New Review: The Country Girl

Reviewed for Back Stage. Here's a tease:

What would attract Morgan Freeman, Frances McDormand, and Peter Gallagher to Clifford Odets' The Country Girl? Perhaps it's the meat of their characters more than the play itself. Indeed, forget all the gossip you've read over whether playwright Jon Robin Baitz, credited with "material revisions" for the Broadway revival, has tweaked the script a lot or a little — this isn't Odets' keenest work. But it is plainly a commercial vehicle, with a suspenseful backstage story and a predictable romantic triangle that has the ability to ensnare. Critics noted this back at the time of the original 1950 production, which Odets staged; even with Mike Nichols at the helm, the verdict on the drama remains unchanged. The Country Girl was also a big hit in 1950, so given the star wattage on stage at the Jacobs Theatre, it's likely to become one again....

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