Twentieth Century: New York Post, Newsday and LA Times

RETRO PERFECTION is an apt description of the Roundabout's new production of Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur's comedy "Twentieth Century" starring Alec Baldwin and Anne Heche. You will remember Alec and Anne and their wonderful cast with an unfailing smile and chuckle for a long, long time.Baldwin is an adorable bundle of perfect comic timing and irascibility in this battle of the sexes. (A startling contrast to his serious, steamy 1992 portrayal of Stanley Kowalski in "A Streetcar Named Desire.") He lifts all of the producer Oscar Jaffe's transparencies to perfection.Heche has the more difficult role; comparisons to her predecessors - Carole Lombard on film and Madeline Kahn in the musical - jump to mind. But ultimately Anne proves she's a comedian and is delightful and quite gorgeous as Lily Garland, born Mildred Plotka.John Lee Beatty's sets of a 20th-century streamlined train are great and William Ivey Long's costumes are fun, and for Heche - dazzling. As directed by Broadway's treasured Walter Bobbie, this show is a nostalgic moment of flawless parody. If you need to laugh don't miss this one.