OLEANNA by David Mamet, snappily directed by Doug Hughes: a well-meaning, somewhat full of himself earnest professor (Bill Pullman) meets with and is accused by student with a bug up her ass (Julia Styles). He foolishly tries to help her, stepping beyond boundries that he should know about. Here’s what I saw: A nervous neurotic professor with tremendous tension in his mouth, with ongoing lip-clamping- like an amphetimine addict. A non-comprehending student in Scene 1 whose I.Q. jumps about 50 points in Scene 2. She’s able to comprehend and use language she doesn’t understand in Scene 1. In Scene 3 there is great emotional flow that is varied and clear as the harassed man tries to survive. The play is a construction built to have two strong adversaries in intersex confrontation and battle. Sure it’s interesting, and in this case well-acted. Stiles is terrific, and Pullman, despite his twitches, is quite good. The set by Neil Patel is appropriate; the lighting by Donald Holder is weird-- when she declaims, there is extra bright light turned on which shines on her and in the eyes of the audience. The escalation of the idiocy of her complaints, for me, justifies his rage at the end—and Mamet’s construction is quite an emotional trip.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and

lively-arts.com

The current HAMLET, now on broadway starring Jude Law, is still "Hamlet," arguably the greatest play ever written, and the timeless brilliance of Shakespeare's drama and humor are there. The grim, dark set by Christopher Oram is a powerful presence and his costumes, a contemporary black or brown palette (except for The Players who are in white), the brilliant lighting by Neil Austin vividly highlighting the action, and the great fencing, all well staged by director Michael Grandage, give a balance to the production's flaws. The play is performed mostly in a hammy 19th Century presentational style with lines being sung and declaimed instead of spoken. Some of the casting is "out of joint," like a Ghost and Player King who is about twenty or thirty years too old for the parts he is playing, a dingy young Ophelia without the tender feminine vulnerability the part needs, and a garbled, whining compassionless Fortinbras at the end. Some of the speeches, like Polonius's advice to his son Laertes, and Claudius's soliloquy which is cried on one note, are recited without variation, exploration, real life. Gertrude (Geraldine James) is terrific. OK-- Jude Law. He's so cute he should be in the movies. Even when he contradicts by action the advice he gives to The Players-- he has a gesture for every word, and and he does saw the air with his hands-- he has great presence, he cavorts very well, has many amusing moments, and much of the evening is fun and quite absorbing. The audience seemed to like it a lot, and despite my being picky picky picky, I'm glad I went. "The play's the thing....."

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and

lively-arts.com.

THE ROYAL FAMILY by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber first opened on Broadway eight-two years ago, and this domestic comedy about a leading theatrical family and their squibbles and squabbles is still totally entertaining Theatre. It's poseurs posing-- the myths and affectations of being in "Theatah," dahling, is directed with a lively pace, superb timing, and clean staging of its manic doings by Doug Hughes. Reg Rogers in the John Barrymore role fills the stage as does Rosemary Harris as the dowager, and Jan Maxwell is spectacular in an award-level turn as the actress at the center of the family and the play. John Glover, Larry Pine, Tony Roberts and the entire cast are top-level performers. Catherine Zuber has designed lovely period costumes, and John Lee Beatty's two-level set is wonderful in its detail. This is the real old stuff done with flair and panache that thoroughly entertains a contemporary audience.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and

lively-arts.com.

BYE BYE BIRDIE, now on Broadway, is a fun old-fashioned teeny-bopper cartoon of a musical about a pop singer going into the army in about 1960, and the effect on a small town girl who won the contest to kiss Birdie goodbye (a sweet Allie Trim) and her family. The old songs, including "Put On A Happy Face," with music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams, still bounce, and the lead, John Stamos, as the star's manager is really cute-- singing and dancing. I wish he had more dancing: he's fun. And Nolan Gerard Funk as Birdie can put over a number quite well. But I have this weird idea that ALL the people in a Broadway musical should be able to really sing. Where I got this strange notion I don't know. I guess other people don't agree with me, as with some of the performers in this show. Gina Gershon as the love interest for Stamos is not really a singer. She does come through in the "Spanish Rose" number because she's a good actress with a strong sexy persona. Bill Irwin, who plays Trimm's father, is a great clown, one of the best in the country, and his clowning in the show is terrific, but he can't sing a lick, and his posturing with a phony "Main Line" accent is a cartoonish attempt to be funny. It's not. Jane Houdyshell in a real cartoon role as Stamos's mother is totally believable and super entertaining. Dee Hoty, playing Trim's mother, is really a high-level Broadway singer, but doesn't have a solo number. Direction and Choreography by Robert Longbottom is brisk, vigorous, the inventive multi-set by Andrew Jackness, is very alive and active, solid color cartoon costumes by Greg Barnes add to the flavor, and Ken Billington's lighting is just right. There is a naive sweetness to the show with its simple story, and with the memorable songs, it is a light, enjoyable evening.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and

lively-arts.com.

A STEADY RAIN by Keith Huff, briskly directed by John Crowley, is a well orchestrated minuet of cop life and drama told story-recitation style by a terrific combo of two charismatic actors, Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman-- and they are as exciting as I had hoped, each with a contrasting style of acting. It ' s a riveting narration with Jackman as the hardass, a full outlaw, and Craig as not so strong and more sensible. Craig gives us a real person with vulnerabilities: he ' s a fine actor. Jackman conjures up some strong emotions in himself, and is a great performer. It works beautifully. Scott Pask ' s set, just black, gradually revealing itself as a slum, is brilliant. It ' s a privilege to share a theatre with these exciting personas.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and

lively-arts.com.

MEMPHIS, with book by Joe DiPietro, lyrics by DiPietro and David Bryan and music by Bryan is a Rock and Roll show with a splattering of Gospel that cooks. The story about getting into the music business is simplistic, the singing is terrific; the music will get you. The story of forbidden love in the ' 60 ' s (black and white) had special resonance for me-- I was a very early, maybe premature, Civil Rights campaigner in Georgia . The entire cast is adept and exciting, and the two leads, Chad Kimball and Montego Glover are powerful charismatic singers; the dancers are as flexible as slinky ' s. Directed with zip and flair by Christopher Ashley, excitingly choreographed by Sergio Trujillo on David Gallo ' s active multi-level set, MEMPHIS is good toe-tapping entertainment.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and

lively-arts.com.

SUPERIOR DONUTS by Tracy Letts is a slice of contemporary Polish/Russian working class life in a Chicago neighborhood that is now mixed with black inhabitants, with superior acting, superior writing, superior jokes based on character, and two superior leading characters: Michael McKean as an old hippie and Jon Michael Hill as his new assistant in his shop in a complex counterpoint that is theatrically engrossing. I guess to add dramatic conflict to the play Letts gives the young man serious danger in his life. For me it didn't really need it-- the fascinating interaction of the various characters with simple problems, performed by an outstanding ensemble, was enough. But Letts is a terrific writer, and I have to go with his choice to take the plot to its severe consequences. The fight sequence designed by Rick Sordelet, is beautifully choreographed, James Schuette has designed a good practical set of the donut shop, costumes by Ana Kuzmanic are appropriate with a flash of authenticity, and it is directed with subtlety and style by Tina Landau. The dialogue is colorful; Letts really knows how to set up a joke and have it pay off, and this really is a superior evening of excellent Theatre.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and

lively-arts.com.

Carrie Fisher is a pisser. She's a great story teller. Her autobiographical one-woman show WISHFUL DRINKING, now on Broadway, with her celebrity-filled life stories, her bouts with drugs, alcohol and personal betrayals, is totally engaging, enjoyable, with her tongue-in-cheek attitude carrying us through some awful episodes and some happy ones. Her star parents, her notoriety from "Star Wars," her headline-making plunges-- all is revealed, all mocked, by a true survivor who is a terrific performer. Long may she wave!

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and

lively-arts.com.

ASCENDANCE, by Chriselle Tidrick’s Above and Beyond Dance is an amazing, exciting, innovative work of Movement Theatre blending Modern Dance with circus skills. It starts with beautiful supple dancers suspended in air on cables or bungees-- flexible flyers mixing humor and drama as rivalries, pleasant and unpleasant, are played out. The work has a unique beauty as the gymnastically trained dancers play out Martial Artish conflict. Choreographed by Tidrick plus participating dancers Madeline Hoak, Andrea Skurr, Emily Smyth-Vartanian, and on the stilt work, Sharon Livardo du Maine, the moves are exquisite, the images vivid. These choreographers plus Katie Clancy are the dancers, in short pieces that include fairy tale images including trapeze, silk-climbing and acrobatics, and there is a strange mythical sense of grotesque beauty as Tidrick and Livardo du Maine on stilts interact with the small figures dancing beneath them like Goddesses tending their wards. The artistic blending of skills by Artistic Director Tidrick’s vision is a movement journey not to be missed.

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

A SHORT WAKE by Derek Murphy, strongly directed and clearly staged by Ludovica Vilar-Hauser, gives us two twisted brothers from a deteriorated gangster family, powerfully, believably played by Peter Bradbury and Brandon Williams, at the funeral of their father whom they hated. It’s an imaginative conflict dipping into the past of a working gangster and his lawyer brother and their earlier life with their miserable, alcoholic father and angry drunk mother who died young. Estranged for twenty years, the brothers meet at the coffin of their father, and Murphy’s writing takes us a step beyond the simple conflict as he mixes wit with the drama. Set by CJ Howard nicely defines the funeral parlor, lighting by Kia Rogers is just right, as are the costumes by Jenny D. Green. A SHORT WAKE, part of the First Annual Irish Play Festival, is a vivid theatrical experience.

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

Part of the 1st Annual Irish Play Festival, AFTER LUKE and WHEN I WAS GOD, two colorful working class dramas by Conal Creedon directed by Tim Ruddy, full of elemental conflict between brothers and between fathers and sons, is performed by three strong actors: Gary Gregg, Colin Lane and Michael Mellamphy. In the first, it’s a Cain and Abel powerful dynamic conflict, and in the second sturm and drang between father and son revolving around sports. Basically they are about miscommunication and the hope of parental love. Although there are no winners in Creedon’s lexicon, the totality is an exciting, engaging double bill of elemental theatre.

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

Ben Newman and Wide Eyed Productions have created an unusually exciting seven performer clown show, A WORLD ELSEWHERE! Arias in the Key of Clown, led by the multi-talented Justin Ness, aided and abetted by Lucy McRae and a lively troupe, the separation and ultimate reuniting of two clowns takes us on an entertaining journey full of shtick, fol-de-rol and tomfoolery that doesn’t let down for a moment. Newman’s idea of having a story line takes this show and the craftsmanship of the talented cast beyond the ordinary succession of tricks, bringing this clown show to a higher, more engaging level than most shows of its genre. It’s Theatrical! It’s fun!

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

EN, a 90 minute show by the all female drum and tapdance troupe COBU, created by Yaka Miyamoto: Hot, perfectly coordinated lively tap dancing in unison moves to Conga and base drumming; synchronized drumming with the dancers moving dynamically as they hit skins and sides of their drums in a percussion dance; a section wherein a duo does a short Savion Glover piece of feet percussion; a short section with a mixture of traditional Japanese movement and costumes, fans and all, mixed with tapping, which is the only gently-done section of the show; a bit of unison singing, a bit of staff-fighting. Mostly it’s full throttle loud rapid drum smashes, and the storyless numbers, while amazingly precise, ultimately become redundant as time passes. It’s fun to see the great, strong, elastic bodies of these lively, cheery women, but unfortunately the lighting by Ayumu “Poe” Saegusa is mostly so dim that it is hard to discern the nuances of the fine costumes and the facial expressions of the dancer-drummers. Much of the show was like being in a cave at night watching movements in the glow of firelight. Okay for a bit, but not enough for about seventy of the ninety minutes. It’s fun to see these enthusiastic, dynamic, well-trained, exuberant young women jumping around and banging on things with amazing precision, creating their soundscape which sometimes includes Japanese stringed instruments and gourds. It would, for me, be better at an hour, but it is indeed, at its best, an unusual, memorable, entertaining event.

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

Burlesque is back! REVEALED, which plays the third Wednesday of each month at Under St. Marks, 94 St. Mark’s place, is the real old stuff brought up to date. Now the strippers can go a couple of steps further than in the old days— no pasties, no G-string. It starts with the lively, cheery MC who calls himself “Bastard Keith”. He sings! He dances! He’s funny! He’s an embryonic star! Then: Amber Ray, a chubby, pretty amazingly enhanced woman with an Asiatic-flavored theme. She’s a slinker, a loveable giggler; Anita Cookie is hilarious as a gum-chewing little girl as she does a great strip; the beautiful Madame Rosebud with humor and great charm as an 1890’s masochistic soubrette; TaTa du Jour— a Marilyn on red sheets; Kobayashi Maru- Geisha reveals all in slow motion; Gigi La Femme- a bit of bondage. Using the classic conventions like pulling gloves off with the teeth, the show satirizes stripping and does it well at the same time, each woman performing her own tangent, all beautifully costumed. And it has a spectacular ending with all the strippers on stage naked (with a bit of costuming implying character). The enthusiastic audience enlivened the show, and the friend who was with me said, “It’s a great bang for your buck.” If you don’t want to see beautiful women artfully get undressed with a sly sense of humor, don’t go to REVEALED.

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

September 02nd , 2009
   
Director Jonathan Bank has done it again: his Mint Theatre presentation of the 1933 Irish play IS LIFE WORTH LIVING? By Lennox Robinson takes an antique play from its obscure shelf and gives us a delightfully entertaining drama peopled by high-level actors, all of whom bring a depth of character and a reality to their roles, on a fine expansive set by Susan Zeeman Rogers with perfect period costumes by Martha Hally, an impressive soundscape by Jane Shaw, and excellent lighting by Jeff Nellis. The underlying theme might be-- the danger of negative influence by Theatre (Ibsen, Chekhov, Strindberg) when it is brought to a provincial Irish town by a traveling theatrical troupe. It’s domestic drama with a sprinkling of humor and a touch of erudition, and the dripping rain outside the window gives the true flavor of Ireland. Even when the plot does a double reverse to conform to the morality of that time rather than a more modern feminism, there is
sense of reality, of actual people before us. The acting is first rate, the production is totally charming and Bank’s staging and timing are spot on. I heard an audience member tell her husband on the way out, “That was delicious.” Taste it yourself.

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

SHRUNKEN HEADS by M.Z. Ribalow is a cute, cheery shot at farce with no reality as a shrink, his patient and family bring their conflicts to his country house. Performances are quite good, full of jokes, verbal and physical on an excellent set by Daniel Krause. In it course, the play mocks psychiatry, patients, marriages, New Age and youth, giving us some good laughs. It’s a fun evening. A couple of martinis before the show would definitely add to the festivities.

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