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Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theatre
Address: Broadway at 64th Street
Phone: 212-239-6200
Ticket Prices: $40-$60 (also available at TKTS booth)
Performances: Sundays & Mondays at 7:30 PM
Lincoln Center Theater Website

Review by Caryn Solly

A science-themed play deserves a science-themed review, so I will reach back to my fourth-grade education and use the scientific method.

Purpose: To determine whether QED, Peter Parnell's play about physicist Dr. Richard Feynman, who was instrumental in the Manhattan Project and the explanation of the space shuttle Challenger's explosion, is worth your time and money.

Hypothesis: The play stars award-winning Alan Alda, who has dazzled us from the silver screen and idiot box. Writer Paul Parnell, who currently writes for the award-winning television series "The West Wing," has adapted the story of a Nobel Prize recipient, which brings to mind a certain award-winning film of similar topic.

Procedure: I attended a performance at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theater, which offered a thrust stage designed to look like a college professor's office. Alda dominated this almost-one-man show, as he addressed the audience like a trusted friend, sharing stories from his life, interrupted by foreshadowing phone calls. The only other cast member is Kellie Overbey as Miriam Field, a physics student of Richard Feynman's at Caltech.

Observations: QED stands for Quantum Electrodynamics, Richard Feynman's scientific specialty. We learn that Richard Feynman is interested in all areas of science - space, biology, geography and more - but he's a scientist who is awed by Mother Nature herself. He describes the relationship between science and nature as a man learning the rules of chess by watching a game. His interesting life and unique spirit certainly do lend themselves to stage adaptation.

Analysis: They had the right ingredients, but not the right proportions to make this experiment a success. Alan Alda's performance is energetic, believable and intriguing. The writing, however, lags in places, bringing the audience to yawns. Several emotional scenes left the audience dry-eyed. The introduction of Miriam Field to Richard Feynman's otherwise-solitary office space misses the mark and thus proves to be extraneous.

Conclusion: If you're interested in science and philosophy - and have a soft spot for M*A*S*H's Hawkeye Pierce - give it a look and draw your own conclusions.