An American in Paris

Quite possibly this is the most beautifully staged ballet mounted on a Broadway stage.  The perfect blend of theater, dance, and storytelling is something you cannot miss.  The dancing is breathtaking.  The music  (George  and Ira Gershwin) is classic and instantly recognizable.  I have not seen the movie (it's rare that I have) and I was swept up in this luxurious, eye-popping spectacular on stage at the Palace Theater directed and choreographed by the incomparable master of dance, Christopher Wheeldon.

Robert Fairchild (Jerry Mulligan). already a well respected and award-winning dancer has kept secret from us - he can sing and act too.  A more perfect triple-threat I cannot imagine - so much so that I found it hard to take my eyes of him.  He's handsome, svelte, funny, and flexible.  His dance is mesmerizingly effortless - like a feather in the wind.   Equally talented and beautiful is the central love interest in the story, Leanne Cope (Lise Dassin).  She floats across the stage like a cloud of pure joy. She exudes Parisian charm and good looks with every step, note, and line she executes.

And while many could play the part, none other than the incomparable Veanne Cox portrays Madame Barurel - the uncompromising mother with some secrets who just wants her son to get married already.  And guess what?  I adore her comedic genius but now I find out she can dance like a pro too!   The American determined to make it big in the Paris art world (and score a handsome man) is played by none other than the divine Jill Paice (Milo Davenport).  Her singing, sultry and exquisite dresses, and dancing skills brought her character to life as she attempted to woo Mr. Fairchild.

This show is truly ballet extraordinaire and hence brings a full suite of skills and talent in the company to the stage - and they multiply it 10-fold with the play (ballet)-within-a-play (ballet) concept.  The three handsome leading men (Mr. Fairchild along with Max von Essen (Henri Baurel) and Brandon Uranowitz (Adam Hochberg) succeed wildly in falling in love with the same woman in entirely different ways.  Their chemistry is palpable and you really think these three might end up being friends in such a setting.  Each has a different personality but they blend remarkably well.

From the breathtaking opening scene (it's magical) to the titular ballet scene in Act II, you won't want to miss a single moment of this rapturous and fluid performance.  Although we recently experienced another show with Mr. Gershwin's music (You Can't Take it with You), this story is entirely different and evokes completely different emotions.  

As was said about Rob McClure in Chaplin, the same can be said for Mr. Fairchild - "Welcome to the show that's going to make you a Broadway star".

A Free Man of Color

Quite an epic on stage at the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center!  Three hours - and chock full of action, education, and quite a few laughs along the way.  John Guare's new opus is an ambitious work - as evidenced by the size cast - 26 listed in on the billboard alone and most play multiple characters on top of that!

Guare takes us on a journey to New Orleans in 1801 - which, in case you didn't know, was not part of America at this point in time.  It was filled with Spaniards, French, and Caribbeans of all types.   New Orleans was a land where men of all shades of color - from white to dark filled the city and shared a grand life.  It was a city where a slave could buy his freedom and become the toast of the town - especially among the women (of all colors) of the town.  Not only does Guare's play give us a sense of life in this vaudevillian city - he goes further to educate us on the global politics of the (1801) day - teaching us how Spain, France, England and Sante Dominigue (Haiti) all were part of the story of how America came to own this vast new land that spanned westward from the Appalachians to the Mississippi River, from the Gulf of Mexico northward to Canada - and how it changed New Orleans forever.

Jeffrey Wright helms the cast as the main character, Jacques Cornet and gets tremendous support from dozens of actors playing multiple characters in at least 4 different countries.  Stand-out performances to be noted:  Mos Def (the rapper) as Cornet's slave, John McMartin as Thomas Jefferson, Veanne Cox as Dona Polissena, a scientist, a young Paul Dano as Meriweather Lewis (of Lewis and Clark), and Triney Sandoval as Napoleon Bonaparte - - just to name a few.

Three hours may seem like an eternity - but director, George C. Wolfe, crams enough witty and quick tempo dialogue, colorful costumes, lively action and an abundance of information in to the fast paced, multi-country story that before you know it, 11:00 is here and you're dumped out on the plaza at Lincoln center with all the hoity-toity opera snobs in their tuxedos and gowns.  I highly recommend you attend this epic tale before it sells out for the season.

La Cage Aux Folles

Yet another revival of this Jerry Herman classic.  It seems only yesterday I saw this one (twice even) at the Marriott Marquis.  (For the record it was 2004).   For a show that had its original run in 1983, this one has done quite well in both New York and London.

This time around, however, is different - less glitz, glamor, sequins and stardust - and more family, love, and character.  This time around we have Kelsey Grammer and Douglas Hodge as Georges and Albin.  Les Cagelles, as they always are, put on a hot, dazzling  performance - emphasis on HOT .  Anyone sitting up close can see the bulging muscles these "ladies" clearly spend time working on (oh my!).   An interesting choice this time around is for Jared De Jesus to play the role of the Jacob, the houseboy.  He's certainly adorable, but I thought maybe he was a bit over the top - too much - trying to hard - more like a Saturday night live skit than a Broadway show.  This, of course, is not his fault, and probably falls squarely on the director, Terry Johnson.

Overall, I think most people agree, the story is timeless - love and family take many forms and shapes - a message that still has a long journey ahead.

Damn Yankees

Another summer gem in the Summer Stars Encores! series.   Ironically, it's not really about the Yankees at all.  It's about the Washington Senators (go figure!).   George Abbott wrote the now stale and awkward book and Richard Adler and Jerry Ross wrote, for the most part, non-memorable numbers.  It wasn't much of a hit on Broadway, comparatively, but it has its moments.

Taking the helm this time around at the City Center are Sean Hayes (Will and Grace) as Applegate (the devil) making his New York theater debut; Jane Krakowski (Nine, Ally McBeal) making a sublime appearance as the seductive Lola; and Cheyenne Jackson (Xanadu) demonstrating his powerful voice and gorgeous looks as Joe Hardy.   One of my all time favorites was also in the cast as Sister - the ever-hysterical, Veanne Cox (Company, A Mother A Daughter and a Gun).

The show to me was an awkward pastiche of scenes that sometimes did not appear to even connect with each other.  One minute boys on the baseball team are talking, the next they are doing a dance ballet (good, but why?).   One minute Lola and Joe are sad and the next they are dancing like Bob Fosse in a Hernando's Hide-a-way type club (good, but why?).  Other times the scene changes were so dramatic that it felt like you were flipping thru the channels on the TV trying to watch 3 different shows.   And what was that silly fan club talent show number (erp!) for??

The show does have a few memorable numbers - Whatever Lola Wants and my favorite A Little Brains, A Little Heart (with an emphasis on the latter!).  Jane Krakowski knocked them both out of the ballpark!  Sean Hayes scored big with his performance and showcased his talents playing the piano, singing, dancing, and hamming it up in Those Were the Good Old Days.

I doubt this one will transfer to Broadway - but like they say - you can't win 'em all.  In the meantime, steal third and check it out.  The stars of the show salvage what the show lacks.  You won't go home disappointed.

Spain

I have to say that Spain was the most abstract play that I have seen in a while. I have even read a few reviews after seeing it and I wonder if they give the same performance each night at the Lucille Lortell Theater! Hallucination? Dreams? Desires? Simmering emotions below the surface? What exactly was this play about?

Annabella Sciorra did hold command of the stage in this rather bizarre tale. and the fine support of Veanne Cox and Lisa Kron (in yet another bizarre role) certainly helped to keep us from walking out.

You start off in a living room. A virile Spanish conquistador appears (why, we don't know), her friend and her boss keep calling and asking her to come back to work, she kills her cheating husband with the warrior's sword (or was it a kitchen knife?), the police arrest her. End of Act I (OK, I'm lost). But it only gets worse! Act II we start off in jail with her lawyer, then we are transported to Spain and the conquistador it turns out was a fake. He's a tender loving (virgin) farmer! (why, we don't know). She deflowers him. She phases in and out of jail and Spain - and when back in Spain her friend appears again- -in Spain her husband, who has come back to life kills the farmer (conquistador previously!).

What is all this supposed to mean? Don't ask me - or anyone else in the already sparcely filled theater seen leaving shaking their heads in bewilderment! Check out the Peruvian restaurant across the street - it made it all better again!

The Wooden Breeks

You know you have to worry when 3/4 of the audience gets up and leaves at the intermission. Well - I did not. I moved right up to the front row for Act II (and I'm glad I did - it was much better than Act I). Granted - that Lucille Lortel theater is a dump and the seats are uncomfortable - but somehow i think people will stay if the story keeps them there. I have to admit - it's a story you have to concentrate on if you're going to follow it (i also admit i did not do so well!). It's a story - truly a "storybook" story - made up - - a dream - - illogical things happen - - and the people wear strange clothes and costumes. It takes place in Wales or Scotland or someplace they speak really funny English - not your normal British English - but the kind even a Brit can't understand so well!

Act I needs a lot of work. I know it's the "setup", but it was too long and too "what-the-heck-is-going-on-here" feeling. Act II really brought it all together, but by then they lost (literally) most of the audience.

Veanne Cox - terriffic (yes, from A Mother a Daughter, and a Gun). Actually I thought all the actors were top notch - it's just the darn story is so twisted and strange! There's a kid who's about 15 years old - and he was so good. I hope I DO see them all sometime again soon!

I guess all I can say in conclusion is that, once again, after you see "all kinds" of shows you start to appreciate how diverse and wonderful the theater can be to all kinds of people. At least I can say, these guys worked HARD on stage and deserved my applause at the end. And they got it too.

A Mother, A Daughter and A Gun

A Bang-up Job!! Right from the get-go! They not only introduced the gun in act I, they used it in act I (and act II)! I almost thought Olympia Dukakis wouldn't make it past the front door on her entrance! But alas, she survives - - and boy does she partake in one helluva party at her daughter's New York City apartment. Veanne Cox - the angst ridden daughter - takes it just as well as she can dish it out.

Ok, Olympia's hysterical, over-bearing, and delightful to watch - - a true "gem".... but oh, how dark the comedy goes... Really, borderline disturbing! Seems to be a pattern on Broadway this fall (ala Naked Girl on the Appian Way).

Technically, I thought the play was well executed - although Olympia needs to brush up on her lines in a few places... I'm sure that will come with a few more performances before they open. The only other noticeable element was the clever, yet painfully slow set transition from Living Room to Bedroom and back again. I liked the music and lighting effect - but it really needs to speed up. Kudos to the choice of subtle music playing at the bookends of each act.

The deep love and even deeper hatred only a normal, yet warped mother and daughter could share - - this is pretty much the premise of the play. If you thought your family was disfunctional - just wander on over to "A Mother, A Daughter, and a Gun" and I'm sure you'll leave feeling like you grew up on Walton's Mountain!!

Caroline, or Change