Sondheim's Old Friends

A

This stellar revue, a hit in London, has moved into Manhattan Theatre Club’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, with Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga heading a largely new cast of 19 superb performers. Unfortunately, Lea Salonga was out for the performance I attended, but her songs were ably performed by other cast members. To winnow the songs down to 40 must have been a challenging task for deviser/producer Cameron Mackintosh. He opted to include songs from West Side Story and Gypsy, shows for which Sondheim wrote just the lyrics, but it’s hard to fault him for that because they are such great numbers. The organizing principle was not one I could grasp; songs from some shows are scattered through the revue while songs from others, such as Sweeney Todd, are presented in a block. There were very few that were new to me.

Other than the amazing Bernadette Peters (Into the Woods, Sunday in the Park with George), who doesn’t seem to age, the only name I recognized was Beth Leavel (The Prom, The Drowsy Chaperone). Joanna Riding is a two-time Olivier winner for best actress in a musical. The other cast members are Jacob Dickey, Kevin Early, Jasmine Forsberg, Kate Jennings Grant, Bonnie Langford, Gavin Lee, Jason Pennycooke, Jeremy Secomb, Kyle Selig, Maria Wirries, Daniel Yearwood, Paige Faure, Alexa Lopez, Greg Mills and Peter Neureuther.

With so many excellent numbers, it’s hard to pick standouts, but I particularly enjoyed Riding’s “Getting Married Today,” Grant and Peters’ “Children Will Listen,” Secomb’s “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd,” Langford’s“ The Worst Pies in London” and “I’m Still Here” and Leavel’s “The Ladies Who Lunch.” I especially liked some of the ensemble numbers in Act II including “Tonight Quintet,” “Broadway Baby” and “Not a Day Goes By.”
The scenic design by Matt Kinley is simple with lights circling arches and edging stairs. There were two side structures that were rolled in for the numbers from “West Side Story” and “Sweeney Todd” that I assume were deliberately ugly to reflect the grimness of their settings. Large projected images of Sondheim surround the proscenium The costumes by Jill Parker featured lots of sequins, mostly in black with a few in color. The excellent orchestra of 17 sounded louder than its size. The choreography by Stephen Mear was smoothly integrated into the songs. Matthew Bourne, credited with direction and musical staging, held everything together to produce a satisfying whole.

My one complaint is an ongoing one about today’s Broadway musicals – overamplification. The loud decibel warning on my Apple watch went off at least once. Sondheim’s lyrics are such an important part of his appeal that one does not want to have them muddied by poor sound design. Fortunately, the problem was intermittent rather than constant and not enough to spoil the experience. 

If you are a Sondheim fan, two and a half hours of pure pleasure awaits you on 47^th Street.
 

Oh, Mary!

B-

When a show receives universal praise and is the hottest ticket on Broadway, there's always a risk that I will have sky-high expectations for it and end up disappointed. That's what happened here. Cole Escola has written a wacky piece of alternate history that portrays Mary Todd Lincoln (Escola) as a former cabaret singer driven to drink by her frustration over having to give up her beloved career. Her husband (Conrad Ricamora) is fighting not only the Civil War, but also his preference for sex with men, especially his naive assistant (Tony Macht.) He has engaged Louise (Bianca Leigh) as Mary's companion to keep her out of trouble, without much success. Finally he hires a handsome acting teacher (James Scully) from a renowned family of actors for her, dangling the vague prospect of her eventual appearance onstage. When Mary accidentally learns Abe's true plans, she does not take it well. Although the play was clearly intended as a showpiece for Escola, he (I refuse to use they as a singular) has been generous to the other actors and gives each a moment to shine. The production values are higher than you would expect in an off-Broadway export. The scenic design by dots is effective, Holly Pierson's costumes are delightful and Leah J. Loukas deserves special mention for Mary's wig with "bratty curls." Sam Pinkleton's precise direction keeps the momentum up. At 80 minutes without intermission, the play still seemed overextended with too many middling stretches between the high points. I knew the humor would be coarse, but I expected it to have more wit and fewer cheap shots. Audience laughter was almost constant, but didn't sound heartfelt. Maybe I just got up on the wrong side of bed. All the critics loved it and it just extended its run again.

Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song

B

 

For 40 years, writer/creator/director Gerard Alessandrini has been entertaining New Yorkers with his clever parodies of Broadway musicals. The 23^rd edition of his Forbidden Broadway series, subtitled “Merrily We Stole a Song,” is now in previews at Theater 555. The show opens with a strong number tracing the development of “Cabaret”’s emcee from Joel Grey to Alan Cumming to Eddie Redmayne. As the subtitle suggests, a substantial portion of the parodied shows this time are Sondheim shows and a slender narrative thread tied to “Back to the Future” suggests what would have happened if he had chosen a career in automobile design instead of musical composition. The show’s Bernadette Peters stand-in shares her disappointment over never having created a Sondheim role. Josh Grobin is called out for being so nice he turned “Sweeney Todd” into Sweety Todd. Daniel Radcliffe is credited for using his Harry Potter magic to finally make “Merrily…” a success. Since I did not see “Suffs,” “Outsiders,” “& Juliet” or “Hells Kitchen,” I can’t evaluate the segments on those shows. This edition is not only up to the minute but actually ahead of the curve, because it includes a skit about Audra’s Mama Rose from “Gypsy” before the show even opens later this Fall. Like any collection of skits, the quality varies, but I would have to say that the general level of inspiration doesn’t seem quite as high as I remember. Nevertheless, the cast of four – Chris Collins-Pisano, Danny Hayward, Nicole Vanessa Ortiz and Jenny Lee Stern – are all very talented and worth seeing in action. Fred Barton is topnotch as musical director/pianist. Gerry McIntire’s choreography is apt, and Dustin Cross’s costumes are inspired. If you enjoy musicals, you are likely to have a good time. Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission.

Once Upon a Mattress

B+

The widely acclaimed Encores production of this 1959 Broadway show with music by Mary Rogers, book by Jay Thompson, Marshall Barer and Dean Fuller, and lyrics by Barer has transferred comfortably to the Hudson Theatre. The book, which sometimes seems patched together and a bit padded, is a sly retelling of the fairy tale of The Princess and the Pea. Sutton Foster, with the unenviable task of following in the footsteps of Carol Burnett, who created the role of Princess Winnifred, is a resounding success. Her madcap physical humor raises slapstick to astral heights and her voice is fine too. She is the main reason to see the show. Until she appears well into the first act, things are becoming a bit draggy, but when she is onstage, the audience is fully engaged. One of the main reasons I wanted to see the show was because Michael Urie was playing Prince Dauntless. Unfortunately, he was out for my performance. His understudy, Daniel Beeman, was perfectly respectable, but lacked the extra spark that Urie brings to his roles.  Ana Gasteyer makes a fine strong-willed Queen Aggravain and David Patrick Kelly does well as King Sextimus the Silent. Will Chase and Nikki Renee Daniels are appealing as the young lovers, Sir Harry and Lady Larken. Brooks Ashmanskas is droll as the wizard. Daniel Breaker does what he can with the underwritten role of the jester. The scenic design by David Zinn is typical for a show that originated at Encores, with a few platforms deep enough to hold chairs and other props in front of the orchestra filling the back of the stage. There are lots of banners, some with anachronistic pictures, e.g. a NYC taxi, for which I did not see the point. The costumes by Andrea Hood are bright and colorful. The choreography by Lauren Latarro is lively. The direction by Lear deBessonet keeps thing moving smoothly. The music serves the show well and the lyrics are often clever. If your funny bone could use a good tickle, this is the show for you. Running time: two hours fifteen minutes including intermission.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                 

N/A

 A-

In his new play at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, Mario Correa (Tail! Spin!) presents his take on the relationship between Nancy Pelosi (Holland Taylor, Ann) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Ana Villafañe, On Your Feet!) during the period between AOC’s surprise upset of the incumbent in the 2018 primary to the days after Pelosi’s decision to step down as House Democratic leader in 2022. How much of their conversations is based on fact and how much on invention is unclear; in the playwright’s words in a program note: “The play is heavily researched and lightly imagined.” Whether fact-based or not, the dialog is lively and often very funny. Between the one-line zingers, each one makes a strong case for her own view of political philosophy and strategy. Correa scrupulously does not put his finger on the scale. Both actors are fine. Villafañe’s resemblance to AOC is uncanny. Myung Hee Cho’s (Breaking the Story) costumes are apt; her minimalist set is supplemented by the sparing but intelligent use of projections by Possible. Diane Paulus (Pippin, Waitress) directs with a sure hand. All in all, it was a very enjoyable afternoon. Running time: 80 minutes.

NOTE: Although this play is at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, it is not a production of Lincoln Center Theater.

Here There Are Blueberries

A- 

I was going to skip seeing this co-production of New York Theatre Workshop and Tectonic Theater Project, because its focus is a peek at the daily lives of the people who ran Auschwitz, a topic that sounded too similar to that of the excellent film “The Zone of Interest,” which I had recently seen. That would have been a shame. Although both concentrate on the perpetrators rather than the victims of the Holocaust, their effect is quite different and the present work has larger ambitions. In the manner of his earlier work for Tectonic The Laramie Project, Moises Kaufman, who conceived, co-wrote (with Amanda Gronich) and directed the play, employs documentary techniques that emphasize interviews and research to tell the story. 60 years after the end of WWII, the archivists at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum receive a letter from an anonymous retired US Army officer inquiring whether they would like to see an album that he has had in his possession all those years. (After his death, several passports with different identities were found in his home. Who he was and why he kept the album secret for so long would be an interesting story in itself.) The album, while fascinating, raises questions of whether the museum should acquire anything that features the Nazis rather than their victims. The young archivist who receives the album, Rebecca Erbelding (Elizabeth Stahlmann) receives permission to study the album in her spare time. Eventually it is discovered that the album belonged to Karl Hocker, adjutant to commandant Richard Baer. The vacation lodge pictured where the Nazi officers and the attractive young female radio operators enjoy their leisure time is actually in a remote section of the Auschwitz property. Many of the officers in the album are identified, resulting in a dire awakening for their descendants who did not know the extent of their involvement in the extermination program. Ironically, two of the characters who receive the fullest treatment are the chief doctor’s son Tilman Taube (Jonathan Raviv) who pursues the truth and tries to recruit others to do the same, and  the commandant’s grandson Rainer Hoss (Charlie Thurston), whose life is nearly ruined by his discovery.  The only prisoner we hear from is Lili Jacob (Stahlmann again), who uncannily is the person to find another album that records the day of her arrival and has pictures of herself and her family. The banality of evil is a pervasive theme throughout. The opening is surprising. An ad for Leica featuring a spotlit camera morphs into a Leica commercial and a discussion of the importance of photography becoming accessible to the masses. Later, both the power and limitations of photography as an information source are addressed. The production is greatly enhanced by Derek McLane’s set, David Lander’s lighting and David Bengali’s projection design. Dede Ayite’s costumes do not call attention to themselves. The cast of eight are all strong, with Stahlmann and Kathleen Chalfant standing out. The many strands are intricately knit into a series of short scenes. The result is consistently interesting, but never as gripping as Tectonic’s masterpiece The Laramie Project. Some critics have criticized it – unfairly, in my opinion – for not addressing current events in Gaza. I found it a worthwhile contribution to our understanding of the events of its time. Running time: 90 minutes.

 

Buena Vista Social Club

B+

 

This vibrant musical at Atlantic Theater Company was inspired by the bestselling 1997 album of authentic Cuban music from the 1950s played by the musicians who had performed it 40 years before at the long-gone titular venue, as well as by the Oscar-nominated 1999 Wim Wenders documentary about them. The talented director Saheem Ali (Fat Ham) developed the project with David Yazbek (The Band’s Visit) as creative consultant. Marco Ramirez (The Royale) wrote the book. The wonderful music, which is the beating heart of the show, is taken from the original album and its successors. The book, which overcompensates in breadth for what it lacks in depth, touches at least briefly on a lot of themes, including ambition, betrayal, colorism, class, regret and the stirrings of revolution. We meet several of the musicians at the time of the recording and flash back to fictionalized versions of their relationships during the 1950s. Omara (Natalie Venetia Belcon; The Glorious Ones) is a popular recording artist with a reputation as a diva, who condescends to fill in as singer on the album. In her youth, she (Kenya Browne) sang in a touristy sister act at the Tropicana with her sister Haydee (Dayana Esperanza; Mary Jane). When she is introduced to authentic Cuban music at the Buena Vista Social Club, she decides to leave her sister to sing with Ibrahim (Olly Sholotan; “Bel Air”) but his dark skin becomes an obstacle. The old songs played at the recording session stir up old feelings. The musicians are all superb, but I must single out tres player Renesito Avich and flutist Hery Paz for special mention. Choreographers Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck (Carousel) have created some lively nightclub dance numbers for three couples, but their abstract duos for surrogates of the young sisters left me cold. Arnulfo Maldonado’s (A Strange Loop) efficient set combines the seedy club with the recording studio, a seaside promenade and the Tropicana. Dede Ayite’s (Slave Play) costumes are appropriately colorful. At times I wished there were English translations for the songs, but surtitles might have been a distraction. The relative weakness of the book is more than compensated for by the quality of the musical performances. I think I would have enjoyed it just as much, if not more, if they had forgone the book and just presented a concert. Running time: two hours including intermission.