The New York Times wrote a great review about Charles Dickens’ HARD TIMES in today’s newspaper:

Rachel Botchan and Bradford Cover. Photo by Gregory Costanzo.

In an adaptation that is remarkable for how true it remains to the book, Stephen Jeffreys has pared away much of the commentary, letting the critique emerge in the actions and attitudes of characters as memorable as any in the Dickens pantheon…

In all, the production is an ensemble triumph. Among the other virtues of “Hard Times,” we are reminded how less can often be more.

We’re glad that the critics like the show, but what do you think? Leave us a message here with your review!

It’s been six busy months since Artistic Director J. R. Sullivan joined The Pearl. Kate Farrington sat down with him on the set of Hard Times to see how he’s holding up.

Kate Farrington: So, remember when we said “let’s sit down again in a month?” That didn’t so much happen, did it?!?

Jim Sullivan: No, I guess not. These six months have really flown by but that’s often the case when you’re lucky enough in life to be doing what you love on a daily basis.

KF: Things have been pretty busy around here since you arrived. Have there been any pleasant surprises for you?

JS: Mostly I’m just proud of how much we’ve accomplished. We successfully mounted two shows and we’re gearing up for a third. I think the Resident Acting Company has done a superb job finding the potential in our new performance space. And our audience is adjusting wonderfully to City Center—even though we miss the St Marks charm, we love the new energy the move has brought with it, and we’re thrilled and grateful for how welcoming the staff at City Center has been.

We exceeded our subscription goal—that was both a sign that the move was healthy, and a deeply felt vote of confidence from our patrons that no matter what other changes are going on, they believe in the work we’re putting onstage. And business has been steadily escalating all season, which encourages.

KF: And all that on top of the move to new offices.

JS: Yes, that’s been great. Being in the garment district puts us much closer to the theatre and combines our administrative offices with our rehearsal space and our costume shop—we’re in better proximity to ourselves, and I think that makes us more effective.

KF: Do you have a favorite spot in the new office?

JS: The rehearsal room—it’s the heart of the creative process. I love that Hard Times, which is such an ensemble piece already, was the first Pearl show to inhabit that room.

But that would be my answer in any theatre. I also love sitting in the corner of our new library room surrounded by all these plays, all these great stories we have yet to tell. It’s our future sitting on our shelves, not the past.

KF: Have there been any challenges in your first six months?

JS: Oh, we have the same challenges as every theatre our size has—finding and raising funds being chief among them. But I really think we’ve overcome the biggest challenge—renewing our energy for the next six months!

KF: So what’s happening with Hard Times these days? It’s such a huge undertaking.

JS: The hard part is also the most intriguing part. It’s an incredible act of compression, turning this long, complex novel into a single night in the theatre without sacrificing Dickens’ story, language, or his rich characterization. I think the part I’ve enjoyed most is the mind-bending complexities of simple traffic. How do you move these six actors (and 20-plus characters) around the stage and project a visual continuity over the course of 30 scenes? That’s both the most enjoyable and most demanding aspect of the process.

KF: Do you have a favorite Dickens book or character?

JS: I’d  have to say Pip in Great Expectations, as well as the lawyer Jaggers in that book. Nicholas in Nicholas Nickleby . . . I think I like Dickens’ men better than his women.

KF: Well, I think he often writes men better than women.

JS: I’d actually not read Hard Times until this project came up as a possibility, and I’ve come to deeply appreciate these characters. And the adaptation is great—it offers a polyphony of 20 voices that, as a group, make up a whole. It’s that coming together that formed the jumping off point for this production in both the acting and the design.

KF: Now that we’ve been there a while, do you have a favorite restaurant around City Center?

JS: Yes—La Bonne Soupe on 55^th between 5^th and 6^th. Good food and it won’t break the bank.

KF: So, in your spare time—if such a thing exists—what do you like to do?

JS: Right now, my downtime is devoted to reading possible plays for next season!

KF: I have a James Lipton question for you.

JS: Sure!

KF: If you could have lunch with any playwright, living or dead, who would it be?

JS: Shaw. There would be brilliant talk and I wouldn’t have to be responsible for any of it.

Steve Allen used to do a show where he’d have four people from different time periods in a room together. If I could do that, I’d choose Shaw, Shakespeare (to see who would show up and put that controversy to bed), Cleopatra, and Casanova.

KF: That would be a  . . . combustible group!

Alright, let’s not wait another six months to do this again—for real this time!

JS: Done. And James Lipton’s got nothing on you.