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.

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.

On The Town

It may be just what Broadway needs right now - a lavish, classic, good-'ol song and dance show on the great white way.  Betty Comden and Adolph Green's classic with music by the incomparable Leonard Bernstein has been made fresh again for a new generation of theater-goers.  And by all accounts, this revisal will delight audiences far and wide.  An orchestra of epic proportions plucks, strums, and toots with wild abandon to the gorgeous and lush musical score by Leonard Bernstein while the actors sing and dance - (do they ever) - to the highest of heights.

The über dreamy Tony Yazbeck helms the cast of over 40 characters as Gabey along with the deliciously sexy Jay Armstrong Johnson (Chip) and Clyde Alves (Ozzie) - 3 sailors let loose on New York City in 1944 on a 24 hour leave with the hopes of each finding a dame.  It's fun, fresh, wholesome, and naughty all at the same time.  The hilarious Jackie Hoffman takes on the role of Maude Dilly (and a little old lady, and several nightclub stars) with brilliant comedic genius.  I am pretty sure much of the revisal work was done in her sketch comedy-like scenes to wild success.  Megan Fairchild (Ivy, Miss Turnstiles), Alysha Umphress (Hildy, the taxi driver), and Elizabeth Stanley (Claire DeLoone) each portray one of the dames - each different, each perfectly cast.  This was Ms. Fairchild's Broadway debut as she is normally a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet.  Ms Umphress is a Broadway veteran but this just may be her break-out role as she knocks Hildy out of the park.

Brilliant scenic design (Beowulf Borritt) and lit (Jason Lyons)  - it is a near perfect picture of the boys in brilliant white sailor suits surrounded by a pastiche of technicolor city dwellers.  Projections are getting near indeterminable from actual scenery and the result is simply marvelous.   This show is significantly stilted toward a ballet and none better than Mr. Yazbeck and Ms Fairchild to execute each jump and lift with effortless aplomb.  I'm pretty sure Jerome Robbins (original idea and choreography) would be pleased with the outcome over 70 years later.  Most likely Comden and Green would also be pleased with Robert Cary's and Jonathan Tolins' book freshening updates.

The theater itself previously housed quite possibly the most different type of show (Spiderman) prior to this - so much so that one could speculate it required a name change back to its original - The Lyric.

Classic material in an old fashioned Broadway house with deliciously fresh talent - it certainly makes for one helluva show!

Walmartopia

Well, if you're going to see Sam Walton immortalized, think again - this little gem is a WalMart Basher! I was pleasantly surprised at the top notch production quality down at the Minetta Lane Theater. The cast was reasonably talented and the sound, lights, and scenery were great for an off-Broadway production!

Now - about the story - well... it starts off just bashing WalMart - sort of an entertaining little storyline. It's funny, predictable... well that is until this mad scientist kept in the basement of the WalMart by the CEO is unveiled. He's got a time machine - and they want to send someone into the future to find out what the trends are and how to capture them NOW! They do actually send someone into the future (the other part of the story has the Mom and Daughter struggling to make ends meet working at WalMart - blah.. blah.. blah). It's this very Mom and daughter who get blasted into 2037 only to find out that WalMart runs the planet! Quite an entertaining thought - but c'mon...

The mad scientist is hysterical - a show stealer... the Peter Allen of the show, you might say. The board of Directors is mildly amusing (always rolling in chairs and some women dressed in men's suits!). Mom and daughter are quite talented - reminiscent of Tanya Pinkins of Caroline of Change. There's the Asian lady always dressed to the 9's... Lisa Ling, anyone? Oh, and let's not forget the head of Sam Walton - brought back to life - another far fetched idea - but generally funny. I guess we were supposed to learn that Sam was really a red-neck who made it big... not a very PC guy, if you know what i mean.

Overall - i left with a smile on my face - but kept wondering - Why is WalMart not suing the pants off these guys! Free publicity - good or bad.. is still free publicity i guess!

Twentieth Century