(Please click on the title to see the complete review.)
As I have found much to admire in Itamar Moses's past work (Bach at Leipzig, The Four of Us, Completeness), I was looking forward to the current show now in previews at Second Stage. This musical send-up of the "reality" television show for which the play is named has a book by Moses, music by Gaby Alter and lyrics by both. The production is blessed with a talented, energetic cast that is impossible not to like. Unfortunately, the performances are better than the material. The satire is bland and the music is instantly forgettable. The book has occasional flashes of wit, but they are too few. Heath Calvert is marvelous as the reality show's vapid MC. Leslie Kritzer and Rory O'Malley are triple threats with three distinctive roles each. O'Malley is especially hilarious as a flamboyantly gay fan, a Lothario and a nerd. Bryan Fenkart and Aleque Reid are respectable as the lead couple. Roe Hartrampf, Autumn Hurlbert and Lauren Molina all shine as the other contestants. I only wish that they had more to work with. Mark Wendland's set is simple but effective. Jessica Pabst's costumes are terrific. Michelle Tattenbaum's direction keeps things moving briskly. Running time: 95 minutes, no intermission.
Showing posts with label Aleque Reid. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Aleque Reid. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Really Really **
(Please click on the title to see the complete review).
MCC Theater is to be congratulated for bringing the work of a promising young playwright to New York. In this intriguing but ultimately frustrating drama now in previews at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, 26-year-old playwright Paul Downs Colaizzo offers a blistering view of the Me Generation. The plot revolves around what actually happened at a drunken college party at the house of Cooper (David Hull), a slacker who is on the rugby team. Leigh (Zosia Mamet from "Girls"), a student whose boyfriend Jimmy (Evan Jonigkeit) is away for the weekend, claims she was raped at the party by Davis (Matt Lauria), a campus heartthrob who shares the house. He has no memory of what transpired. We question her claim because she has already lied about being pregnant to hang on to her wealthy boyfriend, she has a slutty reputation, and she sees her accusation as a way out of poverty. Also, Davis has a sterling reputation as a good guy. As the situation develops, we learn the responses of Davis's career-minded teammate Johnson (Kobi Libii), Leigh's cynical sister Haley (Aleque Reid) and her earnest roommate Grace (Lauren Culpepper). The relentlessly self-serving message of the speeches Grace gives as president of the Future Leaders of America is a counterpoint to the plot. By play's end, almost everyone has revealed a dark side that changes our perceptions. It's never boring, but a little too schematic. There is one puzzling plot development in the second act that makes no sense at all. The play is ill-served by David Korins' set design that involves frequent shoving of furniture back and forth and doesn't really capture the differences between the two student homes. Sarah Laux's costumes are suitable to each character. David Cromer's direction was not up to the high standard he set with "Our Town" and "Tribes." Running time: 2 hours including intermission.
MCC Theater is to be congratulated for bringing the work of a promising young playwright to New York. In this intriguing but ultimately frustrating drama now in previews at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, 26-year-old playwright Paul Downs Colaizzo offers a blistering view of the Me Generation. The plot revolves around what actually happened at a drunken college party at the house of Cooper (David Hull), a slacker who is on the rugby team. Leigh (Zosia Mamet from "Girls"), a student whose boyfriend Jimmy (Evan Jonigkeit) is away for the weekend, claims she was raped at the party by Davis (Matt Lauria), a campus heartthrob who shares the house. He has no memory of what transpired. We question her claim because she has already lied about being pregnant to hang on to her wealthy boyfriend, she has a slutty reputation, and she sees her accusation as a way out of poverty. Also, Davis has a sterling reputation as a good guy. As the situation develops, we learn the responses of Davis's career-minded teammate Johnson (Kobi Libii), Leigh's cynical sister Haley (Aleque Reid) and her earnest roommate Grace (Lauren Culpepper). The relentlessly self-serving message of the speeches Grace gives as president of the Future Leaders of America is a counterpoint to the plot. By play's end, almost everyone has revealed a dark side that changes our perceptions. It's never boring, but a little too schematic. There is one puzzling plot development in the second act that makes no sense at all. The play is ill-served by David Korins' set design that involves frequent shoving of furniture back and forth and doesn't really capture the differences between the two student homes. Sarah Laux's costumes are suitable to each character. David Cromer's direction was not up to the high standard he set with "Our Town" and "Tribes." Running time: 2 hours including intermission.
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