December 20th, 2007
   
Tracy Letts' powerful new play AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY is a shattering three and a half hour piece of rural drama. But we might have suspected this from his other plays: Letts shatters, and the intricate family melodies in contrapuntal dysfunctional clashings at this family get-together in Oklahoma, is a wonderfully
directed (by Anna D. Shapiro) slice of twisted life with a super ensemble cast. Letts is smart-- it comes through in his writing, and Shapiro brings out all possible humor in this drama in which almost every character has a bend (or a rip) in his or her psyche.
Deanna Dunagan's performance as the crazy drug-addicted mother is amazing, with a combination of emotional depth and the physicality of an athlete, including a drunk/stoned stagger which alone should get her a Tony nomination. And Amy Morton, whose
strong presence becomes the central protagonist, gives a towering performance. But there is not a weak link in the thirteen member splendid cast as they play on Todd Rosenthal's resourceful three level set in Ana Kuzmanic's appropriate costumes, well lighted by Ann G. Wrightson. There is a unity in this company that can only come from a group that works together regularly, and this Steppenwolf bunch from Chicago is
indeed what an ensemble should be. The play is long, but the evening is not-- both the writing and the acting will hold you.

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

It's 1898- Vaudeville is at it height, and the winners of the national contest are here-- the best in the country. That's my impression of CUT TO THE CHASE. The multitalented writer/performer Joel Jeske has put together a troupe of real clowns, tap dancers (led by the zippiest tapper in town- Ryan Kasprzak), comedians, jugglers, a beautiful singer (Juliet Jeske-
who also did the madcap period costumes), drummers, all with meticulous timing. It is all clean, precise, masterful as these zanies cavort. There is a touch of Spike Jones, a bit of Chico at the piano in this, one of the most enjoyable shows in New York.
Director Mark Lonergan beautifully integrates all the action into a logical coherent piece that moves, flows, and doesn't stop entertaining on Anna Kiraly's classic set-doors and all. Go. If you don't laugh, I'll give you a dollar.

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

December 18th, 2007
   
Mark Twain is very much alive- the rumors of his death are premature. His play IS HE DEAD?, adapted by David Ives, has opened on Broadway, and it's hilarious. It's a classic melodrama,
mustache-twirling villain and all, a real comedy romp, full of wit in the writing, directing by Michael Blakemore, and performance by a team of master farceurs including John McMartin, Michael McGrath, Byron Jennings, David Pittu, and the great Norbert Leo
Butz, who brings farce to the stratosphere as he plays an artist in mufti and, because of a plot complication-- an artist's work is worth more if he is dead-- in drag as his own sister. The great cast, Peter J. Davison's tall tall artist's loft set with lots of classic doors, Martin Pakledinaz' perfect costumes and Peter Kaczorowski's lighting all lift IS HE DEAD? to comic heights not seen since "Lend Me a Tenor." Don't go unless you want to laugh a lot.

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

The Flea Theatre's production of "OH, THE HUMANITY and other exclamations," five short plays by Will Eno, directed by Jim Simpson, with Marisa Tomei and Brian Hutchison is now running.
Here's my brief rundown:
1. "Behold the Coach in a Blazer, Uninsured": A losing coach talks to the microphones. Dreary introspection-- all whine.
2. "Ladies and Gentlemen, The Rain." Two morons in pursuit of the ordinary describe themselves with no affect.
3. "Enter the Spokeswoman, Gently" - Air crash-- morbid-- some humor, but no joy.
4. "The Bully Composition" shows some imagination re a photograph from the Spanish American War-- I learned that war is horrible.
5. A surreal piece, with an additional actor, Drew Hildebrand, to a christening or a funeral-the beginning or ending of life.
I found most of the performances to be flat and mournful, the material to be banal and boring, and my final comment, which I overheard an audience member, Larry Shields, say, is: "Oh, the mundanity."

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

December 17th, 2007
   
TIGER PLUS- An evening of overhead projection by Chinese Theater Works, is a fascinating display of visual images with great artistry in the techniques and charming story content. There are butterflies, vultures, hunters, a lovely shadow piece, a flying carpet, and much more, including a story about the creation of a tiger with Stephen Kaplin vocally bringing all the characters to life. The show captivates us artistically and intellectually as these master craftspeople perform their magic.

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

NIGHT SHADE by the Carrionettes is an interesting and dynamic shadow puppet piece accompanied by music specially composed for the show. Full of suspense and excitement, without a dull moment, this story of a dysfunctional family kept me sitting on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen next. The well-crafted and strongly expressive cutouts have "speak-bubbles" connected to them to support understanding of the story which was pretty self explanatory. The story is small, but the evoked emotions are enormous in this finely crafted piece.

Rowana Shepard-- lively-arts.com

December 12th, 2007
   
I just saw another production of MAN OF LA MANCHA at the White Plains Performing Arts Center, and what a pleasure it is to see and hear a powerful, charismatic, energetic performer like Broadway star Robert Cuccioli in the title role. Well staged by
director Luke Yankee in this terrific theatre facility, it all strongly displays Mitch Leigh's stirring music, and Dale Wasserman's book and Joe Darion's lyrics still stand as some of the best in Musical Theatre. Rosena M. Hill is a good actress, and quite beautiful as Aldonza, although her operatic high quavers early on seemed beyond the material. Costumes by Carrie Robbins are appropriately skuzzy for the prison denizens, and inappropriately clean and neat for the scullery slut Aldonza. Cuccioli gets fine support from Carlos Lopez as Sancho Panza, Sidney J. Burgoyne as the Padre, Robert Ousley, Deborah Jean Templin, a great little dancer- Nandita Shenoy, and a highly professional ensemble. White Plains Performing Arts Center can be proud of the work of
their entire company. Thru December 16th-- 914/328-1600.

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

December 10th, 2007
   
THE FARNSWORTH INVENTION by Aaron Sorkin is a fascinating play that is surprisingly engaging for this serious look at the theft of Farnsworth's invention, which he even thought of the name for- television-- by David Sarnoff and RCA. It is awfully good writing as the conflict grows, sprinkled with good humor, but seriously flawed by the intrusion of anachronistic vulgarities that destroy the reality of the time. It would have been unthinkable back then to sprinkle speech with "the F word." That expletive
came into common use well after World War II. Director Des McAnuff keeps the physical action flowing on Klara Zieglerova's active set, and the leads, Hank Azaria and Jimmi Simpson are quite good. The rest of the cast is a mixture of actors who are totally believable and declaimers who, to me, are barely adequate, and the play plateaus early in Act Two with some encyclopedic recitations. The totality is a flawed, but worthwhile play about an ironic piece of history well brought to life theatrically.

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

I saw the original production of Chaz Palminteri's spectacular vivid picture of his old neighborhood in The Bronx and was knocked out by the writing, basically a morality play, and his performance. Then I saw the De Niro movie. Terrific. Now Chaz is back playing all the characters on Belmont Avenue again, and it's even stronger, more nuanced, even sharper, more thrilling than before. The physicality of each character is so clearly developed that it is a masterpiece. The power of Palminteri's work during the intervening years shines through this brilliant performance on James Noone's simple street set with Paul Gallo's perfect lighting-- all beautifully directed by Jerry Zaks.

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

THE SEAFARER, written and directed by Conor McPherson, is about a bunch of Irish drunks talking banalities with not much happening. The entire cast is terrific, with an outstanding David Morse at its center. But boring small talk and quaintness has
short appeal for me, and Irish drinking isn't actually funny to me-- for the past five years I have regularly worked directing and performing at a theatre in Derry. Half an hour into it I didn't know what it is about besides mocking these poor men and their moronic behavior and subjects. What's wrong with me? I don't find humor in alcoholism or interest in boring exposition. At the end of Act 1-- Beelzebub comes for the soul of Morse. Ah ha! So in Act 2 they play cards with the Devil. Do you want to hear
about drinking bouts and diarrhea? Do you want to listen to boring card talk as they play on and on? Then the Devil begins to speculate on spiritual matters, and it gets interesting, and even weird when Hell is described as freezing. Oh- music is the Devil's Achilles tendon. Glad to know that. Set and costumes by Rae Smith are just right, lighting by Neil Austin enhances everything, but it's all a trick- great performances with full characterizations in a play where nothing happens for hours.

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

December 04th, 2007
   
AN ABSURD VICE, the engrossing full length ensemble dance piece by Catherine Gallant, takes us from a clever, graceful car wreck to a deconstructed Latin wedding, to romantic duets both literal and abstract, to domestic conflict and other patterned visual
interactions with a variety of musical styles as accompaniment performed by a troupe of excellent professional modern dancers, including outstanding soloists Chriselle Tidrick and Michelle Cohen. Gallant has a personal movement style and eccentricity in all the work that is unique, and the tone is generally mournful with a graceful flexibility. There are leaps, but not of joy, and there are just a few moments of playfulness, but this is an exciting, totally engaging work. Julia Doyle's costumes, literal and stylized, dance with the dancers, and Miriam Crowe's lighting gives extra dimension to the work of this outstanding troupe.

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

November 17th, 2007
   
The New Mel Brooks Musical YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, book by
Brooks and Thomas Meehan, music and lyrics by Brooks, is basically primarily an entertainment. It's full of old fashioned vaudeville numbers, catchy, zippy dance numbers by director/choreographer Susan Stroman, bouncy tunes performed by top-level Broadway performers Roger Bart, Megan Mullally, Sutton Foster, the amazing Shuler Hensley as the creature, Andrea Martin, Fred Applegate, the marvelous Christopher
Fitzgerald as Igor with the movable hump, and a super
singing/dancing/acting chorus. There are spectacular high level razzle-dazzle lighting effects by lighting designer Peter Kaczorowski and effects designer Marc Brickman, a fabulous active set by Robin Wagner, wonderful exaggerated costumes by William Ivy Long, and lots of low-level corny humor as per usual with Brooks. The show doesn't have a lot of story, so they shoot at dazzling you with footwork and effects. The audience loved the references to the movie, and with a strong finish, everybody thought they had a great time. And it was, indeed fun.

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