The Comeuppance

 C

My reaction to the works of playwright Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins has been mixed. Three enthusiastically received plays that I enjoyed very much (Appropriate, An Octoroon, Gloria) were followed by two that I did not (War, Everybody). It has been six years since he has had a new play on a New York stage. Now he is winding up his Signature Theatre residency with this puzzling play now in previews at the Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre. In it we meet five friends who, except for one, are celebrating their 20^th high school reunion. These four, the membership of the self-styled Multi Ethnic Reject Group, have gathered for a pre-reunion get-together on the porch of Ursula (Brittany Bradford, Bernhardt/Hamlet), an underdeveloped character distinguished mainly by the fact that she has become a recluse since losing her sight in one eye. Her female friends are the childless Caitlin (Susannah Flood, Birthday Candles), who married a bigoted cop with two children and Kristina (Shannon Tyo, Regretfully So the Birds Are), a doctor who got her medical education in the military. A good Catholic with five children, Kristina has seen a lot, both in the military and in the pandemic, and eases her pain with booze. She has unexpectedly brought along her cousin Paco (Bobby Moreno, 72 Miles To Go) whose military service left him with a bad case of untreated PTSD. Emilio (Caleb Eberhardt, Choir Boy), a trendy artist living in Berlin who is back in the States briefly to supervise an installation of his work at the Biennale, has not seen the others in 15 years. There is another character as well. Through electronically modified voices, each character, at some point in the play, takes on the role of Death. By the third go-round, I had to stifle a giggle, which I don't think was the desired effect. The play touches on a checklist of traumas that the group has experienced, including Columbine, 9/11, and January 6. Furthermore, many underlying tensions within the group surface as the play progresses. The problem for me was that none of the characters or situations was sufficiently interesting to justify rambling on for two hours and twenty minutes without an intermission. The actors were all fine and the direction by Eric Ting (The Far Country) was fluid. Arnulfo Maldonado’s (A Strange Loop) set creates the cozy front porch of a small house, complete with swing, Adirondack chair, lots of plants and a bug zapper. Jennifer Moeller’s (Camelot) costumes are all suitable to their characters. I was disheartened when Jacobs-Jenkins decamped for the greener pastures of Hollywood to become showrunner, executive producer and writer for a Hulu series. Alas, his new play does not make his return to the stage cause for celebration.

Merrily We Roll Along

B+

In view of the success of their production of Into the Woods a few years ago, it is not surprising that Roundabout has again turned to Fiasco Theater to apply their magic touch to another Sondheim show. A 1981 Broadway flop that has become a cult classic, Merrily has been revised numerous times for productions around the country as well as in London, where it won an Olivier in 2001. In this version, Fiasco has reduced the cast to six performers playing 11 roles. The streamlined book hews more closely to Kaufman and Hart’s 1934 play than George Furth’s original. What makes the story of three show business friends over a 22-year period unique is that it is told backwards from fame and prosperity in 1979 back to humble beginnings in 1957. Frank (Ben Steinfeld; Into the Woods) is a talented composer who gives up his talent to become a successful Hollywood producer. Charley (Manu Narayan; My Fair Lady) is his lyricist and buddy who, after a rupture with Frank, goes on to win a Pulitzer Prize. Mary (Jessie Austrian; Into the Woods), authors a best seller, gives up writing to become a film critic, harbors unrequited love for Frank and becomes an alcoholic. We also meet Frank’s first wife Beth (Brittany Bradford; Bernhardt/Hamlet), her parents (Paul L. Coffey and Emily Young; both in Into the Woods), his second wife Gussie (Young again); Joe (Coffey again), the husband she leaves for Frank; and Frank’s latest fling Meg (Bradford again), the star of his new movie. From a Hollywood party celebrating Frank’s latest film, we move backward in time and eventually end up on a New York rooftop watching Sputnik fly by. Along the way there are such strong songs as “Old Friends,” “Not a Day Goes By” and “Our Time.” The staging is very creative. The acting is first-rate; the singing leaves a bit to be desired in a case or two. The set by Derek McLane (The Price, Noises Off) is a show all by itself and worth arriving early to examine in detail. Recalling his cluttered set for “I Am My Own Wife,” he gives us the world’s largest prop shop with shelves laden with a multitude of objects reaching the highest levels of the stage. The shelves are punctuated by a window here and a chimney there and two enormous doors in the center which occasionally part to reveal backdrops that set the scene. I am not sure what relevance the crowded shelves have to the production, but they are something to behold. The costumes by Paloma Young (Time and the Conways) and Ashley Rose Horton help set the period. Noah Brody’s (Into the Woods) direction is fluid and assured. While I doubt that I will ever include Merrily among my favorite Broadway musicals, I grant that this production makes a strong case for it and provides an entertaining experience. Running time: one hour 50 minutes; no intermission.

NOTE: For an entertaining, informative look at the experiences of those in the original Broadway production, I highly recommend the 2016 documentary “Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened,” which is available to stream on Netflix.