was the single best play I have ever seen.

John Patrick Shanley has somehow done the impossible by creating the perfect play. Every word is perfect. Not since Michelangelo discovered David hiding in the marble has an artist carved out such a pristine final product. Yes, that might just be my initial reaction still less than a day later, but honestly? I was blown away. It was just so crisp and clean, not an excess word or syllable to be found anywhere, and it left me in awe.

The star of the show, 20-year-old Timothée Chalamet, was a revelation. He was, in no uncertain terms, perfection. I felt like I was witnessing one of the finest actors who will ever live exploring his craft live on stage near the very start of his résumé. And though his career has already leapt forth from the brow of Zeus in many ways (you can see him in the critically acclaimed Showtime series Homeland, box-office megahit Interstellar, and more), he's still only getting his feet wet. That isn't to say he comes off as a novice however. Far from it. But he is like a rocket who has barely launched off the ground, not yet towering over the earth, so when you consider his age and artistic abilities, well, you ain't seen nothin' yet!

All five actors in this play were perfection. The set was perfection. The music by Paul Simon was perfection. Hell, even the stadium seating was perfection, at least as far as the perfect view was concerned. You don't miss one milliliter of the drama here, and there's a fair share of it.

I'm not sure what else there is to say, really, except that if you go to http://prodigalsonplay.com/, you'll be able to explore the show through videos, photos, reviews, and of course tickets!

Perfection doesn't show up too often, and Prodigal Son is all yours through March 27th.

-Sean