Then and Now Masterful

It's an intergenerational struggle between fathers and sons that could have been ripped out of Freud's famous psychological case studies, and it veers toward tragedy with an inevitability that does nothing to lesson its sorrow.

In the role of the proud and misguided master builder, Naughton finds all of the resentment and terror lurking beneath the cool impressive surface of his character. His Solness is vain, dissembling and even jaw-droppingly cruel when cornered, making him far from heroic. He may have achieved worldly success, but when it comes at such a steep price there's little joy in it.

In the role of his stricken, haunted wife Aline, Griffith is well cast. She brings real warmth and feeling to a difficult role as the master builder's wronged wife. Alternating between high Victorian reserve and all too brief flashes of the brilliant and loving young woman she once was, Griffith gives a hypnotic performace that's flawlessly acted.

"It's the little things in life that smash your heart to pieces," she quietly tells young Hilda Wangel, the rival for her husband's affections, and she makes you feel for a moment what she has felt.

As Hilda, the vivacious young woman who has idolized Solness for years, Charlotte Parry tackles an ambitious role with tremendous confidence.

Hilda's the foil that allows Solness to explain how his towering ambition has always prevented him from achieving any satisfaction. In McGuinness's translation we are still left to wonder - as Ibsen left his original audience - if Hilda is a force for good or ill.

The symbolism of an aging man creating one last enormous tower before the floods of young people he fears overwhelm his potency hardly needs to be guessed at. But the play is much deeper than that, and Ibsen leaves few stones unturned.

Playwright McGuinness and the Irish Repertory Theatre have tackled this difficult but absorbing play with a rare degree of clarity.

The Master Builder is now playing at the Irish Rep, 132 West 22nd Street. For tickets and showtimes call 212-727-2737.

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