Third (Wendy Wasserstein, 2005) [2008-01-11]

[hermionesviolin]

We took the #1 bus to Hynes, had dinner at Island Hopper, which was okay, and then walked to BU Theatre (right near Symphony) to see Wendy Wasserstein's Third.

Laurie Jameson is a revered, fifty-four year-old professor at an elite New England college. A pioneer in her field, Laurie's seemingly well-ordered life and career slowly become unhinged when she meets Woodson Bull, III (whose friends call him "Third"), an articulate and conservative student wrestler. Laurie and Third face off in a series of confrontations over politics, ethics, and Shakespeare, forcing her to reevaluate many of her long-held beliefs. Are the differences between us really as clear as we think?

It wasn't quite what I was expecting, but I liked it a lot.  Everyone else all week was like, "I'm so excited about Friday!" and I was like, "Well yeah, 'cause it's Friday -- oh yeah, we actually have plans," but actually watching the play? especially the first like 45 minutes, I was really really excited and glad that we had ended up seeing this.

The opening few paragraphs?  I was like, "YES!  That is Smith.  That is where I come from.  That is why I use the terminology I do."

Setting: "A small New England college.  Academic year 2002-2003."
I knew the play was from 2005 (why can I not find a published version?) but hadn't realized it was set so contemporarily.  I was like, "I remember academic year 2002-2003."

I'm too tired to even wanna make brief commentary, so possibly I'll edit in a cut-tag later.