“Clive” – The New Group at the Acorn Theatre Written by Jonathan Marc Sherman Directed by Ethan Hawke Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
“So high you can't get over it /So low you can't get under it /So wide you can't get 'round it /You gotta' go in at the door.” - Traditional American Gospel Song
In The New Group’s spellbinding production “Clive” at the Acorn Theatre, Clive the protagonist does all he can to avoid redemption (going in at the door), including forfeiting his soul. Unlike Faust, Clive sidesteps selling his soul to the Devil; instead, he destroys whatever he perceives his soul to be. More like Saint Sebastian, Clive is a martyr, in Clive’s case a martyr for the cause of antinominianism. Clive is indeed exempt from the obligations of moral law. Clive’s soul is repeatedly shot through with the arrows of unbridled yearning until he is bereft of hope, bereft of the self who was/is Clive. Or perhaps Clive is whatever the Devil might be, selling his self to himself.
That soul - that self - is brilliantly portrayed by Vincent D’Onofrio as the on-stage character of Doc who serves as Clive’s doppelganger. Ethan Hawke’s Clive magically (it seems) skillfully collides Ego, Id, and Superego in the particle accelerator of the collective mind of the audience to create a truth-or-dare universe where “logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead” (Grace Slick with special thanks to William Butler Yeats). Through Doc’s cajoling, the audience experiences Clive’s desperate search for meaning and connection.
In Jonathan Marc Sherman’s engaging and provocative re-telling of Bertolt Brecht’s “Baal,” Sherman tumbles together images from a variety of musical, artistic, and literary sources to awaken Brecht’s celebration of the antihero (or is it Everyman?) and give it post-modern relevance. Armed with a treasure trove of tropes, the playwright chronicles Clive’s prodigal quest for pleasure. This playful protagonist broods like Hamlet and one of his women (like Ophelia) drowns herself. He snorts one of many colorful powders (a marvelous extended metaphor for the numbness of spirit, the ennui in the midst of the twenty-first century quest for happiness) and fathers an unwanted child.
Under Ethan Hawke’s decisive direction, the profoundly talented cast provides the virtual universe Clive transverses on his melancholic and Id-driven journey. Brooks Ashmanskas, Stephanie Janssen, Mahira Kakkar, Zoe Kazan, Aaron Krohn, Dana Lyn, and the playwright Jonathan Marc Sherman baptize the audience with wonder, strum and moan the music of madness (from the doors of the set!) and confuse our values-driven culture to the point of no return. This universe – where right and wrong, good and evil become meaningless constructs – is brought to life by Derek McLane’s expansive set that transcends even Dante’s nine circles of Hell and Jeff Croiter’s lighting that creates “Starry Night” without oil on canvas. Catherine Zuber’s costumes, Shane Rettig’s sound design and the Music and Sound Sculptures by GAINES with live violin performance by Dana Lyn complete the creative magic of this important new work.
Quixote-like, like Clive, we dash at windmills, stand silent before our distorted reflections. We dance for others with worn out shoes hoping to be terribly late for our date (down by the river, under the bridge, in the asylum, in the walk-up corridors of our minds) with that Grand Inquisitor just as others more capable (perhaps) before us attempted to do. But like Clive, Adam, Vincent, even (near the end of his journey) the Redeemer himself (Take this Cup!) we rendezvous with destiny on the highway, in the streets and find ourselves face to face with all we attempted to escape or deny. Like Van Gogh, like Clive, we look out from our supposed madness into the starry, starry night (Van Gogh ala Don McLean). “And we're lost out here in the stars/ Little stars big stars blowing through the night And we're lost out here in the stars Little stars big stars blowing through the night And we're lost out here in the stars” (Kurt Weill/Maxwell Anderson). And the game of truth-or-dare reboots.
CLIVE – THE NEW GROUP AT THE ACORN THEATRE
Presented by the New Group at the Acorn Theatre on Theatre Row, “Clive” is directed by Ethan Hawke. The creative team includes Derek McLane (set design), Catherine Zuber (costume design), Jeff Croiter (lighting design), and Shane Rettig (sound design). “Clive” features Music and Sound Sculptures by GAINES with live violin performance by Dana Lyn.
The cast of “Clive” includes Brooks Ashmanskas, Vincent D’Onfrio, Ethan Hawke, Stephanie Janssen, Mahira Kakkar, Zoe Kazan, Aaron Krohn, Dana Lyn, and Jonathan Marc Sherman.
“Clive” runs through March 9 on the following performance schedule: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.; and Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8:00 p.m. with matinees Saturday at 2:00 p.m. . All performances are at the Acorn Theatre, 410 West 42nd Street in New York City. Tickets are $60.00 plus the $1.25 restoration fee and can be arranged through www.telecharge.com or by calling 212-239-6200 or at the Theatre Row Box Office 12:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. daily.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Friday, February 22, 2013
"Children of Paradise - A Play with Mime" at the Theater for the New City
“Children of Paradise – A Play with Mime” at the Theater for the New City Written and Directed by Richmond Shepard Reviewed by Joseph Verlezza Theatre Reviews Limited
“Children of Paradise,” Richmond Shepard’s new play being performed at the Theater for the New City, is a combination of several mime pieces seen in the film version of the same name and the life story of Baptiste Gaspard Debureau the famous pantomime who performed in France during the 19th century. The spoken dialogue in the script provides information about Debureau’s character, demeanor, and lifestyle offstage while the intricately choreographed mime pieces examine the true brilliance of his craft.
A somewhat lost art, fragments of mime can be seen today in the physical isolation of break dancers or certainly in the robotic gestures of several street performers, but the true essence only exists when pairing precise physical movement with exaggerated emotional facial expression to capture the audience.
The cast of thirteen provides an admirable attempt to recreate the original sketches using their skills of magic, mime, dance and acrobatics but the result, although interesting, is somewhat unsuccessful. Each of the three pieces falls short of the emotional collaboration needed for the audience to connect with the characters, putting too much effort and emphasis on the physical choreography. The dialogue is enlightening and manages to connect the action as the audience journeys into the past exposing Debureau’s character, but the delivery is forced and stilted.
Two exceptions who turn in engaging performances are Denise M. Whalen and Jonathan Hendrickson. Each of these actors brightens the stage with their precise movement in sync with telling facial expression and wide eyed enthusiasm. Live music for this production was adequately provided by Harrison Wade on keyboard and drums.
If you have never seen a live pantomime performance take this rare opportunity to enjoy the theatrical experience and learn about one of its prominent historical figures. Attend to acknowledge the energetic, multitalented cast who will entertain with their devotion and passion to learn a complicated, intricate and physically demanding art form.
CHILDREN OF PARADISE – A PLAY WITH MIME
The acrobatic mime-play features a company of 14 consisting of mimes, actors and gymnasts, all of whom are members of The Mime Guild. Composer and music director Harrison Wade leads a band consisting of clarinet, violin, and keyboard.
The cast includes Chris Douros as Baptiste Debureau/Pierrot, Kendall Rileigh as his wife Columbine, and Marcus Watson as Harlequin. Also featured are Jonathan Hendrickson, Denise Whalen, Jenny Chang, Stacey Hull, T Valada-Viars, Alexander Merinov, Aaron Kaplan, Bruce Schaffer, Michael Siegell, Nathanial Moore, Peter De Paula.
“Children of Paradise” performs three consecutive weeks, from Thursday February 7 through Sunday February 24, with performances as follows: Thursday through Saturday at 8pm, Sunday at 3pm. For tickets, which are $25, call Smarttix at 212/868-4444, or go to www.smarttix.com
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Thursday, February 21, 2013
MCC Theater's "Really Really" Extends through March 24th
MCC THEATER’S “REALLY REALLY” EXTENDS THROUGH MARCH 24th
New York, NY – MCC THEATER (Robert LuPone, Bernard Telsey, William Cantler, Artistic Directors; Blake West, Executive Director) is thrilled to announce the extension of the New York premiere production of Paul Downs Colaizzo’s Really Really, directed by David Cromer (the Obie Award and Lucille Lortel Award-winning director of hits Our Town, Adding Machine and Tribes). The production, which marks Colaizzo’s New York playwriting debut, is now scheduled at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher Street, NYC) through March 24, 2013. It was previously scheduled through March 10th. Tickets for the added performances are on sale now.
In a joint statement, the MCC THEATER Artistic Directors said, “Our goal at MCC is to inspire spirited discussion and debate with all of our productions. As we anticipated, Paul Downs Colaizzo’s new play Really Really is sparking intense conversations and crossing generational lines. It’s gratifying to see a new generation of theatergoers pouring through the doors at the Lortel. We’re excited to add these extra weeks to accommodate the demand.”
Really Really features Matt Lauria (NBC’s “Friday Night Lights” & “Parenthood”), Zosia Mamet (HBO’s “Girls”, AMC’s “Mad Men”), Lauren Culpepper (Signature’s Really Really), David Hull (Broadway’s Wicked & How to Succeed…), Evan Jonigkeit (Broadway’s High with Kathleen Turner), Kobi Libii (Off-Broadway’s CQ/CX), and Aleque Reid (Hair 1st National Tour). The play begins in the hazy aftermath of a wild party when ‘the morning after’ appears to be just another day in the undergrad carnival that revolves around a close circle of friends. But when morning-after gossip about privileged Davis (Lauria) and ambitious Leigh (Mamet) turns ugly, the veneer of loyalty and friendship is peeled back to reveal a vicious jungle of sexual politics, raw ambition, and class warfare where only the strong could possibly survive.
Paul Downs Colaizzo’s startlingly funny, booze-soaked cornucopia, Really Really, took Washington D.C. by storm last season with its acclaimed, record-breaking run at the Tony Award®-winning Signature Theatre. In addition to direction by David Cromer (whose visionary take on Our Town floored New York audiences in 2009, and whose recent Tribes was one of Off-Broadway’s biggest hits ever), this production features scenic design by David Korins (Annie), costume design by Sarah Laux (associate designer, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson), lighting design by David Wiener (reasons to be pretty), and sound design by Daniel Kluger (Tribes.
All performances of Really Really will offer $25 Under 30 seating, with Front Row and Rush seats available two hours prior to each curtain, pending availability, for $25 to patrons 29 years old or younger on the day of the performance. Advanced $25 Under 30 seating is also offered online for each performance, with tickets available for pick-up at will call with valid ID. One ticket per ID. No exceptions. Additionally, $20 Student Rush tickets for full-time high school and college students, 20 minutes before curtain (cash only) with valid ID. General tickets for Really Really are $69-$89 and are available by visiting www.mcctheater.org or calling 212-352-3101. 2-play subscriptions for the 2012-2013 mainstage productions are priced at $89 and are now available by visiting www.mcctheater.org.
As previously announced, the final show of MCC Theater’s 2012-13 season will be Reasons to Be Happy (May 16 – June 23, 2013), written and directed by Neil LaBute, a companion piece to his reasons to be pretty (a 2009 Tony Award® nominee for Best Play which originated Off-Broadway at MCC in 2008). Reasons to Be Happy picks up several years after the events of the first play with the same four conflicted, provocative characters. Casting for Reasons to Be Happy will be announced shortly, and tickets will go on sale March 11, 2013.
MCC Theater – founded in 1986 as Manhattan Class Company – is committed to developing and producing new work that challenges artists and rewards audiences. Our mission is carried out through an annual season of world, American, and New York premieres, literary development programs for emerging writers, and ground-breaking education programs that enable more than 1,000 New York City high school students to find - and use - their own unique voice each year through the creation and performance of original theater pieces. Notable MCC Theater highlights include: the New York premiere of The Other Place starring Laurie Metcalf (now on Broadway, extended through March 3, 2013); the 2008 Tony Award-nominated Reasons to Be Pretty by Neil LaBute, The Pride, Fifty Words, the 2004 Tony-winning production of Bryony Lavery’s Frozen, Neil LaBute’s Fat Pig, Rebecca Gilman’s The Glory of Living, Marsha Norman’s Trudy Blue, Margaret Edson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Wit, Tim Blake Nelson’s The Grey Zone, Alan Bowne’s Beirut, The Submission, winner of the inaugural Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award for new American plays, and last season’s newly reworked and fully re-imagined production of Carrie, the musical. Over the years, the dedication to the work of new and emerging artists has earned MCC Theater a variety of awards.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Thursday, February 21, 2013
"It's Only Love" - An Evening of Broadway Love Songs at the Metropolitan Room
“It’s Only Love” – An Evening of Broadway Love Songs at the Metropolitan Room Produced by Joseph Macchia Musical Direction by Tracy Stark Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
If the opportunity returns next year, plan to spend Valentine’s Day at the Metropolitan Room. Make dinner reservations early in the evening and head over to the Room for dessert and drinks and experience love songs performed - as they were this Valentine’s Day - with a dash of grace, and style, and panache. On this Valentine’s Day, nine talented Broadway and Cabaret performers shared the love songs they cherished in “It’s Only Love” – An Evening of Broadway Love Songs.”
Danny Bolero, Bernard Dotson, and Tom Gamblin – whose “Boys Night Out” played at the Metropolitan Room in January 2013 – performed solo songs. Danny Bolero (Cast of “In the Heights” and “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”) sang “All I Ask of You” and delivered a tour de force rendition of John Kander’s comedic “Sara Lee.” Tom Gamblin (Cast of the National Tours of “Titanic” and “Starlight Express”) conveyed heartfelt and sweet renditions of Nina Simone’s “What More Can I Say” and what Tom describes as the greatest Broadway song “If I Loved You” from “Carousel” (Rogers and Hammerstein). And Bernard Dotson (Cast of “Chicago,” “Dreamgirls” and “Sweet Smell of Success”) showcased his perfect phrasing in Alicia Keys’ “Fallin’” and in his duet with Broadway producer Alison Eckert “One Hand One Heart” from “West Side Story” (Arthur Laurents/Leonard Bernstein).
Will Perez delivered crisply beautiful versions of “She Was There” from “The Scarlet Pimpernel” (Frank Wildhorn/Nan Knighton) and “He Touched Me.” Liz McEndry (Cast of “The Producers”) gave solid emotional substance to the prayerful “Make the Man Love Me” from the 1951 musical production “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” (D. Fields and A. Schwartz).
Romelda Teron Benjamin (Cast of “Brooklyn” and the 2004 ATA production of “Bare”) gave new meaning to sultry in her powerhouse performances of “The Man That Got Away” (Harold Arlen/Ira Gershwin) and “Bring on the Men” (Frank Wildhorn/Leslie Bircusse). And Musical Director and six time MAC Award winner Tracy Stark, who accompanied each performer with sensitivity and style, sang “a song she wrote on the beach” – her 2006 award-winning “Camera.”
It was an honor to share the commitment and passion and craft of these singer-actors-dancers (and producer) who took the time to share their songs of love in the most loving ways. Bravo and thank you.
WITH: Romelda Teron Benjamin, Danny Bolero, Bernard Dotson, Alison Eckert, Tom Gamblin, Liz McEndry, Will Perez, and Tracy Stark.
“It’s Only Love” played for one performance at the Metropolitan Room located at 34 West 22nd Street in Manhattan. There is a per person Music Charge and a Two Drink Minimum. For further information visit http://metropolitanroom.com/
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Tuesday, February 19, 2013
"All the Rage" at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater
“All the Rage” at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater Written and Performed by Martin Moran Directed by Seth Barrish Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
As the twenty-first century moves forward, events national and global have not only raised mortgage rates, the rate of unemployment, the amount of the national debt, and the level of bickering in the United States Congress but also has raised the level of national, global, and personal rage. That level of rage is apparent in the experience of many in this decade except one: Martin Moran seems to dodge the vicissitudes of rage and chronicles his experience with rage in his new “All the Rage” currently playing at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater in New York City.
Like the ultimate therapist, Martin Moran makes himself available to each member of the audience with his offer of unconditional and non-judgmental love. Transference and counter transference fill the sacred spaces between Moran and audience members as he chronicles his struggle with expressing rage. There is a great deal in Moran’s story that would (and should) result in rage: he was abused early in life by Bob a Roman Catholic counselor; he was repeatedly verbally abused by “Joyce” the woman he refuses to call his stepmother.
Rather than deal directly with his rage, Moran often chooses the paths of projection and sublimation. His rage is redirected toward careless cab drivers or sublimated in doing commendable and important “good works.” Indeed. Much of the content of “All the Rage” concerns Moran’s work with the Refugee and Immigrant Fund (www.AsylumHelp.org). There is also a significant presence of the performer’s history with his abuser Bob although Moran clearly states at the beginning of the piece that “All the Rage” is not about that event.
Rage is a natural and necessary stage of grieving. Recovery from sexual or psychological abuse requires the same process of grieving following the death of a significant person. One needs to experience the stages of denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance (in no specific sequence). Rather than succumbing to the naturalness of grieving, Moran seems to function well within a process he calls “rehearsing consciousness” which embraces forgiveness and celebrates the connectivity of humankind (“flesh of my flesh). For example, when Moran is about to rage against Joyce, his almost accidental touch of her hand defuses his rage. He even refuses to express rage when he reconnects with and ailing and aging Bob in his adulthood.
Moran’s choice to sublimate his rage is not only commendable but needs to be embraced as his choice. Not everyone deals with rage in the same way. However, as we move forward in life we continue to experience death whether physical or emotional and we need to allow ourselves to grieve at what has been lost. So anger or rage walks with us throughout life and it, too, is flesh of our flesh and needs to be embraced and understood – for to ignore it might be something like dying itself.
What makes “All the Rage” remarkable is not its content alone: Moran’s writing and performance style are both marked with originality and grace. He writes and performs the way the human brain functions and the human mind meanders seemingly aimlessly to construct resolution. Armed with a troop of rhetorical tropes, Moran makes his unique case for balancing rage with forgiveness, projection with passion, and finding acceptable and commendable ways to anchor him in the matrix of the human experience.
ALL THE RAGE
“All the Rage” is produced by piece by piece productions and Rising Phoenix Repertory, in association with The Barrow Group. The creative team includes Mark Wendland (scenic design), Clint Ramos (costume design), Russell H. Champa (lighting design), Leon Rothenberg (sound design), Bart Cortright (video design), Robert Saenz de Viteri (production manager), and Tom Taylor (production stage manager).
“All the Rage” plays Monday, Wednesday – Saturday at 7:00 p.m.; Sunday at 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., through Sunday, February 24 at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater, 416 West 42 Street, between Ninth and Tenth Avenues. Tickets are $55.00 and may be purchased by visiting www.ticketcentral.com, or by phoning 212-279-4200, or at the Ticket Central box office, 416 West 42 Street (Monday through Sunday,12pm – 8pm). Same-day, $10.00 student rush tickets are available at the box office; $15.00 advance student rush tickets may be purchased by phone, online, or at the box office. The running time of “All the Rage” is 80 minutes. For more information about “All the Rage,” please visit www.alltherageplay.com.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Tuesday, February 19, 2013
David Brenner at the Metropolitan Room
David Brenner at the Metropolitan Room Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
David Brenner returns to New York City in his Homecoming Performance at the Metropolitan Room. The Metropolitan Room is the location of the original Gotham Comedy Club, where Brenner performed regularly in his early years. In a tour de force ninety-minute performance, Mr. Brenner laces the engaging story of his iconic career in comedy with an avalanche of humor that buries the audience in delightful laughter, delicious memories, and daring darts and the powers-that-be.
After warming up with charming stories about the Bitter End, the Johnny Carson Show, and the bookings which followed his first appearance on the show, Mr. Brenner delivers the best stand-up comedy any audience could ask for. Whether sharing gems of observational comedy (“the stupid things people do”) or the newer genre of comedy which counterpoints current events he pioneered twelve years ago, David Brenner creates comedy that satisfies and challenges the listener. For example, commenting on the current concern over creating stronger gun control, Mr. Brenner suggests re-writing the Second Amendment to define the right to bear arms to mean the right to wear short sleeves!
Perhaps the most intriguing perspective on David Brenner’s performance (and I hope David will not mind this comment) is that it ought to be a Master Class for educators, particularly those who seem confused about why our children in public schools are not graduating high school in higher numbers. Mr. Brenner’s performance is none other than the perfect example of authentic learning or, to use edu-speak, a problem based learning lesson. After producing 150 documentaries and sensing the need for a change, David watched a stand-up comedian perform and said to himself, “Wait, I can do that!” He then determined what he needed to do to achieve that goal, identified his motivation, and grappled (the key word) with a plan that would result in success. Task: to become a successful stand-up comedian. Strategy: to get on the Johnny Carson Show. Motivation: knowing he could do it and knowing he had to continue “to climb the hill” in order to do so. This street-smart (David’s phrase) young professional was determined to become a successful stand-up comedian and he has become perhaps the most successful comedian working in the genre today.
Thank you, David Brenner, for your humor, your keen awareness of the complexity of the human condition, your commitment to excellence, and your return to the room which still reverberates with the joy you shared there years ago. And thank you for reminding us to watch out for self-professed faith healers sporting depilated domes.
DAVID BRENNER AT THE METROPOLITAN ROOM
David Brenner appears at The Metropolitan Room on the following schedule: Saturday February 16 at 7:00 p.m. and Sunday February 17 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. For further information visit http://metropolitanroom.com/
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Saturday, February 16, 2013
"All in the Timing" at 59E59 Theater A
“All in the Timing” at 59E59 Theater A By David Ives Directed by John Rando Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
In his seventeenth-century poem “On Time,” John Milton envisions humankind’s triumph over “envious Time.” Milton writes, “When once our heav'nly-guided soul shall clime, / Then all this Earthy grosnes quit, / Attir’d with Stars, we shall for ever sit, / Triumphing over Death, and Chance, and thee O Time.” Time (and all its vicissitudes) is the subject of “All in the Timing” currently running at 59E59 Theater A in New York City.
Under John Rando’s thoughtful and collaborative direction, the engaging ensemble cast of David Ives’ original six “All in the Timing” plays is able to achieve a remarkable level of artistic excellence. Ives’ six one-act plays employ existentialism, romanticism, wordplay, and a bevy of rhetorical devices to demonstrate how timing teases almost every aspect of life: dating; language; human encounters; humor; even humanity’s understanding of things eternal. And, of course, the plays demonstrate how success in the theatre is often achieved through actors’ understanding of timing.
The importance of timing is evident in “Sure Thing” with Carson Elrod as Bill and Liv Rooth as Betty. On a rainy night in a café, Bill approaches the empty chair at Betty’s table and the two engage in an extended round of possible conversations that might occur at such a chance meeting. This is probably the most difficult play for the actors. The conversations weave through each other and give the actors ample opportunities to respond to the wrong cue. This fast-paced one-act serves as a strong beginning and feature two actors who thoroughly capture the importance of timing in comedy.
“Words, Words, Words” is a wonderful parody of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” This one-act puts three actors in Dr. David Rosenbaum’s laboratory at Columbia University testing the infinite monkey theorem that revolves around the idea that a monkey hitting random keys on a typewriter (or in today's context, a keyboard) for an infinite amount of time will almost surely type a given text, usually defined as the complete works of William Shakespeare. With Carson Elrod, Liv Rooth, and Matthew Saldivar as three monkeys named Swift, Kafka, and Milton respectively, this riff on the theorem celebrates random theory and humanity’s fascination with the meaning of the infinite.
Knowing when a new beginning is really a new beginning is the argument addressed in “The Universal Language” with Jenn Harris as Dawn, Carson Elrod as Don, and Eric Clem as the Young Man. Occurring in the present in a generic classroom, the one-act develops the engaging trope of teaching a universal language which, in fact, is a fraud. Dawn come to Don’s class to learn Unamunda in hopes that the universal language will not only stop her stutter in it tracks but provide the opportunity for a new beginning in life. Just as the homonymic pair concludes the nonsense language is just nonsense, a young man enters the classroom searching for a new beginning in a world of non-sense and the quest continues.
After a fifteen minute intermission, “All in the Timing continues with “Philip Glass Buys a Loaf of Bread” featuring the full cast at a bakery in the present imagining how the famed American composer would cope with encountering an old love while buying a loaf of bread. Ives’ script sweetly riffs the composer’s minimalist musings on what humanity wishes life could be.
Being out of synch, out of place, and out of time is the theme of “The Philadelphia” with Matthew Saldivar as Al, Jenn Harris as the Waitress, and Carson Elrod as Mark. A restaurant in New York City in the present provides the opportunity for the pair of friends to explore how their current difficulties in communicating and surviving relate to the distinct “personalities” of major cities. Jenn Harris’ waitress is the perfect foil to the friends’ floundering in a wonderful batch of truisms.
Perhaps most poignant is “Variations on the Death of Trotsky” where in his study in Coyoacan, Mexico on August 21, 1940, Trotsky “relives” his demise in eight variations. The one-act concludes with a large backdrop of Henri Rosseau’s painting “Surprised!” depicting a tiger ready to pounce on its prey just as Trotsky ultimately met his surprising death at the hands of an assassin (Eric Clem). Trotsky’s wife (Liv Rooth) reads from an encyclopedia from the future to inform her husband of the details of his death. If only humankind had more control of the mystery of the thing called time. We could re-boot, re-do, re-make important events, life-changing events, critical events and create alternative endings, alternate realities, even alternate futures.
Sitting for just short of two hours with David Ives and the 20th anniversary revival of his “All in the Timing” might be all we get of that possibility. However, that time, that precious time with the brilliant cast of “All in the Timing” is a timeless gift.
ALL IN THE TIMING AT 59E59 THEATER A
Presented by Primary Stages. Directed by John Rando. Scenic Design by Beowulf Boritt. Costume Design by Anita Yavich. Lighting Design by Jason Lyons. Original Music and Sound Design by Ryan Rumery. Hair and Wig Design by Tom Watson. Production Stage Management by Joanne E. McInerney.
WITH: Eric Clem, Carson Elrod, Jenn Harris, Liv Rooth, and Matthew Saldivar.
“All in the Timing” plays a limited engagement through March 17 at Primary Stages at 58E59 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 on February 20 at 2:00 p.m. No performance on Wednesdays February 13 and 27 and March 6. Single tickets are priced at $70.00 for all performances. Tickets 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.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Friday, February 15, 2013
Carole J. Bufford: "Body and Soul" at the Metropolitan Room
Photo: Kristin Hoebermann
Carole J. Bufford: “Body and Soul” Conceived and Produced by Scott Siegel Musical Direction and Arrangements by Ian Herman Upright Bass – Matt Wigton Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Often blending the velvety vibrato of Edith Piaf with the physicality of Judy Garland, Carole J. Bufford creates a unique and savvy song styling with which she graces the Metropolitan Room in her new “Body and Soul” which plays at the iconic Room on Wednesdays through February 27.
Exhibiting a marvelous clear tone and vocal quality, impeccable (and often unique) phrasing, and a remarkable understanding of a song’s lyric and the ability to interpret that understanding, Ms. Bufford successfully breezes through her program of fifteen songs that deliciously stretches the boundaries of The Great American Songbook.
The artist’s unique phrasing is evident in the earliest of the songs “Baby Won’t You Please Come Home” the jazz standard written in 1919 by Charles Warfield and Clarence Williams (though Warfield claimed he was the sole composer of the song). That same idiosyncratic phrasing is manifest in the most recent (2012) song “Fade into You” (Music and Lyrics by Trevor Rosen, Shane McAnally, and Matt Jenkins). This hit from the television show “Nashville” sports the lyric from the second stanza “If you were a window and I was the rain/ I’d pour myself out and wash off the pain/ I’d fall like a tear so your light could shine through/ Then I’d just fade into you.” Ms. Bufford outdoes onomatopoeia when she makes the word ‘fall’ unmistakably fall from her lips onto the stage.
Whether giving new life to “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man of Mine” (Music by Jerome Kern; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, 1927) or celebrating the comedy in “Say That We’re Sweethearts Again” (Music and Lyrics by Earl Brent, 1944), Carole J. Bufford succeeds in her goal of “stripping a song down to the emotion.” This is a remarkable feat which not every vocalist can achieve. There is nothing superficial about Ms. Bufford’s delivery of the classic song dealing with the satisfaction when, after being dumped, the offending lover attempts to crawl back. Her rendition of the jazzy blues ballad “Cry Me a River” (Music and Lyrics by Arthur Hamilton, 1953) vies with Joe Cocker’s upbeat rock rendition for best interpretation of this popular American torch song.
The final number “Body and Soul” (Music by Jonny Green; Lyrics by Edward Heyman, Robert Sour, and Frank Eyton, 1930) gives Ms. Bufford the opportunity to add her interpretation of this most recorded jazz standard to those before her from Libby Holman in 1930 to Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse in 2011. Carol J. Bufford makes it crystal clear that body and soul are inseparable in life, in death, and in life beyond death.
Ms. Bufford’s encore could not have been more appropriate or more captivating. In all matters of body and soul, there truly are “no regrets.” Her rendition of this iconic song shatters the confines of space and time and revivifies both soul and body of Edith Piaf who witnessed selflessly to the mantra that, “Because my life, my joys/ Today, they begin with you.” For her audiences, life and joy begin anew when they hear her sing.
CAROLE J. BUFFORD: BODY AND SOUL
Carole J. Bufford appears at The Metropolitan Room on the following schedule: Wednesday February 13 at 7:00 p.m., Wednesday February 20 at 7:00 p.m., and Wednesday February 27 at 7:00 p.m., and Monday March 4 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 $20.00 per person Music Charge and a Two Drink Minimum. For further information visit http://metropolitanroom.com/
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Pia Zadora - "Back Again and Standing Tall" at the Metropolitan Room
Pia Zadora – “Back Again and Standing Tall” at the Metropolitan Room Created by Walter Painter, Jon Macks, and Larry Grossman Musical Direction by Vinnie Falcone Reviewed by David Roberts and Joseph Verlezza Theatre Reviews Limited
The iconic Pia Zadora returned to the New York stage on Thursday February 7, 2013 at the Metropolitan Room for the first of five performances of her new show “Back Again and Standing Tall.” Ms. Zadora is indeed back with the feeling of celebrity status in a room filled with clicking cameras and adorned in glittering Hollywood style sequins to deliver her Vegas style show that simply does not fit into the New York cabaret scene. As for standing tall, both she and her performance fall terribly short. She entered the room at the Metropolitan cursing at her band and demanding they re-start her first number “Pick Yourself Up.” Jerome Kern and Dorothy Field probably gave an ethereal gasp from beyond when Ms. Zadora flung the “F” word at Vinnie Falcone her pianist and musical director.
Her abusive behavior toward her extremely talented band continued throughout the night, including making them provide background music while she went offstage to complete a costume change. If this indeed is her way of incorporating humor into the poorly constructed show it simply did not work. It was inappropriate and at times made the audience uncomfortable. It is difficult for an audience to listen to this harsh banter and then be expected to react to the sentimental and emotional material that follows.
Perhaps it was nerves or perhaps Ms. Zadora was just not prepared for her re-entry into the cabaret scene. Whatever the reason, her performance did not work. She half spoke, half whispered her way through almost a score of songs from the Great American Song Book, ending each with a bouncy bravado belt that seemed to satisfy her friends and family filled first night audience. Trying to capture the past, remembering and reenacting her time with Sinatra, did not provide any substance to the performance. There was no doubt of the effort made to please and entertain the audience but this sparkling event diminished to an unremarkable flash in the pan.
To her credit, Ms. Zadora provides a disclaimer in her encore number “I Am What I Am” (Jerry Herman). Pia Zadora knows exactly who she is and what she has achieved in her successful career. Audiences will either rave about or rant about her current show “Back Again and Standing Tall.” Either way, Pia Zadora is back and it is always good to have her back. One wishes she stood taller in this re-entry into the New York Cabaret scene. Maybe next time.
PIA ZADORA – BACK AGAIN AND STANDING TALL
Pia Zadora appears at The Metropolitan Room on the following schedule: Saturday February 9 at 9:30 p.m. and Sunday February 10 at 4:30 p.m. Doors open 45 minutes prior to performances. The Metropolitan Room is located at 34 West 22nd Street in Manhattan. There is a $35.00 per person Music Charge and a Two Drink Minimum. For further information visit http://metropolitanroom.com/
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Saturday, February 9, 2013
"The Man Under" at 59E59 Theater C
“The Man Under” at 59E59 Theater C Written by Paul Bomba Directed by Benjamin Kamine Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Everyone in Paul Bomba’s “The Man Under,” currently running at 59E59 Theater C, is either in need of being saved (Jeff) or needs to be a savior (Martin), is skilled at being a confessor (Martin again) or is a practiced penitent (Jennifer), is either into holding hands and cuddling (Jeff) or into asphyxiophilia (Lisa). Any or all of these character traits combined with the appropriate conflicts could drive an interesting plot.
Unfortunately, the play’s characters are poorly developed in Mr. Bomba’s script, their conflicts uninteresting, and the resulting plot is less than engaging. It is not clear whether the actors (including the playwright) gave up on their attempts to make sense of the script or were simply ineffective at their craft (an option that seems unlikely). It is even more difficult to discern the precise role of the director in the failure of this performance; however, ultimately Benjamin Kamine must assume the share of responsibility for not steering “The Man Under” in a direction more closely resembling success.
It is somewhat difficult for a playwright to perform in his or her own play. In this case, it seems Paul Bomba had some difficulty distancing himself from the role of playwright and portraying the angst-ridden suicide-driven Jeff. Additionally, Theater C is a difficult space to launch a production that requires multiple sets. Julia Noulin-Merat, Charlie Forster, and Jeremy S. Bloom did their best to create an apartment with interior rooms, a subway platform with oncoming train lights and sound, ethereal settings for soliloquies, and the semblance of an adjacent apartment for Jennifer.
Hopefully, the cast and creative team can reflect on the production in its current state and make changes before the end of the play’s current run.
THE MAN UNDER
THE MAN UNDER began performances on Friday, January 25 for a limited engagement through Sunday, February 17. The performance schedule is Tuesday – Thursday at 7:30 PM; Friday and 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 Thursday, February 7, 2013
"Collision" at the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater
“Collision” at the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater By Lyle Kessler Directed by David Fofi Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
In the online poetry dictionary “Toto Poetry,” one posted rondelet defines ‘collision’ in this way: “Cause motions, /assume the ready position. /Cause emotions, parasitic oscillations. /To go into operation, /strike with disgust or revulsion. /Cause emotions.”
In the Amoralists Theatre Company’s World Premiere of “Collision” currently running at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Grange collides with his new roommate Bromley, Professor Denton one of his instructors, and Doe a fellow student he fancies to bed with. As Grange collides with each of them he sets a variety of situations in motion and causes each person to erupt with unfamiliar and uncomfortable emotions. Each strikes with disgust or revulsion which causes further emotions to surface. All of this colliding ultimately results in a synchronicity of “parasitic oscillations” that shocks the senses and stirs deep feelings and rattles the chains of a Pandora’s Box of catastrophe.
Much like Alex the protagonist in Anthony Burgess’s dystopian novella “A Clockwork Orange,” Grange manipulates the minds of his band of academics and transforms them into a band of (perhaps) criminals who are willing to follow Grange wherever he leads. James Kautz’s Grange is maniacal as he manipulates his merry band of misfits, identifying the weaknesses of each and transforming those deficits into the assets he needs to fulfill his mission. Nick Lawson’s Bromley is perfectly indecisive and self-defacing. Anna Stromberg manages successfully to unearth a Doe whose insecurities make her easy prey for Grange’s misogyny. Michael Cullen gives Professor Denton the vulnerability needed to make his complicity believable. And Craig ‘muMs” Grant creates a Renel whose vicious streak provides the perfect foil to the real violence brewing in the dorm room.
Grange wants redemption. After badgering Doe for an extended period of time, she dissents to his point of view. Although she tells him to “Stop [messing] with my head,” Grange continues to extol her to “Stop trying to make ends meet.”When she leaves, Grange reflects that he almost achieved redemption: “if only she had said no!” But Doe does not say ‘no’ and Grange does not achieve redemption.
During the rehearsal process for “Collision,” the creative team and cast decided to make changes to the play’s tone (from dark comedy to drama) and to the play’s ending. Without revealing too much of the climax, falling action, and resolution, it is clear that the original ending involved a dark murder-suicide while the new ending breaks the fourth wall and includes the audience. Although the original ending seems more powerful and is more consistent with the plays characterization and conflicts, the new ending engages the audience in a matrix of moral judgments about national and global rage, violence, guns, murder, and complicity in crime.
The universe is replete with motions that place different nations, different peoples in the “ready position:” ready to flee, ready to fight, ready to struggle for life, ready to raise the flag of defeat and surrender. It seems that as time passes the fight response supersedes the response of flight. People gather in squares across the globe no longer willing to accept despotic demons ruling their lives and they are fighting, Issues of sex and sexual status mingled with the desire for authentic equality collide with repressive religious ideologies and pathetic political responsibility and those repressed for far too long are ready to fight back in the courts, in the chambers of congress, even in the streets. Ideologies collide, points-of-view collide, beliefs deeply rooted in tradition collide and all sides seem willing to take up arms. How this will end is anyone’s guess. But if the collision in Grange’s dorm room is any indicator, the end might not be what we would hope. Perhaps the opportunities for redemption are slipping away.
COLLISION
The Amoralists Theatre Company announces World Premiere of “Collision,” written by Lyle Kessler and directed by David Fofi. The cast for “Collision” includes Michael Cullen (Professor Denton), Craig ‘muMs’ Grant (Renel), James Kautz (Grange), Nick Lawson (Bromley) and Anna Stromberg (Doe). The creative team for “Collision” includes Alfred Schatz (Set Design), Jaime Torres (Costume Design), Phil Carluzzo (Sound Design) and Michael J. Kessler (Assistant Director). Judy Merrick is the Stage Manager.
“Collision” runs Off-Broadway from through February 17, 2013 at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, located at 224 Waverly Place between Perry & West 11th Streets in New York City. Performances are Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7pm, and Sundays at 5pm. There is no performance on Sun 2/3. Tickets are $55 and can be purchased online at www.CollisionThePlay.com or by calling 1-866-811-4111. A limited amount of $20 student tickets are available online (valid student ID is required at the box office). The running time is 1 hour and 40 minutes with no intermission. For more information visit www.CollisionThePlay.com.
The Amoralists are a self-funded theatre company and they depend on the generosity of contributors to sustain their organization and their mission. Help sponsor the development and production of fearless, dynamic new plays while fostering a new generation of theatre artists. Join the Amoralists as an “Amoralyte” and partake in a range of benefits bringing you in to the fold of the Amoralists community for the 2013 season, the company’s 7th, including 75% off ticket prices, special events and access to the creative process. See all the levels and benefits at www.SupportTheAmoralists.com.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Monday, February 4, 2013
Theatre Uncut at the Clurman Theatre
Theatre Uncut at the Clurman Theatre A Program of Short Plays Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Theatre Uncut is a United Kingdom based activist theater group that was established in 2011 to encourage people to think, talk and take action on injustices that they see happening in the world around them. In 2012, the group asked playwrights from Greece, Syria, Spain, the United States, Iceland and the United Kingdom to pen short dramatic responses to the political and economic challenges facing their own countries. These plays premiered at the 2012 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. “Theatre Uncut” in New York features the New York premieres of a selection of these plays that look at how the everyday person deals with the state of global capitalism, the effects of austerity, the Eurozone Crisis and the Occupy movement. Audiences are invited to join in a dialogue about the issues raised by the plays at the end of each performance.
In “The Breakout” by Anders Lustgarten (UK), directed by Emily Reutinger, two prison inmates contemplate escaping to the outside after a portion of the wall of their cell suddenly breaks open. Ali Ewoldt and Jessika Williams play Lou and Ama respectively and both actors are convincing in their examination of the cost of freedom versus the cost of confinement. The prison serves as a suitable metaphor for humanity’s acceptance of political and societal oppression and the play is an apt introduction to the remaining five shorts.
As cuts force the closure of libraries across the UK, “Spine” by Clara Brennan (UK) considers the high cost for future generations without the benefit of books. Directed by Cressida Brown, this short charmer features Robyn Kerr as a young Amy who enters the world of an older woman, a recluse who opens Amy’s world to the importance of knowledge and caring. Ms. Kerr plays Amy and the voice and character of the older woman. Ms. Brennan’s concern about library closures is relevant and challenging and cleverly counterpoints the acquisition of knowledge with the capacity for caring.
Absurdist themes abound in “The Price” by Lena Kitsopoulou (Greece), directed by Cressida Brown. This searing Greek comedy is set in a world of extreme austerity where absolutely everything has its price. Carter Gill and Shannon Sullivan portray a Man and a Woman considering what they really need in the supermarket when they barely have enough money to survive. They conclude that the only baby they can afford is a lifeless one which will not even scan at the checkout because it has been opened and returned. The couple wonders whether they will live in poverty or in squalor.
Cressida Brown directs “The Birth of My Violence” by Marco Canale (Spain). Brown’s terse treatment of apathy in the face of political violence is a powerful examination of the role of protest in the survival of the human species. Tyler Moss gives the audience a dynamic performance as the writer who wonders why theatre has lost its ability to counter systems that “organize to destroy us.”
As Occupy Movements spring up across the globe, Neil LaBute’s (US), “In the Beginning” questions our passion for holding on to what we believe in. Directed by Emily Reutinger, Gia Crovatin and Victor Slezak portray an activist Boston daughter and her conservative father who bicker over the daughter’s need for money to continue her passion for the Occupy movement in New York City. LaBute’s signature dialogue draws the audience into this world of moral ambiguity and clash of values.
The Tunisian graduate Mohammed Bouazizi sold fruit and vegetables illegally in Sidi Bouzid because he could not find a job and immolated himself in 2011 after authorities confiscated his wares because he did not hold the proper permit. “Fragile” by David Grieg (UK), directed by Catrin Evans, uses this event to highlight the danger of cutting back on mental health facilities in the UK (and globally). Jack, played brilliantly by Brian Hastert, breaks into his caseworker’s home to seek her help after his center’s days of operation have been cut back. Jack and his group members Eddie and Mrs. B. face an uncertain future if their center closes and the group has to find its way to a different center which will be available only once a week. The audience plays the role of Carolyn the caseworker, reading her lines from a screen. This technique effectively engages the audience in Jack’s dilemma and decision to immolate himself like Mohammed Bouazizi.
Kudos to the playwrights, directors, and actors of Theatre Uncut who give of their time and talents and bring important issues of global survival to the stage worldwide. If only they could spend more time with us here in New York City.
THEATER UNCUT
Performances of THEATRE UNCUT run for a limited engagement through Sunday, February 3 at The Clurman Theatre on Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues). The performance schedule is Tuesday at 7 PM; Wednesday – Friday at 8 PM; Saturday at 2 PM and 8PM; Sunday at 3 PM. Tickets are $18 ($15 for students) with net proceeds going to charity. For tickets, call Telecharge at 212-239-6200 or online at www.telecharge.com.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Saturday, February 2, 2013
"The Truth Quotient" at the Beckett Theatre
“The Truth Quotient” at the Beckett Theatre By Richard Manley Directed by Eric Parness Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Fiction with themes of artificial intelligence and the manufacture and sale of androids is not a new genre. On that surface level, Richard Manley’s “The Truth Quotient” is not unique. What becomes unique is the play’s focus on the more subtle theme of motivation: the motivation of the manufacturer of the androids and the motivation of those who purchase the technology. Rachel, the company’s representative and omniscient concierge, reminds her customer and the protagonist of the play David that he needs to have faith in “our commitment to make you feel loved and wanted,” something David did not feel with his original set of parents or with his estranged brother Donald.
David’s first android Caprice gives him physical attention and affection. His upgraded model parents (his own abusive father and complicit mother had died years earlier) give David what he missed in childhood and adolescence: acceptance and understanding,
When David’s estranged brother shows up to make amends before he dies of incurable cancer, David’s new understanding of family is challenged. Donald ridicules David for loving robots and for assuming they can provide authentic love. But Rachel defends not only her company’s ability to provide “family” but defends David’s choice to be happy with his “new family.”
The importance of Manley’s script is not in providing revelatory information about artificial intelligence but about how that intelligence might become more desirable than human communication and affection. Manley’s well-conceived and well developed script is a trope (here an extended metaphor) for examining the existential meaning of family.
Given the misery that humanity has suffered individually and corporately, what would or should individuals do when offered a chance for happiness and a guaranteed escape from misery? David sees that Caprice and his Father and Mother are “too good to be true” and that with the availability of artificial intelligence “anything can be true.” The ensemble cast of “The Truth Quotient” successfully presents the possibility that what Donald sees as “the appearance of love” could in fact be love and could indeed be truth.
Manley’s vision of the future is a delicious matrix of moral ambiguity. What if the human family were nothing more than a set of “complex machines?” Prior to experiencing his new family, David avoided the truth of his misery by lying to himself. Donald almost tempted his brother back into the ancient value system (that incurable illness) that originally gave birth to David’s malaise. Rachel reminds everyone that loneliness is “pandemic in this country” and the choice to have a better life is as close as a contract for a new family of androids with dependable artificial intelligence. The power of the play lies in its ability to present to the audience an alternative to suffering and loss that might prove to be more possible than probable.
THE TRUTH QUOTIENT
Resonance Ensemble presents “The Truth Quotient” in repertory with “R.U.R.” “The Truth Quotient” is written by Richard Manley and directed by Eric Parness. The cast for “The Truth Quotient” includes Jarel Davidow, Angelina Fiordellisi, Meredith Howard, Brian Tom O’Connor, Shaun Bennet Wilson, and Maxwell Zener. The design team includes Jennifer Varbalow (set design), Sidney Shannon (costume design), Pamela Kupper (lighting design), and Nick Moore (composer/sound design). Jenna Lazar is he production stage manager.
“The Truth Quotient” runs at Theatre Row’s Beckett Theatre, 410 West 42nd Street, through Saturday February 2 on the following performance schedule: Wednesday January 23rd at 8:00 p.m.; Friday January 25 at 8:00 p.m.; Saturday January 26 at 2:00 p.m.; Tuesday January 29 at 7:00 p.m.; Wednesday January 30 at 2:00 p.m.; Thursday January 31 at 8:00 p.m.; and Saturday February 2 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are $19.25 (includes a $1.25 facilities fee) and can be purchased through Telecharge by calling (212) 239-6200 or at www.telecharge.com.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Sunday, January 27, 2013
"Bethany" at New York City Center Stage II (New Home of the Women's Project Theater)
“Bethany” at New York City Center Stage II (New Home of the Women’s Project Theater) By Laura Marks Directed by Gaye Taylor Upchurch Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
In Laura Marks’ “Bethany,” currently playing at the New York City Center Stage II, protagonist Crystal faces a series of important and life-changing decisions as she attempts to regain custody of her five-year-old daughter Bethany who has been taken from her after Crystal lost her job, her home, and was living with Bethany in her car.
Bethany is Crystal’s child’s name and – in Christian literature – a biblical village that was the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. It is the village where Jesus lived after leaving Jerusalem and from which he purportedly parted from his disciples at the Ascension. In Aramaic ‘Bethany’ means ‘poor house’ or ‘house of misery.’ Crystal (America Ferrera) is a desperate and homeless mother’s name and an abbreviated name of an addictive and dangerous substance. Crystal is utterly addicted to her mission of getting herself out of the poor house and bringing herself and Bethany out of the misery that has been their house for far too long. And Crystal will achieve this goal at any cost.
And it is this cost and the conflicts that are generated by its parameters that drive the scintillating and sometimes disturbing plot of this rich, dark comedy which features a power house ensemble cast underpinned with perceptive and penetrating direction by Gaye Taylor Upchurch.
Laura Marks’ well-constructed and challenging script includes parallel universes of world views, value systems, and motivations. In “Bethany” these universes counterpoint in a house which has been foreclosed in 2009 during the subprime mortgage crisis. What occurs in that abandoned house challenges all pre-conceived notions of right and wrong, good and bad and other perhaps archaic boundaries of belief systems. Crystal breaks into a foreclosed home, befriends and befuddles the neurotic fellow-squatter Gary, bamboozles Shannon her sales manager at the failing Subaru dealership where she works, unabashedly uses Charlie the moribund motivational speaker, and manages to recruit his wife Patricia to fund her recovery.
Emily Ackerman’s Shannon shares her belief that “There's a special place in hell for women who don't help other women” when she feels Crystal stole Charlie as a customer from Tammy. But this skilled actor belies her character’s commitment to Crystal’s quest. Kristin Griffith unfolds a Patricia (Charlie’s wife) who conspires to rid herself of Crystal only to provide the funding Crystal needs to stay. Ken Marks’ creepy Charlie inadvertently gives Crystal the motivation she needs to survive his advances and Tobias Segal gives the audience a Gary that it loves and mistrusts from the first time he raises his two-by-four to defend his squatter’s space.
Perhaps most engaging and challenging is the pivotal relationship Crystal has with Toni the astute social worker assigned to determine whether Crystal has met all the requirements to regain custody of Bethany. In a pair of tour de force performances, Myra Lucretia Taylor who portrays Toni and America Ferrera who embodies Crystal with almost paranormal perspicacity conspire to create a new world of moral exactitude. During Toni’s last visit to Crystal in the home she knows deep in her soul is not Crystal’s, she overlooks obvious signs that there is something amiss in this house of horrors, including a broken sliding glass window that is clearly not opened by a proper key. Yet, obviously overworked and unappreciated, Toni approves Crystal’s appeal to regain custody and walks away saying, “Look at everything you've done. You've turned your whole life around.” Crystal replies, “I’d do anything for her.” And Toni finishes the conversation with, “I know you would.”
It is true that “Bethany’s” themes of self-determination and survival are relevant to men and women. However, “Bethany” is at heart and in spirit a play about and for women. Although fellow squatter Gary has many commendable philosophical ideas and supports Crystal in her anti-establishment route to equality, he misses the mark by not respecting Crystal’s right to determine what she does with her body and mind and with whom. The men in the play are simply foils to the work the women do to reclaim and maintain the power and authority necessary to survive.
“Bethany” challenges the audience to carefully examine the gray areas of decision making, the important expanse of moral ambiguity and to understand that there are no easy answers to the complex problems humankind faces. The best we can do is grapple with what we are given and commit ourselves to survival of self and survival of all that is important to us.
BETHANY
The World Premiere of “Bethany” is presented by the Women’s Project Theatre under the direction of Julie Crosby and Lisa Fane. The creative team includes Lauren Helpern (set design), Sarah Holden (costume design), Mark Barton (lighting design), and Leon Rothenberg (sound design). Jess Johnston is managing the stage.
The cast includes Emily Ackerman (Shannon), America Ferrera (Crystal), Kristin Griffith (Patricia), Ken Marks (Charlie), Tobias Segal (Gary), and Myra Lucretia Taylor (Toni).
“Bethany” performs Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 7:30pm with matinees Saturday and Sunday at 2:30pm through Sunday February 17. All performances are at New York City Center Stage II, 131 West 55th Street (between 6th and 7th Avenues). Tickets for Women’s Project Tickets members start at $20.00 and can be purchased by calling 212-765-1706 or by visiting https://etm.patrontechnology.com/o/WP/p/run_module.php?__module__=3047. Single tickets start at $60.00 and van be purchased by calling 212-581-1212 or by visiting http://www.nycitycenter.org/tickets/productionNew.aspx?performanceNumber=6785
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Monday, January 21, 2013
Peter Marshall: "And Then She Wrote" at the Metropolitan Room
Carol Weisman, Peter Marshall, and Denise Donatelli
Peter Marshall: “And Then She Wrote” at the Metropolitan Room With Denise Donatelli and Carol Weisman Musical Direction by Carol Welsman Reviewed by Joseph Verlezza Theatre Reviews Limited
Peter Marshall became a household name as host of the ever popular game show Hollywood Squares. The successful turn was due in part to his multi talent as a singer and actor. He utilized his experience on Broadway and television to guide his on the spot responses and quick wit as he conversed with his celebrity guest stars. This talent cannot be more evident than in his latest cabaret show “And Then She Wrote” which played to appreciative audiences at The Metropolitan Room. Joined by Grammy nominated Denise Donetelli and Juno nominated Carol Weisman, these three artists pay homage to the contributions of woman songwriters to the American Songbook that span ten decades.
Not only are most songs easily recognizable but the vast array of style and lyric is captured with incredible skill and deft delivery. Whatever the patter, it is easy to the ear and not laborious, informative rather than trite and includes the audience by being personal and honest. The program moves quickly with sometimes a mere 16 bars of a familiar tune in order to pack over 35 songs into the 90 minute frame, but never leaves the audience unsatisfied, only wanting for more.
Vocally Mr. Marshall is smooth, articulate and soothing with a delightful tone and timeless style. Ms. Donetelli attacks each of her solos with pure tone and unequivocal control. The underlying silky, smoky layers enhance her pronounced jazz style with intensity. Ms. Weisman exhibits her immense musicianship not only with a characteristic vocal that is bold yet mellow but also with her turn tickling the ivories. She interprets the lyric with an easy understanding that captures the mood. Each contributes as solo artists and together not only do their personalities blend well but their voices become friends, sharing equally and evenly.
No one can argue that this is an enjoyable evening of songs that should never disappear from the American stage and certainly and importantly recognizes the significance of woman in music history. As an added touch this group is joined by Anne Drummond on piano and flute, and Brandi Disterheft on Bass, both displaying their talent as accomplished musicians.
PETER MARSHALL: AND THEN SHE WROTE
“And Then She Wrote” ran at the Metropolitan Room through Monday January 14, 2013. For more information on the Metropolitan Room and its schedule of performances, visit http://metropolitanroom.com/index.cfm.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Sunday, January 20, 2013
"Midsummer [a play with songs]" at The Clurman Theatre
“Midsummer [a play with songs]” at The Clurman Theatre Written and Directed By Daniel Grieg With Music by Gordon McIntyre Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
After tackling the problem of evil in his successful 1978 “When Bad Things Happen to Good People,” Rabbi Harold Kushner addressed existentialism, particularly the meaning of life, in his 1986 “When All You've Ever Wanted Isn't Enough: The Search for a Life That Matters.” This latter title could easily be the subtitle of Daniel Grieg’s “Midsummer” currently playing at The Clurman Theatre in Manhattan.
On the longest day of the year, Midsummer, Helena and Bob meet by chance and celebrate mid-life in Edinburgh’s midsummer. Their serendipitous encounter results in each (and both) evaluating where they have been, where they are, and where they would like to be in their thirty-fifth year and beyond. Daniel Grieg’s engaging script is touching, challenging, and life-affirming. His use of narration and dialogue to provide characterization, exposition and conflict is brilliant. Helena and Bob’s confrontation with their various demons (including their secrets) is not unlike the annual brushes with powerful forces on Midsummer’s Eve.
“Midsummer festivals are celebrated throughout Scotland, notably in the Scottish Borders where Peebles holds its Beltane Week. The Eve of St. John has special magical significance. Traditionally St John's Eve (like the eve of many festivals) was seen as a time when the veil between this world and the next was thin, and when powerful forces were abroad. Vigils were often held during the night and it was said that if you spent a night at a sacred site during Midsummer Eve, you would gain the powers of a bard, on the down side you could also end up utterly mad, dead, or be spirited away by the fairies.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midsummer and http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/midsummers-day.html)
Bob and Helena often step out of character and become narrators, providing the audience with needed exposition and distance from the characters themselves. In one of these “editorial moments” Bob responds to Helena’s thoughts about ‘this being It’ with “Disappointment will become our default position as each bright dream of our youth is snuffed out one after the other after the other.”
The lyrics of Gordon McIntyre’s soulful songs also allow the audience to examine the inner life of the characters (as well as their own psyches). In the “Song of Oblivion,” Bob longs for a devil-delivered dose of “drink, darkness, pain” and then to have it all taken away. And in another of Bob’s songs he affirms “We – can do anything tonight.” This significant realization counterpoints with Helena’s assent to the possibility of a new life when she exclaims, “Yes, I say yes.”
Under the playwright’s direction, Matthew Pidgeon (Bob) and Cora Bissett (Helena) bring their characters and the characters from their “secret lives” with precision and often shocking realism. The conflicts Helena and Bob have with Helena’s nephew Brendan, Big Tiny Tam Callaghan, Eyebrows Thompson, and Bob’s son Aidan drive the plot of “Midsummer” and bring the play to a profound and somewhat unexpected climax and conclusion.
Realizing that “change is possible” not only when paying at the car park but also in life, Helena says, “And it felt amazing – just for a second – and then the sun came up – and I remembered who I am and where I am and … well … you know.” This development occurs subtly in “Midsummer” and shows Helena’s dynamic character. Earlier she says,” “Life deals us the cards and it turns out we don’t even play them we simply turn them over and see what we’ve got. The pack gets shuffled when you’re born and all the rest’s just a slow unwinding. You might think life’s a game of poker but in fact it’s a game of patience.” And in a humorous and gripping scene, Bob in a conversation with his penis, Bob’s “other half” shares its feelings about being mid-life and in a crisis and attached to Bob. “Bob. You and I are not young men anymore. I’m fed up with being in different beds, in different places – I’m fed up with all of that. Our adventuring days – maybe they’re over.”
“Midsummer” proposes the profound possibility that human beings can reflect upon their “practice” and make the adjustments necessary to move forward into renewed personalities and possibilities. In a flash back to the Japanese Rope Bondage at Midsummer Night’s Cream (yes, you read that right: Shakespeare abounds) “In the end, can you point to your child and say this – this life is better because of me?” And, speaking to his child Aidan, Bob testifies that “We all come from the past. We all come from the past and we are all going towards the future. This is it, this is what happens – you are where you come from and you go where you go.”
Kudos to Cora Bissett, Matthew Pidgeon and the Carol Tambor Theatrical Foundation for bringing David Grieg’s play to New York City so we can celebrate with Edinburgh Festival Fringe this resplendent foray into “Midsummer” and all the magic is brings. As Bob and Helena sit quietly, Bob conjectures, “They agree that you know you really like someone when you’re comfortable being silent with them.” It is in the silence of the Clurman Theatre that the audience realizes that “change is possible” and often necessary.
MIDSUMMER [A PLAY WITH SONGS]
The Carol Tambor Theatrical Foundation presents The Traverse Theatre Production of MIDSUMMER is at The Clurman Theatre on Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues). The production is designed by Georgia McGuinness.
WITH: Cora Bissett (Helena) and Matthew Pidgeon (Bob).
MIDSUMMER runs for a limited engagement through Saturday, January 26. The performance schedule is Tuesday at 7 PM; Wednesday – Friday at 8 PM; Saturday at 2 PM and 8PM; Sunday at 3 PM. Tickets $37.50 (for performances from January 15 – 20); $50 (for performances from January 22 – January 27). For tickets, call Telecharge at 212-239-6200 or online at www.telecharge.com.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Thursday, January 17, 2013
Lauren Fox - "Canyon Folkies: Over the Hills and Under the Covers" at the Metropolitan Room
Lauren Fox – “Canyon Folkies: Over the Hills and Under the Covers” At The Metropolitan Room Reviewed by David Roberts and Joseph Verlezza Theatre Reviews Limited
If you were around during the folk-rock evolution or have any interest in this amazing period in musical history, an evening with Lauren Fox at The Metropolitan Room is mandatory. Not only is her pure and unique tonal quality reminiscent of some of the great talents of that time but also her knowledge of the artists living in Laural Canyon, the epicenter of this incredible musical eruption, is informative, interesting and perfectly integrated into this well-structured show.
Ms. Fox is accompanied by Ritt Henn on Bass, Peter Calo on guitar and musical director Jon Weber on piano and keyboard. These four musicians do not play the music; they become the music and successfully transfer the audience to another time and place. For some it might be a fond memory. For others a pleasurable experience to ponder, for during this period poetry was put to music and there is much to discover in Lauren Fox’s renditions of this genre. Ms. Fox is calm, confident and thoughtful as she captures the essence of an era gone by, filled with turmoil and free love. She unequivocally understands the lyric and carefully translates the meaning with intelligent phrasing and vocal prowess. Her dreamlike stare pierces time as her voice interprets the energy and angst of a bygone music revolution. There are many vocalists who cover folk-rock but Ms. Fox and her band have bold interpretations and they bond in a cohesive unit to deliver a respectful homage of superb quality.
Lauren Fox’s performance of Jackson Browne’s 1971 “A Child in These Hills” gives haunting relevance to the contemporary search for acceptance and meaning, especially for those who have not found peace “in the houses of their fathers.” Although Neil Young’s 1970 “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” was born after his separation from Joni Mitchell, the lyrics of the song connect to every broken heart despite age, sex, or sexual status. Lauren Fox’s clear tones and fresh styling of Carole King’s “Way Over Yonder” and “You’ve Got A Friend” give hope to those who need to call and know that someone will be there to “brighten even [ones] darkest night.”
When Ms. Fox sings a lyric from The Eagles’ hit “Take It Easy,” the audience glows with instant recognition: “Got a world of trouble on my mind/Lookin' for a lover/Who won't blow my cover.” Just a glance from Lauren Fox and the audience is given permission to connect to every song she shares in “Canyon Folkies: Over the Hills and Under the Covers.” The magic of her voice and the skill of her performance allow these songs from the late 1960’s and 1970’s to reach a broad and appreciative new audience.
Against the backdrop of a projected psychedelic image, Lauren Fox concludes “Canyon Folkies” with exceptionally relevant songs by Jim Morrison and Jackson Browne: “The End” (1966) and “Before the Deluge (1974). The astute of every generation seem to understand that “things are falling apart and the center is not holding” (William Butler Yeats). Ms. Fox plaintively asks “The blue bus is calling us The blue bus is calling us/Driver, where you taking us? And we wonder where we are headed in the next four years. She carefully leads the audience down a challenging path when she breathes renewed life into Jackson Browne’s “Before the Deluge:” where exactly are we headed as a nation and a culture. We, like Browne, are deeply concerned about “the way the earth was abused/By the men who learned how to forge her beauty into power.”
We sing silently with Lauren Fox as she empowers us to have hope for the future: “Now let the music keep our spirits high/And let the buildings keep our children dry/Let creation reveal its secrets by and by/By and by--/When the light that's lost within us reaches the sky.” Do not waste any time planning to see this performance, simply because you will certainly want to return for more before this engaging performance ends on January 24, 2013.
LAUREN FOX - CANYON FOLKIES: OVER THE HILLS AND UNDER THE COVERS
Lauren Fox appears at The Metropolitan Room on the following schedule: Thursday January 17 at 7:00 p.m. and Thursday January 24, 2013 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 Thursday, January 17, 2013
Marci Kraft: "Singing Again for the First Time" at Don't Tell Mama
Marci Kraft: “Singing Again for the First Time” at Don’t Tell Mama Created and Directed by Marilyn Maye Arrangements Created by Marilyn Maye and Arranged by Tex Arnold Special Lyrics by Marilyn Maye Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Marci Kraft’s auspicious appearance at Don’t Tell Mama Cabaret is a great beginning for a vocalist making her performance debut. Ms. Kraft is a Vice President and Assistant General Counsel at The New York Times and realizes her dream to sing on a cabaret stage with “Singing Again for the First Time” an extensive review of 1920’s and 1930’s songs from The American Songbook.
After completing a Master Class with Marilyn Maye, Ms. Kraft expressed to her teacher that she wanted to continue to work toward a stage performance and her collaboration with Marilyn Maye has resulted in a stellar program of songs which transition one from another with delightful special lyrics and broad audience appeal. Throughout her performance, Marci Kraft exhibits remarkable phrasing and vocal control.
After an engaging opening set, Marci Kraft makes a strong opening argument with “Everything Old Is New Again” the song she reprises as her closing argument at the end of her program. In between, her argument is strong for the importance of the songs from the 20’s and 30’s. Highlights of her performance are “Some of These Days” (Shelton Brooks), the Perry Como Medley which includes charming key changes and examples of vocal control in “Catch a Falling Star” and “Stairway to the Stars,” and “Give Me the Simple Life” (Rube Bloom/Harry Ruby).
Ms. Kraft is accompanied by pianist and conductor Tex Arnold, bassist Tom Hubbard, and drummer Ron Vincent.
To say that Marci is precisely where she needs to be as a cabaret performer would be unfair to her, to her mentor, and to her audience. But she is on her way to that goal. To be able to appear on an iconic cabaret stage and give the controlled performance she does at Don’t Tell Mama is not only commendable but also a formidable accomplishment. What Marci Kraft needs now is to commit to move forward with her dream and to perform for an audience of strangers who can appreciate her craft anew and without prejudice.
MARCI KRAFT: SINGING AGAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME
Marci Kraft and “Singing Again for the First Time” ran for three performances from January 10 through January 12, 2013 at Don’t Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street (between 8th and 9th Avenues) in New York, NY. For more information on Don’t Tell Mama, please visit http://www.donttellmamanyc.com/
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Sunday, January 13, 2013
"The Wonderful Wizard of Song" at St. Luke's Theatre
“The Wonderful Wizard of Song” at St. Luke’s Theatre Written by George Bugatti Direction and Musical Staging by Gene Castle Reviewed by Joseph Verlezza Theatre Reviews Limited
There is no doubt that it is fitting to pay tribute to and celebrate Harold Arlen one of the most influential and important composers of the Great American Songbook. His unique and interesting expressive style has graced stage and screen for decades. Arlen’s collaboration with some of the best lyricists created a phenomenal range of songs that continue to pay tribute to his legacy. “The Wonderful Wizard of Song” now playing at St. Luke’s Theatre is a valiant attempt by the 3 Crooners, Marcus Goldhaber, George Bugatti and Joe Shepard to accomplish this daunting task, especially given their choice to feature the enormous talent of Antoinette Henry to get the job done. Each of the crooners is vocally capable of delivering their songs in their solo turns and together they produce some interesting and pleasant harmonies. At times the crooner’s staging is, at best, standard musical theatre and the effort, although periodically entertaining, is forced and contrived and fails to enhance the music or delineate the lyric. An exception to this experience is when Ms. Henry takes the stage and surrounds herself with the melodies and plunges head first into the lyric to give an honest and intelligent interpretation. Her vocals are strong and powerful, clear and deliberate, always confident and constantly examining the moment.
Perhaps part of the problem is that when the music by Harold Arlen is joined with the great lyricists such as Ted Koehler, Ira Gershwin, Yip Harburg and Johnny Mercer, the musical’s vocalists decline to trust and believe in the material. It is most welcome to introduce a song with an infusion of a distinctive style, but in this case the integrity of some material was challenged by unnecessary harmonies and strange arrangements. Most notably this happened with the performance of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” arranged for the quartet and being close to unrecognizable, being pretentious by disregarding the dreamy lyric.
With all this critic’s reservations, it is still worth the trip to enjoy the undeniably remarkable music of Harold Arlen and the memorable lyrics of his notable collaborators. The exuberant cast constantly works to entertain the audience for the song filled 85 minutes, whether playful, moody or soulful, they produce a pleasant evening of musical theatre.
THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF SONG
“The Wonderful Wizard of Song” is produced by Yellow Brick Productions in association with Shea Arender, Steven Colucci and Jerry Rosenberg and has an original concept by Nigel Wright, Sam Arlen and George Bugatti with special thanks to Harold Arlen’s son Sam Arlen for all archival and historical content.
“The Wonderful Wizard of Song” features vocalists George Bugatti, Marcus Goldhaber, Joe Shepherd, and Antoinette Henry with a creative team which includes Josh Iacovelli (set and lighting design), Amy Pedigo-Otto (costume design), Marc Heller (sound design), and Andrew Smithson (musical director).
The performance schedule for THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF SONG is: Mondays @ 7, Wednesdays @ 2 and Thursdays @ 8. Tickets at $69.50 & $39.50 are available through TeleCharge at www.Telecharge.com or (212) 239-6200.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Sunday, January 13, 2013
"City Love Song: Home" at 59E59 Theater C
“City Love Song: Home” at 59E59 Theater C Written and Performed by Jack Finnegan Directed by Tralen Doler Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Storyteller Jack Finnegan begins his travelogue with a rhetorical snapshot of a few minutes outside his building in New York City. This image, he claims, glorifies the interconnectedness of cultures and values extant in his neighborhood and reflects the common character of the people who love this urban home as much as he does. He uses this story as a springboard for his larger purpose; namely, to share for the third time his collection of anecdotes from his national and – this time – international travels.
In “City Love Song: Home” Jack Finnegan relates stories from his travels to Guatemala, to Brazil, to Casablanca, to Istanbul, and to New Delhi. In all of these places, his travelogue is meant to support his belief that we are all basically the same around the world and we need to be more fearless and more understanding when we interact with people in their cities -- cities which they love as much as we love our own.
All of that sounds commendable. Unfortunately, the exercise fails to materialize and ultimately falls flat on the stage of Theater C at 59E59. Storytellers need to be persuasive and to properly use all of the relevant rhetorical strategies available to them. There were times when Finnegan pulls these strategies into his stories: there are appeals to ethos, pathos, even logos and there are tropes (imagery, figurative language, compare-contrast, negation, etc) but none of these gels into a cohesive, compelling, engaging performance.
Tralen Doler is given credit for directing Mr. Finnegan; however, there is little evidence of meaningful direction. Effective storytelling sometimes needs some mystery in its mix of tricks: there is nothing wrong with a bit of a fourth wall, or effective lighting, or a larger-than-life persona. Mr. Finnegan began the performance sitting in the audience and insisted in interacting with his guests; there was not one lighting cue and the entire evening unfolded in abrasive, annoying white light; and Mr. Finnegan was not enough the shaman who should lead his listeners into deep recesses of the mind.
If you are a Jack Finnegan fan, by all means enjoy this third part of his trilogy. However, do not do that on the recommendation of this review or this reviewer.
CITY LOVE SONG: HOME is at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Madison and Park Avenues).
CITY LOVE SONG: HOME runs for a limited engagement through Sunday, January 20. The performance schedule is Tuesday – Thursday at 7:30 PM; Friday and 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 $20 ($14 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 Friday, January 11, 2013
"Boys Night Out: The Music of the Rat Pack" at the Metropolitan Room
“Boys Night Out: The Music of the Rat Pack” at the Metropolitan Room With Danny Bolero, Bernard Dotson and Tom Gamblin Directed by Joseph Macchia Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
The group of actors known as The Rat Pack has a long history from the early days (1960’s) of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall until the 1980’s when three of the members (Martin, Davis, and Sinatra) appeared together for the last time in film in “Cannonball Run II” and the same trio staged their ill-fated revival tour which ended after only four performances. Whichever configuration of the pack one identifies with, the one most familiar to audiences and fans is the one celebrated in “Boy’s Night Out: The Music of the Rat Pack:” Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis, Jr.
Under Joseph Macchia’s direction and accompanied by Track Stark, stage veterans Danny Bolero, Bernard Dotson, and Tom Gamblin pay homage to the three crooners by performing from the repertory that made Sinatra, Martin, and Davis famous and sought after by an eclectic group of followers and admirers. Each vocalist has moments which stand out and when they perform together the synergy is remarkable.
Tom Gamblin sports inventive phrasing in “Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime” (S. Coslow, I. Taylor, and K. Lane) and tight vocal control in “The Tender Trap” (J. Van Heusen, S. Cahn). Danny Bolero connects smoothly to “Sway” (Pablo Beltran Ruiz) giving it the proper mambo beat it requires. And Bernard Dotson provides the stand-out lead in the memorable “Gonna Build a Mountain” (Anthony Newley, Leslie Bricusse) and pays tribute to Sammy Davis, Jr. in his rendition of “Mr. Bojangles” (Jerry Jeff Walker).
What makes “Boys Night Out” remarkable is embedded in the name of the show itself. Bolero, Dotson, and Gamblin have a great deal of fun with their songs, with each other, and with their audience. Their patter and humor are inclusive, fresh, and relevant. Equally as important is the gift they proffer of the songs of a pack of talented singers and actors who will never be forgotten. These “boys” engage perfectly with an appreciative audience and this is, after all, the hallmark of good entertainment.
BOYS NIGHT OUT: THE MUSIC OF THE RAT PACK
Danny Bolero, Bernard Dotson and Tom Gamblin appear in “Boys Night Out” at The Metropolitan Room on the following schedule: Sunday January 6, 2013 at 4:00 p.m. and Monday January 21, 2013 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 $20.00 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 Thursday, January 10, 2013
"The Chess Lesson" at the IRT Theater
“The Chess Lesson” at the IRT Theater By Sari Caine Directed by Elizabeth Miller Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Sari Caine’s “The Chess Lesson” is a delightful trope for humankind’s inveterate attempt to understand “how things came to be.” Was there a creation? If so, was it a “big bang” or a divinely orchestrated event? Were there rules governing that creation? Did humankind “disobey those rules? Whose rules were/are they: those of some divine being or rules created by humankind itself? What happens when rules are broken? And can humankind – even in brokenness – return to its idyllic “pre-Fall” state?
When Mateo (David Crommett), Isabella (Meg Fee) and her husband Paul (David Rigo) decide to take chess lessons from their children’s teacher (Sari Caine), the rituals of creation, disobedience, fall, repentance, forgiveness and redemption come into sharp focus. Playwright Sari Caine skillfully uses the extended metaphor of the game of chess as the game of life to explore the important issues of the fall from and the return to states of grace in relationships and in interpersonal psychological health. As the three parents struggle to learn the game of chess, they confront their individual and interpersonal challenges to cope with each other and external reality.
Individually, and as an ensemble, the actors manage to engage the audience in the exploration of who we are, how we got that way, and where we want to go in our futures. As the Teacher, playwright Sari Caine watches her adult students dissolve into the squabbles typical of their children. Although she manages to continue to hold fast to her “rules,” she eventually joins them in their in a psycho-sexual meltdown of epic proportions. Ms. Caine’s performance here is just short of brilliant.
It is never easy for humanity to have attained the knowledge of good and evil. Mateo, Isabella, and Paul taste of that fruit in the classroom of life and struggle to find their way back to normalcy and viability. However, Ms. Caine’s mature and engaging absurdist script assures that her characters transcend even the confines of redemption and leave the knowledge of good and evil behind along with the “Fall” itself. At play’s end, creation and creator dance a new dance of acceptance of the limitations and joys of simply being human. Director Elizabeth Miller makes all of this work with efficiency and clarity on her and Daryl Embry’s expansive classroom set.
Slightly Altered States Theater Company’s “The Chess Lesson” is worth a look at the IRT Theater Space. The quirky new play is evidence that things are not always what they seem and that is a very good thing.
THE CHESS LESSON
“The Chess Lesson” is presented by Slightly Altered States Theater Company. This absurdist comedy is written by Sari Caine and directed by Elizabeth Miller.
The cast of “The Chess Lesson” includes Sari Caine, David Crommett, Meg Fee, and David Rigo with a production team that includes Daryl Embry (set), Derek Wright (lighting), Andre Fratto (sound), Zach Tait (stage manager), and Sonya Sobieski (dramaturg).
“The Chess Lesson” runs through January 27. The performance schedule is Thursday through Saturday at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday at 7:00 p.m. Performances are at the IRT Theater, 154 Christopher Street, Buzzer 3B, New York, NY. Tickets are $15.00 in advance, $18.00 at the door and can be purchased at 1-800-838-3006 or at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/301099.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Marilyn Maye at the Metropolitan Room
“Marilyn by Request” Marilyn Maye at the Metropolitan Room Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Cabaret legend Marilyn Maye extends the celebration of the New Year with five 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 “what it is in for” in her rendition of the re-imagined “The Song Is You” (Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein). Before launching into the “By Request” portion of the evening, Ms. Maye engages the audience with her comfortable humanness as she glides through “It’s A Most Unusual Day” (Harold Adamson/Jimmy McHugh) with a brilliant drum solo, “Golden Rainbow” (Walter Marks) with remarkable phrasing, a jazzy-operatic “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” (Jimmy McHugh/Dorothy Fields), a comedic “Love Being Here with You” (Peggy Lee/Bill Schluger), and a solid “I Want To Be Happy” (Vinvent Youmans/Irving Caesar).
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.
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 extends her stay in New York for five nights in “Marilyn By Request” – Thursday through Sunday, January 3, 4, 5, 6 and again on Wednesday January 9, all at 7pm. 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 Sunday, January 6, 2013
"Flipside: The Patti Page Story" at 59E59 Theater A
“Flipside” at 59E59 Theater A Written and Directed by Greg White with Patti Page Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Google ‘flipside’ and cumulate a variety of search results: from the online fantasy manga/comic to the burger and bar restaurant in downtown Fairfield. The term as it refers to the B-side of a vinyl record is rarely used today with the advent of CD’s, the iPod, and other mp3 players.
‘Flipside’ is used to indicate the B-side of a vinyl 45-rpm record and is the perfect extended metaphor for Greg White’s delightful telling of the Patti Page story. Haley Jane Pierce plays Patti Page in the present and Lindsie Vanwinkle plays Patti Page in the past. Ms. Pierce is the Patti Page before she was known by that name and her rueful Clara Ann Fowler projects memories of her career in a series of fantasy flashbacks onto the stage as she “watches” Ms. Vanwinkle rehearse those memories in real time.
Ms. Pierce is effective as the mature Patti Page who wonders what she might have given up in her rise to stardom and which “side” of Patti was the real Patti Page: the vulnerable Clara Ann from Tulsa Oklahoma or the rising star who invented “singing four-part harmony with herself.” And Ms. Vanwinkle’s performance is spot-on as the Patti Page from Tulsa to the Copacabana in New York City singing “Boogie-Woogie Santa Claus.”
“Flipside” features twenty-six Patti Page hits which complement Clara Ann’s recounting of the vicissitudes of the singer’s life and career. Perhaps the tenderest recollection is that of how one of Ms. Page’s most memorable songs “Tennessee Waltz” began as the flipside of what Jack Rael thought would be the hit song: “Boogie Woogie Santa Claus.”
The little girl from Oklahoma becomes the Grammy Award winning superstar who forms her own record label CAF Records. “Flipside” tells this story with grace and dignity and, thanks to the ensemble cast and the band, leaves the audience wanting to hear Ms. Page sing live in the present which she does on a regular basis.
FLIPSIDE: THE PATTI PAGE STORY
Conductor and music director Sandra Thompson leads an eight-piece orchestra on stage. The design team includes Matt Avra (scenic design); Art Whaley (lighting design), Corey Martin (costume design); Sun Hee Kil (sound design). The choreographer is Shannon Hurleigh. The musical arrangements are by Zac Lee, with vocal arrangements by Melissa Griffith. The Production Stage Manager is Ben Whaley.
The cast of “Flipside: The Patti Page Story features Haley Jane Pierce, Lindsie VanWinkle, Willy Welch, Justin Larman, Jenny Rottmayer and Kassie Carroll.
“Flipside: The Patti Page Story” runs for a limited engagement of thirteen performances through Sunday, December 30, 2012. The performance schedule is Tuesday - Thursday at 7:00 PM; Friday at 8:00 PM; Saturday at 2:00 PM and 8:00 PM; and Sunday at 3:00 PM. Performances are at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues). Tickets are $60 ($42 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 Wednesday, December 26, 2012
"Soldier" at HERE
“Soldier” at HERE Written and Performed by Jonathan Draxton Directed by Kevin O’Rourke Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Recent Williams College graduate Jonathan Draxton tackles weighty matters in the world premiere of his “Soldier” in New York City at HERE. This tightly wound fifty minute production challenges the audience to question when one who has committed heinous crimes against humanity has demonstrated the level of remorse that warrants forgiveness and reconciliation. These are perhaps questionably attainable qualities for the phantasm of Nazi soldier Heinrich Weiss and the ghosts of his soldiers all who lost their lives at the hands of the Russian army at Stalingrad. However, Mr. Draxton who portrays Officer Weiss, challenges each of the twenty-five audience members to hear his story, believe that he and his men were indeed “animals” and hand over the coins needed to ferry him and his men from purgatory to an underworld that will perhaps proffer redemption and release from their war crimes of the past.
After sharing horrific stories of his actions for the glory of Germany and Hitler’s vision of a healed world, Heinrich Weiss approaches each audience member and requests the coins needed to make the trans-Styx journey. If the coin is relinquished, the officer responds with a “Heil Hitler” that belies a stubborn and unrepentive spirit. But there are other stories of grace and charm and family loyalty that might convince the listener that, after all, Hitler’s Youth Movement (HJ) was persuasive enough to draw young German men into the cauldron of hate that murdered millions of Jews and gay men and the participants were only doing what they believed to be the best for the new Germany and the rest of the world. Mr. Draxton manages to create a character that is a trope for the moral ambiguity inherent in any serious treatment of war and its aftermath.
Weiss’s father, also a soldier, taught Heinrich “never to be sorry for what you do, for what you do is who you are and you should never be sorry for who you are.” Weiss took his father’s advice to heart as he embraced Hitler’s deranged design. Though he and his men kill Jews and aging prostitutes, “they are soldiers” and embrace the dictum that’s what soldiers do in times of war.
Audience members connect to Draxton’s script in a variety of ways and perhaps the play equips them to examine their own participation in a variety of evil endeavors. After all, who among us does not envision a better world, a healed world and who among us is not willing to “endure the fire” until that utopia is achieved? And who among us would deny that those refining fires often result in horrific acts of death. Who, after all, can truly say what is right and what is wrong? Or perhaps we can. Perhaps we must. But, at the end of the day, who makes that decision. This is the stuff, the grit of Jonathan Draxton’s new play and it is worth sitting in an odd configuration of padded folding chairs as Draxton’s uber-soldier passes by, touches us, and kneels before us hoping to convince us that he has learned the lessons of his past and should be allowed to move on.
SOLDIER
The Plowmen proudly present the World Premiere of “Soldier,” written and performed by Jonathan Draxton, and directed by Kevin O’Rourke. The creative team includes Cate McCrea (Set Design), Carl Whipple (Lighting Design) and Barbara A. Bell (Costume Design). David Eppel and David Evans Morris are Production Advisors.
“Soldier” runs from December 11 - 22, 2012 in a limited engagement at HERE, located at 145 6th Avenue (Enter on Dominick, 1 block south of Spring) in New York City. Performances are Tuesdays – Sundays at 7pm. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online at www.here.org or by calling 212-352-3101. 50% of the box office proceeds from the show will go to the Wounded Warrior Project (www.WoundedWarriorProject.org). The running time is 50 minutes. For more information on the show visit www.Facebook.com/CoinsForASoldier.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Saturday, December 22, 2012
"P. S. Jones and the Frozen City" at the New Ohio Theatre
“P.S. Jones and the Frozen City” By Robert Askins Directed by Jose Zayas Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
What would result from collaboration between William Butler Yeats, T. S. Eliot, the multiple authors or sources behind the Pentateuch, Julie Taymor, the Trinity, John Wayne, Cain and Abel, Walt Whitman, Robert Frost, a host of other luminaries, and the genius of Robert Askins and Jose Zayas? None other than the winning offering from the terraNOVA Collective “P.S. Jones and the Frozen City” currently running at the New Ohio Theater. This gem might easily have a future much like another play from years past.
“Urinetown: The Musical” opened in at the New York International Fringe Festival in 1999 with cardboard-box sets. It went on to become a Broadway hit in 2001. Unlike “Urinetown: The Musical” which riffed on its titular bodily fluid, “P.S. Jones and the Frozen City” features the scatological entity of which humankind seems enamored: hence the “S” in young Mr. Jones’s surname. That said this brilliant new offering by the terraNova Collective works so well that it needs not only an extended run in the present but a move in the near future.
Greg Kotis satirizes the legal system, capitalism, social irresponsibility, populism, bureaucracy, corporate mismanagement, and municipal politics in “Urinetown.” Robert Askins satirizes weightier issues in his “P.S. Jones and the Frozen City.” His comic book superhero/antihero adventure satirizes humankind’s attempts to understand life by establishing religions, “saviors,” myths of creation, and the mythos of end times.
After surviving yet another apocalypse, Benjamin is whisked away to the Frozen City to assist The Great Glass Spider reclaim her control over humankind. He is followed by his brother P.S. Jones, the Gunslinger’s ghost, and Lothar the Builder’s missing green hand on a journey of hope, revenge, and redemption. We are reminded during this epic quest that we have lost something in the wasteland, that we need a transfusion of hope, and that there is much to work on to restore humanity’s credibility.
The ensemble cast of “P.S. Jones” navigates through this engaging tale of creation, fall, and redemption with a generous dose of pathos and just the right pinch of humor. It is not easy to riff humankind’s attempts to establish mythic and epic tales of salvation but this cast successfully makes the journey offending when necessary and cherishes tradition when appropriate. Joe Paulik and Preston Martin are perfect as the sparring brothers whose world views collide in charm and chaos. Sofia Jean Gomez, Bobby Moreno, and Steven Rishard portray the triumvirate that goes too far to establish utopic union. And Diana Oh and Jenny Seastone Stern rustle up a bevy of antagonists that challenge P.S. at every turn. There are also diminutive and giant characters who might be confused for puppets but whose enormous spirit pervades every scene in the play. Kudos to Chloe Moser, Katey Parker, and Eric Wright who bring these characters to life with dignity and delight.
Under Jose Zayas’s deft direction and with the help of a creative team that brings fresh meaning to what it means to create and light a set, the cast and puppeteers spin a tale of intrigue and derring-do that honors the art of the comic and graphic novel. This production also reminds us that minimalism can trump computer driven mega-sets and lighting grids. At the end of the day, minimalism (perhaps) wins out in “P.S. Jones and the Frozen City. Before her death, P.S. Jones’s Momma urges him to consider that perhaps the best humanity can do is to try to do better. Obviously, even that advice is given with the realization that somewhere someone might be conjuring up a cauldron of evil. But what choice does Mr. Jones have. What choice do we have? See this remarkable play in its current incarnation or one of its future reincarnations in other places in other times.
P.S. JONES AND THE FROZEN CITY
The terraNOVA Collective, celebrating their 10th season, presents the World Premiere of “P.S. Jones and The Frozen City,” a comic book superhero adventure story written by Robert Askins and directed by José Zayas. P.S. Jones and The Frozen City runs from December 3 - 23, 2012 in a limited engagement at the New Ohio Theatre, located at 154 Christopher Street between Greenwich and Washington Streets in New York City.
The cast includes Sofia Jean Gomez , Preston Martin, Bobby Moreno, Diana Oh, Joe Paulik, Steven Rishard, and Jenny Seastone Stern.
The creative team includes Jason Simms (Scenic Design), Ryan O’Gara (Lighting Design), Carla Bellisio (Costume Design), Jane Shaw and Emma Wilk (Sound Design), Jane Shaw (Original Music), Imaginary Media (Video Design), Eric Wright and The Puppet Kitchen (Puppet Design), Matthew Stephen Huffman (Producer) and Andrew Slater (Production Stage Manager).
Performances are Mondays at 8:00 p.m., Wednesdays – Fridays at 8:00 p.m., Saturdays at 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. There is no performance on Saturday, December 15 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are $25 for adults and $20 for students and seniors, and can be purchased online at http://www.terranovacollective.org or by calling 1-800-838-3006. The running time is 80 minutes. For more information visit http://www.terranovacollective.org.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Saturday, December 22, 2012
"13 Things about Ed Carpolotti" at 59E 59 Theater C
“13 Things about Ed Carpolotti” Book, Music, and Lyrics by Barry Kleinbort Based on the Play by Jeffrey Hatcher Directed by Barry Kleinbort With Penny Fuller and Paul Greenwood Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
The stars of Barry Kleinbort’s “13 Things about Ed Carpolotti are Virginia Carpolotti, her intriguing daydreams about her deceased husband Ed, and her imaginary piano-playing and singing friend. These three stars are better known as, respectfully, Penny Fuller, the book by Barry Kleinbort, and pianist Paul Greenwood.
Honored many times for her Broadway, Regional Theatre, and film performances, Penny Fuller steps onto the stage of 59E59 Theater C and embraces the role of Virginia Carpolotti with transcendent perspicacity. This gifted and graced performer convinces the audience Virginia is alone and talking to herself in Bray Barton the home where she spent forty years with her recently deceased husband Ed. As she struggles simply to remember where she and Ed first met, her life begins to unravel as a variety of “loan sharks” begin demanding the repayment of loans Ed solicited and Virginia unwittingly signed for during the years of their marriage.
Banker Bob O’Klock, business associate Dino DiSprebio, and brother-in-law Frank are all demanding repayment of Ed’s loans and have frozen Virginia’s assests, promised a “vist” to collect, and suggested she forfeit her home for her nephew Randy and his about-to-be-bride Courtney. As Virginia rehearses this impending doom, she provides the exposition needed by the audience in scrumptious song and skillfully delivered soliloquy.
In a cleverly staged moment, Virginia approaches the pianist the audience can see only because Virginia can see him in her imagination and, as he is playing “We’re Gonna Be Fine,” asks, “I don’t remember who originally sang this. Any idea?” The repartee between imagined pianist and Virginia is brilliant and results in a charming duet between Penny Fuller and musical director Paul Greenwood.
The entire new musical exudes this same charm as it reaches its climax late in the new musical’s rising action. The resolution and denouement involve a message from Ed which resolves all of Virginia’s financial worries and answers her question about where they met on February 22nd, 1955. Oh, Virginia’s best friend Tootie Vaughn and Joy (at the office) have hatched the plot that rescues Virginia from financial ruin but the reader must attend one of the remaining performances to discover the plan Ed hatched before his death.
Although Mr. Kleinbort’s music is here, for the most part unremarkable, it handily serves the gorgeous twists and turns of his distinguished book and this delectable tale of love, loss, and redemption.
13 THINGS ABOUT ED CARPOLOTTI
“13 Things about Ed Carpolotti” is presented by Harbinger Records and Jamie deRoy in association with The Acting Company and is directed by Barry Kleinbort. The creative team consists of Matt Berman (lighting design), Brad Berridge (sound design), and Alexander Woodward (set design).
“13 Things about Ed Carpolotti” runs for a limited engagement through Sunday, December 30. The performance schedule is Tuesday – Thursday at 7:30 PM; Friday and Saturday at 8:30 PM; and Sunday at 3:30 PM. There are additional performances on Sunday, December 23 and Sunday, December 30 at 7:30 PM. There is no performance on Tuesday, December 25 (Christmas Day). 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 Tuesday, December 18, 2012
"Working" at 59E59 Theater B
“Working” at 59E59 From the Book by Studs Terkel Adapted by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso Directed by Gordon Greenberg Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Jimmy Carter was President of the United States in 1978 when Stephen Schwartz’s “Working” opened on Broadway at the 46th Street Theatre in New York City. The national unemployment rate then was 6.1%. Remarkably, after spiking at 9.6% in 2010, the “New York Times” (December 7, 2012) reports the jobless rate is edging down “to its lowest rate in four years at 7.1 %. The strength of “Working” is not its deconstruction of the issues of unemployment and politics; its power lies in the musical’s successful exploration of the meaning of and the tradition of work itself and of those who perform that work. Indeed, the subtitle of Stud Terkel’s 1974 “Working,” upon which the musical is based, celebrates the work people do all day and “how they feel about what they do.”
In Walt Whitman’s poem “To Working Men,” the speaker begins the second stanza of the ode with “This is the poem of occupations; In the labour of engines and trades, and the labour of fields, I find the developments, And find the eternal meanings. Workmen and Workwomen!” The twenty-five characters in “Working” universally echo Whitman’s sentiment: they all seek meaning in what they do. From Joe Cassidy’s first appearance as Mike Dillard the ironworker until his last appearance as the same character, the other twenty-four characters speak and sing about enduring themes: not being recognized for what they do; needing to be valued; feeling no longer needed or ineffective; not being regarded as special; and wondering if they will somehow be remembered for what they created during their working lives.
These concerns counterpoint Studs Terkel’s own when he writes about “Working” and work: "This book, being about work, is, by its very nature, about violence - to the spirit as well as to the body.” And when he conjectures that “Perhaps it is this specter that most haunts working men and women: the planned obsolescence of people that is of a piece with the planned obsolescence of the things they make. Or sell.”
The ensemble six-member cast of “Working” effectively portrays the stories Studs Terkel collected and recorded (and others like them) and under Gordon Greenberg’s innovative and spirited direction these energetic working actors use their too-often unappreciated craft to enliven their various characters with believable ethos and pathos. Greenberg’s choice to demonstrate clearly that acting is indeed working gives a fresh beginning to this incarnation of “Working.” It was powerful to see the actors preparing to be on stage and to hear the first lighting and sound cues from the stage manager (seen on stage). And although the stage manager and other crew were later seen onstage assisting actors with costume changes and props, it would have been even more powerful to hear a few more cues being read and see actors preparing for their work behind the scrim.
Of the fourteen musical numbers in “Working,” all of which serve “Working” well, the following stand out as exceptional performances. Marie-France Arcilla’s performances in “Millwork” and “A Very Good Day” as Grace Clements the millworker and Theresa Liu the nanny embody the violence to the spirit as well as the body that Terkel imagined. Joe Cassidy’s ironworker Mike Dillard provides convincing bookend performances to the musical. Donna Lynn Champlin’s reflective elementary school teacher Rose Hoffman elicits empathic responses from the audience. Jay Armstrong Johnson’s snarly student Ralph Werner even exposes the underbelly of angst in his character. But it is perhaps the haunting performances of Nehal Joshi in “Delivery” and Kenita R. Miller in “Cleanin’ Women” as Freddy Rodriguez the fast food worker and Maggie Holmes the cleaning lady respectively that rip open the hearts of the audience as its members realize that they stand with these actors portraying workers seeking meaning in life and craft. No human being wants to be “just” anyone and no laborer wants her or his descendents to endure what they endured to merely “survive.”
In all of “Working’s” musical numbers and songs, the spirit of Walt Whitman can be heard as they echo from movement to voice to instrument to heart. Walt Whitman wrote in his ode “To Working Men,” “I will be even with you, and you shall be even with me. If you stand at work in a shop, I stand as nigh as the nighest in the same shop.” The cast, musicians, and creative team of “Working” have generously given the audience “Something to Point To” and something to be proud of. Indeed, some of these performances are so powerful and so convincing that the actors could even be with us (Whitman) sans costumes and without props. That truly is the magic of the thing we call the theatre. “Working” works and substantiates Walt Whitman’s claim that eternal meaning is descried in working men and working women.
WORKING
“Working” is presented by the Prospect Theater Company, from the book by Studs Terkel, adapted by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso, with additional contributions by Gordon Greenberg. Songs are by Craig Carnelia, Micki Grant, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mary Rodgers & Susan Birkenhead, Stephen Schwartz, and James Taylor. This newly revised version is directed by Gordon Greenberg.
The design team includes Beowulf Borritt (scenic design); Mattie Ullrich (costume design); Jeff Croiter (lighting design); Aaron Rhyne (projection design); and Jeremy Lee (sound design). The choreographer is Josh Rhodes. The Music Supervisor, who also created new arrangements and orchestrations, is Alex Lacamoire. Daniel Feyer is the Music Director.
The cast features Marie-France; Joe Cassidy; Donna Lynne Champlin; Jay Armstrong Johnson; Nehal Joshi; and Kenita Miller.
WORKING runs for a limited engagement through Sunday, December 30. The performance schedule is Tuesday – Thursday at 7:15 PM; Friday & Saturday at 8:15 PM; Sunday at 3:15PM. There is an additional performance on Thursday, December 27 at 3:15 PM. There are added Saturday matinee performances on December 22, and 29 at 2:15 PM. There is no performance on Tuesday, December 25. Performances take place at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues). Tickets are $45 ($30 for 59E59 Members; $60 for premium seating). For tickets, visit www.59e59.org
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Monday, December 17, 2012
"Bare" at New World Stages
“Bare” at New World Stages Music by Damon Intrabartolo Book and Lyrics by Jon Hartmere Directed by Stafford Arima Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
I have taught in urban high schools for the past eight years and have heard many stories from many students about being bullied and have been asked many important questions about coming out by LGBT students. One of the most touching queries came at an open house for middle school students trying to decide which high school to attend. After several questions about availability of Advanced Placement classes, number of science labs, and homework policy, a diminutive eighth-grader fixed his gaze upon mine and asked simply, “Will I be safe at this school?” As much as I wanted to offer him reassurance, I could not and chose to proffer a list of school policies about bullying instead.
High School is far too often not a safe place, particularly for those who are, in the words of Sister Joan in “Bare,” different, outsiders, strangers. “They fear the stranger” she tells Peter as he tries to sort out his unrequited love for Jason. It is Peter and Jason’s love affair that is at the heart of this reimagined “Bare,” currently playing at New World Stages. Peter is an out and proud gay young man. Jason is closeted and still dealing with his discovery of his authentic sexual status. Taylor Trensch (Peter) and Jason Hite (Jason) portray these passionate and loving Catholic boarding school teenage boys with sensitivity and compassion. Their love is complicated and challenged by friends, family, and faith and these three monumental forces ultimately derail the love affair between these latter day Montague-Capulet style lovers whose relationship is frustrated by the stars.
Their friends at the boarding school, particularly the boys, are portrayed as universally homophobic and this seems unlikely. However, the conflict is needed to bring the script to a climax. Jason’s father would not understand his son’s sexual status and Jason would not be likely to come out to his father whose only supportive mantra is, “Be a man!” This is not only hetreonormative but indicative of gender identity issues. On the other hand, Jason’s sister Nadia tries to protect her brother by stealing a cell phone which has an image of Jason and Peter kissing. Barrett Wilbert Weed capably exemplifies the quintessence of moral ambiguity throughout her performance as Nadia and delivers perhaps the most authentic performance in “Bare.”
All of the teenagers in “Bare” struggle with the meaning of faith: they want desperately to “find their way” through the mazes of doubt, despair, and decision-making. They search for help from a God they have been taught is there for them; however, their legitimate doubt wants to know, “Are you there?” And in “A Million Miles from Heaven” they also cry out to know “when things will get better.” For Jason and Peter, this is an authentic religious issue. Teens with a faith commitment need to know whether there is a divine being and if that being really cares about them. As Sister Joan and Peter attempt to commuicate to Father Mike, they need authenticity and empathy. Unfortunately, Sister Joan, like her 15th century namesake Joan of Arc, is chastised and punished (transferred) for insubordination, heterodoxy (unorthodoxy), and heresy by the homophobic clergy.
In its current incarnation, “Bare” successfully portrays teens suffering from a mild to severe angst about identity and future but needs to be more hard-hitting and edgy especially in relationship to the church. The creators and creative team need to clarify that the Roman Catholic Church’s stance on homosexuality, as well as that of other mainline religious denominations, is simply wrongheaded and perhaps even evil. The church needs to “kiss the broken hearts” of teens like Jason and Peter and not condemn them.
The trope of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” serves the book, music, and lyrics of “Bare” with authority and hegemony but is somewhat defrauded at the musical’s critical moment: Jason’s suicide. Jason’s death should have followed through with the death scene in “Romeo and Juliet.” The white light through the portal to heaven trivializes the powerful moment of Jason’s redemptive death. This should be the cathartic moment for Peter to inexorably snag the role of Juliet.
Everything works in this production of “Bare:” music, books and lyrics, direction, choreography, set, costumes, lighting, and sound. All that is needed is a better resolution to Jason’s death: his suicide should not honor traditional religious after-life white light imagery. Taylor Trensch's Peter can handle the scene all on his own.
BARE
“Bare” is presented by Randy Taradash, Paul Boskind and Martian Entertainment, and Gregory Rae and features music by Damon Intrabartolo and book & lyrics by Jon Hartmere. It is directed by Olivier® Award nominee Stafford Arima and choreographed by Emmy® Award nominee Travis Wall. Additional music is by Hartmere and Lynne Shankel. Music supervision and arrangements are also by Lynne Shankel. The “Bare” creative team includes Tony® Award-winner Donyale Werle as the scenic designer, costume design by Tristan Raines, lighting design by Tony® Award-winner Howell Binkley, and sound design by Keith Caggiano.
The company features Taylor Trensch (Peter), Jason Hite (Jason) and Elizabeth Judd (Ivy), with Gerard Canonico (Matt), Jerold E. Solomon (Father Mike), Barrett Wilbert Weed (Nadia) and Missi Pyle (Sister Joan). They will be joined by Anthony Festa (Swing/Vanessa on 12/08), Casey Garvin (Zack), Ariana Groover (Vanessa), Sara Kapner (Madison), Alice Lee (Diane), Megan Lewis (Swing), Justin Gregory Lopez (Beto), Michael Tacconi (Nick) and Alex Wyse (Alan).
“Bare” runs Off-Broadway at New World Stages (340 West 50th Street) through April 28, 2012. Tickets to “Bare” may be purchased via www.Telecharge.com, by calling 212-239-6200 or in person at the New World Stages box office (340 West 50th Street between 8th and 9th Avenue). Ticket prices range from $25 (front row, night of performance, with student ID) to $126.50 (premium). Regular price tickets are $89.75. All ticket prices include a $1.50 facility fee. Please visit Telecharge.com for a complete preview performance schedule as well as holiday performance schedules. The regular performance schedule will be Monday at 8pm, Wednesday – Saturda
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Thursday, December 13, 2012
"A Civil War Christmas" at the New York Theatre Workshop
“A Civil War Christmas” at the New York Theatre Workshop By Paula Vogel Directed by Tina Landau Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
“Thus in silence in dreams' projections, Returning, resuming, I thread my way through the hospitals, The hurt and wounded I pacify with soothing hand, I sit by the restless all the dark night, some are so young, Some suffer so much, I recall the experience sweet and sad, (Many a soldier's loving arms about this neck have cross'd and rested, Many a soldier's kiss dwells on these bearded lips.)”
-Walt Whitman (From “The Wound-Dresser,” 1865)
Paula Vogel’s “A Civil War Christmas” is a profound and uplifting story of the events that occur in the nation’s capitol (and other locations) on Christmas Eve in 1864. A group of actors addresses the audience, and then dons the costumes of a variety of characters including President Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln. Karen Kandel says, “Welcome to our story. The season is upon us, and whether it’s Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or New Year’s—it’s a time when we feel our connection to a larger community.”
It is that connection that ignites Ms. Vogel’s script and emboldens the ensemble cast as its members share stories from that 1864 Civil War Christmas about the need then and now to “beat swords into plowshares.” These stories, which are the result of Ms. Vogel’s two years of research, transcend all boundaries of age, class, sex, race, religion, and politics. They are all stories of “redemption and release”
It is not possible to share all of the stories in “A Civil War Christmas” or highlight all of the engaging performances that bring these stories to levels of significant engagement with the members of the audience. This is one of the most generous casts imaginable: one actor or group of actors “passes off” to another seamlessly and proffers a visceral, visual and impassioned redemptive repast for “the sin sick soul.” These are stories of soldiers, slaves, freedmen, politicians, adult citizens, and children all ensnared in the complex web of the birthing of freedom.
Three narratives deserve special mention and stand out because of the exceptional quality of Paula Vogel’s writing, Tina Landau’s inventive direction, and the bravura performances delivered by “A Civil War Christmas’s” brilliant cast. All three are supported by the successful performances of Bob Stillman and Alice Ripley who, as Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln, portray the collective unconscious of the nation finding its way forward to freedom.
The first narrative recounts Sgt. Decatur Bronson’s attempt to get a pass to his farm from which his wife Rose was kidnapped. K. Todd Freeman and Amber Iman infuse these characters – one in real time and one in memory – with a haunting realism. Amber Iman appears in the second narrative as Hannah who believes so strongly in President Lincoln that she travels from the South with her daughter Jessa to speak directly to him and claim her new life. When Jessa protests and wants to return home, Hannah proclaims, “It’s not home since they sold your father last week. It’s not Home if you and I can’t learn to read. It’s not Home if we can’t go up the road without a paper we couldn’t be taught to read saying we got permission to go up the road! So! We’re gonna find us a Home where I don’t have to watch your back when you get older. Or worry about the Master selling you. Mr. Lincoln said we’re free, and God gave us legs to walk.” Ms. Iman’s portrayal of hope resonates with the hope America embraces when Barack Obama is elected as President of the United States. Sumaya Boiuhbal is the powerhouse Jessa who performs and sings with skills beyond her years.
The final narrative is that of Walt Whitman’s role in this Christmas Eve saga. Portrayed with confident compassion by Sean Allan Krill, Whitman is overcome by the suffering of the many wounded in Washington and decides to stay and work in the hospitals and stays in the city for eleven years. Whitman’s interaction with Moses Levy (Jonathan-David) anchors the play in the humanity needed to “bring the jubilee.”
There is one group missing from “A Civil War Christmas,” a group which now as then, years for peace on earth. It is somewhat surprising that Ms. Vogel did not include the LGBT community (there is a rich history of homosexuality during the War Between the States) especially since the role of Walt Whitman was featured so dramatically.
Also of interest, James Harlan, Senator during the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, fired Walt Whitman from his job as a clerk for the Department of the Interior when Harlan discovered Whitman was the author of “Leaves of Grass.” There can be no peace on earth until all of God’s children are free and equal: equal in life, in love, in marriage, and in justice.
“A Civil War Christmas” goes the creative distance to inspire its audiences to take seriously the issues that divide the globe’s citizens one from another and to conspire to move forward to “build us a temple of freedom.”
A CIVIL WAR CHRISTMAS
“A Civil War Christmas” is presented by New York Theatre Workshop, written by Paula Vogel, and directed by Tina Landau. The music supervision and arrangements for “A Civil War Christmas” are by Daryl Waters; the musical director is Andrew Resnick; scenic design is by James Schuette; costume design is by Toni-Leslie James; lighting design is by Scott Zielinski; sound design is by Jill BC Du Boff; production stage manager is Lori Lundquist.
The cast of “A Civil War Christmas” includes Sumaya Bouhbal, K. Todd Freeman, Chris Henry, Rachel Spencer Hewitt, Antwayn Hopper, Amber Iman, Jonathan-David, Karen Kandel, Sean Allan Krill, Alice Ripley, and Bob Stillman. “A Civil War Christmas” plays at New York Theatre Workshop, 79 East 4th Street, between second Avenue and Bowery. The regular performance schedule is Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:00pm; Thursday and Friday at 8:00pm; Saturday at 3pm and 8pm; Sunday at 2pm and 7pm. “A Civil War Christmas” runs through December 30. Tickets start at $70 and may be purchased online at www.ticketcentral.com, 24 hours a day, seven days a week or by phoning Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200. For exact dates and times of performance, visit www.nytw.org. The running time is 2 hours and 30 minutes including one 15-minute intermission.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Wednesday, December 5, 2012
"A Summer Day" at the Cherry Lane Theatre
“A Summer Day” at the Cherry Lane Theatre Written by Jon Fosse Translated and Directed by Sarah Cameron Sunde Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Like her spirit-sister Penelope, the Older Woman in “A Summer Day” waits patiently and anxiously for the return of her “man of the sea” Asle who left one rainy, windy autumn afternoon many years ago on his Odysseus-like epic journey of self-discovery. Jon Fosse’s “A Summer Day” chronicles one day of remembrance for this woman who years ago watched her partner in life walk away from their house on the bay, never to return.
What occurs when the key component of ones life is torn away from the fabric of the present and relegated to the complex realm of memory? In Jon Fosse’s new play, the key component is the only character with a name: Asle. The Older Woman, because she never saw Asle’s body in a coffin, spends her days expecting him to return: if no one can confirm that Asle is dead, there is a life-long chance he will walk in the door, explain where he has been “all these years” and allow life to go on as though nothing unusual ever happened. And that is exactly what Karen Allen’s “Older Woman” does day in and day out: she stands in front of the same window she watches Asle departure and waits for him to return.
From the crevices of her gray matter and all those places where memory resides, the Older Woman recalls to the stage of her recollections all those who were with her the night of Asle’s “loss:” the Older Woman in her youth (Samantha Soule); Asle (McCaleb Burnett); her friend who visited that night (Maren Bush); and her friend’s husband (Carlo Alban). The stage (kudos to designer John McDermott) becomes the gray matter itself as the Older Woman searches for some meaning in Asle’s disappearance. This ensemble, including the Older Friend (Pamela Shaw) electrifies the stage in the same way the memories zap over the synapses of the Older Woman’s brain. They deliver performances that are both breathtaking and mind-bending.
Grounded in ear-splitting silence, Karen Allen enlivens the character of the Older Woman with an ease that is eerie. As the Older Woman rehearses the autumn night Asle leaves and disappeares into the night, she re-members (literally re-builds) the characters who were with her that same night. Ms. Allen re-creates every nuance of a perpetually grieving woman who will not give up on her lover’s return from the realm of the lost.
“A Summer Day” is accessible through any of the traditional critical strategies for approaching rich text: formalist critics can relish in Mr. Fosse’s language, structure, and tone; those who lens is biographical can wonder if elements of the playwright’s life are being played out on stage; gender critics can explore the script’s feminist underpinnings or wonder whether Asle might have been gay; there is a clear mythological approach to viewing and understanding “A Summer Day” as an epic journey; and the psychological approach or lens is perhaps the most challenging.
“A Summer Day” connects to very deep places in the human psyche where memory-laden emotions, like waves, crash upon the conscious mind leaving the one remembering emptied. Is it not until sometime later that the audience member begins to sort out what subconscious and/or unconscious journey the script has initiated and this journey can be quite messy. Not only, as director Sarah Cameron Sunde writes, does “A Summer Day” counterpoint with the “complicated and messy way life is,” the play counterpoints with the complicated and messy way the human mind is.
A SUMMER DAY
Presented by Rattlestick Playwrights Theater (David Van Asselt, Artistic Director and Brian Long, Managing Director) by special arrangement with The Cherry Lane Theatre. Written by Jon Fosse. Translated and directed by Sarah Cameron Sunde. The creative team includes John McDermott (set design), Deb O (costume design), Nicole Pearce (lighting design), and Leah Gelpe (sound design).
WITH: Carlo Alban (The Man), Karen Allen (Older Woman), McCaleb Burnett (Asle), Maren Bush (Younger Friend), Pamela Shaw (Older Friend), and Samantha Soule (Younger Woman).
“A Summer Day” runs through Saturday December 8, 2012 on the following performance schedule: Tuesday through Friday at 8:00 p.m.; Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.; and Sunday at 3:00 p.m. Performances are at the Cherry Lane Theater, 38 Commerce Street, New York, NY. Running time is 80 minutes with no intermission. All tickets are $76.00 and can be purchased by calling 1-866-811-4111 or by visiting https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/cal/32995 . For more information on the Cherry Lane Theater, please visit http://www.cherrylanetheatre.org/.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Monday, December 3, 2012
"Forever Dusty" at New World Stages/Stage 5
“Forever Dusty” at New World Stages Book by Kirsten Holly Smith and Jonathan Vankin Directed by Randal Myler Reviewed by Joseph Verlezza Theatre Reviews Limited
There is more than one reason to see “Forever Dusty” the new musical now playing at New World Stages. First and foremost are the songs made famous by the legendary Dusty Springfield who broke stride and followed a controversial career in the music industry. Next is listening to Kristen Holly Smith who brings to life the voice, style, and image of this iconic songstress. Last but not least is the stunning performance of Christina Sajous as Dusty’s longtime companion Claire whose vocal turns shatter the stage. All of this is supported by a fully capable and talented cast and makes for an enjoyable evening of entertainment.
On the flip side, there are also problems with the musical which need to be addressed. Because “Forever Dusty” is performed in ninety minutes with no intermission, there is little time to create a substantial book. As a result, the dramatic force of Springfield’s troubled life suffers, as do the actors who try to portray this biography with a script of short vignettes strung together with the singer’s megahits. This possibly contributes to some melodrama and overacting in order to stress some important points. Although the narrative may be informative there is not enough substance to allow the audience to become emotionally involved with the characters.
What make this show worthwhile are the musical performances of this small cast and talented musicians. Ms. Smith captures the spirit of Dusty Springfield’s vocal style and admiration of the Motown sound. Her voice is strong, clear and gutsy, seizing the emotional quality reminiscent of that era. Ms. Sajous is electric with her first solo “Tell Him” and keeps the vocal sparks flying throughout her performance. Her vocals are incredible packing a surge of energy into every lyric that shatters the stage and leaves the audience wanting more.
This critic’s suggestion is to lengthen the show and concentrate on a better script or shorten it to a tribute concert with some informative chatter, in a cabaret setting. But for now go and enjoy an entertaining evening of music and nostalgia.
FOREVER DUSTY
Presented by Leslie Brockett, Jorja Fox. Jane Gullong, and Sandalphon Productions (Eva Price Executive Producer) at New World Stages/Stage 5. Book by Kirsten Holly Smith and Jonathan Vankin. Directed by Randal Myler. The creative team includes Wilson Chin (set design), Nancy A. Palmatier (costume design), Richard Dibella (lighting and projection design), Paul Huntley (wig design), and Matt Kraus (sound design).
WITH: Ashley Betton, Benim Foster, Sean Patrick Hopkins, Jonathan C. Kaplan, Christina Sajous, Colleen Sexton, and Kirsten Holly Smith.
All performances of “Forever Dusty” are at New World Stages/Stage 5, 340 West 50th Street (between 8th and 9th Avenues), New York, NY and run on the following schedule: Monday @ 7pm, Wednesday @ 2:30pm & 8pm, Thursday & Friday @ 8pm, Saturday @ 2:30pm & 8pm, Sunday @ 3pm. Tickets are $79.00 and $69.00 and can be purchased at the New World Stages Box Office or by visiting http://www.foreverdusty.com/. There are special performance times and ticket prices for the holiday: be sure to check with the box office for a complete schedule.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Sunday, December 2, 2012
"Skin Tight" at 59E59 Theater C
“Skin Tight” at 59E59 Theater C By Gary Henderson Directed by Nick Flint Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Inspired by the iconic poem “The Magpies” by New Zealand poet Denis Glover, Gary Henderson’s “Skin Tight” leans heavily on the human heart as it rehearses the vicissitudes of human life, particularly the lives of Elizabeth and Tom who are preparing, perhaps in Tom’s memory, for the ultimate gift one human can give to another: preparing one’s lover‘s body for burial.
“Skin Tight” goes far beyond Glover’s poem about a couple whose farm goes into bankruptcy, the woman dies, and the man goes mad all to the tune of the song of the magpies. The counterpoint between the couple’s saga and the magpies’ recurring refrain is haunting and powerful. In “Skin Tight” Sarah-Jane Casey and Peter Saide give the poem’s Elizabeth and Tom (same names) a new dimension, a back story, and an engaging sixty-minute visual and visceral image of the relationship.
Ms. Casey and Mr. Saide wrestle, hug, battle, embrace, scream, and whisper their way through the past, present, and future of their relationship. Gary Henderson fills in the nooks and crannies of Glover’s poem with the rich details of Elizabeth and Tom’s life and love: they remember all “the little annoyances” that true love brings: their wedding, Tom’s absence during the war, Elizabeth’s affair, and their estranged daughter. The acting and the direction are simply brilliant and not to be missed.
Audience members can connect with this piece on many levels which is the hallmark of its success. I am not sure why the director (playwright) chooses to have an old Tom cross the stage at the end cutting an apple the way the young Tom did: this action is not necessary and for this critic detracts from the power of the work. Hopefully, it was not added to allow the actors time to robe before the curtain call. Just let the work be: these gifted and graced actors can make it work. Hopefully New York audiences will have the opportunity to see this beautiful work again in the near future.
SKIN TIGHT
By Gary Henderson. Directed by Nick Flint. The design team includes James Hunting (set design); Mike Riggs (lighting design); Christine Kahler (costume design); and Scott Fetterman (sound design). The play features an original score by Estelle Bajou. Natalie Lomonte (former dance captain for Broadway’s Spiderman) is the choreographer.
WITH: Sarah-Jane Casey (Elizabeth) and Peter Saide (Tom).
SKIN TIGHT run s for a limited engagement through Saturday, December 1. The performance schedule is Tuesday – Thursday at 7:30 PM; Friday and Saturday at 8:30 PM; 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 Friday, November 30, 2012
Baby Jane Dexter: "The Rules of the Road" at the Metropolitan Room
Baby Jane Dexter: The Rules of the Road At The Metropolitan Room Musical Director: Ross Patterson Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
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: THE RULES OF THE ROAD
Baby Jane Dexter appears at The Metropolitan Room on the following schedule: Fridays November 30, December 7, 14, and 21 and Saturdays December 1, 8, 15, and 22. All performances are 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 Thursday, November 29, 2012
"The Outgoing Tide" at 59E59 Theater A
The Outgoing Tide
“The Outgoing Tide” at 59E59 Theater A By Bruce Graham Directed by Bud Martin Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
When the tide goes out on the Chesapeake Bay, danger lurks for the living creatures left behind: vulnerability for the myriad of clams washed up on the shore that become “fresh seafood” in prestigious local Delaware restaurants; and double jeopardy for the humans left with raw emotions and hidden agendas strewn along the beach.
The detritus uncovered in Bruce Graham’s “The Outgoing Tide” is the fallout from the dysfunctional Concannon family’s meltdown after husband and father Gunner clashes with wife and mother Peg over Gunner’s present and future battles with dementia. Complicating the carnage is the presence of son Jack who Gunner has mysteriously invited for a visit to the family compound on the Bay.
Graham skillfully constructs believable conflicts that create connections. On the surface, “The Outgoing Tide” is about a retired Teamster trucker who is facing placement in a long-term care facility because of his encroaching dementia. However, except in a thank-you note in the program, dementia or Alzheimer’s is never mentioned. One could connect to Gunner’s struggle to stay out of the facility and broker his own deal. But that is only the most transparent level of the complex of conflicts Graham offers the viewer through the lens of Bud Martin’s skillful direction.
Beneath the surface of the undulating tide and churned up by its ebbs and flows are years of family system dystopia: Gunner and Peg married young after Peg became pregnant with Jack and the couple has managed to survive the vicissitudes of marriage with some semblance of grace; Gunner and Jack have had a tumultuous relationship and Gunner is feeling regret about the verbal and psychological abuse heaped upon Jack during his formative years; Jack, too, married young and has been unsuccessful in his attempts at parenting Tim.
Peg is unable to cope with Gunner’s mental unraveling and wants to place him in a long-term care facility. Weary of years of doing “what she is good at,” taking care of her family, Peg can no longer take care of Gunner – or perhaps she is just tired of “taking care.” Gunner regrets the things he said to Jack when Jack preferred baking with Peg to baseball with him, things like, “I was afraid to be seen with the goddamn kid.” And Jack wants out of his failed marriage and to be released from any further parenting responsibilities for Tim.
All of this foment comes into sharp and explosive focus when Gunner discloses his own plan to deal with his decline into madness. Unable to draw on enough mulligans to undo the damaged past, Gunner decides to follow the paths of confession, forgiveness, and reconciliation.
The cast pulls out all of the rhetorical punches to make Graham’s script accessible. Each is able to convince the audience he or she speaks from experience (ethos); each is capable of delivering an emotional appeal (pathos); each argues successfully for her or his plan of action (logos). Michael Learned’s Peg knows what it means to sacrifice individuality for corporate/family success. Peter Strauss’s Gunner appeals to his wife and son to accept his decision to “tie up loose ends” and take his own life for the welfare of his survivors. And Ian Lithgow’s Jack accepts the logic of his father’s insistence he settle his divorce in twenty-four hours (only to discover Gunner’s hidden purpose later). This gifted cast delivers on every level and, with generosity to one another and to the audience, creates believable and convincing characters who share joy and sorrow with genuine tears.
With the tide serving as a trope (extended metaphor) for all of life’s vicissitudes, Bruce Graham’s brilliant script invites the audience to explore its only emotional matrix and further explore all the ways we humans gift one another and are gifted; all the ways we grace others and allow ourselves to be graced by them; the need we mortals have to forgive one another and sometimes have the courage to ask for forgiveness.
Gunner ultimately does not want to lose control of his life and it is the tide which teaches him about death: “one thing about dying, you can do whatever you want.” Finally, Peg is able to let Gunner do what he has to do to maintain his dignity and rescue what’s left of his family. And, forgiven and blessed by his father, Jack is able to accept himself, all his faults, his apparent failures as a husband and father, and toss a flat stone casually into the Bay and hear it – for the first time – skip more than twice, matching Gunner’s five-skip record. The old has passed away and everything has become fresh and new.
“The Outgoing Tide” surges with the kind of passion needed in theatre and is a must-see before it closes on December 16, 2012.
THE OUTGOING TIDE
Presented by the Delaware Theatre Company (Bud Martin, Executive Director). By Bruce Graham. Directed by Bud Martin. Set design by Dirk Durossette, costume design by Wade Laboissonnier, lighting design by James Leitner, and sound design by David O’Connor.
WITH: Michael Learned (Peg), Ian Lithgow (Jack), and Peter Strauss (Gunner).
THE OUTGOING TIDE plays a limited engagement through Sunday December 16, 2012. The performance schedule is Tuesday – Thursday at 7:00 PM; Friday at 8:00 PM; Saturday at 2:00 PM and 8:00 PM; and Sunday at 3:00 PM and 7:00 PM. Performances are at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues). Tickets are $60 ($42.00 for 59E59 Members). Tickets can be purchased in person at 58E59 Theaters Box Office, by calling Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 or by visiting www.TicketCentral.com. For more information, visit www.59e59.org.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Jennifer Sheehan at the Metropolitan Room
Jennifer Sheehan at the Metropolitan Room “I Know A Place: Spend A Night in the Sensational ‘60s!” Music Direction by James Followell Reviewed by David Roberts and Joseph Verlezza Theatre Reviews Limited
One of the most significant elements of Jennifer Sheehan’s return engagement to the Metropolitan Room with her show appropriately titled “I Know A Place: Spend A Night in the 60’s is its ability to embrace the lyric written during that era. That decade which lived up to the familiar phrase “musical revolution” produced a collective of paramount artists that transitioned from pop to Motown, the British invasion, the Beatles, soft rock, and folk rock. The era’s music that captured joy and optimism and subsequently faded into a searching lyric that questioned human nature, ended with a pulse of anger as poets’ words were sung in protest of a nation at war.
What is most remarkable and intriguing is the emotional translation given by Ms. Sheehan to every facet of each genre. Her voice is pure and bold, trained and truthful. This is not a sentimental remembrance of how it was; this is present and as the lyrics unfold she captures the moment and understands the purpose of that moment, infusing words with emotion, sometimes melting your heart or bringing a tear to your eye as you are swept away to a familiar place. The experience is real, never clouded with soppy theatrics unless those histrionics are provided to punctuate or stress the poignancy of the experience. The program moves swiftly with the musical numbers interspersed with a more intimate conversational patter that is sometimes personal and always informative. All of this results in an engaging friendship with her audience.
Jennifer Sheehan guides the audience through an extensive history of the music of the 1960’s. It is remarkable to see a vocalist who did not “live the ‘60’s” capture the essence of the decade’s vicissitudes with such a degree of authenticity and compassion. Ms. Sheehan not only renders these gifts of the ‘60’s with vocal dexterity, she also captures the subtle nuances of the music with uncanny accuracy.
Using the lyric from Tony Hatch’s “I Know A Place,” Ms. Sheehan explores all the places physical, emotional, and spiritual that characterized the 1960’s: “I know a place where we can go/I know a place where the lights are low/You're gonna love this place I know/I know a place where we can go.” The evening’s program is consistently engaging; however, there are a few “places” in the evening that deserve special note. The Burt Bacharach and Hal David medley and the Beatles medley capture the essence of an era flooded with themes of relationship and love. Ms. Sheehan exhibits remarkable vocal control throughout these important songs.
When she shares her renditions of Paul Simon’s “Old Friends” and “Bookends” and Joni Mitchell and Randy Newman’s “Both Sides Now” and “Think It’s Going to Rain Today,” Jennifer displays her persuasive vocal skills to draw the audience into the eye of the era’s emotional storm. The love that “made the world go round” (Bob Merrill) is that same love that underscores the lyrics of Stephen Sondheim’s “With So Little to be Sure Of” and Ms. Sheehan successfully explores the subtleties of that love that transfixed and transformed an era.
The music of the 1960’s chronicled the changes in the decade from a time of hope to a time of deep questioning about the future of humankind. Jennifer Sheehan’s knowledge of this era is exact and profound. With the last album in 1969, 1970 marked the “end of an era.” Sheehan celebrates the high ideals of the 1960’s, the high ideals, the struggle for self-awareness, the desire for unity, the quest for self-awareness.
JENNIFER SHEEHAN – “I KNOW A PLACE: SPEND A NIGHT IN THE SENSATIONAL ‘60s!”
Jennifer Sheehan’s final appearance at The Metropolitan Room is on Saturday October 27 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 Saturday, October 27, 2012
"No Fear Shakespeare's Richard III" at the 4th Street Theatre
“No Fear Shakespeare’s Richard III” By William Shakespeare (Edited by John Crowther) Directed by Shannon Fillion Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Barnes & Noble’s “No Fear Shakespeare” is a successful series of Shakespeare’s plays which provide not only the complete text of each original play but also “a line-by-line translation that puts Shakespeare into everyday language.” Countless middle school, high school, and college students have used the series for a thorough introduction and exposition of Shakespeare’s works. The “translation” is not meant to replace students’ grappling with the original text but a vehicle to approach the often difficult text of the original without fear and to make the text more accessible.
The question is whether the translation into everyday language is the stuff of performance and the answer is a resounding ‘yes’ as evidenced by the Facing Page Productions’ “No Fear Shakespeare’s Richard III” currently running at the 4th Street Theatre in Manhattan. Directed with precision by Shannon Fillion, the thirteen member ensemble cast effectively portrays Richard III’s Machiavellian meteoric ascent to the throne of England and his equally dramatic paranoia-driven fall from power.
Although it might be easier to read Shakespeare in everyday English, it is more difficult to perform Shakespeare in everyday modern English. Shakespeare’s vernacular is not 21st century American vernacular. Shakespeare wrote in iambic pentameter, the meter that most closely imitates natural speech: it is also the meter that matches the beat of the human heart. Unless actors can bring that authenticity and humanity to the “street language” of the 21st century, the passion of Shakespeare is lost and the conflicts of the characters fall flat and the action is without any persuasive power. In other words, it is completely up to the individual actor to bring the pathos and the ethos of the text to life through their understanding of and interpretation of their given lines.
Most successful at this daunting task is Luke Forbes who plays the title role with delicious and devilish authenticity. Mr. Forbes has discovered an effective way to portray Richard’s entire emotional vault: his pain, his anger, his jealousy, his deep emotional and physical malaise, his hate, his ambition, his love, his passion, his self-destructive core. Forbes has also settled on a physical persona which thoughtfully embraces Richard’s "rudely stamp'd", deformed, unfinish'd” body. Luke Forbes is brilliant as Richard III and his bravura performance lends a stamp of authenticity to the performances of the rest of the cast which vary broadly in successful execution.
Most effective in enlivening the contemporary English are Frank De Julio (Buckingham), Zak Kamin (Clarence), Ryan McCurdy (Tyrrel), Jeffrey Omura (Catesby), Becca Schneider (Anne), and Brian Sell (King Edward). The remainder of the cast was effective in their roles and stretched hard to make their characters real and believable.
Lux Haac’s costumes match the everyday language beautifully and revert back to Elizabethan elegance when appropriate to the specific character. Mode matches mood perfectly. Anshuman Bhatia’s scenic and lighting design create an effective setting and tone and Kortney Barber’s sound design brings in eerie strains of internal and external conflict. The entire cast and creative team of “No Fear Shakespeare’s Richard III” deserves acclaim for bringing this world premiere to the 4th Street Thetre stage.
Finally, Luke Forbes makes Richard’s realization that he is alone in the world counterpoint with our own national, global, and personal existential angst.
NO FEAR SHAKESPEARE’S RICHARD III
Presented by Facing Page Productions. Directed by Shannon Fillion. Scenic and Lighting Design by Anshuman Bhatia. Sound Design by Kortney Barber. Costume Design by Lux Haac.
WITH: Frank De Julio (Buckingham), Tod Engle (Stanley), Danielle Faitelson (Queen Elizabeth), Luke Forbes (Richard), Amy Hattemer (Princess Elizabeth), Jara Jones (Hastings), Zak Kamin (Clarence), Joshua Levine (Rivers), Ryan McCurdy (Tyrrel), Robyn Maitland (Queen Margaret), Jeffrey Omura (Catesby), Becca Schneider (Anne), and Brian Sell (King Edward).
“No Fear Shakespeare’s Richard III” plays at the 4th Street Theatre, 83 East 4th Street in New York, New York through November 3rd, 2012. For further information about the show, including performance schedule and ticket information, visit http://www.facingpageproductions.com/
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Saturday, October 27, 2012
"Don't Go Gentle" at the Lucille Lortel Theatre
Photo by Joan Marcus
“Don’t Go Gentle” By Stephen Belber Directed by Lucie Tiberghien Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
When Dylan Thomas’s father was nearing death, the poet wrote in his now famous villanelle, “Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” After rehearsing how wise, good, wild, and grave men “burn and rave” at the close of their days, Thomas encourages his father to “Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.” Whatever occurred during their history, at the time of his father’s death, Dylan Thomas welcomed his father’s rage and anger, and cursing in addition to any paternal bestowed blessing.
In Stephen Belber’s fascinating and challenging play with a title derived (one would assume) from Dylan Thomas’s 1951 villanelle, there is no such father/daughter son reunion to be had for the dying Ben. In “Don’t Go Gentle,” currently playing at the Lucille Lortel Theatre as part of MCC Theatre’s 2012/13 Season, Ben’s adult children Lawrence and Amelia abandon him at the very time he perhaps needs them most. Or are they simply reacting in a logical way to what they perceive as Ben abandoning them?
The brilliance of Mr. Belber’s work (here and elsewhere) is his exacting skill in creating situations where delicious moral ambiguity resides. “Don’t Go Gentle” is so well written, that it often becomes difficult to discern who the protagonist is and who the antagonists are. This is not an easy task for a writer and Stephen Belber does it with grace and style.
Ben is a retired judge who is recovering from surgery after the “successful” removal of abdominal cancer and is most easily identified as the play’s protagonist is. His daughter Amelia lives with him and has become his primary caregiver. His addicted son Lawrence is visiting before starting a job-search and is staying for two weeks to help Amelia. Lawrence’s return to the family system causes frequent bursts of anger from son and father and a resurgence of Amelia’s long-time role as family system peace keeper.
All of this family angst is exacerbated when Ben agrees to help a young African American woman who was wrongly charged and whose recent brush with the law should have only been categorized as a misdemeanor. In Ben’s attempt to help Tanya he also assists her high school son Rasheed through some public school administrative bungling. And this new relationship results in Tanya and Rasheed moving in with Ben until Tanya can find a job and they find a home.
Why is this gesture of goodwill so explosive an issue? Apparently, Ben has not been the most attentive of fathers to Lawrence and Amelia and they, particularly Lawrence, feel resentment that Ben is now exhibiting “appropriate” fatherly generosity and care to two seeming strangers. This behavior results in Ben creating a trust that will give the family home to Tanya and Rasheed upon his death. This decision, when shared with his children, opens the very gates of hell.
Throughout “Don’t Go Gentle “and under Lucie Tiberghien’s skillful direction, actors David Wilson Barnes (Ben), Maxx Brawer (Rasheed), Michael Cristofer (Lawrence), Angela Lewis (Tanya), and Jennifer Mudge (Amelia) enliven and embolden Belber’s script so successfully that just as soon as the audience latches onto a character as heroic and bold, the script dashes him or her into the role of a cowardly antihero. For example, the audience has to decide (along with Tanya and Rasheed) whether Ben’s trust fund offer is is a genuine offer of support or a demeaning charitable offer from a guilt-ridden former judge. The exchanges after the turning point rival the action of the best video games. Characters scramble for cover as issues of race, sex, and money threaten to undo everything Ben has attempted to accomplish since meeting Tanya. Who here is guiltless and who is guilty? What motivates each character to do what she or he does? Who is right and who is wrong? Do those archaic mortal parameters even exist? Each actor serves the moral ambiguity of the piece with impeccable craft and leaves the audience wondering with whom to “side” and against whom to rail.
Robin Vest’s scenic design and Matthew Richards’ lighting design complement every move made on the stage. And the subtlety of Fabian Obispo’s sound design and original compositions is often as surprising as it is appropriately off-putting. Jenny Mannis’ costumes are spot on in every scene.
“Don’t Go Gentle” will not treat you gently: you will be required to put many preconceptions behind and face not only hidden truths as they unfold on the stage, but hidden truths that reside deep in the hearts and minds of all in the audience. Please do not miss this important play.
DON’T GO GENTLE
“Don’t Go Gentle” is presented by MCC THEATER (Robert LuPone, Bernard Telsey, William Cantler, Artistic Directors; Blake West, Executive Director) and directed by Lucie Tiberghien. Scenic Design is by Robin Vest, Costume Design is by Jenny Mannis, Lighting Design is by Matthew Richards, and Sound Design and Original Compositions are by Fabian Obispo.
WITH: David Wilson Barnes (Ben), Maxx Brawer (Rasheed), Michael Cristofer (Lawrence), Angela Lewis (Tanya), and Jennifer Mudge (Amelia).
Performances began at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher Street, NYC) on September 27, 2012 and continue through November 4, 2012. Tickets for “Don’t Go Gentle” are $59 and are available by visiting www.mcctheater.org or calling 212-352-3101. Tickets for “Really Really” (January 31 – March 10, 2013) and “Small Engine Repair” (May 16 – June 23, 2013) will go on-sale at a later date. Season subscriptions for all three 2012-2013 mainstage productions are priced at $115-$155 and are now available by visiting www.mcctheater.org. Additionally, MCC Theater offers a $60 “Under 30” subscription for patrons 30 years or younger as of September 27, 2012.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Thursday, October 25, 2012
"Broadway Gets Out the Vote" for President Obama
‘BROADWAY FOR OBAMA’ FOUNDERS CELIA KEENAN-BOLGER & ANDREW KEENAN-BOLGER ANNOUNCE A SECOND “BROADWAY GETS OUT THE VOTE” EVENT DUE TO POPULAR DEMAND
BROADWAY COMMUNITY AND FANS COME TOGETHER TO MAKE CALLS ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 29
PARTICIPANTS INCLUDE BROADWAY STARS NIKKI M. JAMES, RORY O’MALLEY, JOHN ELLISON CONLEE, ADAM CHANLER-BERAT, AND MORE
New York, NY (October 22, 2012) – Following the success of the first “Get Out the Vote” event on October 14th, Broadway for Obama founders (and Broadway siblings) Celia Keenan-Bolger (Peter and the Starcatcher) and Andrew Keenan-Bolger (Newsies) in association with Women For Obama have announced another “Broadway Gets Out the Vote” Phone Bank, to be held on Monday, October 29, from 6:30pm – 9:30pm at the offices of Telsey + Company (311 West 43rd Street, 10th Floor).
By the Numbers: At the first Broadway for Obama Phone Bank, more than 115 Broadway actors, fans and Obama supporters made 4500 calls to swing state Ohio. On October 29th, Broadway actors, including Nikki M. James (The Book of Mormon), Rory O’Malley (The Book of Mormon), John Ellison Conlee (MTC’s Murder Ballad), Adam Chanler-Berat (Peter and the Starcatcher), and fans will come together to make calls to voters in battleground states.
Honorary chair members for this edition of “Broadway Gets Out the Vote” include theater luminaries Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Vanessa Williams, Laura Benanti, Steven Pasquale, Christian Borle, Gavin Creel, Rick Elice, Roger Rees, Jordan Roth, Tom Schumacher, and Michael Urie.
To hear more about Broadway for Obama, meant to motivate and engage members of the Broadway community in Obama’s reelection campaign, watch the latest video from founders Celia Keenan-Bolger and Andrew Keenan-Bolger here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV3qUQaAz9k&feature=player_embedded
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Monday, October 22, 2012
"Bare: The Musical" Preview and Interview
“Bare: The Musical” Preview and Interview by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Set in a co-ed Catholic boarding school, “Bare” explores the subject of teens exposed to the issues of identity, sexuality and religion. With provocative lyrics and a thrilling rock score, the musical demonstrates how today’s generation is forced to navigate, for the first time, the tightrope between adolescence and adulthood and how far they will go to keep their world intact.
“Bare” begins previews Off-Broadway at New World Stages (340 West 50th Street) on Monday, November 19, 2012. Opening Night is set for Sunday, December 9, 2012. The company will feature Taylor Trensch (Peter), Jason Hite (Jason) and Elizabeth Judd (Ivy), with Gerard Canonico (Matt), Jerold E. Solomon (Father Mike), Barrett Wilbert Weed (Nadia) and Missi Pyle (Sister Joan). They will be joined by Casey Garvin (Zack), Ariana Groover (Vanessa), Sara Kapner (Madison), Nick Laughlin (Swing), Alice Lee (Diane), Megan Lewis (Swing), Justin Gregory Lopez (Beto), Michael Tacconi (Nick) and Alex Wyse (Alan).
Featuring music by Damon Intrabartolo and book and lyrics by Jon Hartmere, “Bare” will be directed by Olivier® Award nominee Stafford Arima (Carrie, Altar Boyz) and choreographed by Emmy® Award nominee Travis Wall (―So You Think You Can Dance‖). Additional songs are by Hartmere and Lynne Shankel (Altar Boyz, Cry-Baby, Company). Music supervision and arrangements are also by Lynne Shankel.
The producers of “Bare” (Randy Taradash, Paul Boskind and Martian Entertainment, and Gregory Rae) have formed a coalition with Athlete Ally, the Human Rights Campaign, Faith in America and The Tyler Clementi Foundation to champion anti-bullying, tolerance and equality. Together, they are committed to the important issues of creating safe spaces for teens; supporting institutions that embrace inclusion and diversity; addressing the use of language that is not reflective of the people who use it; identifying and increasing the number of straight allies; addressing religion-based bigotry; and encouraging those who witness bullying to become active “upstanders” and speak out against the bullying witnessed.
In a recent interview with Jason Hite who portrays Jason in “Bare,” Hite calls Jason “the role of a lifetime.” Hite’s character falls in love with Peter (portrayed by Taylor Trensch) in the Roman Catholic boarding school culture that forbids that authentic love. Mr. Hite embraces the “opportunity to be a significant straight ally” in his portrayal of Jason. He expresses gratitude that the role enables him to “reflect on his own behavior and his own use of language when he was in high school and, in the present, to make a difference.” To view behind the scenes look at the making of “Bare,” click http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=O0x6o5H1gEY
Tickets to “Bare” may be purchased via www.Telecharge.com, by calling 212-239-6200 or in person at the New World Stages box office (340 West 50th Street between 8th and 9th Avenue). Ticket prices range from $25 (front row with student ID) to $126.50 (premium). Regular price tickets are $89.75. All ticket prices include a $1.50 facility fee. Please visit Telecharge.com for a complete preview performance schedule as well as holiday performance schedules. The regular performance schedule will be Monday at 8pm, Wednesday – Saturday at 8pm, Saturday at 2:30pm, and Sunday at 3pm & 7:30pm.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Sunday, October 21, 2012
"Untying Love" at TADA! Theater
“Untying Love” at TADA! Theater Written by Peggy A. Willens Directed by Emma Berry Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Peggy Willens’ “Untying Love,” currently running at TADA! Theater, is more about the dynamics of family systems than it is about Carolyn’s death at a free-standing hospice facility. Indeed, the setting listed in the program (“in the kitchen of an American house”) might have served the characters and their conflicts better than a hospice facility. For this drama is a poignant recounting of what occurs when even one member of a family system undergoes self-initiated or event-initiated change.
Because I was on the professional team that developed the Hospice Program in a New York City suburb in the late 1980’s, I am completely familiar with the structure and operation of hospice care at home and in a free-standing facility. Ms. Willens provides the audience with the information they need to fully understand the setting of “Untying Love” and how the setting (time, place, mood) affect the grieving Chamberlain family.
Carolyn, the Chamberlain grandmother never seen in the play except through the eyes of her family, is dying of irreversible kidney disease and the end stage of her death has landed her in a hospice care facility. Her family, facing her imminent death, spins out of control as her anticipated death plays havoc with the Chamberlain family system. Each member of the family has to (unconsciously or consciously) scramble for a new place in the dynamic while the dysfunction of the family explodes as the position jockeying proceeds: who’s now the favorite; who’s the strongest; who’s the most respected; who’s the new scapegoat, etc.?
Jed Dickson is the son (Steven Chamberlain) who blames himself for his mother’s death because he was unable to convince her to accept one of his kidneys, a procedure that would have saved her life. He is jealous of his sister Cheryl and angry she has not arrived at the facility yet to bid her mother farewell. Mr. Dickson’s otherwise serviceable performance is marred by the laborious delivery of his lines: the first twenty minutes of the play are practically unbearable and Broadway veteran Nancy Hess as hospice volunteer Annie does her heroic best to move the pace of the opening scene along. In fact, despite the play’s important thematic strength, the pacing of the play needs attention by director Emma Berry. Currently the performance runs over 100 minutes and could easily be as effective at the 75 minute mark.
Despite the pacing, “Untying Love” and it’s committed ensemble cast provide authentic portrayals of a family caught in the early stages of bereavement. The actors work hard to enliven Ms. Willens’ script which often becomes more didactic than it needs to be. Again, the scenes that deal with authentic human conflict are the most effective. The audience learns more about the vicissitudes of life, death, and dying from actors plying their craft than from monologues about the stages of bereavement.
Special mention to Simon MacLean who brings authenticity to his character Chip who, as Steven’s brother, struggles to make sense of his son Davey’s (John Mateyko) rage and to celebrate his wife Pauline’s (Nancy Nagrant) ability to navigate the battlefield of his nuclear family. Nancy Hess and Rodrigo Lopresti make the lives of hospice volunteers both believable and understandable: Mr. Lopresti’s portrayal of Mark is touching, especially when he outlines the “four gifts” of saying good-bye. Marie Marshall and Kyla Schoer provide the audience with credible performances as Cheryl Chamberlain and Isabelle Chamberlain respectively.
As I left the theatre, I was offered tissues. This gesture confused me. Why would the creative team assume I would be crying? Audience members need the freedom to react to drama in their own unique way. Furthermore, there is a higher probability that an audience might shed tears if director Emma Berry rethinks her staging of “Untying Love” and addresses the current pacing of the performance.
UNTYING LOVE
“Untying Love” is presented by Opalescent Productions. Director: Emma Berry; Scenic Design: Tim McMath; Costume Designer: Kristine Koury; Lighting Designer: Lois Catanzaro; Fight Choreographer: Gael Schaefer; Stage Manager: Emily Bible; Casting Director: Jamibeth Margolis, CSA; Publicist: Paul Siebold.
WITH: Jed Dickson (Steven Chamberlain), Nancy Hess (Annie), Rodrigo Lopresti (Mark), Simon MacLean (Chip Chamberlain), Marie Marshall (Cheryl Chamberlain), John Mateyko (Davey Chambderlain), Nancy Nagrant (Pauline Chamberlain), and Kyla Schoer (Isabelle Chamberlain).
All performances of “Untying Love” at TADA! Theater, 15 West 28th Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10001. The performance schedule is October 13 – November 4, 2012: Thursday-Saturday at 8pm / Sunday at 3pm. Tickets are $18, $15 for Students and Seniors. For ticket availability and purchase visit https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/cal/34111 or call 866-811-4111. Running time: 100 minutes with no intermission.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Saturday, October 20, 2012
"In The Summer Pavilion" at 59E59 Theater C
“In The Summer Pavilion” at 59E59 Theater C By Paul David Young Directed by Kathy Gail MacGowan Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
“In the Summer Pavilion” ends as it begins with recent Princeton graduate Ben unclothed, vulnerable, uninhibited, unfettered addressing the audience (the universe) in captivating prose poetry. However, Ben is not the same at the end of the play as at the beginning: he has been transformed by multiple excursions into possible futures with two of his closest college friends, Clarissa and Nabile.
Is living in solitude, even with exacerbated ennui and socio-cultural angst better than living in what could/might have been possible futures perhaps fraught with dysfunctional relationships?
Ben (Ryan Barry) weighs this question in the delicate balance of his personal dystopia. Ben is the protagonist in Paul David Young’s “In the Summer Pavilion” currently running at 59E59 Theatre C. Ben’s antagonists (or are they merely his alter egos?) are Princeton pals Clarissa and Nabile who are visiting him at his family home in Maine a year following graduation. The visit reassembles their prior four-year collegiate connection which includes sex, drugs, and (perhaps) rock-and-roll.
Ben and Clarissa kiss, Nabile and Clarissa kiss, Ben and Nabile kiss. Clarissa and Nabile want Ben to loosen up and party but Ben wants to sleep. Eventually Clarissa and Ben prevail and with the help of acid-laced vodka, the journeys to the future begin. Nabile states, “The present contains multiple futures. Each possible future is a parallel universe intersecting with the present, operating simultaneously, inconsistent with the others, but independently viable. Whichever way you choose to go, everything will change.”
Whether these “futures” are drug-induced or simply musings by Ben does not matter. What the audience sees are several ways the futures of these friends might unfold. The vignettes are separated by blackouts and flashes of blinding light. These “futures” are tropes (metaphors) for Ben’s processing of his sense of loneliness and how reconnecting with his friends might either diminish that loneliness or exacerbate it. The playwright makes this figurative language work as the perfect way to explore the non-conscious process of Ben’s mind.
Paul David Young’s script is engaging and contemporary and oh so tender. And the three actors are equally sensuous and engaging and reveal different aspects of their multi-layered personalities in each “future.” Of all the futures, perhaps the most interesting is the future at the outdoor café in Manhattan where, now lovers, Ben and Nabile meet. Ryan Barry (Ben) and Meena Dimian (Nabile) have opposing agendas for the meeting. Ben thinks Nabile (“the love of his life”) is going to propose marriage to Ben. Nabile’s agenda is to inform Ben, though gay, he has decided to marry Clarissa to appease his Middle-Eastern parents’ concern that he is not yet married. Both actors handle their conflicting motivations with the honed craft of experienced actors and Rachel Mewbron (Clarissa) could not be more effective at portraying the “victim” proclaiming, “I’m sorry, Ben. [Nabile] asked me. You know I want a family.”
This future, as do all the others, reaffirm Ben’s belief that neither Nabile nor Clarissa hold much promise for a more stable existence in relationship. Ben tells Nabile, “You haven’t changed. You were like that up in Maine that summer and you haven’t changed a bit. How did I let myself in for this?”
After the last blinding light experience, Ben is back in the present with the knowledge that being alone might not be the worst scenario. He addresses the blessed night: “Hold me here/Let no one speak or move/Smell the night/The moonlight settling in the grass/The water cooling as it greets the air/The day lilies fading from flower/Certain that tomorrow they will bloom again.”
“In the Summer Pavilion” is a surreal trip into the unconscious future, a trip which leaves the traveler forever transformed in the present: a surreal trip not to be missed. It holds out the possibility for futures where the certainty of renewed hope and life exist.
IN THE SUMMER PAVILION
IN THE SUMMER PAVILION, written by Paul David Young and directed by Kathy Gail MacGowan. Produced by Go in Her Room Productions, in association with the WorkShop Theater Company. The design team includes Kia Rogers (lighting design) and Julian Evans (sound design). The stage manager is Bethany Ellen Clark.
The cast features Ryan Barry (Ben), Meena Dimian (Nabile), and Rachel Mewbron (Clarissa).
IN THE SUMMER PAVILION begins performances on Friday, October 12 for a limited engagement through Sunday, November 3. The performance schedule is Tuesday – Thursday at 7:30 PM; Friday and 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 $18 ($12.60 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 Saturday, October 20, 2012
Eric Comstock and Barbara Fasano: "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes" at The Metropolitan Room
Photo by David Goldman
Eric Comstock and Barbara Fasano: “The Night Has a Thousand Eyes” At The Metropoitan Room Reviewed by David Roberts and Joseph Verlezza Theatre Reviews Limited
The return of Eric Comstock and Barbara Fasano to the Metropolitan Room with their new show “The Night Has a Thousand Eyes,” affords New York audiences a chance to embrace the remarkable collaboration of two seasoned performers who have stood the test of time and have become an important thread in the vibrant tapestry of the cabaret scene. They are an integral part of delivering The American Songbook, earnestly committed to honest interpretation and unique phrasing that enhances the music while personalizing the lyric. As solo artists they have distinctive qualities that attribute to their success. Together they merge, sharing their style and musical prowess to create entertaining duets that sustain the original compositions. Mr. Comstock has an unparalleled pure tonal quality and perfect annunciation which respects the lyric and allows you to wallow in the melody and appreciate the accompaniment. Ms. Fasano has a theatrical flair when approaching the material that takes the audience on an emotional journey with taunting expressions and a sexy, sultry timber similar to the great caberet divas of the past.
The evening escalates to a new level by the incredible dexterity and musical translation of Sean Smith on bass. This third voice adds intrigue, interest and texture to an already delightful evening and perpetuates the essence of jazz performance. This show induces a comfort and professionalism that should be inherent of intimate venues but is so often absent. The erudite conversation is not indulgent nor intrusive, but informative, sometimes comical and always intelligent and personal. As always there are imperfections that could be addressed. At times Mr. Comstock could be less technical and more emotional and Ms. Fasano sometimes needs to connect more subtly to the music and downplay the theatric. That put aside, this duo manages to become your friend in a mere ninety minutes, luring you into their musical escapades and inviting you to discover familiar lyrics with a different heart. Go to the Metropolitan Room for a short escape. Forget your troubles, possibly ignite a sentimental memory and immerse yourself in the sweet sound and rapture of some great pop/jazz cabaret standards.
Eric Comstock’s solo performances of “You’re A Lucky Guy” (Saul Chaplin/Sammy Cahn) and “Shiver Me Timbers” (Tom Waits) attest to his ability to skillfully maneuver through any musical genre. Mr. Comstock’s clear and controlled voice in “The Great Come-And-Get-It Day” (Burton Lane/Yip Harburg) proves his claim that “the afterlife is something like this.” In her “dark night of the soul” pairing, Barbara Fasano gives fresh meaning to the lyrics of “I’m The Girl” (James Shelton) and “I Could Have Told You” (James Van Heusen/Carl Sigman). And her powerful rendition of Jimmy Webb’s “Time Flies” is a clear confirmation of the importance of “constantly learning the lessons of the moment.” The couple’s duet performances of “Let’s Get Lost” (Jimmy McHugh/Frank Loesser), “Here’s to Us” (Cy Coleman/Carolyn Leigh), and “Don’t Ever Leave Me” (Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II) demonstrate the beauty and virtue of synchronicity and collaboration. Don’t ever leave us, Eric and Barbara.
These standards in “The Night Has a Thousand Eyes” are shared in the context of our human need for “a shaman, a primal camp fire, a tribe/nation” that we can call our own and find safety and comfort in. Comstock and Fasano are the audience’s shaman and their songs provide the primal camp fire whose warmth and comfort bind our tribe/nation together and send us safely back into the world.
ERIC COMSTOCK AND BARBARA FASANO: THE NIGHT HAS A THOUSAND EYES
Eric Comstock and Barbara Fasano appear at The Metropolitan Room on the following schedule: Thursday October 18 at 9:30 p.m., Friday October 19 at 7:00 p.m., and Saturday October 20 at 9:30 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 Thursday, October 18, 2012
"5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche" at The SoHo Playhouse
L to R: Thea Lux, Caitlin Chuckta, Rachel Farmer, Megan Johns, and Maari Suorsa
“5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche” Written by Evan Linder and Andrew Hobgood Directed by Sarah Gitenstein Reviewed by Joseph Verlezza Theatre Reviews Limited
The New Colony’s production of “5 Lesbians Eating A Quiche,” now playing at the SoHo Playhouse, is a fun and frolicking farce with delightful and serious undertones. Its themes relate to current political and social issues and make for an enjoyable 70 minutes of good theater. The metaphors and innuendoes abound and are as vivid and colorful as the cast of characters gathered for the annual Quiche Breakfast of The Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein. Though deliciously irreverent at times, the play is not offensive or harmful but evokes provocative humor that is well conceived and well delivered.
It is 1956 during the McCarthy era and the heightened fear of communism and the atomic bomb has prompted the “five widows” of the Society to take appropriate defensive action under the stalwart direction of Buildings and Grounds Chairman, “Vern,” played competently with strong conviction by Thea Lux. Events Chairwoman Wren Robin, unabashedly played by Megan Johns, has proficiently taken care of every detail including nametags assigning each member of the audience a woman’s name, welcoming them as members of the Society. Leading the agenda for the evening is President Lulie Stanwyck inhabited by Rachel Farmer with style and flair, complete with an incubating secret that will affect the future of this clever clan. Maari Suorsa lends her talents to Historian Dale Prist with astute care to record the highlights and pivotal events with the camera strapped around her neck by a lanyard matching her floral print breakfast frock. She will soon become a posthumous hero, remembered for her attempt to save the abundance of quiche threatened by the fall of an atomic bomb. It is Caitlin Chuckta as the embracing, proper English tart Ginny Cadbury who steals the show with her ravishing quiche eating frenzy. The cast is competent and well versed in physical and vocal comedy, and are equally impressive singularly or as an ensemble.
The issues addressed in “5 Lesbians Eating A Quiche” are just as relevant today as they were in the fifties, perhaps more so, including the concerns of woman’s equality, gay rights, bullying and social acceptance. Woman creating a secret society attesting to be widows in order to conceal being lesbians still rings true in many countries throughout the world today including the United States. When the five lesbians finally attain the courage to admit their identity, male members of the audience are asked to chime out “I am a Lesbian,” a hysterical yet powerful moment reminding us that we are all the same. We are human beings, people living in difficult trying times that need to accept and support each other.
This is a well structured, over the top farce that is played with utmost flair and comedic ability: it is fast paced and written with thought and intelligence. It is not for the conservative theatergoer but if you are looking for an entertaining, refreshing and cutting edge romp, treat yourself and become a member of the Sisters of Gertrude Stein for at least one evening. Chances are, you will want to return for a second taste.
5 LESBIANS EATING A QUICHE
The New Colony Production of “5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche” is presented by John Pinckard and Solo Playhouse, Inc. Written by Evan Linder and Andrew Hobgood. Directred by Sarah Gitenstein. Set Design by Kevin McClintock. Costume Design by Nathan R. Rohrer. Lighting Design by Nicholas J. Carroll. Sound Design by Gary Tiedemann.
“5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche” will play on the SoHo Playhouse Mainstage, 15 Vandam (between Varick Street and 6th Avenue) Saturdays at 10:00 p.m. and Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. from October 13 to November 20. Tickets are $50 for premium seats and $40 for general seats. For tickets please visit: www.SoHoPlayhouse.com
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Wednesday, October 17, 2012
"God of Vengeance" at TBG Theatre
Photograph by Jill Usdan
“God of Vengeance” at TBG Theatre By Sholem Asch (Translated by Joseph C. Landis) Directed by Lenny Leibowitz Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
The Torah is clear: the second book Exodus contains the following dictum: “I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.” No wonder Yankl Chapchovich arranges with Reb Elye to have the scribe make a Torah Scroll for his daughter Rivkele in Sholem Asch’s “God of Vengeance,” currently running at TBG Theatre as part of Marvell Rep’s “2012 Burned and Banned” series. Yankl is convinced that living above and running a brothel with his wife Sore would qualify as “hating God,” especially since Sore was a former “worker” in the brothel and he needs to appeal to God’s better nature to save his daughter.
Despite Yankl’s best efforts to protect this daughter Rivkele from the wrath of a vengeful God, his plan to “trick” God into forgetting the past fails miserably. It turns out Rivkele has been straying from Halakha herself: she has fallen in love with Manke one of the workers in the brothel downstairs. To make matters worse, Manke is victim of Hindl and Schloyme’s plan to enlist Rivkele as one of the girls in their spinoff brothel.
This is clearly a complicated plot driven by a challenging complex of conflicts. Written in 1907, “God of Vengeance” was heavily criticized by both Czarist supporters and Asch’s own Jewish compatriots, eventually forcing him to flee his native Poland. Although the play had successful productions in Paris, London, and in New York, its Broadway debut in 1923 brought out the local censors and law enforcement personnel in force.
“God of Vengeance” is entrenched in the genre of Yiddish Theatre (it was originally written in Yiddish) and includes a good deal of exaggerated and loud speech and ad-libbing by the actors which might be somewhat unfamiliar to traditional New York audiences. However, the strong ensemble cast delivers a powerful punch in this controversial play. As Yankl, Sam Tsoutsouvas gives a riveting performance as a father trying to make sense of a God who could not forgive. Veteran Broadway actor Joy Franz gives the audience a mother (Sore) hoping to make life better for her daughter and also ambivalent about her faith and its unwillingness to forgive. Leanne Agmon brings freshness to her character (Rivkele) who simply wants to love another young woman with passion.
Despite Reb Elye’s (Joel Bernstein) counsel that “everything will be all right” and “Don’t worry, God will help you,” Yankl ultimately embraces despair and defeat and proclaims that since God cannot return Rivkele to him and Sore “chaste,” he is a God of vengeance only, “a God of orphans,” who is “like a man.” “God of Vengeance” is a brilliant play about not only contrasting moralities but moral ambiguity. Who is right in this play” God? Reb Elye? Yankl? Who is “better:” those who strictly follow the Torah or those trying simply to understand the meaning of life and mortality? What, after all, is respectability and how does one achieve it or lose it? What is purity and what could possibly make a human being impure?
“God of Vengeance” will not completely answer these questions; however is does challenge each audience member to examine her or his own moral constructs and ability to proffer unconditional and nonjudgmental love to a world weary of vengeance. See it in rotation with Marvell Rep’s “Spring’s Awakening” for a duet of powerful and provocative plays.
GOD OF VENGEANCE
Presented by Marvell Rep at TBG Theatre. By Sholem Asch (Translated by Joseph C. Landis). Directed by Lenny Leibowitz. Scenic Design by Tijana Bjelajac. Lighting Design by Nick Houfek. Costume Design by Nikki Moody. Sound Design by Marisa J. Barnes.
WITH: Leanne Agmon (Rivkele), Getchie Argetsinger (Ensemble), Thomas Benton (The Scribe), Joel Bernstein (Reb Elye), Steven Braunstein (Ensemble), Rachel Claire (Reyzl), Jason Emanuel (Schloyme), Joy Franz (Sore), Emma Green (Ensemble), Stacey Linnartz (Hindl), Bill Krakauer (The Stranger/Ensemble), Elizabeth Stahlmann (Manke), Molly Stoller (Basha), and Sam Tsoutsouvas (Yankl).
“God of Vengeance” plays at the TBG Theatre, 3rd Floor, 312 West 36th Street (Just off 8th Avenue), New York, NY. The play runs in rotation with Marvell Rep’s “Spring’s Awakening” through Sunday October 28th. Tickets are $25.00 available via OvationTix. For complete performance information, including ticketing, visit http://web.ovationtix.com/trs/cal/30515
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Wednesday, October 17, 2012
"Spring's Awakening" at TBG Theatre
Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
When I first saw the musical “Spring Awakening “Off-Broadway in June 2006, I was not impressed. I thought then, and continue to believe, that Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater sterilized Frank Wedkind’s provocative text and substituted substance with an endearing rock musical score. I saw nothing innovative or challenging. Obviously I was misguided: after its move to the Eugene O’Neill on Broadway in December of the same year, the musical garnered eight Tony Awards and four Drama Desk Awards. Unwilling to be completely isolated from Broadway bravura, I listened to the rock-infused alternative rock score and kept my thoughts on the musical as a whole to myself. Until now.
Marvell Rep’s bold and fresh production of Frank Wedkind’s “Spring’s Awakening” confirms my belief that the Broadway musical had short-changed Wedkind’s raw depiction of teenage sexual and moral angst. The original play (translated by Eric Bentley) is a challenging and often disturbing examination of “the sexually oppressive culture of nineteenth-century Germany and offers a vivid dramatization of the erotic fantasies that it breeds” (Elizabeth Boa, 1987).
The “children” in Marvell Rep’s production are played by young actors – another bold choice for Marvell. It is touching to see these energetic actors effectively portray teenagers from the nineteenth century who were struggling with many of the same issues they confront in 2012: the issues of individuation and separation in adolescence; sexuality and sexual status; child abuse, including rape; suicide; abortion; and bullying.
The rich, well defined characters in “Spring’s Awakening” and the aforementioned conflicts drive a complicated and challenging plot which the Marvell Rep cast handles with a sophistication and craft well beyond their years. It is impossible to rehearse the entire plot of this play; however, it is important to highlight the scenes which showcase the power and intensity of this Marvell Rep production.
“Spring’s Awakening” begins with a scene between Wendla Bergmann and her mother about human reproduction. Wendla needs to know the details of human sexuality and her mother is unable to share those details with her daughter. This conversation continues later in the play and because Wendla never gets the information she needs, she gets raped by Melchior and becomes pregnant. Ultimately, Wendla’s mother invites an abortionist to their home whose “remedies” kill Wendla. Lizzy Declement’s stunning portrayal of Wendla’s adolescent angst and Anne Newhall’s embarrassed and prevaricating Mrs. Bergmann foreshadow the pain and suffering Wendla’s peers experience because adults refuse to treat them with the respect and concern they deserve. In the rape scene, Giuseppe Bausilio’s performance as Melchior exhibits the perfect blend of inappropriate male aggressiveness and adolescent wonder. At the same moment, Wendla and Melchior have no idea what is happening and yet understand exactly what has transpired.
Moritz Stiefel ties for last place (60th) in his school and is unsure he can perform at a level which will assure him a place in the following year’s class. Additionally, he is not handling his adolescent interest in sexuality and feels he lacks the knowledge he needs to deal with his feelings. His friend Melchior provides the information he needs in a treatise replete with illustrations and it is this treatise which is later blamed for Moritz’s suicide. Dalton Harrod is the brilliant young actor who brings Moritz’s inner turmoil to an onstage volcanic performance.
Under Lenny Leibowitz’s guiding hand, the entire cast of “Spring’s Awakening” shines and skillfully brings every nuance of Wedekind’s translated script to a perfect reality. All the grit, the pathos, and the ethos of the drama are portrayed honestly and carefully. Special mention (in addition to those above) goes to Steven Braunstein and Ethan Navarro. Mr. Braunstein’s Act II, Scene 3 portrayal of Hanschen Rilow’s attempt to refrain from masturbating is the perfect blend of teenage male sexual angst and self-deprecating humor. And the touching scene with Steven Braunstein and Ethan Navarro as Ernst in Act III, Scene 6 is a gutsy pair of performances by two brave young actors willing to use their craft to beautifully enact the deep love between two adolescent boys.
Kudos also to Charlotte Astrid for her compelling performance as Martha: she leaves the audience spellbound as she relates Martha’s secrets to Thea and Wendla early in Act I. Martha is routinely beaten and raped by her father and Ms. Astrid’s use of pathos is exacting and paralyzing. And equal acclaim to Rosalinda Perron who as Mrs. Gabor creates a character who empathizes with her son’s and Moritz’s difficulties in school and in relationships and shows both unconditional and nonjudgmental love.
Throughout this performance, the entire cast remains focused and determined to give their best efforts to enliven this too often neglected masterpiece of theatre. Marvell Rep’s “Spring’s Awakening” reminds the audience in an uncompromised way of the harsh reality of adolescence not only in nineteenth century Europe but in twenty-first century America where teenagers still are discounted by parents and educators and continue to struggle with issues of personal identity, sexual identity, bullying, and verbal, emotional, and sexual abuse. This is a must-see play.
SPRING’S AWAKENING
Presented by Marvell Rep at TBG Theatre. By Frank Wedkind (Translated by Eric Bently). Directed by Lenny Leibowitz. Scenic Design by Tijana Bjelajac. Lighting Design by Nick Houfek. Costume Design by Susan Nester. Sound Design by Marisa J. Barnes.
WITH: Leanne Agmon, Charlotte Astrid, Giuseppe Bausilio, Thomas Benton, Steven Braunstein , Logan Riley Bruner, Solon Carter, Lizzy Declement, Dalton Harrod, Angus Hepburn, George M. Kennedy, Terren Klein, Bill Krakauer, Lauren Lopes, William Metzo, Ethan Navarro, Anne Newhall, Rosalinda Perron, Howard Pinhasik, John Ramaine, Larry Saperstein, Geddeth Smith, and Jill Usdan.
“Spring’s Awakening” plays at the TBG Theatre, 3rd Floor, 312 West 36th Street (Just off 8th Avenue), New York, NY. The play runs through Sunday November. For complete performance information, including ticketing, visit http://www.marvellrep.com/
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Monday, October 15, 2012
Lauren Fox - "Canyon Folkies: Over the Hills and Under the Covers" at The Metropolitan Room
Lauren Fox – “Canyon Folkies: Over the Hills and Under the Covers” At The Metropolitan Room Reviewed by David Roberts and Joseph Verlezza Theatre Reviews Limited
If you were around during the folk-rock evolution or have any interest in this amazing period in musical history, an evening with Lauren Fox at The Metropolitan Room is mandatory. Not only is her pure and unique tonal quality reminiscent of some of the great talents of that time but also her knowledge of the artists living in Laural Canyon, the epicenter of this incredible musical eruption, is informative, interesting and perfectly integrated into this well-structured show.
Ms. Fox is accompanied by Ritt Henn on Bass, Peter Calo on guitar and musical director Jon Weber on piano and keyboard. These four musicians do not play the music; they become the music and successfully transfer the audience to another time and place. For some it might be a fond memory. For others a pleasurable experience to ponder, for during this period poetry was put to music and there is much to discover in Lauren Fox’s renditions of this genre. Ms. Fox is calm, confident and thoughtful as she captures the essence of an era gone by, filled with turmoil and free love. She unequivocally understands the lyric and carefully translates the meaning with intelligent phrasing and vocal prowess. Her dreamlike stare pierces time as her voice interprets the energy and angst of a bygone music revolution. There are many vocalists who cover folk-rock but Ms. Fox and her band have bold interpretations and they bond in a cohesive unit to deliver a respectful homage of superb quality.
Lauren Fox’s performance of Jackson Browne’s 1971 “A Child in These Hills” gives haunting relevance to the contemporary search for acceptance and meaning, especially for those who have not found peace “in the houses of their fathers.” Although Neil Young’s 1970 “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” was born after his separation from Joni Mitchell, the lyrics of the song connect to every broken heart despite age, sex, or sexual status. Lauren Fox’s clear tones and fresh styling of Carole King’s “Way Over Yonder” and “You’ve Got A Friend” give hope to those who need to call and know that someone will be there to “brighten even [ones] darkest night.”
When Ms. Fox sings a lyric from The Eagles’ hit “Take It Easy,” the audience glows with instant recognition: “Got a world of trouble on my mind/Lookin' for a lover/Who won't blow my cover.” Just a glance from Lauren Fox and the audience is given permission to connect to every song she shares in “Canyon Folkies: Over the Hills and Under the Covers.” The magic of her voice and the skill of her performance allow these songs from the late 1960’s and 1970’s to reach a broad and appreciative new audience.
Against the backdrop of a projected psychedelic image, Lauren Fox concludes “Canyon Folkies” with exceptionally relevant songs by Jim Morrison and Jackson Browne: “The End” (1966) and “Before the Deluge (1974). The astute of every generation seem to understand that “things are falling apart and the center is not holding” (William Butler Yeats). Ms. Fox plaintively asks “The blue bus is calling us The blue bus is calling us/Driver, where you taking us? And we wonder where we are headed in the next four years. She carefully leads the audience down a challenging path when she breathes renewed life into Jackson Browne’s “Before the Deluge:” where exactly are we headed as a nation and a culture. We, like Browne, are deeply concerned about “the way the earth was abused/By the men who learned how to forge her beauty into power.”
We sing silently with Lauren Fox as she empowers us to have hope for the future: “Now let the music keep our spirits high/And let the buildings keep our children dry/Let creation reveal its secrets by and by/By and by--/When the light that's lost within us reaches the sky.” Do not waste any time planning to see this performance, simply because you will certainly want to return for more before this engaging performance ends on January 24, 2013.
LAUREN FOX - CANYON FOLKIES: OVER THE HILLS AND UNDER THE COVERS
Lauren Fox appears at The Metropolitan Room on the following schedule: Friday October 26 at 9:30 p.m.; Friday November 2 at 7:00 p.m.; Tuesday January 15, 2013 at 7:00 p.m.; Wednesday January 16. 2013 at 7:00 p.m.; Thursday January 17, 2013 at 7:00 p.m.; and Thursday January 24, 2013 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 Saturday, October 13, 2012
"Closer Than Ever" at The York Theatre
“Closer Than Ever” at The York Theatre Company Lyrics by Richard Maltby, Jr., Music by David Shire Directed by Richard Maltby, Jr. Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
The York Theatre Company received a Special Drama Desk Award for its vital contributions to theatre by developing and producing new musicals. Since May 2011, however, York has chosen to celebrate Off Broadway musicals that have previously been produced starting with Nancy Ford and Gretchen Cryer’s “I’m Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road” (1978) and ending with the current offering Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire’s “Closer Than Ever” (1989).
Off Broadway Musicals from the seventies and eighties translate to the twenty-first century 2012 with a success level which correlates to the pertinence of the characters and conflicts, as well as to the relevance of the concepts and themes of the musicals themselves. For example, the themes of liberation and change that resound in “I’m Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road” are enduring and universal and all audience members immediately make rich connections to the material without regard to age, sex, or sexual status. However, because the nature of human relationships and the construct of those relationships have changed dramatically since the nineteen eighties, the themes celebrated in “Closer Than Ever” appeal to a more limited audience. More on this later in the review.
“Closer Than Ever” is a “bookless book musical” (Malty and Shire)that includes twenty-four self-contained songs about the vicissitudes of relationships, including topics like unrequited love (“She Loves Me Not”), aging (“The March of Time”), marriage (“There Is Something in a Wedding” and “Another Wedding Song”) and even life after the end of a marriage (“Dating Again”).
The cast (Jacquelyn Piro Donovan, George Dvorsky, Anika Larsen, and Jamie LaVerdiere) and the musicians (musical director/piano Abdrew Gerle and bassist Danny Weller) breeze through Maltby and Shire’s material with ease and grace and successfully bring every nuance of the lyrics and music to life. Jacquelyn sings through the range of human emotions in “Life Story” and George creates a heartfelt and believable tribute to the importance of generations in “Fathers of Fathers” celebrating all fathers who “walk the face of this earth.”
Just as there is a caveat from author/director Richard Maltby, Jr, there is a caveat for “Closer Than Ever” LGBT audience members. In his Author’s Note, Mr. Maltby reminds the audience that the songs were written in the nineteen eighties; however he affirms that “the interpersonal issues our characters faced haven’t changed much at all, and to us most of these stories still sound pretty much like stories people would tell today.” The caveat for LGBT audience members is that the material is profoundly heterosexual. Maltby and Shire give a nod to LGBT issues in “Doors” with a reference to “a girl that was once a boy,” in “She Loves Me Not” when Jamie and George sing of unrequited love and a reference to one of the female characters grieving the loss of her “partner.”
In a time when gay and lesbian citizens are struggling with issues of equality in marriage, a revival of a musical about human relationships might give more attention to that particular issue. Some of this could be handled easily through Mr. Maltby’s staging simply by adjusting who is standing next to whom in a number like “There Is Something in a Wedding.”
That said, “Closer Than Ever” is a delightful musical which should be enjoyed before it closes on November 25, 2012. It would be equally delightful to see some adjustments that would remove the musical’s heteronormative “ring.” True, the musical was written in the eighties and “it is what it is.” But what is wrong with “it will be what it will be?”
CLOSER THAN EVER
Presented by The York Theatre Company at The York Theatre. Conceived by Steven Scott Smith. Lyrics by Richard Maltby, Jr. Music by David Shire. Directed by Richard Maltby, Jr. Music Direction by Andrew Gerle. Associate Direction and Choreography by Kurt Stamm. Scenic Design by James Morgan. Costume Design by Nicole Wee. Lighting Design by Kirk Bookman.
WITH: Jacquelyn Piro Donovan, George Dvorsky, Anika Larsen, and Jamie LaVerdiere.
Performances of “Closer Than Ever” through November 25, 2012 at The York Theatre, 619 Lexington Avenue at 54th Street (Entrance on 54th Street!) Regular Performance Schedule: Tuesday at 7; Wednesday - Friday at 8; Saturday at 2:30 & 8; Sunday at 2:30 & 7 (Talkbacks follow all Saturday matinee performances). Box Office: (212) 935-5820 ∙ Box Office Hours: Monday-Friday 12-6pm. For more information, visit http://www.yorktheatre.org
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Saturday, October 13, 2012
"North" at 59E59 Theater B
“North” at 59E59 Theater B Conceived by Christina Ritter and Jennifer Schlueter Written and Directed by Jennifer Schlueter Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Now playing at 59E59 Theater B, Jennifer Schlueter’s “North” fictionalizes an historical event: the brief meeting between Anne Morrow Lindberg and Antoine de Saint-Exupery in New York City at the Ritz Hotel on August 5, 1939. In the drama, after meeting Antoine de Saint-Exupery, Anne Morrow Lindbergh reflects on her intense emotional response to the meeting by asking herself, “Are you going to look back all your life to an hour’s conversation with a stranger?” Like Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour,” “North” deals with the hour-long “story of a woman’s life and ordeal.”
Hearing of her husband’s death, the fictional Louise Mallard in “The Story of an Hour” reflects for one hour on the various roles she played as a wife and how playing those roles prevented her from finding her true self. After spending the hour with St-Ex, Anne reflects on how the vicissitudes of her life equally prevented her from fully understanding who she is as a person and a creative entity. Deferring to her husband and children and the loyalties they demand has blocked her own identity formation. She is, as St-Ex explains, suffering from Zerrissenheit, from being “torn to pieces.” As wife and mother competing with writer and aviator, Anne is not fulfilled as a person. Her story, inspired by the sprit-awakening encounter with St Ex, is in her words the story of “any woman, any ordeal.”
Director Jennifer Schlueter and choreographer Karen Mozingo have brilliantly staged “North” with the support of scenic designer Brad Steinmetz and lighting designer Anjeannette Stokes. As a creative team, they create the timeless space through which the lives of Anne, St-Ex, Charles, and their individual and collective memories move. Christina Ritter (Anne), Christopher Marlowe Roche (St-Ex), and Kalafatic Poole (Charles) portray Anne’s journey, her dance, the movement and balance through her life with flawless perfection. The three swings, the ladder, and the writing table are convincing tropes for the journeys of the three characters as they move in and out of the present, in and out of emotions, in and out of scenes.
In the end, all who know they are “torn to pieces” will profoundly identify with “North.” Those of us suffering from Zerrissenheit know that we must not be hesitant about dealing with that “illness.” We learn, as Anne learns, that “a little too late and all is lost.” Failing to achieve the sainthood of a creative and contemplative life, Anne realizes ultimately that she has not been able to do the things St-Ex believed she could achieve. Christina Ritter’s powerful soliloquy at the end of “North” crystallizes Anne’s regret with chilling pathos and ethos.
The emotional truth “North” brings to the stage is life-changing and spirit-awakening.
NORTH
Presented by the for/word Company at 59E59 Theatre B. Conceived by Christina Ritter and Jennifer Schlueter. Written and Directed by Jennifer Schlueter. Scenic Design by Brad Steinmetz. Costume Design by Kristine Kearney. Lighting Design by Anjeannette Stokes. Choreographed by Karen Mozingo
WITH: Kalafatic Poole (Charles), Christina Ritter (Anne), and Christopher Marlowe Roche (St-Ex).
NORTH begins performances on Thursday, October 4 for a limited engagement through Sunday, October 28. 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. 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. The running time of “North’ is approximately 75 minutes with no intermission.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Thursday, October 11, 2012
Loni Ackerman - "Next to Abnormal" at The Metropolitan Room
Loni Ackerman at The Metropolitan Room
Loni Ackerman – “Next to Abnormal” at The Metropolitan Room Reviewed by Joseph Verlezza Theatre Reviews Limited
It was a pleasure to see Loni Ackerman return to The Metropolitan Room for an encore performance of her delightful, somewhat autobiographical show ”Next To Abnormal.” A consummate performer and veteran of the Broadway stage, Ms. Ackerman adds a personal touch to a well structured evening, weaving stories from her childhood in New York City and anecdotes of her show business escapades into the tapestry of thoughtfully chosen songs. She brings what is important in her life now to the stage rather than just recreate the past, which enables her to connect with the material and inspire the audience.
Ms. Ackerman appears stylish, relaxed and sophisticated using every ounce of her petite frame to take us on her version of a “Sentimental Journey” (Les Brown, Ben Homer, and Arthur Green). Never missing the opportunity to use her wit, charm and intelligence, she takes the audience on an emotional rollercoaster, but always stays in control. Her long career has taught her to be honest and present, grateful for the past and celebrate what is to come with confidence, not arrogance. Ms. Ackerman is remarkable whether melting your heart with her embracing rendition of “Pink Taffeta Sample, Size 10” (Cy Coleman, Dorothy Fields) or enticing the audience to laugh with her as she recounts her dream of becoming a ballerina and her delivery of “The First Girl in the Second Row” (Hugh Martin, additional lyrics by Barry Kleinbort). Her New York Medley including “Crossword Puzzle” (David Shire, Richard Maltby, Jr.) dazzles and the reminiscent songs of Andrew Lloyd Webber are a treat, assuring the audience she still has that big Broadway belt without losing her emotional connection to the material. This is the mark of a talented performer who has honed their craft and is comfortable enjoying the experience. The radiant, mature Ms. Ackerman is so generous to share her musical gift and afford the audience a glimpse into her personal life. To end the evening, her encore of “The Secret of Life” (James Taylor) is surely something she knows well and certainly embraces.
An added note as to why this show was special to this reviewer: It was 1977. I was a young, enthusiastic thespian with a new Equity card and wandered into the Barbarann on 46th street to see a show called ‘Starting Here, Starting Now.” I was one of the lucky three who made up the entire audience and as far as I was concerned the cast which included Loni Ackerman gave the performance of a lifetime. I learned that evening that the theatre was not a career or a job, it was a passion and the powerful influence of that performance changed my life. Thank you for sharing and keeping the passion alive.
NEXT TO ABNORMAL
Loni Ackerman appears at The Metropolitan Room Sundays in October at 7:00 p.m. (October 14, 21, and 28). Doors open at 6:15 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 with a $5.00 discount for MAC/Industry Members. For further information visit http://metropolitanroom.com/
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Thursday, October 11, 2012
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