Word: da
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...Love," sad to say, has become a modern-day cliche. Writing about love has turned into the pasttime of high school poets. The literary romance with love that bloomed more than a century ago has withered, replaced by triteness and a suspicion of sincerity. Yet Da, advertised as "an irresistible comedy" portrays paternal--and filial--love with remarkable realism and sensitivity. Da is irresistible because its love has charmisma: it is cheery and optimistic, cute and funny, honest and poignant. Superbly acted by Barnard Hughes, who played the title role 549 times of Broadway before hitting the road, this version...
...living mix with the dead in Da as well. Charlie, a middle-aged playwright, returns to his Irish homestead to bury his Da, his father. He tries desperately to destroy all his memories of the man, anxious to forget even the happy moments in a frustrating childhood. But hounded by the playwrights' curse, he cannot ignore the voices of the past. Charlie hears the voices so clearly that, as in Our Town, they climb again into their bodies. Soon his Da is smoking in an arm chair, his mother baking in the kitchen, and he, as a teenager, reading...
...DA IS the heart of the play, a gardener who can't say no to friends or enemies. Irrepressible in death, refusing to leave his son in peace, Da represents sheer goodness--sweetness--in a world that feeds on bitterness and evil. It is no coincidence that Da's death occurs in 1968, a year that symbolizes terrifying, violent upheaval...
...secret to Da lies deeper, however, than his bumpkin mannerisms or even his placid gentility. His ignorance serves as a shield against the violent onslaught of painful knowledge. In Da's world, where rosebush cuttings and fresh peaches take first priority, knowledge can only oppress. By reinforcing the suffering of the lower class, teaching them about a better way of life they can never have, this knowledge ultimately spurs Charlie to leave Ireland for London and middle class success as a writer. But Da remains blissful in his ignorance...
...Da's life represents one ideal of the 1960's: he is sensitive to the land, to flowers and fruit, ignorant of political reality, forever optimistic, and certain that sincere love will cure all evils. It is a seductive philosophy...