A Touch of the Poet

Gabriel Byrne and his cast members gave us an outstanding evening of theater at Studio 54. A classic straight play with a talented supporting cast aptly directed by Doug Hughs brilliantly entertained us for the entire 2 hours and 40 minutes. (Kudos cousin Cindy!)

The story is set in colonial Boston - July 1828 - and focuses on the Maloy family, lead with great pride by Gabriel Byrne (MAJOR Cornelious Maloy). It becomes aparant that he used to be a gentleman of great stature living on an estate in Ireland in days gone by. However, since his transplantation to America - we learn that he seems to have slipped a few notches down to the status of inn-keeper. What keeps him going is the memory of his days in the army - fighting in Spain for England. Seemingly unaware that he is not a "real" gentleman any longer - he fights his family and his inner self as they all struggle with what love and honor really means to each of them.

Irish Family and Booze - all classic O'Neill - but not at all one of his trademark durges - The play, however, does close with a familiar note of "in the end, nobody really wins".

Beauty of the Father

The sultry sounds of Spanish music softly transformed Theater II at MTC into the Costa del Sol last Thursday evening. A cast as talented as they were good looking supurbly performed the latest work by award winning Nilo Cruz. You couldn't ask for more.

The story unfolds in a cottage on the Spanish coast as we learn about a small family and their rich and unique relationships. Throw in a poor, handsome, young moroccan boy and it all heats up. The play is cleverly narrated by a character we soon learn is the ghost of Federico Garcia Lorca, the Spanish poet.

This play has layers... and lots of 'em. Truly a tale which makes you question if there really is only one true definition of family, sexuality, love, and sacrafice. What would you do and how far would you go for true love?

Check out Beauty of the Father and then give me your answer.

BINGO!

One Part Trailer Park Musical (B), One Part Golden Girls (I), One Part Alice (N), One Part Roseane (G), and One Part Steel Magnolias (O)!

Boy oh Boy - can it get any better. You get to play BINGO (and they pay out the winners too!) and join in all the melodrama and fun with the gals from Florida who regail you with their game playing and slightly trashy, yet always funny and endearing lives!

You'll be rolling in the aisles as these gals belt out the songs in the basement of St. Luke's Church on 46th Street (could there be a better set?!). If you're like me you could close your eyes and see the stage filled with the likes of Bette Midler, Dolly Parton, Christine Baransky, and Estelle Geddy filling the room with song and laughter! A working BINGO setup - big working lite board and all! You even get your own genuine ink dabber and game cards as you enter!

If you get the chance - bring your lucky rabbit's foot and hit the basement of St. Lukes - just don't sit in the front row, if you know what's good for you!

Five Course Love

Billed as "A lip-smacking musical comedy". I say - Smack Me for going! Oh boy - A clever idea, yes. Pretty talented actors, yes. Idea transformed into quality entertainment - NOT!
Five vignettes - each revolving around love in a restaurant. The problem, however, is the lack of comedy. It's dumb. Cliche after cliche. Bad puns and double entendres one after another. Each scene also had one too many musical numbers. I wanted to cry out "OK - we GET your stupid humor already!". (i refrained, however).
Honestly - the best part of the whole show - the barbershop quartet like opening announcment about turning off your cell phones and enjoying the show. Really - it was the best number. It was all a downhill trainwreck after that!

Seascape

Edward Albee wrote a gem. It won a pulitzer prize actually. An entertaining tale, actually. Francis Sternhagen and George Grizzard bring a touch of warmth and a bit of comedy to the story of an aging couple - just arriving at the golden years of their life. The story takes a twist just in time for Act II. where it turns surreal and thought provking -the entire time a bit too farsical.

Seems that Mr. Albee was a deep thinker, but just ran out of time and decided to "wrap it up" quickly. The second act contained too many elements of evolution, emotion, and humanity. He tried to explain them all away to the "other couple" too quickly and to easily.

With all that said - it was still entertaining - but not necessarily one to put on your Rebok's for.

The Other Side

Rosemary Harris.
John Cullum.

Terrific.

One theme - war divides and destroys lives.
Simple. 90 minutes. Check it out. MTC.

Arcadia

Tom Stoppard. If any of you are like me and saw "Jumpers" on Broadway last Winter, you might be thinking - oh no! Run for your life! Another babbling, British, snobbish, upper crusty, play the likes of Plato or Aristotle might even wince at. Well - if you're like me - you'll be totally surprised. With great trepedation, I attended my second Stoppard work - and what a different experience it was.

This play is so cleverly written (ok there's still a lot of "British" to get over) and so well acted I really felt like i was immersed in the 3 hour drama - as I would be a movie or a TV program on Channel 13. The theater is very intimate (a "black box", as it were) which lends itself quite well to captivating the audience. The play is set on an English country estate and is actually two stories - one takes place the early 1800's, the second in modern day. The latter story is a cast of modern academia types who are trying to figure out exactly what transpired on the estate 200 years earlier - as told to us in parallel by the by the other storyline. In both settings - it's a story of intregue and mystery; secrets and discovery; throw in a little lust, betrayal, and "carnal desire" - and voila - - you have "Arcadia", a Tom Stoppard "gem".

The Greenwich Street Theater Company and QED Productions has done an amazing job. The acting was suprub. Trust me, the script was still quite intelligent (read complex) and obviously required much preparation. Billed as a Showcase (as many are) for the AEA members - - I found the performances by the non-equity members ("up-and-commers") to be top notch and first rate. The direction, too, was outstanding - especially the staging of the last scene - where the two stories blend together both visually and emotionally. In the end you feel the emotional high of "conclusion". The story doesn't leave you hanging - It doesn't leave you asking "Who done it?"

There are many levels to this play - - many of which, admitidly, flew over my head, but at least I knew they were there and enjoyed absorbing them all.

Speaking of flying - - you'd better fly down to the Greenwich Street Theater - this one only runs until November 20th.

Mr. Marmalade

Possibly the strangest, yet entertaining play I've ever seen! The story is the wild fantasy of a 4 year old and her immaginary friends. And what a cast of "characters" they all are! Let's cut to the chase - - the playright obviously want to tell us that children absorb almost everything around them - mood, demeanor, class, status, emotion and yes, even neglect. They watch too much TV and as entertainment in their own "imaginary world" re-construct these things with often "damaging" consequences.

The headliner here was Michael C. Hall - aka David Fisher from "Six Feet Under". But the real star of the show is Mamie Gunner. As 4 year old Lucy, she never left the stage and gave a supurb "adult" performance.

Leave it to Roundabout to construct the best sets in the business. This one - a curved 1960's-esque living room - had the most ingeneous "secret" doors - which often revealed small doses of "glitz" to enhance your viewing experience. The Laura Pells Theater is a perfect size for this type of production.

PSA: Spend more quality time with your kids.

Third

Wendy Wasserstein's new play was virtually sold out before tickets hit the street. Presented in the intimate Mitzi Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center, subscribers gobbled up tickets like pigeons on a pile of breadcrumbs at Fairway on a Sunday afternoon! Fortunately, a few tickets were actually released to the public (cancellations and a final block of tix, i assume). So I, too, gobbled one up last week.

And what a good decision that turned out to be. The play is a contemporary drama staring Diane Weist as an uber-liberal, progressive professor at a small "New England" College (unnamed, of course). What's a play wihtout a twist - - right? What we have going on here is that when a young, cute, straight, jock (he's on the wrestling team) from a "Red State" and aparantly "above average means" (Jason Ritter) comes to campus to "learn and grow" in this ultra liberal environment (this college has the first trans-gender dorm in the country) - she instantly closes HER mind and forms an opinion as to his motives, intelligence, and accuses him of plagerism (he could never have written this - it's too intelligent). Reverse Discrimination from, of all people, a supposed open minded Liberal!

Rounding out the story of her life - which is quickly cascading "out of perspective" is a long time friend/professor dying of cancer at the university (Amy Acquino), a daughter rebelling against her mother's academic and social eliteism (Gaby Hoffmann), and having to deal with a father well into advanced Alzheimer's Disease (Charles Durning).

Performed in several individual scenes with limited sets/scenery - the play moved along quickly, made a few more "political" jabs at the "current administration" than i cared to hear- but when the dialogue is so well written and the actors give such rich performances - you tend to just let those pass. Charles Durning, the father, gave what i thought to be an outstanding performance as an elderly man and all the frustration, confusion, and emotion that comes with the disease.

I won't give away all of Wendy's secrets - but I'll just say that despite all the angst - intellect and self awareness wins out - in many ways.

You can try to run and get a single seat (your best bet) - but don't be disappointed if all those subscribers win out. You'll just end up walking home... and trust me... you should be disapppointed at not getting the chance to see this gem.

A Mother, A Daughter and A Gun

A Bang-up Job!! Right from the get-go! They not only introduced the gun in act I, they used it in act I (and act II)! I almost thought Olympia Dukakis wouldn't make it past the front door on her entrance! But alas, she survives - - and boy does she partake in one helluva party at her daughter's New York City apartment. Veanne Cox - the angst ridden daughter - takes it just as well as she can dish it out.

Ok, Olympia's hysterical, over-bearing, and delightful to watch - - a true "gem".... but oh, how dark the comedy goes... Really, borderline disturbing! Seems to be a pattern on Broadway this fall (ala Naked Girl on the Appian Way).

Technically, I thought the play was well executed - although Olympia needs to brush up on her lines in a few places... I'm sure that will come with a few more performances before they open. The only other noticeable element was the clever, yet painfully slow set transition from Living Room to Bedroom and back again. I liked the music and lighting effect - but it really needs to speed up. Kudos to the choice of subtle music playing at the bookends of each act.

The deep love and even deeper hatred only a normal, yet warped mother and daughter could share - - this is pretty much the premise of the play. If you thought your family was disfunctional - just wander on over to "A Mother, A Daughter, and a Gun" and I'm sure you'll leave feeling like you grew up on Walton's Mountain!!

City of Angels

For a small theater company and a small theater, City of Angels is a significant undertaking. The show is told in "split screen" - meaning half the show takes place "on a movie screen" and the other half takes place in person. Quite a staging effort, as you can imagine for a small theater. Despite that hurdle - the Chromolume Theater Company seems to have assembled cast quite a talented cast to tell the tale.

Most importantly - my friend Dennis Larkin (the star of the show as far as i'm concerned) was a scene stealing "character" in every sense of the word. He actually played 4 if I counted correctly.

Let's just leave it this way - If City of Angels comes back to Broadway - I'm guessing with enough money behind the staging and the right actors and ensemble - it would be a huge hit (once again).

Absurd Person Singular

Mildly amusing, but overall I'm still baffled. Act One seems to be the "set-up" to something that would tie the next two acts together... But it just never quite materialized. Three Couples, Three Christmas Eves, Three Kitchens... But what was the "catch"? As the theater emptied slightly for the intermission for the First Act, I overhead a lady behind me asking "I hope this is going somewhere". I concurred. Unfortunately, it didn't and we were stuck in our seats to endure two more acts.

Paxton Whitehead had impeccable timing - he's a comedic gem! Clea Lewis was perky and funny - and also had a vocal affectation similar to The Nanny (Fran Dresher) or Jaaaaaanice (from "Friends") , but used it sparingly (so as not to annoy you as much as the aforementioned characters do). Deborah Rush barreled on and off the stage as the over-the-top, larger-than-life, glam-wife. Michele Enos has mastered the consummate drunk (two times in a row now - she just played the consummate young drunk wife in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf"). Everyone else was just... well... there.

What was missing? A cohesive plot. All I saw was three mildly funny vignettes with a bit of physical commedy and a few laughs with nothing but the same people that tied them all together. There was no "real story". No "catch". No "gotcha". No "Ah-Ha!"

After the third one - i started to think... Run... Don't Walk... (home, that is)!

Miracle Brothers

Dear Andy Karl,

Seems that your buddy, Tyler Maynard got the better end of the stick! He, too, jumped the Alter Boyz ensemble smash hit to take the leading roll in a less-well-known off broadway production. The difference? A well written, significantly better scored new musical - with a Brazilian beat and some meat on its bones!

Make sure you read the program beforehand, unless you're Brazilian or at least a Brazilian history buff. Once you get the basic (and odd) premise down, it's all about love - in this case the love between two brothers - or half brothers, to be exact. Not a brand new concept, but its certainly unique - especially with the added twist of the Brazilian folklore.

Dolphins, Portals, Slaves, Pirates, two mothers, and two sons - both with green eyes - all in one heck of an enjoyable show in the Rain Forest. If nothing else, you'll leave Miracle Brothers having enjoyed the good looking, scantily-clad cast and tapping your your toes to the funky Brazilian beats.

A Naked Girl on the Appian Way

Goodie-two-shoes, be warned. Subject matter not for narrow-minded conservatives. However, for all you bleeding-heart lberals out there - don't be running down the block to get your tickets either! While I enjoyed many a laughs, the play didn't seem to come alive. The actors all felt like they were... well... "acting" - as opposed to "interacting". Many a one-liner, but it often felt like they were reading the lines - waitng for the laughs - then moving on to the next.

I don't think you could have written a story about a more dysfunctional family with so many social taboos to be revealed over the course of 100 minutes (can you say "sit-com"?). Richard Thomas, as the father, seems to have predictably brought an adult John Boy Walton to the stage - the brilliant, talented, liberal, stuck-to-his-convictions writer. The only difference here is that he is successful and lives in a large house in the Hamptons! Jill Clayburgh, the mother, is the neurotic, at times overbearing and in-denial mother who certainly got plenty of laughs. The 3 adopted children - a neurotic, bi-sexual, Korean librarian in the suburbs, a WASP-y (and gorgeous) dumb jock (Matthew Morrison - "Light in the Piazza"), and an intelligent, educated, well spoken Dominican girl - all in their 20's - all completely different- seemed to complete the very mis-shapen circle known as the Lapin Family!

The actors, much like the family and the two off-beat neighbors - were stiff and uncomfortable in their own shoes. Was that a purposeful instruction from the director (Doug Hughs) to cause you to draw that parallel - or just bad ensemble acting? Through the periodic laughter - I'll leave that decision to you.

** Now - I really didn't read Ben Brantley's review (much more elloquent than mine) before I published this - - but I thought you might like to read what a true professional actually published just yestarday!!

http://theater2.nytimes.com/2005/10/07/theater/reviews/07nake.html

Sweeney Todd

The triumphant return of Sweeney Todd! Straight from London... a truly unique staging, interpretation and performance makes it fresh, exciting, intriguing, and mysterious. Patti LuPone adds an extra dash of "sass", Michael Cervaris, an extra dash of angst. Top it off with the actors all playing multiple instruments live on stage (yes, they ARE the orchestra!) - and that's one delicious "pie" to sink your chops into!

In an amazingly small performance space on a large stage, one immediately notices the vertical dimension of the set - Probably intentional - as it also seemed to parallel the new dimension of the characters - Not to mention the use of the vertical space in the performance itself. Who would have thought a black coffin and stainless steel ladder would be so functional?!

Lighting - well, the flashlights were annoying at times, but unique nonetheless. And of course, the blood red lights and the piercing whistle ubiquitously signaled another client's demise in the infamous barber's chair.

West 49th just might be renamed Fleet Street this fall. Run and get your tickets today before it's "too late"!

Nightingale

Lynn Redgrave gave a tender, poignant, and memorable performance in her "one-night only" show - the story of her maternal grandmother - Beatrice.

A truly intimate peak into the life of one of our modern day theatrical treasures!

Bravo to the Culture Project for re-hosting!

Sides

If you go to one off-broadway show this fall - make it "Sides - (the fear is real)". Truly a romp - scene after scene (they're called sides) of "audition" antics... Six actors juggle roles as they show us what some of the most absurd, insane, and unbelievable auditions are like... all the while making an art of "bad" - actors, auditions, directors, casting agents, and everyone involved in the "business". And just to prove they're not - the very last scene lets u know!

Support The Culture Project and Mr Miyagi's Theater Company on Bleeker Street - you can't go wrong!

Colder Than Here

A woman with cancer who plans her own funeral. Sounds a bit odd, doesn't it? But in the context of a loving, yet quite dysfunctional and quirky family - perhaps not.

Judith Light gave a magnificent performance as Myra - the "rock" of a mother stricken with Bone cancer given just 6-9 months to live - But despite that bad new, she continues to interject humor, wit, and helps the family learn how to become the "glue" that she always was to them. The supporting cast - two polar opposite daughters (Sarah Paulson - Laura in "The Glass Menagerie" and Lily Rabe - Anelle from Steel Magnolias") and a curmudgeon of a husband - a veritable potpourri of talented and witty dysfunction themselves - did a remarkable job at "not dealing with" and "dealing with" the impending death. Poignant, Tender, yet plenty of laughter thru the tears moments - - Which, I think, is exactly the way mother would have wanted it.

"Colder than Here" - is only here for a short run at the Lucile Lortell Theater in Greenwich Village. Give it a try!!

In The Wings

Stewart Lane - you won 3 Tony Awards for producing shows - "Thoroughly Modern Millie", "La Cage Aux Folles", "The Will Rogers Follies". Due us all a favor - stick to producing. Your writing is awful. The poor people on stage were punished by your high school-esque plot, bad dialogue and poor choice of subject matter. - - and let's not forget that the actors on stage didn't exactly dazzle either. I mean how could they - the subject of the show was actors who weren't that good trying to make it in a show..... a show entitled "I married a Communist".... I thought I'd seen the worst of it by act 2, but it became unbearable when Peter Scolari (the other "Bosom Buddy") did a "rap song" about Karl Marx.... All in all - a 100% flush down the toilet. "In the Wings" should stay in the wings.

Run (away) - don't walk.

Slut - A Musical

Dear Andy Karl - -

You're talented, young, charming, oh-so-good-looking (hmmmm, i wonder why you got the lead role in a new musical entitled "Slut"??). But the primary question I have for you is "Why did you leave the smash-hit, Alter Boyz", to take it"?!

If you still have a chance - RUN BACK! Heck -go on the national tour!!

Now, i'm not saying it wasn't fun fanning myself with the "playbill" watching the sweat glisten all over that uber-sexy body (the tattoos make it even more so) for two hours (the theater's AC was on strike, just in time for first preview nite!).


Over at American Theater of Actors (read - low budget) I was slightly entertained, but left wondering why you took what is clearly a step down to some "B" material. Ok, you've got some talented cast-mates and it is the lead after all, but c'mon - the plot is a farce, the jokes, stale, and the humor, sort of "high school-ish". There were some bright spots, yes. I must admit i chuckled and hooted a few times. But just a few. But I digress... (Did I mention, you looked good with your shirt off??).

Yours truly,
Doug Marino ( a fan truly thankful i only paid TDF rates to see you sweat)

Dr. Sex

Yes, the subject matter of this email might dump it in your SPAM folder!! However, if by chance it makes it through - you'll be glad it did. Would you ever think of going to see the musical story of the life of Dr. Alfred Kinsey?? Well, with a bit of skepticism - I did.... Off-Broadway at the Peter Norton Space (42nd and 11th). This space (and many others off-broadway along 42nd Street are all brand spanking new!)

Not having seen the movie last year, I figured - what the heck - - and what a good decision that proved to be!! Talent extraordinaire!! Not often in an off broadway performance to you get a live "orchestra" (ok, maybe a 5 piece band, but still). Crisply choreographed, executed with aplomb, the story rolled along in a mere 2 hours and right from the beginning i was tapping my toes and bouncing my head. Now, this was truly a new, but old fashioned "broadway" musical... high kicks and dancing girls in every scene... (ok, Benjie Randall was still my favorite!). Much like a Cander & Ebb musical - it had more than it's share of rousing show tunes, tap dancing, a couple of angst ridden ballads all the while plenty swooshing and swooping all over the stage.

Speaking of the stage - it was a bit small (this is off-broadway, afterall) but every inch of it was used cleverly. It's in previews - so the lighting queues could have been more crisp, the curtain and scenery need to have a few tighter transitions, but that stuff is cosmetic - - the talent is there. Most of all - they look like they're having fun while doing it.

You know the general story - but "Dr. Sex" fills in the blanks in an entertaining and clever format. Before you know it "the book" is published and the curtain is falling. Remember - before Dr. Phil, before Dr. Ruth, before Dr. Scholls - - there was "Dr. Sex". Go see Alfred, Clara, Wally, and the rest of the Kinsey players before the Tony crowd gets wind of it. You won't be disappointed. Worth plenty more than the $30 ticket!

The Musical of Musicals - The Musical!

A complete and total satire of, you guessed it, the musical! The plot (five times) is very simple:

"The rent is due" - "I can't pay the rent" - "You have to pay the rent" - "I won't pay the rent" - "You must pay the rent" - "Ok,I'll pay the rent".

Each time the "story" is "told" in a different style/genre of musical theater (Rodgers & Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim, Andrew Lloyd Weber, Jerry Herman, Kander & Ebb). Now i consider myself a complete theater whore - but even tonight, i found myself longing for the company of my good friend Dennis Larkin - the only person I know who might have laughed harder than me (and gotten more of the references!) and he would have explained all the ones i missed after the show!....

This show was filled with double (and triple and quadruple) entendre, plays on words, puns, twisted and clever lyrics set to ever so familiar music of the "masters" - and most of all - laughs!

The Great American Trailer Park Musical

Ok - so the title just about gives away the entire subject matter of the show! If ever you were shopping in Kmart or walking thru South Florida thinking "White Trash" - well this show hits on just about every reference, joke, and stereotype associated with the aforementioned topic in both dialogue and song lyrics... (one lyric laments "Like clothes from Kmart, my life is falling apart").

The characters - one stripper, three "gals" (think Dolly Parton, Jessica Simpson, and a trashy version of Cynthia Nixon), one overweight toll collector (think John Goodman) and his wife (an agoraphobic trailer-wife for 20 years) regale us with their stories via song and dance at a mobile home park in South Florida known as Armadillo Acres.

Now, despite the subject matter (you're probably thinking "low quality") - the actors are all virtual powerhouses and despite the "kitschy" surroundings, run a tight show. Occasionally speaking directly to the audience members and once zoning out into a "Sally Jessie Raphael Talk show dream sequence - - there is a real story behind the scenes - - and it's a simple message - - True Love Conquers All!

For the price of cheap coffee maker ($30) - saunter over to Dodges Stages and catch a performance of "The Great American Trailer Park Musical".

Joy

It's all about love - the joy and "rush" you get from that first true love and the whirl-wind events that inevitably follow.... Surprisingly musical in its delivery (for a romantic comedy) - especially the soft, tender voice of Gabriel (Christopher Sloan), who opens the show with a Cole Porter classic with romance and love in his heart... a tale which is revealed in the show as a flashback to the previous year of his life. A small homage to classic romance-tunes including: "I'll be seeing You", "Let's face the music and Dance", "Misty", "The way you look tonite". You also can't miss Ben Curtis ("the dell dude") who seems a bit type-cast as Christian (cute and dumb). Paul (Paul Whitmore, last seen in "The Normal Heart") plays the neurotic, insecure, over-opinionated, uber-gay grad student who falls in love - the subject matter of most of the play... Subtle political undertones, plenty of chuckles, a few cool tunes, one disco ball, and a dose of romance and reality ....

For a change of pace, pay the $30 bucks and spend a evening at the Actor's Playhouse in Greenwich Village and enjoy "Joy"

Alter Boyz

Ok, so you're looking for something light, something fun, something... different?! Well - take a trip to see the Boyz... "Alter Boyz", that is. It's cleverly written and played out dripping with sex appeal (oh my!). It's not irreverent, but it's not exactly "reverent" either... It's loud, it's full of pop music and "boys who love God" lyrics like - -

"Jesus called me on my cell phone / No roaming charges were incurred / He beeped me / He faxed me / He e-mailed my soul / and said: / til the day i'm dead/ that i must spread / His glorious word"

And let's not forget the boyz - They are a Christian rock band - with one Jew too. They are tender, powerful, but mostly full of energy and dripping with sweat from all the singing, dancing and prancing around the stage...(ok, not all of them can dance but you'll know just who has it in his blood the most!) Just the assortment of boys you would expect to be cast - something for everyone - i suppose you could say.

Dodger Stages - One of New York's newest performance space is Rockin' - and the "Alter Boyz" are something worth the price of the off-Broadway ticket. Go ahead and let them convert...er entertain you!!

Wicked

The Constant Wife

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

The Paris Letter

The Blonde in the Thunderbird

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?