Run, don't walk

You simply must see War Horse to believe it when I tell you it is the most astonishing thing I've ever seen on the stage. I can think of plenty of shows that impressed me with this, that, or the other gimmick. War Horse was so brilliant, I can only say that the whole thing makes seeing the whole thing worth it. There's no one effect that "makes" the play--everything makes it.I choked up when the first adult horse came screaming out onto the stage. I almost cried just with the sheer joy and amazement of this creation. The story made me cry plenty, but it wouldn't have been half so wonderful (and awful, in the best sense) were it not for how alive the horse puppets are. I doubt real horses could be so moving. The puppets are that eerie and beautiful. One came jogging up the aisle all of three seats away from me. I gasped aloud. (I wasn't alone.)

World War I is such a depressing setting, though, I'll warn you. It's the most senseless war ever, fought completely wrongheadedly, almost start to finish. It's the last gasp of the old ways being crushed (or shot or gassed) by the new ways of waging war. And it makes a horrible and perfect backdrop to a story that is consumed by man's inhumanity--to other men and to all creatures considered less than human. As a result, every stupid, venal, random thing that befalls anyone is sure to just depress the shit out of you. War Horse makes it that much worse by making it beautiful. There's a scene ( not a spoiler, but for those who want to know absolutely nothing... )

Nothing is overlooked in the pursuit of wringing as much emotion from the audience, from the animated performances of the puppeteers to the fantastic definition over the horses' faces and musculature to the use of accents to perfectly convey miscommunication (isn't that ironic?). Right down to the choice of fabric draping over the horse skeleton structure to visualize, in an instant, the health of the animal in question, this play makes all the right decisions and overlooks nothing. Wow. Just...wow. Absolutely worth the price of admission.

Forgot to mention

So, last night, before we went to see War Horse, my mother and I went to get food. We hadn't really made plans, but we stopped in at PJ Clarke's and managed to get seats at the full-service bar. Superlative burgers, by the by, if you're looking for a place. Our incredibly charming Irish (do the Irish come in other flavors?) bartender was very attentive and helped us pick out two desserts we didn't need. He also has astonishingly good hearing for somebody working in a bar. I would think working in a bar that noisy would make your hearing worse. I was sitting next to my mother when I told her I wouldn't tell my father that she was flirting with the bartender, and she didn't hardly hear me, but the bartender promised he wouldn't tell either. Really nice guy.

Also really nice guy: the softball team captain who came in just as we were finishing up. He bought my mother and I another round of drinks (we each had one 'cause we were at the bar, and, naturally, that's what one does at a bar) as an apology for the way his entire team swarmed around us, passing perilously full glasses of beer around. Our bartender, who my mother, per her usual, tipped thirty-forty percent, even topped us up a third time, which I had to pass on to the softball captain because there was no way I was drinking that much more booze right before the show. (I didn't want to be drunk, I was still totally full from dessert, and I didn't want to have to pee.) My mother being, well, my mother, she immediately made great conversation with the softball captain, and she's probably looking up his softball league as I speak.

All in all, it was a pretty magical night out on the town. Can't say enough good things about War Horse and I had a fabulous dining experience. Perfection.