Love/Hate with Geoffrey and Ellen (spoiler)

I recently finished watching the full series on Netflix and like other posters am sad that this great show didn't have more seasons.As an actor and director it was a blast seeing the myriad of back stage and front of house personalities that work in theatre. Seeing it approached with humor, drama and a moderate dose of reality was nicely done. I can't really think of another show that even deals with the theatrical world like S&A.

Having said that though, I found I had a love/hate relationship going with both Geoffrey and Ellen. They both would do things that you rooted for them such as standing up against mediocre standards in their shows and wanting to add passion but then they would be very short sighted, almost egotistical in dealing with the same shows.

My biggest beef has to be with Geoffrey (spoilers if you haven't seen season 3). I admire Geoffrey for taking a chance on having a once great actor take on Lear but have a huge problem with him letting it all go to hell at the expense of the rest of the cast. I've been down the road myself trying to keep people in a show where you know the actor would be amazing in a part but it just does not pan out. After a certain point, you have to cut your losses or mitigate it in some sense. Geoffrey could easily have made sure there was an understudy ready to go on at a moment's notice (and no, not the guy playing the second older male lead). If Charles was up to the task, he could go on, if not, the understudy. There's no reason aside from Geoffrey's own short sightedness that the production had to devolve to the point it did. While it made for a nice ending of the series, it was selfish to point of screwing over the other cast members. A director's job is to be there for EVERYONE and the show as a whole not just one person.

Ellen is an older gal as she often loves to point out but acts like to a child to the point of being annoying and unsympathetic. She generally carried herself well as an experienced professional to Geoffrey's moody craziness whenever they were in rehearsal. I wanted to applaud her when she went off on Hamlet for never saying any of Hamlet's lines in rehearsal. However, in season 3, her experience with the audit and not standing up to Geoffrey earlier for the integrity of the King Lear show made her seem weak and childlike, almost to the point of a caricature of an artistic person. Its a pity that they never had her and Oliver speak together, I think that would have added a whole new dimension to her character and given Oliver something new as opposed to always speaking with Geoffrey. It could have been a funny bit if Geoffrey found out that Oliver rather speak with Ellen than him.

While it was infuriating, it was very real and human. People are contradictory animals and that is not often shown in popular media. You're either the hero or not, not may shades of gray. Its like family, you love them and want to kill them the next minute. A very enjoyable show that fully engages like this is always a treat.