News & Reviews from New York
       

April 30th , 2006

How often in a modern musical do we get song after
unforgettable song, production numbers that tickle all of our sensibilities, and from which we walk out humming memorable tunes that make us smile? I'd say just about never. THE PAJAMA GAME, from out of Musical Theatre's past, about a management-labor dispute over a raise of seven and a half cents, has it all in terms of material, and with its splendid cast of terrific singer-dancers, it is one of the most enjoyable times you can spend on Broadway. Harry Connick, Jr.'s relaxed charm, good looks and
Sinatra-like voice are a delight, and the audience of matinee ladies kvelled. Kelli O'Hara is delicious as the union representative, and the comic foils Michael McKean, Joyce Chittick, Megan Lawrence, Roz Ryan and Peter Benson are funny. And funny's good in comedy. This is a Musical COMEDY, and George Abbot and Richard Bissell's book (from Bissell's novel) with songs by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, is as entertaining now as it ever was. Moreso. "Hernando's Hideaway," as performed by Lawrence is absolutely hilarious. This is an "all singing, all dancing" show with a great crooner in the lead: he sings he dances, he plays the
piano; he's a star! Go. You'll have a good time. And then let's go dance the Tango at Hernando's.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER, and
lively-arts.com

       

April 30th , 2006

Through the years, Cirque De Soleil's shows have grown in sophistication as they explore new themes in entertainment in which the human body goes beyond ordinary circus skills into unbelievable, thrilling dimensions full of surprises. Their new show, CORTEO, in New York for two months, sets a magical tone in
atmosphere, lighting, set pieces and action-- you are in a miraculous supernatural world which features beautiful gymnastics, a breath-taking flying aerial act without trapeze, flawless juggling that takes the art to a new dimension, rope dancing, a touch of Comedia, musical parades, and angels flying over everything and descending into the action, and lots more. It is obvious that Cirque has had gathered the world's best, including probably the world's smallest gymnasts-- if Valentyna Pahlevonyan doesn't charm you with her sense of humor and antics, you're made of wood, and if you've ever bounced on a bed, you'll see it as an Art carried to new heights. The level this
show achieves can only be reached by decades of refining, building, creating, and CORTEO takes us way beyond any circus on earth. And take the boat from 34th St. and the East River; it's another part of the Cirque adventure.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER, and
lively-arts.com

I found the new vampire musical LESTAT, book by Linda Woolverton, music by Elton John, lyrics by Bernie Taupin, to be visually interesting (set by Derek McKean, lighting by Kenneth Posner, costumes by Susan Hilferty) but not engaging. They didn't seem to know whether to be camp or serious- they went serious, and the few laughs show that it might have worked if it
took a different tack. Singing voices are all excellent; Carolee Carmello is outstanding, vivid, and a young phenom with a wide-open mature voice, Allison Fischer, steals the stage in terms of performance. When she's on it's another, more interesting show.
But the music is flat, without memorable tunes, the dialogue is corny and cliché, the lyrics don't amuse, the direction by Robert Jess Roth doesn't take us anywhere exciting, and the whole thing seems to be a $12,000,000 mistake. A Vampire show should be scary, fun, and interesting. This one is none of these.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER, and
lively-arts.com

Richard Greenberg's play THREE DAYS OF RAIN, now on Broadway, is two plays- Act 1 in 1995 shows us the consequences of events in the early lives of three people, and Act 2 is 1960 and gives us the parents of the characters in Act 1 and we understand the
references and what the title means. The three good looking performers, Paul Rudd, Julia Roberts and Bradley Cooper play all the roles, and each actor has two wildly different characters to perform. In Act 1 Rudd is tormented, depressed, a tiny bit over the top. In Act 2 he's gentle, empathetic, and real. Roberts
is a stiff sister to Rudd in Act 1, but in Act 2 she opens up and lets it all out, filling the stage with her star presence, and Cooper is broad and a bit flamboyant in Act 1 and has a magnificent tirade, and uptight in Act 2. The totality works, although I liked the answers towards the end better than the questions implied in the first play which has an awful lot of exposition, lots of it directly to the audience (not my favorite form). Director Joe Mantello stages both acts well and keeps the energy up. It's a smart play about seeds planted and the fruit bourn a generation later- we taste the fruit, and then witness the planting. Basically a good theatrical evening.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER, and
lively-arts.com

       

April 28th , 2006

What a pleasure to be in the presence of the product of a sparklingly brilliant mind. Alan Bennett's THE HISTORY BOYS is full of wit and wisdom in his construct of an English boy's school presented as an intellectual swordfight with musical interludes and film clips. It is so smart it is thrilling. The superb English cast, as directed by Nicholas Hytner, is polished, perfectly timed, totally communicative in delivering the intricate intellectual ideas,
fascinating literary analyses, and emotional turmoils. Basically, as the boys study for entrance exams for Oxford and Cambridge under the tutelage of an old and a new teacher, the play satirizes the use of words and language while using them brilliantly. There is, of course, a little bit of sexual diddling referred to, but that is totally subservient to the wordplay and interchange of ideas and concepts. Bob Crowley's set is, as usual, a dazzler, nicely enhanced by Mark Henderson's lighting. If you don't see it, you're
missing something special in Theatre.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER, and
lively-arts.com

In the current Roundabout Theatre Company's production of THE THREEPENNY OPERA, directed by Scott Elliott, the main character, the one who is the most fun, who keeps us enchanted, is not Macheath, played grimly, without spark, humor or charm by Alan Cumming, it's Mr. Peachum, played with dash, flash, splash and panasche by a dancing, singing, wriggling, wraggling Jim Dale. And Ana Gasteyer's strong performance is
close behind. Nellie McKay's Polly is clear, firm, comedic, and enjoyable too. And the tall charismatic counter-tenor Brian Charles Rooney's soprano renditions and comic timing bring much needed life to the production as they try for a German
Expressionistic look and tone. But there is little unity in the production (everyone has a different accent, different rhythm) as we wait for Jim Dale to reappear to entertain us again. John Gay's "The Beggar's Opera," the source for the show, was a romp. So were other renditions of "The Beggar's Opera. This mean-spirited Macheath could never attract all the women that the character does, and basically this production is not a romp. I didn't really care that the SOB was released at the end. They should have
hanged the bastard. I did like the set by Derek McLane with it's imaginative use of neon signs and announcements and the lighting by Jason Lyons, and Isaac Mizrahi's costumes were just fine. But that's not what I came to see.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER, and
lively-arts.com

       

April 27th , 2006

David Hare's play STUFF HAPPENS, very well directed by Daniel Sullivan, is now at The Public Theater. It's a dramatization of the actual events that preceded our going to war in Iraq, and that part works, with actors portraying George W. Bush, Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Tony Blair, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, etc. The polemics in it don't. Yes, we have evil men in office-leading and misleading our country, but it's preaching to the chorus, and the lecture bores. The actors are all good professionals, and most resemble the principles. Some of the dramatizations are interesting because they contain material about the pre-planning of the invasion that we don't know about (but may suspect). The satires of Bush's idiocy are fun and funny, but once that is established, it pounds on too long. Jay O. Sanders as Bush, Byron Jennings as Blair and Peter Francis James as a frustrated Powell are particularly strong, but we already know the irony Hare wants to show. This play is fine for the uninformed and naïve, but not really for the cogniscenti. I prefer real satire to speechifying and
agitprop. Hare throws in a tangent to the premise of the play that has nothing to do with attacking Iraq with a Palestinian assault that misses the Israeli point entirely, which is: Don't attack us and we'll leave you alone. The Iraqi screams of suffering in the play don't go as deep as they could, and the play doesn't address the Iraqi issues of the religious conflict between the Sunnis and Shiites. How can I write a negative review of a show whose viewpoint I totally agree with? This is a politically accurate
account of The Crime of the Century-- The Invasion of Iraq-- the lies and subterfuge perpetrated by our government and the suffering it caused and is causing. What I found missing is real wit, surprises, unexpected tangents that a theatre piece needs. It ends up as merely a confirmation of what I know. Send your Republican friends- maybe some of them will wake up.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER, and
lively-arts.com

       

April 20th , 2006

Clifford Odets's AWAKE AND SING, written in the depths of the depression in 1935, is full of stylized poetic phrases in the dialogue that are ripped from the gut-- expressing the anguish of love, of poverty of aspiration unfulfilled, and are as powerful (and
sometmes funny) now as they were when Odets wrote them. This production, for me, is miscast and misdirected (by Bartlett Sher) with a lot of energy and lots of missteps including the wrong dog (what's a black poodle doing in the arms of these poor working-class people? It should be a light-colored mutt that we can see against dark costumes.). I can't imagine why they didn't hire a dialect coach for a Broadway show. Almost the entire cast, although they do say "Noo Yawk" properly, has a flat Midwestern "A," and it grates on my New York ears. They're just not Jewish people from The Bronx struggling to survive in a cruel time. Zoe Wanamaker is basically on one note as the mother-- harsh and perpetually bitter; Ben Gazzara as the grandfather has his one note too- growly; Pablo Schreiber, the young frustrated swain,
wears his anguish on his sleeve, and his final tirades are rushed and garbled. Richard Topol's rabbit of a man doesn't walk- he shows us a man walking timidly. Etc. Jonathan Hadary, whom I usually like a lot, is just in the wrong play, and Lauren Ambrose does manage to show us in Act 3 that she has some emotional depth. Mark Ruffalo brings some strength and believability to his role and so does Ned Eisenberg. Michael Yeargan's set is brilliant- gradually revealing thru scrims the world just beyond the walls of the apartment, and lighting by Christopher Akerlind totally fulfills the design. Costumes by Catherine Zuber are proper for the time, and might be a bit blatant (dressing Schreiber in black). I guess we have to blame the producers, Lincoln Center Theater, for putting this gem of a play in the hands of a director who doesn't
get it-- neither the flavor, the rhythm nor the inner life of these depression-trapped Bronxites.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER, and
lively-arts.com

       

April 14th , 2006

Based on the brilliant documentary film about two decayed Bouvier cousins of Jackie Kennedy, in Act I GREY GARDENS (book by Doug Wright) gives us a vocal glimpse into a South Shore Long Island past in 1941 and the life of a wealthy mother (Christine Ebersole) and her daughter (Sara Gettlefinger) who is courted by
Joe Kennedy. The voices are excellent, the lyrics by Michael Korie and music by Scott Frankel, giving us the real flavor of the forties, are clever and pleasurable, but although I thoroughly enjoyed hearing the songs which were so well performed, I wasn't
really engaged. The almost romance with Joe Kennedy, written here as a prig and a nutless wonder, almost caught me, and John McMartin's lively scene did. And there's even a little dance (staged nicely by Jeff Calhoun). But the entire act is the setup:
establishing character and setting, and not advancing the story until near the end. Act 2, sticking close to the documentary, is a different story. It's 1973, and Ebersole now plays the daughter in an amazing, stylized portrayal giving us the grotesqueness of the
reality in the original film. Mary Louise Wilson is now the pitiless mother. It starts as full Camp, and becomes heartbreaking true drama. The very flexible set by Allen Moyer and costumes by William Ivey Long are also quite different species in Act 2, where they come to full imaginative flower. In totality it's a rich, enjoyable theatrical evening with Ebersole's portrayal one that I'll long remember-- it should win her awards.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER, and
lively-arts.com

       

April 13th , 2006

FESTEN is a dangerous title for a play-- does it fester? Is it a Feast? Is it a fiesta? It turns out to be closer to a Fiasco. David Eldridge dramatized it from a film and play by Thomas Vinterberg, Mogens Rukov and Bo Hr. Hansen. It is a stilted translation full of foreign rhythms that sound formal, old fashioned and unreal even when family members in this examination of the consequences on a family of long-ago child abuse talk casually among them selves.
One character gives us an annoying number of gratuitous "fucks" and curses every other sentence while maintaining formal speech and bad grammar. The most interesting thing about the play is how long it went on without communicating much of interest to the occasion. It's basically a sordid mess set in a stylized world full of depravity and darkness-- and little of it is entertaining. There's a fight with moaning and groaning and grunting, a Felliniesque parade, and it all tilts to the surreal. The set by Ian MacNeil is designed with a black dungeon-like theme-- almost for Macbeth: dark deeds exposed, angst, gnashed teeth. There is a weird soundscape by Orlando Gough slipping in here and there and some boring songs. The lighting by Jean Kalman is superb in its choices of moods and highlights. The actors, including Michael Hayden, Larry Bryggman, Julianna Margulies, Carrie Preston and Jeremy Sisto are all top level professionals doing their best in this less than top level play. With its montage layering of scenes, it's all directed with lots of energy by Rufus Norris. But I didn't enjoy spending time with these sick people.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER, and
lively-arts.com

       

March 30th , 2006

A lot of things break in Lisa Kron's play WELL: the fourth wall, the scenery, theatrical conventions, hearts. Pirandello rides again; then the show breaks with him into forms that even he never saw as it breaks the patterns set up with the audience by Kron who has structured a good show as she breaks structure. Kron, a strong performer playing herself, gives us her relationship with her mother expressed through the question "Why do some sick people get well and others don't?" Her mother is played by the amazing Jayne Houdyshell who doesn't have a moment that isn't believable to the core. These two play it real, and the other four other actors in the retrospectives of youth and illness conjured up start
off by playing their roles as cartoons. Later they become realer, especially Christina Kirk who has great range and depth. The set by Tony Walton is as fragmented as the play, and it all works, as do the creative costumes by Miranda Hoffman. The play, under
the very innovative direction of Leigh Silverman, has a health message, a political message, a human message, and it's still basically a theatrical entertainment that will engage you, give you lots of smiles, and some profound feelings.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER, and
lively-arts.com

Karoline Leach's play TRYST is a gothic drama taking place in 1910 England with a great street set by David Korins that congers up images of The Ripper, of carriage horses clopping in the night, of dark deeds. With two dynamic actors, Maxwell Caulfield, built like the proverbial brick outhouse, as the ultimate handsome con man/lover, and the fragile Amelia Campbell as the spinster victim, the story is told in "Story theatre" form where the actors (in character) talk directly to the audience, and also play out the
scenes with each other. She is the epitome of repressed, but ultimately with hidden resources, and he is the ultimate con man (he uses three accents), and the question arises as to whether or not he can grow out of his fantasies and fears and join life.
Joe Brancato's direction illuminates the fascinating script as does the lighting by Jeff Nellis, Alejo Vietti's costumes strongly reveal character and station, and Campbell illuminates the theatre and the street it is on in this profound lesson about the scorpion and the turtle. It's terrific Theatre.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER, and
lively-arts.com

       

March 27th , 2006

John Patrick Shanley is one of America's greatest playwrights. He is so sparkling bright with words, uses language with such inspiration as he digs deep into the souls of his characters, that he is hard to match in dramatic depth and ironic humor. Seemingly, his play DEFIANCE, now at The Manhattan Theatre Club, is a profound look at discrimination in the US Marines in 1971. Main characters are a white Marine Colonel, his wife, a black Captain, and a white minister from Alabama. Actually it's a tragedy in the classic sense, tragic flaw and all, and uses a reverse of "The Nail and the Kingdom" as an analogy (For Want of a Nail........). In (approximately) Shanley's own words-- it's okay to strive for greatness if there is greatness in you. But what if it's not there? Under Doug Hughes' direction, Stephen Lang, powerful in command and in personal anguish, as the colonel; the
beautiful, gentle Margaret Colin as his wife, muse, conscience; and Chris Bauer as the chaplain who sees beyond the ordinary, clearly fulfill Shanley's vision. Master designer John Lee Beatty's smoothly-moving set is another of his amazing works, Pat Collins' lighting is just right, as are costumes by Catherine Zuber.
DEFIANCE is beautifully constructed, exciting, engrossing Theatre at its very best. Congrats, John- you've done it again!

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER, and
lively-arts.com


When my date, a singer from Australia who had never heard of Amy Irving, and I left the theatre after seeing Ms Irving in A SAFE HARBOR FOR ELIZABETH BISHOP by Marta Goes, she said, "She seems like such a nice lady." I felt the same way about Ms Irving, and was sorry to have to write the following about the production, From my notes: A boring play about a boring woman boringly portrayed basically on one note. A stultifying piece of non-theatre with Irving portraying a woman I wouldn't want to spend ten minutes with listing to her banalities. So it's about a talented alcoholic lesbian poet/painter who goes to Brazil, and her miserable life. I've rarely seen such poor lighting (by Russell Champa) in a professional production including a wavering uneven wobbling spot on her in some places, a light aimed at a mirror which blasts into the eyes of the audience in another scene, and a reduction to a narrow pink when she recites the poems (which are the best part of the play, its excuse for being written, and are a great deal too few in this show). The play is written in snippets, with more revolves than "Les Miz" (set by Jeff Cowie).
Okay, she sees The Carnival-it remains ordinary. There's a revolution. So what? Then she gets to pretend to be drunk. I don't have a lot of patience for drunks feeling sorry for themselves, especially when it's overdone, boring, self-indulgent. Several times, Ms Irving moved herself to tears. I didn't feel drawn into this play, I remained a spectator. Richard Jay-Alexander directed. I've seen Amy Irving on the stage before, and always thought of her as a fine actress. She's a nice lady, and she needs better material and direction.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER, and
lively-arts.com

       

March 24th , 2006

In RED LIGHT WINTER, written and directed by Adam Rapp, now at the Barrow Street Theatre, two thirty-year-old American men, one an Animal House type (Gary Wilmes), the other a repressed, depressed nerd who wants to write (Christopher Denham), interact with a beautiful young prostitute (Lisa Joyce) in a hotel
room in Amsterdam's Red Light District. It's full of pretentiously smart dialogue with an odd tangent into literary criticism, and lots of useless activities. I found the people annoying, especially talking adolescent sex talk re the girl. The jock leaves, and it gets more interesting as the girl and the nervous man relate and reveal themselves. Act Two, in the East Village in New York, gets convoluted as the writer is writing about the play we are seeing, which is full of smart dialogue, and the acting keeps getting even better up to the melodramatic ending. Ultimately it's a tough, sordid "No Exit" play with a touch of "Lower Depths." The three actors are excellent in the entire show- totally believable in action and emotion, and Rapp's direction is sharp. The constricted sets by Todd Rosenthal aid the Bohemian claustrophobia, and Keith Parham's lighting gives the proper accents to reveal and hide at the same time. Costumer Michelle Tesdall's red dress for
Ms. Joyce is an image to long remember. In fact, so is Ms. Joyce.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER, and
lively-arts.com

       

March 19th , 2006

"RING OF FIRE- The Johnny Cash Musical Show" is a well-produced, well-sung depiction of country life through song. It's a good Country Music concert performed by first rate Broadway singers who all have the range, emotion and proper twang for their roles. It's not a biography, and without a story through-line
it's duration, like any concert, is arbitrary. Some of the songs, either written by or performed by Cash during his career, have drama, some like Shel Silverstein's "Boy Named Sue" are humorous, some of them jump, like "May That Circle Be Unbroken", but that one seems to be more fun to do than to watch. Many define Cash. Three men seem to portray Cash as they sing his signature songs like "Man in Black" and "I Walk the Line," but there is no one actor to identify with-- just the songs. Weakest part of the show is that there are some great opportunities for
actual dance numbers, and a choreographer is listed, but they are not there. Strongest part of the show (besides the fine voices and the songs themselves) is the design by Neil Patel with projections by Michael Clark which segue from scene to scene with the most eye-catching visuals of the musical. Creator/Director Richard Maltby, Jr. has given us an entertaining
retrospective evening of Cash's work, especially gratifying for those who love him.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER, and
lively-arts.com

       

March 17th , 2006

25 QUESTIONS FOR A JEWISH MOTHER, co-written by and
starring the Emmy-winning Judy Gold, based on her own life and on interviews with fifty Jewish mothers across America, is a powerful theatre piece full of laughs, and ultimately quite moving as she brings these women, and particularly her own mother, to
vibrant life. Gold has been a comedienne for over twenty years, has honed her skills, and her timing in delivering the material is impeccable. The woman I brought with me to the show is from the mid-west, and is of Irish descent, and, since people laugh at
recognition, and there was plenty of universality in the Jewish characters portrayed, she laughed as much as the New York audience. Gold's co-writer Kate Moira Ryan and director Karen Kohlhaas have shaped the play into a thoroughly enjoyable mixture of comedy and Theatre.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER, and
lively-arts.com

       

March 12th , 2006

STEPS is the major Dance institution in NY, and I went to their "Performance Lab" evening of works in progress. There is a range of capability, talent and experience, all full of creative energy and juices, and several of the pieces were ready for a paying concert audiences. Diverse styles ranged from a lively Latin mix with ballet techniques, to several, mostly group, Modern pieces, to a powerful Jazz work by Renee Monique Brown and some strong dancers, to a Duncanesque piece by Veronica Tan by some
"Isadorables", to a strong, zippy, entertaining number by Didi Ilunga (a kind of "All That Fosse"), to a spoken playlet with dance by Anelise Kappey which included the vivid Jessica Snyder, to ballet-based Ballroom, to a kind of Movie Ballet duo of people
meeting in the rain by Christine Wunderlich and danced beautifully by Kurt Gorrell and Ariel Shepley, to a graceful love story by Ben Kimitch who charmingly performed it with Ani Neiman, and a finale of classical Modern with Mozartian points, counterpoints and blendings by Val Suarez. It was a very satisfying evening that made me want to dance dance dance. Check out their next event: The Faculty in Concert - May 12th - 14th. 212/874-2410

Richmond Shepard-- lively-arts.com

       
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