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.