Somewhere In Time

"Mary Rose" at the Vineyard Theatre, March 13, 2007

J. M. Barrie's final play, first performed in 1920 arrives at the Vineyard in a lovely production directed by Tina Landau. Several analyses have been published about relationship of this play to Mr. Barrie's first stage effort, "Peter Pan" pondering the child-like nature of the title character and how it relates to the experiences in Mr. Barrie's life. It's a tender and delicate ghost story.

In brief, the play centers on Mary Rose, a young English woman who makes two fateful visits to a mysterious island in the Hebrides, first as a child and again ten years later having recently married and borne her first child. Ms. Landau has taken a further step to bring Mr. Barrie's stage directions and other character descriptions into the play with a narrator, played by Keir Dullea, tracking along as a handsome John McMartin doppelganger.

As the title character, Paige Howard delights in the child-like qualities of Mary Rose. She hops and skips every time she crosses the stage. Her performance in Mary's happy moments are where she shines. When Mary is confused or feeling lost, Ms. Howard tends to get a little lost herself and fails to bring the empathy needed in these scenes.

As her husband Simon Blake, Darren Goldstein is at first a perfect ninny, quite proud to have make a sudden bit of growth into solemnity and maturity on the day he proposes to Mary. He enjoys a nice bit of banter with Mr. Cameron (Ian Brennan), the Scottish guide who brings them for Mary's second visit to the island. Mr. Brennan gets a bit of deadpan fun here with a poke or two at Simon's expense. "I admire you, Mr. Blake. Not so much for your learning - - the English have always done without that."

As Mary's parents, Betsy Aidem and Michael Countryman create a warm and loving pair who would protect their child at all costs. Mr. Morland has a couple of nice moments with Mr. Amy, the local parson (Tom Riis Farrell) in the first and third acts, repeating what seems to be a weekly bit of one-upmanship leading into a brief spat followed by heartfelt apologies on both parts for such poor behavior.

Richard Short plays Harry, the grown child of Mary Rose and Simon. He's returned to the family property after spending most of his life in Australia. Mr. Short appeared a bit young to be a man of 30 with a couple of years of warfare behind him. Beyond that and an inconsistent Aussie accent, he makes an earnest attempt to bring believability to his role.

James Schuette settings give the flavor of rural England, as well as the island. Kevin Adams' lighting provide just the right bit of mystery when it is called for. Michael Krass' costumes also bring the air of the period.

Director Tina Landau has done a lovely job with this revival. It's sweet, tender, and at times unsettling.

Side Effects May Include...

"Dying City" at the Mitzi Newhouse Theatre, Lincoln Center, March 6, 2007

Craig died in Iraq. Gay twin brother, Peter, has just dropped in on Kelly, the widow. Angst, pain, miscommunication (or lack thereof) ensues and precedes the rest of the evening.

Christopher Shinn has created an interesting premise for his play about learning how to move on after devastating moments in our lives. Interesting dramatically in his construction to have the same actor play twins with action and exposition in flashbacks.

Pablo Schreiber (I hadn't realized that he is Liev's brother until now) takes on the dual roles. He's buffed up quite a bit, which works for both roles. His Craig, the soldier, is quite believable as an over-protective bear of a man with a quick temper. His Peter, however, falls more into the category of stereotype. Even though Peter is gay, he's become a successful actor both on stage and in film. It seemed a little much to me for Peter to be such a sissy. I think the writing may have pushed Mr. Schrieber to his choices. Peter is continually apologizing, for showing up unannounced, for wanting to maintain a relationship with Kelly, for wanting to talk about Craig, for everything it seems.

As Kelly, Rebecca Brooksher comes across as Calista Flockhart with a Jennifer Grey nose-job - blandly pretty but with a voice that is so familiar. I had heard (or read) someone else make a similar observation, but it didn't really strike me until she was speaking with her back to me. Ms. Brooksher pouts and cries, but never quite matches Mr. Schrieber's intensity.

Anthony Ward's rotating set makes a nice-sized 1BR with minimal furnishings. Pat Collins' lighting does well to help establish whether the scene is present or previous without being intrusive.

"We Owe Barbra Streisand So Much"

"Some Men" at the Second Stage, March 4, 2007

Terrance McNally's newest play about gay men and where their lives lead them has premiered at the Second Stage Theatre Company.

A series of vignettes and scenes relating to nine men attending the wedding of two of their friends covers a veritable history of gay men from the 1920s to the present. Like his "Love, Valour, Compassion" Mr. McNally has compiled a cross-section of gay characters, from military man to married man to circuit boy to aging queen to gay activist to early drag queen and beyond. He shows all this, not so much to either justify or sabotage the concept of same sex marriage. I think he does a clever job without taking one side or the other.

The cast is solid, with each actor finding at least one moment to shine. Frederick Weller as Paul, attending the funeral of his fellow soldier and lover who was killed in Iraq makes a painfully constricted confession to the dead man's father, also military. Don Amendolia as Aaron, gets one of the funnier opening lines, "When did I become the oldest everywhere I go?" He also gives a funny turn in the internet chat sequence as "Buffed in Chelsea."

Bernie is the married man into whose life we see the most. To him, Kevin AuCoin brings a fresh vulnerability to every scene, from his first encounter with a hustler, to meeting Carl (Romain Fruge) who would become his life partner, to the argument he has with his gay son Perry (Jesse Hooker) who has hired a surrogate mother to bear a child for him and his lover Marcus (Michael McElroy).

As the Stonewall Riots rage outside, David Greenspan appears in a quiet gay bar as Roxie. Roxie isn't quite the typical drag queen, and is abused a bit by the clientele and bartender since cross-dressing was one thing that drew the police to raid gay bars at the time. Judy is a topic of
discussion in this scene - one of the patrons observes that Judy should have done the film version of "Gypsy" (a casting choice I've always thought would have been unbeatable). He wins his place in the bar with the statement, "When I look in the mirror, I see an ugly woman, but a fabulous drag queen. We owe Barbra Streisand so much!" End the scene, he sings a very tender "Over the Rainbow" as both tribute and confession.

Michael McElroy travels back in time to Harlem in the 20's as Angel Eyes, the emcee. He shares his story of the men who have loved and treated him well, nicely capturing the style and flair of the period. Pedro Pascal gets the "hottie" roles with turns as Bernie's hustler and internet RandyHunk. Randy Redd rounds out the cast, providing piano accompaniment and other supporting roles.

DirectorTrip Cullman moves the scenes along well and allows just enough time to ponder moments before moving on. Mark Wendland's set is particularly flexible with excellent lighting by Kevin Adams.

I'm glad to see Mr. McNally back with a solid theatre work. I thought his book for "Chita Rivera: A Dancer's Life" was a bit thin and glossy. Even less impressive was the scenario he created for the NYC Gay Men's Chorus a couple of years ago.

How to Mess Up Your Own Gilbert and Sullivan Operetta

"The Pirates of Penzance" presented by the New York City Opera at the New York State Theatre, Lincoln Center

Of all the G and S productions, I always thought this one was as close to bullet-proof as any of them. NYC Opera has cast a number of well-established stage performers to round out some of the "lighter" presentations in their season. In this production are the very talented Marc Kudisch (Apple Tree, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Assassins, Thoroughly Modern Millie) and Mark Jacoby (Sweeney Todd, Ragtime, Man of La Mancha), but even their depth of skill can't raise this floundering mess.

Mr. Kudisch, singing the Pirate King, appears left to his own devices which works on when the action is between him and one or two other characters. Once the chorus sweeps in, he's lost in the crowd. Fortunately, his was one of the better voices in this performance. Mr. Jacoby, as Major General Stanley, also does well with the snippets of dialogue, but struggles a bit in his songs. To his defense, however, I think it's the responsibility of Conductor Gerald Steichen for so many weak and shaky musical moments.

I'm now a little more sympathetic to NYCO's complaints of poor acoustics in the NY State Theatre. Even with amplification, the orchestra, sitting in an open pit, sounded like they were playing in a room next door. Inconsistent miking helped none of the singers, either.

As Mabel, Sarah Jane McMahon is about the only one who manages to rise above the squalor. She allows Mabel to float through her music, resulting in a lovely and delicate performance.

As Ruth, Myrna Paris doesn't fare so well. She seems to be playing her own version of opera buffa, with only occasional appearances from correct pitch and tempi.

Matt Morgan's Frederic, callow, but not quite innocent also suffers from lack of directorial guidance. In his first meeting with Mabel, this shy and demure lad is suddenly a leering ape, all hands and sidelong glances.

Kevin Burdette, making his NYC Opera debut in the role of the Police Sergeant, does seem to fare rather well, borrowing heavily from Tony Azito's camped-up performance from Joseph Papp's 1981 production - all rubber legs and faces.

Director Lillian Groag appears to have spent much too much time staging a lot of fussy business with costumed stagehands moving about superfluous props and set pieces, and not enough time providing a vision and flow for her singers. Her bio is impressive. I can only wonder where she was for this show.

I had been really excited about NYCO's announcement of "Ragtime" for next season. Having seen what they did with "Pirates..." I'm not so excited anymore.

An Inspector Calls: "...5, 6, 7, 8!"

"Curtains" at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, March 3, 2007

How many shows can Kander and Ebb reference at one time? At a minimum, 3 - but I'm sure that number is much larger than what I could recognize in this, their last joint and particularly frothy production.

The plot is well-traveled ground covering backstage shows and movies from "42nd Street" and "Bandwagon" deliciously, if not over-embroidered with time-worn classics like "An Inspector Calls," "Oklahoma!," and "Ten Little Indians" plus any number of other shows that have ever been produced onstage.

Plot summary: Seasoned producers are in Boston with a tryout of a western version of Robin Hood, starring a faded movie star who can neither sing, dance or act. When she's murdered opening night, a detective shows up and holds the entire cast in the theatre until he can solve the crime. BTW, he's got a bit of his own theatre-bug from doing community shows and becomes as eager to fix the show as he is to solve the murder. Multiple murders follow as the show is restaged, with fingers pointed at about everyone in the company. Toss in a couple of love triangles, stir well with puns and penis jokes and it's an evening of fun and frivolity.

I should add, there was one song in particular that struck a touching moment for me. Aaron (Jason Daniely), the composer and Georgia (Karen Ziemba), the lyricist are recently divorced. Still with the production, Aaron confesses that he's still in love with Georgia and only took the job to get a chance to win her back. He sings the very tender "I Miss the Music" telling of how he misses the time and work and love he shared with Georgia. The program doesn't specify, but I can't help but wonder if this song was written after Mr. Ebb's death - a song of farewell from Mr. Kander, maybe?

(April 5, 2007 - Note: Click here to read a Playbill.com article about "I Miss the Music.")

As Detective Cioffi, David Hyde Pierce returns to Broadway since his turn as Sir John (the not-so-brave-as-Sir-Lancelot) in "Spamalot." With a Boston accent that visits on occasion, he gives us a Columbo anxious for a life on the boards. He does acquit himself nicely in a fantasy number in the style of Fred Astaire, "Tough Act to Follow." Rob Ashford's choreography is certainly the reason for this success - I liked the "Thumperish" foot tapping during the kiss at the end of the number, somewhat reminiscent of his days from Niles and Daphne.

Debra Monk, as Carmen Bernstein the producer, grabs every moment she's given and a few she wasn't and wrings every laugh to be found. Most of her jokes come from her husband Sidney's (Ernie Sabella) "lack of endowment." When someone complains of the disappointment that the show might close out of town, she responds, "My first disappointment was in the honeymoon suite of the Hotel Taft on my wedding night." She also gets a number of pokes at her daughter (also a company member), Elaine (Megan Sikora) who has renamed herself Bambi Bernet. She gets a chance to really shine when she explains to Elaine why she (Elaine) shouldn't count on any support in advancing her performance career in "It's a Business."

Also returning to Broadway is Karen Ziemba as Georgia. When the movie star is murdered, Georgia is called upon to return to the boards and take over the role. Ms. Ziemba is one of my favorite Broadway performers and I'm thrilled to see her back on the boards. Last seen (to me) in "Never Gonna Dance" Ms. Ziemba is in fine form.

Returning with her is Noah Racey as Bobby Pepper, the lead in the show-within-the-show. He's also in fine form, though I wish choreographer had gone ahead and put tap shows on him. A couple of other nice character turns from Ernie Sabella as Sidney Bernstein and Michael McCormick as Oscar Shapiro. Also worth note is Patty Goble as the quickly-murdered star, Jessica Cranshaw. She has a grand time missing cues, blowing lines and screwing up choreography.

Rob Ashford's choreography is spot on, particularly in the dream ballet (after a fashion) in the Kansas Square Dance number taking a pot shot or two at Agnes DeMille's work in Oklahoma. He also sends up a bit of Hermes Pan, Busby Berkely and Jack Coles, all with great affection.

With more sets than "Gypsy" designed by Anna Louizos, she captures the old style of drops very nicely. Peter Kaczorowski's lighting enhances these nicely. And, with costumes by William Ivey Long, who could ask for more?

Director Scott Ellis keeps the action moving, letting these talented actors enjoy their ride. I'm not sure they've got enough to pull off the Tony, but it's great fun.

Kiss of the Body Snatcher

"Prelude to a Kiss" presented by the Roundabout Theatre Company at the American Airlines Theatre, February 25, 2007

Craig Lucas' play debuted on Broadway in 1990 with Mary Louise Parker, Timothy Hutton, and Barnard Hughes and has been revived by the Roundabout. It's not a bad play, but having seen it, I'm not sure why RTC found it necessary to revive it. (Spoiler Alert)

Peter and Rita meet at a party - fall in love and marry in 6 weeks' time. At the wedding, an old man shows up (whom no one knows, or questions for that matter), kisses the bride and swaps bodies. Confusion, frustration, questions of what love is really based on all get addressed and there's a happy ending.

Peter is played by the very attractive Alan Tudyk. Why is it that his scenework sounds like narrative and his direct addresses sound like scenes? Annie Parisse takes on the role of Riat, originated by Mary Louise Parker. She has a grand time as the old man, but I never got a sense of the kind of quirky, off-center, bohemian that Rita is. I also never got a sense of the "I-can't-live-without-you" between Ms. Parisse and Mr. Tudyk. John Mahoney as the old man has little to do in the first act. By the time he gets to work for us, he's basically working on his own, pulling the rest of the cast along with him. I got a much stronger sense of Peter's love for Rita, when she was in the old man's body than before or after.

Santo Loquasto's deep blue set functions well and Donlad Holder's lighting accents nicely.

Director Daniel Sullivan appears to have phoned this one in. I didn't see the nurturing and guiding hand that shaped "Rabbit Hole" anywhere.

Go Ahead Caller, You're On The Air.

"Talk Radio" at the Longacre Theatre, February 18, 2007

Eric Bogosian's "Talk Radio" originally produced by the NY Shakespeare Festival (now the Public Theatre) in 1987 makes its first Broadway bow. Under the direction of Robert Falls, the cast is fearlessly led by Liev Schreiber as Barry Champlain, a 1980's "shock jock" of the first order.

It's a solid play, but the performances are better than the material. Mr. Schreiber is ruthless in his portrayal of the arrogant Cleveland Ohio radio host. As he is described by his producer, Stu (Michael Laurence) "...Barry looked like he had seen God. In the mirror." His Barry knows the financial success he's brought to the once-struggling radio station and flexes that muscle at every appearance of the station manager, Dan (Peter Hermann).

I struggled a bit with the structure of the play. The action is basically real-time, but there are three direct-address monologues that interrupt the action to provide exposition. Stu's is first and when it comes, it looks like it justifies that Barry (and hence, Mr. Schreiber) needed a break. from their respective shows in progress.

The second is when Linda (the quite beautiful Stephanie March), Barry's assistant and sometime girlfriend/bed partner shares her take on the man. She finds him fascinating, but almost morbidly so, "Barry is a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there." Despite her words, apparently she does, attempting to call into Barry's show and asking him as an anonymous caller the things she hasn't found the nerve to ask him face to face. Barry immediately recognizes the ploy and ends both the call and the relationship.

The third is that of the station manager, Dan. Mr. Hermann explains that it was he who discovered Barry in Akron while he was developing the whole "shock" approach to talk on the radio. Dan has saved what was a financially failing station by switching to the all talk format and credits himself with creating Barry's on-air persona. With the possibility of taking the show to national syndication, the evening's broadcast is pivotal to everyone's financial success.

Barry takes this bait and runs with it, appearing to dare these potential buyers with the notion of "be careful what you wish for." Dan is terrified over how extreme Barry's show is, but in the end, Barry does prove himself as being right about some controversial events along the way. Dan warns the audience about the battle of Barry's ego over knowing it's just a job. Barry's final revelation points that concept right back at him.

Mark Wendland's broadcast studio is a bit expansive, but has some excellent detail. Laura Bauer's costumes are spot on.

Saving Captain Stanhope

"Journey's End" at the Belasco Theatre, February 13, 2007

Following a successful revival in London, R. C. Sherriff's "Journey's End" has been revived at the Belasco. Written in 1928, it's a powerful indictment of war, following the days leading up to a WWI battle in the trenches in France. All the class delineations of the British miltary are intact, officers "upstairs" and enlisted "downstairs" although their physical locations are reversed in the trench fortifications. There's also a certain reversal of age too, higher ranked officers are recent university graduates and lower-level officers from the professional class of older men.

Captain Stanhope (Hugh Dancy) has been commanding his unit in this location for nearly 3 years. The experience and stress have taken their toll and he fuels his courage and hides his terror in whiskey. Mr. Dancy, making his Broadway debut gives terrific intensity and self-torture in this role, originated by no less than Lawrence Olivier.

Rotating in for a six-day tour is Lieutenant Osborne (Boyd Gaines). A school master, everyone refers to him as "Uncle." Mr. Gaines masks Osborne's fear in devotion to the young officers he supports, giving him a bit of a Michael Redgrave flavor. Nice job with the accent, I thought.

Jefferson Mays returns to Broadway for the first time since his tour-de-force performance in "I Am My Own Wife" as the officer's cook, Private Mason. Mr. Mays doesn't mince nearly as much here, but does give us a bit of the fey British simp.

2nd Lieutenant Trotter is a bit of a stock character, large, blustering but benign and caring as delivered by John Ahlin.

As Raleigh, Stark Sands (also making his Broadway debut) brings the needed youthful innocence as Stanhope's childhood friend to this fatal character. There is a fuzzy line about which one could wonder what the extent of the relationship exactly was between Raleigh and Stanhope. Stanhope had been linked with Raleigh's sister prior to joining the war, but is his affection for Raleigh a sublimation of his love for the sister or is his affection for the sister a sublimation of his love for Raleigh?

Dancy's Stanhope is nearly devastated over having to decide which of his officers must make a dangerous raid on the German entrenchment on the other side of the 70-yard wide no-man's-land that separates the two sides. His near-disintegration over the decision is heart-breaking.

Jonathan Fensom's set and costumes are eerily accurate. One could almost smell the earth of the underground bunker, complete with dirt floor and mud puddles. Jason Taylor's lights, seeming a bit too dim at first, did support the darkness in which these men were forced to flounder. It was Gregory Clarke's overwhelmingly effective sound design that brought the reality of war into the theatre. The bombing of the German attack in Act II wa truly frightening.

It's interesting to see how the truths of the human side of war is portrayed onstage. Such has gone on since the time of the Greeks. Such folly that recognizing it changes nothing in the "real world."

The Girls Upstairs

"Follies" Encores! production at City Center, February 10, 2007

An amazing cast, excellent direction with one of Sondheim's deepest scores, Encores! has delivered one of their best productions.

I think Encores! is one of the greatest ideas around. Gathering very talented performers and theatre artists to quickly mount a basic-staging of some of the theatre's better- or lesser-known shows that might not otherwise ever be seen. Encores! has had some significant successes in changing the fate of shows like "Chicago" (still running from its transfer to a commercial production) to "Wonderful Town" which enjoyed a good year or so in a commercial run, even to the soon-to-close "Apple Tree" at Roundabout's Studio 54.

There was a bit of buzz about transferring "Follies" to a commercial run, but the fervor for that seems to have waned and now appears unlikely (would have required some principal casting changes - Donna Murphy is already committed to another show this year).

Nevertheless, it was quite exciting to see this live production. The only other I'd seen was the 1985 documentary of the NY Philharmonic concert version with Lee Remick (Phyllis), Barbara Cook (Sally), George Hearn (Ben), Mandy Patinkin (Buddy), Carol Burnett (Carlotta), Elaine Stritch (Hattie), Phyllis Newman (Stella), just to name a few. At the time, I really thought I'd seen a definitive interpretation.

Not so.

Casey Nicholaw continues to prove himself as a thoughtful and talented director and choreographer. Of course, an all-star cast doesn't hurt a bit:

• Victoria Clark - Sally Durant Plummer
• Donna Murphy - Phyllis Rogers Stone
• Victor Garber - Benjamin Stone
• Michael McGrath - Buddy Plummer
• Philip Bosco - Dmitri Weismann
• Joan Worley - Stella Deems
• Christine Baranski - Carlotta Campion
• Lucine Amara - Heidi Schiller
• Mimi Hines - Hattie Walker

Too many highlights to list without reciting the show completely, here are a few:

Victoria Clark - I LOVE her! And have since "Light in the Piazza." Barbara Cook is famous for her Sondheim interpretations, but she needs to watch her back. Vickie's got a voice (literally and figuratively) that's up for the challenge. Mr. Sondheim might do well to keep her in mind as he writes his next new show.

Donna Murphy - another musical theatre artist of the highest caliber. Merely her subtle physicalization of this role communicated the years of experiences in Phyllis' life. Quoting Ben Brantley in his review: "To understand what “Follies” is meant to be — and too rarely is — you need only look at Ms. Murphy’s expression when she first sees the actress playing her 19-year-old self."

Victor Garber was both the show of bravado and cringing child that is Benjamin Stone. He was most affecting in his breakdown amidst "Live, Laugh, Love." Michael McGrath came quite a long way from Spamalot's Patsy, giving a particularly athletic song and dance performance in both "The Right Girl" and "The God-Why-Don't-You-Love-Me Blues."

If Ms. Baranski's Carlotta had been any more deadpan, one might have needed to check for a pulse. Nonetheless, it worked for the world-worn character, although she wasn't in great voice the night I saw the show. (I have to add here Jackie Hoffman's comment about her from her "Jackie With a Z" cabaret show at Joe's Pub. "Christine Baranski - she said to me, 'I know Hanukkah - that's Christmas with the candles, right?' ")

There were a couple of staging decisions that seemed to undercut the proceedings. One was the opening, which was much more effective in the 1985 staging. Having so many of the returning Follies girls enter to applause before the "Beautiful Girls" number seemed to undercut its impact. I also thought William Ivey Long and Gregg Barnes' total costume and hair changes for Sally and Phyllis for their respective songs, "Losing My Mind" and "The Story of Lucy and Jessie" interrupted the flow of the story. Changing from the all-black concert attire into an all white gown for Sally and all red "jazz-hot" costume for Phyllis was a bit jarring. Even the baby blue dinner jacket for "The God-Why-Don't-You-Love-Me Blues" was more than what would have been effective.

Things I really did like were the quartet number of young Sally, Phyllis, Ben and Buddy, "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow/Love Will See Us Through" with each couple interrupting and interpolating amongst themselves. It was a great concept that demonstrated how the couples matched and mismatched simultaneously. I also thought JoAnne Worley did a fantastic job leading "Who's That Woman?" and again kudos to Mr. Nicholaw for the mix of the older and younger versions of these characters dancing together.

Speaking again of Mr. Nicholaw (which one can't go without here) he also captured the various dance styles beautifully, (except perhaps for the tango number in Act I). From the tap of "Who's That Woman" to the Jack Cole style of "... Lucy and Jessie" to Busby Berkeley in "Live, Laugh, Love" he proves his worth in spades.

(Star Watch: David Hyde Pierce in the house. I even spoke to him - told him I was looking forward to "Curtains." He said I'd enjoy it "... a fun show")

Band! Ten-Hut! Mark Time Mark!

"Company" at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, February 7, 2007

John Doyle strikes again with a stripped down, streamlined staging of Sondheim's "Company." In the same vein as last year's "Sweeney Todd," Doyle has tossed the pit orchestra onto the stage as the responsibility of the actors. Where it worked well with the concept of asylum inmates putting on a show, here it looks like the child of musical theatre and marching band. For those of you who thought "Blast" from several years ago, an indoor staging of drum and bugle corps-style performance event was that bizarro-child - you were wrong.

Unfortunately, this is not a love-child. Rather it's turned out to be the bastard child. My real fear is that Mr. Doyle has set a new formula by which producers will look to control the costs associated with producing musical theatre. What's next, Annie accompanying herself on the glockenspiel?

Aside from the close-order-drill staging, there are some very nice performances on view.

Raul Esparza gives us a very detached and emotionally-unavailable Bobby who's really anxious to change his life. He orbits the lives of his friends and vice-versa, making an occasional foray into their relationships as the naturally stumble along. The measure of time is contrived around Bobby's birthday, turning 35 as the show begins. We follow Bobby through the next year during a series of vignettes as he spends time with each of the five couples that make up his social world:

• Sarah and Harry: uber-competitive, they seem to enjoy the fights and nitpicking more than the make-up sex.
• Joanne and Larry: a little older; she, married for the #th time, a bit jaded and not quite ready to believe she's found the one who really loves her for who she is.
• Susan and Peter: a bit too sweet and polished on the surface, so after their divorce they continue to stay together for the kids.
• Jenny and David: traveling through life on pure momentum, hiding things that the other already knows anyway.
• Amy and Paul: not yet married; she, frenetic and manic - he, calming and stalwart.

The score survives the Doyle treatment quite nicely, I must say. Not sure how to divide that credit between Mr. Sondheim and Mary-Mitchell Campbell who supervised the music and orchestrated this production.

A couple of standouts:

• Barbara Walsh as Joanne - it's tough to rise out of the ashes of Elaine Strich. Congratulations to her for making this role her own.
• Heather Laws as Amy - I think every good patter song deserves an encore. Gilbert and Sullivan knew this. Why doesn't everyone else?
• Kelly Jeane Grant as Kathy - brings a full fledged performance to what otherwise would be a mere 2-dimensional featured role.
• Elizabeth Stanley as April - a thinking man's blond bimbo.

David Gallo's set, open and thoughtful, supports Mr. Doyle's vision for this production most effectively. A central column evokes a Soho loft, as well as the "I" of Bobby's life as a single man. The diamond-shaped wooden floor on which it rests is surrounded by a track of darker wood which serves as a runway for the five couples to orbit Bobby. The rest of the set fades away in glossy black with acrylic tiered boxes/platforms. The acrylic boxes are an especially effective metaphor to me, portraying the artificial pedestals on which Bobby views his friends, as well as the three women (Marta, April and Kathy) we meet in his life. It is Thomas C. Hase's lighting that is the key to the set's ultimate success. Ann Hould-Ward's mostly-black costuming flatters each cast member without distraction, but doesn't add much either. I did have a bit of trouble with Amy in a black wedding dress and veil - seemed a bit strong even for her in spite of her fear of the commitment she's about to make. I think with the occasional shades of grey and white that were already there, a white (or at least grey) veil might have softened the impact.

Mr. Doyle is a talented man with a definite vision. I sure would like to see him interpret something like "A Little Night Music" on a full budget, leaving the orchestra in the pit.

(Star-watch: Susan Stroman in the house. With her hair down, I almost didn't recognize her - no ponytail through a black baseball cap.)