June 23rd, 2008
   
CIRQUE DREAMS JUNGLE FANTASY at the Broadway Theatre, created and directed by Neil Goldberg, is a beautifully staged, world-class, fully satisfying audience pleaser. Comparisons with Cirque du Soleil are inevitable, but neither one is better than the other. They’re only different. CIRQUE DREAMS’ dramatic lighting, its brilliant multifarious costumes – ostriches, leopards, unicorns, parrots, giraffes and hundreds more - and the charm, agility and winning personalities of the performers all make for a precisely woven tapestry suggestive at times of Julie Taymor’s “Lion King,” Rudolph Nureyev dancing Don Quixote, and the best Ringling Brothers acrobatic acts. The “contorting lizards” from Mongolia do things with the human body that don’t seem possible, and Vladimir Dovgan and Anatoliy Yeniy seem to stop every heart in the audience with the death-defying Snake Roller act. Although the story-line is a bit difficult to follow, it doesn’t really matter. The evening has color, sweep, vibrancy, beauty and fun. Jill Winters’ music and lyrics (sung mostly by Jill Diane) fill the hall with emotions of majesty and hopefulness. And there are more than enough cute gags to tickle already awe-inspired audience members both young and old.

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

June 16th, 2008
   
“Brits Off Broadway” at 59E59 offers SOME KIND OF BLISS, a one woman play by Samuel Adamson performed by the British actress Lucy Briers. An energetic, fast-talking contemporary woman describes an ill-fated walk through London to Greenwich, at times playing several characters each with a new voice and attitude. She experiences a toke of spliff, a bit of sex with a kid, a mugging. Although the performance is quite good, and full of dramatic description and action, and Briers is an accomplished actress and mimic, I did not find it emotionally engaging. I was not moved by her difficult journey-- I remained removed-- an observer. Directed by Toby Frow, and billed as a comedy, it is a drama with a few chuckles played on an interesting set of slanting walkways by Lucy Osborne. What we observe in the performance is quite interesting, and being a spectator is not a bad way to spend an evening. But I’d prefer my innards to be stirred either by empathy or by the incongruity that provokes a real laugh.

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

A brief note on Ensemble Studio Theatre’s Marathon 2008
Series C:
“Piscary” by Frank D. Gilroy, crisply directed by Janet Zarish -- a squabble including fish. Good acting by Mark Alhadeff and Diane Davis. Good writing.
“In Between Songs” by Lewis Black gives us the essence of stoned, as it really captures the idiotic brain trips of old stoners. As directed by Rebecca Nelson, and performed by Jack Gilpin, David Wohl and Cecilia DeWolf, it’s truly funny.
“Flowers” by Jose Rivera, imaginatively directed by Linsay Firman, gives us magical realism as a girl evolves into a plant. Raul Castillo is a good foil for the amazing, beautiful Flora Diaz who plays the evolving flowering tree with conviction and grace.
“Japanoir” by Michael Feingold is really two plays intermingled: a somewhat boring interview with an egotistical filmmaker, and the film itself— a satire on a Japanese Film Noir, which is well done and is lots of fun.
“A Very Very Short Play” by Jacqueline Reingold, directed by Jonathan Bernstein, is a fun fantasy-- a romance between a one inch tall girl and a twelve foot eight guy. Nicely performed by Julie Fitzpatrick and Adam Dannheisser.
All in all, once again, EST gives us terrific acting in good plays in all three of its series.

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

June 05th, 2008
   
Ensemble Studio Theatre’s annual One Act Festival is now on, and, as usual, it’s a major treat of the year-- they select a variety of good plays, and the level of acting is always high. Series A of MARATHON 2008 had two surprises— a musical, “A Little Soul Searching” by Willie Reale, a humorous sketch lightly skewering Earth customs, with the outstanding Karen Trott, and a well-directed (by Kathleen Dimmick) play with no words, “Wedding Pictures” by Quincy Long. “Christmas Present” by Amy Herzog, about a one night stand, has good writing and fine performances by Julie Fitzpatrick and Jake Hoffman. But you can’t win ‘em all-- “Tostitos” by Michael John Garces is about contemporary crudity and teenage horseshit with an irritating bully -- all quite annoying. “An Upset” by David Auburn about a tennis bad loser has good writing and good acting by Matt Lauria and Darren Goldstein. A rewarding evening.

Series B has a special reward-- Laila Robins radiant in a Neil LaBute domestic squabble, “The Great War,” nicely matched by Grant Shaud, and well-directed by Andrew McCarthy. Lloyd Suh’s “Happy Birthday William Abernathy” is an interesting view of racial mixing with an old white man (Joe Ponazecki) and his Asian grandson (Peter Kim). Anne Washburn’s “October/November,” an encounter between a 16 year old girl and a 13 year old boy is quite cute, and David Zelinik’s well-performed (by Bryan Fenkart, Pun Bandhu and “Siho Ellsmore) “Ideogram” is full of intriguing ideas. The closer, “Okay,” by Taylor Mac, directed by Jose Zayas, is a delightful play set in a ladies room on Prom Night as a girl is about to give birth and a stream of people enter and leave the room as she hides. Another rewarding evening.

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

PASSING SRANGE, with book and lyrics by Stew and music by Heidi Rodewald and Stew, starring Stew, directed by Annie Dorsen, is basically an engaging music concert with the four piece band on stage that starts with a few chairs and elevator pits as a set. Stew is a charismatic performer/narrator with a mellow strong singing voice, and it’s a pleasure to hear him. The story is simplistic as it expresses a not fully formed black consciousness, but protagonist Daniel Breaker as a young man trying to find his life’s path is excellent in his range from quietly subtle to wide open and filling the house. The women are terrific: Elisa Davis, de’Adre Aziza and Rebecca Naomi Jones-- a lot of energy, good voices. It’s an uneven show as it goes beyond the limits of its form: there is a lame attempt at satirizing French movies. Then comes a section on Amsterdam, and an upstage wall of light, colorful bars and spots, is revealed. It’s a kind of
throwback to “Hair” and its sexual revolt and exploration, and it gives us a naïve, a teenage-level view of smoking marijuana as the young man tries to find his music. This is where a major flaw in the show is clearly seen-- there is a lot of jumping around (a choreographer, Karole Armitage is named in the program), but no dancing. It really could use some real dancin’. Act 2 finds us in Berlin, with a not-engaging mocking of German Performance Art. Breaker’s charm shines through as he progresses. There is a crude satire of German artist/rebels. Stew’s last big number rocks the house. Interestingly, this show, about the struggles of a black musician has all black performers and a white four-piece band. Everybody’s really good. All in all I had a good time-- but it is not, to me, a Broadway show-- it’s a good music concert.

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

May 09th, 2008
   
A CATERED AFFAIR, based on Paddy Chayefsky’s teleplay, now with a book by Harvey Fierstein, with music and lyrics by John Bucchino--- What a pleasure! A show with content, clever counterpoints of action, sweet lyrics with non-obvious rhymes, engagingly constructed music, and a great cast. The setup is simple: should a poor working class family spend their last dollar on a big wedding? Faith Prince, as the mother, is brilliant-- fully immersed in her character, Tom Wopat is fine as the father, and Harvey Fierstein is not immersed at all, but is very entertaining as the uncle. The young couple, Leslie Kritzer and Matt Cavenaugh are lovely. David Gallo’s set is extraordinary, as is the lighting by Brian MacDevitt, costumes by Ann Hould-Ward are perfect. It is exquisitely directed by John Doyle. So— a musical with depth, feeling, with high-level artistry in all areas-- not mere entertainment, but still totally entertaining. It’s a 95 minute
masterpiece. What a pleasure!

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

I didn’t want to review Anton Dudley’s misconstructed play about grief, SUBSTITUTION, because— why knock a new theatre company’s sincere effort? But I have to because of a great performance by a totally empathetic Jan Maxwell. A woman’s son has died in a boating accident, along with other students. Maxwell is powerfully moving in every moment of her performance. Misdirected by Katherine Kovner, there is a strong contrast between the reality of Maxwell’s portrayal and the lack of believability in the rest of the cast as a mother and a teacher fight over the memory of the son-- although Kieran Campion, after an over-the-top loud, blustering beginning, does eventually settle down to a moving reality in his portrayal. There are inserts of scenes with two of the drownees spouting shallow teenage philosophy-- boring. But the moving brilliance of Maxwell, whom I saw steal the show in a comic turn in “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” a couple
of years ago, now giving us a flawlessly-acted gut-wrenching, wonderful performance must be applauded and cheered. And seen.

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

Arthur Laurents obviously knows his material so well that he can innovate on his original innovations as he directs Patti LuPone in GYPSY, which he wrote the book for about a century ago. Music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim give us memorable tunes that it is a pleasure to hear in the theatre and to hum as we leave it. With Jerome Robbins’ original choreography, terrific scenery by James Youmans, imaginative costumes by Martin Pakledinaz and fine lighting by Howell Binkley, this is a great show, made even greater by the superb cast including the beautiful, transcendent Laura Benanti as Gypsy, the smitten, long suffering Boyd Gaines, the little phenom Sami Gayle as Baby June, Leigh Ann Larkin as Dainty June, dancer Tony Yazbeck (a Gene Kelly), and the hilarious trio of ancient stripers— Alison Fraser, Lenora Nemetz and Marilyn Caskey. The entire ensemble is top-level Broadway. And it’s all held together by a great star-- the
dynamic, moving, funny Patti Lupone who shakes the chandeliers in her final number. GYPSY is Broadway at its best.

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