Summer, 1976

B-

When Manhattan Theatre Club announced a new play by David Auburn starring Laura Linney (The Little Foxes, Time Stands Still) and Jessica Hecht (The Assembled Parties, The Price), I felt a mix of emotions – hope that the playwright might once again achieve the heights of his 2000 Tony winner, Proof; delight at the thought of seeing one of my favorite actresses again; and apprehension at the prospect of seeing the other actress, who is a long way from a favorite of mine. My hope that Auburn would have another hit comparable to Proof was not fulfilled. The play consists mainly of a series of long monologues as two women of a certain age recall the summer they met in Columbus, Ohio long ago. Linney plays Diana, an artist and single mother of a five-year old daughter. Alice, played by Hecht, is the hippie wife of Doug, an economics professor striving for tenure. She meets Diana through a babysitting cooperative that Doug has created. As their two daughters bond, the women become unlikely friends. The recollections of their early friendship and subsequent developments, presented as they sit at opposite ends of a long table, are moderately interesting and sometimes amusing, but, for me at least, less than compelling. In a gimmick that did not work for me, Linney also plays Alice’s husband during certain scenes. Aside from that, Linney is the unaffectedly persuasive pro we have learned to expect. And then there’s Hecht. First of all, the makeup and lighting creatives have done her a great disservice, making her eyes look almost ghoulishly deeply set and her features unnaturally drawn. The unfortunate result is that she looks at least a generation older than Linney, who in real life is a year her senior. Furthermore, Hecht’s acting has always been too mannered for my taste. From the moment she opened her mouth with her broad version of a midwestern accent, I knew that my apprehension was well-founded. I think casting her as Alice was an unfortunate choice. The set by John Lee Beatty (Plaza Suite, Disgraced) is elegantly simple. Linda Cho’s (POTUS, Take Me Out) costume for Hecht shouts rather than whispers “hippie.” Director Daniel Sullivan (Proof, The Little Foxes, The Columnist) does his best to enliven what is a very static play, with limited success. I was not sorry I saw it, but I was disappointed that it wasn’t better. Running time: 95 minutes; no intermission.

Cambodian Rock Band

B+

Lauren Yee’s (The Great Leap) residency at Signature Theatre is off to an auspicious start with the New York premiere of this ambitious play with music. The play moves back and forth between 2008 and the 1970s. Neary (Courtney Reed; Aladdin), the American-born daughter of Cambodian refugees, has been in Phnom Penh working alongside her Canadian boyfriend Ted (Moses Villarama; Fast Company) for the tribunal trying to bring long overdue justice to Duch (Francis Jue; Soft Power, Wild Goose Dreams), head of the notorious S21 Prison where thousands were tortured and killed, who had been arrested after 30 years of hiding in plain sight. Neary’s father Chum (Joe Ngo), who had previously shown little interest in her work, suddenly shows up at her hotel unannounced. Before long we learn the reason for his visit and the connection between him and Duch. Back in 1975, Chum and his friends Sothea (Reed) and Leng (Villarama) were members of a rock band, Cyclo, who were recording their first album. Chum put his entire family at risk by postponing their flight from Cambodia a week to finish the album. All the members of the talented cast double as the musicians. The play is interspersed with Cambodian rock numbers from the seventies as well as contemporary numbers by Dengue Fever. It was frustrating that the lyrics were not translated. A Dylan song also plays an important role in the story. The first act, which describes the father-daughter meeting in 2008 and the events of 1975, contains the bulk of the music. The grimmer second act is mostly set in an S21 Prison cell in 1975. During intermission the playwright greeted a large contingent from a Bronx organization for Cambodian refugees and begged the audience to be understanding if the play triggered unexpected behavior from them. The brutality we witness is brief but chilling. The return to the father-daughter story in 2008 seems a bit anticlimactic. While the drama and the music do not always cohere as well as one might like, the concept of combining them mostly works. The production is greatly enhanced by an excellent cast which also includes Abraham Kim and Jane Lui. The inimitable Francis Jue is alway a treat to watch. Takeshi Kata's (Gloria, Office Hour) set efficiently captures both the bustle of Phnom Penh and the bleakness of a prison cell. Linda Cho’s (Grand Horizons) costumes and wigs for Cyclo band members vividly recall the 70s. Chay Yew’s (Mojada, My Mañana Comes) direction is assured. While there are a few rough spots, I admired the overall effort. Running time: two hours 45 minutes including intermission. NOTE; There is a very helpful timeline hidden deep within the Playbill after the cast biographies. I suggest reading it before the play.

Grand Horizons

B+

Of the three Bess Wohl plays to make it to New York this season (the other two were Continuity and Make Believe), this new play, which marks Wohl’s Broadway debut. is far and away the funniest and slickest. While it lacks the innovation of Make Believe or Wohl’s earlier play Small Mouth Sounds, and has a few minor problems, it is irresistibly entertaining. Furthermore, it provides a marvelous showcase for two fine actors, Jane Alexander (The Sisters Rosensweig, First Monday in October) and James Cromwell (“Babe,” The Invention of Love), as well as juicy roles for the other five actors. Shortly after Nancy and Bill move into the titular senior community after their 50th anniversary, Nancy suddenly announces that she wants a divorce. Bill does not object. Their two adult sons, the practical, unemotional Ben (Ben McKenzie; “The Report”) and the overemotional Brian (Michael Urie; Torch Song, Buyer & Cellar), arrive, along with Ben’s very pregnant wife Jess (Ashley Park; Mean Girls), to attempt to talk them out of divorce. There are two additional characters, Tommy (Maulik Pancholy; It’s Only a Play, “30 Rock”) and Carla (Priscilla Lopez; In the Heights, Pippin), each of whom has a marvelous scene that probably should have been cut despite its entertainment value. The dialogue is very funny and often witty but occasionally stoops to sitcom level. Amidst the hilarity, there are moments that raise thought-provoking issues of identity, parenthood, female empowerment, and the difficulty of clear, honest communication. Most of the time, the mix works well. The production levels are very high. Instead of a curtain, there is a gigantic projection by Bryce Cutler (Soft Power) of an aerial view of row after row of identical attached houses. The set by Clint Ramos (Torch Song, Once on This Island) shows the first floor of one of the units, blandly neutral, accented by safety grab bars in peculiar places. The costumes by Linda Cho (The Lifespan of a Fact) befit the characters well. Leigh Silverman’s (The Lifespan of a Fact, Chinglish) direction is assured. While it may not be the best play I have seen recently, it certainly is the funniest. The audience loved it. Running time: two hours ten minutes including intermission.

NOTE: Did Second Stage learn nothing from the mistakes made at the Tony Kiser Theater when they renovated the Helen Hayes Theater? Once again, the cramped seats are unstaggered with very narrow armrests and little legroom.

The Great Society

C

If you saw Robert Schenkkan’s (The Kentucky Cycle) earlier play about the LBJ years, All the Way, I suspect that, for a multitude of reasons, you will be disappointed in the sequel, now at Lincoln Center Theater, which picks up the story at LBJ’s inauguration in 1965 and ends with Nixon’s in 1969. The play is overstuffed with episodes that cover the fight to pass a voting rights bill and other Great Society legislation, the ongoing struggle for civil rights complicated by fractures in the leadership and recalcitrance of Democratic politicians both in the South and North, the developing war in Vietnam and the protests it provoked, and examples of LBJ’s skilled arm-twisting techniques. No wonder there is little room for any depth of characterization. It’s a bit like a live Cliff Notes version of the era. I wished that the author had opted for less breadth and greater depth. With 22 actors, most of whom play multiple roles, it is occasionally hard to tell who’s who. Then there’s the matter of casting. While Brian Cox (That Championship Season) is a fine actor whose work I have often admired, the role of LBJ does not fit him like a glove; if you saw Bryan Cranston’s LBJ, you may have trouble adjusting to Cox’s. In addition, his attempt to find the right accent made the first few moments of the play almost unintelligible. Gordon Clapp (Glengarry Glen Ross) is believable as J.Edgar Hoover, but, as written by Schenkkan, the role is one-note. Barbara Garrick (The City of Conversation) has the thankless task of playing a colorless version of Lady Bird. David Garrison (Hollywood/Ukraine) is livelier both as Gov. Wallace and as Nixon. The ever-reliable Marc Kudisch (Girl from the North Country) is fine as Mayor Daley. Bryce Pinkham (A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder), always eminently watchable, is a convincing Robert Kennedy. Richard Thomas (The Little Foxes) is rather stolid as Humphrey, but that seems suitable for the role as written. The usually fine Frank Wood (Side Man) is unconvincing as Sen. Dirksen. As MLK Jr., Grantham Coleman (Buzzer) lacks sufficient fire. David Korins (Hamilton) has designed an austere circular set with bleacher-like seating at the rear and dugout-like seating on the sides. The selection of which actors sit in these seats during various scenes seemed rather arbitrary. Props appear as needed. Projections by Victoria Sagady (All the Way) help set the scene. Linda Cho’s (A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder) costumes seem appropriate to the period. Director Bill Rauch (The Clean House) keeps things moving, but to little cumulative effect. While the earlier play dug deeper into its characters, this one skims the surface. All in all, it was quite disappointing. Running time: two hours 40 minutes including intermission.

WIld Goose Dreams

B-
While the new play by Hansol Jung now at the Public Theater is a co-production with La Jolla Playhouse, the two theaters have apparently taken quite different approaches to the work. While the La Jolla production had a very simple set, the Public has totally reconfigured its Martinson Theater to suggest Seoul, with a technicolor extravaganza of neon signs, backlit posters and photographs, a hot pink catwalk and audience crossover and a two-tiered stage with numerous popups and hidden doors. We also have a mod Greek chorus (Dan Domingues, Lulu Fall, Kendyl Ito, Jaygee Macapugay, Joel Perez, Jamar Williams and Katrina Yaukey) singing binary code, internet messages and emoticons. All of this is allegedly in service of the tender love story of two lonely people who meet online, Guk Minsung (Peter Kim; Yellow Face, Kung Fu), a “goose father” who stayed behind in Seoul to fund a better life for the wife and daughter he sent to America, and Yoo Nanhee (Michelle Krusiec; Chinglish), a young woman who fled North Korea four years before, who is troubled by dreams and visions of the father (Francis Jue; Yellow Face, Kung Fu) she left behind. The problem for me was that all the lavish ancillary bells and whistles practically smothered the main event. While I was often entertained by the latest surprise in Clint Ramos’s (Eclipsed, Barbecue) set, Linda Cho's (The Lifespan of a Fact, Anastasia) clever costumes and the inventive direction of Leigh Silverman (The Lifespan of a Fact, Chinglish), I felt that they somehow diminished the central story. There were occasions when it was confusing to know what was transpiring. My favorite moments were the quieter ones when there was less attempt to grab attention. Francis Jue steals every scene he is in. Ms. Krusiec seemed a bit subdued. Mr. Kim was fine, but a bit too young and too handsome for his role. The chorus members were an entertaining lot. While I did not enjoy some of what was presented, I was certainly never bored. Running time: one hour 50 minutes, no intermission.

Lifespan of a Fact

A-

The Broadway season just got a lot brighter with the arrival of this star-studded comedy at Studio 54. With three stars — Daniel Radcliffe (Equus, The Cripple of Inishmaan), Cherry Jones (The Glass Menagerie, The Heiress) and Bobby Cannavale (The Hairy Ape, The Motherf**ker with the Hat) — any of whom alone would be reason enough to see the play, and a plot that is both funny and intelligent, it is cause for celebration. Based on a book by John D’Agata and Jim Fingal which was in turn based on an essay written by D’Agata and fact-checked by Fingal, it explores the difference between facts and artistic truth and the distinction between essayist and journalist. That may not sound like promising material for a comedy, but the playwrights — Jeremy Kareken, David Murrell and Gordon Farrell — (why it took three writers, I cannot imagine) have embellished the story in very entertaining ways. They have added the character of Emily (Jones), the magazine editor, to negotiate the chasm between John (Cannavale) and Jim (Radcliffe) and ginned up the pressure by condensing a 5-year battle to 5 days. All three roles are juicy and the actors play them to the hilt. In addition to the laughs, there is plenty of food for thought — the importance of getting things right in the age of fake news and relentless social media, the forces threatening print media, and differing concepts of accuracy and truth. There is some loss of energy during the last quarter-hour that stands out because the play is so energetic until that point. Additionally, we don’t learn very much about the characters, particularly about Emily. A few narrative threads get dropped. None of these flaws seriously diminished my enjoyment. A notable fact about this production is that it is the first on Broadway with an all-female design team —Mimi Lien (set; Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812), Linda Cho (costumes; Anastasia), Jen Schriever (lighting; Eclipsed), Palmer Heffernan (original music and sound design; Collective Rage) and Lucy Mackinnon (projections; After the Blast). The sleek opening set morphs into something quite different. The costumes were appropriate to the characters. Leigh Silverman’s (Violet, Chinglish) direction is unfussy. It was a very enjoyable 90 minutes.