Nantucket Sleigh Ride

C

Can the creative team that brought us House of Blue Leaves and Six Degrees of Separation — playwright John Guare, director Jerry Zaks and Lincoln Center Theater — strike gold a third time? Judging from the new absurdist memory play, now at the Mitzi E. Newhouse, the answer is “No.” Despite the best efforts of a first-rate cast, an ingenious set, great costumes and smooth direction, this quirky play never really takes off. There are several amusing moments, but they don’t lead anywhere. The convoluted plot involves Edmund Gowery (John Larroquette; The Best Man, How To Succeed in Business without Really Trying), a playwright turned venture capitalist who is having an affair with his agent Gilbert’s  (Jordan Gelber; Sunday in the Park with George) wife Antonia (Tina Benko; The Crucible, Describe the Night). One day, his secretary (Stacey Sargeant; Wild Goose Dreams) allows entry to Lilac (Grace Rex; Life and Limb) and Poe (Adam Chanler Berat; Next to Normal, The Fortress of Solitude), a confrontational sister and brother bearing a book he autographed 35 years before on Nantucket. Their memories of that summer are blank and they demand that he tell them what occurred. It being August, his therapist Dr. Harbinger (Douglas Sills; The Scarlet Pimpernel, War Paint) is unavailable for advice. And so begins a flashback of a few days on the island that summer, where he meets the two annoying siblings whose parents are Schuyler (Sills again), a child psychoanalyst, and Elsie (Clea Alsip;  M. Butterfly, The Way We Get By), the daughter of a famous author of children’s books. He also meets McPhee (Will Swenson; Waitress, Jerry Springer: The Opera), who is either Elsie’s lover or her stalker. The absent Elsie has allegedly been traumatized by Gowery’s brusk refusal to come to the island the previous year to see an amateur production of his sole play, “The Internal Structure of Stars.” A running joke is that everyone he meets on Nantucket, including the police officer (Sargeant again) who accuses him of running a child pornography ring from the house he owns but has never visited, was involved in the production of Gowery’s play. Gowery is excited at the possibility of writing the screenplay for Roman Polanski’s remake of Hitchcock’s “Suspicion” starring Jane Fonda and Robert Redford. Or is it a Disney adaptation of Elsie’s father’s children’s books also to be directed by Polanski? A cryogenic Walt Disney (Sills again) makes a strong pitch to Poe and Lilac. Gowery’s #2 girlfriend Alice (Benko again) refuses him a crucial favor. Jorge Luis Borges (German Jaramillo; Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter) pops up now and then with a quotation for every occasion. Chaos ensues as the various plot strands bump against each other without satisfactory resolution. David Gallo’s (Jitney, The Drowsy Chaperone) three-tiered set is a treat and Emily Rebholz’s (Indecent, Dear Evan Hansen) costumes are a hoot. While the play is intermittently amusing, there is little point to it.  While I was grateful for the chance to see John Larroquette, Douglas Sills and Will Swenson onstage together, I left disappointed. Running time: one hour 50 minutes including intermission.

Jitney

A

Although written first, Jitney is the last of the ten plays in August Wilson’s American Century Cycle to reach Broadway. This superb production at Manhattan Theatre Club was worth the wait. The focus of the play is the office of a gypsy cab service in a primarily black Pittsburgh neighborhood. We meet the owner Becker (the indispensable John Douglas Thompson), a man widely respected by the community; four of his drivers — Fielding , an alcoholic with a surprising past (longtime Wilson veteran Anthony Chisholm); Youngblood (Andre Holland from the film Moonlight), the Vietnam vet trying to make a better life for his girlfriend Rena (Carra Patterson) and their young son; the soft-spoken, aloof Doub (Keith Randolph Smith), emotionally crippled by what he saw in the Korean War; and gossipy troublemaker Turnbo (the pitch-perfect Michael Potts) — and a couple of regular visitors — Shealy (Harvy Blanks), a flamboyant numbers bookie, and Philmore (Ray Anthony Thomas), a frequent customer. Finally, there is Booster (Brandon J. Dirden), Becker’s son, just released from prison after 20 years. The reunion scene between father and son that ends the first act is both riveting and lacerating. The conversations and conflicts among the other characters often pack a punch while often simultaneously delivering a chuckle. Ensemble acting doesn’t get much better than this. The richly detailed set by David Gallo incorporates glimpses of the neighborhood. Toni-Leslie James’s costumes are perfection. The bluesy music by Bill Sims Jr. enhances the action. Director Ruben Santiago-Hudson (The Piano Lesson) once again demonstrates his aptitude for Wilson’s work. The play is weakened a bit by its pat ending, but not enough to erase its many strengths. My one quibble is that I thought that Dirden (The Piano Lesson), although a fine actor, was miscast; he bears no physical resemblance to Thomspon and looks too sleek and confident for a man just out of prison. Nevertheless, this is a powerful revival of a play well worth seeing. Running time: 2 hours 25 minutes including intermission.

Seating advice: Since the floor of the stage has been raised at least a foot, i do not recommend seats in the first few rows.

How I Learned What I Learned ***

(Please click on the title to see the complete review.)
Signature Theatre is presenting the New York premiere of this one-man show, written and first performed by August Wilson in 2003 in Seattle. Ruben Santiago-Hudson, who has a sterling record interpreting Wilson's work, portrays him in this set of reminiscences about being a young black man in Pittsburgh in the 1960's. The pieces range from comedic to contemplative. Some are poetic, others are angry. Santiago-Hudson, a charismatic performer, gives them their due. Set designer David Gallo projects the name of each sketch typed on a backdrop of hundreds of sheets of paper hanging from wires. The rough wood platform with rusty stairs on which the performance takes place rests on a layer of urban detritus. Costanza Romero did the costumes. Wilson expert Todd Kreidler's direction is fluid and assured. The format runs the risk of monotony and the vitality of the sketches does take a dip midway, but then it returns to its initial high level of interest. All in all, it makes for a short but worthwhile experience. Sadly, there were very, very few blacks in the audience. Running time: one hour, 20 minutes; no intermission.

Old Jews Telling Jokes ***

(Please click on the title to see the complete review.)
If laughter is indeed the best medicine, this comedy revue, which has been running at the Westside Theatre for over a year but is closing next month, will give you a generous dose. At a trim 70 minutes, it's longer than an hour of therapy, much cheaper (especially on TDF), and much more entertaining. The title is a bit misleading -- two of the actors are young and I doubt they are all Jewish -- but who cares? Many of the jokes are old chestnuts, but the affable cast (original cast members Marilyn Sokol and Todd Susman, plus replacements Dara Cameron, Chuck Rea and Steve Vinovich and pianist Jeremy Cohen) deliver them as if they were newly minted. A surprisingly high percentage of them are very funny. The jokes are arranged around various themes and presented at a rapid pace. David Gallo's minimalist set includes an upholstered sectional which, of course, has transparent plastic covers. The videos are stylishly clever. As a bonus, we get a clip of Alan King performing. I feared it would become monotonous, but it moves along so briskly thanks to director Marc Bruni, that I was sorry when it was over.  Alejo Vietti's costumes are a hoot. Peter Gethers and Daniel Okrent are credited as the "conceivers."

First Date ***

(Please click on the title to see the complete review.)
This new musical at the Longacre Theatre takes us through a blind date between Aaron (Zachary Levi of TV's "Chuck"), an uptight, awkward Jewish financial analyst, and Casey (Krysta Rodriguez of TV's "Smash"), a Gentile free spirit with commitment issues and a taste for bad boys. The clever gimmick is that we also get to meet all the significant people in their lives who supply a ton of emotional baggage for the encounter. A versatile ensemble of five (Bryce Ryness, Kristoffer Cusick, Blake Hammond, Sara Chase and Kate Loprest) portray the waiter, Aaron's best friend, mother, grandmother, future son and ex-fiancee as well as Casey's sister, father, ex-boyfriends, therapist and gay best friend. The music and lyrics by Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner, who have written for Disney, is merely serviceable, but the book by Austin Winsberg has many flashes of wit. It helps a lot that Levi and Rodriguez are such appealing performers with good chemistry. David Gallo's set is not very attractive but functional. David C. Woolard's costumes are appropriate for the characters. Bill Berry's direction is unobtrusive. The theater was full and the mostly young audience was wildly enthusiastic. Good word of mouth may trump the critics here. I enjoyed it a lot more than "Nobody Loves You," which the Times made a Critic's Pick. Running time: 95 minutes, no intermission.

Hurt Village **

(Please click on the title to see the entire review.)
Katori Hall's new play at Signature Theatre about a family from the projects in North Memphis is a mixed bag. On the plus side, the play has great vitality and sharp characterizations by an excellent cast. On the other hand, every 4th word is the N word, the conversations are often extremely obscene, and much of the rapping was beyond my comprehension. I was strongly tempted to leave at intermission (as a handful of people did). Unless you have been hiding under a rock, you won't find this sad tale of how people get trapped in poverty surprising. I especially liked Joaquina Kalukango as Cookie, the 13-year old girl who is the focus of the play. Tonya Pinkins is powerful as her grandmother, the only working member of the family. Marsha Stephanie Blake makes a strong impression as her mother Crank, a recovered crack addict, as does Corey Hawkins as Buggy, her long-absent father, just returned from the war in Iraq. David Gallo's set and Clint Ramos' costumes serve the play well. Patricia McGregor directed. At 2 hours 40 minutes, the play could definitely use some trimming.

A few comments about the Signature Center:

With two plays now running, all the seats in the cafe and the rest of the lobby were taken. It will be interesting to see how crowded it will get when the third theater opens.

The configuration of the Linney Theatre for Hurt Village allows seating access from only one side, making it necessary to climb over as many as 12 people to get to your seat. Neither the Linney nor the Griffin Theater has any shield to prevent bright light from the lobby from flooding the theater if anyone exits during the play. I hope these kinks can be ironed out.