Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women

3 1/2 stars: ...On a good night — if "good" is the right word — Edward Albee's "Three Tall Women" can make you feel like every other show or movie in town is nothing more than a peripheral and tangential meditation on pointless ephemera. Or, to put it another way, yet another chance for you to fiddle while your life burns.

On a really good night — and Charles Newell's new Court Theatre production firmly occupies that category in the second act — it can make you feel that way about every other way of spending your evening.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: [...]Newell’s exceptional production — which features superbly etched performances by New York veteran Lois Markle as the oldest incarnation of the three, Mary Beth Fisher in middle age and Maura Kidwell as a still dewy-eyed 26-year-old — is remarkable in many respects[...] Leigh Breslau’s handsomely raked set, with its heavy wood furniture and sheer curtains; Ana Kuzmanic’s costumes, and most crucially of all Marc Stubblefield’s otherworldy lighting are perfection. And the final unified breath of the women, a classic Newell touch, is beyond breathtaking.

4 STARS: [...]Three Tall Women is a showcase for actresses, and Newell has assembled a striking trio for Court’s production. [...]Together, they weave a captivating, disquieting take on this brilliantly perspectival piece.

Under Charles Newell's direction, the actors negotiate Albee's beautifully written dialogue like virtuosic chamber musicians. A finely detailed, thought-provoking, sometimes breathtaking production.

3 STARS: [...]Director Charles Newell assembled a shining group of women for his cast[...]

It really doesn’t matter much how biographical or fictional Three Tall Women actually is. Albee, Newell, and the cast find universal truths in the woman’s story.

5 STARS: MASTERFUL! This would be the best way to describe Court Theatre’s dazzlingly beautiful production of Edward Albee’s Pulitzer Prize Winning “Three Tall Women"[...]one of the top shows of the year.

Each one of these brilliant ladies bring the maximum level of talent to the table.

This play is a tour de force for all three women as each had several tellingly poignant moments to dominate the stage[...]

Three Tall Women, I believe, is Albee’s finest play and Charlie Newell’s Court Theatre production is the strongest, most emotionally truthful production I’ve seen yet. This is marvelous theatre – an imaginative script, deftly staging, with three superb performances – Who could ask for anything more?