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Click Here to Watch Al Talk About Salome!
"If Oscar Wilde had lived to see Al Pacino perform the part of
King Herod in his 1892 poetic tragedy Salome, he might have been pleasantly surprised...."
"Most important of all, Pacino appears to understand the strange
blend of middle-age boredom, kingly ennui and guilty conscience that afflict the tetrarch of Judea; there's a lot more going
on with this Herod than a simple letch for his 14-year-old stepdaughter-neice. For one thing, it's clear that Herod's
letch for Salome isn't nearly as strong as Salome's letch for John the Baptist (a ranting Kevin Anderson). Herod isn't
the one on fire, Salome is; and her fire is fueled by something more than raging hormones and adolescent lust...."
"Pacino goes a long way toward capturing the complexity of Herod's
troubled psyche, eliciting an occasional laugh for his naturalistic style. At his best, he is able to break down
Herod's intricate language into smaller units of subterranean intention and cleverly crafted emotion -- the range of nuance
and feeling is impressive. It allows Pacino a large and elaborate acting arc, of which he makes full use. By play's
end he has gone from a drunken monarch with a bothersome but not too serious sexual itch to an awakened man with a king-size
headache on his bloody hands...."
Excerpts from "Salome" written by Jay Reiner for the Hollywood Reporter.com
May 2, 2006.
..."Yes, it's pretty apparent why Al Pacino and Estelle Parsons
can't get their fill of Oscar Wilde's Salome. Given everything Wilde packs into this little 90-minute care
package of decadence, who in his right mind - audience or performer - could tear himself away?...."
"The more Salome cajoles (and the more desperate she seems),
the clearer it becomes that this is a woman unhinged. In this, she's hardly alone. Jokanaan and Herod are also,
in their respective ways, on the brink of madness.
"The King especially. His charcoal suit billows, his face
is haggard, and his hair is a tangled mess. Kicking that famous voice into a mincing upper register, Pacino plays Herod
as a weak man, not a tyrant. Some prophet is out there resurrecting death and transforming water into wine, and Pacino's
Herod is trying to get out of his own troubled head more than into Salome's bloomers. When negotiations with Salome
must take place, and Herod's language gets particularly florid, Chastain matches Pacino step for step...."
..."With Pacino filming a documentary, this Salome may
well prove to be one of the actor's signature roles. But here's betting Angelenos fortunate enough to see it will remember
it just as vividly as the first major splash of Jessica Chastain."
Excerpts from article written by Evan Henerson, Theater Critic for
the Los Angeles Daily News 5/11/06.
"Wilde" About Pacino! Check out event coverage
from Al's Ireland visit as he accepts the Trinity University Award and attributes Oscar Wilde's "stomping grounds" for material
for the upcoming "Salomaybe"!
Includes an account from a student that was able
to follow Al around all day as a guide! Check out the Photo Gallery as well!
Click on the link below!
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