October 31st, 2006
   
There is a great comedienne with the presence, timing, good looks and the rare ability to communicate character in word, tone and gesture as a Lucille Ball-- Nancy Opel-- playing two roles in John Epperson's camp takeoff on Media: "MY DEAH." She's a
queen; she's a scold of a raggedy housekeeper: she's hilarious. Let's set the tone, and start with a chorus of three transvestites. It's Mississippi, and Jason is an ex-football player named Gator. Maxwell Caulfield is strong in the role, masculine, built, looking like Bruce Willis. Director Mark Waldrop has a great sense of the absurd, and perfect timing for this very funny ridiculous serious farce. All of the actors play with great conviction including blonde
hunk Michael Hunsaker whose comic takes are as good as his looks. Although "MY DEAH" dwells a bit in some sequences as Epperson tries to stick to the plotline, it is strewn with jokes, plays-on-words and contemporary free sexual attitudes and language that bring lots of laughs. The gay sensibility never lets
up, and it's also a great camp fun satire of Southern sensibilities. A good time was had by all.

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

October 27th, 2006
   
MEN ARE DOGS by Joe Simonelli is a sweet sitcom about the life of a woman psychologist. Who needs fullreality when we can stir in amusing unreality? The whole cast is quite good, including a very funny Carol Brooks and a strong Steph Van Vlack as the unorthodox shrink. It's group therapy with a Women's Support
Group, and the comedy sections work best- a kooky mother (Leslie Wheeler) and the silly Brooks. John Hill's turn as a handsome lothario is perfectly slimy, and very funny. Donna Stiles has directed with sure-fire comedy timing, and MEN ARE DOGS is an entertaining evening of light divertismento.

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

October 23rd, 2006
   
A JEW GROWS IN BROOKLYN by Jake Ehrenreich, well directed by Jon Huberth, is a sweet, warm performance by a truly charismatic, handsome, athletic actor/singer telling the story of his immigrant family, his youth, his life. He's so charming, you go
with him anywhere he takes you, so engaging that we sat smiling at anything he said. This is a show with heart, soul, humor and songs by a good-looking sexy performer who is a strong singer and a great storyteller. The blonde shiksa whom I brought with me said, "He's fabulous!" In Act 2 he comes out and entertains, as he does standup, and his bad Catskill comic is a gem- a wild vaudeville act, straw hat and all. Closing with a universally heartwarming finish, this is an unforgettable evening of entertaining nostalgia with stories and songs that are funny,
moving, and with the terrific musicians on stage with Ehrenreich, some rhythmical foot-stompin'. At 37 Arts on W. 37th St. 212/307-4100.

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

October 21st, 2006
   
SHAY DUFFIN AS BRENDAN BEHAN: CONFESSIONS OF AN IRISH
REBEL, now at the Irish Arts Center on W. 51st St. gives us the real flavor of Ireland in a show full of wit and wisdom in story and song. You're in a pub with a charming, smart, marvelous storyteller who sings the old tunes and becomes the many characters he talks about, each with a unique persona and voice.
Duffin is the guy you'd actually love to meet in an Irish pub. At sixteen Behan was sent to jail for IRA activities, and as he aged and began to write and eventually become well-known, he gradually, over time, sank into the dreary self indulgence of alcoholism until his death at forty-one. Duffin is a master
storyteller, and this show, full of tales, action and song, is totally entertaining. What a delightful time seeing unique character after unique character fully embodied. Not only does Duffin capture the essence of Behan, his own essence as a great entertainer shines
through.

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

October 20th, 2006
   
SOUTHERN COMFORTS by Kathleen Clark, now at 59E59, directed by Judith Ivey, is a pleasant rural piece between a widow from The South who is full of life and warmth and a cranky Yankee widower, both in their 60's. There is homey conversation about being married to people who weren't present. Although there is no
flashing wit, and a long useless (to me) scene about window installation, this is a sweet sentimental play- an old people's romance with two terrific actors: Penny Fuller, who has great charm, and a solid, stolid Larry Keith. Set by Thomas Lynch, lighting by Brian Nason and costumes by Joseph G. Aulisi all well
augment this well-staged, very pleasing two-hander.

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

Once again The Mint theater has found an antique gem of a play: JOHN FERGUSON by St. John Ervine which first opened in New York in 1919. It's a classic melodrama, but a serious one. There's no money for the mortgage which is held by an unscrupulous villain, the father is an invalid, the mother is dried up and scornful, the town nerd wants the beautiful daughter, the son is quietly strong. These colorful folk are brought vividly to life by an outstanding cast, especially Mark Saturno as the overanxious
suitor/nerd, and in the strong, heartfelt writing. Strong direction by Martin Platt, the fine period set by Bill Clarke, lighting by Jeff Nellis and costumes by Mattie Ullrich all enhance this wonderful taste of what theatre was like in New York back then-- it still
works today.

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

Eugene O'Neill is America's greatest playwright, and there is a powerful representation of his work at The Irish Rep on 22nd St., directed by Ciaran O'Reilly: THE HAIRY APE. It's a marvelous production on Eugene Lee's inspired, complex, brilliant active set with vivid lighting by Brian Nason and fine costuming by Linda Fisher. Although the opening scene of the play is filled with overwrought scenery-chewing acting by the title character played by Greg Derelian and Gerald Finnegan as an old salt, the play settles in and the physical action of the stokers, the grace of the beautiful Kerry Bishé, the stylized movement created for the fifth Avenue scene, the Wobbly scene, all combine to ultimately make this production an unforgettable theatrical event-- because of the play itself, the action, and Lee's set.

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

October 16th, 2006
   
MICHAELA LEON is a tall gorgeous blonde German, and in her cabaret show at Don't Tell Mama on W. 46th St., TIGER, MUSES & JASMINE, dressed in a black costume with a teasing top that would rivet any red-blooded American boy (and girl), she recreates the singers and the songs of the Weimar Republic in Germany up to the rise of Hitler. Leon is a woman confident of her
power over her audience-- an actress easily displaying the narcissism of the women she portrays. She is a mesmerizing personality as she struts and frets and talk-sings her numbers.
I heard an audience member say, "A wild girl." Whatever the Goddess does is fascinating. She's a star- a true Diva, and should
be playing at the Algonquin or the Carlyle. This is a top-level cabaret act exploring the personas of eight women, including Communist Rosa Luxemburg, that doesn't have a slow moment. Well-directed by Lina Koutrakos, illuminating the Weimar years in Berlin, Leon, who wrote this fully-realized piece, has charm,
exuberance and stunning beauty. As an artist reconciling with her Germanness, she is quite moving, quite funny, a genuine superstar as singer/comedian/actress/writer.

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

October 14th, 2006
   
Jay Johnson is a master of his art on a level with a Vladimir Horowitz or Arthur Rubenstein on the piano, Picasso or Rembrandt as painters, Najinsky as a dancer, Caruso as a singer. His is the art of Ventriloquism, and in his show Jay Johnson: THE TWO
AND ONLY, his complete unification with his art and his wit and humor are there to enthrall an audience in a performance that is rare, delightful, and at times quite moving. He sprinkles in the history of Ventriloquism, his personal odyssey, and he is a gentle, bright comedian whose many puppet personas are each distinct in voice, action and tone as they actively challenge him. Beowulf Borritt's set and Clifton Taylor's splendid lighting complete this
exciting, entertaining show directed by Murphy Cross and Paul Kreppel with perfect timing. It's a thrilling experience to see a master of this caliber at work. There is no better ventriloquist in the world.

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

A CHORUS LINE is back on Broadway, and it's easy to see why it ran for fourteen years. This splendid production, directed by Bob Avian, based on creator Michael Bennett's conception, with the brilliant mirrored set by Robin Wagner, Tharon Musser's super
lighting plan (adapted by Natasha Katz) and costumes by Theoni V. Aldredge (the gang's all here), with a dynamite Broadway cast including Charlotte d'Amboise as Cassie, this is Broadway at its best. It's a great dance show, but it has what few new Broadway shows have: songs that you walk out humming. With music by
Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, I'm still humming "What I Did for Love," "At the Ballet," and "Singular Sensation" gives me a rhythm when I walk. The intricate movement, synchronized and
counterpointed, created by Bennett and Avian is still flashing in my head. Don't miss this one.

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

September 25th, 2006
   
In THE TREATMENT, now at The Culture project on Bleeker St., writer Eve Ensler's heart and mind are in the right place as she tries to bring understanding and answers to torture and the processes causing it in this dialogue between a traumatized soldier who mistreated prisoners (Dylan McDermott) and a woman
military psychiatrist (Portia). Direction by Leigh Silverman is odd: as the play unfolds, each word the doctor says is pronounced clearly, robotically, whether she is steady and even or loud. There is no conversation- just statement to statement in this
succession of short scenes of a soldier's psychiatric treatment. Later, she goes from stilted to overwrought and over emotional. McDermott's performance is engaging, although constantly overdone- as if to demonstrate his disturbances. So we watch him perform, but we don't feel the interior. Perhaps if he'd pull back he'd pull us in. Later the prolonged vowels of Steigerisms crept into his performance. When he is drugged, he plays it drunk-- with slurred speech. But his talent, dynamic physicality, and personal magnetism do hold you. Underlining things is an overly dramatic soundscape by Jill BC DuBoff that goes beyond the content of the scenes. Back to Ensler: when the soldier reaches a possibly homicidal psychotic state, wouldn't a real doctor have him hospitalized? Do you think therapy is a bit
unorthodox when the therapist stays with the patient day and night and they fall asleep cuddling? And then the doctor loses Doctoricity and it becomes personal as the soldier becomes the mentor. Wicked weird. By the end we have indeed gained insight into and some understanding of the internal conflicts that can lead to horrifying events. This is a flawed production that somehow achieves quite a lot of what Ensler wants
to convey.

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

September 22nd, 2006
   
In her show THE UnBALANCING ACT, at Don't Tell Mama on
W. 46th St. Sept. 27th and Oct. 25th at 9: PM, Donna Moore is a very engaging comedienne with original takes on the world around her including Self Love, Barbie, the trials of a single-woman home owner, and her original songs like "The Grass is Greener" and
"Cougar" are insightful, humorous winners full of life and humor. So is her real story about her daughters. All in all it's a very entertaining cabaret act performed by a woman with warmth, charm, and an antic sense of the comic. 212/757-0788.

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

September 08th, 2006
   
Bill Bowers, a marvelous monologist, is also one of the best Mimes in America, and his show IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING, now at Rattlestick Theatre is a telling and showing of his fascinating life, starting in rural Montana. He gives wonderful physical
demonstrations of the landscape, characters, atmosphere, with clean clear masterful Mime technique, including the faces, mannerisms, attitudes of his relatives. A lot of it is about his life as a gay man- first as he develops into a Mime, later as his love has HIV. The show is mostly comedy, with glimpses of the ridiculous characters he played in his performing career including a long stint in "The Lion King" on Broadway. It's all quite a beautiful story performed with masterly technique and warm human
communication. Thru October 8th- 212/869-4444

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