Beautiful Child

Beautiful Child is a drama by American playwright Nicky Silver. It premiered at the Vineyard Theatre in New York on February 24, 2004, in a production directed by Terry Kinney and with a cast led by George Grizzard and Penny Fuller.

Plot

Harry and Nan, a middle-aged couple, are constantly at odds. Harry is having an affair with his emotionally unstable secretary. "Your secretary, Harry?" snipes Nan. "You're past cliché and into archetype." [ Nicky Silver, "Beautiful Child" (New York: Dramatists Play Service, 2004) 10. ] This tone of acid comedy is replaced, however, by deep anguish, when their adult son, Isaac, announces that he has fallen in love with a child. He wants to return home and live with his parents, who have to struggle between their love for him and their guilt and horror at his transgression. They finally come to a compromise, which is almost as shocking as Isaac's offense: he can live with them, but must be blinded first, to keep him from ever being attracted to another boy.

Critical response

Reviews were mixed. Most reviewers were struck by its similarity to Edward Albee's recent international success, The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?, and indeed, "The Goat" and "Beautiful Child" are similar in their explorations of sexual transgression in affluent domestic settings, as well as their edgy amalgams of comedy and horror. Some critics, like Adrienne Onofri, dismissed Silver's play as a poor imitation of Albee [ Adrienne Onofri, www.Broadwayworld.com February 25, 2004 ] Others, like Simon Stoltzman, acknowldged the similarity to Albee's work, but found Silver's approach distinctive. [ Simon Stoltzman, www.theatrescene.net February 24, 2004.]

Penny Fuller and George Grizzard were widely praised for their performances. Reviewer Dan Bacalzo observed, "Grizzard has the uncanny ability to convey volumes with a murmured word or dismissive gesture." [ Dan Bacalzo, www.theatremania.com February 25, 2004.]

Notes