Finding Neverland

I don't know about you, but it seems to me that there have been a whole spate of shows and movies about this Peter Pan character!  Peter and the Starcatcher, Peter Pan Live on NBC, Pan (a movie) and now this audacious project - an adaptation by none other than movie mogul, Harvey Weinstein, of the Johnny Depp movie by the same name and the play The Man who was Peter Pan by Allan Knee.

My, oh my.  We seem to be enthralled with Mr. Pan indeed. Audacious?  Indeed.  Successful?  You bet.  This particular flavor of the story is how the author, J.M. Barrie, actually came to write the story and what inspired hm.

Director, Diane Paulus, has her creative stamp all over this production.  Sophisticated, smart, powerful, and sublime are all words that apply here.  Ms. Paulus never fails to waive her magic want and turn what might just be an ordinary production into something magical.

The sublime and talented Matthew Morrison (J.M Barrie) and Kelsey Grammer (Charles Frohman) take on this production with gusto.  Mr. Morrison is endearingly adorable (as usual) and Mr. Grammar, while not a skilled singer, tackles the role with gusto and wild abandon.  The result is a potent production with several moments of sheer magic on stage.  Choreographer Mia Michaels also put her mark of modern dance throughout the evening.  The ever-talented Carolee Carmello (Mrs. du Maurier) delivers her usual outstanding performance as well.   Fill the stage with 4 adorable child actors, a dog, and an ensemble of hunky sometimes pirate dancers, and an orchestration that fills even the furthest nooks of the theater with high fidelity sound - and you've got he makings of a hit on your hands.

The aforementioned magic on stage hit its mark each and every time.  The conclusion of Act One is a crescendo of grand proportions and that's not where the action stops.  The magic continues up to the very last minute of the play with a lot of heart and great theatre in between.  I didn't even mind Mr. Grammar's mugging at a joke in Act Two (despite it's non-dramatic material person-specific reference).

Finding Neverland is a magical evening in a very big theater packed to the gills with lots of kids who are there to swoon over Mr. Morrison (who am i kidding, count me in that crowd too) but who just might learn they actually like the theater too!

South Pacific

A Rogers and Hammerstein classic - South Pacific - is now playing at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theatre. Revived in grand style, this musical set on two islands in the Pacific Ocean during WWII boasts a full 30 piece orchestra as created for the original Broadway run in 1949 (virtually unheard of!) two superb leading actors and a robust supporting cast.

Kelly O'Hara (Light in the Piazza, The Pajama Game, Sweet Smell of Success) takes the helm as Ensign Nellie Forbush and Paulo Szot, a Brazilian native, as Emile de Becque. The chemistry between the two was completely natural and unforced. Matthew Morrison (Light in the Piazza, Hairspray, Ten Million Miles) played the young, troubled Lieutenant Joseph Cable and proved once again that his vocal skills are top notch (as was his often shirtless character). Danny Burstein (The Drowsy Chaperone, The Boys from Syracuse) took Luther Billis to another level - comedic and macho, yet tender and caring. With over 40 actors in the cast it's hard to mention them all.

Tune after tune seems to bring you back to something from your past. I heard everyone around me humming the tunes and fondly remembering yet another classic melody. Of special note, at the Overture, Entr'Acte and Finale Ultimo - the floor of the horseshoe shaped stage at the Beaumont pulled back to fully reveal the faces behind the music. Conductor Ted Sperling received rousing applause each time.

With such tunes as Some Enchanted Evening, There is Nothing Like a Dame, Bali Ha'i, I'm Gonna Wash that Man Right Outa My Hair, Happy Talk, and You've Got to be Carefully Taught - you can't go wrong. With the grander and prestige of Lincoln Center behind you - this just might be the "Best Musical Revival of the Year". We'll have to wait until June to find our for sure. In the meantime, set sail for 66th and Columbus for a premium voyage!

10 Million Miles

Four talented stars from various segments in the arts have been gathered together at the Atlantic Theater Company to tell us a story of "love, family, and the geography of an American Dream."

The story revolves around a road trip taken by two kids (Matthew Morrison - Hairspray and Light in the Piazza and Irene Molloy) in a Toyota pickup from Florida to New York. They stop along the way and meet a potpourri of friends, family and other savory characters - all played brilliantly by Mare Winningham and Skipp Sudduth (NBC's Third Watch - John "Sully" Sullivan).

The songs (music and lyrics by Grammy-nominated singer songwriter Patty Griffin)is mostly pure high energy Rock and Roll with a few powerful love songs and ballads thrown in. Morrison, owned the stage with his powerful voice and sexy bod... and yes, his shirt did indeed come off just once (sigh!). The story and characters are all working class folks with the many troubles you might expect them to have - alcoholism, unwanted pregnancy, coming of age, religion, and war... All this - and who would have thought Mare Winningham had such a knock out voice! If you didn't know better - you'd think it was 11 o'clock when she sang "Making Pies".

Surprises abound on West 20th Street at the Atlantic Theater Company. Check it out!

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

A Light in the Piazza