"Metcalf is one of America's great theater stars, and also, a winner of and nominee for a vast number of Emmys. (Remember this?) Give her a nice slow pitch of a line over home plate, and she'll square her shoulders and whack it with such force you can hear ash colliding with leather. Her style is muscular and visceral-very Steppenwolf, the company where she was a founding member-and you feel a need to supply sound effects as you describe what she's doing."
""All this time you've thought I had an issue with you being gay?" ( ka-ping!), she tells her nephew, played by Micah Stock, who's moved into her home in Idaho with her while he arranges his dead father's affairs. "That's the most interesting thing about you" ( wham, pow!). In Little Bear Ridge Road, Metcalf racks up the hits with ease, though the production feels more like watching home run derby than a full game."
Laurie Metcalf delivers muscular, visceral performances that register as emphatic and physical, turning small moments into striking theatrical punctuation. Her comic and dramatic beats land with force, producing recurring memorable lines and emotional hits. In Little Bear Ridge Road she plays an Idaho woman who hosts her nephew, played by Micah Stock, while he arranges his dead father's affairs, and their exchanges supply much of the play's momentum. Samuel D. Hunter's drama often evokes intimate, Idaho-centered portraits, and here the material appears custom-fitted to Metcalf's strengths. The production emphasizes her dominance, prompting questions about dramatic balance and the desire for greater ensemble risk.
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