My Life at the Theater: The Heidi Chronicles

I first saw The Heidi Chronicles, written by Wendy Wasserstein, in New York at the Plymouth Theater in 1989. It starred the amazing Joan Allen. It co-starred Broadway fixtures Boyd Gaines and Peter Friedman. It knocked me off my feet. It perfectly encapsulated the past two decades--from 1970-1988.



Funny thing though, I saw it again in 1994, just five years later, at a local theater. Already it seemed dated, naive. Cliched.



And then my book group read it as a play two years ago in 2009. It seemed as anachronistic as any dusty nineteenth century play. It was also depressing to think that societal changes of two decades past were either taken for granted by a new generation of discarded altogether.



I guess plays or novels or movies that take on "issues" are likely to suffer from this. Oleana, by Mamet is another play that seems too shrill today.



Anyone else notice this?