What I liked
I love the heightened language of the script. Like Shakespeare, it can take a good few minutes to adjust to, but once you do you’ll pick up on delicious wordplay and insightful, well-constructed phrases.
The conceit of having Jackie change clothes constantly throughout the show worked extremely well, as did incorporating mannequin parts. These artistic decisions were thematically appropriate and served to augment the story being told in some truly creative ways.
What I didn't like
While a technically proficient acting performance, there were two things that kept me from really loving Jackie as a show.
The first is that Jackie had the same chipper attitude for a lot of the runtime. I can see this being a choice to show how important decorum is to her character, but there needed to be more cracks (and more substantial ones) in the facade. Her being all blase about JFK getting shot is a compelling choice, but the fact that she talks about it with a happy smile on her face the same way she’s been talking about clothes had the effect of flattening all subjects to the same level of emotional impact.
The second is that I never got a sense of who she was talking to. Presumably, she is talking directly to the audience, but I felt like I was being performed at (very well, mind you) rather than being let into something more candid and confessional. Again, I can understand decorum and propriety being important to Jackie’s character, but I was craving more vulnerability.
My overall impression
Beautifully written and excellently staged, but there were some odd choices in the central performance. Still very much worth your time, however.
