American Psycho

In the rehearsal room this show must come off like a a giant snooze fest with little entertainment value.  The fact that is is even on Broadway is a testament to the people who sold this show to the producers.  They must have had an incredible story-board presentation.  However, on the stage, with amplified contemporary music (Duncan Sheik), booming sound effects (Dan Moses Schreier), colorful rock concert-like lighting (Justin Townsend), dazzling video projections (Finn Ross), and sleek sets and special effects (Es Devlin), the actors with these tools on their side bring the awkward subject matter to life.

Dripping with pure sexual energy and a hefty amount of talent, to back up their good looks, the cast of handsome and upper-crust 80's characters manages to salvage what is otherwise an awkward horror movie on the stage.   At the helm and top of the bill is the incredibly chiseled and flat out gorgeous Benjamin Walker (Patrick Bateman).  His vocal prowess is second to none and his sultry cut body is simply perfect.  I can say this because he is on stage in just his underwear more than he is on it clothed.  And yes, it didn't bother me one bit.... not one.   His Wall Street firm-mates are also oft shirtless too.  It's the 80's in NYC at the height of hedonism, after all.  Jennifer Damiano (Jean), a powerhouse in her own right, had to dumb it down for her mousy, shy, and good-girl secretary role, but she nonetheless impressed.   Patrick's mother, Mrs. Bateman, played by the indomitable Alice Ripley, proved there are really no small roles.  I frankly didn't know it was her until well into act one when she finally took off her big sunglasses (the 80's, remember?).

What haunted me throughout this very innovative and ironically enjoyable if not awkward production was the feeling that the least impressive element was the adapted book itself (Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa).  The show felt like it was built around the special effects and Mr. Bateman himself.  It seemed like the book was merely a vehicle to deliver the movie's Cliff notes.  It felt like Mr. Aguirre-Sacasa simply strung 12+ scenes together with homage to the movie but without the ability to do it justice due to the limitations of the stage.  In the end, there was not enough to scare you, not enough to keep you guessing, and not enough to explain the abrupt and confusing ending even if you are listening to the lyrics.  The show's packaging and bold performance style (it was more like a rock concert story) keeps you in your seat and the regular insertion of popular 80's music sung by the pitch-perfect cast kept your toes tapping and eyes rolling throughout.  Between those toes tapping and the drool on your shoes continually flowing due to the uber-sexy cast, you just might enjoy the journey this show takes you on even if it seems out of place on Broadway.

Note:  Cast Photos resemble the Broadway production, but are from the London Production

Spiderman Turn off the Dark

Let's be clear right up front.  This is not a review.  It's a preview.  I had the unique opportunity to see Spidey roar to life on it's fourth-ever performance.  I went because I wanted to see what a show looked like as they were in the final stages of putting it together.  My fascination with this show is the unique process by which it is being brought to Broadway, not with the show itself.  I don't think I knew anything about the Spidey story growing up.  I stuck to Bugs and Fred and Barney mostly.

Normally, a big new show starts out of town - say in Los Angels, Chicago, or Seattle.  The creative team has never built sets before, never seen how one scene flows into the next from beginning to end, and maybe has only seen the show in a workshop room - never staged at all. They build it all and perform it all in a city away from the eyes of the critical New York press, perfect it, and then, when ready, move it to Broadway for a magical debut.  Makes sense, right?  Sometimes when you are cooking a meal for the first time, you do a "dry run", right?  I know people who get a new job and they drive there 2 or 3 times just to make sure they don't get lost along the way and show up late on the first day!

Well, that's how it all used to work, anyway.  What one of the producers told us on stage just before the preview performance was just this - with one caveat - this show was too big, too complex to do that. There was only one theatre in the world that could handle the massive undertaking - and we were sitting in it.   I'm not so sure I really believe that - but that's the producers' story and they are sticking to it.  And this is where my problem begins.

The house was a sell-out.  By way of history - Spidey's opening has been delayed several times.  So the theatre was filled with people who may have bought tickets month's ago and this particular performance would have been well into the initial weeks of the run - not the 4th preview.  By the sounds of the French, British, German and mid-western and southern US accents all around me - many were tourists.  After all, this is a "big deal" on Broadway, what tourist wouldn't want to get a piece of this action?  The problem is - some of these people paid upwards of $140-$200 per ticket.  (full disclosure, my ticket in the center orchestra, Row O cost me $77).  When you're paying that much to see a show, you may come in with expectations of perfection.  Clearly that was not going to be the case.  I found myself thinking, what's going to happen when these people who paid that much see a show stop, see the lights come up and the actors reset a scene, the stagehands actually on the stage at times?  Will a rope fall on our heads like it did during the first preview? Can I sue them if Spidey falls on my lap and breaks my neck? (OK, i digress...).  Will the people who just expect to be dazzled want to see all that?  Will they walk out in disgust and spread bad news about the show?  Well, here is what I think happened and it's based on, of all things, an interview on Larry King with Al Pacino that recently aired.

Larry was asking Pacino about his performance as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice on the summer stage in Central Park.  Pacino described how it was a unique stage in a unique environment - tree branches fall on stage, an unexpected wind blows your robe above your head, and occasionally it rains - which of course stops the show.  He described how every time it rained and the stage manager announced that the show would pause, the audience seemed to love this.   Larry grimaced and Pacino went on to describe that he could only speculate that people just love to be a part of something unique - and when rain stopped the show - they got to experience something unique - witness how the actors handled it, how the show re-grouped and moved on.  "Always applause", he said.  As if they were cheering us on for being able to handle the interruption.  They were now part of a performance that nobody up to this point had experienced.  People are people.  They all look at the car accident on the side of the road, and apparently they all love when rain stops a show in central park too.

So I apply this principle to the Spidey phenomenon.  My preview performance did stop.  Spidey got stuck. Randall, the production stage manager sitting up in the first box in a little booth who was introduced to us by the producer prior to the show, indeed, had a moment with us.  House lights went up, he fired off some instructions to the actors and stage hands and in a few minutes, we were back on track. During the pause, of course many people decided it was appropriate to clap, cheer on the stuck spidey up on the mezzanine landing spot.  People felt obliged to blurt out comments, others got up and went to the bathroom (and came back in the dark because we were back on in less than 5 minutes).

My point here is that people seem to be publicly condemning the imperfect product, but actually enjoying it at the same time.  Do I have a laundry list of notes for director, Julie Taymor?  Yes.  Do I think she'll ever read this blog post and call me up to discuss them?  Not a chance.  So I'm going to wait until the show opens to see it again and see just how many of those things are gone from my list.  I'll even promise to post the entire list and cross off the ones that were resolved.  But I do have one idea that maybe if everyone was starting this mess all over again would have considered  - - and here it is - -   Everyone must have known this show was going to be mammoth and expensive and technically complex from the get-go.  The producers have sunk an estimated $65M into bringing this show to life - and it will cost them over $1M in running costs each week to keep it running - above and beyond the $65M investment.

Since they were doing something never done before - why didn't they do something in the ticketing world they've never done before - sell tickets to the early performances as dress and technical rehearsals for a fraction of their costs?   The producers are trying to have it both ways - bring a show to Broadway in one of the most unique ways - but all the while stick to the old fashioned model of pricing and selling tickets and they get angry when reviewers prematurely make negative comments - all the while selling full price tickets to the performances.  If every ticket in the house was $40 and the entire preview period was deemed a "dress rehearsal" from the outset - I believe the concept would have generated unique interest - above and beyond the hype for the show itself.  Sell out the preview period with cheap tickets intended to showcase the initial weeks as a work in progress.  Remember, people like to be part of something unique.  Why not sell your strong point - SpiderMan is unique and every aspect of the production, including the ticket pricing and preview performance model should have been be ground breaking and a novel way to publicly birth the show.  Maybe my idea is flawed, maybe someone already thought of it and poo-poo'd it.  Or maybe it was a missed opportunity.

You'll just have to wait for my review which I'll reserve for when the show is officially ready to be reviewed.  I certainly hope some of the items on my list get addressed.

Next To Normal

 
It's not too often that I revisit a show - but a Broadway transfer is usually worth the 2nd visit.  I saw the original off-Broadway run at Second Stage Theatre a while back.  It packed a significant punch for me then and I was hopeful it would again.

Part of the transfer process included tightening up the book significantly.  Most of the ancillary plot lines have been removed - in favor of a razor sharp focus on the main issue. Gone is the Frankenstein-like electro-shock scene and many others too. A first time viewer will certainly be very happy with the results.  To someone revisiting the show, you might miss a scene or two here or there.   One i missed in particular was the supermarket scene (crazy mom goes shopping).   It was probably too "campy" for the newer, sharper focus, but I liked it.  However, i see the need for the changes for a commercial run; I see the benefits; and respect the results. 

The staging remains the same - a sparse modern 2 story, steel frame representing a house illuminated with colored back lighting. Alice Ripley remains in the cast.  She's perfect for the role - but I thought she acquired some sort of affected English/Irish accent at times.  Very odd.  All the other originals have changed out - and not for the better, i regret to say.  Brian D'Arcy James (rumored to be returning this summer) was a much stronger Henry than Adam Chanler-Berat - both vocally and physically.  Kyle Dean Massey was a fairly equal replacement for Aaron Tveit but Aaron seemed to belt it out and display a bit more angst, anger, and emotion (they're both adorably cute, don't worry).

Today's family problems (suburban or otherwise) are increasingly the subject matter for stage productions (e.g. August Osage County, Next Fall).  The show remains a powerhouse - well worth the price of the ticket - and it's fresh and new - and (still) not your mother's old musical - for sure.  And I'm going to guess that a significant majority of the audience each night is probably looking directly in a mirror.

Next to Normal

Let me be perfectly clear. Run. Don't Walk to Second Stage Theater on 43rd and 8th Avenue. Next to Normal is a musical tour de force. More relevant than Spring Awakening; As daring, moving and poignant as Rent; more hopeful than August: Osage County.

Brian D'Arcy James usually headlines a show. Well in this ensemble cast, each actor is of equally amazing vocal prowess and raw story telling talent. Alice Ripley, Asa Somers, Jennifer Damiano, Aaron Tveit, and Adam Chanler-Berat bring you to tears one moment and to your feet in raucous applause the next.

This rock musical written by Tom Kitt (Music) of High Fidelity fame and Brian Yorkey (Librettist/Lyricist) will knock your socks off. Director Michael Greif (Grey Gardens, Rent) brilliantly consumes every inch of the 3 story set to keep the story alive (and the actors running).

Vocally, this show opens up full-out and doesn't look back for one minute. One of my favorites (if there could be just one) is Aaron Tveit (the gorgeous blonde boy the the kickin' bod) who all but brings down the house right from the start. Then about 20 minutes into the show, a left hook is delivered right to the head. And the blows keep coming non-stop, scene after scene. This is a show about real life, real life problems, and real families enduring, and sucumbing to those problems and possibly inevitably passing some of them on to the next generation.

I'm not going to give away one ounce of the emotional pounding you will take during this show.

Get a ticket. Go. Now.

Spring Awakening

Brace yourselves - This one is gonna be a hit! Broadway finally has a new, edgy Rock n' Roll musical that will stick. Grammy award winning Duncan Sheik wrote all the music - a fact that many a theater-goer might even pick up on even without reading the Playbill. And let's not forget this story must have been a true shocker when written in 1891 by Frank Wedekind who is considered one of the founders of modern drama and a real pioneer of the concept of expressionism in the theatre.

The musical today so cleverly juxtaposes the Wedekind dialogue of teenage coming of age in the 1890's with Sheik's biting and angst filled Rock n' Roll lyrics. The resulting message is clear and ageless - kids through all ages have the same problems - - suicide, abuse, growing up gay, sex, abortion, not fitting in, and of course, parental influence. All that really changes is the calendar and the costume.

The actors in this production have a deep connection to the subject matter. Most all of them are actually between 16 and 21 and have grown up with this production over the past 6 years as it made its way to Broadway from the Atlantic Theater Company off-Broadway. The talent is raw, true, and natural. It's not a bunch of 30 year old actors on stage pretending to be kids. It makes all the difference. You feel for these kids and connect with their emotions.

For many of the actors, this is their Broadway debut. While there is a true lead actor and actress (Jonathan Groff as Melchoir and Lea Michele as Wendla) - it's the ensemble that makes this one pop! We get to see the boys belt out their talents right from the beginning in "The Bitch of Living" and the entire ensemble rock the house in "Totally Fucked". It would really be a treat to see John Gallagher, Jr. (Moritz) walk up on stage next July at Radio City Music Hall to collect his Tony for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical.

With an "open" stage and steps down to the first row in the audience the actors seem to flow right into your world on several occasions. There's also 4 rows of bleacher style seating on stage on each side. Be prepared if you sit there. The cast sits among you when they are not performing; they burst into song and jump to their feet and stand on the chairs when you least expect your neighbor to be doing so! The Band is also placed upstage and in a rare move joins the cast and takes a formal bow with the cast - emphasizing their importance to the show's delivery. Each of them also has an individual mention in the playbill. Just as the show is about juxtaposition - so must the lighting be. Kevin Adams, lighting designer, takes the stage from monologue to dialogue to solo and melancholy ballads to foot stomping rock and roll and back all over again flawlessly.

These kids earned the standing ovation they got... and then some! Run, don't walk.