ENTERTAINMENT CELEBRITY MEDIA COMEDY MUSIC TV CELEBRITY KIDS MOVIEFONE Michael Giltz Freelance writerGET UPDATES FROM MICHAEL GILTZ Read more Frank Langella , Frank Langella Man And Boy , Man And Boy , Man And Boy Review , Theater Reviews , Entertainment News 1 9 0 2React Inspiring Funny Hot Scary Outrageous Amazing Weird CrazyTheater: Frank Langella Mans Up For Revival "Man And Boy" MAN AND BOY * 1/2 AMERICAN AIRLINES THEATRE /ROUNDABOUT All credit to actor Frank Langella.</p><p> Even in a flawedproduction of a flawed play, Langella manages to create some emotional truth on stage, to entertain howeverbriefly the audience on hand while staying true to thecharacter.</p><p> A pro, Langella makes the most of a scene where he cannily takes the seat of a competitor, mines the humor of "what fun!" and a simple "no" andgenerally does his best, from his first entrance to that final squeeze-out-a-little-more-applause move at the end of the curtain call.</p><p> Unfortunately, this production of Terence Ratigan's Man And Boy gives even Langella precious little opportunity to draw upon that talent.</p><p> It's easy to see why the Roundabout chose to revive this 1963 work.It focuses on a Bernie Madoff financier of sorts whose paper empire is crumbling in dramatic fashion.Hoping to rescue a merger that might hide his financial sins (and hide from reporters), Gregor Antonescu (Langella) retreats to the dingy basement apartment of his estranged son Basil (Adam Driver).</p><p> Throw in a closeted gay man, a deeply conflicted parent who despises attachment and you've got yourself a lot ofcontemporary hooks to draw in an audience.</p><p> EDITION: U.S.</p><p> November 24, 2011 PHOTOS: Celebs Entertain In The Thanksgiving Day Parade In NYC! 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Like 63 Posted: 10/19/11 04:23 PM ET SHARE THIS STORY Submit this storyGet Entertainment Alerts Sign UpCONNECT FRONT PAGE POLITICS BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT TECH MEDIA LIFE & STYLE CULTURE COMEDY HEALTHY LIVING WOMEN LOCAL MORELike 51KMusic Movies Rihanna Television Game Changers 2011 More Log inBut not the way it's delivered here.</p><p> Director Maria Aitken (who scored with The 39 Steps and reportedly staged Man and Boy to acclaim in London with David Suchet) has an unfocused, unconvincing hand here.</p><p> Nothing works -- not the tepid romance between the secretive Basil and his girlfriend (Virginia Kull), not the back-and-forth emotions between Basil and his father (Basil keeps insisting he despises theman; everyone else keeps telling him he loves the old bastard) and certainly not the clumsy set by Derek McLane which clumps the action of the bedroom center stage, right in the middle of the living room in a confusing, unsatisfying manner.</p><p> The one respite is a scene with the powerful executive Mark Herries (Zach Grenier) who might be able to restart the failed merger.</p><p> Gregor has dug up incriminating info about Herries and a male lover whocommitted suicide.</p><p> Delighting in the sort of risks that thrill gamblers (as opposed to businessmen), Gregor drops little hints here and there that lead Herries to believe 1) Gregor knows about the gay double life Herries leads; 2) Gregor is gay himself; 3) that Gregor's son - who goes by Anthony and is cautionednot to refer to Gregor as his dad -- is in fact a male lover; 4) and that Herries would be doing Gregor a favor if he "entertained" this young man at a future date.</p><p> And all of it is accomplished with Basil aware that something odd is going on but remaining clueless.</p><p> Not all the humor and twistedness of this moment is captured (and Rattigan is no Joe Orton, who could have had a blast with the set-up).</p><p> But it's a rare passage when the show comes fitfully to life.</p><p> Otherwise,it's as dreary as that Greenwich Village walk-down apartment, from the uninteresting romance at thebeginning to the melodramatic yet dull finale.</p><p> Langella may be a magician on stage, but even magicians need the proper set-up, props and assistants to make their illusions truly come to life.</p><p> The Theater Season 2011-2012 (on a four star scale) The Agony And The Ecstasy Of Steve Jobs ** 1/2 All's Well That Ends Well/Shakespeare in the Park ** Broadway By The Year: 1997 ** 1/2 Crane Story ** Cymbeline at Barrow Street Theatre *** Follies *** 1/2 Hair *** Hero: The Musical * 1/2 Lake Water ** Man And Boy * 1/2 Master Class w Tyne Daly ** 1/2 Measure For Measure/Shakespeare in the Park *** The Mountaintop ** 1/2 Newsies ** Olive and The Bitter Herbs ** 1/2 One Arm *** The Select (The Sun Also Rises) ** 1/2 Septimus & Clarissa *** 1/2 Silence! The Musical * 1/2 Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark * 1/2 MOST POPULAR ON HUFFPOST 1 of 2 Fox News Viewers Know Less Than People Who Watch No News: Study Loyal Dog Refuses To Leave Owner's Grave, Goes Week Without Food Kris Humphries: Husband From Hell? Kirstie Alley Looking Good Jenny From The Block's Fiat Commercial A Sham PHOTOS: Pepper-SprayingFOLLOW US'Titanic' Trailer! Celebs On Parade 'DWTS' Reunion Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Catwalk to the...PHOTO GALLERIES Like 317K Like 42K Recommend 814 Like 237 Like 3KThe Submission ** Sweet and Sad ** Unnatural Acts *** We Live Here ** Zarkana ** NEW YORK MUSICAL THEATRE FESTIVAL 2011 Blanche: The Bittersweet Life Of A Wild Prairie Dame *** 1/2 Central Avenue Breakdown ** 1/2 Crazy, Just Like Me *** Cyclops: A Rock Opera * Ennio: The Living Paper Cartoon ** 1/2 F---ing Hipsters ** Ghostlight ** Gotta Getta Girl ** 1/2 for staged reading Greenwood * Jack Perry Is Alive (And Dating) * 1/2 Kiki Baby ** 1/2 Kissless * 1/2 Madame X ** The Pigeon Boys *** Time Between Us * 1/2 Tut ** FRINGEFEST NYC 2011 Araby * The Bardy Bunch ** Books On Tape ** 1/2 Civilian ** Hard Travelin' With Woody *** Leonard Cohen Koans *** 1/2 The More Loving One ** The Mountain Song *** 1/2 Paper Cuts *** Parker & Dizzy's Fabulous Journey To The End Of The Rainbow ** 1/2 Pearl's Gone Blue *** Rachel Calof ** 1/2 Romeo & Juliet: Choose Your Own Ending ** 2 Burn * 1/2 Walls and Bridges ** What The Sparrow Said ** 1/2 Yeast Nation *** Thanks for reading.</p><p> Michael Giltz is the cohost of Showbiz Sandbox, a weekly pop culture podcast that reveals the industry take on entertainment news of the day and features top journalists and opinion makers as guests.</p><p> It's available for free on iTunes.</p><p> Visit Michael Giltz at his website and his daily blog.</p><p> Download his podcast of celebrity interviews and his radio show, also called Popsurfing and also available for free on iTunes.</p><p> Link to him on Netflix and gain access to thousands of ratings and reviews.</p><p> Note : Michael Giltz was provided with free tickets to this show with the understanding that he would be writing a review.</p><p> Follow Michael Giltz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/michaelgiltz Sponsored Links 57-Year Old Mom Looks 25 FALL SPECIAL: Mom Reveals $5 Wrinkle Trick That Has Angered Doctors! 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