Saturday, April 30, 2022

How I Learned To Drive

 A

What a fascinating experience it has been to see Paula Vogel’s Pulitzer-awarded play for a second time 25 years after its premiere, with three of same actors, Mary-Louise Parker, David Morse and Johanna Day, and the same director, Mark Brokaw. Since it’s a memory play, it’s not really a problem that the actors have aged. While Morse has turned a distinguished gray, the amazing Parker seems frozen in time somewhere in early adulthood. We need no context other than her expressions and demeanor to tell what stage of Li’l Bit’s life she is recalling. In her supporting role in which she plays both Li’l Bit’s mother and her aunt, Day is very strong. The other two actors, Allysa May Gold and Chris Myers, are competent. Since the play premiered, we have become accustomed to discussion of child molestation in the public arena, so the play has lost some of its shock value. Nevertheless, it still packs a powerful punch; rarely have I witnessed such attentive silence in a Broadway audience. I had forgotten how horrid Li’l Bit’s family was to her and how much she felt her father’s absence. I also did not recall that it was she, at age 11, who suggested meeting weekly with Uncle Peck, the only one in her family who was nice to her. Nor did I remember Peck’s chilling monologue describing his fishing lesson for the unseen cousin Bobby. There are also more humorous moments than I recalled. The scenes, which move back and forth in time, are titled as if they were chapters in a driver training manual. The scene of her first “lesson” is mesmerizing. The final meeting, during which the power shifts from Peck to Li’l Bit, is gripping. The scenic design by Rachel Hauck is minimalist with only a couple of upholstered dining chairs onstage for much of the play. A series of mostly truncated upright poles is scattered across the set, possibly suggesting telephone poles one might see on a road trip. Dede Ayite’s costumes are appropriate, and Brokaw’s direction is smooth. The play is so intimate that I feared it might be lost in MTC’s Friedman theater, but that was not a problem, at least not from a seat in mid-orchestra. Even if you have seen the play before, the superb performances by Parker and Morse deserve a second visit. Running time: one hour 35 minutes; no intermission.

 

Monday, April 25, 2022

Harmony

A-

It was 1997 when Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman began work on their musical about the Comedian Harmonists, a six-man German singing group who became an international sensation during the final years of the Weimar regime. I’m not sure why it took 25 years to reach a version deemed worthy of a New York production. Fortunately, the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene decided to take it on. (This is their second non-Yiddish production this year, the first being an operatic version of “The Garden of the Finzi-Continis.”) The show begins with the group’s 1933 Carnegie Hall concert, which marked the high point of their career. We then learn what happened beforehand and afterwards from “Rabbi" (Chip Zien), the group’s sole survivor, remembering events many years later in California. The most significant fact about the group was that its religious makeup was four Gentiles and two Jews or, if Hitler is the one counting, three and three. The first act has to cover a lot of exposition. With eight leading characters, there is little time to give some of them more than a cursory identifying trait. There is one lovely ballad and two delightful production numbers in the first act. One thing the show does not have is a second act problem. After intermission, the pace picks up and the quality of both the music and the book improves. One of the show’s running jokes is a nod to some of the famous people who interacted with the group including Marlene Dietrich, Richard Strauss, Albert Einstein and Josephine Baker. All except Baker are played by Zien. His Dietrich is a sight you will never be able to unsee. After some acrimonious discussion, the singers decide to return to Germany rather than to pursue a career in America. The rise of the Nazi regime leads to restrictions that make it impossible for them to perform. The second act has two more terrific production numbers, another lovely ballad, and a crushing soliloquy. Chip Zien proves once again that he is a treasure of the New York stage. The six singers – Sean Bell, Danny Kornfield, Matthew Mucha (u/s for Zol Owen), Eric Peters, Blake Roman and Steven Telsey are triple threats: they sing, dance and act wonderfully. The two female leads – Sierra Boggess and Jessie Davidson – have lovely voices. Ana Hoffman is a treat as Josephine Baker. Manilow’s music and Sussman’s lyrics and book are uneven, but at their best, admirable. Much credit belongs to Warren Carlyle for both his choreography and his direction. The costumes by Lindo Cho and Ricky Lurie are evocative of the period. The scenic design by Beowulf Borritt, the lighting by Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer, and the video design by batwin + robin productions all offer creative solutions for the limitations of the small stage. While it’s no rival for “Cabaret,” another musical about this same period, it offers much to enjoy. Considering the topic and the location – The Museum of Jewish Heritage, it is not surprising that the audience lacked diversity. Whether the show can appeal to a broader demography is an open question. Running time: Two hours, 30 minutes, including intermission.

 

Two suggestions for management:

Choose a better font in a larger size for your program book. The present one is unfriendly to your audience.

Install inverted-U guard rails on the aisle seats of the rear section of the theater. I saw someone take a nasty fall. 

Saturday, April 23, 2022

A Case for the Existence of God

 A-

Samuel D. Hunter’s new play, currently in previews at Signature Theatre, is an auspicious beginning for his residency there. This time out, Idaho’s gift to theater is operating in intimate mode. The play has only two actors, one set and one 90-minute act. Two young single fathers in Twin Falls meet at the daycare center their toddler daughters attend. Ryan (Will Brill) is straight, white, poor and in the middle of a divorce. Keith (Kyle Beltran) is gay, black, middle class and unattached. Despite their many differences, they are united by a fear of losing their daughters, Ryan to a custody battle, Keith to a possible hitch in the proceeding to convert her status from foster child to adoptee. Ryan wants to buy some acreage that once belonged to his family in the hope that it will enhance his case for custody. He turns rather reluctantly to Keith, who is a mortgage broker. We witness a series of meetings during which their business relationship becomes increasingly mixed with friendship. The word we most often hear is “sorry” as they struggle to bridge the communications gaps linked to their difference of race, class, educational level and sexual orientation. I won’t reveal more except to point out that the play is not a comedy. Don’t be intimidated by the grandiose title: there is no theological discussion here. Perhaps the title relates to the twist at the end of the play that provides an unexpected source of satisfaction. The two actors, who were college roommates, are both excellent. The cubicle set by Arnulfo Maldonado representing Keith’s office (and, rather confusingly, other locations as well) looks a bit lost on the large stage. Perhaps it is a metaphor for the constrained nature of the characters’ lives. David Cromer directs with his customary assurance. Of the several plays by Hunter that I have seen, this was the most emotionally gratifying. Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission.

Saturday, April 16, 2022

The Minutes


B-

Tracy Letts’ dark comedy caused quite a stir when it premiered at Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago in November 2017. Its Broadway production was abruptly closed down by the pandemic during previews in March 2020. After four and a half years of keen anticipation, I fear that I set myself up for inevitable disappointment. While there is much that I admired – the fine ensemble cast of 11, the wonderful set by David Zinn and Anna D. Shapiro’s assured direction, there is also much that I disliked – the banter early in the play that is often as annoying as it is amusing and the abrupt shifts of tone from satirical to didactic to horrific. The action takes place over the course of a council meeting in the small Midwestern town of Big Cherry. The central role of Mr. Peel, the pediatric dentist recently arrived from the coast who was recently elected to the town council is played by Noah Reid in a noteworthy Broadway debut. (Armie Hammer, who played the role in the 2020 previews, could hardly continue as the good guy after multiple accusations of sexual abuse.) Mayor Superba is superbly played by Letts himself, appearing for the first time in one of his own plays. The council’s two old-timers are ably portrayed by Blair Brown and Austin Pendleton. Jeff Still plays the ethically challenged Mr. Assalone, whose name is constantly mispronounced by the efficient town clerk, Ms. Johnson, smoothly portrayed by Jessie Mueller. Cliff Chamberlain nails the role of Mr. Breeding, who acts as if he has none. Danny McCarthy is fine as the well-meaning but ineffective Mr. Hanratty. Ian Barford plays Mr. Carp, whose debunking of the town’s founding myth upsets the status quo. Two roles that I thought were underwritten were Mr. Blake (played by K. Todd Freeman), an African-American with an offbeat suggestion for the town’s annual festival, and Ms. Matz (played by Sally Murphy), whose ditzy behavior seems pointless and unrelated to the action. The trouble begins when Mr. Peel asks for the minutes of the previous meeting which he missed to attend his mother’s funeral. They are somehow not ready for distribution. He is also unsuccessful in getting an explanation for Mr. Carp’s sudden disappearance from the council. To say more might spoil your experience of the play. I would like to comment though that I think those who have tried to associate the play with Trumpism are misguided. The underlying behavior existed long before Trump and will no doubt be with us long after he is gone. Running time: 95 minutes, no intermission.

Sunday, April 3, 2022

Take Me Out

 A-

It’s hard to believe that 20 years have passed since I saw the original production of Richard Greenberg’s play at the Donmar Warehouse in London. What I remember most is that I got splashed during the shower scene. I saw it again on Broadway in 2003 with basically the same cast when it won the Tony. I probably would not have bothered to see it a third time had it not turned up on my Second Stage subscription. It would have been a great shame to have missed it. 20 years later, I would now rate it as Greenberg’s finest play. Despite a few false notes and a few easy laughs, it holds up very well. Sad to say, it remains timely as there are still no openly gay baseball players in the major leagues. I don’t know whether Greenberg has altered the text, but one line came across as so relevant to today's world that it drew applause. This production is over all a superb one. The acting, Scott Ellis’s direction, David Rockwell’s scenic design, Linda Cho’s costumes and Kenneth Posner’s lighting all serve the play well. The main roles are well cast. Jesse Williams is excellent as Darren Lemming, the enigmatic biracial star who suddenly announces he is gay. Patrick J. Adams is effective as Kippy Sunderstrom, his sardonic but well-meaning teammate who also serves as the narrator. Jesse Tyler Ferguson is a treat as Darren’s nerdy gay investment advisor Mason Marzac (the role that won Dennis O’Hare a Tony), who takes a shine to baseball and to Darren. Michael Oberholtzer is absolutely riveting as Shane Mungitt, the redneck pitcher who is brought up from the minors during a slump. Julian Cihi as Takeshi Kawabata, the team’s Japanese import who speaks very little English, makes the most of his monologue. I was slightly disappointed in Brandon J. Dirden as Davy Battle, Darren’s conspicuously upright friend from another team. The others – Hiram Delgado, Carl Lundstedt, Ken Marks, Eduardo Ramos and Tyler Lansing Weaks – are fine in their roles. The play’s merits have often been overshadowed by the notoriety of its scenes with full frontal male nudity which really are an essential part of the play and are not there to titillate. What a shame that audience members have to lock up their cellphones in special bags to prevent photography. On the plus side, that means there are no cellphones going off during the performance. My enjoyment of this revival was tinged with a bit of sadness that Greenberg has never again reached this high level. Running time: two hours 15 minutes, including intermission.