Please note: Performers named in these reviews may have left the show after the reviews appear on this website.
Howard Katz
Alfred Molina, our anti-hero, is playing a distraught suicidal man who has been deserted by his family and friends for reasons that are hard to fathom. A somewhat arrogant, aggressive talent agent who has worked hard to achieve monetary success for himself and his family he has somehow lost his wife, his son, his career, his father, his money and so forth. He is reduced to homelessness, humiliation and pleading as he strives to regain his footing. The only missing link is the reason his rejection is so disproportionate to any offense he may have committed. For example, when his brother is informed that Howard has been paying his father, a barber, extra money to enhance his brothers salary as his employee, his brother attacks him and kicks him when he is on the floor to express his outrage at having been subsidized(!) It appears that Patrick Marber has left a hole in the center of this play that might have been far more coherent and vital than it is.
Doug Hughes directs, Scott Pask and Catherine Zuber again team up with excellent sets and costumes, and Alfred Molina delivers a superb performance aided by Alvin Epstein as his father, Jessica Hecht as his wife and Euan Morton and Elizabeth Franz in various roles.
Prelude To A Kiss
A charming piece of whimsy, a fanciful delight and a thorougly enjoyable evening in the theater! Craig Lucas has written an offbeat romance that manages to convince you that all things are possible in this improbable world. Annie Parisse (Rita) and Alan Tudyk (Peter) meet at a party, fall in love and decide to get married all within a period of six weeks. The wedding is held at Rita’s parents lovely home in a backyard garden and as the guests are toasting the happy couple an old man (John Mahoney) unknown to everyone, kisses the bride. Presto! the two souls exchange bodies and the esssence of Rita now resides in the old man while the bride has become the unknown gentleman. Complications ensue—of course. Who can believe Peter when he insists this woman is not his wife? Who can believe any of this? But the magic of the play is that it does involve you and you do.
Santo Loquasto has designed ingenious sets that float in and out, Donald Holder has provided the excellent lighting and Jane Greenwood the appropriate costumes. James Rebhorn as Rita’s befuddled father and Robin Bartlett as her capricious mother provide comic puzzlement as well as round out the action.
Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins is a joy to behold, a pleasure to hear and a totally happy theatrical experience. From the moment the curtain goes up on 17 Cherry Tree Lane the enchantment takes over and we are in Edwardian London watching the troubled Banks family who are very much in 
need of a magical nanny. Mr.Banks (Daniel Jenkins) is an uptight priggish banker, Mrs. Banks (Rebecca Luker) an ineffectual homemaker-mother longing to return to the stage and the two Banks children Jane and Michael (played by alternating actors) are incorrigible and unhappy. Into this mix sails Mary Poppins (Ashley Brown) riding her umbrella down from the sky, announcing she is the perfect answer to their prayers. And indeed she is! With a little help from her friend, the chimney sweeper Bert (Gavin Lee) she turns the world around for the Banks family, their servants and Mr. Banks’ employers. The scenery is fantastic as 17 Cherry Lane comes apart and re-assembles with the greatest of ease. The ubiquitous Bob Crowley is in charge of scenic and costume design, Howard Harrison handles lighting and special effects with David Benken as technical director. Matthew Bourne and Stephen Mear are responsible for the effervescent choreography while direction belongs to Richard Eyre. Music and lyrics by Richard Sherman and Robert Sherman from the original score is added to by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. Gavin Lee is magnificent and Ashley Brown is a truly magical nanny. All in all, a super-duper show!
Translations
Brian Friel has written an intriguing play about incomprehension, misunderstanding and cruelty leaving the audience to experience the frustration of incompletness. For he has not bothered to end his play with any resolution and we are left “not knowing”—an anxious feeling indeeed. It is 
1833, the English have arrived in this small county in Ireland and are remapping the area, substituting English names for the complicated Irish ones. The action takes place in a small “hedge school,” a local school run by a headmaster (Niall Buggy) wiith the assistance of his son Manus (David Costabile) who teaches rudimentary Latin and Greek to the poverty stricken inhabitants. The headmaster's younger son Owen (Alan Cox) arrives with British soldiers who are paying him to help remap the area. One of the British soldiers, a shy Captain Yolland (Chandler Williams) falls in love with one of the students Maire (Susan Lynch) and wishes to remain “always” with her. She in turn feels the same way and the two communicate by naming all the streets the soldiers have been mapping—for this is the only language they have in common. Tragedy follows from this rapturous scene but it is never clearly delineated and we are all left wondering. The entire cast is excellent as is the staging—a huge barn with straw floors, a creaking and broken staircase and poverty emanating from the rafters. Francis O'Connor, Davy Cunningham and John Leonard are responsible for the set, lighting, sound and costumes while Sam Jackson supplies the original music.
Regrets Only
Paul Rudnick has handled a current polarizing issue in deft comic fashion leading to an entertaining evening and perhaps presenting a point of view that engenders serious thinking. Christine Baranski is a classy society lady who espouses many charities and goes to many balls accomapanied by her good friend, a gay dress designer (George Grizzard). He has just lost his long term lover and, as she is comforting him, her husband, (David Rasche) a well known lawyer, announces the president has just called for his assistance in drafting a constitutional amendment that will limit marriage to heterosexual partners. Their recently engaged daughter, also a lawyer, jumps at the opportunity to assist her father in Washington and off they go ignoring any feelings their good friend, the designer, may have. But it seems he does have something to say about it and next we know all hairdressers, dress designers, architects, interior designers, actors, florists, doormen, some congressmen and so on have vanished from their jobs leaving a distressed citizenry to cope on their own. The daughter cannot get her wedding dress, the mother can not get her hair done and so on and so forth. How to handle this?? Christine Baranski and George Grizzard are consumate professionals who make the most of their lines as does David Rashe, Diane Davis (the daughter), Sian Phillips (the mother) and Jackie Hoffman as a ditzy, wise cracking maid who interrupts every scene with her own interpretations. Christopher Ashley has directed, Michael Yeargan is the scenic designer and William Ivey Long has produced both the beautiful costumes and the garbage bags and shoe boxes needed in times of exigency. An enjoyable evening in all.
Spring Awakening
This play presents a foray into an experimental design that actually works! Although the play is set in a dour German village in 1891 the characters’ innermost thoughts are expresed in contemporary music. The juxaposition of these two elements makes for an exciting contrast that sustains one’s interest throughout a tense often funny, but ultimately tragic scenario. The play deals with the sexual awakening of a large group of adolescents who are met with rigid rules, deliberate lies and total evasion of the responsibility adults have toward their young. In 
this atmosphere of unremitting repression both denial and cruelty are increased as hypocritical adults seek to maintain their unforgiving morality. Thus our heroine is ignorant of sexual behavior, and pays a huge price for this innocence, our hero is excessively punished and our anti-hero meets an unjust fate. The actors are all excellent with Jonathan Groff an appealing hero, Lea Michele a heartbreaking heroine and John Gallagher, Jr. a most neurotic, scraggly anti-hero whose twitching tension literally bursts into the audience. The rock music by Duncan Sheik with lyrics by Steven Sater is a marvelous counterpoint to the deadly affect in this morbid town of Frank Wedekind's invention in his 1891 novel. Michael Mayer has directed with a sure hand while the scenic design of Christine Jones is breathtaking. For those who want to put themselves totally into the action there are 26 seats on the stage. But be warned—you can not get the program until the conclusion of the evening and you must store your belongings in a locker before the show. You then become part of the production.
Butley
Butley is a ranting, raving man with no apparent redeeming virtues. An English professor in a London University who no longer wishes to teach, a married man who no longer wants his wife and daughter on a full time basis, a homosexual partner who drives away his young lover with his relentless diatribe, he remains a bitter deserted man at the end, sitting alone with his books and his bottle. The play takes place during one disastrous day when he learns his wife wants a divorce to marry “the dullest man in London” who will be a relief from the corrosive contempt of her husband and his young gay lover is leaving him for another less messy, less demanding man. His co-worker and students are also impinging upon his conscousness with no discernable effect other than to increase his brittleness. All in all, a very bad day. Nathan Lane is Butley, Pamela Gray his wife, Julian Ovenden his lover, Dana Ivey his coworker and Darren Pettie his rival. All perform well but the central puzzle of Butley’s character remains just that—a puzzle. Why all this demented rage??
Grey Gardens
Christine Ebersole won all kinds of awards for her dual performance in the off-Broadway production of this play. She repeats that feat once more playing Big Edith Bouvier Beale in 1941 in Act I and Little Edie in 1973 in Act II with Mary Louise Wilson taking over as Big Edie. The play portrays the rather tragic story of a folie a deux between mother and daughter which leads to utter decay, desolation and decrepitude. In 1941 we see a beautiful 28 room mansion in East Hampton populated by the gregarious Edith Bouvier Beale, her gay piano playing boyfriend, her errant absent husband and her daughter Edie who is about to announce her engagement to Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Mother insists upon taking center stage planning to sing nine arias entertaining the guests but is prevented by a telegram announcing her husband's desertion and divorce to marry his secretary. She promptly proceeds to break up Little Edie's engagement ensuring that her daughter will remain with her. And despite her frequent attempts at leaving, Little Edie does just that.
In 1973 we see the two peculiar, eccentric, undoubtedly psychotic ladies living in total squalor with cats and racoons infesting a filthy house that has decayed beyond all reason. Little Edie walks around in costumes pieced together with pins, Big Edie remains in bed calling out commands. They remain in this miserable state throughout their lives despite numerous attempts by their famous relative, Jacqueline Kennedy Onasis to correct it. This production has been directed by Michael Greif with scenic design by Allen Moyer and costume design by William Ivey Long. All are excellent but the star turn belongs to Christine Ebersole who inhabits it with grace.
The Apple Tree
This musical proves one thing. If you have a slight, however charming, libretto you are a winner as long as you have Kriston Chenoweth in the leading role. She is as adorable as could be in three different roles—one as Eve in The Diary of Adam and Eve, another as Princess Barbara in The Lady or the Tiger and lastly as Ella/Passionella in Passionella. Not only does she have a comic personna to cherish she also has a voice that can carry the most demanding scales and melodies. She is ably aided by Brian d’Arcy James as her suitor in various guises and Marc Kudisch as the quintessent narrator who spurs the action. Book, music and lyrics are by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick based on stories by Mark Twain, Frank R. Stockton and Jules Feiffer while John Lee Beatty does his usual magic with set design. In a tribute to the orignal production of 1966 the voice-over by God in the first act is none other than Alan Alda, one of the original players. But this evening belongs to our current players with Kristin Chenoweth walking away with all the honors.
The Vertical Hour
David Hare has written an intriguing play about love and politics, an intermixture which is intrinsic to his version of reality. He explains the vertical hour as “that moment, in combat medicine, after a disaster or a shooting, where you can actually be of some use.” And so our characters have their vertical hour during which the underbelly of their personalities are revealed and the personae are shed aside. Julianne Moore plays Nadia Blye, an ex war correspondent, who has left the field for a professorship in political science at Yale. She has become engaged to Philip Lucas (Andrew Scott), a British Physiatrist who now lives in America. Philip is convinced that Nadia must meet his father Oliver (Bill Nighy), a doctor who as left a prestigious London office to practice in a small town in Wales. Phillip exhibits the petulant ambivalence of a grievously wounded child of divorce who both wants his father's approval and simultaneously demonizes him. Nadia, who appears to be a right of center polemist who was invited to the White House because of her support of the Iraq war, is confronted by Oliver, clearly a leftist, who condemns the war and whose eccentric womanizing behavior in the past appears bewildering and inexplicable. And so it begins. All the player are excellent with Bill Nighy tearing up the stage and Julianne Moore giving a luminous performance. Direction by Sam Mendes and set design by Scott Pask are both admirable.
The Coast of Utopia—Part I—Voyage
Tom Stoppard has created a vast canvas of Russian life covering some 30 years in the 19th century in his massive trilogy, The Coast of Utopia. It is being presented in three parts, each one about 3 hours long. Part I covers 1830–1841 introducing us to the aristocratic Bakunin family whose well-ordered estate comprises 500 serfs (“souls”) but whose son Michael (Ethan Hawke) is the dynamo creating tension and upheaval in everyone’s life. He interrupts the planned existence of his four sisters, he exasperates his parents (Richard Easton and Amy Irving) by not following an army career or any other acceptable path and he becomes part of a network of friends seeking answers to Russia’s backwardness, lack of literary greatness, domination by Tzarist tyrany and seeming inability to enter the intellectual life of the German and French Philosophers. Countless arguments about the nature of reality ala Hegel, Kant, Schelling and Fichte occur between Michael, literary critic Belinsky (Billy Crudup), philosopher Stankevich (David Harbour), Herzen (Brian F. O'Byrne), Turgenev (Jason Butler Harner), and poet Ogarev (Josh Hamilton). These scenes fly by in almost manic fashion as the precursors to the Russian Revolution twist in the wind of their tumultous ideas. All in the cast are excellent and include Jennifer Ehle, Martha Plimpton, Kellie Overbey and Annie Purcell as the four sisters whose lives are less than ideal. The scenery is magnificently handled by Bob Crowley and Scott Pask with a revolving stage, several scrims in the background and dozens of puppets representing the serfs—all essential when you have 24 scenes to unfold. Jack O'Brien has directed with a sure hand at almost breakneck pace. Bring on Parts II and III.
The Coast Of Utopia—Part II—Shipwreck
Tom Stoppard continues his massive panorama of the life of the Russian intelligensia into the late 1840s and early 1850s alongside the French revolutions and assorted upheavals and commotions. The action revolves around the Herzen family, at first in Russia, then in Paris and finally in Nice. Alexander Herzen maintains his open salon wherever he lives and is constantly being joined by the friends we have met in Part I, namely Ogarev (Josh Hamilton), Turgenev (Jason Butler Hardner), Belinsky (Billy Crudup) and Bakunin (Ethan Hawke) as well as George Herwegh (David Harbour), a German poet with his obesiant wife Emma (Bianca Amato). Intermixed with endless political diatribes of hope and disillusionment is the personal story of the Herzen marriage. Despite the tremendous love between Herzen (Brian F.O'Byrne) and his wife Natalie (Jennifer Ehle) she finds it difficult to choose betweeen being Mother Earth or the Lorelei in her romantic obsessions, embarking on a love affair with Herwegh under the eyes of his pregnant wife and continuing through her pregnancy with Herzen. This difficult situation as well as the trauma of handling the tragic fate of their adored deaf son and its consequences leave Herzen pondering the doubtful existence of utopia—in any personal or political sense. The production is sumptuous thanks to set designer Bob Crowley and Scott Pask, costume designer Catherine Zuber and lighting designer Kenneth Posner. Direction by Jack O'Brien remains taut and compelling. The actors are all excellent and include almost everyone from Part I with Amy Irving and Richared Easton, now in cameo roles, still superb.
The Coast Of Utopia—Part III—Salvage
The panoply continues. Herzen (Brian F. O'Byrne) is now berefit in London having lost his mother, wife and son in Part II. He is now responsible for the upringing of his three young children as well as the financing of every emigré and revolutionary attending his salon. His domestic worries are assuaged by the arrival of Malwida von Meysenbug (Jennifer Ehle), a German with impeccable disciplinary skills who becomes his children’s governess. For a time peace reigns. Then his old friend Nicholas Ogarev (Josh Hamilton) and his second wife Natasha (Martha Plimpton) arrive and chaos again ensues. The German governess departs, the impulsive Natasha decides she loves Herzen who responds passionately and three children later they are still arguing. To complicate matters Nicholas brings his mistress, a street walker, and her son into the household and then along comes Bakunin (Ethan Hawke) escaping from Siberia to continue his political anarchy with zest. A Tzar dies, the serfs are freed, another Tzar is almost assassinated—the events roll on and Herzen become a relic rather than an idol. Life continues, questions remain, nothing is resolved and here we are today.
The production is brilliant. Jack O’Brien is a master director while the sets, lighting and costumes of Bob Crowley, Scott Pask, Catherine Zuber and Natasha Katz remain remarkable. A most unusual trilogy—a sight for the eyes and ears.
Company
John Doyle has done it again. He has stripped away all but the bare essentials of Stephen Sondheim's classic. Thus we have no orchestra, no choreography, minimalist scenic design and costumes and actors playing various instruments on stage. He has retained the story of a 35 year old bachelor, Robert, comparing his life to that of his married friends intent on discovering where his destiny lies. i.e., to marry or not. To this end we visit a couple finally finding happiness by living together after their divorce (Amy Justman and Matt Castle), another couple doing their best to control their lives by giving up drinking and eating (Kristin Huffman and Keith Buterbaugh), a botched attempt to find joy in marijuana (Leenya Rideout and Fred Rose), a reluctant bride who has marriage jitters despite having lived with her groom for years (Heather Laws and Robert Cunningham) and a much married woman who delights in denigrating her third husband (Barbara Walsh and Bruce Sabath). We also have the women our bachelor has dated, all of whom fall short in one way or another in becoming his eventual mate. Is this the existential dilemna? or merely the idiosyncrasy of our hero who somehow remains apart from all this commotion until the very end.
Raul Esparza is Robert while Angel Desai, Elizabeth Stanley and Kelly Jeanne Grant are the assorted ladies in his life. Angel Desai has a wonderful time with "Another Hundred People" while Barbara Walsh turns out "The Ladies who Lunch" like a pro. Raul Esparza comes to life with "Being Alive" although his performance until that point also appears minimal. There are many who will enjoy this pared down version and admire the ingenuity of the production. It is a different way of looking at Sondheim—not entirely admirable.
A Chorus Line
The stunning spectacular ending of Chorus Line is no longer a surprise but it remains an exciting conclusion to an original show unlike any other at its time (1975). The show consists of chorus dancers each telling the story of their life at an audition for an upcoming show. They all "need the job" but only 8 can be chosen and the director Zach (Michael Berresse) wants a more intimate glance at their character than their dancing alone allows. Will it be Paul, the troubled drag-queen (Jason Tam), Diana who feels "Nothing" but renders an incredible "What I Did for Love" (Natalie Cortez) or Sheila (Deidre Goodwin) the wise-guy who is approaching 30 and wondering if she should just open a dance school and forego all these auditions. Then there is Cassie (Charlotte d'Amboise) who was once Zach's lover but left him for a mediocre career in Hollywood and now wants to start over in the chorus, and Val (Jessica Lee Goldyn) who has remade herself to fit the body image of the time. And all the other touching players. All the dancers are excellent with Miss d'Amboise excelling in a number danced in front of mirrors that perpetuate her movements. The music by Marvin Hamlisch remains as moving as ever while the re-staged choreography of Baayork Lee has sufficient similarity to Michael Bennett to be both familiar and surprising. All in all an enjoyable revival.
Heartbreak House
George Bernard Shaw wrote this play in 1919 and while its complaints about the sins of capitalism and the upper class snobbery of the affluent remain valid, the entire proceedings are dated and if not irrelevant, somewhat superficial. The play is too long, especially the 90 minute second act and despite the elimination of the character of the burglar, still requires judicious editing. As it is, the message about the horror of war is almost lost within the endless dialogue of meaningless flirtation and the seeming paradox of the players characters is buried within desultry ramblings. To be sure there are still comic moments and pithy statements but cutting and pruning would have made this play a current gem. Philip Bosco and Swoosie Kurtz are excellent as the somewhat mad Captain Shotover and his feisty daughter Hesione who spends the evening trying to rearrange everyone's life. Laila Robins as Hesione's sister, Byron Jennings as her husband and Bill Camp as Boss Mangan, the wealthy industrialist all perform well but Lily Rabe as the impoverished young woman floundering between wealth and romance is superb. Robin Lefevre has directed, John Lee Beatty provides the intriguing set and Jane Greenwood the beautiful period costumes.
The Fantasticks
This brainchild of Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt opened in a little theater in Greenwich Village on May 3, 1960. It then proceded to run for 40 years, spawning many other productions in regional theaters and touring groups. It has marked the beginning of many careers and endowed others with opportunities to enhance their current ones. Thus Jerry Orbach, Richard Chamberlain, Ricardo Montalban and Robert Goulet among others have trod the boards as the dashing bandit El Gallo, while Liza Minelli has been one of the superluminaries playing The Girl. The current production is being staged at the Snapple Theater Center, a spotless new mini theater with 200 comfortable seats and a charming gallery of memorabilia. There are posters of previous productions, pictures of previous casts, sketches by Sam Norkin and other delights. To top off the current cast Tom Jones is recreating his original role as the Old Actor under the pseudonym of Thomas Bruce and he remains as hilarious as ever. He also directs. For those who do not know, the show is about the trials and tribulations of love and life in an unpredictable world. The entire cast is excellent as is the accompanying piano and harp. The Fantasticks remains a delight in its new reincarnation.
Losing Louie
We are in a bedroom in a home in Pound Ridge, NY during this entire play but the time sequences jump back and forth from the sixties to the present. In the beginning a little six year old boy is hiding under the bed in his parents' bedroom while his father and the young law student (Scott Cohen and Jama Williamson) who boards with them are having a hectic sexual session amid protestations of deep love. The father upon discovering his son, swears him to secrecy, particularly from "mommy" (Rebecca Creskoff) who wouldn't understand this "game." But how can a six year old understand secrecy? The rest of the play stems from this incident as we see how the dangers of lies and deceptions affect the lives of all involved. The six year old grows up to be an unhappy unsuccessful man (Mark Linn-Baker) with a carping wife (Michele Pawk) and a defective daughter. The younger brother, whose background is unclear, grows up to be a financially successful lawyer (Matthew Arkin) who is constantly unfaithful to his frustrated wife (Patricia Kalember) despite their mutual bond of adored twin children. The present day sequences occur on the day of their father's funeral, who although Jewish, is being buried in a church on Saturday. The miscommunications abound, the sibling rivalry is intense, and despite a good deal of stilted dialgoue there are genuine moments of comedy and sadness. Jerry Zaks has directed this play by Simon Mendes Da Costa while John Lee Beatty has designed the all important bedroom set and William Ivey Long the appropriate costumes for each time period.
2005–2006 Season
Ring Of Fire
Richard Maltby, Jr. has assembled a panoply of Johnny Cash songs arranged in no particular order ranging from 1956 to 2002 in an effort to showcase the essence of the man and his talent. There is no book, no plot, no narrative—just 6 singer-dancers and 8 musicians, who also dance, performing country, rock, gospel, blues and what have you as they depict life in rural America in all its poverty and hardships, as well as its joys and successes. All the performers are multi-talented with energy to burn and the production lights up the theater. The scenic design is clever and imaginative with video backdrops of exteriors and interiors, of homes and bars, as well as prisons, and gorgeous country foliage. If you love Johnny Cash you will certainly love this show. If you have no acquaintance with the man, this production will give you everything you need to appreciate him.
Festen
Festen is the Danish word for celebration and what an evening this turns out to be. The wealthy patriarch of a totally dysfunctional family is celebrating his 60th birthday in one of the hotels he owns. His wife, two sons, a daughter, a daughter-in-law, granddaughter, father and friends and so on are gathered in a huge hall ready to toast their illustrious host with homilies and platitudes when the oldest son sees fit to utter horrendous accusations against his father. Are they true? Is this the dynamics of this misbegotten clan? Festen has been adapted by David Eldridge from a Dogme film and play by three Danish authors, directed by Rufus Norris and designed in skillful manner by Ian MacNeil. All the actors are excellent with Larry Bryggman as the father, Michael Hayden as the accusing son, Julianna Margulies as the daughter giving deft performances. Ali Macgraw, making her debut, does a credible turn as the wife. The evening is both comic and tragic as the birthday party from hell enfolds.
Three Days Of Rain
Julia Roberts has chosen a less than perfect vehicle for her Broadway debut. In the first act she is overshadowed by her two co-stars who rip through their dialogue with vehemence. In the second act she is allowed more freedom but the material does not permit her to use her full potential. Be that as it may there is still an evening of entertainment in this production of Richard Greenberg's 1997 play. The first act is set in a Manhattan loft in 1995 where a brother (Paul Rudd), a sister (Julia Roberts) and a childhood friend (Bradley Cooper) meet to divide the legacy of their fathers who were partners in a well known architectural firm. The second act takes place in the same loft in 1960 where the deciding action originates and all three actors play the previous generation. This gives Paul Rudd a chance to be both the irritating, manic brother and the silent, stuttering father, Bradley Cooper the happy—go-lucky success story and the anxiety laden progenitor and Julia Roberts the repressed, tight lipped sister as well as the mother who is described as resembling Zelda Fitzgeralds's unstable sister.(!) Santo Loquasto is responsible for the scenic and costume design, Joe Mantello the direction and Jauchem and Meeh for the three days of downpour which motivate the play. As for Julia —you have to wait for her curtain call to see that famous beautiful smile.
Awake And Sing
Awake and Sing is Clifford Odets' homage to depression days in America. Set in the 1930's Bronx apartment of the Berger family it deals with the poverty of the mind and spirit as each family member tries to get past the crushing blow of economic deprivation. The son (Pablo Schreiber) bemoans the lack of birthday presents, a separate bedroom and inability to support his girl friend, the daughter (Lauren Ambrose) desperately needs a husband to suppport her illegitimate baby-to-be, the husband (Jonathan Hadary) wastes his law degree by working in a haberdashery part-time, the mother (Zoe Wanamaker) maintains a mean spirited, conniving approach to life having given up her dreams and the grandfather (Ben Gazzara) plays Caruso records in his room and sips tea instead of ever making any attempt to attain his dreams. The other characters are equally hopeless and hapless, ie Uncle Morty (Ned Eisenberg) the factory owner and exploiter, Moe Axelrod (Mark Ruffalo) the embittered war vet and Sam Feinschreiber (Richard Topol) the nebbish husband of the withholding daughter. The play is dated but still manages to evoke a response in the audience as it deals with universal stirrings for a meaningful life. That goes on forever.
Three Penny Opera
Three Penny Opera has been restaged, reimagined, recostumed and rewritten and while some of it is exciting and innovative, a lot of it leaves somethng to be desired ie the original interpretation. Somehow this production has been overly sexualized and made more tawdry than Brecht intended, thus changing the dynamic from a political statement to one more messy and individual. At least the music has been retained and Kurt Weill soars in all his power. The cast is quite good with Jim Dale remaining as sly and seductive as he has always been, Anna Gasteyer singing up a storm that can be heard in Hoboken and Nellie McKay doing a more than adequate job as Polly Peachum, the original virgin bride. Alan Cumming is a more flashy Macheath than usually seen and Cyndi Lauper a rock queen Jenny. Costumes by Isaac Mizrahi are as vulgar as possible while set design by Derek McLane is outstanding. All in all, a different approach to an old classic.
The History Boys
Eight boys in the upper sixth form of a British grammar school are being prepared for their entrance exams to Oxbridge. Their English teacher, Richard Griffiths, a maverick in all sense of the word, is instructing them in every way he can think of, being obsessed with learning for its own sake. His lectures ramble far afield and he has the boys acting-out bits and pieces from every cultural icon. The headmaster (Clive Merrison) is more concerned with prepping the boys with facts that will enable them to pass the exams. To facilitate this he hires an extra teacher (Stephen Campbell Moore ) to bring them up to speed. Moore is the antithesis of Griffiths. He wants facts memorized and a beguiling spin brought to the exam. The clash of teaching style, the dynamics of the various boys in their differing stages of adult development (sexual) are all intriguing. Were the play only about these differing educational philosophies and the interaction betweeen the boys it would be remarkable. But the author, Alan Bennett, has another trick up his sleeve which is quite puzzling. It seems that our obese, married, brilliant educator (Griffiths) is also a pedophile, an activity regarded by the boys with cynical amusement. But not so the headmaster who forces his resignation and pushes him towards his tragic destiny. Why this subplot? If the act is so inconsequential why this drastic punishment? If the act is consequential why make this gifted teacher a sexual deviant? All the actors are excellent. Frances de la Tour, who plays the only woman teacher in the school, adds to the gifted masculine ensemble. Nicholas Hytner has directed and the clever sets and background video are by Bob Crowley and Ben Taylor. An interesting evening indeed.
Lestat
This production, based on Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles, has music by Elton John, lyrics by Bernie Taupin and a great many people involved in sets, lighting, pyrotechniques and more orchestrations than one can imagine. Yet it only succeeds marginally and intermittently mostly due to valiant efforts by the cast. Hugh Panaro is Lestat, a French gentleman, who in 1778 slaughters a pack of wolves single handedly. Banished from his home by an angry father who bemoans the loss of some of his flock he goes to Paris where he is bitten by a vampire who choses him for his sterling strength as a worthy successsor to himself. In the course of time he bites his own mother, Carolee Carmello at her request, to prevent her from dying and give her eternal life. He then destroys his best friend who cannot handle the transformation. Finally he succeeds in finding a partner (Jim Stanek) for his lonely life but this vampire is an unhappy one, bemoaning his dastardly uncontrolled behavior in draining blood from his victims. He then bites a 10 year old child (Allison Fischer) to make his family complete but she too resents being turned into a vampire who will eternally be 10 years old and she attempts to murder our hero...and so on. Allison Fischer, as Claudia the child, steals the show with her energetic rendition of "I Want More." Everyone works very hard but the material is—well—deadly.
The Wedding Singer
This musical is based on the 1998 movie which took place in 1985 in a small town in New Jersey. A homespun rock band is fronted by Robbie Hart (Stephen Lynch) who happily plays at weddings and sings his own compositons. He is looking forward to his own wedding to Linda (Felicia Finley) and is devastated when she fails to show up at the church. He then become an angry singer, mocking wedding ceremonies and predicting doom and gloom for all. A waitress, Julia, working at the same location (Laura Benanti) is dreaming about her own wedding—to -be to her stock broker boyfriend (Richard H. Blake) but takes time out to commiserate with the broken hearted Robbie. From then on its only a question of time and many misunderstandings before our hero and heroine recognize their true destiny. The cast is commendable, especially Rita Gardner as Robbie's grandmothr, and Kevin Cahoon as a bandmember who mispronounces Hebrew prayers at a lively Bar Mitzvah with gusto. The music is by Matthew Sklar, lyrics By Chad Beguelin and book by Tim Herlihy. Rob Ashford has contributed the choreography and John Rando the direction. The younger generation will adore this one.
Sweeney Todd
This production is a pared down version of the original Stephen Sondheim, Hugh Wheeler and Harold Prince musical with all the actors playing dual roles. They sing —and they are the orchestra! Patti LuPone is the scheming, semi-demented Mrs. Lovett and plays the tuba, orchestra bells and percussion to boot. Michael Cerveris is the demented Sweeney Todd as well as playing the guitar, orchestra bells and percussion. The rest of the cast also does double duty as well as acting as stagehands moving around the various coffins and wooden boxes that serve as scenery. John Doyle, the director and designer has taken big risks with this version and it has paid off handsomely. Both leads are excellent and are aided by Mark Jacoby as the vicious Judge Turpin and Lauren Molina as Johanna, the innocent daughter of the demon barber, as well as the rest of the superb cast. A successful experiment!
Shining City
Brian F. O'Byrne has been a priest, a fiancé and a father before opening up an office as as a therapist. Oliver Platt is a guilt-ridden patient who has been frightened by the ghost of his recently deceased wife. He is in a state of anxiety, depression and alienation. This therapist is hardly the one to seek out considering his own inability to come to grips with existential angst and the "meaning of life." The play totters back and forth with each one trying to solve his dilemma and ends with a shattering climax. Santo Loquasto has designed the Dublin office set, Robert Falls has directed and Martha Plimpton and Peter Scanavino round out the superb cast.
Faith Healer
Brian Friel has written not a play but an exposition—a series of monologues delivered by the faith healer, his wife and his manager. Thus he has avoided dramatic confrontations and explorations and instead has concentrated on showing the differences in perceptions of our three characters. The faith healer Frank (Ralph Fiennes) is an itinerant Irishman who may or may not have the gift of healing. He is assailed with doubt about his abilities which sometimes result in startling success and other times fail him completely. He wanders about Wales, Scotland and Ireland looking for affirmation and playing with reality in his head, seeing things differently from everyone else, blatantly lying when he feels the need. His wife Grace (Cherry Jones) has another set of realities, she being a lawyer, daughter of a judge and possessing a more solid appreciation of facts. The manager Teddy (Ian McDiarmid) is a devoted caretaker who loves them both and is charged with explaining the situation, although in a slippery manner avoiding the inevitable shocking ending. For when Frank finally achieves certainty, it comes at a dreadful price. Everyone does a splendid job with their monologue as does director Jonathan Kent and set and costume designer Jonathan Fensom who moves a few pieces of furniture around and makes a mood, a time and a place.
The Drowsy Chaperone
This show is a delightful spoof of music hall numbers, comic vaudeville skits, follies productions of the 1920s variety and so forth. It begins with the "man in the chair" (Bob Martin) explaining that he loves old musicals and would like to show the audience the original 1928 production of The Drowsy Chaperone. Lo and behold, his living room erupts into the various sets of the production with furniture coming from above and below, from side to side, courtesy of the spectacular imagination of David Gallo (scenic designer) We then proceed to the boy meets girl, loses girl, regains girl plot with all the secondary machinations of the gangster threatened producer (Lenny Wolpe) fighting to keeep glamour girl (Sutton Foster) from leaving his stage production for marriage (to Troy Britton Johnson), the hostess (Georgia Engel) and butler (Edward Hibbert) shenanigans, the drowsy ((drunken) chaperone (Beth Leavel) stealing the gay lothario (Danny Burstein) and so on and so forth. Everyone in the production is excellent. Music and lyrics are by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar and direction and choreography by Casey Nicholaw. The entire evening is funny, delicious and ingenuous.
The Lieutenant Of Inishmore
Martin McDonagh has won all sorts of prizes (Olivier Award) and nominations for this black comedy that purports to be a satire on the IRA and other murderous groups in the lengthy Irish struggle. And perhaps it is worthy of all these honors if one enjoys listening to a group of psychopaths, psychotics and morons as they mop up the stage with blood, torture, inanities and assinine comments. These people love their cats —oh, how they love their cats, and woe to them who injure them! There is no death cruel enough no matter be they relatives, friends, lovers or what not. To be fair many in the audience laughed but others felt it was similar to paying a visit to the back ward of an old fashioned insane asylum. The cast does an excellent job of portraying these demented characters and Wilson Milam has directed with great zeal but nothing can mitigate this execrable script. Doing their very best is David Wilmot as the psychopathic terrorist who tortures with ease and is prepared to kill his father, Alison Pill as the sole woman in the cast who loves to shoot out the eyes of cows as well as people and Domhnall Gleeson as her half wit brother who may or may not have killed Wee Thomas, the cat, an act that iniates much of the terror.
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial
This play consists of the last section of Herman Wouk's acclaimed novel The Caine Mutiny. The book relates the entire story of the incomprehensible actions on the ship leading to the overthrow of Captain Queeg (Zeljko Ivanek). The play deals only with the court-martial of Lieutenant Stephen Maryk, (Joe Sikora) the man who deposed his captain. He is being defended by Lt.Barney Greenwald (David Schwimmer) who blatantly states that he would prefer to be prosecuting his client rather than pleading his case. For to successfully win his clients' freedom Lt.Greenwald has to prove that Captain Queeg is a sick, paranoid man who needed to be replaced to save the ship during a typhoon. That requires the lawyer to play on the Captain's weaknesses and reduce him from a cool, confidant man to a lying, shifty, anxiety ridden bundle. He succeeds, Lt.Maryk is acquitted and a celebration is being held by the rest of the crew particularly Lt.Keefer (Geoffrey Nauffts) the intellectual novelist who has induced Lt.Maryk's behavior but cleverly escaped trial. And here comes Herman Wouk's purist coda as Lt.Greenwald assails the men for not respecting the regular navy man who has kept evil at bay for all these years—protecting all of us from annihilation. How valid today! At what point do you respect orders from your superiors? At what point do you decide to overthrow what appears to be unjust, incompetent leaders? The cast is excellent, the direction by Jerry Zaks smooth and compelling. David Schwimmer forever dispels the stereotype of Ross—the goofy "Friend"—and Zeljko Ivanek has a beautifully mounted nervous breakdown.
Tarzan
Tarzan opens with howling winds, lightning and thunder as a massive storm sinks the ship on which Tarzan and his parents are traveling. The effects are splendid: huge waves of water, people almost drowning, holographic images etc. Although the parents manage to find dry land they are immediately killed by a panther. A female gorilla who has just lost her baby finds Tarzan and immediately adopts him although her mate, the tribal leader, is against it, fearing all white men. What follows can best be called circus acrobatics as the gorillas—and little Tarzan—swing from ropes into the air, into the audience, all over the theater. Years later when Jane and her father discover this area on an expedition the flowers, costumes and scenic effects are again overwhelmingly beautiful. Her immediate response to Tarzan, his agonizing attempts to be more human, his necessary choice between the ape world and civilized society form the core of the play. Although the actors do well, the play is sustained by the special effects. Pichon Baldinu is responsible for the aerial design, Meryl Tankard the choreography, Bob Crowley the scenic and costume design, Natasha Katz the lighting design and John Shivers the sound design. Music and lyrics are by Phil Collins and David Henry Hwang adapted the book from Edgar Rice Burrough's classic. Josh Strickland does an adequate job as Tarzan, Jenn Gambatese is Jane and Merle Dandridge and Shuler Hensley are believable ape parents. But the show rests on the effects!
The Pajama Game
Pajama Game sparkles and entices with rip-roarng performances by Harry Connick, Jr. as the managing superintendent of the Sleep Tite factory and Kelli O'Hara as the union shop steward. These two adversaries clash and simmer with electricity as they fall into each others arms despite their differing objectives. The workers want a 7-1/2 cents raise, management insists they can not afford it. Richard Poe is the tight fisted owner of the factory, Michael McKean the time supervisor who also throws knives and is a jealous maniac as he guards his relationship with Gladys (Megan Lawrence), the secretary and keeper of the books. Megan Lawrence nearly steals the show with her hysterical gyrations to “Hernando's Hideway.” But no one can surpass Connick and O'Hara in “There Once Was A Man” and “Hey There.” Sets by Derek McLane are cleverly inventive and “Steam Heat” represents Bob Fosse's introduction to considerable fame. This is one revival that should not be missed. Harry Connick, Jr. even plays a mean piano!
Rabbit Hole
David Lindsay-Abaire has switched from whimsy and fantasy to stark realism in his latest play which concerns the various mechanisms people employ to deal with tragedy. Becca (Cynthia Nixon) and Howie (John Slattery) have lost their only child—a four year old son who has accidently been hit by a car as he dashed into traffic chasing after his dog. Becca speaks in brittle stilted phrases of grief, trying to be crisp and in control, while Howie sobs aloud. Becca’s mother (Tyne Daly) offers rambling discourses on the Kennedy curse while her sister Izzy (Mary Catherine Garrison) attempts to entertain with descriptions of her unwed pregnancy and new life with her boyfriend. But nothing appears to lighten the suffering until a meeting with the young man (John Gallagher,Jr.) who has caused their grief seems to loosen the tight grip of the everlasting pain. All the players are excellent with Cynthia Nixon revealing a more nuanced performance than her recent TV series would suggest and Tyne Daly living up to her reputation as superb. John Lee Beatty has given us another masterpiece of set design with his beautiful Westchester home on revolving stages. All in all, a moving evening in the theater.
Jersey Boys
Get ready for a rousing, exuberant and entertaining evening in the theater as the story of Frankie Valli’s rise from a member of the Four Seasons to the soloist with four backups behind him enfolds. In the early sixties in New Jersey there was a hustler named Tommy DeVito who in between stints in Rahway Prison, set about creating a band that after many name changes and false starts emerged as The Four Seasons. Played by Christian Hoff with a smirk and a cocky strut he is redeemed by his musicality and sufficient good sense to recognize Frankie Valli (John Lloyd Young) with the falsetto that's too good to be true, Bob Gaudio (Daniel Reichard) of the unique ability to write hit music and Nick Massi (J.Robert Spencer) of the complementary harmonious bass as the perfect rock and roll quartet. And succeed they do with hits like “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don't Cry,” “Walk Like a Man,” “My Boyfriend's Back” and the wonderful “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.” Of course there are problems with marital infidelity, gambling debts and tensions of constantly being on the road but their sound endures as attested to by their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. Marshall Brickman (of Woody Allen fame) and Rick Elice co-wrote the book which is literate and engaging and Des McAnuff (of La Jolla Playhouse) is responsible for the taut, smooth direction. But its Bob Gaudio’s music, with Bob Crewe’s lyrics, that gives this show its very special sound and sheer joy.
Seascape
Edward Albee is a gifted prolific writer who never fails to provoke his audience whether it be with wit or intensity or abstruseness. Seascape, which premiered in 1974, earned him a Pulitzer Prize in 1975, and remains a solid hit. Frances Sternhagen and George Grizzard are a long married couple contemplating retirement and arguing how to delineate their lives. They are sunning on the beach when they are surprised by Elizabeth Marvell and Frederick Weller, a couple of lizards, exploring the terrrain. After the initial shock the two couples examine their different forms of life—gestation, digestion, sexuality and so forth with the older couple offering to help the younger one evolve to the posssibly dubious higher plateau that sparked their earlier argument. The entire cast is excellent while the set by Michael Yeargan and the amazing costumes of Catherine Zuber add to the evening. Seascape is different, possibly disturbing, and a beautifully crafted play.
A Naked Girl On The Appian Way
Bess and Jeffrey Lapin (Jill Clayburgh and Richard Thomas) live in a magnifcent Hamptons home (thanks to John Lee Beatty) that does justice to their up scale careers, hers as an expert cook with books and TV shows to her credit and his as a businessman who is able to see the art in finances and write about it. They are awaiting the return of two of their children from 17 months abroad in Europe while their third, a male librarian, joins them in happy expectation. The son and daughter return and bombard their hapless parents with one revelation after another. The ensuing reactions comprise the meat of the play with gender complications and confusions aplenty. The next door neighbors add to the evening with Ann Guilbert tossing off most of the pithy comments as she caustically upbraids her daughter-in-law (Leslie Ayvazian) and her deceased son. Matthew Morrison as the prodigal son resembles a jumping kangaroo, Susan Kelechi Watson a sober, calming restraint and James Yaegashi a bisexual with a chip on his shoulder. They are all excellent and the evening flies by on gossamer wings.
A Touch of the Poet
Eugene O’Neill again wrestling with Catholic guilt and chronic alcoholsism, his two behemoths. Here we have Major Cornelius Melody, a one time Irish military hero with pretensions of grandeur reduced to life in New England as an exciled, impovershed inn keeper. His wife Nora (Dearbhla Molloy) and daughter Sara (Emily Bergl) who he treats with contempt are burdened with all the druggery involved while our “hero” spends his time drinking with the locals he despises and raving about his landed gentry background. When his daugher Sara falls in love with an upper class New Englander his reaction is explosive and unpredictable. All the actors are superb, the setting by Santo Loquasto captures the mood to perfection and direction by Doug Hughes is up to his standard of excellence.
