What's that Smell: The Music of Jacob Sterling

Although it's quite a farce, what a delightful, light, and tantalizing evening in the theatre it turns out to be.  Every now and again, one just needs to laugh - and that's just what David Pittu and Randy Redd have delivered.   

The show is run like a talk show of days gone by - ala Merv Griffin or Mike Douglas - with a slant towards the theatre.   It's a "must-see" cable access show called Composers and Lyricists of Tomorrow or C.L.O.T, for short - and it's hosted by Leonard Swagg (think Charles Nelson Riley!).  The main guest on this segment is a terminally up and coming artist with a tragically humorous life - Jacob Sterling.  

Leonard (Peter Bartlett) leads his guest, Jacob Sterling (David Pittu) through what could be called  a this is your life type interview - bouncing from one bad joke about the shows and music he has written to the next.  They top it all off with a tie-in to 9/11 - and it's hilarious, pure schlock, and never for one minutes lets you forget it either.    The show culminates in a new musical that Jacob Sterling has written by performing a montage of songs from the show using 3 of his young students  Paisley (Chandra Lee Schwarz), Eisenhower (Max Kumangai), and the uber-adorable, Jerod (Matt Schock).  

Everyone needs to laugh a little.  This show fills that bill and then some.  David Pittu has a knack for mastering his over-the-top characters.  This time is no different.  Saunter on over to the New World Stages and take in a performance of this gem.

Farragut North

Where did Beau Willimon get his inspiration and "inside info" when writing this play?  I learned after I returned home from the theatre from Roma Tore's NY1 Review that Mr. Willimon worked on the Howard Dean Presidential campaign.  The entire work now makes even more sense.

We've certainly been inundated for the past 18 months with political campaign foder.  Sadly it almost seems an empty day if we are not bombarded with some scandal, accusation, some grist from the proverbial political mill.  

Nor does it go unnoticed by this viewer that this show cleverly didn't run much past election day at the Atlantic Theatre.   We've really had enough.   But it's never quite enough until Broadway has taken it's shots too.   And what a bulls-eye this one turns out to be.  Now - this is not the dream cast (Leo DiCapprio and George Clooney) rumored last year to be doing a Broadway-bound version - but it's damn good nonetheless.   John Gallagher Jr. (Spring Awakening, Rabbit Hole) takes on the role of Stephen, the young, ambitious, cocky, rising star in the political campaign communications world (of course he's damn sexy doing it too).   Chris Noth (Sex and the City, Law and Order) tackles the role of Paul, the elder, more experienced and seasoned campaign advisor.  

The dialogue is sharp.  Kudos to director, Doug Hughes.  The humor, well placed and the acerbic and emotionally charged dialogue well delivered.  The plot, twisted and entirely (unfortunately) believable as one would expect.  The "gun" in act one gets used as one might expect.  No spoilers here.  

Possibly the most disappointing aspect of this show is the unfortunate familiarity with the subject matter that the audience brings to its seats.  Shock? Not a chance.  But I'm virtually positive that is not what the production was shooting for.  Cynicism, more likely. 

Strangely enough, at the end of the show, the "next generation" gets his first shot in front of the press and cameras (flash-flash-flash).  He reads a brief statement then looks up, as if to say "that was the script - now I'm going to tell you what it's really all about".  He looks us straight in the eye with that sincere, "we're going to change the world" face and tells the press (that's us) that the "people" is what the campaign is all about - it's the reason the candidate is running and that he will lead us into a new era.  The audience applauded exuberantly.  Hmmm... Fade to black.

Streamers

A superb revival of David Rabe's 1971 play by Roundabout Theatre Company. Racism, war, and homosexuality all wrapped up in an explosive 1965 Virginia Army Barracks. As relevant today as it was at its first performance. How far we've come. How little has changed. Take a look at the promo clips on the YouTube below:

On the Town

Another glorious, if only short lived, revival at City Center Encores!  A wartime musical penned by the indomitable pair - Betty Comden and Adolph Green with music by Leonard Bernstein.  The tale, as it goes, has 3 baby-faced sailors on shore for 24 hours in New York City.  One can only imagine the trouble they find.    First performed in 1944 during WWII, there is probably some small echo today of a wartime nation watching a few fresh faced (read absolutely gorgeous) young military boys entertain us on stage.  

Fresh off his role in Gypsy - Tony Yazbeck takes the helm (Gabey) with the support of his two sailor buddies - Justin Bohon (Chip) and Christian Borle (Ozzie).  The trio dance the show away - dazzling us with their graceful steps.   Paired up with each of the boys are equally talented young ladies each with a different take on life in the big apple - Leslie Kritzer (Hildy),  Jessica Lee Goldwyn (Ivy) and Jennifer Laura Thompaon (Claire de Loone) all live up to the expectations of their characters and each make you smile in their own way.  Brava!   But who steals the show?  Well - Madame Maude P. Dilly of course.   Played by none other than the incomparable Andrea Martin.

The show, as you would imagine, is a bit dated.  Kind of wholesome, square, and contrived - but most of the classic American musicals are.  For us in 2008 - it may seem phony - but it provides us with a glimpse back when times and people, too, were simpler.

Guest Music Director and conductor Todd Ellison took the helm of the Encores! Orchestra in grand style - involving himself in a scene or two - as it usually goes with the Encores! productions. 

If I had one complaint - it was not about the show's production quality - it was about the staging.  Shame on you John Lee Beatty for allowing the house to be sold out and then setting the "second" stage so far back.   The idea of placing the Encores! orchestra right up front is great, but you can't create an entire stage behind them.  Nobody can see what's going on - except for those in dead center orchestra seats!  For Christ's sake - i was sitting center grant tier - and i had trouble seeing what was going on back there on the sides.  The poor people who paid $95 a ticket in Row A of the Mezzanine should revolt and have you pay them back personally.

Were it not for the boyish and ever-graceful Tony Yazbeck (um, yes, i think he's absolutely and completely dreamy) I might be annoyed.  *sigh*

Prayer for My Enemy

Playwright Craig Lucas packs a whole lot of punch into the 1 hour and 40 minute (no intermission) off-Broadway debut of his new work, Prayer for My Enemy.  One might say  - "the kitchen sink" is even in there.   The Noone's have a plethora of problems and complications in their lives - alcoholism, an autistic child, bi-polar disorder, divorce, mild poverty, a gay (or maybe not) son, the Iraq war, and the list of personality "adjustments" that the entire family makes to accommodate all these things.   

Skipp Sudduth blurts out with certitude exactly what he thinks and feels  - about his son, the Iraq war, the failings of his life, and so much more - he's the alcoholic one - a 12 step success for 6 years now - despite his bi-polar disorder and his extreme interest in reptiles and mammal documentaries on TV.  Michele Pawk walks on eggshells trying to hold the family together - always acquiescing, pleasing, pointing out the silver linings - all the while crumbling and tormented inside about her son - Jonathan Groff - the one who's maybe gay - self admittedly effeminate, but he LOVES WOMEN.  He points this out to his childhood friend Tad (Zachary Booth) and the audience early on as the play alternates between dialogue and what Lucas calls "the psychic interior" - all the characters telling the audience what they are thinking but not saying along the way - or are they really saying it?  

But what does Victoria Clark  - an acerbically  bitter woman from Manhattan who loves to escape to the country and is now visiting her dying mother in the hospital - have to do with any of this?  Well, no spoilers here - we'll just say - "loaded gun".

There's a whole lot going on with this family - but I think part of the message Mr. Lucas is trying to pass on is "who's life isn't complicated these days"?

Mouth to Mouth

Kevin Elyot's new work at The Acorn Theatre is jam packed with raw emotion and intentionally unanswered questions.  The play opens up at the end.  South London suburb.  Present.  Frank and Laura (David Cale and Lisa Emery) in a very one sided melancholy scene.  Frank clearly wants to tell Laura something. Laura is clearly upset by something.  Rewind.   Frank and his doctor, Gompertz (Andrew Polk) discuss Frank's unspoken illness and his desire to reveal a secret.  Comic relief indeed.  Rewind.  Frank, Laura, Roger (Darren Goldstein) , Cornelia (Elizabeth Jasicki) and Philip (Christopher Abbott) and Dennis (Richard Topol) - a family affair of sorts, an uncomfortable dinner party, and  a "shocking" revelation by Philip, the 15 year old son recently returned from Spain abruptly end the dinner plans.  Continuing forward - we learn of yet another shocking secret between Philip and Frank.  Fast Forward back to the opening scene. Can Frank bring himself to tell Laura what he wanted to say?  Is what he wants to say going to being solace to Laura in any way?  Is he somehow at fault?

If this was at all confusing - I don't mean it to be.  It should be very clear to even the most inattentive theatergoer what's going on.   The unspoken.  Secrets.  Untold facts.  Who is really talking to whom in life?  Do we see what is going on or do we just see what we want?   Clearly  Kevin Elyot has a firm opinion on this.   Mouth to Mouth is both a figurative title (whether my mouth or yours, words sometimes flow and sometimes don't - and we often don't want to listen to what we hear) as well

 as a physical meaning in this plot - It seems that (among other frolicking that followed) Frank saved Philip from drowning at the lake by giving him mouth to mouth resuscitation.  

Outstanding performances by Lisa Emery (Laura) and David Cale (Frank).  The sheer innocence of Christopher Abbott (Philip) is priceless, genuine, and brilliantly captured by Director, Mark Browkaw.  Brilliant subtleties, such as a Philip emerging in his first scene shirtless tantalizes the audience and offers up the question of his sexuality.  Laura scolds her son for smoking in a photograph.   And yet the opening and closing scene we find her indulging.  Never spoken.  Did we hear a passing comment about when Laura and Roger met so long ago?  It rings in our ears in the penultimate scene between them again.

Bravo, New Group.   A fine evening of theatre, indeed.

An Ideal Husband

Oscar Wilde, as well as Kendall Rileigh and Melanie Moyer Williams, did not have brevity as one of their guiding principles.  But let's just blame it on Oscar.  Kendall and Melanie have intelligently transformed Mr. Wilde's 1895 comedy about politics, money, and scandal into a charming evening of shockingly relevant theatre without much effort.  It seems that the problems of 100 years ago are just about the same as they are today in this arena.

The show drags on a bit unnecessarily - i think the adaptation could have chopped a few lines here and there.  Brad Thomason and Lindy Flowers were standouts as the Senator and his devout and upstanding wife.  Alex C. Ferrill immersed himself in the pompous character of the wealthy Governor's son with aplomb.   Despite being dumped out on the street at the late hour of 11pm, it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening of adapted theatre at the Red Fern Theatre Company.

To Be or Not To Be

A well acted, yet disappointing production is currently languishing at the Biltmore Theatre (I know, it's now the Friedman) at the Manhattan Theatre Club.  A little bit of a play within a play concept going on here;  Throw in a lot of Hitler jokes;  Add a dash of humor and you've got Nick Whitby's To Be Or Not To Be.   

Based on the 1941 original and subsequent 1983 Motion picture staring Mel Brooks, this stage production seemed to pale in comparison.  Perhaps that was Nick Whitby's interpretation or possibly Casey Nicholaw's direction or maybe both.  Or maybe it was just the fact that taking a motion picture and turning it into a play doesn't always work. Strangely enough, I felt that this was somehow intentionally staged to compete with Roundabout's The 39 Steps.  I think RTC won that contest hands down.   Stop copying.  Start pioneering.  Welcome Back Lynne Meadow.

You'd better get to work.  You are 0 for 2 so far this season.  Barry Grove's choices that you are now stuck executing appear to be miserable failures.

It's not particularly knee slapping funny, but it's not a flop either.  Entertaining, yes.  Run-don't-Walk, no.   Run time is about 2 hours (thankfully).  The story doesn't really have much more in it to last any longer.  I have to say that the ending (at least what you perceive as the ending) is odd.   Thankfully someone threw in one last joke to let you leave the theatre with a smile.   To Go or Not to Go?  Don't rush.

A Man for All Seasons

Frank Langella holds court at the American Airlines Theatre in Roundabout's revival of A Man for All Seasons.  A history lesson of the best kind  - powerful, enlightening, and educational.   A top notch supporting cast and crew make this a tour de force evening in the theatre.

Doug Hughes provides impeccable direction in the interpretation of Robert Bolt's 1961 Tony Award winning play regarding the historical significance of  Sir Thomas More - a well respected Lord Chancellor of England.   At its core, the story deals with personal faith, moral authority, and the meaning of silence in the course of public affairs.  

Sir Thomas More simply refused to join the Church of England after it's break from the Catholic Church in Rome and refused to speak and provide his opinion on the King's (Henry VIII) actions regarding his divorce from Catherine of Aragon and remarriage to Anne Boleyn.  His actions of silence were deemed a capital offense as he appeared to challenge the King's conduct in "the great matter" of the divorce and remarriage.   For not speaking, he was executed.  

Langella is likely to pick up a Tony nod, if not his 4th actual one for this near flawless performance.  Scenes intensely dramatic are peppered with humor.  Monologues of great importance roll effortlessly off his tongue.  Very human.  Almost real.  Totally Mesmerizing.   

Speed the Plow

An all-star revival of David Mamet's classic play about the art of the deal in Hollywood.  Jeremy Piven (Entourage), Raul Esparza (Company), Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men) all converge on stage to produce an engaging and energetic evening of theatre.  

The revival is as relevant today as it was in 1988 when it first debuted.  A quick 90 minutes rockets us thru "the deal", "the deception" and "the resolution".  Mamet's trademark style is powerful and direct - no words minced.  Superb performance and interpretation.  It's a briskly paced show and gets its point across without delay.  

Romantic Poetry

John Patrick Shanley should be ashamed of himself after such fine work on Doubt and Defiance.  At aminimum, Lynn Meadows, Artistic Director of the Manhattan Theatre Club should for subjecting her loyal flock to this trash.  At best, this crackpot musical could be a few marginally amusing skits on the Big Gay Comedy Sketch Show - but as a show on Broadway?  Absolutely not.  It's a flop.  A grand mistake, significant miscalculation, and waste of money to subject your subscribers and, heaven forbid, paying customers to.  Shame on you, MTC!!

9 to 5

One of my annual guilty pleasures is a trip to another city to get an advance view of one of the season's out-of-town try outs for the "it" show in the upcoming season.  This year it was flight 1402 to Los Angeles to see Dolly Parton's new musical, 9 to 5,  at the Ahmanson Theatre.  As in the past, I will start this review with the caveat that an out-of-town tryout is just that - a tryout.  It's meant to work out the bugs and kinks; tighten up the show; change songs; kick the tires; change the dialogue and button things up for the eventual Broadway run.   Consider this a "sneak peak" rather than a review.  I want to be fair to the production.

Let's start at the top.  The book was written by the same person who wrote the movie screenplay - Patricia Resnick.  The beloved Dolly Parton wrote all the music and lyrics and Joe Mantello directs.  So  far, so good.   Since we all know the film - Who plays the Dolly Parton role (Doralee Rhodes), the Jane Fonda role (Judy Bernly), and  the Lili Tomlin role (Violet Newstead) you may ask?  At the helm of this new musical production are Megan Hilty (Wicked),  Stephanie J. Block (Wicked, The Pirate Queen) and Allison Janney (A View from  the Bridge, TV's West Wing).  Franklin Hart is played by Mark  Kudisch (The Apple Tree, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Assassins, Thoroughly Modern Millie).  A fine supporting cast is rounded out by Andy Karl as Joe from Accounting (Legally Blonde, Alter Boyz, Slut), Kathy Fitzgerald as Roz 

(Damn Yankees, The Producers) and Ann Harada as Kathy the office-mate (Avenue Q) and my secret favorite, Van Hughes as Josh (Saved, Hairspray).  

Once again, it seems we all know the film (did anyone reading this blog not see it?)  - and this production makes no apologies for taking much of the dialogue direct from the movie to the stage - with much success. As a matter of fact, the entire story is pretty much taken in its entirety with only minor changes needed for an adaptation to the stage.  All you cult followers won't be disappointed.  ("I'll get that gun and I'll change you from a rooster to a hen with one shot"!).   

Musically, who doesn't adore Dolly Parton?  What fun she's often admitted  about writing this show.  The pastiche of musical number she churned out have something for everyone - a little country, a little rock and roll, and a whole lot of Broadway - all of them with a dash of Dolly!

The show runs the standard length - 2 1/2 hours with one intermission.  The dynamic sets on this particular stage (the Ahmanson is a newer, auditorium-like theater) were flown in, pushed up from below, slid in and out from the sides and turned inside out to create an ever 

changing flow to the numerous scenes (the outer office, Mr Hart's office, and his home just to mention a few).  Digital video was used effectively on the rear wall of the stage to convey the city-like atmosphere during several scenes.  I hope this stays.  Thankfully this will  be staged at the Marriott Marquis Theatre in NYC so one would hope that the same inventory could be used for the Broadway run.  

Now, let's talk about the talent.   Megan Hilty has already earned my vote for a Tony nod.  Hands down she steals the show.  She's really playing Dolly, playing Doralee - and she does it to a tee - the voice, the body, the hair, and the mannerisms.   Perfection.   Stephanie J. Block plays her own version of Judy Bernly.   A little more timid, a little more wholesome than perhaps you might remember Jane Fonda playing it.  With a powerhouse voice and the comedic timing she has - it all seems to work.   Now, onto a tough call.  Allison Janney has the comedic timing and delivery of a pro.  But this is a musical.  You have to be able to sing too. Unfortunately that's not something in her box of tricks.

She makes a valiant effort, and really pulls out all  the stops in Act II with One of the Boys, but if this show has any Broadway staying power - she's got to go.   Donna Murphy?  Are you available??  In a show that you can find little wrong with - she sticks out like a sore thumb.   I love her dearly and it pains me to say it -but she's got to go.

The show still takes place circa 1979 - but i have to say the costumes are not as retro as they could be and nobody seems to have the "big hair" that screams 1979.  I see some improvements to be made there.   Again to the modern stage at the Ahmensen - I hope the digital lighting here can be replicated at the Marquis to produce the same dazzling effects (The clapper.  That's all I'm saying).  

As a general note - this show loads of fun.  I see only minor opportunities to "tighten it up". One thing that did irk me was the continual use of the offstage chorus.  Why couldn't they

be on-stage if they were being asked to sing?   In ever thought it would be inappropriate or distracting if they would have been on-stage.  The fact that they were not on stage yet we were hearing them was, however.  At times, it only served to remind me that maybe they were doing this to compensate for Janney.  

I think the buzz is all good.  This production closes on October 19th in LA and previews begin in New York City on April 3rd.   If you see one show this season - make 9 to 5.  It's enough to drive you crazy if you let it!

For those of you who just can't wait - here's a sneak peak:

Kindness

Adam Rapp has penned a tense, emotional, and darkly brilliant work that recently debuted at Playwrights Horizons.  I read somewhere that it is partially based on a real life experience in Mr. Rapp's youth.

The mesmerizingly intense story takes place all in a few hours in a New York City hotel room.   A mother from the mid-west played by Annette O'Toole (Nash Bridges, Smallville) takes her son, Christopher Denham (Master Harold and His Boys, The Lieutenant of Inishmore), to New York City with the explicit agenda of having "one last good time" to see a "big Broadway show". 

You see, she's got cancer and is dying.  He's what you might call a "classic American child"  - and by this i mean - a troubled, lonely boy of a broken home who claims to care about nothing, but really cares more than anyone will know.   Probably covers at least 50% of the population under 18 years old.  While at the hotel, Denham meets a mysterious young woman, Katherine Waterston (daughter of Sam Waterston) who draws him into her tangled web.  

Rapp's dialogue is calculated.  O'Toole portrayal of the sick mother was both physically convincing and emotionally brilliant.  Denham seems to have mastered the power of quiet introspection, hesitation and curiosity.  You soon learn that his overt actions say "i don't care", while his covert actions, body language, and emotions suggest otherwise.  Rapp infuses comedy at the most appropriate points.  He even takes a unique opportunity to poke fun at theatre audiences and standing ovations.  Very clever, Adam.  And very well received by the audience.  I did wonder how the audience sitting on the far left got to see the very funny opening scene.  I'll leave it at that.

I actually think the cast deserved a standing ovation at the end, but we were all so sensitized by the joke during the play - it didn't happen!

Boys' Life

Boys growing up and the challenges they face in becoming responsible adults.  Life is tough and you find out how many different problems there can be and how much responsibility being an adult really requires.  I saw an Off-Off-Broadway production of this show at the Spoon Theatre exactly 1 year ago - See 2007 Review

I have to say the quality in this 2nd Stage production show was

a bit better than the black-box theatre I saw this in before, but not by much.  The annoying "trailer-park" cut-away sets were distracting and seemingly built by a spatially  challenged set designer (Mark Wendland).  They were too big for the stage - and hence, annoyingly jockeyed around the stage with every scene.   OK, but was the acting any better?  About the same actually.  These guys were above average - all things considered.   Jason Biggs (The Graduate), Rhys Coiro (Dinner at Eight), and Peter Scanavino (SubUrbia, Shining City) aptly take the helm as "the boys".   

Besides the annoying sets, I also did not enjoy the fact that much of the guts of the play have been chopped out, holding true to the 90 Minutes - no intermission recipe.  In this case, unsuccessful, if you ask me.  So much was chopped out, (and if you saw the full play before) you would notice several unanswered questions and "left hanging" story lines.   

Overall, I believe the problem with the sets and the script chopping is the fault of the director.  The actors get an "A" while the director gets an "F".  Sadly disappointed in this production but still enjoyed the performances.   Biggs, Coiro, and Scanavino are all adorable, believable, and true to the words on the page.

Fifty Words

Just like the Eskimos have 50 words to describe snow, Playwright, Michael Weller suggests that we should have the same to describe love.  Norbert Leo Butz (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Is he Dead?) and Elizabeth Marvel (Top Girls, Seascape, Hedda Gabler) take the helm at the Lucille Lortel Theatre as Adam and Jan, a seemingly ordinary couple with one child living in Brooklyn who end up alone for one evening for the first time in 9 years due to their son's first sleep-over with a friend.

What ensues on stage is a Lifetime-movie-like drama of a husband and wife who have issues that have been simmering under the surface for years including self esteem, dreams forgone, insecurities, annoyances,  and infidelity.  The dialogue is cutting, acerbic, and honest.  The play does not skirt the issues; does not dance around the core issues.  It lays them all out bare on stage for the audience to absorb.   On more than one occasion, a gasp, a sigh, and even a few affirmations and "um-hmm's" were quietly emoted from the audience. 

In the short 100 minutes we ride the extremes of the ups and downs. We move fluidly from the fighting to the mind-blowing sex to the instinctual and unconditional concern for the child and back to the fighting again.   No holds bared in this one.  All the while, love itself simmers below the surface. Two sensational performances by two Broadway juggernauts.    If I try hard enough, I'm sure I can come up with 50 reasons to see this one!

13

The new musical on the block, 13, made it's debut this past week.  As you might guess, it's a musical about being 13 years old - and there are 13 kids on stage to share the musical tale.   In this day and age where High School Musical XIV (is that what we're up to?) dominates the kid-scape - this musical just doesn't make the cut.   I'm left wondering why Disney has not brought it's international sensation to Broadway yet (who thinks Shrek the Musical will make it anyway?).

Let's get a few things straight.  This is not really a Broadway show.  It's just entertainment.  It's the clever, relevant, and thoroughly modern story of Evan, a, you guessed it, 13 year old who's from the Upper West Side. His parents are getting a divorce (surprise!) just before his Bar-Mitzvah (he's Jewish) and his mom uproots him and takes him to Appleton, Indiana (they don't have Jews there) to live.   You can just begin to imagine the trials and tribulations that follow.

What you have to juxtapose here is what i can only imagine to be most exciting times in the lives of these actual actor kids (trust me, i am SO jealous of them) against the fact you're paying $100 for a ticket to see... well... kids.  (Did i mention that they were all absolutely adorable and talented?) Why are we willing to pay this much to see kids sing slightly off key sometimes, miss a few dance steps here and there, not exactly command the stage, and put on what amounts to a really REALLY good High School Musical?  It's like the best of the best - but when the best are kids - it's not exactly Broadway quality.  Endearing and entertaining - but not Broadway.  (I have to say I also wonder if anyone else thought they were watching Cory Feldman and Haley Joel Osment on stage in disguise!)

I think the producers are going to lose their shirt on this one.  A run off-Broadway at the Minetta Lane or New World Stages seems more appropriate.   I hope I'm wrong for the kid's sake.  I hope I'm right for Broadway's sake.   You decide.

Three Changes

This Nicky Silver play is darkly funny, at times eerie, and overall a strange brew of ideas over at Playwrights Horizons.   It seems that family is the main focus of the playwright and a twisted tale sure does unwind.  

Dylan McDermott (Nate) and Maura Tierney (Laurel) are the main characters who at the beginning, live what appears to be a normal, upper middle class married life on the Upper West Side.  Along co

mes Scott Cohen (Hal), the long lost brother, and his boy-toy hustler, Brian J. Smith (Gordon) and the entire family unit as we see it begins to unravel before our eyes (um, i have to comment once again at how gorgeous Brian J Smith really is - clothes on or off it doesn't matter!)  We immediately find out that Nate is having an affair with Steffi (Aya Cash) and it all goes to hell in a hand-basket from there.

Odd theatrical tricks are employed (very strangely) mostly by Steffi.  We see the cast break the 4th wall upon occasion to narrate the end of a scene or tell the rest of the story to the audience. Was it touching or weird?  Can't be sure.   

In the end, the entire intent of the show was a commentary on how far people go when it comes to family.  In this case, absurdly far.  I won't ruin it for you.  If you do go - you'll probably walk out with a feeling that you #1, have to think some more, and #2 are slightly annoyed that you sat thru the entire play and got the ending you did.

Betty Buckley and her Jazz Quartet

The legendary Betty Buckley, or Miss Betty Lynn, as she is affectionately known by her of fans, gathered up her Jazz Quartet - Clifford Carter (Keyboards), Billy Drews (Sax), Tony Marino (Bass), and Anthony Pinciotti (Drums) and spent 5 nights at Birdland on West 44th dazzling and mesmerizing all those who flocked to see her.   

An important warning to all those show tune crazy fans out there - she warns right at the outset - NO SHOW TUNES!  (fear not, she'll be packing them in at Feinstein's at the Regency in February with an all-show-tunes review!).

The songs were varied - melodic, jazzy, sultry, strong, and a little rock and roll thrown in.  She's got a range like no other.   Don't worry - she'll be back.  And if you can't wait to see her, check out her new CD - Quintessence

All My Sons

Arthur Miller's first Broadway play, All My Sons, was a stinging success in 1947 when it made it's debut.  It's the story of an American business man who sold defective parts to the US military with the tragic consequences of the deaths of 21 airmen.  Miller's play was, and is still today, a gripping tale of business and family, commerce and community, and the powerful intersection of them all.

The stellar cast includes:  John Lithgow (Third Rock from the Sun, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Retreat from Moscow), Diane Wiest (In Treatment, Law and Order, Edward Scissorhands), Patrick Wilson (Barefoot in the Park, Angels in America, Phantom of the Opera) and Katie Holmes (Broadway Debut).  

The play is an emotional atom-bomb.  Accusations, anger, and angst all buried below the surface in this family and community erupt when the son asks his brother's girl (3 years an MIA soldier and presumed dead) to marry him.  The father's past history of being exonerated in court for selling defective parts to the government come back to haunt him and the entire family.  The neighbors love their jobs in the factory, but silently remain doubtful that the family is innocent.  In a few short hours - ka-boom!  It all crumbles.

This is a limited run on Broadway - so get your hard hat on and catch this one at the Schoenfeld Theatre on Wet 45th Street.   It will all come crumbling down in 16 short weeks!

Equus

Peter Shaffer's homo-erotic play about a young boy raised in a house filled with religious fundamentalism and working class anger who blinds 6 horses made it's debut on Broadway this past week.  Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) and Richard Griffiths (History Boys) headline.  Kate Mulgrew (Tea at Five, Our Leading Lady, Star Trek), CarolynMcCormik (Private Lives) and T.Ryder Smith (Dead Man's Cell Phone) are among the stand outs in the supporting cast.  

Martin Dysart (Griffiths), an aging psychiatrist attempts to get to the core issues behind why Alan Strang (Radcliffe) has blinded 6 horses in a stable in a small town.  At first blush, a horrific act, however the story unwinds itself to reveal a young man caught up in religion, loneliness, sexual attraction, and a very sad, yet plausible explanation to the tragedy.  

In the course of the story, we learn that the aging Dysart may indeed be battling his own version of these devils.  Are any of us exempt?  Are we all secretly jealous of those who take the reigns of life? Even if those reigns lead us down a path to hell?  Perhaps Marx had it right. Religion may just be the opiate of the people.

Griffiths and and Radcliffe are aided by remarkable sound, well designed and executed lighting and smoke on the stage - not to mention the very physically fit boys who play the horses.  The horse heads are a clever trick but it was the actors behind those heads executing the subtle horse movements brought their grandeur to life.

Well worth a full price ticket to see this show.  Run, don't walk.  

On The Rocks with Danny Leary

The triumphant return of one of the City's funniest.  The ever-delicious, always fabulous Danny Leary returns to the Duplex for another fall season of comedy, variety, cabaret, and curtain calls - and a few special guests along the way too.   Danny's recipe works - change it up every week.  Music, laughter, stories, questions to the band (ok, it's only a piano), and lots of zany, crazy fun.  By the way, that's Jessica Stewart on the piano - and she's fantastic.  Check out two of this week's hysterical guests, Leah Dubie and Shawn Hollenbach on a recent YouTube video:

Come down to the Duplex on a Thursday nite - 9:30 (pm, of course) and catch your weekly dose of fun, fun, fun!