Tag Archives: Play

The Present

Broadway, Play, Uncategorized January 8, 2017 Leave a comment

(Note: This review is based on the December 24, 2016 preview performance.)

The PresentThe supremely talented Cate Blanchett has come to Broadway.  Unlike many film celebrities who flounder on stage, Ms. Blanchett is the former co-artistic director of the Sydney Theatre Company, where she also made her theater debut nearly 25 years ago.  The same incredible nuance she brings to her on-screen characters is alive and in proper proportion in her role as Anna in The Present, a modern reinterpretation of an unpublished play by Anton Chekhov.  I would recommend this show simply for the opportunity to bathe in her deeply considered and exceptional work.

Furthermore, there are additional elements to be enjoyed here.  Just as her character has invited friends to celebrate her birthday, Ms. Blanchett and playwright/husband Andrew Upton called upon close associates to share in this production.  Richard Roxburgh — who is technically the star as the pivotal Mikhail— has played opposite her many times including in Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya and The Seagull.  When I say he makes a terrific libertine, it’s meant to be a compliment.  The cast is rounded out by other actors who have collaborated frequently at STC and elsewhere.  There is an easy flow among them that only intensity over time can produce.  The range of feelings comes across as genuine even when the words sound less so.  Of particular note is Chris Ryan who gives the fragile and naive Sergei remarkable depth in his few scenes.

If you‘ve ever slogged through a so-called lost work, you can imagine that the finding of the play itself is a mixed blessing.  The original piece is a 300 page rambling tale which was locked away in Chekhov’s desk where it was unearthed after his death.   Upton is certainly skilled at updating classics, giving them new life for a modern audience.  This is a more challenging task when the piece in question has been deliberately set aside by its creator after being rejected by its intended leading lady.  Particularly adroit at restyling pre-revolutionary Russian drama, Upton has previously adapted Uncle Vanya plus two Gorkys and a Bulgakov.  For this unnamed tome, Upton chose to move the period to the more accessible 1990s and age the characters to add believable complexity to their emotional lives.  (I recommend reading his author’s note provided in the program to help you jump into the world and understand the relationships he has sculpted out of Chekhov’s rock.)

The first act of The Present is nearly two hours long, yet it moves steadily on waves of insightful conversation and palpable emotion.  It is surprisingly the far shorter second act that gets bogged down when the vodka-soaked characters more consistently speechify and the plot turns frustratingly soapy.  Director John Crowley has added a naturalness – if also an aural challenge – to the action by having his talent move about without any conventional awareness of the placement of the audience.  Alice Babidge provides a clean canvas for the colorful characters with stark scenic and costume design.  Only sad balloons and tacky streamers are employed to communicate the less-than-festive air surrounding Anna’s birthday bash.  Stefan Gregory’s edgy music and sound design add several strong jump-out-of-your seats moments.

If you relish the opportunity to see deeply connected old friends *play* deeply connected old friends, make time to catch this somewhat uneven endeavor.  Limited engagement ends March 19, 2017.  For tickets and information visit http://thepresentbroadway.com.  Shorties like me should note that the mezzanine of the Ethel Barrymore Theatre has those high hand rails attached to each aisle seat and along the edge of the balcony.  At 5’1” I was just able to see over them from the third row.

Oslo

Off-Broadway, Play, Uncategorized July 25, 2016 Leave a comment

Whether or not Oslo is your kind of play depends in large part on your enjoyment of the drama of diplomacy and the language of complex interpersonal communication.  The piece by J.T. Rogers is based on the true events that led up to the Oslo Peace Accords: the extraordinary peace deal between The PLO and Israel signed into being on September 13, 1993.  The little-known backstory — particularly the delicate and perhaps heroic involvement of the Norwegians in the series of intricate and touchy conversations between lifelong enemies — will hold a genuine fascination for some.  For others, the intervening 23 years of failure and violence will overshadow the struggle reproduced on stage.  Yes, Oslo portrays an incredible opportunity, but one that could not be held together long with cleverness, waffles and Johnny Walker Black.

Purely as an entertainment, Oslo has a lot to offer.  Though it clocks in close to 3 hours, it never stops moving.  There is a surprising amount of action in what could have been an overly-talky script.  History has been condensed and characters melded for ease of understanding without great loss of accuracy.  The crackling dialogue flecked with humor is interspersed with clarifying remarks made directly to the audience.  Positions are dealt with even-handedly, delivering the clearest picture possible of what’s at stake for all parties involved.

The vast cast under the seasoned hand of Bartlett Sher is first rate.  While I did not buy his closing remarks about the lasting impact of the proceedings, the always excellent Jefferson Mays as Terje Rød-Larsen makes an eager and human guide.  His noble and gifted wife, Mona Juul, is played by Jennifer Ehle with integrity and warmth that radiates to the exit doors.  Henny Russell in multiple roles adds charm and laughs by turns.  But it is Uri Savir the Director-General of Israel’s Foreign Ministry as portrayed by Michael Aronov who electrifies the space and keeps us rooting for something positive to emerge from the flutter of words.  Designer Michael Yeargan provides simple furniture supplemented with projections by 59 Productions which makes moving through locations quick and easy to follow.  Catherine Zuber’s costumes add “schlub”, utility and class in all the right places.

The short run currently at Lincoln Center Theater’s Mitzi E. Newhouse through August 28 (http://www.lct.org/shows/Oslo/) is sold out.  However it’s a good bet that lovers of mildly-fictionalized history and political intrigue will assure Oslo is repeated from time to time for at least as long as the Mideast face-off persists.

Turn Me Loose

Off-Broadway, Play, Uncategorized May 28, 2016 Leave a comment

Standup comedian and civil rights activist Dick Gregory’s rise to fame began when Hugh Hefner heard him address a nearly all-white Southern audience at a black-owned establishment and brought him to the Playboy Club.  His big breakthrough came when he was invited to be the first African American guest to be seated on the famous couch at the Tonight Show.  Whether you remember his scorching political satire, heard about it second-hand or are completely unfamiliar with his history, revisiting his work in Gretchen Law’s Turn Me Loose is an opportunity not to be missed.  Hearing his words through a 2016 filter is a punch to the gut and a sad commentary on the one-step-forward-two-steps-back progression of race relations in this country.

On stage for a solid 90 minutes, award-winning actor Joe Morton is completely captivating in the lead.  Given the still-living Gregory’s real bite, it’s a tall order.  Yet Morton perfectly portrays a span of nearly 50 years solely with adjustments to his posture and a roughening of his voice.  His total control of the audience never waivers as he gets them to rise to their feet in approval or recoil when requested to shout out the N word.  Morton receives occasional and essential support from the versatile John Carlin as every background player including a heckler, cabbie, and radio interviewer.

Law’s script blends chapters of Gregory’s autobiography and clips of his routines with a touch of fiction to keep the storyline tight and clear.  Chris Barreca’s adaptable set holds the audience’s attention firmly on the electricity generated by Morton’s performance and Gregory’s words.  Director John Gould Rubin ensures that every audience member is treated to moments of direct eye contact with his star, helping each segment land with a thump.  The design team of Susan Hilferty (costumes), Stephen Strawbridge ((lighting) and Leon Rothenberg (sound) moves the action seamlessly from club to studio to home.  Unfortunately, the haze meant to recall the days when smoking was allowed is an unnecessary touch that leads to more coughing and watery eyes than nostalgia.

Turn Me Loose is playing at The Westside Theater through July 3, 2016.  For Boomers, it provides a profound reacquaintance with the past.  It is my hope that younger people will also flock to see Papa Pope of Scandal tear into something more worthy of attention than his daughter’s life.  For tickets and information, visit http://www.turnmelooseplay.com.

Stupid F**king Bird

Off-Broadway, Play, Uncategorized April 5, 2016 1 Comment

Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull may have been misunderstood and poorly received in the late 1800s, but it has since become a touchstone of early modernism.  This classic, therefore, makes a perfect framework for Aaron Posner to explore the state of theater and artistic expression in the age of $350 Hamilton tickets and 31 Flavors of Cirque du Soleil.  His “soft of” adaptation, Stupid F**king Bird is sly, witty, and insightful.  It may not quite be the “new form” longed for by both Chekhov and his leading man, but it is long on originality.  It brings such fresh prospective to the Russian masterwork, one can imagine Anton himself chuckling with glee in his seat.

Don’t let the profanity in the title scare you off (or be the reason you purchase tickets).  It merely signals the open and casual nature of the script and the play within a play (sometimes within a play).  We get our first indication of this when Christopher Sears in the role of Con tells the audience to request that he and the others “Start the f***ing play!”  We are also treated to visual queues from Sandra Goldmark’s stripped down set of painted doors on wheels in front of brick walls and exposed lighting that are the background of Acts One and Three.  This works beautifully with the seemingly spontaneous songs, loose narration and talk-backs.  The compact second Act is tonally different with long introspective speeches set against a full working kitchen.  I sense it was supposed to represent a shift towards the characters’ interior life, but between the slower pace, dimmed lighting and endless tinkering with barware, it just dragged the piece down.

Similar to its role model, Bird is populated by a colorful range of diverse characters.  This makes the piece a perfect fit for The Pearl Theater, which is home to a rich stew of creative talent including a resident acting company.  In the two and a half hour running time, the cast performs comedy, tragedy, musical numbers, improv, performance art and even a pinch of dance.  The range of ability is every bit as impressive as that sounds, starting with Mr. Sears as our tortured love-sick protagonist.  As his best friend Dev, Joe Paulik is a standout as our narrator in speech and song, accompanied by Joey Parsons’ mopey Mash on ukulele.  You will appreciate the interpretation of these roles more if you (re)familiarize yourself with the original script.  All the essential elements are left intact and made even more relevant to today’s audience.  Helping us to make all the necessary connections, The Pearl provides the audience with a well written synopsis and “Insider” prospective.

Stupid F**king Bird is playing at the Pearl Theater through May 8.  For tickets and information visit http://www.pearltheatre.org.

John

Off-Broadway, Play, Uncategorized August 24, 2015 Leave a comment

“What do you call an intense drama that makes you laugh your butt off?” asked my friend at intermission during John.  I didn’t know, preferring to reserve “dramedy” for anything on the television fall schedule that will have trouble securing sponsorship.  Whatever the proper term, it is a form at which Annie Baker excels.  With her pieces, it’s always hard to say whether it’s the genuine laughs or the piercing insights which will linger.

Director Sam Gold, a frequent Baker collaborator, knows how to bring out the best in the material.  Contrast is explored from the moment Georgia Engel, in character as Mertis Katherine “Kitty” Graven, pulls back the curtain.  The set by Mimi Lien is a beautifully detailed bed and breakfast filled to the brim with tchotchkes and then pushed over the top by holiday decorations.  In a flash, we know so much about our quirky hostess and her driving desire to create a home away from home.  There is something familiar about the scene that is both comforting and disturbing.

Kitty’s latest guests are a young couple whose relationship is bumping against the rocks.  Christopher Abbott plays Elias Schreiber-Hoffman like a beaten-down Seth Rogan.  Hong Chau manifests his girlfriend, Jenny Chung, a bundle of odd body language who can’t stop seeing herself through the eyes of others.  Again, we experience duality, as their arguments plant one foot in “I’ve been there” and the other in “whoa!”.  The cast is rounded out by the reliable Lois Smith.  Her performance made me want to read earlier drafts to see whether there was a time in which her character was more than a metaphor.

Possibly building on the Pinter Pause, there is the Baker Beat.  Many simple actions in John are played out in real time.  When a bowl of cereal is poured, rather than the theater convention of a bite or two, it takes ten minutes to consume.  This storytelling technique is divisive.  While some of us stepped into those moments the way you do when a presenter begins using hushed tones, others squirmed and a few vacated their seats.  With tickets at $25 a pop, John presents a wonderful opportunity to explore this Pulitzer Prize winner’s work for yourself.

John is playing at the Signature Theater through September 6, 2015.  For tickets and information, visit http://www.signaturetheatre.org/tickets/production.aspx?pid=4241.

The Spoils

Off-Broadway, Play, Uncategorized June 9, 2015 Leave a comment

What if your best friend from third grade never stopped acting like an eight year old?  That is the dilemma faced by those closest to Ben, the central character of The Spoils.  As written and performed by playwright/actor Jesse Eisenberg, Ben can certainly be witty, but he is also cruel, directionless, and socially retarded.  It’s hard to imagine that these sweet people don’t have anything better to do with their time than hang out in this jerk’s apartment.

Therein lies the problem with this entire effort.  For a drawn-out 140 minutes we witness two relatively healthy couples — who clearly have enough on their plates — trying to help Ben get his life together and treat them with a modicum of respect. Puns are punned, recollections are recalled and banter is banted, all with a side of Nepalese beer.  Much of it is clever, but none of it leads to anything resembling a satisfying conclusion.

Eisenberg portrays the lead with much of the same disconnection and twitchiness that worked so well in The Social Network.  His oddness is magnified by Scott Elliott’s uneasy direction.  (Perhaps Mr. Elliott had some bizarre classmates when he was young and drew on these memories when he devised Ben’s peculiar physical conduct.)  The supporting cast (Erin Darke, Kunal Nayyar, Allapurna Sriram and Michael Zegen) all deliver their lines with appropriate zing.  Nayyar is particularly touching in the nearly-impossible role of Ben’s best friend, Kalyan.

Mr. Eisenberg is bright and talented.  It’s hard to believe he doesn’t have six other better scripts on his nightstand and superior writing examples on his hard drive.  Why he would chose to send eight weeks embodying a guy whose most cherished memory revolves around getting defecated on is my second unanswered question associated with this production.

The Spoils, presented by The New Group, is playing at the Pershing Square Signature Center through June 28, 2015.  For tickets and information, visit http://www.thenewgroup.org/the-spoils.html.

What I Did Last Summer

Off-Broadway, Play, Uncategorized May 16, 2015 Comments: 2

One of my goals for this blog is to introduce readers to theaters with reasonable ticket prices.  I have already mentioned the $20 seats at the Claire Tow and also recommend Theater C at 59E59 to those who don’t mind open seating.  A third incredible bargain is The Signature, which has secured enough funding to sell $25 tickets for every seat for every performance.  They also have a valuable residency program, which gives selected playwrights five years to create and produce new works as well as develop old ones.  It’s a terrific opportunity for participants to fully explore and expand their work.

This season, the Signature is featuring A.R. Gurney, best known for Love Letters, The Cocktail Hour, and Sylvia.  The current encore production, What I Did Last Summer, contains Gurney’s typical blend of lighthearted humor with a dash of poignancy.  It primarily follows the activities of teenager Charlie who is spending a few months at Lake Erie near the end of World War II.  His time and attention are divided between his Mother – who wishes him to study Latin – and free spirit Anna Trumbull – who believes he should explore his own creativity through art and play.

Having attended a very progressive school, I found the general discussion of book-learning versus life-learning an intriguing one and Gurney’s observations reasonable and well-argued.  The framework is very self-aware, with much of the action emphasized by having an unseen hand type key words of the dialogue and stage directions on the blank page that makes up the bulk of Michael Yeargan’s set.  All the characters directly address the audience and take every opportunity to make the story about themselves.  This highlights the playful side of the piece even when the action takes a more serious turn.

The cast is uniformly good, with a standout performance by Kristine Nielsen as Anna.  Noah Galvin’s Charlie makes a charming yet slightly bratty host and guide.  The ensemble’s high-energy is skillfully staged by Jim Simpson and backed by percussion provided live on stage by Dan Weiner.  The end results are enjoyable if slightly hazy, rather like summer vacation itself.

What I Did Last Summer is playing at The Pershing Square Signature Theater through June 7.  For tickets and information, visit http://www.signaturetheatre.org/tickets/production.aspx?pid=3776

Wolf Hall

Broadway, Play, Uncategorized April 22, 2015 Leave a comment

Wolf Hall is a little like that supposedly hot date with whom you didn’t have a terrible time, but you know you’re going to make an excuse not to go out with again.  The story of how King Henry VIII divested himself of wife #1 in order to marry wife #2 is sexy, fascinating and historically significant.  (Greetings, Church of England!)  The tale has been interpreted many times with great success.  (Love you, Keith Michell and Jonathan Rhys Meyers!)  The twist this time is that we see events through the eyes of Thomas Cromwell.  (Farewell the oft portrayed saintly image of Thomas Moore.)  Yet even with this legacy, reputation, and potential, there’s something a little off-putting about the results of this rendition.

Based on two popular award winning novels by Hilary Mantel and brought to life by The Royal Shakespeare Company, Wolf Hall is certainly splendid looking.  Beginning with a lively dance, the rich costumes and period music draw the audience in.  As adapted by Mike Poulton and directed by Jeremy Herrin, Part I moves at a brisk pace injected with a little humor.  However, the storytelling is patchy and potentially confusing for the uninitiated.  For example, Jane Seymour delivers a single line in a spotlight, a moment which only holds significance to those who know she eventually became Henry’s bride #3.

In Part II, events are told even more episodically.  Additionally, while Ben Miles makes a pensive Cromwell, we’ve learned so little about his personal life and credo, we have no sense of him as our guide.  The script becomes a series of call and response scenes in which we have no emotional investment.  Anne Boleyn may hold the future of the realm in her six-fingered hands, but whether she loses her head or embroiders another pillow is of equal interest and concern.

Sadly, Wolf Hall is neither an insightful piece of historical fiction nor a thoroughly entertaining piece of pageantry.  It is, however, 5 1/2 hours long and upwards of $150 a ticket.

Wolf Hall Parts One & Two are playing in repertory at the Winter Garden Theater through July 5, 2015.  For tickets and information, visit http://wolfhallbroadway.com/tickets/.