Milk Like Sugar

"Milk Like Sugar" at Playwrights Horizons, October 21, 2011

A few years ago, there were news reports of unhappy high school girls who formed pacts to all get pregnant and drop out of school.  Playwright Kirsten Greenidge has written this concept into the premise of Milk Like Sugar, in which Talisha (Cherise Boothe), Margie (Nikiya Mathis) and Annie (Angela Lewis) are planning their gift list for their shared baby shower including Coach diaper bags and better cellphones.  Margie is already pregnant. Talisha has plans in place.  Only Annie seems to be dragging her feet even though Talisha has picked out a partner for her as well, Malik (J. Mallory-McCree).

As the play opens, the girls have turned up at a tattoo parlor after hours for Annie to get free ink from an uncertified tattooist.  This only one in a continuing series of bad decisions.  Annie's mother Myrna (Tonya Pinkins), cleans offices to support her family.  She fancies herself a writer,  but doesn't seem to understand why she can't use the computers in the offices she cleans.

Ms. Greenidge seems to surf the story on the backs of stereotypes, from the materialistic, frighteningly misinformed, teen girls (Margie says: "Annie, you should get a red tattoo, cuz Malik's phone is red!"), to the sensitive, poet-type Malik trying to escape his ill mother, to the jaded and bitter mother whose life potential ended with her own teenage pregnancy.  Even the tattooist is a misunderstood artist.  Ms. Greenidge also overworks a flame motif from Annie's tattoo to one of the many heavy-handed scene transitions with overstated symbolism. 

Better served might have been the ladybug nursery rhyme that felt much more organic to the proceedings.  It certainly would have made a better title than the line pulled from one of Annie's later monologues when she recounts the image of powdered milk in a cupboard as a hungry child.  About the only scene that really played truthfully was Margie's traumatic first visit to the doctor and the reality check that followed.

Director Rebecca Taichman, who directed Classic Stage's recent Orlando, keeps things moving once the scenes start, but pushes too hard with the choreographed transitions and seems no more at home in the 21st century than she did in the 16th.

Production values are well up to Playwrights' standards with sets by Mimi Lien and lighting by Justin Townsend.  Toni-Leslie James has some fun with the girls' costumes, particularly Margie's penchant for monochromatic outfits.

Milk Like Sugar runs through November 20, 2011.  Tickets are available here.

Man and Boy

"Man and Boy" presented by Roundabout Theatre Company at the American Airlines Theatre, September 10,  2011

Back to reviving classic American theatre, the Roundabout has scored Frank Langella to lead Terrence Rattigan's 1963 story of a corrupt, big-money, business mogul.  Set in 1934 New York, Gregor Antonescu (Mr. Langella), who single-handedly saved the the Franc in 1926, is viewed as the Warren Buffett of his day.  The parallels to today continue with the Great Depression era during which dissatisfaction with Roosevelt sound a lot like the criticisms of President Obama. The truth turns out to reveal Antonescu as a Madoff-like cretin, who created an elaborate Ponzi scheme which is about to collapse.

Antonescu is laying low in NY, and turns to his estranged, illegitimate son Basil (Adam Driver), for help to complete a last ditch deal to re-supply his organization with cash.  Basil has cut ties and abandoned the lifestyle that might have been his after a failed attempt to shoot his father on his 21st birthday.

Mr. Langella is masterful in this creakily written role, finding depth and nuance that likely aren't on the page.  Mr. Driver is miscast as Basil.  His physical presence is anachronistically buff for the sensitive musician that is this bastard son.  Francesca Faridany turns up for another shallow socialite, similar to her role of Vida Philmore from the Atlantic Theatre Company's The New York Idea from earlier this year.

Director Maria Aitken keeps things moving, but the play might have benefited from a bit of adaptation 50 years later.  Derek McLane's Greenwich Village basement apartment works nicely, but is more serviceable than remarkable, as do Martin Pakledinaz' costumes.

Man and Boy is scheduled to run through November 27.

Playwrights Horizons - Discount on "Milk Like Sugar"

The good folks at Playwrights Horizons have made the following offer.

DISCOUNT TICKETS TO MILK LIKE SUGAR for BLOG READERS:

Order by October 25 and use the code MILKGR
$35 (reg. $55) for Fri, Sat, and Sun evenings, Oct. 14-16; Oct 21-23
$40 (reg. $55) for all other performances Oct. 13-Nov 20

Online: www.TicketCentral.com<http://www.ticketcentral.com/>
Call: (212) 279-4200 Noon to 8PM daily
In Person: Ticket Central Box Office, 416 W. 42nd Street

Lemon Sky

"Lemon Sky" presented by the Keen Company at the Theatre Row, September 24, 2011

(photo by Richard Termine)

My experience with the Keen Company has usually been very good - solid productions and strong scripts.  This production is a tribute to the late Lanford Wilson in this autobiographical play.  This is the first time they have missed the mark for me.

17 year old Alan (Keith Nobbs) has traveled west to live with Douglas (Kevin Kilner) his estranged father who has remarried and has two sons by his second wife Ronnie (Kellie Overbey).  Douglas is eager to make up for lost time, and Alan is at first receptive, but as time passes,  Doug's old habits resurface.  Complicating the matter are the two foster daughters, Penny (Amie Tedesco) and Carol (Alyssa May Gold), who bring in needed cash to the household budget with their monthly state allocation.

Director Jonathan Silverstein has some strong actors among the uneven cast, but doesn't maximize their strengths.  Mr. Nobbs, last seen in a similar part as narrator/character in Broadway's Lombardi admirably carries much of the load, sharing lots of exposition in direct-address monologues, then quickly stepping into a scene as a confused high school graduate in the early 70s trying to figure out what his life will be. Ms. Overbey also steps up to an underwritten role.

Scenic designer Bill Clark makes excellent use of space for the California suburban ranch house setting, complemented by Josh Bradford's unobtrusive lighting.

Mr. Wilson has many other better-remembered titles in his canon.  Other than the autobiographical nature of this play, it's unclear what drew Keen Company to select it.

I'm hopeful for better results with their next production.

Lemon Sky runs through October 22.

The Submission

The Submission, presented by MCC Theatre at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, September 11, 2011

Writing a play is a daunting task.  Getting a new play produced takes "daunting" to exponential levels.

Danny (Jonathan Groff) has been writing for a couple of years, trying to get established on the new play festival circuit.  In a unexplained fit of inspiration, he writes a fresh, powerful and highly provocative tale of a young African-American trying to escape from the life his family has led for generations.  He shows it first to his best friend Trevor (Will Rogers), an aspiring actor, who gives him the first inclination that he's written something very special.  Danny finally shows it to his boyfriend Pete (Eddie Kaye-Thomas), who echoes the praise.

Danny, however, has already made submissions to several new play festivals and has just been accepted by the renowned Humana Festival.  All sounds good, looks positive - except for one thing: Danny has submitted under a name that suggests a woman of recent African-American extract.  He justifies the action on the rationale that no festival committee would take him seriously as the author of such a play.  With the pseudonym, the subject matter doesn't conflict with its source, and it seems to have worked.

That is, until he realizes the playwright is part of the staging process at Humana.  He hires Emilie (Rutina Welsey) an aspiring actress to play his playwright and channel information to and from him as the production comes to life.

Playwright Jeff Talbot has taken this Cyrano concept and given it enough twist to make it work.  Along the way, he starts a really interesting dialogue on the comparison of discrimination among two disparate groups, gays and blacks.  His characters of Danny and Emilie are better drawn than the supporting roles of Pete and Trevor, and interestingly, none of them are thoroughly likeable.  Each presents a bristle or mean streak at one point or another.  He has a tendency to beat a dead horse, as Emilie and Danny repeat the same argument at least three times.  The first time is riveting, the last - deafening.

Mr. Groff is effective as the young man getting a little long in the tooth to be so callow.  His Danny rationalizes and justifies each miscalculation as immature young adults do.  Ms. Wesley matches him well as Emilie evolves from playing the role of the playwright to developing a real affection and feeling of ownership of Danny's script.  Messrs. Rogers and Thomas support well.

David Zinn's set functions well, serving the multiple locations and is suitably complemented by David Weiner's interesting lighting.

Director Walter Bobbie gets caught up in the argument scenes where a bit of trimming would have better served the play, but otherwise keeps things moving well.

The Submission runs through October 22.

Follies

"Follies" at the Marquis Theatre, September 8, 2011

Stephen Sondheim's 1972 musical returns to Broadway via the Kennedy Center transfer from a successful run this summer. 

It's got star power with Bernadette Peters and Jan Maxwell as Sally and Phyllis, respectively.  There's some depth in the cast as well, with Danny Burstein, Jayne Houdyshell and featuring Elaine Paige as Carlotta.

Director Eric Shaeffer creates an aptly dark mood with a ghostly chorus line of deco-clad follies girls haunting the stage, already in motion as the house opens pre-show.  His sound designer carried it a bit too far, employing effects from Disney's Haunted Mansion before the show begins.  Derek McLane's sets also straddle the line of success.  The crumbling proscenium and brick-walled set, with iron catwalks and stairs evoke nicely, but draping the entire theatre in dirty oil cloth pushes too far. 

Performances are strong.  Ms. Peters excels as Sally, though she's a bit too pitiful at times.  Still, her "Losing My Mind" pulls the heartstrings, and in "Buddy's Eyes" she matches the emotion of her "Send in the Clowns."  Mr. Burstein's Buddy was as usual a bit more fey than necessary, a habit that was better controlled in South Pacific.  Ron Raines as Ben fills the bill.

It's Ms. Maxwell's Phyllis that clinches this production.  Icy, aloof and piercing, she clips and quips through Phyllis' bitter facade.  The highlight is "Could I Leave You" when the bile and resentment of 30 years of an unhappy marriage spew out.  She's electrifying.

Follies, on a limited run, has just announced an extension through January 22, 2012.  This is one to see.

I lived through Hurricane Irene, and I'm here

I've finally ended a period of travel and have gotten back to the theatre.

Reviews are coming of:

• Follies
• Man and Boy
• The Submission

Stay tuned...

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Side Effects

"Side Effects" presented by MCC Theatre at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, June 30, 2011

(photo by Joan Marcus)

Michael Weller returns to MCC Theatre with the other side of the story from 2008's Fifty Words.  He's got a little more to say this time around, but it's the performances that make the visit worthwhile.

Bipolar Melinda (Joely Richarson) doesn't like to take her medicine, which frustrates her politically ambitious husband Hugh (Cotter Smith) to no end.  With two sons echoing Melinda's polar split (perfect son vs. screw-up son), both Melinda and Hugh maintain a total disregard for human nature that encourages this.  Their relationship devolves quickly as Hugh's political star begins to rise. Melinda is angry at being dragged along the for the ride and takes every opportunity to spoil the possibilities.  Hugh remains the definition of calm, cool and collected, until Melinda pushes him over the edge following the boys' car accident with her own breakdown.  Melinda's affair with Adam (from Fifty Words) shows up to push the plot along, but feels contrived since it's no more than a couple of one-sided telephone calls for exposition.

Ms. Richardson elevates the proceedings merely by walking on stage.  Elegant and glamorous, she builds a third dimension that would challenge a lesser talent.  Mr. Smith supports sufficiently, though not quite demonstrating skill to the level of Ms. Richardson.

Mr. Weller provides lots of emotion and gains considerable benefit with the very talented cast.  Were it not for the considerable skill of Ms. Richardson, particularly, the stilted dialog would drag even more than it did.  It's a better effort than Fifty Words, but not by much.

The exquisite living room is by Beowulf Boritt (and Ethan Allan) in warm neutrals with earthy red accents.  Jeff Croiter's lighting complements well.

Side Effects closed on July 3.

Master Class

"Master Class" presented by Manhattan Theatre Club at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, June 26, 2011

Terrence McNalley's 1995 fantasia of Maria Callas conducting a master class at the Julliard School in the 1970s returns to Broadway courtesy of Manhattan Theatre Club. 

Playing La Divina is an unlikely Tyne Daly, whose Callas simmers and seethes through the thinnest of skins, bristling at the smallest perception of a slight to a star of her caliber.  Ms. Daly masters the intricate diction of the singer beautifully, though she felt occasionally less than clear as she navigated the memory segments, interacting with her first husband, then Onassis.  Callas was a consummate acting singer - a novelty in opera at the time.  As she coaches each of the three "victims" (her word), she sends each one back to their score to find the answers in the composer's music and text.  (It's a solid performance/coaching/directing technique best and most recently demonstrated by David Cromer's recent productions of "Our Town" and "Brighton Beach Memoirs.")  Ms. Daly's Callas is not subtle though she strives for elegance.  The narcissistic fragility interrupts too often.

The first victim, Sophia De Palma (Alexandra Silber) whimpers and gushes through interruption after interruption of her aria from La Sonnambula. Awed by Callas, Sophie takes every verbal jab and asks for more.  Ms. Silber holds up well.

Next is Sharon Graham (Sierra Boggess in the role which won Audra MacDonald her first Tony).  She doesn't even get her first note out before fleeing in humiliation.

Anthony Candolino (Garrett Sorenson), the tenor, strides on next and in stereotypical tenor form, pushes back on every shove from Callas.  Her disdain melts as he sings Cavaradossi's first aria from Tosca. Visibly shaken by it, she dismisses him with the same advice to focus on the score.   The classically trained Mr. Sorenson does indeed have the voice that Anthony claims.  And, like Anthony, he still needs to work on the acting.

Sharon returns to prove herself, setting off a veritable battle of Lady MacBeths, as she sings the entrance from Verdi's opera.  Ms. Boggess gives it her best, and for the most part succeeds.

This is Mr. McNalley at his best, juxtaposing the rejected, fading diva against three vocal students whose chosen material strikes careful parallels to her own life and relationship with Aristotle Onassis.  Sophie's aria echoes Callas' memory of the news that Onassis had married Jackie Kennedy.  Tony's aria prompts the memory of how Onassis first loved her.  It is Sharon's that gets the most interesting.  In it, Lady MacBeth begins her plot to push her husband into actions that would make him king.  As she coaches and intimidates Sharon, Callas becomes Lady MacBeth and Sharon, MacBeth, the target of her machinations - it's brilliant writing.

Master Class is on a limited run through August 14.  Get ticket information here.