"Bunty Berman Presents" Presented by The New Group at the Acorn Theatre
Nick Choksi (L) and Lipica Shah (R) Portray Saleem and Shambervi
“Bunty Berman Presents” Presented by The New Group at the Acorn Theatre on Theatre Row Book and Lyrics by Ayub Khan Din Music by Ayub Khan Din and Paul Bogaev Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
There are only five more opportunities to see “Bunty Berman Presents” presented by The New Group at the Acorn Theatre on Theatre Row through Saturday June 1, 2013. Ayub Khan Din’s new musical counterpoints traditional Bollywood music and dance with its more traditional Euro-American cinematic counterparts as it carefully unfolds the story of film producer Bunty Berman (Ayub Khan Din)who is facing a crisis of truly epic proportions. Berman’s audience share is dwindling and he does not have enough capital to finish the movies planned for release. Part of Berman’s problem is his longtime friend and leading man Raj Dhawan (Sorab Wadia) who is far past his prime and refuses to step down.
Interesting conflicts drive interesting plots in this charming musical and all these plots collide in a pleasing climax. Bunty Berman slowly realizes he does not need a mobster investor to make things work: Berman just needs to look around and see he has all the resources he needs in his adoring assistant Dolly (Gayton Scott), the talented tea boy Saleem (Nick Choksi), and Saleem’s love interest Shambervi (Lipica Shah). Once Berman accepts this good fortune, everything is in place to finally “Make a Movie.”
“Bunty Berman Presents” is much more than a Bollywood spoof: this musical is an extended metaphor for discovering the power of unconditional and nonjudgmental love. The audience can best appreciate what Ayub Khan Din was attempting to accomplish by just sitting back and enjoying the sights, sounds, movie history allusions, and the wonder of the theatre.
BUNTY BERMAN PRESENTS
Presented by The New Group, the cast of “Bunty Berman Presents” includes Raja Burrows, Nick Choksi, Katie Chung, Ayub Khan Din, Sevan Greene, Andrew Ramcharan Guilarte, Shoba Narayanan, Lyn Philistine, Gayton Scott, Lipica Shah, Debargo Sanyal, Pallavi Sastry, Alok Tewari, and Sorab Wadia. The creative team includes Derek McLane (set design), William Ivey Long (costume design), and David Lander (lighting design).
“Bunty Berman Presents” runs on the following schedule through Saturday June 1, 2013: Monday through Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.; Thursday and Friday at 8:00 p.m.; and Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. All performances are at the Acorn Theatre on Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street in Manhattan. Individual tickets at $61.25 are available by visiting http://www.telecharge.com/Off-Broadway/Bunty-Berman-Presents/Overview or by calling Telecharge at 212-239-6200 or by visiting the theatre box office at the above address. For further information please visit www.thenewgroup.org
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Wednesday, May 29, 2013
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