A serious comedy inspired by the tumultuous life of Eleonora Duse and her poet-lover Gabriele D’Annunzio

At the end of Imperfect Love, written by Brandon Cole and playing now at The Connelly Theater, the most thrilling theatrical moment of the season occurs. A writer is cured of his writers’ block, a revenge plot is annihilated, a friendship is secured, a performance is assured, an actress finds her character and reunites with her lover — all of it in a single and most singular monologue. Accomplishing this divine coup de téâtre is an actress, Eleonora Della Rosa, modeled on the legendary and charismatic Eleonora Duse and played with fiery rage in this recent production by the supremely talented Cristina Spina. Spina’s the kind of actress you hope to see when you see an Off-Broadway play, especially one produced in affiliation with the estimable John Turturro. Easily filling every moment of stage time with pathos, rage, joy and cunning, she is a diva in the best sense of that word. Commanding our attention and then giving us more than we’d ever expect or ask for, Spina shines here as the brightest of stars, the zenith of our theatrical stratosphere. At play’s opening, we discover Gabriele D’Annunzio, here called Gabriele Torrisi (played by Rodrigo Lopresti with handsome authority) a w …Read more