The Man In The Ceiling

A new musical isn't easy to nurture and bring to the stage.  Andrew Lippa has penned music and Lyrics to the book by Jules Feiffer to produce a kid-focused yet very adult musical.  Now playing out in Sag Harbor at the Bay Street Theatre, The Man in the Ceiling is truly an opportunity for a young actor to sink his teeth into.  Let's not forget that the music is big, bold, and Broadway-ish.

Jonah Browcow (Jimmy) is an amazingly talented kid who can belt out tune after tune all the while breezing effortlessly across the stage.  It appears to me to be the role of a lifetime for any young kid.  Following the format and story in the book,  this musical follows a kid who just wants to draw and illustrate and his father (Danny Binstock) who just wants him to play softball and be a "normal" kid.  Throw in a caring peace-maker mother (Nicole Parker) and a devoted sister (Erin Kommor) and you have the recipe for a Saturday afternoon movie special - but the music, heart, and story that fills the stage is so much more.  Honestly the only character that didn't quite make much sense or have a fully sussed out role was Charley (Brett Gray) - he could have gone in so many directions but instead went in none.  Leave it to Mr. Lippa to slip into the role of Uncle Lester - the uncle who writes musical theatre!  I assume this was for artistic purposes and not some desire to return to the stage. He's goofy and cute so it all worked - at least in this role.  

All in all, as I seem to say repeatedly there are a few "stop hitting me over the head with this" moments that could be trimmed to shore up this show and make it tight.  It has a great video projected set background as well as the giant puppet (the Man in the ceiling) we only get glimpses at.  Plenty of heart, and a heap of soul, this show will go somewhere next and be better for all the out of town tests.

These Paper Bullets

Now rockin' the stage over at the Linda Gross Theater of The Atlantic Theater Company is a play with music that has more effervescence than some musicals.  The title and origins of the show are a bit stuffy being from Yale Reparatory Theater and all.... but that doesn't stop director Jackson Gay from dazzling the audience with his spinning disk stage and scenery (i get it, just like a record, right?) upon which the boys and their fans strut their stuff.


What have we got going on here, you ask?  It's Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing updated to London 1964 and involves a boy band that very closely (*wink wink*) resembles the Beatles.    The Quartos - which in my opinion should be the name of the play - are cute, rebellious, young and horny. (what boy bands aren't?).  Music by Billie Joe Armstrong and orchestrations by Tom Kitt are sure to please.

Don't get me wrong - it's super-smart - although I will admit I have never read Much Ado About Nothing - so much of it was lost on me.  Meanwhile the music has an all-too-familiar sound to it and kept the toes-a-tapping'.   The uber adorable and sexy boys of The Quartos - Ben (Justin Kirk), Claude (Bryan Fenkart), Balth (Lucas Papaelias), and Pedro (James Barry) - croon the night away and take you back a few decades to a more innocent time.

Sub plots develop around the love and revenge story - one might say a few too many however.  Scotland Yard detectives investigating "What is wrong with the youth of our Country" provide some entertaining interludes following the boys - including the incredibly adorable multi-character actor Christopher Geary.  The women who are the object of affection and scorn include Bea (Nicole Parker), Higgie (Arianna Venturi), and Ulcie (Keira Naughton).

Yes, I believe the characters have similar names to the play by the Bard and it's all wrapped in a hip backbeat that will make you smile despite the unnecessarily long tun time (please trim this up, Rolin Jones).  A two hour runtime will likely be the sweetest spot you can find.

The People In The Picture

Too Cliche?  Maybe.  Another installment in the "thou shalt never forget" series?  Perhaps.  Delightfully entertaining?  Absolutely.   In any other season, I think this show would be receiving above average acclaim.  Well, at least it would be receiving reviews that said "if you clean up Act I and speed up the dying old lady scene in Act II - you're got a hit on your hands."  But alas, strong competition this season has placed this possibly underrated show on the back burner.   It's either that or we're just tired of the the genre.  You decide.

Donna Murphy (Bubbie/Raizel) is sublime.  Clearly the star of the show.  Clearly the mistress of character acting.    I can't say anyone else in the cast was a stand-out, but they were a strong ensemble and put Bubbie on a golden pedestal the entire evening as she seamlessly slid between her younger self in 1935-1946 Warsaw, Poland and her older self in New York circa 1977   Overwrought with Yiddish and old Jewish humor, perhaps, but that's the story, for heaven's sake.  I have a few friends who actually saw it early in the run.  They got very bored during Act I and left.  They never found out who, exactly the people in the picture are.  Alas, the story is about the title of the show and Act II cleverly reveals all.

Sets by Riccardo Hernandez  - a decent job at recycling previous Roundabout materials.  And heaven knows, the Roundabout must have invested a boatload in the video projection equipment for Sunday in the Park with George and Brief Encounter - so why not drag it out again.  But since there's money at the Roundabout - it's always a top notch, class-act.  Costume and lighting - up to the usually high Roundabout quality too.

So who are the people in the picture?  I won't spoil it - you'll have to get your own ticket and let the divine Donna Murphy tell you herself.   Tape recorders, at least in the audience, not allowed.