Bauer, after all, usually brings considerable imagination to characters who have butterflies in their heads, sweet inspiration in their hearts and the muck of the world on the soles of their feet.īut the play, which began a four-week run last night, now seems rather garrulous and overexplanatory. The casting would appear to be right on the mark.
This time 'Enter a Free Man' stars Richard Bauer as George Riley, who sees himself on the verge of fame and fortune when he is merely onto another cockamamie idea. Having seen the American premiere 14 years ago (also at Olney) with the late John McGiver as the inventor of indoor rain, the reusable envelope and other impracticalities, I remembered it as a work of some originality.īut it may be McGiver's delightfully moonstruck countenance I've been remembering all these years. Although 'Enter a Free Man,' Tom Stoppard's first play, makes for a mildly diverting evening at Olney Theatre, it is not exactly a work calling out for revival.
