What I liked
The opening seduction/confessional/interview scene between John and Maureen works so well. I could have watched an entire play just around that one scene.
What I didn't like
The second half that focused on the fallout with Brian Epstein doing damage control was weaker. I think this is where a basic knowledge of Beatles history on the part of the audience works against the play. John doesn’t care about the controversy while Brian thinks it’s the End of the Beatles. We know the Beatles are gonna be fine because they’re still widely considered the greatest band ever assembled. So we side with John’s apathy, which isn’t very engaging.
The other issue is Maureen disappears after that initial interview. Feels strange that we never explore how John feels about her betrayal. Maybe he cares? Maybe he doesn’t? Did she know what she was doing? Was it intentional? I would have found a resolution to that relationship much more rewarding than John Lennon ultimately leveraging this experience into an opportunity to speak more freely about his opinions on Vietnam.
My overall impression
A solid one-act play. John Lennon was a pretty complicated dude and this play paints a fair and interesting picture of a pivotal moment in the man’s life.
