Memoirs of Amorous Gentlemen

B-

The tragedy of composer/lyricist Duncan Sheik’s recent death at 56 is compounded by the fact that he did not live to see either the upcoming revival of his Tony-winner Spring Awakening or the opening of this, his final musical, now in previews at The Night Egg at The Culture Club. My expectations upon arrival were completely misguided -- I thought the show was based on the life of the famous French author Colette, but it turned out to be based on the eponymous heroine of a popular Japanese manga graphic novel, whose only connection to the former was that she too became a writer. This Colette (Sophia Anne Caruso) is a whore in a mid-range Parisian bordello, with a boyfriend since childhood named Leon (Cory Jeacoma) who turns out to be an utter scoundrel. We also meet some of the other whores – the overweight, over-the-hill Carmen (Elsa Keefe); Ivy (Leanne Antonio), the lesbian infatuated with Colette; Gigi --not that one! – (Jesse Peltier), Mignot (Jaedynn Latter), their no-nonsense madame (Jenny Powers), and, finally, Nana (Nkeki Obi-Melekwe), the higher-class whore for whom Leon furtively lusts. The clients, who include a man who wants to be a bird, another who wants to be a clown who watches the circus girls from inside a trunk, and one who wants to be a dog on a leash, are played by Michael Everett, Caleb Marshall, Austin Lesch and Michael Starr – I would tell you who was which, but I’m uncertain. Sakae (Marc dela Cruz) is a Japanese blocked writer who pays Colette to keep a notebook which he hopes will inspire him. One of the women suggests that Colette enter a story contest offering the winner publication in Le Matin (an inside joke because the real Colette became literary editor of Le Matin). She wins but at a cost. The book by Leah Nanako Winkler plays well. I liked Sheik’s pop rock music better than the lyrics – “For whom do you long” may be exemplary grammar but not very conversational. I didn’t think the songs ever reached the level of Spring Awakening, American Psycho or The Secret Life of Bees. The cast is universally strong, especially Caruso, who has to do most of the heavy lifting. Scott Pask’s set features a scruffy circus ring. Except for a bed that lowers and rises as needed, the set is strictly low-tech – instead of a turntable, we get two stagehands in black pushing a ladder around the ring. Catherine Zuber’s costumes and Brian Tovar’s lighting add a lot to the production. The choreography by Rob Ashford, who also directed, includes one brief pas de deux near the end that struck me as incongruous. The simulated sex scenes were more athletically impressive than lascivious. There is no nudity. When I saw how edgy and youthful the arriving audience looked, I realized that I was definitely not the target audience for this show. Nevertheless, it was an interesting way to spend 90 minutes.

American Psycho ***

This musical version of Brett Easton Ellis’s controversial 1991 novel about Patrick Bateman (the mesmerizing Benjamin Walker), an investment banker by day and serial killer by night, is a triumph of style over substance. Although I have neither read the book nor seen the movie, I gather that the musical has smoothed out a lot of the rough edges and reduced the body count substantially. Satire trumps gore most of the time. The soullessness of consumerist capitalism in the Reagan era is well-captured by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s book, Duncan Sheik’s music and lyrics, Lynn Page’s choreography and Rupert Goold’s direction. The gadgets, brands, clubs and restaurants may have changed but the spirit of entitlement in 1989 New York is not all that different from today’s. Bateman and his coworkers are as vacuous as their pecs are buff. The women are equally unlikable. The monochromatic scenic design by Es Devlin and sophisticated projections by Finn Ross are so striking that they sometimes threaten to upstage the actors. Among them are Helene York as Bateman’s obnoxious fiancee, Jennifer Damiano as his love-struck secretary, Drew Moerlein as his rival, Morgan Weed as his mistress and Alice Ripley, basically wasted, as his mother. The whirling sets, hyperactive videos, bright lights (by Justin Townsend) and gaudy costumes (by Katrina Lindsay) eventually produced a feeling of sensory overload and a diminishing conviction that the story was worth all the effort involved. The second act loses some of the early energy. Nevertheless, as its best moments, the show’s style overcomes its flaws and makes for edgy entertainment. The audience, considerably younger than usual for Broadway, was quite enthusiastic. Running time: 2 hours, 35 minutes including intermission.

My 1,000th Post!

 

Little did I know back in 2010 what I was getting myself into when I started this blog by publishing a few lines about a play I had just seen to share my impressions with a few friends. As my comments grew more extensive, these friends shared them with their friends and the number of readers grew. I began seeing more shows and writing more elaborate reviews, reaching a peak of 112 in 2018. A combination of health problems and the pandemic slowed me down for several years and I hit bottom with only four reviews in 2024. The loyalty of my readers encouraged me not to give up. Thanks to my doctors and Access-A-Ride, NYC's paratransit program, I have been able to resume a good portion of my theatergoing. And so, as I reach this landmark, I offer my gratitude to my readers and resolve to continue for as long as possible to fulfill my stated mission -- to prevent readers from wasting time and money on plays they are not likely to enjoy and to point them toward worthy plays they might not know about.

School Girls; or, The African Mean Girls Play (Broadway)

A-

Since I enjoyed this comedy by Jocelyn Bioh thoroughly when I saw it at MCC Theater nine years ago, I was happy to hear that Manhattan Theatre Club was bringing it to Broadway where more people could enjoy it. This production, with an all-new cast and an all-female, all-black creative team, adds some star power to the casting with Denée Benton of “The Gilded Age,” Jasmine Amy Rogers of Boop! The Musical, and Patina Miller, Tony awardee for Pippin. Benton plays Paulina, the reigning mean girl at Aburi Girls Boarding School in central Ghana in 1986. Ama (Lucia Aremu), Gitty (Nia Otchere-Sarfo), Mercy (Jordan Rice) and the obese Nana (Erin Morton), are the long-suffering members of the clique Paulina bullies. Headmistress Francis (Heather Alicia Simms) is the calm center of the school. When the play opens, the girls are excited about the upcoming Miss Ghana contest. A recruiter, Eloise (Miller) is coming to audition the girls for the pageant. Being chosen as Miss Ghana is rewarding not only to the winner but involves a bonus to the recruiter who found her and a contribution to the school she came from. Pauline’s clear path to being selected the school’s contestant is suddenly blocked by the arrival of a new girl, Ericka (Rogers), recently arrived from Ohio and daughter of the country’s leading cocoa producer. Ericka is beautiful, talented and, most importantly, light-skinned. Eloise immediately wants her because her light skin gives Eloise a better chance of winning a bonus, while the headmistress prefers Paulina. We see the lengths to which Paulina and Eloise will go to get their way. Although there are loads of laughs, the insidious presence of colorism darkens the humor. The front curtain is a huge Ghanaian flag which lifts to reveal the school cafeteria designed by Teresa L. Williams. The costumes by Qween Jean for the gown competition are attention grabbers. Whitney White’s direction is fluid. Everything comes together to provide a very enjoyable experience. Running time: 85 minutes, no intermission.
NOTE: If you would like to read my review of the 2017 production, here’s the link:
https://tinyurl.com/ycx7x2cr
 

THEATER BULLETIN: A unique Broadway double presale

Beginning Thursday, September 10 at Noon, two Broadway premieres of plays by Pulitzer-winning playwrights go on sale as a package deal -- Bruce Norris’s 2022 drama Downstate and Bess Wohl’s 2015 Small Mouth Sounds, both directed by multiple Tony winner Joe Mantello. The rules are very complicated so I have attached a link to the press release below, but the gist of it is that if you buy a ticket for the limited Fall run of Downstate for $150 or more, you are assured a ticket for the Spring run of Small Mouth Sounds for “only” $250. I liked the Norris play very much (https://tinyurl.com/2rwdn887) and highly recommend it. While I enjoyed Small Mouth Sounds too (https://tinyurl.com/4h9xnx7b), I can’t imagine it in a Broadway theater, nor can I image anyone paying $250 or more to see it. A large part of the appeal of its earlier production was that that there were only two rows of seats on facing sides of a long, narrow stage, so you felt very close to the action. If Mantello can recapture that feeling of intimacy, he is truly a miracle worker. My advice is to sit tight until September 25, when separate tickets for Downstate go on sale. This is a marketing ploy by Scott Rudin that I hope doesn’t catch on.

Link to press release: 

https://tinyurl.com/mrc3272a

FLASH: The Times just announced that Julia Roberts, Paul Rudd, Sarah Paulson and Martin Freeman will be in the Small Mouth Sounds cast. I suppose it's an easy opportunity for them to appear on Broadway without having to learn a lot of lines and a reason to charge big bucks for tickets.

Paranormal Activity

B-

In 2007 a very low-budget indie horror film with the same name, about a young couple in a haunted house, was a surprise hit that went on to become one of the most profitable movies Hollywood ever made. Its gimmick was that the story was presented as found footage recorded by security cameras, at that time the utmost in high tech. Six sequels followed. Now, playwright Levi Holloway has taken up the gauntlet with a theatrical version for the age of Alexa, FaceTime and Zoom. Lou (Cher Alvarez) and James (Travis A. Knight), a bickering young couple who have been married for almost a year, have just moved from Chicago to London, mainly to escape Lou’s anxiety, depression and blackouts, caused by a sense that she is being haunted. Alas, they learn that you can’t leave your troubles behind, and we eventually learn that Lou is not the only one being haunted. We also meet James’s Bible-thumping Southern mother Carolanne (Shannon Cochran) and a medium, Etheline Cosgrave (Eva Kaminsky), whose podcasts Lou has been avidly following. The actors are all well-suited to their roles. There are enough laughs to keep the rising tension from boiling over. Fly Davis’s cross-section of a rather dowdy London house provides a suitable setting for the action, with failing fuses, tripped alarms, banging doors and more. Designer Chris Fisher gives us two illlusions, one in each act, that got enthusiastic ovations. Note that I mention applause, not screams – I did not hear a single scream during the entire play. There were a few moments that were startling, but not truly scary. For me, things didn’t really kick into gear until the last fifteen minutes when we finally learn more about Lou and James and why they are being punished. The ending is so abrupt that if you blink you will miss it. The younger than usual audience was attentive, but not demonstrative. Most of the major New York critics gave the play enthusiastic reviews. I wish I could join them, but I thought two hours was a long time to sit there for a very modest payoff. 

Amaze

B+

This magic show/memoir featuring Jamie Allan, a British magician/monologist who intersperses memories of his childhood with a series of amazing illusions, sleight of hand and mentalist tricks, has been running at New World Stages for over a year.

Allan grew up over a village pub owned by his loving, supportive parents. His mother, who sang at the pub’s cabaret, died when he was still a child. The show is in large part a tribute to her. 

Some of the tricks are small scale, involving Rubik cubes, playing cards and a jigsaw puzzle, but they are projected on three large screens. The first act ends with a spectacular levitation with a surprise twist at the end. The second act involves more tech, including video screens, iPads and, in a trick that especially baffled me, the calculators on the audience members’ cellphones. There is low-key audience participation, mostly with children. The set and projections are quite elaborate. His two female assistants are duly attractive. At two hours with intermission, it’s a little long. Some of the reminiscences are a bit long-winded and could be trimmed to pick up the pace. Nevertheless, it delivers on its title and is a good family show. Discount tickets are available on TodayTix.