For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday

Sarah Ruhl has a tender, touching new play running over at Playwrights Horizons.  For Peter Pan on her 70th Birthday is a story about death and dying, family (the Catholic version of one),  different political opinions, and growing up.  Tie in a memory of Peter Pan and you have quite a nice evening in the theatre.

The show is billed as 90 minutes no intermission- but there are, nonetheless, two distinct acts.  Kathleen Chalfant (Ann), Daniel Jenkins (John), Keith Reddin (Michael), David Chandler (Jim), and Lisa Emery (Wendy) are all siblings and their father, Ron Crawford, is dying - literally - on stage.  As a minor point - i would have thought the kids names would be more standard Catholic fare such as Mary, John, etc... but I imagine there is a reason for everything.  As he is dying, there are questions (is he in pain), there is conflict (give him more morphine?) and plenty of cordial and comforting family memories being discussed.  Fast forward - dad dies and the family is gathered around the dining table (a wake of sorts) to discuss their father, life in general, and a dose of politics which reveals the divisions and differences among the family members.  Something common to many families, especially the large Catholic ones from Davenport, Iowa.

The play opens up with a memory played in front of the curtain (Kathleen Chalfant).  After the wake at the dining room table, we really see Act II take shape as Ann becomes Peter Pan and the siblings are the children.  This all stems from her beliefs in god, her life choices, and her general unwillingness to grow up.  Yes, indeed Ms. Chalfant, a limber 72 years young does fly and it as delightful as it seems.  The entire second act around the literal Peter Pan theme is designed to enhance her don't want to grow up because that means I'm going to die soon" outlook.

A generally entertaining, tender, down-to-earth play with just a dash of fun and a healthy dose of heart.

Six Degrees of Separation

I just had to see the first preview of John Guare's theatrical classic, Six Degrees of Separation on Broadway. After all, I never saw the movie and knew almost nothing about it except the vague notion we all know about everyone being connected and somehow that connection being approx 6 people.

Aside from the few very minor late entrances and missed queues which are inevitable at a first preview, this unexpectedly large cast performed like a well oiled machine.  The modern set (kudos Mark Wendland) was intriguing especially when i sat off to the side at the end.  The two sided Kandinsky painting was a magical centerpiece, rotating high above.

Allison Janey (Ouisa) mastered the script with aplomb and seemed to be the perfect fit for the intelligent, slightly overbearing, and confidently funny and sarcastic wife.  John Benjamin Hickey (Flan) seemed to exude art-dealer and all the eccentricities that go along with that job. Corey Hawkins (Paul) seemed to be born to play the role of con-man - devilishly handsome and debonair, intelligent, well spoken, and slick as all heck.  What I didn't really expect were the neighbors, the neighbors children and a few others like a doorman, and a police officer to fill the cast to such a degree.  For a 3 person play, the cast of 18 filled the stage occasionally.

Trip Cullman's direction seemed to embrace the large stage and use it effectively - keeping the back area a bit fuzzy and unclear which fit the mood perfectly.  Deconstructed in a large Broadway house but not too deconstructed as to be barren.

So what did I think?  It was a bit confusing to follow at times - dialogue is snappy and crisp and if the actors speak over a laugh you might miss a few lines.  This will resolve over time for sure. The full frontal nudity may turn a few people off (certainly not me in any way) - I don't know what the script requires vs what the director interprets.  I was mostly surprised that I really wasn't going to experience a direct "Six Degrees of Separation" - like a trail of person 1 connected to person 2 connected to person 3 etc.... but more the general concept about strangers and how they can be inter-twined in our lives and connected to our friends and we don't even know it- or them - sometimes until it's too late - or sometimes we never really know what happens at all.  I was struck that the central lines of the play fit the concept but not exactly what was happening on the stage.  I guess I am a very linear thinker.

"I read somewhere that everybody on this planet is separated by only six other people. Six degrees of separation. Between us and everybody else on this planet. The president of the United States. A gondolier in Venice. fill in the names. I find that A) tremendously comforting that we're so close and B) like Chinese water torture that we're so close. Because you have to find the right six people to make the connection. It's not just big names. It's anyone. A native in a rain forest. A Tierra del Fuegan. An Eskimo. I am bound to everyone on this planet by a trail of six people. It's a profound thought. How Paul found us. How to find the man whose son he pretends to be. Or perhaps is his son, although I doubt it. How every person is a new door, opening up into other worlds. Six degrees of separation between me and everyone else on this planet. But to find the right six people...

Marjorie Prime

Jordan Harrison has penned a compelling futuristic tale where artificial intelligence may just keep us company, attempt to provide comfort, and companionship in our elder years.   But he cleverly explores the depth, substance, and satisfaction this fascinating technology might bring to us - or not give to us, as the case may be.

Lois Smith (Marjorie), an aging mother losing her memories brings in a holographic tool (practically played by an actor, however)  - her husband, Walter, dashingly handsome in his 30's (the dashingly handsome Noah Bean) - to be with her and trigger her memories and provide companionship.   But it seems there is one major flaw - this prime (as it is referred to - Walter 'Prime') only knows what it has been told about the person it is becoming.  Is this a true and complete history?  Might be be whitewashing the past to paint the picture we want to see?

As the play progresses into the future and we see the deaths of other characters, each remaining person is presented with a "prime" of the departed individual. As the final character remains, Stephen Root (Jon)  - we come to see that this technology may not solve all problems or provide complete comfort and satisfaction.  In the final scene, quite brilliantly written, acted, and staged we end up seeing all the primes having a very stilted conversation going round and round on a small turntable around a kitchen table - after all - they only have things to talk about that they were told.  Their existence, indeed, is as stilted and incomplete as the conversation they are having.

Casa Valentina

When I was recovering from a recent surgery, I suggested to my friends that I would soon be ready to 'get back out there and see some provocative and exciting theatre'.  Little did I know that my very first play out of the gate would be Harvey Firestein's new play, Casa Valentina.   Wow.

It's expected that when you go to the theatre that you are entertained.  When you come away from a performance feeling you have learned something about history and life itself - in addition to some superb entertainment - that's exciting!  As for the provocative part - well just take a listen to the actors
themselves describe a play that depicts a group of 1960's men who escape into the Catskills to are part of a secret sorority who dress up as women:

Casa Valentina Video

Provocative - you bet.  Interesting and educational - absolutely (who knew?).  Storytelling - at its best.  Directed by Joe Mantello, written by Harvey Firestein, and produced by Lynne Meadow and Barry Grove at the Manhattan Theatre Club - this one is going to sizzle.  Don't wait for this tale told by a top-notch cast of characters to open on April 23rd.  Run over to the Samuel J Friedman (Biltmore) Theatre and catch a story told like none other today.

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.

Relatively Speaking

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.

Distracted

Mouth to Mouth

Kevin Elyot's new work at The Acorn Theatre is jam packed with raw emotion and intentionally unanswered questions.  The play opens up at the end.  South London suburb.  Present.  Frank and Laura (David Cale and Lisa Emery) in a very one sided melancholy scene.  Frank clearly wants to tell Laura something. Laura is clearly upset by something.  Rewind.   Frank and his doctor, Gompertz (Andrew Polk) discuss Frank's unspoken illness and his desire to reveal a secret.  Comic relief indeed.  Rewind.  Frank, Laura, Roger (Darren Goldstein) , Cornelia (Elizabeth Jasicki) and Philip (Christopher Abbott) and Dennis (Richard Topol) - a family affair of sorts, an uncomfortable dinner party, and  a "shocking" revelation by Philip, the 15 year old son recently returned from Spain abruptly end the dinner plans.  Continuing forward - we learn of yet another shocking secret between Philip and Frank.  Fast Forward back to the opening scene. Can Frank bring himself to tell Laura what he wanted to say?  Is what he wants to say going to being solace to Laura in any way?  Is he somehow at fault?

If this was at all confusing - I don't mean it to be.  It should be very clear to even the most inattentive theatergoer what's going on.   The unspoken.  Secrets.  Untold facts.  Who is really talking to whom in life?  Do we see what is going on or do we just see what we want?   Clearly  Kevin Elyot has a firm opinion on this.   Mouth to Mouth is both a figurative title (whether my mouth or yours, words sometimes flow and sometimes don't - and we often don't want to listen to what we hear) as well

 as a physical meaning in this plot - It seems that (among other frolicking that followed) Frank saved Philip from drowning at the lake by giving him mouth to mouth resuscitation.  

Outstanding performances by Lisa Emery (Laura) and David Cale (Frank).  The sheer innocence of Christopher Abbott (Philip) is priceless, genuine, and brilliantly captured by Director, Mark Browkaw.  Brilliant subtleties, such as a Philip emerging in his first scene shirtless tantalizes the audience and offers up the question of his sexuality.  Laura scolds her son for smoking in a photograph.   And yet the opening and closing scene we find her indulging.  Never spoken.  Did we hear a passing comment about when Laura and Roger met so long ago?  It rings in our ears in the penultimate scene between them again.

Bravo, New Group.   A fine evening of theatre, indeed.

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

Cynthia Nixon delights! Jean Brodie was an outspoken, progressive teacher at a very conservative girls school in Scotland. She's in top form (her self professed "prime") and the girls simply adore and idolize her. She intends to make them the Creme de le Creme. She preaches art, love, beauty, and independence. She is bold and brazen. Did she go too far? Did her jealousy end up destroying her? You be the judge. Come see her mezmorize the girls at the Acorn Theater.

Just on thing... don't expect the best Scotish accent. It comes... and goes....

The Women

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Women_(play)