M. Butterfly

C+

Since I did not see either the original 1988 Broadway production or the 1993 film, I approached this revival, directed by Julie Taymor, without preconceptions. Although I had read the mostly negative reviews and the criticisms of David Henry Hwang’s revised script, I was prepared to enjoy the production on its own terms and, to some extent, I did. Clive Owen (Old Times), whose natural charm makes him an unconventional choice to play the socially awkward Rene Gallimard, carries it off well. In the key scene where Song Liling (Jin Ha; Troilus and Cressida) enchants him by performing an aria from Madama Butterfly, he is undermined by unfortunate makeup that makes him look like a drag queen; in later scenes he is much more believable as a woman. Incidentally, he is an exceptional dancer in one of the Chinese opera scenes, all of which are quite colorful and energetic. The secondary roles are competently filled by Enid Graham (Bull in a China Shop) as Rene’s wife Agnes, Murray Bartlett (HBO’s “Looking”) as Pinkerton/Marc, Michael Countryman (Six Degrees of Separation) as Sharpless/Toulon/Judge, Clea Alsip (The Way We Get By) as Pinup Girl/Renee, and Celeste Den (Chinglish) as Comrade Chin. The set design by Paul Steinberg with large movable panels that slide and swivel is eye-catching at first but grows tiresome quickly. Constance Hoffman’s costumes are excellent. The complex story of sexual fantasy, self-delusion, the blindness of love, espionage, Western imperialism, and the Chinese cultural revolution remains fascinating even though the playwright’s revisions to bring it closer to actual events may have added too much information at the cost of mystery. There are occasional moments, particularly at the trial, when it becomes too much like a geopolitical lecture. Nevertheless, there is much to admire. Running time: two hours 20 minutes including intermission.

Summer Shorts: Series A ***

59E59 Theater is once again hosting the Summer Shorts Festival of New American Short Plays. Series A features works by Neil LaBute (most recently The Way We Get By), Vickie Ramirez and Matthew Lopez (The Whipping Man). 

LaBute’s 10K  presents two joggers, a woman (Clea Alsip) and a man (J.J. Kandel), who are certainly among the fittest actors on a New York stage. Although they are jogging for almost the entire play, their bodies and their voices show no signs of fatigue. They meet on their daily run in a nature reserve and carry on a conversation that gradually grows more personal and leads them to reveal their fantasies. It’s a minor work that is superbly realized. The playwright directed.

Glenburn 12 WP by Ramirez is the evening’s weak point. Troy (Tre Davis), a young black man who has been at an anti-racism protest at Grand Central Terminal, enters a nearby Irish pub to have a beer. The bartender is unaccountably absent. He is soon joined by Roberta (Tanis Parenteau), a woman in her 30s who is a regular at the bar and who turns out to be part Native American. She tries to persuade him to have a drink, but he is reluctant to without the bartender there. She provokes him into a conversation and offers to pay for his drinks. When she goes down to the cellar allegedly to see if the bartender is there, she returns with a bottle of the very expensive Scotch for which the play is named. After a couple of drinks, she reveals a dark secret, which seemed completely implausible. The actors did their best with poorly written characters. Mel Haney directed.

The Sentinels by Lopez introduces us to three 9/11 widows whose husbands worked for the same firm and who meet at a coffee shop near ground zero every year. Alice’s (Meg Gibson) husband was the company’s founder. The acerbic Christa (Kellie Overbey) was married to an important executive there. Kelly’s (Michelle Beck) husband was a recent hire. Zuzanna Szadkowski is the waitress. The gimmick is that the story is told backwards starting in 2011 and proceeding in short scenes back to 2000. The concept is better than the execution. The short scenes don’t really build in intensity. The cast was good. The flatness seemed more in the writing than in Stephen Brackett’s direction.

Rebecca Lord-Surratt’s set design transformed nicely between locations. Dede Ayite’s costumes were apt. The evening was pleasant but not memorable. Running time: 1 hour 35 minutes, no intermission.