“An Upset,” a one-act play by David Auburn first seen in New York in 2008, is being revived around the city timed to the Open, including three shows at 99 Bowery beginning Sept. 12.
“It’s always hard to put a finger on why something is suddenly in the zeitgeist,” said Ruhl, a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and a Tony Award nominee. “I don’t know why it is happening with tennis in theater right now. But for me, while researching the Bush dynasty, I realized tennis is such a big part of their lives and a wonderful metaphor for family competition and sibling rivalry.”
In “Scenes From Court Life,” Greg Keller plays George W. Bush as a more shrewd politician than his brother Jeb but an inferior tennis player.
“Athletes are almost another species to playwrights,” Keller said. “The writer’s world is so subjective, but for athletes there is always a winner and a loser.”
Tennis holds undeniable appeal for the theater. For starters, it can encompass widely different settings, including the Bush family compound, the public courts of the Lower East Side and Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Tennis, Keller said, is also “one-on-one, but you are not physically touching each other like in boxing.”
He added, “You are in your own little world.”
Bragen has written other works about tennis, including a monologue called “Game, Set, Match.” He said the sport offered intimacy and isolation — great fodder for writers.
“There’s a kind of dance that I feel as a player, but you are alone in your own head at the same time you are connected to other person,” Bragen said.
Ruhl said she liked the combat mixed with decorum, “the formality within the structure of competition.”
Ryan Sweeney, who played Division I tennis at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and is producing and starring in “An Upset,” said, “Tennis is a lonely sport, and Auburn’s script touches on the players’ vulnerabilities.”
6 comments
Join the conversationGail Ryder - January 8, 2016
Why isn’t A View From the Bridge on this list yet? It is in the top ten of finest Broadway shows I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot of shows. The direction, acting and setting were absolutely stunning.
Oliver - January 18, 2016
Hey Gail, A View From the Bridge isn’t on there because I haven’t seen it yet! Rest assured, it will be included as soon as I see it.
Carmine - March 28, 2016
Why wouldn’t the Voice of Moritz, Alex Boniello be considered, whereas Katie Boeck, the Voice of Wendla is? Also, why isn;t Sandra given consideration for actress lead?
As the Voice of Moritz, Alex had to sing, play guitar, act, move props, give numerous prompts, had to learn sign language…
Oliver - April 21, 2016
Hi Carmine,
Alex gave an unbelievable performance as the Voice of Moritz, for sure. The reason I did not include him on this list is that the field for Best Actor in a Featured Role of a Musical this year is EXTREMELY competitive, and, to be honest, Alex’s chances of breaking into the already really crowded pack for his performance in a musical which has already closed are really slim. You are going to have 2-3 nominees from Hamilton (Daveed & Chris Jackson both being locks), and probably one from the highly stacked and talented Shuffle Along cast. That leaves only one, or POSSIBLY two (in the case of a tie as happened last year) open slots for a dark horse like Alex to make it into the race, and with the talent we are seeing this spring, I think Alex is going to have a rough time breaking into the list of nominees.
Dolores - April 2, 2017
Bette Midler a shoo-in for Hello Dolly? Why? Because she’s Bette Midler doing Bette Midler as Dolly?
Have you actually seen Glenn Close in the new Sunset Boulevard production? It’s been a long, long time since I sat in a Broadway musical audience and actually felt the character up there on the stage. She carries it through the entire performance, Norma fully drawn. Truly special. And heartbreaking.
(And yes, I’m a huge Bette Midler fan, and love that she’s doing this. But she’s just Bette up there–no small thing, but not much serious acting going on.) (With all due respect.)
Oliver - April 2, 2017
Hi Dolores,
Yes, the thought is that Bette Midler is a shoo-in because she is Bette Midler as Dolly and that has a lot of buzz as of right now. We haven’t seen the production yet so that can always change.
I saw Sunset last week and Glenn Close is absolutely phenomenal. However, as per Tony Awards eligibility rules, she is ineligible for a nomination as she has received a Tony Award for the same role previously in the 1995 production. So, while I agree the performance is one of the best on Broadway this year, we can be sure she will not receive a nomination.
Michael Riedel wrote a nice article a few weeks ago about Glenn Close and Jake Gyllenhaal, who both would normally be certain to receive Tony nods for their performances, but are ineligible to do so. Here’s the link if you’d like to give it a read: http://nypost.com/2017/02/16/broadways-two-best-performances-cant-win-tonys/