Bronx Bombers

Major League Baseball and The New York Yankees are actually a part of ("in association with") the new Eric Simonson written and directed two act play, Bronx Bombers.  Yes, it's baseball on Broadway.   And what an iconic team to highlight right here in New York.  Interestingly enough, the last sports show in the round at Circle in the Square was Lombardi.  This one, a recent transfer from The Duke on 42nd also plays well in the round.

The show, as you would imagine, is a baseball lovers delight.  Likely geared to engage the male persuasion, the show takes a look at the greats of the team - combining them all in a quaint dream-like plot.  Act I is a scene from 1977 setting up the conflicts and personalities of Billy Martin (Keith Nobbs), Reggie Jackson (Francois Battiste), Thurman Munson (Bill Dawes), and the ever-caring and genuine star of the show, Yogi Berra (Peter Scolari).

What unfolds is conflict - and what follows in Act II is a dream like sequence of Yogi's that brings all the Yankee greats to a dinner party in his home with his wife Carmen (Tracy Shayne) - Joe DiMaggio, (Chris Henry Coffey), Lou Gehrig (John Wernke), Babe Ruth (C.J. Wilson), Derek Jeter (Christopher Jackson),  Elston Howard (Francois Battiste), and Micky Mantle (Bill Dawes).

What we learn in Act II is that the conflict in Act I was not new at all.  Baseball has always been full of characters, conflicts, and personalities.  And we also gather that fans may wax and wane, but they always come back- especially to this iconic New York team.

I'm not a baseball fan.  I admit it.  The baseball angle didn't jazz me up at all. (I thought it was boring, actually).  But what the show was able to do, even to me, is to tell a story and teach a lesson.  Through all the characters, all the conflicts, and all the noise - there really is one thing that draws men of all ages to the Yankees - and that is tradition above all else.

Will this play hit the mark - being on Broadway now?  I'm not sure, but the tiny audience that watched the show with me seemed to enjoy it.  Especially all those Yogi-isms!  Let's see if wives drag their die-hard husband fans or if they even come on their own!

Lonely, I'm Not

You'll certainly not be lonely in the cozy Theatre @ 43rd Street watching Paul Weitz' world premier comedy at Second Stage but you may be tad bored after about an hour or so.  The strikingly sparse and modern sets/projections by Mark Wendland and Aaron Rhyne are impeccably lit by Matt Frey.  A plethora of neon - or at least neon-looking LED illuminated - signs placed all over the back of the set abound - signaling not only the next scene but usually the irony or humor to be presented in said scene.  Direction by Trip Cullman is crisp and clean but the pace needs more punch.  A+ on the technicals with some work in the general energy-level department needed.

But what's it about?  Not a great deal of plot complexity here.  Pretty simple actually.  Porter (Topher Grace) was a successful guy.  Nervous breakdown.  Geeky cute.  Recovering.  Neurotic.  Heather (Olivia Thirlby) is an overachieving, successful blind woman.  Takes liking to nervous breakdown geeky cute guy.   Sidekicks, acquaintances, and other multiple characters played with aplomb by 4 additional actors (Mark Blum, Lisa Emery, Christopher Jackson, Maureen Sebastian).  All good.  Strike that.  Very good.   My only complaint is that after about 60 minutes, you're ready for the punch line and it doesn't come for another 30.  Best scene in the play - Job Interview.

William Shakespeare's advice still stands.  Brevity is [still] the soul of wit.

In The Heights

A fresh, new musical chock-full of rhythm, heart, and Latin soul. Lin-Manuel Miranda conceived this musical in 2005 while still in college and worked dogged days and nights to bring his dream to the Broadway stage. Young, fresh talent is exactly what Broadway needs more of.

So what's different about this show? A whole lot and not so much at all is the answer. At it's core - it's a traditional musical in structure and content - Man has a dream, falls in love, struggles to overcome adversity, bittersweet triumph results and he gets the girl. There are two leading couples, one set of parents, one grandmother, a chorus of friends and neighbors, and a whole lot of dancing. So what's, different? It's 100% Latino. It takes place today on a corner in Washington Heights (hence the title). It's about modern immigrant struggles - non-stop and in-your-face. West Side Story may have been the first - but Lin-Manuel Miranda has brought a contemporary twist to the presentation that seems to draw in the adults as well as throngs of young kids.

The recipe for success: A dash of rap and a heaping spoonful of Latin rhythm and dance give this show a constant true-to- life feeling of Washington Heights. Everyone can relate to the little bodega on the corner and the larger than life figures that inhabit the neighborhood near the A-train at 181st Street. Add a pinch of cross-cultural (read, intra-Latino prejudice) family drama and a splash of economic hardship to the picture and you have a potent cocktail the audience consumes with delight.

Part of the success here is the audience's willingness to cheer the underdog, the new guy, a presentation of a new culture on stage - upbeat Latin flair layered into a traditional musical structure. Virtually a total cast of authentic and talented Latinos of all types dominate the stage from grandmother to kids. Of special note - Olga Merediz (Abuela Claudia) and Eliseo Roman (Piragua Guy) - two characters who completely surprise and entertain. The elders on the stage, Priscilla Lopez (Camila) and Carlos Gomez (Kevin) bring the struggle of the "old ways" into the picture. Robin De Jesus (Sonny) brings a sketch of today's youth and a dash of comedy to the story. Christopher Jackson (Benny) and Karyn Rodriguez (Vanessa) draw you into the heat of their youthful attraction while Lin-Manuel Miranda (Usnavi) and Karyn Rodriguez (Vanessa) struggle to find their love for each other.

When this show transferred to Broadway this season - a few eyebrows were raised. It was not a sellout off-Broadway. Was the musical score too homogeneously Latin ? Could it make it in a big, mainstream theater? I, myself, didn't think it would last. But after seeing it, I find myself in the unenviable position of eating crow. In The Heights proves itself as a stunningly contemporary and powerful presentation with a fresh young cast who put a new Latin spin on the age old problems of life.