The Confession of Lily Dare

B+

If you have a low tolerance for high camp and Charles Busch’s (The Divine Sister, Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife) brand of female impersonation, you can skip this play and the rest of this review. If, on the other hand, you are a Busch devotee, you will want to hurry to the Cherry Lane Theatre for his newest play's Primary Stages premiere. My fears that Busch’s usual shtick might have gone stale by now proved unfounded. As both performer and playwright, he is in good form. In the words of the program, the title character, played by Busch of course, goes “from convent girl to cabaret chanteuse to infamous madame.” Busch has been very generous to the rest of the cast, particularly to Jennifer van Dyck (The Divine Sister, Two Shakespearean Actors) and Christopher Borg (Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind), both of whom get ample time to shine in multiple juicy roles. The other three actors only have a single role to fill. Nancy Anderson (Wonderful Town, A Class Act) and Kendal Sparks (Judith of Bethulia, Where’s Charley) are both fine as Lily’s longtime friends. The final cast member is none other than Howard McGillin (The Phantom of the Opera, Anything Goes), who fits right in as Lily’s suave nemesis. As in any Busch work, there is no shortage of laugh lines. Lily’s cabaret rendition of “Pirate Joe” is worth the price of admission. The action does lag occasionally; a slight trim would be beneficial. The costumes by Rachel Townsend and wigs by Katherine Carr are a show all by themselves. The set by Brian T. Whitehill (You Should Be So Lucky) is not at the same level, but good enough. Carl Andress (The Divine Sister, Die Mommie Die!) once again shows his talent for directing Busch’s work. Depending on your comfort level for camp, you will either be delighted or miserable. Running time: two hours including intermission.

Grand Horizons

B+

Of the three Bess Wohl plays to make it to New York this season (the other two were Continuity and Make Believe), this new play, which marks Wohl’s Broadway debut. is far and away the funniest and slickest. While it lacks the innovation of Make Believe or Wohl’s earlier play Small Mouth Sounds, and has a few minor problems, it is irresistibly entertaining. Furthermore, it provides a marvelous showcase for two fine actors, Jane Alexander (The Sisters Rosensweig, First Monday in October) and James Cromwell (“Babe,” The Invention of Love), as well as juicy roles for the other five actors. Shortly after Nancy and Bill move into the titular senior community after their 50th anniversary, Nancy suddenly announces that she wants a divorce. Bill does not object. Their two adult sons, the practical, unemotional Ben (Ben McKenzie; “The Report”) and the overemotional Brian (Michael Urie; Torch Song, Buyer & Cellar), arrive, along with Ben’s very pregnant wife Jess (Ashley Park; Mean Girls), to attempt to talk them out of divorce. There are two additional characters, Tommy (Maulik Pancholy; It’s Only a Play, “30 Rock”) and Carla (Priscilla Lopez; In the Heights, Pippin), each of whom has a marvelous scene that probably should have been cut despite its entertainment value. The dialogue is very funny and often witty but occasionally stoops to sitcom level. Amidst the hilarity, there are moments that raise thought-provoking issues of identity, parenthood, female empowerment, and the difficulty of clear, honest communication. Most of the time, the mix works well. The production levels are very high. Instead of a curtain, there is a gigantic projection by Bryce Cutler (Soft Power) of an aerial view of row after row of identical attached houses. The set by Clint Ramos (Torch Song, Once on This Island) shows the first floor of one of the units, blandly neutral, accented by safety grab bars in peculiar places. The costumes by Linda Cho (The Lifespan of a Fact) befit the characters well. Leigh Silverman’s (The Lifespan of a Fact, Chinglish) direction is assured. While it may not be the best play I have seen recently, it certainly is the funniest. The audience loved it. Running time: two hours ten minutes including intermission.

NOTE: Did Second Stage learn nothing from the mistakes made at the Tony Kiser Theater when they renovated the Helen Hayes Theater? Once again, the cramped seats are unstaggered with very narrow armrests and little legroom.

A Soldier's Play

A-

It has taken almost 40 years for Charles Fuller’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 1981 drama about the corrosiveness of racism to reach Broadway, but it is finally here, in previews at Roundabout’s American Airlines Theatre, in a riveting production directed by Kenny Leon (American Son, Raisin in the Sun). Although it is technically a murder mystery, the issue of who is responsible for the death of a black sergeant at a Louisiana army base in 1944 is hardly the main point. Fuller paints a shameful picture of the status of black American troops, particularly in the Deep South, during WWII. The unit we meet is made of former Negro League baseball players, who are tasked with the most menial chores when they are not playing ball for the base’s glory. Their sergeant (David Alan Grier; Dreamgirls, Race, Porgy and Bess), whose duties include coaching the team, is a hard man to please. When he ends up with two bullets in him, the suspects include the local klan, racist white officers and disaffected members of his unit. A black JAG captain (Blair Underwood; A Trip to Bountiful, Paradise Blue) with a law degree is brought in to conduct an investigation of the murder, to the consternation of the unit’s white captain (Jerry O’Connell; “Jerry McGuire,” “ Mission to Mars”), who does not want to make waves. The story is told largely in flashbacks narrated by each man being interrogated. While the play is occasionally creaky, for the vast majority of the time, it is absolutely gripping. The entire ensemble (Nnamdi Asomugha, Good Grief; McKinley Belcher III, The Royale; Rob Demery, Jared Grimes, Billy Eugene Jones, The Jammer; Nate Mann, Warner Miller, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark; J. Alphonse Nicholson, Paradise Blue; Lee Aaron Rosen, Indian Ink) is superb. The performances by Grier and Underwood are sensational; O’Connell’s, not quite as strong. Leon has interpolated moments involving singing and stylized movement, some of which work better than others. Derek McLane’s set, composed mainly of wooden planks, is appropriately stark. If you are uncomfortable with racial epithets, be forewarned that there are plenty. The play’s final moments are quietly devastating. Although circumstances specific to the military have changed a lot since WWII, as a society it is depressing to see how far we have yet to go to overcome racism. Running time: one hour 55 minutes, including intermission.