''Straight Line Crazy'' is a play written by David Hare. The play, set in the 1920s through the 1960s in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, centers on

Robert Moses Robert Moses (December 18, 1888 – July 29, 1981) was an American urban planner and public official who worked in the New York metropolitan area during the early to mid-20th century. Moses is regarded as one of the most powerful and influentia ...

, the powerful "master builder" of parks, bridges, and expressways. The first production, directed by

Nicholas Hytner Sir Nicholas Robert Hytner ( ; born 7 May 1956) is an English theatre director, film director, and film producer. He was previously the Artistic Director of London's National Theatre. His major successes as director include ''Miss Saigon'', '' ...

and starring

Ralph Fiennes Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes (; born 22 December 1962) is an English actor, film producer, and director. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Ralph Fiennes, various accolades, including a British Academy Film ...

as Moses, opened in previews at the

Bridge Theatre The Bridge Theatre is a commercial theatre near Tower Bridge in London that opened in October 2017. It was developed by Nick Starr and Nicholas Hytner as the home of the London Theatre Company, which they founded following their tenancy as execu ...

in London on 16 March 2022 before officially premiering on 23 March 2022. The play was shown in cinemas in association with

National Theatre Live National Theatre Live is an initiative operated by the Royal National Theatre in London. It broadcasts live, by satellite, performances of their productions (and those of other theatres) to cinemas and arts centres around the world. About I gre ...

in fall 2022. The production made its New York stage debut

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

at The Shed running from October to December in 2022.

Plot

The show revolves around

who, at the start of his career, was motivated by a determination to improve the lives of New York City’s workers. He created hundreds of playgrounds and parks, dozens of bridges, and more than 600 miles of expressways to connect people to the great outdoors. He used a mix of charm and intimidation to manipulate the people and events in his favour including the

Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ...

Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was the 42nd governor of New York, serving from 1919 to 1920 and again from 1923 to 1928. He was the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party's presidential nominee in the 1 ...

, portrayed in the play by Danny Webb. Though never elected to office, he served on the

New York State Council of Parks The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (NYS OPRHP) is a state agency within the New York State Executive Department Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Law § 3.03. "The office of parks, recreation and hi ...

and as the

New York Secretary of State The secretary of state of New York is a cabinet officer in the government of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York who leads the New York State Department of State, Department of State (NYSDOS). The current secretary of state of New York ...

. In the 1950s, grassroots groups of citizens began to organize against his schemes and against the motor car, campaigning for a very different idea of what a city was and for what it should be.

Cast

Productions

2022 London

The play originated at the

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, written by David Hare, and directed by

starring

. The production opened in previews on 16 March 2022 before officially premiering on 23 March, running until 18 June.

2022 Off-Broadway

The play made its North American premiere

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

at The Shed. The production was directed jointly by

and Jamie Armitage with Fiennes returning as Robert Moses. Preview performances began on 18 October and the production opened on 26 October with performances through 18 December 2022.

NT Live screenings

A performance of the play during its London run was recorded and screened in UK cinemas on 26 May 2022, and shown in international locations on 8 September 2022, through NTLive.

Critical reception

Critical reception for the play has been mostly positive, in particular for the leading performance of Robert Moses by Ralph Fiennes. ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' declared, "Fiennes is all boldly convincing, controlled threat, his monomania teetering on the edge of malevolence". In ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

s five star rave review, critic Mark Lawson described Fiennes' performance as "enthralling" adding, "This is Hare’s most dramatically gripping and politically thoughtful play since ''

The Absence of War ''The Absence of War'' is a play by English playwright David Hare, the final installment of his trilogy about contemporary Britain. The play premiered in 1993 at the Royal National Theatre, London, England. The play is based on his behind the ...

'' three decades ago and provides another acting triumph for Fiennes". The ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' called the play "sputtering" though "still a pleasure," and described Fiennes' performance as "gloriously entertaining."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Straight Line Crazy Plays by David Hare 2022 plays Plays set in the 1920s Plays set in the 1950s Plays set in the 1960s