Really Really

Paul Downs Colaizzo takes a dull pencil-to-paper with his new work, Really Really.   New take on an old issue?  Rape.   But as we come to learn, there are always three or four sides to every coin.  Perhaps it wasn't really rape.  Circumstances really do matter.

Set deep in the me generation's barely post-college genre, we get a splash of several issues du jour - lazy rich kids, gold-digging other-side-of-the-trackers, privileged kids who are damaged in some way we just can't notice at first, alcohol, sex, sexual politics and more.

The trouble with this one is that it's got that "I've seen it on Lifetime (Television for Women) about 17 years ago.  It's like a visit to Doing time on Maple Drive - the Next Generation.   Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of skin and muscles on these boys to keep even a monkey's eyes glued to the stage for hours.  


David Hull (aptly WASP-ily named, Cooper) and Matt Lauria (aptly WASP-ily named, Davis) provide plenty of jaw dropping eye-candy (too bad it wasn't just a smidge hotter in the theatre, the sweat glistening on them would have been glorious).  Evan Jonigkeit (also aptly simply named Jimmy) while plenty of eye-candy himself, provides a bit of contrast in Jimmy's looks, brains, and upbringing.  Zosia Mamet (Leigh) takes center stage as she weaves her web along with her sister, Haley (Aleque Reid).  And Kobi Libii (Johnson) weaves his geeky, smart, and nervously endearing self into your heart along the way.  Lauren Culpepper (Grace)  provides that self-deprecating comedy of her character that lightens the load several times.

I think it was the nature of the subject-matter, not necessarily the actors, that made this feel a bit amateurish.  The actors all seemed quite rehearsed and well-directed (and yes, easy on the eyes).  In the end, the story was a bit trite - with a new twist that just couldn't overcome the feeling of a weekend snowed in watching reruns on cable TV.

CQ/CX

A power-packed, "Ripped From The Headlines" new play by emerging playwright, Gabe McKinley, is now playing at the Peter Norton Space on way-West 42nd Street.  This is the former space occupied by the Signature Theatre.  

Although I've seen it in previews, I can already tell this one is going to be a barn-burner.  The pace is quick, the wit is razor sharp, and story is focused.  Mr. McKinley, the playwright, actually worked at the NY Times.  CQ/CX is the fictionalized story of the Jayson Blair scandal and the damage he inflicted upon the Grey Lady herself, his friends, and his colleagues.  

The all-around brilliant cast aptly supports Kobi Libii's fine portrayal of Jay Bennett (i.e. Jayson Blair), hungry and aggressive young intern turned reporter who eventually self-destructed at the heart of the entire affair.  David Pittu takes the helm as Junior, the family member in a long and proud family dynasty who ran the publication.  Arliss Howard takes on the role of Hal Martin, new man in control, attempting to steer the behemoth ship into the 21st century.  Peter Jay Fernandez takes on the role of Gerald Haynes, the first African-American to rise to the senior ranks who by coincidence also becomes a sort of mentor to the young Bennett.  Larry Bryggman, Tim Hopper, Steve Rosen and Sheila Tapia fill in the ranks of colleagues and friends.

Just for reference, the title is Latin - CQ stands for cadet quaestio -which translates to "the question fails" and is an editors mark that is used when he questions a fact in a story.  CX is an editors mark for something that has been "corrected".   Hence the title, CQ/CX, is born out of the combination of the two and is quite relevant to the entire story

I enjoyed this show with a 20@20 ticket, but I'd go out on a limb to suggest it's worth the full price charged by the Atlantic Theater Company.

Perfect Harmony

A gleeful (pun intended) trip down the high school vocal club lane.  Andrew Grosso and The Essentials (a group of other actors and singers) penned a little glee-club-like drama back in 2006 (before there was Glee).  Unfortunately, the comparisons today abound.  And unfortunately for the stage show today, Fox television and their million dollar production budget does it much better.   Let me be clear - this is not a prequel to the TV series, just a similar concept.

Frankly, I enjoyed this stage production immensely.  First of all, it's primarily about the Acafellas (an all boys a-cappella singing group), not a glee-club that miraculously transforms into a full stage and recording studio production event periodically throughout the show.  Am I a bit tired of the over-the-top "camp" with the singing stuff - yeah, maybe.  But if you can put the constant comparisons to today's TV hit, you just might find this stage production storyline quite enjoyable.

Make no mistake, this show is cast with actors who can sing.  In contrast, another recent a-cappella off-Broadway show, In Transit,  took the opposite approach - a-cappella group singers who can act.  I think it makes a big difference in your musical and theatrical experience.  On a related note, I'm not sure if I should call this a comedy (as the broadwayworld.com does), a play with music, or a musical.  But I digress...

The cast, as expected,  is composed of a wonderfully eclectic, quirky, and off-beat group of high school vocal mis-fits with an wide assortment of social, medical, and family problems - one hot jock who sings (Jarid Faubel), one groovy black girl (Kelly McCreary), one prim and proper white girl (Dana Acheson) one Asian girl with Tourette's (Marie-France Arcilla), two boys clearly from rich families as evidenced from the roman numerals after their names (Robbie Collier Sublett and Kobi Libii), one uber-geeky freshman (David Barlow), one extremely shy girl who is obsessed with people looking at her (Faryl Amadeus), one boy who doesn't speak and only sings (Clayton Apgar), and one Herzegovinian orphan (Kate Morgan Chadwick) ... along with a multitude of alternate characters the actors take on to round out the storyline.  What brings them all together?  Music and singing.  Do we recognize any of them in ourselves?  Without a doubt.  Do we laugh at them?  Absolutely.   Do we enjoy the pop songs they turn into a-cappella performances?  Immensely.

Take in a performance of this tuner over at Theatre Row in the Acorn Theatre and you might just walk away humming a few popular tunes in a whole new way.