Middletown

Were it not for the fine actors on stage, this play would have been a real snooze.  Notwithstanding the fact that this is an award winning play, it doesn't guarantee an engaged and awake audience.  Playwright Will Eno took a lofty academic subject and has tried to translate that into action on stage.  The problem is that the play is about nothing.  Literally.  So was the TV show Seinfeld, you might quip.  The difference is, this is a serious drama, not a light hearted comedy.  Boring and drama is a deadly combination on stage.

Now let me get back to my first statement.  Were it not for the actors Michael Park (cop), Heather Burns (Mrs. Swanson), Linus Roache (John Dodge), and James McMehamin (mechanic) and Georgia Engel (librarian), we might be talking about a train wreck.  Instead, they've taken this material and worked miracles.  Michael Park (recently seen in Burnt Part Boys) exudes just the right mix of loneliness, anger, and suburban frustration alongside small town popularity and familiar like-ability.  Linus Roach (most recognizable for his role as Jack McCoy's ADA replacement on Law and Order) turns in a fascinating study in strange, off-beat, lonely and friendly all wrapped up in one.   Heather Burns is a convincing pregnant lonely suburban housewife who's husband is perennially out of town on business.  James McMenamin aptly portrays the perfect "lost" kid who has a storied past, uncertain present, and hopeless future.  Georgia Engel quite possibly was the perfect pick for the innocent, naive, yet solidly grounded town librarian with eternal hope and endless love.


So what was this play about?  The main theme of birth, death and everything in-between (hence the title Middletown) is a good summation.  Where are we going?  How do we know when we get there? Where did we come from?  Why are we here?  Pretty heavy, academic stuff, huh?  In the end, the subject matter and words on the page probably deserved high praise and recognition with the Pulitzer.  However, when translated to the stage, it somehow loses its power and punch and looks more like a sad indictment of our suburban (or even American) plight overall.  The opening monologue to the audience was awkward (was it part of the play or done for the theatre?).  The end of Act I with the "onstage audience" was clever, but upon reflection, a bit insulting.  (Am I perceived by the playwright or director to be that dumb that I need this explained to me?).


An unfair early review, I don't think so.  Technically, there were no problems - lighting, scenery, and sound - all top notch.  I especially loved the astronaut radio communication scene sound effects and night sky lighting.  Actors turned in top notch, solid, and well rehearsed performances. Perhaps not my cup of tea, i admit.  But at least I stayed for Act II.  I can't say that for about a dozen or so of my fellow audience members.  At the Vineyard Theatre, that's a high percentage.

Miss Abigail's Guide to Dating, Mating, and Marriage

Ken Davenport seemingly does it all - he writes, directs and produces.  On stage we call something similar to that that a triple threat. His latest work is centered around Miss Abigail, a self-help dating guru - a throw-back to more genteel times in the modern age of on-line hookups, J-dates, gay-dates, speed-dates, sexing.   She's a champion of old time values and is hell-bent on sharing her experience with each and every audience that comes to see her in a little cabaret theatre downstairs in Time Square (interrupted only by the urgent phone calls of her "secret" celebrity clients).

The show isn't so much a performance, but rather structured more like a seminar - the audience is there to participate in a lecture being given by Miss Abigail and her adorable, able-bodied, and endlessly energetic assistant, Paco.   House lights up, hands up, quizzes, polls, hand-outs, and shout-outs abound.  You may even be called on stage during one of Paco's breaks backstage (beware, he's the jealous type!).  Eve Plum (aka Jan Brady) makes her off-Broadway debut in the title role and never fails to command the stage.  Her assistant, Paco (Manuel Herrera) ads just the right mix of shy and innocent vs hunky and sexy.  The duo energetically move the story forward with each passing topic of discussion.

Married couples, couples on a date, and singles of all types and all ages will enjoy the light-hearted and time tested advice Miss Abigail dishes out with aplomb.  Grab a cocktail and take it to your seat.  Don't be shy - learn how to kiss, go up and take a quiz, answer a question, or even read a line from one of the many experts' books Miss Abigail draws from.  A chance to perform on stage should never be passed up - especially with Miss Abigail and her adorable assistant.  You may even learn a thing or two in the process.  Who knows, maybe you'll even get a date with someone there before the evening is done.

Perfect Crime

Running over 20 years off-Broadway -  this is one mystery I simply cannot solve! It's complicated, confusing, and to get it in under 2 hours the pace is too quick and the actors so familiar with the parts they are like robots barking lines on stage without much effort.  At it's core, it's a confusing murder mystery Angela Lansbury might even give up on.  If there's one thing it's big on - it's soap opera "acting".  Was it given a life-estate in the Snapple Theatre?  Did a millionaire generously endow it?  Is it a mafioso money laundering front?  These are the only explanations to it's longevity I can come up with because there is no way it could have anything to do with the plot or the acting.

Driving Miss Daisy

If you count yourself among those that saw the 1989 Oscar winning film by the same name staring Morgan Freeman and Jessica Tandy, you're probably going to have the same reaction to the play that I did.  "So that's it"?  

I can't say I know the original play, but I can tell you that it is most probably pretty similar to this incarnation, its Broadway debut, than the movie.  The original play was part of a trilogy written by Alfred Uhry named the Atlanta Trilogy which dealt with Jewish residents of the aforementioned city in the early 20th century.  The movie certainly had a more sentimental, gentle, and quaint appeal.   As with many works that go from stage to screen, Driving Miss Daisy gained a great deal of cinematographic depth and character development that would never be possible on stage.  The play, as presented, is a series of vignettes - seemingly more detached than the flow on the big screen - certainly less colorful and much here is left up to the imagination, including the car itself - represented by merely a chair, a bench and the skeleton of a steering wheel. 

While it was the treat of a lifetime to see these two national treasures (James Earl Jones and Vanessa Redgrave) on stage together for the first time, I must admit that I thought it was more about the strategy of putting these two mega-starts together to perform, not necessarily fulfilling the author's intent of a much younger Hoke to the more elderly Miss Daisy.  That aside, not a second passed that the two of them, aptly complimented by 4 time Tony award winner, Boyd Gaines, failed to delight. 

As movies go - this one was top notch.  It's hard to beat that on stage the second time around.

Spirit Control

At first glance, one might think "Another cheerleader play"?  Alas, Spirit refers to an airfield in St. Louis and Control refers to the air-traffic control tower.  Now that we have that all cleared up - let's get this review off the ground.  Two hours - perfect length.  Jeremy Sisto - seems to nail the "wildly intense" and slightly disturbed" character with aplomb (Billy in HBO's Six Feet Under, Michael in Broadway's Festen, Det. Lupo in NBC's Law & Order).  Another bulls-eye here with Adam Wyatt.  Kudos, also, to a stand out performance by a young (and damn cute) up-and-coming performer - Arron Michael Davies (Tommy Wyatt). 

The play moves along somewhat predictably if you even breifly investigated what you were going to see - - something about an air traffic controller, a plane crash, and some dramatic circumstances that follow.   Sisto nails the first scene in the control tower magnificently.  What follows, however, is not so straightforward.  What I realized as the play progressed is that Maxine is not real.  Maxine, albeit a real human being on stage, (with real dialogue and comprehensible circumstances surrounding her) is just his twisted mind trying to grapple with the aftermath of his actions and the crash. 

Playwright, Beau Willimon, in my opinion has written a tremendous opus that asks us to explore how the subconscious can tear us, our families, and our lives apart if we we allow it.  However, he has, early on, thrown in so much that is believable, real, and tangible into the Maxine character (Mia Barron) that I think (correction, i know, based on my conversation with many confused patrons leaving the theatre - self included) that it didn't quite hit its mark.  By the time we got to the third and final scene - I assumed most people would have figured out (or at least suspected) what Maxine represented.  It could have ended without the curve-ball of one of the characters actually taking a multi-media dream sequence/aside (to Wyatt, however, not the audience directly) and explaining what we already should have known.  It was a crazy sequence that threw too much confusing, theoretical, and ultimately speculative information at the audience.  On a separate note, I also wondered why we were repeatedly told Wyatt had two sons, but then were only introduced to one of them, Tommy, on several occasions.  As the old saying goes "If you introduce a gun (or two, in this case) in Act I, you'd better use it (both, in this case) in Act II. 

I, for one, would rather have left the theatre asking some probing questions rather than asking "Did he really need to do that"?

Wings

When John Doyle directs, we've come to expect a stage that is sparse and a play that is packed with emotion and energy.   Wings is no exception either.  It's Jan Maxwell on full throttle - and what a tour de force she packs in those 75 precious minutes.

You learn, virtually immediately, that something is wrong.  Emily Stilson has had a stroke.  The next 74 minutes take you on an audio-visual tour  - from inside her mind - the point of view of the stroke victim - her loss and confusion, her frustration and inability to put the right words together at the right time - all the while knowing inside what she wants to say.  Her slow climb back is emotional and inspiring.

Some will complain about the lack of sets (not me).  Some will complain it was too short (not me either).  The lighting, sound, and video effects were just enough to take you beyond the stage on a journey of the mind  - the mind of Emily Stilton - a 1920's stunt airplane wingwalker where adventure and courage can't be beaten down.

A Life in the Theatre

What a lovely tale told by two delightful actors -  one old, one young; one revered, one an admirer; one established, one ambitious; one leader, one follower - -  I think you get the idea.  One lesson we'll all take away from this poem to a life spent in on stage is that theatre - just like life - has its ups and it has its downs.

(Sir) Patrick Stewart plays Robert an aging actor and mentor who's spent his life on stage.  T.R. Knight (ok, i admit it - I'd marry him tomorrow he's so adorable!) plays John, a young actor working his way up, hungry to learn, innocent, yet perceptive and smart.

The play unfolds in a series of vignettes - on stage, backstage, after a show, and rehearsing for a show.  Some quick, some longer.  Some funny, some sad, yet others - just a slice of life.  I lost count after about 20 of them, but i soon realized it's not the number of them that mattered - just that from each and every one of them we learned something, laughed at something, or just felt that warm feeling inside that can only come from doing what one loves.  By the end of the show, we learn that while it's good to have a mentor and a hero, at some point we all need to evolve and grow.  As in life, just as our heroes are fading, we are sometimes lucky enough to learn we, ourselves, have become one to someone else.  Kudos to director Neil Pepe who so cleverly included the backstage crew so prominently on stage  - after all, what would the actors be without props, lighting and scenery anyway?

A good friend of mine always reminds me - Love what you do.  Do what you love.  David Mamet certainly remind us of that in this little gem on stage at the Shoenfeld Theatre running thru January.

In Transit

Seven talented individuals come together at the 59e59 Theaters to present In Transit, a new a cappella musical poem to New York City, painting a portrait of the lives, loves, losses, hopes, and dreams of its many inhabitants.  We're a quirky, off-beat, angry, ambitious, optimistic, and most of all, diverse group of people all trying to "make it" here in the concrete jungle and these amazing performers cover the gamut in about 100 minutes.   Take one beat-boxer (that's the guy who makes the sounds of the drums with the microphone) and add six glorious voices and the result is one potent, song-filled evening.  Any New Yorker bound to recognize a friend, family member, or co-worker one of the characters and is guaranteed to find themselves taping their feet to the beats.  Take a subway ride over to the East Side and hear the feel good story for yourself.

La Bête

This is a tough one.  Intelligent and erudite - certainly.  Bombastic and overblown - possibly.  Funny and witty, I think so.   Roll these descriptors together and you might just find La Bête.  American playwright, David Hirson penned an entire play in iambic pentameter - Above my head at times, biting and below the belt at others - you got it.

Make sure you don't go in thinking this is a simple or light play.  I think (but don't really know) that this show may have had two acts originally.  I thought there was a decisive split between two halves of the play - although probably compressed into a nearly bearable 1 hour and 45 minutes for this Broadway run.   Three stars, David Hyde Pierce, Mark Rylance, and Joanna Lumley helm this production and turn in quite substantial performances.  The first half of the play is somewhat long and verbose (verbose may even be an understatement).  The second half, when the princess (Lumley) makes her entrance is a bit less of a verbal assault and more of a story.  It actually contains a play within a play - which at its core is where the themes of artistic purpose, the dumbing down of art for the masses, and artistic purity are explored.  From the start it pits highbrow Elomire (Pierce) against lowbrow Valere (Rylance) and the sparks (read words) fly throughout.

If words are not your thing - you may not enjoy this play so much.  The stars certainly delight, and if you calculate your price of admission by words spoken - you certainly will have gotten your money's worth.

Time Stands Still

To officially open my Fall 2010 Broadway season - I think I may have picked the best play on Broadway - (again).  Time Stands Still had a limited run last season in the spring at Manhattan Theatre Club.  Due to the overwhelming success, it is now attempting a commercial run at the Cort Theatre with virtually the entire cast intact - minus Alicia Silverstone who is being replaced by Christina Ricci.

Donald Margulies' plot is quite straightforward, yet offers no simple answers.  Does a journalist, photographer, or other documentarian have any responsibility to intervene in the subject matter they are witnessing?  Be it war, famine, natural disaster - can they, or, more importantly, should they step in?  Can they emotionally detach themselves from all that is going on around them?

Laura Linney takes on this moral dilemma as Sarah, a well traveled, well respected wartime journalist (think Christiane Amanpour) who gets "blown up" by a roadside bomb while on assignment.   Margulies explores the roots of her issues - her childhood and family, her relationship with reporter-boyfriend James (Brian D'Arcy James), and long-time magazine editor, Richard (Eric Bogosian).   The entire cast, including Ricci (whom I saw make a satisfying first public performance) was enthralling.  Margulies has thrown them (and us) quite a few bones to gnaw on - the state of true journalism vs the 24 hour news cycle and the Hollywood fluff, family, trust, purpose, fulfillment and happiness.  All that, and more, packaged into two powerful hours on stage punctuated with plenty of sarcasm and humor.

The cast never failed to deliver the goods and this work clearly hits its mark.  Bulls-Eye.

bottom of the world

A new work by Lucy Thurber (last Atlantic production was Scarcity with Kristen Johnson and Michael T. Weiss) made it's debut on Stage 2 at the Atlantic Theatre Company this past week.  Bottom of the World explores the cycle of life and death via a complex set of family relationships and visions of an "alternate family" as seen through both the author of a recently published book (the dead sister) and the reader (the surviving sister).    What made it slightly more complex was that the story was told through the eyes of a family that had two brothers, rather than the two sisters and each had parents - all of course played by the same actors in parallel.  Yikes!  Attention must be paid.

There are a few facts I wish we knew up front - such as why one sister was black and one was white.  Blind casting, i thought?  Alas, they had two separate fathers.  In the meantime, I had already noticed that the brothers who paralleled the sisters were also white and black.  Then somewhere in the middle we learn the one sister was a lesbian.  There was no parallel gay character, but indeed other concepts ran in parallel.  Focus, Focus!

I will note there was some delicious talent in this one.  Intelligent writing, for sure (Lucy) - but I'd go on to say a few stand-outs were cast - Crystal A. Dickinson (Abagail) and Aubrey Dollar (Susan/Dana), Brendan Griffin (Josh) and Brandon J. Dirden (Ely).   Kudos to the set designer,  Walt Spangler.  I think all those 2x4's that were the set were supposed to represent the tangled roots of a tree turned upside down (just like the play's logo).  Sometimes your life can get turned upside down - is what I took away as the symbolism.  The musicians (a banjo and a fiddle) lingering up in the tree (the roots, i suppose) provided tasteful and melodic background and mood music - just like the birds would.  Nice touch.

Woven throughout the tapestry of this play is the theme that we should all notice the ones we love (i.e pay attention!) and love the ones we notice.   Well, I noticed this play on-line today - and I really loved it.  I hope you get the chance too -  before it's too late.

Tigers be Still

Way down - 4 stories below ground on West 46th street - resides an awesome theater experience called Roundabout Underground.  Funded and supported by The Roundabout Theatre Company, RU nourishes new, young playwrights by allowing their works to be presented on a black box stage all the while having the full support and backing of a professional theater company behind them.

In this case, Kim Rosenstock is one of these new, young playwrights.  This story involves Sherry (Halley Feiffer), a young woman seeking success in her first job as an art teacher and art therapist.  Ironically, it seems she and her family need just as much help as does her first client, Zack (John Magaro), the son of the principal (Reed Birney) at the school in which she has started teaching.   Throw in a depressed sister, Grace (Natasha Lyonne), and a mother locked in her room and you have the makings fit for a professional psychiatrist.  Turns out Zack has a secret which we find out only later in the performance, that, only then, fully explains his behavior and anger.

I love attending performances at the RU - it's always art in the true, raw, most pure form.  This script with it's quirky characters and no-so-far-from-reality plot has great potential.  It needs a few nips and tucks, a few adjustments to smooth out the choppy storyline and "oh my god, we have to wrap this up" ending - and I think one day we might even see this one on Broadway.  Kudos to Kim.  I hope we see more from her - and I certainly hope we see more of the adorable John Magaro.

Brief Encounter

A brand new adaptation by Emma Rice of Noel Coward's Brief Encounter is being presented by the Kneehigh Theatre Company on the stage at Studio 54 by the Roundabout Theatre Company.  That's a mouthful - and frankly worth every word!  This production includes many shades of the theatrical devices employed in the recent Broadway production of The 39 Steps.  This production seems to take it several steps further and in multiple directions - Video and movie clips tightly integrated with stage performance, musical interludes, songs, and dance carefully interlaced throughout the story, as well as several "artistic transitions" that all add up to one of the most ingenious and innovative multi-media presentations on Broadway today.

The cast, a diverse group of British and American actors and musicians helm the production.  By way of some background here - In 1936 Coward wrote several one act plays to be presented over 3 nights.  One of these plays was titled Still Life.  In 1945, Coward expanded this one act into a full length screenplay which was re-titled Brief Encounter and stared Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard.  In 1974, the film was remade staring Richard Burton and Sophia Loren.  This Broadway adaptation takes elements of both the one act play and both films and turns up the heat with the introduction of several other forms of artistic expression.


Two ordinary married people (not to each other just to be clear) meet by chance in the coffee shop at a train station in London.  They ultimately fall in love, continue meeting weekly at the coffee shop, and ultimately struggle with the the fact that they are in love and having an affair.  (No ending spoiler here).  Shocking to audiences in 1940's (although one would assume it was more an unspoken reality).  Today, we look at it mostly with fondness as a delicate and romantic interlude.  

Take your own train over to West 54th street and take in a true delight that will dazzle many of your senses.  Stick around for the fun afterwards too!

The Little Foxes

The New York Theatre Workshop under the direction of Ivo Van Hove has put a unique and refreshing performance of Lillian Hellman's stage gem.  Bare stage with purple velvet walls, ominous music, video, and, what I can only presume is the director's signature on this work, several anachronistic elements that turned this twisted family ordeal into the a powerhouse performance on East 4th Street.

From the get-go, the feel was "Festen-like".  An incestuous family, dark secrets, money, greed, power, and sex start this gem off and it only kicks into a higher gear with every passing eerie moment.  Elizabeth Marvel (Regina Giddens), Marton Csokas (Ben Hubbard), and Thomas Jay Ryan (Oscar Hubbard) take the helm as the Hubbard children - siblings in a long line of southern Hubbards hell bent on proving they can be even more successful Hubbards than all before them.  Backstabbing, negotiating, side-dealing, and cheating at every turn.  Christopher Evan Welch (Horace Giddens), the terminally ill brother-in-law holds the key to the entire deal and we find out just how far this family is willing to go to achieve their goals.

This is one of those plays that leaves an impression on you for days and weeks afterward.  You'll return to it ruminating on this aspect or that ploy or that relationship.  I did wonder (as did many of those who I chatted with after the play) why the director choose to introduce all the anachronistic elements into the performance - the car alarm sounds, the coffee maker, the airport moving sidewalk, and the video itself.  I found them slightly distracting, constantly wondering "what it meant".   I respect the decision, of course, and will admit they the entire production was a tremendous, high-impact success.

Is there room on Broadway for another Festen so soon?  With the right leading lady and supporting cast, I think so.  Too bad Tallulah Bankhead, Elizabeth Taylor, and Betty Davis can't reprise their roles (the Regina in the original Broadway production in 1939, revival in 1981, and and the movie in 1941 respectively).  I can think of a few evil deals that could be struck for the 2011-2012 season.  But let's not get ahead of ourselves.  I don't have all the cash yet.

It Must Be Him

A late summer gem is playing over at the Peter J. Sharp Theatre above Playwrights Horizons for the next few weeks.  I don't know who Kenny Solms, the playwright, is, but he should have a career in situation comedy writing if he doesn't already.  When it's laugh-out-loud funny, you don't mind the fact that is seems like a TV show.  Matter of fact, when done well, it's just as good, if not better.

Peter Scolari helms this romp playing Louie Wexler, an aging 50-something, Beverly Hills based comedy writer from the days of variety TV who is down on his luck, out of fresh ideas, out of cash, and barely out of the closet.  (Seemed to me this could have been based on most any Hollywood writer!).  He lives alone, loves boys (who he never seems to get),  and is tormented by visions of his dead parents (Bob Ari, Alice Playten), his high school girlfriend (Stephanie D'Abruzzo) and his living brother (Jonathan Kaplan) - all who bring varying levels of guilt to the table.  His housekeeper, Ana, (Liz Torres) is best remembered for playing the "es-panish es-peeking" nurse to Archie Bunker on All in the Family who could say "Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation" but had trouble with "chiis" (that's cheese, if you can't hear my accent in the typing!).  In many ways she brilliantly reprises the devilishly lazy and innocent Latina role here once again.

The object of Louie's affection, 20 year old Scott (Patrick Cummings), wants to break into show biz.  He lives in the guest house but Louie wishes it were so much more! (this seems to me to be the classic Hollywood situation!).  People of Louie's generation didn't come out and stuck to writing funny material.  He's fresh out of ideas, his guilt and longing for a relationship is gnawing at his psyche and he's going to lose his home.  He finally decides to write something new and for the first time it's based on all the people in his real life (the "play within a play" thing).  Turns out, in the end, that his agent (Edward Staudenmayer) may just save the day!

Despite all the camp (and there is plenty) and obvious jokes (there are many) the show comes off as well done.  It's fast paced, it has musical numbers (remember, Louie writes variety shows), and plenty of belly laughs and one liners  - all in 90 minutes without an intermission.  Bravo.  The cast seems to be enjoying themselves on stage - most of all Peter Scolari - who plays the neurotic 50-something with aplomb.

Me, Myself and I

Albee's new work (2007) is certainly a highbrow, maybe a little too much actually.  Such an interesting (read, strange) way to convey a message about twins and how they struggle to find their own identities - Create a farcical family, turn up the weird factor, break (read, completely disregard) the 4th wall, and paint the sparse stage mostly gray.  Certainly unique, I'll give him that.

OTTO (Zachary Booth) and otto (Preston Sadleir), as they are named by their crazy mother, (Elizabeth Ashley), are identical (and very cute, by the way) twins.  OTTO decides that otto no longer exists and that he is going to China to become Chinese.  And that is just about all there is to the plot -  A twin who is essentially "acting out" about his identity along with a mother you think is a loony bird and possibly the reason these two kids are so messed up.   Brian Murray, the mother's live-in "crazy doctor" is a bright spot throughout the entire show with his comedic genius, impeccable timing and reaction.

The talent in this show abounds, actually. I expected a lot, and got a fair amount from Ashley and Murray I must say - but the material seemed to tie one if not two hands behind everyones' proverbial backs.  If the story wasn't strange enough, perhaps the continued direct dialogue with the audience is what did whole thing in.

On a final note, I hope I have not made any grammatical errors in this post.  It seems along with the saga of the twins' identities, Albee has issues with bad grammar too.

Secrets of the Trade

I saw tonight what I believe to be the best play of the season and quite possibly one that will remain at the top of my list for a very long time.  Yes, it was that good. Brilliant writing, superb acting, and shrewd, clever directing all rolled up in one!  Primary stages has landed a winner in Jonathan Tolins' new work, Secrets of the Trade by Primary Stages at the 59E59 Theaters.

What makes it so delicious, you ask?  The answer, John Glover, Noah Robbins, Mark Nelson, Amy Aquino, and Bill Brochtrup.  Of course they would just be reading dialogue without director, Matt Shackman who brings this touching coming of age story to life.

Martin Kerner, (Glover) aging Tony award winning (six of 'em) director takes a very young and impressionable Andrew Lipman (Robbins) , a tender, 16 year old Jewish boy with big dreams of a life in the theater under his wing in 1980.  Andy's parents (Aquino and Nelson) are both supportive and cautious.  His mother was a dancer some 20 years ago.  She heard the rumors and whispers about Kerner.  Back then, you either knew... or just heard whispers.

The tender, poignant, and very often funny story unfolds over the next 10 years of Andy's life.  It's a story of parents watching their son grow up, always proud, sometimes jealous, and occasionally sad and  lacking answers themselves.  It's a story of a young boy struggling to come of age, grappling with what a mentor is supposed to provide him, give him, make him into;  It's less of a coming out story - (but it is) and more about what two very different people at such very different points in life can learn from each other.  It's about what's said, and what is not.  We are shown there is something to be learned from both.

Glover is a powerhouse.  He has command of the stage every second he is on - and off.  Robbins is quite possibly the best young talent there is today - a born storyteller, genuine ham, and all around "natural" under the lights.  Aquino's comedic timing is impeccable and Nelson's nervous and humble energy makes him one of the most believable actors around.   Of course, none of this would be possible without several dashes of humor placed at exactly at the right moment, monologues (and wine glass 'dings') delivered as if the actors were investing the very words on stage, and of course, just the right amount of insider jokes and references. But I can't give away the entire story.  It may have been good, but after all, it is a play about the secrets of the the trade.

See it for yourself.  It's worth double the ticket price at least.  I won't tell you what I paid for my ticket.  That, too, is a secret.

Abraham Lincoln's Big Gay Dance Party

If only Chris Smith's direction was better - this play might be the hot ticket of the season.  Instead, I'm left merely pondering the potential of this soggy mid-western corn dog at the Acorn Theatre.

Don't get me wrong Aaron Loeb's play is a potential future juggernaut but its currently overloaded and slow.  There are too many story lines, too many jokes (albeit funny) that seem to pop out of nowhere.  In one sense it's a solid drama but suddenly becomes a rag tag Saturday night live skit - round and round it went.  Behind all of this is a strong, worthwhile message, but that message is diluted by the constant juggling of the story and focus.  Scene changes are laborious and too long.  The show should be cut to 90 powerfully funny minutes.  The "audience chooses the order of the 3 acts" gimmick takes precious time and is purely academic.  Unless I plan to see it all 6 different ways or do my doctoral dissertation on the show, it's useless to me as an audience member at this performance.

Acting was solid.  It's a diverse cast.  Arnie Burton steals the show as the Pulitzer prize winning journalist, Anton -  as does Stephanie Pope Caffey as Regina/Esmeralda.  Robert Hogan is a stage veteran and doesn't disappoint.  Ben Roberts, a relatively new face (and chest), certainly can play "cute (gay) mid-western boy" quite well too.

Politics, religion, education, gay rights, deception, double crossing, bigotry (oh, i already covered a few of these with politics) and the liberal media - all at once - just to name a few of the subjects covered!  At a few points, I lost track of who was screwing who.  One of my favorite scenes was the argument that ensues between the journalist (Arnie) and the black senator (Regina) when she confronts his turning "gay" into being the new "black".  Very powerful stuff packed into that dialogue.  Very powerful stuff packed into this whole play as a matter of fact.

Maybe I need to see it again?  Or maybe it just needs to be fixed so those who follow me get all they need from one great performance.  David Cote summed it up recently by saying that Broadway was the last place this play needs to be.  It belongs playing in regional theaters in small cities and towns all over America.  That's really where it's needed most.

Trust

A new play by Paul Weitz that puts a dominatrix, her boyfriend, and unhappily married couple center stage.  Wowza!  An all start cast rounds out the production - Zach Braff, Bobby Cannavale, Sutton Foster and Ari Graynor.

Unfortunately, I thought Sutton Foster was mis-cast as Prudence, the dominatrix.  While she was serious, she still seemed too innocent, too sweet, and too - well - mid-western.  I think a much better choice would have been Mary Louise Parker - she does crazy well.  Bobby, Zach and Ari fit nicely in their respective roles - Zach being the main guy, Harry, who is a rich, twisted, and lonely married man.

The presentation seemed like too many vignettes.  Scene changes took a while.  We bounced around a lot.  Not bad overall, just got tired of it after a while.  In the end, a lot of suggestive S&M, but the most flesh we saw was the ever-hot Bobby rip his shirt off in the throws of passion on the couch.  Yum.  The story had 4 lose ends to wrap up and I'm not sure any of them were.  Left you wondering.  In one sense, thought provoking, in another, incomplete.

Love, Loss, and What I Wore

Nora and Delia Ephron have penned a delightful work that focuses on the memories of our lives as seen through the clothes the 5 women on stage have worn at various points in their lives.  It's a reading of sorts - coordinated and choreographed vignettes - not really a play.  It's funny, poignant, and at times may elicit a gasp or a tear.  Taken for what it is - you'll leave with a satisfying smile on your face.

I saw the cast of Jayne Houdyshell, Adriane Lenox, Allison Mack, Kate Mulgrew, and Kristine Nielsen.  Each of them had moments to shine and they all came thru with flying colors - and they really looked like they were having fun on stage.  I presume that each cast plays the characters differently - bringing the subtleties of the individuals to the reading they are performing - so no two casts will produce the same show.  The character on stage right (that's to the left for the audience) who's name is Ginger (Jayne, in this cast) is the main character whose story is woven throughout the other 4 characters' stories - most of which are not connected.  This is an interesting theatrical device used to create a feeling of continuity and story amongst all the other unrelated passages.  A special shout out to Kristine Neilsen - who seemingly had (and nailed) the show stealing reading about the purse).

I love Jayne and Kate - and they were the reason I chose this cast.  But I am going to guess that the underlying stories and memories that Nora and Delia elicit in their words would make just about any talented actress shine.  If this were a move - we'd say "chic-flik".  But I didn't mind.  A smile on your face is just that - a smile.

With Glee

This is just what the mid-summer play doctor ordered - fresh, simple, entertaining youth on stage!  With Glee, true to its name (which i believe came before the mega-hit on Fox), is a truly entertaining, not-so-deep evening in the theatre.  Five very different boys take us on a journey to boarding school that is bound to strike a memory or two in just about anyone - who doesn't have memories of childhood they'd rather forget?!

Zach Bandler, Christoper Carlisle, Jason Cook, Dan Lawler, and Max Spitulnik light up the stage with their youthful exuberance and charm.  Each of them deserves (and gets) a moment in the proverbial spotlight.  Greg Horton and Erin Jerozal, the only adults, play all the teachers and all of the parents - with perhaps a wink and nod to the quick-change skills we recently saw so artfully done in The 39 Steps.  Hats (and sweaters) off to them.

Ok - so the plot may not be much.  It's about the kids, their problems, and of course simmering behind the obvious is the social statement about how most parents do a pretty poor job of, well, parenting.  Besides the  oh-so-serious social statement - we find 5 boys whose talents light up the (very small) stage.  Kudos to the actors, director, and choreographer - who had to cram everything onto that postage stamp (including a band!).

I'd love to see this one get some buzz about a Broadway transfer.  Despite the thin plot (which could always be beefed up with the addition of an entire chorus of schoolboys) the show was as refreshing as a margarita on a hot summer day!  Bravo boys.