Grand dame Hagen at the Saidye

by AMY BARRATT

To anyone who studied theatre, especially acting, in the '70s or '80s, Uta Hagen is a demigoddess. Her book, Respect for Acting was the actor's bible--and probably still is to a lot of people who don't realize (or don't care) that Hagen later renounced much of what was in it.

Let's face it, outside of acting circles, Hagen's not exactly a household name. In Montreal, many of those Hagen disciples have become VIPs in the theatre community. That's unfortunate for the Saidye, where Hagen is currently performing in Collected Stories, because it means that the very people who would have rushed to buy tickets to see the great lady were already on lists of invitees.

Also hard on the Saidye's pocketbook was Hagen's insistence that critics not be allowed in to the show until the sixth night, and this when the show is running less than three weeks in total. The media opening last Thursday was of course packed with the aforementioned invitees, but houses earlier in the week were reportedly half-empty.

Business should pick up as word of this performance gets out. Collected Stories is, interestingly, the tale of a teacher and her adoring student, though in this case the two women are fiction writers. The role of the "difficult" Ruth Steiner seems to fit the 81-year-old Hagen like a glove and her performance is impeccable. Lorca Simons holds her own as Lisa, the protégé. Donald Margulies' play, or what's left of it after Hagen's and director William Carden's rewrites, is full of smart dialogue and funny one-liners. Sure to be a crowd-pleaser, if the crowds ever come. : --Amy Barratt

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