Lost Los Alamos Hard Drives Found Behind Lab Copier

Miracle of miracles! With “The Poison Tree,” Michael Phillips has finally given the Mark Taper Forum a poor review (“The ‘Poison’ Lurking Below an Affluent Surface,” June 9).

The Taper built its reputation staging provocative works by unknown playwrights. In recent years, however, it has preferred staging the pet projects of movie stars (Al Pacino) and the unfinished works of celebrity playwrights (Anna Deavere Smith, Neil Simon). The Times has pathetically licked the Taper’s spittle, as if the “flagship regional theater” could do no wrong.

Perhaps under proper critical scrutiny, the Taper will make the well-crafted script a priority once again. You do not serve the emperor by ignoring his nakedness.

RALPH TROPF

Los Angeles

Phillips’ opening line, “This is too much freight for a little script to carry,” suggests that we’re about to read a review of a play, but no, we’re in the middle of a vendetta between Phillips and the Mark Taper Forum, or at least a philosophical war.

Eventually he does approach the play by presenting a precis of “The Poison Tree,” missing the point. In fact, he missed the event on stage wholly.

The play was incredibly beautifully mounted by David Jenkins. It is a play about confrontation, subliminal as well as social, the confrontation of ambiguity. Playwright Robert Glaudini’s brilliance is in the witty and profound eye he casts on the myths of identity in both political and personal postures. The cast met the strenuous challenges unevenly but well. It was a fascinating evening in the theater, visually, intellectually and emotionally.

A performance of this merit deserves a review that acknowledges the play and the actors as well as the director and designer. Even more than a serious review, it deserves an audience.

VIDA G. DEMING

Hanover, N.H.

As part of the wildly enthusiastic audience attending the June 1 performance of “The Education of Randy Newman,” we found the tepid review accorded by Michael Phillips to be quite startling (“Short Takes on a Life,” June 5). What show did he see?

What he called “pleasant” struck us and our audience as a rich and rewarding experience--a musical blessed with a fine score and an outstanding cast full of such great verve, agility and vocal skills as to earn an electrifying, spontaneous standing ovation at the end.

With these performers and perhaps some fine-tuning, this show should do well on Broadway.

RAY and CAROL BENEDICKTUS

San Clemente