Playwright in NY

I'm not surprised to learn that William Nicholson's The Road to Moscow is substantially autobiographic; it is lumbered by the problems that frequently afflict plays drawn from the playwright's life.  The autobiographic character, a young man watching the disintegration of his parents' marriage, is passive to the point of near-invisibility, except when articulating the theme for those of us in the audience.  The evening is a particular disappointment given the excellence of some of Nicholson's other work (Shadowlands and a first-rate account of the discovery of DNA called The Race for the Double Helix).  I cannot regret any evening that features Eileen Atkins, and I am a longtime fan of John Lithgow.  This is a seriously-intended evening, which makes its stumbling all the more sad.

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• #1 Comment from swillis07 
  12/3/03 7:23 AM | Permalink

  I keep reading about this play and it seems that most critics agree that the script doesn't hold up. The "autobiographic character" once again seems to be at fault.
  
  I'm heading to the Big Apple in a few weeks and I've decided to skip this play. Instead, I'm seeing I am My Own Wife and I may try to see Nothing But the Truth or Birdy as well.