The Collaboration

 B+

Paul Bettany (An Inspector Calls, “A Very British Scandal”) and Jeremy Pope (Choir Boy, Ain’t Too Proud) are giving two remarkable performances as Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat, respectively, in Anthony McCarten’s (The Two Popes, A Beautiful Noise) biodrama about the two-year period in the mid-80’s during which these two artists, badgered by their dealer Bruno Bischofberger (Erik Jensen; Disgraced, Corpus Christi), worked together on a series of joint paintings for a keenly anticipated show. Warhol was already late in his career with declining interest in and prices for his works; Basquiat was the hot new discovery whose career was still in its early stages. The two men had diametrically opposed views of the role of art, but overcame their initial mutual antipathy to actually become friends. Basquiat was able to get Warhol to pick up a brush for the first time in 25 years. The first act describes the beginnings of their joint endeavor. The second act picks up two years later a few weeks before their joint show is due to open. For this play you want to stay in your seat at intermission, because black-and-white films of the two doing things together such as working out are projected on large screens on either side of the stage. I thought these projections were an integral part of the play that added significantly to the experience. Things get a bit melodramatic in the second act when we learn about Basquiat’s relationship with his girlfriend Maya (Krysta Rodriguez; First Date, In the Heights) and the police brutality incident that his close friend and fellow artist Michael Stewart endured. Unfortunately, the play breaks off before their show opens so we do not get the story of the critical reaction to the show and its effect on their friendship. The supporting actors create vivid characters. The set and costumes by Anna Fleischle (Hangmen) are evocative. The wig design by Karicean “Karen” Dick and Carol Robinson is a show all by itself. The direction by Kwame Kwei-Armah (artistic director, The Young Vic) is unfussy, although I did not see the point of having a DJ at the side of the stage before the play began and at intermission.  While the script at times seems uneven and incomplete, the performances by Bettany and Pope are reason enough to see the play. If you can't get there now, wait for the film version that is in the works. Running time: two hours 15 minutes including intermission.

 

NOTE: Dress warmly. Owing to the Samuel G. Friedman Theatre’s lack of a proper lobby to separate the auditorium from the street, the temperature in the theater drops precipitously before the show begins.

Invisible Thread ***

After a successful run last year at American Repertory Theater in Cambridge where it was titled “Witness Uganda,” this energetic, ambitious, inspirational musical is now raising the roof at Second Stage Theatre, where it is in previews. Co-authors Matt Gould and Griffin Matthews are founders of the Uganda Project, a charity that pays the educational expenses of ten Ugandan students each year. When Griffin (Jeremy Pope from “Choir Boy” filling in for Matthews at my performance), an unemployed black New York actor, is kicked out of his church choir for being gay, he decides to do something meaningful with his life and signs up as a volunteer to build a school in a Ugandan village. Why a gay man would pick one of the world’s most virulently homophobic countries as a place to volunteer is never explained. His Jewish lover Ryan (Corey Mach), a songwriter, unexpectedly joins him there. The compound Griffin lives in belongs to the unseen Pastor Jim. It is run by the stern Joy (Adeola Role) assisted by her younger brother Jacob (Michael Luwoye, a wonderful actor but, in my opinion, too massive and mature for this role). Jacob befriends Griffin, who, he hopes, will take him back to New York. When Griffin learns that the school-building project is a scam that will only benefit Pastor Jim, he quits and decides to teach a small group of teenage AIDS orphans that he meets. When their improvised school mysteriously burns down, Griffin takes them to a safe village far from Pastor Jim and pays to enroll them in school. When he and Ryan return to New York, they struggle to raise money to support the students. They get the bright idea of doing a benefit concert to raise money. The present musical gradually emerged from their efforts. They learn some hard lessons about the difficulty of matching the help offered with the help needed. The songs run the gamut from generic ballads to rousing African-infused numbers. The show’s title is the title of one of the less interesting songs (“There is a long invisible thread that wraps around my heart and wraps around your head…”). An orchestra of nine supply the music. The appealing cast is very good. Nicolette Robinson (“Brooklynite”) is a standout. The lively choreography is by Sergio Trujillo assisted by Darrell Grand Moultrie. Tom Pye’s simple uncluttered set is enhanced by Peter Nigrini’s projections. ESosa's costumes are colorful. Director Diane Paulus pulls it all together with panache. I hope that they adjust the amplification so that the big numbers are not ear-splitting. The audience was appreciative. Running time: 2 hours 5 minutes including intermission.

Choir Boy **

I wish I had not read the glowing reviews of Tarell Alvin McCraney's drama with music at Manhattan Theatre Club's Stage II, because they set me up for disappointment. The a cappella singing of the actors portraying members of the gospel choir and the headmaster of an elite black prep school is gorgeous, but the drama into which the music is blended could use deeper character development and fewer subplots. Jeremy Pope is strong as the effeminate student choir leader who is as much bully as victim. Nicholas L. Ashe, Kyle Beltran, Grantham Coleman and John Stewart are all fine as the other students. Charles E. Wallace is admirable as the headmaster and Austin Pendleton is believable as the retired historian brought in to hone the boys' intellect (a la "History Boys"). The plot is often contrived and predictable. Jason Michael Webb made the fine vocal arrangements. David Zinn's set and costumes are excellent and Trip Cullman's direction is smooth. I might have enjoyed it more had I been expecting less. Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission.