I urge anyone who can sit for four hours and enjoy a play in Dutch to head over to BAM to see Ivo Van Hove's dramatic interpretation of Ayn Rand's "The Fountainhead" which continues through the weekend. I've gradually come around to Van Hove since first seeing his ghastly "Misanthrope" at NYTW. But I have reluctantly attended his "The Crucible" and "A View From The Bridge" on Broadway and have grown to appreciate that he is operating on this planet. He is a master of using mixed media but also an intuitive director of actors, here a gorgeous group that includes the exquisite Halina Reijn as Dominique Francon and Ramsey Nasr as the doomed architect Howard Roark, also a gorgeous physical specimen. Full disclosure: They both get naked... more than once. Like Ayn Rand or not, this is powerful drama of success, failure and personal responsibility. But he will continue to strew garbage all over the stage when given the opportunity.
You probably missed the Encores presentation of Lerner & Loewe's "Brigadoon" at City Center earlier this month but let me tell you that it was blissful. The story of a Scottish town that comes to life for one day every 100 years is ridiculous but to hear Kelli O'Hara sing is always a joy. Patrick Wilson was a surprise in a role originally intended for Steven Pasquale (who made the ghastly mistake of taking the lead in "Junk" at Lincoln Center instead). I only really know him as the closeted Mormon Joe Pitt in HBO's "Angels in America" and from a guest turn on the TV show "Girls," but he's actually a fine singer and held his own with O'Hara. "Brigadoon" was directed and choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon who comes from the ballet world. Of course, the dancing is wonderful but Wheeldon, with this and with "American in Paris" on Broadway, is proving himself to be a real force on Broadway.
"Hundred Days" at NYTW is probably a waste of your time if you're not a Millennial living in Williamsburg but, if you are, it's for you. I actually quite like The Bengsons (Abigail and Shaun), having heard their edgy but still folky rock in the fabulous Ars Nova production of "Sundown, Yellow Moon" earlier this year, but their story is just not enough to merit a full length production even with Anne Kauffman's expert direction. Jo Lampert, a singer, musician and performer who was excellent in "New York Animals" at the New Ohio Theatre, brings everything she can to her limited role but it's not enough. "Hundred Days" not a play; it's a concert. It'll be playing at NYTW through December 31 if you want to just kick back, close your eyes and listen to music for 90 minutes over the holidays. You could do worse.
Annie B. Parson's Big Dance Theatre's amusing "17C" at BAM Harvey explores the writings of the 17th Century philanderer and diarist Samuel Pepys and his wife Bess through music, dance and Laugh-in type skits. I haven't seen anything from Parson before but with this particular piece she comes across as a poor man's/woman's Pina Bausch. Even so, I'll take it, but I wish she had given us more dance and less of the long tired monologue delivered by veteran downtown actor Paul Lazar or the repeating schtick with the two college girls working out their relationship via Pepys' diary. Special mention to the costumes by Talla Dia and Karen Boyer, bits and pieces that bring to mind the 17th Century without making this a full blown costume drama.
Friday, December 1, 2017
Thursday, November 16, 2017
November Is Packed!
Run to get tickets to see Denise Hough's electrifying performance in "People, Places & Things" at St. Ann's Warehouse now through December 3rd. Be prepared though; this is a tough look at addiction. Ms. Hough's Emma is an actress on a downward spiral due to her addiction to just about everything. Duncan MacMillan's play comes to Brooklyn from a hugely successful run at the National Theatre in London. The play itself is pretty standard stuff but, as directed by Jeremy Herrin, and with a magic box of a set by Bunnie Christie it takes us on a surreal journey down the rabbit hole (yes, the allusion to Alice in Wonderland is intended). The supporting cast is excellent, especially Nathaniel Martello-White as Mark, a recovering addict who becomes Emma's friend in rehab.
Another show not to miss is "Animal Wisdom" at The Bushwick Starr which was recently extended through December 9th. Heather Christian's show is part revival meeting and part ghost story as well as a memoire of Ms. Christian's childhood experiences being raised in the deep South. Or, as the program notes state: "Heather talks to dead people, gets freaked out and writes music." Under Mark Rosenblatt's direction "Animal Wisdom" seems so specific to Christian and her friends/musicians that one cannot imagine it performed by anyone else. Hence, a good reason to catch it while you can in the intimate Bushwick Starr theatre.
Kate Hamill's "Pride and Prejudice" is not up to Bedlam's marvelous "Sense and Sensibility" but a step up from "Vanity Fair," both also adapted by Ms. Hamill and starring none other than ... Still, the six actors portraying the multitude of characters from the timeless Austen book have a rollicking good time and take us along for the ride. I only wish Hamill would have left the sneer behind in her portrayal of Elizabeth Bennett. It does a disservice to Austen and her most famous creation. But the Primary Stages production directed by Amanda Dehnert on through December 19th is still a most enjoyable way to pass an evening.
I wish I could be more laudatory about Rajiv Joseph's "Describe The Night" at The Atlantic Theatre Company. I was a big fan of "Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo" on Broadway and "Guards at the Taj" which was also at The Atlantic, both tightly crafted and absorbing, but this fictionalized story of the Russian writer Isaac Babel is all over the place. This comes down in part to the direction by Giovanna Sardelli but the play itself is a massive undertaking for any director, spanning almost a century and following multiple interrelated characters. I don't know what the plays original intent was but somewhere along the line it became heavy with veiled allusions to Trump's presidency. Fine performances from Danny Burstein as Babel, Zach Grenier as the Stalinite officer who becomes Babel's unlikely friend and Tina Benko as his mad wife and Babel's lover keep it afloat. How much is fact and how much fiction we may never know even with the list of basic facts about Babel that are available on the way out of the theatre. Most impressive is the set by Tim Mackabee, a towering archive of secret Russian documents always ominously present.
In the "if you blinked, you missed them" category are "The Beckett Trilogy" at The Duke Theatre, "Knives in Hens" at Theatre 59E59, "State of Siege" at BAM Opera House and "Man to Man" at BAM Fisher.
The Beckett Trilogy had a three day run as part of Lincoln Center's white light festival and was a hot ticket. I managed to get a return on the day of the last performance and it was worth it to see Conor Lovett of Gare St. Lazare Ireland enact three monologues adapted from Beckett's "Molloy," "Malone Dies" and "The Unnamable." Of the three, all directed by Lovett's wife Judy Hegarty Lovett, "The Unnamable" came the closest to the feel of the great playwrights best works. Lovett, along with his wife, has spent his career exploring and performing Beckett's work. I think Beckett would have approved.
I caught "Knives in Hens" at the very end of its run spurred on by a great review in The New York Times. I otherwise would have missed it not being a great fan of David Harrower whose "Blackbird" was overhyped and inferior. This is an earlier play which took place somewhere in feudal Scotland in the early 1500's. In its current staging director Paul Takacs places the story in the rural South of this country with a cast of three audaciously talented black actors: Robyn Kerr, Shane Taylor, Devin E. Haqq. I was especially moved by the choreography of Yasmine Lee whose sensuous love-making moments frame the play.
There is really not much to say "State of Siege" at BAM Opera. Adapted from Albert Camus's "The Plague" and directed by Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota for Theatre de la Ville, Paris this dark and quasi-operatic display was pretty dull aside from the impressive set by Yves Collet.
And there is even less to to recommend "Man to Man" at BAM Fisher, a one-woman show by Manfred Karge and directed by Bruce Guthrie & Scott Graham(it took two?) about a German woman who adopts the identity of her dead husband in order to survive to survive in Nazi Germany. As with "Describe The Night," the play attempts to span several decades. There is a lot of use of visual gimmicks which feel too studied and Maggie Bain's accent is more Irish or Scottish than German. Fail.
Another show not to miss is "Animal Wisdom" at The Bushwick Starr which was recently extended through December 9th. Heather Christian's show is part revival meeting and part ghost story as well as a memoire of Ms. Christian's childhood experiences being raised in the deep South. Or, as the program notes state: "Heather talks to dead people, gets freaked out and writes music." Under Mark Rosenblatt's direction "Animal Wisdom" seems so specific to Christian and her friends/musicians that one cannot imagine it performed by anyone else. Hence, a good reason to catch it while you can in the intimate Bushwick Starr theatre.
Kate Hamill's "Pride and Prejudice" is not up to Bedlam's marvelous "Sense and Sensibility" but a step up from "Vanity Fair," both also adapted by Ms. Hamill and starring none other than ... Still, the six actors portraying the multitude of characters from the timeless Austen book have a rollicking good time and take us along for the ride. I only wish Hamill would have left the sneer behind in her portrayal of Elizabeth Bennett. It does a disservice to Austen and her most famous creation. But the Primary Stages production directed by Amanda Dehnert on through December 19th is still a most enjoyable way to pass an evening.
I wish I could be more laudatory about Rajiv Joseph's "Describe The Night" at The Atlantic Theatre Company. I was a big fan of "Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo" on Broadway and "Guards at the Taj" which was also at The Atlantic, both tightly crafted and absorbing, but this fictionalized story of the Russian writer Isaac Babel is all over the place. This comes down in part to the direction by Giovanna Sardelli but the play itself is a massive undertaking for any director, spanning almost a century and following multiple interrelated characters. I don't know what the plays original intent was but somewhere along the line it became heavy with veiled allusions to Trump's presidency. Fine performances from Danny Burstein as Babel, Zach Grenier as the Stalinite officer who becomes Babel's unlikely friend and Tina Benko as his mad wife and Babel's lover keep it afloat. How much is fact and how much fiction we may never know even with the list of basic facts about Babel that are available on the way out of the theatre. Most impressive is the set by Tim Mackabee, a towering archive of secret Russian documents always ominously present.
In the "if you blinked, you missed them" category are "The Beckett Trilogy" at The Duke Theatre, "Knives in Hens" at Theatre 59E59, "State of Siege" at BAM Opera House and "Man to Man" at BAM Fisher.
The Beckett Trilogy had a three day run as part of Lincoln Center's white light festival and was a hot ticket. I managed to get a return on the day of the last performance and it was worth it to see Conor Lovett of Gare St. Lazare Ireland enact three monologues adapted from Beckett's "Molloy," "Malone Dies" and "The Unnamable." Of the three, all directed by Lovett's wife Judy Hegarty Lovett, "The Unnamable" came the closest to the feel of the great playwrights best works. Lovett, along with his wife, has spent his career exploring and performing Beckett's work. I think Beckett would have approved.
I caught "Knives in Hens" at the very end of its run spurred on by a great review in The New York Times. I otherwise would have missed it not being a great fan of David Harrower whose "Blackbird" was overhyped and inferior. This is an earlier play which took place somewhere in feudal Scotland in the early 1500's. In its current staging director Paul Takacs places the story in the rural South of this country with a cast of three audaciously talented black actors: Robyn Kerr, Shane Taylor, Devin E. Haqq. I was especially moved by the choreography of Yasmine Lee whose sensuous love-making moments frame the play.
There is really not much to say "State of Siege" at BAM Opera. Adapted from Albert Camus's "The Plague" and directed by Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota for Theatre de la Ville, Paris this dark and quasi-operatic display was pretty dull aside from the impressive set by Yves Collet.
And there is even less to to recommend "Man to Man" at BAM Fisher, a one-woman show by Manfred Karge and directed by Bruce Guthrie & Scott Graham(it took two?) about a German woman who adopts the identity of her dead husband in order to survive to survive in Nazi Germany. As with "Describe The Night," the play attempts to span several decades. There is a lot of use of visual gimmicks which feel too studied and Maggie Bain's accent is more Irish or Scottish than German. Fail.
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
October Offerings
Reader, I walked out... Ayad Akhtar's newest offering, "Junk" at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre at Lincoln Center, does not feel new at all. The play, directed by Doug Hughes and starring the terrific musical actor Steven Pasquale, means to transport us back to the 80's junk bond madness. Instead of transporting us, however, it mires us in a swamp of stagnant writing and direction. I spent much of the first act bored with the action and observing the badly tailored suits the actors. These "masters of the universe" would have been wearing beautifully fitted bespoke attire. That I had so much time to obsess on the suits is.. . well... you get where I'm going. Last thought: Steven Pasquale dropped out of the Encore's production of "Brigadoon" at City Center with Kelli O'Hara. Mistake.
At the other end of the spectrum, Manual Cinema's "Mementos Mori" at BAM Fisher is delightful. The small stage is awash in screens, lighting equipment and projectors, the kind used in schools in the 60's and 70's before the advent of computers and white boards. The stage has the feel of a low-budget movie set gone wild. Actors interact with the shadow puppets, cinematic techniques, sound and even live music played on stage by a trio of very talented and versatile musicians. At the start this shadow puppet mystery feels creaky and old fashioned but the company draws us into the fast paced story of love, loneliness and death. More please.
Then there is "Office Hour" by Julie Cho and directed by Neel Keller at The Public Theatre. Sue Jean Kim as Gina is superb as an adjunct professor of creative writing at a minor university who tries to connect to a student, played serviceably by Ki Hong Lee. However the framing of the play is tedious and unnecessary, beginning with two other adjunct teachers warning Gina to be careful of a withdrawn student in her class whose writing is violent and often shocking. Cho ought to have contained the play to the office hour of the title. "Office Hour" only truly comes alive when Cho plays out the possible scenarios that could happen during that hour between a professor and a possibly violent student alone in a room in an empty building. I'll leave those to your imagination. Cho weakens this with the final scene of the play, an encounter with one of the other adjuncts, a poor and necessary framing device.
"Illyria," also at The Public, written and directed by Richard Nelson (he, of the well acted but excruciatingly dull Apple and Gabriel plays) is divine. Nelson creates imaginary scenes between Joe Papp and a coterie of actors, directors and others as Papp tries to create what would become The Public Theater. The time is1958. We are behind the scenes as Papp and his motley crew which includes a young Colleen Dewhurst, composer David Amram and stage manager Bernie Gersten as they do battle with the city to keep Shakespeare free in Central Park, face down the House of Un-American Activities Committee and attempt to remain friends with each other. The play intentionally models itself on the mumble core movies of the 90's which is not necessarily the smartest move. I get the intent to create intimacy with quiet naturalistic dialogue but several of the older audience members at the performance I attended left mid-play because they couldn't hear (despite the flock of mikes hanging on threads over the actors head)s. But I liked it, I really did, especially the performance of the John Magaro as an extremely cranky and domineering Papp.
At the other end of the spectrum, Manual Cinema's "Mementos Mori" at BAM Fisher is delightful. The small stage is awash in screens, lighting equipment and projectors, the kind used in schools in the 60's and 70's before the advent of computers and white boards. The stage has the feel of a low-budget movie set gone wild. Actors interact with the shadow puppets, cinematic techniques, sound and even live music played on stage by a trio of very talented and versatile musicians. At the start this shadow puppet mystery feels creaky and old fashioned but the company draws us into the fast paced story of love, loneliness and death. More please.
Then there is "Office Hour" by Julie Cho and directed by Neel Keller at The Public Theatre. Sue Jean Kim as Gina is superb as an adjunct professor of creative writing at a minor university who tries to connect to a student, played serviceably by Ki Hong Lee. However the framing of the play is tedious and unnecessary, beginning with two other adjunct teachers warning Gina to be careful of a withdrawn student in her class whose writing is violent and often shocking. Cho ought to have contained the play to the office hour of the title. "Office Hour" only truly comes alive when Cho plays out the possible scenarios that could happen during that hour between a professor and a possibly violent student alone in a room in an empty building. I'll leave those to your imagination. Cho weakens this with the final scene of the play, an encounter with one of the other adjuncts, a poor and necessary framing device.
"Illyria," also at The Public, written and directed by Richard Nelson (he, of the well acted but excruciatingly dull Apple and Gabriel plays) is divine. Nelson creates imaginary scenes between Joe Papp and a coterie of actors, directors and others as Papp tries to create what would become The Public Theater. The time is1958. We are behind the scenes as Papp and his motley crew which includes a young Colleen Dewhurst, composer David Amram and stage manager Bernie Gersten as they do battle with the city to keep Shakespeare free in Central Park, face down the House of Un-American Activities Committee and attempt to remain friends with each other. The play intentionally models itself on the mumble core movies of the 90's which is not necessarily the smartest move. I get the intent to create intimacy with quiet naturalistic dialogue but several of the older audience members at the performance I attended left mid-play because they couldn't hear (despite the flock of mikes hanging on threads over the actors head)s. But I liked it, I really did, especially the performance of the John Magaro as an extremely cranky and domineering Papp.
Monday, October 9, 2017
September is Dust
September flew by with nary a post from your truly.
Although I loved Simon Stephens' "Heisenberg" last year at MTC, his earlier play "On The Shores of the Wide World" now playing at The Atlantic Theatre Company is not in the same league. That two character play was structurally tight and marvelously acted by Mary-Louise Parker and Denis Arndt. The problem with the Atlantic production may be that Neil Pepe, who has a history of directing Mamet, Guare and other specifically American playwrights, isn't able to capture the rhythms of this British playwright. But he also has a sprawling multi-character landscape to cover. This lack of capture extends to the unevenness of the Manchester accents by the American cast, who are otherwise faultless. The one stand-out performance comes from Tedra Milla's Sarah, the hyperactive girlfriend of Alex, the young man at the center of the play. Milla was excellent as #47 in Sarah DeLappe's "The Wolves" last year and she will appear in it again in the Lincoln Center revival of that play later this fall. My other quibble with the play is the title which takes its name from a sonnet by Keats and really has nothing to do with anything except that I expect the playwright liked the sonnet and found a way to force it into the play. The play would have been more aptly titled "Manchester."
"Mary Jane" at NYTW is a powerful play about a single woman coping with raising a severely disabled child. Written by Amy Herzog whose previous play "4,000 Miles" at Lincoln Center was a bit wobbly, and directed by Anne Kauffman, the play is a complicated puzzle of connecting pieces. Carrie Coon is heart-breaking as Mary Jane but each of the supporting cast delivers multiple jewel-like performances. The play will tear you apart but also give you hope in humanity.
The Elevator Repair Service production of "Measure for Measure" at the Public is as unusual as what one expects from them. They take classic works and twist them around, stand them on their heads and just generally have fun with them. It would be hard to measure up to their seven hour reading of The Great Gatsby, "Gatz," and this doesn't, but I forgive them. They make Shakespeare contemporary even if their line readings are sometimes hard to understand. The essence of the play remains and it's a rollicking good time. A shout out to Scott Shepherd who was the narrator (reader?) in "Gatz" and here plays The Duke.
Further downtown at The Flea's new theatre is "Inanimate." Courtney Ulrich directs a dextrous young cast, who all come out of The Flea's acting program. Nick Robideau's adventurous and somewhat experimental play is about a young woman who loves inanimate objects. Apparently this is a thing. Lacy Allen makes Erica's proclivity for inanimate objects believable and the supporting cast plays multiple roles from the Dunkin' Donuts neon sign that she is in love with and an Oxo can opener to the actual human beings in her life who love her.
The revivals of "Cafe Muller" and "The Rite of Spring" presented by the Tanztheatre Wuppertal Pina Bausch at the BAM Opera House is missing Pina (who died two years ago) and the humor the company that she amassed over the years brought to her work. While I am happy that her work continues to live on, the young dancers in these revivals, many of whom probably never worked with her, are lacking the quirkiness and humor necessary to take the works to the next level.
I'd also like to mention Bill T. Jones excellent "Letter to My Nephew" at BAM Harvey, a dance piece that delivers on a visceral level. Jones is an angry gay, black man as well as a citizen of the world. "Letter to My Nephew" addresses racism, homophobia, gentrification, natural disasters and the recent killings in Las Vegas through dance, song and multi-media projections. The dancing is exquisite. The message is powerful. A brave piece.
I was disappointed in Maira Kalman and John Heginbotham's multi-media "The Principles of Uncertainty" based on her blog of the same name for The New Yorker at BAM Fisher. Too much Dance Heginbotham, too little Maira Kalman.
But it was Matthew Aucoin's opera "Crossing" at the BAM Opera House that almost made me want to weep at it's awfulness. Directed by Diane Paulus, "Crossing" is based on Walt Whitman's diaries from his time nursing soldiers during the Civil War. The theme of the opera comes from Whitman's poem "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry": "What is it, then, between us?" Whitman's sexuality is widely speculated about and Aucoin takes the opportunity to create a love story between middle-aged Whitman and one of the wounded young soldiers. Instead of leading us to a greater understanding of Whitman and his sexuallity, he comes across as a creepy pedophile. The music I can't comment on, not having enough understanding of opera.
Although I loved Simon Stephens' "Heisenberg" last year at MTC, his earlier play "On The Shores of the Wide World" now playing at The Atlantic Theatre Company is not in the same league. That two character play was structurally tight and marvelously acted by Mary-Louise Parker and Denis Arndt. The problem with the Atlantic production may be that Neil Pepe, who has a history of directing Mamet, Guare and other specifically American playwrights, isn't able to capture the rhythms of this British playwright. But he also has a sprawling multi-character landscape to cover. This lack of capture extends to the unevenness of the Manchester accents by the American cast, who are otherwise faultless. The one stand-out performance comes from Tedra Milla's Sarah, the hyperactive girlfriend of Alex, the young man at the center of the play. Milla was excellent as #47 in Sarah DeLappe's "The Wolves" last year and she will appear in it again in the Lincoln Center revival of that play later this fall. My other quibble with the play is the title which takes its name from a sonnet by Keats and really has nothing to do with anything except that I expect the playwright liked the sonnet and found a way to force it into the play. The play would have been more aptly titled "Manchester."
"Mary Jane" at NYTW is a powerful play about a single woman coping with raising a severely disabled child. Written by Amy Herzog whose previous play "4,000 Miles" at Lincoln Center was a bit wobbly, and directed by Anne Kauffman, the play is a complicated puzzle of connecting pieces. Carrie Coon is heart-breaking as Mary Jane but each of the supporting cast delivers multiple jewel-like performances. The play will tear you apart but also give you hope in humanity.
The Elevator Repair Service production of "Measure for Measure" at the Public is as unusual as what one expects from them. They take classic works and twist them around, stand them on their heads and just generally have fun with them. It would be hard to measure up to their seven hour reading of The Great Gatsby, "Gatz," and this doesn't, but I forgive them. They make Shakespeare contemporary even if their line readings are sometimes hard to understand. The essence of the play remains and it's a rollicking good time. A shout out to Scott Shepherd who was the narrator (reader?) in "Gatz" and here plays The Duke.
Further downtown at The Flea's new theatre is "Inanimate." Courtney Ulrich directs a dextrous young cast, who all come out of The Flea's acting program. Nick Robideau's adventurous and somewhat experimental play is about a young woman who loves inanimate objects. Apparently this is a thing. Lacy Allen makes Erica's proclivity for inanimate objects believable and the supporting cast plays multiple roles from the Dunkin' Donuts neon sign that she is in love with and an Oxo can opener to the actual human beings in her life who love her.
The revivals of "Cafe Muller" and "The Rite of Spring" presented by the Tanztheatre Wuppertal Pina Bausch at the BAM Opera House is missing Pina (who died two years ago) and the humor the company that she amassed over the years brought to her work. While I am happy that her work continues to live on, the young dancers in these revivals, many of whom probably never worked with her, are lacking the quirkiness and humor necessary to take the works to the next level.
I'd also like to mention Bill T. Jones excellent "Letter to My Nephew" at BAM Harvey, a dance piece that delivers on a visceral level. Jones is an angry gay, black man as well as a citizen of the world. "Letter to My Nephew" addresses racism, homophobia, gentrification, natural disasters and the recent killings in Las Vegas through dance, song and multi-media projections. The dancing is exquisite. The message is powerful. A brave piece.
I was disappointed in Maira Kalman and John Heginbotham's multi-media "The Principles of Uncertainty" based on her blog of the same name for The New Yorker at BAM Fisher. Too much Dance Heginbotham, too little Maira Kalman.
But it was Matthew Aucoin's opera "Crossing" at the BAM Opera House that almost made me want to weep at it's awfulness. Directed by Diane Paulus, "Crossing" is based on Walt Whitman's diaries from his time nursing soldiers during the Civil War. The theme of the opera comes from Whitman's poem "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry": "What is it, then, between us?" Whitman's sexuality is widely speculated about and Aucoin takes the opportunity to create a love story between middle-aged Whitman and one of the wounded young soldiers. Instead of leading us to a greater understanding of Whitman and his sexuallity, he comes across as a creepy pedophile. The music I can't comment on, not having enough understanding of opera.
Tuesday, August 29, 2017
From A Male Perspective
I'm having very mixed feelings about The Playwright's Realm production "The Rape of the Sabine Women, By Grace B. Matthias" at the Duke. My first reservation is that it is a play about rape told from a woman's point of view by a man, playwright Michael Yates Crowley (no, it was not written by Grace B. Matthias ,who is in point of fact the actual teenage victim of the rape in the play). Now, I'm not saying that a man shouldn't have the right to tell a story from a woman's point of view but it's hard to image how a feminist audience will take to a man presuming that he knows whereof he speaks/writes when it comes to rape.
What is missing from the play is the actual rape. We see the events leading up to it but not the actual rape so we are, in effect, left to figure out for ourselves what the circumstances of the rape actually are. It's a bit muddy. Yes, it's described but that's not enough. We are left to wonder which I think is opening the door to misinterpretation. Would a woman have told the story differently? Yes, I think so, because a woman, especially one who has been a victim of rape herself, would know that it needed to be shown not told. And although Grace appears in a state of semi-shock throughout the play it's unclear whether this was her state before the rape or because of the rape. We don't really get a real sense of how the rape itself has affected her except for her fascination with firemen and the desire to become one in order to put out fires. I get the heavy-handed metaphor but am not sure if it is entirely appropriate. She doesn't display anger or pain beyond shock. She even believes that she will marry one of her rapists. Her rapists are high school football stars on whom the hopes and dreams of the community hangs and so her story is pushed under the carpet because it upsets a balance. But theirs is only a gentle negation of what has happened to her. In reality, wouldn't she have been ostracized by this same community?
The most interesting aspect of the play is the use of a painting of The Rape of the Sabine Women that Grace and her classmates are studying in school and how the characters from the painting come alive embodied by Grace's classmates, including her rapists. The best line in the play is uttered by the raped Sabine woman who married her rapist when she says to Grace, "But you have no cattle. Why would he marry you?"
All in all, the ensemble acting is well done as is the direction by Tyne Rafaeli. But this production doesn't have the power and scope of The Playwright's Realm recent production of "The Wolves" by Sarah DeLappe which is being revived at Lincoln Center this fall which addresses some of the same issues and in which Susannah Perkins who plays Grace has a much more developed role. Go see that instead.
What is missing from the play is the actual rape. We see the events leading up to it but not the actual rape so we are, in effect, left to figure out for ourselves what the circumstances of the rape actually are. It's a bit muddy. Yes, it's described but that's not enough. We are left to wonder which I think is opening the door to misinterpretation. Would a woman have told the story differently? Yes, I think so, because a woman, especially one who has been a victim of rape herself, would know that it needed to be shown not told. And although Grace appears in a state of semi-shock throughout the play it's unclear whether this was her state before the rape or because of the rape. We don't really get a real sense of how the rape itself has affected her except for her fascination with firemen and the desire to become one in order to put out fires. I get the heavy-handed metaphor but am not sure if it is entirely appropriate. She doesn't display anger or pain beyond shock. She even believes that she will marry one of her rapists. Her rapists are high school football stars on whom the hopes and dreams of the community hangs and so her story is pushed under the carpet because it upsets a balance. But theirs is only a gentle negation of what has happened to her. In reality, wouldn't she have been ostracized by this same community?
The most interesting aspect of the play is the use of a painting of The Rape of the Sabine Women that Grace and her classmates are studying in school and how the characters from the painting come alive embodied by Grace's classmates, including her rapists. The best line in the play is uttered by the raped Sabine woman who married her rapist when she says to Grace, "But you have no cattle. Why would he marry you?"
All in all, the ensemble acting is well done as is the direction by Tyne Rafaeli. But this production doesn't have the power and scope of The Playwright's Realm recent production of "The Wolves" by Sarah DeLappe which is being revived at Lincoln Center this fall which addresses some of the same issues and in which Susannah Perkins who plays Grace has a much more developed role. Go see that instead.
Saturday, August 5, 2017
Run, Don't Walk
Two shows not to miss while they are still on are The Public Theatre's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park featuring the incomparable Annaleigh Ashford as Helena. If you have to wait on line all day in the park it will be worth your while but there are a couple of other options. The Public Theatre also has a line downtown which you can get to at 11am and still score tickets or you can try your hand at the on-line lottery (which is what I did). I know, you're saying "ANOTHER "Midsummer Night's Dream?" I've only seen it a million times already," but don't! Annaleigh Ashford brings new juice to the play which in this case would be more appropriately titled "All About Helena" or "Helena's Dream." From the moment she hits the stage she owns it, every inch of it.This is not to take away from the performances of the rest of the stellar cast but they are merely her supporting players here. A side note is that I loved the use of elderly actors as Titania's fairies, especially the diminunative 88-year-old Vinie Burrows whom I last saw in "Sumara" at The Soho Rep. I mind-checked her name because she made the otherwise baffling and directionless "Sumara" watchable. The director is Lear DeBessonet, one to watch if you're not already familiar with her name from the recent production of Suzan-Lori Parks' "Venus" as Signature and her various productions of Shakepeare as the Founder of Public Works at the Public Theatre.
The other show you should be buying tickets for RIGHT THIS MINUTE is the PTP/NYC production of Tom Stoppard's "Arcadia" at the Atlantic Theatre. I went not expecting much after having been so in love with the Broadway production several years ago that I begged another ticket and went twice. That production had a stellar cast, including Billy Crudup, Margaret Colin and Raul Esparza, and directed by David Leveaux it would be hard to beat. But I loved this smaller intimate production four floors underground at the Atlantic with it's no-name cast, directed by an in-house director Cheryl Faraone. The play straddles two time periods, 1809 and present at Sidley Park, a large country house in Derbyshire, England and revolves around a mystery. Intrigued? And let's hear it for all the unsung actors and directors of the theatre world who are doing strong work and will never get the recognition they deserve. I had been prepared to leave at intermission (it is a long play) but I was so engaged that after the break I couldn't wait to take my seat again. Let me give a special shout-out to several of the actors: Andrew William Smith as Septimus Hodge, a tutor and a great friend of Byron, Jonathan Tindle as Ezra Chater, a "poet," Megan Byrne as Lady Croom of the 1809 cast; Stephanie Janssen as the historical author Hannah, Jackson Prince as Valentine Coverly, an heir to the estate and a mathematical genius and Alex Draper as the recklessly ambitious academic Bernard Nightingale in the present day cast.
And there is a tortoise...
Less captivating is "The Fulfillment Center" at MTC. Directed by Abe Koogler, this is the second play I have seen by Daniel Aukin. I was blown away by "The Kill Floor" with Marin Ireland at the Claire Tow black box theatre at Lincoln Center a year or so ago. Taking place (for the most part) in an abattoir, the play was much more timely than the recent Pulitzer Prize winning Lynn Nottage play "Sweat," which dealt with some of the similar themes and felt old and regurgitated IMHO. Although the cast of "Fulfillment Center" is uniformly excellent (Eboni Booth, Bobby Moreno, Frederick Weller and the great New York mainstay Deirdre O'Connell) the play, which takes place in a shipping facility in New Mexico, a trailer park and a characterless apartment, lacks the immediacy of "The Kill Floor." The story is similar though, characters pushing to move on, to move up and to have some meaning in their lives. Worth seeing, still.
The very disappointing "Pipeline" by Dominique Morisseau and directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz at Lincoln Center is one to safely miss. Blaine-Cruz directed the deadly Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' "War" at the Claire Tow and Alice Birch's excruciatingly awful "Revolt, She Said" at Soho Rep so either she just chooses bad material or she is doing an injustice to these works. It will be certainly something for me to think about before I buy another ticket to a play she has directed. "Pipeline" an angry play about a black teen who has lashed out at his private school teacher in a moment of frustration and rage and looks to loose everything. But it is as much about his divorced, ostensively single-parent mother who teaches in a large inner-city public high school in Detroit. Karen Pittman gives a high pitched unmodulated performance as Nia, the lonely and unhappy mother, desperate to understand her son and do what is right for him, The stand-out performance comes from Tasha Lawrence as Laurie, a veteran white colleague of Nia's, who lashes out in anger at the futility of their job. Morisseau wrote the play as a tribute to her own mother who taught for 40 years in Highland Park, Michigan. The allusions to Richard Wright's Bigger Thomas in Native son are apt but the overuse of the the Gwendolyn Brooks poems is tiresome and lazy.
The other show you should be buying tickets for RIGHT THIS MINUTE is the PTP/NYC production of Tom Stoppard's "Arcadia" at the Atlantic Theatre. I went not expecting much after having been so in love with the Broadway production several years ago that I begged another ticket and went twice. That production had a stellar cast, including Billy Crudup, Margaret Colin and Raul Esparza, and directed by David Leveaux it would be hard to beat. But I loved this smaller intimate production four floors underground at the Atlantic with it's no-name cast, directed by an in-house director Cheryl Faraone. The play straddles two time periods, 1809 and present at Sidley Park, a large country house in Derbyshire, England and revolves around a mystery. Intrigued? And let's hear it for all the unsung actors and directors of the theatre world who are doing strong work and will never get the recognition they deserve. I had been prepared to leave at intermission (it is a long play) but I was so engaged that after the break I couldn't wait to take my seat again. Let me give a special shout-out to several of the actors: Andrew William Smith as Septimus Hodge, a tutor and a great friend of Byron, Jonathan Tindle as Ezra Chater, a "poet," Megan Byrne as Lady Croom of the 1809 cast; Stephanie Janssen as the historical author Hannah, Jackson Prince as Valentine Coverly, an heir to the estate and a mathematical genius and Alex Draper as the recklessly ambitious academic Bernard Nightingale in the present day cast.
And there is a tortoise...
Less captivating is "The Fulfillment Center" at MTC. Directed by Abe Koogler, this is the second play I have seen by Daniel Aukin. I was blown away by "The Kill Floor" with Marin Ireland at the Claire Tow black box theatre at Lincoln Center a year or so ago. Taking place (for the most part) in an abattoir, the play was much more timely than the recent Pulitzer Prize winning Lynn Nottage play "Sweat," which dealt with some of the similar themes and felt old and regurgitated IMHO. Although the cast of "Fulfillment Center" is uniformly excellent (Eboni Booth, Bobby Moreno, Frederick Weller and the great New York mainstay Deirdre O'Connell) the play, which takes place in a shipping facility in New Mexico, a trailer park and a characterless apartment, lacks the immediacy of "The Kill Floor." The story is similar though, characters pushing to move on, to move up and to have some meaning in their lives. Worth seeing, still.
The very disappointing "Pipeline" by Dominique Morisseau and directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz at Lincoln Center is one to safely miss. Blaine-Cruz directed the deadly Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' "War" at the Claire Tow and Alice Birch's excruciatingly awful "Revolt, She Said" at Soho Rep so either she just chooses bad material or she is doing an injustice to these works. It will be certainly something for me to think about before I buy another ticket to a play she has directed. "Pipeline" an angry play about a black teen who has lashed out at his private school teacher in a moment of frustration and rage and looks to loose everything. But it is as much about his divorced, ostensively single-parent mother who teaches in a large inner-city public high school in Detroit. Karen Pittman gives a high pitched unmodulated performance as Nia, the lonely and unhappy mother, desperate to understand her son and do what is right for him, The stand-out performance comes from Tasha Lawrence as Laurie, a veteran white colleague of Nia's, who lashes out in anger at the futility of their job. Morisseau wrote the play as a tribute to her own mother who taught for 40 years in Highland Park, Michigan. The allusions to Richard Wright's Bigger Thomas in Native son are apt but the overuse of the the Gwendolyn Brooks poems is tiresome and lazy.
Tuesday, July 4, 2017
Mixed Bag
I had the opportunity to see John Guare's "Six Degrees of Separation" on Broadway shortly before it closed. Having seen the original at Lincoln Center with the incomparable Stockard Channing for whom the part of Ouisa was written, I did not expect a whole lot. But, although it would be unfair to compare the performance of Allison Janney to Channing's, the cast which includes John Benjamin Hickey and Corey Hawkins is outstanding and kudos to director Trip Cullman for making the play new. The premise of the play, which spawned the now-famous 'Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon', is a young black man insinuating himself into the lives of a WASP family on the Upper East Side by posing as a friend of their children from Harvard and, coincidentally, the son of Sidney Poitier. How easily they choose to be duped! How attractive fame and celebrity are. And how tragic ultimately for the young man, because, after all, this really just creates a small ripple in their lives. It's a play about aspiration and ultimately very sad.
Benjamin Millepied's L.A. Dance Project at the Joyce was probably the most exciting theatre I saw this month. And it's dance!!! Plus, added bonus, Natalie Portman (or "Portwood" as my dance mad neighbor in Row C called her) was in the house. Just joking. I didn't even see her. The most impressive of the four pieces performed in the program I saw was Justin's Peck's Murder Ballads. Peck is the hot new choreography talent from the New York City Ballet. Here he uses the dancers' virtuosity completely and the colorful casual clothing and backdrop tamp it down and and draw us in and make us feel that it is no big deal. This was followed by Merce Cunningham's Minevent with music by John Cage and performed in full view by Adam Tendler. I'm not a huge fan of Merce but this work, despite the very unflattering unitards, was a wonder of synchronicity. After the intermission we were treated to In Silence We Speak and Orpheus Highway, both choreographed by Millepied. Although my seat mate was back for a second time to see In Silence We Speak, a moving mother-daughter duet, I was stunned by Orpheus Highway and Millepied's use of mixed media, dancers on the screen in the California desert with the same dancers live mimicking their moves, all to The Triple Quartet by Steve Reich, performed, again live, by PUBLIQuartet. A super shout out to Millepied for not just providing inventive choreography but for choosing to work with a superbly trained group of dancers of all different body types.
"War Paint" at the Nederlander Theatre might have been more accurately title "Battle of the Divas." And this is indeed the only reason to visit this new musical about the rivalry between Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden starring Patti Lupone and Christine Ebersole. The new musical from the Scott Frankel and Michael Korie ("Grey Gardens") and directed by Michael Greif("Dean Evan Hansen") fails to deliver. The music is wan and story feels stretched beyond interest. But those voices! I suppose I would be happy to hear either of these divas sing the phone book.
The premise of "Cost of Living" by Martyna Majok at The Manhattan Theatre Club is intriguing and holds ones attention, particularly the performances of two disabled actors. Where it failed for me was that the play ends with a focus on the two non-disabled characters which I felt was a betrayal of the play's promise. I was so much more interested in the quadriplegic Ani and John (and need to point out that the actors playing these roles, Katy Sullivan and Gregg Mozgala, although disabled, are not quadriplegics). Ani, a victim of a car accident who has lost not just her legs but the ability to use her other limbs is full of rage. John, who was presumably born a quad has learned to embrace life, albeit with advantage that being from money provides. Although I felt cheated by the ending, Victor Williams as Eddie does give a tour-de-force performance. Jo Bonney direction is impeccable except in the casting of Jolly Abraham as Jess who overacts and overacts and overacts. Have I stressed that enough?
The Roundabout's "Napoli, Brooklyn" is the not the work of an exciting new playwright to watch, as advertised. Sorry. The play by Meghan Kennedy is pretty standard kitchen-sink drama about an Italian family in Brooklyn, Park Slope apparently, in 1960. Throw in two immigrant parents from Napoli, three rebellious daughters (well, two to be exact), a hammy Irish butcher, a black co-worker, a little lesbianism, domestic violence and a plane crash and voila! You get the idea.... We really didn't need to see this again. It feels like we've been air-lifted back to 1960 and stale ideas. What could have possibly drawn the great Gordon Edelstein to direct a play whose most interesting and intriguing aspect is the picture on the front of the program? Stick to the classics, Gordon!
Benjamin Millepied's L.A. Dance Project at the Joyce was probably the most exciting theatre I saw this month. And it's dance!!! Plus, added bonus, Natalie Portman (or "Portwood" as my dance mad neighbor in Row C called her) was in the house. Just joking. I didn't even see her. The most impressive of the four pieces performed in the program I saw was Justin's Peck's Murder Ballads. Peck is the hot new choreography talent from the New York City Ballet. Here he uses the dancers' virtuosity completely and the colorful casual clothing and backdrop tamp it down and and draw us in and make us feel that it is no big deal. This was followed by Merce Cunningham's Minevent with music by John Cage and performed in full view by Adam Tendler. I'm not a huge fan of Merce but this work, despite the very unflattering unitards, was a wonder of synchronicity. After the intermission we were treated to In Silence We Speak and Orpheus Highway, both choreographed by Millepied. Although my seat mate was back for a second time to see In Silence We Speak, a moving mother-daughter duet, I was stunned by Orpheus Highway and Millepied's use of mixed media, dancers on the screen in the California desert with the same dancers live mimicking their moves, all to The Triple Quartet by Steve Reich, performed, again live, by PUBLIQuartet. A super shout out to Millepied for not just providing inventive choreography but for choosing to work with a superbly trained group of dancers of all different body types.
"War Paint" at the Nederlander Theatre might have been more accurately title "Battle of the Divas." And this is indeed the only reason to visit this new musical about the rivalry between Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden starring Patti Lupone and Christine Ebersole. The new musical from the Scott Frankel and Michael Korie ("Grey Gardens") and directed by Michael Greif("Dean Evan Hansen") fails to deliver. The music is wan and story feels stretched beyond interest. But those voices! I suppose I would be happy to hear either of these divas sing the phone book.
The premise of "Cost of Living" by Martyna Majok at The Manhattan Theatre Club is intriguing and holds ones attention, particularly the performances of two disabled actors. Where it failed for me was that the play ends with a focus on the two non-disabled characters which I felt was a betrayal of the play's promise. I was so much more interested in the quadriplegic Ani and John (and need to point out that the actors playing these roles, Katy Sullivan and Gregg Mozgala, although disabled, are not quadriplegics). Ani, a victim of a car accident who has lost not just her legs but the ability to use her other limbs is full of rage. John, who was presumably born a quad has learned to embrace life, albeit with advantage that being from money provides. Although I felt cheated by the ending, Victor Williams as Eddie does give a tour-de-force performance. Jo Bonney direction is impeccable except in the casting of Jolly Abraham as Jess who overacts and overacts and overacts. Have I stressed that enough?
The Roundabout's "Napoli, Brooklyn" is the not the work of an exciting new playwright to watch, as advertised. Sorry. The play by Meghan Kennedy is pretty standard kitchen-sink drama about an Italian family in Brooklyn, Park Slope apparently, in 1960. Throw in two immigrant parents from Napoli, three rebellious daughters (well, two to be exact), a hammy Irish butcher, a black co-worker, a little lesbianism, domestic violence and a plane crash and voila! You get the idea.... We really didn't need to see this again. It feels like we've been air-lifted back to 1960 and stale ideas. What could have possibly drawn the great Gordon Edelstein to direct a play whose most interesting and intriguing aspect is the picture on the front of the program? Stick to the classics, Gordon!
Tuesday, May 23, 2017
Home and Abroad
Such a lot to blog on!
"Indecent," the new musical on Broadway written by Paula Vogel and directed by Rebecca Taichman is a masterful ensemble retelling of Sholem Asch's "God of Vengeance" from early in the 20th Century. The Bohemian play about two Jewish women who fall in love was shocking in it's time but did not prevent it from becoming a huge success in Europe and on the Lower East Side and Greenwich Village. However when it moved to Broadway the actors were locked up for indecency. It's hard to even imagine that happening today. The current ensemble can fear not.
Currently on the stage at the National Theatre in London, "Consent" is a smart play about the ramifications of rape in and out of a marriage. The play by Nina Raines, who wrote "Tribes" which had a run at the Barrow Street Theatre in 2012, addresses marriage, rape and the legal system in Britain. There are two couples and a friend who experience the vicissitudes of marriage to different ends. Three of the characters are lawyers hence the legal angle. The play is a dance of shifting perspectives and longings and unhappiness. Roger Michell has deftly directed the cast which includes Ben Chaplan and Anna Maxwell Martin as the unhappy couple at the center.
Meanwhile at Le Theatre du Rond Point in Paris, the Argentine actress of a certain age Marilu Marini is a tour de force in La Journee d'Une Reveuse (Et Autres Moments) a one-woman show that combines two of her countryman Copi's texts. Copi, the nom de plume of the outrageous and profane Argentine artist, writer and playwright Raul Damonte Botana, spent his whole career in Paris where he died of Aids in 1987. He was for years a cartoonist for Le Nouvel Observateur but he was also also a playwright whose work was most influenced by Beckett. The most unusual and satisfying thing about this production that explores his life is that he is portrayed by a 71 year-old woman who was his close friend and it works. In her portrayal we might forget for moment here and there that Copi was a man but Copi would most likely have been pleased with this.
The Irish playwright Enda Walsh's "Arlington" at St. Ann's Warehouse starts off brilliantly but stalls about a third of the way in. I'm hooked on Charlie Murphy, the British actress who embodies Isla, a young woman condemned to live her days alone in a room in a tower somewhere in the future and who's every movement is monitored by an unseen ( to her) man. Her movements are at once awkward and voluptuous. She gorgeous to behold. We know there will be a bad end but we can almost believe that she can seduce her way out. And so she does... but she is so crippled by her existence in that room that she cannot get far. Unfortunately we lose interest when she leaves the stage. Even though the dancer who embodies her in the second section is technically a marvel, she is not "her" and this section doesn't add anything to the play. Walsh should have left the play to Charlie Murphy.
Suzan-Lori Parks' "Venus" at the Signature Theatre was a bit of a disappointment for me. I keep waiting for her to top, or even match, the brilliant "Father Comes Home From The War (Parts 1,2 and 3)." This story of the Venus Hottentot, embodied here by the excellent Zainab Jah, who was brought to England from South Africa with the promise of great wealth but became a freak show attraction and later a scientific subject because of her enormous buttocks, fails to gel. The bodysuit, however, is perfection and the theatrical device of having the actress climb into it at the beginning of the play eases any possible embarrassment the audience might have in ogling her "naked" body. I did a little research afterward and discovered that Parks has taken great liberties with the story which seems to me to be another kind of exploitation. Judge for yourself.
Another disappointment, for me at least, is Kate Hamill's "Vanity Fair" at the Pearl Theatre. Don't be duped into thinking that this is a Bedlam production, the company that produced her brilliant "Sense and Sensibility, even though the style of the production is very like Bedlam and several of the performers overlap. I wait with baited breath for her "Pride and Prejudice" which Bedlam will produce next year. The performances with Hamill as Becky Sharp are excellent but Thackeray's tale is too dark for the light treatment given here by Eric Tucker. I would however like to single out the Joey Parsons who plays Becky's friend Amelia. Watch for her...
"Indecent," the new musical on Broadway written by Paula Vogel and directed by Rebecca Taichman is a masterful ensemble retelling of Sholem Asch's "God of Vengeance" from early in the 20th Century. The Bohemian play about two Jewish women who fall in love was shocking in it's time but did not prevent it from becoming a huge success in Europe and on the Lower East Side and Greenwich Village. However when it moved to Broadway the actors were locked up for indecency. It's hard to even imagine that happening today. The current ensemble can fear not.
Currently on the stage at the National Theatre in London, "Consent" is a smart play about the ramifications of rape in and out of a marriage. The play by Nina Raines, who wrote "Tribes" which had a run at the Barrow Street Theatre in 2012, addresses marriage, rape and the legal system in Britain. There are two couples and a friend who experience the vicissitudes of marriage to different ends. Three of the characters are lawyers hence the legal angle. The play is a dance of shifting perspectives and longings and unhappiness. Roger Michell has deftly directed the cast which includes Ben Chaplan and Anna Maxwell Martin as the unhappy couple at the center.
Meanwhile at Le Theatre du Rond Point in Paris, the Argentine actress of a certain age Marilu Marini is a tour de force in La Journee d'Une Reveuse (Et Autres Moments) a one-woman show that combines two of her countryman Copi's texts. Copi, the nom de plume of the outrageous and profane Argentine artist, writer and playwright Raul Damonte Botana, spent his whole career in Paris where he died of Aids in 1987. He was for years a cartoonist for Le Nouvel Observateur but he was also also a playwright whose work was most influenced by Beckett. The most unusual and satisfying thing about this production that explores his life is that he is portrayed by a 71 year-old woman who was his close friend and it works. In her portrayal we might forget for moment here and there that Copi was a man but Copi would most likely have been pleased with this.
The Irish playwright Enda Walsh's "Arlington" at St. Ann's Warehouse starts off brilliantly but stalls about a third of the way in. I'm hooked on Charlie Murphy, the British actress who embodies Isla, a young woman condemned to live her days alone in a room in a tower somewhere in the future and who's every movement is monitored by an unseen ( to her) man. Her movements are at once awkward and voluptuous. She gorgeous to behold. We know there will be a bad end but we can almost believe that she can seduce her way out. And so she does... but she is so crippled by her existence in that room that she cannot get far. Unfortunately we lose interest when she leaves the stage. Even though the dancer who embodies her in the second section is technically a marvel, she is not "her" and this section doesn't add anything to the play. Walsh should have left the play to Charlie Murphy.
Suzan-Lori Parks' "Venus" at the Signature Theatre was a bit of a disappointment for me. I keep waiting for her to top, or even match, the brilliant "Father Comes Home From The War (Parts 1,2 and 3)." This story of the Venus Hottentot, embodied here by the excellent Zainab Jah, who was brought to England from South Africa with the promise of great wealth but became a freak show attraction and later a scientific subject because of her enormous buttocks, fails to gel. The bodysuit, however, is perfection and the theatrical device of having the actress climb into it at the beginning of the play eases any possible embarrassment the audience might have in ogling her "naked" body. I did a little research afterward and discovered that Parks has taken great liberties with the story which seems to me to be another kind of exploitation. Judge for yourself.
Another disappointment, for me at least, is Kate Hamill's "Vanity Fair" at the Pearl Theatre. Don't be duped into thinking that this is a Bedlam production, the company that produced her brilliant "Sense and Sensibility, even though the style of the production is very like Bedlam and several of the performers overlap. I wait with baited breath for her "Pride and Prejudice" which Bedlam will produce next year. The performances with Hamill as Becky Sharp are excellent but Thackeray's tale is too dark for the light treatment given here by Eric Tucker. I would however like to single out the Joey Parsons who plays Becky's friend Amelia. Watch for her...
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
A Great Month for Theatre
"The Hairy Ape" is magnificent. If you love your O'Neill there is still time to make it to Richard Jones' sublime production at the Park Avenue Armory. The WPA inspired set is glorious. The play opens with the actors in a frozen tableau as the set on a circular loop moves into view. This "devise" of freezing the action to create a tableau is used judiciously throughout the play and always to dramatic effect. In addition to theatre, Jones has done operas which have certainly taught him how to direct on the grand visual scale necessary for a production in the vast space of the Armory. The Designer Stewart Laing, Choreographer Aletta Collins, Lighting Designer Mimi Jordan Sherin and Composer and Sound Designer Sarah Angliss must be acknowledged because it is only with the meshing of their contributions that the production achieves a certain majesty. The performances are outstanding, especially those of Bobby Cannavale as The Yank and David Constabile as Paddy. The exception is Catherine Combs who shrieks her way through the role of Mildred. "The Hairy Ape" is especially relevant in this time when there is such a disparity between the rich and the poor. The Yank's inability to understand this and ultimate descent into madness will rip you apart.
You have, however, a couple of months to see "A Doll's House Part 2" in it's limited run at the Golden Theatre. This is the third play I have seen by the very hot young playwright Lucas Hnath. "The Christians" at Playwrights Horizons was dull. "Red Speedo" at NYTW was marginally better but third time's a charm and this play directed by the omnipresent Sam Gold is pretty perfect . Nora returns home 15 years after she walks out on Torvald and her children in Ibsen's "A Doll's House." My only quibble would be that it would make more sense for it to be 20-25 years later given Laurie Metcalf's age but theatre is all about the suspension of belief, isn't it? Metcalf is outstanding. She owns the stage and her comic timing is impeccable. Hers is a selfish, narcissistic and devious Nora, not the takeaway from Ibsen's play, that of strong woman finally breaking free from the constraints of an unhappy marriage. And it is delightful to see Chris Cooper return to the stage after over two decades acting the heavy in film and flex his comic muscle as Torvald, a decent, caring man who wants to do right by Nora. This is not Ibsen's Torvald. But this is not Ibsen's "A Doll's House." Jayne Houdyshell, as ever, delivers as the faithful housekeeper who raised Nora's children and Condola Rashad as Nora's barely-grown daughter holds her own with Laurie Metcalf, an achievement in itself.
Richard Maxwell's "Samara," the latest offering from The Soho Rep is trickier. With music and narration by Steve Earle, the play takes place in an indeterminate, possibly futuristic terrain. The performances are uneven and the play gets lost in it's attempts to be profound. I admit it left me baffled even as I was hypnotized by the mysterious ending, stage plunged into darkness, smoke rising and the melodious voice of Steve Earle leading us into some oblique landscape in our minds. Sarah Benson has made some unusual and interesting casting choices but the 14 year old actor Jasper Newell as The Messenger was not one of them. His is a flat, disconnected performance that drains the energy from his interactions with the other actors. The trans actor Becca Blackwell as Manan and Paul Lazar a veteran of the Wooster Group as The Drunk fare better and Vinie Burrows, an African-American actress well into her 80's is outstanding as Agnes a sort of Mother Courage character. I came away wanting to see her in that Brechtian role. Is anyone out there listening?
I'm not a fan of one-man/woman plays and "Cry Havoc," conceived and acted by Stephan Wolfert and directed by Eric Tucker, both members of the outstanding Bedlam Theatre Company, didn't do a whole lot to change my mind. While I found the way in which Wolfert is able to connect his experience as a soldier and a vet to Shakespeare's Richard III, Henry V and, most interestingly, Lady Percy, Hotspur's wife, well-conceived, I grew a-weary about an hour in. And I wish I had not stayed past the intermission for the audience focus group. I'm sure it's different every night but on the night I attended it was more of a group therapy session. I appreciate Wolfert's desire to make audience members aware of the many ways in which we respond to and are connected to veterans but I think the play itself sends that message.
You have, however, a couple of months to see "A Doll's House Part 2" in it's limited run at the Golden Theatre. This is the third play I have seen by the very hot young playwright Lucas Hnath. "The Christians" at Playwrights Horizons was dull. "Red Speedo" at NYTW was marginally better but third time's a charm and this play directed by the omnipresent Sam Gold is pretty perfect . Nora returns home 15 years after she walks out on Torvald and her children in Ibsen's "A Doll's House." My only quibble would be that it would make more sense for it to be 20-25 years later given Laurie Metcalf's age but theatre is all about the suspension of belief, isn't it? Metcalf is outstanding. She owns the stage and her comic timing is impeccable. Hers is a selfish, narcissistic and devious Nora, not the takeaway from Ibsen's play, that of strong woman finally breaking free from the constraints of an unhappy marriage. And it is delightful to see Chris Cooper return to the stage after over two decades acting the heavy in film and flex his comic muscle as Torvald, a decent, caring man who wants to do right by Nora. This is not Ibsen's Torvald. But this is not Ibsen's "A Doll's House." Jayne Houdyshell, as ever, delivers as the faithful housekeeper who raised Nora's children and Condola Rashad as Nora's barely-grown daughter holds her own with Laurie Metcalf, an achievement in itself.
Richard Maxwell's "Samara," the latest offering from The Soho Rep is trickier. With music and narration by Steve Earle, the play takes place in an indeterminate, possibly futuristic terrain. The performances are uneven and the play gets lost in it's attempts to be profound. I admit it left me baffled even as I was hypnotized by the mysterious ending, stage plunged into darkness, smoke rising and the melodious voice of Steve Earle leading us into some oblique landscape in our minds. Sarah Benson has made some unusual and interesting casting choices but the 14 year old actor Jasper Newell as The Messenger was not one of them. His is a flat, disconnected performance that drains the energy from his interactions with the other actors. The trans actor Becca Blackwell as Manan and Paul Lazar a veteran of the Wooster Group as The Drunk fare better and Vinie Burrows, an African-American actress well into her 80's is outstanding as Agnes a sort of Mother Courage character. I came away wanting to see her in that Brechtian role. Is anyone out there listening?
I'm not a fan of one-man/woman plays and "Cry Havoc," conceived and acted by Stephan Wolfert and directed by Eric Tucker, both members of the outstanding Bedlam Theatre Company, didn't do a whole lot to change my mind. While I found the way in which Wolfert is able to connect his experience as a soldier and a vet to Shakespeare's Richard III, Henry V and, most interestingly, Lady Percy, Hotspur's wife, well-conceived, I grew a-weary about an hour in. And I wish I had not stayed past the intermission for the audience focus group. I'm sure it's different every night but on the night I attended it was more of a group therapy session. I appreciate Wolfert's desire to make audience members aware of the many ways in which we respond to and are connected to veterans but I think the play itself sends that message.
Saturday, April 1, 2017
March Madness
You may already have missed Ars Nova's production of "Sundown, Yellow Moon" by Rachel Bond, one of their playwrights-in-residence. Anne Kauffman who also directed the excellent "A Life" at Playwright's Horizons last year directed. The story of bi-racial fraternal twins who return to the small Tennessee college town where they grew up to attend to their divorced father who has been suspended from his teaching job does not address race as one would perhaps expect. Instead it's about finding and/or losing one's direction in life and the connections that hold us together. All the performances are outstanding, particularly those of Eboni Booth as Joey, a lonely single academic, and Lilli Cooper as her twin Ray, a gay singer-songwriter. Peter Friedman is moving as the desperately unhappy father and Greg Keller gives a beautifully nuanced performance as a married poet with whom Joey falls in love. The music by The Bengsons helps carry along the action of the play. I look forward to seeing more work from Ms. Bond.
Lynn Nottage's "Sweat" at Studio 54 is dull and unoriginal. I felt like I had seen this play many times before. I am surprised that The Public moved this play to Broadway after a limited run downtown. Perhaps this was based on the reception of "Ruined," Nottage's previous play at the MTC. Which I saw. Which I liked. "Sweat" takes place in a working-class town in Pennsylvania in 2000 where factory workers are soon to be losing their jobs. Much of the play takes place in a bar. It is framed by the story of two young men getting out of prison in 2008 for a crime that it not disclosed until the very end of the play. It is the story of friendships, falling-outs and loss of livelihood with a dose of racism and xenophobia thrown in. There's nothing particularly revelatory about the ending. If one hasn't figured it all out about mid-way through the play then perhaps one was asleep. The play is such a clunky vehicle that it would be unfair to criticize the acting or direction so I'll do them the courtesy of not naming names.
"887" is Robert Lepage's newest brilliant phantasm to arrive at BAM. For me, nothing Lepage has done has measured up to "The Far Side of the Moon," his 2000 play about an encounter between the architect Frank Lloyd Wright and the Greek-Armenian philopher and spiritual teach Georgi I. Gurdjieff which continues to be my gold standard for his work. In "887" he tackles memory, specifically his own. 887 is the number of his childhood home in Quebec. He asks why we remember certain things and not others, what triggers memory, why do we remember meaningless events and details and forget important ones? He addresses the historical and social reality that shaped his identity. For over two hours he stands on a dark stage and leads us through his memories with the help of illuminated houses, tiny cars, sounds .... We are rapt.
Kneehigh's "946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips" is a very well-performed
'panto" but lacks the sophistication of their "Brief Encounter." This WW2 story of a 12 year old girl who loses her cat, the Tips of the title, and two black American soldiers who try to help her find it is lively and fun. The actors all play multiple roles and are dizzying in their acrobatic abilities. And, yes, she does find Tips. Emma Rice, as always, proves herself to be an adept director but I wish there had been something more for the adults in the audience.
"Oslo" at Lincoln Center is a wannabe Tom Stoppard/David Hare political play about the 1993 Israeli/Palestinian Peace Agreement. It's not half bad and at close to three hours that's saying a lot.
Not a great play by any means but well-acted by Jennifer Ehle and Jefferson Mays among others and informative. As directed by the ubiquitous Bartlett Sher, the J.T. Rogers play is a solid and intelligent but derivative, as stated above. It's the acting is what keeps the play afloat. In addition to the always excellent Ehle and Mays, Anthony Azizi is a stand-out at Ahmed Qurie, negotiating peace for Arafat, and Michael Aronov brings enormous exuberance to his portrayal of the Israeli negotiator Uri Savir. These two apparently became lifelong friends even if the the peace deal they managed to forge did not last.
Lynn Nottage's "Sweat" at Studio 54 is dull and unoriginal. I felt like I had seen this play many times before. I am surprised that The Public moved this play to Broadway after a limited run downtown. Perhaps this was based on the reception of "Ruined," Nottage's previous play at the MTC. Which I saw. Which I liked. "Sweat" takes place in a working-class town in Pennsylvania in 2000 where factory workers are soon to be losing their jobs. Much of the play takes place in a bar. It is framed by the story of two young men getting out of prison in 2008 for a crime that it not disclosed until the very end of the play. It is the story of friendships, falling-outs and loss of livelihood with a dose of racism and xenophobia thrown in. There's nothing particularly revelatory about the ending. If one hasn't figured it all out about mid-way through the play then perhaps one was asleep. The play is such a clunky vehicle that it would be unfair to criticize the acting or direction so I'll do them the courtesy of not naming names.
"887" is Robert Lepage's newest brilliant phantasm to arrive at BAM. For me, nothing Lepage has done has measured up to "The Far Side of the Moon," his 2000 play about an encounter between the architect Frank Lloyd Wright and the Greek-Armenian philopher and spiritual teach Georgi I. Gurdjieff which continues to be my gold standard for his work. In "887" he tackles memory, specifically his own. 887 is the number of his childhood home in Quebec. He asks why we remember certain things and not others, what triggers memory, why do we remember meaningless events and details and forget important ones? He addresses the historical and social reality that shaped his identity. For over two hours he stands on a dark stage and leads us through his memories with the help of illuminated houses, tiny cars, sounds .... We are rapt.
Kneehigh's "946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips" is a very well-performed
'panto" but lacks the sophistication of their "Brief Encounter." This WW2 story of a 12 year old girl who loses her cat, the Tips of the title, and two black American soldiers who try to help her find it is lively and fun. The actors all play multiple roles and are dizzying in their acrobatic abilities. And, yes, she does find Tips. Emma Rice, as always, proves herself to be an adept director but I wish there had been something more for the adults in the audience.
"Oslo" at Lincoln Center is a wannabe Tom Stoppard/David Hare political play about the 1993 Israeli/Palestinian Peace Agreement. It's not half bad and at close to three hours that's saying a lot.
Not a great play by any means but well-acted by Jennifer Ehle and Jefferson Mays among others and informative. As directed by the ubiquitous Bartlett Sher, the J.T. Rogers play is a solid and intelligent but derivative, as stated above. It's the acting is what keeps the play afloat. In addition to the always excellent Ehle and Mays, Anthony Azizi is a stand-out at Ahmed Qurie, negotiating peace for Arafat, and Michael Aronov brings enormous exuberance to his portrayal of the Israeli negotiator Uri Savir. These two apparently became lifelong friends even if the the peace deal they managed to forge did not last.
Monday, March 6, 2017
February just got a lot brighter...
Director Sarna Lapine knocks it out of the Park with the current production of her father James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim's "Sunday in the Park with George." Jake Gyllenhaal as both Seurat and his probable great-grandson George proves again that he has the chops to be a Broadway star and he doesn't look half bad in the process. He's more youthful and sexy than Mandy Patinkin was in the original production although he doesn't have quite the vocal prowess of the master. Annaleigh Ashford is his match as both Seurat's model and aging granddaughter (young George's grandmother), not as vulnerable as Bernadette Peters was but with her gorgeous vocals she makes Dot and Marie her own. The production is visually luscious, even the contemporary light sculptures created by George add rather than the distract from the pointillism. The shifting tableau on the Ile de la Grande Jatte is voluptuous and the musical repetition of the "Sunday" is intoxicating.
"Escaped Alone" at BAM is the latest oeuvre from the great British playwright Caryl Churchill. Four women of a bit more than a certain age sit in a garden making small talk. The veteran British actresses chew the scenery to our delight and one, Linda Bassett, steps out periodically to describe her apocryphal imaginings that seem to come straight out of P.D. James "Children of Men." But the small talk is not just small talk. The other three actresses, Debroah Findlay, Kika Markham and June Watson all have their private moments in which they disclose their personal hells and one of the women is a murderer... And so the afternoon passes.
Will Eno's "Wakey, Wakey" at Signature is a tour-de-force for the actor Michael Emerson with echoes of Beckett's "Waiting for Godot." A man is in a room alone. A man is waiting to die. A man wants a connection. January Lavoy provides some comfort, or perhaps not, as the hospice nurse who arrives to keep him company. There is much talk but also silences that carry more weight than any words. The play is a profound meditation on what life is to the dying. I could have done with all the flash and bang and balloons at the end of the play though.
"The Moors," a new play by Jen Silverman produced by The Playwrights Realm at the Duke, is a must! It's a wacked-out tale of a family strongly resembling the Brontes ... and a dog ... and a Moor Hen. It pushes just about every boundary: time, space, believability. Tightly directed by Mike Donohue and featuring an talented and versatile cast this gothic tale is both hilarious and macabre. I have to cite the Set Designer Dane Laffry for his bizaare design. I wasn't familiar with the playwright before but I will be watching eagerly for her next play.
Unfortunately the less said about "The Light Years" a new play by Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen at Playwrights Horizons the better. That's all.
"Escaped Alone" at BAM is the latest oeuvre from the great British playwright Caryl Churchill. Four women of a bit more than a certain age sit in a garden making small talk. The veteran British actresses chew the scenery to our delight and one, Linda Bassett, steps out periodically to describe her apocryphal imaginings that seem to come straight out of P.D. James "Children of Men." But the small talk is not just small talk. The other three actresses, Debroah Findlay, Kika Markham and June Watson all have their private moments in which they disclose their personal hells and one of the women is a murderer... And so the afternoon passes.
Will Eno's "Wakey, Wakey" at Signature is a tour-de-force for the actor Michael Emerson with echoes of Beckett's "Waiting for Godot." A man is in a room alone. A man is waiting to die. A man wants a connection. January Lavoy provides some comfort, or perhaps not, as the hospice nurse who arrives to keep him company. There is much talk but also silences that carry more weight than any words. The play is a profound meditation on what life is to the dying. I could have done with all the flash and bang and balloons at the end of the play though.
"The Moors," a new play by Jen Silverman produced by The Playwrights Realm at the Duke, is a must! It's a wacked-out tale of a family strongly resembling the Brontes ... and a dog ... and a Moor Hen. It pushes just about every boundary: time, space, believability. Tightly directed by Mike Donohue and featuring an talented and versatile cast this gothic tale is both hilarious and macabre. I have to cite the Set Designer Dane Laffry for his bizaare design. I wasn't familiar with the playwright before but I will be watching eagerly for her next play.
Unfortunately the less said about "The Light Years" a new play by Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen at Playwrights Horizons the better. That's all.
Wednesday, February 22, 2017
February, Halftime
One enters "The Object Lesson" at NYTW into what seems to be someone's attic or garage full to bursting with boxes of a lifetime of junk and are expected to wander around for the first 15-20 minutes of the play "exploring" what is in the boxes. At a certain point audience members are guided to sit among the boxes and the actor/creator Geoff Sobelle appears dragging somewhat larger boxes which he proceeds to unbox to find a chair, a table, a lamp and various other set pieces. He settles into his comfortable chair and opens with a one-sided telephone conversation which is played back to us at a later point when we get to hear the other side. Too clever by half! This might be fine except that he repeats the exercise later in the play. He tells stories of important times in his life triggered by objects that he finds in various boxes and at times chooses audience members to participate, much to their discomfort. He is primarily a mime(ugh) and the play ends with him opening a box that contains his life. He pulls object after object out of the "bottomless" box for about 20 minutes but it feels like several lifetimes. The play is ostensibly directed by David Neumann but it's not evident that he had much of a hand in the production which involves a lot of self-indulgent navel gazing. The whole thing is like a bad acting exercise.
Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins has redeemed himself in my book with "Everybody" at The Signature Theatre. Jacobs-Jenkins last play, at LTC, "War" was unwatchable and before that "Gloria" at the Vineyard theatre was just bland. Both plays followed on the heels of "An Octoroon" at Soho Rep where he played with theatrical form and race to brilliant effect. Perhaps his talent lies in his mastery of being able to rework old texts. "Everyman" is a morality tale from the Middle Ages, dull even in its time, I expect, and a tick off the list of important plays to study for a student of theatre history. A sinner (read "everyman") is going to hell but he is given the opportunity to bring someone along with him if he can find anyone willing to do so. It's no surprise that he exits the world alone but "Everybody" brings the action into the present day with a cast that swaps out the title role on a nightly basis. It's hard to single out particular actors because they are almost all Everybody in the program but MaryLouise Burke is stellar as the befuddled Devil. And once again Lila Neugebauer ("The Wolves") proves invaluable as a director.
As directed by Mark Dornfor-May, the South Africa Isango Ensemble and the Young Vic bring vitality to A Man of Good Hope at BAM, a true story of one man's journey across the continent of Africa, from Somalia to Ethiopia to South Africa. There is much heartbreak along the way but there is music and dancing and even joy. There are even similarities to "Everybody," a young man looking for companionship along the road to his fate which in this case is his rosy dream of what his life as an immigrant will be like in the United States. The story as too linear for my taste but overall a job well done.
"Bull in a China Shop" at the Claire Tow Theatre at Lincoln Center is a yawn. The playwright Bryna Turner brings nothing new to the table in this pedestrian tale of President Woolley of Mount Holoyoke (the "Bull") and her lover and fellow academician, Marks, at the turn of the century, a revolutionary time for women's rights in this country. The director Lee Sunday Evans brought some punch to the recent [Porto] at The Bushwick Starr but this new play seems very tired. There is nothing interesting or fresh about the storytelling nor the story of same sex love in academia. If you want to see a similar story but one that really holds up over time, check out Lillian Hellman's "The Children's Hour."
And, lastly, Marin Ireland brings life to "On The Exhale" an hour-long monologue by Martin Zimmerman at The Roundabout from an academic who is obsessed with the recent gun massacres on school campuses and her personal safety. When her 7-year-old son is instead the victim of such an incident, she becomes equally obsessed with the gun that killed him. The writing is nothing special but Marin Ireland, directed by Leigh Silverman, gives a nuanced and terrifying performance.
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
January Blew In ...
"[Porto]" at the Bushwick Starr was pretty thin stuff. Two hipsters walk into a bar... You get the picture. Following on the heels of Clare Barron's wonderful "I'll Never Love Again" (One of my best pics for 2016) at the Starr, this was a let-down. I feel really strongly about supporting off-off Broadway theatre companies presenting works by up-and-coming playwrights but the play by Kate Benson didn't bring anything new to the table and, apart from a few top-notch performances, in particular Noel Joseph Allain as Doug the Bartender and Julia Sirna-Frest in the title role, there was little of interest unless it's impelling for you to follow the lonely lives of singletons in Brooklyn. I think Benson imagines herself clever by throwing in an on-stage conversation between Simone de Beauvoir and Gloria Steinem discussing feminism. Perhaps this would have been a more interesting play? I found no fault in the direction by Lee Sunday Evans who will be directing the upcoming LCt3 production of "Bull in a China Shop" by Bryna Turner. I hope Evans will have more to work with.
Fortunately for me, the follow-up to that disappointing trek out to Bushwick were two extraodinary productions, "The Tempest" at St. Ann's Warehouse in Dumbo and "The Beauty Queen of Leenane" at BAM Harvey.
"The Tempest" is the third in a trilogy of Shakespeare's plays following "Julius Caesar" and "Henry IV" with an all-female cast directed by Phyllida Lloyd and starring Harriet Walter. Set in a woman's prison in upstate in New York (Bedford Hills?), "The Tempest" is framed by the story of an American woman named Judy Clark (Harriet Walter) who is in prison for life after having participated in a politically motivated crime much like the Brink's robbery. Hence, the prison is the island to which she as Prospero is exiled. Presumably we all know the story of the "The Tempest" but what makes the play fresh is the way the story has been woven into a tale of prison life once again using the same actors who were so brilliant in "Henry IV." I didn't feel transported as I did in "Henry IV" but it worked it's magic.
The Druid's current production of "The Beauty Queen of Leenane" directed by Garry Hynes at the BAM Harvey is a stunner. I didn't see the Tony Award 1998 Broadway production but am betting that this rivals and even surpasses that production. Long a fan of Martin McDonagh since seeing "The Pillowman" on Broadway in the 2005, I knew that this would be a very dark fable. Set in Ireland, it's the story of an aging mother Mag and her adult daughter Maureen who acts as her caretaker. Theirs is an aggressively hostile relationship and when the daughter has a chance to break away it seems to be thwarted by the mother. I say "seems" because what you see is not necessarily the reality. Marie Mullen who played Maureen in the 1998 production is here cast as the mother. So convincing is her portrayal of an elderly infirm woman that it's hard to imagine her as the beautiful 40 year old Maureen less than 20 years ago, a portrayal for which she won a Tony. The performances of Aisling O'Sullivan as Maureen, Marty Rea as her presumable suitor Pato Dooley and Aaron Monaghan as Pato's lay-about brother Ray were all seamless. But prepare to be shocked.
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Oh, December
The National Theatre of Scotland never fails to deliver. The two previous shows were at St. Ann's Warehouse: the award-winning "Black Watch" about a troupe of soldiers in Afghanistan and "Let the Right One In" a theatrical adaptation of the very successful film of the same name about a child vampire looking for connection. The current production, "The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart," is much looser as presented at the McKittrick Hotel in Chelsea, home to "Sleep No More." We meet in the bar of the hotel, sitting comfortably in groups at tables and plied with free shots of Scotch. And at intermission, when I was feeling weak from hunger having not had a proper lunch, tea sandwiches were served. The play takes place, in and around the audience and bar, at an academic conference in Scotland. Prudencia Hart is to deliver her paper on the Devil as portrayed in Scottish ballads but instead comes face to face with him. Its clever and fun and takes the mickey out of academic theorists. Plus, free booze.
"Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812" ,however, did not deliver for me. I haven't read "War and Peace" the big Russian novel by Tolstoy on which it was based but have always assumed it to be deep and tragic. "Natasha, Pierre..." cannot make this claim. The play, as conceived by Dave Malloy and directed by the current New York theatre darling Rachel Chavkin, is a silly circus act operetta. Josh Groban was absent on the day I went but I can't imagine that his Pierre would have upped the action much. This production was originally mounted by Ars Nova but I much preferred their "Futurity," a musical collaboration with Soho Rep about the imagined correspondence between Ada Lovelace and a Civil War Soldier. While that production did not lack for originality, "Natasha, Pierre ..." draws heavily on "Candide." The ensemble though is particularly good and one performance stood out for me, that of Lucas Steele as the rascal Anatole.
"Finian's Rainbow" at the Irish Rep was an especially appropriate musical to mount in this past election year, the subject being racism in America. Too bad the postage stamp sized stage in the newly renovated theatre on West 22nd was too small for such a grand production. Singing yes, but where were they supposed to dance? Melissa Errico has a gorgeous voice but was perhaps a bit long in the tooth for Sharon. Charlotte Moore did a fine job directing the excellent cast and the score by Yip Harburg and Burton Lane is to die for but the Choreographer Barry McNabb had an insurmountable task given the size of the stage.
And, finally, "The Encounter" written, directed and performed by Simon McBurney. I wanted to love it. I really did. I put on my headphones and was ready for the encounter. And the set-up was splendid. We meet McBurney at his home in London and start with putting on the set of earphones attached to our seat. He gives us a lesson in how the earphones are going to work at the same time as he repeatedly tries to put his young daughter to bed. This is actually really entertaining and surprisingly engrossing. Unfortunately once in the story he is telling, that of a Western explorer lost in the Amazon rain forest, starts in ernest, everything begins to go in slo-mo. I was in snooze land by the time our hero is rescued and McBurney can go to bed (or convince his young daughter to at least).
Best of 2016: Sarah DeLappe's "The Wolves" at the Duke
Simon Stephen's "Heisenberg" on Broadway
Cesar Alvarez's "Futurity" Ars Nova
Clare Barron's "I'll Never Love Again" at the Bushwick Starr
Honorable Mentions: Adam Bock's "A Life" at Playwright's Horizons
The National Theatre of Scotland's "The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart" at the McKittrick Hotel
Overhyped: Bess Wohl's "Small Mouth Sounds" at Signature
Dave Malloy's "Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812" on Broadway
Worst of 2016: Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' "War" at the Claire Tow Theatre Lincoln Center
Alice Birch's "Revolt, She Said" at Soho Rep
The Bard's "The Winter's Tale" at BAM
"Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812" ,however, did not deliver for me. I haven't read "War and Peace" the big Russian novel by Tolstoy on which it was based but have always assumed it to be deep and tragic. "Natasha, Pierre..." cannot make this claim. The play, as conceived by Dave Malloy and directed by the current New York theatre darling Rachel Chavkin, is a silly circus act operetta. Josh Groban was absent on the day I went but I can't imagine that his Pierre would have upped the action much. This production was originally mounted by Ars Nova but I much preferred their "Futurity," a musical collaboration with Soho Rep about the imagined correspondence between Ada Lovelace and a Civil War Soldier. While that production did not lack for originality, "Natasha, Pierre ..." draws heavily on "Candide." The ensemble though is particularly good and one performance stood out for me, that of Lucas Steele as the rascal Anatole.
"Finian's Rainbow" at the Irish Rep was an especially appropriate musical to mount in this past election year, the subject being racism in America. Too bad the postage stamp sized stage in the newly renovated theatre on West 22nd was too small for such a grand production. Singing yes, but where were they supposed to dance? Melissa Errico has a gorgeous voice but was perhaps a bit long in the tooth for Sharon. Charlotte Moore did a fine job directing the excellent cast and the score by Yip Harburg and Burton Lane is to die for but the Choreographer Barry McNabb had an insurmountable task given the size of the stage.
And, finally, "The Encounter" written, directed and performed by Simon McBurney. I wanted to love it. I really did. I put on my headphones and was ready for the encounter. And the set-up was splendid. We meet McBurney at his home in London and start with putting on the set of earphones attached to our seat. He gives us a lesson in how the earphones are going to work at the same time as he repeatedly tries to put his young daughter to bed. This is actually really entertaining and surprisingly engrossing. Unfortunately once in the story he is telling, that of a Western explorer lost in the Amazon rain forest, starts in ernest, everything begins to go in slo-mo. I was in snooze land by the time our hero is rescued and McBurney can go to bed (or convince his young daughter to at least).
Best of 2016: Sarah DeLappe's "The Wolves" at the Duke
Simon Stephen's "Heisenberg" on Broadway
Cesar Alvarez's "Futurity" Ars Nova
Clare Barron's "I'll Never Love Again" at the Bushwick Starr
Honorable Mentions: Adam Bock's "A Life" at Playwright's Horizons
The National Theatre of Scotland's "The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart" at the McKittrick Hotel
Overhyped: Bess Wohl's "Small Mouth Sounds" at Signature
Dave Malloy's "Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812" on Broadway
Worst of 2016: Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' "War" at the Claire Tow Theatre Lincoln Center
Alice Birch's "Revolt, She Said" at Soho Rep
The Bard's "The Winter's Tale" at BAM
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