Fire and Air

D

It is sad to think that this amorphous mess came from the pen of four-time Tony winner Terrence McNally. How the mighty have fallen! If there was any point to this Cliff Notes version of the career of ballet impresario Sergei Diaghilev, I failed to grasp it. If you arrive knowing the reasons for his importance to the arts of the early 20th century, you will disappointed by the needy man-child portrayed here (by the miscast Douglas Hodge; La Cage aux Folles). If you don’t know his importance beforehand, you will wonder why you should waste two hours with this unpleasant man. At least his entourage includes some interesting characters played by topnotch actors — his cousin and long-ago lover Dmitry Filosofov (John Glover; Love! Valour! Compassion!), his longtime friend and patron Misia Sert (Marin Mazzie; Bullets Over Broadway, Carrie) and his nurse since childhood Dunya (Marsha Mason; The Goodbye Girl). We also meet his great love, the dancer Vaslav Nijinsky (James Cusati-Moyer; Six Degrees of Separation), whose career he obsessively molded, and who broke his heart. Finally, we are introduced to his next protege Leonide Massine (Jay Armstrong Johnson; On the Town). To hold the interest of at least part of the audience, Cusati-Moyer and Johnson remove their shirts as often as possible. Periodically Diaghilev spouts something pretentious when he is not kvetching about his boils or his fear of water. At intermission, I could not imagine that it could get worse, but I was wrong. The second act is excruciating with embarrassing surrealistic touches. It was a thoroughly dispiriting experience. Costumes were by Ann Hould-Ward (Allegro, Pacific Overtures). CSC artistic director John Doyle (Allegro, Pacific Overtures) designed the set and directed. Running time: two hours including intermission. NOTE: Seats in Row A are armless.

Bullets over Broadway ***

Woody Allen's musicalization of his 1994 film, now in previews at the St. James Theatre, provides a consistently entertaining, if not inspired, evening. Susan Stroman's choreography and direction add significantly to the show's strengths, but her collaboration with Allen does not lead to the giddy heights of her work with Mel Brooks. The decision to use popular songs of the 20's instead of an original score works out surprisingly well, with many songs fitting into the plot in clever unexpected ways. Best of all is the strong cast, particularly Marin Mazzie as Helen Sinclair, Nick Cordero as Cheech, Helene Yorke as Olive Neal and Brooks Ashmanskas as Walter Purcell. Zach Braff was out, so I got his understudy Andy Jones as David Shayne. Jones was fine in a vanilla way, but unfortunately looked at least 10 years younger than Betsy Wolfe, his love interest Ellen. Karen Ziemba makes the most of her one number. Santo Loquasto's sets and William Ivey Long's costumes are the best that money can buy. The show moves along at a rapid clip and rarely sags. I was a bit disappointed in the finale, which somehow seemed less than the rousing conclusion the show needed, but I had a good time. Running time: 2 hours, 25 minutes including intermission.

Carrie **

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I probably would not have seen Carrie, had it not turned up on my MCC subscription. I was dubious that a musical version of Stephen King's novel could be an improvement over the 1976 film. Apparently it wasn't: the 1988 musical closed after five performances. The creators (Michael Gore, music; Dean Pitchford, lyrics; Lawrence D. Cohen, book) recently decided to give it another go in a downsized off-Broadway version, now in previews at the Lucille Lortel, that lowers the gore quotient and emphasizes the relationship between Carrie (Molly Ranson) and her mother Margaret (Marin Mazzie). The two leads do not disappoint: they make good use of their vocal and dramatic skills to flesh out their roles. The other characters are little more than stereotypes. The set, by David Zinn, is basically a bare stage and some metal chairs, with ample use of projections and lighting to differentiate settings. The special effects, to put it politely, are extremely modest. The choreography, by Matt Williams, is twitchy and generic. And then there are the songs ... I knew right away that this was not my kind of music. The melodies are rudimentary and the lyrics, often simplistic. Only in the mother-daughter scenes did the show really come to life. It's not awful, just not artful. Stafford Arima directed. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes with intermission.