Allegro **

For Rodgers and Hammerstein, the third time was not a charm. Their 1947 attempt to do something a bit experimental, with a Greek chorus, ballet sequences and a plot that could be described as Thornton Wilder with a touch of Brecht, was a letdown after Oklahoma! and Carousel. It ran nine months, had a brief national tour and was thereafter largely neglected. Now Classic Stage Company has revived it. Sort of. One could argue whether reducing the cast from 67 to 12, throwing out the DeMille ballets, simplifying the plot to fit into 90 minutes and subjecting Allegro to the John Doyle treatment with actors doubling as musicians leaves enough of the original to even be called a revival. There are still a handful of good songs including “A Fellow Needs a Girl.” “ So Far” and “The Gentleman Is a Dope,” but the moralistic plot about the virtues of small-town life and the evils of the big bad city is embarrassingly simplistic. Claiborne Elder is fine as Joseph Taylor Jr. as are Malcolm Gets and Jessica Tyler Wright as his parents and Alma Cuervo as his grandmother. Elizabeth A. Davis is strong as Jenny. Megan Loomis and Jane Pfitsch each do well with their respective songs. The other members of the hardworking cast are praiseworthy too. Ann Hould-Ward's costumes are evocative of the period. Theater history buffs will want to see the show, but for others it is not a “must-see.” 

By the Water ***

This new family drama with comic overtones, the first product of a collaboration between Manhattan Theater Club and Ars Nova at The Studio at Stage II at City Center, bodes well for their cooperative effort. Playwright Sharon Rothstein depicts the devastating effects of Superstorm Sandy on the Murphy family of Staten Island. Not only has the storm extensively damaged their home and neighborhood, it has uncovered long-standing family tensions and secrets. Marty (Vyto Ruginis) and Mary Murphy (the wonderful Deirdre O’Connell) seem determined to repair and remain in their home. The Murphys’ older son Sal (Quincy Dunn-Baker), who has married and made a successful life for himself in Manhattan, makes a rare appearance to persuade his parents to sell. Their younger son Brian (Tom Pelphrey), a recovering addict recently out of jail, also turns up, but he supports his father’s wishes. There is bad blood between the brothers. We learn that Marty is no saint either — he barely escaped jail for tax evasion and lost the family business. Their long-time neighbors Philip (Ethan Phillips) and Andrea Carter (Charlotte Maier), whose home has been destroyed, want to take a government buyout and relocate. Marty’s campaign to prevent the buyout plan from reaching the necessary 80% consensus puts a strain on their friendship. When it turns out that Marty’s determination to stay put has reasons that are far from noble, even Mary’s relationship with him is shaken. If all that were not enough plot, there is a rekindling of feelings between Brian and the Carters’ divorced daughter Emily (Cassie Beck). What holds it all together is Rothstein’s skill in creating vivid, believable, complex characters and convincing dialogue. Wilson Chin’s set makes the devastation very real and Jessica Pabst’s costumes reflect their characters well. Director Hal Brooks elicits fine work from a strong cast. Running time: 95 minutes, no intermission. 

It's Only a Play ***

This much-revised comedy by Terrrence McNally, which is breaking box office records on Broadway, has a stellar cast including Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Stockard Channing, Megan Mullally, F. Murray Abraham and Rupert Grint (from Harry Potter films), plus promising newcomer Micah Stock. Lane and Channing are at the top of their form, rattling off a nonstop series of bitchy zingers, many of them theatrical insider jokes that flatter the audience by making them feel in the know. Abraham, as an acerbic critic, reveals a manic comic side that I never knew he had. Mullally was out so I can’t comment on her; understudy Isabel Keating seemed flightier than necessary. Rupert Grint, as a hotshot British director who claims to crave failure, has to cope with a poorly written role and a hideous costume. Stock, who resembles a young Jim Parsons, holds his own in a long, hilarious scene with Lane. And then there’s Matthew Broderick as the author of the play whose opening night is being celebrated. He copes reasonably well with difficult material in Act One — a lecture on the depressing state of Broadway theater and a prayer for those involved in the business — but seems to retreat into a shell of blandness in Act Two. The fun is greatly abetted by an over-the-top set design by Scott Pask and hilarious costumes, including the outerwear of unseen celebrities from other Broadway shows, by Ann Roth. Director Jack O’Brien occasionally lets the pace lag. The wisp of a plot is about the anxieties of waiting for reviews on opening night, a somewhat dated concept in the age of instantly accessible reviews on newspapers’ digital sites. The second act fizzles more than it fizzes. McNally would have done well to follow one of the theatrical trends he deplores in the Act One lecture — 90-minute plays without an intermission. A string of one-liners, no matter how funny, does not stay fresh for two hours and forty minutes. It’s too much of a good thing.

Blank! The Musical ***

This new show at New World Stages combines musical improv with a smartphone app that allows the audience to contribute to the evening's entertainment by choosing the title, the 4-note musical motif, three song titles, a choreographic style, a line of dialogue and the cast member who speaks it. Tonight the winning title was “Gluten Free, The Musical,” the songs chosen were “My Name Is Goat-Boy,” “Wheat Is the Devil,” and “I’m Full” and the line was “Don’t you DARE touch my smoothie!” Remarkably, the talented cast of seven actors (Katie Dufresne, Nicole C. Hastings, Tessa Hersh, Andrew Knox, T.J. Mannix, Matthew Van Colton and Douglas Widick) and three musicians pulled these diverse elements together into a reasonably coherent and very entertaining musical. Most of the cast honed their improv skills at Second City, so they are very good indeed. Congrats to creator/producer Michael Girts, co-creator/director T.J. Shanoff and music director/pianist Mike Descoteaux for proving that you don’t need five years of development and millions of dollars to put together an enjoyable musical and you don't have to charge an arm and a leg for tickets. It was a pleasure to attend the opening — and closing — night of “Gluten Free.” Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission.

Side Show ***

I didn’t see this cult musical during its brief Broadway run in 1997, so I can’t comment on whether this new version is an improvement over the original. The score by Henry Krieger (music) and Bill Russell (lyrics) has replaced some old songs with new ones and Russell’s book has had substantial new material added by director Bill Condon. The subject may be unconventional — the story of the show biz career of the conjoined Hilton twins — the extroverted Daisy (Emily Padgett) and the reclusive Violet (Erin Davie) — but the book seemed quite conventional. The early scenes in the side show are unnervingly graphic in their depiction of the freaks. The flashback to the twins’ early life in England seemed unnecessary. Robert Joy is chilling as Sir, the show’s proprietor who thinks he owns the twins. David St. Louis is a vocal powerhouse as Jake (a/k/a King of the Cannibals), employed by Sir to keep an eye on the twins. Ryan Silverman is Terry Connor, the talent scout who wants to make vaudeville stars out of the twins. Matthew Hydzik is Terry’s pal Buddy Foster, the song and dance man tasked with readying them for the stage. Violet has feelings for Buddy, Jake has feelings for Violet and Ryan has hidden (too well hidden) feelings for Daisy. The arrival of Hollywood filmmaker Tod Browning carries a promise of success that is never realized. Padgett and Davie are quite strong both vocally and dramatically. Krieger’s fine music is often dragged down by Russell’s leaden lyrics. David Rockwell’s scenic design and Paul Tazewell’s costumes are excellent. While the show seemed a bit lumpy, it nevertheless managed to deeply engage my feelings for its characters. Running time: two hours 30 minutes including intermission.

I See You ***

I found much to admire in this new romantic comedy at the Flea Theater by Kate Robin, a writer on “Six Feet Under” and Showtime’s “The Affair.” The two characters are recognizable New York types. Nina (Danielle Slavick), a motor-mouthed neurotic obsessed with irreversible environmental degradation, would be a royal pain if she were not also a charmer. Jesse (Stephen Barker Turner), a laid-off teacher and stay-at-home dad, is a much calmer person who usually finds the bright side of any situation. They meet while watching their children play at the Children’s Museum. Opposites attract. We next see them in the waiting room of an I.C.U. (cf. the title), then at a New Age center in lower Manhattan when a Sandy-like storm hits, and later at the light show at the Children’s Museum. They are both changed for having met the other, but the durability of their relationship is an open question. The dialogue often sparkles and the actors are both appealing. By Flea standards, the production is lavish. The set design by Kyle Chepulis features a large turntable (which frankly seemed unnecessary) and the lighting design by Brian Aldous includes a brief light show worthy of a low-budget production of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-TIme.” Claudia Brown’s costumes are appropriate. There's also some high-powered piano playing by Or Matias. Jim Simpson’s direction is assured. Some might find the play too talky and tentative, but I found it offbeat and satisfying. Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission.

The Real Thing **

Let me confess right off that I wasn’t that impressed by Stoppard’s romantic comedy when I saw the 2000 Tony-awarded revival with Stephen Dillane and Jennifer Ehle. However, that version was superior to the current revival at Roundabout’s American Airlines Theater. I only attended out of curiosity to see Ewan McGregor and Maggie Gyllenhaal in their Broadway debuts. McGregor is fine as Henry, the Stoppard surrogate who writes plays that have more wit than heart. Gyllenhaal is equally good as Annie, Henry’s mistress in act one and wife in act two. They should have more chemistry together though. Cynthia Nixon as Henry’s first wife Charlotte and Josh Hamilton as Annie’s first husband Max are less successful. Director Sam Gold does not seem to have a firm grip on the material; his decision to interpolate songs of the period sung by the cast between scenes misfires. He seems to like sets that are wide and shallow. The set by David Zinn is almost as unattractive as the one for “Look Back in Anger,” another Roundabout production directed by Gold. For an allegedly well-made play, I found the second act to be a bit scattershot and its echoes of the play’s opening scene rather clumsy. I grew increasingly restless as the second act dragged on. If you crave Stoppard, you'll do better with Roundabout's other revival, "Indian Ink." Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes including intermission.