Shrek The Musical
Make way for enchantment! An ugly ogre, a beautiful princess, a shrimp of a king, a talking donkey, fairies, a frightful dragon and so on and so on.
   Shrek The Musical comes to Broadway with a roar and the children in the audience roared back with delight. The adults can also enjoy the magnificent scenery of Tim Hatley which rotates on itself, the illusions, costumes and the various dance shananigans as well as the music by Jeanine Tesori and the lyrics of David Lindsay-Abaire. The cast does a magnificent job in their various disguises with Brian D'Arcy James hidden under green goo, Sutton Foster all princessed up, Daniel Breaker as the talking donkey and Christopher Sieber who deserves a medal for playing the entire show on his knees as the dwarf king and as I said, the children roared with delight.

Speed-The-Plow
David Mamet’s 1988 play is as pertinent today as it was in its initial presentation. Although Jeremy Piven opened in the role of Bobby Gould he has been afflicted with some mysterious ailment and has withdrawn. His understudy Jordan Lage has joined Raul Esparza (Charlie Fox) and Elizabeth Moss (Karen) in this snappy presentation. It seems Bobby and Charlie have worked their way up the Hollywood ladder to the point where Bobby is now a producer ready to collaborate with Charlie who has secured a top actor and a hack script that threatens to make them both rich. They are awaiting a meeting with the studio head at ten the next morning to secure the deal. In the meantime Bobby has promised to read a book on radiation and the meaning of life and death which he has no intention of ever producing. He palms the reading off on his naive, temporary secretary Karen telling her to bring him her appraisal that night to his apartment where he also plans a temporary seduction. But Karen has plans of her own and she convinces him this book is an idealistic piece worthy of production. Thus the struggle between truth and purity versus venality and profit begins. But Mamet has more tricks and twists up his sleeve as Karen’s naivete takes a turn—for what? The power struggle between the three is fascinating to behold. The scenic design of Scott Pask is excellent as the stage revolves between Bobby's office and home while the direction by Neil Pepe is bristling and rapid fire. This play is a worthy revival.

Pal Joey
Roundabout Theatre Company has concocted a delicious new version of Rodgers and Hart’s cynical classic with an update by Richard Greenberg of the John O'Hara original story. Having had a run of bad luck in the beginning by losing the leading man, Christian Hoff, to a foot injury the production has been fortunate to have an understudy, Matthew Risch, who is able to take over the singing and dancing in admirable fashion. Unfortunately, he lacks the age and experience to make Joey a truly dark character who is detestable to many but he still delivers an excellent portrayal. Stockard Channing is utterly fascinating as the adulterous older woman whose sexual involvement with our heel-hero is so intense she gladly sponsors him in his own nite-club and Martha Plimpton is delicious as the faded performer who undermines our Joey after he cruelly mistreats her. Jenny Fellner rounds out the picture as the innocent youngster who believes in Joey—much to her disillusionment. Set design by Scott Pask, costumes by William Ivey Long and lighting by Paul Gallo portray the 1930s Chicago cheap nite clubs to a tee, while Joe Mantello directs with a sure hand. All in all this revival flows.

Hedda Gabler
This perennial is being revived by Roundabout Theatre Company in a new adaptation by Christopher Shinn which purports to be a modernization of Ibsen’s classic. Unfortunately this new translation loses much of the poetry and trenchancy of Ibsen’s writing and consequently it defuses the starkness of the climatic moments. Who is this woman anyway? What to make of her bizarre behavior? Almost any actress worth her salt has struggled with this odd creature who delights in destruction, whose inner deadness is alleviated only by causing pain in others and ultimately herself. Can we really blame this sadism on the stultifying Norwegian culture?
   Mary-Louise Parker gives a compelling performance. Her air of fragility mitigates against Hedda's streak of vicious cruelty and actually creates some empathy for her behavior. In the role of her husband Jorgen (Michael Cerveris), so proficient in other roles, appears at a loss, running back and forth in aimless fashion, muffing several lines. Her ex-lover Ejlert Lovborg (Paul Sparks) does not appear sufficently believable as the alcoholic poet driven to desperation while Ana Reeder as Mrs. Elvsted is too hysterical by far. The rest of the cast is adequate while the set of Hildegard Bechtler, the costumes by Ann Roth and the music by PJ Harvey set the mood admirably but the overall production is hampered by the loss of Ibsen’s words. Regardless it’s worth seeing for the effort involved and the talented Ms. Parker.

The American Plan
Manhattan Theatre Club’s revival of Richard Greenberg’s 1990 play is an excellent production of a somewhat enigmatic and disturbing play. It portrays a group of people in the Catskill Mountains resort area in the 1960s who reach for the golden ring but never quite manage to achieve it for reasons which remain obscure. The possibilities are there, all it requires is definiteness and purpose but somehow nothing positive happens.
   Eva Adler (Mercedes Ruehl) a rich German Jewish widow, her daughter Lili Adler (Lily Rabe) and her housekeeper Olivia Shaw (Brenda Pressley) are vacationing in their elegant mountain home in the Catskills. Across the lake is a famous resort filled with noisy, food-loving people who the Adlers find reprehensible. One day a vacationing Nick Lockridge (Kieran Campion) swims across the lake, meets Lili and the two fall rapturously in love. The only trouble is that everyone is lying. Nick pretends to be an architect, Lili pretends to be a prisoner of her mother who she says has killed her father, Eva pretends to be accepting of her daughter's WASP lover and when Gil Harbison (Austin Lysy) arrives on the scene he pretends not to know Nick. Within this set of circumstances what can go right?
   All the actors are excellent, particularly Mercedes Ruehl who thoroughly enjoys her deviousnesss. David Grindley directs, Jonathan Fensom does the scenic and costume design and Mark McCullough handles the lighting. All perform well but the play does not sustain its initial promise.

A Tale Of Two Cities
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”…who does not remember that famous opening line of Charles Dickens’ classic novel set during the French Revolution—or the heartbreaking ending of the story of Sydney Carton, Lucie Manette and Charles Darnay. Jill Santoriello has undertaken the huge task of writing the book, music and lyrics of this new musical and while it has its faults there is also much to recommend it. The casting of James Barbour as Sydney, the drunken libertine who saves the day for his beloved Lucy (Brandi Burkhardt) and her husband Charles (Aaron Lazar) is inspired as this very talented actor manages to make his histrionic gesture believable. It helps that he also has a beautiful baritone sound which imparts depth to the somewhat sketchy reduction of the huge canvas that Dickens unfolded in his novel. The scenic design of Tony Walton is an intriguing diorama of wooden skeletal structures that change function and shape, revolving from Paris to London, from inside chambers to the Bastile with alacrity and ease. The secondary characters are well acted by Gregg Edelman as Dr. Manette, Katheine McGrath as Miss Pross, Natalie Toro as Madame Defarge and Michael Hayward-Jones as Dr Lorry among others. But the music is too much crescendo and too little melody, too generic without a stamp of its own. Nevertheless, the audience enjoyed itself immensly giving a rousing stamp of approval to the entire production.

The Seagull
Anton Chekhov's classic Russian plays of the 19th century probe with a deep scalpel into the disconnectedness and frustrations of people struggling to both create and relate within the stagnation of Russian society. In The Seagull we have a group of writers, actors and artists gathered on a Russian estate belonging to the elder brother of our main grande Dame of the theater, Arkadina (Kristin Scott Thomas). She has come to the estate along with her somewhat younger lover, writer Trigorin (Peter Sarsgaard), to visit her son Konstantin (Mackenzie Crook) and spend a restful summer. Her son has written an avant-garde play starring his girlfriend Nina (Carey Mulligan) who promptly falls in love with Trigorin and decamps for Moscow to become a great actress and Trigorin’s new lover. Of course none of these relationships work out well. Arkadina is a most ungiving mother, her narcissism eternally wounded by having an adult son which makes it impossible for her to enact roles for young heroines—“I could still be 32 if I did not have a 25 year old son!” She ignores his emotional and financial needs, does not even read his plays and spends her time hiding her great insecurity by posturing and hanging on to her lover, whose betrayal sends her into a frenzy. Then there is Dr. Dorn (Art Malik) who is loved by all women but loves none in return and Masha (Zoe Kazan) who loves Konstantin unrequitedly, spends her time in black, mourning for her life and ultimately marries a man she does not love. The other characters are no more successful than the above mentioned and when all ends in tragedy it is no surprise.

All the actors are excellent, most of them having played these roles in the Royal Court Theatre's production in London. The American additions include Peter Sarsgaard and Zoe Kazan who blend in seamlessly with their English counterparts. But the standout of the evening is Carey Mulligan as Nina, the glowing young girl whose disintegration is particularly heartbreaking. Christopher Hampton has created a new version of Chekhov’s classic which captures the ambivalence and contradictions of these unhappy people while Ian Rickson has directed with aplomb.

A Man For All Seasons
Frank Langella has run the gamut from an obscenely handsome cad to an exotic vampire, from a Russian nobleman to a semi-demented ex-President, from the sublime to the ridiculous. In his current reincarnation he is Sir Thomas More, Lord Chancellor of England, devoted friend of King Henry VIII, staunch Catholic defender of the Pope in Rome who refuses to condone Henry’s request for a divorce from his wife of 20 years, Catherine of Aragon, so he can marry Anne Boleyn. In so doing he signs his own death warrant for Henry splits from the church, creates his own church, accuses More of treason, demands that he recant and upon his refusal has him beheaded.

Of course Langella is marvelous—from his cool intellectual insistence that the law will protect his silence to the realization that he is doomed and must die for his convictions. He carries almost every scene and is tremendously moving as he sinks from patrician certainty to awareness of his loss. The rest of the cast is almost as superb with Zack Grenier as a crafty Cromwell, Michel Gill, a staunch friend, the Duke of Norwalk, Dakin Matthews a manipulative Cardinal Wolsey, Maryann Plunkett a devoted wife Alice and Hannah Cabell as More’s well educated daughter Margaret. In a single scene Patrick Page brings a young Henry VIII to life and Triney Sandoval plays the slippery Spanish Ambassador with a wiliness and a smile. Catherine Zuber has created elegant costumes and Santo Loquasto a movable wooden set that captures the mood of each scene. Doug Hughes has directed Robert Bolt's play with clarity but again Frank Langella towers over all. So—is morality relative, a matter of expediency or constant and firm?

To Be Or Not To Be
This stage version of the sparkling 1942 Ernst Lubitsch black comedy does not succeed as well as the original for many reasons, the least being it is distant past and the threat of Nazi fascism is long gone. But it is still funny, generating laughs and chuckles as a second rate acting troup in 1939 Poland outwits the Nazi buffoons, saves the Polish underground from extinction and successfully flees to the United States. The acting troupe led by Josef and Maria Tura (David Rasche and Jan Maxwell) fumble their way through assignations and impersonations succeeding by blind luck and divine inspiration, knocking down all impediments in their path.

Anna Louizos’ sets succeed in evoking the mood of the time from the theater troupe's shabby headquarters to the lavish Nazi chambers while the costumes of Gregg Barnes are adequate to the task. Nick Whitby has penned the script using the film as a basis and Casey Nicholaw directs.

All My Sons

If memory serves me correctly this play, the second in a long list of Arthur Miller’s successes, was an intimate story of a tragic situation that destroyed two families as well as killing many soldiers in World War II. Joe Keller (John Lithgow) owns a factory that supplies airplane parts to the government. His partner (never seen) is the father of his son’s fiancée, thereby cementing the closeness between the two families. When the army discovers that the cylinders are faulty, causing airplanes to crash, both men are arrested but Joe is eventually exonerated on his insistent claim that he was out ill that day and knew nothing about the matter. The son is now missing for three years, his other son wants to marry the fiancée but the mother (Dianne Wiest) refuses to admit her son is dead or accept the new arrangement. Thus the tragedy unfolds.

The staging of this current production is updated and therein lies the problem. The set consists of the outdoor back yard of the Keller home with the walls of the house projected upon a scrim on which scenes of World War II, the factory, the plane crashes, etc. are all run by as the characters are speaking. This intensifies the noise but diminishes the emotions of the actors, making the point too obvious and overstated. In addition the doorway into which they enter the house is a mere recess, leaving the actors a small space to stand in and then slink of the stage as the action continues front stage. This again diminishes the reality of the scene rather than enhance it.

As far as the acting goes, Dianne Wiest and John Lithgow are two pros, excellent in everything they do while Patrick Wilson is a competent son and Katie Holmes makes a successful stage debut as the fiancee. The story is quite applicable as the current philosophy of “greed is good” regardless of consequences with all sorts of rationale to explain it. Thus the play remains engrossing and relevant—if only the production was less overwhelming!

The 39 Steps
The 39 Steps is a hilarious spoof of the Alfred Hitchcock 1935 classic movie which inspired the master to continue his exploration of the thriller genre. This play is a bare bones version of the original but with inspired scenery and casting and a sly injection of every movie title the master ever used into the current dialogue as though it really belonged there. For those who are not familiar with The Lady Vanishes, North by Northwest, The Birds, Vertigo, Rear Window, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Strangers on a Train, etc. etc., these moments will slip by without recognition but those of us in the older generation will react with sheer pleasure.

The clever casting of this production places Jennifer Ferrin in the three female roles, Charles Edwards in the singular role of the hero and Arnie Burton and Cliff Saunders as everybody else. Man #1 and man #2 play policemen, spies, music hall entertainers, farmers, hoteliers, females as well as males and stagehands who manipulate crates, chairs, boxes, desks and curtains into respectable sets with a nimbleness rarely to be seen. In minutes they have our hero on top of a train, climbing the mountains, going through windows and doors—all in breathneck speed and absolutely believable.

In brief the story concerns international spies, a man unjustly accused of murder who stumbles into this melee and spends the rest of the play trying to vindicate himself and expose the real murderers. He is helped by a beautiful blonde who unwitingly becomes his prisoner and ultimately his love. This charming bit of nonsense is directed by Maria Atken using Patrick Barlow’s adaptation of John Buchan’s 1915 spy thriller. But if you look hard enough you will see Alfred Hitchcock—in profile—helping things along.

Passing Strange
Stew (full name Mark Stewart) and Heidi Rodewald, in collaboration with Annie Dorsen, have created a punk-rock musical that is a cross between a concert and a full fledged Broadway show. A four piece band on center stage supplies the music, Stew does the narration and the background lights change colors as our protagonist, a young version of Stew (Daniel Breaker) goes in search of his identity. His travels take him from Los Angeles to Amsterdam and Berlin where he undergoes various experiences before returning home to America as a more adult version of himself. All the cast is excellent, particularly Eisa Davis as our hero’s mother, De'Adre Azisa as various lovers and Colman Domingo in different stances. The music suffers from overamplification but is otherwise quite entertaining ranging from gospel through jazz, rock and blues, sung with enthusiasm and vigor. All in all an interesting experience.

In The Heights
This show is Lin-Manuel Miranda’s tribute to the Latin-American barrio in the area of the Washington Bridge in Manhattan. This is the Hispanic immigration dream—to come to America and make good—to reach the heights not possible in Cuba, Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic which is where our characters originated. The author, Miranda, who is responsible for the music and lyrics is also the narrator of this dream musical and the leading character. He is named Usnavi (guess where that came from), he owns a small bodega left to him by his parents from which he makes a minimal living and he is hopelesly in love with Vanessa (Karen Olivo) who works in the beauty shop next door but dreams of leaving the neighborhood. Also next door is the Cuban woman who raised him after his parents died (Olga Merediz) and the car service business run by Kevin and Camila (Carlos Gomez and Priscilla Lopez) who are the parents of a daughter Nina (Mandy Gonzalez) who is away at Stanford University on a scholarship. Nina is having a hard time of it, unable to work two jobs and keep her grades up and is ready to give up her scholarship, return to the Heights and marry Benny (Christopher Jackson), a handsome black man who works for her parents. This is unacceptable to her parents who must figure out a way to stop it. Then there are the beauty salon women, the man who operates a push cart, Usnavi’s cousin and others who populate this dream world, struggling to make it in a neighborhood that is rapidly being gentrified. The set design by Anna Louizos is magnificent with tattered tenements in the foreground and the magnificent George Washington Bridge in the background The lighting by Howell Binkley is intriguing while the sound design of Acme Sound Partners that conveys the July 4th fireworks and the subsequent blackout is outstanding. But the show belongs to the hot Salsa, Showtunes, Pop, Hip Hop, Rap, Cha Cha, Jazz, Merengue and what have you music of Lin-Manuel and the lively choreography of Andy Blankenbuehler that epitomizes the Latin personna.

South Pacific
South Pacific remains a gem—a gem from a more innocent and noble time when this country was fighting “the war to end all wars” but still had the blemish of racial discrimination to contend with.

But what a glorious show this is!—with Richard Rodgers' music, Oscar Hammerstein’s lyrics and Josh Logan’s adaptation of James Michener’s “Tales of the South Pacific”—a seamless blend of talent and magic. The story of a couple of wartime romances, one of which ends in tragedy, the other in happiness intermixed with some comedy and some attention to the actual business of war remains as enchanting as it ever was with the added perspective of distance, perhaps nostaglia for the simplicity of purpose of those days as well as awareness of the very real problems that existed. Kelli O'Hara is a delight as Ensign Nellie Forbush, the army nurse who falls in love with the French plantation owner Emile deBecque (Paulo Szot) who is equally as gifted a performer. Matthew Morrison is excellent as Lt. Cable as is Loretta Ables Sayre as Bloody Mary, Danny Burstein as Luther Billis and Li Jun Li as Liat. The staging by Michael Yeargan, lighting by Donald Holder and costumes of Catherine Zuber add to the luminosity of the presentation while Ted Sperling and Christopher Gattelli supply the musical staging, Bartlett Sher the direction. A totally glorious evening.

Gypsy
Rose (Patti LuPone) has a dream, a dream of fame and fortune, success and adulation, and although she thinks she wants it for her daughters June and Louise it is really a projection of what she most desperately wants for herself. Unable to grab the gold ring herself, she pushes and prods, overlooking her daughters real needs and proclaims she will make them stars. To this end she ignores her lover’s (Boyd Gaines) wish to get married, her daughter Louise’s wish to have a home, go to school and be an ordinary teenager and her daughter June’s need to be allowed to get out of baby doll clothes and be a real person her own age. Does she succeed, is she happy at her results, is she now fulfilled? Well, see for yourself. Patti LuPone is stupendous in her role as the mother from hell, all encompassing, devouring and striving for the elusive rewards and yet touching in her boundless hunger. Laura Benanti is superb as she transforms from the shy, inhibited plain girl to the beautifully magnificent Gypsy Rose Lee and while Leigh Ann Larkin as Dainty June has less opportunity to shine (she runs away at 16) she does a credible job of revealing the genesis of June Havoc, the filmstar. Boyd Gaines is an excellent Herbie as are our three burlesque strip tease queens—Lenore Nemetz, Alison Fraser and Marilyn Caskey. In addition we have the book of Arthur Laurents, the music of Jule Styne, the lyrics of Stephen Sondheim, the choreography of Jerome Robbins as reproduced by Bonnie Walker and again! the direction of Arthur Laurents! Whew!

Sunday In The Park With George
This Stephen Sondheim—James Lapine 1984 musical has been updated by the addition of spectacular computer-generated images and projections by Timothy Bird and the Knifedge Creative Network. The results are outstanding as blank walls suddenly erupt into a tree here, a park there, a picnic here, a person there, a river, a sailboat, a dog, and lo and behold we have Georges Seurat’s famous painting “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.” Not only do we have Seurat’s struggle with light and color and the development of pointillism, we also have the stories behind the people on view in the painting. His mother, her nurse, his model and lover, a painter friend and his wife, a boatman, casual friends, a soldier and so on as each image takes on a character and a life. Thus we see not only our hero’s struggle with his art but also his struggle with his mistress, Dot, whom he is at a lost to relate to on a deeply personal intimate basis. Daniel Evans and Jenna Russell, both from the London production, are excellent in the lead roles as Seurat and Dot in Act I. Act II which takes place 100 years later finds Seurat’s descendent having the same struggle with art and life as he produces “chromolumes,” a light and sound show in repetitive attempts at seeking “the light” while still failing miserably in his personal life. The entire cast is superb as is Sam Buntrock, the director whose experience as a commercial animator has led to his brilliance in this stunning production. And then there is Sondheim and his music, a world always unto itself.

A Catered Affair
Paddy Chayefsky wrote a TV play in 1955, Gore Vidal adapted it into a 1956 movie and Harvey Fierstein (book) and John Bucchino (music & lyrics) have turned it into a currrent Broadway musical. It still takes place in 1953 in a Bronx tenement inhabited by an embittered wife (Faith Prince) who feels all the joy in life has passed her by, her sullen hard working taxi cab driver husband (Tom Wopat) and their daughter (Leslie Kritzer) who has just become engaged to be married. The oldest son has recently been killed in the Korean war and the government survivor check can be put to several conflicting uses. The mother wants to make a huge catered affair for her daughter which will make up for all her years of being a neglectful mother while the father wants to buy the taxi cab from the owner so he can earn a better living. The daughter and her fiance (Matt Cavenaugh) want an immediate small wedding at City Hall so they can drive a friend’s car to California for their honeymoon----but she looks so beautiful in that white gown! Then there is Uncle Winston (Harvey Fierstein) who lives with the family, sleeps on their living room couch and tries to keep his gay lover under wraps until he is provoked by the knowledge he is not invited to the “small” City Hall affair. He then takes over his sister’s frenetic insistence on the wedding to end all weddings regardless of the cost—both financial and emotional.

This is a low key musical without the dancing, hoopla and electronic magnification of the recent Broadway offerings. It sticks to Chayefsky’s naturalism with the songs continuing the narration without breaking the rhythm of the diagogue. John Doyle has directed in minimalist manner in keeping with the scenic design of David Gallo and the orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick.

Cry Baby
Based on a 1990 John Waters movie about Baltimore teenagers in 1950, the current musical is a a rock and roll Elvis Presley homage with songs by David Javerbaum and Adam Schlesinger and book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan. The plot hovers between the squares (the “good people") versus the gangs (the “bad ones") with each group vainly trying out for a successful adulthood while secretly enjoying their opposites. Our hero, Cry-Baby (James Snyder) can not shed a tear since the unjust execution of his innocent parents for the crime of arson. He is a rocker, a gang leader of misfits, who have their own hideout, give concerts and in general irritate the upper classes of high society. Our heroine Allison (Elizabeth Stanley) belongs to the country club, lives with her elegant grandmother (Harriet Harris), has an uptight fiance (Christopher J. Hanke) and longs to be with the bad boy Cry-Baby. She runs from the country club dance to the rocker concert in the woods and all hell breaks loose with misdeeds, misperceptions, another fire and so on. The music is catchy, infectious rock and roll while the lyrics are edgy, vulgar and funny. But the choreography of Rob Ashford steals the show. It is frenetic, exciting, sexualized and thorougly magnificent. Alli Mauzey as a crazy teenager, Chester GregoryII as a rocker par excellence and Harriet Harris as her usual satirical self add to the shenanegans while James Snyder is a credible Elvis Presley wannabe and Elizabeth Stanley a rather ripe virgin yearning to be free. Mark Brokaw has directed and John Waters has maintained his role as creative consultant to what is really his “baby.”

The Country Girl
Clifford Odets’ 1950 play, reproduced as a film in 1954, is currently being revived in basically its original form—a fifties play. The scenery, costumes and even the radio music is squarely of that era. The only difference is the casting of Morgan Freeman as Frank Elgin, a role that would never have been given to him in 1950. The whole world may be color blind but certain roles require a certain personna which is missing from this production. Morgan Freeman is an excellent actor, particularly in films, but he is a jarring note in his relationship with his wife Georgie (Frances McDormand) and his would be savior director (Peter Gallagher).

The story concerns an alcoholic, has-been great actor who has succumbed to tragedy, and is now being offered a chance to return to the stage by a director who still believes in him. The director resents his wife who has been represented to him as a suicidal dependent drinker rather than the strong mainstay she really is. Will the director finally learn the truth? Will the alcoholic has-been make it? Will the wife leave the husband for the director who has fallen in love with her? Frances McDormand and Peter Gallager are both excellent, as is the supporting cast, but the main relationship between McDormand and Freeman lacks a certain electricity that would make it plausible. Mike Nichols has directed with his customary aplomb but with less than his usual dynamism. However it remains an interesting and enjoyable evening in the theatre.

Boeing Boeing
For some reason the audience laughed itself silly at this ridiculous farce. It’s not that Bradley Whitford, Mark Rylance and Christine Baranski lack talent---they have that in abundance. Its that the tired plot calls for absurd over-acting in the rest of the cast and the farcial aspects of the play become repitious and tiresome in the extreme.

Bernard (Whitford) is an American architect living in Paris who has arranged his life so that he has three airline hostesses alternating days as his fiance, each unaware of the others. He maintains this deception by keeping scrupulous track of their schedules---one in, one out. Today this would be absurd as there is no such thing as an airline being on time but this play takes place in the sixties when we all had faith in the reliability of TWA, Air Italia and Lufthansa. To complicate matters his long-time-no-see friend from America arrives to pay him a visit (Mark Rylance) and our hero invites him to stay and observe his wonderful arrangement. His French maid (Christine Baranski) already overwhelmed by these goings-on keeps making pithy remarks all evening, many of them obscured by her heavy French dialect. Of course everything goes haywire as all three hostesses show up at the same time due to airline misfortunes. The rest of the plot involves swinging doors, crisis after crisis and finally resolution. Gina Gershon, Kathryn Hahn and Mary McCormack play the three airline stewardesses with varying degrees of shouting, screaming and overacting of the stereotypical features of each nationality: the American (Kathryn Hahn in a sexualized portrait), Gina Gershon as the volatile Italian and Mary McCormack as the Valkyre German who tears up the stage. Mark Rylance, a modern Buster Keation, is the hick of all hicks, bewildered and concrete, a perfect foil for the lunacies of the women. Matthew Warchus has directed this farce and, as I said to begin with, the audience laughed its head off.

Les Liaisons Dangereuses
Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’s 1782 novel was adapted into a play by Christopher Hampton in l985, came to Broadway in 1987, was filmed at least twice in the intervening years and now returns to Broadway in a delightfully magnificent production directed by Rufus Norris. This dark, satirical presentation of pre-revolutionary French aristocrats tearing each other apart in a posturing, caustic and witty manner again bears truth to the need for the revolution. Here we have La Marquise de Merteuil (Laura Linney) and Le Vicomte de Valmont (Ben Daniels) plunged into a game of deceit and manipulation in the name of revenge but also apparently a means to counteract the extreme boredom of those idle days interupted only by sex and scandals. La Marquise revels in cruelty as she tries to destroy the family of the man who left her while Valmont is her willing ploy—he who delights in seducing the innocent and bringing havoc into the lives of others. Supposedly the great reward for this wanton behavior is the reunion of these two once-upon-a-time lovers but surprises are in store for both.

Laura Linney is superb as the Marquise, icy and vindictive but appealingly beautiful as she destroys everything in sight. Ben Daniels as Valmont is sinuous and seductive, playful in his misdirection. Mamie Gummer as the guileless child Cecile that Valmont seduces, Jessica Collins as the moral Madame de Tourvel who is destroyed, Benjamin Walker as Cecile’s boyfriend and Sian Phillips as Valmont' aunt are all excellent. The setting by Scott Pask is intriguing consisting of a series of curtains and mirrored walls that smoothly slide into different scenes while the costumes of Katrina Lindsay are scrumptiously grand as befits this collection of aristocrats with too much time on their hands. Roundabout Theatre Company has done an excellent job in toto.

Top Girls
Caryl Churchill’s 1982 bitter lament about the role of women throughout history is being revived by Manhattan Theatre Club with utmost adherence to the author’s directions. Thus in Act I we have a lot of overlapping dialogue which makes it difficult to follow the conversations and requires the audience to put forth more effort than many might want. There is also a problem with accents throughout the play as each actress is speaking in a different one and many of their words are inaudible. Despite these handicaps the play remains an arresting one even though Act III takes place a year before Act I and Act II which makes the action even more difficult to follow than the aforementioned reasons. In brief, we are following the career of Marlene (Elizabeth Marvel) who has just been promoted to manager of a top flight employment agency. In Act I she is having a celebratory dinner—with five distinguished women from history—all of whom have suffered greatly in the past. Isabella Bird (Marisa Tomei), a nineteenth century traveler from Edinborough, Lady Nijo (Jennifer Ikeda) born in 1258 who went from being a Japanese Emperor’s courteson to a Buddhist nun, Dull Gret (Ana Reeder), taken from a Brueghel painting, who led a crowd of women through hell, Pope Joan (Martha Plimpton) who was probably in office from 854-856 until her true sex was discovered when she gave birth and was subsequently stoned and Patient Griselda (Mary Catherine Garrison) who as the patient wife in Chaucer’s Canterbury tales suffered through the many cruelties of her husband. In Act II Marlene is shown at work were she is told she has stolen her job from the man who was really “entitled” to it and in Act III we see the sacrifices she has had to make to climb the corporate ladder. She is now “Top Girl” but at quite a price and no happier than if she were not. Setting design by Tom Pye is quite effective, as are costumes by Laura Bauer. Direction is by James Macdonald who might have paid a little less attention to Miss Churchill’s devious notes.

The Little Mermaid
Its not quite Hans Christian Anderson’s gentle fable or Walt Disney’s animated classc film of 1988 but it does have its own merits and every child in the audience—particularly the girls—was enraptured and captivated by the story of the spunky little mermaid who loved a human prince and gave up her magnificent voice and her undersea kingdom to capture his heart. The storyline is embellished by fantastic costumes in glorious colors representing fish, birds, crabs and other species of underwater glory as well as palace maidens in all their finery. The technical aspects are also engaging with the undersea world, the human world and the sky moving, merging, changing from one form to the other with easy facility. The mermaids glided by on special shoes with built in wheels giving the illusion of swimming while the water, largely plastic, shimmered with diffuse light giving the illusion of movemnent. Set designer George Tsypin, costumer Tatiana Noginova, lighting designer Natasha Katz and sound designer John Shivers have accomplished much of the shows viability. Sierra Boggess as the little mermaid has a lovely voice as does Sean Palmer as Prince Eric. Norm Lewis as King Triton, Tituss Burgess as Sebastian the crab, and Eddie Korbich as Scuttle, the gull, are all excellent but the prize goes to Sherie Rene Scott as the wicked witch octopus Ursula who outdoes everyone with her vamping, “I Want The Good Times Back.” The quartet of Ariel, Eric, Sebastian and King Triton in “If Only” also upholds the musical end of the show. Francesca Zambello has directed, music is by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater. It may not be the classic cartoon but it definitely has its own voice.

The Homecoming
Harold Pinter’s 1965 classic play won the 1967 Tony Award for best play and in 2005 the Nobel Committee awarded its prize for literature to Mr. Pinter for his long and substantial career. Hence it is no surprise that this compelling and disturbing play is being revived with a superb cast and just as many ambiguities and pradoxes as it has ever had. Teddy (James Frain) is returning from America to visit his childhood home with his wife Ruth (Eve Best) after a 9 year absence. His family—father Max (Ian McShane), brothers Lenny and Joey (Raul Esparza and Gareth Saxe) and uncle Sam (Michael McKean)—have no idea that he has maried, has 3 sons and is a professor of philosophy at an American University. They have been living in a squalid home, uncared for since the death of the mother several years ago. Father, a retired butcher, waves a cane, curses at everyone, keeps up a running diatribe against the world and is contemptuous of his relatives. Son Lenny is a stone, cold pimp; son Joey, a construction worker aiming to be a boxer, walks around with an air of bewilderment; and uncle Sam boasts of being a capable chauffeur with little else to show for his life. The entrance of a woman, Ruth, into this raw cursed masculine environment sets off a series of expectations and confrontations, all explosive and anxiety provoking. The power struggles, the overt sexuality, the outrageous propositions are breathtaking while the conclusions are stunning. Ian McShane as the mercurial Max is superb as is Eve Best as the ice cold “hottie,” while Raul Esparza reveals new talents as he switches to a dramatic role after all those musicals. The other actors are equally excellent in this minimalist, absurd and totally Pinteresque classic. Daniel Sullivan directs with vigor.

Come Back Little Sheba
S. Epatha Merkerson, an African American woman, is a consummate actress who apparently likes a challenge. But why take on so many liabilities that hinder acceptance of her quite heartbreaking performance? The casting requires a total suspension of disbelief as both color blindness and an ability to pretend we are seeing a recognized beauty are demanded of the audience. Lola is a blue-eyed blonde beauty contest winner who has become a frumpy mess after 25 years of a shotgun marriage to Doc (Kevin Anderson), a budding doctor who was forced to drop medical school and become a chiropracter to support a wife and expected baby. A miscarriage and further inability to bear children have left Lola and Doc in a co-dependent empty relationship. He becomes an alcoholic, she a chattering simpleton who is so lonely and berift of resources she invites even the mailman and the milkman in for a chat so she can feel alive for a moment. She also snoops on the life of her tenant, a young girl, Marie (Zoe Kazan), attending art school, having an affair with a handsome male model, yet preparing to marry a substantial boyfriend back home. Marie unwittingly arouses Doc’s long buried sexuality which leads to his breaking his year long sobriety, becoming roaringly drunk and attacking Lola with all his repressed rage in full swing.

“Come Back, Little Sheba” refers to the missing dog that Lola cherishes and keeps calling for. At the end she finally realizes he is not coming back and new beginnings are required. As for this play, it is dated and not quite able to arouse the emotions it did in 1950. As good as the actors are they are unable to compete with the banality of the dialogue and the unwritten complexity of character. Michael Pressman has directed, James Noone has provided a competent set of a midwestern city home in the throes of sadness and dysphoria.

The 39 Steps
The 39 Steps is a hilarious spoof of the Alfred Hitchcock 1935 classic movie which inspired the master to continue his exploration of the thriller genre. This play is a bare bones version of the original but with inspired scenery and casting and a sly injection of every movie title the master ever used into the current dialogue as though it really belonged there. For those who are not familiar with The Lady Vanishes, North by Northwest, The Birds, Vertigo, Rear Window, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Strangers on a Train, etc. etc., these moments will slip by without recognition but those of us in the older generation will react with sheer pleasure.

The clever casting of this production places Jennifer Ferrin in the three female roles, Charles Edwards in the singular role of the hero and Arnie Burton and Cliff Saunders as everybody else. Man #1 and man #2 play policemen, spies, music hall entertainers, farmers, hoteliers, females as well as males and stagehands who manipulate crates, chairs, boxes, desks and curtains into respectable sets with a nimbleness rarely to be seen. In minutes they have our hero on top of a train, climbing the mountains, going through windows and doors—all in breathneck speed and absolutely believable.

In brief the story concerns international spies, a man unjustly accused of murder who stumbles into this melee and spends the rest of the play trying to vindicate himself and expose the real murderers. He is helped by a beautiful blonde who unwitingly becomes his prisoner and ultimately his love. This charming bit of nonsense is directed by Maria Atken using Patrick Barlow’s adaptation of John Buchan’s 1915 spy thriller. But if you look hard enough you will see Alfred Hitchcock—in profile—helping things along.

November
Nathan Lane runs away with David Mamet’s latest play as he tries desperately to retain his position as President of the United States. Having done a miserable job incurring the hatred of every voting group imaginable, his own staff is preparing his concession speech as his run for a second term is doomed to failure. He cannot even find the funds for a Presidential library, a prerequisite for his bloated but threatened ego to survive. As he ruminates through every scheme imaginable with his trusted lawyer advisor Archer Brown (Dylan Baker) the representative of the National Association of Turkey By-Products Manufacturers (Ethan Phillips) appears seeking a pardon not only for the usual Thanksgiving turkey but for an additional reserve one. Aha! Blackmail for an astronomical sum of money to be used for TV ads in a last ditch attempt to win the election! The speech writer Clarice Bernstein (Laurie Metcalf) is summoned to tear up the concession speech and instead write a rousing new platform for a second term. But she has her price. She wants to marry her lesbian lover with whom she has just adopted a baby from China. Can our President do this? Is it legal? Will the turkey guy pay the bribe? Will the nutty Indian Chief (Michael Nichols) who barges in demanding Nantucket Island for his casino succeed in killing our hapless President? The evening is hilarous. Everyone in the cast is superb. Joe Mantello has directed, Scott Pask has designed a credible oval office and Laura Bauer has put together an intriging collection of clothes.

Crimes Of The Heart
Beth Henley won a Pulitzer Prize in 1981 for the original Broadway production of this play which was subsequently made into a movie and revived several times in various festivals. Kathleen Turner, a movie and stage actress of considerable talent, is making her directorial debut with this production and she sometimes overdoes it, going from plodding pacing to an overly hysterical tone in heavy handed fashion. The play remains a gothic comedy but without the light touch needed to carry it off. The action takes place at the Magrath’s sisters’ house in Hazelhurst, Mississippi in 1974, 5 years after Hurricane Camille. The eldest daughter Lenny (Jennifer Dundas) is 30 years old today but only her cousin Chick (Jessica Stone) remembers her birthday and brings her chocolates. Lenny is in a frenzy since her horse has died, her youngest sister Babe (Lily Rabe) has just shot her husband because she “didn't like his looks” and her middle sister Meg (Sarah Paulson) has not yet arrived from Hollywood and her failed singing career to help her out. Her neighbor Doc (Patch Darragh) has a permanently damaged leg due to rescuing Meg from the hurricane 5 years previously—after which she promptly abandoned him. Grandfather, who owns the house and who has cared for the sisters since their mother committed suicide years ago by hanging herself with her cat, has had a stroke and is in the hospital. Babe, now out on bail, refuses to discuss the real reason she shot her husband but her new lawyer Barnette (Chandler Williams) is convinced he can get her off as her husband is an abuser and a crook and besides he has a crush on her. But he does not yet know the real reason behind the shooting. Nor do the other sisters know that Meg has recently been institutionalized for a breakdown. With this set of dynamics—oh yes Lenny cannot have children and has removed herself from the only man she has ever cared for—what can possibly be funny? Anna Louizos has designed a beautiful set and David Murin has costumed the actors in appropriate garments. Next time, Miss Turner, not so heavy.