Catching Up the Backlog

It's been a busy spring.  Here's a collection of summaries on what I've seen of late.

"The House of Blue Leaves" at the Walter Kerr Theatre, April 11, 2011

This revival was a big hit in its 1986 production at Lincoln Center Theatre with John Mahoney, Swoosie Kurtz and Stockard Channing.  I wish I'd seen it.  Instead we get Ben Stiller, who was also in the 1986 production, with Edie Falco and Jennifer Jason Leigh.  Ms. Leigh is the only one close to being appropriately cast.  Director David Cromer seems to have strayed from what made his last two successful productions work (Our Town and Brighton Beach Memoirs) - focus on the text.  One has to wonder how much pressure there was for commercial success after the unfortunate end of the latter.  Mr. Stiller flails but never nails the desperation of Artie, making the ending twist all the more flabbergasting for the wrong reasons.  This limited run ends July 23, 2011.

"The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures" at the Public Theater, April 13, 2011

Tony Kushner returns to New York with a new play on an operatic scale (and length).  Taking on themes of communism, socialism, labor unions, sexuality and betrayal, this production is its latest incarnation after a premiere at the Guthrie.  Powerful and sweeping, one can see the work that has taken place, and the work still to be done.  Where it lacks the extravagant theatricality of Angels in America, it makes up in character development.  Stephen Spinella's Pil, gives us a glimpse of what Louis Ironson might have grown up to be.   Director Michael Greif, who also directed the Signature's revival of Angels... handles the mammoth work with finesse.  It's not Mr. Kushner's greatest work to date, but will rank among the better ones.  This limited run ends June 12, 2011

"Picked" at the Vineyard Theatre, April 15, 2011

Christopher Shinn brings us a tale of "be careful what you wish for" with this story of an actor who finally gets his big break to work with a world-class director (think James Cameron) on a new concept of film-making in which the process is reversed, writing the script after casting the actors.  It's an interesting concept and relatively well-written.  Coming off a starring role in "Cloverfield" Michael Stahl-David handles the scenes of insecurity experienced by most actors well.  He fails to deliver on the more emotional moments where the honesty his character purports to demonstrate don't come through.  Picked runs through May 22, 2011.

"Jerusalem" at The Music Box, April 16, 2011

Mark Rylance returns to Broadway in this story of a down-and-almost-out man fighting to keep the land he claims as a birthright from development.  He supports himself by selling drugs to the wayward youth in the area, drawing them in like the Pied Piper.  The subplot of a missing girl gets a bit lost in the shuffle from time to time, but Mr. Rylance is at his usual stellar performance level playing his own kind of St. George saving the maiden from the dragon.  This limited run ends July 24, 2011.

"The Importance of Being Earnest" presented by Roundabout Theatre Company at the American Airlines Theatre, April 21, 2011

Brian Bedford directs and makes Lady Bracknell the ultimate travesty role in this delightful revival of the Oscar Wilde classic.  Even the likes of Jane Houdyshell as Miss Prism can't steal the spotlight from Mr. Bedford.  This limited run ends July 3, 2011.

"The People in the Picture" presented by Roundabout Theatre Company at Studio 54, April 24, 2011

Once again, the Roundabout varies from their core mission of producing revivals to attempt a new production.  Even talented star power like Donna Murphy and Chip Zien can't help turn this overearnest effort into a hit.  Crossing elements of To Be or Not To Be with Sophie's Choice it finds neither the laughs nor heartache of either.  This limited run ends on June 19, 2011.


"The Normal Heart" at the Golden Theatre, April 25, 2011

What was first received as Larry Kramer's ranting polemic about the origins of the AIDS crisis and the failure of both the US and New York City governments to act in the best interests of homosexual men to stem the plague, it reveals itself as remarkably relevant today.  It also reveals itself as a particularly  good play, well-constructed and very powerful.  This all-star production in its first bow on Broadway features an excellent cast including director wunderkind Joe Mantello in the leading role of Ned Weeks, Kramer's thinly-veiled self-portrait.  Directors Joel Grey and George C. Wolfe channel the pain and anger into power.  David Rockwell's stark black and white set cleverly reveals the seemingly endless headlines and quotes from the period as the situation deteriorates, with stark projections of the increasing number of victims' names eventually covering the walls of the theatre itself.

Not to be missed, this limited run ends July 10, 2011.


"War Horse" presented by Lincoln Center Theater at the Vivian Beaumont, April 26, 2011

Based on a novel for young adults (think Coram Boy), this story of a young man's relationship with his horse during World War I is beautifully staged following its transfer from London.  The use of puppetry figuratively and literally anthropomorphizes the horse Joey, 1/2 thoroughbred, 1/2 workhorse as he struggles to survive the horror of war.  Eight million horses died during WWI - only 62,000 of them were brought back to England.  Even though the script is often predictable, the staging is breathtaking and the emotions are strong.

It's a brilliant production - not to be missed.  War Horse is on an open-ended run.

In the Next Room (or the vibrator play)

"In The Next Room or the vibrator play" presented by Lincoln Center Theatre at the Lyceum Theatre, December 5, 2009

(photo: uncredited from Theatremania.com)

Sarah Ruhl's first play on the Great White Way
Is a story of people, not so long ago.
Dr. Givings' new treatments are the talk of the day.
(He treats ladies' "hysteria," you know.)

The treatment releases congestion, you see,
not the head but the womb, with electricity
through a smooth knob that vibrates, applied for three minutes,
she gets her release, then sings like the linnets.

Mrs. G, with inadequate milk for her child
Seeks a wet nurse to help the babe thrive.
Maid Elizabeth, mourning the loss of her own
Needs the cash and a way to survive.

She works for the Daldry's, Mrs. D. suffers so
And her Mr. has brought her to give it a go.
"Such an anguish for me" blindly moans Mr. D.
Then he finally adds, "And for her, of course, too."

Hearing moans from her husband's professional room,
Mrs. G. wants to know how it works.
Mrs. D. sneaks her in for a try and "kaboom!"
A new sensory world starts to perk.

Mr. Irving arrives, having just been jilted
With his own hysteria, raging in throes.
Dr. G. has an implement, sadness is tilted
And Irving feels better, (He's "artistic" you know).

Laura Benanti continues to show a lovely range of acting skill.  This is her first non-singing lead on Broadway and she carries it nicely. Her Mrs. Givings is eager and unsophisticated, guileless and unfiltered, with a tendency to speak of less than appropriate subjects in the height of the Victorian era.  Michael Cerveris is consistently stiff as the ever-proper Dr. Givings, careful to shield his wife from everything a proper lady of the era should not see.  Maria Dizzia's Mrs. Daldry is a woman whose treatments awaken more than just sexual pleasure.  Her responses to the treatments are quite funny.  She shares a lovely moment with Dr. Givings' assistant Annie (Wendy Rich Stetson) after an intimate "manual" treatment when the machine is insufficient.

Quincy Tyler Bernstine's Elizabeth is appropriately shy, demurring from the attention afforded by both Mrs. Givings and the artist Leo Irving (Chandler Williams) who wants to paint her while she is nursing the baby. Her second act monologue about losing her own child is quite touching.  Mr. Williams' Irving struts like a rooster, attempting to regain his composure after his first treatment.  Dr. Givings explains, "Hysteria is rare in a man." He adds, "But then again, he is an artist."

Director Les Waters smooths over the occasional anachronism with a gentle hand, eliciting some very nice moments as mentioned above.  He truly rises to the occasion with the revelations in the lovely final scene between Dr. and Mrs. Givings.

Annie Smart's period set captures the candy store colors of the period, perfectly tufted and tasseled. David Zinn's gorgeous costumes transport delightfully.

I was charmed and thoroughly entertained by this play.  I found it a marked improvement over Ms. Ruhl's previous efforts in NY in the last couple of years, Eurydice and Clean House.  There is a natural feminist angle, a usual feature of Ms. Ruhl's work, but delivered with more ease this time.  She enlightens Dr. Givings with a marked self-awareness of his gender, "What men do not observe because their intellect would prevent the seeing would fill many books."

What Once We Felt

"What Once We Felt" presented by LCT3 at The Duke, November 7, 2009

(photo from LCT Web site)

Lincoln Center Theater opens its season of LCT3 with a new play by Ann Marie Healy. This tale of a future feminist dystopian society in the midst of the "Transition" leaves as many questions unanswered as it asks.

(Spoiler Alert)

Positioned as a memory play, it is narrated by Violet (Ronete Levenson), the very last of the Tradepacks who worked as a comforter to other Tradepacks who have elected suicide to end their dismal and unproductive lives. Ms. Levenson's monotonous delivery only emphasized that her role added little to the story-telling. She sets the stage for the tale of Macy (Mia Barron), a struggling novelist who is trying to get her latest work published, the last book ever published in paper form. Macy is a "keeper," one of 70-80% of the population who are allowed freedoms and privileges not afforded to "tradepacks." Tradepacks seem to have some kind of physical or genetic flaw and have become a service caste, lesser and subservient to the keepers. In order to get her book published, Macy trades her only chance to "download" a baby to her publisher Claire (Opal Alladin), a tradepack, arranged by her agent Astrid (Ellen Parker).

Claire has masterminded the process of Digi-direct where data downloads have expanded to include DNA. Her assistant Laura (Marsha Stephanie Blake) then hijacks the book as propaganda for the next phase of the transition. Laura's goal with Macy's book is for it to be the first to include a fully virtual experience, extending for volumes of experiential downloads directly to reader's brains.

A cruel subplot of a tradepack who euthanizes her mother with a knitting needle struggles for counterpoint, along with a couple whose downloaded baby has an "error." The unseen and undefined RSS tighten security which will presumably reveal the child as a tradepack, doomed to a life of misery - Violet, perhaps?

With these elements of Faust, Orwell and Huxley, with a touch of "Handmaid's Tale" Ms. Healy packs a lot of plot into her script. If she'd spent a little more time on exposition and/or character development, she might not have needed so much plot. The unanswered questions abound: Where did the term Tradepack originate? Who started the Transition? Why are there no men anymore?

Ms. Barron suffers the most, finding little to play beyond the strident self-promotion of a self-doubting writer. Ms. Parker's Astrid has the most fun and a couple of great lines. Ms. Alladin never finds a third dimension to her character, despite the interesting concept of a tradepack "passing" in a keeper's world.

Perhaps it's a sexist reaction on my part, but I found it interesting that this high-estrogen package was assembled by a man, director Ken Rus Schmoll. Mr. Schmoll keeps things moving well with a thoughtful hand.

One nice thing about LCT3 productions are the high quality production values. The slick set (Kris Stone) and costumes (Linda Cho) evoke a future that's not terribly different from the present without falling into stereotype.

Broke-ology

"Broke-ology" presented by Lincoln Center Theater at the Mitzi E. Newhouse, October 22, 2009

Lincoln Center Theater continues its commitment to new plays with Nathan Louis Jackson's latest work, Broke-ology.

(Possible spoiler alert)

The story begins with something of a prologue in 1982 when a pregnant Sonia (Crystal A Dickinson) is painting graphics on t-shirts to mimic something she and her husband William (Wendell Pierce) can't afford in the home they've bought in a gang-infiltrated Kansas City neighborhood. But, the have each other and hope for the future of their family. William, uneducated works a blue collar job and picks up extra HVAC work for neighbors and friends (
"I never charged anyone more than they could afford.") - he's a good man.

Fast-forward 27 years and younger son Malcolm (Alano Miller) has just finished his Master's at UConn and returned home to work for the EPA. Older son Ennis (Francois Battiste) hasn't demonstrated the same academic intellect and is preparing to become a father for the first time ("baby-daddy" as the kids might say). William's eyesight and health are failing from advancing MS and Ennis is looking for Malcolm to pick up the slack now that the baby's arrival is imminent. Malcolm wants to return to Connecticut to continue his environmental interest, which could lead to teaching at the college.

As William, Mr. Pierce doesn't look much older than his grown sons. He does have some nice emotional moments, but not many. The rest of his role is telegraphed pretty early in the first act. Mr. Miller's Malcolm doesn't fare quite as well. His language never sounds natural and we never get a real explanation as to how he managed to escape his family for college and grad school in the east. Ms. Dickinson's Sonia sashays on for a couple of dream-sequences. She does the best she can with her unevenly written material (one sequence delivered a pretty bizarre mood swing from loving to resentful back to loving in about 4 lines).

Mr. Battiste seems to handle the weak script with the most skill, finding some semblance of reality among the cliche's. (Pirates? Really?)

Donyale Werle's set cuts away to reveal the trusses and beams of the run-down house. Jason Lyons' lights work overtime to imbue more emotion than was originally written.

Yet, despite its weaknesses, it's a good thing that LCT continues to pursue and develop new material (Broke-ology originated at the Williamstown festival) for all three of its venues.

Mr. Jackson's story of role-reversal is familiar and compelling, but is hampered by poor dialogue and some structural elements that feels confusing.

Dividing the Estate

"Dividing the Estate" at the Booth Theatre, January 1, 2009

(photo by Joan Marcus)

Horton Foote's version of a Tennessee Williams premise left a bit of a disappointing legacy for me, despite what should have been an excellent cast.

I had decided to see this show mostly to see Elizabeth Ashley. Much to my disappointment, Miss Ashley (or Ahsley, as it was spelled on the notice) was out for this performance and her role was played by less than impressive Jill Tanner. It's got to be terrifically difficult to serve as an understudy on a Broadway show, and I don't mean to diminish Ms. Tanner's efforts. However, minimum requirements when stepping in are to know ALL of the lines as well as NOT throwing away ALL of the jokes. Sadly, Ms. Tanner failed on both counts.

I found the plot relatively predictable, telegraphing character deaths in short order. I also found several characters to be severely one-dimensional, either by script, direction or performance. It was sometimes difficult to tell which was most at fault.

There were one or two bright spots. Penny Fuller as Lucille turns in a lovely performance as the widowed daughter fighting for her son's legacy. Hallie Foote's portrayal of Lucille's sister, the greedy and selfish Mary Jo took until the second act for me to find any note of character shading. The rest of the cast fell victim to either stereotype (in the case of the house staff roles) or wooden delivery (in the case of Devon Abner, Maggie Lacey, Nicole Lawrence and Jenny Dare Paulin).

Jeff Cowie's set works hard to cram in the plethora of features required by the script, but doing so ultimately compromised the grand, but fading elegance of the family manse.

Director Michael Wilson provides a meandering pace giving room to allow the mouse I saw crossing the house left aisle to upstage the entire first act. (Really, a mouse in the aisle!)