'The Heidi Chronicles' Returns With New Enticements to Witness

Heidi (Elisabeth Moss) and Scoop (Jason Biggs) have history in "The Heidi Chronicles." Photos by Joan Marcus.

BY TAMARA BECK

FEMINISM as a movement has evolved or perhaps devolved since the 1960s. Women of a certain age recall the allure of bra-burnings.

The younger ones tend to distance themselves from their elder sisters. Being a feminist feels like a betrayal of their sexuality.

"The Heidi Chronicles," in revival at the Music Box Theatre (recently rolled back from 9 Aug. to 3 May), is here to remind us all that liberation – both sexual and careerist – was a goal of the feminist movement. (See video below).

Wendy Wasserstein won a Pulitzer in 1989 for "The Heidi Chronicles," which also grabbed a Best Play Tony that year.

In this production of "The Heidi Chronicles," there is a well-delineated timeline for Heidi Holland (Elisabeth Moss) as she grows from awkward teen to awkward woman. EM never seems fully at home in her Heidi except in scenes where she is lecturing on art history. Heidi is a professor of art who laments the neglect of female painters.

While still in high school, she meets Peter Patrone (Bryce Pinkham) who becomes a lifelong friend. She attends the dance at which Peter and she meet with her other bestie, Susan Johnston (Ali Ahn).

In college, Heidi goes on to meet the irresistibly charming and self-centered Scoop Rosenbaum (Jason Biggs). Their encounter at a rally for Eugene McCarthy leads to an on-again off-again love affair.

Despite that their friendship survives even after Scoop marries. JB's Scoop is carelessly charismatic and flamboyant. BP is excellent as Peter to EM's Heidi. (The Swiss tale in which Peter and Heidi are prominent gets a mention in the course of the play. And, yes, one might also be put in mind of a well-known Peter and Wendy in children's lore.)

In the ensemble, AA is a standout and very funny as Susan who goes from callow teen to a deeply committed young adult and back again to a shallow and successful professional woman as she matures.

Ali Ahn, Elisabeth Moss and Elise Kibler in "The Heidi Chronicles."

Tracee Chimo is a character actress who gets to trot out and display her many talents in a variety of roles. Foremost of these is her turn as April, TV host with a fleeting attention span who interviews middle-aged Heidi, Peter and Scoop as representative boomers.

As the action slows and dulls toward the end of the second act, it looks as if this production, under Pam MacKinnon's direction, is abandoning the entertainment value of "The Heidi Chronicles" in favor of its valuable historical perspective.

Peter Negrini is responsible for the enlivening video montage that keeps the earlier scenes moving. John Lee Beatty has designed a well-appointed, yet minimalist set that also moves with the times of Heidi's story.

Tracee Chimo, Jason Biggs, Elisabeth Moss and Bryce Pinkham in "The Heidi Chronicles."

The revival of this important work mostly attracts two distinct groups. It appeals to those who lived through the times it describes. In the other camp, the draws are JB (“Orange Is the New Black,” "American Pie"), EM (“Mad Men,” “Top of the Lake”) and BP (Tony-nominated in "A Gentlemen’s Guide to Love and Murder.")

Even in an imperfect form, though, it's good to see Wendy Wasserstein's work back on a Broadway stage.

Visit http://www.theheidichroniclesonbroadway.com/ to learn more about "The Heidi Chronicles."

NYFF52 Day 15: Sad Goodbye in 'Life of Riley'; Good Riddance in 'Listen Up Philip'

All of these women (Caroline Silhol, Sandrine Kiberlain and Sabine Azéma) believe they are going on vacation with George in "Life of Riley" (“Aimer, Boire et Chanter”). Photo courtesy of the New York Film Festival.

HEADS UP: Picking up where we left off last year, but expanding a tad (OK, quite a bit but still pithy), we will limit comments about New York Film Festival films to no more than 200. And ... Lights. Camera. ACTION! ...

“LIFE of Riley” (“Aimer, Boire et Chanter”), a film nominally about death, will forever be known as the final film of Alain Resnais.

The French director died shortly after his film won the Silver Bear Alfred Bauer Prize at the 64th International Berlin Film Festival. “Life of Riley” is in the first of its two U.S. premiere screenings tonight at “The 52nd New York Film Festival.”

The film unfolds in broad, comedic overtones in its treatment of how three couples receive the news of the terminal illness of their friend of the title, George Riley. He is never seen but is the central character.

“Life of Riley” is largely faithful to its source material, Alan Ayckbourn's play of the same name, which channels another of the playwright's works, “Relatively Speaking.”

Set in the English countryside, AS's “Life of Riley” has a fairy-tale quality, mainly owing to budget-driven comic strip panels that introduce scene changes. It is also akin to watching a play, fitting since play rehearsals figure prominently in the plot.

Some viewers may find this device disconcerting but it is surreal and fanciful, adding to the absurdist nature of the proceedings. (See video below).

Starring several AR collaborators, including (André Dussollier and Sabine Azéma, his widow) “Life of Riley” is a delightful little souffle and a fitting memorial to a long career marked by experimentation and innovation.

If likable is an apt description of the main characters in “Life of Riley,” loathsome fairly sums up the leads in “Listen Up Philip.” The film has its second U.S. premiere screening tonight and opens nationally on 17 Oct.

Alex Ross Perry's offbeat dramedy concerns Philip Lewis Friedman (Jason Schwartman) during the imminent publication of his second novel. Philip is a literary light-in-the-making with many dark sides. Before he implodes he takes himself off to the country home of his idol, Ike Zimmerman (Jonathan Pryce). (See video below).

Jonathan Pryce and Jason Schwartzman have a bromance in "Listen Up Philip." Photo by Sean Price Williams.

The literary cub and literary lion knock along well enough for no other reason than they are two sides of the same coin. They like what they see, someone who is too brilliant and talented for this pedestrian world.

What everyone else sees, however, is a boor. An egomaniacal, arrogant, conceited, self-absorbed, self-centered, insecure and insensitive fellow.

JS and JP play their parts, inspired by Philip Roth and William Gaddis), to perfection. They are utterly credible, as are the women who do not suffer them gladly (Joséphine de La Baume, Elisabeth Moss and Krysten Ritter).

“Listen Up Philip” is smart and witty. It could benefit, however, from editing to tighten the pace and take viewers out of their misery.

Here are despicable characters. A little of them goes a long way.

Visit http://www.filmlinc.com/nyff2014 to learn more about The 52nd New York Film Festival, including tickets and showtimes.