Tickets for 'The Visit' at Signature Theatre - PRICELESS

 Many of my readers may recall the headline of my April 24, 2007 review of Saving Aimee at the Signature Theatre.  I used the phrase "Lightning Strikes at the Signature Theatre".  Well, at the matinee performance  I attended of The Visit I could use the same headline, but both figuratively and literally. At about 1:55 p.m., Shirlington, VA was hit by a storm and the audience witnessed emergency lights in use due to a black-out.  It took about thirty-five minutes to restore power. But the wait was worth it.

Let me say it would be worth it just to see the three leading actors in the intimate space (capacity of 299) of the Max Theater: two-time Tony winners Chita Rivera and George Hearn and Mark Jacoby. I am fans of all three. I will never forget Rivera's role in Kiss of the Spiderwoman (coincidentally just performed as part of the Kander & Ebb Celebration at the Signature). I've seen Hearn in Sweeney Todd, La Cage Aux Folles, and Sunset Boulevard. I first saw Jacoby in The Pirates of Penzance at the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera and predicted his success on Broadway where I've enjoyed his performances in Grand Hotel, Ragtime, and Man of La Mancha.

Now to the musical. The Visit is based on Friedrich Duerrenmatt's 1956 play which deals with a wealthy woman (Rivera) returning to her poverty-stricken Swiss town to seek revenge against her former lover (Hearn)  who helped orchestrate trumped up charges against her via a trial.  Does this sound like Sweeney Todd (without the meat pies)?

Photo Credit Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.

The play became a 1964 film starring Ingrid Berman and Anthony Quinn.

From the film came the musical which had the unfortunate timing of opening at Chicago's Goodman Theater in 2001 following the September 11 disaster.

Now with accomplished director, Frank Galati, book by Terrence McNally and lovely choreography by Ann Reinking, The Visit should not be missed. Don't wait until it gets to Broadway (where if I had the money would help produce). First see it at the Signature where you can almost reach out and touch the actors. You will never have an opportunity like this again to see these stalwarts of the theater in such an intimate setting.

And I haven't even begun to mention the gorgeous (yet dark) music.  I wanted to buy the CD (none available yet) after the performance.  This is, of course, a Kander & Ebb score. Don't expect a happy ending although the song "A Happy Ending" (led by Jacoby) I can't help humming. There are so many great numbers. The two duets between Rivera and Hearn ("You, You, You" and "In the Forest Again") are wonderful. Hearn sings about his youth and his sexual prowess in the catchy tune "I Must Have Been Something". (I still hum that one as well).

Rivera is in fine form and seems to really enjoy herself as she sings "The One-Legged Tango". Her character not only has one wooden leg (which makes her dancing even more remarkable) and has a wooden hand. Such a shame she couldn't use her full body like she did in A Dancer's Life.

Karen Murphy portrays Hearn's wife in baggy hose and baggy clothes and is terrific as are her two children played by Cristen Paige and Kevin Reed. 

I saw Jeremy Webb who plays the Schoolmaster in The Glorious Ones (by Ahrens and Flaherty) at Lincoln Center last year and it is great to see him again on the stage. What a great future awaits him.

You can't help but notice Brian O'Brien who plays the muscular Kurt. He is an excellent dancer. I only wish he had more.

The voices of the ensemble are remarkable. Their effect can be quite chilling.

I loved this show so much I went back to see it again and I was glad I did. You always seem to notice so much more on second viewing.

What I was surprised at was the underlying symbolism throughout the musical concerning the Holocaust.

Rivera's character is half-Jewish and half-Gypsy. She adds "I was 100% illegitimate." Her revenge towards her former home has much to do with how she was treated as an outcast.

As the Mayor, Jacoby mentions that the town was so prosperous during World War II. The town can't understand what happened to their success.

Could there be a better metaphor for the yellow Star of David that the Nazis mandated Jews wear than the song "Yellow Shoes" where the entire town decides to wear these banana-colored foot-wear?

Why is the entire cast wearing Gestapo-like raincoats in the final scene? (Great costumes by Susan Hilferty (Tony-winner for Wicked)).

The simple but workable set by Derek McLane must be mentioned. Do the wooden floor slats when lit from below bear a similarity to the slats on the cattle cars on their way to the concentration camps? Do the two rows of 11 brick arched doorways bear a resemblance to Dachau?

When Jacoby, playing the Mayor, is asked to give up one person's life to save the town, he initially declines and proudly states, "This is Europe. We are civilized!"

And then there was the comment by Rivera's character that she likes Bach better than Wagner.

Are Kander & Ebb saying we see the world through rose-colored glasses (worn by two eunuchs)?

I hope the Signature Theatre develops a dramaturgy department that would greatly enhance the theatrical experience for its patrons where discussions about these issues could be addressed in the program and following performances as they do at Center Stage and the Arena Stage.

With apologies to the Master Card commercial, tickets to The Visit….PRICELESS!

By the way, autographed posters of the cast are available for $25. A smart marketing tool and a great momento of the show. I gladly received one as a father's day gift from my wife Lisa.

By the way, do young people today really know about Chita Rivera? I noticed the following lyrics from the Tony-nominated musical In The Heights.  The character Sonny asks Vanessa "Does your cousin dance?" She responds, "Like a drunk Chita Rivera." You may also visit www.chitarivera.com.

You will never forget The Visit  but act quickly. The short visit of The Visit ends June 22, 2008. Call 703-575-SEAT or visit www.signature-theatre.org.

For comments, write to cgshubow@broadwayorld.com.