The Patron Saint of Sea Monsters

"The Patron Saint of Sea Monsters" at Playwrights Horizons, October 26, 2013

PH continues to develop new work for the stage, with this new play running in their Peter Jay Sharp Theater by Marlane Meyer.  Develop is an accurate description in this case because, in addition to being a preview performance during which new changes were being performed for the first time, the play still needs a lot of work.

The premise is interesting: how people are perceived and how relationships can bring change to those involved either because of, or in spite of those perceptions.  (That's my take, at any rate, since it took well into Act 2 for that theme to emerge.)

Until then, however, main characters Aubrey (Laura Heisler) and Calvin (Rob Campbell) bounce around a very clunky and unfocused first act, surrounded by a chorus of  two-dimensional, comic-book stereotypes, from white trash to murderous (Candy Buckley, Danny Wolohan, Jacqueline Wright, Haynes Thigpen).  Ms. Meyer seems to be reaching for grand allegories as Aubrey, a disabled doctor with an unhealthy faith in an obscure saint, falls in love with Calvin, the former high school jock who peaked sophomore year and now can't hold a job because of his drinking and drug habits.   Flaws in the supporting characters abound, from a sociopath brother, to a less-than-visionary medium.  Ms. Buckley makes the most of her various roles, delivering a spot-on Lois Smith impression as Aubrey's conservative landlady.  She's also a delicious, white trash Cruella DeVille as Calvin's mother in leopard leggings.

Director Lisa Peterson struggles with connecting the comic-book aspects to the more heartfelt moments and the pacing suffers as a result.  Rachel Hauck's set adds much and flexes well to accommodate the myriad scene locations.

PH offers discount tickets to The Patron Saint of Sea Monsters for my readers (both of you):

Regular run:  Oct 18-Dec 1
Tues 7, Wed-Fri at 8, Sat at 2:30 & 8, Sun at 2:30 & 7:30

Order by Nov. 5 and use the code SAINTBLOG
$40 (reg. $60) for all performances Oct. 18-Dec. 1

Online  https://www.ticketcentral.com/playwrightshorizons/online/default.asp?doWork::WScontent::loadArticle=Load&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::article_id=D0D7E210-A98C-4C65-A44B-2355AAD20268

Call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 Noon to 8PM daily
In Person: Ticket Central Box Office, 416 W. 42nd Street between 9th & 10th Avenues

Heresy

"Heresy" at The Flea, October 13, 2012

(photo: Hunter Canning)

In a new world premiere, the prolific A. R. Gurney returns to The Flea with an overwrought story set in the near future.  Mary (Annette O'Toole) and Joseph (Steve Mellor) have come to Homeland Security because their protesting  and unseen son, Chris, has been taken into custody during the latest crackdown. It is here that they must put their case before Pontius Pilate (Reg E. Cathey).

Get it?

They ask to meet with their old college pal Pontius ("don't call me Ponty, it's reductive."), since he's the Prefect of the Bureau and might have information or connections to help.  Recording all these events is a uniformed intern, Mark (Tommy Crawford), pedantically contributing bible-like references.

Phyllis, Mrs. Pilate (Kathy Najimy) turns up with her husband for the interview since they all attended college together.  The drinks fly but little happens of consequence until Chris' college buddy Pedro (Danny Rivera) enters to keep the painful analogy on track.

Sadly, there's not much to recommend in Mr. Gurney's work beyond the opportunity for Kathy Najimy fans to get a quick fix.  She's having a great time in the two-dimensional character she's been given, gad about as the other characters drop the most recent, if ill-placed pop-culture references including the current presidential campaign.  Subtletly is not a word this play will evoke. All it raised for me were a few cheap laughs.

Director Jim Simpson seems helpless with the script as well.  He corners Ms. O'Toole into little more than one angry tirade after another and does less with the rest of the cast.

Production values are strong. Kate Foster's red, white and blue set evokes the corrupt bureaucracy, though Brian Aldous' lighting has little opportunity in the static, room setting. 

Heresy runs through November 4.  Get tickets here.

Macbeth

"Macbeth" presented by Aquila Theatre at Gym at Judson, April 21, 2012

I first encountered Aquila when the company was in residence at the University of South Carolina.  Their approach to theatre was one of minimal production values but highly clever direction and staging.  Their production of The Iliad was eye-opening as they created the Argo using only a half dozen 6 foot poles. Aquila moved to New York in 1999 and has produced here regularly along with national tours and international performances. 

Their latest offering is the Bard's Scottish play, performed with a cast of nine on a bare stage at the spartan Gym at Judson.  Director Desiree Sanchez has the actors doubling and occasionally tripling roles, and for the most part, it works very well.  Working with Peter Meineck's elegant light plot, the stage is divided like a chess board.  Though Ms. Sanchez declines to overwork the concept of a chess match, she does exercise the squares of light to clearly define a sense of location.

Guy Oliver-Watts in the title role reflects his training, conveying a Macbeth of manic mood swings.  From time to time, his rubber-faced reactions undercut his intensity.  As his scheming bride, Rebecca Reaney plays the mood swings with a bit more success, immediately ambitious upon Macbeth's first success and quick to turn to darkness to achieve her aims.  Most successful in the cast was Peter F. Gardiner, primarily as Banquo, but giving nice turns in several other supporting roles.  Aaron McDaniel is a bit over-earnest as Malcolm, but with that head of gorgeous hair, it's an easy sin to forgive. Rachael Barrington stumbles in the male role of Rosse, but redeems herself as a bitter and frightened Lady Macduff.

It's a solid production, but lacks the clever and interesting staging I've seen from Aquila before.  Hopefully, they will get back to that with their next production.  Macbeth runs through May 6, 2012.  Get tickets here.

NY International Fringe Festival, 2010

New York International Fringe Festival, August 2010

I managed to get to three offerings in this year's Fringe, Rites of Privacy, 3boys,  and Open Heart.

True to Fringe form, they were all very different, both in premise and quality.

Rites of Privacy, at the Here Arts Center, August 28, 2010

Written and performed by David Rhodes, this one-act series of confessions patches together a range of tales, personal to Mr. Rhodes and a number of seemingly created characters.  One isn't sure if the various tales are people Mr. Rhodes knew or not.  Among them are a Jew who escaped the Holocaust, a southern matron who allows her abusive husband to die and a particularly upsetting doctor who performs an abortion on herself.  Mr. Rhodes slides into each character easily enough and masters sufficient mannerisms to keep them from running together, but his own confession at the end didn't feel particularly revelatory.  I find his title misleading in that there were no tales of secret habits or practices.  All were tales of past events - - confessions.

Director Charles Loffredo keeps the pace up, but seems as unsure of the point as I was.  Greg Emetaz' projections add a bit of cinematic atmosphere, but it's not enough to carry the show.

3boys, at the 4th Street Theatre, August 28, 2010

I didn't really realize that this show was about dogs I arrived to find two of the actors tumbling about the stage like puppies.  Or at least one was tumbling about.  The other was more like a bored babysitter.  Zip (Patrick Horn) is the newest addition to the household, joining Lee (Alex Engquist and Comet (Matt Brown).  Who knew that creatures of the emotional equivalent of a 4 year old knew such worry?  Comet is sad and angry though I was never really clear as to why.  Maybe it was having been put out for stud.  Lee wants Comet to be happy again.  Zip just wants to play with the ball.

Becca Schollberg's script plumbs the depths of canine angst, going well beyond any anthropomorphizing ever attempted by Disney.  These are woeful pups.  Mr. Engquist comes off the strongest of the three, but it's a fairly low threshold.  Director Madeleine Rose M. Parsigan pulls emotion from the three on occasion, but it comes across like an acting exercise a la Viola Spolin.

Open Heart at LAMAMA, August 29, 2010

Crediting Anna Deveare Smith, playwright Joe Salvatore has continued his work in "the verbatim interview theatre process" with Open Heart, an exploration of monogamy among gay male couples.  This verbatim process, similar to the work of Moises Kaufman in The Laramie Project, and Doug Wright in I Am My Own Wife, pulls the text directly from recorded interviews.  The stories from these interviews get woven into an interesting picture of how gay men from small towns and big cities deal with the issue of monogamy in a committed relationship.  With all the political furor surrounding same sex marriage of late, Mr. Salvatore manages to present multiple perspectives without showing favor for any one.

Mr. Salvatore directs his work and has assembled quite the capable cast of five to create  the fifteen men sharing their views and experiences, including Chris Bresky, Stephen Donovan, Daryl Embry, Nick Lewis and Karl O'Brian Williams.  Mr. Bresky was excellent, moving smoothly from a 50ish man from Queens to a stammering Irishman.  Pace was brisk and the staging very clever, making excellent use of Blake McCarty's projections.

Of the three plays above, Open Heart was the one to have seen.  Mr. Salvatore would do well to contact David Drake about producing a run in Provincetown next summer.

The Pied Pipers of the Lower East Side

"The Pied Pipers of the Lower East Side" presented by The Amoralists Theatre Company at PS 122, July 31, 2010

(photo: Larry Cobra)

Returning to the NYC stage after an earlier successful run, The Pied Pipers of the Lower East Side tells a tale of a poly-amorous foursome led by an ersatz Che Guevera wannabe, Billy (James Kautz).  His housemates/lovers include Wyatt (Matthew Pilieci), Dawn (Mandy Nicole Moore) and Dear (Sarah Lemp).  Dear and Wyatt run a vegan restaurant on the street level of the building in exchange for free rent of the apartment.  Dawn was accumulated by the three others when living on the street, singing songs for tips.  She continues this as the group's only source of cash.  Billy's brother Evan (Nick Lawson) turns up for a visit, bringing an added level of chaos to the proceedings.

The story is ultimately a bit of Rent retold when their landlord/benefactor Donovan (Malcom Madera) shows up to announce he's sold the building.  They have 2 weeks to move out.  Presented in three (long) acts, playwright (and director) Derek Ahonen hedges his bets as to whether this play is a political statement, demonstrated by Billy's revolutionary and communistic tenets of equality and freedom from class structure.  Or is it a farce?  The plot includes ridiculous encounters, such as Evan's first meeting of Dear, Dawn and Wyatt as the latter three exit a shower menage a' trois naked, Wyatt fully erect.  Or is it a satire?  Billy talks at length of a revolutionary group in Mexico, in which his involvement made him an assassination target.

Since I'm not sure after an almost three-hour performance, the weakness is in the writing.

The performances are fully committed and admirable.  Mr. Kautz' addicted and alcoholic Billy is as manic and earnest as any pseudo-revolutionary I might imagine.  Mr. Pilieci's Wyatt is long on passion (as it were) but maybe just a bit short on brains.  Ms. Lemp's Dear is the coolest head among the four, trying to mother her lovers into well-meaning actions.

Mr. Ahonen's direction keeps things moving, though his own script drags the pace from time to time.  I could almost smell Al Schatz's stale LES apartment, piled up with its collected detritus and trash.


The Pied Pipers of the Lower East Side closed on August 9.

Signs of Life

"Signs of Life" presented by Amas Musical Theatre at The Marjorie S. Dean Little Theater, February 21, 2010

(Photo: Joan Marcus)

The horrors of the Holocaust are again fodder for a new musical that explores the lives of the Jews sent to Terezin.  Composer Joel Derfer sums it up as:

Signs of Life is the story of a young girl who comes of age in the Czech ghetto Terezin, rechristened Theresienstadt by the Nazis, who filled it with Jewish artists, musicians, and intellectuals and turned it into a propaganda tool. Once she and her friends and family realize what lies in store for them, they begin to discover that some truths might be worth dying for.

As a freshman effort, Mr. Derfner shows promise with his score.  His is a more heavily sung-through approach to story-telling, first explored with composers like Richard Rodgers, and more recently with Boublil & Schoenburg, and Adam Guettel.  He hasn't mastered their finesse, but is on his way to finding his own musical voice.

The story told is compelling, of 19 year old Lorelei (Patricia Noonan) studying art and discovering boys, whose life is tragically interrupted and forever changed by the Germans.  Peter Ullian's book is functional, but does have a few burps here and there.  One is when Lorelei, who has obviously met her love interest, Simon (Wilson Bridges), instead trades a dumpling to the pan-sexual cabaret star, Kurt (Jason Collins), for her first kiss.

Ms. Noonan makes a noble effort to carry the weight of the proceedings.  She gets nice support from Mr. Collins, less from Mr. Bridges. Erika Amato as Berta Pluhar, a former Jew abandoned by her Christian husband sings well, but falls victim to poor direction and comes across as overplayed.  Allen E. Read's Officer Heindel provides a short-lived glimpse of humanity behind the torture of the Nazis.

Director Jeremy Dobrish has staged the show for a much bigger house than one as intimately sized as the Deane Little Theater.  From a clunky series of silhouette images at the opening (which looked more like lighting mistakes) to oversized emoting that might work in an 1500 seat Broadway house.  He would have done better to rely on the strength of the score and the story instead of inflating the staging beyond the scope of the hall.

Alexis Distler's sets of stacked suitcases effectively provides the reminder of all the bags that were packed by the doomed to be hauled off to their deaths.  Jennifer Caprio's costumes function well, as do Michael Gottlieb's lights.

The show runs through March 21.

The Boys in the Band

"The Boys in the Band" presented by Transport Group Theatre Company, February 17, 2010

(photo: Carol Rosegg)

Have you ever wanted to be a fly on the wall at someone's party?  That's exactly what director Jack Cummings, III has done with this revival of Mart Crowley's 1968 play.  Mr. Cummings has furnished a loft space in the Flatiron District and seated the audience all around the large room to observe the fireworks.  We are all guests at Michael's to celebrate Harold's 32 birthday.

The setting is still approximately 1968 as Michael (Jonathan Hammond) starts his warm-up with a little Judy at Carnegie Hall playing full blast on the record player.  Just as the first guest is scheduled to arrive, Michael's college roommate Alan (Kevin Isola) is in town from DC, very upset, calls up and invites himself over.  As the guests begin to arrive, Michael begs them to act "normal" when Alan appears and the spewing of self-hate begins.  If you need a plot summary and a history of the show, click here.

Playing now as a period piece (to a certain extent), everyone at the party has been in therapy over his own issues with homosexuality.  The resulting self-hate is the usual by-product from a time when the American Psychiatric Association still regarded homosexuality as a mental illness.

Mr. Cummings has assembled an attractive and, for the most part, very able cast to tell this tale of bitchy queens who care for each other, but hate themselves.  The characters cover the gamut of stereotypes of the day (hell, of today for that matter), from the bitter, unattractive, Jewish Harold (Jon Levenson), to his birthday present, the twinkie hustler known only as Cowboy (Aaron Sharff), from the swishy, nelly Emory (John Wellman) to the divorced bisexual Hank (Graham Rowat).

Mr. Hammond's Michael gives us an early peek into his neurotic tendencies, changing his sweater three times to fussing over who didn't eat the cracked crab leg hors d'oeuvres.  There's a lot more to work with in this character than his recent pared down role of Harry Houdini in "Ragtime" from last year. He carries Michael's baggage very well.

As Bernard, the token black man, Kevyn Morrow walks the fine line between camp and "straight acting." Mr. Wellman's Emory moves and croons perfectly, but with the close viewing proximity in the setting, I never saw the truth of it in his eyes.  As the unwitting guest, Alan, Mr. Isolda plays it a little passively, perhaps to remain ambiguous through the suspicions and accusations that ensue.  Not much falls into gray in this play, so the ambiguity didn't always work for me.  The very handsome Christopher Innvar's Larry never exuded the "polyamorous-ness" of his role. Mr. Sharff's Cowboy was little more than a twink out of his element, in more ways than one.

Mr. Cummings is to be commended for his work. The pace is brisk, a vital requirement since the two hours are passed without intermission.  He seems to have focused on the stronger actors, rather than bringing up the weaker ones.  Still, it's a full ride of emotion in one evening.

The show runs through March 14.  If you haven't seen it before, you shouldn't miss it.

A Christmas Carol: Scrooge & Marley

"A Christmas Carol: Scrooge & Marley" Barefoot Theatre Company presented by Horse Trade Theater Group at The Kraine Theater, December 16, 2009

As part of their 70/70 Horovits Project, celebrating playwright Israel Horovitz' 70th birthday with 70 of his plays presented around the world, Barefoot Theatre company presents his adaptation of the Dicken's short story.

The 85 minute piece, performed without intermission is a faithful retelling of the greed and redemption of Ebenezer Scrooge (John Gazzale).  Here, the story is narrated by the ghost of Jacob Marley (Ken Glickfield) and directed in an eclectic mixture of styles by Robert Bruce McIntosh.  I'm sure many of his choices, such as mixing in a bit of kabuki,  were directed by budget (or lack thereof), with some more successful than others, but resulting in a uneven performance with sometimes jarring transitions.  Also uneven were the performances among the cast.

Carrying the majority of the burden, and successfully so to our fortune is Mr. Gazzale.  Whether written or directed as such, his Scrooge is quite the teary and regretful soul, with the waterworks beginning during the visit from the Ghost of Christmas Past (Caitlin Davies), and flowing freely until the final curtain.  Still, he commands the stage and delivers with conviction, head and shoulders above his castmates.  Almost as successful is Mr. Glickfield's Jacob Marley. While his makeup looked more canine than rotted, his delivery stumbled and stammered from time to time.  Sadly, the rest of the cast, for the most part, were rather amateurish despite their energy and intent.  Despite that, the play's excellent writing does manage to shine through.

Necessary Adjustments

"Necessary Adjustments" presented by Phare Play Productions at the Beckmann Theatre, October 24, 2009

I'm in something of a quandary.

As my blog profile indicates, I am pursuing acting here in NYC.

The case has arisen where I am now reviewing a play for which I not only auditioned, but was called back. Based on my limited observations during the call back, I didn't think I would get the part, so the surprise of an email from the director letting me know officially, was actually a pleasant one (the first time I've ever had this kind of response from an audition). Usually, no news is bad news in this business.

Next, as a member of the Independent Theatre Bloggers Association, I received an invitation to review Necessary Adjustments. I was anxious to see what I had gotten near to participating in.

I wanted it to be good. I really did.

Now, as some of you know (and some of you may not), producing *any* theatre in NYC is difficult. Everything costs a lot more than you think it might, so production values often suffer. The producers at New World Stages have recognized that the value in staging more than one show at a time in the same theatre can help manage costs.

Phare Play Productions has made a similar choice, producing Necessary Adjustments along with Jellyroll Shoes at the Beckmann, filling the theatre 9 times per week instead of one off-off-Broadway production running 4 or 5 times per week (not uncommon for OOB).

Even then, finding an affordable and appropriate performance space is more easily said than done. I've seen enough off-off Broadway to know that the right performance space can be a pivotal factor in the success of a play.

For Necessary Adjustments, this has landed the show in an unfortunate space which does nothing to foster an evening of entertainment. Likewise, director Christine Vinh Weems hasn't figured out how to effectively overcome this fatal flaw in her production. The result is a series of overlong and clunky set changes which include actors moving sofas on, off and around the stage.

Playwright Michael Weems, sporting a number of scripts produced in NYC has landed on an interesting premise. His story focuses on the pending nuptials of Jeff (Jaike Foley-Schultz) and Millie (Maggie Parker), an unhappy event for her mother Beverly (Carol Palmaro) who dislikes the young man. Bev's husband Brent (David Merrick) is much easier-going, particularly after a cocktail or two and tries to keep the peace. Younger brother Ken (Austin Mitchell) can't draw the kind of attention that will instill in him the confidence he needs to move out of his parents' basement, nor has he the maturity to figure out how to get it. Jeff's old college buddies Darren (Joey Mintz) and single father Nolan (Paul Herbig) along with Millie's life-long chum and maid of honor Kate (Rebecca Servon) round out the wedding party. Don't forget the stripper Ivy/Hope (Megan Channell) who brings an oddly unexpected twist to the proceedings. Mr. Weems has a good ear for dialogue, but has chopped up the plot into lots of little scenes. Had there been a better stage (or staging) this might not have been such a liability. There are a couple of other odd choices. The mother of the bride, inexplicably, conducts the ceremony. The groom, feeling that his in-laws-to-be hate him, takes a "groomzilla" approach to creating a perfect event in the hope that such will bring them around. This might have rung true, except for the counterpoint that the in-laws had to borrow from the maternal grandmother to pay for the wedding.

Beyond that, there are some bright spots among the very attractive cast. Mr. Foley-Schultz finds a third dimension to his role on a fairly regular basis, as do Mr. Herbig, Ms. Parker, Mr. Mitchell and Ms. Servon, though less frequently. The rest are serviceable, but none demonstrated the ability to pick up a cue. The cast could have cut 10 minutes off the run time with this alone.

I also felt like there wasn't enough focus on the story since each member of the audience got a program tied with a ribbon like a wedding bulletin and a handful of M&Ms tied in tulle like wedding favors. As hands-on as Mrs. Weems was (also running box office the night I attended), I got the feeling it was her time spent creating these superfluous touches that should have been spent working on the performance.

Finding Focus on a Dream

"The Conscientious Objector" presented by the Keen Company at the Clurman Theatre, Theatre Row, March 11, 2008

Michael Murphy's play presents us with Martin Luther King, Jr. at the height of his reign as a civil rights leader. The program notes that while it "...is first and foremost a play. It is a dramatization and some liberties were taken." Personally, I can only vaguely remember when Dr. King was shot in Memphis in 1968, so I cannot speak to the historical accuracy in Mr. Murphy's work, or lack thereof.

What Mr. Murphy does give us in his interpretation of Dr. King (DB Woodside), is a reluctant and unsure man. The evening begins in 1965 when Dr. King first spoke out against the Vietnam War. Mr. Murphy puts forth that Dr. King felt compelled to take this position despite the fact that it would pull him away from the civil rights struggle. He has written a Dr. King who practically bows and scrapes in the first meeting we see with Lyndon Johnson (John Cullum). President Johnson needs Dr. King to back off the Vietnam issue so that he can continue to get similar legislation passed to the Voting Rights Act. King retreats briefly, but can't disregard the issue for the sake of politics. His advisers, Ralph Abernathy (Bryan Hicks), Stanley Levison (Steve Routman), Andrew Young (James Miles) also want him to choose his battles and stay with those he can win. James Bevel (Jimonn Cole) is the lone dissenter of his supporters and keeps pushing him to fight against the Vietnam war.

Mr. Woodside's King is certainly the reluctant hero. His resolve only forms when pushed forward by others whom he respects, or when forced on the defensive. I'm afraid, though, Mr. Woodside (and Mr. Forsman) have been very poorly served by their dialect coach, Meagan Prahl. I've complained about inaccurate southern accents before, and Mr. Woodside's is simply appalling. I would much rather he had spent his time finding the rhythm and music in King's voice and making the role his own. Consider the choices that Frank Langella and Anthony Hopkins made in their respective interpretations of Richard Nixon. Neither imitates, yet both captured the character in vastly different ways.

Note to Ms. Prahl: While I congratulate you on your first coaching gig, be informed that substituting "uh" for "er" sounds and "eh" for "ee" do not a southern accent make. I have no idea where you grew up, but the Brown/Trinity Consortium pedigree leads me to conclude it was well above the Mason-Dixon Line. I know you're excited about your coaching debut in NYC, but you may want to consider spending your coaching fee to pay the Keen to reprint their playbills without your credit for the remainder of the run.

As Lyndon Johnson, Mr. Cullum (thankfully) avoids an imitation of the late president. He also had significant struggles getting his lines out. Having been in previews for a week, one might expect more from such an accomplished actor.

Rachel Leslie's Coretta Scott King gets little do to, other than look lovely and concerned. Seemed a bit of a waste of talent to me.

Mr. Cole's James Bevel suffers from the substitution of volume for passion at the expense of diction and clarity. Bryan Hicks as Ralph Abernathy couldn't pick up a cue if the other actors dropped it in his lap. Jonathan Hogan, in multiple roles, demonstrates the kind of skill one obtains after 25 years with Circle Rep, not to mention his numerous Broadway, film and television appearances. The younger actors in this cast would do well to study his performance and choices.

Director Carl Forsman seems at times overwhelmed by the material (or at least by the actors in it), unable to fine tune performances when needed. At other times, his touches are quite sensitive and thoughtful - the scene when Coretta is boosting Martin up on the telephone, knowing exactly what his physical appearance is and mothering him in support to give.

Once again, Beowulf Boritt's set is the real star of this production. An American flag drapes the back wall and gently raked stage, interpreted in shades of grey - an absence of color yet not reduced to simple black and white. Josh Bradford's lights make a good start, but could use a bit more refinement to distinguish time and location on the abstract set.

I admire the efforts of the Keen Company. I think this is a group who truly attempts to create valid and relevant theatre in New York. I look forward to their next outing.

Arguing for Acceptance

"Speech & Debate" presented by the Roundabout Theatre Company at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre/ Black Box Theatre, February 20, 2008

Stephen Karam's play has enjoyed a well-deserved, extended run at the Roundabout's off-off-Broadway basement on W46th St. I believe it is the inaugural production for this space, and an auspicious start it is.

The story centers on three high school misfits, Howie (Gideon Glick), Solomon (Jason Fuchs) and Diawata (Sarah Steele), each searching for his/her own form of recognition. Solomon longs for the scoop that will make him a journalist, Diawata longs for the glamour of the stage. Howie just wants to find a boyfriend and finish the torture that is being gay in high school.

Mr. Karam has, very interestingly I thought, structured each scene along the rules of the NFL (that's the National Forensics League, which creates the rules for high school debate teams across the US). For those of you who weren't debate nerds in high school, some of the categories that Mr. Karam illuminates so skillfully include:

• Dramatic Interpretation
• Original Oratory
• Duo Interpretation
• Lincoln Douglas Debate
• Extemporaneous Oratory

Mr. Fuchs' performance as Solomon anchors this production. He's got the precocious, too-smart-for-his-own-good, wannabe journalist thing down pat. Pushy, pretentious and condescending, he demonstrates all the signs of a teenager with something to hide (which he does).

Mr. Glick's Howie suffers at times from the affected speech pattern he has chosen. Otherwise, he also has nailed the mercurial behaviour of an outsider who recognizes that high school will nto be his time to shine, but still kinda wishes it were.

Ms. Steele's Diawata is the least consistent performance. She has moments of brilliance, particularly during her live podcasts of her "monoblog." She dies struggle from time to time with keeping in character when Diawata lands some of her funniest lines.

As the only adults in the story, Susan Blackwell (from [title of show] fame) feels particularly underused. She is tender and concerned as Solomon's faculty sponsor for this school paper, then has a marvelous turn as a local journalist/bookwriter who interviews the students about the new Speech and Debate club that Diawata is trying to start (since she can't manage to land a featured role in the school play). Her granting of each teen's wish in her final scene smacked a bit of the Wizard and his black velvet bag, but can be forgiven.

The design team of Anna Louizos (sets), Heather Dunbar (costumes), Justin Townsend (lights) and Brett Jarvis (sound & projection) have worked a bit of magic in the basement, black box space. Mr. Jarvis and Ms Louizos, in particular, deserve notice for the incorporation of each other's efforts.

Director Jason Moore has done a great job with what otherwise might be a small piece. He handles Mr. Karam's subjects of Foley-esque mayors and drama teachers, and the burgeoning sexuality of teenagers with respect and intelligence without turning the debate podium into a pulpit. This approach is consistent with his previous work ("Avenue Q"). I'll be interested to see how his next project ("Shrek") turns out with such big corporate money behind him.

It's Like Deja Vu All Over Again

"Double Vision" presented by Fringe NYC Encores at the Culture Project, September 15, 2007

From the promotional materials, "Six singles navigate the tricky waters of urban, modern relationships in this tale of love on the lam."

Yeah, that's what my reaction was too.

Still, this bit of Lifetime TV meets Comedy Central does have a spirited cast with some commendable performances.

Dave (Shane Jacobsen), Mark (Quinn Mattfield) and Ben (Christopher McCann) share an apartment in Queens. All three are single with commitment issues. Dave sabotages every relationship he attempts. Mark is only interested in unavailable women. Ben only wants something passionate that will end before the passion dies.

Neighbor Celia (Linda Jones) lives with a boyfriend who works days while she works nights, but she has a huge crush on Ben. Mary (Rebecca Henderson) has been dating Dave and has an opportunity for a big promotion that would require her to move to California. Michelle (Sarah Silk) is passionately in love with Ben, but is returning to France to finish school the next day.

Director Ari Laura Kreith has assembled this able cast and moves them through their paces.

Mr. Jacobsen is an oozing mass of insecurity, terrified of being responsible for anyone or anything, even himself. He spends the second half of the play naked following a car accident eerily similar to one he described at the beginning of the play. While at first effective to communicate his mental tribulations, the nudity loses it impact quickly.

Mr. Mattfield also acquits himself well in his role, he sums it up "Love. It's a lot like what you didn't ask for - like forks raining down."

Mr. McCann's Ben 12-steps his way through his role as a recovering addict. Ms. Jones' Celia frets and worries herself into bed with Ben, even before his French girlfriend has left town.

All in all, the cast was much better than their material. At 70 minutes without intermission, it could have been just as effective at 40 minutes.

Three's Company?

"Lights Rise on Grace" Fringe Encores at the Culture Project, September 3, 2007

I didn't get to any of the shows at this year's NY Fringe Festival during the regular run, but once again several shows have returned this month in an encore series.

Chad Beckim's "Lights Rise on Grace" tells the story of Grace, Large and Riece. It's a bizarre love triangle of race, prison, and self-deception. Grace (Ali Ahn) is the child of Chinese immigrants, seduced and at once in love with Large (Jaime Lincoln Smith), who is soon shipped off to jail for 6 years where he meets Riece (Alexander Alioto).

This minimalist production moves well under the direction of Robert O'Hara, but Mr. Beckim's script still needs a bit of work. While he does pretty well having the story jump back and forth in time to reveal certain plot points, the characters suffer a bit as a result. Most injured by this is Grace. We meet Grace in a direct- address monologue and she is forthright, honest and open, traits which all three disappear as she flashes back to her first meetings with Large. She becomes a Bronx Cio-Cio-San, barely able to speak from shyness and inexperience. Yet, in her first interaction with her parents, there is no hesitation in how she expresses herself. Ms. Ahn does the best she can with the material but is hindered early on by the writing.

As Large, Mr. Smith plays the smooth operator very well, but as the plot shifts to his time in jail and his relationship with Riece, again, things don't quite ring true.

It is Mr. Alioto's Riece that gets the full treatment. A sociopath at heart, Riece is the only character who gets a true arc through the course of the play. Mr. Alioto manages to stir empathy with this troubled man as he abuses and torments Large, and later Grace, in the name of love.

The Tables Are Turned

Updated 05/22/07: Three reviews of "In The Schoolyard"

Go Brooklyn's Review of "In The Schoolyard" at Theater for the New City, published May 12, 2007

Lost in Brooklyn!

By Christopher Murray

for The Brooklyn Paper

If there is any doubt about the cultural milieu of the charming new musical “In the Schoolyard” being presented this month at Manhattan’s Theater for the New City, the opening lyrics make things crystal clear: “Run, block, make a pass. Come on, Eddie, move your ass!”

Yeah, we’re deep in the heart of Brooklyn, guys. Both the storyline and the genesis of this musical are firmly set in the land of Spaldeens and eggcreams. Here’s the background: in 1998, writer Paulanne Simmons wrote a story for The Brooklyn Paper about a group of grown-up Brooklyn Heights street urchins who return every year to the ‘hood to play basketball and reminisce over a few beers. The story tugged on all those Brooklyn heartstrings: friendship, sports and nostalgia for the good ol’ days.

“I grew up in Brooklyn,” Simmons said recently. “I felt like I knew these guys.” Living in the Heights with her family, but having grown in East New York, Simmons was sure there was drama in the story and in 2001 her play, “Basketball Lessons,” was brought to the stage. Now, with her collaborator, composer Margaret Hetherman, the story that became a play becomes a feisty and warm-hearted musical.

“It happened years ago and yet,” goes one of the songs, “these are the things you don’t forget.” Certainly the fictional characters Simmons has created haven’t forgotten. They are all drawn back to Brooklyn like the swallows to Capistrano, but this year will prove to be a very special reunion of the gang.

Larry (the soulful and sardonic Jimmy Moon), also know as “Killer Dog,” was the golden boy of the nabe and is now a workaholic venture capitalist in California. “Jumping” Jerry (James Martinelli, also the show’s choreographer whose loose joints and full heart reminded me of the Tin Man of Oz), is a family man with small law practice on Long Island. Eddie (the affable Arthur Brown), a high school principal, acts as reunion convener and the show’s chorus. Manny (the solid Richard Bryson), made a mint out of his Tex-Mex restaurant chain. And lastly, Dave (the energetic Mickey Corporon) helped ensure all the guys got through school in the old days, but a succession of failed get-rich-quick schemes have left him broke, with a failing marriage and more-than-a-little desperate.

“But most of us turned out OK,” Larry mused. “I think it’s because we were so close.”

The guys represent the full diversity of Kings County’s Latino, Jewish and Irish sons of immigrants, and are lauded in the song “Protestants, Atheists and Jews.” Most of the show’s tunes are short and slower-tempoed, although Manny (“Best Latin Lover, Dartmouth ‘71”) and his mother — local grocery owner — Mrs. Rivera (“Rice and Beans”), played by Jackie Savage, both add zest with their numbers.

The wives of the fellows (Theresa Marinelli, Barbara Czerner, Jody Bell and Heather Meagher), perhaps predictably, get somewhat short shrift. While the men’s characters, which the show is ultimately most concerned with, are all crispy delineated and well beyond stereotype, the wives all grumble about the reunions and make fun of their husbands for being a little past their prime, with spare tires and balding pates. In a group number, “Our Guys,” however, their love for their tubby hubbies shines through.

The show takes a serious turn in the second act, moving the script beyond just a re-examination of the past with rose-colored glasses. A personal crisis for one of the characters causes all the friends to reflect on what’s truly important to them and how precious the time spent with dear friends and family is.

Although the play’s rudimentary scenic elements — backlit lighting, cardboard sets — convey a community theater-style production, with a few botched sound cues and a flubbed line here and there, these foibles are made up for by the spirit of theater about community that is in harmony with the play’s message. In fact, members of Simmons’s family pitched in with various tasks for the presentation and the Heights Players offered support, too.

The homespun truths captured by “In the Schoolyard,” and the message about your old friends being the truest, was summed up in a comment overhead from an audience member at intermission: “There’s a certain thing in Brooklyn. Those guys, I might not have seen them in years, but I’ll be going to their funeral, or they’ll be going to mine.”

A somber note, perhaps, for a musical with a slightly bittersweet ending, but a shared past has many consolations, as Larry said, “That’s the great thing about coming back to Brooklyn — nothing changes.”

“In the Schoolyard,” will run at Theater for the New City (155 First Ave., between Ninth and 10th streets in Manhattan) through May 20. Tickets are $15. For information, visit www.theaterforthenew....

©2007 The Brooklyn Paper

NYTheatre.com's review of "In The Schoolyard" at Theatre for the New City published May 5, 2007

Michael Criscuolo · May 5, 2007

Paulanne Simmons and Margaret Hetherman's new musical, In the Schoolyard, follows several old high school friends from Brooklyn who reunite in the old neighborhood once a year for a weekend of socializing, reminiscing, and schoolyard basketball. It's a great idea for a show that, unfortunately, falls flat here. Plagued by inconsistency on all fronts, In the Schoolyard undoes its creators at every turn.

Eddie, a middle-aged high school principal in New Jersey, organizes the reunion every year. Among the usual attendees are Larry, a white collar California businessman; Jerry, a Long Island attorney; Dave, a wayward entrepreneur looking to make a quick and easy buck; and Manny, owner of a national Tex-Mex restaurant chain. They all grew up together, and rarely miss an opportunity to hang together no matter how geographically far away they may be from each other. Some of these men are workaholics, others have lost numerous jobs, while others have married and divorced, but their collective friendship has remained constant throughout the years.

On a purely structural level, Simmons's book lets In the Schoolyard down in a crucial way: there's no conflict. Act I takes its time (perhaps a little too much) introducing all the characters. Then, in Act II, the show jumps straight into a slow, gradual resolution, bypassing any and all complications. There's some potential discomfort regarding a risky investment deal Dave wants to get Larry in on, and a life-threatening disease for one of the men late in the show, but they both feel almost like afterthoughts. Simmons never positions In the Schoolyard for any kind of circumstance that might jeopardize the men's reunion or their friendships (or anything else).

Even if she did, we might not necessarily see it. The two places the guys talk most about—the basketball court and the local bar where they hang out afterwards—are the two locations where we never get to see them. In the Schoolyard shows us plenty of who they are individually, but we see very little of who they are together. Without this dynamic, the show feels imbalanced.

Simmons and Hetherman's score has some nice moments, but on the whole sounds too somber and minor-key for this story. The exuberance that the characters keep aiming for is absent from the songs. There are also some dubious choices made concerning which parts of the story get musicalized. "Our Guys," a trio for the tried-and-true wives, and "Rice and Beans," in which one of the guys' mothers rhapsodizes about her signature dish, feel like filler. Simmons and Hetherman fare better in other places, most notably with Manny's introduction, "Best Latin Lover, Dartmouth '71," but, for the most part, I had a hard time understanding why In the Schoolyard is a musical and not a straight play.

The production itself is shaky, and feels severely under-rehearsed. The actors look uncertain much of the time, and there's a mental and emotional disconnect that happens whenever most of them sing. Director Simmons doesn't unify any of the show's various elements, and the result is a production that comes off looking like a first run-through at the halfway point in the rehearsal schedule. Sadly, under such conditions, almost none of the actors comes off looking good. Only James Martinelli makes a positive impression as Jerry. Imagine Tom Sizemore as a song-and-dance man, and you'll understand how disarmingly charming Martinelli is.

As I said at the beginning, there's a good show lurking in here somewhere, but this isn't it.

Update: May 22, 2007

A third opinion from Cait Weiss at New Theater Corps Blog:

Link here