Bisexual Play Review
By Sheela Lambert – the Examiner.com Houston
The script of this one man play about movie star Montgomery Clift finds a creative way to educate about the accomplishments, films and bisexuality of the four time Oscar nominee. Clift has been locked in his dressing room by director John Huston to sober up before shooting his next scene for the film he is starring in, Freud. While “incarcerated,” he ruminates about his films, his drinking and his bisexuality. He jokes sarcastically about all the Oscars he lost, highlighting his most famous acting performances.
Clift’s attitude towards his bisexuality was alternately nonchalant and self-hating, which is cleverly reflected in the script:
“You forget Huston… This queer roped a mare for you… In The Misfits… With my bare hands…!”
“My analyst, Dr. William Silverberg — Billy Boy… (Pours drink into cup.) Left his family to live with a man… (Puts thermos down.) Yes… He loves cock too…!”
“I played seven major parts in two years including the Pulitzer Prize winning There Shall Be No Night and The Skin of Our Teeth… Shhh… I also modeled Arrow Shirts… I’m more ashamed of that than being queer…”
“I love that song… I also love kissing pretty boys… Which got me arrested one night in a San Francisco park… The studio hushed it up… “
“The women… Wait outside the theater… They can’t know…! No one can ever know… It’s a perverted sickness, Herr Doktor Freud… I want to be exorcised of it…! But I can’t help it…”
“Clift & Taylor… The most beautiful people in Hollywood…!” Liz is my other half… The only woman who ever turned me on… And her tits — (Grabs chest.) Fantastic…!”
The one line that I disagree with is the assumption that Liz Taylor was the only woman Clift was ever attracted to. According to biographer Patricia Bosworth, he had at least four female lovers, including bisexual torch singer Libby Holman, who appears throughout the script, with whom he had a sizzling-hot long-term relationship, despite the fact she was 16 years older than he.
John Lisbon Wood and Omar Prince have created a good script that entertainingly educates about the life and career of Montgomery Clift, one of the most influential stars of stage and screen. But they need an actor who can channel Montgomery Clift more convincingly.
Omar Prince
Omar Prince was unable to successfully bring Montgomery Clift to life on stage. His performance lacked a cohesive sense of character…a serious problem in a one-man play. He also had put on weight since the photos were taken two years ago (for a previous run at Wings Theater) and no longer remotely resembled Clift–a hurdle considering his looks are so iconic. Unlike his rival Brando, Clift never had a “chunky” period, he was always lean. And instead of sounding like Clift, Prince’s phrasing intermittently (and ponderously) resembled a Christopher Walken imitation. However, the audience came away with knowledge about Clift’s life and work through this play.
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