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.









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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.