What Happened?: The Michaels Abroad

B-

Have you ever been to a party where you don't know anyone but the host, where the other guests are talking about people you don't know and topics that don't resonate for you? That's how I felt watching Richard Nelson’s 12th and final installment of his Rhinebeck Panorama at Hunter College. It received almost universal praise from the critics, some of whom thought it was the best of the series. I wish I could agree. Perhaps 18 months away from the theater has dulled my critical faculties. Maybe I am entering curmudgeonhood. In any case I found the once fresh idea of watching the actors move the kitchen furniture, lay the rugs and set the table had become a bit stale. The chairs were an odd assortment, as usual, and the sink and stove were in their proper places. The main difference was that this kitchen was not in Rhinebeck, but in Angers, France. All seven characters are gathered for a tribute to Rose Michael, the illustrious modern dancer to whom each is related, either as widow (Maryann Plunkett), ex-husband (Jay O. Sanders), daughter (Charlotte Bydwell), niece (Matilda Sakamoto), former colleagues (Haviland Morris and Rita Wolf) or admirer (Yvonne Woods). Most of the play is spent mourning her recent death. She was dying of ovarian cancer, but COVID finished the job. The highlight of her tribute is to be a performance of some of her works by her daughter and niece. Luckily for us, they preview their performance for those assembled. The dances (by the late, great dancer/choreographer Dan Wagoner) are charming and well-performed. Their performance was, for me, the high point of the afternoon. The other good news is that the cozy Hunter theater with only two rows of seats on all four sides is perfect for Nelson's intimate plays. Unllke at the Public Theater, hearing is not a problem. Since it closes today, I won’t take up more of your time, except to say that I thought that even Nelson stalwarts Plunkett and Sanders did not inhabit their characters as thoroughly as usual. Maybe the play would have been more impactful if it had been performed sooner after the first Michaels play. I am sorry that I did not find it more rewarding. Running time: one hour 50 minutes without intermission.

What Do We Need To Talk About?

A-

Little did I imagine when I penned my last review exactly two months ago that it might well be the final one. Fortunately, I’m still here but live theater in New York isn’t. When it will return and which theaters will survive are questions that will probably not be answered for a long time. As March and April slipped by, the list of theatrical evenings I had looked forward to in vain grew longer and longer: Company, The Minutes, The Siblings, Sanctuary City, 72 Miles To Go, Nollywood Dreams, Caroline or Change, Intimate Apparel, Selling Kabul, Flying over Sunset, The Visitor, Take Me Out and How I Learned To Drive. Although several worthwhile filmed productions were made available either on television or online, they were not live theater. Leave it to Richard Nelson to come up with something original that bridges the gap between recorded and live. Tonight the Public Theater presented on their website the premiere and sole performance of Nelson's timely postscript to his four plays about the Apple family of Rhinebeck, What Do We Need To Talk About? When we meet the four Apple siblings — Barbara (Maryann Plunkett), Richard (Jay O. Sanders), Marian (Laila Robins), Jane (Sally Murphy) and Jane’s partner Tim (Stephen Kunken) — they are just starting a Zoom session. Richard is temporarily living with Barbara who has just returned from a near-fatal hospital stay. Tim is in isolation in the guest bedroom of the home he shares with Jane, who is too frightened to go shopping for groceries. Marian has dressed up for the call. For the next 70 minutes, we watch and listen as they talk about life today and tell each other stories. It is very much like observing them sitting around the kitchen table in the previous plays, but with the major advantage that you don’t have to struggle to hear them. If you haven’t seen the earlier plays, the details of their conversations will probably mean less to you, but I think the work can stand on its own merits. What a pleasure it is to be reunited with these sympathetic characters. Watching it sliced two ways, reminding us of what we are missing while holding out hope for what might lie ahead. It will only be available until May 4, so don’t delay.

Uncle Vanya (Hunter Theater Project)

B-

Under the leadership of Theater Department Chair Gregory Mosher, Hunter College has initiated a program of producing bare-bones theatrical productions at an affordable price ($37) in their intimate Frederic Loewe Theater. Launching the project is this version of a Chekhov masterpiece directed by Richard Nelson, who also collaborated on the translation with today’s go-to Russian literature translators Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. On the basis of his Apple Family Plays and the Gabriel trilogy, some have dubbed Nelson the American Chekhov, so it is fascinating to see what happens when he gives the Russian master his “let’s sit around the kitchen table and talk” approach. For me, the results are a bit disappointing; there is too much Nelson and too little Chekhov. Nelson’s approach restricts the play’s emotional range and drains some of its humor and pathos. Some of Chekhov’s words, such as Sonya’s concluding speech, just do not lend themselves to a conversational approach. The level of the acting is quite uneven. Nelson stalwarts Jay O. Sanders as Vanya and Jon DeVries as Alexander Serebryakov make powerful impressions. Yvonne Woods is strong as Sonya. Celeste Arias fares reasonably well in the enigmatic role of the old professor’s young wife Elena. In the minor roles of Sonya’s former nanny Marina, Kate Kearney-Patch is adequate. As grandmother Marya, Alice Cannon barely registers. The unfortunate casting of the key role of Dr. Astrov is the weakest element of the production. Although Jesse Pennington certainly looks the part, he barely whispers many of his lines and shows so little affect that he almost seems in a trance. During a few monologues, actors directly address audience members, which I think works rather well. John Ardizzone-West's scenic design consists mostly of three kitchen tables, several mismatched chairs and some dinnerware. Mark Koss's costumes do not look very Russian. I had forgotten that the play includes a strong ecological message that is even more relevant today. Fortunately Chekhov’s genius is resilient and comes through this adaptation mostly intact. While far from an unalloyed success, the evening is an interesting experiment worth experiencing and a promising start for the Hunter Theater Project. Running time: one hour 45 minutes; no intermission.

Illyria

D

I fear that playwright Richard Nelson is in danger of becoming a victim of self-parody. He seems to have succumbed to a one-size-fits-all solution to every dramatic problem: drag out a large table, some food and a bunch of actors and let the conversation begin. This worked out very well in the Apple family plays and somewhat less well in the Gabriel family plays, but he has definitely hit the point of diminishing returns in his latest effort for the Public Theater. Allegedly meant as a tribute to Joseph Papp and the other founders of the New York Shakespeare Festival as they struggled for survival during the summer of 1958, it sheds little light or heat. We meet Festival producer Papp (John Magaro; The Front Page), his actress wife Peggy (Kristen Connolly), press agent Merle Dubuskey (Fran Kranz), director Stuart Vaughan (John Sanders; Groundhog Day), his wife Gladys (Emma Duncan) who is Papp’s assistant; musician/composer David Amram (Blake DeLong), stage manager John Robertson (Max Woertendyke) and actresss Colleen Dewhurst (Rosie Benton). Not seen but frequently heard of is her husband, actor George C. Scott. Mary Bennett (Naian Gonzalez Norvind; How To Transcend a Happy Marriage) is a young actress auditioning for a role. Bernie Gersten (Will Brill; Act One), a stage manager, is a long-time friend of Papp’s. Vaughan, who has been cutting back his work with the Festival for more lucrative work elsewhere, is one of the few characters who comes across with any vividness. Most of the others, who, if you Google them, were fascinating people, are virtual ciphers here. We hear about fights with Robert Moses, the imminent destruction of Carnegie Hall, the razing of a neighborhood to build Lincoln Center, the fallout from testifying before HUAC, but these are mostly fleeting references. At the end of the long first scene, I was hopeful; by the end of the second, considerably less so. The rambling third scene squandered whatever positive feelings I had left for the play. Interestingly, what I feared most proved to be a non-issue: there were many complaints about difficulty hearing the actors. I was going to get a listening device but the line was so long I gave up and did without. From the far end of the sixth row, I had no problem hearing. If only there had been more worth listening to. The set design which mainly involved well-worn tables and chairs was by Susan Hilferty (who also designed the costumes) and Jason Ardizzone-West. The playwright directed. Running time: one hour 50 minutes; no intermission.

Women of a Certain Age *** B+

The final play in Richard Nelson’s trilogy “The Gabriels: Election Year in the Life of One Family,” now at the Public Theater, is set in the kitchen of the Gabriel family home in Rhinebeck, New York a couple of hours before the polls close on Election Day. The characters are the same as in the first two plays: Mary Gabriel (the superb Maryann Plunkett), a retired doctor, was the third wife and now widow of Thomas Gabriel, a playwright who died exactly a year ago. His younger brother George (Jay O. Sanders), a cabinetmaker, also taught piano until hard times forced them to sell the family piano. George’s wife Hannah (Lynn Hawley) works for a local caterer, but business is slow so she is also working part-time as a maid in a nearby hotel. Their son Paul is away at college, but his future there is uncertain because of their reduced financial status. George’s sister Joyce (Amy Warren), an unmarried assistant costume designer, is visiting from Brooklyn. Patricia (Roberta Maxwell), George and Joyce’s mother, who resides in a nearby assisted living facility, has had a stroke that left her partially paralyzed. Thomas’s first wife Karin (Meg Gibson), an actress and teacher, is renting the room over the garage. She is performing a solo piece that evening based on the writings of Hillary Rodham Clinton. The modest supper of shepherd’s pie and paintbrush cookies they are preparing may be the last time the family is together in the family home. A financial crisis brought on by Patricia’s gullibility has forced the sale of the house. Their conversation ranges far and wide, from vintage cookbooks to gentrification to outside money’s influence on local politics. In preparing the house for sale, they run across a box of letters sent to Patricia when she was 13, shortly after the sudden death of her older sister. The attempt to tie the reasons for the sister’s death to a notorious incident long ago at Harvard seemed clumsy and out of place. The Gabriels do not yet know the election results, but their future does not look bright regardless of the outcome. In contrast to the family in Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, their misfortune is entirely unearned. Anyone who has not seen at least the middle play of the trilogy may not get a lot out of this one. The ensemble cast is outstanding. Susan Hilferty designed the costumes and, with Jason Ardizzone West, the cozy set. The playwright directed. Running time: one hour 45 minutes; no intermission.

What Did You Expect? *** B

The second installment of Richard Nelson’s trilogy “The Gabriels: Election Year in the Life of One Family,” now at the Public Theater, brings us back to the kitchen of the Gabriel family in Rhinebeck, New York, this time on September 16, 2016. Those of you who saw the first play, “Hungry,” will recall that it is set in the same place on March 4 of this year. Thomas Gabriel, a playwright and novelist, had died several months before. Mary Gabriel (Maryann Plunkett), a retired doctor, was his third wife and now his widow. His younger brother George (Jay O. Sanders) is a piano teacher and cabinetmaker. George’s wife Hannah (Lynn Hawley) works for a local caterer. George’s sister Joyce (Amy Warren), an unmarried assistant costume designer, is visiting from Brooklyn. Patricia (Roberta Maxwell), George and Joyce’s mother, now resides in a nearby assisted living facility, but is there for dinner. Somewhat peculiarly, Thomas’s first wife Karin (Meg Gibson), an actress, is also there, having rented the room over the garage. As the family prepares supper, they discuss a wide range of subjects, many of them literary. An erotic passage from Wharton, a famous picnic attended by Melville and Hawthorne, and a found letter from a famous artist all command their attention. The topics they are trying to avoid are the pressing ones — a family financial crisis brought on by Patricia’s gullibility. the downside of the gentrification of Rhineback for locals, the disinterest of wealthy Democrats in the working class. a generalized sense of anxiety and the upcoming election. As usual, Nelson brings things right up to date with a reference to Hillary’s pneumonia and Jimmy Fallon’s messing up Donald Trump’s hair on TV. The political elements seemed less important and less integral this time, almost as if they were grafted onto the play. The varied conversations also seemed less part of a coherent whole this time. Anyone who has not seen the previous play may not get a lot out of this one. Nevertheless, the ensemble cast is once again superb. Susan Hilferty again designed the costumes and, with Jason Ardizzone West, the cozy set. The playwright directed. We will have to wait until Election Day for the final play “Women of a Certain Age” to see what is in store for the Gabriels. Running time: one hour 40 minutes; no intermission.

Hungry ***

Theatergoers who enjoyed Richard Nelson’s set of four plays about the Apple family of Rhinebeck, New York will be delighted that Nelson is back at the Public Theater with a new series of three plays about a different local family. “Hungry,” the first installment of “The Gabriels: Election Year in the Life of One Family” opened on March 4, the same day that it is set. Coming up in September is “What Did You Expect?” and, on Election Day, the final play “Women of a Certain Age.” With “Hungry,” the series is off to a fine start. Nelson’s skill at incorporating feelings about events in the larger world into naturalistic family conversations is even more seamlessly realized here than in the Apple plays. The cost of this seamlessness is a lessening of drama and traditional plot, a tradeoff I can readily accept. The Gabriels have gathered to scatter the ashes of Thomas Gabriel, a playwright who died four months prior. The absolutely superb ensemble cast includes two holdovers from the Apple plays — Maryann Plunkett as Thomas’s widow, third wife and retired doctor, and Jay O. Sanders as his brother George, a piano teacher and cabinetmaker. The other family members present are George’s wife Hannah (Lynn Hawley), who works for a local caterer; George’s sister Joyce (Amy Warren), an assistant costume designer who has come up from Brooklyn; and Patricia (Roberta Maxwell), George and Joyce’s frail but crusty mother who now resides in an assisted living facility. Thomas’s first wife Karin (Meg Gibson) is also there, a not wholly welcome guest. As the women prepare a supper of homemade bread, ratatouille over pasta, salad and apple crisp, they all discuss a multitude of issues, many of which suggest an underlying feeling of unease that has gripped the family and the country. Gentrification, carpetbagging, a diminishing sense of history, the toxic political environment, the need to preserve memories, an old book on housewifery and a unique method of determining the correct portion of pasta are all discussed. There is a sense of introducing the characters to lay the foundation for following their course in the two remaining installments. The archangel Gabriel was a messenger. We shall see what message these Gabriels bring. Susan Hilferty designed the costumes and, with Jason Ardizzone West, the cozy set. Nelson is a notable exception (along with Alan Ayckbourn) to my rule that playwrights should not direct their own plays. I doubt that anyone could do as well. If you demand fast-acting drama, you will be miserable, but if you enjoy leisurely conversation by intelligent people, you will be quite content. Running time: 1 hour 40 minutes; no intermission.

Regular Singing ***

The fourth and final installment in Richard Nelson's saga about the Apple family of Rhinebeck, New York brings the series to a satisfying conclusion. I confess that I approached this one with a bit of trepidation, because, by the end of the third play, the pleasure of the Apple family's company was wearing a bit thin for me. In addition, two members of the superb original cast (Shuler Hensley and J. Smith-Cameron) were unavailable for the final play and I was uncomfortable about seeing new actors in their roles. Like the three previous plays, the action or, more accurately, the conversation is set on a day significant for American history. "That Hopey Changey Thing" was set on Election Night 2010; "Sweet and Sad" on the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and "Sorry"on Election Day 2012. (I suggest you use the search box near the top right to read my reviews of the three previous plays.) This time the occasion is the 50th anniversary of JFK's assassination. The Apple siblings -- Barbara (Maryann Plunkett), a spinster schoolteacher; Marian (Laila Robins), also a teacher, whose marriage collapsed after her daughter's suicide and who now lives with Barbara; Jane (Sally Murphy, replacing Smith-Cameron), a writer who has recently moved to Rhinebeck with partner Tim (Stephen Kunken, replacing Hensley), an actor/waiter; and Richard (Jay O. Sanders), an attorney who has fled his failed marriage in New York for a job in the Cuomo administration in Albany -- and their Uncle Benjamin (John Devries), a former actor whose failing memory has landed him in an assisted living home, have gathered at Barbara's house, where Marian's ex-husband Adam lies dying upstairs. As they go over Adam's detailed plans for his funeral, they discuss many things, from the state of the country to their personal demons. There is no action in the usual sense, but there are occasional moments of great pathos. Murphy seemed a bit young to play Jane and was barely audible at times. Kunken, always a fine actor, fit in well as Tim. The four returning actors are as excellent as we have come to expect. It was a real pleasure to spend time with them again. Nelson as director serves his own material well. For one of the Public Theater's Lab productions, the modest set and costumes by Susan Hilferty are commensurate with the low ticket price. At one hour, 50 minutes without intermission, the play could use some judicious trimming.

Nikolai and the Others **

(Please click on the title to see the complete review.)
Judging from his new play at Lincoln Center Theater, Richard Nelson does not believe that less is more. He gives us 18 characters to keep track of over a span of 2 hours, 40 minutes, with a ballet excerpt thrown in for good measure. 15 of the characters are Russian emigres involved in the arts, including choreographer George Balanchine (Michael Cerveris), composer Igor Stravinsky (John Glover), conductor Serge Koussevitsky (Dale Pace), actor Vladimir Sokoloff (John Procaccino), set designer Sergey Sudeikin (Alvin Epstein) and, last but not least, Nikolai Nabokov (Stephen Kunken), a minor composer who is working for the U.S. government spreading largess to win the cultural Cold War. They, their wives, ex-wives and admirers are gathered on a Spring weekend in 1948 in rustic Connecticut to celebrate the ailing Sudeikin's name day and view a rehearsal of Orpheus, Balanchine and Stravinsky's current collaboration. The remaining three characters are the dancers Maria Tallchief, Balanchine's current wife (Natalia Alonso), and Nicholas Magallenes (Michael Rosen), and an uninvited guest "Chip" Bohlen (Gareth Saxe), a U.S. diplomat who keeps an intimidating eye on important Russian emigres. The play is most successful in capturing the pathos of those cut off from their cultural heritage, nostalgic for their homeland, clinging together, insecure and fearful in their adopted country. The rehearsal scene gives some insight into the creative process and provides us with some gorgeous dancing. The ballet sequence also provides a welcome respite from the nonstop conversation, table setting and clearing and eating. The role of the wives (Blair Brown, Kathryn Erbe and Betsy Aidem) is mainly to look after their men. The dancers don't get much respect either. During the course of the weekend, Nikolai comes to regret abandoning composing for his job helping fellow emigres and feels the sting of ingratitude. The acting seemed a bit flat, but with such a large cast, there is not much opportunity to develop deep characterization. David Cromer directs with a sure hand. The shabbiness of Marsha Ginsberg's set is deliberate, I assume. Jane Greenwood's costumes seem appropriate. Even though I was predisposed to like the play because of my interest in Balanchine and Stravinsky, I found it less rewarding than I had hoped. Running time: 2 hours, 40 minutes including intermission.

Sorry **

The third installment in Richard Nelson's series of four plays about the Apple family of Rhinebeck, NY is now at the Public Theater. The first play, "That Hopey Changey Thing," was set on Election Day of 2010.; the second, "Sweet and Sad," on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. The current play takes place on Election Day, 2012. Once again we meet the four middle-aged Apple siblings and their uncle. Barbara (Maryann Plunkett), the never-married eldest, and Marian (Laila Robbins), who has moved in with her after separating from her husband, are looking after Uncle Benjamin (Jon DeVries), a retired actor of some note, who has suffered a heart attack and a subsequent loss of memory and inhibitions. Jane (J. Smith-Cameron), a writer, and Richard (Jay O. Sanders), a lawyer, have come up from Manhattan to provide moral support on the day that Uncle Benjamin will be moved to a care facility. These four intelligent people spend two early morning hours discussing life in general and the state of the nation. That's about it. Nelson may be our most Chekhovian playwright, but a Chekhov play is action-packed by comparison. Without the superb ensemble acting of this fine cast, it would not be worth anyone's time. After watching them create these vivid characters in the two earlier plays, it was a pleasure to see them together again. (I missed Shuler Hensley's character, absent from this play.) That pleasure began to wear a little thin after the first hour. At an hour, 45 minutes without intermission, the play did not sustain my interest.  I doubt that anyone who has not seen at least one of the previous plays would find it worthwhile. Nelson also directed.

Sweet and Sad **

Last November, the Public Theater presented Richard Nelson's play "The Hopey Changey Thing," which was set on and opened on Election Day 2010. Now we have Nelson's "Sweet and Sad" (the title comes from a line in Whitman's "The Wound Dresser") which takes place on and opens on 9/11/11. In both plays, we visit the three adult Apple daughters (Barbara, Marian and Jane) their brother Richard, their uncle Benjamin, and Jane's partner Tim at Barbara's home in Rhinebeck. This time out, they are gathered to attend a 9/11 commemoration put on by Barbara's students, at which Benjamin, a retired actor with amnesia, will give a recitation. As the Apples eat supper, the conversation ebbs and flows, alternating between the personal and the public spheres, with the topic of 9/11 often rising to the surface. As in last year's play, nothing much happens. Although seeing the earlier play is not essential, it did help to flesh out the characters. The excellent cast from last year (see my November 2010 review for their names) inhabits their roles even more fully. While I admire Nelson for undertaking this series of plays reflecting current events through the prism of the Apple family, I didn't find this instalment as satisfying as the first. Nelson also directed. Running time: 110 minutes; no intermission.

That Hopey Changey Thing ***

Richard Nelson's latest effort, now in a production directed by the playwright at The Public Theater, could serve as a bookend to Lisa Kron's "In the Wake," which is also playing there. While Kron's work chronicles the life of New York lefties in the W. era, Nelson portrays a liberal family's dinner two years into the Obama era on election night 2010. The four grown Apple siblings gather at the Rhinebeck home of the unmarried sister who is caring for their uncle, an actor who is suffering from loss of memory after a heart attack. The divorced sister has brought along her current interest, who is also an actor, to meet the family. During the early scenes, we pick up on the complicated relationships that unite and divide the family. When the conversation turns to politics, everyone voices opinions that arise naturally from what we have learned about them. Noone's behavior escapes criticism. The best that can be said is that some politicians are less bad than others. Not much happens, nothing is resolved, yet the experience is mildly bracing, mainly because of the superb ensemble acting, The entire cast -- Jon Devries, Shuler Hensley, Maryann Plunkett, Laila Robbins, Jay O. Sanders and J. Smith-Cameron -- is topnotch.