Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Encyclopedia
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown is a 1988 Spanish black comedy
film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar
, starring Carmen Maura
and Antonio Banderas
. The film brought Almodóvar to widespread international attention: it was nominated for the 1988
Academy Award
for Best Foreign-language film
, and won five Goya Awards
including Best Film and Best Actress in a Leading Role for Maura.
The actual Spanish title refers to "un ataque de nervios" which is not actually well translated by "nervous breakdown". "Ataques de nervios" are culture-bound psychological phenomena during which the individual, most often female, displays dramatic outpouring of negative emotions, bodily gestures, occasional falling to the ground, and fainting, often in response to receiving disturbing news or witnessing or participating in an upsetting event. Historically, this condition has been associated with hysteria
and more recently in the scientific literature with post-traumatic stress and panic attacks.
) is depressed and taking sleeping pills because her boyfriend Iván (Fernando Guillén
) has just left her. Both she and Iván work as voice-over actors who dub
foreign films, notably Johnny Guitar
with Joan Crawford
and Sterling Hayden
. The voice he uses to sweet-talk her (and many other women) is the same one he uses in his work. He is about to leave on a trip and has asked Pepa to pack his things in a suitcase that he will pick up later.
Pepa returns home later to find her answering machine filled with frantic messages from her friend, Candela (María Barranco
). In anger, she rips out the phone and throws it through the window onto the balcony. Candela arrives, still overwhelmed, but before she can explain her situation, Carlos (Antonio Banderas
), Iván's son with previous lover Lucía (Julieta Serrano
), arrives with his snobby fiancée, Marisa (Rossy de Palma
). It turns out they are apartment-hunting, and by coincidence have chosen Pepa's penthouse to look at. Carlos and Pepa figure out each other's relationship to Iván; Pepa wants to know where Iván is because she has to tell him something, but Carlos doesn't know where his dad is. Candela unsuccessfully attempts to kill herself by jumping off the balcony.
Meanwhile, Marisa has become bored and decides to drink some gazpacho
she finds in the fridge, not realizing that it has been spiked with sleeping pills. Candela finally gets to explain her situation: a while back she had a love affair with an Arab who later came to visit her, bringing some friends with him. It turns out that they are a Shiite terrorist cell and Candela was unknowingly harbouring them in her home. When the terrorists left, Candela fled to Pepa's place for help. Candela fears that the police think she is involved and will come for her. Pepa sets out to see a lawyer Carlos has recommended to help Candela, and ends up catching the same cab with the same Mambo-loving driver.
However, Paulina (Kiti Manver
), the lawyer she visits, is acting strangely. Pepa sees that Paulina has tickets to Stockholm. Iván calls the office at one point, and Paulina seems to know Pepa, and is very rude to her. Meanwhile, Candela reveals to Carlos that the Shiites plan to hijack a flight to Stockholm
that evening and divert it to Beirut, where the Shiite terrorists have a friend who was captured by the authorities. After Carlos fixes the broken phone, he quickly calls the police, but hangs up before (he believes) they can trace the call, then surprisingly kisses Candela.
Pepa returns and Lucía calls, announcing she is coming over to confront her about Iván. Carlos reveals that Lucía has been in a mental hospital since Iván left her and has only now been released. Pepa, now sick of Iván and no longer wanting to see him, heads back down with Iván's suitcase; she throws it out, just barely missing Iván, who has arrived with Paulina on their way to the airport. He leaves Pepa a message.
Pepa returns to her apartment she hears the song from the opening, "Soy Infeliz", which Carlos is playing. Enraged, Pepa yanks off the record
and throws it out the window, which ends up hitting Paulina. Pepa then hears Iván's message and once again rips out the phone and throws the answering machine back out the window; it lands on Paulina's car.
Back in the apartment, Lucía arrives, along with the phone repairman and the police, who have traced Carlos' earlier call. Candela starts flipping out, but Carlos comes up with an idea: to serve everyone the spiked gazpacho. The cops and repairman are knocked out, Carlos and Candela make out on the sofa and also fall asleep, and crazy Lucía grabs the cops' guns and aims them at Pepa. Pepa figures out that Paulina is the other woman Iván is going to Stockholm with, and that their flight is the one that the terrorists are planning to hijack. Lucía reveals that she is still insane and only faked sanity when she heard Iván's voice dubbed on a foreign film. She throws the gazpacho at Pepa's face and rushes to the airport to kill Iván; she sees a motorcyclist and forces him to act as her driver.
Pepa chases her and is joined by Ana (Ana Leza), the motorcyclist's angry girlfriend. They quickly hail a cab (it turns out that it is the Mambo taxi again) and a mad chase ensues to the airport, with Lucía firing the gun at them. Lucía arrives at the airport, sees that Iván and Paulina are about to pass security, and aims her gun at them. Pepa arrives just in time and thwarts the murder attempt by rolling a luggage cart at Lucía. Iván runs over to Pepa, who is now mentally and physically exhausted after two days of trying to chase down her lover. Iván offers to finally speak with her about whatever she has been trying to speak to him about, and for a moment, it seems he might even leave Paulina to take her back. But Pepa refuses, saying, "There was still time last night, this morning, even today at noon. But now it's too late." Having saved his life, she leaves the airport, and Iván, for good.
Pepa returns to her home, which is a mess with a burnt bedroom, broken windows, a telephone ripped off the wall, spilt gazpacho on the floor, her collection of animals running around loose, and several unconscious visitors all overdosed on sleeping pills. Pepa sits on her balcony where Marisa has just woken up. The two women share a moment of tranquility at the end of a crazy 48 hours, and Pepa finally reveals what her big news for Iván was: she's pregnant.
magazine's "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" list in 2010.
(book) and David Yazbek
(music and lyrics). The production opened on Broadway in previews on October 5, 2010, and officially on November 4, 2010, at the Belasco Theatre
. The cast included Patti LuPone
, Sherie Rene Scott
, Brian Stokes Mitchell
, Danny Burstein
, Mary Beth Peil
, Justin Guarini
, de'Adre Aziza
, and Nikka Graff Lanzarone, with direction by Bartlett Sher
. The production was a limited engagement that was scheduled to end on January 23, 2011, but due to low grosses and ticket sales, closed early on January 2, 2011. At the time of closing, the show had played 30 previews and 69 regular performances.
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar
Pedro Almodóvar
Pedro Almodóvar Caballero is a Spanish film director, screenwriter and producer.Almodóvar is arguably the most successful and internationally known Spanish filmmaker of his generation. His films, marked by complex narratives, employ the codes of melodrama and use elements of pop culture, popular...
, starring Carmen Maura
Carmen Maura
Carmen García Maura is a Spanish actress. In a career that has spanned six decades, Maura is best known for her collaborations with noted Spanish film director Pedro Almodóvar.-Early life:...
and Antonio Banderas
Antonio Banderas
José Antonio Domínguez Banderas , better known as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish film actor, film director, film producer and singer...
. The film brought Almodóvar to widespread international attention: it was nominated for the 1988
61st Academy Awards
The 61st Academy Awards were presented on March 29, 1989 at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. The date had been moved from its usual Monday telecast due to Easter, which was on March 26. For this show, there was no "official" host as the show opened with a stage-show featuring Merv Griffin, Snow...
Academy Award
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for Best Foreign-language film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
, and won five Goya Awards
Goya Awards
The Goya Awards, known in Spanish as los Premios Goya, are Spain's main national film awards, considered by many in Spain, and internationally, to be the Spanish equivalent of the American Academy Awards....
including Best Film and Best Actress in a Leading Role for Maura.
The actual Spanish title refers to "un ataque de nervios" which is not actually well translated by "nervous breakdown". "Ataques de nervios" are culture-bound psychological phenomena during which the individual, most often female, displays dramatic outpouring of negative emotions, bodily gestures, occasional falling to the ground, and fainting, often in response to receiving disturbing news or witnessing or participating in an upsetting event. Historically, this condition has been associated with hysteria
Hysteria
Hysteria, in its colloquial use, describes unmanageable emotional excesses. People who are "hysterical" often lose self-control due to an overwhelming fear that may be caused by multiple events in one's past that involved some sort of severe conflict; the fear can be centered on a body part, or,...
and more recently in the scientific literature with post-traumatic stress and panic attacks.
Plot
TV actress Pepa Marcos (Carmen MauraCarmen Maura
Carmen García Maura is a Spanish actress. In a career that has spanned six decades, Maura is best known for her collaborations with noted Spanish film director Pedro Almodóvar.-Early life:...
) is depressed and taking sleeping pills because her boyfriend Iván (Fernando Guillén
Fernando Guillén
Fernando Guillén was a Spanish Olympic fencer. He competed in the individual and team sabre events at the 1924 Summer Olympics.-References:...
) has just left her. Both she and Iván work as voice-over actors who dub
Dubbing (filmmaking)
Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
foreign films, notably Johnny Guitar
Johnny Guitar
Johnny Guitar is a 1954 Republic Pictures Western film starring Joan Crawford, Sterling Hayden, Mercedes McCambridge, and Scott Brady.The screenplay was based upon a novel by Roy Chanslor. Though credited to Philip Yordan, he was merely a front for the actual screenwriter, blacklistee Ben Maddow. ...
with Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
and Sterling Hayden
Sterling Hayden
Sterling Hayden was an American actor and author. For most of his career as a leading man, he specialized in westerns and film noir, such as Johnny Guitar, The Asphalt Jungle and The Killing. Later on he became noted as a character actor for such roles as Gen. Jack D. Ripper in Dr...
. The voice he uses to sweet-talk her (and many other women) is the same one he uses in his work. He is about to leave on a trip and has asked Pepa to pack his things in a suitcase that he will pick up later.
Pepa returns home later to find her answering machine filled with frantic messages from her friend, Candela (María Barranco
María Barranco
María Barranco , born María de los Remedios Barranco García, is a Spanish actress, who has won two Goya Awards for Best Supporting Actress....
). In anger, she rips out the phone and throws it through the window onto the balcony. Candela arrives, still overwhelmed, but before she can explain her situation, Carlos (Antonio Banderas
Antonio Banderas
José Antonio Domínguez Banderas , better known as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish film actor, film director, film producer and singer...
), Iván's son with previous lover Lucía (Julieta Serrano
Julieta Serrano
Julieta Serrano Romero is a Catalan theatre and cinema actress. Her prolific career began in the 1960s, and she has worked with directors Pedro Almodóvar and Ventura Pons.-Filmography:...
), arrives with his snobby fiancée, Marisa (Rossy de Palma
Rossy de Palma
Rossy de Palma, is a Spanish actress. Described by many as a Picasso come-to-life, Rossy de Palma broke the rules of beauty in 1988 when she starred in Pedro Almodóvar’s Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and became a model and muse for designers like Jean-Paul Gaultier, Thierry Mugler, and...
). It turns out they are apartment-hunting, and by coincidence have chosen Pepa's penthouse to look at. Carlos and Pepa figure out each other's relationship to Iván; Pepa wants to know where Iván is because she has to tell him something, but Carlos doesn't know where his dad is. Candela unsuccessfully attempts to kill herself by jumping off the balcony.
Meanwhile, Marisa has become bored and decides to drink some gazpacho
Gazpacho
Gazpacho is a cold Spanish/Portuguese tomato-based raw vegetable soup, originating in the southern region of Andalucía. Gazpacho is widely consumed throughout Spain, neighboring Portugal and parts of Latin America...
she finds in the fridge, not realizing that it has been spiked with sleeping pills. Candela finally gets to explain her situation: a while back she had a love affair with an Arab who later came to visit her, bringing some friends with him. It turns out that they are a Shiite terrorist cell and Candela was unknowingly harbouring them in her home. When the terrorists left, Candela fled to Pepa's place for help. Candela fears that the police think she is involved and will come for her. Pepa sets out to see a lawyer Carlos has recommended to help Candela, and ends up catching the same cab with the same Mambo-loving driver.
However, Paulina (Kiti Manver
Kiti Manver
Kiti Manver is a Spanish actress. She has appeared in 84 films and television shows since 1970. She starred in the 1973 film Habla, mudita, which was entered into the 23rd Berlin International Film Festival.-Selected filmography:...
), the lawyer she visits, is acting strangely. Pepa sees that Paulina has tickets to Stockholm. Iván calls the office at one point, and Paulina seems to know Pepa, and is very rude to her. Meanwhile, Candela reveals to Carlos that the Shiites plan to hijack a flight to Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
that evening and divert it to Beirut, where the Shiite terrorists have a friend who was captured by the authorities. After Carlos fixes the broken phone, he quickly calls the police, but hangs up before (he believes) they can trace the call, then surprisingly kisses Candela.
Pepa returns and Lucía calls, announcing she is coming over to confront her about Iván. Carlos reveals that Lucía has been in a mental hospital since Iván left her and has only now been released. Pepa, now sick of Iván and no longer wanting to see him, heads back down with Iván's suitcase; she throws it out, just barely missing Iván, who has arrived with Paulina on their way to the airport. He leaves Pepa a message.
Pepa returns to her apartment she hears the song from the opening, "Soy Infeliz", which Carlos is playing. Enraged, Pepa yanks off the record
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
and throws it out the window, which ends up hitting Paulina. Pepa then hears Iván's message and once again rips out the phone and throws the answering machine back out the window; it lands on Paulina's car.
Back in the apartment, Lucía arrives, along with the phone repairman and the police, who have traced Carlos' earlier call. Candela starts flipping out, but Carlos comes up with an idea: to serve everyone the spiked gazpacho. The cops and repairman are knocked out, Carlos and Candela make out on the sofa and also fall asleep, and crazy Lucía grabs the cops' guns and aims them at Pepa. Pepa figures out that Paulina is the other woman Iván is going to Stockholm with, and that their flight is the one that the terrorists are planning to hijack. Lucía reveals that she is still insane and only faked sanity when she heard Iván's voice dubbed on a foreign film. She throws the gazpacho at Pepa's face and rushes to the airport to kill Iván; she sees a motorcyclist and forces him to act as her driver.
Pepa chases her and is joined by Ana (Ana Leza), the motorcyclist's angry girlfriend. They quickly hail a cab (it turns out that it is the Mambo taxi again) and a mad chase ensues to the airport, with Lucía firing the gun at them. Lucía arrives at the airport, sees that Iván and Paulina are about to pass security, and aims her gun at them. Pepa arrives just in time and thwarts the murder attempt by rolling a luggage cart at Lucía. Iván runs over to Pepa, who is now mentally and physically exhausted after two days of trying to chase down her lover. Iván offers to finally speak with her about whatever she has been trying to speak to him about, and for a moment, it seems he might even leave Paulina to take her back. But Pepa refuses, saying, "There was still time last night, this morning, even today at noon. But now it's too late." Having saved his life, she leaves the airport, and Iván, for good.
Pepa returns to her home, which is a mess with a burnt bedroom, broken windows, a telephone ripped off the wall, spilt gazpacho on the floor, her collection of animals running around loose, and several unconscious visitors all overdosed on sleeping pills. Pepa sits on her balcony where Marisa has just woken up. The two women share a moment of tranquility at the end of a crazy 48 hours, and Pepa finally reveals what her big news for Iván was: she's pregnant.
Cast
- Carmen MauraCarmen MauraCarmen García Maura is a Spanish actress. In a career that has spanned six decades, Maura is best known for her collaborations with noted Spanish film director Pedro Almodóvar.-Early life:...
as Pepa Marcos - Antonio BanderasAntonio BanderasJosé Antonio Domínguez Banderas , better known as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish film actor, film director, film producer and singer...
as Carlos - Julieta SerranoJulieta SerranoJulieta Serrano Romero is a Catalan theatre and cinema actress. Her prolific career began in the 1960s, and she has worked with directors Pedro Almodóvar and Ventura Pons.-Filmography:...
as Lucía - Rossy de PalmaRossy de PalmaRossy de Palma, is a Spanish actress. Described by many as a Picasso come-to-life, Rossy de Palma broke the rules of beauty in 1988 when she starred in Pedro Almodóvar’s Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and became a model and muse for designers like Jean-Paul Gaultier, Thierry Mugler, and...
as Marisa - María BarrancoMaría BarrancoMaría Barranco , born María de los Remedios Barranco García, is a Spanish actress, who has won two Goya Awards for Best Supporting Actress....
as Candela - Fernando Guillién as Iván
- Kiti ManverKiti ManverKiti Manver is a Spanish actress. She has appeared in 84 films and television shows since 1970. She starred in the 1973 film Habla, mudita, which was entered into the 23rd Berlin International Film Festival.-Selected filmography:...
as Paulina Morales - Ana Leza as Ana
- Chus LampreaveChus LampreaveChus Lampreave is a Spanish actress.She started in movies in 1958, but she became internationally known thanks to her roles in films by Pedro Almodóvar, where she plays old ladies with maternal or pastoral traits.- Filmography :...
as Portera Testiga de Jehová
Reception
The film is ranked #78 in EmpireEmpire (magazine)
Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...
magazine's "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" list in 2010.
Awards and nominations
- Academy AwardsAcademy AwardsAn Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
(USA)- Nominated: Best Foreign Language Film
- BAFTA Awards (UK)
- Nominated: Best Film not in the English Language
- David di Donatello Awards (Italy)
- Won: Best Foreign DirectionDavid di Donatello for Best Foreign DirectorThe David di Donatello for best foreign film director, or in Italian, Migliore Regista Straniero, was given from 1966 until 1990.-1967:*David Lean - Doctor Zhivago-1968:*Richard Brooks - In Cold Blood-1969:...
(Pedro Almodóvar)
- Won: Best Foreign Direction
- European Film Awards
- Won: Best Actress – Leading Role (Carmen Maura)
- Won: Best Young Film (Pedro Almodóvar)
- Nominated: Best Art Direction (Félix Murcia)
- Golden Globe Awards (USA)
- Nominated: Best Foreign Language Film
- Goya AwardsGoya AwardsThe Goya Awards, known in Spanish as los Premios Goya, are Spain's main national film awards, considered by many in Spain, and internationally, to be the Spanish equivalent of the American Academy Awards....
(Spain)- Won: Best Actress – Leading Role (Carmen Maura)
- Won: Best Actress – Supporting Role (María Barranco)
- Won: Best Editing (José Salcedo)
- Won: Best Film
- Won: Best Screenplay - Original (Pedro Almodóvar)
- Nominated: Best Actor – Supporting Role (Guillermo Montesinos)
- Nominated: Best Actress – Supporting Role (Julieta Serrano)
- Nominated: Best Cinematography (José Luis Alcaine)
- Nominated: Best Costume Design (José María Cossío)
- Nominated: Best Director (Pedro Almodóvar)
- Nominated: Best Makeup and Hairstyles (Jesús Moncusi and Gregorio Ros)
- Nominated: Best Original Score (Bernardo Bonezzi)
- Nominated: Best Production Design (Félix Murcia)
- Nominated: Best Production Supervision (Esther García)
- Nominated: Best Sound (Gilles Ortion)
- Nominated: Best Special Effects (Reyes Abades)
- National Board of Review (USA)
- Won: Best Foreign Language Film
- New York Film Critics (USA)
- Won: Best Foreign Language Film
- Runner-up: Best Actress (Carmen Maura)
- Venice Film FestivalVenice Film FestivalThe Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
(Italy)- Won: Golden Osella – Best Screenplay (Pedro Almodóvar)
Stage adaptation
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown has been adapted into a musical by Jeffrey LaneJeffrey Lane
Jeffrey Lane is an author, television scriptwriter, film producer and actor. He is a graduate of Wesleyan University.-Broadway:Lane wrote the book for the musical Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, which ran on Broadway in 2005 and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Musical...
(book) and David Yazbek
David Yazbek
David Yazbek is an American writer, musician, composer, and lyricist. He wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway musicals The Full Monty , Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown ....
(music and lyrics). The production opened on Broadway in previews on October 5, 2010, and officially on November 4, 2010, at the Belasco Theatre
Belasco Theatre
The Belasco Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 111 West 44th Street in midtown-Manhattan.-History:Designed by architect George Keister for impresario David Belasco, the interior featured Tiffany lighting and ceiling panels, rich woodwork and expansive murals by American artist...
. The cast included Patti LuPone
Patti LuPone
Patti Ann LuPone is an American singer and actress, known for her Tony Award-winning performances as Eva Perón in the 1979 stage musical Evita and as Madame Rose in the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy, and for her Olivier Award-winning performance as Fantine in the original London cast of Les...
, Sherie Rene Scott
Sherie Rene Scott
Sherie Rene Scott is an American actress, singer and writer. She is a co-founder of Grammy winning Sh-K-Boom Records and Ghostlight Records and has appeared in numerous Off-Broadway and Broadway musicals and plays appears on numerous solo and original cast recordings.-Life and career:Scott was...
, Brian Stokes Mitchell
Brian Stokes Mitchell
Brian Stokes Mitchell is an American stage, film and television actor. A powerful baritone, he has been one of the central leading men of the Broadway theatre since the early 1990s...
, Danny Burstein
Danny Burstein
Danny Burstein is a versatile American actor who is known for his work in theater, film and television. He won the 2008 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical and was nominated for the 2008 Drama Desk Award and 2008 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical...
, Mary Beth Peil
Mary Beth Peil
Mary Beth Peil is an American actress and singer.-Early life:Born in Davenport, Iowa in 1940, Peil trained as an opera singer at Northwestern University under Lotte Lehmann. There she became a member of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority...
, Justin Guarini
Justin Guarini
Justin Guarini is an American singer/songwriter and actor who rose to fame in 2002 as the first runner-up on the debut season of the television show American Idol.-Background:...
, de'Adre Aziza
De'Adre Aziza
De'Adre Danielle Aziza is an American actress and singer. She received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for Passing Strange, in which she played "teenage goddess" Edwina Williams, Dutch neo-hippie Marianna, and German revolutionary/filmmaker Sudabey...
, and Nikka Graff Lanzarone, with direction by Bartlett Sher
Bartlett Sher
Bartlett Sher , is an American theatre director. He received both the 2008 Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award for his direction of the Broadway revival of South Pacific. The New York Times has described him as "one of the most original and exciting directors, not only in the American theater but...
. The production was a limited engagement that was scheduled to end on January 23, 2011, but due to low grosses and ticket sales, closed early on January 2, 2011. At the time of closing, the show had played 30 previews and 69 regular performances.