Sarah Snook wows in technical marvel Broadway play

What might be extra useless than a 15-foot-tall picture of an actor’s face onstage evident at you?

How a few high-definition video display screen? And never one, however 5 of them — all for one individual?

In a flourish of theatrical magic, with the assistance of mind-boggling know-how, the certainly exhausted “Succession” star Sarah Snook performs 26 roles in “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” which opened Thursday night time on the Music Field Theatre.

Directed by Kip Williams, it’s an usually breathtaking present with danger coursing by its veins. If any of the military of cameras are on the fritz, if a single cue is missed, if sensational Snook skips a couple of traces, the entire spectacular experiment comes crashing down.

After which there’s devil-may-care Dorian, Oscar Wilde’s Victorian Period Narcissus who makes a harmful discount to protect his magnificence ceaselessly — on the expense of his soul. As his innocence fades and he indulges in wild extra, his life spirals uncontrolled with lethal penalties. 

Each the play and playboy stroll a deadly tightrope, and the result’s riveting. 

What makes the distinction between a trick and a triumph is the outstanding Snook. As Shiv on “Succession,” she did a number of the subtlest work on the collection as her power-hungry scion quietly connived with a disarming smile.

The Aussie actress brings that very same infectious grin to Broadway. She’s hilarious and haunting as, effectively, all people. The subtlety? She properly left that again at Waystar Royco. 

Snook, extra volcanic than Vesuvius, inhabits these distinct elements — aristocrats, a bumbling artist, a cuckoo starlet and a vengeful brother, simply to call a couple of — in a Russian doll of the way.

She begins, like in most one-woman reveals, by popping out and in of various folks whereas the cardio act is displayed on one large display screen. Seven crew buzz round her getting pictures, altering units, ripping off outfits and tossing in props.

Simply after we’ve grow to be used to that quick-cut fashion, a freaky disembodied hand reaches onto the body to the touch Dorian’s shoulder. The limb belongs to Lord Henry Wotton — and Snook! 

Sure, many pre-recorded movies of the actress in elaborate costumes and main make-up begin to work together and even merge with the individual in entrance of us. 

At one absurd level, like a scene out of a Nineteen Nineties comedy film, seven Snooks eat dinner collectively.   

Now that we’ve grown accustomed to her faces, the director shakes up the system once more. 

Cell phones and Instagram filters are thrown into the combo, cheekily and finally grotesquely, making the case that Dorian will not be not like fashionable influencers who venture a beautiful life to the world that hides a darkish and ugly fact.

It’s discombobulating. It’s fantastical. And, ultimately, it’s crushing.  

My one quibble is that, at two hours with no intermission, “Dorian Gray” is about 10 minutes too lengthy. Physicians gained’t approve of this recommendation, however Dr. Johnny recommends arriving on the theater totally dehydrated. Sardi’s after, not earlier than.

However what the worthwhile play provides — and I do know there are lots of who pooh-pooh screens onstage as a rule — is the childlike wonderment of not understanding the logistics of what you’re . The primary hour is marked by awed and confused “How did they do that?”s.

“How did she do that?”

After which, suddenly, the viewers is wholly consumed by the tech wizardry and timeless story of destruction. 

Very similar to a promising younger man who discovers that his soul has grow to be mysteriously trapped in a decaying portrait, we simply go alongside for the experience. Not like poor Dorian, although, we finish elated.