IL TRITTICO A THOUGHT

The Met opera keeps topping itself. Yesterday afternoon it offered a stunning production of Verdi's Il Trittico. This consist of three one act operas presenting seperate but equel overviews of the human condition from a serious and comic view point.
It is staged with stunning expertness by Jack O'Brien and beautifully designed by Douglas W. Schmidt.
The operas are expertly conducted by Stefano Ranzani and the great Met orchestra brings out all the beauty of the three diverse scores.
All in all, another great afternoon at the opera.
AT the METROPOLITAN OPERA HOUSE LINCOLN CENTER N.Y.C.

JERSEY BOYS REVISITED

Last evening my wife and I saw JERSEY BOYS for the second time and I can tell you that this musical biography of Frankie Vallie and The Four Seasons is in tip top shape. The show has just started it's fifth year on Broadway, and it is as fresh and shiny as it was when we first saw it at the beginning of it's run.
The book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice is as hard hitting as ever and all of those great Four Seasons classic songs sound as if they were written yesterday.
Des MacAnuff's staging and Sergio Trujillo's choreography are opening night fresh and the current cast is up to snuff.
This is so much more than a juke box musical. At the end you really care about these guys, and you are on your feet yelling bravo just as the audience we saw it with last night was.
JERSEY BOYS is my wifes favorite current Broadway show,and even in it's fifth year it is still one of the best evenings you will spend on Broadway. If you haven't seen it go at once. If you have, go again.
At THE AUGUST WILSON THEATRE 245 WEST 52nd STREET N.Y.C.

FELA A REVIEW

I had never heard of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti,but he was considered the most famous musician ever to come out of Nigeria.He created new kind of music called Afrobeat ,consisting of pounding rythms from around the world while the lyrics openly attack the dictatorships that ruled Nigeria and Africa at that time. While he was not a top name in this country, Fela the exuberant new musical celebrating his life and music should change all that.
This is a show that introduces a new kind of music to Broadway. It has an infectious beat that makes you want to dance in the aisle, and the lyrics grab and hold the attention all the way thru.
The multi-talented Bill T. Jones has directed the show with a firm hand and his choreography is so fresh, lively, and infectious that I can't see how anyone else can better it this season. The whole show seems to be in constant motion and the highly enthusiastic cast is so talented and alive that you leave the theatre with a smile on your face and a spring in your step.
While it may not be epoch making Fela is so alive and spirit-lifting that it a constant joy. Go see it.
At THE EUGENE O'NEILL THEATRE 230 WEST 49th STREET N.Y.C.

GIRL CRAZY A REVUE

One of New York's treasures is the Encores series`of staged concerts celebrating the American musical. To kick off their fifteenth season this indespensable company is presenting[for this weekend only] the George and Ira Gershwin chestnut, Girl Crazy. This musical[ which dates back to 1930 ] is the kind of thing that Encores does best, and it gives us a chance to hear the classic score the way audiences in 1930 first heard it, and Robert Russell Bennett's original orchestrations sound terrific as played by the great Encores orchestra under the direction of Rob Fisher.
Girl Crazy may not be a classic musical,but the score is choice Gershwin and director Jerry Zaks keeps the action zipping along smoothly.
The whole thing is well cast, the singing and choreography are fine, and this Girl Crazy is a pleasure to see and hear. Thanks to Encores for an enjoyable evening.
At the N.Y. CITY CENTER 131WEST 55th STREET N.Y.C NOV 19th thru NOV 22nd.

SAVANNAH BLACK AND BLUE A REVUE

Following your dream and getting what you want out of life can be tough sometimes.Case in point,Savannah Black and Blue, an uneven but entertaining play by Raymond Jones about a spunky,attractive African American girl who wants to be a cop more than anything in the world,and the flack she gets from her husband, family,and friends.
If the plot seems a little underdeveloped at this point,Mr. Jones shows a real talent for snappy dialog, and has created an interesting and believable title character. She is on stage almost all of the play's 80 minute running time and to play her Ciera Payton [an actress new to me] is outstanding. It is a huge part and Ms. Payton has the style, grace, and personal appeal to pull it off and make it seem as easy as pie.
The rest of the acting company is first rate, and make the most out of their sometimes sketchily written roles. Ohene Cornelius is fine as the husband who turns out to be decent after all, and Kimberlyn Crawford brings quiet dignity to the underdeveloped role Savannah's grandmother.The rest of the cast is fine and director Charles Weldon whips the action along with vigor and snap.
The play is presented by the Negro Ensemble Company[a New York legend] and as usual the technical aspects are all first rate.
Savannah Black And Blue is not perfect by any means,but it reveals an interesting and talanted playwright in Mr. Jones and is put on with taste and skill.
THE NEGRO ENSEMBLE COMPANY at SHELTER STUDIOS 244 WEST 54th STREET N.Y.C. Through Nov.22nd. Worth checking out.

THE ORPHANS' HOME CYCLE PT.1 A REVUE

With the arrival of part one of The Orphan's Home Cycle the theatre season takes on a lusture that probably wont be matched any time soon. The late playwright Horton Foote took nine of his autobiographical plays and adapted them into a three part event lasting almost nine hours spread out over three evenings, and the first part[under the sub title The Story Of A Childhood] is beautifully told and stunningly presented.
It covers the author,s lonley childhood in Harrison Texas at the turn of the century, his father's death, and ends with hs move to Houston ten years later.
Director Michael Wilson's staging is stunningly effective and the large cast offers the best example of ensemble playing you are likely to see this or any other season.
With parts two and three coming up over the next two months and the whole cycle scheduled through the spring, The Orphan's Home Cycle is shaping up as the event of the year. This is theatre at it's magical best,memorable and unmissable.
At THE SIGNATURE THEATRE ----PETER NORTON SPACE 555 WEST 42nd STREET N.Y.C., and all seats are only 20 dollars, the best theatre value in N. Y.

IN THE NEXT ROOM A REVIEW

On the theory that there is something good in the worst of things we obediently look for what is good in the wreck of a play called In The Next Room.
Playwright Sarah Rule subtitles her new work The Vibrator Play and it takes place in the 1880s , the beginning of the age of electricity.It is based on the actual medical practice of treating patients with electric vibrators to cure any number of problems[depression and sexual dysfunction are the main ones], but despite a solid premise and a provacitive subject the play is an absolute bust. The plotting is deplorable, the dialog is wooden, and the production is nothing short of disastarous.
The staging by Les Waters is strictly of stock calaber,and the acting company seem most uneasy and sometimes embarased by what they are asked to do.
It is true that nothing goes right all the time, but with In The Next Room The Lincoln Center Theatre has perpetrated a first class disaster. Some days everything goes wrong.
AT The LYCEUM THEATRE 149 WEST 45th STREET N. Y. C.

RAGTIME A REVIEW

When Ragtime was first done almost eleven years ago I fell in love with it. The book was well above average and it had the best score of the decade,unmatched to this day.I also thought that it was top heavy with excesses it did not need. Well those exesses are gone, and thanks to the multi talented director Marcia Milgrom Dodge and her wonderfully talented cast this musical is now the masterpiece it should be.
Terrence McNally's book [based on the bestselling novel by E.L. Doctorow] deals with the plight of three familys upon their arrival in America at the turn of the century, and it has been tweaked and polished into one of the best musical books Broadway has seen in years.
The music by Stephen Flaherty and the lyrics by Lynn Ahrens hold up remarkably well and prove that they are one of the most creative teams working in the theatre today.
The show is performed on a single set with movable props and this brings out all the power of the book and score.
The cast is superb, and an exeptionally good pit orchrsestra conducted by James Moore does the music proud.
By smart trimming and great planning, what was once a distinguished musical has now taken on the luster of a work of art. Ragtime is a memorable musical.
At THE NEIL SIMON THEATRE 250 WEST 52nd STREET N. Y. C.

FROM THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD A THOUGHT

Last night I attended thepremiere of From The House Of The Dead and it was an experience I will not soon forget.
This opera by the Czech composer Leos Janack has a very stong libretto[by the composer] and a fascinating and very well orchestrated score. It is about survival under the most inhumane conditions,and is stunningly staged by Patrice Chereau and conducted with power and enthusiasim by Esa-Pekka Salonen.
From The House Of The Dead may not be for everyone, but for those looking for something a little different this opera offers a fascinating and sometimes powerful look at the human condition and what human cruelty can do to it.
While it is not as emotionaly engaging as it could have been, this opera was worth doing ,and the Met deserves lots of credit for doing it.
At The METROPOLITAN OPERA HOUSE LINCOLN CENTER N. Y.C.

THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD A THOUGHT

For over 25 years The Pearl Theatre Company has been a major force off Broadway. This year they are performing their season on West 55th street [address listed below] and are offering a solid production of J. M. Synge's classic play The Playboy Of The Western World.
This tale of fiesty females trying to woo the town playboy is a classic of Irish theatre and it is well served in this well directed and solidly acted production.
Good work all around and off Broadway theatregoing of a very high order.
At THE N. Y. CITY CENTER STAGE 2 131WEST 55th STREET N. Y. C. Thru NOV. 22.

TURANDOT A THOUGHT

That grandest of operas [Turandot] is back at the Met and it is magnificent. This is the landmark Franco Zeffirelli production first seen in 1987, and it is a fine example of how great opera can be when it is done right.
It is conducted with verve and enthusiasim by Andris Nelsons in his Met debut and is staged and
designed in the grand manner that has made the Met world famous.
All in all, another memorable afternoon at the opera.
At THE METROPOLITAN OPERA HOUSE LINCOLN CENTER N. Y. C.

THE UNDERSTUDY A REVIEW

Theresa Rebeck is a playwright of almost unlimited talent. In her plays Maritus [about greedy stamp collectors] and The Scene [about love and lust Hollywood style] Ms. Rebeck addressed her subjects with biting humor and devestating insight. In her latest play The Understudy this talented playwright is at the top of her game and has delivered a bitingly funny look at the underbelly of the acting world.
It concerns a movie star who gets a part in a Broadway play and the man hired as his understudy. The understudy knows that he will never go on, but he keeps hoping. It takes place at a dress rehearsal run by a talented, bossy stage manager,and deals with the everyday problems of putting on a Broadway show.
Under Scott Ellis's astute staging the cast of three is excellent. In his live acting debut, Mark-Paul Gosselaar is hilarious as the star, Justin Kirk is just a funny as the standby waiting to go on,and Julie White is superb as the stage manager.
Once again Theresa Rebeck is in top form and The Understudy is bitingly funny and devestatingly insightful.
At THE LAURA PELS THEATRE 111 WEST 46th STREET N. Y. C.

NIGHTINGALE A REVIEW

Lynn Redgrave has always been a fine actress and for more than a decade has been giving us most interesting insights`about her famous family in a series of solo shows. Shakespeare For My Father and The Mandrake Root were in depth looks at her famous parents, and they both provided wonderful theatre evenings,but [sad to say] I found her latest solo play Nightingale to be a dissapointment.
This time Ms. Redgrave is talking about the need to create a life for her maternal grandmother, a woman she hardly knew,and [to me] that is the problem with Nightingale.Because she didn't know her well, we never find out why she had this need to make a life for her,and why she was considered to be such a facinating person.
As always, Ms. Redgrave is a master storyteller and and looks as good as ever but her story is not very interesting and after a while becomes boring.
Nightingale is only 75 minutes long but seems longer,and too me this is the problem. Her story just isn't interesting enough to sustain a full evening.
At THE N. Y. CITY CENTER STAGE ONE 131 WEST 55th STREET N. Y. C.

BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS CLOSES PREMATURELY

What started out as an exciting idea came to an unfortunate end when Brighton Beach Memoirs closed on Sunday [Nov. 1st ] after only nine performances cancelling Broadway Bound which was to alternate with it starting in December.
This is a case where the reviews were mostly positive and word of mouth was good to excellent,but people just weren't interested in a gentle autobiographical family play.
This is too bad because I doubt that there will be anything this year as warming and satisfying as David Cromer's fine take on Neil Simon's enchanting play.
This was a case where a most deserving project closed much too soon. Too bad.