The Saviors

 A

I was considerably less impressed than the critics with Bubba Weller’s first play, Well I’ll Let You Go, so I approached his sophomore effort, now at Atlantic Theater Company, with some trepidation. I needn’t have worried – it turned out to be one of the best plays I have seen this season. It’s primarily about two altar boys, Michael (Ivan Howe) and Paul (Julius Kinzel), who are best friends. Michael believes in going by the book and his vision of life is circumscribed by unquestioned expectations of parochial high school, the local Catholic college and a contented life in the parish. Paul is more flexible and compassionate and has broader visions for his future. Judy (Crystal Finn) is the parish’s organist and most prominent member, whose son is doing good at an African orphanage. Julian (Stanley Simons) is a homeless man who turns up at the church one cold winter evening while Michael and Paul are still there. I don’t want to say much more about the plot so you can experience its powerful moments on your own. I have not been in an audience that was so totally rapt in quite a while. The two 14-year-olds are both excellent, as are the other two actors. With one exception, the play is structured as a series of scenes for two in all the possible combinations. David Zinn’s set looks just like the altar of a neighborhood church. Avery Reed’s costumes are apt. Jack Serio, who also directed Weller’s first play, shows a real feel for his sensibility. It was good to see Weller deliver on the promise he hinted at in his first play. As for the title, I leave it for you to decide who’s saving whom. Running time: 95 minutes, no intermission. NOTE: It's on TDF for several performances this coming week.

Theater Bulletin: Birthright extension

 I am happy to report that MCC has extended their sold-out production of Birthright, which the Times made a Critic's Pick and I reviewed favorably, until August 23rd. Go to the MCC website to buy tickets.

From the archives: my very first review August 28, 2010 -- Me, Myself & I * (1* out of 5)

"Much Ado about Nothing" would have been a more appropriate title for Edward Albee's play at Playwrights Horizons. I suspect Albee had more fun writing it than you will watching it. Tons of style, milligrams of content. Lots of shouting and posturing. Elizabeth Ashley and Brian Murray are fun though. Zachary Booth has a nice backside. Don't leave at intermission or you'll miss an amusing stage effect near the end.

Is this a a trend in theater bathrooms?

When Geffen Hall introduced a unisex. all-stall bathroom off the lobby, it was initially a surprise, but I quickly got used to it. However, yesterday at MCC Theater, I encountered something I had never seen before: women in the men's room. Apparently some women have interpreted the sign outside the restrooms that says you can use whichever one makes you comfortable as an invitation to avoid the longer lines to the women's room. I must admit it made me uncomfortable having a woman standing a couple of feet away while I was accomplishing my mission. Has anyone else encountered this at another theater? 

Birthright

 A-

This new MCC Theater production penned by Jonathan Spector, author of Eureka Day, is named for the program that offers free 10-day trips to Israel to young Jewish adults to strengthen their Jewish identity and connection to Israel. In it we meet six participants of a trip 20 years ago at their reunions three weeks later, 10 years later in October 2016 and, finally, in 2024. Chaya (Zoe Winters) and Izzy (Molly Bernard) have been friends since preschool, but the others – Alona (Molly Ranson), Noah (Eli Gelb), Emerson (Nate Mann) and Lev (Hale Appelman) – have not met before the trip. They have bonded into a mishpacha (family) who decide to try to retain that bond over the years. Their first reunion, at Chaya’s home in the Virginia suburbs, is partially an intervention to prevent Alona from abandoning her doctoral studies and making Aliyah (moving to Israel) to join the IDF soldier who deflowered her on the trip. Lev, who mysteriously disappeared halfway through the trip, arrives late and explains that he left the trip to have his own unmediated experience. Noah is a blogging pioneer with unreciprocated feelings for Chaya. She plans to join the Obama campaign. Emerson, who has been kicked out of his rock band, decides to become an EMT. Izzy wants to found a Jewish social justice program that addresses problems in the U.S. Lev shocks the group by announcing that he wants to go to rabbinical school. Chaya's mother Deborah (Liz Larsen) puts in an appearance to share her wisdom.

The second act takes place around the hot tub at Chaya’s house. This time they have gathered for a wedding. (There is a brief nude scene between Emerson and Chaya that led the producers to make the audience put their phones in Yondr bags. Since the scene could easily have been staged in a manner that would not have required this, I think it was either a marketing ploy or a smart move to keep the audience focused on the play during the two intermissions.) We learn how their plans worked out – or didn’t – over the decade since their first reunion. The upcoming election is barely mentioned with Hillary’s election seeming assured.

While the first two acts were interesting, for me the play did not really build up full steam until the final act, set in 2024. This time they are gathered for a shiva (Jewish wake). In addition to their personal loss, they are grieving over the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel and the subsequent retaliation wreaked on Gaza. We learn how each of their lives has been adversely affected by these events. Spector is even-handed, allowing his characters to express at least three diametrically opposed viewpoints without taking sides. Although the arguments are cogently presented, I felt that Spector’s focus was more on the characters than on the 

arguments.

Along the way, there is lots of humor as well. A subsidiary theme is the increasing corrosiveness of social media over the years, which Spector literally shows us by projecting emails and chats on the walls.

The actors are all excellent. Occasionally I missed a line when an actor was speaking at high speed and low volume.  Terry Bergman’s direction holds everything  together well. Scott Pask’s beautiful traditional living room set in act one takes on a modern look in act three. The costumes by Clint Ramos are all spot-on. 

In summary, the play was slow to build but worth the wait for the payoff in the final act. I somehow expected that there would be more about the issues but the playwright instead chose to concentrate on his characters. I am not sure how much appeal the play has for non-Jews.

Running time: three hours 20 minutes including two 15-minute intermissions.
 
 

A Walk on the Moon

B

If you have not seen Tony Goldwyn’s 1999 film of the same name starring Diane Lane, Liev Schreiber, Tovah Feldshuh, Anna Paquin and Viggo Mortensen, about the summer of 1969 in a Catskill bungalow colony, you will probably find this musical quite enjoyable. If, on the other hand, you love the film, I’m not sure your response will be as positive. When a play or film is musicalized, the question I ask is whether the quality of the score and choreography compensates for the simplification of plot and character needed to make room for the songs. In this instance it’s a close call. While the music by Annmarie Milazzo is pleasant, there is nothing that could cause an earworm. The lyrics by Milazzo and Pamela Gray are occasionally clunky. The book, also by Gray, who wrote the original screenplay, is intelligent and opens the story beyond the moon landing and Woodstock to a broader canvas that includes feminism and protest movements. The second act actually improves on the screenplay by leaving out an incident that was implausible and unnecessary. I was puzzled why they increased the daughter’s age by a year and left out a scene about her first period. The cast is mostly solid. Talia Suskauer has a strong voice and is convincing as Pearl, a wife and mother who fears that life is passing her by. Max Chernin is credible as Marty, her hard-working, loving, but boring husband. Sam Gravitte has the vocal and acting chops to succeed as Walker, the sexy itinerant blouse man; he drew lots of oohs and ahs when he removed his shirt. Andrea Burns, who I usually look forward to seeing, looks too young to be anyone’s bubby. On the other hand, Sophie Pollono looks too old to play Alison, the 15-year-old daughter, and, for reasons unknown, has been saddled with an unfortunate Brooklyn accent that none of the other actors share. Oscar Williams hits the right notes vocally and dramatically as her boyfriend Ross. As her younger brother Danny, Reid Gardner Clarke doesn’t have much to do. Anthony Faria, David R. Gordon, Megan Kane, Caroline Pernick, Becca Suskauer and Michael Tacconi are fine as the neighboring three couples. The amusing loudspeaker announcements that regulate life in the bungalow colony are voiced by Tovah Feldshuh. The period costumes by Ricky Lurie and hair and wig design by Matthew Armentraut are excellent. The scenic design by Tal Yarden is efficient but his video projections are often hard to make out. The lighting by Robert Wiesel was sometimes garish. The home movie that fills the stage before the play starts seems pointless. Josh Prince’s choreography is used sparingly but effectively. Sheryl Kaller’s direction keeps things moving smoothly. According to the program, some version of this production has been kicking around since 2014, first at Vassar, then at ACT in Cambridge, then at George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick. I can’t imagine why it took twelve years to get to New York, but in a season when new musicals have been scarce, it’s a welcome addition. It’s playing at Roundabout’s Laura Pels Theatre, but it’s not a Roundabout production. Running time: two hours 15 minutes including intermission.

El Ultimo Sueño de Frida y Diego

 

B-

Having greatly enjoyed the two most recent new productions of the Met season, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay and Innocence,  I was hoping for a trifecta with this New York premiere. Alas, it was not to be. While I admire the ambition of composer Gabriela Lena Frank and librettist Nilo Cruz, the result of their efforts is a mixed bag. The overstuffed production by director/choreographer Deborah Colker is partly to blame. The libretto is almost a mirror of the Orpheus story. Instead of Diego going to the Underworld to bring Frida back, Frida returns from the Underworld on the Day of the Dead to bring Diego back. That’s the plot in a nutshell, except that it is padded by a totally unrelated subplot about a Garbo impersonator who wants to bring joy to a devoted fan with a visit from her. There are also philosophical meditations on art and life that don’t easily lend themselves to dramatization. The libretto does little to flesh out the two main characters. Isabel Leonard and Carlos Alvarez are credible in the title roles, but Leonard’s voice often did not project well over the orchestra. Most notable vocally and dramatically was Gabriella Reyes, as Catrina, Keeper of the Dead. Nils Wanderer was fine as Leonardo, the Garbo impersonator. I’m sure Jon Bausor’s cluttered sets have many allegorical meanings that I missed. The costumes, by Bausor and Wilberth Gonzalez, are a riot of color. Colker’s staging often crams the excellent large Met chorus onstage either to move around aimlessly or just stand there. Dancers occasionally reflect or emphasize the narrative. Finally, there’s the score, ably conducted by Yannick Nezet-Seguin. It provides a lush sonic carpet to support the voices but has virtually no highs or lows. There were no arias with a clear ending that provided opportunity for applause. All in all, it was a disappointment. Running time: two hours 25 minutes including one intermission.