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THE QUEEN "MOTHER"
Magazine / Source: New York Magazine, August 2006 |
America's greatest actress hits the New York stage
again in 'Mother Courage and Her Children'
BY JOE DZIEMIANOWICZ
It's long been said that Meryl Streep can do anything. But this summer, she's decided to do everything.
Who'd have guessed that in the summer of 2006, the hottest, hardest-working It Girl would be a 57-year-old mother of four?
The woman often called America's greatest actress has already strutted her stuff on film in "A Prairie Home Companion," playing a dim-but-sweet balladeer, and "The Devil Wears Prada," as a chilly-but-chic fashionista boss from Hell (and getting rave reviews for it). The two-time Oscar winner even bugged out in the animated "The Ant Bully," in which she lends her vocal talents to play the queen of an insect colony (what, you think Meryl would be a mere drone?) that teaches a small boy a lesson.
And on Tuesday, Streep will star in the eagerly anticipated Public Theater presentation of Bertolt Brecht's war-themed drama "Mother Courage and Her Children," this year's second offering from Shakespeare in the Park. Tickets are free, and first-come, first-served.
Busy, busy, busy - can we get you another Red Bull, Meryl?
Whatever's fueling the nonstop Streep, she's remarkable in showbiz, where the raging lust for lineless faces and bikini bods has many other actresses grousing that, as ever, there are "no good roles for women." Maybe that's because you-know-who gets them first - and then reaps high praise as she continues to surprise audiences even after almost 30 years of being in the spotlight.
"When she appeared at first, she seemed so talented, it was almost too good to be true," says film historian David Thomson. "And now, she seems also to have acquired a sense of humor. Unlike the comedies she did in the '90s, the new comedies tailor themselves to her. 'The Devil Wears Prada' could have been a minor film, but she gives it a great lift and kick and makes it so very entertaining.
"And her private life, since the beginning, has been very much of her generation," adds Thomson of Streep's decades-long marriage to sculptor Don Gummer. "She has always carried herself in a cool way that seems to say, 'I've worked out what I'm going to do with my life. I have a private life I won't flash in front of you. I won't try and be ingratiating and say I want you all to love me.' It's a very grownup attitude."
"Streep is in a class by herself," agrees critic and author Leonard Maltin. "Even today, quality still sells. She's not just good - I think of her as something akin to a national treasure. And apparently, so do a lot of directors."
Streep has had time to get used to appreciative audiences and critical bouquets. Since the New Jersey-bred, Yale Drama School-trained actress broke into movies in a tiny role in 1977's "Julia" - followed by the seminal TV miniseries "Holocaust" a year later - she's been up for a record 13 Oscars. Her first nomination was for 1978's "The Deer Hunter." She won best Supporting Actress for "Kramer vs. Kramer" (1979) and Best Actress for "Sophie's Choice" (1982). Among her other nominated turns are "Silkwood" (1983), "Out of Africa" (1985), "Postcards From the Edge" (1991), "The Bridges of Madison County" (1996) and "Adaptation" (2003).
Her three disparate movies this summer bring her official tally to nearly 50 films in every genre, from action (2004's "The Manchurian Candidate") to comedy (last year's "Prime") to dramatic ensembles (2002's "The Hours"). Kids' films like "Ant Bully" and 2004's "Lemony Snicket's a Series of Unfortunate Events" could broaden Streep's fan base to the grade-school crowd.
"Even younger moviegoers seem to recognize that she's not just an 'older actress,' but someone of great talent and limitless versatility," says Maltin. "There's nothing she can't do or won't try, from high drama to farce. She's got a sense of humor and a great singing voice to boot."
Streep will show off her acting chops and her singing voice when she begins performances in the title role of "Mother Courage and Her Children," Brecht's 1939 drama with music, set during the Thirty Years War of 1618-48. Streep plays a woman who runs an army canteen and is determined to make money from a war that ends up taking a catastrophic toll on her family.
Streep's involvement in the Public Theater production has made it the must-see show of the summer. Her costar is Kevin Kline, who previously paired with her in "Sophie's Choice," as well as "Prairie Home Companion" (and the 2001 star-studded Shakespeare in the Park production of "The Seagull"). The show's music is by Jeanine Tesori ("Thoroughly Modern Millie," "Caroline, or Change"), with lyrics, and a new story translation, by Tony Kushner. It runs until Sept. 3.
Oskar Eustis, artistic director of the Public Theater, notes that his conversations with Streep and Kushner about doing "Mother Courage" date back some 20 years. (In 2004, Streep won her first Emmy award since "Holocaust" for her multiple characters in the HBO adaptation of Kushner's "Angels in America.") One of the first things Eustis did in his current position was approach the actress about the role.
"The first thing she said was, 'You have to let me make the character funny,' " Eustis recalls, "which is one reason why she's great. She obviously has all the complexity and depth to play a tragic heroine, but she's so alive, and so artful on stage that it turns preconceived notions on their head. You see her thinking through what she can do to burst a character into life."
"I think Streep is now in a quite unique position," says Thomson. "I think the only person who ever rivaled it, really, is the late Katharine Hepburn toward the long middle of her career.
Originally published on August 6, 2006
