"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.
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
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.
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