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Laura Linney: "American Classic"

 There is a strange story subset--the set called "stories about community theater." In these plots, the actors' lives tend to blend with the characters' lives. People make discoveries through playacting.


In "A Streetcar Named Marge," Marge Simpson begins to understand the dimensions of Homer's monstrousness. She learns through her contemplation of Stanley Kowalski. In Alice Munro's story, "The Children Stay," Pauline is playing Eurydice. She thinks about Orpheus: This guy had an impossible choice. He could commit to not looking backward--and could thus ensure his future happiness. Or he could look backward--confirm that his beloved is safe as she literally crawls through hell--lose everything. One look backward will ruin Orpheus's life. (Pauline has a similar choice. If she frees herself from her oppressive marriage, she might lose her relationship with her children.)

This is the kind of story that Kevin Kline's new series wants to tell. When people sign up for a creative act, they (almost necessarily) see additional movement within their own *private* lives. People make new friends. People confront difficult realities--at least on the stage. The moment of confrontation may inspire self-reflection.

I'm not sure that the show has anything new to say about the "Waiting for Guffman" genre. The marriage-in-crisis seems cliched. The character of Kline's niece still hasn't said something that counts as unpredictable. But I continue to like Kevin Kline, and I'll keep watching.

P.S. the ultimate community theater story involves Christmas and Charlie Brown. 
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