‘The Fourth Wall’

Re Richard Stayton’s review of “The Fourth Wall” (“Gurney’s ‘The Fourth Wall’ an Experiment in Error,” March 22): My wife and I were in the audience the same night as your reviewer.

Simply put, we enjoyed the play thoroughly, as did everyone around us in the very full audience. From the moment the curtain went up, revealing the breathtakingly superb set by Scott Heineman (which got applause but not a mention from Stayton), the audience was loving this play. The laughter started immediately. The lines were fresh, intelligent and very funny, and the show’s concept was inventive and well realized.

There were also a number of delightful Cole Porter songs, performed hilariously by the inspired cast members and accompanied by a player grand piano.

My parting grumble is aimed at the last sentence in Stayton’s snide review. “But in an effort to free American drama of aesthetic restraints, he (A.R. Gurney) constructed a classic example of why audiences flee the theater.”

Please , I was there. I watched Gurney’s audience, and they did not flee the theater. They walked out at a leisurely pace, laughing, content and I’m sure inspired to spread good word-of-mouth, the only antidote to critics who are lucky enough to temporarily find themselves in a position of great power.

JERRY MAYER

Pacific Palisades