THE LANGUAGE ARCHIVE A REVIEW

Lack of communication is the main theme of Julia Cho's unfocused and unsatisfying .new comedy "THE LANGUAGE ARCHIVE". It's one thing for the characters not being able to relate to each other, but quite something else when the playwright fails to plug in to her audience.
Ms. Cho's play concerns a linguist who is proficiant in many languages but is unable to communicate his true feelings to his wife who winds up walking out on him. At the same time the linguist's cute female assistant is madly in love with him but can't convey her true feelings either.
It's a solid basis for an off-beat funny comedy but humor is mostly absent and Ms. Cho's characters are not the type of people you would want to spend an evening with.
Under Mark Brokaw's unsteady stage direction the cast does it's best and Matt Letscher almost is able to make the linguist into a likeable human being instead of the bore that he is,and Heidi Shreck and Betty Gilpin are competant enough as his wife and assistant respectivly. The real shame is that the talented Jane Houdyshell and John Horton are wasted in multiple roles that do nothing but slow up an already draggy play, and the set design by the normally unfailing Neil Patel is lacking in mood and style.
As already mentioned, lack of communication is a sound dramatic base, but "THE LANGUAGE ARCHIVE'S" failure to communicate with it's audience make for a flat and unprofitable evening.
AT THE LAURA PELS THEATRE 111 WEST 46th STREET N.Y.C. THRU DEC.19th.

THE MERCHANT OF VENICE A REVIEW

After a highly praised run in Central Park last summer the Public Theatre's production of "THE MERCHANT OF VENICE" has come to Broadway in a splendid production that makes Shakespeare's famous play far more accessable to modern audiences then ever before.
Most of the interest in this production was generated by the casting of Al Pacino in the role of Shylock, the Jewish moneylender who takes a pound of flesh if loans are not repaid and he is at the very least fine and at the very most wonderful.
The evening's best performance comes from Lily Rabe as a beautiful heiress being courted by a venetian merchant, Ms. Rabe is fast becoming that rare actress that lights up any stage she is on and has that rare something called personal magnetisim.
Under the beautifully orchestrated stage direction by Daniel Sullivan and led by by the exceptional performances by Ms. Rabe and Mr. Pacino the rest of the acting company is first rate.
Also helping the evening greatly are the sets by Mark Wendland, the costumes by Jess Goldstein, and the lighting by Kenneth Posner.
With everything going for it this production of "THE MERCHANT OF VENICE" is a whale of an evening and in this arid theatre season[so far] this is a real cause for dancing in the streets.
AT THE BROADHURST THEATRE 235 WEST 44th STREET N.Y.C. THRU JAN. 9th and seats are scarce , but it is well worth the effort to try to get them.

BRIEF ENCOUNTER REVISITED

I loved it in Brooklyn last year and I loved it all over again in it's limited run Broadway transfer. Revisiting "BRIEF ENCOUNTER" has not altered my opinion that this is one of the most enchanting evenings to hit New York theatergoers in years.
Adapted and directed by Emma Rice from Noel Cowards classic 1945 film, this story about the special relationship between two married[to others] people is presented so brilliantly and is so beautifully acted that the total effect is close to genius. This should be seen by anyone interested in just how far theatre can go in creating mood and and an all -involving theatregoing experience all at the same time. It is just a heavenly theatre event and a real boost to an unusually arid theatre season.
AT STUDIO 54 254 WEST 54th. STREET N.Y.C. THRU JAN. 2 .

THE PITMEN PAINTERS A REVIEW

Inspired by the true story of a group of English miners who discover a new way to express themselves through their love of art, Lee Hall [who wrote the excellent book for "Billy Elliot"] has written an interesting and richly satisfying play "THE PITMEN PAINTERS " and it is being given a sterling production by the same company that played it successfuly in England last year.
As already mentioned, Mr. Hall's play concerns a group of miners who are close friends who hire a college lecturer to teach them to paint and through a series of shows and exibitions become art world sensations even though they continue to work in the mines.
While the play may lack action and plot development it is chock full of richly drawn characters and situations and is directed to perfection by Max Roberts repeating his acclamed London staging.
The acting company work together like a well oiled machine and every one of them are superbly suited to their roles, and Gary McCann's sets and costumes and Douglas Kuhrt's lighting are first rate.
It may not be classic by by any means, but "THE PITTMAN PAINTERS" is a wonderfully endearing play about ordinary likable people and provides as rewarding a theatre evening as you could want. Go see it.
AT THE SAMUEL J. FRIEDMAN THEATRE 261 WEST 47th STREET N.Y.C.

LONG STORY SHORT A THOUGHT

I have never been a big fan of stand up comedy,especially in a Broadway Theatre, so when the solo show "LONG STORY SHORT" was picked up for an uptown run after a very successful Off-Broadway run this summer, I was very skeptical of it's chances in an uptown house. Somehow this type of entertainment always seemed out of place on the street known as Broadway and this one is no exception.
It's not that it's very talented author/ performer Colin Quinn is not funny. He is very funny and sometimes uproariously funny, but to one theatregoer of long standing Mr Quinn's compact take on world history really belongs in a comedy club like Carolines or The Laugh Factory, but as a Broadway entry " LONG STORY SHORT" is mighty flimsy stuff.
By the way, the show's running time is listed at 75 minutes but the performance I caught clocked in at a little over an hour. Sixty five minutes at ninety eight dollars a seat is something of a swindle in these tough economic times . Theatregoers deserve a better deal for their hard -earned cash.
AT THE HELEN HAYES THEATRE 240 WEST 44th. STREET N.Y.C. THRU JAN. 8th.

WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN A REVIEW

If externals were enough,"WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN" would be a terrific show. This new musical [based on Pedro Almodovar's wonderfully funny 1988 film] has been beautifully directed by Bartlett Sher, has attractive scenery and projections by Michael Yeargan and Sven Ortel respectivly, a talented cast, and a professional look about it. But looking further, this latest offering from the fine Lincoln Center Theater Company is shy a few things, mainly a good book and a decent score.
What was once a classic study of male-female relationships and what insensitivity can do to them has been flattened into a witless and tastless book by one Jeffrey Lane[ no relation] that drains all the humor and humanity out of Mr. Almodovar's classic screenplay.
I have always believed that most musicals rise or fall on the quality of the songs. David Yazbek[who wrote the music and lyrics]has written music by the yard but none of it morphs into formal songs, and even with superb orchestrations by Simon Hale, it all sounds to me like a bunch of unrelated notes scattered on a music sheet, and the lyrics are about on par with the book.
As already mentioned, the cast [ headed by Patti Lupone, Sherie Rene Scott, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and the wonderful Laura Benanti] is wonderful and the the stage direction is first rate.
"WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN" has all the externals to be a freshly original musical ,but missing, sadly missing are the internals.
AT THE BELASCO THEATRE 111 WEST 44th STREET N.Y.C.

SPIRIT CONTROL A THOUGHT

No need to say much about this mis-hap of a play. What makes the occasion even more upsetting is that a perfectly good idea for a cracklingly good drama has been botched by playwright Beau Willmon and his play "SPIRIT CONTROL" is dull ,confusing , and unsatisfying.
It even gets off to a most promising start as it tells of an air traffic controller who talks a terrified through an emergency landing when the pilot of a small plane suffers a heart attack, but after that taut start the play goes off in so many directions that the total effect is almost total disaster.
The stage direction by Henry Wishcamper is on the droopy side and the acting can best be described as low grade stock.
Add to all this a cheap looking production[the projections are sub-standard high school] and "SPIRIT CONTROL" [ even with a solid premise behind it] winds up being a well meaning but total botch.
At THE N.Y. CITY CENTER STAGE 1 131 WEST 55th STREET N.Y.C.

ELLING A REVIEW

While it was not too well recieved and has already posted it's closing notice, I found "ELLING" to be a light, funny and sometimes touching comedy about life,love, friendship and survival. In a friendlier Broadway climate it might have had a better fate commercially.
This comedy started out as two bestselling novels first published in Norway a couple of years ago. It was then adapted into a successful film and stage play in it's homeland.
It is the stage version that was adapted into English by Simon Bent and successfully done in England that is now on Broadway. It is a lightweight but sweet tale of two longtime patients of a mental hospital trying to adjust to life in the outside world, and in these roles both Denis O'Hare and Brendan Fraser could not be bettered. Mr. O'Hare is especially noteworthy as a little man who never got over his mother's death , and Mr Fraser is just as good as a childlike 40 year old eager to lose his virginity.
The rest of the cast [ Jennifer Coolidge, Richard Easton, and Jeremy Shamos] are first rate, and Doug Hughs's stage direction is everything it should be.
The play is also helped by Scott Pask's witty sets, Catherine Zuber's just right costumes, and Kenneth Posner's first rate lighting.
To be sure "ELLING" is not a work of art or even a first rate comedy, but this longtime theatregoer found it charming and sometimes sweetly touching. Too bad more people won't get to see it.
At THE ETHEL BARRYMORE THEATRE 243 WEST 47th STREET N.Y.C.

Note- The play closed after only nine performances.

BELLS ARE RINGING A THOUGHT

I first saw "BELLS ARE RINGING" when it was first done back in 1956. I was 13 years old, an incurable theatre geek, and loved anything to do with the Broadway musical and I have very fond memories of sitting in Broadway's Shubert Theatre and having the time of my life, so I was looking forward to the concert version that the excellent organization called Encores was offering up this weekend.
"BELLS ARE RINGING" was written for the late great Judy Holliday by her friends Betty Comden and Adolph Green and had a wonderfully sassy and melodic score by Julie Styne. It was a resounding hit running 924 performances and was made into a popular movie with Ms. Holliday repeating her role as a telephone operator who gets involved with her customers and tries to solve their problems, and it is the Styne, Comden and Green score that make this concert version worth doing because the book [which many critics found dated in 1956] is close to being almost laughably old hat.
It has been given a lively production by director/choreographer Kathleen Marshall and Robert Russell Bennett's original orchestrations make Styne's lively score sound as fresh as ever.
It's not important that Kelli O'Hara can't even begin to erase my memories of Judy Holliday or the rest of the cast is no better than routine at best. What matters most is that the score is first rate and it is superbly conducted by Rob Berman,and it is for this reason that "BELLS ARE RINGING" is still worth doing and for the most part, I had a good time.
At THE N.Y. CITY CENTER 131 WEST 55th STREET N.Y.C. THRU NOV. 21st.

A QUIET PLACE A THOUGHT

To say that I found " A QUIET PLACE" disappointing is the understatement of the year. The fact is that Leonard Bernstein's final work for the stage just does not work, and what started out as a charming one act opera called "Trouble In Tahiti" [about a bored couple living in the suburbs] has been blown up into a three act opera [libretto by Stephen Wadsworth] dealing with alienation,strife, and reconciliation of a dysfunctional American family.
Even with an often lovely Bernstein score [wonderfully well orchestrated by the composer,Sid Ramin and Irwin Kostal] this is an overlong often ponderous work, and the production it is being given by the New York City Opera Company seems underdirected by Christopher Alden, and the single all-purpose set by Andrew Lieberman seems to have been done on a very limited budget.
The opera is conducted by Jayce Ogren with a loving hand and the company is good, but not first rate.
Anyway, "A QUIET PLACE" left me as cold as a penguin's toes.
At THE DAVID H. KOCH THEATRE LINCOLN CENTER N.Y.C.

A LIFE IN THE THEATRE A REVIEW

When David Mamet's play "A LIFE IN THE THEATRE" was first done off-Broadway back in 1977 it was was given a good [if not overwhelming] critical reception, had decent run of almost 300 performances and has had a substantial afterlife in regional and stock productions. Never having seen that production I can't say what it was like, but I am sure that it played alot better in a 299 seat off-Broadway house then it does in this ernest but ill- advised first Broadway showing.
The problem is basically that Mr. Mamet's valentine to the theatre is not really a play but a long dramatic sketch about two actors one young and full of ambition and the other much older and ready to retire after a long only moderatly successful career. They talk backstage of an empty theatre about various plays they have done acting out fragments of some of them.There really is no plot to speak of, just short scenes and fragments of scenes and lots of talk.
I am sure this worked beautifully in a small Greenwich Village theatre but it seems lost in a 1000 seat medium-sized Broadway house, and while a fair amount of this is reasonably entertaining it still comes off as more of an exercise then a fully thought out play.
The two actors involved could not be improved upon. Patrick Stewart is wonderful as the older actor and T.R. Knight is just as fine as the young actor just starting out and Neil Pepe's stage direction is ok but he has not been able to make such a small play fill a big Broadway stage.
As one who has had a lifelong love affair with the theatre and even with serious reservations I have I still had a fairly good time, but I did not pay to get in. The fact is that A LIFE IN THE THEATRE is not substantial enough for Broadway in these expensive theatregoing days.
At THE GERALD SHOENFELD THEATRE 236 WEST 45th STREET N.Y.C.

THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS A REVIEW

It's been almost two years since a really good American born and bred musical has come to Broadway ["Next To Normal" was the last one] so it's a pleasure to welcome "THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS" uptown after it's acclaimed Off-Broadway run last summer. I'm not saying this final collaboration of the great team of John Kander and Fred Ebb is perfect by any means[Mr. Ebb died shortly after the first workshop was held] but it is a brave show that has something important to say and says it with a reasonable amount of wit and intelligence.

The book by David Thompson adresses one of the gravest abuses of human rights ever to happen in a cort of law in this country. On a spring morning in 1931, nine African American boys boarded a boxcarheading through Alabama lookingfor a new life.By the end of the day they were accused of raping two white women. This was a crime they never committed and the trials that followed caused a sensation all over the country and marked a turning point for the civil rights movement.

This powerful tale is told in the form of a minstrel show and points out the bigotry that was going on at that time. While this concept is confusing at times it sometimes works and when it does it presents it's story in a novel and interesting way and if the score is not on the level of Kander and Ebb's best work it is still head and shoulders above almost anything I have heard on Broadway over the last couple of years. It is Powerful, infectious and very well orchestrated by Larry Hochman.

That this show works as well as it does is a real tribute to Susan Stroman's masterful direction and choreography, and the cast from top to bottom is first rate.

While "THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS" is not the masterpeice it could have been it is still a fine and sometimes first rate musical, and well worth the attention of serious musical theatre fans. It is also a fitting farewell to the great team of John Kander and Fred Ebb.

At THE LYCEUM THEATRE 149 WEST 45th STREET N.Y.C.



A FOOTNOTE---The same story was used as the basis for a drama called "They Shall Not Die" in 1934. It was a failure running only 72 performances.

LA BETE A REVIEW

Whatever it was that caused David Hirson's quasi-verse play "LA-BETE" to fail twenty years ago I can't say because I never did see that production, but I would almost bet that it's pretentious talkiness and general lack of appeal had alot to do with it running only three weeks back then. Anyway, seeing it for the first time I found Mr. Hirson's comic look at the conflict between art and populism to be arty, talky, and pretentious in the extreme, but it is almost saved by director Matthew Warchus's brilliantly conceived staging and a wonderfully high
spirited company of actors.
The time is the 17th century and the location is France. It concerns a street clown who has been spotted by a local princess who decides that he is just the addition she needs to liven up her court acting troup led by a popular actor/playwright.The gist of the story is that the clown is out to prove to the actor/playwright that he is a worthy member of the acting profession.
It is not an easy task to make such a wordy script come alive but a wonderfully talented acting company almost succeeds in turning the trick. As the street clown looking for respect Mark Rylance is a revelation. His physical comedy is priceless and his grasp of this complex
part make him one of the most resourceful actors we have seen in years . This is only his second Broadway show, and this export from England is one of the theatre's treasures.
As the actor/ playwright David Hyde Pierce gives a wonderfully understated and comic performance proving once again what a fine stage actor he is and Joanna Lumley is lovely as the princess trying to buck up her court acting troup.Known in this country for the t.v. show "Absolutely Fabulous" Ms. Lumley is making her Broadway bow and she is also a fine addition to the Broadway stage.
The rest of the cast is fine and [as already mentioned] Matthew Warchus's stage direction is brilliantly inventive. It is almost enough to make one overlook the fact that "LA BETE"is basically a bore, but the good things in it may make it up to you and Mr Rylance's performance alone may make it worth a visit.
At THE MUSIC BOX THEATRE 239 WEST 45th STREET N.Y.C.

LOMBARDI A REVIEW

It's not easy to to bring sports icons to life on stage. Most of the time they come off as stereotypes or self-patronizing, so I had no idea what to expect from a play celebrating the career of the legendary Vince Lombardi who was one of the best and most loved figures to coach in theN.F.L. so it's a pleasure to report that playwright Eric Simonson has taken the life of this remarkable person and turned it into a solid and sometimes moving play "Lombardi".
Working from David Maraniss' 1999 biography" When Pride Still Mattered" Mr. Simonson zeros in on the year 1965 when he took over the Green Bay Packers and led a last place team to three consecutive N.F.L.championships,and how his obsession with winning affected his family life.
What makes this play work so well is the fact that Mr. Simonson understands his subject inside out and makes this legendary coach the gruff but lovable figure he was and in Dan Lauria's larger than life performance Mr. Lombardi is not just a magnificent coach but a man of great dignity and stature.
There is another notable performance by Judith Light as Lombardie's long suffering but supportive wife and the rest of the cast is for the most part first rate.
The director Thomas Kail has staged the play with a firm hand and has even managed to deal with the fact that the play is performed in the round surrounded by the audience reasonably well. However I think that this play would be even more effective in a standard theatre where the actors faces would be visable for the whole evening rather than looking at their backs part of the time.
But this is just a small and personal gripe. What matters most is that " Lombardi" is solidly crafted and beautifully acted and the best thing is that you don't have to be a football fan to be moved by it.
This is one play that is well worth seeing and the National Football League deserves alot of credit for sponsoring it.
At THE CIRCLE IN THE SQUARE THEATRE 50th STREET WEST OF BROADWAY N.Y.C.

BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON A REVIEW

It's hard to talk about a show that is creative,has good things in it,and makes it's points intellegently but winds up being [ to me anyway] unsatisfying. This is the case with the new rock musical " Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson".
The problem might be due to the fact that rock musicals have never been my cup of tea. Far too often I have gone to these exibits and my senses have been assaulted by unmelodic ear-shattering music and idiotic lyrics.
This latest example at least has creative minds behind it. It redefines America's controversial seventh president. This is the man who invented the Democratic Party, drove the Indians west and doubled the size of our nation. The show was written [book ] and directed by Alex Timbers and he has an inventive mind and a fair degree of intellegence,but political satire is hard to bring off for a whole evening and the irreverence in the treatment of the subject gets way out of hand long before the evening is over. The music and lyrics are by Michael Friedman and here too there is evedence of talent but his work is hard to judge when the sound design is so loud that intellegent judjement is impossible.
The cast works hard and Benjamin Walker is most engaging in the title role. Donyale Werle's set is all over the house and seems to be needlesly cluttered.
In short, "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson" is not to my taste but it's authors show talent and invention and this show should satisfy a fair amount of the crowd that attends the theatre these days.
Go and decide for yourself.
At THE BERNARD B. JACOBS THEATRE 242 WEST 45th STREET N.Y.C.

MRS. WARREN'S PROFESSION A REVIEW

There is nothing as gratifying for a theatregoer as the joy of discovery. In the sometimes cruel world of the Broadway this does not happen very often and when it does it can be a welcome change from the often second rate product we get in these expensive theatregoing days. It is a pleasure to report that "Mrs. Warren's Profession" which George Bernard Shaw wrote in 1894 is still capable of providing a stimulating theatre evening,and it is being given a first rate production by director Doug Hughes and a fine cast.

When it was first produced this play was considered immoral and was banned from having a New York showing in 1905. It focuses on Mrs. Warren who runs a chain of brothels in Victorian England in order to give her daughter a life of comfort, and her attempt to re-enter her life after years of estrangement. When her daughter finds out about Moms past she is appalled and wants nothing to do with her.

How well the play works depends on the actresses playing these two very strong willed women, and it here that the play is most fortunate. Cherry Jones [who is becoming Broadway's finest actress] is superb as the Mom who not only defends her profession, but sees it as employment for her girls.

As the strong willed daughter who has become a success in the business world Sally Hawkins [after a weak first act] shines in the climatic final scene in which the two women have their final showdown. It's a strong scene, as good as any of our modern plays can offer.

The play is handsomly designed and costumed by Scott Pask and Catherine Zuber respectivly and Kenneth Posner's lighting is just right.

While "Mrs. Warren's Profession " is not one of Shaw's best plays, it still provides a worthwhile and stimulating evening.

At THE AMERICAN AIRLINES THEATRE 227 WEST 42nd STREET N.Y.C.

THE BROADWAY SCENE-50 YEARS AGO--THE WRAP-UP

The season for comedy was better than most. It began with the Irish playwright Brendan Behan's untidy but often hilarious "The Hostage" boosted by Joan Littlewood's brilliant direction.
Neil Simon made his Broadway debut with the flimsy but hilariously funny "Come Blow Your Horn" and began his career as Broadway's top comedy playright. Jean Kerr gave us the delightfully witty "Mary, Mary" which became the comedy smash hit of the season, and "Rhinoceros" was Eugene Ionesco's dark comedic look at the human race shot into orbit by Zero Mostel's memorable performance.
"Period Of Adjustment" proved that Tennessee Williams[ talented as he is ]was out of his element trying to write a comedy, and "Under The Yum Yum Tree", Send Me No Flowers", "Critics Choice" and "Invitation To A March" had their good points but just were not good enough to compete with the better shows, and "Midgie Purvis" was a rickety comedy even with the great Tallulah Bankhead's brilliantly enthusiastic performance in the title role.
For revues we had "Vintage 60"which was friendly but totally out of place on Broadway and "Show Girl" with Carol Channing brilliantly comic in a number of funny sketches, but it was Mike Nichols and Elaine May with their hilarious two person revue that gave me my best Broadway experience that year. Just two people surrounded by talent.
There were two notable events Off-Broadway. The Phoenix Theatre,s mesmerizing take on "Hamlet" with Donald Madden giving a fine performance in the title role and Gene Genet's stunning play "The Blacks" beautifully directed by Gene Frankel.
For this incurable theatre geek it was a totally worthwhile season.

THE BROADWAY SCENE 50 YEARS AGO THE MUSICALS 1960-1961

It was a busy season for musicals with an even dozen bidding for acceptance. Of the dozen that came to town only two of them seemed truly successful. They were "Irma La Douce" with its' infectious music, brilliant direction by Peter Brook, and a dynamic performance by Elizabeth Seal, and "Carnival "with it's evocative music, brilliantly atmospheric staging by Gower Champion, and a fine company headed by the enchanting Anna Maria Alberghetti.
If the remaining ten were uneven in quality most provided a fair amount of entertainment. "Tenderloin" had a wonderful score and a problematic book. "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" had a weak book, a lively score, and a remarkably energetic performance by Tammy Grimes. "Wildcat" had some rousing songs and an engaging star in Lucille Ball but was otherwise a very weak show
"Do Re Me" had Phil Silvers and Nancy Walker as stars and was good fun because of them, and "Camelot" was stunning to look at but uninteresting to listen to.
"The Conquering Hero" had a funny book [based on a classic film] and a decent score but due to poor management was gone within a week.
"Thirteen Daughters" had a very engaging Don Ameche as star and handsome scenery and costumes, but was otherwise an impovershed salute to the then new state of Hawaii, and "The Happiest Girl In The World"tried to merge Aristophanes with Offenbach, but the result was a melodic but ponderous show.
The seasons' final musical was"Donnybrook" based on the film "The Quiet Man" and it was a pleasantly undistinguished,but decently entertaining show.
The next blog will wrap up the season.

THE BROADWAY SCENE 50 YEARS AGO THE DRAMAS 1960-1961

As we head into another New York theatre season, I thought it might be fun to look back on what was happening on Broadway fifty years ago. I was going into my last year of high school ,was totally in love with theatre and saw quite alot of it that year.

It was a season of fine dramas with great performances. We had Peter Glenville's spectacular production of "Becket" with Laurence Olivier and Anthony Quinn mesmerizing in the leading roles. Angela Lansbury and Joan Plowright were stunning in the squalid but riviting"A Taste Of Honey". "Advise And Consent" was an exciting political drama and "All The Way Home" was a lovely play with exquisite performances and won the Pulitzer Prize for drama that year. "The Wall" and " The Devil's Advocate" were both adapted from bestselling novels, but depite fine acting in both plays neither worked as drama and seemed heavy handed and dull as theatre.

"Big Fish, Little Fish" was a distinguished first play by the talented Hugh Wheeler and boasted some of the finest all-around acting of the season. "A Far Country" was an interesting look at the young Sigmund Freud's early experements with the human mind but "Mandingo" was an apallingly tastless look at slavery in the old south with bad acting and inept direction.
While" A Call On Kuprin" only ran 12 performances, it was a good, solid, theatrical look at the cold war, had some stunning scenery by Donald Oenslager, and first rate acting and direction. This was fine and sometimes exciting theatre and deserved a much better fate then it got.
"Face Of A Hero " was a dull, lifeless play that even Jack Lemmon's fine performance could not save but "Little Moon Of Alban" with Julie Harris giving a superb performance was a fine and sometimes moving look at Dublin during the political unrest of the 20s, and was far better than the 20 performances it ran.
My next blog will look at the season's musicals.









'

A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC--------------REVISITED

With almost nothing happening on the New York theatre scene until late September, I went to revisit Trevor Nunn's elegant bandbox rethinking of " A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC" with its two new leads Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch replacing Catherine-Zeta Jones and Angela Lansbury respectivly.
How do they compare with their predesessors? Well Ms. Peters is a fine actress and a wonderful singer and her rendition of the shows' best song "Send In The Clowns" is devestatingly beautiful,but her kewpie doll looks and generally cheerful disposition seemed at odds with her part and she never convinced me that she was a well traveled actress trying to make amends with her elderly and wise mother.
On the other hand, Ms. Stritch is wonderful as the mother delivering her lines with expert timing and doing her one solo "Laisons" with the skill of the superb actress that she is.
The rest of the show is in tip top shape and Hugh Wheeler's book and Stephen Sondeim's score seem even better now then they did when this production opened ten months ago even if the new orchestrations by Jason Carr don't serve Mr. Sondheim's classic score very well and can't even begin to compare with Jonathan Tunick's superb originals.
But despite certain reservations I may have this lovely rethinking of"A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC" is well worth seeing and provides one of the better theatre evenings in town.
AT THE WALTER KERR THEATRE 219 WEST 48th. STREET N.Y.C.

THE GRAND MANNER A REVIEW

While the New York theatre is taking it's summer snooze, one new play has opened that is worth mentioning. It is A.R. Gurney's new and extravagantly enjoyable play THE GRAND MANNER. In it this eminent and prolific playwright goes back to his youth when he traveled from his New Hampshire boarding school to New York City in 1948 to attend a performance of Shakespeare,s "Antony and Cleopatra"starring the great actress Katharine Cornell and went backstage after the performance to meet her. She signed his program, gave him a farewell handshake and departed.
This play is a re-imagined account of that meeting as he would have liked it to be. A far more elaborate meeting involving the great actress, her husband, and her stage manager. It is told with the same humor and affection that Mr. Gurney has brought to his other plays including"The Dining Room", "Love Letters", and my favorite of all "Sylvia". Once again Mr. Gurney proves himself to be one of our finest American playwrights and his play is being given a first rate production.
Under the very able stage direction of Mark Lamos the cast of four work beautifully together. As the great Ms. Cornell Kate Burton is wonderful and Boyd Gaines and Brenda Wehle are just as good in support, but it Bobby Steggert as the playrights alter-ego who turns in the most winning performance and again reveals himself as a most accomplished young actor.
THE GRAND MANNER is not a big or major work, but it's a lively and amusing valentine to the theatre and a warm and winning look at a bygone Broadway era.
AT THE MITZI E. NEWHOUSE THEATRE LINCOLN CENTER N.Y.C. THRU AUG.1st.

THE 2010 TONY AWARDS AN OVERVIEW

As one who has been watching the Tony telecasts since they began I must say that the one last night was the most boring one I have come across in years. None of this years musical sequences came off well and some of host Sean Hayes's routines were tastless in the extreme. This was unfortunate because Mr. Hayes is a real talent and should have been presented to much better advantage.
Another problem was that the nominated musicals weren't very strong to begin with. "Memphis" won the best musical award and it was an entertaining, crowd pleasing show to be sure, but I suspect that the real reason it got the award was because it was the only nominee with an original score. The others used pre-existing songs to tell their stories and while "Fela"was a more solid entertainment, it still [along with the other nominees] came across as a jukebox musical.
There weren't many upset victorys and the winners were all deserving of their awards even though I did not agree with all the results. I will say that I was very pleased that "Red" won the best play award. It fully deserved to win because it was a splendid play and gave me the best evening on Broadway I had all season. Not far behind it was "Time Stands Still" which was another worthwhile play, and that one is returning to Broadway in September. Worth seeing.
So another awards season is over. My only wish is that the Tonys should become more about excellence in the theatre and less about glitz and commercialisim and not be the crashing bore it was this year.
I will be posting sporadically over the summer months. Otherwise, see you in the fall.

COME FLY AWAY A REVIEW

Being a lifelong fan of Frank Sinatra, I was looking forward to choreographer Twyla Tharp's latest Broadway dance show with fond anticipation even though I have never been much of a fan of her choreographic style or her way of presenting her concepts. In her previous Broadway outings "Moving Out" and "The Times They Are A Changing",she used the songs of Billy Joel and Bob Dylan respectivly to tell her rather flimsy stories and and the results [to me at any rate] were heavy and unsatisfying. In her new show COME FLY AWAY Ms. Tharp is combining the great voice of Frank Sinatra with an excellent 19 piece on stage band playing many of Mr. Sinatra's original charts, but the story she is telling [something about four couples falling in and out of love] is even flimsier then her other two shows and the result is musically exciting but visually monotonous.
The idea`of combining live musicians with a recorded voice is a good one and Ms. Tharp has assembeled a talented group of dancers but while some of her sequences are theatrically effective I have always felt that her work would be more at home with a major dance company then in a Broadway theatre.
The settings by James Youmans, Lighting by Donald Holder, and costumes by Katherine Roth are elegently effective and the onstage band sounds teriffic,but to one theatregoer of long standing COME FLY AWAY is as pretentious as artificial jewelry and just about as valuable.
AT THE MARQUIS THEATRE 210 WEST 46th STREET N.Y.C.
We now are at the end of another New York theatre season. I will be posting my impression of the Tony Awards on Monday

COLLECTED STORIES A REVIEW

Donald Margulies is one of the better home grown playwrights on the scene at the moment. In plays like "Dinner With Friends", "Sight Unseen" and this seasons' excellent "Time Stands Still" he has had an ability to look at the human condition thru the eyes of ordinary people,and has created a gallery of fine, lifelike characters. Now we have the first Broadway production of his twelve year old off-Broadway play COLLECTED STORIES, and while it may not be quite up to some of his later works it is still a fine play and it is being given an extrodanarily effective production by the Manhattan Theatre Club.
In it Mr. Margulies looks at the complex relationship of two female writers. One is a celebrated New York author and the other one her young protege, and the play deals with the path the relationship takes when the young author finds success on her own. Maybe this story seems a bit padded as a two act play,[I think it would have been more effective as a one act play] Mr. Margulies' talent is always evident and under the intelligently planned direction of Lynne Meadow the cast of two are giving astonishingly fine performances.
Linda Lavin is giving one of her finest performances as the experienced author and Sara Paulson is first rate as her young protege.
Santo Loquastos' scenic design and Natasha Katz' lighting serve their purpose capably and Jane Greenwoods' costumes are just right.
COLLECTED STORIES may not be a play for the ages, but it shows Mr. Margulies in fine form and helped by his two talented actresses, it provides a fine theatre evening.
AT THE SAMUEL J. FRIEDMAN THEATRE 261 WEST 47th STREET N.Y.C.

SONDHEIM ON SONDHEIM A REVIEW

When it was announced that there was going to be another Broadway overview of Stephen Sondheims' work I wondered why there was a need for another Sondheim revue. The last one to come along [Putting It Together] was about ten years ago and it failed, and this year [in honor of his 80th birthday] there have been many tributes and concerts dealing with his remarkable body of work, so I couldn't see doing another one unless it brought something fresh and new to the material.
SONDHEIM ON SONDHEIM tries to be different. It was conceived by his long time collaborator and friend James Lapine, and his idea was to use video interviews with the great man himself and mix them in with the live performers. This concept does work well most of the time,but it is really a rehash of the familiar and the interviews may be facinating to the layman, but to anyone that has been following Sondheims' career or has read his excellent biography, they offer nothing new.
The cast is headed by Vanessa Williams, Tom Wopat and the magnificent Barbara Cook and they are all in fine form,but it is Ms. Cook who makes the strongest impression. She is a teriffic Sondheim interpreter and her legendary singing of Send In The Clowns is one of the high points of the entire season.
Mr. Lapine has staged the show admribly and the sets and videos by Beowulf Boritt and Peter Flaherty are artistic and visual masterpieces, but beyond the magnificent Ms.Cook and the stunning physical production, SONDHEIM ON SONDHEIM offers nothing new. Just the same old leftovers.
AT STUDIO 54 254 WEST 54th STREET N.Y.C.

EVERYDAY RAPTURE A FOLLOWUP THOUGHT

I didn't care much for EVERYDAY RAPTURE when I saw it off broadway last year and it's move to Broadway has not altered my opinion of it. It is still a flimsy sort of tru-ish story about a young woman's journey to semi-stardom built around the engaging personality of it's star and co-author [with Dick Scanlan] Sherie Rene Scott.
Trouble is that Ms. Scott is not telling a very interesting story, and as engaging as she is, she can't sustain it for the whole 90 minute running time.
The show uses songs associated with her career and an 5 peice band makes them sound teriffic in Tom Kitt's swinging orchestrations, but EVERYDAY RAPTURE runs out of steam long before it is over, and Ms. Scott has been used to better advantage in other shows. I am sure that Iam in the minority when I say this because most people seem to like it alot.
AT THE AMERICAN AIRLINES THEATRE 227 WEST 42 st. N.Y.C.

AMERICAN IDIOT A REVIEW

As one who is not familiar with the rock group"'Green Day" or their chart busting album "American Idiot" I did not know what to expect from the musical that has been made from it. I am not too hospitable to rock music in a theatrical setting. The music is generally too loud,the singing second rate and the plots mostly idiotic["Spring Awakening" one of the few exeptions"], so I am not a good customer for this sort of thing, so even though AMERICAN IDIOT has all the things I normally hate in musicals,I had a very good time at it. The songs[all from the album with afew additions] are not too ear peircing, the voices are mostly first rate and the plot which deals with three lifelong friends and the different life-paths they take is sturdy and sometimes honestly moving, which proves that most things can be appetizing enough if done right. and Michael Mayer has staged it with wit and snap.
The cast for the most part could not be better, and John Gallagher Jr, Stark Sands and Michael Esper are first rate as the three friends who are trying to survive in a post 9/11 world.
The show looks great with attractive and playable sets by Christine Jones and the music has been very well orchestrated by the talented Tom Kitt.
So while AMERICAN IDIOT is not the best show ever, the plot is better than most, the beat is infectious and the production is colorful. It adds up to a lively, colorful, and surprisingly moving show.
At THE ST. JAMES THEATRE 246 WEST 44th STREET N.Y.C.











































































































'

LA CAGE AUX FOLLIES A REVIEW

The Menier Chocolate Factory is an enterprising theatre in London that seems to be making a career of taking full scale Broadway musicals and rethinking them in more intimate terms. This company has already sent us elegent bandbox reconceptions of "Sunday In The Park With George" and "A Little Night Music"and they both provided fine theatre evenings. What they are up to at the moment is a bold and extravagantly entertaning re-thinking of the 1983 Harvey Fierstein/ Jerry Herman musical LA CAGE AUX FOLLIES.
What makes this production special is the emphasis that is put on Mr. Fierstein's sturdy book which tells of the deep love between two men who have been professional and personal partners for many years,and the current debate over the rights of same sex couples make the story more timely now then it was 27 years ago. Mr. Herman's music is as freshly melodic as it always was and his lyrics [as always] are first rate.
Terry Jonhnson's stage direction is brilliantly conceived and superbly executed and fits Lynne Page's lively choreography like a glove.
The cast could not be better,and Kelsey Grammer and Douglas Hodge are superb as the couple who survive many setbacks and still maintain their unbreakable bond. Mr Hodge was widely praised when he did this role in London and he is sure to get even more praise over here.Everyone else is performing at the top of their game and really understands the material.
The sets and costumes by Tim Shortall and Matthew Wright respectivly are fine and Jason Carr's skillful orchestrations for an eight peice band give the score a rich satisfying sound.
LA CAGE AUX FOLLIES is everything a revival should be and seldom is. Intelligently planned and brilliantly executed, it is a bold an satisfying theatre evening.
At THE LONGACRE THEATRE 220 WEST 48th STREET N.Y.C.

PROMISES, PROMISES A REVIEW

There are some shows that wear well over the years and some shows that don't. Take the musical PROMISES, PROMISES for example. When this musical was first produced in 1968 it was a smash hit. It had a wildly funny book by Neil Simon [based on the classic film "The Apartment"] , music by Burt Bacharach that introduced a new sound to Broadway and bright lyrics by Hal David. The show ran 1,281 performances and deserved every one of them, but the show was never considered a classic then ,and the 42 years since that first production seems to have robbed it of the fizz it once had, even in this brightly colored and shiny new revival.
Mr Simon's book deals with an office worker who lends his apartment out to his bosses so they can engage in some hanky panky with the female employees and winds up falling for a secretary who is in a relationship with one of the executives, but what was funny four decades ago now seems rather tame and old hat and while the Bacharach/David score is still attractive, time has taken away some of it's freshness.
While Rob Ahsford's stage direction is nothing special his choreography is well planned and generally lively and Sean Hays makes a smashing Broadway debut as the office clerk, even though he didn't erase the memory of Jerry Orbach's performance in the original. Kristin Chenoweth is not so well cast as the secretary.It's not that she is not good. She is very good,but the role is not right for her. The best performance is by Katie Finnernan as a barfly who comes on to the clerk.She only appears at the top of the second act, and all but walks off with the show just as the great Marian Mercer did in the original.
Scott Pask's sets are colorful and attractive and Jonathan Tunick has reworked his original orchestrations with his usual skill and knowhow, but even in this spiffy revival PROMISES, PROMISES is not the freshly original show it once was.
AT THE BROADWAY THEATRE 1681 BROADWAY AT 53rd STREET N.Y.C.

LULU A THOUGHT

I spent an interesting afternoon at the Met this today watching composer/librettest Alban Berg's final opera LULU and I thought that it was fascinating if not particularly stimulating.
Berg was working on the third act of his opera when he died. The unfinished version premiered in 1937 at the Zurich Opera,but was not completed until 1977 by the composer Friedrich Cerha. It premiered at the Met in 1979 and has been performed there sporadicly ever since, but I found this tale of a a young girl of the streets rather rough going, especially with Berg's atonal defiantly unmelodic score.
LULU is fascinating and never boring, but for one member of the audience it was a cold and uninvolving work, but worth looking at again.
AT THE METROPOLITAN OPERA HOUSE LINCOLN CENTER N.Y. N.Y.

THE ADDAMS FAMILY A REVIEW

This one sounded like a natural. I mean, how can you go wrong? A musical based on the lovable, off-beat characters created by the great cartoonist/humorist Charles Addams, a book by the very capable authors of "Jersey Boys", two ticket selling stars and a well regarded composer/lyricst. It surely sounded like it would be the highlight of the season, a genuinly popular smash hit.
Well, the show has arrived and were my instincts right? Of course not, because if ever a good idea for a musical has been bungled this is the show.The musical in question is THE ADDAMS FAMILY,and considering all the hard work that went into it, what has emerged is [to put mildly] a disappointingly limp musical, put together without any wit or sparkle.
Mr. Addams' lovable characters were the basis for a successful t.v. show and two popular motion pictures, but they were just characters. There was never any real plot development or emotional pull,so the book writers Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice have invented a story concerning the daughter of household who wants to bring her boyfriend and his parents home to meet the family. Sound familier? Just like "La Cage Aux Folles",only that was told with wit and passion. Mr. Brickman and Mr. Elice have substituted lame jokes and woefully embarrasing dialog. They are not helped at all by Andrew Lippa's relentlessly routine music and schoolboy lyrics, and even Larry Hochman's fine orchestrations can't lift most of the songs out of the trash basket.
The show started out with two Englishmen, Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch directing and designing the scenery and costumes,but it's common knowledge that Jerry Zaks was called in during the stormy out of town tryout[ taking creative consultant billing] and his work is fine considering the material he is working with.
Nathan Lane works like a coal heaver to put over his material, but the odds are almost insurmountable, even with his considerable talent,and Bebe Newirth is saddled with a poorly conceived role and substandard material.
So, while THE ADDAMS FAMILY is not the horror it was made out to be, it is all the same, a well meaning botch. By the way, I did leave the theatre humming one tune, but not one of Mr.
Lippa's originals. It was Vic Mizzy's catchy theme from the t.v. show.
At THE LUNT-FONTANNE THEATRE 205 WEST 46th STREET N.Y.C.

ENRON A REVIEW

There is a good, solid and sometimes devestatingly effective drama buried under the pretentious twaddle that playwright Lucy Prebble and director Rupert Goold have heaped upon Ms.Preeble's play ENRON.
This tale of corporate greed which resulted in one of the biggest economic debacles this country has ever known could have been a rippingly good yarn about how the greed of the 90s translated into the economic collapse of the 21st century,but under Mr. Goolds' frantic staging which makes
unnecessary use of videos,flashing lights and piercingly loud sound effects it resembles not so much a play as an out of hand childrens birthday party.
While this play started out in London last year where it became a smash hit,it is cast with locals for its Broadway outing and they all work hard with Norbert Leo Butz, Gregory Itzin and Stephen Kunken giving notable accounts of themselves amid all the noise that surrounds them.
Ms. Prebble seems to have a real talent for playwrighting and her play does have some fine moments in it, but in this misconceived and noisy production, ENRON is lost in its' pretensions and almost done in by its unnecessary excesess.
At THE BROADHURST THEATRE 235 WEST 44th STREET N.Y.C.

MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET A REVIEW

On December 4, 1956, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley got together at the Sun Records Studio in Memphis Tennessee for an impromptu jam session which was overseen by the label's owner Sam Phillips. That is the premise of the lightweight, but lively musical MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET.
It's a slim idea to build a whole show on and Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux [the authors of the book] haven't done much to flesh it out. The book never gets inside these music legends minds and we never learn much about them as people so the show is nothing more than a jukebox musical with alot of signature songs associated with the artists involved.
But the songs are the thing and when Levi Kreis[ as Jerry Lee Lewis] rips into "Great Balls Of Fire" or Eddie Clendening [as Elvis] belts "Hound Dog "out of the park the show rocks the very foundation of the theatre and stampedes the audience.
Lance Guest and Robert Britton Lyons are fine as Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins respectivly,Hunter Foster does what he can with the poorly written role of Sam Phillips and Elizabeth Stanley is excellent as Elvis's date and sings her two songs well.
While Eric Schaeffer's staging is mostly routine, Chuck Mead's musical arrangements are first rate and the principals play them expertly.
While MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET is nothing to write home about, it still provides a cheerful evening if you aren't too critical, and the songs are choice 50s Rock n Roll.
At THE NEDERLANDER THEATRE 208 WEST 41st. STREET N.Y,C.

FENCES A REVIEW

In his 1987 prize play FENCES playright August Wilson created one of his most memorable characters in the person of Troy Maxson,a hard working blue collar worker who wants nothing more than to survive and to keep his family together. As played by the great James Earl Jones in the 1987 original ,this was a man of great nobility and stature. In this long awaited Broadway revival Denzel Washington [another fine actor better known for his movies rather then his stage work] offers a more playful and and earthy take on the role and he is just as effective in his own way as Mr Jones was. He has the talent and stature to bring off this difficult and challanging role and he offers a triumphantly valid performance. He is evenly matched by the great Viola Davis as his long suffering wife of 18 years. Ms. Davis is a superb actress and she acts this tricky and difficult role triumphantly.
Aside from these two topflight performances the rest of this revival is spotty. Kenny Leons' stage direction is intermittntly effective being good in the big scenes and underpowered in the quieter moments,and the rest of the acting company is fine if not exceptional.
The Santo Loquasto sets, Constanza Romero costumes and Brian MacDevitt lighting are first rate and there is some effective background music by jazz great Branford Marsalis.
So there are many fine points in this revival of FENCES and it is well worth seeing, but for one aisle-sitter of long standing there was a slight blandness and lack of energy that hung over the entire evening. For me the show needed a little more get up and go.
At THE CORT THEATRE 138 WEST 48th STREET N.Y.C.

THE GLASS MENANGERIE A REVIEW

Getting right to the point,the Roundabout theatres' new production of THE GLASS MENANGERIE is sublime, magical, terrific or any other superlitive you care to heap on it. Director Gordon Edelstein has staged Tennessee Williams' masterpiece with such care and know-how that it becomes [for me anyway] a breth of fresh air in a rather stale theatre season.
This is more of a memory piece than a play with all the action coming from the narrators' mind as he recounts his memorys of his frowzy Southern belle of a mother and his lame sister, and the quartet of actors present constitute the finest ensemble acting to grace a play in a long time.
As the overbearing mom Judith Ivey is simply magnificent. I was a toddler in 1945 when Laurette Taylor played this role and I understand that her performance was legendary, but I doubt that even she came up to Ms. Iveys' fresh and intelligent take on the role, and as her lame daughter Keira Keeley gives a radient performance. Patch Darragh gives a fine account of himself as the narrator/son and Michael Mosley is just right as a possible sutor for the daughter.
This production came to New York by way of the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven Conn.where it recieved rave reviews. They were not in error because this fresh take on THE GLASS MENANGERIE is a marvelous theatre evening and one of the few don't miss events of the season.
At THE LAURA PELS THEATRE 111 WEST 46th STREET N.Y.C. THRU JUNE 13th.

THE SUBJECT WAS ROSES A THOUGHT

The vital off-broadway Pearl theatre company ends its 26th season with a workmanlike production of Frank D. Gilroys' 1964 Pulitzer Prize winning THE SUBJECT WAS ROSES. This kitchen-sink drama about past mistakes and misunderstandings in a post W.W.two family is mostly what it was 46 years ago. Maybe a little slow-starting but rich in plot development and well defined characterizations. The cast of three is fine and the stage direction by Amy Wright is well thought out and generally efective.
I still have very fond memories of that 1964 production and this one doesn't erase any of them, but it is still a good production of a fine play. Worth checking out.
At THE N.Y. CITY CENTER STAGE II 131 WEST 55th STREET N.Y.C THRU MAY 9th.

THE FLYING DUTCHMAN A THOUGHT

The Met continues its' first rate season with an excellent re-creation of its' 1989 production of Richard Wagners'1843 opera THE FLYING DUTCHMAN. This ghost tale about a mysterious sea captain cursed to sail forever unless he finds unconditional love of a woman is a fascinating creation boasting some soaring music ,and remarkably colorful orchestrations which conductor Kazushi Ono understands completly. The great Met orchestra has never sounded better.
Everything works, from August Everdings' expert staging to Hans Schavernoch' stunning sets.
THE FLYING DUTCHMAN is fascinating and the staging is first rate. Another fine evening at the opera.
At THE METROPOLITAN OPERA HOUSE LINCOLN CENTER N.Y.C.

LEND ME A TENOR A REVUE

With this revival of LEND ME A TENOR,Broadway has aquired something as rare as a bank mistake in your favor or an unexpected tax refund, a truly funny and sometimes riotous theatre evening.

This is a most pleasant surprise to me because I was not a big fan of Ken Ludwigs' 1986 farce about the opera racket when it was done on Broadway three years after its first production in London. This proves as much as anything that that going to the theatre with an open mind is a good thing to do.
Slapstick comedy is one of the most difficult of theatre feats to pull off but director Stanley Tucci [a fine actor himself in his freshman outing on Broadway] has managed it superbly,orchestrating the pratfalls and door slamming with split second timing and a wonderful sense of humor.
He is helped enormously by one of the most talented and enthusiastic cast in New York, and Anthony LaPaglia, Tony Shalhoub, Justin Bartha and all the rest are having as much fun on stage as the audience I saw it with was having out front.
As I said before I was not a big fan of this show 21 years ago, but with Mr Tuccis' superb slam-bang staging and a beautifully chosen cast LEND ME A TENOR is a fine example of a classic farce and unless my judgement is way off should be an unqualified crowd pleaser.
At THE MUSIC BOX THEATRE 239 WEST 45th STREET N.Y.C.

A BEHANDING IN SPOKANE A REVUE

The talented Irish playwright Martin McDonagh has always been well recieved in this country. I have attended most of his plays that have transferred to Broadway,and in efforts like "The Beauty Queen Of Leenane" and The Lieutenant Of Inishmore" he has created characters that speak beautiful words and are good if sometimes nontraditional people. While all of his previous works have come from his native country, his latest A BEHANDING IN SPOKANE was written here with Broadway its main destination, and its arrival was regarded as a major event of the spring theatre season.
Unfortunatly my inability to like or appreciate almost anything in this tale of a bitter down and outer who lost his hand in a fight some 47 years ago grew almost nightmarish. I thought it had the most unpleasant characters and situations I have seen in years,and its lack of even a touch of real acceptable human behavior made this a rather depressing evening for this longtime fan of not only Mr McDonagh,but of Irish theatre in general.
This is to bad because John Crowley has staged the show beautifully, and the cast of four are outstanding. Christopher Walken, Sam Rockwell, Anthony Mackie and Zoe Kazan play together with such precision and skill that they are a joy to watch even though they are playing characters that are totally unreal and unpleasant, and Scott Pasks' scenery and costumes do their job effectivly and well.
I might add that many in the audience I saw it with found the show to be a real hoot,but I found A BEHANDING IN SPOKANE to be loopy, droopy, and dopy.
At THE GERALD SCHOENFELD THEATRE 236 WEST 45th STREET N.Y.C.

WHEN THE RAIN STOPS FALLING A REVIEW

The good things in WHEN THE RAIN STOPS FALLING are so good that I feel like Scrooge for not liking it. Andrew Bovells' play is arresting in its form as it goes back and forth in time between the years 1959 and 2039 and it has been given a beautiful production, but I found it to be a cold and uninvolving work for the stage..
The play deals with four generations of the same family. Every relationship from parents to children to spouses to lovers is explored in a back and forth time travel concept, but Mr. Bovell never makes the time changes clear,and that is the main problem with his play. I was never sure what period of time I was in and because of that any concept of what the playwright was trying to say was lost.
This is too bad because there are many lovely things in the production. Director David Cromer has staged the show masterfully and the acting company is from top to bottom beautiful.
But this time the good things can't hide the sad fact that WHEN THE RAIN STOPS FALLING is a confused and confusing play that never lives up to its' concept or potential.
AT THE MITZI E. NEWHOUSE THEATRE LINCOLN CENTER N.Y.C. THRU APRIL 18th.

ANYONE CAN WHISTLE A THOUGHT

The popular Encores series of little known and underperformed musicals in concert winds up its 15 th season with a spiffy revival of ANYONE CAN WHISTLE.
This is the legendary Arthur Laurents-Stephen Sondheim musical flop that ran only 9 performances on Broadway in 1964. I was at the closing night of the original production[ and have the playbill to prove it] and loved every minute of its' offbeat, quirky and undisiplined book and new style score.
Now after 46 years it's a pleasure to hear Stephen Sondheim's score performed with the original Don Walker orchestrations, and it is splendidly conducted by Rob Berman leading the always teriffic Encores orchestra.
Forget about Arthur Laurents' convoluted book dealing with a corrupt mayoress who invents a fake miracle to save her bankrupt town. It was a mess in 1964 and is still a mess in its cut down David Ives version.It's the score that matters, and what a score it is.
The cast is perfect from top to bottom,especially Donna Murphy as the corrupt mayoress and Sutton Foster as the head nurse of the local insane asylum,and director/choreographer Casey Nicholaw keeps the show moving at top speed, and has provided some zippy dances as well.
Mr. Sondheim is celebrating his 80th birthday this year, and it is fitting that his famous failure should be seen at this time.
Even back in 1964 ANYONE CAN WHISTLE was a true demonstration of Sondheims' genius and Encores is to be congratulated for giving us a chance to see it again.
At THE N.Y. CITY CENTER 131 WEST 55th STREET N.Y.C. APRIL 8THRU APRIL11.

NEXT FALL A REVUE

It's always exciting to go to the theatre and discover a fresh voice with something to say and say it with humor, honesty and dramatic force. That voice belongs to playwright Geoffrey Nauffts and his maden Broadway effort NEXT FALL is a play that heralds the arrival of a major talent.
Mr. Nauffts tells the story of a gay couple and their struggle for acceptance in a society that is still sharply divided over same-sex marriage. The subject of faith and human connection is also explored with an understanding rare in todays' home grown plays,and director Sheryl Kaller [making an impressive Broadway debut] has staged it beautifully getting the best out of her acting company.
Patrick Breen and Patrick Heusinger are first rate as the couple the story revolves around and the rest of the cast could not be better.
By telling its' story simply and honestly NEXT FALL marks the arrival of a fresh new American playwright and is in a small way a cause for celebration.
At THE HELEN HAYES THEATRE 240 WEST 44th STREET N.Y.C.

LOOPED A REVUE

Tallulah Bankhead was one of the entertainment worlds most colorful characters. Be it on radio, stage, or screen, Ms. Bankhead was larger then life, and Valerie Harper[a talented actress herself] has a ball playing her in Matthew Lombardo's minor but sometimes entertaining comedy LOOPED.
The time is summer 1965 and the place is a recording studio in Los Angeles California where Ms.Bankhead has gone to redub one line for what was to be her final movie. She arrives drunk and high and in a grueling eight hour session she tosses her customery insults and zingers at her hapless recording engineer and her harried producer/ director.
You may wonder why it would take all day to record just one line of dialog, but you have to remember that this is Tallulah, and she is apt to say or do anything on a moments notice so nobody knows what this foul mouthed, outspoken talented lady will say next.
The trouble with Mr. Lombardos' play seems to be its' generally flat dialog and plain lack of excitement, and the stage direction by Rob Ruggiero is right off the assembley line without much in the way of wit or invention. Still,every so often Mr. Lombardo comes up with a bright scene or peice of dialog that shows what he is capable of doing and Ms.Harper is simply sensational as the drunk pill addicted Tallulah, and she is capably supported by Brian Hutchison an her put upon producer and Michael Mulheren as the sound engineer.
So while LOOPED is unexciting and sometimes on the level of low grade stock Ms. Harper is a hoot and single-handedly makes the play entertaining and just maybe worth a visit.
At THE LYCEUM THEATRE 149 WEST 45th STREET N.Y.C.

RED A REVUE

Mark Rothko was one of the better known American abstract painters of the 20th century. In his later years he battled depression, alcaholism and personal demons, but his genius was always there. That genius is celebrated in John Logan's exciting and entertaining new play RED.
We first encounter Mr Rothko in 1958. He has been comissioned to paint murals for the about to be opened Four Seasons restaurant in New York and hires an assistant to stretch canvas, mix paints, and buy Chinese food. The play examines the complex and sometimes explosive relationship between this disturbed genius and his young assistant.
This is playwright Logan's first New York effort [ he has had a number of plays done in London]and many of the people who did it in London last year are repeating their assignments here.
Michael Grandage's staging, Christopher Oram,s costumes and set design, and Neil Austin's lighting could not be better.
As the explosive genius Alfred Molina gives his best performance yet [and that is saying alot for he is a splendid actor] and Eddie Redmayne is titanic as the assistant. This role won him a bunch of awards in London, and he reveals himself as a stage actor of uncommon gifts. These are the only two actors on stage and no more are needed.
Fine staging and first rate production values combined with a fine play make RED a true occasion in the theatre,and a high point of a spotty season on Broadway.
At THE JOHN GOLDEN THEATRE 252 WEST 45th STREET N.Y.C.

ALL ABOUT ME A REVUE

How you react to ALL ABOUT ME [a cabaret act unwisely being presented in a Broadway theatre]depends on how you feel about Michael Feinstein and Dame Edna Everage[in real life Barry Humphries], the two wildly different personalities the show is built around.
Mr Feinstein is a fine interpeter of the great American songbook. His mellow croon and easy style go well with a cocktail and a good meal,but he seems out of his element in his present surroundings, especially when he tries to match wits with the outragous humor of Dame Edna.
Dame Edna is another story altogether. Her wild performing style had many in the audience rolling in the aisles with laughter. I was not one of them and after about fifteen minutes I had enough of her over the top humor.
Sometimes two totally different personalities can work well together but this is not the case here. The two stars seem to be in a constant battle for the spotlight and Dame Edna's overpowering demenor is clearly the winner.
For some, ALL ABOUT ME may offer great satisfaction. For me it was a cabaret act in the wrong neighborhood.
At THE HENRY MILLER THEATRE 124 WEST 43rd STREET N.Y.C.

MR. AND MRS. FITCH A REVUE

Douglas Carter Beane is one of the more reputable playwrights working today. In plays like "The Little Dog Laughed" and "As Bees In Honey Drown" Mr. Beane has tapped into the problems of simple humans with humor and honesty.However MR. AND MRS. FITCH his latest work is not one of his better efforts.
This time he is writing about two married gossip columnists who are having trouble finding the juicy morsels for their columns so they start making them up.
Mr. Beane sometimes does get in some scathing barbs about truth and fiction in the gossip columns,but in trying to write in an early Neil Simon style he hurls his jokes and one liners at the audience rather recklessly.
Some of his jokes are quite funny, but they come at such a rapid pace that you miss some of them, and instead of leaving the theatre satisfied you leave mearly exhausted.
The cast of two are fun. John Lithgow and Jennifer Ehle aquit themselves well enough even if they don't seem entirely comfortable in their roles and director Scott Ellis does his best to field Mr. Beans' gag-attack on the senses.
MR. AND MRS. FITCH is not a bad way to spend an evening,but its'chronic case of the funnies wears out its' welcome long before it is over.
At THE SECOND STAGE THEATRE 305 WEST 43rd STREET N.Y.C.

THE MIRACLE WORKER A REVUE

I am one of the few people that never thought that William Gibson's 1959 drama THE MIRACLE WORKER was a great play, but the flaws it had [mostly in play construction] were more or less covered over by a classic final scene, memorable performances by Anne Bancroft, young Patty Duke and an amazing cast,and stunning direction by Arthur Penn.

The relationship of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan [the teacher who taught Ms. Keller to communicate in the real world] is one of the worlds' most inspiring stories and does not need rehashing here, but this first Broadway revival is misconceived, underdirected, and somewhat blandly acted.

The big [and I think fatal] mistake was doing it in the round with the spectators surrounding the stage. This presented a huge and maybe unsolvable problem for a director. How do you engage an audience in something that requires constant eye contact with the actors? Director Kate Whoriskey [who did a superb job with the play "Ruined" last year] hasn't been able to solve that problem so the actors spend part of the evening with their back to the audience. At todays prices that is not a good deal.

To be honest, the final scene [where teacher finally breaks thru to student] still packs an emotional punch and the two leads, Allison Pill and young Abigail Breslin give good, and sometimes fine accounts of themselves and the rest of the cast is o-k if not great,but being good is not enough to hide the fact that 50 years later THE MIRACLE WORKER is a flawed and sometimes dull play.

At THE CIRCLE IN THE SQUARE THEATRE 1633 BROADWAY N.Y.C.

HAMLET-------------THE OPERA-----------A THOUGHT

Shakespear's HAMLET is considered by many to be the greatest play ever written in the English language, so I was looking forward to seeing the opera the 19th century composer Ambroise Thomas made from it at the Met this afternoon. It was for the most part worth seeing except for one thing. It wasn't very good.
Composed in 1868, it was last seen at the Met in1897 and it's not hard to see why.The music sounds like Verdi or Puccini on an off day, and the transformation from play to opera is clumsy and unsatisfying. To make matters worse, the production[directed by two gentlemen from France ,Patrice Caurier and Moshe Leiser] is ill-conceived and poorly designed.
The opera is generally well sung and very well conducted byLouis Langree,but instead of being truly transformed, this greatest of all plays has been forced into a medium that is not a great fit for it.
In short HAMLET as an opera does not work.

THE NOSE A THOUGHT

The Met continues it's successful policy of being new and different with the American premiere of Dmitri Shostakovich's opera THE NOSE.
Based on a story by Nikolai Gogol and composed in 1928,it deals with a man who wakes up one morning, finds his nose missing and his attempt to find it.
Working from Shostakovich's facinating, atonal , and well orchestrated score, director William Kentridge has devised a smashing production mixing live actors with stunning video effects and coming up with a concept so stunning that the audience I saw it with gave it an ovation at the end that seldom greets an unorthodox work like this.
To be sure, this will not be to everyone's taste, and is sure to have some people wondering what the Met is coming to, but to those willing to take a chance on a new, nontraditional work; THE NOSE provides a facinating and rewarding evening at the opera.
At THE METROPOLITAN OPERA HOUSE LINCOLN CENTER N.Y.C.

ATTILA A THOUGHT

There is nothing better than the joy of discovery and last night I discovered a gem of an opera in one of Verdi's little known works. His early. obscure work ATTILA had it's debut at the Met and was an interesting and sometimes rousing work.
This 1846 opera deals with civilzation's encounter with barbarism and has rousing choral interludes and first rate singing.
Riccardo Muti[in his Met debut conducts with expert verve,and Pierre Audi's stage direction is full of snap.
All in all a fine, and most unusual evening at the opera.
AT THE METROPOLITAN OPERA HOUSE LINCOLN CENTER N.Y.C

HARD TIMES A THOUGHT

I have always found the works of Charles Dickens to be a good source for stage adaptation[Nicholas Nickelby, A Christmas Carol], and now the Pearl Theatre Co. is presenting a beautiful version of another classic Dickens novel HARD TIMES. Dickens' long novel about the colorful characters of Coketown England has been wonderfully well adapted by Stephen Jeffreys and is acted with superb relish by a talanted cast of six under the expert staging of J. R. Sullivan.
The Pearl Theatre Company is one of off Broadway's treasures, and they are to be highly commended for providing this theatre season with a gem of a play.
I had a great time at HARD TIMES. Go see it.
At THE N.Y. CITY CENTER STAGE 2 131 WEST 55th STREET N.Y.C. THRU MARCH 28th.

CLOTHES FOR A SUMMER HOTEL A REVIEW

There is no doubt that Tennessee Williams has always been considered a giant among American playrights, but most of his great works were created in the 1940s and 1950s. After The Night Of The Iguana in 1961 Williams started a decline so severe that none of his plays [after Iguana] fared well, and some of them were outright disasters.

For the last couple of years the excellent White Horse Theater Company has been revisiting some of his rarely seen works. What they are up to at the moment is an evocative and sometimes wonderful revival of Mr. Williams' last Broadway attempt CLOTHES FOR A SUMMER HOTEL, and I wish that the play was nearly as good as the production it is getting now.

This is Mr. Williams' self described "ghost play" in which he imagines a final meeting between F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda at the gates of the asylum where she was institutionalized until her death in 1948, but even with two larger than life characters at it's center the play seemed [to me] a fascinating but cloudy, murky and unsatisfying work.

Still,there are good things here,starting with the remarkably fluid staging of Cyndy A. Marion. Ms. Marion is one of the better directors working in New York at the moment. She really under stands Williams' plays and has managed to make even this dark, dour play more animated and palateble than it has any right to be, and she has gotten fine performances from a first rate cast.

The production values are beyond excellent, and the set by John C. Scheffler and Randall Parsons is one of the best designed and executed sets that I have seen all season.

CLOTHES FOR A SUMMER HOTEL closed after only 15 performances in 1980 after a severe critical bashing. I did not see that production so I have no idea if the bashing was deserved. This revised version doesen't work either, but it is worth looking at again and the superior production values and Ms. Marion's expert staging may make it up to you.
At THE HUDSON GUILD THEATRE 441 WEST 26th STREET N.Y.C. THRU FEB. 21ST.

FANNY A REVIEW

One of New York's happiest events is Encores presentations of Broadway musicals in concert, focusing on scores that are rarely heard,or not heard often enough. For the second show of it's fifteenth season this vital organization is presenting an excellent production of FANNY, and it is a joy to hear Harold Rome's truly fine score sung as well as it is here.
When it first opened in 1954 it was a long run hit [ 888 performances] despite the fact that it was a simple story involving four people that was overproduced and sometimes overpopulated. As a stagestruck 11 year old, I loved it, and the performances of Ezio Pinza and Walter Slezak in the leading roles have stayed with me ever since that time.
In adapting Marcel Pagnol's trilogy of plays S. N. Behrman and Joshua Logan created a book that seemed heavy handed and ponderous. Most of this has been eliminated in the the skillful concert adaptation by David Ives, so now the emphasis is on Harold Rome's soaring music and skillful lyrics, and they sound as fresh as ever in Phillip J. Lang's original orchestrations, and the great Encores orchestra is conducted expertly by Rob Berman.
The singing is beyond first rate and Marc Bruni's staging is top notch.
Many thanks to Encores for reviving FANNY and bringing back one of the 1950s most underrated scores.
At the N.Y. CITY CENTER 131 WEST 55th STREET N.Y.C. Feb 4th thru Feb 7th.

TIME STANDS STILL A REVIEW

The horror of war and it's lasting effect on humans is the main idea of Donald Margulies's solid and sometimes gripping new play TIME STANDS STILL.
It is the story of Sara, a photographer and James, a journalist who have been together for years and share a common passion for documenting the realities of war,but when Sara is seriously injured taking pictures they are forced to return home and face the prospect of a conventional life style.
It's a provacative premise for a play and Mr Margulies gives it an honest and sympatico treatment. He is greatly aided by Daniel Sullivan's adroit staging and a cast of four that play together beautifully.
As the scarred photographer Laura Linney is marvelous ,proving once again what a fine actress she is, and Brian D'Arcy James is heartbreakingly effective as her journalist partner. They are given superb support by Alicia Silverstone and Eric Bogosian as their well meaning if somewhat overbearing friends.
While it may not be a major work, TIME STANDS STILL is another notable play from a talented playwright,and it should have a long and happy life.
At THE SAMUEL J. FRIEDMAN THEATRE 261 WEST 47th STREET N.Y.C.

THE ORPHAN'S HOME CYCLE PART 3 A REVIEW

Now that the final part of Horton Foot's remarkable three part biographical epic THE ORPHAN'S HOME CYCLE has opened, I can finally say that this is the peak of the season so far and will be remembered by me as one of the best events I have seen in over 55 years of theatregoing.
Part three [subtitled The Story Of A Family] begins with the author becoming a father for the first time,and ends with the death of the head of the family and the playright's resolve to go into the theatre.
As with the other two parts, Michael Wilson's staging is remarkably fluid, the acting company work so well together that they are a joy to see, and the sets, costumes, and lighting are part and parcel of a beautiful experience that no serious theatregoer can afford to miss.
THE ORPHAN'S HOME CYCLE is memorable and unmissable. A truly remarkable theatre adventure,and the best three evenings you will ever have at the theatre.
At THE SIGNATURE THEATRE COMPANY 555 WEST 42nd STREET N.Y.C Thru May 8th.

A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE A REVIEW

Except for Death Of A Salesman, I have always thought that A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE is Arthur Miller's best play. This great American tragedy about a Brooklyn longshoreman's unatural attraction to his 17 year old neice and the shattering effect it has on his wife was first presented in 1955 as part of a double bill of one acts, and was a moderate success at that time[ 149 performances] with Van Heflin in the leading role. I thought that it was wonderful then[I was only 12 years old at the time] and I thought it was still wonderful in it's two major Broadway revivals, and in a brilliant Off-Broadway one in 1965.
Now this great play takes on a new life in director Gregory Mosher's remarkably effective staging. It is also blessed by an outstanding acting company with Liev Schreiber,Scarlett Johansson, and Jessica Hecht powerfully effective in the three central rolls. Ms. Johansson is especially notable as the neice who has the guts to stand up to her overprotective uncle.
The settings by John Lee Beatty and the lighting by Peter Kaczorowski catch the mood of the play brilliantly and Jane Greenwood's costumes are right on the mark.
This A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE is a memorable revival of a classic play.
At THE CORT THEATRE 138 WEST 48th STREET N.Y.C.

PRESENT LAUGHTER A REVIEW

The plays of Noel Coward can be tricky to pull off. They require the lightest touch in the acting and staging departments,and this touch is very much in evidence in Nicholas Martin's bright, lively staging of PRESENT LAUGHTER.
This is Mr Coward's light comedy about getting old while trying to stay young. It is about an aging, self-absorbed,and self pitying actor trying to stay young at any cost. Written in 1939 and first done on Broadway in 1946[with Clifton Webb in the leading role] , this has become one of Mr. Coward's most durable plays. It is full of wit and sophistication,and if it is done right can be quite touching as well.
This production is almost always on the right track. As the aging actor trying to challange Father Time, Victor Garber could not be improved upon. He has the wit and skill to make what could have become an annoying egnomaniac into a likeable and engaging person. He is backed up by a strong supporting cast, and Mr. Martin's staging is full of zip and zing.
The scenery and costumes by Alexander Dodge and Jane Greenwood respectivly are first rate, and Rui Rita's lighting sets them off superbly.
While it is not a classic, or even first rate Coward, this production of PRESENT LAUGHTER is bright, witty, and very satisfying.
At THE AMERICAN AIRLINES THEATRE 227 WEST 42nd STREET N.Y.C.

CARMEN A THOUGHT

The amazing Metropolitan Opera has done it again. Using a brilliant new concept by Richard Eyre [the talented theatre director making his Met debut] the Met has come up with a magnificent new take on everyone's favorite opera CARMEN.
Mr.Eyre has taken this old favorite and made it into a sexy, action filled masterpiece, and in the title role Elina Garanca generates so much erotic heat that she almost sears the paint off Rob Howell's brilliantly inventive scenery, and his costumes are attractive, colorful and serve the
production well.
This is a CARMEN for the 21st century. It is beautifully sung,very well conducted by Yannick Nezet-Seguin, and has a sexiness and inventiveness rarely found in other productions of this old favorite.
All in all, another memorable afternoon at the opera.
At THE METROPOLITAN OPERA HOUSE LINCOLN CENTER N.Y.C.

STIFFELIO A THOUGHT

STIFFELIO is not one of Verdi's better known operas, but the Met Opera has[for the first time since 1998] revived it in a superb production that should make it better known.
It deals with seduction, lust, and forgivness and i.s blessed by some incredibly beautiful and romantic music. It needs a conductor who understands Verdi's concept and it has the perfect man in Placido Domingo who is as expert in the pit as he is onstage.
Expertly staged and designed, this STIFFELIO is a gem, and it's good to have it back.
At THE METROPOLITAN OPERA HOUSE LINCOLN CENTER N.Y.C