A Time To Kill

Rupert Holmes has adapted a classic best seller and movie for the stage.  John Grisham's first book and now his first play for the stage is a remarkable work that needs just a bit more work before its ready for prime-time.

Leading the pack is the very handsome Sebastia Arcelus (Jake Brigaance).  Hi charm and good looks held my attention but there was something perhaps a bit detached or formulaic in the courtroom drama.  When staging a scene, or in this case an entire play, around a courtroom you need to have crisp, quick dialogue.  It was almost there, but some of his colleagues on stage - primarily former senator and presidential candidate Fred Dalton Thompson (Judge Omar Noose) need a bit more time in rehearsal.

Tom Skerritt (Lecien Wilbanks) exemplified the second problem with this play - I couldn't hear him.  He's not a stage actor by trade.  And when a play takes a tact to not mic the actors (i liked the idea too) you had better cast actors who can speak up!  Sadly this was not the case.  Lastly, Tonya Pinkins (Gwen Hailey) is brilliant but wasted in the small role.

These problems aside, I think there is merit in the production and there's hope for some improvement.  The stage design by James Noone is remarkably engaging with its rotating platform constantly changing perspectives in the courtroom.   I hope the rest of the play brings itself up to the brilliance of the rotating courtroom.

Storefront Chruch

John Patrick Shanley's new work is a powder-keg.  The third and final work in his trilogy that started with Doubt, continued with Defiance, now ends with Storefront Church.  (One wonders why, given the plot, it is not named Debt).  Staged at the Atlantic Theatre Company's Linda Gross Theatre, a former church, itself, the play explores the ethics and power behind and between religion and politics and their, some would say, dangerous, others would say, rewarding intersection.

Sharp, intelligent dialogue.  Powerful performances.  Thought provoking and relevant plot.  These words don't even do the work justice.  You'll take a side.  It doesn't matter which one, but you'll take a side.

Bob Dishy is deliciously funny as Ethan Goldklang.  Giancarlo Esposito helms the tense production with aplomb as Bronx borough president, Donaldo Calderon.  Zach Grenier is pitch-perfect in his portrayal of fallen banker, Reed Van Druyten.  Ron Cephas Jones takes on the stoic, angry, and conflicted reverend, Chester Kimmich.  Jordan Lage plays the role of bank CEO Tom Raidenberg with aplomb.

I had high hopes for Tonya Pinkins in this production and they were dashed.  Specifically I was quite annoyed at Mr. Shanley's choice to have her speak with a Puerto Rican accent.  She was terrible at that and it would have been very simple to have her speak like an old black woman instead  - after all - she is black and we know she can do it from her award winning performance in Caroline or Change.  That alone could have turned her performance from disappointing and mediocre to pivotal and powerful and it would not have affected the plot in any significant way.

Will this one transfer to Broadway?  Doubt certainly did.  Defiance did not (and probably didn't deserve it).  Change the name to Debt (it's catchier), throw out a few elongated scene changes, and maybe skip the music, and you may just have Broadway's next hit.  After all, off-Broadway is the new Broadway testing ground these days.

Milk Like Sugar

A potent new play, Milk like Sugar,  by Kirsten Greenidge is now running at the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre at Playwrights Horizons thru November 20th.

Sharp, honest dialogue, a stinging and relevant subject matter, and a top notch cast makes this transfer from the Women's Project Theater and La Jolla Playhouse a red-hot commodity for New York theatre.

Angela Lewis (Annie) takes the helm of this intense exploration of young black women in today's urban world. She along with her two best friends, Talisha (Cherise Boothe) and Margie (Nikiya Mathis) convince themselves that perhaps the "best way out" is to get pregnant.  As clearly inappropriate as this may seem, Ms. Greenidge explores the ignorance and false hopes these girls cling to in this pact to get pregnant. Not a one dimensional play by any means, Angela simultaneously has to deal with her mother (Myrna) at home - played to perfection by the extraordinarily talented Tonya Pinkins.  She, herself, clings onto the little she has - money, family, a job and her dream of writing.  Pregnant at a young age herself, she rebukes the church who failed her.  The cycle goes on.

One of the more interesting characters that Ms. Greenidge has thrown into the mix is Keera (Adrienne C. Moore) - an overweight, shy, religious girl who tries to convince Annie to do things God's way.  In a striking move by Ms. Greenidge, we ultimately see a completely different Keera behind the facade -again - clinging to hopes, dreams, and a desire to make more of herself and break the cycle.

The two male characters, not surprisingly, are the least developed. Malik's (J. Mallory-McCree) character is mostly flat - mostly due to the crafting of his expected lines.  Antwoine (LeRoy McClain), a pivotal character to the plot, is also marginalized in terms of dialogue and depth.  But let's just be clear that when he rips off his shirt there were more than a few gasps (the good kind)  from the rather diverse audience.

Powerful, relevant, packed with anger, frustration, and mostly despair - this new work sizzles on a red hot stage at Playwrights Horizons.

Caroline, or Change