THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ON THE PREVIEWING "SPIDERMAN"

So much attention has been focused on "SPIDER-MAN-TURN OFF THE DARK" since it went into rehersal last August, and the problems it has run into since going into it's never-ending preview period that many of the country's major theatre critics have already weighed in with their reviews. It was supposed to have it's official opening around Christmas. That got pushed back to January,then February, and now [tenetivly] March 15th. I have no idea what shape this large, ambitious, and noisy musical was in when it first previewed back on November 28th, but based on the preview I attended on Thursday evening it might be a good idea if it never opened at all.
I suppose that director Julie Taymor deserves high marks for ambition. After all she was able to take a mediocre show like "The Lion King" and turn it in to a magical theatre experience,but I doubt that she will be able to repeat the miracle with this one.
The main trouble is that the book and score are so inept, the sets so appalingly ugly, and for the most part performances that would not satisfy a second rate stock company. Even the much talked about flying sequences [ done on much too visible wires] seem blandly routine after the first 15 minutes.
I suppose that the only way that this show could ever work would be to take the whole kit and caboodle, toss it into the trash heap and start all over again. As of now there is so much wrong with it that it is probably unfixable.
It would be nice to to say that this is an "almost but not quite" because it is apparent that alot of hard work has gone into it, but as it now stands"SPIDER-MAN TURN OFF THE DARK" is on track to become the biggest mega-bomb of all time, and at 65 million dollars a mighty expensive one.
AT THE FOXWOODS THEATRE 213 WEST 42nd STREET N. Y. C.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST A REVIEW

Anyone who thinks that Oscar Wild's 1895 comedy "THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST" is a musty old relic should not even think of missing the enchanting new production that has come here from Stratford Ontario where it received rave reviews and did landoffice business at last year's annual theatre festival.
This classic comedy of manners has been given a superlative new staging by the great classical actor Brian Bedford that plays the still witty comedy seriously, never camping it up, and in doing so has made an aging play as freshly funny as any new comedy could hope to be.
The play was originally done as a farce but is now a stylish romp and the acting company seems to be having a blast performing it. Mr Bedford [in a gender switch] takes the role of the rich and crusty Lady Bracknell playing it straight [ never campy] and delivering a classic comic performance and the rest of the cast is nothing short of superb.
The settings and costumes by Desmond Heeley are stunningly handsome and Duane Schuler's lighting is just right.
Summing up, this production of"THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST" is a pleasure to see and hear, and offers as enchanting an evening as this theatre-lover has had in too long a time. Go see it.
AT THE AMERICAN AIRLINES THEATRE 227 WEST 42nd STREET N.Y.C. THRU JULY 3rd.

LOST IN THE STARS A THOUGHT

I have always loved "LOST IN THE STARS". I saw the original production when I was very young and have distant but fond memories of it. Also saw the 1958 and 1972 productions and loved both of them. Now the excellent Encores series at City Center is offering a concert version of this problamatic but powerful 1949 musical, and if Maxwell Anderson's book and lyrics have always seemed a bit heavy and ponderous they contain moments of great beauty, and Kurt Weill's music is achingly beautiful. It is one of the most exciting scores ever composed for a musical.
Director Gary Griffin's staging is unexciting, but the choral work wonderful and most of the performances are good if not great. As usual. Rob Berman conducts expertly and the original Kurt Weill orchestrations are masterful.
It was very brave of Encores to do this difficult but wonderful musical, and " LOST IN THE STARS" is still capable of moving an audience deeply. Many thanks.
At THE N.Y. CITY CENTER 131 WEST 55th STREET N.Y.C. Feb. 3rd thru Feb.6th.

THE MILK TRAIN DOESN'T STOP HERE ANYMORE A REVIEW

When Tennessee Williams play "THE MILK TRAIN DOESN'T STOP HERE ANY MORE" was first presented on Broadway exactly 48 years ago I was in college and was reviewing plays for the school paper, and found this to be an overwritten ,relentlessly shrill, and heavy-handed bore. It was a failure closing after only nine weeks, and has not had much of an afterlife since,so I approached this production of it with strong missgivings, and was expecting another dull, endless theatre evening, and were my worse fears well-founded? Of course not.
This is mainly because director Michael Wilson has taken this dull vapid play and turned it into a powerful and sometimes stunning show that is beautifully staged and and is chock`full of wonderful acting.
It concerns a wealthy American widow who has detached herself from society and has retreated to her Italian mountaintop villa in order to write her memoirs when a handsome and mysterious visitor arrives to keep her company during her final days. It is a long and demanding role for any actress to play and in it Olympia Dukakis is positivly electrifying giving this tragic , unplesant woman a human touch that is ultimatly heartbreaking.
She is backed up by a beautifully chosen cast and [as already mentioned] Michael Wilson has staged it masterfully and Jeff Cowie's stage settings catch the mood of this elusive story perfectly.
So summing it all up, as a play " THE MILK TRAIN DOESN'T STOP HERE ANYMORE" is no better than it was in 1963, but thanks mainly to Ms. Dukakis and Mr. Wilson it is a stunning and sometimes memorable theatre evening.
AT THE LAURA PELLS THEATRE 111 WEST 46th STREET N.Y.C.