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| William Shust, John La Gioia, Dorothy Sands. |
Produced in the tiny three-quarters round space of the Roundabout’s basement theatre in Chelsea, this modest roduction of Pirandello’s 1917 puzzler (Broadway premiere 1927) did not beat any new paths to appreciation of the great Italian playwright. It did succeed, however, in holding the audience’s attention for much of the performance.
Its tale of Signor Ponza (John La Gioia), a man whose strange relations with his wife (Susan Johnson) and mother-in-law (Dorothy Sands) lead to an exploration of the nature of truth and illusion, remained as cerebrally intriguing as ever. Gene Feist’s staging and the company’s acting could have been more interesting and subtextually suggestive. Thus, said Clive Barnes, “The play never completely convinced.” '
The cast included William Shust, Elizabeth Owens, Ellen Newman, Lance Brilliantine, Fred Stuthman, Philip Campanella, and others.
