I read this play a couple years ago while sitting in a Borders in my hometown, Wichita, KS. After reading it, I came back a couple days later to buy the play, but I would up rereading it again. I think that I want to go and find a copy of it now, as I did not know that the play had script changes.
In rewriting Priscilla, Mr. Kushner has softened a character who was originally a relentlessly hostile overgrown adolescent. But it's Ms. Gyllenhaal who locates the awakening wonder in Priscilla, a dawning respect for the ambiguities of life so cherished by the Homebody. The highest compliment that can be paid to Ms. Gyllenhaal is that Priscilla is now unmistakably her mother's daughter.
I'd like to see exactly what the "subtle script changes" really are, so that I can figure out how Tony Kushner deals with changes. Script changes and rewrites are one of the worst parts of writing. I never look forward to having to do them, however, they are usually necessary.
Typically, I will write the play and set it aside for a few weeks before going over it. Then I will read through it and see whether things flow right, as I imagine the characters in my head. After this, I'll make a few minor changes, usually changing words or the delivery of lines. Finally, the play will be workshopped and I'll see it going and work with the director. That is always the difficult part.
Changing the way a character comes across to the audience doesn't seem like a minor script change. Usually that is massive. Even if it is just changing a few words or the structure of her lines, it requires quite a bit of work. If anyone can do it well, it would be Kushner.
