The Cost of Living (Broadway)

B+

Although I was favorably impressed by Martyna Majok’s four-character drama when MTC presented it off-Broadway five years ago, I was surprised when it was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2018. I suspect that its skillful treatment of marginal people in our society played a significant role in their choice. MTC has decided to revive it and move it to its Broadway venue, the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. Two of the characters are marginalized by disabilities – John by cerebral palsy and Ani by the loss of her legs in an accident. Gregg Mozgala and Katy Sullivan powerfully recreate these roles. John’s situation is mitigated by having a Harvard education and sufficient economic resources to hire a private aide. The other two characters are marginalized by economic hardship. John's newest aide, Jess (Kara Young; Clyde’s), is an attractive young woman who, although she had attended Princeton, supports herself by working as a late-night barmaid. Ani’s husband Eddie (David Zayas; Jesus Hopped the A Train, “Dexter”), whom we meet in the extended monologue that opens the play, is an unemployed truck driver haunted by Ani’s recent death. The bulk of the play is a series of scenes of Eddie and Ani alternating with scenes of John and Jess. Two of the play’s most moving scenes take place in bathrooms where we see Jess shaving and showering John and Eddie giving a bath to Ani. The play's strengths include not portraying the disabled characters simplistically and in giving equal time to the needs of their caregivers. Each character is vividly sketched to the point that I wanted to know more about them. Until the final scene, each character interacts with only one other. In that scene a new heartbreaking connection is made. I wish the author had omitted a brief manipulative reversal at the very end. The entire production is first rate: the acting, the revolving set by Wilson Chin (Aubergine, My Mañana Comes), the character-appropriate costumes by Jessica Pabst (The Ruins of Civilization), the dramatic lighting by Jeff Croiter (Bandstand, Falsettos) and the smooth direction by Jo Bonney (By the Way, Meet Vera Stark). Seeing it is a worthwhile, if sometimes painful, experience. Running time: one hour 50 minutes, no intermission.

The Perplexed

D+

Let me begin with quotes from two previous reviews:

“No one knows how to pander to a Manhattan Theatre Club audience better than Richard Greenberg. String together some witty one-liners, throw in a Jewish matron, add a few Yiddish words, mention Great Neck at least once and, voila, MTC awaits with open arms.” (Our Mother’s Brief Affair)

“There seems to be something about Manhattan Theatre Club’s Stage I at City Center that inspires scenic designers. Some of the finest set designs I have seen in New York have been at that theater. … Unfortunately, the “magic” effect of MTC’s Stage I on set designers does not seem to apply to playwrights. I have seen too many clunkers with great sets here, including this one.” (Long Lost)

Alas, both of these observations could apply just as well to Greenberg’s latest effort, now in previews at MTC. While the mention of Great Neck may be missing this time, we get not one but two Jewish matrons. Lest he ignore any segment of the typical MTC audience, he includes a gay character as well.

Once again, Santo Loquasto is the true star of the evening. I thought his set of a grand CPW apartment for The Assembled Parties could not be topped, but this set of a library off the ballroom of a Fifth Avenue apartment comes very close. If only what took place on the set were as impressive as the set itself!

The ten characters are all attending a wedding which, for some reason, starts with a reception and dancing and concludes with vows at midnight. The apartment belongs to the unseen Berland Stahl, a much-hated real estate bigwig, and grandfather of the bride Isabelle (Tess Frazer; Mary Page Marlowe). Her parents are Joseph (Frank Wood; Side Man, Network) and Evy (Margaret Colin; Jackie, Defiance), who is a NYC councilwoman. Her brother Micah (Zane Pais; Dead Poets Society) has just been involved in a scandal. Her uncle James (Patrick Breen; The New Englanders, Next Fall) is an author whose popularity has passed. We learn that Isabelle’s family have been disinherited by Berland after some messy lawsuits.

The groom is Caleb Resnick (JD Taylor; Apologia, The Last Match), a do-gooder, whose parents Ted (Gregg Edelman; City of Angels, Passion) and Natalie (Ilana Levine; You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown) had a falling-out with the Stahls 20 years ago. The officiant is Cyrus Bloom (Eric Williams Morris; King Kong, Coram Boy), a long-time family friend whose career path led from Wall Street to the rabbinate to teaching. Patricia (Anna Itty; India Pale Ale) is Berlind’s Guyanan home aide.

Different combinations of characters enter the library and talk and talk and talk. Occasionally there is a witty line to remember. What little plot there is hardly piqued my interest. While it was a pleasure to see a few actors I always enjoy (Breen, Colin and Wood), it was not pleasure enough to make the dreary proceedings more bearable. While I admire MTC director Lynne Meadows’s dogged support of Greenberg over the years even though he has never produced a hit for them, I wish she would try harder to find new talent. Much as I enjoy their excellent sets, I wish they would spend less on sets and more on play development. Running time: two hours 30 minutes including intermission.

         

Bella Bella

B

Harvey Fierstein (La Cage aux Folles, Kinky Boots) has written an affectionate tribute to larger-than-life New York politician Bella Abzug, whose many breakthroughs for women and efforts for the marginalized are not often spoken of today. Set on the night of the 1976 NY Democratic senatorial primary, pitting her against five opponents including Daniel Moynihan, this solo piece at Manhattan Theatre Club's Stage I shows Bella locked in the bathroom of a guest room (not a suite, she complains!) at the Summit Hotel, where she awaits the election results. The bathtub is piled high with campaign signs. On the other side of the door are her family, campaign staff and close friends. Downstairs in the ballroom hundreds are waiting for her to appear. What follows is an entertaining, informative look at highlights of her career and life story. I had thought I was generally familiar with her career, but I learned several things. I didn’t know that she defended a black man accused of raping a white woman in Mississippi. Nor did I know that New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger overruled his editorial board and withdrew their Abzug endorsement in the senatorial primary. The material includes lots of enjoyable anecdotes and several very funny one-liners. So far, so good. My problem with the show is Fierstein’s decision to play the role of Bella. It seems ironic that a play about female empowerment casts a man as Bella. From what I have read, several actresses (if one is allowed to use that word these days) turned down the role because of schedule conflicts. The producers were eager to do the show now to get a jump on a forthcoming documentary about Bella. Fierstein (Hairspray, Torch Song Trilogy) wisely does not try to impersonate Abzug. He wears a black shirt and slacks, but no makeup or wig. Only the big red hat he wears at the beginning and end of the play and the nail polish on his toes signal female. Harvey also has a big personality and a rough charm, so his version of Bella essentially works, but I found myself wishing that they had waited for a worthy actress to play the role. The production is first-rate with a set by John Lee Beatty (Doubt, Proof) that surrounds the playing area with the facade of the hotel and performs a clever transformation. Rita Ryack (Casa Valentina) did not have much of a costuming challenge. Kimberly Senior’s (Disgraced), direction is assured, never letting the pace lag. I wish the Playbill had included a few notes on her career and a Yiddish glossary. All in all, it’s an enjoyable production that might have been even better with a different Bella. Running time: 90 minutes; no intermission.

Long Lost

C-

There seems to be something about Manhattan Theatre Club’s Stage I at City Center that inspires scenic designers. Some of the finest set designs I have seen in New York have been at that theater. For this production John Lee Beatty (Rabbit Hole, Junk) does not disappoint; the marvelous set he has designed for Donald Margulies’s (Dinner with Friends, Sight Unseen) new play has three revolves and creates four distinct attractive environments. Unfortunately, the “magic” effect of MTC’s Stage I on set designers does not seem to apply to playwrights. I have seen too many clunkers with great sets here, including this one. Margulies offers yet another version of the story of the black sheep returning to his family and stirring up trouble. In this instance the black sheep is Billy (Lee Tergesen; Rapture, Blister, Burn), a drug addict and alcoholic whose many misdeeds include “accidentally” burning down the family farmhouse with his parents inside. Billy turns up unannounced in the New York office of his younger brother David (Kelly AuCoin; The Wayside Motor Inn, “Billions”), a prosperous consultant married to Molly (Annie Parisse; Clybourne Park, Becky Shaw), an ex-lawyer who now runs a shelter for victims of domestic abuse. Their son Jeremy (Alex Wolff; All the Fine Boys) is home from Brown for Christmas. David’s first impulse is to kick Billy out of his office, but Billy tells him that he is dying of cancer and has no place to go. David reluctantly brings him home to their plush Manhattan co-op, much to the chagrin of Molly. Billy tries to establish rapport with Jeremy. Secrets are revealed, some of which are surprising, others not so much. The final scene takes us in an unexpected direction, but by then it is too late. The characters are so underwritten that it is hard to care much about their fate. The actors do a respectable job trying to breathe life into their roles. Daniel Sullivan’s (The Little Foxes, Good People) direction is fluid, but even he cannot elevate trite material. The costumes by Toni-Leslie James (Bernhardt/Hamlet, Come from Away) befit the characters well. Enjoy the sets; there’s not much else to engage you. Running time: one hour 35 minutes; no intermission.

Continuity

C-

Don’t be fooled by the teaser in the ads for this new play by Bess Wohl (Small Mouth Sounds) at MTC’s Stage II. While it contains no outright falsehoods, it subtly misleads by making the plot sound far more interesting than it turns out to be. A movie about climate change is being shot, for tax reasons, in the hot New Mexico desert, although it is set in a frigid clime. Maria (Rosal Colon; Between Riverside and Crazy), the film's director, a Sundance favorite, has been entrusted with her first feature film. Although she is nominally in charge, the studio has sent Caxton (Darren Goldstein; The Little Foxes), a seasoned screenwriter, to the set to turn her small, serious film into something more commercial. Caxton also happens to be Maria’s former lover; furthermore, after a fearsome diagnosis, he must face his own mortality. The three actors we meet in the scene that we see over and over and over are ecoterrorist George (Alex Hurt; Cardinal, Placebo), played by dumb hunk Jake; Nicole (Megan Ketch; Cry It Out), a former love played by prima donna and recovering coke addict Eve, who is out to stop him from detonating a bomb that will set off a huge tsunami; and Lily (Jasmine Batchelor; The River), the scientist George is determined to kill, played by African-English actress Anna. For comic relief, we have a production assistant Max (Garcia; upcoming “Tales of the City”) who valiantly copes with various disasters and conflicting requests. We also occasionally hear from the grip (Curran Connor; Dido of Idaho). Larry (Max Baker; The Village Bike), the film’s science adviser, brings everyone down by stating his opinion that the film is too little too late and part of the problem rather than the solution. The play offers no new information about climate change to justify itself; nor does it contain anything but tired cliches about the absurdities of Hollywood moviemaking. Adding a feminist twist for today’s milieu doesn’t improve it. I would love to know what talented director Rachel Chavkin (Hadestown; Natasha, Pierre…) saw in this material that made her want to undertake it. Adam Rigg’s (The House That Will Not Stand) scenic design is effective, as are Brenda Abbandandolo’s (Octet) costumes. It was a fitfully entertaining, but ultimately disappointing evening. Running time: one hour 40 minutes, no intermission.

The Niceties

A-

It would be hard to find a timelier, more relevant play around town than Eleanor Burgess’s ironically titled drama now at Manhattan Theatre Club’s Stage II at City Center. In a program note, the author states that she is intrigued by situations “when smart, well-meaning people, with great values and the best intentions, fundamentally can’t agree on the right way to behave.” Based on an incident at Yale in 2015, the two-character play explores the escalating conflict between Zoe (Jordan Boatman), a bright African-American student and her well-regarded professor Janine (Lisa Banes; Arcadia, Isn’t It Romantic). The two meet during office hours to discuss the term paper that Zoe has written for a course in Comparative Revolution. After pointing out a few grammatical and stylistic errors, Janine proceeds to attack Zoe’s thesis that slavery played an important role in preventing the American Revolution from becoming a radical one. After much back and forth, Janine challenges Zoe to find more impressive documentation than internet websites to back up her thesis. She offers Zoe more time to do so, but activist Zoe is more committed to upcoming protests than to her coursework. Their escalating arguments over racism, white privilege, biased curricula and basic philosophies lead to an outburst that has serious consequences for both of them. During the second act, they meet once more to see if they can find common ground to take action that might mitigate the damage that has been done. We do not get the comfort of an easy answer. The play is all the more poignant in that it is set in pre-election 2016, before we fully realized the depth of the chasms dividing the country. The play is not without its flaws: at first the author comes dangerously close to making Janine a caricature, but she partially redeems this with some humanizing information later on. I also would have liked to know more about Zoe’s background. The arguments occasionally become repetitious, but the topics are so timely and important that I didn’t mind. Some have compared the play to Oleanna, which it does resemble in structure, but the issues this play raises make Mamet’s play look trivial by comparison. Both actors are very strong. The set by Cameron Anderson (The Language of Trees) looks convincingly like a book-cluttered office on an Ivy campus. Kara Harmon’s (Dot) costumes are apt. Kimberly Senior’s (Disgraced) direction keeps things moving forward briskly. If you see it, I guarantee you will have lots to talk about afterwards. Running time: one hour 50 minutes, including intermission.

Dan Cody's Yacht

B+

The title of this stimulating new play by Anthony Giardina (The City of Conversation) now at Manhattan Theatre Club’s Stage I is a symbol of opportunity waiting to be seized lifted from The Great Gatsby. Kevin O’Neill (Rick Holmes; Junk, Lives of the Saints) is a financial manager in a wealthy Massachusetts suburb. Cara Russo (Kristen Bush; The City of Conversation, Kin) is his slacker son Conor’s (John Kroft) English teacher, who lives in the blue-collar town across the river. When we meet them, Kevin is trying to bribe Cara to raise the grade on his son’s essay. He also wants her to vote against a proposal to merge the two school districts. He berates her for not doing all she can to improve the prospects of her bright plus-size daughter Angela (Casey Whyland; Billy Elliot) and invites her to his monthly investment club where she meets his friends Geoff (Jordan Lage; Race, The Penitent) and Pamela Hossmer (Meredith Forlenza; 1984, The Winslow Boy) and Alice Tuan (Laura Kai Chen; Much Ado about Nothing). He persuades her that by investing her savings with him, she will be able to afford moving across the river so Angela can attend the better school and improve her chances of getting into a private college. Cara’s blue-collar friend Cathy (Roxanna Hope Radja; Frost/Nixon) whose daughter is friends with Angela cautions Cara not to make the move. Later, when Cara’s investment account takes a dip, a crisis arises. Kevin proposes a shady solution. Something that Kevin and Cara have in common is that they are both single parents. The play raises interesting questions about what a parent should be willing to do for a child’s sake. One puzzle is what Kevin’s motivation is in wanting to help Cara and her daughter. They have a strong chemistry which, since Kevin is gay, is not built on sex. Kevin’s character is a complex mix of the noble and ignoble. The actors are uniformly strong. Giardina has written a series of good scenes for two characters: Kevin and Cara, Kevin and Conor, Kevin and Angela, Cara and Angela, Cara and Cathy, Angela and Conor. He raises issues of income inequality, privilege, ambition, ethics and willingness to take risks. The play loses some of its energy toward the end as the playwright paints himself into a corner. For most of its length though, it is both engrossing and entertaining. John Lee Beatty’s (Doubt, Proof) scenic design makes effective use of a revolving set. The costumes by Catherine Zuber (My Fair Lady, Junk) befit their characters. Doug Hughes’ (Junk, The Father) direction is smoothly unobtrusive. Running time: two hours five minutes including intermission.

Fulfillment Center

C-

I would not have been so disappointed with Abe Koogler’s new play at Manhattan Theatre Club’s Stage II if had not started promisingly. For the first 30 minutes or so, I thought it was heading confidently to an interesting destination. Unfortunately, as it progressed, the playwright seemed to lose control of his material and the play ended up at a dead end. In the well-written first scene, Alex (Bobby Moreno; Grand Concourse), the 30ish manager of an Amazon-like warehouse in New Mexico, is testing the speed of a 60ish prospective employee, Suzan (Deirdre O’Connell; By the Water, The Vandal). The interaction between the nice guy stuck in an unforgiving job and the down-on-her-luck ex-singer who desperately needs work is both funny and revealing. In the next scene we see Alex with his longtime girlfriend, the sassy Madeleine (Eboni Booth), who has just moved, reluctantly, from New York to be with Alex until an expected move to greener pastures in Seattle in six months. How they came to be an interracial couple and why they have stayed together almost ten years without even getting engaged are questions that remain unanswered. In the third scene we see Madeleine at the campground where she is staying as she tries to strike up a conversation with John (Frederick Weller; Mother and Sons; Glengarry Glen Ross), a taciturn 40ish carpenter whose most recent girlfriend has kicked him out. In the remaining scenes, each character meets with one of two others. The men never meet and the women never meet. The writing weakens, the play meanders and it finally grinds to a halt. Andrew Lieberman’s set, such as it is, is a long sand-colored platform running the length of the theater plus a couple of folding metal chairs. The audience sits on both long sides of the platform. Asta Bennie Hostetter’s  costumes are apt. Daniel Aukin is a director whose work has included some fine evenings of theater (4000 Miles, Bad Jews, The Fortress of Solitude) as well as some terrible ones (Fool for Love, Rancho Viejo, Placebo, What Rhymes with America?). His work here includes one gesture that I hate: forcing the actors not in the present scene to sit impassively at the edge of the stage in plain sight. It’s always a pleasure to see Deirdre O’Connell. Eboni Booth is a fresh new face. Bobby Moreno makes his “nice guy” role believable. Frederick Weller’s mannerisms annoyed me less than usual. With more work, the play might have amounted to something better. As is, it’s a missed opportunity. I very much doubt that the playwright knew where he was headed when he began. Running time: one hour 25 minutes; no intermission.

Linda

B-

A third play by award-winning British playwright Penelope Skinner (The Village Bike, The Ruins of Civilization) has reached New York in a Manhattan Theatre Club production helmed by MTC artistic director Lynne Meadow. Linda Wilde (Olivier winner Janie Dee), a 50-something executive at a cosmetic company, seems to have it all — a great job, a loyal husband, two daughters, a lovely home. (We are told that her elder daughter Alice (Jennifer Ikeda, recently seen at MTC in “Vietgone”) has a different father and that Linda had to raise her alone, but we don’t learn the circumstances.) Linda won an important advertising prize 10 years before with a campaign emphasizing women’s inner beauty. When she proposes targeting the company’s new anti-aging cream to women over 50, her boss Dave (John C. Vennema) vetoes the idea. He thinks it’s better to trade on the insecurities of younger women and market to them and has brought in Amy (Molly Griggs), a 25-year old hotshot, to head the campaign. Linda learns that her husband Neil (Donald Sage Mackay) is canoodling with Stevie (Meghann Fahy), the attractive young singer in his band. Daughter Alice is a mess; she has been vegetating at home and won’t take off her skunk costume onesie. Apparently, she was permanently traumatized by a shaming incident at school 10 years ago. Younger daughter Bridget (Molly Janson) is about to audition for a drama academy, but wants to do a man’s speech since she thinks there are few good speeches for women. Luke (Maurice Jones) is a flirty temp at Linda’s office who is leaving soon for Bali. It turns out that Amy was in school with Alice and was complicit in her shaming. In another unlikely twist, mother imitates daughter with similarly disastrous consequences. Even the elements conspire; we get a Lear-worthy storm, for no discernible reason. The underlying problem of being an aging woman in contemporary society gets lost in the melodrama. On the plus side, we get a strong performance from Janie Dee and a sleek revolving set by Walt Spangler that is even color-coordinated with Jennifer von Mayrhauser’s attractive costumes. Too bad that the work came across, to me at least, as a heavy-handed polemic that did not do justice to its topic. Running time: 2 hours 20 minutes including intermission.

Important Hats of the Twentieth Century *

I wasn’t all that fond of Nick Jones’s “Verité” at LCT3 last winter, but it seems like “Hamlet” compared to his new comedy at Manhattan Theatre Club’s Studio at Stage II. Imagine a very, very long Saturday Night Live sketch or a class play whipped up by stoned students at some fashion school. The insipid plot involves Sam Greevy (a misused Carson Elrod), a top 1930’s designer of haute couture; T.B. Doyle (John Behlmann), the fashion reporter he is sleeping with; and Paul Roms (Matthew Saldivar), a rival designer who introduces future fashion ideas such as sweatshirts and skater pants, using a time travel hat that he has stolen from mad scientist Dr. Cromwell (Remy Auberjonois). Roms’s portal to the future is through the closet of Albany teenager Jonathan (Jon Bass) whose father Darryl (Triney Sandoval) he accidentally kidnaps. Reed Campbell, Maria Elena Ramirez and Henry Vick round out the cast in multiple roles. Timothy R. Mackabee designed the minimalist set. Jennifer Moeller's clever costumes are the production's creative highlight. Moritz von Stuelpnagel (Verité, Hand To God) directed. Prepare yourself to be traumatized by the sight of masturbating yetis. And did I mention that mysterious glowing space balls are attacking New York? What were the folks at MTC thinking when they decided to subject us to this drivel? Honesty demands that I report there were a few in the audience who expressed their approval loudly and often. Running time: two hours, including intermission.

Of Good Stock **

When Richard Greenberg’s scheduled play wasn’t ready on time, Manhattan Theatre Club replaced it with this piece by Melissa Ross that premiered at South Coast Repertory earlier this year. In it we meet the Stockton sisters — Jess (Jennifer Mudge), Amy (Alicia Silverstone) and Celia (Heather Lind) — the adult daughters of a long deceased famous author, Mick Stockton, an inveterate womanizer whose wandering ways did not even slow down when his wife was dying of cancer. The family is gathered for a long Summer weekend at their Cape Cod home, which Mick left to Jess, along with his literary estate. Jess’s husband Fred (Kelly AuCoin) is a food writer who met Jess when he was Mick’s assistant. The occasion for the get-together is Jess’s 41st birthday, which is significant because it marks the year that she outlives her mother. Amy, a simpering narcissist engaged to the equally vapid Josh (Gregg Keller), is preoccupied by her upcoming destination wedding. Celia, a hippy do-gooder with commitment issues, has invited her current interest Hunter (Nate Miller), whom she met while building houses for Habitat for Humanity in Missoula. If the sisters are accomplished or lead interesting lives, you wouldn't know it from the play. During the course of the weekend, we learn more about all their relationships, usually at a high decibel level. The playwright could not have asked for a better production. Santo Loquasto’s evocative revolving set made me want to head for Cape Cod as soon as possible. Tom Broecker’s costumes suit the characters well. The cast is fine, especially AuCoin and Mudge. The direction, by MTC artistic director Lynne Meadow, does not hide the play’s shortcomings. The three-sister play has a long honorable tradition that includes works by Shakespeare, Chekhov, Henley, Wasserstein and Letts. I wish I could say that this play was a welcome addition to the canon, but after more than two hours of bickering and shouting, the only thing I welcomed was the end. One of the characters makes an exit before intermission. Lucky him. Running time: 2 hours, 5 minutes including intermission.

Airline Highway *

Playwright Lisa D’Amour was a Pulitzer nominee for Detroit. Chicago’s Steppenwolf is a multi-award-winning ensemble theater company with an enviable record of successful transfers to Broadway including August: Osage County. Joe Mantello is a two-time Tony Award-winning director. Julie White is an excellent actress. Putting them all together for this Manhattan Theatre Club import must have seemed like a good idea. It wasn’t. Despite the talented cast of 16, the splendid scenic design (by Scott Pask) and the evocative costumes (by David Zinn), the results are curiously flat. The play takes us through one day at the Hummingbird Hotel, a place that has seen better days and that is now frequented mostly by people who live on the margins of society. We meet a pill-addicted hooker (White), a stripper (Caroline Neff), an unhandy handyman (Tim Edward Rhoze), a wise drag queen (K. Todd Freeman), a poet (Ken Marks) and the hotel manager (Scott Jaeck). At the request of Miss Ruby (Judith Roberts), the dying former strip club owner who serves as materfamilias to the residents and who wants to enjoy her own funeral, they are planning a party for her in the hotel parking lot. Bait Boy (Joe Tippett), a former club employee who was swept off by a wealthy older woman from Atlanta three years before, has returned for the party. In the play’s most unlikely device, he has brought along his gal pal’s teenaged daughter (Carolyn Braver) to interview the denizens of the hotel for a high school report on subcultures. The playwright’s point of view is obscure. The play offers not much heat and very little light. In no way does it provide the emotional payoff of Lanford Wilson’s far-better models, Balm in Gilead and Hot l Baltimore. Surprisingly few people near me failed to return after intermission. Running time: 2 hours 15 minutes including intermission.

The World of Extreme Happiness ***

The title of Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig’s new play at Manhattan Theatre Club is ironic to put it mildly. Her unflattering portrait of life in contemporary China is more characterized by ambition than polish. She attempts to tell many stories: the effects of the one-child policy, the great divide between rural and urban China, the horrendous working conditions in factories, the prejudice rural migrants suffer in the cities, the uneasy relationship between communism and capitalism, the limited opportunity for women, the rise of American-style pop psychology as a substitute for religion, and the harsh repression of dissent. It’s a lot for one play to contain. A strong cast of six portrays 13 characters. The wonderful Jennifer Lim (last seen here in “Chinglish”) plays the protagonist Sunny. The other five actors (Francis Jue, Telly Leung, Jo Mei, James Saito and Sue Jin Song) handle two or three roles each, convincingly differentiating their multiple characters. The deliberately bleak set by the talented Mimi Lien (“The Oldest Boy”) is flexible and effective. The costumes by Jenny Mannis are apt. Eric Ting’s direction is fluid. The playwright is not given to subtlety: her favored tool seems to be the sledgehammer. Nevertheless, she is to be commended for taking on such timely, substantive topics and presenting them dramatically. Although the play is flawed, I found it worthwhile. Running time: 95 minutes, no intermission.

Constellations ***

After being underwhelmed by Nick Payne’s previous play with Jake Gyllenhaal, “If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet,” two years ago (my review is at http://bobs-theater-blog.blogspot.com/2012/09/if-there-is-i-havent-found-it.html), I approached this MTC production of “Constellations” with low expectations. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this two-hander is a considerably more interesting and better written play. In just over an hour, it gives us the arc of a relationship between Marianne (the phenomenal Ruth Wilson, recently of Showtime’s “The Affair”), a quantum physicist, and Roland (Gyllenhaal, in fine form), a beekeeper. With the possibility that there are parallel universes where different versions of ourselves behave differently, Payne presents us with multiple short variations of scenes where things turn out differently based on as little as a different emphasis in a line reading. Some will find these variations fascinating, while others may find them just annoyingly repetitive. The love story has a beginning, middle and end; just don’t expect them to be presented in strict chronological order. As an opportunity for two fine actors to show their stuff, the play succeeds brilliantly. As a story, it appealed more to my head than to my heart. Michael Longhurst’s direction is completely assured. Tom Scutt’s scenic design of white balloons above a raised platform is simple and effective. Lee Curran’s lighting and David McSeveney’s sound design punctuate the scenes emphatically. Running time: 70 minutes, no intermission.

By the Water ***

This new family drama with comic overtones, the first product of a collaboration between Manhattan Theater Club and Ars Nova at The Studio at Stage II at City Center, bodes well for their cooperative effort. Playwright Sharon Rothstein depicts the devastating effects of Superstorm Sandy on the Murphy family of Staten Island. Not only has the storm extensively damaged their home and neighborhood, it has uncovered long-standing family tensions and secrets. Marty (Vyto Ruginis) and Mary Murphy (the wonderful Deirdre O’Connell) seem determined to repair and remain in their home. The Murphys’ older son Sal (Quincy Dunn-Baker), who has married and made a successful life for himself in Manhattan, makes a rare appearance to persuade his parents to sell. Their younger son Brian (Tom Pelphrey), a recovering addict recently out of jail, also turns up, but he supports his father’s wishes. There is bad blood between the brothers. We learn that Marty is no saint either — he barely escaped jail for tax evasion and lost the family business. Their long-time neighbors Philip (Ethan Phillips) and Andrea Carter (Charlotte Maier), whose home has been destroyed, want to take a government buyout and relocate. Marty’s campaign to prevent the buyout plan from reaching the necessary 80% consensus puts a strain on their friendship. When it turns out that Marty’s determination to stay put has reasons that are far from noble, even Mary’s relationship with him is shaken. If all that were not enough plot, there is a rekindling of feelings between Brian and the Carters’ divorced daughter Emily (Cassie Beck). What holds it all together is Rothstein’s skill in creating vivid, believable, complex characters and convincing dialogue. Wilson Chin’s set makes the devastation very real and Jessica Pabst’s costumes reflect their characters well. Director Hal Brooks elicits fine work from a strong cast. Running time: 95 minutes, no intermission. 

Casa Valentina (revisited) ***

When the opportunity to attend opening night arose unexpectedly, I decided to pay a return visit to see how the play had changed since I saw an early preview 2 1/2 weeks ago. Here's what I had to say the first time around:

For Harvey Fierstein to have three plays running on Broadway simultaneously is quite an achievement, but in this instance the third time is not a charm. His first non-musical (I dare not say "straight" play) in decades, now in previews at Manhattan Theatre Club, has a lot going for it, especially an outstanding cast and an intriguing fact-inspired premise. In the early 60's there was a resort colony in the Catskills that catered to the needs of married heterosexual transvestites. To see such New York theater stalwarts as Patrick Page (George/Valentina), Reed Birney (Charlotte), John Cullum (Terry) and Larry Pine (The Judge/Amy) in full drag is an experience not soon to be forgotten. (Birney's Charlotte bears an uncanny resemblance to both Bette Davis and Tallulah Bankhead.) Gabriel Ebert (Jonathon/Miranda) plays a younger first-time visitor and Nick Westrate (Gloria) is the friend who encouraged his visit. Tom McGowan is hilarious as Bessie, an overweight ex-sergeant who has a Wilde quotation for every occasion. Mare Winningham is George's devoted wife Rita. Lisa Emery has a short but important role as Eleanor, the daughter of one of the guests. The play has some comic moments, but ends up in much darker territory. The lengthy first act sags (I resisted the urge to say "drags") in the middle for a long stretch. Although the play addresses many interesting themes such as heterosexual transvestites' hatred of homosexuals, governmental intrusion and manipulation, budding activism and the collateral damage caused by people's life choices, I could not fathom what it was the playwright wanted the audience to take away from it. David Zinn's set and Kaye Voyce's costumes are effective. Director Joe Mantello makes the best of what is there, but cannot overcome the play's lack of focus. I'm sure things will be tightened up a bit during the two weeks of previews that remain, but I doubt that tinkering can solve the play's problems. Running time: 2 hours 25 minutes including intermission.

This time around, I was even more impressed by the excellence of the cast. They have deepened their performances and grown as an ensemble. The pace of the first act has improved and the arguments at the "sorority" meeting better reflect the individuality of the characters without seeming as pedantic as I first found them. Unfortunately, the problems of the second act have not gone away. What had seemed a sensitive group character study turns melodramatic. While I did not expect the ending to tie everything up with a neat bow, I still felt frustrated that the abrupt ending left too many issues unresolved. I wish the play had been given more time for workshops or an out-of-town tryout, because I think there is still a better play hiding somewhere inside. Nevertheless, because of the deeply affecting performances of the outstanding cast, I have changed my rating from two stars to three.

Casa Valentina **

For Harvey Fierstein to have three plays running on Broadway simultaneously is quite an achievement, but in this instance the third time is not a charm. His first non-musical (I dare not say "straight" play) in decades, now in previews at Manhattan Theatre Club, has a lot going for it, especially an outstanding cast and an intriguing fact-inspired premise. In the early 60's there was a resort colony in the Catskills that catered to the needs of married heterosexual transvestites. To see such New York theater stalwarts as Patrick Page (George/Valentina), Reed Birney (Charlotte), John Cullum (Terry) and Larry Pine (The Judge/Amy) in full drag is an experience not soon to be forgotten. (Birney's Charlotte bears an uncanny resemblance to both Bette Davis and Tallulah Bankhead.) Gabriel Ebert (Jonathon/Miranda) plays a younger first-time visitor and Nick Westrate (Gloria) is the friend who encouraged his visit. Tom McGowan is hilarious as Bessie, an overweight ex-sergeant who has a Wilde quotation for every occasion. Mare Winningham is George's devoted wife Rita. Lisa Emery has a short but important role as Eleanor, the daughter of one of the guests. The play has some comic moments, but ends up in much darker territory. The lengthy first act sags (I resisted the urge to say "drags") in the middle for a long stretch. Although the play addresses many interesting themes such as heterosexual transvestites' hatred of homosexuals, governmental intrusion and manipulation, budding activism and the collateral damage caused by people's life choices, I could not fathom what it was the playwright wanted the audience to take away from it. David Zinn's set and Kaye Voyce's costumes are effective. Director Joe Mantello makes the best of what is there, but cannot overcome the play's lack of focus. I'm sure things will be tightened up a bit during the two weeks of previews that remain, but I doubt that tinkering can solve the play's problems. Running time: 2 hours 25 minutes including intermission.

The Assembled Parties **

(Please click on the title to see the complete review.)
Richard Greenberg's family chronicle, now in previews at MTC's Friedman Theatre, introduces us to a highly assimilated Jewish family comfortably ensconced in their 14-room Central Park West apartment on Christmas Day 1980. Julie (Jessica Hecht), her husband Ben (Jonathan Walker) and their two sons, Scotty, 24, (Jake Silbermann) and Timmy, 4, (Alex Dreier) are joined for the holiday dinner by Ben's sister Faye (Judith Light), her husband Mort (Mark Blum) and their 30-year old daughter Shelley (Lauren Blumenfeld). The only non-family member present is Jeff (Jeremy Shamos), Scotty's college friend, visiting for the first time. Julie was a movie actress before marriage. Faye married downward after getting pregnant. Her daughter appears to be at the low end of the IQ range. Julie and Ben joke that Scotty will be president some day. Jeff falls in love with their life. A necklace of possibly genuine rubies owned by Faye and Ben's mother plays an important role in the plot. Act Two takes place 20 years later. Reality has intervened. The survivors gather for a smaller, sadder Christmas dinner. On the plus side, there are juicy roles for three fine actors: Hecht, Light and Shamos. They all shine, although I found Hecht a little too mannered at times. There are many witty lines for them to deliver. Another big plus is Santo Loquasto's amazing revolving set which includes most of the rooms in the apartment. Jane Greenwood's costumes are first-rate too. The play's negatives include a few plot points that make very little sense, a sluggish pace in the first act and a few roles that are underwritten. As I write this, there are over 3 weeks left before opening night. Perhaps director Lynne Meadow will tighten things up by then. As it stands now, there are many entertaining moments and a few touching ones, but it doesn't add up to a lot. Running time: 2 hours, 25 minutes, including intermission.

The Madrid *

(Please click on the title to see the complete review.)
Alas, the curse that the theater gods apparently placed on Manhattan Theatre Club's Stage I at City Center has not yet lifted. On paper "The Madrid" looked like a sure thing. With a cast led by Edie Falco and including Frances Sternhagen and Christopher Evan Welch; a playwright, Liz Flahive, with a previous MTC success and a strong track record writing for Falco on "Nurse Jackie;" and a first-rate director, Leigh Silverman, who helmed Flahive's previous MTC play, what could possibly go wrong? Plenty, as  it turns out. Falco plays Martha, a teacher in a Chicago suburb who suddenly walks out on her family and job and starts a new life in a seedy downtown apartment named The Madrid. Her 20-year old daughter Sarah (Phoebe Strole) tries to find a connection with her. Her long-suffering husband John (John Ellison Conlee) copes by selling everything that reminds him of her. Their meddlesome, needy neighbor Becca (Heidi Schreck) and her slightly creepy husband Danny (Welch) try to help in counterproductive ways. Martha's mother Rose (the always fine Sternhagen) tries desperate measures to bring her daughter home. Becca and Danny's gangly 16-year-old son Dylan (Seth Clayton) provides a brief moment of comic relief. The trouble is that the proceedings offer so little to involve the viewer that, by the end of two long listless acts, I no longer cared why Martha left or whether she would return. David Zinn's multipurpose set is efficiently versatile and Emily Rebholz's costumes are fine. Silverman does her best with the hand she has been dealt. Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes including intermission.

Golden Age **

(Please click on the title to see the complete review.)
Terrence McNally's love of opera has yielded such notable plays as The Lisbon Traviata and Master Class, so there was reason for high hopes for his Bellini biodrama now in previews at Manhattan Theatre Club. All the action takes place backstage during the premiere of I Puritani in 1835 Paris. Were I an avid opera buff,  the operatic shoptalk, musical and romantic rivalries and musical in-jokes might have been more involving. That not being the case, the proceedings quickly grew tiresome. When, at the 2 hour 15 minute mark, a character says "I thought it would never end," he expressed my thoughts perfectly. Unfortunately another 30 minutes remained. The cast features Lee Pace as Bellini, Bebe Neuwirth as Maria Malibran, his ex-flame and muse, and Will Rogers as Francesco Florimo, his patron, companion and, possibly, lover. The four leading singers, Giulia Grisi, Giovanni Battista Rubini, Antonio Tamburini and Luigi Lablanche, are played by Dierdre Friel, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Lorenzo Pisoni and Ethan Philips, respectively. F. Murray Abraham has a brief but memorable appearance as Rossini. The set by Santo Loquasto and costumes by Jane Greenwood are excellent. Walter Bobbie's direction does not disguise the flatness of the material. It's a disappointment.