Oliver!

 A

 By coincidence, the two finest musicals in New York right now are both set in the underbelly of 19^th-century London. My previous review was devoted to one of them, Sweeney Todd, which is essentially tragic with comic undertones. Oliver!, on the other hand, is basically good-natured with a touch of tragedy. Lionel Bart’s score has a super-abundance of delightful songs that, in this Encores! production, receive their due both from the orchestra and the actors. The voices, starting with 12-year-old Benjamin Pajak (The Music Man) in the title role, are superb. He stopped the show with “Where Is Love?”, as did the excellent Lilli Cooper (Mack & Mabel) as Nancy with “As Long As He Needs Me.” Raul Esparza (Company, Seared) creates an almost sympathetic Fagin, a far cry from Dickens’ creation. Tam Mutu (Moulin Rouge) is a properly menacing Bill Sikes. Julian Lerner’s Artful Dodger was more subdued than usual. Brad Oscar (The Producers) and Mary Testa (Oklahoma!) go well together as Mr. Bumble and Widow Corney. Thom Sesma (A Man of No Importance) and Rashidra Scott (Company) are fine as Mr. and Mrs. Sowerberry. Michael Siberry (INK) is a sympathetic Mr. Brownlow. One of the show’s biggest treats is its young ensemble who are triple threats with first-rate singing, acting and, especially, dancing. Lorin Latarro’s (Into the Woods) ample choreography is inventive and makes the most of the stage’s shallow performing space. David Rockwell’s (She Loves Me) efficient set places the orchestra on a platform of rough wooden beams, with a backdrop of the London skyline at night, and two stairways that get lots of use. The score sounds wonderful under the baton of Encores! musical director Mary-Mitchell Campbell. Director Lear DeBessonet (Into the Woods) shows a real affinity for this material; The future of Encores! looks promising under her artistic direction. The production runs until May 14. Running time: two hours 20 minutes including intermission.

The Portuguese Kid

C-

This alleged romantic comedy by John Patrick Shanley (Outside Mullingar, Doubt) at Manhattan Theatre Club is about as buoyant as a lead balloon and as original as a Trump joke, of which, alas, there are a few. Jason Alexander (Broadway Bound, Jerome Robbins’ Broadway) plays Barry Dragonetti, a second-rate lawyer in Providence, RI who employs his overbearing mother (Mary Testa; The Government Inspector, Xanadu) as his receptionist. Twice-widowed Atalanta Lagana (Sherie Renee Scott; Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Front Page), who has known Barry since she rescued him from a Portuguese mugger when they were teenagers, wants him to sell her house, if they can agree on his commission. Barry has recently married a despondent young beauty Patty (Aimee Carrero; What Rhymes with America) who had been cruelly jilted by her boyfriend Freddie Imbrossi (Pico Alexander; What I Did Last Summer, Punk Rock). Atalanta’s latest boy toy, it turns out, is of course, none other than Freddie. Even the dimmest wit can figure out how this will turn out. That would be fine if the process of getting there were amusing or surprising. It isn’t. There are some funny one-liners, but far fewer hits than misses. Scott was the only one who appeared to be having a good time. The others acted as if they wished they were somewhere else. I know I did. The revolving sets by John Lee Beatty and the costumes by William Ivey Long were up to their usual high standards. I wish I could say the same about the efforts of the playwright, who also directed. If your requirements for mindless entertainment are very modest, they may be met. Running time: one hour 45 minutes; no interimssion.

The Government Inspector

B+

Red Bull Theater is presenting Jeffrey Hatcher’s clever adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s 1836 comic masterpiece about corruption in a provincial Russian town. One of the strengths of the play is that it is simultaneously deeply Russian and universal. Hatcher has wisely decided not to update it or deemphasize its Russianness. He lets the audience find their own similarities to our times. This production’s biggest plus is the casting of Michael Urie (Buyer and Cellar, TV’s Ugly Betty) as Hlestakov, the wastrel who is mistaken for the visiting inspector. He demonstrates a previously unseen talent for physical comedy that is prodigious. As the mayor, Michael McGrath channels his inner Nathan Lane to our delight. Mary Testa is a hoot as the mayor’s wife. Arnie Burton chews the scenery as the postmaster and is droll as Hlestakhov’s servant Osip. Most of the other ten actors (Stephen DeRosa, Ryan Garbayo, Kelly Hutchinson, David Manis, Ben Mehl, Talent Monohon, Luis Moreno, James Rana, Tom Alan Robbins, Mary Lou Rosato) create vivid characters and work well as an ensemble. At two hours, the comedy wears a little thin. Alexis Distler’s set design is problematic. While the sets for each of the play’s three locations are effective, presenting them as a bilevel unit seems to be an inelegant and unnecessary solution. I advise against sitting in the first two rows, because you might get a stiff neck from looking up at the set’s upper level, where the last 3/4 of the action takes place. Tilly Grimes’s period costumes are wonderful. Red Bull’s artistic director Jesse Berger keeps things moving fluidly. If you enjoy farce and slapstick, well-performed, you will have an enjoyable time. Running time: two hours including intermission.

Oklahoma! — at Bard Summerscape ****

Director Daniel Fish’s concept for this production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s first collaboration is highly original. He has reduced the cast to ten and, with new musical arrangements by Daniel Kluger, cut the musicians to a band of six that includes a mandolin, a banjo, an accordion and a pedal steel guitar. The audience is seated at two tiers of long tables that surround the rectangular space holding  the actors and musicians. On the tables are crockpots of chili that will be served along with cornbread and lemonade at intermission. Colorful foil ribbons hang from the ceiling. Not to be overlooked are the racks of rifles that completely cover one wall. The actors sit on folding chairs inside the rectangle when not performing and occasionally sit on or jump on tables and race around the aisles. Clearly, this is not your grandparents’ “Oklahoma!” Its immersive nature reminded me of the staging of “Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812.” The only actor’s name I recognized was Mary Testa, who makes a fine Aunt Eller. Curly is played by Damon Daunno, who looks like a pop star, plays a mean guitar, but is a bit insecure vocally. Amber Gray is a fine Laurey. James Patrick Davis is solid as Will Parker. Allison Strong seemed a bit tepid as Ado Annie. Benj Mirman resists the urge to unduly caricature Ali Hakim. Patrick Vaill is a complex, almost sympathetic Jud. There is much to admire. The scene in the smokehouse begins in total darkness and is then augmented by huge video projections of Jud and Curly in tight closeup. On the minus side, instead of the famous dream ballet to end the first act, we get a strange musical pastiche at the beginning of the second act that is meant to represent Laurey’s dream. It didn’t work for me. My only strong objection is to a drastic revision of the book that occurs a few moments before the end. The final confrontation between Curly and Jud has been completely changed in a manner that casts a new, rather sinister light on everything that has preceded it. I must confess that I am surprised that the powers that control Rodgers and Hammerstein productions allowed it. It was not enough to spoil my appreciation for an otherwise thoroughly engaging show. Running time: 2 hours 40 minutes including intermission.

Disaster! ***

The subtitle "A 70s Disaster Movie Musical" is an accurate description of what this entertaining show at St. Luke's Theatre offers. Imagine a blend of all the disaster movies of that decade rolled into one complete with earthquake, tidal wave, fire, killer bees, rats and sharks and set to the disco music of the period and you've got an inkling of what writers Seth Rudetsky and Jack Plotnick have wrought. Part of the fun is to see how cleverly the lyrics of 70s songs are incorporated into the action. An energetic cast of 15 that includes Rudetsky and the always amusing Mary Testa keeps this ship afloat. Some of the sight gags are inspired and the wait for the next laugh is never long. Josh Iacovelli's set is appropriately cheesy and Brian Hemesath's costumes are hilarious. Plotnick also directed. At 2 hours 5 minutes including intermission, it's a little too much of a good thing.