A Small Fire

"A Small Fire" at Playwrights Horizons, December 21, 2010

Adam Bock returns to Playwrights Horizons' main stage with this story of a callous construction contractor as she deals with unexplained health issues.  Emily (Michelle Pawk) thrives in the rough and tumble world of commercial construction.  She seems most comfortable with her employee Billy (Victor Williams).  Her connection with her husband, John (Reed Birney) has reached a working balance of love and dysfunction, but the same can't be said for her soon-to-be-married daughter Jenny (Celia Keenan-Bolger).  A prophetic "We'll work it out." repeats over and over on the presumption that there's always time to resolve issues and difficulties.

Mr. Bock's story begins an interesting exploration of connection and senses, but much of the message feels forced.  The detachment he imbues in Emily comes across as pretty harsh.  As Emily's sensory factors diminish, John's intensify.  Jenny, already feeling estranged over Emily's disparaging comments about her fiance', pulls further away as Emily's ability to interact declines.  Mr. Bock has missed an opportunity to really explore the issue of role-reversal that many children face, trying to help aging parents manage their lives.  There's a brief mention of it, but it's quickly tossed aside.

Ms. Pawk, remarkably talented, never really inhabits Emily's tough shell.  Part of her struggle is in the writing, but the other part is a feeling she is miscast in this role.  Mr. Birney gets the best of this play, exemplified in a monologue during the wedding reception as he describes the action and images for his now-blind wife.  The joyous picture he paints is touching and heart-breaking.

Director Trip Cullman facilitates some compelling moments, but seems constrained by some elements,  the sub-plot of Billy's competitive homing pigeons and a gratuitous sexual interaction between Emily and John.  Many might describe Ms. Pawk as "brave" for the partial nudity, but I found it more sensational than plot-driven.

Loy Arcenas has created an excellent set, conveying the temporary sense of life with unfinished drywall elements, nicely complemented by David Weiner's lighting.

A Small Fire runs through January 23, 2011.  Check below for discount ticket information.

Playwrights Horizons Discount Offer - A Small Fire

Special A SMALL FIRE offer for Third Row, Mezzanine blog readers!

Order by December 31 with code SMGR and tickets are only:

·        $40* (reg. $70) for all performances December 16-30, 2010

·        $55 (reg. $70) for all performances January 1-23, 2011

HOW TO ORDER:

·        Order online at www.playwrightshorizons.org. Use code SMGR.

·        Call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 (Noon-8pm daily)

·        Present a printout of this blog post to the Ticket Central box office at 416 West 42^nd Street (Noon-8pm daily).

*A limited number of $40 discounted tickets will be available for purchase. Subject to availability. Valid only in select rows.

More Problems with Spiderman?

The news crawler on the Today Show announced that producers of Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark have canceled previews, apparently immediately.  No explanation has been given, however the coverage has been pretty extensive about cast injuries in the past couple of weeks.

UPDATE: 12/16/2010

Seems the cancellation was not extensive, though the NY Times now reports that opening night scheduled for January 11 has been pushed back to sometime in February.  Check the story here.

Colin Quinn: Long Story Short

"Colin Quinn: Long Story Short" at the Helen Hayes Theatre, November 15, 2010

Transferring after a relatively successful off-Broadway run earlier this year, Colin Quinn spends a little more than 75 minutes tromping through the history of the world.  Skipping around the globe, his attempt at a sardonic, cynic's view of how we got to where we are boils down to a simple concept.  There are two kinds of people in the world, smart guys and tough guys.  Smart guys best represented by the Greeks, tough guys by the Romans.  The influences of each are omnipresent today, but overall the tough guys generally win.  He summarizes, "We're the descendants of the pricks."

There are quite a few laughs, particularly his descriptions of the Holy Roman Empire as the children of alcoholics, and the Incas' under the influence of cocaine producing the best and worst ideas: architecture and science, vs. beheadings and cannibalism.

In the end, there's not much to learn about history, nor does Mr. Quinn share much profundity of his own thoughts about how the world evolved.  If anyone remembers Mr. Quinn's time on the Weekend Update desk on Saturday Night Live, there won't be any surprises here.  This is a Comedy Central late night stand-up special.  Jerry Seinfeld directs, but his impact seems minimal. 

Most impressive is David Rockwell's set and video projections, though portions of the set appear leftover from Xanadu.

Colin Quinn: Long Story Short runs through November 9.

Notes from Underground

"Notes from Underground" presented by Theatre for a New Audience at Jerome Robbins Theatre, November 13, 2010

Adapted from the Dostoevsky novella by actor Bill Camp and director Robert Woodruff, Russian existentialism returns to the New York stage.

In this production, the unnamed Man (Mr. Camp) has withdrawn from society resigning his civil service job after receiving a sizable inheritance.  Torn in a paranoid struggle to accept his mediocrity vs. the noble life for which a man should strive, he confesses his insecurities via webcam alternately whining at his weakness and railing against others.  It starts out like a 19th century Spalding Gray but spins quickly off that track.

Mr. Camp's brings us a Man very much like his Misanthrope in Ivo Van Hove's production at New York Theatre Workshop a few years go.  He screams and sobs, slovenly slurping down drinks like an undiagnosed diabetic.  The use of the web cam and other strategically placed cameras projects close-ups and visual angles across the stark white set.  This technique provide dramatic effects unachievable in standard theatre craft.  Still, despite the clever use, it feels like more of a distraction from the theatricality rather than an enhancement.  Mr. Woodruff directs the action like Italian cinema with extended pauses and ponderous moments, underscored with odd musical tracks. 

Perhaps the event might have made more sense as a film instead of a play.  The material, with its focus on the working of the Man's mind might have been better served in that format.

Production values are strong.  David Zinn's white set, layered in snow (it is set in St. Petersburg, by the way) creates a sterile cave into which the Man has sentenced himself.  Mark Barton's lighting plays on the set to morph the cave into a cage as  the Man devolves.

Notes from Underground runs through November 20.

After the Revolution

"After the Revolution" at Playwrights Horizons, October 29, 2010

Amy Herzog's tale of a family's struggle between ideal and reality centers around the legacy of the late Joe Joseph, a Communist Party member who stood up to the McCarthy hearings, refusing to name names during one of the darker political periods of our nation's history.  The story explores idealism vs. reality, truth vs. money.

(Spoiler Alert)

Ben (Peter Friedman) and Leo (Mark Blum), Joe's sons and both committed Marxists themselves, have learned that a book is about to be published identifying Joe as a Soviet Spy during WWII.  Turns out Ben had a pretty good idea it was true, though he never shared it with his idealistic daughter, Emma (Katharine Powell), who runs a defense fund in Joe's name, fighting for equal justice for the questionably accused.  The news turns Emma on her ear, questioning the foundation of her beliefs.  At the same time Emma's major donor, Morty (David Margulies), announces his plans to leave his entire estate to the fund, leaving Emma torn between the opportunity that such money would provide for her cause and the contradiction of doing so in the name of a traitor. 

It's a top-notch cast for the most part, supported by Mare Winningham in a sweet turn as Mel, Ben's well-meaning if not quite as intelligent wife and the inimitable Lois Smith as Ben and Leo's step-mother Vera.   The ironically named Vera is the least ready to reveal the truth about her late husband since it would negatively affect "the cause."  Mr. Friedman maintains the strongest performance, wearing his heart on his sleeve and flagellating himself once Emma learns the truth about Joe.  Ms. Powell, in the pivotal role, suffers from inconsistency.  Some moments are full of truth, but get undermined by moments of self-consciousness.

Director Carolyn Cantor keeps things moving, but the script could stand a trim of 15 minutes or so.  Clint Ramos' set morphs well to serve the multiple locations.

After the Revolution runs through November 28, 2010.  Playwrights Horizons offers the following discount:

Order by November 9 with code ARGR and tickets are only $45 (reg. $55) for all performances Oct. 29 – Nov. 28

HOW TO ORDER:
·        Order online at www.playwrightshorizons.org. Use code APGR.
·        Call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 (Noon-8pm daily)
·        Present a printout of this blog post to the Ticket Central box office at 416 West 42nd Street (Noon-8pm daily).

Playwrights Horizons Discount Offer - After the Revolution

Order by November 9 with code ARGR and tickets are only:

·        $40* (reg. $55) for the first week of performances Oct. 21 – Oct. 28

·        $45 (reg. $55) for all performances Oct. 29 – Nov. 28

HOW TO ORDER:

·        Order online at www.playwrightshorizons.org. Use code APGR.

·        Call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 (Noon-8pm daily)

·        Present a printout of this blog post to the Ticket Central box office at 416 West 42^nd Street (Noon-8pm daily).

*A limited number of $40 discounted tickets will be available for purchase. Subject to availability. Valid only in select rows.

The Divine Sister

"The Divine Sister" at the Soho Playhouse, September 20, 2010

Charles Busch returns to the NY stage with his latest effort, leading his mash-up tale of nuns in a Pittsburgh convent.  The Divine Sister plumbs the borders of The Sound of Music, Agnes of God, Doubt, Song of Bernadette, and Nunsense wrapped up in  a strong dose of Where Angels Go Trouble Follows. 

The jokes are broader than the Hudson, and the "broads" are among the widest Mr. Busch has written to date.

The absurd plot, of a convent/school in early 1960s Pittsburgh on financial skids includes a new member, Sister Walburga (Alison Fraser), imported from Germany to help with fund-raising )or does she have a plan of her own??).  Mother Superior (Mr. Busch) and her BFF and second in command, Sister Acacius (Julie Halston) have decided to approach the rich Jewish, agnostic widow, Mrs. Levinson (Jennifer Van Dyck) to donate her home to the order until a new school can be built.  One problem facing the order is that the postulant Agnes (Amy Rutberg) has a tendency toward miracles, healings and stigmata-ism, bringing unwanted publicity.  Like any good catholic story, there are multiple mother-child relationships hidden behind secret adoptions, accented by occasion musical numbers dubbed as badly as any Italian western out there, and a couple of flashback scenes to Mother Superior's previous life as a crime reporter in the 1940s.  Plots twist and all is revealed to a comic effect only conceivable by Mr. Busch  - a lost book of the bible, the Gospel of Saint Gladys which tells the story of the Jesus' sister Joyce - the titular Divine Sister.  Brilliant!

As the Mother Superior, Mr. Busch is in his highest Rosalind Russell form - an Auntie Mame in a habit.  Ms. Halston has a bit more stretching to do but pulls it off as Sister Acacius, MS' closest ally and confidant.  Ms. Fraser is all but unintelligible as the overly accented Teutonic sister.  Her attempted seduction of Sister Acacius is hysterical.  When Acacius talks about spending time with her husband (Jesus, y'know?) before bed, Walburga suggests luridly, "Perhaps ze sree of us should get togezzer sometime."

Director Carl Andress manages to keep the larger than life performances within the confines of the small Soho Playhouse stage, but one can tell that was not an easy job.  He never shies away from a bawdy choice, or bathroom humor - Noel Coward, this ain't.

The Divine Sister is on an open-ended run, but don't wait to see it.

Orlando

"Orlando" at Classic Stage Company, September 21, 2010

(photo by Joan Marcus)

Virginia Woolf's tale of an Elizabethan nobleman, who lives as a man until age 30, then wakes from a 6 month coma to find he has become a woman who lives another 370 years without aging comes to Classic Stage Company care of Sarah Ruhl.  It's an aggressive challenge to take on a work that Ms. Ruhl herself describes as "...language...so exquisite it would have seemed like a terrible bastardization to just leave the narration behind and make up dialog."  Despite the over theatricality of the novel's premise, that quality doesn't guarantee great theatre.  Ms. Ruhl, in apparent deference to Ms. Woolf's erudition, gives us an evening that is part acting, part exposition where the characters recite their activities in third person more often that portraying a role.  In the end, it feels more like a writing exercise than a play.

The performers are, however, committed fully and this eclectic cast does their best to rise to the challenge.  Francesca Faridany gives a true image of Orlando as a callow youth, carrying the discomfort through the transformation from man to woman, though the full nudity that ends Act 1 seemed completely gratuitous when a mere revelation of the curve of her breast and hip could have communicated the transformation equally.  The three-man ensemble of David Greenspan, Tom Nelis and Howard Overshown ebb and flow in their effectiveness portraying the various characters both male and female including Queen Elizabeth (Mr. Greenspan) and the man Orlando eventually marries (Mr. Nelis).

Visually, the production is excellent.  Allen Moyer's lush green lawn platform, accented with gilt chairs and an oversized ceiling mirror reflects Christopher Akerlind's thoughtful lighting.  I particularly liked Anita Yavich's costume concept which suggested the various periods of history in a timeless white palette, accented by simple add-ons (or not so simple for Queen Elizabeth).

Director Rebecca Taichman, a frequent collaborator with Ms. Ruhl tries to play along, bringing in some clumsily executed choreography from Annie Parsons, but the results are less than successful.

"Orlando" runs through October 17, 2010

American Idiot

"American Idiot" at the St. James Theatre, September 12, 2010

Green Day comes to Broadway with this staging based on their 2004 album of the same title, broadening the original concept into a story of three friends, Johnny (John Gallagher, Jr.), Will (Michael Esper) and Tunny (Start Sands) who plan to abandon their small-town, suburban upbringing for the bright lights of the big city.  Will gets shot down before the trip begins when he learns his girlfriend is pregnant.  Johnny and Tunny make the trek, but Tunny joins the military in the aftermath of September 11 and ends up in Iraq.  Johnny falls victim to the lure of drugs under the spell of his dealer, St. Jimmy (Tony Vincent).

Each in their own way become the American Idiot they so much long to avoid, by the poor choices they make in their lives.  Will's marriage disintegrates before his eyes as he refuses to grow up and accept the responsibility he's put upon himself to raise a family.  Tunny, severely wounded in a roadside bombing, falls for a military nurse.  An aerial effect works nicely to convey the drug-induced dream sequence as he recovers from his injury.  Johnny falls in love with the oddly described Whatsername (Rebecca Naomi Jones) only to fall more seriously under his own drug addiction.

In the end, all three end up back in their small town to heal their wounds and try to figure out how to grow up.

Mr. Gallagher gives his role much more than the script does, a testament to his talent.  Mr. Esper's Will has the least to do of the three, other than sit on the couch and crack open another beer.  Mr. Sands finds a nice humanity in his character's conflicted spirit.  Mr. Vincent's St. Jimmy, a cross between the devil and the Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang slinks about and vamps it up for everything he's worth - a relative highlight of the evening.

Director Michael Mayer, well-acquainted with the rock musical concept keeps things moving, but has little to work with from his own thinly drafted book.  Steven Hoggett's "choreography" looks more like a suburban "broadway bound" beginner dance class.

The band is terrific, however, and the voices and visuals are good.  It's anything but a traditional musical, but it could stand a few more characteristics of one to strengthen the storytelling.