I attended The Scene at Second Stage on Saturday night. It’s a cast of four, which was both intimiate in size and star-studded with Tony Shalhoub and Patricia Heaton.

The play was dark commentary on our image obsessed culture. Though the play was a sad portrait of a man’s downward spiral, it certainly was not a tragedy because there was no virtuous character, no protagonist. No one was genuinely bad, and no one was genuinely good. Every character had their flaws and their good intentions. Their morality was authentically nuanced.

I liked the first act a lot as it waved the banner of hedonism; the second act was the necessary consequences of hedonisms, which was required for authenticity, but less entertaining to watch.

Here’s the NYTimes review for more thorough summary and analysis.

I have nothing but good things to say about Second Stage. Terrific venue. I especially liked the size (not to small, but not too big) and the design.