The Government Inspector

What do you get when you combine a 200+ year old play, a movie musical with Danny Kaye, and really good contemporary comedic actors?   Most likely something like Nikolai Gogol's The Government Inspector now playing over at the Duke on 42nd presented by Red Bull Theater.

The top-notch cast lead by the indomitable and beyond adorable Michael Urie (Ivan Alexandreyevich Hlestakov) and Michael McGrath (Anton Antonovich) is nothing short of comic genius.  Directed by Jesse Berger, this very old gem of a comedy still rings true even in this day and age of cell phones and microchips.  Although the set was an awkward 2 story narrow runway to perform on, the cast seemed to make the best of it - slamming doors and hiding in closets.  This is a slap-stick comedy after all.  And many sticks were indeed slapped.

Mary Testa, no stranger to the theatre, (Anna Andreyevna) takes her over-the-top mother role quite seriously and literally.  The trio of townsfolk, Tom Alan Robbins (The Judge), David Manis (The School Principal), and Steven Derosa (The Hospital Director) could easily be the three stooges - always together - always bumbling. The scene and show stealing character, The Postmaster, played by none other than the ingenious  Arnie Burton, is quite possibly the show's best - as if picking a best with this cast is even possible.   Fill in the cast with chambermaids, waitress, local landowners, and various townsfolk and you've got a recipe for lots of mixups, mayhem, and madness.

The comedy is fresh, the delivery is crisp, and the laughter flows throughout this romp whose opening night is June 1st.  Grab a ticket and get ready for multiple belly laughs with this one.

She Loves Me

Roundabout Theatre Company has taken a musical theater gem, polished it up in a new, delightful production, and is presently dazzling audiences nightly over at Studio 54 with a star-studded cast.

Scott Ellis helms this Broadway gem for the second time, actually.  In Roundabout's first musical undertaking in 1993 was his one of his first shows too.  In a fresh, new production staring the indomitable Laura Bennati (Amalia Balash), the dashingly handsome Zachary Levi (Georg Nowack) and the bombshell Jane Krakowski (Ilona Ritter) and the delightfully debonaire Gavin Creel (Steven Kodaly) we are witness to pure musical comedy genius.

In typical Roundabout style, the sets, a 1934 Budapest Parfumerie and ancillary apartment rooms, are simply divine - dripping with color and panache (David Rockwell).  Costumes were period perfect (Jeff Mashie).

Ms. Benanti is perfectly cast as a brash young women who bursts into the store seeking a job.  Mr. Levi surprised all with his pitch-perfect deep, baratone voice as Ms. Benanti's shy young (and secret) love interest.  Ms. Krakowski plays the musical comedy bird-brain and Mr. Creel plays the greasy and slick both to the hilt.  Being surrounded by a supporting cast of old-timers only adds to the enjoyment of the evening - Michael McGrath (Ladislav Sipos), Byron Jennings (Mr. Maraczek), and a one-scene wonder, Peter Bartlett (Headwaiter). As a special note, I saw the delightfully adorable and talented understudy for Arpad Lazlo (Justin Bowen) and I couldn't have enjoyed him more.

Opposites attract is the theme.  We watch our young lovers meet, argue to exasperation, and eventually fall deep in love once their secret letter writing relationship is confirmed.  At 2 hours and 30 minutes, it's a full evening - Act I being a tad bit longer than Act II.  It's old fashioned, silly, frivolous, and delightful and I could not think of a better way to pass an evening in the theatre than with these talented actors.

On the Twentieth Century

And the Tony goes to.....  yes, this one is a shoe-in for a nom... or six... and we'll just see who they are up against for the wins.  Warren Carlyle (Choreography) has got to be on the nominee list for his craft.  And let's not leave out Scott Ellis (Director) for his craft.  And don't think for a minute that Kristin Chenoweth is not a shoe-in her category.  Peter Gallagher just might be on the list too.

With an introduction like that - what's left but just the entire ensemble.  I have been saying since intermission of the show that this is perhaps the hardest working, singing, dancing, and entertaining ensemble that is currently running on Broadway.  It's seriously THAT good.
On the Twentieth Century is actually a musical by Comden & Green with music by Cy Coleman which is an adaptation of a play, Twentieth Century by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur based on the unproduced play Napoleon of Broadway by Charles B. Millholland, inspired by his experience working for the eccentric Broadway impresario David Belasco. Well that's a mouthful!
It's a good old-fashioned Broadway musical.  That alone doesn't guarantee success.  This production, however, goes every extra mile to ensure the delivery is crisp, bold, smart, and rhythmic. From the invisible orchestra to the tap dancing Porters (Rick Faugno, Richard Riaz Yoder, Drew King, and Phillip Attmore), to the show-within-a-show type story, this show has razzle, dazzle, sequins, slapstick comedy, Mary Louise Wilson (Letitia Peabody Primrose) and the audaciously sexy Andy Karl (Bruce Granit).

I never doubted for a moment that Roundabout's sets (David Rockwell) and lighting (David Holder) would be magnificent.  They were.  Costumes were simply lavish perfection (William Ivy Long).

From the moment the perfectly costumed and supremely gorgeous porters tap danced onto the stage until the very end when, all in white, the cast returns to the stage not a minute was ill-spent.  Every single minute was filled with a laugh, a song, or a dance.  Every single minute.

Get your ticket to board On the Twentieth Century today.  It leaves from Chicago to New York 8 shows each week.

Nice Work If You Can Get It

As director and choreographer, Kathleen Marshall helms this delicious and tuneful musical comedy at the Imperial Theatre this spring.

The concept - cobble together some of the best George and Ira Gershwin tunes in a new book by Joe DePietro and cast some wonderful singers and dancers, stitch up some magnificent costumes (Martin Pakledinaz) design and build some divine sets (Derek McLane) and light them with elegance and charm (Peter Kaczorowski) and mic the actors/singers perfectly (Brian Ronan).

Take all these wonderful ingredients and pour in a little bleach - - yes bleach.  That's a sure way to ruin an entire show!  The bleach in this case is Matthew Broderick.  He's completely mis-cast.  Is he funny? Yes.  Can he carry a tune? Certainly.   But this role requires a dashing, young man who can dance.  Matthew is neither a dancer nor dashing.  So poor was this casting faux-pax by Binder Casting (Jay Binder and Jack Bowdan) that it just about ruins the entire show!

Kelli O'Hara is divine, pitch-perfect, and deliciously innocent as bootlegger Billie Bendix.  Michael McGrath is broodingly devilish as Cookie McGee.  Judy Kaye is solidly and supremely hysterical as Dutchess Estonia Dulworth and Estelle Parsons is superb and commanding in her portrayal of Millicent Winter.   The ensemble dancers were crisp, handsome and pretty, elegant, and never missed a step - or a note!  With all this goodness - how could it all go wrong?  I'll tell you how.  Cast a stiff, non-dancing, not-extremely handsome oaf in a role that is central to the plot.  Ms. O'Hara appears to be dancing on egg-shells around him on the many occasions they are required to tango.  Ms. Parsons appears to easily dominate her stiff son's character leaving us to wonder why she would even bother.  And one wonders why the powerhouse Mr. McGrath didn't just conk his new "boss" over the head with a bottle of that gin instead of faking his butler duties with him.

This is a lesson in just how to take a charming, delightful, and delicious show and ruin the entire presentation with just one stroke of the casting pen.  Truth be told, I left the theatre humming many of the familiar tunes.  I really loved the silly, romantic comedy book, but just couldn't get over the awful casting choice that Ms. Marshall either bought into or was forced to accept.  Mr. Broderick stood out like a sore thumb surrounded by all the talent on the stage.  If a real charming actor who could dance was actually cast in this role, this show might be considered the knock-out hit of the season.  Instead, it's more like a bottle of gin during prohibition - destined to be smashed in the gutter by a cop.

Memphis

Is He Dead?

Norbert Leo Buts - in Drag?! How could you go wrong?!! This romp at the Lyceum theater is a belly- laugh evening at the theater. Written by Mark Twain in 1898 , but apparently not published until discovered in 2002! It's lighter than most of his works - but what a treat!
The basic premise is the question of value. An artist's work tends to be worth nothing during his life - but becomes the "hottest" thing once he's dead. So let's see - - what could an artist do to change that? Hmmm... maybe fake his death, have his friends sell all his works at a premium price and then they all live happily ever after?! Voila! They've figured it out.

A great supporting cast - but Norbert (especially as his twin sister!) is a trip! He appears to be having fun the entire show. It brought to mind the days of the Carol Burnett show - watching Tim Conway, Harvey Korman, and Carol Burnett try to crack each other up on stage.
Don't miss this Winter treat!

Follies

Encores! pulls off another Sondheim classic - Follies. As always, it's a partially staged "books-in-hand" production at the cavernous City Center for 6 shows only.

The star-studded cast lead by Victor Garber, Victoria Clark, Donna Murphy, Michael McGrath, and Christine Baranski laid all their 40 year old "dirty laundry" on stage for all to enjoy. As the story goes, these guys and gals were all show-folk for Dimitri Weismann (a rival to Ziegfeld) 40 or so years ago and are all back for a reunion at the theater they all used to perform in for one last night since the theater is being torn down to become a parking lot. The supporting cast of reunion-comers , no slouches in their own right, includes Joanne Worley (Laugh-In), Phillip Bosco (Broadway Legend), Yvonne Constant (International/French Cabaret Star), Mimi Hines (Broadway: Funny Girl, Sugar Babies, Hello Dolly, Nunsense, Pippen to name a few), Anne Rogers (Broadway: The Boyfriend, My Fair Lady, 42nd Street and more) and Robert Fitch (over 27 Broadway shows and counting).


Not to be left off the list of those who deserve rave reviews is the "dual cast" of the younger versions of each of these "old-folk". The show weaves in scenes and flashbacks from the past alongside the current dialogue to give the audience a sense of "what really happened". That young cast was powerful, talented, and energetic - much as you would assume these folks all were in the days gone by. They truly provided the "oomph" behind the tap dance numbers and the effortless grace in the dance numbers.

Christine Baranski who played Carlotta Campion sang the signature number I'm Still Here. She hit every line of dialogue with aplomb and left us laughing every time - but her vocal skills need a bit of work. Victoria Clark and Donna Murphy stole the show as the leading ladies. Both have an incredible command of the stage and flawless vocal abilities.

Victor Garber - Wow! For some reason i never expect and always enjoy the vocal powerhouse he is. And let's not forget Mimi Hines who sang the famous Broadway Baby. She knocked our socks off. And Joanne Worley - the ageless funny-gal - she powered thru Who's that Woman - and all but got a standing ovation.

It's not perfect, it's got a few flubs and scant scenery. But with a hit like this one and stars like this one and, of course, the Encores! Orchestra - how could it be anything but an entertaining evening? Sorry, I think it's mostly sold out - but for 5 more shows - it's still here!

Wonderful Town