Once Upon a Mattress

B+

The widely acclaimed Encores production of this 1959 Broadway show with music by Mary Rogers, book by Jay Thompson, Marshall Barer and Dean Fuller, and lyrics by Barer has transferred comfortably to the Hudson Theatre. The book, which sometimes seems patched together and a bit padded, is a sly retelling of the fairy tale of The Princess and the Pea. Sutton Foster, with the unenviable task of following in the footsteps of Carol Burnett, who created the role of Princess Winnifred, is a resounding success. Her madcap physical humor raises slapstick to astral heights and her voice is fine too. She is the main reason to see the show. Until she appears well into the first act, things are becoming a bit draggy, but when she is onstage, the audience is fully engaged. One of the main reasons I wanted to see the show was because Michael Urie was playing Prince Dauntless. Unfortunately, he was out for my performance. His understudy, Daniel Beeman, was perfectly respectable, but lacked the extra spark that Urie brings to his roles.  Ana Gasteyer makes a fine strong-willed Queen Aggravain and David Patrick Kelly does well as King Sextimus the Silent. Will Chase and Nikki Renee Daniels are appealing as the young lovers, Sir Harry and Lady Larken. Brooks Ashmanskas is droll as the wizard. Daniel Breaker does what he can with the underwritten role of the jester. The scenic design by David Zinn is typical for a show that originated at Encores, with a few platforms deep enough to hold chairs and other props in front of the orchestra filling the back of the stage. There are lots of banners, some with anachronistic pictures, e.g. a NYC taxi, for which I did not see the point. The costumes by Andrea Hood are bright and colorful. The choreography by Lauren Latarro is lively. The direction by Lear deBessonet keeps thing moving smoothly. The music serves the show well and the lyrics are often clever. If your funny bone could use a good tickle, this is the show for you. Running time: two hours fifteen minutes including intermission.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                 

The Prom

A-

Director/choreographer Casey Nicholaw once again demonstrates the Midas touch in choosing material. To the three hits (Mean Girls, Aladdin and The Book of Mormon) he already has on Broadway, he has now added a fourth with this delightful, cannily-crafted show that puts the comedy back in musical comedy. It may recall Bye, Bye, Birdie in depicting the invasion of Middle America by show biz celebrities and also Hairspray in its theme of righting an injustice, but the end result is totally original. It is hilarious, generous and touching. When two “aging narcissists,” as the Times review calls them, Dee Dee Allen (Beth Leavel; The Drowsy Chaperone) and Barry Glickman (Brooks Ashmanskas; Something Rotten!, Bullets over Broadway), are brutally panned for their performances as Eleanor Roosevelt and FDR in the hiphop musical Eleanor, they search for a way to burnish their reputations by becoming celebrity activists. When they read on Twitter about Emma (Caitlin Kinnunen; The Bridges of Madison County), a lesbian high school student whose wish to bring her girlfriend to the prom led to the prom’s cancellation, they find their cause. Joined by their friends Angie (Angie Schworer; The Producers), a chorus girl in Chicago for 20 years, Trent Oliver (Christopher Sieber; Shrek, Spamalot), a Juilliard-trained actor/waiter who is between jobs, and their rotund PR man Sheldon Saperstein (Josh Lamon; Groundhog Day), they hitch a ride to Edgewater, Indiana with a non-Equity Godspell bus tour to lend their help to Emma, whether she wants it or not. The campaign against an inclusive prom is led by the adamant Mrs. Greene (Courtenay Collins; Eating Raoul), whose daughter Alyssa (Isabelle McCalla; Aladdin), unbeknownst to her mother, is Emma’s secret girlfriend. The school principal Mr. Hawkins (David Josefsberg; Altar Boyz, u/s for Michael Potts; Jitney) is sympathetic to Emma and is on the verge of finding a solution when the Broadway Five barge into the PTA meeting, thereby managing to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. There is a cruel trick played on Emma that leads to her breakup with Alyssa. A side plot is that Mr. Hawkins is a big fan of Dee Dee’s and they hit it off. I won’t go into details of the further mayhem that follows. Suffice it to say there is a terrific song for each character, the dance numbers are wonderfully energetic and the ending is touching. The sturdy book by Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone) and Chad Beguelin (Aladdin, The Wedding Singer) includes a slew of insider Broadway musical jokes to make the audience feel smart. The music by Matthew Sklar (Elf, The Wedding Singer) is catchy and the lyrics by Bequelin are often clever. Scott Pask’s (The Book of Mormon, The Band’s Visit) sets are both functional and attractive. The costumes by Ann Roth (The Nance) and Matthew Pachtman (The Book of Mormon) are wonderful. The show has been brilliantly cast. Normally I would be offended at the swishy queen stereotype represented by Barry, but Ashmanskas plays him so well that I didn’t really mind. My only complaint is that, as so often happens these days, the music was overamplified, making the lyrics occasionally hard to hear. The season gets a welcome boost from this thoroughly enjoyable show. Running time: 2 hours 25 minutes including intermission.

A note about color-blind (or alternative) casting: Once again I am puzzled by whether the race of an actor is meant to be significant or not. The actor who normally plays Mr. Hawkins, the school principal, is black. The night I attended, the role was played by his understudy, who is white. If the choice of a black actor was meant to be significant, it would put a certain spin on events in the play. The citizens of Edgewater could not be completely intolerant if they chose someone black as high school principal. Would it then be meaningful that the only one in town who is trying to build bridges is black? It would also add another dimension to the romance between Dee Dee and Mr. Hawkins. On the other hand, if race was not a consideration in the casting and the actor chosen was simply the best actor auditioned, then all my speculation is irrelevant. I wish I knew which. Comments, as always, are welcome.

Bullets over Broadway ***

Woody Allen's musicalization of his 1994 film, now in previews at the St. James Theatre, provides a consistently entertaining, if not inspired, evening. Susan Stroman's choreography and direction add significantly to the show's strengths, but her collaboration with Allen does not lead to the giddy heights of her work with Mel Brooks. The decision to use popular songs of the 20's instead of an original score works out surprisingly well, with many songs fitting into the plot in clever unexpected ways. Best of all is the strong cast, particularly Marin Mazzie as Helen Sinclair, Nick Cordero as Cheech, Helene Yorke as Olive Neal and Brooks Ashmanskas as Walter Purcell. Zach Braff was out, so I got his understudy Andy Jones as David Shayne. Jones was fine in a vanilla way, but unfortunately looked at least 10 years younger than Betsy Wolfe, his love interest Ellen. Karen Ziemba makes the most of her one number. Santo Loquasto's sets and William Ivey Long's costumes are the best that money can buy. The show moves along at a rapid clip and rarely sags. I was a bit disappointed in the finale, which somehow seemed less than the rousing conclusion the show needed, but I had a good time. Running time: 2 hours, 25 minutes including intermission.

Clive [zero stars]

(Please click on the title to see the full review.)
Having enjoyed The New Group's production of Jonathan Marc Sherman's play "Things We Want" directed by Ethan Hawke about five years ago, I was looking forward to seeing "Clive," Sherman's adaptation of Brecht's "Baal," directed by and starring Hawke. To say I was disappointed would be a gross understatement. Although it's only January, this is my nomination for worst play of the year -- any year. The dissolute poet in Brecht's early play has been transposed to a rock-and-roll musician with a large capacity for booze, drugs and sex. Unfortunately, as told be Sherman, his tale is an incoherent, indulgent, boring mess! About the only good thing I can say about it is that I enjoyed seeing Vincent D'Onofrio onstage. Other cast members include Brooks Ashmanskas, Stephanie Janssen, Mahira Kakkar, Zoe Kazan, Aaron Krohn, Dana Lyn and the playwright. Derek McLane's high-concept set included seven doors that double as musical instruments. Catherine Zuber's costumes are clever, which is more than I can say about the play. I would rather undergo root canal surgery than sit through this play again. Running time: one hour, 40 minutes without intermission.