Review: TV stars support 'Caretaker' MacLachlan, Stewart riveting in revival 01:07 AM CST on Monday, November 10, 2003 By LAWSON TAITTE / The Dallas Morning News NEW YORK--In recent years, major New York revivals of Harold Pinter have sweetened up this most astringent of contemporary British masters. You don't have to worry about that with Roundabout Theatre Company's new The Caretaker. The revival, which opened at the American Airlines Theatre on Sunday, stars a couple of actors most famous for TV roles. You don't necessarily expect a Star Trek captain like Patrick Stewart or a David Lynch favorite - and Sex and the City hunk - like Kyle MacLachlan to take a straightforward approach to a tough classic. But they do, and it pays off. Mr. Pinter, as usual, creates an aura of vague menace. A stiff, haunted-looking man (Mr. Mac- Lachlan) brings an elderly vagrant (Mr. Stewart) into his seedy house. A younger man teeming with violent energy (Aidan Gillen) pops up to bully the old man. The director, David Jones, has worked closely with Mr. Pinter in the past . not necessarily a good sign. Like an American playwright he has influenced, David Mamet, Mr. Pinter tends to favor very formal interpretations of his dramas. Mr. Jones, however, finds just the right tone for this Caretaker, not sentimentalized but not overly distant, either. Mr. MacLachlan provides the best surprises in this regard. From his first entrance, we sense that there is something not quite right about the character. Yet the actor never exaggerates his oddness. When it comes time for the man to tell his story, it would be all too easy for Mr. MacLachlan to plead for the audience's sympathy. He never does that, either. You occasionally wonder if Mr. Stewart is a mite elegant to play the wily old vagabond. But the actor casts a cold eye on the character and shows us all the tricks up his tattered sleeves . without being too obvious. It's a superlative performance from an actor who accumulated a vast resume of classical roles before taking on TV and The X-Men. Best of all, perhaps, Mr. Gillen (Shanghai Knights) keeps us guessing about the mysterious third party. The role served as a model for later characters by a great many British playwrights. This one retains an edge of ambiguity that its imitators never dreamed of, and Mr. Gillen generates that paranoid fizz that is the essence of a Pinter show. For once, the current Broadway tendency to more elaborate designs doesn't swamp an essentially simple play. All the elements, especially Peter Kaczorowski's lighting, add to the creepiness rather than distract. Performance reviewed was Saturday evening preview. E-mail: ltaitte@dallasnews.com. The Caretaker, presented by Roundabout Theatre Company at the American Airlines Theatre, 227 W. 42 St., New York, through Jan. 4. Runs 160 min. Tickets $41.25 to $66.25. Call 212-719-1300, or go to www.roundabouttheatre.org. Click here to read the original article. [Link may/may not be active]