The Boys in the Band

A-

Mart Crowley’s groundbreaking 1968 play has always evoked a variety of reactions. While many praised it for presenting the first unapologetic look at a group of gay characters onstage, others condemned it because these characters displayed so much self-loathing. I try to keep in mind that the play is set at a moment before Stonewall drastically changed gay life and provided an outlet for internalized homophobia. Crowley’s characters find refuge with each other against a hostile world. I am also saddened as I think back to the original production by the knowledge that many members of the cast later died from the as-yet unknown scourge of AIDS. The idea that a 50th anniversary production would be mounted on Broadway with a star-studded cast of out gay actors would have seemed inconceivable in 1968. And so it was with a lot of baggage that I arrived at the Booth Theatre. I had forgotten just how funny the dialogue is with its many bitchy outbursts. I had also forgotten how nasty the play turns during its final third. The cast is uniformly strong. In the crucial role of Michael, the host of the evening’s party, Jim Parsons (Harvey, The Normal Heart, "The Big Bang Theory") delivers. When he turns vicious after a few drinks, it is truly shocking. Zachary Quinto (The Glass Menagerie) delivers the goods as Harold, the self-hating pockmarked birthday boy. Matt Bomer ("White Collar," "The Normal Heart") is a sympathetic — and very buff — Donald, the underachiever who stands by Michael. Andrew Rannells (Falsettos, The Book of Mormon) is fine as Larry, whose promiscuity threatens his relationship with the uptight Hank (Tuc Watkins; White Lies), who has left a wife and two children for Larry. Robin de Jesus (In the Heights) is wonderful as the unabashedly effeminate Emory. Michael Benjamin Washington (Mamma Mia!) is quietly moving as the only African-American in the group. Charlie Carver ("Desperate Housewives") is a hoot as Cowboy, the hustler Emory has bought Harold for his birthday. Brian Hutchison (Man and Boy) plays the problematic role of Alan, Michael’s college roommate, who makes an unexpected appearance. David Zinn’s (Amelie, Fun Home) bilevel apartment set is guaranteed to elicit real estate envy. His costumes are also excellent. Director Joe Mantello (Three Tall Women, The Humans) has done his usual fine work with this fine ensemble. I still have problems with some of the play’s structure. The telephone game that fills most of the last 40 minutes seems both artificial and vicious. Michael’s attempt to manipulate Alan seems out of context. However, there is no escaping how hilarious much of the play is, which goes a long way toward forgiving its shortcomings. Running time: one hour 55 minutes, no intermission.

Smokefall **

“The greatest act of courage is to love” or so say two characters in Noah Haidle’s absurdist family dramedy at MCC Theater. We see how four generations of a Grand Rapids family grapple with this challenge. In the first act, we meet Violet (Robin Tunney), accidentally pregnant, on the verge of giving birth to male twins any day. Her 14-year-old daughter Beauty (Taylor Richardson), whose daily diet includes bark, dirt and paint, announced three years ago that she had nothing more to say and hasn’t spoken since. Her husband Daniel (Brian Hutchison) secretly feels overwhelmed and, as we learn from the narrator Footnote (Zachary Quinto), is about to abandon his family. The colonel (Tom Bloom), her father, has been sliding into dementia since the death of his wife. The first act ends with an attention-grabbing scene in which the two fetuses (Hutchinson and Quinto), dressed as vaudevillians, sing Sondheim, philosophize and express their fears of leaving the womb. If I had left at intermission, I would have been content. Unfortunately, the second act heads off in directions that I found unsatisfactory, jumping forward and flashing back in time and mixing characters from different time periods in the same scene. There is one particularly confusing actor doubling and another character who does not age for 75 years, all to little discernible purpose. Mimi Lien’s scenic design employs a lot of pressed wood. Asta Bennie Hostetter’s costumes are wonderful, especially the ones for the twin fetuses. When presented in Chicago, the play was such a success that the Goodman Theater moved it from its small stage to its mainstage to ecstatic reviews. Although the current production has the same director, Anne Kauffman, something seems to have been lost on the trip east. The New York cast, entirely new, seems competent so I am not sure they are to blame. I wish the play had been able to maintain the promise of its first act. Running time: one hour 40 minutes including intermission.

The Glass Menagerie ***

(Please click on the title to see the complete review.)
Whenever the critics seem to be competing to see who can lavish the most praise on a play, I begin to worry that I am being set up for disappointment. To some extent, that is the case here. While I will grant that the current Broadway version of Tennessee Williams' iconic early masterpiece, under the direction of John Tiffany,  has an intelligent unified vision, I do not think that it is a definitive version for the ages. Bob Crowley's symbolic set emphasizing the isolation from reality of the Wingfields' apartment is an interesting choice. Nico Muhly's incidental music is quietly evocative. Steven Hoggett's stylized movement design seemed more often a distraction than an asset. Crowley's costumes for the women seemed off -- Amanda's gown in the last act seemed better suited to Miss Havisham. To my surprise, the main disappointment for me was Cherry Jones as Amanda. I found her monotonously strident and lacking any trace of vulnerability in the early scenes. Zachary Quinto made a fine Tom. The scene between Laura (Celia Keenan-Bolger) and the gentleman caller (Brian J. Smith) was beautifully rendered. I feel like Scrooge, but I can't honestly say that I was swept away by this production. I liked it, but I didn't love it. Running time: 2 hours, 45 minutes including intermission.