The debut of Ms. Zimmerman, whose moniker was shortened to Merman, of course, is probably what earns Girl Crazy a pedigree that's a bit beyond the show's actual accomplishments. The decade ahead would see the Broadway musical flourish with biting wit and satirical edge but Girl Crazy -- which premiered in between the openings of two of the Gershwins' more accomplished satirical operettas, Strike Up The Band and Of Thee I Sing -- was more typical of the 1920s style of innocuous entertainment that was meant to showcase songs and the familiar routines of popular comics. This time it's a typically fluffy story of a New York playboy whose father sends him out to a town in Arizona with an extreme shortage of women in order to cure him of being "girl crazy." Naturally he meets and falls for the only female in town, while sending for his showgirl friends from New York to help him open a dude ranch with a nightclub.

Dialect comedian Willie Howard, playing the cab driver who takes the fellow from Gotham to the desert and winds up becoming the town's sheriff, was the most famous star of the show's original cast, and much of Guy Bolton and Jack McGowan's book featured bits utilizing his heavy Jewish accent, including a routine where he communicated with a group of Native Americans by speaking in Yiddish. Since such comedy might not fare well with a contemporary audience, the David Ives concert adaptation of the show used for this weekend's Encores! staging of Girl Crazy is heavily edited and reconfigured a bit. Most scenes are boiled down to song cues and director Jerry Zaks zips them along until it's time to sing another Gershwin melody or to have Warren Carlyle's athletically-inclined dancers exuberantly show their stuff.

Of course, when there is little substance to offer, many a musical comedy can succeed by being a showcase for performers with charm and style. Unfortunately, there's little of it present in this production. Chris Diamantopoulos, as the love happy New Yorker, sings and dances nicely but is pleasant at best. Playing his love interest, Becki Newton, who has no professional stage credits in her bio, stridently sings out her numbers but offers little in the way of lyric interpretation. Though the two are married in real life, there are no romantic sparks emitted by their stage work.

Certainly it wouldn't be fair to expect any actress playing saloon entertainer Frisco Kate to create the same kind of excitement as Ethel Merman did when she originated the role, but the main problem with Anna Gasteyer's performance is that, although she belts out the joyous "I Got Rhythm," the saucy "Sam and Delilah" and the mock-torchy "Boy! What Love Has Done to Me!" with solid pipes (including holding the former's famous 16-measure note), she never seems to be enjoying herself up there. She's technically fine, though she can use a little more variety in her lyric interpretation, but lacking in that musical comedy verve that draws an audience in.

Not using a Jewish accent, Wayne Knight conveys a sense of fun in his silly role as cab driver Gieber Goldfarb, whose life is on the line as soon as he accepts the position of sheriff. Though he speak-sings most of his part in the pseudo-heroic "Goldfarb! That's I'm!" (a lyrical spoof of George M. Cohan's "Harrigan (That's Me)") he displays a nice singing voice for "But Not for Me" and would make a fine addition to Broadway's list of musical theatre comic character men.

Also conveying a sense of fun is the always delightful Marc Kudisch, who is unfortunately saddled with a small role as Kate's husband. The running gag of how the only way he can make her happy is by giving her a divorce never quite delivers a payoff but at least he gets to clown around a bit with a group of chorus gals for "Treat Me Rough"; one of those sparkling Gershwin songs that has absolutely nothing to do with anything in the story.

But despite the production's flaws, the mission of Encores! is to feature the music and Rob Fisher's 28-piece orchestra brings out the period zest and romance of Robert Russell Bennett's orchestrations and George Gershwin's embraceable melodies.

Photos by Joan Marcus: Top: Wayne Knight and Company; Bottom: Marc Kudisch and Company.

Posted on: Sunday, November 22, 2009 @ 12:28 PM Posted by: Michael Dale

Set in the Louisiana Bayou, the play tells the simple story of hard working auto mechanic Ogun Size, who can't hide his frustration with younger brother Oshoosi, a recent parolee who isn't especially anxious to get a job. Complicating matters is that Oshoosi has taken up with his old prison buddy, the drug dealing Elegba.

What I admired back then was how the play used the traditions of ceremonial story-telling to tell a modern tale. With the characters all named for Yoruban deities, the play was primarily performed inside a circle of sand with a small pile of rocks in the center and a percussionist was stationed to the side, supplying sound effects and rhythmic drumming that enhanced the rhythms of the playwright's language. The actors were all shirtless, reinforcing a connection with a more primitive era.

The Brothers Size is back at the Public, this time as one third of McCraney's trilogy, The Brother/Sister Plays, but under new director Robert O'Hara the play is presented in a more realistic manner. Gone are the sand, the rocks, and the percussionist and on go the shirts. Gone also is a good deal of the adventurous theatricality of the one-act piece. McCraney's voice as a playwright is still an interesting one, especially in his practice of having the characters narrate their actions before performing them. Dreams, the sage wisdom of elders and the power of nature are a few of the story-telling tools he uses to fine effect but O'Hara's rather earthbound direction points out where the author overwrites and the piece, while intriguing, still underwhelms.

It's a more serious problem for Marcus; Or The Secret of Sweet, which follows The Brother's Size and is also directed by O'Hara. This one concerns a 16-year-old boy who has begun opening up to others about being "sweet" (gay) and wants to find out if his father was the same. His rejecting mother, the girl who wants to date him (but is offended by his just wanting to be friends) and the older man who introduces him to sex all come off as ridiculous stereotypes when stripped of any mythological components and inhabiting an otherwise naturalistic setting. Attempts at humor stick out like bad one-liners. ("You're the only one I could sing The Wiz straight through with.")

Tina Landau has much greater success with her direction of In The Red and Brown Water, a full-length play which is presented separately from the other two. Here, high school track star Oya (though the character is barren she is named for a fertility goddess) turns down a scholarship and a spot on a college team because she fears her mother's death is coming soon and she wants to be there for her until the end. Looking for comfort, she falls into disappointing relationships with men.

Beginning the play with a striking lighting effect by Peter Kaczorowski, where an empty bucket pours out a shimmering pool of water, Landau stages beautifully stylized pictures utilizing an upstage chorus that, aside from playing various roles, chants, dances and plays drums in a manner that mixes the modern with the legendary.

While the three plays share some characters, they each stand on their own. And while taking in the connections within the trio enhances each piece, sitting through the entire four and a half hours makes the project's need for editing very apparent.

Fortunately the cast is very good, with Andre Holland standing out as the charismatic Elegba and the shy Marcus. Kianne Muschett beautifully handles the balance between Oya's girlish joy and the pain she experiences growing into a woman. Kimberly Hebert Gregory is very amusing as the plain-speaking Aunt Elegua, who always says what you don't want her to say. And there is excellent teamwork in the frustrated bonding between Marc Damon Johnson, as Ogun Size, and Brian Tyree Henry, as his slacker brother Oshoosi.

Photos by Joan Marcus: Top: Marc Damon Johnson and Kianne Muschett; Bottom: Kimberly Hebert Gregory and Andre Holland.

Posted on: Friday, November 20, 2009 @ 10:33 AM Posted by: Michael Dale

Wilder's gently experimental 1938 classic, where issues of love, marriage, community and our purpose in the universal scheme of things are presented through the everyday life occurrences in this unremarkable town, is perhaps the most familiar of all American dramas; being studied in public schools and performed by student and community theatres for decades. And while the countless number of times this play has been produced makes it impossible to guess if Cromer's vision is a completely untried idea, I think it's safe to say you're not likely to run into another Our Town that so vividly connects contemporary audiences with material from over seventy years ago.

As per Wilder's instructions in the script, this Our Town uses the traditional setting of a bare stage with nondescript tables and chairs serving as scenery. (It may seem like scenic designer Michele Spadaro hasn't much to do, but trust me, she earns her paycheck with this one.) The actors, as usual, mime their props while going about their daily routines of housework, homework and playtime. But while Cromer's production still takes place in the early years of the 20th Century, the director utilizes simple, but clever ideas to make a modern Manhattan audience feel a part of this sleepy little rural community. Customers at the reconfigured Barrow Street Theatre are seated on three sides of the small playing space, with wide room between the first and second rows where scenes are also played out. Costume designer Alison Siple dresses the company in contemporary clothing, though avoiding anything that may be distractingly modern, blending the appearance of those on stage with those watching. Lighting designer Heather Gilbert even keeps the house lights on for the first two acts. The evening often feels more like a town hall meeting than a night at the theatre,

Replacing Cromer as the narrating character Wilder calls the Stage Manager, Jason Butler Harner, who appears to be somewhere in his mid-20s, is certainly the youngest looking actor I've seen play the role in a professional production. Like his predecessor, he foregoes the traditionally homespun interpretation, displaying an emotionally detached efficiency as he keeps the play moving along. But there are extremely effective moments -- like when he takes a long pause to observe the beauty of a butternut tree and consider its later significance -- when he hints at being truly moved by the story he tells.  And the night I attended he connected with the audience with warm silence as patches of viewers responded with knowing laughs after his character says, "Most everybody in the world gets married.  You know what I mean?"

The early scenes echo the Stage Manager's emotional distance as we witness the daily morning clockwork in the homes of newspaper editor Charles Webb (a grimly-mannered Ken Marks) and his neighbor, Dr. Frank Gibbs (a distant Armand Schultz). Their wives, Julia Gibbs (Lori Myers) and Myrtle Webb (Kati Brazda), are machinelike in their routines of waking up the children, preparing breakfast and tending to their husbands; both of whom seem significantly older. In a town where "women vote indirect," nearly everyone is a member of the same religion and political party and 90% of the high school graduates stay put to live out their lives, Myers and Brazda nicely communicate the frustration their characters must feel with the sameness of their lives. Myers' Mrs. Gibbs seems especially acerbic toward her husband, a man who ignores her dream to visit Paris in favor of yearly vacations to the famous battle fields of the Civil War.

That same sense of dissatisfaction is evident in young Emily Webb, played with aggressive no-nonsense authority by Jennifer Grace. Despite being the smartest student in school, her Emily no doubt sees little future for herself beyond being someone's wife, so when neighbor George (played with thick-headed shyness by James McMenamin) reveals that he's set to inherit a farm after graduating high school she gradually softens her approach to this nice, but intellectually inferior guy who can bring her financial security.

All of this may seem a bit cold by description, but Cromer's interpretation perfectly leads to Wilder's third act warning to truly value the simple everyday things in our lives. And while it's perfectly acceptable to remind readers that this act has the now deceased Emily, who died in childbirth, accepting a chance to visit one day in her past, you'll have to experience for yourself the surprising and oh, so perfect way the director utilizes at least four, if not all five, of the audience's senses to pack an extra wallop into the play's climatic scene.

With Susan Bennett's amiable Mrs. Soames, Jeremy Bailer's emotionally troubled Simon Stimson and Ben Livingston's shyly soft-spoken Professor Willard among an outstanding ensemble, this Our Town mixes great character-driven humor, decent heart-tugging sentiment and stunning theatricality into a production that is truly -- let me say it once more -- an exciting event.

Photos by Carol Rosegg:  Top: Jason Butler Harner; Bottom:  Lori Myers, Adam Hinkle, Armand Schultz, James McMenamin, Jason Butler Harner, Jennifer Grace, Ken Marks and Kati Brazda.

Posted on: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 @ 11:13 AM Posted by: Michael Dale

The grosses are out for the week ending 11/15/2009 and we've got them all right here in BroadwayWorld.com's grosses section.

Up for the week was: IN THE NEXT ROOM OR THE VIBRATOR PLAY (23.0%), RAGTIME (15.8%), FELA! (7.9%), HAMLET (6.4%), WISHFUL DRINKING (5.7%), THE 39 STEPS (5.1%), MEMPHIS (5.1%), BURN THE FLOOR (5.1%), ROCK OF AGES (4.8%), HAIR (4.7%), THE ROYAL FAMILY (3.7%), NEXT TO NORMAL (2.9%), WEST SIDE STORY (2.7%), BYE BYE BIRDIE (2.4%), WICKED (2.0%), THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (2.0%), IN THE HEIGHTS (1.2%), OLEANNA (1.1%), BILLY ELLIOT: THE MUSICAL (0.3%), SOUTH PACIFIC (0.1%),

Down for the week was: SHREK THE MUSICAL (-20.6%), IRVING BERLIN'S WHITE CHRISTMAS (-19.2%), SUPERIOR DONUTS (-12.2%), MAMMA MIA! (-8.5%), FINIAN'S RAINBOW (-6.6%), MARY POPPINS (-6.6%), THE LION KING (-5.2%), CHICAGO (-4.2%), AFTER MISS JULIE (-1.4%), GOD OF CARNAGE (-0.1%), JERSEY BOYS (-0.1%),

Posted on: Monday, November 16, 2009 @ 03:58 PM Posted by: Michael Dale

Which makes me wonder... What other plays would have gained more attention if they were subtitled the vibrator play?

Toys in the Attic or the vibrator play

33 Variations or the vibrator play

They Knew What They Wanted or the vibrator play

All's Well That Ends Well or the vibrator play

The Man Who Had All The Luck or the vibrator play

I Am My Own Wife or the vibrator play

Can you name any others?

But please, don't suggest The Iceman Cometh. Too easy.

Posted on: Monday, November 16, 2009 @ 01:51 AM Posted by: Michael Dale

Of course, if you only listen to Burton Lane's music and E.Y. "Yip" Harburg's lyrics, you might mistake Finian's Rainbow for a sentimental musical romance typical of the Rodgers and Hammerstein era; though certainly one with a superior score that mixes Irish folk, blues and gospel through the Broadway sifter. The subdued sexuality of "Old Devil Moon," the pure hopeful tenderness of "Look To The Rainbow," the breezy flippancy of "The Begat," the noble affection for home express in "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?" and the fickle-hearted waltz, "When I'm Not Near The Girl I Love (I Love The Girl I'm Near)" would be enough to make this a significant Broadway entry. But when you add the rapturous excitement of "If This Isn't Love," the snooty comedy in "When The Idle Poor Become The Idle Rich," the lyrical whimsy of "Something Sort of Grandish" and... well, I could just list the who darn score here... you have one of the most sumptuous collections of melody and gentle wit ever presented on a Broadway stage.

It's only when you consider the book, penned by Harburg and Fred Saidy, that you realize that in its premiere run a night at Finian's Rainbow was like attending a taping of one of the most sharply satirical editions of Saturday Night Live. Its story of an Irish immigrant who arrives in the American south (the Rainbow Valley section of the state of Missitucky, to be exact) to bury a pot of gold "borrowed" from a leprechaun in the ground near Fort Knox - because he's heard that just letting gold lie inactive in that ground rapidly increases its value - cheerfully spoofed the nature of the bustling American postwar economy ("We got something better than money! It's credit!"). But what made Finian's Rainbow really daring was when it asked us to laugh at those who would institute poll taxes and write segregation into our law books at a time when these practices were still going quite strong. Eight years before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus and three months before Jackie Robinson first took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Lane, Harburg and Saidy presented the American theatre with a white racist senator who, through the magic of a pot of gold, is accidentally changed into a black man and must consider facing the rest of his life being subjected to the kind of discrimination and hatred he used to enforce. And they made it funny.

Hopefully we're somewhat more advanced nowadays when it comes to race relations but the wondrously whimsical Broadway revival of Finian's Rainbow, a slightly altered transfer of the earlier Encores! concert staging, proves there's quite a bit in the material that still gets contemporary laughs; especially when the jokes remind us of just how fragile an economy built on credit can be. We can enjoy it when David Schramm, as the smug Senator Billboard Rawkins, arrogantly blurts out such absurdities as, "My whole family's been having trouble with immigrants ever since we came to this country," and even though some may get a tad uncomfortable during a scene where his new black servant (Tyrick Wiltez Jones) is taught the proper way to shuffle when he serves mint juleps, the comic payoff is a scream.

Director/choreographer Warren Carlyle's buoyant production boasts a loveable, strong singing cast headed by Jim Norton as a rascally comical Finian. As his brash daughter, Sharon and the strapping tobacco sharecropper Woody, Kate Baldwin and Cheyenne Jackson thickly fill the air with romantic musical theatre magic as she tenderly voices "How Are Things In Glocca Morra?" and "Look To The Rainbow" and the two of them simmer with sexual tension as they ponder that "Old Devil Moon."

Christopher Fitzgerald, a deft musical comedian who excels in impish roles, joins the company as Og the leprechaun. It's a perfect matching of actor and role as he physically and vocally hints at his character's own sexual tension; having lost his pot of gold, he's gradually becoming mortal and is going through the same kind of inconvenient discomfort that afflicts pubescent boys.

Though for decades productions of Finian's Rainbow have been using blackface makeup to accomplish the feat of changing the senator's skin color (a point that has caused some to declare the musical itself as being racially insensitive) more recent productions have been utilizing other means. Here Schramm's blustery fool is magically replaced by Chuck Cooper, who mourns the loss of his white identity until he finds friendship and good will with a gospel quartet in need of a new quarter. Both actors are also splendid new additions to this production, with Schramm heartily growling his nonsensical logic ("I don't have time to read The Constitution. I'm too busy defending it.") and Cooper, who gets precious little opportunity to display his dynamically deep vocals (but when he does, it's theatre-shaking), teaming up with Bernard Dotson, James Stoval and Devin Richards as they bring snappy harmony and precision classiness to a sensational rendition of "The Begat."

Also pretty sensational are the molasses thick vocals Terri White uses to fill the house with vibrancy as she leads the ensemble in the bluesy, "Necessity," and the airy grace and charisma of Alina Faye as Woody's mute sister Susan, who only communicates through dance.

Arthur Perlman provides an adaptation of the original book, which unfortunately cuts some significant moments; perhaps because they're the kind that would make a modern audience bristle a bit. (Like the scene where a young white lad asks the senator if his black friend is "the wrong color.") While I always prefer to see the material as the authors wrote it, Perlman's editing does allow the whimsical voice of the original to ring out strong and clear, ridiculing the notion that this is a musical with a creaky, impossibly dated book. There really is musical comedy magic in Rainbow Valley.

Photos by Joan Marcus: Top: Kate Baldwin and Cheyenne Jackson; Center: Paige Simunovich, Christopher Fitzgerald and Christopher Borger; Bottom: Terri White, Guy Davis and Company.

Posted on: Sunday, November 15, 2009 @ 01:53 AM Posted by: Michael Dale

Now in their 12th season, Silk Stockings is the 54th small scale concert staging by that remarkable Obie-winning company Musicals Tonight!, specialists in presenting affordable revivals of lesser-known musicals that have rarely been seen since their original Broadway productions. Staged by resident director Thomas Sabella-Mills (who also supplies the simple, but show-bizy choreography), with music direction by David Caldwell, a winning cast delivers this time capsule of a show with great energy and panache.

Like so many Cole Porter shows, Silk Stockings is set in Paris, where a Russian classical composer/conductor on tour disobeys orders to return home when the opportunity arises to have themes from his masterwork, Ode to a Tractor, used as the underscoring for a Hollywood drama based on War and Peace. Three bumbling officials are sent to bring him back with a minimal amount of adverse publicity ("We must force him of his own free will to come back."), but when the boys are seduced by the Paris nightlife, Moscow sends a no-nonsense, humorless female comrade to finish the job. The main love story is how the composer's American agent steps in to try and seduce her into succumbing to both his charms and to the lights of Paris. Meanwhile, the Hollywood blonde set to star in the flick ("My first dramatic non-swimming role.") is dissatisfied with the screenplay and has the movie changed into a musical about Napoleon's Josephine, hiring her own lyricist to turn the Tractor themes into pop songs.

Originally Kaufman teamed up with his wife, Leueen MacGrath, an unsuccessful playwright (more popular as an actress) whose main contribution was to help write the leading lady's role. But during rocky out-of-town tryouts the two were fired... or quit... and replaced by producers Cy Feuer and Ernie Martin with the era's premiere script doctor, Abe Burrows. The three share equal billing for the very funny book that makes communism the butt of every joke that isn't aimed at Hollywood. When a Soviet official is asked if he knew that the great Russian composer Prokofiev was dead, he innocently answers, "I didn't even know he was arrested." Another Soviet, trying to locate a higher-up, asks for a copy of Who's Still Who.

While the love song, "All Of You, " was the popular hit, the higher points of Cole Porter's score are his comedy and character numbers. "Stereophonic Sound" is a rousing tribute to the technological advances that overshadowed content in 1950s Hollywood films ("The customer's don't like to see the groom embrace the bride / Unless her lips are scarlet and her bosom five feet wide.") and "Siberia", seemingly an attempt to repeat the success of Kiss Me, Kate's "Brush Up Your Shakespeare," is a humorous soft-shoe about the homeland's frostiest assignment. ("When it's cocktail time, t'will be so nice / Just to know you won't have to phone for ice.") The comical anti-love song, "It's A Chemical Reaction, That's All," argues that coupling is merely a case of, "When the electromagnetic of the female meets the electromagnetic of the he-male."

Kate Marrily's deadpan delivery as Comrade Ninotchka nails every laugh and she makes a smooth transformation from by-the-book official to a love-happy, degenerate pleasure-seeker. As the agent who woos her, Kevin Kraft has a rather thankless leading man role that consists mainly of feeding straight lines to the more colorful characters and singing the score‘s least inspired material, but he delivers understated charm and sings with an attractive light baritone.

The trio of Jody Cook, Carl Danielson and Jason Simon are great fun and in fine voice playing their low comedy roles as the trio of Soviet officials. Aside from their amusing silliness in "Siberia" and the rousing "Hail Bibinski," the boys also team up for a Cole Porter list song, "Why Should I Trust You?," which was cut from the score before the Broadway opening. Also cut before Broadway was the lightly satirical, "Art"; here sung with power and gusto by T.J. Mannix as the soon to be outgoing Commissar of Art. Neither is vintage Porter but they do make for interesting curiosities.

Oakley Boycott fizzes with old-school musical comedy moxie and a spot-on comic sense as the Hollywood starlet who wants to be taken seriously but not at the risk of losing her sexpot appeal. Tall, lean and sporting wavy blond locks, she seems a campy cross between Marilyn and Marlene, selling her songs with satirical seductiveness.

Silk Stockings may not be a classic, but it represents a classic type of knockabout musical comedy we, regretfully, don't see around much these days.

Posted on: Friday, November 13, 2009 @ 11:11 AM Posted by: Michael Dale

Written and directed by Aliza Shane, it's now playing at The Looking Glass Theatre.

Posted on: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 @ 11:03 AM Posted by: Michael Dale

Someone needs to read some Lehman Engel.

Posted on: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 @ 01:53 AM Posted by: Michael Dale

The grosses are out for the week ending 11/8/2009 and we've got them all right here in BroadwayWorld.com's grosses section.

Up for the week was: SHREK THE MUSICAL (21.1%), MEMPHIS (19.9%), THE ROYAL FAMILY (13.2%), MARY POPPINS (12.9%), WISHFUL DRINKING (11.4%), OLEANNA (10.7%), SOUTH PACIFIC (10.5%), IN THE HEIGHTS (10.5%), HAMLET (9.9%), BURN THE FLOOR (9.6%), RAGTIME (9.4%), THE 39 STEPS (6.5%), HAIR (6.4%), CHICAGO (6.2%), ROCK OF AGES (5.6%), BYE BYE BIRDIE (4.1%), WEST SIDE STORY (4.0%), THE LION KING (3.9%), NEXT TO NORMAL (3.8%), IN THE NEXT ROOM OR THE VIBRATOR PLAY (3.2%), FINIAN'S RAINBOW (1.6%), SUPERIOR DONUTS (1.4%), JERSEY BOYS (1.1%), AFTER MISS JULIE (1.0%), FELA! (0.6%), GOD OF CARNAGE (0.6%),

Down for the week was: THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (-3.5%), WICKED (-1.8%), MAMMA MIA! (-1.0%), BILLY ELLIOT: THE MUSICAL (-0.2%), A STEADY RAIN (-0.1%),

Posted on: Monday, November 09, 2009 @ 03:25 PM Posted by: Michael Dale

Whatever you do, don't ask, "Why?"

Those who are familiar with the theatre pieces of Richard Foreman know exactly what I mean.

Don't ask why Willem Dafoe, playing the title role in The Public Theater's premiere production of Foreman's new work, Idiot Savant, makes his first entrance dressed like some kid's idea of a Japanese Samurai Halloween costume, carrying a caged duck and with his speech impeded by said mouth plug. Don't ask why those guys in fez hats come on with bows and arrows. And for the love of Joe Papp, don't even think of asking why that giant duck is playing golf.

As with the rest of the 50+ plays written, directed and designed by Foreman since he founded the Ontological-Hysteric Theater back in '68, Idiot Savant is more concerned with providing a tapestry of mood and wild theatrics than presenting coherent drama.

Oh sure, some will delve into interpretive depths to comment on the play's themes of life and language and who's to say they're wrong. But personally, I regard the work of Richard Foreman the same way I regard any abstract work of art. Just feel the rhythms, the visuals, the bursts of energy and see what sticks with you. That may seem a little simplistic but your brain will hurt less.

So what happens in Idiot Savant? Well, after a mysterious voice commands to the actors, "Do not try to carry this play forward. Let it slowly creep over the stage with no help, with no end in view," and the title character informs us that he is interested in confusion, we get a verbal three-way between our hero and the ethereally philosophical Marie (Alenka Kraigher) and the cynical alcoholic Olga (Elina Löwensohn). The three lead players, along with Joel Israel, Eric Magnus and Daniel Allen Nelson in various supporting functions, admirably dive into the often unfathomable text and are shamelessly appealing while buzzers buzz, lights glare out into the audience and we're treated to a chorus of "Japanese Sandman."

The set is a majestic hodgepodge of numbers, mattresses, portraits and lamps that disperse alcohol with lovely chandeliers hanging above. Gabriel Berry's costumes are an eye-catching parade of styles, colors and species.

I'm not going to say Idiot Savant is for everyone, but if you have any interest in experiencing all that American theatre has to offer, a visit to at least one of this prolific surrealist's works is certainly in order.

Photos by Joan Marcus: Top: Willem Dafoe; Bottom: Alenka Kraigher and Elina Löwensohn.

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While watching Tartuffe played by 1950s television characters or seeing Love's Labour's Loss set "in da hood" might make for an interesting evening (yes, I've seen both), credit Patrick Marber for allowing August Strindberg's 1888 Miss Julie to remain in its Swedish time and place while he writes an entirely new play, After Miss Julie; subtitled "A Version of August Strindberg's Miss Julie."

Lust, power and class are still on the menu, but Marber sharpens focus on the latter by setting the ninety minute piece in Britain on the evening of the 1945 election; when Clement Attlee's Labour Party won a landslide victory over Churchill's Conservative majority.

But the play remains largely as Strindberg wrote it. Set in the enormous basement kitchen of the country estate of an English lord (Allen Moyer's handsome set is full of wooden stately authority), Julie is the spoiled, bored and just a tad self-destructive daughter of the unseen master of the house who sets out to shock and seduce the chauffer John, a military veteran now living a life where nervous panics are in order if the master's shoes aren't perfectly polished.

As the lines betwixt the classes are melting, Julie's hypnotic way with a glance and a cigarette puff match John's physical ability to take what he wants from her. Plus she has daddy on her side. The temptress and her willing victim trade psychological mind games and share a rough tumble, all while John's supposed fiancée, the devoutly religious and fatalistic cook Christine ("I have lower expectations so I am seldom disappointed.") goes about her business.

This was pretty scandalous stuff in the late 1800s and Marber, along with director Mark Brokaw, seems to be attempting to make it just as shocking for modern audiences with a bit more vulgarity and sexual violence. But Sienna Miller, as Miss Julie, never seems to be up to the task of creating a dangerous sexual atmosphere; going through the standard seductive motions with an overdone upper-crust manner. Likewise, the rich complexities of the character's weaknesses -- her feeling of being caged in the restrictions of her class, the dichotomy of being privileged by birth but confined by gender -- are apparent from the surface but never seem organic.

Jonny Lee Miller makes for an effective John, believably conveying the character's ambition to make a better life for himself conflicting with his fear of breaking away from the simple comfort of what he has.

But it's Marin Ireland, one of New York's most interesting stage actors, who supplies the most attention-grabbing performance as Christine; first in quiet glances that recite emotional monologues, then in a critical detachment that defends against her character's sorrow. Perhaps I'm not the only one wondering if the production would have fared better with her in the title role.

Photos by Joan Marcus: Top: Sienna Miller; Bottom: Jonny Lee Miller and Marin Ireland.

Posted on: Monday, November 09, 2009 @ 01:07 AM Posted by: Michael Dale

-- David Merrick

The grosses are out for the week ending 11/1/2009 and we've got them all right here in BroadwayWorld.com's grosses section.

Up for the week was:

Down for the week was: MEMPHIS (-23.3%), CHICAGO (-22.1%), IN THE HEIGHTS (-21.3%), HAIR (-19.7%), SOUTH PACIFIC (-18.0%), RAGTIME (-17.3%), BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS (-16.4%), THE ROYAL FAMILY (-15.1%), WEST SIDE STORY (-14.9%), OLEANNA (-14.1%), BURN THE FLOOR (-13.2%), NEXT TO NORMAL (-11.3%), WISHFUL DRINKING (-10.7%), THE 39 STEPS (-10.5%), AFTER MISS JULIE (-10.1%), MARY POPPINS (-8.7%), ROCK OF AGES (-8.6%), THE LION KING (-7.9%), BYE BYE BIRDIE (-7.2%), SUPERIOR DONUTS (-6.0%), HAMLET (-5.8%), SHREK THE MUSICAL (-5.2%), THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (-4.9%), MAMMA MIA! (-4.0%), FINIAN'S RAINBOW (-3.3%), JERSEY BOYS (-1.1%), BILLY ELLIOT: THE MUSICAL (-0.9%), WICKED (-0.9%), GOD OF CARNAGE (-0.5%), A STEADY RAIN (-0.1%),

Posted on: Monday, November 02, 2009 @ 04:31 PM Posted by: Michael Dale

Suggested by the real-life story of 1950s Memphis disc jockey Dewey Phillips, a white guy who was instrumental in giving air time to black rhythm and blues artists, Memphis boasts a surefire contender for the most unlikely of romantic leading male characters to appear in a Broadway musical. Here named Huey Calhoun, he's played by Chad Kimball (who first caught Broadway's attention playing a cow in the Into The Woods revival) with an irritatingly nasal drawl, smart-ass arrogance and a posture that jauntily leans in all directions. Driven, naïve, idealistic and sometimes just plain stupid, Kimball's fascinating warts-and-all portrayal of Huey's rise from department store clerk to the city's number one deejay because of his passion for what was then called "race music," gives the musical a realistic edge.

Montego Glover sings with vibrant and forceful sexuality as Felicia, the blues vocalist he falls for both professionally and romantically. As with all the other black people Huey encounters, Felicia has an initial distrust for this crazy white guy who claims that the music of her people is in his soul. (This kind of distrust is very effectively played out in a musical scene where black kids in a playground suspiciously view white kids who show an appreciation for their music.) And while a romance does develop between them, Glover always shows the side of her character that, aware of the times they live in, cannot completely give herself to Huey.

While the supporting players get few standout moments, Michael McGrath (as Huey's uptight station manager), J. Bernard Calloway (as Felicia's protective brother), James Monroe Iglehart (as a janitor with a breakout turn in a Chubby Checker-type number) and Cass Morgan (as Huey's fearful mother) all make significant contributions.

The singing and dancing ensemble sizzles performing Sergio Trujillo's exuberant period choreography, which blends nicely into Ashley's kinetically brisk staging. When the movement halts it's only to spotlight Glover hitting emotional peaks as she considers the risks she's taking in her ballad, "Colored Woman," or to allow Kimball to defiantly state Huey's convictions as he brings down whatever's left of the house with his 11 o'clocker, "Memphis Lives In Me."

Yes, there are moments of predictable schmaltz and the ending is most definitely contrived, but the rest of Memphis is bursting with gutsy story-telling, convincing performances and exhilarating moments that more than make up for a bit of predictability.

Photos by Joan Marcus: Top: Chad Kimball; Bottom: Montego Glover.

Posted on: Monday, November 02, 2009 @ 10:35 AM Posted by: Michael Dale

And while I have to agree with the critical majority on this one, there's really no sense in subjecting you dear readers to another reviewer's attempt to describe the jaw-dropping mess that now occupies Henry Miller's Theatre.  You don't need to read again how the two leading players lacked the necessary skills to play their roles.  You can get on with your happy lives without perusing another attempt to find the proper metaphors to describe that oddball performance by an otherwise respected stage actor.  The strange costume designs, the inappropriate set, the lack of decent choreography and the cutting of the musical's two ballets; one of which can be at least be called a semi-classic; no I'm not going to write about that here.

Let's just say I arrived at the funeral after the body was buried.  No sense in throwing more dirt on the casket.  I'll just send my condolences to the late Michael Stewart, that master craftsman of musical theatre bookwriting, Charles Strouse, who wrote such peppy, attractive melodies and Lee Adams who contributed cute and clever lyrics.  They wrote a charming, funny musical comedy that serves as an excellent star vehicle for polished song and dance performers.  The strength of their words and music still shines at Henry Miller's Theatre, but Bye Bye Birdie deserved so much better.

So let's just remember the good times, shall we?

Like the performances of Allison Strong, Julia Knitel, Emma Rowley, Jess LeProtto, Daniel Quadrino, Paul Pilcz, Deanna Cipolla, Kevin Shotwell, Riley Costello, Catherine Blades and Jillian Mueller.  They were the singing and dancing ensemble of teenagers who threw themselves into their numbers and livened up the proceedings with real show-biz energy every time they were on.

And the lovely 14-year-old singing voice of Allie Trimm, who gave a good acting performance as Kim and who I suspect would have given a better one if someone had told her why the role was funny.  I'll say the same for Nolan Gerard Funk, who, despite looking far too young to be Conrad Birdie, played the role with sufficient pop-star swagger.  I'm sure it's not his fault that the role's satirical edge never entered into the picture.

That In My Life survivor, Brynn Williams (the youngest recipient ever of The Gypsy Robe), who was mighty impressive in her small role in 13 and here appears as the hyper-enthused Birdie fan, Ursula, continues to grow as a strong Broadway singer and dancer.  I wouldn't be surprised to see her stopping shows in starring roles in ten years or so.

It's always great to see three-time Tony nominee Dee Hoty on stage.  A real musical theatre pro who exudes elegance and charisma.  Too bad she's stuck with the minor role of Mrs. MacAfee.  And what a shame to see the enjoyable talents of seasoned musical comedy men like John Treacy Egan (a former Max Bialystock in The Producers) and Jim Walton (Merrily We Roll Along's original Franklin Shepard, inc.) underutilized in their tiny roles.

Of course, no matter what's written by "those mean New York theatre critics" (excluding that nice John Simon, naturally) this Bye Bye Birdie could wind up being a popular hit after all if audiences are satisfied with simply seeing a beloved oldie with a pair recognizable name stars.  After all, some may say, it's just a musical.  And while I like to see theatre folk employed, such public acceptance doesn't make me put on a happy face.

Photos by Joan Marcus:  Top:  Brynn Williams, Jillian Mueller, Daniel Quadrino, Emma Rowley, Allison Strong, Jess LeProtto, Catherine Blades, Paul Pilcz, Kevin Shotwell, Deanna Cipolla, Julia Knitel and Riley Costello; Bottom:  Nolan Gerard Funk and Company

Posted on: Thursday, October 29, 2009 @ 02:51 AM Posted by: Michael Dale

-- Oscar Levant

The grosses are out for the week ending 10/25/2009 and we've got them all right here in BroadwayWorld.com's grosses section.

Up for the week was: BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS (11.3%), FINIAN'S RAINBOW (4.9%), WEST SIDE STORY (3.9%), SHREK THE MUSICAL (2.6%), GOD OF CARNAGE (0.3%), A STEADY RAIN (0.1%),

Down for the week was: MARY POPPINS (-14.5%), THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (-12.0%), MEMPHIS (-7.7%), RAGTIME (-7.4%), OLEANNA (-6.9%), NEXT TO NORMAL (-6.0%), BURN THE FLOOR (-6.0%), THE 39 STEPS (-5.9%), ROCK OF AGES (-5.5%), CHICAGO (-5.4%), AFTER MISS JULIE (-3.3%), MAMMA MIA! (-3.2%), WISHFUL DRINKING (-2.6%), SUPERIOR DONUTS (-2.4%), THE ROYAL FAMILY (-2.2%), HAIR (-2.1%), THE LION KING (-2.0%), BYE BYE BIRDIE (-1.9%), HAMLET (-1.8%), IN THE HEIGHTS (-1.4%), SOUTH PACIFIC (-1.2%), WICKED (-0.3%), JERSEY BOYS (-0.1%),

Posted on: Monday, October 26, 2009 @ 04:05 PM Posted by: Michael Dale

Mamet's quick, 80-minute drama was ample kindling for the fire.  The first scene shows college student Carol in the office of her professor, John, voicing her frustration at not being able to understand his course.  John, who is up for tenure, offers help but is also preoccupied by phone calls regarding the home he and his wife are trying to buy.  In the second scene we find that Carol has filed a sexual harassment grievance against John, based on things he said and did during their first meeting.  She also makes vague mention of some "group" that supports her stance.  I'll leave it to the author to explain what happens in the third and final scene.

What gives Oleanna its heat is that we never see one character without the other.  We know nothing about them except for what is discussed in their meetings.  So is Carol misinterpreting John's intentions?  If so, is her perception of a threat against her less important than what he actually means?  Or is John making intentional vague suggestions to Carol that he can argue were misunderstood?  Is this group coaching Carol?  In a sexual harassment case that boils down to one person's word against the other, should the word of the alleged victim be given more credibility?

Oleanna (named for a Norwegian folk song about dreams of a perfect society that go awry) supplies no answers.  At least it didn't in 1992 when Mamet had Rebecca Pidgeon play Carol as a timid, frightened woman who tentatively grows more confident in each scene and William H. Macy play John as an unflappable professor who seems in perfect control of what he says and does.  The play successfully sparked debate, sometimes less than civil, among audience members.

But in the hands of Doug Hughes, who directs the current Broadway production, the play is more about a man who is defenseless against seeing his career and home life crumble because of accusations made against him, whether he is guilty or not.

Hughes sets Oleanna in the present (indicated by John's modern cell phone and laptop computer); a big mistake for a play where the ideas express are so much of their own time.  (These issues are certainly still important, but attitudes do shift.  Heck, even Susan Faludi went on to defend the blamelessness of individual males in Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man.)  But more damaging to the piece is the way he interprets the two characters.  As played by Julia Stiles, Carol is right from the start presented as a mature, confident and well-spoken woman who is simply unbelievable when she claims to be too stupid to understand John's class.  When she mentions her group, you might very well think she's the president of it.  John, as played by Bill Pullman, is first seen as being a bit flustered when he meets with Carol; his mind so preoccupied with family matters that it appears he might be talking off the top of his head without thinking.  In some moments Stiles' Carol seems to be guiding him to say things she later claims were inappropriate.

While both actors give fine performances, the interpretation of the characters kills the play's balance.  In a talkback held after the performance I attended, a show of hands had the audience nearly unanimously siding with John.  From what I've read on chat boards and have heard from others, overwhelming support of the professor seems to be a regular occurrence.

Perhaps Hughes' point was in fact to depict the helplessness of those accused of sexual harassment and other sexual crimes; arguing that facts read in the papers and heard in courtrooms may not accurately represent what has occurred.  If so, then a less obvious touch is necessary if the smirks and laughter I heard from the audience during some of Carol's accusations are also a regular occurrence at the Golden Theatre.

Photos of Bill Pullman and Julia Stiles by Craig Schwartz

*************************************************************

Annie Baker's genial but somewhat aimless Circle Mirror Transformation begins with five rather ordinary people lying on a floor and trying, as a group, to count from one to ten.  When the mood strikes, one of them calls out a number and any of the others, when the mood strikes, may call out the next number, but if two or more speak at the same time they must go back to one and start over.  Soon after, the group members are walking around the room at high speed, shaking hands with anyone they encounter.  Later, the group stands in a circle and one of them makes a body motion and emits a sound the others must mirror until another person transforms it into another motion.

If you're smiling with recognition then no doubt you've taken an improvisational acting class similar to the one Baker depicts in the community center of a small Vermont town.  Its perpetually smiling and upbeat teacher, Marty (Deirdre O'Connell), spends the six week course leading her students in such theatre games to help build physical awareness.  There's her husband, James (Peter Friedman), being happily supportive; Theresa (Heidi Schreck), a New York actress who moved to Vermont to escape the competitiveness of the business; Schultz (Reed Birney), a divorced furniture maker a bit lacking in personality and 16-year-old Lauren (Tracee Chimo), an aspiring actress who hopes that taking the class will help her win the role of Maria in her high school's production of West Side Story.

The author's idea is a good one; introducing relationships between the characters in short scenes taking place just before class or during breaks and seeing how they start revealing themselves through the various exercises.  Director Sam Gold keeps his very likeable cast on a naturalistic level (though perhaps a few too many "significant" silences) but the play never truly takes off on its concept.  The marital problems between Marty and James, the short-lived romance between Schultz and Theresa and Lauren's disappointment that the class doesn't involve reading from actual playscripts are touched upon but not sufficiently explored to carry much interest through the intermissionless hour and fifty minutes.  Subtlety is nice, but the play is dramatically weightless.

Photo of Tracee Chimo, Deirdre O'Connell, Heidi Schreck, Reed Birney and Peter Friedman by Joan Marcus.

Posted on: Monday, October 26, 2009 @ 03:17 AM Posted by: Michael Dale

Town Hall was the room where the original Broadway company of Falsettos reunited as a special feature of this year's edition of Broadway Originals, the traditional Sunday afternoon finale to Town Hall's fifth annual Broadway Cabaret Festival.  Taking his usual spot at the stage left podium, Scott Siegel explained how the unusual gestation of this musical about a charming fellow named Marvin who tries to mold a functional family out of Trina (the wife he divorced), Jason (the son he adores) and Whizzer (the man he loves) began with Finn's three separately produced one-act Off-Broadway musicals:  In Trousers (1979), its sequel, March of the Falsettos (1981) and finally Falsettoland (1990).  The latter two (with a bit of material from the first) made up acts one and two of the Broadway production.

Having originated the same roles in March..., Falsettoland, and Falsettos, the trio of Rupert (Marvin), Bogardus (Whizzer) and Zien (Mendel, the family psychiatrist) are naturally strongly identified with this material.  Joining them were Barbara Walsh (Trina), a 29-year-old Jonathan Kaplan (who played the 13-year old Jason) and, as "the lesbians from next door," Heather MacRae as Dr. Charlotte and Janet Metz as the kosher caterer, Cordelia.  (Metz, though she originated her role in Falsettoland, did not appear in the Broadway production because she was already contracted to another show.)  The camaraderie and affection the performers have for both the material and each other was clearly visible through the multiple on-stage hugs and warm smiles throughout the ten-song presentation.

Bogardus' heavily emotional "The Games I Play" and Rupert's tender "What More Can I Say?" were gorgeously sung highlights, as was Walsh's hilariously frustrated, "I'm Breaking Down."  Zien and Kaplan (whose voice has developed into an attractive baritone) set comical sparks with "Everyone Hates Their Parents," and MacRae and Metz joined Rupert and Bogardus for a beautifully harmonized "Unlikely Lovers."  By the time the evening ended with Rupert singing "Father to Son" to the now grown-up Kaplan (who would be flying off to get married the next day) there were very few dry eyes both on stage and off.

But that was only Act II of Broadway Originals.  The first act followed the usual form of having various original cast members from the past sing a number they either introduced on Broadway or re-introduced in a revival.  While previous editions have featured performances that stretched back to over fifty years of Broadway history, this year's show focused on the more recent past.  Sharon McNight held the distinction of presenting the most vintage performance, reprising her rousing showstopper from 1989's Starmites, "It's Hard to Be Diva."  Marc Kudisch followed his comically self-satisfied "Breezing Through Another Day" (The Wild Party) with snake-like moves for The Apple Tree's "Forbidden Fruit."

Celia Keenan-Bolger displayed her vocal versatility, first perkily explaining the joys of "My Friend, The Dictionary" (The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee) and then with an intense and emotional "On My Own" (Les Miserables).   Kerry O'Malley's charming "Moments in The Woods" (Into The Woods) was followed by her lush and sensual "Love, You Didn't Do Right By Me" (White Christmas), where she was joined by Bogardus who countered with "How Deep Is The Ocean."  And it was a pleasure to once again hear Julia Murney ("Beautiful Boy" from Lennon), Manu Narayan ("The Journey Home" from Bombay Dreams) and Stephanie J. Block ("Get Out and Stay Out" from 9 To 5) repeat their personal successes from not quite successful musicals.

The special surprise guest, Daisy Eagan, who at age 11 became the youngest female Tony Award winner ever for her performance in The Secret Garden, flew in from Los Angeles to sing a lovely rendition of "The Girl I Meant To Be."

With music direction by John Fischer and stage direction by Scott Coulter, this year's Broadway Originals was once again an immensely enjoyable afternoon for lovers of musical theatre.

Photos by Genevieve Rafter Keddy:  Top:  Stephen Bogardus and Michael Rupert; Bottom:  Daisy Eagan.

Posted on: Saturday, October 24, 2009 @ 06:59 PM Posted by: Michael Dale

The show that asks the musical question, "What if the generation of American kids who grew up learning life's little lessons by watching television shows like Sesame Street and The Electric Company had the same kind of program that used puppets, catchy songs and friendly humans to help them learn the big lessons they need to know after graduating college and entering the real world?," started as the brainchild of composer/lyricists Jeff Marx and Robert Lopez. When their hilariously educational tunes like, "Everyone's A Little Bit Racist," "If You Were Gay (That Would Be Okay)" and the who-are-the-losers-in-your-neighborbood? anthem, "It Sucks To Be Me" were combined with Jeff Whitty's very funny and surprisingly touching book, Rick Lyon's personality-laden puppets and Jason Moore's crafty direction that enhanced the material's satirical edge while keeping the characters loveable, a truly original Broadway hit was born.

I haven't seen Avenue Q since shortly after its Broadway opening but if my memory serves well, aside from a some slight staging changes and perhaps one or two book revisions, everything looks the same, right down to Anna Louizos' slumscape set that hides surprises in secret compartments. (Okay, one aspect that changed with the times is that when one character sings of a "mixed tape" of songs another has recorded for her, she's not longer hold a cassette tape, but a CD. However a couple of reliable sources have clued me in that the term "mixed tape" is still used in such cases.)

The new Off-Broadway cast is a talented and likeable ensemble made up of Q vets from Broadway and national tours. Seth Rettberg is all wide-eyed enthusiasm manipulating Princeton, the 22-year-old college graduate ready to take on the world armed with nothing but a B.A. in English. Anika Larsen, whose rich, expressive belt has livened up many a Gotham musical, tones it down to a sweeter level as Kate Monster, Princeton's puppet love interest, but gets to show off her sassy vocals as over-sexed nightclub entertainer known as Lucy The Slut.

Rettberg also scores as the closeted gay Republican investment banker Rod, who is nervous about not being able to keep the door shut much longer as he grows more and more attracted to his roommate, Nicky (a merrily goofy Cullen R. Titmas who doubles as the porn-obsessed Trekkie Monster.) While Maggie Lakis doesn't have any large roles to play (she's an adorable half of The Bad Idea Bears), she's most visible while being a second hand to help manipulate puppets voiced by others, doing a charming job of silently expressing whatever is being said.

On the human side, Nicholas Kohn (as the genial, underachieving wannabe stand-up comic, Brian), Sala Iwamatsu (as his demanding fiancé named Christmas Eve) and Danielle K. Thomas (who sings with a raucous R&B swagger as former child star Gary Coleman) all make very funny contributions to this sharp and breezy mounting of a gem of a show.

Photos by Carol Rosegg: Top: Maggie Lakis, Cullen R. Titmas and Seth Rettberg; Bottom: Anika Larsen

Posted on: Thursday, October 22, 2009 @ 10:47 AM Posted by: Michael Dale

-- Tallulah Bankhead

The grosses are out for the week ending 10/18/2009 and we've got them all right here in BroadwayWorld.com's grosses section.

Up for the week was: AFTER MISS JULIE (13.0%), MEMPHIS (6.3%), MAMMA MIA! (4.0%), HAIR (3.7%), THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (3.2%), SOUTH PACIFIC (3.1%), IN THE HEIGHTS (2.9%), SUPERIOR DONUTS (2.7%), BYE BYE BIRDIE (1.5%), CHICAGO (1.5%), MARY POPPINS (1.2%), NEXT TO NORMAL (1.2%), WISHFUL DRINKING (0.8%), HAMLET (0.4%), JERSEY BOYS (0.1%),

Down for the week was: OLEANNA (-18.1%), SHREK THE MUSICAL (-11.7%), BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS (-6.7%), THE ROYAL FAMILY (-6.1%), THE 39 STEPS (-4.5%), WEST SIDE STORY (-3.4%), THE LION KING (-1.9%), BURN THE FLOOR (-1.7%), GOD OF CARNAGE (-0.2%), A STEADY RAIN (-0.2%),

Posted on: Monday, October 19, 2009 @ 11:19 PM Posted by: Michael Dale

But while Kaufman was a singular individual, his plays were almost always collaborations and each of his frequent writing partners seemed to influence the style of the project.  With Morrie Ryskind (Animal Crackers, Of Thee I Sing) he wrote wildly zany books for musicals.  His partnership with Moss Hart (You Can't Take It With You, The Man Who Came To Dinner) produced his most sentimental works and with Edna Ferber (Stage Door, Dinner at Eight) his most colorful female characters came alive.

And in 1927 it was with Ferber that the first major, lasting work of the Kaufman catalogue, The Royal Family, was created.  Spoofing the country's first family of the theatre, the Barrymores, The Royal Family is not only a sharp-witted commentary on American celebrity, but an earnest portrait of three generations of women who deal with the peculiar family legacy of being a star.  Director Doug Hughes mounts a positively sumptuous new revival, grandly dignified in design and madly farcical in spirit.

Rosemary Harris is warmly regal as family matriarch, Fanny Cavendish; a woman so devoted to the theatre that even at her advanced age she excitedly awaits another national tour.  Her old-school dedication was shared by her late husband, who died minutes after the last performance of a contracted run, but not before taking four curtain calls.  Her granddaughter Gwen (Kelli Barrett, charming as a spirited modern) is expected to make her Broadway debut in a substantial supporting role in her mother's (Jan Maxwell) next play, but when the demands of the theatre get in the way of her love life, Gwen reevaluates what she wants for her future.

Maxwell, a canny and intelligent comic actress, is deliciously showcased as Julie Cavendish, the family's main breadwinner who is trying to raise a daughter, take care of her mother and consider marriage while rushing to make her curtain eight times a week.  The role allows her to be over-the-top in a manner that is realistic for the character, climaxing in a positively hilarious second act nervous breakdown where she swears that she's given up the theatre for good.

Reg Rogers is grandly hammy fun as he flamboyantly eloquates his role as Tony Cavendish (a/k/a John Barrymore), hiding out from the press after a physical altercation with an incompetent Hollywood director.  Anthony Newfield filled in for the recuperating Tony Roberts at the performance I attended and was very pleasing as the father-figure family manager.  John Glover, as Fanny's less successful actor brother, Anna Gasteyer, as his crass and condescending actress wife and David Greenspan and Caroline Stefanie Clay, as the servants who calmly manage the constant calamity of the household lead an excellent supporting cast.

John Lee Beatty's duplex apartment set - a gorgeous creation dominated by a grand staircase and decorated with an imposing assortment of framed portraits and theatre posters - and Catherine Zuber's smart assortment of character-specific period costumes fill the stage with a distinguished tone that plays straight for the savory antics of Kaufman, Ferber and Hughes' positively perfect company.

Photos by Joan Marcus:  Top: Jan Maxwell, Kelli Barrett and Rosemary Harris; Bottom: Ana Gasteyer and Reg Rogers

Posted on: Monday, October 19, 2009 @ 03:20 AM Posted by: Michael Dale