By Robert Simonson
Every now and then, if they work long enough, a journeyman actor gets a review like this: "Ms. McCann, a founding member of the Atlantic is quite a bit more. In the nearly 20 years I've followed her work, I've always thought of her as a fine, eminently reliable actress. But nothing she has done previously prepared me for the blazing conviction and centeredness of this performance."
That choice piece of praise came from the New York Times, which was reviewing Harper Regan, a play by Simon Stephens starring McCann in the title role of a woman who walks away from her home and family. McCann is, indeed, one of the mainstays of the Atlantic Theater Company's stable of actors. And she has always been a solid, but never flashy presence. The critics, even when they didn't care for the play, found much to praise here. "McCann can play both raw and vulnerable," wrote Entertainment Weekly, "as well as impulsive and self-defeating, and her face is a remarkable roadmap of her character's emotional wanderings." And the Daily News observed, "McCann’s rock-solid performance as a woman who’s anything but goes a long way toward keeping us engrossed. There’s something wonderful in the calm she brings to the role, even when Harper is at her most out-there."
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12 Oct 2012
Mary McCann and Peter Scanavino Photo by Kevin Thomas Garcia
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Complete casting was announced for The Public Theater's world premiere of Nathan Englander's The Twenty-Seventh Man. Among the ensemble is a trio of estimable players: Byron Jennings, Chip Zien and Ron Rifkin, a one-time regular presence on the New York stage who is now but rarely seen. The play will begin previews Nov. 7 in the Martinson Theater with an official opening Nov. 18.
