“Network” is a fascinating multimedia experience. The audience gets to see the day-to-day operations of a small network news TV show, understand how crucial ratings are to the business and realize the control television has and the over-exaggerated role it plays in the lives of everyday people.
Playing at the Belasco Theatre on West 44th Street, the play is based on the Paddy Chayesfsky film with adaptation by Lee Hall. Newsman Howard Beale (played by Bryan Cranston) is being let go by his network after working there for 25 years. This man has nothing left. He and his wife broke up many years ago and his work consumed his life. When he is told he is going to be fired, his reaction is desperate and over-the-top—and, surprisingly, his histrionics garner a lot of positive reactions from the viewing public. Beale, a man with the power of a television platform, decides to speak up for the common man. His public ventings of his frustrations are real ratings-getters, and the network decides they want to keep him on.
There are many people who interact with Beale for various reasons, and we get to know everyone’s stories and how this man and his behavior affect everyone else’s future. But, in the end, this play shows that television is all about ratings, and when you are poison to the ratings, you are disposable.
The ensemble cast is phenomenal, and the energy is off the charts. The production definitely has laughs, but just be warned: with a rather explicit scene enacted onstage, this play is not for children. They also break the fourth wall when Cranston actually comes into the audience and talks to people. The direction by Ivo Van Hove is superb. “Network” is what a Broadway show should be—technologically sophisticated, action-packed and full of surprises, and it should make you feel charged up when you leave the theater.
“Network” is a Broadway phenomenon. See it!
For more info, visit https://networkbroadway.com.