“Searching for Romeo” at the New York Musical Theatre Festival at The PTC Performance Space (Closes on Sunday July 13, 2014)
“Searching for Romeo” at the New York Musical Theatre Festival at The PTC Performance Space (Closes on Sunday July 13, 2014) Book, Music, and Lyrics by Brian Sutton Directed by Laura Josepher Reviewed by Joseph Verlezza Theatre Reviews Limited
“Searching for Romeo,” currently being presented as part of NYMF at the PTC Performance Space, is a pleasant parody. This new musical is entertaining and clever, however not without fault, offering nothing innovative as far as concept, theme or musical development. It would be unfair to critique the cast and their devoted effort, since the production was afflicted with an unfortunate illness of their leading male; however, in true show business fashion the performance was rescued by the fearless assistant to the Director, standing in with script in hand and vocally prepared. What emerged throughout was the bonding and eloquent behavior of the ensemble to support and contribute to the effort put forth by their comrade. Bravo!
As mentioned the concept is nothing new or groundbreaking and the use of innuendo and parody becomes almost tiring, culminating with a replication of the last scene in “West Side Story.” The music is very repetitive with hardly any diversity, (mostly relying on 50’s and 60’s pop style). Lyrics are witty and clever but provide no character exposition. Vocal arrangements need more interest and harmony with less repetition. All these factors contribute to the production losing its charm, motivation and coherency.
So for those less discerning theater goers this could be a great entertaining outing, watching a talented cast with fine vocal prowess performing a new work that with some diligent attention will hopefully have a future. Although a solid structure is in place, reshaping and rediscovery could possibly be in order to bring this project to the next level.
SEARCHING FOR ROMEO
“Searching for Romeo” is presented by The New York Musical Theatre Festival and SFR, LLC. Director: Laura Josepher; Music Director: David Sisco; Scenic Design: Lewis Folden; Costume Design: David Crowley; Lighting Design: Susan Hamburger; Sound Design: Benjamin Furiga; Production Stage Manager: Jana Llynn; Press Representative: Dale Heller. Casting by Cindi Rush.
The cast includes Alison Alampi, Robby Dalton, Melissa Rose Hirsch. Greg Horton, Leah Jennings, Mark Lanham, Justine Magnusson, Angelo McDonough, Sean McIntyre, Natalie Newman, Zal Owen, Justin Randolph, Sam Tedaldi, Josh Tollo, and Angela Travino. The orchestra includes David Sisco (Conductor/Keyboard); Alec Berlin (Guitar); John DiSanto (Reed); Skip Ward (Bass); and Mike Riddleberger (Drums).
“Searching for Romeo” continues performances on Saturday July 12th at 5:00 p.m. and Sunday July 13th at 12:00 p.m. at The PTC Performance Space, 455 West 42nd Street, NYC 10036. Tickets: $25. For tickets, visit nymf.org. Direct ticketing link: https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/935751. Runtime: 1 hour and 45 minutes plus one intermission.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Saturday, July 12, 2014
“The Mapmaker’s Opera” at the New York Musical Theatre Festival at The PTC Performance Space (Closes on Wednesday July 16, 2014)
“The Mapmaker’s Opera” at the New York Musical Theatre Festival at The PTC Performance Space (Closes on Wednesday July 16, 2014) Book and Lyrics by Victor Kazan Music by Kevin Purcell Directed by Donald Brenner Reviewed by Joseph Verlezza Theatre Reviews Limited
"The Mapmakers Opera,” currently presented at The PTC Performance Space as part of the ongoing NYMF, is a solid effort to adapt the profound and beautiful novel of the same title by Bea Gonzalez for the stage. The results are commendable but as with any new musical project pitfalls are numerous and the need exists to focus a bit more on the intent and plot without straying into meaningless distraction. The cast shines and makes it worth seeing the production in its infancy just to hear their refined vocal ability.
Joel Perez is delightful as he explores the many facets of his character using his strong, clear and effective baritone. Madeleine Featherby is charming and a great match for Mr. Perez, with a pure, focused vocal exhibiting a rich quality and good blend. Natalia Lepore Hagan contributes almost too much to this incarnation but seems to do it all well. Her rendition of “Someday Soon” as an Act 1 finale is superb with a fierce characterization and a stalwart vocal. It would be nice to see this character developed and defined into a larger role. Tony Chiroldes is magnificent in every aspect of his lively performance. He develops a real character and manages to seize every opportunity to translate his emotion to the audience without missing a beat. Mr. Chiroldes is a wonderful storyteller and his musical duet “Men, Feo y Fuerte” with Mr. Perez is a show stopper. This reviewer wishes he was incorporated into the story as a narrator and commentator allowing the plot to focus on more relevant material.
The music is generous but perhaps too ambitious, trying to capture Spanish and Mexican styles especially when accompanying vocals. Perhaps it would fare better if these styles were used for dance and interludes only. The lyrics are telling, precise, and informative in most numbers but lack the exuberance and certain flair to consistently impress. Vocal arrangements are somewhat lacking in interest and harmony. Costume design by Laura Crow is impeccable, remarkably capturing the class, period and place, producing a visual gift: Brava! Choreography is plentiful and can be left at that.
At this stage of development this musical appears uneven and perhaps tries to tackle too much that was easily achievable on the pages of the novel. It is a beautiful love story taking place during the Mexican Revolution and maybe that is all it needs to be. Perhaps with a better focus on character and motivation – elements that successfully drive the plot (rather than the storyline pushing the characters uphill) - “The Mapmaker’s Opera” would provide a more balanced core.
THE MAPMAKER’S OPERA
“The Mapmaker’s Opera” is presented by The New York Musical Theatre Festival and Stella Entertainment with Quill & Quaver Associates. Director: Donald Brenner; Music Director: Daniel Rein; Choreography and Musical Staging: Stas Kmiec; Scenic Design: Andrew Lu; Costume Design: Laura Crow; Lighting Design: Gertjen Houbens; Sound Design: Alex Hawthorn; Production Stage Manager: David S. Cohen; Press Representative: DDR-Public Relations. Casting by Michael Cassara.
The cast includes Andres Acosta, Debra Cardona, Tony Castellanos, Tony Chioldes, Paul Cosentino, Alma Cuervo, Carlos Encinias, Madeleine Featherby, Henry Gainza, Natalia Lepore Hagan, Sean McDermott, Joel Perez, and Lorraine Serabian. The orchestra includes Daniel Rein (Conductor/Piano); Nilko Andreas Guarin (Guitar 1); Frederick Bryant Hollister (Guitar 2); Richard Miller (Guitar 3); David Boddington (Guitar 4); Janine Hanrahan (Flutes); Steve Bartosik (Percussion 1); and Brian Adler (Percussion 2). Offstage Singers: Katie Heidbreder and Jessica Kahkoska.
“The Mapmaker’s Opera” continues performances on Saturday July 12th at 9:00 p.m., Sunday July 13th at 4:00 p.m., and Wednesday July 16 at 5:00 p.m. at The PTC Performance Space, 455 West 42nd Street, NYC 10036. Tickets: $25. For tickets, visit nymf.org. Direct ticketing link: https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/935755. Runtime: 2 hours with one ten minute intermission.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Saturday, July 12, 2014
“Academia Nuts” at the New York Musical Theatre Festival at The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre (Closes on Sunday July 13, 2014)
“Academia Nuts” at the New York Musical Theatre Festival at The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre (Closes on Sunday July 13, 2014) Book and Lyrics by Becca Anderson and Dan Marshall Music by Julian Blackmore Directed by Thomas Caruso Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
With the sweetness of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” the caustic humor of “South Park,” and the vitriol of “Hairspray,” the new musical “Academia Nuts” chronicles the quiz kid competition between the McCutter Clan of Weiner, Arkansas and the Walla Walla Walruses from the Pacific Northwest. The musical celebrates the strength of the human spirit and the importance of chasing ones dreams. However, “Academia Nuts” is a far darker comedy than its main plot belies and some of its subplots are more about dreams left unfulfilled and the considerable weakness of some humans.
Home-schooled Maggie McCutter (Alyse Alan Louis) needs to escape from the often abusive clutches of her mother Chrystal (Jennifer Simard). Winning the Chupacabra-sponsored National High School Quiz Bowl Championship is her way out of Arkansas. Maggie’s escape is compromised by her unexpected attraction to and relationship with team rival Tyler O’Neil (Khris Davis) who, through the course of the musical, emancipates Maggie from her maternal prison and all of its concomitant restrictiveness and from her limited understanding of live and love.
Along the way, the audience discovers the motivation for the Walruses to enter the Championship: the team’s coach Sergeant Tina Van Wyck (Stephanie D.Abruzzo) has a prior relationship to Chrystal and Maggie and Chrystal has a suspicious history with moderator Melvin Jessup (Todd Cerveris). “Academia Nuts” is chock full of game show references and other pop-culture innuendo which seem to set the audience howling. There is gender-bending, slap-stick comedy, and the requisite dream ballet (“Lord of the Flies). No Child Left Behind finds its way into the mix as do alcoholism and the bashing of the tenets of conservative Christian teaching (including the Rapture). Oddly, even homeschooling takes a hit.
In addition, there is an unfortunate fusillade of jokes which rely on stereotypes for their punch lines. Granted, this humor helps define Chrystal McCutter’s redneck weltanschauung but there are other ways to achieve characterization without being offensive. More on this later in the review. This downside to “Academia Nuts” is not the fault of its cast.
The young energetic cast handily navigates its way through the musical’s twenty-one songs with exceptional vocal and dance craft. Alyse Alan Louis (Maggie) brings honesty and energy to her “Please Let Me Win.” Khris Davis (Tyler) clearly defines his character in his plaintive “I Just Think of Favre.” Stephanie D’Abruzzo reveals Sergeant Tina’s secrets (and those of the McCutters) in her gripping second act “Soliloquy.” Alexander Ferguson (Dexter) and Alison Lea Bender (Mi Cha Kwak) rock the stage with Ms. Louis and Mr. Davis in the dynamic “Get It Crunk” song and dance routine.
Under Thomas Caruso’s careful direction, the ensemble cast captures the Garden of Eden moment when humankind seize the day, partake of the forbidden fruit, and discover for themselves who they are and who they were meant to be. James J. Fenton’s set is simple yet serviceable using rolling contestant stands that are able to function as other settings. Patricia E. Doherty’s costumes, Sam Gordon’s lighting design, and Andrew Keister’s sound design contribute to the success of the clever and innovative staging of “Academia Nuts.”
Marring the overall success of the musical are three unnecessary and unfortunate homophobic slurs. Granted these are meant to help define character; however the pejorative use of ‘gay,’ the use of ‘faggot,’ and the senseless and irresponsible reference to Harvey Milk to typify the attraction of one man to another is at best shameful. And the musical’s creative team needs to know that a male character (Melvin) falling in love with a transgender (male-to-female) character is not “switch-hitting.”
Despite this, the delicious conflicts of the rich characters drive an engaging and believable plot (and sub-plots) and all’s well that ends well In this sweet musical about coming to terms with one’s reality and chasing ones dreams.
ACADEMIA NUTS
“Academia Nuts” is presented by The New York Musical Theatre Festival, Charissa Bertels and Brian & Cassandra Hess, in association with CAP21 Theatre Company. Director: Thomas Caruso; Music Director: Martyn Axe; Choreography: Ryan Kasprzak; Scenic Design: James J. Fenton; Costume Design: Patricia E. Doherty; Lighting Design: Sam Gordon; Sound Design: Andrew Keister; Production Stage Manager: Jason A. Quinn; Press Representative: Joe Trentacosta. Casting by Cindi Rush. Production photos by Micah Joel.
The cast includes Alison Lea Bender, Todd Cerveris, Stephanie D’Abruzzo, Khris Davis, Alexander Ferguson, Alyse Alan Louis, Melody Madarasz, Will Roland, and Jennifer Simard. The orchestra includes Martyn Axe (Conductor/Keys I); Jerry DeVore (Bass); and Zachary Eldridge (Percussion).
“Academia Nuts” continues performances on Saturday July 12th at 5:00 p.m. and Sunday July 13th at 8:00 p.m. at The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 West 42nd Street, NYC 10036. Tickets: $25. For tickets, visit nymf.org. Direct ticketing link: https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/935916. Runtime: 1 hour and 50 minutes with one intermission.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Saturday, July 12, 2014
“666 DSM” at 59E59 Theater C (Closed July 9, 2014)
Douglas de Souza (Photo by Ed Krieger)
“666 DSM” at 59E59 Theater C (Closed July 9, 2014) Written and Performed by Douglas de Souza Directed by Cindy Sibilsky Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Douglas de Souza’s “666 DSM” concludes its brief run at the 59E59 East to Edinburgh Festival and prepares to face its opening at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2014. Mr. de Souza and his director/producer Cindy Sibilsky have several challenges to face and overcome before rubber hits runway in The Burgh.
In six vignettes, writer/performer Douglas de Souza rants and raves (literally in vignette number 5) about the treatment of those diagnosed (or undiagnosed) to be mentally ill by society, government, religious organizations, and the psychiatric/medical community –the “Illuminati.” Mr. de Souza is a spirited and gifted actor who is capable of portraying a variety of characters giving each a specific persona. However, his script does not give him as an actor much to work with.
“666 DSM” unfortunately contains nothing new about how the mentally ill are treated by society and the medical establishment. Since at least the 5th century B.C.E., philosophers and physicians have been grappling with the presence and provenance of mental illness. Hippocrates shifted the treatment of mental illness from religious and superstitious constructs to changing the mentally ill person’s environment or occupation. In the Middle Ages, the treatment of mental illness shifted back to focus on the religious parameters of the condition.
The playwright’s concerns about privilege are also not new. Throughout the history of mental illness and its diagnosis and treatment, persons of privilege have been in control of the matrices of both diagnosis and treatment. These persons of privilege include physicians, governments, and clergy (among others). It is difficult to ask the audience to “think outside the box” when the members of the audience are not given challenging constructs to assimilate. The text seems to be in search of an identity: it is prose, poetry, or prose-poetry? Mr. de Souza’s delivery of his own work does not help to clarify this concern.
Perhaps the actor would have fared better with more exacting direction. Cindy Sibilsky, who also produces “666 DSM,” provides sparse direction and consistently makes odd choices for staging the piece. Additionally, the play runs about fifteen minutes over its target of 60 minutes. Given the tight scheduling at the Edinburgh Festival, both actor and director will have to tighten up the performance. Eliminating or shortening the psychedelic projections during interludes would be a start. Douglas de Souza is more than capable of changing costumes and getting into character right on stage. Sometimes less is better.
666 DSM
“666 DSM” is presented by INJOY ENTERTAINMENT as part of the 2014 East to Edinburgh Festival at 59E59 Theaters.
The creative team of “666 DSM” includes William Welles (videographer and sound design) and Nick Thomas (lighting design). Production photo by Ed Krieger.
East to Edinburgh began on Tuesday, July 8 for a limited engagement through Sunday, July 27. The performance schedule varies. Performances are at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues). Tickets to each EAST TO EDINBURGH show range from $15 - $20 ($10.50 -$14 for 59E59 Members). Tickets can be purchased by calling Ticket Central at 212-279-4200 or online at www.59e59.org. Performances of “666 DSM” closed on Wednesday July 9, 2014 at 6:30 p.m. Running time is 60 minutes with no intermission.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Thursday, July 10, 2014
“Years to the Day” at 59E59 Theater B (Closes July 12, 2014)
“Years to the Day” at 59E59 Theater B (Closes July 12, 2014) Written by Allen Barton Directed by Joel Polis Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Ostensibly eschewing the technology of communication, Dan (Michael Yavnieli) and Jeff (Jeff LeBeau) engage in what proves to be a marathon for gamers par excellence as they reunite at an undisclosed location in “present time adjacent” at a small table. Friends for twenty-five years, these two remaining members of a post-high school foursome of friends engage in exactly the type of exchange Jeff describes when expounding on texting:
JEFF: “Yeah. There’s a mystery to it that is attractive. The gamesmanship. One-upping a funny line, my move, your move. There’s a delicious bit of tension there.”
In Allen Barton’s “Years to the Day” Mr. Yavnieli and Mr. LeBeau bring that delicious tension to a perfect crescendo as they fiercely rehearse twenty-five years of bristling bromance, one-upping one another in a fast-paced virtual chess match of wits and wile. Dan and Jeff, conservative and liberal respectively, tackle infidelity, divorce, politics, cell phone technology, three-term presidents, children, love and loss, and sexual identity in a series of verbal matches that sometimes draw them closer to one another and all-too-often threaten to end their friendship.
Jeff’s take on the new movie both he and Dan saw (Dan hated it) works well as a critique of Mr. Barton’s play:
JEFF: “Yeah. I thought it was provocative. I thought it was original. I was drawn in, I cared what happened.”
Under Joel Polis’s adept and spirited direction, Mr. Yavnieli and Mr. LeBeau draw the audience in and make its members care about the lives of these two forty-something men as they attempt to discern what is real and authentic in life and what ultimately matters: “Ambiance of the environment. Music. Two kids playing somewhere. Traffic. The sounds of twenty-five years of a friendship.”
“Years to the Day” is a transformative testament to what is important. If there is a downside to this piece, it would be its length. Mr. Barton might take on too much for an audience to process if it were not handled by two skilled actors whose craft makes this virtual texting match a breeze through memories and dreams.
See “Years to the Day” before it moves east to Edinburgh. Citizens of The Burgh will love this one. So will you.
YEARS TO THE DAY
“Years to the Day” is presented by Gary Grossman and Skylight Theatre Company as part of the 2014 East to Edinburgh Festival at 59E59 Theaters.
The cast of “Years to the Day” includes Jeff LeBeau and Michael Yavnieli.
East to Edinburgh began on Tuesday, July 8 for a limited engagement through Sunday, July 27. The performance schedule varies. Performances are at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues). Tickets to each EAST TO EDINBURGH show range from $15 - $20 ($10.50 -$14 for 59E59 Members). Tickets can be purchased by calling Ticket Central at 212-279-4200 or online at www.59e59.org. Remaining “Years to the Day” runs on the following schedule: Thursday July 10, 2014 at 9:15 p.m. and Saturday July 12, 2014 at 7:15 p.m. Running time is 75 minutes with no intermission.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Wednesday, July 9, 2014
“West Side Story” San Francisco Symphony Live Recording (Released on June 10, 2014)
“West Side Story” San Francisco Symphony Live Recording (Released on June 10, 2014) Score by Leonard Bernstein, Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim Directed by Michael Tilson Thomas Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
San Francisco Symphony Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas had a long-standing professional and personal relationship with “West Side Story” composer Leonard Bernstein making the June 10, 2014 release of the live recording of the first-ever concert performance of Mr. Bernstein’s complete score for the iconic musical quite significant. Equally significant is the recording itself. Mr. Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony not only do justice to the score but excel beyond any expectation at providing the most accessible and enjoyable recording of the iconic musical since its Broadway staging and subsequent recordings.
The overall quality of this live recording is excellent and invites recurrent listening. The CDs received excellent engineering support resulting in a recording of the highest quality. This is a set to own and enjoy for years.
Cheyenne Jackson (Tony), Alexandra Silber (Maria), Jessica Vosk (Anita), Julia Bullock (A Girl), and Kevin Vortmann (Riff) lead the all-star soloists who, along with the Symphony Chorus, bring to Bernstein’s score a renewed vitality and authenticity which attest in a dramatic way to the enduring nature of the score of this iconic musical.
Because this is a studio recording, the tone of the performances is necessarily more precise and more polished than a live stage performance. Much of the “feel” of the streets and neighborhoods of the feuding gangs is evident; however, many of the chorus numbers have an appropriate operatic color and disposition.
Act I tracks that are impressive are: Tony’s “Something’s Coming;” the “Dance at the Gym/Meeting Scene;” Tony and Maria’s “Balcony Scene” and the following “Only You;” and Rosalia (Juliana Hansen) and Anita’s impeccably authentic “America” are particularly memorable. “One Hand, One Heart” and “Tonight” close out Act I with emotional integrity and power.
In Act II, the “Ballet Sequence/Lo Stesso Tempo,” the “Procession and Nightmare,” and “I Have A Love” emerge as tracks of superior performance. And even lacking a visual presence, Mr. Jackson and Ms. Silber create impressive images in their vocal renditions in the “Finale.”
This San Francisco Symphony recording of “West Side Story” is a gift of enduring love and craft for all who hold the musical in a special place in memory and heart. It is a must-have for musical theatre lovers.
WEST SIDE STORY LIVE RECORDING BY SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY
“West Side Story” was recorded live at Davies Symphony Hall on June 27-30 and July 2, 2013.
In addition to the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, the cast of the live recording includes soloists Julia Bullock (A Girl), Louise Cornillez (Consuelo), Zack Ford (Diesel), Juliana Hanson (Rosalia), Cheyenne Jackson (Tony), Justin Keyes (Action), David Michael Laffey (Big Deal), Kelly Markgraf (Bernardo), Chris Meissner (Baby John), Louise Pardo (A-rab), Alexandra Silber (Maria),Cassie Simone (Francisca), Kevin Vortmann (Riff), and Jessica Vosk (Anita).
The collector’s edition two-disc set available from the SFS Media label includes a 100-pagw booklet featuring a new interview with Michael Tilson Thomas, noted from Rita Moreno and Jamie Bernstein. This set can be ordered at http://www.shopsfsymphony.org/shop/home.php
The download version of the recording is available for purchase at the same Symphony website.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Sunday, June 1, 2014
“Commit” at Mana Contemporary in Jersey City, NJ (Through Saturday June 7, 2014)
“Commit” at Mana Contemporary in Jersey City, NJ (Through Saturday June 7, 2014) By EJC Calvert Directed by Mason Beggs Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
EJC Calvert’s new play “Commit,” currently running at Mana Contemporary in Jersey City, NJ, is a dark comedy written in three acts. Each act carefully dissects the vicissitudes of the human condition, in particular the abilities of humankind to commit themselves to a variety of relationships despite their prolific and sometimes unsettling flaws. Three creatures appear in the titles and in the action of the three acts: a bear, lamb, and a bird. And each varmint serves as a delicious trope for the unpredictable and cantankerous nature of humankind in its journey through love, loss, and redemption.
In “The Bear: A Tragedy” (Act One), grumpy-as-a-bear Everett Feld blames his irrational and aggressive behavior on a hormonal imbalance but eventually admits it is not “his testes” that are the causative agent: he tells his forbearingly overbearing wife Diane that indeed he has been possessed by a “bear’s spirit.” Diane believes a good dose of church would cure all that ails Everett and plops an enormous cross on the dining room table: the cross made by estranged son Jimmy who is now a priest and arrives to perform an exorcism to rid his father of the demon spirit that has apparently possessed him. Although his parents continue to call him Jimmy, their son insists he is now Father Kellogg – the new last name adopted to distance him from the unsavory pair that spawned him. In the midst of the exorcism, all hell breaks loose and the bear in Everett gets the best of him resulting in Jimmy’s brutal demise, Diane’s retreat, and the establishment of a “bear” support group. Dark indeed, but quite funny as performed by the engaging ensemble cast.
Act Two’s “Murder, Love and Lamb” finds serial killer Robert and his wanna-be-stripper wife Marjorie embroiled in a bitter dispute about Robert’s penchant for murder. Robert’s recent murder of a sex worker has dampened Marjorie’s plans to have dinner guests and serve up a good Riesling with some roast lamb. This is a couple as odds with one another and their “inner child” and their struggles to connect – even despite Marjorie’s willingness to “love who Robert is – flounder. Their journey, far more than mid-life crises – counterpoint the despair, ennui, and sometimes destructive nature of human relationships. Perhaps “the “sacrificial lamb” will bring redemption to Robert and Marjorie and release them from their cycles of self-hatred and destructiveness. Again, the ensemble cast does justice to Mr. Calvert’s text exploring its darkness and mining all evidences of hope.
“A Bird Hits the Window” – Act Three of “Commit” – features John who comes home early after being fired and encounters his daughter home from school after being expelled. Mother and wife Mona joins the mix and exacerbates the obvious gaps in this family’s abilities to find comfort and surcease in their American family unit. Although his daughter yearns for attention from her father, John’s only parental mantra is “I have no one to talk to.” This family exists in photos and a past when marriage and pregnancy was thought to result in happiness. Ms. Calvert’s use of a flashback to a pregnant Mona is effective and provocative: what happened to that hope, that commitment to future. Like birds who when distracted by reflections fly into windows, people distracted by selfishness and self-absorption often fly into their own false perceptions of who they are and who they have become and suffer sometimes irreparable damage to self and others.
There are times when the very live acoustics in the Mana Contemporary space make it difficult to catch every word the actors deliver and the actors sometimes compensate by delivering their lines in a consistently loud manner. But it is difficult to hear when actors speak softly – as they often want or need to. In the third act, for example, director Mason Beggs chooses to have the daughter address her father with her back to the audience and not one word of her part of that dialogue is audible. Mana Contemporary is an iconic and important space; however, if this particular performance venue is to be used for live theatre, there will need to be compensation made for this acoustical problem. The space is probably ideal for dance or performance art where spoken word is far less evident.
“Commit” shows the audience a humanity that can be gentle as a lamb (and as redemptive) or as aggressive and sometime murderous as a hungry, misdirected and threatened bear. In all three acts, the level of commitment extant in human relationships is examined and questioned: is marriage the haven of blessing and place of peace it is assumed to be? Why do humans marry and why do they have children they often have difficulty relating to? What is the real tie that binds humans to one another? Are we perhaps meant to navigate through this life alone, depending only on ourselves? These and a score of other deep and rich enduring questions are raised in Ms. Calvert’s new play and the delightfully wicked cast of the Art House production skillfully bring every nuance in “Commit” to an entertaining, authentic, and delightful hour of superb theatre. Be sure to see “Commit” before it closes on June 7, 2014.
COMMIT
“Commit” is presented by Art House Productions and directed by Mason Beggs.
The cast of “Commit” includes Evie Freeman, Eleanor Handley, Terence MacSweeny, David Riley, and Kit Vogelsang.
The creative team for “Commit” includes Gail Boykewich (Set and Props Design), Pat Christodulidis (Costume Design), Michael Flinck (Sound Design), Walter Free (Stage Manager), Christine Goodman (Executive Producer), Summer Dawn Hortillosa (Production Manager), and Lance Michel (Technical Director/Lighting Design).
“Commit” runs through Saturday June 7, 2014 at Mana Contemporary, 888 Newark Avenue in Jersey City, NJ on the following schedule: Thursday - Saturday, June 5-7 at 8:00 p.m. General admission tickets are $20.00. Advance purchase tickets at $15.00 are available at http://commit.brownpapertickets.com/ For further information on Art House Productions, visit http://arthouseproductions.org/home.html The running time for “Commit” is just under one hour.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Saturday, May 31, 2014
“A Piece of My Heart” at the Barrow Mansion in Jersey City, NJ (Through Sunday June 1, 2014)
“A Piece of My Heart” at the Barrow Mansion in Jersey City, NJ (Through Sunday June 1, 2014) By Shirley Lauro Directed by Betsy Aiello Sanders Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Suggested by a work by Keith Walker, Shirley Lauro’s 1991 “A Piece of My Heart” attempts to celebrate the lives of the women who served in the Vietnam War as enlisted soldiers, nurses, entertainers, and other volunteers. Under director Betsy Aiello Sanders’ steady hand, the talented ensemble cast of the Speranza Theatre Company tackles Ms. Lauro’s script and brings it to life with heartfelt energy and a high dose of authenticity. Speranza is Jersey City, NJ’s newest theatre company staging performances of “A Piece of My Heart” at the historic Barrow Mansion in downtown Jersey City.
Ms. Lauro’s intensely presentational drama follows the journeys of five American women who are deployed to serve in or volunteer to serve in Vietnam during that iconic and troubled war. From their pre-service exposition through to their return to their homes, these women experience the very highs and the very lows of serving during the Vietnam War. Although they all travel to Vietnam for a variety of motives, the one thing that seems to connect their journeys is their sincere desire to “make a difference” and somehow “save the world.”
Army brat Martha (Diana Cherkas), Texan MaryJo Kinkaid (Natalie Pavelek) - lead singer and rhythm guitarist in Sugar Candies All Girl Band, idealist Sissy (Heather Wahl), Whitney (Danielle M. Treuberg), Leeann (Kathleen Choe), and seasoned soldier Steele (Jennean Farmer) learn quickly that Vietnam is not the safe place their recruiters, senior officers, or agents promised and they learn that very few of their expectations about “saving the world” are realistic or even achievable. They navigate hypocrisy, incompetence, and arrogance in addition to confronting daily the horrors of battlefield war in an unfamiliar and hostile environment.
Jason Faust handily and skillfully portrays all of the “American Men” the women encounter from male entertainment agents and non-responsive top brass to the soldiers who find themselves in the care of a handful of frightened, dedicated, and confused women. There are many unseen men in the play as well, including those who rape singer MaryJo after a USO performance. References to the Bob Hope USO show and to the January 1968 Tet Offensive bring a level of authenticity to the play’s story line.
Each member of the ensemble cast portrays her and his own character as well as a variety of stock characters with commendable craft. Because of the presentational nature of the script, it is sometimes difficult to connect with the characters as deeply as an audience member might prefer; however, that is not a comment on the cast’s abilities as much as it is a comment on the limitations of the script. Ms. Lauro’s piece lacks the intensity of Mr. Walker’s 1986 oral history; however, each of their dynamic characters experiences joy, sorrow, regret, renewal, and catharsis and Speranza’s cast brings all of these emotions to a level of honesty and clarity.
A PIECE OF MY HEART
The cast of “A Piece of My Heart” includes Diana Cherkas, Kathleen Choe, Jennean Farmer, Jason Faust, Natalie Pavelek, Danielle M. Treuberg, and Heather Wahl.
The creative team of “A Piece of My Heart” includes K. B. Sanders (set/lighting design), Estelle Bajou (sound design), Gail Woerner (properties master), and Hope Governali (costume design/stylist).
Performances of “A Piece of My Heart” continue at the Barrow Mansion in Jersey City, NJ through Sunday June 1 on the following schedule: Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 8:00 p.m.; and Sunday June 1 at 2:00 p.m. General Admission tickets for all performances are $20.00 with discounts for seniors ($15.00) and Veterans ($12.00). Tickets can be purchased at the box office on the night of performances or by visiting https://www.artful.ly/store/events/2985. For more information about the Company, please visit http://speranzatheatrecompany.com/ The running time for “A Piece of My Heart” is 2 hours with a 15 minute intermission.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Monday, May 26, 2014
“A Fable” at the Cherry Lane Theatre (Through Saturday June 28, 2014)
“A Fable” at the Cherry Lane Theatre (Through Saturday June 28, 2014) Written by David Van Asselt Directed by Daniel Talbott Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
"Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate" (“Here must all distrust be left behind; all cowardice must be ended.”) - Dante Alighieri, “The Divine Comedy,” Canto III, line 9 of “The Inferno”
One would think that with Dante Alighieri, Goethe, John Milton, Kurt Weill, T.S. Eliot, Arthur Miller, Tony Kushner (among others) in the house, nothing but a good time would be had by all. No so. The myriad allusions to the aforementioned greats and the usually reliable hand of Rattlestick’s David Van Asselt could not save “A Fable,” currently running at the Cherry Lane Theatre, from unintentional – one would hopefully assume – meaninglessness.
Attempting to gain street creds from the likes of the biblical Book of Job and Goethe’s Faust, “A Fable” pits heaven (Angela) against hell (Luke) in the eternal battle to win souls for their respective domains. Here the one tempted to do wrong and encouraged by his superego to do the right thing is Jonny (think ‘Surabaya’) a member of Operation Island Liberation (yes, O.I.L.) intending to ‘liberate’ the island of Tahooty a fractured trope for any target of the military-industrial complex (there’s even a Hallie Burton!). Jonny falls for Chandra, leaves Chandra to find her father – well that is enough plot for this review. It would have been more meritorious had the story line ended there.
One wonders what the intended audience is/was for this misdirected mélange: high school drama clubs; perhaps church youth groups. One also wonders what anyone/everyone on the creative team was hoping to accomplish by mounting this production. It could not be more ill-conceived or laborious. The actors’ names are not mentioned not to overlook their effort but to protect their innocence.
It was maddening to spend two-and-a-half hours (it seemed interminable) inside on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon with “A Fable.” Readers should not follow suit.
Normally, when spending time with any creative endeavor of the Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre, this critic gladly leaves all distrust behind and without cowardice prepares to be moved to the core of my being. Not so with “A Fable.” I just desperately wanted to flee.
Rattlestick’s “The Few” has been extended through June 21. See that instead.
A FABLE
“A Fable” is a presented by piece by piece productions and Rising Phoenix Rep in association with Rattlestick Playwrights Theater.
The cast of “A Fable” is Edward Carnevale, Liza Fernandez, Dawn-Lyen Gardner, Maxwell Hamilton, Jerry Matz, Hubert Point-Du Jour, Eileen Rivera, Pamela Shaw, Samantha Soule, Alok Tewari, Sanford Wilson, and Gordon Joseph Weiss.
Music for “A Fable” is by Elizabeth Swados; set design is by John McDermott; costume design is by Tristan Raines; lighting design is by Joel Moritz; projection design is by Kaitlyn Pietras; sound design is by Janie Bullard; fight direction is by UnkleDave’s Fight-House; hair and make-up design is by Caitlin Conci. The production manager is Dave Nelson; the production stage manager is Andrew Slater. Production photos are by Sandra Coudert.
“A Fable” plays Tuesday through Friday at 7pm; Saturday at 2pm and 7pm; and Sunday at 3pm at the Cherry Lane Theatre, 38 Commerce Street. There will be an added performance on Monday, May 19 at 7pm; there will be no performance on Friday, May 23. Tickets are $66 and may be purchased by visiting www.OvationTix.com or by phoning 866-811-4111. Tickets for those under 30 and theater artists are $26; student tickets are $21. For more information about “A Fable,” visit one of the following: www.piecebypieceproductions.org,www. RisingPhoenixRep.org, or www.rattlestick.org. Running time is 2 hours thirty minutes with an intermission.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Thursday, May 22, 2014
“Too Much Sun” at the Vineyard Theatre (Through Sunday June 22, 2014)
Jennifer Westfeldt and Linda Lavin as Kitty and Audrey - Photo by Carol Rosegg
“Too Much Sun” at the Vineyard Theatre (Through Sunday June 22, 2014) By Nicky Silver Directed by Mark Brokaw Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
“All the world's a stage, /And all the men and women merely players:/They have their exits and their/entrances; /And one man in his time plays many parts.” - Jacques in “As You Like It” Act II, Scene VII (William Shakespeare, 1600)
In Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” Jacques solves the eternal question of whether art imitates life or life imitates art: simply, life is art and art is life. Seasoned stage performers have discovered what acting novices will discover during their careers; namely, as Meryl Streep affirms, “Acting is not about being someone different. It's finding the similarity in what is apparently different, then finding [oneself] in there.” Acting indeed is life’s work.
Perhaps no one knows this better in Nicky Silver’s new play “Too Much Sun” than its protagonist Audrey Langham (Linda Lavin). Just before the opening night of Euripides’ “Medea” in a theatre in Chicago, Audrey realizes that her creative team does not know what acting is: she is trying to find the similarity in what is apparently different about her and Medea so she can find herself in there but her director just wants her to “just get through it” and ‘be’ Medea. Audrey leaves the stage, abandons the production, and two days later shows up unannounced at her daughter’s summer house and takes up residence in her son-in-law’s office (actually the guest bedroom) putting an abrupt halt to his novel-writing and the charade playing out on the summer house stage. Charades become real life drama.
Currently playing at the Vineyard Theatre, “Too Much Sun” is rich in themes. Playwright Nicky Silver tackles life in the theatre, art imitating life, honesty, dishonesty, and motivation. The first act successfully develops these themes as well-rounded characters Audrey, Kitty, Dennis, Lucas, Winston, and Gil have their exits and their entrances with complicated and engaging conflicts that move all story lines forward and set the stage for the second act. Unfortunately, following the intermission and the entr’acte, the second act of “Too Much Sun” begins to unravel.
Life is often predictable; however, there are no surprises in the second act when Dennis (Ken Barnett) confirms his inability to commit to his novel or his wife by ending his summer fling with neighbor Lucas leaving the twenty-something grappling with issues of abandonment. Audrey’s plan to wed Winston (Richard Bekins) to temporarily put an end to ennui crashes on the rocks shortly after Lucas’ body is pulled from the water. And Kitty (Jennifer Westfeldt) discloses her pregnancy to unfaithful Dennis admitting to a one-time tryst with theatre agent assistant and wanna-be rabbi Gil (Matt Dellapina) who bemoans the loss of his ability to join Audrey and Winston in holy matrimony.
Except for one, none of these interesting characters experiences any growth. Any apparent growth – like Audrey’s bid at a second chance to be a good mother – is simply a shift in motivation. As she was in all of her stage roles, she is very good at her roles in life. Better for her to help her daughter raise her child in the summer house than bunk with the long-time friend she deplores. All of the other characters behave as they did during the first act and, as previously stated, do everything the audience assumed they would.
The only character who knows what he wants and knows what he does not want is Lucas (Matt Dickson). Mr. Dickson delivers a stunning performance as a young man dodging his father’s expectations (mired in indifference) and the specter of the suicide of his mother. In Matt Dickson’s nurturing hands, Lucas’ death provides the singular redemptive moment in “Too Much Sun” and brings the audience right to the edge of catharsis.
Mark Brokaw’s careful direction provides a space for the exceptional ensemble cast to display their collective craft. It is a gift to watch the remarkable and iconic Linda Lavin perform. Ms. Lavin comingles her wondrous comedic timing with her ability to bring authenticity and honesty to her characters. Her Audrey Langham is irrepressible, single-minded, and irascible. Medea is no match for an Audrey scorned. Each of Nicky Silver’s characters here have, in one way or another, had too much sun, been too much sun, or longed for more sun. This cast makes these quests believable and memorable.
Despite minor missteps, “Too Much Sun” is a worthwhile and commendable exploration of the human effort to make sense of life, to redefine the meaning of relationship, and to grapple honestly with the vicissitudes of the thing we call love.
TOO MUCH SUN
The cast of “Too Much Sun” includes Ken Barnett, Richard Bekins, Matt Dellapina, Matt Dickson, Linda Lavin, and Jennifer Westfeldt.
The design team for “Too Much Sun” is – scenic design by Donyale Werle; costume design by Michael Krass; lighting design by David Lander; and sound design by David Van Tieghem. Production photos are by Carol Rosegg.
Now scheduled through June 22, “Too Much Sun” will perform Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m.; Thursdays and Fridays at 8:00 p.m.; Saturdays at 3:00 and 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. Tickets are $80.00 and can be purchased at the Vineyard Theatre box office (108 E. 15 Street), by phone at 212 353 0303 or online at www.vineyardtheatre.org.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Monday, May 19, 2014
“The Rivals” at the Pearl Theatre Company (Through Sunday May 25, 2014)
Carol Schultz as Mrs. Malaprop - Photo by Al Foote III
“The Rivals” at the Pearl Theatre Company (Through Sunday May 25, 2014) By Richard Brinsley Sheridan Directed by Hal Brooks Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
There is a great deal of playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan in his rollickingly funny “The Rivals” the comedy of manners he wrote for Covent Garden and where it first appeared in 1775. Riffing the sham chivalry and sham romance of his day, Sheridan drew from his life experiences to develop a roster of comedic characters with absurd conflicts that spin outrageous plots and subplots. The action centers on modern woman Lydia Languish (Jessica Love) who indeed languishes after the glamour of eloping with Ensign Beverly who is in reality the wealthy Captain Jack Absolute (Cary Donaldson).
Ms. Languish is under the guardianship of Mrs. Malaprop (Carol Schultz) whose outrageous diction is responsible for the coining of the literary devise malapropism. In an exchange with sexist Sir Anthony Absolute (Dan Daily), Mrs. Malaprop retorts, “Nay, nay, Sir Anthony, you are an absolute misanthropy.” While conspiring to wean Lydia from her affection for the poor Beverly and have her meet the wealthy Captain Jack, Mrs. Malaprop is engaged in her own chicanery. Sir Lucius O’Trigger (Sean McNall), also wanting to court Lydia, is paying Lydia’s maid Lucy (Joey Parsons) to carry love notes between him and Lydia (who uses the name "Delia"), but Lucy is swindling him: "Delia" is actually Mrs. Malaprop.
All of this farcical “drawing room” behavior generates additional problems when one suitor discovers others suitors are attempting to woo the same young woman. Threats become challenges to duels. Actors Chris Mixon as Bob Acres, Sean McNall as Sir Lucius O’Trigger, and John C. Egan as Bob Acres’ right hand man portray suitors at war with each other and with their own self-understanding. They consistently light up the stage with hilarity and amazing craft.
Counterpointing the absurd antics of Lydia and her guardians and suitors is the on-again off-again relationship between the play’s only non-comedic character Julia Melville (Rachel Botchan) and the uber-jealous Faulkland (Brad Heberlee). Their relationship serves as the perfect balance to the play’s comedy and watching these two actors engage in their own brand of dueling is breathtaking.
Stock characters (butler and maid) Fag (Kambi Gathesha) and Lucy (Joey Parsons) keep the intrigue inherent in “The Rivals” festering and compounding at the alarming rate necessary for the plot to move forward. These two fine actors breathe authenticity and honesty into characters that could easily be dismissed. It would be fascinating to see Mr. Gathesha and Mr. Donaldson switch roles in some performances.
PTC’s new Artistic Director Hal Brooks takes the helm as director of “The Rivals” and keeps the pace moving at precisely the correct tempo teasing the very best from his brilliant ensemble cast. The play’s two and one-half hour length seems to race by and at no time does the audience get a rest from laughing and attempting to keep up with who is going to dart on and off the stage with a new twist in the story line. Jo Winiarski’s set is the perfect backdrop for the action of this charming play and its design brings wonderful perspective to all that transpires. Jason Fassl’s lighting is serviceable and Sam Flemming’s costumes are extraordinary in their detail and design.
All in all, this production of “The Rivals” is dazzling and not to be missed. It exemplifies Pearl Theatre Company’s insistence on perfection and quality and belief in the importance of the theatre past, present, and future.
THE RIVALS
The cast of “The Rivals” features Pearl Resident Acting Company (RAC) Members who previously starred in the company’s last production of The Rivals in 2003 including Rachel Botchan (Lydia Languish in ’03, now Julia Melville in ’14), Dan Daily (Sir Lucius O’Trigger in ’03, now Sir Anthony Absolute in ’14), Obie Award-winner Sean McNall (Sir Jack Absolute in ’03, now Sir Lucius O’Trigger in’14), and Carol Schultz reprising her award-winning turn as Mrs. Malaprop. Other Company Members include Chris Mixon (Bob Acres), Joey Parsons (Lucy), joined by guest artists Cary Donaldson (Sir Jack Absolute), John C. Egan (David and Thomas), Kambi Gathesha, and Jessica Love as Lydia Languish.
The creative team includes Jo Winiarski (Sets), Sam Fleming (Costumes), Jason Fassl (Lighting), Jane Shaw (Sound and Musical Arrangement), Rod Kinter (Fight Director), Kate Farrington (Dramaturg) and Michael Palmer (Production Stage Manager). Production photos are by Al Foote III.
Performances of “The Rivals” will take place at The Pearl Theatre through May 25 on the following schedule: Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.; Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 p.m.; and Thursday–Saturday at 8:00 p.m. The Pearl Theatre is located at 555 West 42nd Street in New York City. Tickets are $65.00 ($35.00 seniors, $20.00 student rush, $20.00 Thursday rush) and can be purchased by visiting www.pearltheatre.org or calling 212.563.9261. Running time is 2 hours and 45 minutes including a 15 minute intermission.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Friday, May 9, 2014
“The Few” at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater (Through Sunday June 8, 2014)
“The Few” at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater (Through Sunday June 8, 2014) Written by Samuel D. Hunter Directed by Davis McCallum Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
“Never, in the field of human conflict, was so much owed by so many to so few.” – Winston Churchill
"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers..." – William Shakespeare, “Henry V”
Long distance truckers are indeed a band of brothers and sisters whose escapades on America’s interstate highways place them among the few. And consumers in the United States owe a great deal to these drivers (the term they prefer) who often put their lives in jeopardy by staying on the road for long hours without rest. The stress of the profession has often led to substance abuse. Long distance drivers Bryan (Michael Laurence), QZ (Tasha Lawrence), and their friend Jim started a newspaper “The Few” to reach out to truckers in and passing through Idaho, give them support, and give them a place to gather and find surcease.
The newspaper is successful until Jim dies unexpectedly and Bryan - in the midst of his bereavement - leaves QZ behind to manage her grief and to manage the newspaper on her own. The events surrounding Jim’s death while behind the wheel of his rig are carefully disclosed in Samuel D. Hunter’s “The Few” currently running at the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. Mr. Hunter is skilled at providing exposition in increments and keeping the audience in suspense throughout the play. As “The Few” opens, Bryan is returning after his absence of four years to find that QZ has reinvented the newspaper as a personals weekly to keep it profitable and has hired Jim’s nineteen-year-old nephew Matthew (Gideon Glick) as her assistant.
The internal and external conflicts of QZ, Matthew, and Bryan are complicated and drive a suspenseful and challenging plot: suspenseful because the audience has to wait to find out exactly why Bryan has decided to return, why QZ is so unhappy about his return, and why Matthew is completely obsessed with Bryan; challenging because the answers confront the audience with absorbing and rich questions about the meaning of relationships, the dynamics of suicide, and the horrors of bullying and psychological abuse. Perhaps the most challenging question is one QZ asks near the end of the play: “When we were in high school, I never thought we would turn out to be such awful people. How did we turn out to be such awful people?”
To write more about this “awfulness” would divulge too much to future audience members. For this review, it is important to know that under Davis McCallum’s discerning and exacting direction, the ensemble cast proves that it is in the spaces that the promise of hope, reconciliation, and response exist. It is in the gaps, the absences where proto-hope germinates and flourishes. It is among the few and not the many that safety can be found. It is in the prospect of the Y2K grinding down of society’s core that humankind finds prospects of renewal. Y2K is a workable trope in “The Few” for the multitude of threats that face Bryan, QZ, and Matthew as they scramble for safety and avoid the fallout from their unexpected reunion.
Michael Laurence is hauntingly brilliant as Bryan who, at “the end of his rope,” hopes to reconcile with QZ after walking out on her four years prior to this visit. Bryan has lost his moorings, lost his sense of caring, and is mired in loneliness. Bryan “just doesn’t care anymore. [He] really, really just doesn’t care.”
Gideon Glick shines as the irrepressible Matthew who, after Jim’s death, has nowhere else to go but QZ’s place. Mr. Glick’s ability to embody Matthew’s vulnerability and neediness is extraordinary. After being rebuffed by Bryan, Matthew retorts, “No, actually, you don’t know. When I lost Jim, this paper was the only part of him that I had left. When QZ let me move in, and I started working here, I thought you’d eventually come back, and when you did, I thought you’d understand.” Gideon Glick perfectly channels Matthew’s fear of being alone and Matthew’s wounded spirit from being verbally abused by his homophobic father and ruthlessly bullied by his straight peers. Mr. Glick carefully exposes Matthew’s growth and eventual understanding that Bryan does understand and just wants Matthew to be able to stand on his own and trust his ego strength. Bryan tells Matthew, “The sooner you accept the fact that you are completely alone, the sooner you accept that everyone is completely alone, the better off you’ll be.” That difficult truth sets Matthew free.
Tasha Lawrence has the difficult task of portraying QZ whose life is interrupted by Bryan’s return and his insistence of renewing their relationship. Ms. Lawrence’s QZ is a well-rounded and dynamic character who, like Matthew, grows to understand the need for self-reliance and self-acceptance. In unexpected ways, Bryan’s return brings redemption and release to both QZ and Matthew. The unresolved issue is who will redeem Bryan. Will he have the ego strength to run the newspaper on his own or will he follow in Jim’s footsteps?
We never know – we humans, we few – how much of what we do, we say, or we hint at can mean to someone on the fringe of society, on the edge of self-destruction, in the midst of overwhelming despair. “The Few” addresses this important issue in creative and impressive ways. Be sure to see it before June 8. 2014.
THE FEW
The cast of “The Few” is Gideon Glick, Michael Laurence, and Tasha Lawrence.
The set design for “The Few” is by Dane Laffrey; costume design is by Jessica Pabst; lighting design is by Eric Southern; sound design is by Daniel Kluger; properties design is by Andrew Diaz. The production manager is Eugenia Furneaux; the production stage manager is Katie Young. Production photos are by Joan Marcus.
“The Few” plays Monday, Wednesday, and Sunday at 7:00 p.m.; Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8:00 p.m.; Saturday at 3:00 p.m. at 224 Waverly Place, west of Seventh Avenue South. Individual tickets are now available and may be purchased at www.rattlestick.org or by phoning OvationTix at 866.811.4111. Individual tickets are $55.00, Student tickets are $10.00, and Under-30 tickets are $15.00. For more information about Rattlestick Playwright Theater and “The Few,” visit www.rattlestick.org.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Thursday, May 8, 2014
“The Lovesong of Alfred J. Hitchcock” at 59E59 Theater A (Through Sunday May 25, 2014)
“The Lovesong of Alfred J. Hitchcock” at 59E59 Theater A (Through Sunday May 25, 2014) By David Rudkin Directed by Jack McNamara Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
“And indeed there will be time/To wonder, “Do I dare?” and, “Do I dare?”/Time to turn back and descend the stair,/With a bald spot in the middle of my hair—“ From “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T. S. Eliot (1888 – 1965)
The connections playwright David Rudkin draws between T. S. Eliot’s fictional character J. Alfred Prufrock and Mr. Rudkin’s interest Alfred J. Hitchcock are compelling and make for a riveting and important theatre piece. Adapted from his earlier (1993) “film for radio,” David Rudkin’s “The Lovesong of Alfred J. Hitchcock” plays at 59E59 Theater A through May 25, 2014 as part of the Brits Off-Broadway Series.
David Rudkin intends his stage version of the radio play to explore “the obsessions of a haunted man” and “The Lovesong” does that with success and a high level of interest. Martin Miller eerily channels the essence of Alfred Hitchcock not just in posture and pattern of speech but also in spirit and soul. Amidst the same empty streets and “yellows,” Mr. Miller shares a Hitchcock who traverses the same stairs ascended and descended by J. Alfred Prufrock as both men sought meaning in their loneliness and hope in their solitude. Mr. Miller is splendid as the meticulous director thinking and rethinking how to bring the images in his mind to images on the screen.
Anthony Wise portrays three characters and handily gives each his own district personality and character traits: first, the menacing Jesuit priest that punishes Alfred cruelly as a child; second, the priest who hears his “confession later in life; and third, the stranger in the dining car on a train who counterpoints Hitchcock’s own dip into subterranean psychic waters. Tom McHugh plays the screenwriter, Hitchcock’s alter ego who puts into words the director’s visionary images and he charmingly plays the overly attentive waiter on the train. Hitchcock claims he was more comfortable with images than reality and Mr. McHugh’s screenwriter makes that claim clear.
Roberta Kerr shines as Hitchcock’s mother Emma and his wife Alma. Ms. Kerr embodies the meanness and possessiveness of Emma and the stalwart supportiveness of Alma who truly nurtured “Hitch” through his disconnect with reality and his deep loneliness. Roberta Kerr hauntingly exudes an Alma who, even after Hitchcock’s death, struggles with defining precisely how she connected to the complicated man her husband was.
Juliet Shillingford’s design and Asuza Ono’s lighting complement the script and the action with simplicity and chilling starkness. Director Jack McNamara keeps the pace at appropriate speed throughout. The piece is a bit long and could easily run without an intermission which would only intensify the playwright’s intent.
It would have been good to have the connection between Hitchcock’s tormented creativity more clearly delineated and more concretely linked to the difficult relationships between the famed director and his wife Alma and his mother Emma; however, the theatre piece as it stands is a compelling look into “Hitch’s” creative process and his brooding desire to find some connection “at the top of the stairs.”
THE LOVESONG OF ALFRED J. HITCHCOCK
59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director; Peter Tear, Executive Producer) welcome New Perspectives back to Brits Off-Broadway with the US premiere of David Rudkin's “The Lovesong oF Alfred J. Hitchcock,” directed by Jack McNamara.
The cast features Martin Miller (as Alfred Hitchcock); Roberta Kerr; Tom McHugh; and Anthony Wise.
The design team includes Juliet Shillingford (set and costumes); Azusa Ono (lighting); and Tom Lishman (sound). The Production and Stage Manager is Mandy Ivory-Castile. The AEA Stage Manager is Jess Johnston. Production photos are by Carol Rosegg.
“The Lovesong of Alfred J. Hitchcock” runs for a limited engagement through Sunday, May 25. The performance schedule is Tuesday – Thursday at 7:00 PM; Friday at 8:00 PM; Saturday at 2:00 PM and 8:00 PM; Sunday at 3:00 PM and 7:00 PM. Single tickets are $70.00 ($49.00 for 59E59 Members). To purchase tickets, call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 or go to www.59e59.org. For more information, visit www.britsoffbroadway.com.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Wednesday, May 7, 2014
“Playing with Grown Ups” at 59E59 Theater B (Through Sunday May 18, 2014)
“Playing with Grown Ups” at 59E59 Theater B (Through Sunday May 18, 2014) Written by Hannah Patterson Directed by Hannah Eidinow Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Two couples trying to discover who they are as dyadic entities. Four individuals attempting to discover who they are in their unitary states. Oddly, the lives of the couples parallel one another and even more curious, each individual has a doppelganger. These four - coupled in twos - collide on one rainy night in a flat in the midst of Joanna’s (Trudi Jackson) apparent post-partum, post traumatic stress disorder meltdown. This collision and its fallout are the subject of Hannah Patterson’s “Playing with Grown Ups” currently running at 59E59 Theaters at part of its Brits Off-Broadway series.
Joanna is part of the first couple: she is married to Robert (Mark Rice-Oxley) a university lecturer. They are in their late 30s and Robert has decided they needed to have a child. The second couple - the interlopers – consists of Jake (Alan Cox) and his seventeen year old squeeze Stella (Daisy Hughes) whom Jake met at one of his presentations as head of the film department in which Robert teaches. Robert invites Jake over and Jake includes Stella in the invitation. All of this is without Joanna’s knowledge or approval. Robert announces it on his return from work telling Joanna Jake insisted on the visit since he had not seen Joanna “in months.” The visit includes Joanna preparing dinner for four. The meltdown gets worse.
Despite the levels of cordiality proffered by Robert and their guests, Joanna is in no mood to entertain. The harder Robert, Jake, and Stella try, the worse the situation becomes. Jake is so insensitive to the dynamics of the visit that he insists on staying the night with Stella. And at no time does Robert intercede on Joanna’s behalf. He is more interested in securing his position at the university and securing his future by producing children. He cares more about whether Jake should be dating a seventeen year old than he does about the psychological and spiritual health of his wife. Joanna has discovered she cares “more about bringing [her] women back into the world than [she does] about bringing [Lily] into the world.” This discovery will change her life and her marriage in catastrophic and cathartic ways and this catharsis is at the very core of “Playing with Grown Ups.”
The difficulty is that no one is listening to Joanna. Even Joanna has not listened to herself in a very long time. Joanna loves her work at the publishing company. She cherishes being able to bring back to life women writers who have become “unpopular.” After Lily’s birth, she realizes that decision to have a child was not hers but her husband’s. Joanna has given up all that she loves in order to do something she does not want to do and to become someone she is not. Robert does not understand Joanna’s ennui and believes everything will be all right if his wife “gets some help.” Apparently not much progress has been made since the nineteenth century solution to a woman’s sadness was to administer a dose of laudanum or prescribe a stint in a “sanatorium.”
Under Hannah Eldinow’s often cumbersome direction, all four actors manage to bring their characters to levels of believability and authenticity. Trudi Jackson brilliantly portrays a Joanna lost in a vacuum of indifference: those who portend to love her are in fact indifferent to her needs and to her aspirations. Mark Rice-Oxley’s Robert is a “good old boy” nattily disguised in thirty-something wolves’ clothes and Mr. Rice-Oxley pulls off that annoying duplicity with charm and wit. Alan Cox gives the audience a Jake whose annoying intrusiveness can easily burst forth in righteous indignation: when Jake defends himself against Robert’s accusations of inappropriate behavior, Mr. Cox shines. And Daisy Hughes is the perfect teenage Stella who is simply trying to discover what it means to be seventeen in the midst of a trio of almost-forties all of whom lack direction or requisite ego strength. She is Joanna’s doppelganger as Jake is Robert’s double.
The only weakness of this production is in its length and its pacing. The performance is too long and the actors’ pacing seems off. It takes far too long to establish the relationship between Stella and Jake and the scenes between them are laborious, particularly the bed scene. There are unnecessary gaps between conversations and individual characters deliver lines at a slow pace. Perhaps this improved after this performance. Nonetheless, “Playing with Grown Ups” is an important play and worth the visit. Joanna’s and Stella’s quests to discover who they are resonate in significant ways with all attempts at self-realization and self-acceptance.
PLAYING WITH GROWN UPS
59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director; Peter Tear, Executive Producer) welcomes KPS Productions in association with the Pleasance Theatre in Edinburgh to Brits Off Broadway with “Playing with Grown Ups” by Hannah Patterson, directed by Hannah Eidinow.
The cast for PLAYING WITH GROWN UPS features Alan Cox (Cornelius at Brits Off Broadway at 59E59), Daisy Hughes (Richard III with the Royal Shakespeare Company), Trudi Jackson (Road Rage at the Arcola, Miramax's The Libertine), and Mark Rice-Oxley (Mark Ravenhill's Pool, No Water with Frantic Assembly).
The design team includes Simon Scullion (set design); Nicholas Holdridge (lighting design); and Natalie Pryce (costume design). The Production Stage Manager is Raynelle Wright. Production photos are by Carol Rosegg.
The performance schedule is Tuesday – Thursday at 7:15 PM; Friday at 8:15 PM; Saturday at 2:15 PM and 8:15 PM; and Sunday at 3:15 PM and 7:15 PM. Performances are at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues). Tickets are $35 ($24.50 for 59E59 Members). To purchase tickets, call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 or visit www.59e59.org. Running time is 90 minutes with no intermission.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Tuesday, May 6, 2014
“Sea Marks” at the Irish Repertory Theatre (Through Sunday June 15, 2014)
Xanthe Elbrick and Patrick Fitzgerald: Photo by Carol Rosegg
“Sea Marks” at the Irish Repertory Theatre (Through Sunday June 15, 2014) By Gardner McKay Directed by Ciarán O'Reilly Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
There is a brooding sadness inherent in and hovering over the love story of Liverpudlian Timothea Stiles (Xanthe Elbrick) and Cliffhorn Heads fisherman Colm Primrose (Patrick Fitzgerald). Gardner McKay’s mesmeric “Sea Marks” echoes the deep sadness of James Joyce and the disputatious anger of Martin McDonagh and, blended with his own unique storytelling style, creates a beautiful tale of love and loss, regret and redemption. “Sea Marks” is not a traditional love story with a happy ending; rather it is a story about what motivates people to do the risky things they do to find happiness or the surcease of loneliness.
Remembering the “pretty girl” he met at a wedding “two winters ago,” Colm sends “Miss Stiles” a letter just to see if she might remember him. The pretty girl Timothea does not remember Colm but they commence on a furious correspondence which transitions from the formal to the affectionate to the romantic. Colm eventually leaves his partner “called the MacAfee” and their fishing boat behind to visit Timothea in Liverpool where she works for the publisher Mr. Blackstone. Colm is head over heels in love with Timothea; in fact, he in infatuated with the idea of her.
Colm’s letters to Timothea are sheer poetry brimming with deep human feeling and constructed with imagery, figurative language and a treasure trove of tropes any poet would die for! Before he visits, Timothea shares with Colm that, “Mr. Blackstone says there’s not many can coax meaning out of words the way you do.” That seems to be a compliment. In fact, it is the foreshadowing of disaster.
Motivation is the key to understanding the love song of Welsh Timothea and Irish Colm. Although it appears on the surface that, through Colm’s letters Timothea develops the same kind of fancy for Colm as Colm has for her, Timothea’s motivation for developing her relationship with Colm is more about publishing than permanency. Before Colm’s arrival, Timothea has set in motion a publishing marketing campaign that will rattle Colm’s weltanschauung to its very core.
All Colm wants to do is please Tomothea. His motives are pure, clean, and primitive – all he desires is as poet and lover to coax the meaning out of their relationship. When all he experiences is the marketing campaign for the book of poems Timothea garnered from his private letters and published without his permission, Colm begins to yearn for the Heads and his partner the MacAfee. The publisher titles Colm’s book of poetry “Sea Sonnets.” Colm would have preferred “Sea Marks” paying homage to “those lines that the highest reach of the tide leaves on the land to remind you that it’ll be back.”
Patrick Fitzgerald’s Colm (meaning ‘dove’) is perfectly “primitive” in the sense of ‘essential, indispensible, fundamental, and pristine." Mr, Fitzgerald gives his Colm the ideal blend of seasoned gritty fisherman and naïve schoolboy. His performance is flawless and freckled with highlights of brilliance. Colm just wants to – as playwright McKay offers – “hold his way of life,” something Timothea does not understand and fails to respect.
Xanthe Elbrick’s Timothea (meaning ‘God-fearing’) is paramour on the outside and Venus Fly Trap just beneath the endearing surface. Ms. Elbrick makes clear that Timothea’s love is as much authentic romance as it is an interest in his sexual naiveté and the publishing possibilities Colm’s writing proffers. Her performance is at once charming as it is calculating and brims with alarming sincerity.
Charlie Corcoran’s scenic design is serviceable and engaging. Michael Gottlieb’s lighting bathes the Heads and Liverpool with appropriate mystery and urban distraction. And Ciarán O'Reilly’s direction is fluid, meticulous, and supportive of the craft of the ensemble cast.
Eventually Colm returns to Cliffhorn Heads to complete a season of fishing. The play ends the same way it begins: Colm writing to Timothea and Timothea beginning to respond. The salutations – “Dear Love” and “My dearest Colm” – seem to prophesy a felicitous reunion. Between the lines, however, is the possibility they both know things will never be the same between them. The “sea marks” of their visit in Liverpool foreshadow difficulty for a true love connection and remind both “lovers” the tides of remorse will return. This final offering in Irish Repertory’s current season is a must see and will not disappoint.
SEA MARKS
The cast of “Sea Marks” features Xanthe Elbrick and Patrick Fitzgerald.
“Sea Marks” has set design by Charlie Corcoran, costume design by Leon Dobkowski, lighting design by Michael Gottlieb, sound design by M. Florian Staab, and music by Ryan Rumery. Wig design is by Robert Charles Vallance, and properties by Sven Henry Nelson. Production photos are by Carol Rosegg.
“Sea Marks” will be performed April 23rd through June 15th on the Francis J. Greenburger Mainstage of the Irish Repertory Theatre (132 West 22nd Street). The performance schedule is: Wednesdays at 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.; Thursdays at 7:00 p.m.; Fridays at 8:00 p.m.; Saturdays at 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.; and Sundays at 3:00 p.m.
Tickets for SEA MARKS, priced $55.00-$65.00, are available by calling the Irish Rep box office at 212-727-2737 or by visiting www.irishrep.org.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Monday, May 5, 2014
“17 Orchard Point” at the Beckett Theatre at Theatre Row (Through Saturday May 24, 2014)
“17 Orchard Point” at the Beckett Theatre at Theatre Row (Through Saturday May 24, 2014) By Anton Dudley and Stephanie DiMaggio Directed by Stella Powell-Jones Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
“Right now, it's time for us to do something. If not now, then when. Will we see an end. To all this pain. It's not enough to do nothing. It's time for us to do something.” - “Do Something” by Matthew West
What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Just ask the irrepressible Lydia Rauscher (Michele Pawk) come to visit her daughter Vera (Stephanie DiMaggio) for the baby shower for Lydia’s younger daughter Annie. Lydia flees Cleveland after the death of her husband and son Griffin, leaves Vera to manage the apartment building she owns, and hooks up with Stuart in Las Vegas where what happens remains a secret. But Lydia’s Vegas secrets are no match for the Pandora’s Box of punchy revelations awaiting her at 17 Orchard Point. Anton Dudley and Stephanie DiMaggio’s play – named after that apartment – is a chilling psychological thriller with all the necessary twists and turns to keep the audience gasping and guessing for an emotionally-laden seventy-five glorious minutes at the Beckett Theatre at Theatre Row in Manhattan.
What happened at 17 Orchard Point some thirty years ago comes back to haunt Lydia and shake the very foundations of Vera’s ego strength. What happened swirls around two christening gowns that Vera retrieves at her sister’s request from the basement of the apartment – home of handyman Leonard. The mystery begins to unfold when Lydia discovers she has walked into a trap: Vera is not hosting a baby shower for Annie – that shower took place a week prior at Vera’s brother-in-law’s house. One gown is embroidered with Vera’s sister’s birth name: Annie Marie Rauscher. The other is embroidered with Vera’s birth name: Vera Elaine Thomason.
The “stuff” of “17 Orchard Point” revolves around Vera’s insistence that her mother disclose why Vera’s christening gown has a different last name than her father’s. That secret will be left to the audience to discover – and the reader should not assume too much by that different last name – the truth is far more devastating than one might imagine. Even after the truth is revealed, there are more secrets, more truths, to be disclosed – including Lydia’s decision to sell the apartment building and leave Vera virtually homeless and jobless. Those truths are uncovered in a rapid-fire “truth-or-dare” (without the dare) match between mother and daughter. Ms. DiMaggio and Ms. Pawk light the stage with fireworks in this and all scenes in the play. Their craft is remarkable and unswerving. It is a gift to see these two actors square off with one another in a duet of thrilling bravura performances.
When Lydia first enters the apartment, she announces to Vera, “Remember what Nana used to say? “Leave your baggage at the door or it’ll end up on your face! The little things!” Lydia repeats that mantra – the little things – at least seven times during the play and each time the phrase is a harbinger of quite “big things” to come. Both Lydia and Vera are repeatedly hit in the face with truths that should set them free but instead open a multitude of wounds in the process. The manner in which these characters handle the pain and move forward in their lives is stunning and manages to profoundly engage the audience and connect with the audience in powerful ways. Some of the truths in “17 Orchard Point” hit more than Lydia and Vera’s faces during this brilliantly acted and brilliantly directed play.
At least five religious symbols grace Vera’s apartment: three crucifixes, a statue, and a twisted bit of palm. With relatively few instruments, Daisy Long lights these and the rest of the interior and the exterior of 17 Orchard Point with satisfying believability. Her lighting and John McDermott’s multilevel, multi-room set provide the lived-in charming realism that belies the shadows that insist on becoming light. Vera’s faith and its accoutrements have managed to keep her demons at bay for a very long time and her encounter with Lydia is the beginning of an exorcism and a catharsis of epic proportions. The necessary catharsis works as well as it does in large part because of the Lydia brought to life by Michele Pawk. Her Lydia gives the audience a mother in the midst of a psych- dramatic meltdown as she attempts to keep truth at bay just a little longer.
“17 Orchard Point” is a play about honesty, motivation, self-esteem, disillusionment, love, and indifference. Who is the mysterious Thomason? Does Lydia really love Vera? What is Vera’s relationship with Leonard? These questions and many more are answered as daughter and mother unpack thirty years of secrets, thirty years of unspoken feelings, and thirty years of imprisonment in the past. It is a play ultimately about what happens when nothing is done when time and again it has been time to do something. It would be shame to miss this fascinating play and even more a shame if it does not enjoy a future beyond its current run.
17 ORCHARD POINT
The cast of “17 Orchard Point” features Stephanie DiMaggio and Michelle Pawk.
Scenic Design for “17 Orchard Point” is by John McDermott. Costume Design is by Tilly Grimes. Lighting Design is by Daisy Long. Sound Design is by Elisheba Ittoop. “17 Orchard Point” is produced by Justin Scribner. Production photos are by Matthew Murphy.
“17 Orchard Point” runs through May 24th at the Beckett Theatre at Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues). The performance schedule is: Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m.; Wednesdays – Fridays at 8:00 p.m.; Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.; and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. Tickets for “17 Orchard Point” are $45.00 and can be arranged online www.telecharge.com or 212.239.6200, or at the Theatre available daily at the Theatre Row Box Office for that day’s performance(s) only. Valid student ID required. For more information, please visit www.17OrchardPoint.com.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Sunday, May 4, 2014
“Family Play” (1979 to Present) at the New Ohio Theatre (Through Friday May 16, 2014)
“Family Play” (1979 to Present) at the New Ohio Theatre (Through Friday May 16, 2014) Written by Geoffrey Decas O’Donnell, Boo Killebrew, and Jordan Seavey Directed by Lee Sunday Evans Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
It is difficult to develop well-rounded and rich characterizations when one has not experienced directly or indirectly the significant conflicts and settings of the characters involved in a play or any other performance piece. Actors attempt that theatrical feat often with varying degrees of success. In the case of “Family Play (1979 to Present),” Collaboration Town’s ensemble-driven creative process does not give the young ensemble cast enough interesting content to be able to bring their somewhat lackluster characters to life. In four “sections” – each introduced by a different family “meal time event” – six talented actors spin around a large circular stage and hop on and off entering into a variety of “Readers Theatre” scenarios.
All of the scenarios fail to develop past the improvisational theatre level of acting class theatre games – except obviously the actors have clearly memorized their lines flawlessly and have received some manner of direction from Lee Sunday Evans. The fault lies not with the actors but with the material they are given to grapple with and with the sparse direction they receive: one actor (whose name will not be mentioned) evidences the exact same body movement and speech pattern for every character he plays whether that character is a child, teen, or adult. It is difficult to understand how a director could allow that to happen.
The life events “acted out” for the audience run the gamut of family feuds, beak-ups, make-ups, straight marriages, gay marriages, pregnancies, divorces, coming-out, going out, abuse, suicide, addiction, progressive families, parents who never should have had children, surrogate mothers, gender dysphoria (DSM-5), coping with aging and Alzheimer’s – to name just a few. The list is both kaleidoscopic and sometimes exhausting.
This is Collaboration Town’s statement of purpose: CollaborationTown (“CTown”) creates ensemble-driven works that defy expectations of how stories can be told in the theater. CTown creates imaginative, emotional, aesthetically sophisticated productions with a commitment to make work that is relevant beyond traditional theater audiences and speaks to many of the most pressing contemporary social and political themes.”
Unfortunately, in the case of this first installment of their two-year Archive Residency at the New Ohio, Collaboration Town has not created any new stories, any new ways those stories can be told in the theatre, and has not produced a performance piece that is relevant beyond traditional theatre audiences. Finally, although the contemporary social and political themes addressed are indeed among the most pressing, all have been dealt with in other places and other times with more depth and more sensitivity.
The audience here cares little about the families portrayed short of the occasional burst of laughter evinced when someone briefly recognizes his or her own life experience being depicted on the stage. The jury remains out on the rest of Collaboration Town’s Residency.
FAMILY PLAY (1979 TO PRESENT)
The cast of “Family Play” includes Eboni Booth, Jorge Cordova, Geoffrey Decas O’Donnell, Mark Junek, Boo Killebrew and Therese Plaehn.
The creative team includes Geoffrey Decas O’Donnell (Scenic Design), Nick Houfek (Lighting Design), Beth Goldenberg (Costume Design), Brandon Wolcott (Sound Design), Stephanie Miller (Associate Director) and Sandy Yaklin (Associate Scenic Design and Technical Director). The production team includes Amanda Feldman (Producer) and Eric Marlin (Production Stage Manager). Production photos are by Hunter Canning.
CollaborationTown’s World Premiere of “Family Play (1979 To Present)” runs through Friday May 16, 2014. Performances are Mondays and Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m., and Wednesdays – Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. There is no show on Monday, May 5. Performances take place at New Ohio Theatre, located at 154 Christopher Street between Greenwich and Washington Streets in New York City. Tickets are $18.00 and $15.00 for students and seniors, and can be purchased online at http://www.NewOhioTheatre.org or by calling the Vendini ticket line at 1-888-596-1027. For info visit http://www.NewOhioTheatre.org, Like them on Facebook at https://www.Facebook.com/NewOhioTheatre and follow on Twitter at @NewOhioTheatre. The running time is 1 hour and 50 minutes with no intermission.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Friday, May 2, 2014
“Red-Eye to Havre de Grace” at the New York Theatre Workshop (Through Sunday June 1, 2014)
“Red-Eye to Havre de Grace” at the New York Theatre Workshop (Through Sunday June 1, 2014) By Lucidity Suitcase Intercontinental Music by Wilhelm Bros. & Co. Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Despite Ranger Steve Reynolds’ (Jeremy Wilhelm) welcoming words to the NYTW audience and his insistence that “Red-Eye to Havre de Grace” is “gonna have a lot of good information [and] some important dates,” there is not much Edgar Allan Poe aficionados do not already know about Poe, his marriage to his thirteen year old cousin Virginia Clemm, his attachment to his mother-in-law (and aunt) “Muddy,” and his life-long battles with the dissolution of his ego strength and his successive descent into madness.
But providing fresh information about Edgar Allan Poe is not the purpose of Lucidity Suitcase Intercontinental’s brilliant and evocative “Red-Eye to Havre de Grace” currently running at the New York Theatre Workshop. Rather, the success of this impressive theatre-dance/performance piece depends on it razor sharp focus on Poe’s final journey on the red-eye train from Philadelphia to Baltimore – the train Poe mistakenly boarded instead of the train to his home in New York City.
Thaddeus Phillips, Jeremy Wilhelm, David Wilhelm, Geoff Sobelle, Sophie Bortolussi with Ean Sheehy – creators of “Red-Eye to Havre de Grace” – also reference “Eureka” which Poe “believed to be his greatest work, in which he offered the full explanation of the origin and annihilation of the universe.” Poe’s exploration of particle theory is not only an extraordinary and visionary treatise that “puts forth in rational terms the metaphysical phenomenon commonly referred to as ‘God;’ it is also a dignified and provocative trope for Edgar Allan Poe’s own self-destruction and demise and delving into deity.
The Lucidity Suitcase Intercontinental is a theater creation team “that uses 'rough' media, documentary footage, transformational scenography, improvisation, and research to create theatrical epics that peer into not-often seen worlds.” “Red-Eye to Havre de Grace” is such an epic that peers with the precision of a surgeon’s scalpel into the events surrounding Poe’s mysterious death on October 7, 1849. There have been several plausible theories of how Poe ended up in Washington College Hospital: the strength of “Red-Eye to Havre de Grace” is its commitment to exploring in detail one theory in chilling and exotic detail.
Under Thaddeus Phillips’ exacting and kaleidoscopic direction and counterpointing David and Jeremy Wilhelm’s haunting music, Alessandra L. Larson as Virginia Poe and Ean Sheehy as Edgar Allan Poe deliver what might easily be the most definitive and well-defined performances about this star-crossed couple to date. Part performance piece and part theatre-dance, “Red-Eye to Havre de Grace” is at once poignant, disturbing, electric, and discomforting. The audience connects in powerful ways to Poe’s struggles to stay connected to reality and sanity as he lives out his days mourning the loss of his “Annabel Lee” as the thumping of the “Tell-Tale Heart” reminds him of all that he has buried which is not yet forgotten.
Additionally, Poe’s battles with alcohol and laudanum connect in dramatic ways to our individual and corporate attempts to dull the pain and ennui of the twenty-first century and its sometimes hallucinogenic forays into false hopefulness and denial of reality. Humanity’s grasp on lucidity and sanity is at best tentative and seems often on the brink of dissolving into a sea of paranoia. Ranger Steve (why not Conductor Steve?) narrates Poe’s last hours before his death with skill and chilling humor and the powerful craft of Ms. Larson and Mr. Sheehy lead us to the glorious place where questioning our own sanity leads us gently to the very Valley of the Shadow just east of Eldorado.
RED-EYE TO HAVRE DE GRACE
New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) Artistic Director James C. Nicola and Managing Director Jeremy Blocker present the New York premiere of “Red-Eye to Havre de Grace” at NYTW, 79 East 4 Street, between Second Avenue and Bowery. “Red-Eye to Havre de Grace” is by Lucidity Suitcase Intercontinental, created by Thaddeus Phillips, Jeremy Wilhelm, David Wilhelm, Geoff Sobelle, Sophie Bortolussi with Ean Sheehy, with music by Wilhelm Bros. & Co., and direction and stage design by Thaddeus Phillips.
The cast of “Red-Eye to Havre de Grace” includes Ean Sheehy, Alessandra Larson, Jeremy Wilhelm and David Wilhelm.
“Red-Eye to Havre de Grace” includes creative consultation by Teller, choreography by Sophie Bortulussi, lighting design by Drew Billiau, sound design by Rob Kaplowitz, and costume design by Rosemarie Mckelvey. Production photos are by Johanna Austin (http://www.austinart.org/).
“Red-Eye to Havre de Grace” plays Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.; Thursday and Friday at 8:00 p.m.; Saturday at 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.; Sunday at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. at New York Theatre Workshop, 79 East 4 Street, between Second Avenue and Bowery. There will be a special student matinee on Tuesday, May 20. “Red-Eye to Havre de Grace” runs through June 1, 2014. Tickets, starting at $75.00 may be purchased online at nytw.org, 24 hours a day, seven days a week or by phoning Ticket Central at 212-279-4200. For exact dates and times of performances, visit nytw.org. Running time is 90 minutes with no intermission.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Wednesday, April 30, 2014
“Peddling” at 59E59 Theater C (Through Sunday May 18, 2014)
Harry Melling stars in Peddling, part of Brits Off Broadway at 59E59 Theaters. Photo by Bill Knight.
“Peddling” at 59E59 Theater C (Through Sunday May 18, 2014) Written and Performed by Harry Melling Directed by Steven Atkinson Reviewed by David Roberts and Joseph Verlezza
“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14
Words are inherently powerful tools, even more powerful when written and perhaps most powerful when spoken. This is the case with Harry Melling’s compelling script “Peddling” currently running at 59E59 Theater C and part of the presenting organization’s “2014 Brits Off-Broadway Series.” Mr. Melling’s script traces the often explosive day-in-the-life of Michael the nineteen-year-old “boy” peddling his “everyday essentials” as part of “Boris; young offender’s scheme.”
The boy’s story is somewhat universal: Michael – like so many others – “was born and didn’t grow.” “Something happened and [he] still don’t know quite what.” Having missed living in a happy family and enjoying a mother who liked him, Michael obviously took to the streets of London, fell in with the wrong crowd, and became a juvenile offender. Now in a residence with other offenders, his days are spent peddling wares to justify his room and board and – at least temporary – secure his escape from homelessness.
Like Don Quixote, Michael battles enemies real and imagined and attempts to ward off his own personal demons as he tries “to get back on track” without the “atomic meltdown” of low self esteem and rage at the establishment that consume his recovering mind, body, and spirit. Michael needs to discover his “point of turning – where one thing becomes the other.” When did innocence cease for Michael and when precisely did he “come to offend?” But Michael’s rage often overcomes reason and he retreats into his mantra “we gonna disturb the peace/we gonna make a noise so loud - that no one won’t know us./no one won’t know me.”
Michael’s important journey in Harry Milling’s script is unfortunately overshadowed by the somewhat pretentious production design meant to enhance his engaging prose-poem. “Peddling” is a spoken word event which does not need an elaborate (and obviously expensive) set. The four-sided scrim obfuscates the performer’s expressions and although it is meant to signify Michael’s imprisonment in his past, it prevents the audience from fully engaging in Michael’s cries to be recognized and accepted as “something made of flesh and blood!”
“Peddling” is about the importance of the journey to redemption and release from self-doubt. Michael wants a second chance; he wants to “take a first step,” he “wants a shot” at full personhood and the ability to experience the real “life’s essentials.” The play would have worked better as a pure performance piece. Without the trappings, Mr. Milling’s words could have become flesh and dwelt among the audience “full of grace and truth.” The playwright needs to trust his material and trust his audience’s ability to process that material. That said, it would be worth the trip to listen to Mr. Milling’s words. All you have to do is close your eyes and listen.
PEDDLING
59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director; Peter Tear, Executive Producer) welcomes HighTide Festival Theatre with the US premiere of PEDDLING, written and performed by Harry Melling, and directed by Steven Atkinson.
The design team includes Lily Arnold (set and costume design), Azusa Ono (lighting design), and George Dennis (sound design). Production photos are by Bill Knight.
PEDDLING runs for a limited engagement through Sunday, May 18. The performance schedule is Tuesday - Thursday at 7:30 PM; Friday at 8:30 PM; Saturday at 2:30 PM & 8:30 PM; and Sunday at 3:30 PM & 7:30 PM. Performances are at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues). Single tickets are $25 ($17.50 for 59E59 Members). To purchase tickets, call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 or go to www.59e59.org. Running time is 50 minutes with no intermission.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Tuesday, April 29, 2014
“Inventing Mary Martin” at the York Theatre Company at St. Peter’s (Through Sunday May 25, 2014)
Emily Skinner - Photo by Carol Rosegg
“Inventing Mary Martin” at the York Theatre Company at St. Peter’s (Through Sunday May 25, 2014) Conceived, Written, and Directed by Stephen Cole Reviewed by David Roberts and Joseph Verlezza Theatre Reviews Limited
Stephen Cole’s “Inventing Mary Martin” is ninety minutes of adrenaline driven high energy singing and dancing devoted to remembering, honoring, and celebrating the life and career of the indefatigable Mary Martin. Broadway veteran Jason Graae narrates and hosts the tribute and is joined on the York Theatre stage by a trio of delightful divas: Cameron Adams, Lynne Halliday, and Emily Skinner. After the opening monologue and medley of Mary Martin hits, the cast, under Mr. Cole’s direction, launches into a non-stop succession of solos, duets, trios, and quartets all highlighting Ms. Martin’s successful Hollywood and Broadway careers.
And as the title suggests, this quartet of skilled singers, actors, and dancers address the importance of Mary Martin’s remarkable ability to invent herself, reinvent herself, and know when to allow herself to be reimagined by others.
The inimitable Jason Graae, who seems to shine on all facets of a well cut entertainer as actor, comedian, singer and dancer, keeps the show moving at a very quick pace with inextinguishable energy which was so commonly found in the Broadway musical stars of the 40s and 50s. His rendition of “Alice Is At It Again” which was actually cut from the show “Pacific 1860” because Ms. Martin thought it too risqué to perform, is an amazing example of an actor/singer understanding the storytelling of the song, making every lyric clear and impeccably delivered. The hysterical pantomime about fashion through the years which was done by Martin on The Ford 50th Anniversary Show for television is reconstructed by Mr. Graae and is nothing less than brilliant, with finesse and comic flair reminding us of the great Sid Ceaser.
To single out any one of the three delectable divas seems implausible, as each shines in their own special way. Lynne Halliday with her clear soprano delivers a sublime rendition of ”I’m A Stranger Here Myself” which captivates the audience and interprets the dramatic turn Ms. Martin exhibited in “A Touch of Venus.” Cameron Adams pulls out all the stops in her spin on “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Out Of My Hair” which becomes one of the showstoppers and audience favorites, as she inexhaustibly bumps, grinds and kicks her way through a rigorous dance routine while still managing to belt out the song’s mantra. Emily Skinner never ceases to amaze as she delivers one of the best renditions of “I Got Lost In His Arms” these critics have heard, bringing a sensual sensitivity to the lyric with beautiful interpretation and then conquers “Flaming Agnes” with her competent musical comedy ability and Broadway belt.
This is nonstop entertainment that is sure to please. The only flaw would be too much histrionics in the first half of the show that sometimes reveals irrelevant information that has no connection to the musical number that will be performed. The second half seems to gain strength in providing a better ratio of narration and song at time providing an intriguing integration.
INVENTING MARY MARTIN
The York Theatre Company (James Morgan, Producing Artistic Director; Andrew Levine, Executive Director) continues the 2013-2014 season with the world premiere of the new musical, “Inventing Mary Martin,” conceived, written and directed by Stephen Cole.
The four-member cast will feature Cameron Adams, Lynne Halliday, Jason Graae and Emily Skinner.
The creative team includes James Morgan (Set), Patricia McGourty (Costumes), Mary Jo Dondlinger (Lights), Janie Bullard (Sound), Justin West (Projections), James Maloof (Props), and Geoff Josselson (Casting). The Production Stage Manager is Bernita Robinson with Assistant Stage Manager Jackie Cookfair. Production photos are by Carol Rosegg.
“Inventing Mary Martin” will play the following performance schedule: Tuesday at 7:00 p.m., Wednesday-Friday at 8:00 p.m., Saturday at 2:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Tickets for Inventing Mary Martin are priced at $67.50 and may be purchased by calling (212) 935-5820, or in person at the box office at the York Theatre at Saint Peter’s (Citicorp Building, entrance on East 54th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue), Monday through Friday (12:00 -6:00 p.m.). Running Time is 90 minutes with no intermission.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Sunday, April 27, 2014
59E59 Theaters launches the 5A Season, a new season of five plays in Theater A
Click Link for Brochure: http://www.59e59.org/5a-brochure.php
59E59 Theaters launches the 5A Season, a new season of five plays in Theater A and a new membership option
59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director; Peter Tear, Executive Producer), now celebrating 10 years of presenting ground-breaking theater in New York, is thrilled to announce the creation of the 5A Season, a new Theater A season of five tremendous new plays for New York theater lovers. The 5A Season also includes a new membership option expanding on 59E59's popular membership program.
Presenting five new plays from celebrated theater makers across the US and around the world, 59E59's new 5A Season is an exciting addition to its already eclectic year-round programming. For $245, the 5A Season Bundle includes a ticket to each of the new 5A shows, including guaranteed same seating for all shows, plus the benefits of the regular 59E59 Membership (30% off all shows, discounts at partner dining establishments, $3 off drinks at the E:Bar, parking discounts, and more). The 59E59 Membership is included with the 5A Season Bundle.
The single ticket prices for the 5A Season will be $70 ($49 for 59E59 Members). Tickets to the 5A Season go on sale on May 27, with a special pre-sale for current 59E59 Members beginning May 19. The 5A Season Bundle is on sale now. Tickets are available by calling Ticket Central at 212-279-4200 or online at www.59e59.org.
"We are excited to now program Theater A year-round with the challenging, wonderful and sometimes funky shows that shore-up 59E59's reputation as an Off Broadway risk-taker," said Founder and Artistic Director Elysabeth Kleinhans. "We've assembled a season filled with exciting new voices telling extraordinary stories."
"The amount we've grown over the past ten years is truly phenomenal," added Executive Producer Peter Tear. "We are thrilled to offer this new option to our members, many of whom have supported us since we first opened our doors. Being able to give them more Theater A shows that really represent the heart and soul of 59E59 Theaters is quite exhilarating."
The 5A Season:
Week commencing July 7 - August 24 THE PIANIST OF WILLESDEN LANE, adapted and directed by Hershey Felder is based on the book The Children of Willesden Lane: Beyond the Kindertransport: A Memoir of Music, Love, and Survival (Grand Central Publishing, 2003) by Mona Golabek and Lee Cohen. With Mona Golabek. Produced by Geffen Playhouse in association with Eighty-Eight Entertainment and Berkeley Rep.
Set in Vienna in 1938 and in London during the Blitz, THE PIANIST OF WILLESDEN LANE tells the true story of Lisa Jura, a young Jewish pianist who is dreaming about her concert debut at Vienna's storied Musikverein concert hall. But with the issuing of new ordinances under the Nazi regime, everything for Lisa changes, except for her love of music and the pursuit of her dream. Featuring some of the world's most beloved piano music played live, THE PIANIST OF WILLESDEN LANE is performer Mona Golabek's true family story, a story of music, family survival, and hope. THE PIANIST OF WILLESDEN LANE makes its NYC premiere after critically acclaimed, sold out runs in Chicago, Boston, Berkeley, and Los Angeles.
Week commencing August 25 - October 12 BAUER by Lauren Gunderson, directed by Bill English. With Ron Guttman, Susi Damilano, and Stacy Ross. Produced by San Francisco Playhouse.
World-renowned artist Rudolf Bauer was so driven to create, he sketched on scraps in a Nazi prison. Yet he eventually stopped painting forever when a feud erupted amongst himself, his patron and benefactor Solomon Guggenheim, and Bauer’s lifetime love, Baroness Hilla Rebay – one of Guggenheim’s most trusted curators. The Guggenheim Museum, originally built to house Bauer’s works, opened without a single Bauer exhibited.
Commissioned by San Francisco Playhouse, BAUER is a compelling and controversial imagined face-off between Bauer and the two women he loved most as they each confront the passions of his life and art.
Rudolf Bauer is considered by many art historians and critics to have had a major impact on modern artists such as Jackson Pollock and William de Kooning, and yet his name and work mysteriously disappeared from the art world in the 1950s and many of his paintings remain banished to the basement of the Guggenheim Museum.
Week commencing October 20 - November 30 GHOST STORIES, written by Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman, directed by Jeremy Dyson, Andy Nyman, and Sean Holmes. Cast to be announced. Produced by Ghost Stories NYC Joint Venture and originally presented by the Lyric Hammersmith, London and Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse.
Direct from the West End, GHOST STORIES is the hit heart-stopping play by masters of the macabre Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman (of the BBC's cult show The League of Gentlemen). Three men gather, each with an uncanny tale to tell: their chilling stories bleed off the stage and into your dreams. Not for the faint hearted, Time Out London called GHOST STORIES "an immaculately crafted evening of entertainment. Play the game and you'll have a scream!"
Week commencing January 12 - February 22 Show to be announced
Week commencing March 2 - April 12 LONESOME TRAVELER, created and directed by Jim O’Neil. Cast to be announced. Produced by the Rubicon Theater (Ventura, California).
LONESOME TRAVELER celebrates the legacy of folk as the soundtrack of social change and moral revolution. Employing nine singer/musicians dramatizing some of the key moments in the history of the American folk revival, LONESOME TRAVELER features classic songs such as “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” “This Land Is Your Land,” “Puff the Magic Dragon,” and “Maggie’s Farm." Weaving together a tapestry of the venues and historic circumstances that put folk at the core of the great changes that swept American society from 1958 through to the early 1970s, LONESOME TRAVELER celebrates the legacy of folk as the soundtrack of social change and moral revolution.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Friday, April 25, 2014
Renowned French Playwright Mohamed Kacimi’s ‘Holy Land’ to Receive U.S. Premiere at HERE in April and May
Renowned French Playwright Mohamed Kacimi’s ‘Holy Land’ to Receive U.S. Premiere at HERE in April and May
The U.S. premiere of renowned French playwright Mohamed Kacimi’s acclaimed play Holy Land will be presented at HERE in NYC this spring, running from April 18-May 10.
What if the sound of bombs & gunfire was the daily soundtrack to your life? Welcome, to “Holy Land” the raw and evocative tale of two families in a war ravaged city, trying to find humor when all is lost. Holy Land has been presented to critical acclaim in Paris, Vienna, Prague, London, Milan, Jerusalem, Rio de Janeiro, Stockholm and Hamburg. The U.S. premiere production is translated by award-winning NYbased playwright Chantal Bilodeau and will be presented by 3rd Kulture Kids, featuring direction by Tracy Cameron Francis who has directed and developed work with NYTW, Williamstown Theatre Festival, LaMama Umbria (Italy), NY Arab American Comedy Festival, NY International Fringe and Falaki Theatre (Egypt). Based in Paris, Mohamed Kacimi was born in Algeria in a family of theologians; a poet, playwright, novelist, translator, journalist, he is also the president of Écritures du Monde - an organization that puts together international writing residencies.
Can we find humor and poetry in extreme situations? Mohamed Kacimi’s compelling and entertaining "Holy Land" answers this question as five contemporary characters face the devastation of war. A city under siege…the landscape is dusty, devastated. Carmen has disappeared at a checkpoint; her daughter, Imen, must face a soldier’s house search alone. In the house next door, Alia, a midwife, prepares her coffee as if nothing else matters while Yad, her husband, gets away from it all by smoking and drinking. The only hope seems to reside in Jesus: the cat. This dark and humorous story follows 5 characters hanging on to the banality of day-to-day life, at times to the point of insanity, as a way to transcend the atrocities of war.
3rd Kulture Kids has assembled a multicultural team to work on this universal play and the cast will feature Obie Award-winner Jojo Gonzalez (White Collar, The Smurfs Movie, The Romance of Magno Rubio), Sean Carvajal, Ana Grosse, Gil Perez-Abraham and Pia Haddad. The creative team includes Charles Coes (Sound Designer), Lisa Renee Jordan (Costume Designer), Sheryl Liu (Set Designer), Miguel Valderrama (Lighting Designer) and Laura Perez (Stage Manager).
This production is an Equity Approved Showcase and is a part of SubletSeries@HERE, HERE’s curated rental program, which provides artists with subsidized space and equipment, as well as technical support.
"Holy Land" will run from April 18-May 10 at HERE (145 Avenue of the Americas) with performances Wednesday-Saturday at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $18.00 and can be purchased online at www.HERE.org.
3rd Kulture Kids is a theatre and film production company based in New York City, producing new/contemporary work created by the lost citizens of the world. 3K² will provide a home and a voice for multicultural artists, spreading its unique perspective on life. Precursors of the 22nd century, 3K² will generate stories that we can all call ours. www.3rdkulturekids.com
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Wednesday, April 23, 2014
“Annapurna” Presented by the New Group at the Acorn Theatre at Theatre Row (Through Sunday June 1, 2014)
Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally Photo by Monique Carboni
“Annapurna” Presented by the New Group at the Acorn Theatre at Theatre Row (Through Sunday June 1, 2014) Written by Sharr White Directed by Bart DeLorenzo Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
“Annapurna” is a high-wire act with no safety net.
Homer recounts the epic ten-year journey of Ulysses after the fall of Troy and chronicles his adventures and misadventures as he attempts to reunite with his faithful wife Penelope and their son Telemachus. James Joyce recounts the epic day-long journey of Leopold Bloom and unfolds his adventures and misadventure in Dublin with corollary characters Molly Bloom and Stephen Dedalus. And Sharr White recounts the epic day-long journey of his equally modernist Ulysses (Nick Offerman) and rehearses his adventures and (mostly) misadventures as he receives a visit from his ex-wife Emma (Megan Mullally) and the impending visit from their son Sam.
The epic journey of Sharr White’s character Ulysses is less of a sea event and more of a land excursion, specifically a dangerous dance with Emma as she leads him down the demon-laden memory ride to the night she left him - taking Sammy with her - never to return. Mr. White’s epic is entitled “Annapurna” and it is the final offering of the New Group in its home at the Acorn Theatre on Theatre Row. ‘Annapurna’ is also the title of Ulysses’ own epic poem written about Emma (and about him) in Emma’s absence on paper towels, tissues and other detritus extant in his Paonia, Colorado trailer home.
As Emma clears away that detritus, she clears a path through Ulysses’ layers of denial and addiction to a truth of epic proportion. Battling her own co-dependence and pain, she appears to return to Ulysses to care for him in his dying days: decades of alcohol and nicotine and sorrow have taken their toll on Ulysses and an oxygen backpack and a stash of emergency inhalers are not as effective as they used to be at prolonging his existence. In Mr. White’s retelling of “The Odyssey” Emma is the one who leaves home with her son; however, “Annapurna” is Ulysses’ journey. Emma and Sam have dodged co-dependence and pain for twenty years: mother and son have not cared for themselves by attending Al-Anon/Alateen Family Meetings. But Emma does not return to Ulysses to rescue him. She returns to exact revenge and redeem Sam’s pain.
“EMMA: Just because you leave someone doesn’t mean you’re not…in…relationship. With them. Somehow. For the rest of your life.” It is that ‘somehow’ that is at the heart of the well-written “Annapurna.” Emma and Ulysses are both captives to the past: Emma has decided to disengage from the suffering and massive binge of denial:
“ULYSSES: Almost; cowboy boots. (Small beat.)But I see ‘em up there sometimes, the unprepared ones; stuck. Scared. Little sick to think this way but it…makes me feel better. EMMA: What, to know other people are stuck and scared? (Beat. Re: more ants.)—OK, where are they coming from, I just cleaned this.”
It would be remiss of this critic to disclose the truth Emma extracts from Ulysses. Her rescue mission is nothing like Marty McNeely’s rescue from Ulysses’ climb but the resentment resounds with familiarity:
“EMMA: (Rising to clean again.) He did, didn’t he. [Marty] rescued you and you’ve been pissed off about it ever since. Admit it. ULYSSES: He…encouraged me. That’s all. To climb back down. With a rope around my waist.”
Emma’s “rope” tightens its grip on Ulysses’s anatomy in places other than his waist. And it is that ‘tightening’ that provides the gripping conflict in “Annapurna” and that is at the heart of the play’s excruciating but necessary catharsis.
It is a testament to these two skilled actors that they not only successfully navigate the treacherous terrain between their battered and bruised psyches and souls; they also successfully give breath and life to Sam the never-seen son of Ulysses and Emma. This is a remarkable feat borne of their formidable craft and commitment to excellence. Under Bart DeLorenzo’s meticulous direction, Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman perform a well choreographed dance - often a waltz, sometimes a jazz routine, more than once a throbbing tango – whose final sumptuous steps trail off to a terrifying truth and a path to redemption and release.
Thomas A. Walsh’s claustrophobic trailer set and Michael Gend’s eerie lighting collude with Mr. DeLorenzo’s direction and the cast to make “Annapurna” a high-wire act with no safety net.
See “Annapurna” as soon as you can so you have the opportunity to see it a second time before it closes on Sunday June 1, 2014. You will not regret it.
ANNAPURNA
The cast of “Annapurna” includes Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman. This production includes Scenic Design by Thomas A. Walsh, Costume Design by Ann Closs-Farley, Lighting Design by Michael Gend, and Sound Design by John Ballinger. Production photos are by Monique Carboni.
“Annapurna” plays through Sunday June 1, 2014 at The New Group @ Theatre Row (The Acorn Theatre, 410 West 42nd Street). Schedule: Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.; Thursday through Saturday at 8:00 p.m., with matinees on Wednesday and Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and Sunday at 3:00pm.
Regular tickets $75.00. Premium tickets $95.00. Tickets available through www.telecharge.com or (212) 239-6200, or at the Theatre Row Box Office (12:00 Noon –8:00 p.m. daily). For more information, please visit www.thenewgroup.org.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Monday, April 21, 2014
“A Respectable Widow Takes to Vulgarity” and “Clean” (Through Saturday April 26, 2014)
“A Respectable Widow Takes to Vulgarity” and “Clean” (Through Saturday April 26, 2014) Traverse Theatre Double Bill at 59E59 Theater B Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Challenged by a chauvinistic comment after her 2011 Edinburgh Festival solo show, playwright Sabrina Mahfouz is determined to write “a tale of three females who could easily be the basis of crime-based computer games.” The result “Clean” is currently running at 59E59 Theater B as part of the Brits Off-Broadway Series. The short play is paired with Douglas Maxwell’s “A Respectable Widow Takes to Vulgarity” both offerings by Edinburgh’s The Traverse Theater Company. But first, “Clean.”
Three very talented actors are determined to mine the meaning from Ms. Mahfouz’s forty-five minute prose-poem adventure into the female world of “clean crime” but come to the surface without emerald or diamond in tow. There is much movement about the stage standing and sitting atop three white boxes - all carefully orchestrated by director Orla O’Loughlin - but there is little depth to the story line. Unfortunately the characters have lackluster conflicts which spin rather uninteresting plots. The three adventurers risk life and limb to exact revenge on nemesis Kristof and collect a hefty reward from Caitlin; however, the script does not give the actors much to work with to empower their performances with authenticity and honesty. Ultimately, it is difficult to care about any of their stories.
Despite moving to Level Two in their Dream Play computer-based crime computer game, Chloe (Jade Anouka) and Katya (Chloe Massey) eschew any further involvement in “clean crime” capers. Chloe decides to “disappear into the countryside” and Katya “misses her family” and chooses to “help things in [her] country.” Only Zainab (Emma Dennis-Edwards) decides to stay the “clean crime” course: “A normal life is behind me now, has been for a while but now it’s cemented, solid, this is it for me.” The three “gamers” hug each other at play’s end looking like “they have not been so close to another soul in a while” but this on stage bonding does little to connect the play to the audience hungry for the same closeness.
Douglas Maxwell’s “A Respectable Widow Takes to Vulgarity” – the second short play in the Traverse Theater Double Bill – comes up the winner and engages the post-intermission audience with a brilliant script and riveting performances by Joanna Tope and Gavin Jon Wright. Ms. Tope plays Annabelle Love a grieving widow just after the “beautiful ceremony” for her deceased husband. At this point one sees a rather tightly wound wealthy woman willing to put grief aside to greet well-wishers, especially those employees from her husband’s company. Mr. Wright plays Jim Dick one of those employees who enjoys the time off work to come pay his respects to the former company owner. At this point one sees a rather loosely wound young man who while shaking hands in the reception line (non-consciously) refers to Annabelle’s dead husband with a particularly vulgar epithet.
Assuming he has been sacked, Jim Dick flees to his favorite Burger King where Annabelle joins him unexpectedly still holding her glass of wine. What follows is forty-five minutes of brilliant hilarity as Jim and Annabelle explore the meaning of language and relationships in non-conventional ways. Mr. Maxwell has created a conversation that gets at the very heart of language and its efficacy and at the very heart of what is significant in the matrix of human relationships. The script is spot on; the direction by Orla O’Loughlin is precise and punctilious; and the performances are riveting, authentic, honest, and engaging.
Jim Dick enables Annabelle to express herself in ways she had not considered in the past – through the words she chooses and the company she keeps. The content of this humorous play is as serious as it comes. Jim and Annabelle share these thoughts after Jim unpacks some vernacular for Annabelle:
“JIM: There’s a phrase, ‘come to grips,’ meaning, like, ‘get a grip.’ Over time folk must’ve changed their ‘grips’ to [expletive deleted].”
ANNABELLE: That’s what happens to language. It’s not erosion – as the didactical would have it – it grows.”
“A Respectable Widow” is a powerhouse of a play, the kind of product one has come to expect of The Traverse Theater. Audience members will review their cache of “small talk” and be challenged to communicate in the future with more honesty and more effectiveness. Language is power. Just ask any respectable widow gone vulgar.
A RESPECTABLE WIDOW TAKES TO VULGARITY AND CLEAN
59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director; Peter Tear, Executive Producer) launches the Scotland Week celebrations with US premiere of the double bill of A RESPECTABLE WIDOW TAKES TO VULGARITY by Douglas Maxwell and CLEAN by Sabrina Mahfouz, both directed by Orla O'Loughlin and both are produced by the Traverse Theatre. The Scotland Week kicks off Brits Off Broadway.
The cast for A RESPECTABLE WIDE TAKES TO VULGARITY features Joanna Tope and Gavin Jon Wright. The cast of CLEAN features Jade Anouka; Emma Dennis Edwards; and Chloe Massey.
The design team includes Patrick McGurn (sets); Claire Elliot (lighting); Tom Saunders and Kevin McCallum (sound for CLEAN); and Tom Saunders, Camilla O’ Neill and Kevin McCallum (sound for A RESPECTABLE WIDOW). Production photos by Jeremy Abrahams.
A RESPECTABLE WIDOW TAKES TO VULGARITY and CLEAN run for a limited engagement through Saturday, April 26. The performance schedule is Tuesday – Thursday at 7:15 PM; Friday at 8:15 PM; Saturday at 2:15 PM and 8:15 PM; and Sunday at 3:15 PM and 7:15 PM. Performances are at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues). Tickets are $40 ($28 for 59E59 Members). To purchase tickets, call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 or visit www.59e59.org.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Wednesday, April 9, 2014
“The Most Deserving” at The Women’s Project Theatre at New York City Center Stage II (Through Sunday May 4, 2014)
“The Most Deserving” at The Women’s Project Theatre at New York City Center Stage II (Through Sunday May 4, 2014) By Catherine Trieschmann Directed by Shelley Butler Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Catherine Trieschmann’s new play “The Most Deserving” is a delicious and raucous mélange of six characters facing their own and others’ sexism, racism, and homophobia as they struggle to bestow a twenty thousand dollar award to a deserving local visual artist. “This artist,” Jolene Atkinson (Veanne Cox) informs her Arts Council, “must have lived in Ellis County for five years. He must demonstrate both artistic excellence and financial need and should preferably be an underrepresented American voice.”
The recipient of this grant, the visual artist most deserving, is the subject of the play currently running at the Women’s Project Theatre at New York City Center Stage II. It is revealed through the playwright’s skilled exploration of point of view and motivation: each character understands the grant from her or his specific viewpoint and their vote is mired in layers of motivation which, as these layers are exposed, provide the entertaining and very funny story lines of Ms. Trieschmann’s quite brilliant script. Add inventive direction by Shelley Butler and impeccable performances by the ensemble cast and the Women’s Project Theatre scores a hit in this final offering of its 2013/2014 Season.
Jolene wants the award to go to Rick Duffy and her choice is politically motivated – Rick’s father Bob is Chairman of the City Council which approves funding for the Arts Council. Council member Dwayne Dean (Adam Lefevre) wants to “throw his hat in the ring” with his Vice President Portrait Series and recuse himself from the voting process. Newcomer to the Council Liz Chang (Jennifer Lim) wants the Council to extend the deadline to include Everett Whiteside (Ray Anthony Thomas) who – as an African American - would be the only candidate to authentically meet all the Award’s criteria. Liz’s motivation? She’s writing a book about Everett which hopefully will get her out of rural Kansas and into a better teaching position. Up for grabs are the votes of Jolene’s husband Ted (Daniel Pearce) and the Award’s matching-grant donor the recently-widowed Edie Kelch (Kristin Griffith).
As Jolene and Liz scramble to win over Ted and Edie, “The Most Deserving” builds to a fevered pitch until the last frenzied scene brings the audience to “rolling-over-on-the-floor” hysteria. Ms. Trieschmann’s play is one of the funniest to appear Off-Broadway in a very long time. And it is one of the best written plays in the recent past. Although it would be a spoiler to expose just how the final scene plays out and to disclose whether or not Everett get the Award, it is important to share some of the most humorous dialogue and scenes.
One of the funniest scenes in “The Most Deserving” involves Dwayne’s explanation of why he is “a minority.” During two three-ways with his wife – one with another man – Dwayne discovers he is sexually attracted to men and proudly admits to being “one-sixteenth homosexual male.” In another scene, the audience learns Ted is having an affair with Liz to “spite his wife.” And in another scene, his wife Jolene purchases lingerie to snare her husband’s vote from Liz’s clutches. One cannot make up this stuff which the playwright has successfully made up with amazing craft. Here is some dialogue. The whole enterprise borders on dining room farce without the dining room.
As an African American, Everett meets the qualifications of the Award; however, during his interview with the Arts Council, he inadvertently reveals his own deep racism:
EVERETT: The Masons. They got Uncle Sam in their pocket. JOLENE: They do? LIZ: I could really use some tea, Everett? EVERETT: And you know whose [sic] on top of them? The greedy muthafXXX running the whole shebang? JOLENE: No, who? EVERETT: The Jews.
And Edie exposes her own racism during a conversation with Jolene:
EDIE: Of course, Junior's also having the worst luck at work. He's selling office supplies at Maxwell's, and do you know they only work on commission? JOLENE: I didn't know that. EDIE: This economy is terribly hard on white men.
Despite her feelings of discrimination against whites, Edie is the consummate feminist – a fact confirmed in the following and even more profoundly in the closing scene in the Art Gallery:
EDIE: I married him just to spite Mother. She wouldn't let me wear pants. It was 1963. All the girls wore pants. But no, she said, that's not our way.
“The Most Deserving” is an important and complex play which uses humor to deal with a variety of important issues and needs to be seen to be fully appreciated and understood. The play celebrates our wholeness in our brokenness, our health in our state of disability, and our strength in our apparent weakness.
THE MOST DESERVING
The cast of “The Most Deserving” includes Veanne Cox, Kristin Griffith, Adam LeFevre, Jennifer Lim, Daniel Pearce, and Ray Anthony Thomas. The scenery for The Most Deserving is by David Barber, costumes by Donald Sanders, lighting by Traci Klainer Polimeni, and sound by Leon Rothenberg. Production photos are by Carol Rosegg.
“The Most Deserving” performs at New York City Center Stage II Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 7:30pm with matinees Saturdays and Sundays at 2:30pm. Tickets can be purchased online at www.NYCityCenter.org, by calling CityTix® at 212-581-1212, or at the New York City Center Box Office at 131 West 55th Street (between Sixth and Seventh Avenues). Running time is 90 minutes without intermission.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Tuesday, April 8, 2014
“Don’t Wake Me: The Ballad of Nihal Armstrong” at 59E59 Theater C (Through Sunday April 20, 2014)
Jaye Griffiths (Photo by Carol Rosegg)
“Don’t Wake Me: The Ballad of Nihal Armstrong” at 59E59 Theater C (Through Sunday April 20, 2014) By Rahila Gupta Performed by Jaye Griffiths Directed by Guy Slater Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Sans Cerebral Palsy (CD), sans Tourette’s Syndrome, sans his “twisted spine,” Nihal emerges from a block of stone hewn by a surrogate mother/sculptor as his birth mother - who was not with him at his birth and was not with him when he died – watches behind a wall of protective glass. Perhaps that glass wall serves as an extended metaphor for Nihal’s ballad of becoming a young adult – never quite completely breaking through walls of disability into full normalcy.
Rahila Gupta’s “Don’t Wake Me: The Ballad of Nihal Armstrong,” is the compelling story of the birth, life, and death of her severely disabled son Nihal. Currently spellbinding audiences at 59E59 Theaters as part of their “Brits Off Broadway” Season, Ms. Gupta’s heartfelt story is successful primarily because of its direct appeal to logos, ethos, and pathos. These powerful rhetorical devices bring Nihal’s story to life with persuasiveness, believability, and sensitivity.
Perhaps the most persuasive aspect of “Don’t Wake Me” is Ms. Gupta’s script. Jaye Griffiths delivers this powerful prose-poem as though Nihal had been her very own child and she had walked with him every step of his brave journey. This gifted actor knows Gupta’s words and embraces each syllable, each trope with profound perspicacity. There is not one bit of imagery or figurative language that escapes her notice and her tender care.
Despite the personal nature of Ms. Gupta’s story, it is not a unique narrative. There have been many children born with severe disabilities who, after heroic struggles, have died long before reaching adulthood. Because Ms. Gupta writes with such exactitude about Nihal’s story, audience members see her narrative as authentic and believable and are able to connect their stories of loss and disappointment with that of Nihal. The playwright does not sugarcoat her story: Ms. Griffiths show’s Nihal’s mother’s “righteous anger” even relating the time she struck her son in a moment of frustration. When the script refers to Nihal having “idiosyncratic charm” and “sweet ugliness” and his mother wishing he “were syntax,” it is clear she “never got over” the tragedy of Nihal’s complicated and compromised birth which exacerbated – perhaps caused – his extensive disabilities.
Jaye Griffiths recalls Ms. Gupta’s deeply moving script with rich emotional appeal and often with unexpected humor. But it is the pathos that centers this performance and gives it its weight and broad appeal. In each “scene” of “Don’t wake Me,” the actor makes Nihal’s presence real and honest. Nihal is with his mother throughout birth, the ride home from the hospital, living at home, going off to school, and enjoying a family vacation before scheduled surgery to repair his spine.
On the night of Nihal’s death, he awakened his mother twice with complaints she was not able to confirm: Nihal had no fever, he was breathing normally, so she went back to bed hoping not to be awakened a third time. Nihal did not call her that third time and his mother found him dead when she did awaken. Jaye Griffiths relates this event with riveting detail and brings the audience to a cathartic cleansing: this is drama at its best and not to be missed.
DON’T WAKE ME: THE BALLAD OF NIHAL ARMSTRONG
59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director; Peter Tear, Executive Producer) presents Nihal Theatre Company in association with Louise Chantal Productions to Brits Off Broadway with the US premiere of DON’T WAKE ME: THE BALLAD OF NIHAL ARMSTRONG, written by Rahila Gupta, directed by Guy Slater, and starring Jaye Griffiths.
The production designer is Elroy Ashmore. Music is by Sophie Cotton. Trisha Henson is the AEA Stage Manager. Production photos are by Carol Rosegg.
DON’T WAKE ME: THE BALLAD OF NIHAL ARMSTRONG runs for a limited engagement through Sunday, April 20. The performance schedule is Tuesday – Thursday at 7:30 PM; Friday at 8:30 PM; Saturday at 2:30 PM & 8:30 PM; and Sunday at 3:30 PM & 7:30 PM. Performances are at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues). Tickets are $25 ($17.50 for 59E59 Members). To purchase tickets, call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 or visit www.59e59.org. The running time is 70 minutes with no intermission.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Sunday, April 6, 2014
“I Remember Mama” at the Transport Group at the Gym at Judson (Through Sunday April 30, 2014)
“I Remember Mama” at the Transport Group at the Gym at Judson (Through Sunday April 30, 2014) Written by John Van Druten Directed by Jack Cummings III Reviewed by David Roberts and Joseph Verlezza Theatre Reviews Limited
Memory is a tricky thing. Remembering events from one's past is fraught with complications. Like dreaming, remembering puts the one remembering in complete control of the end product. When Katrin (Barbara Barrie) decides to write about her family, she has to reconstruct the events from her childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. And in that process of reconstruction, Katrin becomes the delightful unreliable narrator whose account of the events in the house on Steiner Street is at the heart of John Van Druten’s “I Remember Mama” currently playing at the Gym at Judson, home of the Transport Group’s 2014 Season.
Director Jack Cummings III and the creative team for “I Remember Mama” have designed the production with the human mind in mind. Ten dining room tables (each with eight chairs) – one for each actor – are spread across the stage nestled right up to the first row of chairs. A second tier of chairs completes the seating for the audience. Dimply lighted with only light cord-hand pendants, the stage resembles the “canyons of the mind” with their secretive and shadowy crevices of memory. And in these crevices, memories of Katrin’s life scramble across the stage. The inhabitants of these memories – parents, siblings, aunts, cousins, boarders – are all played by ten Broadway veterans. Age and sex matter not in memory so all ten play characters of all ages and both sexes.
Alice Cannon is perfect as “bossy” Aunt Jenny whom Katrin likes “the least.” Lynn Cohen doubles as the shifty boarder Mr. Hyde who leaves the family with a useless check to pay off his accumulated room and board and the feisty and irascible Uncle Chris. Rita Gardner shines in her role as Aunt Trina who discovers she is in love and wants to marry. Susan Lehman is splendid as the whining and complaining Aunt Sigrid. Heather MacRae plays both the ever-constant Nels and Aunt Trina’s love interest Mr. Thorkelsen, giving each character a distinct and memorable personality. Phyllis Somerville’s Dagmar is the picture-perfect “littlest sister” who has yet to see the dawn. Lousie Sorel shows the audience a sister willing to do anything to assure Nels can go to high school and the poet F. D. Moorhead who challenges Katrin to be a writer. And Dale Soules gives the audience a Papa (with pipe) who knows how to care for his family while deferring to Mama’s strength and resolve. Ms. Soules also portrays the physician who treats Dagmar and Cousin Arne.
Only Barbara Andres (Mama) and Barbara Barrie (Katrin) have unique roles to play and they develop their respective characters with impeccable craft. Ms. Andres’ Mama gathers her brood with unflinching care and knows how to trade her old world Norwegian recipes for Ms. Moorehead’s attentive reading of Katrin’s stories. Ms. Barrie owns the stage as the story’s narrator Katrin, moving into and out of time and discovering her talent as a writer by remembering Mama. Unfortunately, Dane Laffrey’s set and R. Lee Kennedy’s lighting do not do justice to the enormous craft of these ten actors. The decision to leave actors in the dark, moving them so far from audience members that they can be barely heard or seen without considerable craning of necks is questionable and puzzling. Somehow a concept with promise was executed with confusion.
Ultimately what matters in Mr. Van Druten’s memory play is the importance of family, tradition, identity, and purpose. The cast manages to convey these important themes with dignity and grace. Unfortunately, Mr. Cummings and his creative team do not treat the actors with equal dignity and grace. It is somewhat unconscionable to leave these splendid women unlighted, unseen, and unheard for long periods at a time. Those sitting in the “upper tier” fared better sight lines; however, seating location could not compensate for inadequate lighting and difficulty in hearing the important spoken word and the significant facial expressions and gestures of the cast.
Despite these shortcomings, it is worth the visit to see ten outstanding actors bring life to a venerable and timely drama.
I REMEMBER MAMA
Transport Group, the Drama Desk and OBIE award-winning theatre company, presents its revival of “I Remember Mama,” written by John Van Druten and directed by Jack Cummings III.
The cast features ten veteran actors playing all twenty-three roles and includes Barbara Andres, Barbara Barrie, Alice Cannon, Lynn Cohen, Rita Gardner, Susan Lehman, Heather MacRae, Louise Sorel, Da le Soules, and Phyllis Somerville.
The set design for I Remember Mama is by Dane Laffrey; costume design is by Kathryn Rohe; lighting design is by R. Lee Kennedy; and property design is by Alicia Bullen. Production photos are by Carol Rosegg.
“I Remember Mama” plays Tuesday - Thursday at 7:00 p.m.; Friday at 8:00 p.m.; Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.; Sunday at 3:00 p.m. at the Gym at Judson, 243 Thompson Street at West 4 Street. Prices start at $49.00 for general admission, and $65.00 for premium reserved seating. Season subscription packages are now available for $80.00, which includes premium reserved seating to both shows, unlimited ticket exchanges, access to purchase house seats, exclusive subscriber- only events, and a free glass of wine at each show. To purchase single tickets or subscriptions, visit www.transportgroup.org or phone 1-866-811-4111.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Monday, March 31, 2014
“Bum Phillips All-American Opera” at the Ellen Stewart Theatre (Through Sunday March 30, 2014)
Gary Ramsey (Center) as Bum Phillips - Photo by Corey Torpie
“Bum Phillips All-American Opera” at the Ellen Stewart Theatre (Through Sunday March 30, 2014) Composed by Peter Stopschinski Libretto by Kirk Lynn Conceived and Directed by Luke Leonard Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Bum Phillips (Gary Ramsey) is more anti-hero than hero in the opera being his name currently playing at the Ellen Stewart Theatre (La MaMa). The apparently iconic Houston Oilers football coach has to endure the same struggles heroes have always experienced (Ulysses, Antigone, and that lot) but the stakes in the strife seem lower and the return home less glorious. It is this anti-hero status that both weakens and potentially strengthens the impact of the opera.
Unless one knows who Bum Phillips is, one has great difficulty connecting to “Bum Philips All-American Opera.” Unfortunately, the librettist (Kirk Lynn) fails to provide enough exposition about Phillips or his “iconic” struggles. Even the reporters, serving as a Greek Chorus, fail to provide substantial (or even interesting) exposition or commentary about Mr. Phillips’ conflicts. Without a strong and identifiable protagonist with equally powerful conflicts, it is difficult for the libretto to drive engaging plots.
On the other hand, the gap in knowledge about Bum Phillips could provide the audience an “Everyman” with whom audience members could connect their own catalog of losses, victories, near-victories, faith crises, and unreasonable hopes. Had the characterization of Mr. Phillips been stronger, the audience member could easily have seen himself or herself in the vicissitudes of the coach’s life story.
Luke Leonard’s concept for an all-American opera is commendable and filled with potential. Some of that potential is met here in the design and the score composed by Peter Stopschinski. There are pleasant musical moments and the set and projections manage to adequately fill the large open space at the Ellen Stewart Theatre. Unfortunately, there is a disconnect between the enormity of the space and the dimension of the man it embraces.
Ultimately, the scale of Marie Yokoyama’s set and Darwin Gilmore’s expansive projections does not match the “size” of the character of Bum Phillips: based solely on the libretto (which is all the audience has), he was a mediocre husband and father (“We took one family vacation); he leaned on his faith only in times of crisis or danger; his generous spirit, at least in the opera, seems limited to providing ice cream cones to his players; and he never reaches the one thing he wants – “peace on earth and a super bowl ring.”
Charlotte Griffin’s choreography and Luke Leonard’s direction score the end runs here, at times avoiding collisions with libretto and occasionally providing staging that brings authenticity to Earl Campbell’s (Anlami Shaw) truism: “it doesn't matter knock 'em back/knowing what's about to happen/doesn't stop what's about to happen.” The audience knows Bum Phillips will not reach the Super Bowl; however enough of Ms. Griffin’s and Mr. Leonard’s plays “knock back” obstacles to scoring to provide visual and cerebral delight.
BUM PHILLIPS ALL-AMERICAN OPERA
La MaMa, in association with Monk Parrots, proudly presents the World Premiere of Bum Phillips All-American Opera, a new contemporary opera conceptualized and directed by Luke Leonard, composed and conducted by Peter Stopschinski, with a libretto by Kirk Lynn.
The cast includes Gary Ramsey as Bum Phillips, Alison Bolshoi, Anlami Shaw, John Smiley, Jessie Dean, Julie-Anne Hamula, Briana Hunter, Victor Khodadad, Megan Lalley, Gates Leonard, Patrick Mulryan, Anna Noggle, Chelsea Burris, Sophie Delphis, Amanda Dupuy, Hunter Frederick, Mariah Ilardi-Lowy, Emmanuel Elpenord, John Harlacher, John Harmon, Morgan Hooper, Joey LePage and Faith Redding, along with members of American Modern Ensemble.
The creative team includes Luke Leonard and Marie Yokoyama (Production Design), Marie Yokoyama (Lighting Design), Alison Heryer (Costume Design), Trey Gilmore (Video Design), Trey Gilmore (Projection Design), Charlotte Griffin (Choreography), Joey LePage (Assistant Director), and Sheree V. Campbell (Production Stage Manager).
Performances at La MaMa’s Ellen Stewart Theatre, located at 66 East 4th Street between 2nd Avenue & the Bowery in New York City, are Thursdays – Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 2:30pm. Tickets are $25.00 for adults and $20.00 for students/seniors and can be purchased online at http://LaMaMa.org/Ellen-Stewart-Theatre/Bum-Phillips-All-American-Opera, in person at the box office or by calling 212-475-7710. Previews La MaMa is accessible from the F train to 2nd Ave. or the #6 train to Bleecker St. Running time is 2 hours including an intermission.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Tuesday, March 25, 2014
“Stockholm” at 59E59 Theater B (Through Saturday March 29, 2014)
Richard Saudek and Christina Bennett Lind (Photo by Russ Rowland)
“Stockholm” at 59E59 Theater B (Through Saturday March 29, 2014) Written by Bryony Lavery Directed by Nick Flint Choreographed by Natalie Lomonte Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Codependent and cramped in a fantasy of intimacy, Kali (Christina Bennett Lind) and Todd (Richard Saudek) wage a dangerous battle of wits and words and take no hostages in the revival of Bryony Lavery’s “Stockholm” the One Year Lease Theatre Company production currently running at 59E59 Theater B.
There is little healthy fabric remaining in the marriage of Kali and Todd. Honesty has been absent since their first meeting at a restaurant opening when it took three rounds of falsehood to share their real names. In fact, there is little of truth in their relationship. The line between reality and fantasy, between truth and fiction, blurs scene by scene in Mr. Lavery’s engaging and challenging script. The fragility in their marriage and the deep co-dependence is belied in the recurring chorus of “Where are you? What are you doing?” Kali’s mistrust is so pervasive she wishes for “something so powerful it can look into someone’s brain and see what they are thinking…to check absolutely that someone means what he says….”
Kali knows she and Todd need help in order to escape the downward spiral of destructive behavior in their marriage and she knows the future will only hold even more horrific events. However, she and Todd are trapped in a co-dependent cycle of epic proportions. Their passive-aggressive exchanges only serve to intensify their abusive behavior and her level of mistrust escalates the level of disgust and rancor they feel for each other. After accusing her of what the couple has come to call retro-jealousy, Kali confronts Todd near the end of the play with, “Oh this isn’t retro-jealousy. This is contempt this is disgust this is about fundamental /unchangeable character you slept with her but it was just casual?”
Christina Bennett Lind and Richard Saudek completely understand the disturbed psyches of their characters and deliver exacting and chilling portraits of a couple in a myriad troubles, a veritable Pandora’s Box of psychic pain and emotional and physical abuse. These brave actors, under Natalie Lomonte’s movement direction, dodge sharp edges of set (and psyche) and portray Kali and Todd’s physical fights with a thrilling and often disturbing exactitude.
James Dardenne’s claustrophobic set successfully counterpoints the rough corners of the minds of this troubled couple and serves as a trope for the multilayered domain of the human psyche: although the superego is in short supply, the id and the ego loom large across Dardenne’s stark gray set illumined by the shafts of light (glimmers of hopefulness beyond the destructive behavior) provided by Mike Riggs’ splendid lighting.
The title of the play alludes not only to the destination of Kali and Todd’s upcoming vacation, it also alludes to a second definition of ‘Stockholm:’ “the psychological tendency of a hostage to bond with, identify with, or sympathize with his or her captor.” This couple is held hostage to a repetitive cycle of abuse and scorn which will only result in a future of even more horrific torture not only of each other but perhaps of their offspring. The audience will need to ask theatre staff for seatbelts to survive the rockiness and turbulence in the final “dark and dingy cellar” scene. In the end, however, the scope of Mr. Lavery’s shocking play transcends Kali and Todd’s renovated apartment: “Stockholm” is ultimately a trope for the pervasive abusiveness and destruction unleashed daily in homes, schools (bullying), institutions, and nation-states across the globe. One patron sitting behind me muttered several times during the performance, “depressing.” It would appear a better description would be “real.” Such reality can either be viewed as depressing or a lifeline depending on one’s point of view. See “Stockholm” and decide for yourself. It is worth the visit.
STOCKHOLM
“Stockholm” is produced by the ensemble of One Year Lease Theater Company (Ianthe Demos, Artistic Director; Nick Flint, Associate Artistic Director) and presented at 59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director, Peter Tear, Executive Producer).
Nick Flint directs and Natalie Lomonte is movement director. “Stockholm” stars Christina Bennett Lind and Richard Saudek. The production features music by Estelle Bajou, set design by James Dardenne, lighting design by Mike Riggs, and costume design by Kenisha Kelly.
The NYC premiere of “Stockholm” by Bryony Lavery will run through Saturday March 29 at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, NYC) and play according to the following schedule: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday at 7:15pm; Friday and Saturday at 8:15pm; Sunday at 3:15pm. There is an additional performance on Saturday March 29th at 2:15pm. Tickets are $35.00 and can be arranged through www.59e59.org or by calling 212.279.4200. For more information, please visit www.oneyearlease.org.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Sunday, March 23, 2014
“The Architecture of Becoming” at the Women’s Project Theatre at New York City Stage II (Through Sunday March 23, 2014)
Vanessa Kai and Danielle Skraastad (Photo by Carol Rosegg)
“The Architecture of Becoming” at the Women’s Project Theatre at New York City Stage II (Through Sunday March 23, 2014) Written by Kara Lee Corthron, Sarah Gancher, Virginia Grise, Dipika Guha, and Lauren Yee Directed by Elena Araoz, Lydia Fort, and Lauren Keating Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
“…People are rivers, always ready to move from one state of being into another. It is not fair, to treat people as if they are finished beings. Everyone is always becoming and unbecoming.” ― Kathleen Winter, Annabel
Five writers, three directors, and six actors collaborate (conspire?) in five short scenes to tackle the sticky business of becoming in the Women’s Project Theatre’s current offering at City Center II. Indeed, the performance space itself is the sixth actor in the ensemble cast with its own history of the search for identity and meaning.
Serving as a trope for the discovery of self, purpose, identity, and (perhaps) utility, the specter of the Shriner’s resplendent Mecca Temple is woven into the story of a young Mexican playwright searching for an idea for a script. Siempre Norteada (Claudia Acosta) casually summons the “spirit of this place” (City Center) for inspiration only to be confronted with the Grande Dame (Danielle Skraastad) who reveals three stories of five individuals who have sought employment in, refuge in, and spiritual connection with the iconic performance space. In fact, the Grande Dame is the “city, the dreams that gather here, the call that draws the dreamers.” She offers “new life, transformation, and beyond.”
The Grande Dame’s stories are “at every moment/Starting /beginning /just now manifesting /becoming.” The three stories are “About dreamers, becomers/who heard/my call and left home/to become someone different, something better, some place far away/Stories from many eras/In many styles, many forms.” She also warns Siempre that she “will see The Cost [they paid for transformation].” Of the three stories, “The Art of Gaman” and “Poetics” are most engaging.
“The Art of Gaman” by Dipika Guha is a story of Shun and Tomomi, a Japanese couple new to New York City in the early 1940s. Jon Norman Schneider and Vanessa Kai give emotionally compelling performances of a couple dealing with the vicissitudes of marriage and the challenges of becoming who they are, including powerful homoerotic undertones and a soulful and chilling rehearsal of the atomic bombing of Japan.
“The Poetics” by Kara Lee Kothran is the compelling story of rappers and street performers trying to “become” in the late 1970s and is perhaps the most engaging of the three stories. Dude (Christopher Livingston) and Kid (Vanessa Kai) want nothing more than to perform at City Center but understand “This place is for the highbrow suckers.” Dude used to watch ballet at City Center before his dad “fell for Johnny Walker.” Dude exorcises the opera ghost from the space but her freedom does not lessen his angst. He and Kid know they are outsiders in a city losing its artistic soul.
A sometimes mysterious postcard (crimpled, folded, faded) connects the journeys of the five following their dream. The stories, including Siempre’s story, are rich in detail, imagery, and abundant in figurative language: a radio becomes a trope for discovery of one’s voice, a vertical bed a trope for revealing the inner workings of a marriage on the verge of failure, and a can of spray paint is a tantalizing trope for a young man’s war on insignificance.
Individuals and cities and buildings become and un-become. Their journeys inspire, offer hope, and warn of danger. They are, however, authentic stories of change and possibility. “The Architecture of Becoming” chronicles the complexities of the art of becoming and does so with charm and the right hint of challenge.
THE ARCHITECTURE OF BECOMING
Deadria Harrington, Jane Jung, Meropi Peponides, Aktina Stathaki, and Lanie Zipoy present the Women’s Project Theatre World Premiere of “The Architecture of Becoming” directed by Elena Araoz, Lydia Fort, and Lauren Keating. The cast includes Claudia Acosta, Vanessa Kai, Christopher Livingston, Jon Norman Schneider, and Danielle Skraastad. Scenery and lighting is by Justin Townsend, costumes by Kate Fry, and sound by Elisheba Ittoop. Production photos are by Carol Rosegg.
“The Architecture of Becoming” performs Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 7:30pm with matinees Saturday and Sunday at 2:30pm through March 23. Single tickets start at $60.00 can be purchased online at www.NYCityCenter.org, by calling CityTix® at 212-581-1212, or at the New York City Center Box Office at 131 West 55th Street (between Sixth and Seventh Avenues).
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Saturday, March 22, 2014
“No Exit” at The Pearl Theatre Company (Through Sunday March 30, 2014)
Sameerah Luqmann-Harris and Jolly Abraham
“No Exit” at The Pearl Theatre Company (Through Sunday March 30, 2014) By Jean-Paul Sartre Adapted from the French by Paul Bowles Directed by Linda Ames Key Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
“Hope comes in the doing, not in the waiting.” – Jean-Paul Sartre
Cradeau, Inez, and Estelle – three war-weary Parisian compatriots – bear transgressions that serve as tropes for the horrors of the events surrounding World War II. Critics often have claimed that Sartre’s “No Exit” is not a war play; however, given the date of authorship and the autobiographical undercurrent of the play, such claims seem gratuitous at best. Though the sins of this hell-trapped trio pale against the backdrop of the atrocities of Hitler’s invasion of Europe, the Holocaust, and the Blitzkrieg, they land in hell – escorted by a Valet (Pete McElligott) - surprised to find no “thumbscrews, whips,” or other devices of torture. What they discover, however, is far worse.
The torture Cradeau (Bradford Cover), Inez (Jolly Abraham), and Estelle (Sameerah Luqmann-Harris) must endure for their eternal stint in the underworld is not imposed by their “captor;” their torture is self-inflicted as they rehearse their lives before death and inflicted on one another with unyielding ferocity. Each resident, after feigning ignorance of why he or she was in hell, eventually “comes clean” and confesses the transgressions that resulted in damnation. Under Linda Ames Key’s meticulous direction, the ensemble cast passionately portrays what it means to discover that “hell is other people.”
Doomed to an endless excursion “inside his head,” Cradeau rants about the difficulty he has putting up with himself after admitting to cheating on his wife “with a mullato girl” and mistreating his wife – this in addition to his admission of cowardice. The former journalist and writer is reduced to primal scream therapy to rid himself of his guilt as he is able to see the present actions of those who survive him. Bradford Cover skillfully peels away Cradeau’s layers of self-deception and cruelty and exposes the character’s tragic flaws.
Cradeau is soon joined in his hellish digs by two women: Inez the lesbian postal clerk who turned a woman against her husband (resulting in his death) and high-society Estelle who before her demise married an older man for his money, had an affair with a younger man, had a child with the younger man, and killed the child by throwing the child into a lake. Inez is intimately in touch with her cruel nature and Jolly Abraham handily portrays this character’s manipulative and conniving nature. Inez is comfortable seeing others suffer. Estelle eschews Inez’s romantic advances and prefers to attempt to seduce Cradeau. Sameerah Luqmann-Harris is the perfect seductive yet cautious Estelle who uses her mistakes in life as weapons in eternity.
“No Exit” successfully portrays the dilemma of life’s sometimes exit-less vicissitudes. Humanity manages to revisit hopelessness where fear itself is ineffective. Harry Feiner’s set encroaches on the action and on the audience with the help of Ann Wrightson’s eerie lighting and exposes the detritus strewn across the human landscape of suffering.
Existentialism raises rich questions in the minds of audiences. These are enduring questions essential to the health and survival of the human species and the planet they occupy. The question is not whether Cradeau will admit to his cowardice: the enduring question is whether cowardice is always a negative entity. The question is not whether Inez’s ability to manipulate the opinions of others is reprehensible: the enduring question is whether such manipulation has any positive outcome in negotiation. And the question is not whether Estelle was justified in having an affair: the enduring question is whether the nature of human relationships has been fully understood.
Ultimately, “No Exit” raises the troubling essential question whether humankind - eternally flying in the face of reason and decency – will continue to consign itself to a variety of hellish escapades with no exit possible. Sartre is a master at confronting his audience with the human realms of wickedness, shame, and fear and The Pearl has constructed a production which gives splendid reverence to the work of this existentialist master.
NO EXIT
The cast of “No Exit” includes Pearl Resident Acting Company (RAC) member Jolly Abraham as Inez and Pearl RAC member Branford Cover as Cradeau along with Sameerah Luqmaan-Harris as Estelle and Pete McGilligot as Valet.
The creative team of “No Exit” includes Harry Feiner (Sets), Devon Painter (Costumes), Ann Wrightson (Lighting), Jane Shaw (Sound), Kate Farrington (Dramaturg) and April Ann Kline (Production Stage Manager). Production photos are by Al Foote III.
“No Exit” runs through Sunday March 30, 2014 on the following schedule: Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.; Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday at 2:00 p.m.; Thursday–Saturday at 8:00 p.m. Performances are at The Pearl Theatre (555 West 42nd Street, NYC). Tickets are $65 ($39 seniors, $20 student rush, $20 Thursday rush). To purchase tickets. Visit www.pearltheatre.org or call 212.563.9261. Running time is 100 minutes with no intermission.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Wednesday, March 19, 2014
“Arlington” at the Vineyard Theatre (Through Sunday March 23, 2014)
“Arlington” at the Vineyard Theatre (Through Sunday March 23, 2014) Book and Lyrics by Victor Lodato Music by Polly Pen Directed by Carolyn Cantor Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Channeling a more introspective and agonized June Cleaver, Sara Jane (Alexandra Silber) has an on-the-surface pleasant dialogue with all that is beyond theatre’s conventional fourth wall. In “Arlington,” currently playing at the Vineyard Theatre, that includes directly engaging the audience and the Pianist (Ben Moss) who appears behind an upstage scrim and not only accompanies Sara Jane’s non-stop singing but also succeeds in his own extrasensory skills channeling Sara Jane’s military husband Jerry. Although Sara Jane momentarily denies she is singing – “No, I’m just—I’m kidding! I’m kidding! I’m not singing” – she is immersed in a full blown operetta. And Victor Lodato’s book (libretto) and Polly Pen’s music shake the Vineyard and its inhabitants to a transformative and soul-purging existential crisis.
Sara Jane’s arias, recitatives and, occasionally her duets with the Pianist, tell the dramatic story of a young woman on the brink of a discovery about self identity, national and global identity, and the fragility of future. The delivery of these discoveries in song enables Sara Jane to distance herself from the message she delivers to the audience and enables the audience to shelter itself from the enormity of that message. In fact, Sara considers the members of the audience she addresses directly to be strangers: “Talking to strangers! I mean, who are you anyway? Good people, bad people. You never know.”
Addressing the audience is therapeutic for Sara Jane. Her sung-through psychoanalytic session strips away layers of consciousness disclosing her struggles with her mother, her struggles with success, her doubts about her husband’s commitment, and her angst over a variety of geopolitical shenanigans (including war). Sara has difficulty getting her mind around what she discovers including the images of war her husband has sent her as attachments to his email messages from battle.
A significant recitative in “Arlington” concerns these images of war. “Children running. Foreigners but, I mean they were kids. Some were bleeding, I don’t know, it was hard to… I couldn’t really get my head around it. Some of the children were dragging other children. Trying to carry them. And someone was screaming.” Sara struggles with what is happening with the war and she is not sure it is what it is supposed to be.
Sara Jane does not like it when people change. She does not like it when her mother has plastic surgery. She does not like how her husband has changed in war (or has he?). She is not even completely comfortable with the change which her pregnancy has caused. “I want my baby!/ But what can I tell him? What kind of lullaby will do? What can I tell him? Innocent people die in a war? No—they’re killed! Why do people lie? Why do people lie? My husband killed those women/ My husband killed those children.”
Sara Jane’s virtual visit to the National Cemetery at Arlington, like her introspective journey, results in a rediscovery of self, a reaffirmation of her strength as a woman and a future mother, and her ability to navigate an unfamiliar world. She and the audience members are strangers in a strange land (literally and figuratively). Under Carolyn Cantor’s brooding and introspective direction Ms. Silber’s and Mr. Moss’ dangerous liaisons with veracity call into question all preconceived notions of love, relationships, and conflict. This brooding nature is matched perfectly by Dane Laffrey’s set, Tyler Micoleau’s lighting, and the sound design by Dan Moses Schreier.
“I mean how do you ever really know/ Another person? Really know them. Some afternoons I just sit here. I watch the light move across the wall. It moves from one side of the room to the other. You really don’t even see it move. It sort of creeps, like a clock. It moves when you turn away. And then all of a sudden it’s late. It’s dark. (Women and children. Little black bugs. All burned.) When my brother died, My mother switched from drinking Whites to drinking reds.”
The Pianist dies not accompany the singer. The piano is as much a character as the one who plays it. At one point, Sara plays the piano in her living room and has a dialogue with the offstage piano and player. The dialogue results in terrifying realizations. “But what you have to realize is/ Innocent people/ Always die/ In a war.” “Men can’t afford to be/ Gentle, especially/ A soldier./ I mean, people are a mystery.”
“Arlington” affirms the mysteries of all things human and challenges the audience to determine how it will “switch things up” when confronted with all those things that creep across our lives and have the potential to leave us in outer darkness.
ARLINGTON
The cast of “Arlington” includes Alexandra Silber and Ben Moss.
“Arlington” will feature set design by Dane Laffrey, costume design by Jess Goldstein, lighting design by Tyler Micoleau, and sound design by Dan Moses Schreier. Production photos are by Carolyn Rosegg.
“Arlington” will perform Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m.; Thursdays and Fridays at 8:00 p.m.; Saturdays at 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.; and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. Tickets are $75.00 and can be purchased by calling The Vineyard box office at 212 353 0303, online at www.vineyardtheatre.org or during box office hours at the theatre (108 E. 15 St.) Running time is one hour with one intermission.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Tuesday, March 4, 2014
“Ode to Joy” at Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre at the Cherry Lane Theatre (Through Sunday March 30, 2014)
“Ode to Joy” at Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre at the Cherry Lane Theatre (Through Sunday March 30, 2014) Written and Directed by Craig Lucas Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
“Yes, all who can call at least one soul/ Theirs upon this earth; /But any who cannot must creep tearfully/ Away from our circle.” - From “Ode to Joy” by Friedrich von Schiller, 1785
Soteriology, trying to figure out what it means to be a savior, is a difficult business and for the savior it is often a messy business. Saving others can result in considerable personal sacrifice and somehow subsuming the “sins” of others, even the sins of the whole world, can even result in death. For some reason, some humans just do not want to be saved from themselves and their pain. Fortunately, others do.
At the beginning of Craig Lucas’ “Ode to Joy,” protagonist Adele (Kathryn Erbe) sets the stage for all that follows, asserting that “This is the story of how the pain goes away. Or: How I got out of the way of me and everyone else.” Adele has the uncanny ability to get others to follow her. After meeting Bill (Arliss Howard) in the bar owned by his deceased wife and her brother (Bill lives upstairs), Adele captivates Bill as she earlier on captivates Mala (Roxanna Hope) whose relationship with Adele is chronicled in a series of flashbacks. There is much pain in these relationships and much that leads to redemption.
Lucas is skilled at foreshadowing. Early on, for example, the audience learns that Adele has “all kinds [of] powers.” And Bill lets the audience know that forgiveness will play a pivotal role in “Ode to Joy:” “It’s okay, forgiveness is the key to everything.” Under Lucas’ inventive and careful direction, the ensemble cast delivers powerful performances which delve into the depths of human despair and humanity’s attempts to numb despair’s concomitant searing pain. Mr. Lucas tackles salvation head on and scores.
In the New Testament, the word used for ‘to save’, the root for ‘salvation,’ is the koine (common) Greek word ‘sodzo.’ It is an interesting Greek word which the early church, and apparently Jesus, used to indicate that time-space continuum in which believers dwell after “accepting Jesus into their lives.” Believers were healed, delivered, and protected even from the inevitability of death. What many – perhaps most – Christians do not know is that the early church borrowed this word from its early military use to describe the loud, harsh noises horses made as they swam across dangerous waters – rivers, deep rivers and even seas. As long as the soldiers could hear the snorting, gasping, and snarling of the horses they knew that both they and the horses were ‘safe;’ they were ‘saved from drowning; they had, in essence, achieved ‘salvation’ on the distant shore.
This ‘salvation’ for the early church was achieved on the cross on Golgotha, the place of the skull. According to tradition, two ‘criminals’ were crucified with Jesus, one on his right, the other on his left. Here is how their conversation went: “One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
In the final salvific scene of “Ode to Joy,” Adele the ‘Noble One’ (as her name suggests) is working on her most recent painting which is called “Golgotha.” And in her apartment, her place of the skull, are two ‘criminals.” The one on her right is Bill, her ‘resolute protector’ (as his name suggests) and one on her left is Mara, her ‘necklace,’ her perhaps crown of thorns. Adele previously heard from Bill what Jesus “may actually have said” including, “People can kill you but they cannot harm your soul” and “He said he came to bring trouble, not peace.” Now, however, Adele is the savior and she and her cohort of executionees deliver their own words of salvation from their collective brokenness.
After accepting Bill’s proposal of marriage (for the third time), Adele delivers her ode to joy, proclaiming, “I can live with it, I can live with the pain. True joy is acceptance.” And this: “May you find joy. That’s all I’ve got. Love yourself first. Firmly secure your own mask before helping others. Try to forgive.” From her left, Mala shares her words of safety, “Eat well!” And that is the new New Testament, the new gospel, the new mantra of salvation. Soren Kierkegaard (about whom the audience hears much in Mr. Lucas’ play) would agree. In his journals, this great theologian wrote, "What the age needs is not a genius—it has had geniuses enough, but a martyr, who in order to teach men to obey would himself be obedient unto death. What the age needs is awakening.”
In “Ode to Joy,” Craig Lucas gives the audience a martyr for modern times. Adele has had the weight of the world on her shoulders; she has known suffering and pain as well as the cycle of confession, forgiveness, and redemption. And she is able to offer her own ode to joy.
ODE TO JOY
Rattlestick Playwrights Theater’s Artistic Director David Van Asselt and Managing Director Brian Long have announced that the world premiere of “Ode to Joy,” written and directed by Craig Lucas. The cast features Kathryn Erbe, Roxanna Hope and Arliss Howard. “Ode to Joy” is scheduled to run through Sunday, March 30.
The set design for “Ode to Joy” is by Andrew Boyce; costume design is by Catherine Zuber; lighting design is by Paul Whitaker; sound design is by Daniel Kluger. The production manager is Eugenia Furneaux; the production stage manager is Michael Denis. Production photos are by Sandra Coudert.
“Ode to Joy” plays Tuesday through Fridays at 8:00 p.m., Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and Sunday at 3:00 p.m. Individual tickets, which are $66.00, may be purchased at www.rattlestick.org or by calling OvationTix at 866-811-4111. Student tickets are $21.00; and under-30 tickets are $26.00. The Cherry Lane Theatre is located at 38 Commerce Street, west of Seventh Avenue South. For more information, visit http://www.rattlestick.org
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Thursday, February 27, 2014
“My Mother Has 4 Noses” at The Duke (Through Sunday May 4, 2014)
Jonatha Brooke (Photo by Sandrine Lee)
“My Mother Has 4 Noses” at The Duke (Through Sunday May 4, 2014) Written and Performed by Jonatha Brooke Directed by Jeremy B. Cohen Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Despite the early protestation of playwright Jonatha Brooke, the aft end of the title of her “My Mother Has 4 Noses” is a trope; indeed, ‘4 noses’ is a well-developed and quite brilliant extended metaphor for not only the four seasons of the life of Brooke’s mother Darren Stone (“Stoney”) Nelson; the short phrase is also a metaphor for Stoney’s self-constructed surreal prosthetic devices designed and worn throughout the clown-poet’s life to cover and disguise the deep scars and deformity resulting from her sense of orphancy, her deep-seated depression, her deeply-entrenched bereavement, and the deep scars left by her often irrational faith in the tenets of Mary Baker Eddy’s Christian Science “magical thinking” – magical thinking which ultimately failed to transform her life into an abundant life and, indeed, was a contributing factor to her death.
Touted as a tribute to the indefatigable Ms. Nelson, “My Mother Has 4 Noses” is more accurately a tribute to the important victory of reason over magical thinking. It was faith-based magical thinking that motivated Stoney Nelson to ignore the unmistakable early signs of cancer. That untreated aggressive cancer and her decline into dementia ended Ms. Nelson’s otherwise energetic, gracious, and gloriously grandiose life. How dare faith do that to a wonderful human being? Fortunately, Stoney’s daughter Jonatha was by her side chronicling the upside and the downside, the joy and the sorrow of Ms. Nelson’s final journey and celebrating Stoney’s “complete presence in the moment” that characterized the best of those times with Jonatha Brooke.
The musical drama is also a fitting tribute to Jonatha Brooke who, despite her mother’s undaunted faith, insisted on the importance of rational (as opposed to delusional) thinking. It was Ms. Brooke’s fortunate departure from the “faith-speak” (“mental malpractice’) of Christian Science, that permitted her to seek medical help for her mother’s cancer, and later, her dementia. Indeed, “My Mother Has 4 Noses” is more about Ms. Brooke than about her mother. It is clear that Ms. Brooke has chosen to return to the unresolved “stages” of bereavement and her performance aptly gives her the opportunity to detach herself from guilt and grief and celebrate that death has come for her mother and her mother would celebrate her daughter’s forward movement into complete and unconditional acceptance. Only then will this charming musical drama become a tribute to the irrepressible Darren Stone Nelson.
Kudos to Ben Butler and Anja Wood whose guitar and cello (respectively) underscore Ms. Brooke’s persuasive narration and her ten musical numbers which punctuate her story-telling and her journey to knowing who, on the other side of the wall, truly loves her and always will.
MY MOTHER HAS 4 NOSES
Presented by Patrick Rains, My Mother Has 4 Noses has scenic design by Caite Hevner-Kemp, lighting design by ML Geiger, and sound design by Paul Mitchell. Ben Butler is the Musical Director. Anne Lowrie is the Production Stage Manager.
“My Mother Has 4 Noses” runs through Sunday, May 4th at The Duke on 42nd Street, “a New 42nd Street® project” (located at 229 W 42nd Street, between 7th & 8th Avenues) on the following schedule: Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m.; Thursdays and Fridays at 8:00 p.m.; Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.; and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $70.00. A $90.00 Premium Package is available which includes prime seating and a pre-signed CD. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit http://www.dukeon42.org/Home.aspx. Running time is 90 minutes with one 15 minute intermission.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Sunday, February 23, 2014
“Bitten” at Quinn's Bar (Through Saturday February 22, 2014)
Lucy McMichael as Stella O'Conner
“Bitten” at Quinn's Bar (Through Saturday February 22, 2014) Written by Penny Jackson Directed by Joan Kane Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
“With thy sharp teeth this knot intrinsicate/Of life at once untie: poor venomous fool/Be angry, and dispatch.” —Cleopatra, Act V, scene II
Cleopatra knew the allure of the asp, the Egyptian cobra. Its venom, its bite, was – in her opinion – a rather dignified and relatively humane way to administer capital punishment offering “sleepiness and heaviness without spasms of pain.” That same bite, tradition tells us, brought that same surcease to Cleopatra VII Philopater, the last active pharaoh of Ancient Egypt.
While waiting for Pronto Car Service to whisk Stella O’Conner (Lucy McMichael) and her gynecologist grandson Brian (Nick Palladino) off to the Sunset long-term care facility in Tenafly, New Jersey, the patrons of Quinn’s bar in Richmond Hill, Queens (seen and unseen) attempt to confront their panoply of knotty and nagging life challenges. These “knots intrinsicate” are cleverly exposed throughout Penny Jackson’s “Bitten,” the site-specific play currently running at Quinn’s Bar and Grill on 44th Street in Manhattan. Grandma Stella and her persistent suitor Professor Alexi Negretsky (J. Dolan Byrnes) challenge her grandson and the bar’s caregiver and barkeep Sean Maquire (Logan McCoy) to face their ghosts past and present by sharing a story about a herpetologist whose curiosity about a cobra in a bag became not only his personal best challenge but his untimely demise.
In confronting her own brokenness, Stella uses the story of the cobra – the play’s important and predominate extended metaphor – to enable Sean to care for his own needs as well as he does for his “family” at Quinn’s; to enable her grandson Brian to accept his status as a gay man and take a chance on love (perhaps with Sean?); to enable Alexi to go with his son to Maine to live out his days; and to enable herself to admit that there might be an alternative to spending time inebriated on the floor of Quinn’s whether what alternative is Sunset Home in Tenafly or a second crack at making Queens work.
The ensemble cast treats Ms. Jackson’s complex and interesting characters well. At times, especially in pre-performance, they seem a bit reserved. Logan McCoy’s Sean is tender and lovable and layers his performance with skill. His admitted difficulty with women blossoms into his acceptance of his true status. J. Dolan Byrnes’ Alexi is perfectly rough around the edges and delivers his one hundred eleventh proposal to his Stoli Stella with charm. Nick Palladino’s Brian is appropriately annoying as his fear of self projects onto his grandmother and his concern for her safety. Lucy McMichael brings Stella to a level of feistiness and fragility but could push just a bit further to make her character more gritty and genuine. And Teddy Lytle’s voice and guitar lend authenticity to Quinn’s persona. And that unseen character octogenarian Limerick Louise is brought to life by Penny Jackson’s ability to create and develop authentic characters.
Penny Jackson’s multi-layered script suffers a bit from the unresolved tension between “site-specific” and “fourth wall” agendas that need resolution in this fine production before it moves on. One longs for patrons sitting around tables laden with peanuts and pitchers of Irish ale, lights dimmed, the faint sound of a flat screen television, even – perhaps – the occasional intrusion of a cell phone taking center “stage” with Ms. Jackson’s cast of endearing characters trying with all their might to untie some of the intricate knots, the intricate complexities of life. But for now, under Joan Kane’s generous and charitable direction, “Bitten” is just fine and goes a long way to help unravel those complexities.
BITTEN
“Bitten” features Lucy McMichael, Logan McCoy, Nick Palladino and J. Dolan Byrnes with music performed by Teddy Lytle. Choreography is by Shannon Stowe and sound design is by Ian Wehrle.
Ego Actus presents a site-specific, Equity Showcase Code, workshop production of “Bitten,” a new play by Penny Jackson, directed by Joan Kane on the second floor of Quinn's Bar and Grill, 353 West 44th St in New York City. “Bitten” plays Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm through Saturday February 22nd. All tickets are $10 cash at the door. For reservations or press inquiries please call (646) 246-4131. Running time is one hour with no intermission.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Friday, February 21, 2014
“Love and Information” at New York Theatre Workshop at the Minetta Lane Theatre (Through Sunday March 23, 2014)
Photo by Joan Marcus
“Love and Information” at New York Theatre Workshop at the Minetta Lane Theatre (Through Sunday March 23, 2014) Written by Caryl Churchill Directed by James Macdonald Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
“Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.” I Corinthians 13:8 (NIV)
Sans a singular protagonist, sans a singular antagonist, sans clear conflicts, therefore sans plot, Caryl Churchill’s “Love and Information” depends on a singular trope to provide focus and interest in her new play. This is a risky business – defying the conventions of theatre - but a business which works on many levels to provide an hour and fifty minutes of slide-show scenes of information gone haywire and love’s labor a bit lost. That trope is exemplified in an affirmation made by one of the one hundred characters that comprise Churchill’s new New York Theatre Workshop play currently running at the Minetta Lane Theatre: “she’s just information.” Humankind, in other words, IS information.
To the playwright’s dramatic cauldron, add the “eye” of BuzzFeed, the “toe” of Digg, the “tail” of YouTube, and the “hair” of GMA’s Play-of-the-Day and Pop-News, stir briskly and savor the taste of the steroid laden brew called “Love and Information” which streaks across the visual field and plants itself firmly in the audience member’s psyche. The show’s kaleidoscopic vignettes seem (often at the same time) funny, odd, weird, confusing, intrusive, and precise and somehow manage to provide a plethora of information about the human condition – some useful, some useless.
Like all things gone viral, the feeling, the emotion, the meaning inherent in this information comes from the viewer, the one interloping, the spy, the peeping Tom, and the voyeur in all of us. As one character bemoans, in order to improve the mind and memory, one must “somehow acquire and retain stacks of information.” In the midst of this information overload, love sometimes intervenes: “It doesn’t hurt to know it. Information and also love.” Even what used to be “hard news” is now more information than news. Newscasters and political commentators now tell audiences what they need to know and what they need to feel about the information disseminated: they have become or in-loco voyeurs. They have taken away our right to sneak a peek. We laugh when they laugh, cry when they suggest we cry – they emote for us so we are free to “be informed.”
And as the audience acquires and retains the stacks of information provided in “Love and Information,” one occasionally hears above the din of information the faint mention of love. One character proclaims, “I really loved you then” but neither partner could agree on when the “then” was. Another character strives to get her partner to remember who she is despite her claims of love. “Do you love me?” asks one character as he feeds trivia questions to his partner. Her response, “Don’t do that.” But love “always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres” (I Corinthians 13:7, NIV). Before responding with “Sea anemone” to his question “By what name do we usually refer to Oceanus Australensis Picardia?” she admits “I do yes I do.”
Caryl Churchill takes the risk to bombard her audience with a fusillade of scenes filled to overflowing with visual and sound bytes that require the audience’s undivided attention. This risk pays off in a culture where people cannot exist without cell phones. Miriam Buether’s set design and Christopher Shutt’s sound design artfully mimic the screens we cannot stop watching. If there is something to “Like on Facebook,” to “Tweet on Twitter,” to “Post on Instagram,” to “Pin to Pinterest we will watch it sine intermissio.
One downside to the production is its location. Because of the overwhelming success of “What’s It All About,” the New York Theatre Workshop needed to mount “Love and Information” at the Minetta Lane Theatre. Although this venue has the ability to provide all the technical needs of Ms. Churchill’s play, it has sight lines inadequate to fully enjoy the performance. Unless one is seated dead center, one is likely to miss a considerable amount of what is on stage; indeed, if seated far audience left or right, one will spend the one hundred ten minutes craning ones’ neck trying to catch a glimpse of what is playing out on the floor of the playing area.
That said, “Love and Information,” under the careful eye of director James Macdonald, is a delectable foray into the uber-information age. The ensemble cast handily portrays the one hundred characters. But despite the excellent performances and the diverse costumes designed by Gabriel Berry and Andrea Hood, the changeless persona of the actors and the re-iteration of wine glasses and chairs in the vignettes make it somewhat difficult to appreciate fully the effort of the outstanding cast. “Love and Information” is worth the visit.
LOVE AND INFORMATION
The cast of the New York Theatre Workshop production of “Love and Information” includes Phillip James Brannon, Randy Danson, Susannah Flood, Noah Galvin, Jennifer Ikeda, Karen Kandel, Irene Sofia Lucio, Nate Miller, Kellie Overbey, Adante Power, John Procaccino, Lucas Caleb Rooney, Maria Tucci, James Waterston, and Zoë Winters.
The scenic design for “Love and Information” is by Miriam Buether; costume design is by Gabriel Berry and Andrea Hood; lighting design is by Peter Mumford, sound design is by Christopher Shutt. Production photos are by Joan Marcus.
The New York Theatre Workshop production of “Love and Information” plays at the Minetta Lane Theatre, 18 Minetta Lane through March 23, 2014. The regular performance schedule is Tuesday and Wednesday at 7pm; Thursday and Friday at 8pm; Saturday at 3pm and 8pm; Sunday at 2pm and 7pm. There will be a special student matinee on March 19, 2014. Orchestra tickets are $85 and mezzanine tickets $30 for performances February 4-19 and $65 after. Tickets may be purchased online at nytw.org, or by phoning Ticketmaster at 800-982-2787. For exact dates and times of performances, visit nytw.org.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Wednesday, February 19, 2014
“Intimacy” at the New Group at the Acorn Theatre on Theatre Row (Through Saturday March 8, 2014)
Austin Cauldwell, Ella Dershowitz, and Daniel Gerroll (Photo by Monique Carboni)
“Intimacy” at the New Group at the Acorn Theatre on Theatre Row (Through Saturday March 8, 2014) Written by Thomas Bradshaw Directed by Scott Elliott Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
“My mother just walked out the door one morning, and never came home. She once said to me: “Follow your heart, Matthew. Follow your heart, and you will always be happy.” I’m going to follow my heart. This way I’ll always know that she’s proud of me.” - From Matthew’s Prologue
Just as Matthew’s (Austin Caldwell) “high end” video camera pans into a scene in his “A Frot in the Neighborhood” porn film” then fades out and goes into and out of focus, intimacy itself engages the audience then retreats in importance and comes into pedagogic focus then blurs into the realm of inconsequence in Thomas Bradshaw’s “Intimacy” currently running at the Acorn Theatre on Theatre Row as part of the New Group’s current season.
Despite Matthew’s heartfelt and transparent Prologue, “Intimacy’s” first act seems to deliberately lack focus and wobbles about as actors, despite lacking connection and credibility, provide a respectable amount of exposition in anticipation of the second act. Once characters begin to “follow their hearts,” the second act of Mr. Bradshaw’s important play evidences a more coherent and cohesive plot structure. Each character’s complex and well-developed conflict matrix drives an interesting and challenging story line brings into question society’s double standard response to its prurient underbelly and exposes the racism inherent in this wealthy suburb. From the script:
SARAH (To Matthew): See! But that’s your only race awareness. You’re only aware of it when you feel threatened. I think most white people mean well, but that they don’t realize the small things that they do.
JAMES (To Fred): The problem is that they lack proper supervision. In Mexico, they get to sit around all day, and sing and play the banjo, but here they have to really work. They need someone to keep them focused, but you’re never around. I need you to come to my house and supervise them every day. Can you do that?
Thomas Bradshaw chooses what might be the most unlikely trope for “Intimacy;” namely the extended metaphor intimacy is frottage. This metaphor allows Mr. Bradshaw to explore the intricacies of the phenomenon of intimacy while keeping the audience constantly wondering, “What exactly is going on here?” Those who give this playwright the space he needs are rewarded with a profound understanding of intimacy in human relationships and an equally sophisticated treatment of human creativity and potential.
Perhaps “Intimacy’s” most authentic scene occurs in the second act during the filming of “A Frot in the Neighborhood.” When asked if he would star in Matthew’s porn movie, Fred (David Anzuelo) agrees to participate only if he can film a scene with the eighteen year old filmmaker. Though happily married to the woman he used to pimp when she was a prostitute (one cannot make this up), Fred enjoys pleasuring himself while surfing a variety of homoerotic porn sites on the internet. After his initial doubt, Matthew agrees to do the scene and, in fact, wants to be closer to Fred after filming the scene. After completing the project, Matthew affirms (from the script):
MATTHEW: When we began this artistic endeavor I thought it was about frottage. But after being with all of you, and witnessing the emotional and transformative breakthroughs that we've gone through together, I now see what my film is really about. It's about Intimacy. It's all about intimacy.
Despite the weak first act, “Intimacy” manages to raise important questions about the meaning of authentic closeness and tenderness. Whether or not this important quest could be achieved without the exposure of the male and female sexual anatomy (real and plastic) is moot. This is the choice the playwright made. And that choice exposes the deep desire humans have to be close, to connect, to be honest. Sex has never been the only way to achieve honesty. “Intimacy” is perhaps a testament to the affirmation that sex is the least successful way to express human warmth and tenderness. The audience needs to decide for itself: Thomas Bradshaw, Scott Elliott and their dedicated and talented ensemble cast have raised the questions and provided a forum for sharing answers. “Intimacy” is well worth the time and effort it demands.
INTIMACY
“Intimacy” features David Anzuelo, Austin Cauldwell, Ella Dershowitz, Laura Esterman, Daniel Gerroll, Déa Julien, and Keith Randolph Smith.
This production includes Set Design by Derek McLane, Costume Design by Scott Elliott, Lighting Design by Russell H. Champa, Sound Design by Shane Rettig and Video Design by Olivia Sebesky. Associate Costume Designer is Kristine Koury. Production photos are by Monique Carboni.
“Intimacy” plays through Saturday March 8, 2014 as follows: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday at 7:00pm; Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 8:00pm; with matinees on Saturday at 2:00pm. For each performance, a strictly limited number of $25 tickets will be available in the first two rows. Regular tickets are 65.00. Premium tickets are $85.00. Tickets may be arranged through www.telecharge.com or (212) 239-6200, or at the Theatre Row Box Office (12–8 PM daily). For more, please visit www.thenewgroup.org. Running time is 2 hours and 25 minutes with one 15-minute intermission.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Friday, February 14, 2014
“The Correspondent” at the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater (Through Sunday March 16, 2014)
Heather Alicia Simms and Jordan Geiger (Photo by Joan Marcus)
“The Correspondent” at the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater (Through Sunday March 16, 2014) Written by Ken Urban Directed by Stephen Brackett Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
“[Charlotte’s] come back to me. There’s nothing more right.” – Philip Graves to Mirabel in Scene Nine
Bereavement makes for a strange bedfellow. It joins battle with the bereaved and insists on skirmishes with denial and isolation, anger, bargaining, depression, and (ultimately) acceptance of the death of the loved one. These incursions into the life of the bereaved are not necessarily ad seriatim events: the skirmishes can coalesce into an anxiety-ridden Armageddon. It is at this point of lamentation the audience encounters Philip Graves (Thomas Jay Ryan) whose wife Charlotte died recently in an accident. Philip’s uncommon and a bit uncanny response to that loss is the engaging subject of Ken Urban’s “The Correspondent” currently running at the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater.
In classic denial style, Philip refuses to believe Charlotte’s death is permanent and brokers with a service to send a correspondent to heaven to deliver a message to his deceased wife. The service provides an employee who expects to die in the near future and promises to deliver Phil’s letter to Charlotte. That employee is Mirabel (Heather Alicia Simms) whose Roxbury tough exterior belies a thirty-something woman searching for something new in her life. After hearing Philip’s story, con artist Mirabel begins to morph into his strongest advocate after an off-stage voice and a series of handwritten letters from the deceased introduces an androgynous Young Man (Jordan Geiger) who brazenly claims to be Phil’s deceased wife Charlotte. Philip is convinced the Young Man is Charlotte redivivus, falls in love with him, and shuts Mirabel out completely. From the script:
MIRABEL: Who is he? Pause. PHILIP: He has her memories. MIRABEL: I know you’re hurting. But that boy is not your wife. How can he be? PHILIP: I don’t understand what’s happening. But it’s her.
Gathering information culled from obituaries, newspaper articles about Charlotte’s death, and conversations at Mass General where Charlotte volunteered, both Mirabel and the Young Man jockey for a position of importance in the interstices of Philip’s profound grief. Even when the Young Man’s memory misfires during a dinner conversation, Philip refuses to enter the space of disbelief. From the script:
PHILIP: How could you not remember that summer we went up the coast? That weekend on the beach / we stayed right there– YOUNG MAN: Ridiculous. You’re changing the subject. Any excuse not to talk, not to hear– PHILIP: You used to say it was one of our happiest times– YOUNG MAN: What replaces desire is blame. The night we fought, you struck me because I forced you to see, finally, your part in this. I should’ve fought harder.
What results is a kaleidoscope of gender-bending, death-defying, convention-challenging three-ring performances with playwright Ken Urban and director Stephen Beckett holding forth as ringmasters and illusionists par excellence. Ken Urban is a master illusionist: he has the uncanny ability to challenge an audience’s perception of – indeed its understanding of – reality. Aided and abetted by Mr. Brackett, Mr. Urban’s script takes the audience on a tour-de-force mind-bending series of twists and turns that keep the audience engaged long after leaving the theatre.
The depth and intricacy of Andrew Boyce’s set dimly lighted by Eric Southern successfully simulates the gyri and sulci of the brain and the recesses of both the human mind and the jagged corners of elusive memory and provides the prototypical arena for Ken Urban’s beautifully executed resurrection mind games and morally ambiguous behaviors of his complex characters.
The importance of the motivation and the authenticity of the play’s characters are inherent in the cast’s scintillating performances. Heather Alicia Simms’ Mirabel (“of wondrous beauty”) is a disenfranchised woman determined to change her future, willing to do whatever it takes to hold Philip to his pledge of love including haunting him “for the rest of his life.” Jordan Geiger’s Young Man is searching for love and meaning in the last moments of his life and risks opening himself to a relationship with a grieving straight man to discover surcease from loneliness. Mr. Geiger moves about spirit like and glides across Philip’s floors with the grace and charm of the bereaved’s wife Charlotte. Finally, Thomas Jay Ryan’s Philip Graves (what an apt surname!)broods about his home convinced he can contact his dead wife. Philip, much like “Chicago’s” Mister Cellophane, is a character Mirabel and the Young Man can “look right through” and “walk right by” never knowing he is there except as a vehicle for their own redemption and release.
Add to all of this the audience member’s own memories of love, conflict, disillusionment, loss, grieving, and culpability and Mr. Urban’s extraordinary script becomes a veritable Pandora’s Box of human angst counterpointed by a treasure chest brimming with human hope and opportunity. “The Correspondent” needs to be on the theatre-goers’ list of must see performances.
THE CORRESPONDENT
The cast of “The Correspondent” is Jordan Geiger, Thomas Jay Ryan, and Heather Alicia Simms.
The set design for “The Correspondent” is by Andrew Boyce; costume design is by Jessica Pabst; lighting design is by Eric Southern; sound design is by Daniel Kluger. The production manager is Eugenia Furneaux; the production stage manager is John Crotty. Production photos are by Joan Marcus.
“The Correspondent” plays Monday and Wednesday at 7pm, Thursday and Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 3pm and 8pm, and Sunday at 3pm at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, 224 Waverly Place, west of Seventh Avenue South, between West 11 and Perry Streets. Tickets may be purchased at www.rattlestick.org or by phoning OvationTix at 866.811.4111. Individual tickets are $55; student tickets are $10; under-30 tickets are $15. For more information about “The Correspondent” and Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, visit www.rattlestick.org. Running time is 90 minutes with no intermission.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Friday, February 14, 2014
“Philosophy for Gangsters” at the Beckett Theatre on Theatre Row (Through March 1, 2014)
The Cast of "Philosophy for Gangsters" (Photo by Carol Rosegg)
“Philosophy for Gangsters” at the Beckett Theatre on Theatre Row (Through March 1, 2014) Written and Directed by Liz Peak and Barry Peak Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Buried somewhere beneath tired (and tiring) humor – much of it in poor taste – lies a story Liz Peak and Barry Peak intended to be engaging as well as humorous. Unfortunately their well-intentioned plan falls mostly flat in the world premiere of their “Philosophy for Gangsters” currently running through March 1, 2014 at the Beckett Theatre on Theatre Row in Manhattan.
This story involves Mafia heir Callie Rizzoli’s (Courtney Romano) attempt to deconstruct the meaning of mob and redefine the meaning of crime in the twenty-first century. She enlists the help of kidnapped NJCU Professor of Philosophy Willie May (Tom White) who (obviously) becomes a love interest for her and a liability for the current Don of the Family Rizzoli (Bruno Iannone).
Despite heroic efforts on the part of the talented cast, the thin plot unravels and suffers from a plethora of less-than-interesting characters burdened with equally implausible and, quite frankly, boring problems. The Don wants to see the day when criminals won’t have to go to jail “just because they are guilty.” Callie affirms that she and other miscreants “have the right to do wrong.” Willie May is conscripted to write the definitive “Guerilla Manifesto.” And, to save her new beau Willie, Callie fakes his death in an explosion, Luther (Tally Sessions) removes all of Willie’s teeth to substantiate the professor’s demise, and Callie and Willie head off in the sunset to inhabit you-know-whose now vacant cave in Afghanistan. And so it goes.
Repetition, redundancy, blackouts too many to count, an overly long first act, and the dogged attempt to provide exposition through unnecessary three-minute scenes doom this dramatic effort to less than success.
PHILOSOPHY FOR GANGSTERS
The cast for Philosophy for Gangsters includes Michael Brusasco, Kyle Robert Carter, David Demato, Shabazz Green, Bruno Iannone, Leajato Amara Robinson, Courtney Romano, Tally Sessions, Deborah Tranelli and Tom White.
The creative team is comprised of Julia Noulin-Mérat (scenic design), Sarah Cogan (costume design), Carl Wiemann (lighting design), M. Florian Staab (sound design) and Lauren Genutis (properties). Jessica Pollack is Production Stage Manager.
Tickets are $61.25 and may be purchased online through Telecharge.com or by calling (212) 239-6200. They may also be obtained in person at the Theatre Row box office (410 West 42nd Street). Hours are Monday-Saturday from 12noon to 6pm and Sunday from 12noon to curtain. There are no advance sales (1) one hour prior to curtain.
The performance schedule is: Tuesday at 7:00pm, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday at 8:00pm, Saturday at 2:00 and 8:00pm and Sunday at 3:00pm. Running Time is 2 hours and 10 minutes with a 15 minute intermission.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Monday, February 10, 2014
“The Tribute Artist” at Primary Stages at 59E59 Theater A (Through Sunday March 16, 2014)
“The Tribute Artist” at Primary Stages at 59E59 Theater A (Through Sunday March 16, 2014) Written by Charles Busch Directed by Carl Andress Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Charles Busch and his band of merry-makers have pitched camp (for all too short a time) at 59E59 Theater A for the final offering in Primary Stages’ twenty-ninth Season, Mr. Busch’s gender-bending and exquisite “The Tribute Artist.” The result of this incursion into the winter blues is nothing short of brilliant. From cast to creative team to direction, this delicious dip into debauchery brims with over-the-top humor and a subtle entreaty for the return of honesty in human relationships. But first, the dip into the debauchery.
After disposing of wealthy recluse friend Adriana’s (Cynthia Harris) body, celebrity tribute artist Jimmy (Charles Busch) and real estate friend Rita (Julie Halston) hatch a “fool-proof” plot to dispose of Adriana’s body using a fake identity and find a way to sell her West Village townhouse and split the enormous profits. Sharing the twenty million deal would solve Jimmy’s unemployed problem – his Vegas celebrity tribute show cancelled – and Rita’s less than stellar realtor rating – 1.5 out of 4.
The plot – which naturally proves not to be fool-proof – involves Jimmy posing as the deceased Adriana until Rita can sell the townhouse. The two decide to live in Adriana’s townhouse unnoticed by authorities, neighbors, or incompetent housekeepers: fortunately – and in the refined improbably style of farce – Adriana provides all the necessary exposition before expiring. This hastily-hatched plan begins to quickly unravel at the tattered seams of Adriana’s castaway clothes. Niece Christina (Mary Bacon) arrives with her “tran-man” daughter/son Oliver (Keira Keeley) to claim the townhouse as her own. Christina completely buys into the sham and Oliver falls head-over-heels in love with his new auntie. To further complicate the plot, Oliver friends (the real) Adriana’s former lover Rodney (Jonathan Walker) on Facebook and invites him back into auntie’s life and love. And, naturally, Jimmy - playing Adriana - takes a romantic shine to Rodney who discovers the “grand dame’s” true gender and threatens to expose the plot if Jimmy rats on Rodney.
The complex and well-rounded characters in this solid farce are so unbelievable they become completely credible due to the formidable skills of the cast and the oversight of director Carl Andress who transforms the complicated conflicts of the characters into an engaging and interesting comedic drama. It would not be fair to expose the plot in detail. It is sufficient to say that it involves an orgy, dismembered human remains, at least one dead body in the basement of the townhouse, gender-bending hilarity, and a powerful performance by Keira Keely whose bullied and culture-battered Oliver manages to provide the tenderness and compassion missing in the lives of the other characters.
And there are a host of other unseen characters who burst forth from tribute artist Jimmy’s repertoire throughout the play. At the end of the second act, Jimmy floods the stage with impersonations which Rita identifies, asserting that “there are people in this room who do not know your references!” Again, to be fair to future audience members, this pantheon of drag favorites will not be fully disclosed here but it is sufficient to note that Marilyn, Betty, Rosalind and their ilk are not in short supply.
With the skill of a surgeon, Charles Busch is able to eviscerate his carefully crafted characters to reveal – beneath the layers of assumed superficiality – the core of honesty and tender humanness. These are all characters attempting to make sense of the fractured farcicalities of life on planet Earth. And every good farce needs an equally good set and Anna Louizos does not disappoint, providing a scrumptious well-appointed townhouse drawing room replete with wedding cake ceiling molding, seamless sliding doors, and a rock-solid period staircase. Gregory Gales’ costumes are perfect all around and Kirk Bookman’s subtle lighting and Jill BC Du Boff’s sound create appropriate mood including the thunder and lightning that forebodes the falling action in the second act. Finally, Katherine Carr’s wigs are wildly spot on.
Charles Busch’s character Jimmy claims early on to Rita – after she defines his art as “drag” – that he is not someone who performs in drag; rather, he is a celebrity tribute artist, an illusionist. Jimmy describes Charles’ art form with precision and perfection: Mr. Busch remains one of the stage’s most creative, innovative, and talented actors who continue to deliver performances defined by authenticity and honesty. “The Tribute Artist” is a tribute to Mr. Busch’s legacy and brilliance as an illusionist. Jimmy says early on to Rita, “The more honest you are, the more people believe you.”
THE TRIBUTE ARTIST
Primary Stages (Casey Childs, Founder and Executive Producer; Andrew Leynse, Artistic Director; Elliot Fox, Managing Director), Daryl Roth, and Ted Snowdon in association with Jamie deRoy present “The Tribute Artist,” a new world premiere comedy written by and starring Tony-nominee Charles Busch and directed by Busch’s long-time collaborator Carl Andress.
The cast of “The Tribute Artist” features Mary Bacon, Playwright Charles Busch, Cynthia Harris, Julie Halston, Keira Keeley , and Jonathan Walker.
“The Tribute Artist” features a scenic design by Anna Louizos, costume design by Gregory Gale, lighting design by Kirk Bookman, sound design by Jill BC Du Boff, original music by Lewis Flinn, and wig design by Katherine Carr. The production photos are by James Leynse.
“The Tribute Artist” plays a limited engagement through March 16, 2014 at Primary Stages at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street). Performances are Tuesday-Thursday at 7:00 p.m., Friday at 8:00 p.m., Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and Sunday at 3:00 p.m. There will be a special Wednesday matinee at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 19. There is no performance on March 5 and March 12. Single tickets are priced at $70 for all performances and may be purchased by calling Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200, online at www.primarystages.org, or in person at the 59E59 Theaters Box Office. Please visit the website at www.primarystages.org,<
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Sunday, February 9, 2014
Bernard Dotson “Live” at the Metropolitan Room (Returning on Wednesday April 16, 2014 at 7:00 p.m.)
Bernard Dotson “Live” at the Metropolitan Room (Returning on Wednesday April 16, 2014 at 7:00 p.m.) Directed by Bob E. Gasper Reviewed by Joseph Verlezza Theatre Reviews Limited
Any doubt that Bernard Dotson is an intriguing multi-talented performer is soon dismissed after seeing his new energy packed show which debuted at the Metropolitan Room and will soon take flight around the country. “I don’t know how to begin/ To let myself let you in” are the opening lyrics heard from an offstage voice and will soon prove to be an ironic and mistermed phrase as the evening wears on and Mr. Dotson shows his ownership of the stage. His presence, poise, voice and honesty provide proof of a first rate entertainer and contribute to his ability to captivate an audience with charm. His journey which brings him to this time and place is revealed throughout and shows evidence of gratitude and humility, coinciding with interest and humor. Mr. Dotson gets up close and personal with his choice of songs and stories but never forces a feeling or emotional connection to the material and sheds any inhibitions to reveal himself to the audience. His vocals are precise, clear, bold and pure, along with lyrics delivered with humor, romance or sentimentality.
The eclectic evening of song is filled with pop standards, Broadway and even an hysterical Disney medley recollecting his performance gig at Disney Tokyo. Mr. Dotson rocks the house with a Barry Manilow staple “It’s a Miracle” and croons “All I Care About Is Love” from “Chicago” (John Kander/Fred Ebb). A highlight of the show is his interpretation of “Mr. Bojangles” (Jerry Jeff Walker) spotlighting inventive phrasing and reassuring the fact that you are watching a Broadway actor hone his craft, which is also all too evident in his rendition of “Fallin.” It is a rare occasion when a cabaret audience witnesses a Broadway actor recreate a song he originated on the stage. When Mr. Dotson belts out “Make Them Hear You” from “Ragtime” (Stephen Flaherty/Lynn Ahrens), you are immediately transported to that important time and place in his career as he takes you there with him. It is one powerful moment that is surely a gift.
The evening is enhanced by the accompanying musicians Skip Ward on Bass, Peter Calo on Guitar, David Silliman on Drums, and Musical Director Tracy Stark on Piano. Marya Grandy and Jeanne Montano support with backup vocals and duets, while Matt Heimer turns in a great rendition of “Lovin Feelin” (Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, and Phil Spector) with Mr. Dotson. Bernard Dotson will return to the Metropolitan Room on Wednesday April 16, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. The reader should consider this a not-to-be-missed event.
BERNARD DOTSON LIVE
Bernard Dotson appeared at The Metropolitan Room on Monday February 3, 2014 and will return to the Metropolitan Room on Wednesday April 16 at 7:00 p.m. Doors open 30 minutes prior to performance at 6:30 p.m. The Metropolitan Room is located at 34 West 22nd Street in Manhattan. There is a $25.00 per person Music Charge and a Two Drink Minimum. A VIP Gold Package is available for $115.00. For further information, visit http://metropolitanroom.com/. Mr. Dotson will also appear At the Power Station in the Loews Hotel in Annapolis, Maryland on March 15, 2014 and Sterling’s Upstairs at The Federal in North Hollywood, California on June 29 and June 30 at 7:00 p.m.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Friday, February 7, 2014
Karen Wyman – “The Second Time Around” at the Metropolitan Room (Returning in March, 2014)
Karen Wyman – “The Second Time Around” at the Metropolitan Room (Returning in March, 2014) Directed by Dennis Deal Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
A national sensation in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Karen Wyman has decided after twenty-three years to stage her comeback and continue what has always been her passion: singing for her live audiences. That decision comes after having successfully raised her family and realizing that musically she had “a lot of growing up to do” in terms of truly understanding the lyrics she was singing intuitively “as a kid” in the ‘60s and ‘70s.
Recent appearances at Birdland and the Mabel Mercer Foundation and this current appearance at the Metropolitan Room prove incontrovertibly that this was the quintessential time for Karen Wyman’s return to the cabaret stage and that she not only has full control of her splendid vocal instrument but also understands every word she sings with renewed passion and authenticity.
Backed by John Odo on piano, Dick Sarpola on bass, Eddie Caccavale on drums, and directed by Dennis Deal, Ms. Wyman glides through a formidable chunk of the Great American Songbook with style and grace and demonstrates that “Come Rain or Come Shine” (Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer), she is here to stay and “Why [She] Can’t Walk Away” (George Weiss/Hugo/Luigi). This George Weiss song was the first she sang on the Ed Sullivan Show when she was just sixteen.
Karen Wyman’s unique and pleasant styling and her now mature understanding of the lyric undergird her interpretations of “After You’ve Gone” (Turner Layton and Henry Creamer), Irving Berlin’s “Always,” and her well-chosen Edyie Gorme medley. And her dynamic and soulful phrasing shines through in “Where Do You Start” (Alan and Marilyn Bergman).
Perhaps no three songs could better underscore Ms. Wyman’s journey to the necessary and powerful rediscovery of self than “Just One of Those Things” (Cole Porter), “Gotta Move” (Peter Matz with lyrics by Barbara Streisand), and “All By Myself” (Irving Berlin) which this honest and thoughtful singer performs with lots of “grown up” integrity.
Sharing in Karen Wyman’s successful comeback, the audience at the iconic Metropolitan Room wonders what its members have generously sacrificed in their own lives and now need to give a second-time-around chance. Ms. Wyman gives her listeners the second opportunity to “get out, find some place, some brand new place” (Barbara Streisand) where they can just be themselves. Make plans now to see Karen Wyman in March to share in her remarkable gift of the rediscovery and celebration of self.
KAREN WYMAN – THE SECOND TIME AROUND
Karen Wyman appeared at The Metropolitan Room on Friday December 20, 2013 and will return to the Metropolitan Room on the four Wednesdays (5, 12, 19, 26) in March, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. Doors open 30 minutes prior to performance at 6:30 p.m. The Metropolitan Room is located at 34 West 22nd Street in Manhattan. There is a $25.00 per person Music Charge and a Two Drink Minimum. A VIP Gold Package is available for $115.00. For further information, visit http://metropolitanroom.com/.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Friday, February 7, 2014
Jason Morris: Musically Yogic at the Metropolitan Room (Returning on Monday March 17, 2014)
Jason Morris: Musically Yogic at the Metropolitan Room (Returning on Monday March 17, 2014) Musical Direction by Tracy Stark Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
MetroStar's 1st Runner Up Jason Morris is not only an international trainer of yoga teachers and a successful entrepreneur involved in a successful chain of yoga centers; he is also an accomplished and unique performer. In his recent appearance at the Metropolitan Room, Mr. Morris continues to validate his mantra: “music has not only the power to move us to feel, but more importantly, the power that propels us to act and heal.”
Spending time with Jason Morris and his music is indeed powerful: his insistence on being in the present and being completely authentic is healing for the mind, the body, and the spirit. His voice is soothing and his style is eclectic. Jason treats every lyric with respect and the result is a melodic line with fresh and clarifying phrasing. This blend of styling and phrasing places a welcome demand on the audience to appreciate music and lyrics with renewed interest. One must be disciplined and breathe with Jason Morris to fully “attain liberation from the material world and union of the self with ones ultimate principle.” In other words, to spend time with Mr. Morris at the Metropolitan is perfectly yogic.
Jason’s unique styling is evident throughout the thirteen songs (including the Encore with Julie Reyburn) he shares in “Musically Yogic” but perhaps most conspicuous in “Thank Goodness” (Stephen Schwartz); “Magic to Do” from “Pippin” (Stephen Schwartz); and Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newly’s “Pure Imagination” which, in Mr. Morris’ hands, is pure “paradise.”
It is difficult to imagine any crooner - male or female – finding hidden treasure in Rogers and Hammerstein’s “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” from “The Sound of Music;” however, that is precisely what Jason Morris accomplishes in his interpretation of this timeless song. The lyric, “A dream that will need /All the love you can give /Every day of your life /For as long as you live,” takes on a new meaning in his care as he shares with the audience the news of his mother’s recent diagnosis with ALS.
Jason’s Encore “The Letter” (Elton John/Lee Hall) sung with Julie Reyburn rounds out an enchanting evening with a remarkably gifted performer. The audience leaves the Metropolitan Room wanting more from Jason Morris who wants nothing more that each member of his audience know that “in everything you do/ always be yourself /and you always will be true.”
JASON MORRIS: MUSICALLY YOGIC
Jason Morris appeared at The Metropolitan Room on Monday January 20, 2014 and will return to the Metropolitan Room with his “Musically Yogic” on Monday March 17, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. Doors open 30 minutes prior to performance at 6:30 p.m. The Metropolitan Room is located at 34 West 22nd Street in Manhattan. There is a $20.00 per person Music Charge and a Two Drink Minimum. A VIP Silver Package is available for $85.00 and a VIP Gold Package for $115.00. For further information, visit http://metropolitanroom.com/. For more information on ALS, please visit http://www.alsa.org/. Photography by Jeffrey Mosier.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Thursday, February 6, 2014
“Bitten” at Quinn’s Bar and Grill (Through Saturday February 22, 2014)
“Bitten” at Quinn’s Bar and Grill (Through Saturday February 22, 2014) By Penny Jackson Directed by Joan Kane Preview by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Ego Actus presents a site-specific, Equity Showcase Code, workshop production of “Bitten,” a new play by Penny Jackson, directed by Joan Kane on the second floor of Quinn's Bar and Grill, 353 West 44th St in New York City. The show opens February 6th, 2014 and plays Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm through Saturday February 22nd. All tickets are $10 cash at the door. For reservations or press inquiries please call (646) 246-4131.
As a snowstorm is forming, Brian tries to convince his Irish grandmother Stella to just visit a nice retirement home. Will he be able to get her out of her favorite neighborhood bar before the blizzard hits? Bitten is about living and ending life on your own terms, no matter what.
“Bitten” features Lucy McMichael, Logan McCoy, Nick Palladino and J. Dolan Byrnes with music performed by Teddy Lytle. Choreography is by Shannon Stowe and sound design is by Ian Wehrle.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Thursday, February 6, 2014
“Row After Row” at the Women’s Project Theater at New York City Center Stage II (Through Sunday February 16, 2014)
Rosie Benton, Erik Lochtefeld, and PJ Sosko in "Row After Row" (Photo by Carol Rosegg)
“Row After Row” at the Women’s Project Theater at New York City Center Stage II (Through Sunday February 16, 2014) By Jessica Dickey Directed by Daniella Topol Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Trope after trope thrusts Jessica Dickey’s “Row After Row” into a kaleidoscope of images present and past celebrating humankind’s insistence on moving forward through often seemingly insurmountable “battles” on an off the theatres of war. Currently running at New York City Stage II, “Row After Row” is part of the Women’s Project Theater’s thirty-sixth season of presenting plays written by and directed by women. Ms. Dickey’s play is a haunting, albeit comedic, reminder of the existential angst of living isolated in a vacuum of power with “no army, no flag, no uniform” not knowing “which direction to march, what to kill, what to save.”
As Tom (Erik Lochtefeld) and Cal (PJ Sosko) retreat to an old pub in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania after reenacting General George Pickett’s July 3, 1863 Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg, they encounter Leah (Rosie Benton) sitting where they usually sit to drink their beers. A spirited discussion ensues and each of the three is forced to play their full hand of hopes, fears, dreams, and cultural baggage. This conversation is interrupted – or rather paralleled by – enactments of the Gettysburg Charge the three just reenacted and the counterpoint of past and present is brilliantly directed by Daniella Topol and performed with honesty and authenticity by the ensemble cast. Tyler Micoleau’s sensitive lighting and the actors’ speech patterns clearly delineate past from present and Ms. Dickey’s choice to have “the 1863 speeches feel slightly heightened in their presentation, almost like Shakespeare” is spot on. . Musket-like sparks fly as these three wonderfully crafted round and dynamic characters expose their inner turmoil which Mr. Lochtefeld, Mr. Sosko, and Ms. Benton unravel and put on display with the utmost honesty and authenticity. Their characters are not static and each is capable of change and growth. Each transmutes into the Civil War characters they have chosen to reenact and draw upon their counterparts’ passion to move forward in their own lives. Leah, who “has not been able to feel her body in a long time” and “has literally fought for her life,” opens herself to the possibility of friendship with Cal. Tom, still somewhat the deserter, retreats into the relative comfort of his family leaving Cal bereft and bemused. And Cal – perhaps the richest of Ms. Dickey’s characters here – sheds the shards of culture and exposes his vulnerable and fragile inner essentia.
Tom, Cal, and Leah march daily in step with the rest of humankind, row after row into their own oncoming battles fighting for peace and “with [their] hands raised to the future say Hello. Hold, Help.” It is not always clear what their –or the audience’s – battles are or even who they or we are. Isolated by our own design and by the intention of others, we still dare march into the unknown battlefields embracing, with Tom, the hope that “Maybe — the whole goddamn war will smoke itself out. We can Just live. And we can have our pie. Our pappy. Our pretty.”
The run of “Row After Row” ends far too soon and it is important to see this important play before it closes.
ROW AFTER ROW
The cast of “Row After Row” includes Rosie Benton, Erik Lochtefeld, and PJ Sosko. Sets and costumes are being designed by Clint Ramos, lights by Tyler Micoleau, and sound by Broken Chord. The production stage manager is Jess Johnston. Production photos are by Carol Rosegg.
“Row After Row” performs Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 7:30pm with matinees Saturday and Sunday at 2:30pm through February 16. Single tickets are $60 can be purchased online at www.NYCityCenter.org, by calling CityTix® at 212-581-1212, or at the New York City Center Box Office at 131 West 55th Street (between Sixth and Seventh Avenues).
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Wednesday, February 5, 2014
“Almost, Maine” at the Gym at Judson (through Sunday March 2, 2014)
Kevin Isola and John Cariani in "They Fell" (Photo by Carol Rosegg)
“Almost, Maine” at the Gym at Judson (through Sunday March 2, 2014) Written by John Cariani Directed by Jack Cummings III Reviewed by David Roberts and Joseph Verlezza Theatre Reviews Limited
“when by now and tree by leaf/ she laughed his joy she cried his grief/ bird by snow and stir by still/anyone's any was all to her” – E. E. Cummings
Ginette (Kelly McAndrew) and Pete (John Cariani) provide the dramatic context for Mr. Cariani’s “Almost, Maine” currently running at the Gym at Judson and already extended one week even before its opening date. These two complex characters and their equally sophisticated conflicts drive an intricate plot about the complexities of human relationships. Their search for intimacy in the midst of ennui and profound loneliness counterpoints the same quest in the lives of eight other couples who venture out on the same snowy Friday night in the uncharted terrain of Almost, Maine.
Sitting as far away from Pete as possible and looking more at Pete looking at the heavens than looking directly at Pete, Ginette – after a prolonged and delicious silence – confesses her love for Pete. Flummoxed and a bit defensive, Pete agrees to admit his love for Ginette but dodges real connection by reminding her, as she defines the move toward him on the bench as closeness, they are actually farther apart than ever.
Heartbroken, Ginette leaves and seamlessly the action focuses on Glory (Donna Lynne Champlin) who is carrying her own broken heart in a paper bag and has come to Almost to ask her dead husband for forgiveness as his spirit drifts heavenward on the waves of the Northern Lights. She camps in East’s (Kevin Isola) backyard and the two begin a captivating dance toward intimacy in a brilliant dialog that captures the vicissitudes of human bonding.
“Almost, Maine” is all about the arduous journey toward meaning in relationships as a variety of couples attempt to understand what it means to bond, to belong, to care, to pay attention, to draw close, to see clearly, to embrace pain, to understand loss, and to literally fall in love. The four actors, including the playwright, manage to portray an impressive twenty-one characters giving each a unique personality and a believable personal story. One of the most engaging stories is the heartwarming and comedic account of Chad (Kevin Isola) and Randy (John Cariani) literally falling down in love with one another. Indeed, the small population of Almost, Maine happens to know an awful amount about love.
Mr. Cariani’s script is a fascinating journey recounting how seemingly simple folk enjoy life and the beauty of finding and being in love and face the despair and sadness of losing and falling out of love. As each inhabitant’s story is told, the audience learns just how fragile the heart is and is able to connect emotionally on the human level with the knowledge that at some time they have felt the same. When the night is over the audience does not want to leave this place, these people or the feelings they stir up and the audience understands that whether it be glad or sad, euphoric or painful, there is the ultimate need to discover one’s self, someone else, and to fall in love with both. Fortunately “Almost, Maine” is an intriguing place for it to happen.
John Cariani’s “Almost, Maine” works as well as it does because it takes the time to ask the kinds of enduring questions that engage audiences in profound and substantive ways. This particular production works because of the commitment of the cast and director to make Almost, Maine the locus of Almost, Anywhere where “anyone [lives] in a pretty how town (with up so floating many bells down”) - E. E. Cummings.
ALMOST, MAINE
Transport Group, the Drama Desk and OBIE award-winning theatre company, has announced a one-week extension of “Almost, Maine,” written by John Cariani and directed by Jack Cummings III.
The cast of “Almost, Maine” is playwright John Cariani, Donna Lynne Champlin, Kevin Isola, and Kelly McAndrew.
The creative team includes Sandra Goldmark (scenic design), R. Lee Kennedy (lighting design), Kathryn Rohe (costume design), Walter Trarbach (sound design), Tom Kochan (original music), Kristina Corcoran Williams (dramaturg), and Theresa Flanagan (production stage manager). Production photos by Carol Rosegg.
“Almost, Maine” plays Tuesday - Thursday and 7pm; Friday at 8pm; Saturday at 2pm and 8pm; Sunday at 3pm at the Gym at Judson, 243 Thompson Street at West 4 Street. The schedule for the extension week is Tuesday - Thursday at 7pm; Friday at 8pm; Saturday at 2pm; Sunday at 3pm and 7pm. Prices start at $49 for general admission, and $65 for premium reserved seating. Season subscription packages are now available for $80, which includes premium reserved seating to both shows, unlimited ticket exchanges, access to purchase house seats, exclusive subscriber-only events, and a free glass of wine at each show. To purchase single tickets or subscriptions, visit www.transportgroup.org or phone 1-866-811-4111. Running time is 120 minutes with a 15 minute intermission.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Wednesday, February 5, 2014
“Beertown” at 59E59 Theater C (Through Sunday February 16, 2014)
“Beertown” at 59E59 Theater C (Through Sunday February 16, 2014) Devised by dog & pony dc Directed by Rachel Grossman Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
“We come here today to question, to debate, to learn, to grow, and, yes, to leave our mark in the record so that future generations may share the privilege of learning who they are by remembering who we are. What would you have us do instead? How else would you have them remember us?” – Leonard Fishman, General Editor, “Beertown Bugle,” February 1, 1974
The current research on memory is not only exhaustive but exciting as well and although this data is not within the purview of this review of dog & pony dc’s “Beertown,” the questions about memory are relevant to this significant theatre piece currently running at 59E59 Theater C. What is memory and is it static or dynamic? What is sacred to a village and who decides that question? What really matters in a community’s history and in the re-collection of that history?
The members of the Beertown community gather every five years to examine the contents of their Time Capsule which contains five Permanent Artifacts and nine Ephemeral Artifacts. “Beertown” is a “real time” celebration of this event with audience members becoming participants in the festivities from opening pot-luck to the final steps in deciding what is taken out of the time capsule and what replaces the voted-out artifact. The actors portray a provocative cross-section of Beertown including its current Mayor Megan Soch (Wyckham Avery), Representative Lawrence Pickel-Cooper (Max Freedman), Archivist Joann Ryals (Elaine Yuko Qualter), Youngest Daughter of Ninkasi MJ Soch (Rachel Grossman), and Ombudsman Edwin McFarlan (J. Argyl Plath).
These remarkable actors stretch their impressive craft across two hours and ten minutes of history-making story telling with embracing grace and infectious style. Each knows his or her character’s back story with detail. During a conversation with Representative Lawrence Pickel-Cooper during the intermission, Max Freedman never flinched when I pressed him to provide details about his newly-purchased home, its prior owner’s name, and his girl friend’s occupation in Washington, DC! He even offered to call over Archivist Joann to confirm the name of the former owner of his new home in Beertown.
An assortment of “Antecedents” provides sometimes valuable exposition; unfortunately, these flashbacks are not of consistent quality and importance and do not always provide sufficient ‘HEAT’: Antecedent #4 (Tug of War) pales in when compared to Antecedent #16 (The Last 5 Years) which is perhaps the most powerful part of “Beertown.” In this remarkably well-crafted staging, a voiceover recounting events of the last five years (2009 through 2013) counterpoints with simultaneous events occurring in the community in pantomime.
“Beertown” is striking evidence of dog & pony dc’s commitment to excellence in theatre. The company clearly does extensive research into the topics they choose to translate to the stage and holds company members to the highest standards in performance and stagecraft. The outstanding ensemble cast, generously directed by Rachel Grossman, all gave authentic performances and engaged the audience in an important and honest dialog about re-membering. Their work presented the audience with a reminder and a challenge.
As humankind reweaves memories – celebrating its past and hoping to secure its future – what does that unfolding and re-emerging community preserve and what does it eradicate from its “time capsule?” Further, will humankind (and the nations inhabited by humankind) learn to “debate, to learn, to grow?” It would have been good to learn in “Beertown” that the Thakiwaki Nation – as part of the “Trail of Tears – were moved to a reservation west of the Mississippi in 1876, in reaction to the Battle of the Little Bighorn and Custer’s Last Stand. That memory must remain forever in the tapestry of America’s collective memory.
BEERTOWN
The cast of “Beertown” features Wyckham Avery, Max Freedman, Rachel Grossman, Melanie Harker, Colin Hovde, J. Argyl Plath, Elaine Yuko Qualter, Jon Reynolds, and Yasmin Tuazon.
The design team includes Colin K. Bills (set and lighting design) and Ivania Stack (costume design). The Production Stage Manager is Melanie Harker. Production photos were taken by C. Stanley Photography.
“Beertown” runs for a limited engagement through Sunday, February 16. The performance schedule is Tuesday – Thursday at 7:30 PM; Friday - Saturday at 8:30 PM; and Sunday at 3:30 PM. Performances are at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues). Tickets are $25 ($17.50 for 59E59 Members). To purchase tickets, call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 or go to www.59e59.org.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Monday, February 3, 2014
“The Window” at the Cherry Lane Theater (Through Sunday January 26, 2014)
“The Window” at the Cherry Lane Theater (Through Sunday January 26, 2014) By Marta Mondelli Directed by Shira-Lee Shalit Reviewed by Joseph Verlezza Theatre Reviews Limited
There is an interesting, stylish and refreshing short play entitled “The Window” debuting now at the Cherry Lane Studio Theater, produced by Teatro Italiano Network. It is an intriguing work which plays well on stage but also has the uncanny ability to present itself somewhat as a television series which you want to tune into next week to see what happens to the characters. It appears as only one minor episode in their complicated yet ever so human existence certainly having an interesting past and an exciting future. It is a story of three characters coming to terms with who they are and what they want, accepting that knowledge, and moving on to more discoveries about themselves and others. The plot is clever but it is the characters that are fascinating as they peel away superficial layers to expose their true selves and enjoy the revelation. The entire cast is excellent and wears the 1950’s time period well in fashion and social mores.
Cristina Lippolis is innocent and charming as Eva and captures the disillusion of youth with an inquisitive glimmer in her eye. Marta Mondelli who also penned the script is vibrant, focused and the epitome of style as she carves and sculpts the sultry Nora. Scott Freeman is all a fifties leading man should be; squared jawed, he pulls off a nicely nuanced character as Bill. Under the astute direction of Shira-Lee Shalit motives are clear; movement is precise and economical as the conflict moves along at a desirable pace. The entire creative team should be applauded for producing a clean, polished production with high artistic integrity.
THE WINDOW
Teatro Italiano Network presents “The Window,” a romantic thriller by Marta Mondelli, directed by Shira-Lee Shalit. The cast features Scott Freeman, Cristina Lippolis, and Marta Mondelli. The creative team includes Nicholas Biagetti and Pedro Marnoto (set design), Haejin Han (lighting design and stage manager), and Rebekka Fellah (costume design). Production photos are by Nicholas Biagetti. photo credit for the poster is Nekole Kemelle (photographer) and Rebekka Fellah (art director.
“The Window” runs at the Cherry Lane Theater (38 Commerce Street, 3 blocks south of Christopher Street). Remaining performances are Tuesday January 21 through Saturday January 25 at 8:00 PM and Sunday January 26 at 3:00 PM and 8:00 PM. Tickets are $20.00, $12.00 for groups of 10 or more, students and seniors. For tickets visit http://www.cherrylanetheatre.org/onstage/the-window/ or https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/930350. For more information, go to http://www.thewindowtheater.com/. The running time is 75 minutes with no intermission.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Monday, January 20, 2014
Baby Jane Dexter: More Rules of the Road (Fridays April 18 and 25, 2014)
Baby Jane Dexter: More Rules of the Road (Fridays April 18 and 25, 2014) At The Metropolitan Room Previewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Baby Jane Dexter will return to the Metropolitan Room on two Fridays in April 2014. Here is a review of her “Rules of the Road” from December 2013.
Baby Jane Dexter steps onto the stage of The Metropolitan Room on the first evening of her current nine-show run with the confidence and grace that have become hallmarks of this cabaret legend. Most accomplished vocalists use their physical instruments to create what becomes their signature “style.” Baby Jane Dexter sings with not only her vocal instrument: she also sings with her entire body, mind, and spirit. In fact, there are times when her vocal “instrument” includes her musical director Ross Patterson. It is sometimes difficult to discern where voice and accompaniment diverge.
Ms. Dexter’s rich and resonant contralto carries the sense and meaning of every lyric with a richness that often leaves the listener wondering just what has happened to her or his auditory senses. Whether delivering a line in a sensuous legato as she does with Rufus Wainwright’s haunting “The Art Teacher” or in a gripping staccato as she does with Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ “I Put a Spell on You,” Baby Jane Dexter interprets lyrics in unique and complex ways.
Using the trope (here an extended metaphor) of the “one thousand mile” road trip (who remembers Mille Bornes?), Baby Jane Dexter’s “The Rules of the Road” deconstructs the distance cards of the classic family auto-trip game and maneuvers its way through the vicissitudes of life: life’s many nasty hazards, its serendipitous caesurae for “refueling,” and its unexpected interruptions for “repairs.”
Life’s hazards are brought into sharp focus in “15 Ugly Minutes” Baby Jane Dexter and Drey Shepperds’s recounting of the horrors of emotional and physical rape. Songs of refreshing refueling include “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” (George and Ira Gershwin) and “Something to Live For (Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn). And life is often interrupted by the joys of new love and affirmation. No pairing in the program’s offerings captures this life opportunity more than “I’m a Believer” (Neil Diamond) and “Glad There is You” (Jimmy Dorsey and Paul Madeira). Baby Jane Dexter’s phrasing in “I’m a Believer” approaches perfection and will haunt this critic for many years to come.
Remembering Bob Dylan’s 1974 “Planet Waves” album is the quintessential way for Baby Jane Dexter to honor her own road trip: the second half of her encore (Elton Jon and Bernie Taupin’s “Never Too Old was the first half) is “Forever Young” the remarkable song co-authored, Jim Cregan, Bob Dylan, Kevin Savigar, and Rod Stewart. This is an appropriate sign-off on a flawless, timeless performance that will forever keep Baby Jane Dexter’s audiences young and young at heart.
BABY JANE DEXTER: MORE RULES OF THE ROAD
Baby Jane Dexter will appear at The Metropolitan Room on Friday April 18, 2014 and Friday April 25 at 7:00 p.m. Doors open 45 minutes prior to performances. The Metropolitan Room is located at 34 West 22nd Street in Manhattan. There is a $25.00 per person Music Charge and a Two Drink Minimum with a $5.00 discount for MAC/Industry Members. For further information visit http://metropolitanroom.com/
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Monday, January 20, 2014
Marilyn Maye: “Marilyn by Request” at the Metropolitan Room (Thursday January 9, 2014)
Photo by Stephen Sorokoff
Marilyn Maye: “Marilyn by Request” at the Metropolitan Room (Thursday January 9, 2014) Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Cabaret legend Marilyn Maye extends the celebration of the New Year with seven glorious performances at the Metropolitan Room in Manhattan. Joined by Billy Stritch (piano), Tom Hubbard (bass), and Warren Odze (drums), Ms. Maye dazzles her fans for ninety remarkable minutes with her unique blend of song stylist, lyricist, and shaman.
Marilyn Maye lets the audience know “how much she loves them” in her rendition of the re-imagined and comedic “I Love Being Here with You” (Peggy Lee/Bill Schluger) and “I Want to Be Happy” from “Tea for Two” (Vincent Youmans/Irving Caesar). Before launching into the “By Request” portion of the evening, Ms. Maye engages the audience with her comfortable humanness as she glides through “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Your Face” from “My Fair Lady” (Frederick Loewe/Alan Jay Lerner), “Golden Rainbow” (Walter Marks) with remarkable phrasing, the pop song “Make Your Own Kind of Music” (Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil), and a jazzy-operatic “Here’s to Life” (Phyllis Molinary/Artie Butler.
The “By Request” includes a veritable fusillade of hits from the Great American Songbook. Perhaps most memorable of these are the a cappella “Look to the Rainbow” (Burton Lane/E. Y. Harburg), “Make Me Rainbows” (Alan Bergman/Marilyn Bergman), “Ribbons Down My Back” with ethereal embellishments (Jerry Herman), “He Won’t Send Roses” from Jerry Herman’s “Mack and Mable,” “When the World Was Young (Johnny Mercer) and the tribute to New York medley.
Maye’s rich tones and scat-laced phrasing mine meaning from every lyric of every song she delivers. She leaves no note unexplored and her treatment of a song often becomes operatic: her songs are arias to be reined in to absolute perfection.
During the entire January 4, 2014 performance, drummer Warren Odze, despite asking for a more audible piano monitor, played too loudly and made it difficult for the orchestra to achieve a proper balance. At one point, Ms. Maye walked over and silenced the cymbals with a pinch of the fingers on her left hand.
Eighty-five going on twenty-five, Marilyn Maye lives in the moment and invites her listeners to “be here, be now” with her. Maye’s love with the present moment contributes to her electrifying ability to approach each lyric and each note with a freshness that engages the audience and leaves them wanting more. Marilyn Maye closes the performance on January 4 with Jerry Herman’s “The Best of Times Is Now.” No truer words have been written or spoken or sung. Being there, being now with Marilyn Maye is a gift of grace and wonder.
MARILYN MAYE: MARILYN BY REQUEST
Marilyn Maye’s final performance of “Marilyn By Request” was on January 13, 2014 at 7:00 pm. The music charge is $35, with a two-drink minimum. For information, or to order online, visit www.metropolitanroom.com. For reservations call 212/206-0440.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Monday, January 20, 2014
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