The Sorceress

B

The National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (NYTF) has returned to the Museum of Jewish Heritage with another restored Yiddish operetta, this one written by Avrom Goldfaden in 1877 and historic for being the first Yiddish theater piece produced in New York back in 1883 (by Boris Thomashevsky no less.) It is the first fruit of the Global Restoration Initiative, a painstaking effort to restore and present significant works of the Yiddish theater. Wisely edited from three hours down to 85 minutes, It offers a peek at what passed for popular entertainment in an earlier era. One of its features is the incorporation of tropes from fairy tales into the operetta’s book. As fans of NYTF have come to expect, the production values are very high, with excellent actors, musicians, costumes (by Izzy Fields), a clever set (by Dara Wishingrad) and lively choreography (by Merete Muenter) that makes the most of a smallish stage. Jazmine Gorsline and Josh Kohane are fine as the affianced couple. Rachel Bolchan is a convincing evil stepmother. The drag role of Bobe Yakhne is enthusiastically performed by Mikhl Yashinsky. Steve Sterner is a hoot as the itinerant merchant Hotsmakh. Motl Didner’s direction keeps the pace brisk. As usual for NYTF, there are surtitles in both English and Russian. While pleasant enough, the work is far from memorable. (For memorable, you’ll have to try the Russian coffee cake at the museum’s restaurant, Lox.) The show almost makes up in charm what it lacks in depth. If you expect something as good as NYTF’s The Golden Bride, you may be disappointed. I am afraid that the Times’s Critic’s Pick designation may set expectations too high. Lower yours a notch and you are likely to enjoy yourself. Running time: 85 minutes; no intermission. Closes December 29.

The Year in Review

Gotham Playgoer Year in Review — 2019

A+ (excellent)

My Fair Lady (revisited)

A

All My Sons

A- (very good)

Enter Laughing: The Musical

Eureka Day

Hadestown (Broadway)

Ink

Little Shop of Horrors

Make Believe

Moulin Rouge

A Strange Loop

B+ (good)

Ain’t No Mo

By the Way, Meet Vera Stark

Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven

The Inheritance

Kiss Me, Kate!

Merrily We Roll Along

Mojada

The Rolling Stone

Seared

The Secret Life of Bees

Tootsie

Underground Railroad Game

White Noise

B 

Bella, Bella

Frankie & Johnny in the Clair de Lune

Handbagged

The New Englanders

Power Strip

Something Clean

The Sorceress
Summer Shorts: Series B

We’re Only Alive for a Short Amount of Time

B-

Boesman and Lena

Greater Clements

The Lehman Trilogy

Linda Vista

Moscow, Moscow, Moscow, Moscow, Moscow, Moscow

The Mountains Look Different

Novenas for a Lost Hospital

Octet

The Pain of My Belligerence

Rinse, Repeat

The Sound Inside

Superhero

Switzerland

C+ (fair)

The Cake

The Cradle Will Rock

The Height of the Storm

LaBute New Theater Festival

The Light

Little Women

The Mother

Mrs. Murray’s Menagerie

Socrates

Toni Stone

C

Burn This

Do You Feel Anger?

The Great Society

Hillary and Clinton

Nantucket Sleigh Ride

Scotland, PA

Soft Power

Summer Shorts: Series A

Two’s a Crowd

The Wrong Man

The Young Man from Atlanta

C-

Alice by Heart

BLKS

Continuity

Curse of the Starving Class

“Daddy”

Fleabag

Happy Talk

Heroes of the Fourth Turning

Life Sucks.

Long Lost

Nomad Motel

True West

D (poor)

Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus

Norma Jeane Baker of Troy

F (terrible)

The Waiting Game

If you would like to read my review of any of the plays listed, simply type the name in the search box at the left side of the menu bar next to the stylized B logo.

Here is a comparison with the last two years. Interestingly, the percentage of B’s has remained constant. but the percentage of C's has increased while the percentage of both A’s and D’s has decreased. Fewer bright spots but fewer clunkers. You may have noticed that I reviewed about 30% fewer plays this year. I was seeing more than I could enjoy so I have deliberately cut back.

                    2019    2018                    2017  

A, A-            13%     17%                      14%                               

B+, B, B-     42%            42%                       42%

C+, C, C-     41%     32%                       32%

D+, D, D-       3%          7%                       11%

F                    1%        0%                        1%

I                     0%          2%                        0%

Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven

B+

Stephen Adly Guirgis’s ambitious new play about the residents and staff of an Upper West Side halfway house for women is now at Atlantic Theater Company’s Linda Gross Theater in a coproduction with LAByrinth Theater Company. With 18 actors and a goat playing 21 roles and a running time of almost three hours, it operates on a large scale. The residents include Happy Meal Sonia (Wilemina Olivia-Garcia), a mentally unstable woman overdependent on her daughter Taina (Viviana Valeria); Wanda Wheels (Patrice Johnson Chevannes), a depressed wheelchair-bound elderly former nightclub entertainer who once dated Noam Chomsky and who takes a motherly interest in Queen Sugar (Benja Kay Thomas), who is involved in an Amway-like scam; Betty Woods (Kristina Poe), a morbidly obese woman who doesn’t bathe; Bella (Andrea Syglowski), a young recovering addict with a baby; Sarge (Liza Colon-Zayas), the female vet with PTSD with whom Bella is involved; Venus Ramirez (Esteban Andres Cruz), a trans woman resented by the other residents but lusted after by custodian Joey Fresco (Victor Almanzar); Munchies (Pernell Walker), a buxom beauty having a fling with Mr. Mobo (Neil Tyrone Pritchard), the Nigerian immigrant who is second in command to devoted director Miss Rivera (Elizabeth Rodriguez). There is also the addled Rockaway Rosie (Elizabeth Canavan) and two youngsters: Mateo (Sean Carvajal), whose mother is dying from a kidney disease and Little Melba Diaz (Kara Young), who has a knack for rap. Jennifer (Molly Collier) is a freshly minted Columbia MSW overwhelmed by her first job but eager to do good. Father Miguel (David Anzuelo) is the kindly but forceful local priest. Nicky (Greg Keller) is an abusive husband who wants to see his wife. Late in the play we meet Detective Sullivan (Keller again) and Councilwoman Golden (Syglowski again) who are investigating the disappearance of Mr. Skittles, one of the goats brought to Riverside Park to eat weeds who have become celebrities with their own FaceBook pages. Almost every character gets a moment to shine, often with a monologue that raises urban patois practically to the level of operatic aria. Some are hilarious, others are heartbreaking. The stories of the characters are linked loosely by a narrative that involves the disappearance of a resident, which gets less attention from the police than the disappearance of the goat. The set by Narelle Sissons (All My Sons) features a cross section of the house with a dilapidated meeting room. A couple of scenes take place outside the home on either side of the stage at audience level. (I would suggest not getting seats in rows B through D to avoid having sightline problems for these scenes.) The costumes by Alexis Forte (Our Lady of 121st Street) suit their characters. The direction by LAByrinth artistic director John Ortiz (Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train) is fluid. I do think that Guirgis might have trimmed a character or two and come up with a stronger ending. While I did not feel the play quite reached the level of some of his other plays (The Motherf**ker with the Hat, Between Riverside and Crazy), I did find it worthwhile. One of the pleasures was to reconnect with several marvelous actors who appeared in other Guirgis plays. If you don’t know his work, be prepared for rough language and sexual situations. Running time: 2 hours 50 minutes.

Little Shop of Horrors

A-

Did New York really need another revival of this oft-produced cult musical by the talented team of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken? Without having seen it, I would have said “no” and I would have been wrong. This is a revival with a difference, combining big talent with small scale. It is not often that we get to see Broadway stars like Christian Borle (Something Rotten!, Peter and the Starcatcher, Falsettos) and Jonathan Groff (Spring Awakening, Hair, Hamilton) in such an intimate space, in this case the Westside Theatre. Since the show only has eight actors (one of whom is unseen) plus two puppeteers, it really belongs in a small theater rather than on Broadway. (Alas, Broadway talent, even in an off-Broadway theater, comes with Broadway prices.) The ever-watchable Christian Borle is amazing here in several different roles, most notably that of Orin, the sadistic dentist (a role created by Jack Nicholson in the original Roger Corman film). He makes it clear why he has two Tonys. The versatile Jonathan Groff captures both the nebbish and the opportunist in Seymour. Tammy Blanchard (Gypsy, How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying), in the unenviable position of following the memorable Ellen Greene as Audrey, wisely does not attempt to imitate her. Blanchard’s Audrey seems even more world-weary and insecure. Her voice, while pleasant, is no match for Greene’s. Tom Alan Robbins (Head Over Heels, Newsies) is fine as Mushnik, Seymour and Audrey’s gruff boss. The three urchins — Ronnette (Ari Groover; Head Over Heels), Crystal (Salome Smith) and Chiffon (Joy Woods)— who serve as Skid Row’s amusing Greek chorus, are terrific although it is occasionally difficult to hear their lyrics over the orchestra. The unseen Kingsley Leggs (Sister Act, Pretty Woman) nails the voice of Audrey II, the plant with a taste for human blood. The puppet, designed by Nicholas Mahon, is wonderful and is skillfully manipulated by Eric Wright (Madama Butterfly at the Met) and Teddy Yudain (The Little Match Girl at Spoleto USA). Julian Crouch’s (Head Over Heels, Big Fish) modest set is efficient. Tom Broecker’s (Everyday Rapture, “Saturday Night Live”) costumes are apt. Director Michael Mayer’s (Spring Awakening, Brooklynite) flawless direction pulls it all together splendidly. The book and lyrics by Ashman (Smile, Beauty and the Beast) and the music by Menken (Beauty and the Beast, Newsies, Aladdin) continue to delight. Each of the stars seemed to have an avid fan base from previous stage, film or television appearances; the audience was wildly enthusiastic. I was glad I splurged on a ticket because it was a very enjoyable evening. Running time: two hours including intermission. 

NOTES: 

After January 19, Jonathan Groff will be replaced by Gideon Glick, who filled in for him for two weeks when he had another commitment. 

It is unfortunate that the upstairs theater at Westside is inaccessible to wheelchairs.