by Moe Zilla

Created on: January 25, 2009

It had been 33 years since The Graduate was released, when a British entrepreneur got a strange idea: why not turn it into a stage play? The famous movie guaranteed some interest in the stage production. (And so did the intriguing casting of former supermodel Jerry Hall as Mrs. Robinson.) But would they create a satisfying production - or just cash in on the movie's notoriety?

Audiences voted yes, making the play so popular that it eventually moved to Broadway, and then toured across America. It fascinated audiences by re-visiting the familiar characters and story - and adding a new scene where Mrs. Robinson finally confronts her daughter after the wedding. And this version of the story ends with a sweet scene showing that young lives go on - with a strange conversation in bed while eating cold cereal.

But the play is full of strange conversations, growing out of the character's own strange situation. In the first scene, a recent graduate named Benjamin ignores his parent's party downstairs - and the various characters wander into his darkened room. One of the characters is Mrs. Robinson, and she startles Benjamin - and the audience - by suddenly exposing her naked body. "I want you to know that I'm available," she tells the young man. And there's suddenly a lot of tension...

It's a clever scene, because in the familiar movie version, this proposition doesn't occur until later. It's just as surprising to the play's audience as it is to Benjamin - and it lets the production establish a sexual tension in its very first scene. There were more surprises throughout the play as it expands on scenes remembered from the movie. But it's this first one that really demands attention - just like Mrs. Robinson herself.

Her character - and her taboo affair with the younger man - have always made this a fascinating story. But in the theatrical version, the sets are simple and artistic, as though each scene is capturing a mood instead of a location. It's the play's sharp dialogue that really conveys everything - filling out the characters' past and present. And soon enough, Benjamin is in a hotel room's bed, earnestly bumbling his way through his first affair with a married older woman. Mrs. Robinson appears topless in one of these scenes as well. But the actress seems completely enveloped by the character she's inhabiting.

During the play's run, other women have filled the role of Mrs. Robinson - including Kathleen Turner, Morgan Fairchild, and even Linda Gray. But I was lucky enough to see Jerry Hall in a 2003 touring production of the show. The former supermodel not only looked great, but was able to pull off Mrs. Robinson's jaded poise as the bitter but powerful woman. She'd taken the stage after just three weeks of rehearsal when the play opened in London. But her life had apparently prepared her for the role - and she seemed like the perfect choice.

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