Act Three - The Reviews

Wit

2012-01-28T20:44:00.003-05:00

A play about cancer and dying is probably not something that is first on your uplifting winter "must see" list. But don't click the back button on your browser just yet. Attention must be paid. This play is a modern watershed of issue and emotion. Cynthia Nixon may be compared to the prior leading ladies in this work, but without ever having seen those other leading ladies (whom I also adore), I give Ms. Nixon a standing ovation right here - not only for her acting, her emotion, and ownership of the role, but for her giving life to the words on the page and to all those who are touched by cancer.

I'd like to highlight something that I have not seen in many of the other reviews - which tend to focus on Ms. Nixon's performance and the intelligent play on literature, poetry, grammar, God, and yes, wit. What I found so biting was Ms. Edson's condemnation of doctors and, frankly, the entire health care system in general, while at the same time, the defense and promotion of the care giving of nurses. Time and time again, to quite a successful humorous result each time, we hear uncaring, unobservant, superficial doctors go about their business of talking above a patient's head, asking "How do you feel today" to a patient suffering the pains of chemotherapy. I found, quite often, Ms. Edson's dual emotions toward the situation - the superior intelligence and necessity of academics and researchers in the medical field and at the same time her bitter disdain for the lack of warmth, observation, and comfort by those same people.

The bitter pill she is forced to swallow is that she herself is forced to transition from (literary) expert to subject, teacher to student, artist to model. She intelligently and rationally comes to the conclusion about what her life was and what it was not. How she lived it and just how it may end.

There are many layers to this play and Ms. Nixon and director Lynne Meadow have chosen some of its finest most relevant to showcase in 2012. Bravo Ms. Nixon, Ms. Meadow and to the entire cast for a top notch performance of a touching work!

Outside People

2012-01-27T17:53:00.000-05:00

Maybe Naked Angels has the idea first? But in a Broadway season that already contains a very funny Chinese-culture play, I'm not sure why the Vineyard chose this time to mount Outside People exactly now. Logistics aside, which may have just been mere coincidence, it is now inevitable that comparisons to Chinglish, on Broadway, will be made. Unfortunately for the Vineyard, hands down, Chinglish is a better play - technically, stylistically, and comically.

While the two plays are clearly different stories, they both deal at a high level with the cultural differences between Westerners and Chinese. In this case Zayd Dohrn's new work it's a biting commentary on the Westernization of China and the dirty underworld that exists as capitalism suddenly slams into the vastly unprepared empire. It's about friendship and the many ways that can be interpreted, used, and misused by both parties to a friendship. It's about love, labor, and economic freedom.

All those heady topics that failed to impress me aside, the playwright shrouded the friendship and plot in so much mystery, it was frustrating and confounding at times. Where was he going? Is he going where I think he is? What does David Wang really do? Is she? or Isn't she? Not all of this is bad - i like the approach, but the execution seemed to be lacking, unfocused, and misleading. Maybe a Chinese director would have helped matters? I'm not sure.

Matt Dellapina (Malcolm) and Nelson Lee turn in top-notch performances - clearly grasping and owning their respective characters, flaw and all with Mr. Dellapina deftly owning his nebbish insecurity and borderline neuroticism and Mr. Lee owning his power as a young, American educated, good looking, Chinese businessman.

T'was a serious topic, some great acting, and a pace to the work that propelled it forward, but in the end, it missed making some connections, lacked a compelling reason for the entire circumstance of Malcolm's being in China, and somehow left most of the audience wondering (and I don't think this was intended at all) whether Xiao Mei was or wasn't who she was accused of being.

LEO

2012-01-15T12:27:00.000-05:00

What a delightful and entertaining way to start off the new year - and it wasn't a big budget Broadway musical with 17 stars flying around the theatre! LEO, the brain-child of Tobias Wegner, a Belgian trained acrobat and award winning performance artist, is a simple, mesmerizing, physical, trick-of-the-eye performance-art, music, and dance work that literally defies gravity and pleases the eyes.

LEO is the unusual story of an ordinary man who finds himself in a world where gravity is literally turned on it's side. With his trusty suitcase of surprises, LEO embarks on this creative journey - all without the spoken word - in a nondescript room of red and blue and a single light bulb. His journey involves dance, original on-stage drawing, acrobatics, and music. Even with a complex description of how the show is technically presented - you'd never appreciate the artistry so I won't even attempt it. Let's just say that it has to be seen - with both eyes - to be thoroughly enjoyed!

Mr. Wegner is a true performer - beyond limber - and quite handsome in his boyish approach to the role. As many in the audience did, you'll find yourself slowing giggling as the performance progresses, smiling at the wide variety of musical accompaniment - from Frank Sinatra and Ravi Shankar to The Grits and Slayer to Tchaikovsky and Beethoven, and thunderously applauding at the end of the journey - happy for LEO and proud, envious, and satisfied that you took in a brief hour of Mr. Wegner's talents - with both eyes!

Porgy and Bess

2012-01-10T10:35:00.000-05:00

To the delight of every audience member, the orchestra at the Richard Rogers Theatre roars to life from the first bar of the George and Ira Gershwin and DuBose and Dorothy Heyward's luxurious operatic musical, Porgy and Bess, and completely fills every nook and cranny of ornate theatre on West 46th until the very last bar 2 1/2 hours later.

Norm Lewis (Porgy) and Audra McDonald (Bess) turn in flawless performances along with a top-notch ensemble cast including the devilishly slick David Alan Grier (Sporting Life). The stage is simply and appropriately shabbily adorned and the costumes are equally appropriate and well designed for the period.

Adapted by Suzan-Lori Parks and Diedre L. Murray, the story moves us swiftly through the poor neighborhood of Catfish Row in Charleston, South Carolina in the late 1930's and weaves a hopeful yet sad tale of the poor black residents who form a deFacto family to both provide for each other and protect each other. The story and this adaptation displays their strengths and weaknesses, devotion, and desires with aplomb.

Superbly orchestrated, the show is simply a magnificent example of an appropriately refreshed revival with all its roots firmly grounded in the original. Don't hesitate for a single minute in getting your tickets. The price of the ticket is well worth the value received in return - and as a matter of fact, Tony-nomination worthy performances aside (one for each of the leads and many more i predict), the focus on the orchestrations and execution by a full and robust orchestra in the pit is worth the trip alone!

The Road to Mecca

2011-12-22T11:49:00.000-05:00

An old fashioned play and a top-notch actress take center stage at the American Airlines Theatre at the Roundabout Theatre Company this winter. Athol Fugard's The Road To Mecca is a charming, albeit very wordy, drama revolving around an eccentric, elderly Afrikaner woman living in the countryside of South Africa - battling age, loneliness, depression, and the threat of losing her identity by being forced into selling her home and moving into the local senior home.

Rosemary Harris shines in her portrayal of Miss Helen, flawlessly memorizing her extensive and complex monologues - expertly portraying the elderly woman. Mr. Fugard wraps Ms. Helen with layers of complexity which are revealed one by one by the supremely talented Harris. Carla Gugino plays an equally refreshing, young English South African muse and confidant to Miss Helen, Elsa Barlow. Jim Dale turns in a wonderful performance as the equally aging and staunch Afrikaner minister and de facto leader of the remote, traditional, conservative community largely unchanged over time by the outside world.

Brevity is clearly not a characteristic of Mr. Fugard. His verbosity is at times a bit overwhelming, but it's always intelligent, insightful, and relevant to the deep and layered characters he has created. And what a treat it is to see Ms. Harris light the theatre with her charm (and candles).

Close Up Space

2011-12-20T11:22:00.000-05:00

Molly Smith Metzler is an award winning playwright from Brooklyn and she's written a charmer that is now being presented at Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) on the small stage at NY City Center.

The play, Close Up Space, revolves around Paul (David Hyde Pierce), an intelligent literary editor and his estranged and odd daughter, Harper (Colby Minifie). The title cleverly refers to an editing/proof-reading symbol - as in "shorten this up and remove some words (the verb to close, pronounced with a 'z'). You learn fairly early that something is amiss with his family and his daughter is quite upset with his actions. Throw in a Saturday Night Live-like office manager, Steve (Michael Chernus), a well-published spit-fire (albeit mis-cast) author, Vanessa Finn Adams (Rosie Perez), and an innocent and smartly cast office intern, Bailey (Jessica DiGiovanni) and you have the makings of a sweet treat.

However in making that sweet treat, if you use the wrong ingredients or switch the salt for sugar you're in for a disaster. Such is the case under the reign of Barry Grove at MTC. Ms. Perez, while entertaining, is an over-used, mis-cast character actress in the role. Mr. Chernus, while very funny and his character's arc cleverly designed, was overly so - to a point beyond satire to that of absurdity and farce. Ms. Minifie's defects were perhaps one of the few that can be associated with the author - taking the "I've been exiled to Siberia" analogy way too far. David Hyde Pierce worked his magical reactions, facial expressions, and character acting the entire time and essentially rescued this one from falling into the abyss.

Mr. Grove - your audience is somewhere between 40 and death... much closer to the latter, i estimate (maybe because your subscriptions are relatively cheap) and your play selection, while admirable, just haven't seem to cut it in the past few cycles. David Hyde Pierce may just have prevented this one from becoming the next one to fall off the cliff, but you've got to to a little better or once the purple haired audience ends up in those coffins, you're going to have a lot of empty seats in those wonderful theaters you manage.

Burning

2011-12-12T11:58:00.000-05:00

Everything about Burning, Thomas Bradshaw's new play, is less like a flaming tinderbox and much more like the wet smoldering ashes of a rained out campfire. The painful 3 hours in the theater included just about every issue and topic that might be featured individually in a well written avant-garde show downtown - all thrown in with reckless abandon aimed at provocation with the result being disgust. Decide for yourself.

This play includes 3 audacious and intertwined stories. A gay 15 year-old in California who's mother, the crackhead, overdoses and dies after which he runs away to NYC to be an actor and ends up living with an older gay couple as their houseboy and sex-toy. He sleeps with a friend of theirs who has AIDS, runs away to Cologne, Germany for 3 years and watches his new boyfriend die. In another story we get two grown children of Nazi parents who have died - the daughter inexplicably confined to a wheelchair. They carry on the Aryan Nation tradition and beliefs of their parents. The skinhead brother has to care for his sister and ultimately has to resort to pleasure her sexually in the bathtub with his fingers. In the third story we have a mixed race couple. The black man is an artist who paints provocative works about race and doesn't let anyone know he is black before they meet him. He travels to Germany to the gallery where the Nazi guy works. The Nazi guy doesn't know he's black, learns the truth upon meeting him and ultimately ends up murdering him in a dark movie theater when the black guy is with a prostitute with whom he has fallen in love - she's black and he's never been with a black woman because when he was 5 his older sister would use him as a decoy when having sex with her many boyfriends - and of course he saw her and ever since was repulsed by black women. Then there's a time warp effect where the young guy in the first story i mentioned grows up and meets the cousin of the black guy and here we have homophobia, coming out, unprotected sex on purpose with an HIV positive gay man.

I could go on... and on.... and on.... but I just might get sick to my stomach all over again. There were some beautiful and talented people on stage - both fully clothed - as well as fully unclothed - and I honestly question if some of the many sex scenes were really simulated... Don't get me wrong - I'm not a prude - quite the opposite actually. But the intentional over-saturation with issues, naked bodies, orgasms, hairy ass cracks and other sordid details was completely forced and not natural at all.

Some fine acting by the cast which includes Hunter Foster cannot be overlooked or go unmentioned but was completely overpowered by the playwright's hubris and over-blown, throw-in-the-kitchen-sink approach to forcing an avant-garde feeling on us - - failing miserably every step of the way.

Suicide, Incorporated

2011-12-11T16:30:00.000-05:00

Andrew Hinderaker, a fresh, young playwright is having his moment in the spotlight. Specifically, the spotlight several times a week in the Roundabout Theater Company's New Play Initiative. Mr. Hinderaker's jolting and emotionally charged new work, Suicide, Incorporated, is being produced in the Black Box Theater of the Roundabout Underground. This play marks the Roundabout's 6th new play in the space and, without a doubt, this one is as powerful if not more-so than the previous - and the bar was already set fairly high.

Part dark-comedy, part hurts-your-heart-to-the-bone drama - this Mr. Hinderaker handles the subject matter with aplomb. As I have come to expect at the RU, this black-box is way more than your average run-down black-box. Professional quality sets, lighting, and sound are a benefit this black-box gets by being associated with such a great theater company upstairs. Not disappointing this time around either, Daniel Zimmerman (Set Design), Zach Blane (Lighting Design) and Chad Raines (Sound/Music) bring their 'A'-game to the show.

Director Jonathan Berry might consider trimming up a few scenes here and there where the concepts are needlessly repeated, but these are nit-picky finer points not the fundamentals I'm talking about here. His otherwise keen direction was clearly reflected through the actors, all of whom turned in top-notch performances - Gabriel Ebert (Jason), Toby Leonard Moore (Scott), Corey Hawkins (Perry), Jake O'Connor (Tommy), James McMenamin (Norm), and Mike DiSalvo (Officer).

Without spoiling anything here, the play concerns a certain suicide note writing company and the people who work there. One recent hire, Jason, seems to be set to help his clients in the opposite way of his boss, Scott's, wishes. His motivations regarding his behavior toward his new client (Norm), may have something to do with his brother, Tommy.

Immerse yourself in this 85 minute intermission-less, emotionally charged drama to find out exactly what the buzz is all about. For only $20, the theatre-for-your-dollar ratio is about as high as it can get. As with all the previous RU productions, the subtitle of this play aptly sums things up - "Never a customer complaint".

Balls: The Musical?

2011-12-10T10:01:00.000-05:00

It began with $6,000 from a Kickstarter campaign this past summer, raised to bring this new musical parody to the stage at the New York Musical Theater Festival (NYMF). Sold-out and extended at NYMF, this show is back by popular demand and now making a new run, this time off-Broadway at the Lion Theatre on Theatre Row.

A few disclaimers are necessary up front 1) I'm not related to the director (Kasey Marino) although we're both kinda cute 2) my ticket was comp'd and 3) despite both of these facts, I won a free bottle of Vodka at the show - yes you read that correctly - a 1 litre bottle of - get this - Balls Vodka! The vodka tie-in is sorta interesting given the name. I've yet to open the bottle, but i assume that's what's actually inside.

The show, unabashedly and quite appropriately, advertises itself as A Bro-Tastic musical parody about Besties with Testes. Created by a very clever and talented young group of men including Bret Carr, (adorable) Mick Bonde, Brandon Ellis, Michael "Tuba" McKinsey, and Nick Verina, the parody, generally quick-paced although at time a bit clunky, manages to move through the story of 5 young straight-men who have decided to peruse a career in an unlikely field - musical theatre - with wild and reckless testosterone-filled abandon.

Musical Director, Arranger and Pianist, Sonny Paladino does a terrific job at tinkling the ivories with classic hits from Chicago, Mame, Company, Guys and Dolls, La Cage aux Folles, and others turning them into hysterical, over-the-top titalating tunes and bawdy boy-ballads filled with manhood swelling lyrics. The show's parody genre immediately brought to mind another fan-favorite, Gerard Alessandrini's Forbidden Broadway. This show, however, has an actual story and that certainly sets it apart and makes it more than a scene stealing parody show.

I haven't tried the Vodka yet (it's only 10:30am and I'm out of tomato juice), but i must admit it's a catchy tie-in for this show. For the record, all you have to do to win one is buy a ticket and tweet something funny about the show just before the curtain goes up and one of the boys will bring their iPad up to the stage, check the @ballsthemusical account and pick a winner.

Now, if only those cute boys weren't so straight... Maybe after a few shots of this magical vodka, that too, will change.

Lysistrata Jones

2011-12-07T11:24:00.000-05:00

What's that sound? I think it's Walter Kerr turning over in his grave. I've been disappointed on Broadway before and I'm sure I will again.

Douglas Carter Beane and Lewis Flinn have crafted a mediocre yet clever book and score that seems vaguely Xanadu-like yet wildly inferior to it's predecessor. The show is not lacking talented performers, but the young and talented performers are lacking a Broadway-quality product to perform in. I'd gladly pay $20 or $30 to see this show off-Broadway where it belongs, but when a gaggle of greedy producers gets together and thinks that this crap can sell and be profitable on Broadway at $120 a ticket I wonder what on earth they were smoking!

No stars above the title, not even Lysistrata herself. None of the rest really deserving of the privilege either - not that there weren't incredibly sexy kids on stage - but it takes more than a hot, sexy jock (Josh Segarra) and his occasionally shirtless basketball teammates and a dumb-acting high school girl (Patti Murin) and her geek sidekick (Lindsay Nicole Chambers) to ignite a Broadway barn-burner. Jason Tam, adorable and cute, gets my award for the character most likely to be seen on the next episode of Glee. Sets were colorful (read, bright collegiate orange and blue) but how creative can you really get with the inside of a school gymnasium?) Lighting was colorful and bright but seemed to serve as a mask, not an enhancement to the empty performances. Occasionally when i looked up at the band (up above the performers on a catwalk - kinda cool - they seemed to be having a lot of fun with the airhead pop-laced tunes. I wished I was too.

Truth be told I walked out at the intermission. I can't give this one a legitimate or thorough review. What I can tell you is not to waste your money in the first place. The show is off-Broadway quality at best. And that's not a BAD thing - except when you try to charge $120 a ticket on a Broadway stage. That's the real sin here. I hope the producers and creatives behind Bring It On learn a lesson from this one and bring us more than Ms Jones has.

Maple and Vine

2011-12-06T09:34:00.000-05:00

Jordan Harrison's fantastic new play, Maple and Vine, being produced at Playwrights Horizons this season is storytelling at its absolute best! Are you a tired, stressed-out, overworked tranquilized New Yorker? This play offers you an alternative - a chance to live the "simpler life" by moving to a "community" where everyone lives authentically in 1955. The looks, the ideals, and all that goes with the culture of the era. You'll have to give up a few things tho. "Jamaican Jerk, Sushi, Hummus, Foccacia, Baba-Ganoush... Whole Grain Bread... No pine puts, no pesto, no Lattes... What you will get is... Salt..."

Marin Ireland (Katha) and Peter Kim (Ryu), after much debate, decide to take the plunge for an initial six month trial and move to the gated community of the SDO - The Society of Dynamic Obsolescence after being tantalized by the concept by two current full-fledged members - Trent Dawson (Dean) and Jeanie Serralles (Ellen). Will this "mixed-race" couple survive? Will their neighbors welcome them with open arms? What Ryu, a plastic surgeon, survive his job as a box folder at the local plant? How will Kath(y), a book publisher, survive in the kitchen? What deep, dark secrets lurk beneath the surface in this anachronistic community? You'll just have to see it for yourself to find out.

The play is cleverly divided into it's two natural parts - Act One starts us off in current day in NYC giving us the background on just who Katha and Ryu are and why they're so discontented with their lives. A chance meeting with Dean (and later Ellen) ultimately intrigues them enough to make the move to the SDO. Act Two picks up with the same Kath(y) and Ryu living in the SDO working their way through the cultural, religious, and social customs of 1955. We learn how the time was different - for many people - including Dean and Roger (played by the incredibly sexy Pedro Pascal). What ultimately unfolds is a tale you'd never suspect - and at the same time - exactly what you would have guessed.

On such a tiny stage, Alexander Dodge (Scenic Design) has done an award winning job at designing the time-accurate yet minimalist sets. And special shout-out to the hardest working stage crew in the biz - which was completely recognized by the director by having them take a bow along with the cast. A nice touch and certainly well deserved.

No spoilers here - just know that it's an evening of superb storytelling in the theatre laced with racial, ethnic and political undertones that serve as a reminder that as romantic and glamorous as the time was, perhaps life was not quite so simple as we would like to think.

Fairy Tale

2011-12-04T14:29:00.000-05:00

Just because the seats are a little uncomfortable or the location is slightly off the beaten path, don't miss a wonderful opportunity to see the re-imagination of 5 classic fairy tales unfold on stage at The Shelter.

Some of the 5 short plays suggest a reason or a background to the existing tale, others simply take a modern bent to the old story. Each is delightful. Each has a message. And each is as clever as clever can be! At less than $20 a ticket, the entertainment value per dollar spent is off the charts. Here is a synopsis is the plays and the original tale upon which it is based:

Dinner for the Queen by Meghan E. Jones - Inspired by Snow White by the Brothers Grimm
R.I.P. Captain Wendel - by Andy Hassell - Inspired by Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving
3 Sisters and a Carnie - by Beth Jastoch - Inspired by Three Billy Goats Gruff - old Norwegian tale
Kate - by Michael Bernstein - Inspired by Donkeyskin by Charles Perrault
Terror on Haxos 9 - by Jonathan Ashley - Inspired by Hansel and Gretel by The Brothers Grimm.

Between each of the plays, the stage crew, dressed all in black and white with a red pig's mask ham it up a bit to almost create a 6th show. At first, I thought they represented the 3 Little Pigs - but when a 4th showed up, I must admit I was a bit puzzled, but entertained the entire time, nonetheless.

The Cherry Orchard

2011-12-02T09:33:00.000-05:00

I can't say I'm a huge fan of "the classics". But occasionally, I do know it's good to see some of them to expand one's horizons. And there's one theatre, aptly named, in town that I always head to for my fix - Classic Stage Company. The last play in their Anton Chekhov cycle (and Chekhov's final play) is The Cherry Orchard.

I did a little reading on Chekhov. I'm pretty sure most of what I didn't like was his play itself. Perhaps a bit of it was the mood and artistic interpretation that director, Andrei Belgrader, took too. Were those 4th wall breaches in the script? Did we need a dog? Did someone really need to give up his seat for the old chambermaid? Well, without much proof (and no desire to go read the script from cover to cover for stage directions), i'll just lay it in equal parts on the author and the director.

What I can be sure of is that the work is epic, poetic, and contains all sorts of oddly comedic characters that are supposed to represent the 19th Century Russian society. The play is a comedy, but borders on farce. It's really what today we would call a socio-political satire. In this case, falling importance and wealth of Russian aristocracy, the freeing of and rise of the peasant class, land ownership, wealth distribution, and the blurring of the lines of class and position in society. While the play itself seemed oddly formal or maybe a bit stilted (perhaps that is my un-cultured ear), that was completely offset by several fine performances throughout.

The dashing and commanding John Turturro and the beautifully effervescent Diane Wiest held court on the pizza-pie shaped, appropriately stained white canvas stage the entire evening. The absolutely adorable and boyish Michael Urie made us laugh at his travails, and, not one but, two Waterston sisters took to this stage - Elisabeth as a bold attention seeking chambermaid and Katherine as the dutiful daughter. Daniel Davis wore a cream suit suit to complement his blazing white hair and Roberta Maxwell deadpanned her absurd lines to much delight. Josh Hamilton made being a lifetime student look easy and Alvin Epstein charmed us with his elderly gentleman humor.

A truly fine ensemble cast all around and a classic and sophisticated set as I have come to expect from CSC time and time again. After watching it, discussing it afterwards with my play-going-friend, and now writing this, I can say for sure that I'm still not a classics-lover. But what I can also say is that when a great ensemble cast such as this is gathered - sometimes the works come to life and resonate in ways you didn't expect. I won't run out and buy the complete anthology of Anton Chekhov any time soon, but I would encourage you to run down to CSC and get a ticket to see this fine production if you're so inclined.

Stick Fly

2011-11-29T08:43:00.000-05:00

Anyone can put money into a Broadway show. I won't begrudge them that. I did. So what? Well, the difference is that my name is not obnoxiously pushed in everyone's faces as if I had anything to actually do with the show I invested in. Music mega-star, Alicia Keys, is the money and apparently the advertising hope behind Lydia R. Diamond's terrifically complex and thought provoking new dramatic play, Stick Fly.

Obnoxious advertising and blatant use of a star's name to promote a product she has no connect to aside, everything else about this play is top-notch and, dare I say, Tony worthy. It's 2011's August: Osage County. Ms. Diamond clearly has an ear for dialogue. She's penned a deep work that explores issues of race, class, family, and assumptions and choices.

Staring Dule Hill, Mekhi Phifer, Tracie Thoms and Ruben Santiago-Hudson along with Rosie Bendon and Condola Rashad take the stage at the Cort Theatre as a wealthy black family with a vacation home in Martha's Vineyard (and in the white area, too). Both sons (Hill and Phifer) each bring home a girlfriend to meet the family. Tensions soar, family wounds are opened, and sparks fly throughout the weekend when the basic foundations of this family are challenged in some ways they have never been challenged before. Ms. Diamond cleverly lays bare the family issues, slowly unraveling them bit by bit, scene by scene to keep you hooked the entire 2 hours and 30 minutes.

The single massive house set by David Gallo is magnificent. And yes, musical interludes at the scene changes were indeed original (and often too loud) music by Alicia Keys. The strength of this play is the intelligent writing and the fine performances given by several bright young actors. While Ms. Keys might be the money behind the machine, she's irrelevant when it comes to the performances.

The Door

2011-11-27T10:38:00.000-05:00

Part of the annual Brits Off-Broadway Festival that runs at 59E59 Theaters each year, The Door, by Tony Earnshaw, is a quick-paced, 50-minute, mystery and tension filled play about two men and a banging door.

The dialogue between these two man starts off slow and puzzling. Why are they here? Do they know each other? And most importantly, why is that damn door banging over and over again?! (Clearly not enough people read the sign on the way in warning them about loud banging based on their reaction when it started to, well, bang).

Most all of the answers to this puzzlement start to unravel about half way through the play and you begin to understand the veiled relationship between Boyd (Tom Cobley) and Ryan (Chris Westgate).

Mr. Earnshaw has cleverly disguised a sharp-witted play about politics, war, class, and honor in a very simple box without adornments.

Theatre C at 59E59 is the small, intimate black-box theatre which is just perfect for this brief interlude. As long as you don't try to take a seat in the few empty chairs "on-stage" next to the two gentlemen awaiting their performance (as two dim-bulbs did at the performance I attended), you'll likely enjoy the powerful and honest performance from these two fine British actors.

Be warned of the loud banging door. It just might "drive you round the bend".

Standing on Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays

2011-11-26T09:35:00.000-05:00

Short plays about gay marriage playing in the West Village in NYC. The moment I heard about it I thought, "Not likely to have an un-sympathetic ear in the audience". Truth be told, this play is a poem and a celebration of New York and the gay community here and more importantly on the road wherever it is likely to head next.

Nine short plays written by contemporary masters presented by six talented and attractive actors in an elegant staged reading format - don't you just love it already?

It's funny, satirical, poignant, relevant and most importantly inspirational. I laughed mostly, cried once and was filled generally with joy the entire time. It's not the stars that matter in this play - it's the terrifically entertaining material penned by Mo Gaffney, Jordan Harrison, Moises Kaufman, Joe Keenan, Neil LaBute, Wendy MacLeod, Joe Keenan, Paul Rudnick and Doug Wright.

The New York City production - at the Minetta Lane Theatre - is being presented by: Craig Bierko, Mark Consuelos, Polly Draper, Harriet Harris, Beth Leavel, and Richard Thomas.

Don't miss a feel-good night out. A portion of the proceeds from this production goes to Freedom to Marry.

Bonnie & Clyde

2011-11-25T08:48:00.000-05:00

The latest installment in the category of new musicals is taking aim Broadway this month. Bonnie & Clyde takes up residence at the Schoenfeld Theatre and is aiming for a bulls-eye right on the hearts of its audiences.

Two very talented, up-and-coming (i bet they hate that term) Broadway stars-in-the making take the driver's seat in hopes of winning over audience after audiences to see things their gun-slinging way. Laura Osnes is a captivating actress with the vocal prowess to back her up from start to finish. She nails Bonnie's desires and dreams all the while falling in love and getting sucked into Clyde's growing world of crime and guns. Jeremy Jordan, who is possibly the sexiest man on Broadway today, allows us to see Clyde's tender, human side (and plenty of skin along with that big Broadway smile) as well as his penchant for mischief and his endless dream of being remembered as somebody.

Bonnie & Clyde's book by Ivan Menchell should be a top contender for a Tony this year. He's taken a classic American story, poured his heart into additional research about people behind the legends and laid it out in a swift flowing love story that unfolds neatly over 2 1/2 hours. Don Black (Lyrics) and Frank Wildhorn (Music) have taken a little country music, a whole lot of Broadway, added some some pop-like vocals and blended them all together to aptly accompany the book. The result, at its core, is a fantastic love story that has, what most would not realize, is a happy ending for the two characters.

Technically - all around - the show was magnificent - Sets and costumes by Tobin Ost were completely immersed in the period - including the "curtains" of wood posts and slats that continually revealed and hit the upstage scenes and actors; The lighting by Michael Gilliam, of course, had to contain the requisite strobes and flashes of the guns, but he used every square inch of the downstage and upstage to display a complete repertoire of lighting effects that appropriately highlighted and hid the action; Sound by John Shivers provided for ricocheting bullets around the theatre and almost entirely naturally amplified the vocals and dialogue throughout the theatre. This show also naturally lends itself to the use of video projections - by Aaron Rhyne. Real newspaper headlines and WANTED posters were often flashed on walls. And the characters often snapped pictures of themselves on stage in a certain pose with an old fashioned camera - and then instantly the same authentic old photograph of the subjects (in the same positions) would get projected on the backdrop on stage. Which brings me back to costumes (Tobin Ost), Hair and Wigs (Charles LaPointe), Makeup (Ashley Ryan) - I lost count of how many times I saw the detail that went into the craft - such as Bonnie's dress, her hairstyle, and just how remarkably similar the actors looked to the real-life historic photographs of the characters they were portraying. Projections can sometimes be distracting. In this case, Bravo Aaron Rhyne and director Jeff Calhoun for an appropriate dispatch of the technology.

With all this technical and performing brilliance, there is one note I'd like to give to the director. Shorten it up! Mr. Menchell's book may be thorough, but he's got too much exposition and repeated themes. The opening scene was brilliantly brief. In under 10 minutes we were acclimated to the storyline, setting, time, and provided the general character and plot exposition. Use that technique more throughout the play. Cut the repeated love scenes (and at least one or two numbers from each act) and focus on keeping the story moving. Shorten Act I and speed up Act II. Get this thing moving at a quicker pace and you'll have happier audiences who leave the theatre saying "Great show" instead of "Great show, but too long. Trim it down to 120 minutes including the intermission and you, sir, will have hit the target with a bulls-eye.

Wild Animals You Should Know

2011-11-22T21:50:00.001-05:00

If there's an off-Broadway play you should see this season, add Thomas Higgins' thought provoking, contemporary new work, Wild Animals You Should Know, to your list. The play is not an "answer" play, but rather a play that presents characters and situations and leaves you to assemble your own judgments. Mr. Higgins, along with the young and talented director Trip Cullman, certainly have their own points of view, but this is one of those plays that suggests, pokes, and prods you in a direction, but never comes out and tells you what you should walk away thinking. In this light - my review may be one of many you read - and you may find someone else with an entirely different take on what they saw. And I'm pretty sure that's just what Mr's Cullman and Higgins intend.

Jacob (Gideon Glick), an awkward, skinny, affable yet shy, dorky, friendly, openly-gay middle school kid in the suburbs (think Curt from Glee, if you must) is in love with Matthew (Jay Armstrong Johnson) a virtually perfect human specimen - to-die-for looks, blond hair, chiseled body, talented, smart, athletic, outgoing, engaging and fun to be around (think... well fill in your own fantasy with that one). Right from the very beginning both Jacob (and the audience) is teased by pretty-boy Matthew stripping his clothes off for Jacob over Skype. Is Matthew gay? Or is he just an attention-craving teenage boy with a bestie who's gay? That happens today, right? Not sure yet. He claims he's not. Things heat up when Matthew gazes out his window and catches a glimpse of two men in a window across the street kissing. He's fascinated (or is it more?). The man happens to be his handsome 20-something Boy Scout Troop Leader (shocker!), Rodney (John Behlmann). He goes on later to make a passing reference to Jacob's great blow jobs which he enjoys but of course for which he never reciprocates. Did he just say that? Maybe? Still not sure.

When the two teen-boys end up going on a camping trip with the Scout Leader, Matthew sets the wheels in motion to "out" the scout leader by coming onto him and then threatening to tell everyone he was molested by the leader if he didn't resign. The sexual tension and anger in this scene is palpable back to the last row of the theatre. Unfortunately, his plot works and not only does the scout leader end up resigning, he's outed to the entire town and now everyone is speculating as to why he was involved with the scouts in the first place.

Matthew's father, Walter, (Patrick Breen) is involved in the camping trip too and he has his own set of issues - some suggested and others admitted - husband-wife (Alice Ripley) issues, father-son issues, inferiority, assertiveness. Matthew is clearly the proverbial gun in this single act play. And this gun is not only fired directly at Rodney, it's fired repeatedly at his best friend Jacob and indirectly at his father (and mother).

The entire 100 minutes are spent speculating who and what Matthew really is is deep down inside. I made up my mind early on, mostly taking my cues from the periodic spot-lighting of characters in certain scenes, the purposeful looks, and the general repetition of the proposition and theme itself - plus, of course, my own personal experiences growing up gay. I'm pretty sure that we're supposed to leave the theatre feeling sorry for Matthew, even after all he's done to destroy others' lives. The only way I can see you could feel that way after all he's done is to logically conclude that for all his outward popularity, perfection, and all-American good-looks and talents is that he's really gay and frightened to death someone will find out and it will ruin his life. His only mechanism to deal with it is to wield his power (i.e. his ego, talents, and beauty) to dominate others and prove he's superior when all the while he's hurting on the inside yearning to break free.

I'm pretty sure either Mr. Cullman or Mr Higgins himself made sure that the very last scene of the play clinched the deal for those that hadn't already made up their minds. You'll just have to sit through all 99 minutes to see what I mean. The last minute is well worth the other 99.

Asuncion

2011-11-20T09:16:00.000-05:00

I tend to agree with Roma a lot. When I say Roma, I assume you all know that I mean Roma Torre of NY1. She's a bell-weather theater critic who tells it like it is and avoids most of the drama (figuratively, not literally!). Having heard her mixed review, I thought it worth a visit to see Asuncion for myself. And I did just that this past weekend.

Jesse Eisenberg (you all know him - he's that Facebook guy... er... well... the guy who played the Facebook guy in that movie about Facebook) wrote a play (he's written several) and it's being presented by Rattlestick Playwrights Theater at the Cherry Lane Theatre. Mr. Eisenberg, not being a shy actor, also stars in the play. I'm going to divide this review up into two parts: Acting and Construction.

Acting: Bravo Mr. Eisenberg for playing Edgar, quite possibly the most neurotic and obsessed young man on the stage in the entire city - on Broadway or off! Safe to say Jesse may just have a minor connection to the roots of this character's tendencies to have both invented him and brought him to life with such aplomb. Justin Bartha brilliantly portrays Vinny, Edgar's one-time college TA, now roommate, friend, and ultimate protector. Mr. Bartha, uber-sexy with his shirt off and on portrays Vinny in the life one might categorize as a terminally liberal and lazy academic. He's a professor now, smokes pot, loves to flirt with women, occasionally writes music, pushes social boundaries, lives in a run-down apartment in what appears to be a not-so-nice area of town and, did I mention, smokes a lot of pot? Along comes the coy, mysterious, and bubbly Filapina bride of Edgar's brother (Remy Auberjonois), the titular character, Asuncion, played with complete and non-stop effervescence by Camille Mana. Solid acting all around - some of it physical, most of it darkly funny.

Construction: I believe Mr. Eisenberg wrote this play before he became famous for his role in the blockbuster hit, The Social Network. That would mean he wrote this play in his early 20's. That's young. Even for someone as smart, insightful, and as wickedly talented as Mr. Eisenberg. Clearly he has an ear for sharp dialogue, an eye for physical comedy, and a nose for sniffing out a joke in just about any situation. What hit me about this work is that it tried to cover too much ground. African nationalism, McDonalds, dumb Americans , drugs, liberalism, the sex-slave trade and mail order bride trade in Southeast Asia... and the list goes on. An exploration of any one of these topics could consume a good 90 minutes each and we only had about 120 for the entire bundle. To further complicate matters - we opened up all these doors in Act I and had very little time to resolve most of them in Act II. Frankly, I was altogether disappointed in the actual reason as to the presence of Asuncion. It was a weak and frankly came so late that no time could be spent even trying to repair it.

Mr. Eisenberg certainly has a burgeoning writing career ahead of him. And even if that has a few ups and downs along the way, his acting chops and endearingly handsome looks and affable awkwardness will certainly carry him along. I'm sure we'll see and hear more of this rising star very soon. For now, if you can get a reasonably priced ticket - head down to the Cherry Lane Theater on Commerce Street in the always-cozy West Village and take in a performance of Asuncion before Mr. Eisenberg gets too famous inventing some new social networking tool... oh wait... that's not him!

Seminar

2011-11-15T10:16:00.000-05:00

Theresa Rebeck's new play on Broadway at the Golden Theatre, Seminar, is a witty, sharp, and intelligent comedy about writers - specifically 4 up-and-coming fiction writers who hire a world-renowned literary genius to tutor them privately and share his vast knowledge and experience. What they end up with is not exactly what they bargained for. Or is it?

Alan Rickman shines as Leonard, a (not unexpected) curmudgeonly-behaved, sexist, opinionated literary giant with a storied past, in this quick-paced, biting, and words-mean-something 100-minute, no intermission gem. Rickman's brilliance notwithstanding - the supporting cast is a bevy of talent all on their own - including Lily Rabe as the deliciously delicate Kate; Jerry O'Connell as Douglas, the self assured smooth-operator with a family name behind him; Hamish Linklater, the brooding, shy and brilliant (not to mention incredibly sexy with his short off) young writer, Martin; and Hettienne Park, the seductive, sexy, and playful young writer who isn't afraid to play "the game".

What does this wicked brew of talent all on one stage add up to, you ask? I'm going to estimate that 1 + 4 = a perfect 10. The comedy is well-timed, the chemistry (sexual and otherwise) among the young fiction writers is clearly present - and Mr. Rickman turns in a top notch performance lambasting them, the industry, and just about everything else he can get his hands on. There's a dark secret in his past and I'll leave it up to you to see who ends up sleeping with whom. I'm pretty sure you'll be surprised.

Scene changes are crisp, the set design is quintessential New York (David Zinn), and impecably lit (Ben Standon). You'll even get a bonus in the last scene that I'm sure you were not expecting.

Don't let Seminar pass you by this fall. Tickets for the privilege of seeing Mr. Rickman and his students are far less than the $5,000 each of the characters paid for their seminar. And I'm pretty sure you'll want to get past the first 5 words - even if Mr. Rickman doesn't give a shit.

Sons of the Prophet

2011-11-10T14:55:00.000-05:00

Stephen Karam got his start in the deep dark chambers of the Roundabout Underground at the Laura Pels Theatre at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre (i love saying that mouthful) on West 46th Street a few seasons ago with Speech & Debate. Well reviewed and well received see my own prior review here, the staff at the Roundabout have promoted him one floor up to the main stage with his latest work, Sons of the Prophet. Quite a nice promotion for the young and talented playwright.

If you're going to a play for action, adventure, non-stop laughter, or any other sensory overload experience - this is not the play for you. This play, simply put, is a matter-of-fact, slice-of-life, take-it-for-what it's-worth, darkly funny, but intensely serious play that is only magnified by the fine actors of all ages presenting it on the stage.

Taking the helm is one to today's extremely handsome, adaptable and charismatic actors, Santino Fontana, as Joseph (last seen at the roundabout as Earnest in The Importance of Bring Earnest). Joanna Gleason takes on some of the comic relief in her hysterically funny and ironically honest portrayal of Joseph's boss, Gloria. Supporting Mr. Fontana quite aptly are the adorable Chris Perfetti (Charles, his brother), an incredibly hunky Charles Socarides (Timothy, a reporter), Yusef Bulos (Bill, his uncle) Jonathan Louis Dent (Vin, the local football star) and Lizbeth MacKay and Dee Nelson (both playing multiple and ocassionally hysterical ensemble characters).

The circumstances of the play are as follows: Lebanese father of two gay sons (what are the chances?) killed in car crash caused by teenage prank executed by one local black (mulatto) football star. Controversy ensues when boy sentenced to juvenile detention after championship football game. Family and community torn over this decision. Boys turn to family, faith and friends to help soothe, sort out, and understand what's best for all concerned. Throw in a dash of timely health-care issues (Joseph has to take a job Gloria to get health benefits for his ailments) and a few social, religious and political barbs and you've got a cauldron that simmers evenly and emits a delicious aroma that permeates the theatre entire show.

No flying spiders. No trampolines. No flying monkeys. Just a great night of stage acting and theatre that leaves you with a few things to think about on the way out. Bravo Mr. Karam and to the entire cast.

Private Lives

2011-11-08T12:39:00.000-05:00

Noel Coward is back on Broadway with his delightfully light and fun, Private Lives. Despite its length (3 full old-fashioned acts for those of you who want to catch the 10:45 train to Scarsdale!) the characters' energy and vigor shine through in the performances and almost make you forget how late it is when you exit the theatre.

Kim Cattrall, while not a stranger to either stage or screen, appears to me from reading her bio in the playbill to be making her Broadway debut as Amanda. Playing opposite her, as the ex-husband, Elyot, her is the handsome Paul Gross, "one of Canada's most popular actors" (I'm quoting the playbill here).

Together they weave a bit of a farcical tale about two wild and crazy lovers who marry only to find out they didn't like living with each other and got divorced. Reunited, by chance, on the French riviera on adjoining hotel balconies, both on their second honeymoons, they recklessly decide they were meant to be and run off to Paris together to start again. What follows is a dizzying array of romance, fights, misunderstandings, and apologies in their fabulous Paris apartment (Kudos to Rob Howell, set Designer).

This production is fresh off the west-end where Cattrall first took the leading role. Not exactly "freshened-up" for the American audience, I was hoping for some of the references and dialogue to be a bit less European. And for the record, it did not go unnoticed by my theatre-going pals that these characters were all supposed to be in their early 30's. Sir. Eyre (director) - did you realize Ms. Cattrall is in her 50s and despite her ravishing looks and divine figure, nobody is going to believe those ages for one moment? You could only hope we missed that line altogether for it not to matter.

But alas, the fine performances by Cattrall and Gross and the supporting actors, Simon Paisley Day and Anna Madeley were more than enough to keep the eyes open and the spirit lifted despite the late hour it all wraps up on 45th Street.

Other Desert Cities

2011-11-02T09:48:00.000-04:00

I originally reviewed the December 2010 Lincoln Center Theatre production at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre and my review can be found here. An instantly popular commodity, the play, by John Robin Baitz, almost immediately announced a Broadway transfer for the following year.

You'll have to read my original review for the baseline facts and circumstances. What I will say at this re-visit to the property is that the Broadway transfer, now starring Rachel Griffiths in her Broadway debut (replacing Elizabeth Marvel) and Judith Light (replacing Linda Lavin) in addition to the prior cast of Stockard Channing, Stacy Keach and Thomas Sadoski.

The show's tension level is even higher than before. What Joe Mantello has been able to extract is the tighten the plot around the primary family secret, bring out the true and most pertinent family opinions, angst, fears, and political differences. Ms. Light, as Silda, brings what appears to be a more intentionally focused political bent to the role where as Ms. Lavin played a more broad foil to the family. Ms. Griffiths dives into the emotionally charged role with aplomb. It's no secret she has masterfully played these broken roles in the past (Brenda Chenoweth on Six Feet Under, and Sarah Walker on Brothers and Sisters). The result is a fantastic family-focused drama permeated by mystery and deception that may leave the family teetering on the brink of destruction.

You'll just have to pay a visit to the Booth Theatre to find out how it all plays out somewhere in the desert near Palm Springs.

The Blue Flower

2011-11-01T10:24:00.000-04:00

Architects and designers will tell you this all the time - not everything that looks good on paper translates well when actually constructed. 2ST has tried to breathe new and massive quantities of life into a wilting bud that was first presented in 2004 at the New York Musical Theater Festival (NYMF) and then again in Boston at the American Repertory Theatre in 2010. Unfortunately, it may have worked in one of the intimate black-box theaters of NYMF, but the idea, when in full bloom at a larger off-Broadway stage wilts under the hot light of day.

Effectively a story about a story, about a story - (yes, that's a lot of stories) - the show is told to the audience by a narrator while the actors mostly silently act and sing in a somewhat chaotic manner. When the actors do speak (it's rare) it's often, as in the case of Max, is in his made up gibberish language - which I never did quite connect the dots as to why he started speaking it in the first place. As a matter of fact, there are a lot of points in the show that, while intriguing, never quite connected to the next point. And I haven't even gotten to the songs yet! The songs, you ask? I found myself asking song after song - what on earth does this song have to do with what I'm watching? Finally, I still, after asking no less than 4 reasonably intelligent-looking, theatre-going people sitting near me in the theatre, cannot understand what the significance of the blue flower even is. It's the title of the show for Pete's sake and they used blue flower petals about 6 times in the show too! You'd think the gun, used in both act 1 and act 2 would somehow be made relevant! Confounding, to say the least. Distracting, confusing, and illogical mostly.

Notice that my critique centers on the construction, substance, and mood of the work itself. That's because despite the awkwardness - the actors and musicians (on stage!) were some of the best that Broadway and off-Broadway has to offer - and they didn't fail to deliver a top notch performance despite the material's crippling handicap. Taking the helm is the incomparable Marc Kudisch as Max. He's engaging, crisp and powerful with a voice that can't be matched. Sebastian Arcelus, as Franz, likewise, is a kind, handsome (um, very), and emotionally torn friend to Max. His tender voice filled the theatre with deep emotion. Meghan McGeary (Hannah) and Teal Wicks (Maria) both turned in powerhouse performances. I frankly didn't like either of their characters, nor most of the material they were given to perform - but looking past that fact, I cant deny their immense talents.

So while the sets may be imaginative (Beowulf Boritt) and the sketches and storyboards may have looked good, The Blue Flower doesn't translate well from page to stage. Director Will Pomerantz gave it a gallant try but this miss is neither his nor the actors' faults. Some books should just be left on the coffee table to admire.

Ch'inglish

2011-10-27T12:58:00.000-04:00

If anyone had told me a year ago that I'd be going to see a play half in Chinese on Broadway I might have fallen off my chair laughing. Broadway doesn't do foreign language plays, does it? Well hold onto your egg rolls Mr. Goldstone - Ch'inglish is now on Broadway! And what a feast of comedy it turns out to be.

David Henry Hwang has written another East meets West opus. This time it's funnier than a fortune cookie and packed with great American and Chinese actors turning in top-notch performances. Half of the play is in Chinese with subtitles boldly displayed above the action for all to read - and laugh over. The play is mainly concerned with the mis-interpretations between English and Chinese, but also indirectly and delicately pokes fun at the stereotypes in both the American and Chinese cultures.

While the story could certainly use a haircut upwards of 20 minutes, Mr. Hwang has given us what I believe is groundbreaking. While the main character, Daniel Cavanaugh (Gary Wilmes) is a full-blooded American and his consultant is a British speaking immigrant to China (Stephen Pucci), we are treated to some magnificently entertaining and witty character acting by full-bodied Chinese actors who speak almost entirely in Chinese the entire evening - Johnny Wu (Bing), Christine Lin (Miss Zhao), Angela Lin (Miss Qian), and Larry Lei Zhang (Minister Cai Guoliang). Taking the lead opposite Mr. Wilmes is the marvelously complex and incredibly funny Jennifer Lim as Xi Yan.

No matter what you think of the play - there is no doubt you will find the clean, modern, rapidly rotating sets by David Korins quite possibly the best on Broadway today!

On the surface we laugh at all the mis-translactions, both spoken and in writing - but lurking underneath Mr. Hwang has given us a rich study not only in linguistics, but culture, motivation, and love.

Venus in Fur

2011-10-26T12:21:00.000-04:00

An intellectual, interesting, and engaging play, Venus in Fur, by David Ives is now playing at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre at the Manhattan Theatre Club. Featured just last season at the Classic Stage Company off-Broadway, MTC saw the potential and ushered this tension -filled twosome uptown without delay.

Staring that sexy Broadway vixen Nina Arianda and the uber-handsome Hugh Dancy - it's hard to imagine a better matched duo for this one. Packed and dripping with sexual tension, desire, and mystery, Vanda and Thomas take us seamlessly back and forth between modern day rehearsal room and a 19th century aristocratic setting. Genius in its construction, Mr. Ives endows the two characters with modern problems offset by deep secret desires and great talent. He juxtaposes time, gender, and desire. The actors are virtually perfect for the roles - mirroring the traits of the characters flawlessly. You can't wait to hear what Vanda say or do next. You quiver waiting for Thomas to submit to his obvious desires.

I did not see this play downtown at the Classic Stage Company, but after seeing it now in a modestly larger house I think I would have enjoyed it even more in an intimate space. However, I make special note of John Lee Beatty's box-like set that significantly diminishes the cavernous stage at the Friedman to a more intimate size. And of course, there's that signature Walter Bobbie directorial crispness to the pace and sharpness to the dialogue that both keep tension high and the momentum driving forward.

Cracking thunder and bursts of lighting accentuate what is already a wild and sexy storm of great theatre. Don't miss this chance to succumb to your theatrical desires.

Milk Like Sugar

2011-10-18T10:58:00.000-04:00

A potent new play, Milk like Sugar, by Kirsten Greenidge is now running at the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre at Playwrights Horizons thru November 20th.

Sharp, honest dialogue, a stinging and relevant subject matter, and a top notch cast makes this transfer from the Women's Project Theater and La Jolla Playhouse a red-hot commodity for New York theatre.

Angela Lewis (Annie) takes the helm of this intense exploration of young black women in today's urban world. She along with her two best friends, Talisha (Cherise Boothe) and Margie (Nikiya Mathis) convince themselves that perhaps the "best way out" is to get pregnant. As clearly inappropriate as this may seem, Ms. Greenidge explores the ignorance and false hopes these girls cling to in this pact to get pregnant. Not a one dimensional play by any means, Angela simultaneously has to deal with her mother (Myrna) at home - played to perfection by the extraordinarily talented Tonya Pinkins. She, herself, clings onto the little she has - money, family, a job and her dream of writing. Pregnant at a young age herself, she rebukes the church who failed her. The cycle goes on.

One of the more interesting characters that Ms. Greenidge has thrown into the mix is Keera (Adrienne C. Moore) - an overweight, shy, religious girl who tries to convince Annie to do things God's way. In a striking move by Ms. Greenidge, we ultimately see a completely different Keera behind the facade -again - clinging to hopes, dreams, and a desire to make more of herself and break the cycle.

The two male characters, not surprisingly, are the least developed. Malik's (J. Mallory-McCree) character is mostly flat - mostly due to the crafting of his expected lines. Antwoine (LeRoy McClain), a pivotal character to the plot, is also marginalized in terms of dialogue and depth. But let's just be clear that when he rips off his shirt there were more than a few gasps (the good kind) from the rather diverse audience.

Powerful, relevant, packed with anger, frustration, and mostly despair - this new work sizzles on a red hot stage at Playwrights Horizons.

The Mountaintop

2011-10-06T09:59:00.000-04:00

Quite possibly the worst play of the season on Broadway. Quite possibly the best cast of the season on Broadway. Katori Hall's new play is imaginative and entertaining, but not Broadway material. The cast, the top notch duo of Angela Bassett and Samuel L. Jackson, bring credibility to the marquee but fail to bring much credibility to the material.

In many ways, I walked out of the theater feeling "duped". I thought I was going to see a deep, moving, and riveting play about one of the most influential civil rights leaders of the 1960's - maybe learn something, walk away moved, motivated, empowered and energized about the message of civil rights. Turns out - despite all the marketing falsely hyping the play up to be such a work - that the play is a silly fantasy about what might have happened in his hotel room the night before MKL was assassinated. What I expected was something powerful, a moving and passionate discussion of issues, ideas, and some insight to the movement. What I got was a fairly accurate portrait of a normal, imperfect, flawed man.

Was I impressed by the tremendous performances - yes - mostly by the lovely Ms. Bassett. Mr. Jackson, a powerhouse in his own right, was clearly directed to tone it down. He played things cool, calm, un-impassioned, and quite frankly, boring.

Don't be fooled like I was. The plot is silly and the made of the stuff a tabloid might publish as entertaining, but ultimately empty calories and meaningless. If you want to see it - go in knowing you won't come out any wiser or empowered. Mr. Jackson and Ms. Bassett are worth seeing. I just wish the material they presented was a powerful as they are.

The Lyons

2011-10-04T12:49:00.000-04:00

A new play by Nicky Silver, The Lyons, strikes a bitter and bitingly funny tone that all too many dysfunctional families will likely recognize. Never known for his innocuous dialogue or weak point of view, Mr. Silver puts death right in our faces this time as the patriarch of this family, Ben Lyons (Dick Latessa), is being consumed by cancer and near death in the hospital bed as his wife, Rita Lyons (Linda Lavin) and his children, Curtis and Lisa Lyons, (Michael Esper, Kate Jennings Grant) gather by his side. From the very first moments, you realize this last visit is going to be anything but peaceful and quiet.

Ms. Lavin shines. Her lines are peppered with bullets - most every one hitting a bulls-eye - each acknowledged with her trademark puckered lips, or a sharp glare. The disappointment and anger of her entire married life boils to the forefront in these last few days. Her children show up - each damaged in their own deep, sad, and personal ways over the years and bring no comfort to either father or mother - nor to each other.

Mr. Silver's play starts out in classic comedic form in Act I, but after a brief intermission Act II takes a few detours that take the audience by surprise - and especially Scene 2 in Act II, which seems to bring little relevance to the story and while cleverly acted by Mr Esper and Mr Wooddell (Brian), ended in an unnecessarily violent and disturbing confrontation. Scene 3, which needed some link from Scene 2, returned us to the family drama more akin to Act I. Add an unexpected detour and then it all wraps up.

Ms. Lavin's barbs, Mr. Latessa's rants, and their damaged children's pathos are all superbly and sharply executed. If only Mr. Silver's story was as consistently impressive. I think it's fair to say that if Ms. Lavin's name was not associated with this production, it would be far less enjoyable. Nonetheless, it is - and therefore well worth the price of admission to see this stage veteran consistently fire her weapon and hit her targets with aplomb.

Kaddish (or The Key in the Window)

2011-10-02T20:30:00.005-04:00

The Adaptations Project is presenting a powerful work based on the poem of the same name, Kaddish, by Allen Ginsberg. Created and performed by Donnie Mather, the show was originally work shopped in 2009 at the New York International Fringe Festival by The Present Company. A Kaddish, in Hebrew, is a prayer for the dead. Mr. Ginsburg wrote his original poem as an elegy on the death of his mother and it has been transformed to a one-man memory-play for the stage.

In summary, Mr. Mather is hauntingly beautiful. His every spoken word is painful yet tender; depressing yet hopeful. The memories flow from his lips like water from a fountain - a continuous and chaotic cascade of emotion and passion. A one-man show is probably one of the most frightening things an actor can mount - and Donnie executes flawlessly with a keen awareness of the subject, his thoughts and fears, and his demeanor and tone. In a mere 80 minutes, Mr. Mather paints a vivid picture of Mr. Ginsburg's life with and without his mother. For a fleeting moment, I felt similar to how i felt watching Jefferson Mays' brilliant performance in I Am My Own Wife. Different play entirely, but a very similar vibe.

It's not every day that you can experience this depth of performance. The experience is further magnified by the simple set and intentionally varied lighting (Brian H Scott), ingeniously timed and well placed video projections (C. Andrew Bauer) and eerie sound scape (Darron L West, Stowe Nelson) all in such an intimate and close space.

Relatively Speaking

2011-09-29T11:32:00.000-04:00

Some quick research tells me that these three one-act gems came together around the one that Woody Allen wrote. The umbrella title, Relatively Speaking, refers to the concept of family - as in your relatives and close friends. Each of the plays has a connection to that theme and while none of them was written with the other in mind, they certainly have been packaged up together in as a 3-item gift-set for all to enjoy.

The first play, by Ethan Coen (of the famed film brother duo), Talking Cure, is the shortest and starts the evening off with some intelligent and witty banter between a prison inmate (Danny Hoch) and his psychiatrist (Jason Kravits) where we discover his issues probably stem from his mother and father. Flash back - and we are brought to the dinner table where his pregnant mother (Katherine Borowitz) and father (Fred Melamed) are engaged in banter and bickering that is as acerbic and barb-filled as only a great writer could conjure up.

The second play, by Elaine May, entitled George is Dead, dives a bit deeper into the farcical with the always delightful and still attractive Marlo Thomas playing Doreen, an older, very wealthy, and very shallow woman in New York whose husband has just died on the ski-slopes in Colorado. Doreen shows up at the apartment of the daughter (Lisa Emery) of her favorite nanny (Patricia O'Connell) who is, herself (the daughter), in the middle of a personal relationship crisis. Ms. May has succeeded in this medium length gem to mix a ton of hilarity, along with a potent dose of sadness and pity.

The final play, Mr. Allen's Hollywood Motel, is a classic grand-farce that takes place in a seedy 1960's era roadside motel that involves a runaway bride, the mid-life-crisis-filled father of the groom, his wife, the father and mother of the bride, a best friend, a rabbi, a psychiatrist, the groom himself, and a pizza delivery man. Think hysterical Carol Burnett Show skit. Think Woody Allen. Think Jewish humor. Think - I never laughed so hard in all my life. This is due, in part, to the all-star cast and their impeccable comedic timing in this gem - Steve Guttenberg, Ari Graynor, Grant Shaud (from Murphy Brown), Caroline Aaron, Julie Kavner (Marge Simpson's voice), Mark Linn Baker (Bosom Buddies), Richard Libertini, Jason Kravits (The Practice), Danny Hoch and Bill Army.

A nicely packaged, witty, and all around entertaining evening in the theatre. Every play on Broadway does not have to be a powerful, moving, and ground-breaking drama. Sometimes you just need to laugh and director, John Turturro, has given us quite a treat this fall season in Relatively Speaking.

Kissless

2011-09-28T10:11:00.000-04:00

Nothing like a great big group of talented, energetic and uber-adorable 20-somethings from Texas on a New York stage having the time of their collective lives to make you feel really old. Kissless comes our way via Houston, Texas and is likely to garner top accolades at the NYMF this fall.

Part Glee, part West Side Story, part Ugly Betty, part Michael Jackson Thriller video - this teen-angst, coming of age musical enthusiastically took its first bow at the Theatre at St. Clement's on West 46th tonight. Packed with an incredibly talented young talent, endowed with a peppy and decent, if not mostly predictable book given the subject matter, and jammed with a potpourri of pop/rock-opera-like power ballads and full-company numbers that are sure to bring a goose bump or two to your arm, this gem is sure to turn some heads and spark an after-NYMF life.

If anyone saw the show 13 make it's Broadway debut a few seasons ago this tale, could possibly be considered the next installment in a hypothetical series - and while renaming this gem is unlike to actually happen, one might jokingly consider the possibility of calling it 18 just to line up the marketing concept and sell some seats.

The cast - far too large and talented (and did i mention young?) to highlight everyone here - brought an energy and enthusiasm that often times is lacking to the "home team" here in NYC. Perhaps that feeling is just created by the festival atmosphere, perhaps a great, inspirational director, or perhaps, just maybe, it's just me turning into an old man - wishing i could do it all over again just like these kids. I think it's the latter.

Man and Boy

2011-09-23T10:43:00.000-04:00

Ironic that just two days ago I saw a another off-Broadway play in which a wealthy wall-street type was driven to self-destruction. The plot was certainly a different time and place but essentially a similar tale. Man and Boy is one of playwright, Terence Rattigan's, early successes in the 1960's and rings as true, if not more-so, today.

Taking the helm at the American Airlines Theatre in the Roundabout Theater Company's revival is the consummate, Tony award winning actor, Frank Langella (Gregor Antonescu - i.e. "man"). Adeptly supporting him is the always dashing and polished Adam Driver (Basil Anthony - i.e. "boy"). Supporting ensemble cast members include Michael Siberry (Sven Johnson), Virginia Kull (Carol Penn), Zach Grenier (Mark Herries), Brian Hutchinson (David Beeston), and Francesca Faridany (Countess Antonescu).

The plot follows an approximately continuous 2 hour timeline in the Autumn of 1934 in the basement apartment in Greenwich Village of Basil Anthony, whom we quickly come to learn is the estranged son of international financier and power broker Greor Antonescu . We quickly come to learn why Basil has fled his family 5 years ago and through a series of cold and calculated maneuvers, why his brilliant and domineering father may just be the world's most callus and wanted financial crook the world has ever seen.

Mr. Langella commands the stage with every breath and step. Mr. Driver embodies the ethos of a 1930's young American socialist while at the same time cannot make the emotional break from his dirty dealing father. The entire cast brilliantly supports the two leads. Of special note is the comedic relief provided by the accountant, David Beetson (Mr. Hutchinson) and the steadfast dedication Sven Johnson (Mr. Siberry), personal assistant to Mr. Antonescu.

Man and Boy may take place during the 1930's depression era but is as relevant today as it ever was. With the recent echos of Enron and Bernard Madoff not far behind us - this play hits as close, if not closer to home, in these currently difficult global and economic times.

Dreams of Flying Dreams of Falling

2011-09-20T20:54:00.000-04:00

As I was leaving Adam Rapp's new play being presented by the Atlantic Theater Company at the Classic Stage Company's stage while they undergo a major renovation project on their own stage in Chelsea (the show must go on...), I was reminded of a simple little saying that a dear friend of mine and I have been repeating for for many years now. It goes something like this: "You know, , there's something wrong with everyone". Simple. Accurate. Apropos.

Mr. Rapp's obvious distaste for the ultra wealthy, wall street philanderers, and general ostentatious-ness of the wealth and power in the state of Connecticut (or otherwise) could not be more obvious. Christine Lahti (Sandra Cabot), Reed Birney (Dr. Bertram Cabot), Cotter Smith (Dirk Von Stofenberg), and Betsy Aidem (Celeste Von Stofenberg) form a double power couple tag team of wealthy, disturbed, and simply put, rich assholes, who have ruined their children aptly played by Shane McRae (James Von Stofenberg) and Katherine Waterston (Cora Cabot) - and quite possibly also the lives of countless others in their quest to be "on top". Mr. Rapp's clever dark comedy allows only a single beam of light and normalcy to shine throughout the play and her name is Wilma (Quincy Tyler Bernstine) and she is the black maid for the Cabot family.

This seemingly innocuous tale starts out to be a simple gathering of old friends for dinner in an opulent home in suburban Connecticut. It ends up, assisted by Mr. Rapp's bizarre plot twists and scathing dialogue, with two murders (one animal, one human), with a passionate and explicit sexual encounter involving the two children (i saw that one coming a mile away) and the revelation of countess adult indiscretions and numerous crimes likely perpetrated by one or more of the dinner party attendees. Wilma, the aforementioned black maid to the rich white folk, is positioned as both a physically and economically stereotypical maid but is brilliantly and subtly charged with being the only character who sees past it all and brings a transcendent sense of normalcy to the entire scene. With this, Mr. Rapp, I was quite impressed.

Now, if only I could stop thinking about those poor geese!

The Submission

2011-09-14T20:23:00.000-04:00

Jeff Talbott's new work, The Submission, is a tinder-box of race and prejudice packed into about 100 power-packed, tension-filled minutes. Walter Bobbie's keen directorial ear lights the match which burns the volatile fuel provided by Jonathan Groff (Danny), Will Rogers (Trevor), Eddie Kay Thomas (Pete), and Rutina Wesley (Emily).

While Mr. Groff may be the headliner and main character (and still, by the way, absolutely adorable) in the Talbott's tumultuous plot, all 4 actors handily contribute to the heat and tension on the stage equally. Crisp, staccato dialogue, rapid and ascorbic banter, and quick and uncomplicated scene changes contribute to the evening's experience. Having seen this one at the very beginning of it's preview period, I can say with certainty that it is an extremely all written play and well acted production that can only get even better with age. Mr. Bobbie in conjunction with Tesley + Company (Casting) are to be applauded for this fine ensemble. The selection of each actor for his and her respective part is superb - each embodying what i presume is exactly what Mr Talbott envisioned.

No spoilers here. Just know it will be a provocative evening of theatre that you will most likely carry out of the theatre with you into the streets afterwards.

Completeness

2011-08-25T18:44:00.023-04:00

Itamar Moses strikes gold again. This time, on 42nd Street at Playwrights Horizons with his latest contemporary work, Completeness. Mr. Moses has demonstrated his contemporary talents several times before off-Broadway in at least two prior shows that I have also thoroughly enjoyed, The Four of Us and Back Back Back.

In this incarnation, Mr. Moses has penned a complex work that entangles our quest for love and relationship with science and mathematics. Fear not, his clever dialogue is both instructive and engaging - to the point that you begin to think you are going to walk away being able to solve the TSP (Traveling Salesperson Problem, for those of you who might know).

Karl Miller (Elliot) and Aubrey Dollar (Molly) are thoroughly engaging and believable as a pair of slightly awkward, mostly normal, and very intelligent grad students (clothes both on and off) engaged in their respective quests of computer science (Elliot) and biology (Molly) - or is it a quest for everlasting love? Or both? Is the answer out there just waiting to be solved for? Or do you just take the chances as they come and jump in hoping it till work?

One very awkward moment near the end of the play arrives at a time in the play when both the relationships AND the math/science "blow up". The play literally stops, and two other characters come out and talk to the audience to allegedly "stall for time" while the show takes a technical break to "reboot the board". Quite unusual - and by a poll of various people who said they knew - it was part of the play - not a real glitch. Symbolic, perhaps. Thoroughly distracting - yes. I wanted to be talking about so many other aspects of the play afterwards but just couldn't leave this "moment" alone.

Death Takes a Holiday

2011-08-11T10:00:00.025-04:00

The Roundabout Theatre Company has done it again. A powerhouse cast, a delightful and lightly operatic score atop a simple and enchanting book are just a few of the rewards that are awaiting audiences at the Laura Pels Theatre this summer. Death Takes A Holiday is a "breathtaking new musical" inspired by the 1934 romantic drama (play) of the same name. Elegantly, simply, and ingeniously directed by Doug Hughes, the musical sweeps you off your feet, effortlessly glides thru its paces bringing you on a brief and entertaining journey the Villa Felicita on a lake in Northern Italy in the late summer of 1921.

What makes the journey so effortless and so incredibly enchanting is most certainly due to the cast of characters - which includes, on such a small stage, a plethora of veteran Broadway talent in addition to some fresh, young blood - all perfectly cast in their roles. Jill Paice (Grazia) pulls you into her heart with her song from the very first moment and refuses to let you go the entire show. Kevin Earley (Prince Nikolai Sirki/Death) quietly sneaks into the picture and sweeps you off your feet. His flawless vocals packed a punch and quite literally blew the roof off the house. Of note, Mr. Earley stepped into the role shortly after the original lead, Julian Ovenden, stepped out due to an ongoing throat illness. The very fortuitous Mr. Earley played the opening night and has done so every night since.

This production doesn't stop with just two top-notch leads. Supporting these two incredible actors is a cast of other immeasurable talent including: Michael Siberry (Duke Vittorio) and Rebecc Luker (Dutches Stephanie), Matt Cavanaugh (Major Fenton), Mara Davi (Alice) and Alexandra Socha (Daisy), Max Von Essen (Corrado) and Linda Balgord (Contessa Evangelina).

The comparison to the juggernaut, Phantom of the Opera, is inevitable, but this show succeeds without all the weight and unnecessary baggage that Phantom brings along with it. Operatic, yes, oppressive, no. Hughes injects the story with dashes of comedy, a modern sense of love, family, and frivolity. A fine example of this clever infusion is the character of Fidele - played to its maximum effect by a quirky and adorable Don Stephenson.

The story, quite simply, is a love story. Death takes on a human (and quite handsome) role to find out what all this living and loving nonsense is all about. He, quite literally, takes a holiday from the his daily grim tasks. As you would expect, he falls in love and what happens next is... well... I think you know. While Death might be eternal - you only have a limited time to catch it on Broadway - playing now thru September 4th.

Victory: Choices in Reaction

2011-07-18T08:23:00.006-04:00

The sub-headline for this post should be "Between Follies". That's because Jan Maxwell helms this heady, intelligent, no-small-undertaking of a play - in-between her Follies DC run and its transfer to Broadway. Talk about a busy schedule!

Howard Barker's play is certainly not a run-of-the-mill work. It takes place in the 1660's in England in the restoration period - which translates to a period when government was in chaos, political ideology was in flux between the economic forces, religious forces, and the old and new aristocracy. I don't for a minute claim to be knowledgeable on this topic nor do I believe I understood everything going on. What I do know is that Director, Richard Romagnoli has even further energized this powerful work by adding a rough edge to the production. Pounding punk music and choreographed moves during each scene change add a dramatic contrast to the subject matter and time frame of the play. Costumes and makeup add bite and drama to the already heightened tension of the story.

Despite the heady subject matter, the delivery by some of the actors was magnificent. Of special mention is the stand-out performance by David Barlow who played Charles Stuart, A Monarch. The monarch's extremely unstable mental state shown thru in Mr. Barlow's dynamic and potent portrayal. Jan Maxwell seemed to immerse herself in the complex role of Bradshaw, The Widow of a Revolutionary and Steven Dykes equally impressed in his portrayal of Scrope, A Secretary (and several other minor characters also).

While this play might not be for everyone, I find more and more that off-Broadway houses produce such high quality work that while you might not think it your cup of tea, you're drawn in to a story, it's power, and the intimacy of the theatre that you find yourself enraptured, educated, and enthralled. Next thing you know it's 10:45pm and you're dumped back out on the street wanting more.

Anything Goes

2011-07-14T21:18:00.038-04:00

I wanted it to be great. I really did. I wanted to walk away from the theater soaking wet - like someone opened a musical theatre fire hydrant all over me in the audience on a hot summer day. Instead, all I got were a few blasts from the sprinkler in each act - all of which wet my leaves, but never got to my roots.

Problem #1 - Joel Grey is mis-cast. He seemed oddly out of place the entire show. Problem #2 - The book. It's utterly stupid. Stupid books abound, but you gotta compensate somehow. Problem #3 - Three rousing tap numbers that don't really go anywhere and stand-alone gems do not compensate for the aforementioned problem #2 or #1. I had such high expectations - and they promptly withered and died by 11pm (yes, it's a long show on top of everything else).

Was Sutton Foster magnificent - absolutely, without a doubt. She's indeed delicious, delightful and de-lovely! Her leading man, Colin Donnell, is adorably dashing and debonair and incredibly talented in the song and dance department too. You'll have to wait the entire first act for Anything Goes, the first knock-your-socks-off, full company, full-tilt tap number that brings the house down. The entire cast is indeed talented and very easy on the eyes, i must admit. Right after the intermission, you'll get that barn-burner, Blow, Gabriel, Blow, and then really nothing until the finale. I especially enjoyed Kathleen Marshall's razzle-dazzle choreography but it felt so isolated and stand-alone-ish. And I adore John McMartin, but he looked so incredibly lost on the stage all the time. And sometimes he just disappeared! There's not much else to report over the rest of the 2H:45M run time aside from a very clever and cute use of a blue spot during Be Like The Blue Bird. ~Sigh~

Best Leading Actress - No qualms. Best Musical Revival? Not a chance. This ship is more like a row boat in a lake. I'm going to wait for the concert version with the New York Philharmonic. Get rid of the story - and focus on all the great song and dance. Now that would be a ship I'd buy a ticket to sail on!

Voca People

2011-07-01T10:21:00.007-04:00

Spaceship crashes on Earth. Voca People emerge. They need Ener-gia to power up to get back home. Moo-see-ca is Ener-gia. Get it?

Lior Kalfo and Shai Fishman, creators of Voca People, figured it out. Crisp, vibrant, simple, and bright colored lights against a black backdrop; Pure white costumes (think blue man group minus the blue) and a musical schtick that's cute and cuddly to accompany some of the best sounds that a human voice can muster doing a cappella renditions of some of our all time favorites over the ages can bring the house down every single night.

Voca People have seemingly been everywhere in the world. Why they landed at the Westside Theatre is somewhat of a mystery. But a mystery that will hopefully be spread by word of mouth and before you know it these 10 aliens will be playing Radio City!

The music is all generated by the human voice. No instruments. Lots of reverb and adorable alien jibber jabber. Their act is filled with love and fun but comes with a warning - audience participation - touching, extracting musical genres from audience members' their brains, performing in the aisles,. The result - toe-tapping, head-bobbing entertainment to the sheer delight of everyone in the audience for just shy of two hours with no intermission.

If Moo-see-ca is indeed Ener-gia - this adorable bunch has got a long term lock on the supply. Get your fill today.

Master Class

2011-06-30T08:32:00.049-04:00

Tyne Daly? I don't know what you are talking about. I saw a show with Maria Callas in the flesh. No? I could have sworn....

Tyne Daly takes command of the stage at 8:07pm and holds court, except for a brief interval, for 2 1/2 electrifying, mesmerizing hours as the incomparable, indomitable Maria Callas, star of the opera, diva extraordinaire!

As you would imagine, the play takes the form of an actual master class. Three already very talented students of the opera (Sierra Boggess, Garrett Sorrenson, Alexandra Silber) are scheduled to perform for Ms. Callas and we, the audience, are there to observe and learn as she critiques. And boy, does she critique. A truly clever idea for a play - as the 4th wall is not present. The lights stay on in the house occasionally and the actors look to and converse with the "other students" filling the seats in the house. As for Ms. Callas, never one to be shy, she picks and pokes at all aspects of her her students' performances - their entrances, clothing, diction and choice of music, to name a few; at the piano accompanist, Manny (the uber-adorable Jeremy Cohen), the dis-interested stagehand (Clinton Brandhagen), and occasionally the audience too (none of you have a "look").

Terrance McNally has not only captured the current Ms. Callas, but brilliantly weaves her storied past into the performance to craft a more complete understanding of this dynamic woman we see before us. Director, Stephen Wadsworth, takes us on a journey using very simple (almost non-existent) sets, superb lighting, and movement to navigate, almost operatically, thru the crescendos, decrescendos, sfortzandos and pianissimos of Ms. Callas' storied life - both on stage and off.

Ms. Daly's performance is as close to flawless as one could imagine. Her diction, wit, humor, force, sheer presence, and overall performance are magnificent. Maria Callas used to say that she was channeling the music all the way back thru a character to Verdi or Shakespeare. Ms. Daly was most certainly doing the same to Ms. Callas.

Tyne Daly? I don't know what you are talking about. I saw a show with Maria Callas in the flesh. No? I could have sworn....

Zarkana: Cirque Du Soleil

2011-06-29T08:46:00.011-04:00

Zarkana - It's what Jack Murphy and Frank Wildhorn's Wonderland dreamed [but couldn't afford] of being on Broadway. It's what Julie Taymor and Bono wished their musically-boring, lackluster-flying spider-flop could do for audiences [hint: spidey isn't even in the ballpark]. It's pageantry for the eye and abundance for the ears. Writer and director, Francois Girard, has married the perfect proportions of circus, music, and theatre. It's eerily odd, majestic and bold, sexy and fun all at the same time.

High flying acrobats fill the grand hall at Radio City Music Hall. Clowns, spiders, creatures, and other assorted oddities inhabit the stage and permeate mystery all the way to the cheap seats. Radio City has one of the largest stage fly systems in the world and the complex, grand, multi-media sets of Stephane Roy never fail to dazzle and amaze as they continually morph into something new with each progressive act.

The story follows Zark, a magician who has lost his powers (but apparently not his ability to dress in grand style) who is searching for the lost love of his life - not clear to me at the time, but but apparently in an abandoned theatre. It is in this theater that he crosses paths with this pastiche of oddity and amusement. Will he find her? Will his quest end in joy or despair?

Zarkana is one event this summer that should not be missed. With an estimated budget of $50 Million, you can tell these producers know how to put on a show. This show invests wisely in technology, costumes and talent. The dividends that investments pays to the audience are invaluable.

Preview a VIDEO of the show.

All New People

2011-06-28T09:43:00.009-04:00

Zack Braff's new play, All New People, feels more like an episode of Scrubs than an evening in the theatre. Don't get me wrong - it was pretty good - certainly well acted - but the comedy reminded me something for a TV set rather than a stage.

The substance of the play is a nicely packaged story about an air traffic controller interrupted in the act of killing himself in a beach house during the sparsely populated winter season on Long Beach Island, New Jersey.

Braff certainly has an ear for comedy, but I'm thinking it's misplaced on the stage. With the introduction (or perhaps i should say abrupt interruptions) of movie-quality back story video projected on a large white wall, Braff and director, Peter DuBois, confuse you. The scenes were not just video clips. They were actual scenes in the play - indispensable to the story. Seemed to me like the entire play could have been packaged up for a movie. And for the record, I wouldn't be surprised it it's not already been optioned.

If this sounds cool to you, I recommend you see it. It's entertaining. And for actors, he's got a decent lineup. The adorable Justin Bartha (Charlie), the off-beat David Wilson Barnes (Myron), the hysterically quirky Anna Camp (Kim) and brilliantly dizzy Krysten Ritter (Emma) are entertaining, wacky, and lovable all rolled up in one.

Sitcom or drama - you decide, but just know you're paying a tad bit more than you would for a movie. You'll have to decide for yourself if the price differential is worth it.

Yes We Can

2011-06-24T08:52:00.003-04:00

Down Payment Productions' play, Yes We Can, a new New York Play, by Daniella Shoshaun, is indeed chock full of issues. Perhaps, dare I say, even too many. Ten actors enthusiastically take the well lit and well crafted black box theatre stage at WalkerSpace and take us on a journey - a journey not only of the diverse people of New York City, but the ideas, hopes, dreams, frustrations, inequality, and discrimination they face on a daily basis.

Performed in short vignettes that overlap and intertwine, Yes We Can, in a few instances, cleverly takes one actor and transforms that actor, mid-dialogue, into a diametrically opposite character. Hence, a Rabbi (Duane Cooper) instantly changes into a black evangelical priest. A crusty, middle aged Jewish lesbian (Judith Dry) becomes a crazed black ghetto kidnapper. The action, however, centers around a woman (Makeda Declet) who is "accused" of being black on a bus (that's her version of the story). Her "accuser" (Ronald Washington), a self-assured black man himself, fields her rebuff and is mystified yet energized and intrigued by the response and sets out on a mission to meet her and confront her further about it. At the same time, she sets out about the city crossing paths with her friends and others trying to make sense of it all. I'm going to take a guess that the role of "black woman" was intentionally cast as a very black woman - so we would be smacked in the face with the contradiction and irony of the entire scenario.

Rounding out the cast of New Yorkers is a very funny white girl nanny (Gina Marie Jamieson) taking on the issue of immigrants, low paying jobs and class warfare, an Indian mother (Meera Rohit Kumbhani) taking on heritage, culture, and class issues, Jesus (Jeffrey Omura) taking on the issues of well, I think you can figure that one out, a black nanny (Jehan O. Young) and her young white client (Stephen Stout) taking on class and love at the same time, and an Asian man who owns a bodega (Dax Valdes) endlessly struggling to make it against all odds. Outside of these characters, we also cross paths with a plastic masked gang of kids, a gospel choir, a gay couple, a group of Latino nannies in the park, a local organic-Nazi farmer, and a few other random city folk young and old.

The play's dialogue is certainly intelligent and witty, and points out through humor and irony that to those less fortunate or newer to this country or to those that have been struggling to "arrive" that just about anything is possible here if we stick to it. Set on the eve of the election of Barak Obama as president of the United States, Yes We Can shows us anything is possible. While I doubt we're headed toward any Pulitzer prize here, it's still nice to see a fresh, young, ambitious and idealistic work on the stage. Congratulations, Daniella Shoshan. You've arrived.

Unnatural Acts

2011-06-23T20:01:00.001-04:00

"Fasten your seatbelts, ladies and gentlemen. Prepare to be mezmerized, electrified, and transported to another time and place for the next two hours" is what the pre-show announcement should proclaim. Director and co-conceiver, Tony Speciale, has amassed a mightly arsenel of high drama in this haunting play presented at the Classic Stage Company, Unnatural Acts, filling it with intergue, evidence, tension, speculation, passion, and betrayal.

The play, inspired by the true story of the Secret Court of 1920 at Harvard University that attempted to rid the institution of "homosexualism" after the suicide of one of its students, Cyril Wilcox, opens on an elegantly, warmly and purposefully lit, darkly-hewn wooden-clad stage where we meet each of the very handsome and well clothed upper-crust Harvard boys attached to the scandal and begin our journey into their intricate, delicately balanced lives filled with intelect, innuendo, pride, double-talk, and deeply-guarded secrets and we follow them to their ultimate demise by play's end. Each of the elvevn young actors brings an etherial and haunting presence to the stage under what I can only categorize as the superb directorial and choreographical choices of Mr. Speciale. Actors Jess Burkle, Joe Cumutte, Frank De Julio, Roe Hartrampf, Roderick Hill, Max Jenkins, Brad Koed, Jerry Marsini, Devin Norick, Will Rogers, and Nick Westrate form a perfect union, an ensemble cast in the truest sense of the word. Amplifying thier fine performances was lighting and lighting effects by Natalie Robin and sound design and the subtle and supremely effective sound effects by Christian Frederickson.

I am torn between screaming from the mountain top that this play, cast intact, should be moved to Broadway and the thought that a Broadway house would most surely destroy the intimacy and power of the show. Unnatural Acts is a an evening of compelling, well-written, well-acted, well-directed story-telling that lured me in, captured and held my attention, and, most importantly, kept me thinking about it and discussing it long afterwards. Now that's powerful theatre!

Desperate Writers

2011-06-18T19:59:00.021-04:00

A wholesale waste of time at the Union Square Theatre. The house was virtually empty. I knew this wasn't going to be a good sign. It only got worse from there.

Written as a complete farce, it pits two desperate writers against three alleged "power-producers" in Hollywood. Throw in some over-the-top, completely unnecessary characters on top of the bad writing and flat out dumb plot and you've got the formula for the complete mess that wasted about 90 minutes of an otherwise decent Saturday afternoon. I've seen farce before, and for it to work, it has to be funny. This was just crap. Two otherwise normal writers are so desperate to sell a script that they kidnap some producers, lock them in a cage and force them to listen to their script. On top of the already farcical plot - the script that they are trying to sell pure garbage too. It was like double torture listening to them read the script of a bad play IN a bad play!

The actors all came with game faces on - full of energy and some even with some good comedic delivery Jim Stanek (David) was a stand-out. But in the end the material was just so plain old dumb nothing could save it. Think tiny bucket on the deck of the Titanic. Wasted effort. But my congrats to some of the fine character acting on stage.

Upon closer examination of the program at home, I realized that one of the writers of the play itself, Catherine Schreiber, was actually also one of the main characters performing too - one of the producer characters! Now isn't that the pot playing the kettle?! While I admire the effort of all the writers and actors involved (none of this is easy by any stretch of the imagination), I really don't even think this material was of the caliber of something like Saturday Night Live - where this farcical stuff is most at home.

Disappointed to say the least. At least I got some delicious strawberries at the Farmer's Market in Union Square on the way home. Barely a consolation.

The People In The Picture

2011-06-16T18:46:00.006-04:00

Too Cliche? Maybe. Another installment in the "thou shalt never forget" series? Perhaps. Delightfully entertaining? Absolutely. In any other season, I think this show would be receiving above average acclaim. Well, at least it would be receiving reviews that said "if you clean up Act I and speed up the dying old lady scene in Act II - you're got a hit on your hands." But alas, strong competition this season has placed this possibly underrated show on the back burner. It's either that or we're just tired of the the genre. You decide.

Donna Murphy (Bubbie/Raizel) is sublime. Clearly the star of the show. Clearly the mistress of character acting. I can't say anyone else in the cast was a stand-out, but they were a strong ensemble and put Bubbie on a golden pedestal the entire evening as she seamlessly slid between her younger self in 1935-1946 Warsaw, Poland and her older self in New York circa 1977 Overwrought with Yiddish and old Jewish humor, perhaps, but that's the story, for heaven's sake. I have a few friends who actually saw it early in the run. They got very bored during Act I and left. They never found out who, exactly the people in the picture are. Alas, the story is about the title of the show and Act II cleverly reveals all.

Sets by Riccardo Hernandez - a decent job at recycling previous Roundabout materials. And heaven knows, the Roundabout must have invested a boatload in the video projection equipment for Sunday in the Park with George and Brief Encounter - so why not drag it out again. But since there's money at the Roundabout - it's always a top notch, class-act. Costume and lighting - up to the usually high Roundabout quality too.

So who are the people in the picture? I won't spoil it - you'll have to get your own ticket and let the divine Donna Murphy tell you herself. Tape recorders, at least in the audience, not allowed.

Side Effects

2011-06-09T07:37:00.024-04:00

Michael Weller wrote two plays back to back in 2007. I saw Fifty Words at the Lortel then and just this week, the follow-up play, Side Effects, in the same (dumpy) theater. I must say there's more to the idea then the reality of the link between the two plays. They really aren't connected at all, except for the infamous phone call. I thought there would be more. But alas, that doesn't detract from this or the prior play in any way at all.

This time around, Joely Richardson (Melinda Metz) and Cotter Smith (Hugh Metz) take the helm as the power couple for entire 100 minutes. Like Weller's last play, children and others are only spoken about, never seen or heard. Mr. Smith was last seen in similar conservative fatherly roles in Next Fall on Broadway and Kin off-Broadway at Playwrights horizons. Ms. Richardson was last seen in in season 6 of Nip/Tuck and The Tudors. In case didn't make the connection - she's the sister of the late Natasha Richardson and daughter of Vanessa Redgrave and Tony Richardson. I must say that she bears a striking resemblance both visually and vocally to another fan favorite, Julie White. Perhaps that was amplified by the role - one in which I could very easily picture Ms. White also.

This play, as the prior one, is an emotional roller-coaster dealing with issues such as marriage, fidelity, mental illness, and family. Mr. Smith, again, plays an exceptional tightly-wound, politically-aspiring and conspiring, conservative, mid-western, husband. Ms. Richardson does a magnificent job playing bat-shit-crazy (perhaps a perfect replacement for Edie Falco in House of Blue Leaves - another bat-shit-crazy role?). Just one note to director David Auburn - shorten up that last scene - too long and unnecessarily repetitive. We were only there 100 minutes and didn't need to revisit all the issues and problems again before wrapping it up. Other than that - I think I've written more than fifty words on this one but catching a performance of this one will leave you with little side effects other than having experienced an enjoyable evening of theatre at a relatively decent price.

Next Thing You Know

2011-06-07T08:50:00.039-04:00

Joshua Salzman and Ryan Cunningham take a walk down Twenty-Something Lane with their fresh, new gen-X musical. Well, of course they do, the are twenty-something themselves and if I had to guess, wrote from many a personal experience. The subject matter and title, Next Thing you Know, comes from that age-old phrase we all know - "Last time I checked, I was young and having a blast on my 23rd birthday and .... here it comes... next thing i know, I'm 30 and need to grow up". That about sums up the story line here. Fear not, tho, it's light, fresh, honest, fun and while never over indulging. Salzman and Cunningham even turn a hangover into something to chuckle at.

Needless to say, a cast of good looking (drop dead gorgeous in the case of Heath Calvert, but I digress...) actors helm the spacious performance floor (not exactly a traditional stage) in CAP21 Theatre Company's brand-spankin' new expanded space on West 18th Street. Lauren Blackman (Lisa), Heath Calvert (Luke), Adam Kantor (Darren) and Lauren Molina (Waverly) enthusiastically take on their respective tortured young souls - singing and drowning their sorrows in booze in the Sullivan Street Tavern and surrounding neighborhood. It's not hard at all to imagine these young denizens as the actual characters - good looking (did i mention that Heath with his shirt off is jaw-droppingly handsome?), smart, creative, young urbanites searching for love, connection, and meaning in their lives.

Besides Heath's drop dead good looks and flawless body (OK, Adam I really thought you were cute too), I was especially entertained by the music and lyrics. Well written, well constructed, catchy and fun - a little pop (OK, maybe a lot) and a few ballads and lite Broadway styled numbers thrown in for good measure too. I believe this is Joshua and Ryan's second trip down the aisle in musical theatre composition. I'm thoroughly impressed and sincerely hope that we will hear more from them very soon. In the meantime - catch a bus, subway or cab over to CAP21 and catch a slice of your quickly vanishing youth performed nightly on stage before it's too late and ... next thing you know....

The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures

2011-06-05T22:03:00.032-04:00

Tony Kusher's much anticipated new work is fantastically engrossing, scintillatingly intellectual, and mentally exhausting - all at the same time. From minute 1 to minute 210 (that's 3 and 1/2 hours, folks) you are on the edge of your seat absorbing every word, watching every movement, and processing, processing, processing. Make no mistake, this is a heady play. It's not for everyone, but certainly for those who are up for the mental gymnastics that it sponsors. See it before it's too late. Run. Don't Walk.

What is this play about, you ask? Well, there are so many layers here, it's hard to convey. It's literally about a man's decision to kill himself before Alzheimer's gets him. Adding a few more layers - it's a play about politics, relationships, marriage, economics, labor, sexuality, religion, suicide, and sex - just to list a few. I'm not kidding. There are others. But let me try to boil it down to something simpler. It's about family and struggle. That's it. Family - all the good, all the bad and everything in-between. It's also about struggle - in the family, among the family, outside the family and everything in and around the family. There are really two kinds of families - the ones that look on the outside to be perfect, but are really a big mess on the inside - and the ones who look (and act) like a hot mess on the outside, but at the end of the day nothing, and i mean nothing, could tear them apart. Gus Marcantonio and his family are the most definitely the latter. A mess so hot they make August Osage County's Weston family look like dry ice.

The cast is superb - a better ensemble cast than any I have ever seen. They seemed like an actual family rather than individual actors simply cast in the roles. The performances were sublime. At times there were 7 or 8 family members on stage and every single one of them was talking (arguing, more likely) at the same time and you could still follow the argument, the thoughts, and the scene. And when a play lasts over 3 and 1/2 hours, you bet they were damn good if I'm using such superlatives. Each and every actor brought his game to the stage. (Michael Esper apparently brought his game and a rockin' hot bod, puppy dog eyes, and boyish smile to accompany it... but i digress). Kudos in no particular order or preference to each performer in the cast: Michael Christofer (Gus), Linda Eamond (Empty), Michael Esper (Eli), K. Todd Freeman (Paul), Hettienne Park (Sooze), Steven Pasquale (V), Molly Price (Shelle), Matt Servitto (Adam), Danielle Skraastad (Maeve), Stephen Spinella (Pill), and Brenda Wehle (Clio).

I don't pretend to know all the layers Mr. Kushner has written into the play. Heck, I don't even know much about Karl Marx, but that's not what's needed to understand this play. Listen carefully and absorb the feelings, emotions, the feelings and tones, the over arching them of family, struggle, and identity will reveal themselves to you as the minutes tick away into hours on Gus' (and your) watch.

Now. Here. This.

2011-06-04T20:09:00.016-04:00

Lab productions don't and shouldn't get reviews. What they should get is encouragement and word of mouth. Here are some words and they came out of my mouth.

Genuine.
Personal.
Honest.
Poignant.
Witty.
Clever.
Full of Heart.

If you get the chance to get a ticket to the show over the next few weeks at the Vineyard Theatre, don't hesitate for one minute. Hunter, Susan, Heidi, and Jeff and are back again. (And if Jeff Bowen isn't Miriam Webster's definition of absolutely adorable, i don't know what is).

The Sphinx Winx

2011-05-28T10:27:00.008-04:00

When I first googled this show to see what the heck it was all about, I came across a few articles that listed the cast and creatives - nothing unusual. Then I noticed the name Philip Capice. I thought to myself, isn't that odd? That's the name of the guy who's name used to get splashed on the screen as Executive Producer at the end of every Dallas episode - you know - when something juicy was going to happen in the last 5 minutes and they left you hanging until next week. Well... turns out it's the same guy! Who'd a thunk?

After a bit more digging - it turns out he passed away in late 2009 but that he had actually co-written the book and lyrics and directed the original show while a senior at Dickenson College in 1952! Amazing! He, in fact, was the one who had the idea to shoot JR in the infamous season finale. Leave it to a campy musical theatre guy to come up with the best idea on television in March of 1980! And now... back to our show...

The show is pure musical theatre camp. And I mean that in the best way possible. It draws on the entire genre to both make fun of itself and to make light of a version of a story that we all know - that of Cleopatra, Caesar, and Mark Antony. In many ways, similar to the Drowsy Chaperone of today penned by Bob Martin. It is not, of course, intended to be a history lesson (gosh, maybe we'd be in a better place if it were!). It's a celebration of burlesque, variety show, farce, comedy, and musical theatre all rolled up in one big ball of fun! Don't go expecting to be impressed by the techniques of the actors, depth of the story, or purpose of the book - just go and enjoy exactly what the director intended - you having a good laugh at some entertaining actors telling a classic story with a little (ok, a lot of) embellishment having what appears to be a whole lot fun in the process.

Erika Amato takes the helm as the divine, demanding, and ever-dramatic Cleopatra. Bruce Sabath hams it up as the tax revenue bungling emperor, Caesar... and a German doctor (German... in ancient Egypt - funny, no?). Rebecca Riker assumes the role of a beautiful slave that Mark Antony falls for (over Cleopatra, mind you) - but her best moments were as Enobarbus, Caesar's Sarah Palin-looking and speaking lawyer. (You Betcha!) Bret Shuford takes a dual role as an English message courier and the handsome (um, very handsome) Mark Antony. And I must say that Mark Antony must have had the sexiest legs on the planet if the dashing Bret is any indication... but I digress. Ryan Williams opens, runs, and closes the show with some of the most hysterical character acting I have seen on stage in a long time. Summoning his inner Paul Lynn, he aptly played Cleopatra's over-the-top Soothsayer.

Kudos to the director, Matthew Hamel who seems to have pulled off a delightful, updated rendition of an old book and to the actors who made it all look so easy! Now, if only we got to see more of those Bret Shuford, um... i mean Mark Antony... legs...

The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World

2011-05-27T08:28:00.034-04:00

Let's get one thing perfectly clear - the music of the real-life group, The Shaggs, is confoundedly awful. Yes, awful. If you don't believe me, take a listen.

The other thing that needs to be made clearer is that this new musical is based on a very true story. Yes, true. I make the point of saying this because nowhere in the playbill (nor the script) is this emphasized except for the standard place below the title of the show on the official credits page (I don't know what else to call that page where it displays the names of producers who are presenting the show, staring the actors, supported by the production and creative staff). At intermission, I encountered many a patron who were wondering where this story came from. "It's based on a true story" I told them. They all looked puzzled. (Note to self: mention this in my blog).

There's a lot of good going on in this production. First, let's give a hearty round of applause for Playwrights Horizons and New York Theatre Workshop for investing time and money in two fine creatives - Joy Gregory and Gunnar Madsen (Book, Lyrics and Music). It is obvious that a great deal of personal care, research and pain-staking effort has gone into presenting this not-so-kind story to the world. Second, you can't leave the theatre without acknowledging the fine performances - both acting and vocals - that the entire cast delivers. But... (you knew there was one of these coming, right?)

But... unless I missed something, (and over the 2 hours and 30 minutes it was entirely possible) the show is really a one-trick pony - how The Shaggs came to be and the incredible (some would say disturbing) story behind them. Did we really need to explore this topic for over 2 1/2 hours? Time may heal all wounds, but did we really need to heal so much on this single topic? Time is the enemy of this show. Time should be used more wisely. While I'm not saying every show on the planet has to be cut to 90 minutes with no intermission, this show would certainly be a good candidate to try it out on. Over and over we revisited the same topics - defining family, loyalty, personal identity, and freedom. Make no mistake, the show is not filled with joy or happiness. The superb story telling, fine acting, and (when applicable) great music would be served well by shortening the pain-cycle just a bit.

The parents, Austin and Annie Wiggin, are played by two tremendously talented actors - Peter Friedman and Annie Golden. Mr. Freidman's life-long angst, eternal hope, and haunting fears were palpable from start to finish and Ms. Hood's loneliness, longing, and sadness were nothing short of award winning. The 3 daughters, The Shaggs, are played by strikingly similar faces to the the real life girls, Sarah Sokolovic (Betty), Emily Walton (Helen), and Jamey Hood (Dot). Each of them transforms into the individual character that each girl inhabited and brought it to a vivid, often disturbing, life on stage. A fine supporting cast includes an off-Broadway and New York stage debut by a fresh-faced Cory Michael Smith along side Broadway veterans Kevin Cahoon and the ever-versatile Steve Routman.

If there's any up-side to the painfully long run-time, it's that it provided the opportunity for many moments of glory on stage. Annie's Ordinary Day brought on goose-bumps, Dot's Don't Say Nothing Bad About My Dad cut like a razor and the Act I closer by the company, Destiny, was a powerhouse.

So, should you go see this show? Although still in previews and time factor aside, this show's story telling capacity is supreme and it's designed for anyone who loves storytelling and theatre all wrapped up in one. You'll not only get entertained, but you may learn a few things along the way too. Kudos to the producers, bravo to the performers, and a polite nudge to the obviously talented creatives to tighten things up a bit. Despite the mildly disturbing nature of the material, it's certainly well worth the price of admission.

The Best Is Yet To Come: The Music of Cy Coleman

2011-05-22T21:06:00.045-04:00

OK, so we won't call this theatre, exactly. It's one of those delicious treats that visits a stage every now and again - a musical review, an homage to a great one, a thoroughly entertaining evening that involves a little toe tapping, finger snapping, head bobbing, and a whole lotta feelin' good. Ironically, the last show I saw at Theatre A at 59E59 was also a great musical pastiche of another genre - In Transit. I think everyone would recognize at least one, if not two or more musical numbers that Cy Coleman penned. They've been performed by the best - Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Barbra Streisand, Shirley Bassey, Steve & Eddie, Perry Como, Dione Warwick, Lena Horne, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Liza, just to name a few! Maybe these few will ring some bells - The Best is Yet to Come, Witchraft, Big Spender, and If My Friends Could See Me Now.

Director, David Zippel, along with musical director, conductor, pianist, and performer extraordinaire, Billy Stritch, has compiled an intelligent, thoughtful, and melodious arc through Cy Coleman's best works. Of course, all that would be an academic exercise were it not for the classy, elegant band led by Stritch along with the other 5 uber-enthusiastic and talented performers of all ages that all held court on the supper-club styled stage.

Lillias White blew the roof off the joint with her stylized and sultry vocals in The Oldest Profession and Don't Ask a Lady. Sally Mayes convinced us all that Nobody Does it Like Me. Rachel York ushered out Spring with a little Come Summer and The Doodling Song. Billy Stritch, himself, captured our attention with It amazes Me and Some Kind of Music while Howard McGillin charmed us with You Fascinate Me So and With Every Breath I Take. Of course, I was completely charmed and mesmerized by just about every move David Burnham made - but I figure that everyone else at least enjoyed his rendition of Witchcraft and I've Got Your Number. I could say more but that would just be shameless flirting (who me?).

So get your fingers, toes and head all synchronized and pop over to 59E59 Theaters and put your tochas in a seat and enjoy an evening or afternoon of sheer musical entertainment. There is no way you could leave this theater without a smile on your face. Cy Coleman was one of the greats and this production showcases the best-of-the-best performing his best.

The 2011 ITBA Theater Awards!

2011-05-20T09:57:00.014-04:00

The 2011 Patrick Lee ITBA Award Winners:

OUTSTANDING NEW BROADWAY MUSICAL
Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson

OUTSTANDING NEW BROADWAY PLAY
Jerusalem

OUTSTANDING BROADWAY MUSICAL REVIVAL
Anything Goes

OUTSTANDING BROADWAY PLAY REVIVAL
The Normal Heart

OUTSTANDING NEW OFF-BROADWAY PLAY
The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity

OUTSTANDING NEW OFF-BROADWAY MUSICAL
The Kid

OUTSTANDING OFF-BROADWAY REVIVAL (PLAY OR MUSICAL)
Angels in America, Part 1: Millennium Approaches

OUTSTANDING SOLO SHOW/PERFORMANCE (ALL VENUE CATEGORIES)
Michael Shannon, Mistakes Were Made

CITATIONS FOR OUTSTANDING OFF-OFF BROADWAY SHOW
Feeder: A Love Story
Invasion!
The Caucasian Chalk Circle
Belarus Free Theater's Discover Love
Black Watch
ReWrite

UNIQUE OFF-OFF BROADWAY EXPERIENCE
Sleep No More

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE
The Scottsboro Boys

CITATIONS FOR EXCELLENCE BY INDIVIDUAL PERFORMERS
Nina Arianda, Born Yesterday
Laura Benanti, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Reed Birney, A Small Fire
Christian Borle, Peter and the Starcatcher
Norbert Leo Butz, Catch Me If You Can
Bobby Cannavale, The Motherfucker with the Hat
Colman Domingo, The Scottsboro Boys
Sutton Foster, Anything Goes
Josh Gad, The Book of Mormon
Hamish Linklater, School for Lies
Joe Mantello, The Normal Heart
Arian Moayed, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo
Lily Rabe, The Merchant of Venice
Mark Rylance, Jerusalem
Michael Shannon, Mistakes Were Made
Benjamin Walker, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson

CITATION FOR EXCELLENCE IN OFF-OFF BROADWAY THEATRE
La Mama

The ITBA, is comprised of bloggers who regularly see live performances in all its forms in New York City and beyond. Members are in New York, Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis, and London. For further information and a list of our members, visit our website. If you are interested in learning more about the ITBA, email info@theaterbloggers.com. To invite the members of the ITBA to your show or event, please send an email to invite@theaterbloggers.com.

Mock Your World - The Songs of Andrew Byrne

2011-05-19T11:18:00.004-04:00

An evening of sheer musical hilarity and pure naughty fun! Andrew Byrne has penned a new and fresh (and I'd say better) version of a prior musical parody, Forbidden Broadway. Unlike Mr. Alessandrini's prior show which mocks Broadway shows directly - Mr. Byrne's little gem pokes fun at the ups and downs and general lifestyle of a Broadway stage actor/dancer using the same musical parody technique. Sure it's naughty, but I wouldn't call it a Burlesque show at all. You might turn a few shades of light pink during any number of the riotously entertaining numbers but that's part of what makes the show great.

The four songsters who alternatively run the stage, Lisa Rothauser, Robby Sharpe (um, adorable beyond belief), Marya Grandy and Bart Shatto, hit all the highs and lows (notes and otherwise) that an actor with a Broadway career just might encounter with charisma, energy and conviction. (Did I mention that Robby is uber-adorable?).

I promise you will leave with a great big smile on your face. Don't miss these creative animals at the Rockwood Music Hall or wherever they land next.

Follies

2011-05-07T09:52:00.041-04:00

Although a fully staged production, it appeared to me to be nothing more than an enhanced concert version of Stephen Sondheim's luxurious score at the Eisenhower Theater at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC. The construction of the show is quite cumbersome to begin with - old people enter, begin to reminisce, younger versions of their characters appear in the dialogue, one by one they all have "moments" in the spotlight. The story struggles to keep moving forward because we are constantly having to look back at how it all started to understand why we are where we are. Then come 4 fantasy follies numbers that chop up the 2nd act and finally back to a quick wrap-up in reality.

All the stars on stage seemed as if they rehearsed alone in a room and for the first time stepped foot on stage together. No chemistry. No palpable feeling they were coming back to revisit memories. Just actors singing songs and saying lines. Perhaps you were one of the early and loud-clappers that sat next to me? By this I mean the throngs of freaks who were there to burst out into applause 8 seconds before everyone else and before the songs were over just because Bernadette Peters was somewhere near the stage and may have hit a note that sounded marginally good. With that said, most of the performances were pretty good. But we still have the first problem - no chemistry. Without that, the show is just a pastiche of concertized Broadway numbers under a rose colored spotlight.

Bernadette Peters (Sally) and Jan Maxwell (Phyllis) were OK. Not great, but OK. Linda Lavin, however, knocked Hattie out of the park - Broadway Baby was her number to deliver and was honestly the best number of the entire show. Elaine Paige, on the other hand, was terrible. I'm Still Here should be a rousing, crowd stirring number by the time it's finished. She's got the right first name for the song - but a Stritch, she is not. Ron Raines (Benjamin) and Danny Burstein (Buddy) seemed oddly miscast although Ron's vocals were in fine form. Mr. Burstein only seemed to hit it out the park when he was in his sweet spot - character acting - performing his follies number - Buddy's Blues.

Overall, the show was disappointing, although to see any of these actors perform is a treat. This production just didn't seem to pull it all together. Regret. It was both the theme of the show and my evening as well.

The School for Lies

2011-04-30T17:38:00.069-04:00

One thing that is not a lie is that this show is one of the best off-Broadway productions that I have seen in a very long time. I'm not very high-brow, so I went in thinking Moliere + The Misanthrope = big snooze-fest. Surprisingly, I came out energized, entertained, engaged, and ecstatic! A cast of wall-flowers this was not. Strong, confident, talented, and bold are all adjectives that can only start to describe this cast. David Ives has penned a modern, witty, and extremely intelligent take based on this old gem and Walter Bobbie has taken the directorial reigns with panache and style like no other could.

The ensemble cast lead by the stunningly beautiful daughter of Merryl Streep, Mamie Gummer (Celimene/Ivory Gown) and dashingly handsome Hamish Linklater (Frank/Black Frock) incessantly worked the meanings, double entendre, and sheer comedy out of every (very) poetic line. Hoon Lee (Philante/Maroon Frock), Frank Harts (Clitander/Purple Frock), Rick Holmes (Oronte/Yellow Frock), and Matthew Maher (Acaste/Green Frock) charm the pants off you, each in his own endearing, imperfect way. Jenn Gambatese (Elainte/Blue Gown) and Allison Frasier (Arsinoe/Purple Gown) each tussle with Ms. Gummer for the affections of her men men and the chance to unseat her as queen of the castle. And last, but certainly not least, Steven Boyer (Dubois/Basque/Brown Frocks) provided regular intervals of a little Shakespearian humor. (I prefer that to Monty Python, but truth be told, it could fit). Canapé anyone?. Truth be told, the language is lofty, but if you follow the humor and witty repartee, the rhymed couplets (or is it iambic pentameter?) start to complete themselves in your head just as they roll off the tongues of the talented actors on stage. I had a little trouble with the very Elizabethan names of the characters but if you focus on the boldly colored and elegantly designed costume for each character, you'll do just fine.

Speaking of a stage - the elegant costumes were made only more so by the simple, clean ivory-colored stage floor and walls. Pure white lighting served to highlight the fine detail on the masterful costumes and left your focus on the lofty comedic performances.

I bring this to you not as gossip. I, too, am merely reporting.

The Normal Heart

2011-04-23T08:29:00.001-04:00

The life-story of Larry Kramer, AIDS activist, author and playwright, finally makes it to Broadway - a late, but welcome addition to the spring season. Having had several off-Broadway runs, most recently in 2004 staring Raul Esparza, this incarnation puts a Tony award winning director, Joe Mantello, in the leading acting role. Directed by Joel Grey (who's kinda busy with Anything Goes) and George C. Wolfe, the production takes on a brisk rhythm, maintains it's level of anger at or just below the boiling point, and serves to educate us all, once again, as to the political, social, and medical roots of this plague called AIDS.

Mantello shows off his superb acting chops as Ned Weeks, the central character of of this 1980's real-life drama, for which a Tony nomination is certainly due for his outstanding performance. I took notice on several occasions that with both eyes firmly on the scene in front of him, a third, unseen eye in his brain was feeding him all sorts of instructions for little gestures, movements and pauses in dialogue that only a keen director would want to see an actor give. The ensemble cast that supports him; Luke MacFarlane, Patrick Breen, Wayne Alan Wilcox, Ellen Barkin, Lee Pace, John Benjamin Hickey, Mark Harelick, Jim Parsons, and Richard Topol; is equally talented and in lock step with Mantello's energy, passion, emotion, and intensity. A true ensemble cast at its best.

I recall seeing the 2004 production at the Public Theatre, but as with all shows that are re-staged and re-presented - this version in 2011 seemed to pack a bigger punch, emphasize the explosive emotional nature of the story and focus less on the back story and friendships and founding of GMHC.

The play is always performed, as far as I know, without scenery and this production was no exception. The words and headlines in white-on-white on the back and side walls of the stage were effective in communicating unspoken dialogue and both the lack of audio (the performers were not mic'd) and the inclusion of audio at each scene change were both powerful and subtly effective tools which served to amplify the impact of the overall performance.

Mr. Kramer was, and still is, a complex and confrontational human being. This is his story, his life's work and and it certainly deserves the fine production that Ms. Roth and her partners have given it.

The House of Blue Leaves

2011-04-19T08:18:00.026-04:00

John Guare just had a grand Broadway run with latest work, A Free Man of Color. Now he's back on Broadway with one if his his first works, The House of Blue Leaves. Despite the 40 years in-between the creation of the two, his style remains remarkably similar. While Blue Leaves is substantially less grand and not quite the epic of an era that was Free Man, it still tells a wild and crazy tale in the characteristically Guare-like story-telling style.

Taking the helm in this 2nd Broadway revival are a divine Edie Falco (Bananas), a slightly bristling Jennifer Jason Leigh (Bunny), and an enthusiastic Ben Stiller (Artie). Supporting this fine leading cast are the always sublime Allison Pill (Corinna), and uber-adorable Thomas Sadowski (Billy). It's interesting to note that Mr. Stiller is not new to the production, having played the son, Ronnie, in the first Tony award winning (Best Play) Broadway run in 1986. Anecdotally, his mother, Anne Meara, played in the original 1971 off-Broadway run in also.

I didn't see that production in 1986 (staring John Mahoney, Stockard Channing, Swoosie Kurtz, Danny Aiello, Julie Hagerty and Ben Stiller - and later Christine Baranski and Patricia Clarkson), but it seems to me the current revival's cast is somewhat different. I've asked a few people who have seen both and the two adjectives that are repeatedly used are related to temperature and energy. According to my "experts" polled - the current cast has less warmth, less love, is more mechanical, detached, and, dare I say, "crazy". In a way it makes sense to me. Isn't that the general state of who we are in 2011 vs 1971? The actors are simply reflecting our current norms and general state of sensational being. The show, after all, is about a bat-shit-crazy family in Queens that starts out crazy and ends up 3 levels crazier. It's part farce, part comedy, and part family drama. Some may call it honesty, and some may call it drama, but the interactions between the characters (mostly between Stiller and Falco) can jump from moderately funny to mildly offensive and mean-spirited in a heartbeat. I found the audience unable to discern between the two and prone to laugh at some of the most inappropriate points in the dialogue unfolding on stage.

Overall the show is a powerhouse - - of both drama and comedy. It was written mainstream pre-terrorism, but rings as true today in that sense as it did the say it debuted. While it's not my general cup of tea, I did enjoy the significant performances - - and it frankly left me wishing I could have compared all the performance casts. But alas, live theatre is just that - live. You can't press rewind. That's something Artie probably wishes he could do too.

Picked

2011-04-14T16:47:00.028-04:00

Upfront I will recognize the fine performances by all the actors - Mark Blum, Tom Lipinski, Michael Stahl-David, Liz Stauber, and even Donna Hanover too! The fine acting notwithstanding - the playwright, Christopher Shinn, has a creative failure on his hands.

The plot sold on the Vineyard Theatre website sounds enticing, but it never develops. For two acts over two hours all you get is a frustrating tease. Will it go in this direction? (No.) Will it go in that direction? (No again.) Is the obvious homo-erotic tension between the two actors going anywhere? (Nope.) The brain scan stuff had great potential. As with much, it was introduced but we never saw the results of it - i.e. the movie-within-the-play. (Teased again.). The actors seem to make substantial life-decisions yet we never really understand where they come from or a complete context. Contradiction after contradiction; Dead end after dead end. Don't get me wrong, I understand that Mr. Shinn was going for the ethereal, the psychological, the intangible questions about why we get "picked" and how "getting picked" affects our perception of ourselves as well as how others perceive us and how that affects us and the effects of the constant over-analysis of "why". Yes, I get that and see where it could have fit in your play. Main problem being - you didn't translate that into a discrete, linear, comprehensible plot.

The actors, despite all this mismatched, undeveloped work deserved a hearty round of applause. I think they were as confused as the entire audience as to why they were there. I found myself speaking with about 6 different theater-going couples out front of the theatre and not one of us had a good word to say. Why on earth did the Vineyard present this play was the question of the hour. That, too, like many of our questions about the play, remains unanswered. If you have options, don't pick this one.

By the Way, Meet Vera Stark

2011-04-12T12:22:00.002-04:00

Lynn Nottage has penned a unique and clever work now being performed at Second Stage Theatre. The play takes place in two distinct parts - Act I in 1933 and Act II 1973/2003 involving the same cast - some playing the same characters and others taking on new roles. The work itself is a film-within-a-play and a TV-show-flashback within-a-lecture within a play. Yes - all that and I promise you'll never get confused. It's all done with perfection!

Act I all by itself is simply enchanting. A small and funny dramady all in itself, it introduces us to the characters, provides background and setting (Hollywood 1933). It then sets the stage for the future possibilities for the main character, Vera Stark (Sanaa Lathan) as she embarks on her life's journey.

Act II is where the real meat of the intrigue and playwright's message lies. Act II brings us forward almost 70 years with looks back at what became of Vera and her hallmark film debut, The Belle of New Orleans.

The sets are charming and the costumes period-perfect. I loved the way they orchestrated the scene changes - making the stage look like a Hollywood sound stage exposing the construct of the sets and leaving all the pieces of the sets exposed to the audience at different times.

Ms. Lathan is pitch perfect in her delivery and timing. Stephanie J. Block is marvelous as the young Hollywood star, Gloria Mitchell. It was a pleasure to see the ever-handsome Daniel Breaker perform both of his charmer roles. Karen Olivo gives a hysterical performance as Anne Mae in Act I and a slightly more serious one as poet, rapper, lesbian, feminist, Afua Assata Ejobo. Kimberly Herbert Gregory charms us as Lottie in Act I and provides some over the top commentary as the intellectual Carmen Levy-Green in Act II.

No spoilers here, but I'll just say Ms. Nottage's message is brilliant. If you think about it you'll realize that maybe you shouldn't believe everything some seemingly intelligent and educated people tell you. Just think about Vera. You'll understand what I'm saying after you see it.

Sister Act

2011-04-07T11:12:00.028-04:00

If you're in the mood for a night of good, clean, innocent fun - Sister Act at the Broadway Theatre has just what you've been looking for. By the way, don't run out and rent the movie. Cheri and Bill Steinkellner along with Douglas Carter Beane have adapted the original TouchTone motion picture quite a bit for the stage.

So - what's the result? Fun, frivolity, glitz, glamour along with dancing, singing, high-kicking, sequin wearing nuns! How could you go wrong?! The stained glass sets on the cavernous stage are magnificently grand (kudos Klara Zieglerova) and the colorful and sharp lighting is equally sublime (kudos Natash Katz).

In the staring role, Patina Miller (Deloris Van Cartier) and Victoria Clark (Mother Superior) never fail to delight. Ms. Miller gives it all she's got and Ms. Clark never fails to entertain with her quick wit and sublime vocals. Surrounding these two fine actors is an equally fine cast of nuns, gangsters, and police officers. The two nuns you'd most likely recognize are Sister Mary Patrick (Sara Bolt) and Sister Mary Robert (Marla Mindelle) - literally channeling the identical side-kick characters in the film, Kathy Najimy and Wendy Makkena.

Filling in the supporting roles, Fred Applegate does a magnificent deadpan with Monsignor O'Hara and Audrie Neenan takes on the aging Sister Mary Lazarus with chutzpa. Relative newcomer, Chester Gregory (Eddie Souther) has a few surprises up his sleeves (and pant legs), oozes that awkward, charming sensitivity, and and never fails to delight - especially when those surprises are revealed.

This show lives up to its bold expectations. You'll leave the theatre with a big, old-fashioned smile on your face. After seeing nuns in glitzy habits singing and dancing all night long - the only thing that could top it is the star coming out at the end in the fabulous dress she always wanted.

Benefactors

2011-04-03T10:30:00.020-04:00

Michael Frayn's play, Benefactors, is a gripping, poignant, and dramatic new work now playing off-Broadway at Theatre Row on 42nd Street. You might recognize another of his hit-plays, Noises Off, which has played on and off-Broadway multiple times. The 4 actors, Vivienne Benesch, Daniel Jenkins, Stephen Baker Turner, and Deanne Lorette, each give superb performances and seem to be perfectly cast in their roles.

Is the play a scosche too long? Probably. Could that be easily fixed? Certainly. I'm not worried one bit. What I am worried about is the title itself. After you hear the dialogue and absorb the subject matter, it seemed to me, and a few others leaving the theatre, that the title was a bit deceptive in two ways: First, it drove me to think that the entire play there was some invisible character that was going to pop out of the woodwork who would be a plausible explanation for the mounting conflict we were watching unfold on stage. No such luck. Second, it had no direct connection to the play unfolding before my eyes. It was only after the play upon reflection that I properly determined what it was supposed to represent. Mr. Frayn, how about the obvious - Basuto Road. Innocuous. Mysterious. Has a powerful, dramatic, and ominous tone to it, no? After the obvious, I'm sure there are some other equally appropriate lines from the play that could have been turned into the show's title. The choice of Benefactors served only to un-focus my attention to the story because I was constantly distracted in trying to figure out - who is the mystery man behind the story that is the "Benefactor"? When are we going to meet him? When will the plot be resolved? It moved my focus away from the brilliantly crafted character study being performed.

Title aside, the play is thought provoking, intelligent, well acted and well-structured. Kudos to the director, Carl Forsman for what appeared to me to be quite snappy staging with a subtle story-telling aspect cleverly built into the delivery of the dialogue.

High

2011-03-31T15:01:00.010-04:00

Moving Matthew Lombardo’s new play, High, to a Broadway stage is perhaps the worst thing that could have happened to his provocative new work. Even at the Booth Theatre, one of the smallest on Broadway today, it’s too vast. The space literally drowns the intimacy, dilutes the intensity, and mutes the intended effect.

This show had its world premiere in Hartford and traveled on to St. Louis along its journey to Broadway. I suspect, but am not entirely sure, that it played in those cities in smaller, more intimate houses. The story deserves an up-close and personal view where nobody is more than 2 or 3 rows away from the action, the anger, the emotion and intensity. A Broadway house, while perhaps enticing to the actors (fame, fortune, and recognition) and the producers (money, what else?) turns this play into a preachy, washed-out soap opera on a grand stage.

Nonetheless, Lombardo is to be lauded for his sharp sub-text on religion, politics, and salvation. Drugs are merely a vehicle for him to expose the characters – flaws and all. I was most disappointed in the star of the show, Ms. Turner, herself. She turned in what I deem the “expected” performance - a foul mouthed, yet reformed alcoholic turned to God, Sister Jamison Connelly. And that’s the problem in a nutshell - it’s too hard to forget she is Kathleen Turner playing this part. Although in real life she’s no nun, the rest is all too familiar. The weakest link by far was Stephen Kunken as Father Michael Delpapp. He lacked much conviction, seemed to be struggling to fit the words and dialogue into his performance and frankly was not a very convincing priest. While Lombardo has given him quite a stinging and pivotal role to play, his performance was nothing close.

The shinning star of the evening was newcomer Evan Jonikeit as Cody Randall. His portrayal as a mis-guided, abused, drug-addicted young man was superb. In this case, Lombardo and director, Rob Ruggiero imbued him very youthful character with a silent emotional depth, hurt, passion that shown with every moment he stood on stage.

Lombardo’s play is superb and deserves to be seen but it’s neither Ms. Turner nor the venue that should be the draw. The proximity of your to the actors and action will be in direct proportion to the emotional absorption and satisfaction with which you leave the theatre.

The Promise

2011-03-30T14:45:00.000-04:00

When someone penned the phrase “Tour de Force” they must have been watching Joanna Tope. Taking on Douglas Maxwell’s one character play, The Promise, Ms. Tope (Maggie Brodie), sweeps the audience out of the theatre and into her classroom as she weaves the tale of her her own life with the events that took place in a classroom she recently returned to as a substitute teacher.

In a brief 90 minutes she carefully and methodically lets us into her life, telling us choice bits and pieces of her youth, family life, teaching career and her staunch character. As the tale of her recent experience in the classroom unfolds, so do more and more facts about her. In the end, we’ve traversed politics, religion, gender rights, human rights, and race. Without saying anything explicitly, Maxwell brilliantly leaves the audience with just enough information on all fronts to form any number of opinions about Maggie – good, bad, and otherwise.

While not a psychological thriller – the performance transports you to another time and place as Ms. Tope grabs you tight and doesn’t let go until the very last word.

Dream of the Burning Boy

2011-03-29T14:25:00.015-04:00

Roundabout Underground has done it again. Another outstanding production down in the black box theatre in the bowels of the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre. This production is also #2 at the RU for one of the most in-demand off-Broadway actors this season, Reed Birney.

Set in a small high school in Suburban America, the play deals with the issue of the death of one of the students – from both the perspective of the young students as well as Larry (Birney) one of the teachers. Young playwright, David West Read, has composed razor sharp dialogue in a tinder box situation for the characters. Without revealing the twists and turns of the plot, I’ll just say that Read takes the audience on a wild ride, never leaving the audience with a dull moment and always turns the expected into the truly unexpected.

Alexandra Socha (Rachel) turns in an outstanding performance, constantly churning out the sarcasm, intelligence, and wit of a young sister stricken by grief and at the same time eagerly seeking answers to her questions. Birney (Larry) turns in an emotionally complex performance, proving once again that he is a top-notch stage actor.

Don’t worry, there won’t be any flames on stage, the there will certainly be plenty of heat.

One Night with Fanny Brice

2011-03-27T16:25:00.007-04:00

An educational and entertaining evening all rolled up into one. I mean, who hasn't seen Funny Girl? Fanny Brice was quite a gal in her time - funny, spirited, spoke her mind, and entertained us all for many years.

Chip Deffaa has turned her life into a one-woman show now playing at St. Luke's Theatre on West 46th Street. If I had to guess, he probably knows quite a bit more about her life than we saw on stage - and at that it was quite a long and detailed bio-piece. Kimberly Faye Greenberg takes on the larger than life role and dominates the stage the entire evening. Fanny certainly wasn't shy - and neither is Ms. Greenberg - hitting all the highs and lows of Fanny's life in this musical walk down memory lane. All said, there are 25 musical numbers and even more anecdotes and tid-bits to keep everyone engaged. Whether you know much about Fanny Brice or not, the show is well worth the price of admission.

And don't worry about the ghosts. She's got some protection for that too.

Wonderland

2011-03-24T08:24:00.001-04:00

In less time than it has taken me to type this first sentence (including erasing and re-typing the two typos I have already made) the story of Wonderland (A New Alice. A New Musical) is fully told. Yes, in about 37 seconds, the entire plot of the show is thrown on the table and then you are stuck there for over 2 more hours waiting... praying... for something... anything to happen. Were it not for the brilliantly hued lighting and video projection effects (Paul Gallo and Sven Ortel), the masterfully crafted and elaborate costumes (Susan Hilferty and Tom Watson) and some of the music (Frank Wildhorn and Jack Murphy), I think I just might have slit my wrists right there in the 6th row, Orchestra.

Don't get me wrong, the concept is intriguing - how will they modernize Alice? What will she do? Who will she meet when she falls down the rabbit hole? The answer is, they don't, nothing, and nobody new. It's the same old story with exactly the characters you might expect to meet - except they have turned the show in to an American Idol-like scene by scene, pedestrian performance piece. Schlocky characters speak in fairy tale double-talk, make veiled theatre references, upstage each other on purpose, steal song-bites and references from other shows, and expect us to laugh at the result.

As for the talent - it's decent - if not unknown, virtually all around. The caterpillar, E. Clayton Cornelious, is a smooth, sultry, soulful character. El Gato, Jose Llana, turns up the Latin heat even if he does resemble Freddie Prince reincarnated on stage. The Mad Hatter, Kate Shindle, a tall drink of water, acts mean, but lacks any real depth or reason for so being. The Queen of Hearts, Karen Mason, (think Dame Edna) tries too hard to steal the scenes - overtly pointing at the orchestra conductor in her one number as if she's in charge, not him. Last, and close to least, Alice, Janet Dacal, is merely dragged from scene to scene meeting these outlandish characters but simply goes nowhere and adds nothing of interest to the character.

This genre may appeal to the younger, teenage demographic, but it's certainly not for the 3 month old crying baby in the back of the theatre whose mother was ushered out and hopefully dumped down and open elevator stack head first for even thinking of entering a performance space with an infant). Even the two goom-bas from Lawn-Guyland behind us who openly chatted throughout the entire performance as if they they were in their living room watching TV were more interesting than what was unfolding on stage.

If I had to sum it up - the evening was a technical hit yet a creative bomb. The visually stunning sets, lighting and costumes, brilliantly staged scenes and expertly choreographed numbers stand in stark contrast to the thin and vaguely American Idol-like, pop-sounding score (the louder you turn up the volume, the better it gets, right?) and a book with little substance and even less originality.

The Other Place

2011-03-17T07:54:00.033-04:00

Laurie Metcalf has some experience playing a bitch and she continues to execute this persona quite well as Juliana in Sharr White's new work entitled The Other Place. The work is intended to be presented in a rapid fire, intentionally disjointed pastiche of monologue and dialogue - revealing a story of mental capacity juxtaposed with mental disease. Juliana jumps from fluidly explaining the immediate hours and activities before her incident to sometimes confused and blurred dialogue and background scenes with her husband, daughter, and doctor - all of which lead to an ending you would never suspect when the lights first go down. Sharr's work is compelling, purposeful and extremely clever.

In a psychological thriller of a play such as this, the impact is mainly felt through the rapid fire changes, the lighting, and sound, as well as the abilities of the actors to decisively jump between the various vignettes. The Lortel Theatre is notoriously a dump of a theatre and I found myself wondering how it might come off in a more well equipped theatre. The play is ostensibly Ms. Metcalf's to sell and while she does an admirable job, the supporting cast left me wanting more. Most notably, her doctor (Aya Cash) is played by the same actor as her daughter (and also the resident of her prior home of Cape Cod). I'm not exactly clear why someone would think an accomplished neurologist would be so young. Her husband, Ian (Dennis Boustikaris) aptly covers the required ground, but the role, while at times emotional, lacks clear definition.

A compelling story, a fine acting job by Ms. Metcalf worth plenty more than the price of an off-Broadway ticket, nonetheless, The Other Place, left me wondering how much better it could be - and in another place. Should there be chatter of a Broadway run next fall or spring, once again under Joe Mantello's direction, I'd be calling in my ticket order today.

Catch Me If You Can

2011-03-15T07:28:00.061-04:00

Just when I thought I'd seen the best new musical of the year, along comes another! Look out theater aficionados, another potential blockbuster has just landed on Broadway. Terrance McNally's book transforms the already slick, fast-paced silver-screen story of Frank Abagnale, Jr. into an elegant, high-energy Broadway show with beautiful show-girls (and boys) and a fantastic musical score by the creative team of Shaiman and Whitman.

Piloting this juggernaut are the ever adorable and talented duo of Aaron Tveit (Frank Jr.) and Norbert Leo Butz (FBI Agent Hanratty). Supporting cast and crew includes Kerry Butler (Brenda Strong) as his fiance and Tom Wopat (Frank Sr.) as his father.

This version takes a more personal route of storytelling, cleverly weaving the story of who Frank Abagnale, Jr., one of the largest con-men of our generation, was, what motivated him, and perhaps a hint at why he did it. The story is told as a flash-back. The story opens up with Frank being caught and he has the thought that the people around him just might be interested in why he's being shot at and pursued (the preverbal light bulb moment). The show (within the show) then unfolds as he literally tell the story and introduces the characters from his rather surreal life.

For the entire 2:40 minutes - you'll be dazzled and treated to top notch performances - most of which include Tveit who is rarely off-stage. And speaking of the stage - the sets by David Rockwell are incredibly classy - an elegant, big-band feel, the orchestra on stage atop a dual grand staircase which provids for perfect showy entrances and exits. The production did have an out-of-town try-out in Seattle, but changes are still being made. Is it perfect yet? Not quite - but I took a few notes for choreographer Jerry Mitchell and director Jack O'Brien. I hope they can tighten up the dancers. The choreography is brilliant but on more than one occasion the tires tended to come off the bus. The Family Tree number presents physical challenges - one mis-step (as Mr Tveit had at my performance) and it could all fall apart. Mr. O'Brien needs to cut the drawn out final scene and two numbers - and for God's sake - do an encore of "Don't Break The Rules". It would bring the audience to its feet right in the middle of Act I. These few notes aside, for only its 2nd week of previews this show is in terrific shape.

Dare I say - we have a battle Tony battle brewing on Broadway already? Book vs Catch. There's plenty to be smiling about leaving the theatre these days. I just may go back for more of both!

HERE'S A LITTLE PEAK AT THE CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM:

The Book of Mormon

2011-03-08T07:15:00.016-05:00

Previews just started on what I firmly believe is going to be the best new musical of the season! Without a doubt, a clever, intelligent, and completely irreverent book written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone of South Park fame and Robert Lopez of the Tony Award winning Avenue Q fame. Did I mention it's irreverent? In 2 1/2 short hours they manage to skewer the entire Mormon religion, all the while your gut is busting from all the laugh out loud moments. Behind it all there's a message about religion, humanity, faith and community. Now how awesome is that?!

As you would suspect, the story is about the required mission that all young Mormon boys must take when they turn 18 - in this story - Elder Cunningham (Josh Gad) and Elder Price (Andrew Rannells) and their wild trip to Uganda in Africa. Did I mention the play is irreverent? To take a quote from another show, "Fasten your seat belts, it's gonna be a bumpy night". By the time they meet up with Elder McKinley (Rory O'Malley) and a village of Ugandans including Nabulung (Nikki M. James), Mafala Hatambi (Michael Potts) - your side is already throbbing from the infectious laughter. The entire ensemble cast is divided into two - the local Mormon mission and the local African villagers.

The other adorably handsome boys at the mission never fail to entertain and delight - filling both acts with rousing, big-Broadway dance numbers - including some rousing tap with shiny pink sequin vests (yes, it's occasionally more than your basic black and white outfits for these boys). The local Ugandan villagers start us off with a great African inspired number titled Fuck God - and the temperature in the theatre heats up from there. When the two groups meet up it's double the singing, dancing, dream sequences and insults all around. I mean, seriously, there's a lot to laugh about when it comes to Mormons!

No spoiler alert needed here - I won't give away Matt, Trey, Robert or the ever-brilliant choreographer, Casey Nicholaw's, big-Broadway secrets. If you want to see a deliciously entertaining new Broadway musical chock full of blasphemous humor, adorably handsome Mormon boys and an African village filled with AIDS - get your tickets for this Book today. Did I mention it's irreverent?

WATCH THIS SHORT VIDEO FOR MORE BACKGROUND ON THE SHOW:

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

2011-03-03T21:05:00.067-05:00

Without question an evening of sheer entertainment all-around. With much riding on his shoulders, Daniel Radcliffe once again proves himself to be right at home on a stage acting, singing, and dancing with the big-boys and girls of Broadway.

Now, with that said, I will say that the entire show is entertaining - a light, amusing, and occasionally cynical book (Burrows, Weinstock & Gilbert), and a fantastic score (Loesser), carry you from start to finish - always with a smile or a wink and a nod. I will go further and say that this show and this star are a particularly successful marriage made in heaven. The show carries Mr. Radcliffe and he in turn delivers and delights as we watch him climb the corporate ladder from the mailroom all the way up to the board of directors at the World Wide Wicket Company.

Joining Mr. Radcliffe (J. Pierrepont Finch) in his climb up said ladder are John Larroquette (Mr. Andrews, the president of the company), Tammy Blanchard (Hedy La Rue, his dizzy girlfriend), the uber-adorable and talented Christopher Hanke (Bud Frump, his arch nemesis at the company), and Ellen Harvey (Miss Jones, secretary to Mr. Andrews) and a Broadway debut for Rose Hemmingway (Rosemary Pilkington, Fitch's girlfriend). You also just might recognize a familiar yet invisible voice echoing throughout the theatre - Anderson Cooper (the narrator)! A tremendously energetic and talented supporting cast, chorus, and dance team delightfully round out the entire troupe! Colorful costumes, brilliant lighting effects, and superbly complex sets never disappoint. Rob Ashford's brilliant directorial and choreographicial stamp is all over this one.

Merely two weeks into previews and this one is already blowing the roof off the house! Get your tickets before the location of this secret treasure gets out!

Kin

2011-03-02T19:34:00.037-05:00

Bathsheba Doran's new work, Kin, is an irresistibly poignant and modern snapshot of friends and family and what defines our close relationships. As usual at Playwrights Horizons - well cast, well directed and well acted.

The story revolves around Sean (Patch Darragh) and Anna (Kristen Bush) and their ever-tightly-woven quilt of immediate family and friends - including Sean's mother, Linda (Suzanne Bertish), Anna's best friend, Helena (Laura Heisler) and her father, Adam (Cotter Smith). The story unfolds over time in brief vignettes on an elegantly designed set that can best be described as a large white picture frame - capturing all the many and diverse moments of our lives.

The play is performed without intermission - an intelligent choice - as it allows the audience engross itself in the unfolding life story of the 9 characters. Before you know it, the story rises to a crescendo on the cliffs in Ireland - (rain and mist included in the ticket price) - and ends with a touching Kodak moment in that big white picture frame. Put this one on your must-see list. But, no flash photos please.

Peter and the Starcatcher

2011-03-01T22:14:00.008-05:00

It's exciting and magical to see a play off-Broadway in a developmental theatre on a tiny stage with great actors telling a story of wonder and hope that you can just feel in your bones will someday graduate to the Minskoff or the Walter Kerr. Peter and the Starcatcher is one such play and in the immortal words of Mr. Brooks Atkinson, "There is no joy so great as that of reporting that a good play has come to town". Based on a novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson this new play written by Rick Elice and directed by Roger Rees and Alex Timbers (of recent Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson fame) tells one endearing version of just how Peter Pan came to be Peter Pan.

Add to an extremely well crafted and witty script a bevy of incredibly talented actors and you have the makings of a lively and all-around entertaining evening. Just take a look at this cast: Teddy Bergman, Christian Borle, Arnie Burton, Adam Chanler-Berat, Matt D'Amico, Kevin Del Aguila, Brandon Dirden, Carson Elrod, Greg Hildreth, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Karl Kenzler, and David Rossmer. Each and every one of them accomplished young actors - each and every one of them add their own ray of sunshine to this delightful production. And indeed, how refreshing to see such an un-Disney Disney-story told in a slightly gritty, always witty, and adult, intelligent fashion.

You won't need any "star stuff" to fly down to this performance - just hop on the N/R or 6 train downtown to East 4th Street and 2nd Avenue and get a great seat to see this one at the New York Theatre Workshop before the venue moves North and the prices do too!

Working

2011-02-26T12:16:00.009-05:00

Currently back on stage in Chicago at the Broadway Playhouse is the 1970's not-so-big-a-hit, Working, adapted by Stephen Schwartz from the Studs Terkel book Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do. I did a bit of research after seeing this one to understand what its first incarnation was like. Originally on Broadway in 1978, the show only played 12 previews and about 2 dozen regular performances. It came along just after the smash hit, A Chorus Line, and was seemingly presented in the same manner - a pastiche of stories told by "the average, everyday, working-Joe". The stories highlighted the cultural, racial, and ethnic struggles, work ethics, career choices (or lack thereof) - and most importantly how hopes and dreams can be blind to all of these factors.

It now seems Mr. Schwartz, after about 30 years of coaxing, has updated the book and score to be more culturally relevant in 2010 by including references to email, blackberries, computers, and the Internet as well as the outsourcing of jobs to India and the stock market on Wall Street. He's also broadened the originally strictly blue-collar feel to now include a more diverse service worker element. The cast has been trimmed down from 17 to 6 people who now play multiple roles. The musical score, already boasting a potpourri of songsters including Mr. Schwartz, Craig Carnelia, and James Taylor, now also includes two fresh numbers by Lin-Manuel Miranda - an obvious nod to the modern Latino commercial and cultural influences both on and off Broadway.

One of the updates I especially enjoyed was the overt inclusion of the behind the scenes workers (non-actors) in the landscape. On the generic and open two story steel-beam looking set that is constantly transformed by video projections he exposes the actual stage crew, make up artists, dressers, and stage hands doing their jobs. The stage manager is also visibly lit in one of the house's boxes transformed into her working area (we hear her queue the lights and curtain at the start).

The ensemble cast idea seems to have paid off - too many actors sometimes is overwhelming and you don't get to see individual talents as you do when a smaller cast plays multiple roles. Every one of them here had a stand out performance at one point or another during the show - Emjoy Gavino, E. Faye Butler, Barbara Robertson, Michael Mahler (please come to Broadway, Michael!), Gabrial Ruiz, and Gene Waygandt. By the names alone - you can tell this is quite an appropriately diverse cast and all earned their hearty applause from the audience throughout the show.

Does it need a bit more work? Probably. Can this one make it to the Great White Way? The verdict is out, but I'll tell you after this season of 11 new musicals - some of which are bound to flop - perhaps this could be our 2011 or spring 2012 stand-out revival. Are three Stephen Schwartz musicals on Broadway at one time a bit much? Move over Wicked and Godspell - something Working this way comes.

Invasion!

2011-02-21T20:53:00.041-05:00

Get your wallet out now. Pull out $30 bucks and fork it over for a ticket to the box office at Walkerspace for the powerhouse Swedish playwright Jonas Hassen Khemiri's US debut of Invasion! Ask no more questions. Do not hesitate. This is without a doubt one of the best plays I have seen this entire season - and that includes Broadway, off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway. It's an extremely intelligent, linguistically complex, politically charged, attention grabbing, rapid-fire tour-de force for each of its 75 sharply written, cunningly directed, and superbly acted and deliciously well received minutes.

Each of the four young actors - Francis Benhamou, Andrew Guilarte, Bobby Moreno, and Debargo Sanyal (known only as Actors A, B, C and D) performs at full throttle the entire evening - never missing a beat or a word or a queue. Emotions run the gamut from scene to scene but the pace is relentlessly and purposefully quick. Scene changes are executed with precision and aplomb By the time you reach the end, you find yourself at the beginning again.

I won't pretend to understand everything the playwright had to say. There was too much there for my brain to have absorbed every layer, every overt or subversive gesture, word and idea. Hours after the play ends and you're sitting at TriBeCa Bread enjoying your 3rd Manhattan, a new meaning or the nuance of a scene will reveal itself to you. This, I promise. Everything may not be as it seems. Don't believe everything they tell you. Open your eyes and think for yourself. Think. Period.

The Body Politic

2011-02-20T23:01:00.018-05:00

Wink, Wink, Nod. James Carville and Mary Matalin must be ecstatic. A whole play written about them - or at least about their story. In case you live under a rock - they are two of the most diametrically opposed political operatives / commentators who fell in love and got married. You know, they say politics make strange bedfellows. Indeed, Richard Abrons and Margarett Perry (the playwrights and the latter also the director) have captured equal amounts of ideological sparing and the attractions it spawns.

Unfortunately, the story is somewhat stale to an audience bombarded on an weekly, daily, and hourly basis with political trickery, deception, and below-the-belt antics and shenanigans. Who put that false story out there? He said, she said. I knew absolutely nothing about that. Spin. Spin. Spin. Make them look bad. Let them bring themselves down. Blackberries, laptops, and cell phones. And lots of Starbucks.

The actors all did a fine job - two presidential candidates - Brian Dykstra (Democrat) and Daren Kelly (Republican) - making bumbling errors and pronouncing things incorrectly never fail to entertain. Then there are two "older and more experienced" political advisors - Leslie Hendrix (Republican) and Michael Puzzo (Democrat). Plenty of vitriol, bitterness, and regret going on there. And then we have the two love-hate birds themselves - Matthew Boston (Republican) and Eve Danzeisen (Democrat). Not enough chemistry for my taste here. And it all might have been due to the mis-casting of Mr. Boston. He appeared to me to be too old and out of step with his much younger opponent, Ms. Danzeisen.

Don't get me wrong - the story is entertaining, light, and mostly enjoyable - if only a scosche too long at 2 hours. I don't think anyone should expect the "oh my gosh, i can't believe how it ended" sort of show. If you go in with the low expectations of such a satirical political romp, you'll do just fine.

That Championship Season

2011-02-17T10:45:00.010-05:00

Perhaps the play did win the Pulitzer Prize in 1972, but that doesn't guarantee a good show in 2011. The play itself only ran for 144 performances in '72, and that should have been a clue. The subject matter may have been fresh and shocking 40 years ago, but today it's like a bad re-run episode of All in the Family. Playwright Jason Miller may have penned some good lines and started with some powder-keg material but in the end it's an over-hyped, sad, obvious, and pedantic walk down memory lane indicting men, the education system, small-town America, and the Catholic church all in one fell swoop. The obvious topics covered (or uncovered as it were) are racism, bigotry, family duty, adultery, success (or lack thereof) and false role models.

I haven't seen a play in a very long time where the quality of the acting was so diametrically opposite to the quality of the script. The all-star cast delivered in every way it could given the poor material. Jason Patric, Keifer Sutherland, Brian Cox, Dan Gaffigan, and Chris Noth pour their hearts into the roles. Trouble is, there are so many dead-ends, undeveloped story lines and lost opportunities in the script that all we're left with is the overbearing coach eternally blathering on about "what makes a winner" and "what it takes to win". By today's standards, I think anyone (even in small-town America) would wonder why these men are so handicapped by and tied to this coach's "wisdom". For all our faults, we're a much more open, independent and thinking society today. I presume that Mr. Miller's desired outcome in 1972 was to see that "the emperor has no clothes", but in 2011 I think all that remains of this show is the picture of a sorry and sad past we should all regret.

The Rubber Room

2011-02-15T09:49:00.003-05:00

All around this is a perfect idea. Write a play about teachers who are suspended from classroom instruction for some infraction and placed in a holding room indefinitely until their cases are adjudicated. Seems like the makings of a great work of fiction - ripe with conflict and drama. Only problem is - this is a true story. Well, not the stories themselves (as far as I know), rather the concept itself. New York City, from the 1960's until Mayor Bloomberg closed them in 2008, maintained these rooms - almost immediately coined "rubber rooms" for just this purpose.

Now here's where it gets good - - Take 5 different directors - each of whom gets to rehearse a cast of 5 actors for the show - and don't let them or their casts collaborate. Next, call one member of each cast to the theatre each night to perform his or her part. The result is a fresh, tense, and realistic experience of these characters meeting for the first time in the rubber room each night. You get 25 different casts all performing the same show. I'm sold!

So while I only saw 1 out of those potential 25 casts - I have to say the overall show is a power-packed drama. In short order you get to meet the 5 characters and find out that there just may be 2 sides to every story and accusation. Are teachers to blame for everything wrong in the classroom? Where are the parents? What happened to respect, discipline, and order in the classroom? Who is really running the schools?

I can't say that each night is going to be a grand-slam, but the one I attended was excellent. Discussing the performance we both witnessed and the overall state of the education system in NYC afterwards with my friend over a burger, we both realized how each director might play the same character differently and how the stories of each of the characters might totally change left us wanting to see the show again! While this concept may not work for every show (I doubt you will see this anytime soon in commercial theatre) it certainly felt like it worked with this subject matter. Anytime someone wants to go back and see a show - that seems like a good thing to me. And I'm the one with the "no repeats" rule too!

A Perfect Future

2011-02-13T08:44:00.041-05:00

David Hay's new work at the Cherry Lane Theatre attempts to explore the "glory days"of a few 1970's college radicals in a Manhattan apartment 30 years later. Lifetime movie, you may ask? Unfortunately, worse than than, i regrettably report.

While the cast was aptly chosen for their good looks, the play, rather than focus on the subtleties of the relationships, chose to accentuate the stereotypical and painfully obvious plot twists that these people's lives cold have taken. John Hudson (Michael T Weiss) is a rude, annoying, pompous, rich, Wall street guy. Natalie Schiff-Hudson (Donna Bullock) is an over-the-top, former radical turned documentary film maker who seemingly turned "rich guy's wife" allegedly because they used to have good sex and apparently she never bothered to realize her husband was a complete phony, racist, capitalist ass. Elliott Murphy (Daniel Oreskes) - the radical friend who "kept the faith" and has always "fought the good fight" amazingly comes out of the closet after it's safe to do so and is now a big gay daddy who defends terrorists and fights against AIDS - and surprise - has lots of relationship issues. Into this patently obvious storyline comes Mark Colvin (Scott Drummond) a young, good-looking associate at John's office who - get this - looks as straight as a Mormon arrow - but turns out he's gay too. Over the course of this dinner party, more (expensive) wine was uncorked than at a medieval feast and (surprise) the participants reveal exactly what you would expect them to - that none of them are happy and some of them are not what they seem.

With a blueprint that could make a bad lifetime move look good, even the main prop - the wine - was a disaster. Someone in the properties department needs a basic lesson in what color red and white wine should be. (Hint - neither is pink).

Good People

2011-02-10T09:36:00.028-05:00

David Lindsay Abaire's new work at Manhattan Theatre Club's Mainstage - The Freidman Theatre (I still call it the Biltmore), may only be taking its first-ever bows but already I can tell this play will be a juggernaut. Abaire's biting wit and stinging social commentary plunge into the audience like a sharp knife into a raw steak.

The plot centers around Margaret (Frances McDormand) , a down-on-your-luck, brutally honest, not-so-educated, but quick-on-her-feet, god-fearing, life-long resident of South Boston's tough as nails, blue-collar, Lower End known as Southie. At the curtain goes up (or the geometric panels retract, as it were) she is being fired from her latest job at the local dollar store. We soon see her back at her apartment socializing with her close friends, Jean (Becky Ann Baker) and Dottie (Estelle Parsons). With some brutally funny and poignantly sharp dialogue, they are discussing and gossiping about how Margaret will make ends meet for her and her retarded adult daughter. There's little hope and lots of worry, but through it all there's an sense that this latest turn of events may not be the worst of times for these folks.

Encouraged by her friends, Margaret takes her job hunt to a (now) "comfortable" doctor she went to high school with in Southie over 30 years ago. They dated briefly and their breakup just might coincide with the time frame that her daughter was born. He "got out" and made something for himself. What will she say to him? How does the meeting go? These questions and more will be answered. Or will they?

Even at just the first week of previews, Parsons and McDormand are turning in top notch performances - and it will only get better from here. My dear friend Donna is usually a bellwether of good actors and great plays - but I fear she may have mis-under-estimated the humor and depth of this fine work. I encourage her and everyone else to check out some Good People on West 47th.

The Importance of Being Earnest

2011-02-03T22:30:00.014-05:00

The Roundabout Theatre Company may have an occasional flop (at least one per season, by recent calculations), but their current production of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest is certainly not in that category. Esteemed stage actor, Brian Bedford, directs a superb cast at the same time starring in this 3 act romp. Earnest is one of Wilde's timeless works and this production dishes up barrels of laughs and glamorous sets - a thoroughly entertaining evening in the theatre all around.

One cannot even say that Bedford, playing the role of Lady Bracknell in drag, stole the show. The entire cast around him never missed a beat and elevated the pedestal upon which Lady Bracknell could perch. David Furr (John Worthing) and Santino Fontana (Algernon Moncrieff) - Wilde's two Earnests - have impeccable comedic timing, dashing good looks, and abundance of energy. Charlotte Parry (Cecily) and Sara Topham (Gwendolyn) are smartly coquettish and irresistibly innocent as the ladies who fall for their Earnests. Supporting these two fine couples are the delightful Dana Ivey (Miss Prism) and the charming Paxton Whitehead (Reverend Chasuble).

Wilde's writing is a good as it gets - and the tale told is one that is timeless. Comparisons to the 2002 movie are likely to be made by some - but the stage version is still tops in my book. This comedy of manners is a timeless tale that is is looking to have a long run into the summer at the American Airlines Theater. Get your tickets today. You might want to use your real name or you might not be able to pick them up.

The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore

2011-01-27T08:57:00.029-05:00

When compared with the 1968 movie staring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor (Boom!) almost anything could shine. As a matter of fact, the play was first mounted on Broadway in 1963 (re-mounted in1964) and played a combined total of 74 performances - receiving poor reviews all around.

So why then did the Roundabout choose this little known flop to re-mount? One word - Tennessee Williams. His works are grand and his talent well proven. Perhaps the secret to this run's success will be two-fold - a complete dumbing down of the unnecessarily over-the-top costumes, Hollywood-like sets, and unnecessary camp and phony glamour but, more importantly, Olympia Dukakis herself.

The play centers around Flora Goforth (Olympia Dukakis), a wealthy, older, eccentric dying American woman who had fled to an isolated cliff side villa retreat on the Italian coast to write her memoirs and live out her final days. She receives a very handsome young visitor who is a struggling poet known as "the angel of death" (Darren Pettie) and we are taken on a journey into the minds and hearts of two very different individuals who both deeply want and need something from this relationship. Round out the cast with an eccentric (read gay) friend, locally known as The Witch of Capri (Edward Hibbert) and Blackie (Maggie Lacey), Mrs Goforth's tortured personal assistant and you end up with a cauldron of wit, sarcasm, humor and love that Mr. Williams serves up deliciously.

Without the baggage of being a big dramatic (or drama-filled) Hollywood star, Dukakis plays the role in her own unique and humble style - leaving out most of the camp and everything that comes along with such a background. She uniquely slices straight to the heart of Mrs Goforth - exposing her vulnerabilities, wants and needs, all the while maintaining her vitality and and sharp tongue. Overall, the play, in Tennessee Williams signature style, is a bit too long, but when you're enjoying the banter and emotions on the stage, sometimes that doesn't matter.

Room 17B

2011-01-19T08:31:00.009-05:00

Tucked away in the tiny Theater C atop the 59E59 complex lies a silent weapon consisting of hilarity and laughter. Room 17B is loosely based in an office building, but don't worry, that' not really the important part. Four gentlemen who never utter more than a grunt, a groan or a scream bring a genre of years past back to life with side-splitting results. Joel Jeske, Danny Gardner, Brent McBeth and Mike Dobson take 65 minutes that you may have otherwise thrown down the toilet and turn it into sheer physical entertainment.

Part vaudeville, part silent film, part mime, part slapstick, and part physical comedy, these four characters present over 20 skits in and around this mysterious office filled from floor to ceiling with file drawers - many of which hide a prop or device needed to help the silent actors convey the story. Beware, though - - audience participation is mandatory and the theatre is small - so you're likely to be scrutinized very closely for a minor part in the evening's script.

For such a small production I marveled at the professionalism and skills of the actors. It seemed like they had been working together for years! Lighting and sound were brilliant and while I'm not a fan of the audience participation schtick - it was all crafted to make each chosen audience member feel like they were made an honorary member of the show. Kudos to the boys of 17B.

Gruesome Playground Injuries

2011-01-11T09:35:00.061-05:00

I'm glad the word "gruesome" was in the title of this show. As I sat in the "playground" seating area (seats on the rear stage facing outward toward the audience leaving only two "walls" to the actors on stage) I soon learned just how gruesome those injuries were going to be. It's a clever staging technique that I encourage everyone to ask for and enjoy.

A two-person, injury-ridden play that wraps up in 80 minutes is just about all the audience really could be subjected to on this topic by playwright Rajiv Joseph (soon also to be on Broadway with his work Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo staring Robin Williams). Although it's graphic, it's not a two-hour horror flick either. We follow the twisted (one might argue mentally unstable) children, Kayleen (Jennifer Carpenter) and Doug (Pablo Schreiber) from childhood to adulthood. We start at 8 awkward years old and in various non-linear order end up at about 38 years old - drawn inexplicably to each other by injuries usually physical in nature. Doug is the more outwardly weird one - getting into fights, showing his aggression, and harboring feelings for his best friend, Kayleen. Superbly played by Mr. Schreiber, I always felt he was slightly mentally challenged and thus that drove his behavior. Kayleen, on the other hand, while seemingly odd, is the more outwardly normal one - but not without her own problems - more internally driven - depression and rejection. She's not loved by her father at all and ends up deeply depressed, cuts herself, takes drugs, and at her lowest point - tries to cut her stomach out. Yes, gruesome is the operative word in the title.

Certainly not a happy play, but Mr. Joseph does have an ear for dialogue and undertones and the staging at 2ST is brilliantly executed. There are no heroes in this play, no rescues, and not a whole lot of fun - but with two skilled actors, this play takes slices of life and reminds us about the fragility and delicate balance of life itself.

Three Pianos

2011-01-04T19:00:00.005-05:00

Part concert, part history lesson, part poetry, part performance art. Three Pianos is a casual, contemporary, quirky, and off-beat evening in the theatre - and I'm pretty sure you'll walk out knowing just a little bit more about Franz Shubert than you did before you walked in.

Three friends and artists slip in and out between the life and times of Franz Shubert and the present. We are essentially learning about Mr. Shubert and his contemporaries, the history of music, all wrapped in a chaotic and alcoholic haze start to finish translation and analysis of the 24 pieces within the complete work, Winterreise. We learn what the lyrics mean, why he may have written them, and are given glimpses in to the life and times of the artist as well as the contemporary characters. Written, arranged, and performed by Rick Burkhardt, Alec Duffy, and Dave Malloy, this show is sure to delight. As they are having fun on stage, it's sure to rub off on you.

The three friends who are gathered on stage are not quite acting - I would categorize it more as performing. I wouldn't say they were actors, nor were they singers and at least one of them played a bit less on the piano than the other two. It's more casual, fun and fantasy on stage. It certainly helps that the audience gets to imbibe while listening in. Yes - they serve wine. Not just a glass, but bottles flow up and down the aisles! While that may seem antithetical to watching theatre, it certainly pairs up nicely with the atmosphere created here.

Recently extended - but only until January 16th - -so don your scarf and cap and head over to East 4th street to join the wintertime fun!