MAN AND SUPERMAN

Shaw's comic, intellectual masterpiece concerns a descendant of Don Juan Tenorio, who is pursued by a woman he loves but doesn't like. The story is explicated in a dream--a conversation in hell between Juan, a very charming Satan and two other characters. Sir Peter Hall has directed a distinguished cast in the whole magilla which features witty musical bridges based on Mozart's Don Giovanni. The ensemble gives us a lusciously droll performance, which highlights the intellectual vigor of the playwright's wittily presented ideas. They show off what Shaw did best, namely, making ideas dramatic, arresting and funny. Nearly stealing the show, John Wood plays the Spanish/Jewish brigand, Mendoza, who appears in the dream as Satan. His sense of mischief mirrors the playwright's own. Y.R. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/NOV 98]