The Late Christopher Bean
The Late Christopher Bean
The New Yorker
November 23, 2009
Sidney Howard’s 1932 comedy, which has been unjustly gathering dust, gets a first-rate outing by the Actors Company Theatre. Dr. Haggett (the terrific James Murtaugh), a country physician living outside of Boston, becomes the sudden focus of the art-world élite when he turns out to be the unknowing owner of a stash of priceless paintings. As collectors and scammers gather at his doorstep, his simple life is upended and his family descends into a collective frenzy of greed. (Cynthia Darlow, a company veteran, is particularly scrumptious as the devil-eyed matriarch.) The relevance of Depression-era avarice is not the only reason to revive the play: Jenn Thompson’s production proves it to be a gem in any era, and catnip for a comedic ensemble.