Deuce

A play about two aging tennis idols who get together for the first time in thirty years at a tennis match where they are being honored for their contribution to the sport.

It's fantastic. Angela Lansbury and Marian Seldes are remarkable actresses. They captivate the audience for an hour and forty minutes by merely talking to each other. Playwright Terrence McNally has won four Tony awards (two for plays [Master Class and Love! Valour! Compassion!] and two for books of a musical [Kiss of the Spider Woman and Ragtime]) and this script is no misstep. While hardly any action occurs, the conversation between the leads twists and turns around multiple themes, never following one single message to pound home. The play meanders along like the memory recall of an elderly person: consistently insightful about loosely connected ideas.

The play runs through August 19th at the Music Box Theatre on 45th Street, New York, NY.