Prince of Broadway

B+

While there are many things I could find fault with about this revue of musical highlights from Hal Prince’s long career, the important thing is that I enjoyed it a lot. When I get the chance to hear over 30 songs, mostly from shows I greatly enjoyed, performed by talented actors backed by a 16-piece orchestra, I am not about to grumble over what could have been better. Some have criticized the very concept of the show, pointing out that it is in no way an artistic biography of Prince. I’ll grant that the total information contained in the narration by the actors who take turns impersonating Prince amounts to less than in his one-page program note in Playbill. Nor does the show make clear what Prince’s unique contribution was to the material selected. Some have groused that stripping songs of their context diminishes them. That might be a problem for people unfamiliar with the shows they were plucked from, but clearly it was no problem for an audience of Manhattan Theatre Club subscribers. There are shows I wish they had included more of and others I wish they had used less of. One could question why they chose to include numbers from shows that have been so recently revived (Fiddler on the Roof and She Loves Me) and two that are currently running (Phantom of the Opera and Sweeney Todd). On the other hand, omitting them would have deprived us of the pleasure of Chuck Cooper’s Tevye and Karen Ziemba’s Mrs. Lovett. Despite all the nits one can pick, the bottom line is that I found the show thoroughly entertaining. The cast of nine is wonderful. In addition to the six whose work I have enjoyed in the past (Chuck Cooper, Emily Skinner, Brandon Uranowitz, Michael Xavier, Tony Yazbeck and Karen Ziemba), there are three talented newcomers (Janet Dacal, Bryonha Marie Parham and Kaley Ann Voorhees). The modular set by Beowulf Boritt ranges from the minimalist (a couch) for A Little Night Music to an elaborate pop-art backdrop for It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s Superman. William Ivey Long’s attractive costumes supply a lot of the context. Choreographer Susan Stroman, who also co-directed, created a vigorous tap number for Yazbeck’s Buddy in Follies. Jason Robert Brown not only wrote the clever overture which contains fragments of 17 songs but provided the excellent musical arrangements and the closing number. David Thompson is credited with the book, such as it is. Prince himself gets the director credit. If you are a fan of musicals, by all means go. There’s something here for everyone. Running time: 2 1/2 hours including intermission.

The Traveling Lady

C-

This revival of Horton Foote’s 1954 play now in previews at the Cherry Lane Theatre does not make a strong case for the play. As usual for Foote, the setting is the mythical Harrison, Texas in the 1950’s. Georgette Thomas (Jean Lichty), an attractive young woman, arrives in town with her five-year old daughter Margaret Rose (Korinne Tetlow), looking for a cheap house to rent. She is directed to Judge Robedaux (George Morfogen) who plies her for personal information. It turns out that her husband Henry (PJ Sosko) has been in prison for six years and has never met his daughter. She expects him to arrive in Harrison, where he grew up, within the week. She is startled to find out that Henry has already been in town for a month and is living with and working for Mrs. Tillman (Jill Tanner), a do-gooder who fancies herself able to cure alcoholics. While the neighbors try to locate her husband, Georgette and her daughter rest at the home of Clara Breedlove (Angelina Fiordellisi) and her brother Slim Murray (Larry Bull), a young widower. We learn that Siim’s allegedly beloved wife actually abandoned him and wouldn’t even let him visit her as she lay dying. We also meet Clara’s next-door neighbors, the crusty old Mrs. Mavis (Lynne Cohen) who wanders off every chance she gets and her hapless daughter Sitter (Karen Ziemba) [Really, where do Southerners come up with these awful names for their daughters!]. Will Henry stay sober? Will Margaret Rose get to meet her father? Will Slim find true love? Will Mrs. Tillman keep her faith in human nature? Will Georgette catch a break? I was not at the edge of my seat waiting to find out. While the ensemble is mostly good, Austin Pendleton’s  direction is flat. The set by Harry Feiner and costumes by Theresa Squire are adequate. The need for most of the actors to enter via the theater’s center aisle and up a few stairs grows tiresome quickly. While it’s always a pleasure to see Karen Ziemba, she is wasted in a nondescript supporting role. In the short-lived 1954 Broadway production, the title role was played by Kim Stanley. Perhaps someone with her charisma is needed to breathe life into this play. Unless you are a fanatic Foote fan, you can skip this one. Running time: one hour 40 minutes, no intermission

Kid Victory

C

One look at Clint Ramos’s deliberately dreary set design featuring a cluttered basement with a set of chains hanging on the wall put me on edge even before this very dark musical at the Vineyard Theatre began. It is hard to say much about it without spoiling the experience, but I will try. Luke (Brandon Flynn) is a teenager who has returned to his God-fearing Kansas family after disappearing under murky and possibly sinister circumstances for almost a year. Readjustment is difficult for all concerned. Luke’s mother Eileen (Karen Ziemba) wants to sweep everything under the rug and proceed as if nothing happened. Luke’s quiet father Joseph (Daniel Jenkins) appears to Luke to be avoiding him. Emily (Dee Roscoli) is a free-spirited shop owner Luke can be open with because she did not know him before his disappearance. Gail (Ann Arvia) is a well-meaning church member with an unusual approach to healing. Michael (Jeffry Denman) is a former history teacher with whom Luke shares an interest in boats. Suze (Laura Darrell) just wants Luke to be her boyfriend again. Mara (Darrell again) is Emily’s estranged daughter. Detective Marks (Joel Blum) thinks that Luke is withholding information. Andrew (Blake Zolfo) is a young man that Luke briefly meets. The story is told in fragments that move back and forth in time. To my surprise, I liked Greg Pierce’s book far more than John Kander’s music. In general, I did not think the music either heightened emotions or advanced the plot. There is a dance number that is wildly incongruous with the rest of the show. There are two or three characters that could easily be dispensed with. I really think the material would have worked better as a play without music. There are many strong points — fitting together the pieces of a complex story, keeping the audience waiting for the title character to burst into song, throwing in a few surprises, ending with a genre-defying scene. The cast is uniformly strong and the story is consistently interesting. Liesl Tommy’s direction is mostly assured, but occasionally leaves characters doing nothing for long periods. I admire Kander and Pierce for taking on such a difficult subject, but am not sure that musicalizing it was the best approach. Running time: one hour 45 minutes; no intermission.