The Snow Geese

Playing at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre located at 311 West 47th Street. The play runs two hours and twenty minutes. It will close on December 15, 2013.

Danny Burnstein was nominated for several awards. In 2013 he was nominated for Tony Award and Outer Circle Critics Award for “Golden Boy” and in 2012 “Follies” a Tony Award, Drama Desk Award and Outer Circle Critics Award. He won an Outer Circle Critics Award for “South Pacific”. Danny was nominated for a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for this role. In 2006 he was nominated for a Tony Award for “The Drowsy Chaperone”.

Victoria Clark won a Tony Award for “The Light in the Piazza” in 2005. She was nominated for a Tony Award for “Cinderella” in 2012 and “Sister Act” in 2011.

Mary Louise Parker won a Tony Award in 2000 for “Proof”. She was nominated for a Tony Award in 2004 for “Reckless” and in 1990 for “Prelude to a Kiss”. She was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2007 for “The Robber Bride”, 2003 for “Angels of America” and in 2002 for “West Wing”.

The play takes place on November 1, 1917 at the Gaesling family lodge outside Syracuse, New York.

The maid Viktorya Gryaznoy (Jessica Love) is setting the dining room table for breakfast.

Duncan Gaesling (Evan Jonigkeit) joins his mother Elizabeth (Mary Louise Parker) and Brother Arnold (Brian Cross) for the annual shooting party. He is about to go overseas, to war. His father has died two months ago. Arnold is eighteen and is trying to help his mother figure out her finances

Elizabeth sister Clarissa Hohmann (Victoria Clark) and Clarissa husband Max (Danny Burnstein) are at the lodge too.

Act two opens with Elizabeth dreaming about her dead husband Theodore (Christopher Innvar), Clarissa finds her in her wedding dress.

The rest of the act the family is packing up and getting Duncan ready to leave.

In the course of the show secrets and lies come out about members of the family. I saw it in the second day of previews. It was hard hearing some of the actors both in the mezzanine and in the orchestra seats (I switched seats after the first act). I don’t know if this contributed to my confusion as to who the characters were especially Victoria Clark and Danny Burnstein. Once I caught a word that indicated who they were the story started to make sense.

The play has a stellar cast. Danny Burnstein was great with his German accent. Brian Cross and Evan Jonigkeit are good together as brothers.

It was a good story. Act one could have been tightened up and a better explanation given as to whom some of the characters were. The second act was strong.

The set designed by John Lee Beatty was excellent. Especially if you are higher up you got to see how the set fit in.

Hopefully they have fixed the sound, if they did it’s a nice show to see.

Review by Rozanna Radakovich.

Photos by Annazor.

To read a candid interview with the cast, scroll to the left for recent photos. Click on recent photos for this and other shows.