In the Spotlight, Finding His Religion
Ben BrantleyApril 17, 2014: The statue goes to Tony Shalhoub and Santino Fontana, who vividly and persuasively share the part of the theater addict and artisan Moss Hart in “Act One,” which opened in a Lincoln Center Theater production on Thursday night. And for the best performance by a single actor in more than one role, it is (drum roll) Mr. Shalhoub, who plays the middle-aged Moss Hart; Moss Hart’s father; and, most unforgettably, Moss Hart’s mentor and collaborator, the great comic playwright George S. Kaufman. Since Hart is the heart of “Act One,” which has been warmly adapted by James Lapine from Hart’s 1959 memoir of the same title, Mr. Shalhoub and Mr. Fontana’s shimmering performances are reason enough to celebrate — and to heave a sigh of relief. If the lively but overblown production that surrounds them isn’t always up to their high standards, I’m still not grousing.
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