Nice Work If You Can Get It

As director and choreographer, Kathleen Marshall helms this delicious and tuneful musical comedy at the Imperial Theatre this spring.

The concept - cobble together some of the best George and Ira Gershwin tunes in a new book by Joe DePietro and cast some wonderful singers and dancers, stitch up some magnificent costumes (Martin Pakledinaz) design and build some divine sets (Derek McLane) and light them with elegance and charm (Peter Kaczorowski) and mic the actors/singers perfectly (Brian Ronan).

Take all these wonderful ingredients and pour in a little bleach - - yes bleach.  That's a sure way to ruin an entire show!  The bleach in this case is Matthew Broderick.  He's completely mis-cast.  Is he funny? Yes.  Can he carry a tune? Certainly.   But this role requires a dashing, young man who can dance.  Matthew is neither a dancer nor dashing.  So poor was this casting faux-pax by Binder Casting (Jay Binder and Jack Bowdan) that it just about ruins the entire show!

Kelli O'Hara is divine, pitch-perfect, and deliciously innocent as bootlegger Billie Bendix.  Michael McGrath is broodingly devilish as Cookie McGee.  Judy Kaye is solidly and supremely hysterical as Dutchess Estonia Dulworth and Estelle Parsons is superb and commanding in her portrayal of Millicent Winter.   The ensemble dancers were crisp, handsome and pretty, elegant, and never missed a step - or a note!  With all this goodness - how could it all go wrong?  I'll tell you how.  Cast a stiff, non-dancing, not-extremely handsome oaf in a role that is central to the plot.  Ms. O'Hara appears to be dancing on egg-shells around him on the many occasions they are required to tango.  Ms. Parsons appears to easily dominate her stiff son's character leaving us to wonder why she would even bother.  And one wonders why the powerhouse Mr. McGrath didn't just conk his new "boss" over the head with a bottle of that gin instead of faking his butler duties with him.

This is a lesson in just how to take a charming, delightful, and delicious show and ruin the entire presentation with just one stroke of the casting pen.  Truth be told, I left the theatre humming many of the familiar tunes.  I really loved the silly, romantic comedy book, but just couldn't get over the awful casting choice that Ms. Marshall either bought into or was forced to accept.  Mr. Broderick stood out like a sore thumb surrounded by all the talent on the stage.  If a real charming actor who could dance was actually cast in this role, this show might be considered the knock-out hit of the season.  Instead, it's more like a bottle of gin during prohibition - destined to be smashed in the gutter by a cop.

Accomplice: New York

Creators Tom Salamon and Betsy Salamon-Sufott are going strong after many seasons - sending their agents (that's you, the audience) out on the street to deliver tickets to a network of "associates" (that's them, the actors) who may or may not be connected with some nefarious activities.

Accomplice: New York takes its audience on a downtown walking tour with added dashes of a scavenger hunt, a mystery to solve, maps to read, and a mission to accomplish.  Along the way the groups (no more than 10) encounter several shadowy figures that they are intended to interact with.  To describe more would be to blow their cover - so I'll just leave it at that.

Will a tried and true New Yorker enjoy this roving performance?   The answer is,  It Depends.  You need to be in the mood to walk around lower Manhattan with a group of strangers and it might help if you were actually interested in solving the mystery along with a group.   It also depends on who those other 9 people are.  Get a group of duds, you're probably sunk.  Get a group of fun tourists or even some energetic and enthusiastic New Yorkers and the possibilities are endless.   It certainly helps, no matter who you are, if you can read a map and follow directions and enjoy a walking tour in a neighborhood you've probably never walked thru like this before.

If you decide this adventure is for you - I think you'll enjoy.  The actors, albeit spread out a little too thin for my taste, were all entertaining and funny - true improvisational / street actors.  I won't spoil the plot or the individual characters you may encounter - but I will mention the fine players - Joe Luongo, Billy Beyrer, Brendan Irving, Seth Moore, Jeremy Banks, Laura Gilreath, and John Cannatella.  Along the trek, you encounter them one by one as a character you are searching for.   Among the stand-out performances (accents included) are those of Joe Luongo and Brendan Irving.  (Brendan, where are those modeling shots you mention in the playbill?).

If you choose to take on this challenge - it will all start with a mysterious voicemail message a day beforehand informing you where you should meet your contact.   Don your walking shoes and get ready to enjoy an afternoon of intrigue and mystery!

Ghost

This is quite possibly the worst show to debut on Broadway that I have ever seen.  Let me be clear, it is not because the actors didn't know their lines - on the contrary - they were quite well rehearsed and executed.  It is not because the music or lyrics (Dave Stewart and Glen Ballard) were bad.  They may have been loud, but not bad. (As an aside, I'm still trying to figure out how that negro spiritual number made it into the show).  And please forgive me, but I've never seen the actual cast names omitted from the marquis page in the playbill.  Shameful!

What is possibly the most reprehensible aspect of this production is not the talent at all.  It is that the producers feel that an audience coming to the theatre is dumb, has no attention span, needs endless video, audio, and color stimulation, and is there to watch a movie, music video, and take part in an American Idol-styled extended TV performance special.  That is the schlock I witnessed at a recent performance.  Many non-tourist theatre-goers left at intermission - 4 people in my row of 6, as a matter of fact!  The show is not terrible because it is "just beginning previews".  Frankly it has played in London for quite some time - with the same two actors leading - so these folks are well-rehearsed and well adjusted to the performances.  It's terrible because of what it is at its core, not in any way because of early-preview flaws in the presentation.

Quite simply, this is not a Broadway show.  It's entertainment that would be better placed in Madison Square Garden or Radio City Music Hall.  Yes there are songs, yes there are sets and costumes.  But the constant over-stimulation, the constant lighting tricks, flashes, and concert-style lowering and raising of ultra-bright, ultra-colorful lighting above the stage is beyond necessary.   If that is not enough, the video projections are something out of an uber-sci-fi movie.  The entire stage is bathed in LED's creating much of the scenic backdrop of New York City and sometimes just flash - all overly saturated, overly sped-up, even sometimes inappropriately incorrect and inconsistent as to locations. The music was loud.  And by loud I mean decibel levels that rival a rock concert.  The reverb was turned up so high sometimes, it felt like you were under water. Many songs sounded Songify'd and Auto-Tuned.  Everything is electronic and twelve notches too high.  

Some people may be reading this thinking - "Wow".  And at times it was kinda, sorta, cool, i must admit.  But to pass this off as a Broadway musical is patently misleading.  If you sent me into this theatre and told me I was about to see a rehearsal for a live performance being taped for TV's "The Voice" I would have believed it wholeheartedly.

As for the story itself, it's what you would expect - with some minor modifications for the stage.  It's the movie - all over again, in over-bearing color and with a musical intensity never before imagined.  Make no mistake, there's certainly a great deal of talent and beauty on the stage - and I really mean that when I speak of DaVine Joy Randolph's Oda Mae Brown.  When the show brought itself back close to ground level (which happened so infrequently) - such as the bank scene near the end - all the actors' talents shone thru.  But I had a hard time at most other junctures discerning the talent from the incessant multi-media blasting.

Upon leaving the theatre it seemed that some were dazzled and others talked about this character or that one and there was much expected chatter comparing to the movie - but I didn't hear one single person say it was a great show.  Not one.  Everyone seemed to be impressed at the technology and disappointed at the inappropriate over-use of it on a Broadway stage.  To that I say, "Ditto".

The Best Man

Quite possibly the most star-studded success story ever to grace the Broadway stage.  Gore Vidal's The Best Man has been resurrected once again in an election year where it seems that, as the play testifies to, nothing seems to change.  And what a cast!  The budget for this show must be astronomical - and in this case - worth every penny and more in ticket prices!  Broadway, with more than its fair share of star-vehicle disappointments to grace the stage these past few years - That Championship Season and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown come to mind - this show, a history lesson unto itself, allows each star to shine individually and collectively ignite the political bonfire known as politics.  

The outstanding cast - James Earl Jones, John Larroquette, Candice Bergen, Eric McCormack, Kerry Butler, Jefferson Mays, Michael McKean, and Angela Lansbury - are firing on all cylinders to make one magical evening in the theatre.  Mr. Jones and Ms. Lansbury bring gravitas to the subject matter.  Mr. Larroquette and Ms. Bergen bring intelligence, wit, and incredible presence to the characters.  Mr. McCormack brings youth and a very believable do-anything, say-anythig attitude.  Ms. Butler, Mr. Mays, and Mr. McKean being high quality character acting back into fashion.  All combined, they electrify the evening culminating in a riveting climax.

The entire theatre is decked out in convention regalia from orchestra to the rear mezzanine.  A box seat is taken over by a Walter Cronkite-like news broadcaster who periodically covers the goings-on in classic old-fashioned style which is also broadcast onto period black and white television sets though out the theatre.  Rotating sets (whose design and form may have been borrowed from Chinglish) are outstanding - kudos to Derek McLane.  Director, Michael Wilson, keeps the action crisp and the momentum always edging forward.

All around a not-to-be-missed evening in the theatre with a once-in-a-lifetime assembled cast entertaining you from the first minute to the very last.  Like any devoted conventioneer - you'll be on your feet, cheering in the aisles for this revival.

Bring It On

Currently running its national tour, I caught Bring It On during its stop in Chicago.  Part gymnastic cheerleading spectacle, part disney-esque youthful heartwarming story, the show is certainly colorful, packed with power-pop lyrics, color, and fills the entire stage from floor to proscenium with excitement and energy.

Directed and choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler with his signature flair, mostly dazzles.   Music and lyrics have the signature stamp of Lin-Manuel Miranda (along with Tom Kitt and Amanda Green). There's plenty of young, good-looking, energetic talent on stage.  Taylor Louderman (Campbell) according to her bio is still a student at the University of Michigan.  We'll certainly be seeing more of her on Broadway soon.  Gregory Haney (La Cienega) pulls off drag-queen hilariously while not going too far over the top (OK, it's near the top).

There was a fair amount of actual cheerleading that many people, including myself, a former cheerleader from the University of Delaware, came to see.  Pyramids, toss torches, cupies, and a plethora of high-flying, well-executed acrobatics with heart pounding music were all baked in throughout the story leading up to the final competition event.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say this one probably won't come to Broadway.  Of course, I could always be wrong given the ever-changing dynamic of what plays well on the Great White Way, but my sense this is the close cousin to High School Musical is more like a movie and live entertainment event executed on stage, less like a traditional musical.   But that's OK!  Entertainment takes all forms and not every show needs to play Broadway to be considered successful.   Bring It On is likely to be one that travels the country well and attracts a much needed young audience into the theatre.  You can't fault it for being successful in doing that.  Bring It On!

The Big Meal

A delicious meal is being served up at Playwrights Horizons upstairs in the Peter Jay Sharp Theater.  Dan LeFranc's new play is about life, or more appropriately life - fast forward -  and it's a 90 minute sprint thru the generations spawned by Sam and Nicole from first date to life's end.  It's about family, friends, fighting, and fidelity.  It's about looking at the big picture rather than dwelling on the tiny details.

And yet, Director, Sam Gold, lets no detail go unnoticed.  Mr. LeFranc's poignant dialogue is well constructed and realistically links the many generations together thru many a small detail - a locket, a yellow ribbon, cocktails, and photographs to name a few.   I must admit, on a few occasions, I got a little confused as to who was who and where in the chain of the family we were.  Mr. Gold's duty, and anyone who helms this play in the future, is to do as much as they can to ensure the audience is following along exactly as Mr. LeFranc intended.

The actors  - a cast of eight plus one - navigate the characters, seamlessly and creatively transforming and transitioning themselves from generation to generation. (Anita Gillette and Tom Bloom; Jennifer Mudge and David Wilson Barnes; Phoebe Strole and Cameron Scoggins; Rachel Resheff and Griffin Birney)  The main device employed here is that as the characters age, the entire cast all jump a level down to play the same character just played by a younger actor to simulate the aging process and allow a younger generation to enter the dynamic and propel the story forward.  (See, even trying to explain it gets complicated.  Imagine watching it at full-throttle!).  Everyone was delightful but especially-so was the always-lovely Anita Gillette who ends the show on one of most poignant and thoughtful moments I've seen in the theatre in a long time.

The play, with such a swift pace, often comes to a dead stop (pun intended) when a meal is served and while there are no surprises here, it's always a moment to pause and reflect (kudos Molly Ward - the only actor to play a single, constant character).

Stop over to Playwrights Horizons and join the audience each night to fill your soul with some perspective on a life - with the fast forward button firmly engaged.

Kiss of the Spider Woman

Choreography.  Nice work if you can get it.  Even nicer if you are Geoffrey Doig-Marx and your brush has been selected to paint the dance-canvas on stage for the Department of Theatre and Dance and John J. Cali School of Music at Montclair State University.  Even nicer if you have such a talented bunch of colorful, budding young singers, actors, and dancers as your medium to work with.

 

John Kander and Fred Ebb's Spider Woman is not an easy show.  It's challenging in both the technical sense as well as the subject matter itself.   Based on a cursory review of the program, difficulty is not a hindrance to the school's program either.  Bravo to the school for stretching the young minds and challenging them both physically and theatrically.  I mean, after all, the last thing New York (or any other city) needs is another mediocre crop of theater-grads showing up at Broadway auditions with a repertoire of Oklahoma, Phantom, and Guys and Dolls firmly under their belts.  Clearly this is not the case at Montclair.  Recent productions a the University include Sweeney Todd, A Man of No Importance, Crazy for You, and Sideshow.

Spider Woman may not immediately pop into your mind as an entertaining Saturday evening.  After all, it's a musical about political prisoners, torture, human rights, and homosexuality.  It's the story of two very different men who find themselves imprisoned together - one a staunch idealist, the other a technicolor dreamer.  There's little hope, and much pain.  

Fear not, however!  You'll be in for a rare musical treat.   Lee Cohen (one of two cast in the role) turns in a dark, brooding, yet tender Valentin and Corey John Hafner (one of two cast in the role) turns in an insightful, poetic, and brave portrayal of Molina.  And if you're choreographer, Mr Doig-Marx, you had a bevy of talented dancers to unleash on multiple occasions around the multi-legged, eerie (and flown-in!) spider woman herself, Victoria Meade - and then again a few times just because they were so good.  

I don't often venture out of the city to see theatre - so when I do, I'm pleased to report back good news - that due in large part to the talents of Mr. Doig-Marx and director, Clay James, indeed, theatre is alive and well - way out there - even in suburban New Jersey!

Kudos to the many programs and departments at Montclair State University for pushing the envelope and producing what appears to be a bumper-crop of talent that most surely will end up on my side of the Hudson very shortly!

The Lady From Dubuque

As it seems is customary, egomaniac, Edward Albee has not only placed his name in the title of his play but also put his picture on the playbill cover.  He's like the Donald Trump of the play-world.  Beyond annoying.  But... I digress...

The Pershing Square Signature Center's inaugural season at the MiMa on 42nd Street contains a solid, powerful, and mysteriously eerie production of Albee's great work.

The perfectly suited two-act play reveals the backstory of the 6 neighborhood couples in all their raw glory, insecurity, and jealousies in act 1 then switches focus to the visitation by the lady from Dubuque in act 2.  Jo (Laila Robins) tears viciously into her husband, Sam, (Michael Hayden) with raw emotion - a mix of her illness, her pills, and likely just ugly truth.  Neighbors including Fred and Lucinda (C.J Wilson and Catherine Curtin) and Edgar and Carol (Thomas Jay Ryan and Tricia Paoluccio) fill in the requisite pastiche of charicitures  and stereotypes of a weak and timid husband and a ditz (Fred and Lucinda), and a drunk/racist and a floozie (Oscar and Carol).  With a cast as rich as this, the vitriol and barbs are ruthless, endless, and always on target.   Act 2 brings the visit by the mysterious Elizabeth, the lady from Dubuque (Jane Alexander) in all her impeccable power, beauty, and grace and her extremely sarcastically amusing sidekick, Oscar (Peter Francis James).

Despite Albee's unnecessary ego, the play is quite good, cuts to the quick, and is well acted.  In many ways, similar to a distant cousin, God of Carnage although superior in every way.   The set by John Arnone is opulently modern and sophisticated - including the trees in the background.  Director David Esbjornson has done his best at putting his own stamp on Albee's visceral work.

Assistance

Playwright Leslye Headland is likely good at a minimum of four things:  grammar, being an assistant, reading people, and writing plays.  Each of these traits is quite obvious from a brief, yet incredibly entertaining evening at Playwrights Horizons to take in a performance of Assistance.

Six mixed-up, shook-up, wired-up, young assistants get messed-up, chewed-up and spit-out by an un-seen, un-heard un-relenting, un-kind, president of the company.   Mr. David Weisgert, whom we never actually see or hear, is indolent, un-reasonable, demanding, and over-the-top, and drives these assistants – both literally and figuratively – crazy.

The goal in the office seems to be to get in (that’s hard) and get out  - “across the hall” as fast as you can (even harder).  Part dig on corporate America, part study of what drives people to crave these maddening jobs, and mostly just an hysterical, all-too-familiar composite of some bosses we once knew and truly hated.

Nick (Michael Esper) and Nora (Virginia Kull) work out their issues through flirting and eventually sex (in the office).  Jenny (Sue Jean Kim) gets cut while she’s still an intern, Vince (Lucas Near-Verbugghe), a bit of a creep, is the first to “make it out”.  Jenny (Amy Rosoff) brings her ice-cool British-game to the office and Justin, a.k.a Bird (Bobby Steggert) puts in his time on the road with the boss as his personal assistant, suffers the battle scars to prove it, and eventually “makes it” into the office too.  One by one they rise… and fall.

The dialogue is quick, the banter, believable and the non-stop telephone-ballet, quite impressive.  I’m not saying that any of these talented actors should ever be unemployed and working the phones – but either many of them have indeed suffered the pains of an office assistant job, or they are quick studies not only into the art, but also the emotional intensity.  Either that, or director Trip Cullman is one hell of a teacher.  

Maybe it’s a little bit of all that - so tightly wound and ready to explode each night - that makes Assistance an 80-minute romp on West 42^nd Street each and every night.

Look Back In Anger

John Osborne's 1956 play, Look Back in Anger, has been staged in London on the West End and subsequently on Broadway - both to a rather cool, if not frigid reception.  Movie versions were made in 1959, 1980, and 1989.  Acting and terrific performances aside this go-round, most of the critics historically were mostly unhappy with the story itself.  Although I stayed the entire 2 hours and 30 minutes this time around, the play still only warranted about 90 of them.

The play is truly a 4-some ensemble.  Matthew Rhys, the handsome and familiar Welsh actor from television's Brothers & Sisters, Adam Driver, a familiar Roundabout Theatre player , Sarah Goldberg and Charlotte Parry all handily carried their roles and graced the tiny sliver of stage they were allotted by director, Sam Gold, with power, grace, and presence - the only trouble really being the overly drawn-out material by Mr. Osborne.  Mr. Gold's choices in lighting, and the use of the "off-stage" area were innovative.  And Mr. Rhys' trumpet playing skills were certainly put to good use.

At an off-Broadway ticket price the cast is certainly worth seeing, but I highly recommend you get a cup of coffee at Starbucks around the corner before entering the theatre.  You're likely to need a double to get through the fine performances of this dirge.

How I Leaned To Drive

Paula Vogel's award-winning 1997 play is receiving its first professional production since it premiered 15 years ago at the Vineyard Theater.   Second Stage Theatre is breathing new life into the uncomfortable subject matter of pedophilia, incest, and misogyny.

Dare I say, it's not one of those plays that will cause hoards of fans to mob the box office.  Exactly the opposite, I'm quite sure.   I think Second Stage knew that in order for this extremely difficult subject matter to succeed for even a brief run, it has to bring in a star.   In its prior incarnation, Mary Louise Parker was the draw.  In this rebirth, Norbert Leo Butz has the daunting task of playing Uncle Peck, a seemingly normal, affable, and likable man living with his family in rural Maryland in the 1960s.

Ms. Vogel's power is not in the overt, but in nuance and innuendo.  Uncle Peck never once physically harms his niece.  He is always proclaiming to be her protector.  Her friend.  He employs practically all the tools you would expect that a man of this kind would have in his repertoire.   Ms Vogel has cleverly woven in the analogy of literally learning how to drive a car with the figurative narrative and action on stage about growing up, innocence lost, co-dependent relationships, excuses, betrayal, and emotions of the characters.

I left the theater wondering why someone (specifically Mr. Butz) would want to take on this role.  I'm not sure I have an answer beyond "it certainly would be a challenge".   I left the theater in a reflective mood.  Not angry, not sad mostly thanks to Ms. Vogel's excellent crafting.  But I wondered exactly what Mr. Butz thinks when he leaves the theater each night.  There are absolutely no redeeming qualities whatsoever to his character.  None.

Gob Squad's Kitchen

 It's hard to describe this amazing work - it's part film, part live performance art, part experimental theatre.  It harkens back to the days of Andy Warhol and one of his avant-garde films - The Kitchen.

The actors actually construct a live and unique movie before your eyes each night.  When you enter the theatre you get to walk onto the set behind the large screen that you are about to watch for the next 100 minutes so that you have an image in your head as to what's going on behind the screen.  As the performance progresses, the actors emerge from behind the screen and pull several audience members into the scene and the actors end up in the audience.  I don't think I would believe me if I told myself this odd tale - so instead, I'm going to post a video from the Gob Squad website as the best evidence as to the remarkable job this acting troupe has done in producing unique entertainment every single night!

Watch it Full Screen if you can - you'll get the "full effect" of this amazing experience.

Carrie

Re-imagined.  Re-invented.  Resurrected.  Remarkable!

OK, so i have never seen the cult movie (shame on me, i know).  I also didn't get to see the prior incarnation on Broadway that cost over $8 Million and lasted a sum total of 16 previews and 5 performances (all sold out, i note) before closing to scathing reviews which caused the backers to pull their money out.  It was so bad in its last incarnation that it drove Ken Mandelbaum to name his book of musical flops, Not since Carrie, Forty Years of Broadway Musical Flops, after it.

Ladies and Gentleman, this new production is nothing like its predecessor.  Nothing!   It's young, fresh, easy on the eyes, less bloody and bat-shit-crazy, and employs some pretty nifty video projection technology to enhance the story.  Religion is present, but not overplayed.  The true story of love, bullying, fear, friendship, and forgiveness shines thru like a beacon in the fog.  The music and lyrics by Michael Gore and Dean Pitchford fill the entire theatre (yes, that absolute dump on Christopher Street).  Choreography by Matt Williams is light, modern, and engaging, although everything with high school kids seems to remind me of Spring Awakening these days.

Without a single doubt, Molly Ranson (Carrie White) and Marin Mazzie (Margaret White) are both engaged in Tony-worthy performances (if, of course, an off-Broadway show could indeed be nominated!).   As a matter of fact, although this show is off-Broadway at the Lortel Theatre (the aforementioned dump), if i didn't actually know that, I'd come out suggesting multiple Tony noms for this production.

Yes, I know it really sounds odd that a musical about a Stephen King book might be a good idea, but at its core, this show has heart.  Lots of it.  And now that we have some decent technology, nobody has to actually attempt to blow up the stage 8 times a week.  Mean kids, bullying, a jock with a heart, and a beautiful girl hidden behind her fears take this former flop to great new heights.  Don't miss your chance to see the a makeover every producer of HGTV programming would be jealous of.  Carrie looks like the surprise musical sensation of the season!

CQ/CX

A power-packed, "Ripped From The Headlines" new play by emerging playwright, Gabe McKinley, is now playing at the Peter Norton Space on way-West 42nd Street.  This is the former space occupied by the Signature Theatre.  

Although I've seen it in previews, I can already tell this one is going to be a barn-burner.  The pace is quick, the wit is razor sharp, and story is focused.  Mr. McKinley, the playwright, actually worked at the NY Times.  CQ/CX is the fictionalized story of the Jayson Blair scandal and the damage he inflicted upon the Grey Lady herself, his friends, and his colleagues.  

The all-around brilliant cast aptly supports Kobi Libii's fine portrayal of Jay Bennett (i.e. Jayson Blair), hungry and aggressive young intern turned reporter who eventually self-destructed at the heart of the entire affair.  David Pittu takes the helm as Junior, the family member in a long and proud family dynasty who ran the publication.  Arliss Howard takes on the role of Hal Martin, new man in control, attempting to steer the behemoth ship into the 21st century.  Peter Jay Fernandez takes on the role of Gerald Haynes, the first African-American to rise to the senior ranks who by coincidence also becomes a sort of mentor to the young Bennett.  Larry Bryggman, Tim Hopper, Steve Rosen and Sheila Tapia fill in the ranks of colleagues and friends.

Just for reference, the title is Latin - CQ stands for cadet quaestio -which translates to "the question fails" and is an editors mark that is used when he questions a fact in a story.  CX is an editors mark for something that has been "corrected".   Hence the title, CQ/CX, is born out of the combination of the two and is quite relevant to the entire story

I enjoyed this show with a 20@20 ticket, but I'd go out on a limb to suggest it's worth the full price charged by the Atlantic Theater Company.

Where's My Money?

The Animus Theatre Company is presenting a fantastic stylized work, Where's My Money, by playwright John Patrick Shanley.  An homage to the Film-Noir style in the cinema, this stage production is an attempt by both the playwright and the actors to bring it to life in a live theatrical presentation.

The 3 mysterious and provocative stories unravel in the play eventually all come to intersect in a grand crescendo.  The youthful actors all portraying characters seemingly at least a decade older do a stand-up job at fostering the ominous sense of mystery and sense of impending danger that in a movie would be done with camera work and dark music with an occasional "gotcha" riff.

One stand-out performance was that of Sydney (Jeff Todesco).  He seemed to really absorb the sense of the style and use the "did you hear that" moments and his many darkly humorous lines to bring a real sense of the genre to the stage.  A quirky and off-beat Natalie (Amy Northup) used her deep dark secret and social awkwardness to induce many laugh.

I'd have to say that the one role I wished I could have was that of Tommy (Jamahl Garrison Lowe).   He utters the titular lines of the play (and not much else), wears the only color in the entire production, but still manages to bring the entire stage to their knees with fear!

For an inexpensive and fun day or night in the theatre, head down to the Cherry Lane Theatre and check out what all the buzz is about in the Studio space.   I'm going to guess that you will find a dash each of Mind, Spirit, Courage, Passion and Wrath.  

Wit

A play about cancer and dying is probably not something that is first on your uplifting winter "must see" list.  But don't click the back button on your browser just yet.  Attention must be paid.  This play is a modern watershed of issue and emotion.  Cynthia Nixon may be compared to the prior leading ladies in this work, but without ever having seen those other leading ladies (whom I also adore),  I give Ms. Nixon a standing ovation right here - not only for her acting, her emotion, and ownership of the role, but for her giving life to the words on the page and to all those who are touched by cancer.

I'd like to highlight something that I have not seen in many of the other reviews - which tend to focus on Ms. Nixon's performance and the intelligent play on literature, poetry, grammar, God, and yes, wit.   What I found so biting was Ms. Edson's condemnation of doctors and, frankly, the entire health care system in general, while at the same time, the defense and promotion of the care giving of nurses.  Time and time again, to quite a successful humorous result each time, we hear uncaring, unobservant, superficial doctors go about their business of talking above a patient's head, asking "How do you feel today" to a patient suffering the pains of chemotherapy.   I found, quite often, Ms. Edson's dual emotions toward the situation - the superior intelligence and necessity of academics and researchers in the medical field and at the same time her bitter disdain for the lack of warmth, observation, and comfort by those same people.

The bitter pill she is forced to swallow is that she herself is forced to transition from (literary) expert to subject, teacher to student, artist to model.  She intelligently and rationally comes to the conclusion about what her life was and what it was not.  How she lived it and just how it may end.

There are many layers to this play and Ms. Nixon and director Lynne Meadow have chosen some of its finest most relevant to showcase in 2012.  Bravo Ms. Nixon, Ms. Meadow and to the entire cast for a top notch performance of a touching work!

Outside People

Maybe Naked Angels has the idea first?  But in a Broadway season that already contains a very funny Chinese-culture play, I'm not sure why the Vineyard chose this time to mount Outside People exactly now.   Logistics aside, which may have just been mere coincidence, it is now inevitable that comparisons to Chinglish, on Broadway, will be made.  Unfortunately for the Vineyard, hands down, Chinglish is a better play - technically, stylistically, and comically.

While the two plays are clearly different stories, they both deal at a high level with the cultural differences between Westerners and Chinese.  In this case Zayd Dohrn's new work it's a biting commentary on the Westernization of China and the dirty underworld that exists as capitalism suddenly slams into the vastly unprepared empire.  It's about friendship and the many ways that can be interpreted, used, and misused by both parties to a friendship.  It's about love, labor, and economic freedom.

All those heady topics that failed to impress me aside, the playwright shrouded the friendship and plot in so much mystery, it was frustrating and confounding at times.  Where was he going?  Is he going where I think he is?  What does David Wang really do?  Is she?  or Isn't she?   Not all of this is bad - i like the approach, but the execution seemed to be lacking, unfocused, and misleading.  Maybe a Chinese director would have helped matters?  I'm not sure.

Matt Dellapina (Malcolm) and Nelson Lee turn in top-notch performances - clearly grasping and owning their respective characters, flaw and all with Mr. Dellapina deftly owning his nebbish insecurity and borderline neuroticism and Mr. Lee owning his power as a young, American educated, good looking, Chinese businessman.

T'was a serious topic, some great acting, and a pace to the work that propelled it forward, but in the end, it missed making some connections, lacked a compelling reason for the entire circumstance of Malcolm's being in China, and somehow left most of the audience wondering (and I don't think this was intended at all) whether Xiao Mei was or wasn't who she was accused of being.

LEO

What a delightful and entertaining way to start off the new year  - and it wasn't a big budget Broadway musical with 17 stars flying around the theatre!  LEO, the brain-child of Tobias Wegner, a Belgian trained acrobat and award winning performance artist, is a simple, mesmerizing, physical, trick-of-the-eye performance-art, music, and dance work that literally defies gravity and pleases the eyes.

LEO is the unusual story of an ordinary man who finds himself in a world where gravity is literally turned on it's side. With his trusty suitcase of surprises, LEO embarks on this creative journey - all without the spoken word - in a nondescript room of red and blue and a single light bulb.   His journey involves dance, original on-stage drawing, acrobatics, and music.  Even with a complex description of how the show is technically presented - you'd never appreciate the artistry so I won't even attempt it.  Let's just say that it has to be seen - with both eyes - to be thoroughly enjoyed!

Mr. Wegner is a true performer - beyond limber - and quite handsome in his boyish approach to the role.  As many in the audience did, you'll find yourself slowing giggling as the performance progresses, smiling at the wide variety of musical accompaniment - from Frank Sinatra and Ravi Shankar to The Grits and Slayer to Tchaikovsky and Beethoven, and thunderously applauding at the end of the journey - happy for LEO and proud, envious, and satisfied that you took in a brief hour of Mr. Wegner's talents - with both eyes!

Porgy and Bess

To the delight of every audience member, the orchestra at the Richard Rogers Theatre roars to life from the first bar of the George and Ira Gershwin and DuBose and Dorothy Heyward's luxurious operatic musical, Porgy and Bess, and completely fills every nook and cranny of ornate theatre on West 46th until the very last bar 2 1/2 hours later.

Norm Lewis (Porgy) and Audra McDonald (Bess) turn in flawless performances along with a top-notch ensemble cast including the devilishly slick David Alan Grier (Sporting Life).  The stage is simply and appropriately shabbily adorned and the costumes are equally appropriate and well designed for the period.

Adapted by Suzan-Lori Parks and Diedre L. Murray, the story moves us swiftly through the poor neighborhood of Catfish Row in Charleston, South Carolina in the late 1930's and weaves a hopeful yet sad tale of the poor black residents who form a deFacto family to both provide for each other and protect each other.  The story and this adaptation displays their strengths and weaknesses, devotion, and desires with aplomb.

Superbly orchestrated, the show is simply a magnificent example of an appropriately refreshed revival with all its roots firmly grounded in the original.  Don't hesitate for a single minute in getting your tickets.   The price of the ticket is well worth the value received in return - and as a matter of fact, Tony-nomination worthy performances aside (one for each of the leads and many more i predict), the focus on the orchestrations and execution by a full and robust orchestra in the pit is worth the trip alone!