The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures *

First presented at the Guthrie Theater in 2009, Tony Kushner's latest effort is now in previews at The Public in a coproduction with Signature Theatre. The first sign of trouble occurred when I was reading the program. Two of the characters were named Empty and Pill. Was this going to be Kushner's homage to Beckett? As it turns out, the answer is "no" -- the names were based on their initials MT and PL. What was gained by this escapes me.

The action takes place during a long summer weekend in 2007 at the Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn home of Gus Marcantonio, played by the able Michael Cristofer. Gus, the father of this spectacularly dysfunctional family, is an avid Marxist, former longshoreman and union official who attempted suicide the year before. His sister Clio (Brenda Wehle), a nun who once was associated with S. American guerillas but is now devoted to serving the poor of Patterson, New Jersey, moved in with him after his suicide attempt. He thinks he is developing Alzheimer's and has called his three children together to take a vote on whether he should end it all. The eldest, Pill, played by Stephen Spinella, is a gay ABD history teacher who has been in a 20+ year relationship with the long-suffering Paul, a black theology professor (K. Todd Freeman). Pill also has an expensive yen for Yale-educated hustler Eli (Michael Esper) on whom he has spent $30,000 borrowed from his sister Empty (Linda Emond). Empty is a former nurse turned labor lawyer and lesbian whose partner Maeve (Danielle Skraastad) is very pregnant. Empty is not above an occasional toss in the hay with her ex-husband Adam (Matt Servitto) who conveniently lives in the basement apartment. At Maeve's insistence, Empty's younger brother V (Steven Pasquale) has donated his sperm. V has rebelled against his lefty upbringing and is now a contractor with a very low opinion of unions. His Asian-American wife Sooze (Hettienne Park) is a calming influence on him. Shelle (Molly Price), the widow of another longshoreman, has a small but important role.

The play alternates between one-on-one conversations and group confrontations.The chaotic shouting match that ends the second act was the most memorable moment of the play. An astute friend pointed out that this scene strongly resembles the Act II finale of "August: Osage County." A seemingly important discovery near the end of Act II is strangely ignored until the final moments of the play. The third act drags on and on until it finally sputters to a close. I give Kushner credit for addressing some Big Issues and writing some intermittently witty dialog, but the family members, especially Pill, are short on redeeming qualities that might have made me care more deeply about them. Despite the fine acting and fluid direction by Michael Greif, I found the play a disappointment. At almost 4 hours, it wore out its welcome long before it ended. I'm sure the major critics will be much kinder.

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert ***

After runs in Sydney, Melbourne, New Zealand, London and Toronto, the musical version of the 1994 Aussie road movie has finally made it to New York. If you liked the movie, you'll love the musical. Considering how much a plot must be simplified to make room for musical numbers, the book by Stephan Elliott and Allan Scott ably captures the essence of the screenplay. The cast is led by Will Swenson and Nick Adams as the two drag queens and Tony Sheldon as the aging transexual. Swenson is good, Adams is better and Sheldon is sensational, good enough to make you forget Terence Stamp's memorable performance in the film. The sets by Brian Thompson are wonderful and the costumes by Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner (who won an Oscar for the film's costumes) are so unbelievably over the top that just seeing them is worth the price of admission. Technically, it's a jukebox musical, with songs from disco to country and everything in between. Director Simon Phillips sure knows how to keep things moving. The pacing is breathless -- time never drags (sorry, folks, couldn't resist). Judging from the wildly enthusiastic reaction of today's audience, Priscilla should be around for a long time.

Catch Me If You Can ***

Will the creative team who brought us Hairspray (Marc Shaiman, music and lyrics; Scott Wittman, lyrics; Jack O'Brien, director; Jerry Mitchell, choreographer; David Rockwell, sets; William Ivey Long, costumes) strike gold again at the Neil Simon with another adaptation of a popular film? Time will tell. New to the team is Terrence McNally, whose book captures the spirit of the film and is both entertaining and touching. The music and lyrics, while rarely memorable, move the story along effectively. The dance numbers are appropriately flashy. The costumes and sets are first-rate. Aaron Tveit, who looks like Matthew Morrison's kid brother, is sensational as Frank Abnagale, Jr. Norbert Leo Butz is just as good as FBI agent Carl Hanratty. Tom Wopat captures the pathos of Abnagale, Sr. and Kerry Butler as Frank Jr.'s fiancee makes the most of her big number.
While their combined efforts don't reach the heights of Hairspray, they do provide a very entertaining evening. My concern is that the lack of a bankable star might be an obstacle to the show's success. I hope not.

Spy Garbo *

Garbo was the British codename for double agent Juan Pujol Garcia, whose misinformation caused the Nazis to misdeploy their forces before the Normandy invasion. Spy Garbo is the misleading title of a play by Sheila Schwartz now at 3LD Art & Technology Center downtown. Spy Garbo not only fails to appear in the play, but is barely mentioned until the last five minutes. As I understand it, the mission of 3-Legged Dog is to offer theatrical works that make extensive use of cutting-edge multimedia techniques. This would be fine if the media served the play, but in this case the cart seems to be before the horse. The play is a meandering 82-minute conversation set in limbo during which Generalissimo Franco (Steven Rattazzi), spy Kim Philby (Chad Hoeppner) and German double agent Admiral Canaris (Steven Hauck) complain about posterity's unfair treatment. All the speechifying seems little more than an excuse to demonstrate an impressive array of projections and sound effects, which often have only a tenuous connection to the play. A quick look around led me to the conclusion that the target audience is under 30.

Good People ***

David Lindsay-Abaire seems to reinvent himself with each new play for Manhattan Theater Club. His reputation rose with the quirky Fuddy Mears, took a hit after the awful Wonder of the World, and soared with his Pulitzer-winning Rabbit Hole. Now along comes Good People, which doesn't resemble any of his earlier plays. There's a strong autobiographic element in that the play mostly takes place in South Boston, the blue-class Irish stronghold where Lindsay (no Abaire at that point) grew up. The two main characters are Margaret, whose life has been a series of hard knocks and Mike, who had the intelligence, charm and luck to escape Southie to become a doctor with a home in tony Chestnut Hill. During the summer before he left for college, Mike and Margaret dated. They have not seen each other since. As ably played by Frances McDormand, Margaret raises passive aggression to an art form -- she knows where to draw the line, but then has an irresistible urge to cross it. Mike, suavely played by Tate Donovan, ignores several calls he gets from Margaret, who then roars back into his life like a tornado. Estelle Parsons creates a memorable character as Dottie, her landlady and babysitter. Becky Ann Baker is fine as Jean, the friend who loves to stir up trouble. The gorgeous Renee Elise Goldsberry excels as Mike's wife Kate. Patrick Carroll is sympathetic as Margaret's ex-boss and fellow bingo player. Each of John Lee Beatty's sets vividly creates a milieu and the set changes between scenes are admirably smooth. Daniel Sullivan's direction is assured. The play explores the gap between what a person says and what the other person hears.While there are a few plot developments that you will probably see coming, there is much here to admire.

Interviewing the Audience **

The Vineyard Theater is presenting L.A.-based screenwriter/director Zach Helm in a theatrical curiosity inspired by a work that Spalding Gray performed for several years. Zach inteviews three audience members for about 20 minutes each. In some sense, there is little point in reviewing the event since each performance is different. Nevertheless, I will describe the performance I attended. Helm chose three men to interview -- a college student, a middle-aged man and a senior citizen. Each interview began with the question "What brought you here today?" From that point, the interviews headed off in different directions. The college student realized that his "major" had in effect chosen him. The second man has a husband and three children that they are raising in a complicated network of six parents. The retiree has a son he broke ties with and an adopted son with special needs that he has worked hard to provide for. Helm knitted the interviews together with the question of whether we choose our lives or discover the lives we have chosen. Helm's interviewing technique is deceptively low-key. He managed to demonstrate that everyone has a story. Whether you will find it entertaining depends on how interested you are in the lives of others.

Black Tie ***

I have long been a fan of A.R. Gurney, so it came as no surprise that I greatly enjoyed his latest play Black Tie at Primary Stages. Early on, Gurney found his niche and stuck to it. Future cultural anthropologists need only study Gurney's collected plays to find out what it meant to be a WASP in 20th century America. This time out we meet Curtis (Gregg Edelman) who is dressing for his son's rehearsal dinner and thinking about the toast he must give. He has donned his late father's tuxedo (or evening suit, as his father would insist) which he has had altered for the occasion. Teddy, the groom (Ari Brand), is to wear Curtis's tuxedo, which Curtis has outgrown. Symbolism, anyone? When Curtis looks in the mirror, lo and behold, he evokes the ghost of his father (Daniel Davis, in a plummy role) who steps out from behind the mirror to advise him. A man untroubled by doubt, he knew the socially appropriate behavior for every occasion. With occasional interruptions from Curtis's wife Mimi (the excellent Carolyn McCormick) and daughter Elsie (Elvy Yost), neither of whom can see him, the father proceeds to instruct Curtis on how to give the perfect toast. Midway through the 85-minute play, we encounter a series of ever-escalating surprises funny enough (just barely) to outweigh their implausibility. With humor that is never mean-spirited, Gurney pokes fun at WASPS, East Coast liberals, and contemporary social mores. Midst the humor, he raises substantive questions about the role of tradition, continuity and the meaning of love. John Arone's set of a hotel room in a second-rate Adirondack hotel has all the proper accouterments, including antlers and a mounted fish. Mark Lamos, who has done right by Gurney on previous occasions, does so once again here.