Wit ***

(Click on the title to read the full review.)

Margaret Edson's 1999 Pulitzer Prize-winning play about a middle-aged John Donne scholar undergoing a grueling clinical trial for stage IV metastatic ovarian cancer, has been revived by Manhattan Theatre Club in a production starring Cynthia Nixon. The lead character's name -- Dr. Vivian Bearing -- is fitting: Vivian indeed has much to bear during her excruciating treatment. Kathleen Chalfant's searing performance in the original New York production set the bar very high. Nixon's Vivian does not reach that stratospheric level, but is nonetheless quite compelling. (Emma Thompson's portrayal in the television movie was also quite different from Chalfant's, but still admirable. I did not see Judith Light, who followed Chalfant in New York, but her reviews were quite good.) Greg Keller is fine as research fellow Dr. Jason Posner, a former student of Vivian's, who shares with her an analytical approach to life that often appears to lack humanity. Michael Countryman makes less of an impression as Dr. Harvey Kelekian, the lead physician, than he does as Vivian's father in a short flashback. Suzanne Bertish is fine as Vivian's mentor, Dr. E.M. Ashford, during a touching, probably imaginary, visit to the dying Vivian. Carra Patterson brings a natural warmth to the role of nurse Susie Monahan. Santo Loquasto's hospital set is unobtrusively authentic and Peter Kaczorowski's lighting is excellent. I thought Lynne Meadow's direction let the pacing lag occasionally. The play, at just short of two hours without intermission, seemed longer than I remember it. Although the play has many flashes of humor, there is no getting around the fact that is very painful to watch. Even though I had seen the play as well as the movie before, it was just as upsetting to see Wit a third time. Whether you should see it depends on your tolerance for disturbing material.

The Cherry Orchard **

(Click on the title to read the full review.)

Writing this review is rather pointless since this CSC production directed by Andrei Belgrader closes tomorrow. Nevertheless, I'll weigh in if only to assure those who couldn't score tickets that they did not miss the revelatory experience suggested by some of the reviews. The production is wildly uneven, with superb moments alternating with others that are downright crude and/or pointless. (Does audience participation really have a role in a Chekhov play?) Chekhov did regard the play as a comedy, but I doubt he was thinking of slapstick. Throwing in a scene of attempted fellatio is sheer sensationalism. In abridging the text to get the evening down to 2 1/2 hours with intermission, the roles of some minor characters have been so truncated that what remains doesn't make much sense. There is some fine acting, especially by Daniel Davis, Alvin Epstein and Juliet Rylance. John Turturro has a wonderful drunk scene, but is a bit too overbearing elsewhere. Dianne Wiest, to my surprise, just isn't that interesting here; I thought she was much better in CSC's Seagull a few years back. The evening moves in fits and starts. I have never thought the play has the emotional power of Uncle Vanya or The Seagull, but it can have more impact than in this abridged version.

Outside People **

Is there room in New York for a second play about an American experiencing culture shock in today's China? The producers at Vineyard Theatre and Naked Angels apparently think so. We now have Zayd Dohrn's new play opening at the Vineyard. It does not really share much in common with "Chinglish." The comedy is much darker here. Each of the characters is in some sense an outsider -- Malcolm (Matt Dellapina) is an extremely neurotic schlemiel from Hoboken whose Chinese former roommate at Stanford, David (Nelson Lee), has invited him to visit and possibly live in Beijing. David's years in America have alienated him from his roots and left him with a taste for non-Chinese women. His current girlfriend Samanya (Sonequa Martin-Green) is the daughter of an African diplomat, raised in China, who will never be considered Chinese. On Malcolm's first night in town, David fixes Malcolm up with Xiao Mei (Li Jun Li), an attractive girl from the countryside trying to make it in the big city, with whom Malcolm promptly falls in love. Even the audience is at times an outsider, because there are a couple of scenes where the Chinese dialogue in not translated. The motivations for what transpires are complicated and not always made clear. The cast is excellent and the situation is sufficiently intriguing that my hopes were raised. Ultimately, I found it just good enough that I wish it had been better. Evan Cabnet's direction is smooth and the sets by Takeshi Kata are attractive and functional. Running time: 90 minutes without intermission.

Note: Dohrn, the son of Weather Underground members Bernadine Dohrn and William Ayers, should know about being an outsider -- he was raised in hiding for his first four years.

The 10 Best * and 10 Worst Plays I Saw in 2011

(Be sure to click the title to see the complete lists!)
Here, in alphabetical order, is the list of the ten plays I enjoyed most in 2011:

The Book of Mormon
By the Way, Meet Vera Stark
Chinglish
Cymbeline
4000 Miles
Good People
The Motherf**ker with the Hat
The School for Lies
Sons of the Prophet
War Horse

Here, also alphabetically, are the ten plays I enjoyed least this year:

Asuncion
Burning
Close Up Space
Dreams of Flying, Dreams of Falling
Man and Boy
Marie and Bruce
The People in the Picture
Relatively Speaking
We Live Here
Wild Animals You Should Know

Standing on Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays **

(Always click on the title to see the complete review!)
Over 90 minutes, nine playlets by eight playwrights examine various aspects of marriage equality. The actors read from scripts on music stands. As in any venture of this type, the results are uneven. Most successful are two hilarious works by Paul Rudnick featuring the irrepressible Harriet Harris: in one, she is a member of a dozen anti-same-sex marriage groups who is tormented by gay voices everywhere; in the other, she is a trendy liberal New York mother who is ashamed that her gay son isn't married yet. Richard Thomas is moving in Moises Kaufman's eulogy for a partner of 46 years. Neil LaBute's overlapping monologues for two men, played by Craig Bierko and Mark Sullivan (Mark Consuelos's understudy), is called "Strange Fruit." With that title, you know things won't end happily. The remaining works, by Jordan Harrison, Wendy MacLeod, Doug Wright, Mo Gaffney and Jose Rivera don't fare as well. It's a thankless task for any actress to share a stage with the likes of Ms. Harris, but Polly Draper and Beth Leavel do their best. Behind the actors, Sarah Zeitler fills the Minetta Lane stage with transparent chairs, flower arrangements and an enormous white swag passing through two interlocked rings, dramaticallly lit by Josh Starr. Stuart Ross directed. As I looked around at the audience, it was a clear case of preaching to the choir.

Close Up Space *

The title of Molly Smith Metzler's new play at Manhattan Theatre Club's Stage I refers to a proofreading instruction. As I suffered through its long 90 minutes, it crossed my mind that the title might well be an imperative for MTC. If they can't find better plays to fill their space at City Center than the two duds we have had so far this season (the other being We Live Here), perhaps they have too much space to fill. When one purchases a subscription, one doesn't expect that every play will be a masterpiece, but one does expect better than this. The cartoonish characters include an editor (David Hyde Pierce) alienated from his teen-age daughter (Colby Minifie), who has been expelled from her latest boarding school; a socially challenged office manager (Michael Chernus); a demanding author (Rosie Perez) and a naive intern from Vassar (Jessica DiGiovanni). The twists and turns of the plot make no sense at all. Leigh Silverman, who did so well directing Chinglish, can't get this turkey to fly. A clever set by Todd Rosenthal is wasted here. Maybe MTC should cut its budget for scenic design and put that money into finding better plays.

Lysistrata Jones ***

Once again, Douglas Carter Beane has turned to ancient Greece for inspiration, this time for a modern take on Aristophanes, with music and lyrics by Lewis Flinn. In this version, now at the Walter Kerr, the cheerleaders of Athens U decide not to "give it up" to their boyfriends on the basketball team until they snap the team's 30-year losing streak. Excluding the bodacious Hetaira (look it up, folks), the combined body fat of the cast must be near zero. This incredibly talented bunch do wonders in the sensational dance numbers by director/choreographer Dan Knechtges. They dance, they sing, they act, they even shoot a few hoops. Patti Murin shines as the title character. Liz Mikel, Josh Segarra, Jason Tam and Lindsay Nicole Chambers stand out in the uniformly excellent cast of 12. The music is lively, but unmemorable. Allen Moyer's scenic design is a bit too slick for the production: who needs a back wall of annoyingly bright lights shining in the audience's eyes for a few seconds? The costumes by David C. Woodward and Thomas Charles LeGalley are terrific, especially in the final scene. Don't worry too much about the plot -- it's silly but sweet. It could use some judicious trimming in the second act. When the show was given in the gym at Judson Church last summer, it drew enthusiastic reviews, including Critic's Pick from the Times. Whether it's right for Broadway remains to be seen. I personally think it would be more successful in a less lavish production off-Broadway. In any case, I had fun and hope it succeeds. Running time: 2 hours 15 minutes, including intermission.