Mr. Roberts, April 3, 2002

Last night, I saw the play "Mr. Roberts" at the Kennedy Center. This play was on Broadway in 1948, and it is about men on a cargo ship in the Pacific Ocean during the second world war. I think the play is supposed to be a comedy, although it really was not funny to me. As a comedy, the play is supposed to be shallow, a light-hearted look at the war. To me, it is a characterization of what we think of when we think of sailors during the war -- a bunch of very aggressive young men, who complain constantly on the ship, and get drunk and fight and complain and fight some more. Although they talk constantly about women, they have no contact with women except a prostitute once in awhile. Mostly they drink and fight. Not a very attractive play.