Maple and Vine

Jordan Harrison's fantastic new play, Maple and Vine, being produced at Playwrights Horizons this season is storytelling at its absolute best!  Are you a tired, stressed-out, overworked tranquilized New Yorker?  This play offers you an alternative - a chance to live the "simpler life" by moving to a "community" where everyone lives authentically in 1955. The looks, the ideals, and all that goes with the culture of the era.  You'll have to give up a few things tho.  "Jamaican Jerk, Sushi, Hummus, Foccacia, Baba-Ganoush... Whole Grain Bread... No pine puts, no pesto, no Lattes...  What you will get is... Salt..."

Marin Ireland (Katha) and Peter Kim (Ryu), after much debate, decide to take the plunge for an initial six month trial and move to the gated community of the SDO - The Society of Dynamic Obsolescence after being tantalized by the concept by two current full-fledged members - Trent Dawson (Dean) and Jeanie Serralles (Ellen).  Will this "mixed-race" couple survive?  Will their neighbors welcome them with open arms?  What Ryu, a plastic surgeon, survive his job as a box folder at the local plant?  How will Kath(y), a book publisher, survive in the kitchen?  What deep, dark secrets lurk beneath the surface in this anachronistic community?  You'll just have to see it for yourself to find out.

The play is cleverly divided into it's two natural parts - Act One starts us off in current day in NYC giving us the background on just who Katha and Ryu are and why they're so discontented with their lives.  A chance meeting with Dean (and later Ellen) ultimately intrigues them enough to make the move to the SDO.  Act Two picks up with the same Kath(y) and Ryu living in the SDO working their way through the cultural, religious, and social customs of 1955.  We learn how the time was different - for many people - including Dean and Roger (played by the incredibly sexy Pedro Pascal).  What ultimately unfolds is a tale you'd never suspect - and at the same time - exactly what you would have guessed.

On such a tiny stage, Alexander Dodge (Scenic Design) has done an award winning job at designing the time-accurate yet minimalist sets.  And special shout-out to the hardest working stage crew in the biz - which was completely recognized by the director by having them take a bow along with the cast.  A nice touch and certainly well deserved.

No spoilers here - just know that it's an evening of superb storytelling in the theatre laced with racial, ethnic and political undertones that serve as a reminder that as romantic and glamorous as the time was, perhaps life was not quite so simple as we would like to think.

Some Men

Terrance McNally's new work is both charming and witty. Played out on stage as a series of vignettes emanating from the the flashbacks, back stories, and thoughts of a group of men at a gay wedding - it chronicles the lives of gay men over the past 80 years. Many of the stories are interconnected (shades of "the chart" from the L-Word). History indeed shows that we indeed have come a long way.

I found one of the most poignant scenes to be the one between the "young kids" of generation Y interviewing the "old guys" in the park for their college journalism project. The old couple seem to look back on their own experiences fondly and with great joy. Of course, in hindsight, a gay teen today would find their experiences very closeted, oppressive, and unimaginable in today's world.

"You mean you could be arrested for being at a gay bar? "Why didn't you protest more"? The questions seem logical if the same things were happening today - but the point being made was that at that time, in that era, it just wasn't what seemed appropriate. The older gay men really remember the good times - the "golden era" they were part of.

Times change. Acceptance abounds. We've definitely come a long way. Some Men reminds just how far even in my own lifetime.

Based on a Totally True Story

This really is ... Based on a Totally True Story.... it seems that the Playwright, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, has written a play about his own life - a play in which his lead character writes a comic book and plays and gets his "big break" but all around him his life is falling apart....

Unusually conversational - the characters are actually telling you a story - more than ocassionally break the 4th wall to converse with you and explain what is going on (in real life) about this play which is unfolding in front of us. I'm once again reminded that my friend Dennis Larkin could probably explain all the theatrical tricks and gimicks that all probably have technical names to them (e.g. compression and other terms that elude me). What I was left with was a feeling of satisfaction and emotional connection with the characters.

The main character, Ethan Keene (Carson Elrod) and his boyfriend, Michael Sullivan (Pedro Pascal), are the center of the drama. The chemistry between them was palpable. I believed them. I enjoyed them. The Hollywood agent, MaryEllen (Kristine Nielsen), was supurb - truly an "over the top" Hollywood character! I enjoyed her. Ethan's dad was none other than Michael Tucker (you remember LA Law, right?). He was endearing. I enjoyed him.

The pace was quick. Dialogue - snappy - funny - in a word - enjoyable. The two hours really flew. A true-grit New Yorker or die-hard LA resident would surely appreciate the subtle references and the "oh how true it is" references.

I haven't seen a play this funny, this emotionally deep, and thoroughly enjoyable in a quite a while.

This one is, like all other MTC productions, is a limited run... and speaking of run - - you'd better get your sneakers on. This one is worth a sprint!

Beauty of the Father

The sultry sounds of Spanish music softly transformed Theater II at MTC into the Costa del Sol last Thursday evening. A cast as talented as they were good looking supurbly performed the latest work by award winning Nilo Cruz. You couldn't ask for more.

The story unfolds in a cottage on the Spanish coast as we learn about a small family and their rich and unique relationships. Throw in a poor, handsome, young moroccan boy and it all heats up. The play is cleverly narrated by a character we soon learn is the ghost of Federico Garcia Lorca, the Spanish poet.

This play has layers... and lots of 'em. Truly a tale which makes you question if there really is only one true definition of family, sexuality, love, and sacrafice. What would you do and how far would you go for true love?

Check out Beauty of the Father and then give me your answer.