In New York over the weekend, the Jewish Current Wife and I saw a preview of Wendy Wasserstein’s remarkable new play, “THIRD.” The play was initially produced at a small Jewish Community Center theater last year, and has moved to Lincoln Center.
The play concerns a fictional college professor (Dianne Wiest) — the author of books such as “Girls Will Be Boys” and a feminist interpretation of “King Lear” as “the girlification of Cordelia” (since Cordelia, unlike her heroic sisters, does not revolt against the patriarchal power structure). The plot revolves around the professor’s accusation of plagiarism against her student Woodson Bull III — a live white male who is “practically a walking red state.”
“King Lear” is the framing device of the play — the area of the professor’s expertise, the subject of the student’s possibly plagiarized paper, the metaphor for the professor’s relationship with her fast-fading father (Charles Durning, in a wonderful performance).
But the play is about political correctness, about youthful rebellion, about ideology trumping relationships, and vice versa. For Wendy Wasserstein, the war is over, the significant feminist battles won long ago, replaced by a new war against people like her professor — with some new (or old) lessons to be learned. It is an eloquent and touching play.
Third is currently in previews, opening October 24 and running through December 11. It is completely sold out. But you can stand in the cancellation line for an hour (as we did), or you can pay the outrageous charges that New York ticket brokers levy. Either way, it will be worth it.