Well DRJOSE, I suppose somebody has to like it....and you and DR ELMORE are champions who may - MAY - make me change my mind.
I started reading it again last week - but didn't get past the dinosaur walking into the living room. The flying scenery did it for me the first time....so at least I got a bit further.
DR JRand56, a lot of the show was inspired by the Olsen and Johnson HELLZAPOPPIN, and it owes a lot to FINNEGAN'S WAKE, but it cannot be taken - even by 1941 standards of drama - as a well-made play.
Perhaps the best way to approach it is as a Vaudeville history of mankind with a bit of theatre of the absurd and French farce thrown in. The overall framework is sort of NOISES OFF, Act One is basically a French farce about the Ice Age, Act Two a vaudeville olio on the boardwalk of Atlantic City during Noah's Flood, and Act Three a family tragedy set after any major war, perhaps THE TROJAN WOMEN set in a Ringling Brothers 3-ring attraction. To me, the brilliance of the play is that, given all the nonsense and comedy, it's both a great tribute to humanity's continual survival and a moving piece about the human condition, from our peccadilloes and crimes - petty and grand - to our dreams and lofty ambitions.
I'm back from ZODIAC; very long, but quite gripping and well-cast. I liked David Shire's score as well.