Yen

C

Anna Jordan’s prize-winning drama about three members of a British underclass family and their neighbor is having its New York premiere in an MCC production at the Lucille Lortel Theatre. Hench and Bobbie are teenage half-brothers who are living alone and unsupervised in their alcoholic diabetic mother Maggie’s flat after she moves out to live with her current boyfriend. Hench (Lucas Hedges of “Manchester by the Sea” in an impressive stage debut) is a sullen, emotionally constricted 16-year-old who has nightmares and wets the bed. Bobbie (the impressive Justice Smith) is a hyperactive potty-mouthed 14-year-old (in London the character was only 13) who has unspecified special needs. The boys spend their time playing violent video games and watching porn. Their unseen dog Taliban, so named because he is vicious and brown, is confined to their spare room because he bit someone the last time they let him out. The brothers spot Maggie (Ari Graynor, who looks too pretty and kempt) passed out on the street and bring her in to sober her up. Later the boys are visited by Jennifer (Stefania LaVie Owen), a sweet-dispositioned 16-year-old neighbor, recently arrived from Wales, who is concerned about Taliban’s possible mistreatment. She becomes friendly with the brothers, particularly Hench, who also is stirred by feelings for her. It all turns out very badly. The production is ill-served by an intermission that disrupts the play’s flow. Somehow the play gained 20 minutes since London, where it was performed without a break. The thick working-class British accents and, to a lesser extent, the Welsh accent are challenging. The plot has a few contrivances that make no sense. The brothers have to share one shirt, because they left their laundry with their grandmother the day before she disappeared with her immigrant boyfriend. Was one of them running around shirtless that day? There is too little context for the characters. We never learn what demons bedevil Hench or, for that matter, why he is called Hench. Trip Cullman (Punk Rock) commits one of the cardinal (at least in my book) sins of directing: shining bright lights in the audience’s eyes. The set by Mark Wendland is efficient but uninspired. The costumes by Pamela Young are apt. When it was all over, I had to ask myself what was the play’s point. Is it just a slice of life about the British lower classes? A screed about the evils of porn and video games? A cautionary tale about bad parenting? Judge for yourself if you are so inclined. Running time: 2 hours 10 minutes including intermission.

Jitney

A

Although written first, Jitney is the last of the ten plays in August Wilson’s American Century Cycle to reach Broadway. This superb production at Manhattan Theatre Club was worth the wait. The focus of the play is the office of a gypsy cab service in a primarily black Pittsburgh neighborhood. We meet the owner Becker (the indispensable John Douglas Thompson), a man widely respected by the community; four of his drivers — Fielding , an alcoholic with a surprising past (longtime Wilson veteran Anthony Chisholm); Youngblood (Andre Holland from the film Moonlight), the Vietnam vet trying to make a better life for his girlfriend Rena (Carra Patterson) and their young son; the soft-spoken, aloof Doub (Keith Randolph Smith), emotionally crippled by what he saw in the Korean War; and gossipy troublemaker Turnbo (the pitch-perfect Michael Potts) — and a couple of regular visitors — Shealy (Harvy Blanks), a flamboyant numbers bookie, and Philmore (Ray Anthony Thomas), a frequent customer. Finally, there is Booster (Brandon J. Dirden), Becker’s son, just released from prison after 20 years. The reunion scene between father and son that ends the first act is both riveting and lacerating. The conversations and conflicts among the other characters often pack a punch while often simultaneously delivering a chuckle. Ensemble acting doesn’t get much better than this. The richly detailed set by David Gallo incorporates glimpses of the neighborhood. Toni-Leslie James’s costumes are perfection. The bluesy music by Bill Sims Jr. enhances the action. Director Ruben Santiago-Hudson (The Piano Lesson) once again demonstrates his aptitude for Wilson’s work. The play is weakened a bit by its pat ending, but not enough to erase its many strengths. My one quibble is that I thought that Dirden (The Piano Lesson), although a fine actor, was miscast; he bears no physical resemblance to Thomspon and looks too sleek and confident for a man just out of prison. Nevertheless, this is a powerful revival of a play well worth seeing. Running time: 2 hours 25 minutes including intermission.

Seating advice: Since the floor of the stage has been raised at least a foot, i do not recommend seats in the first few rows.

The Liar

A-

One of the most enjoyable plays I saw in 2011 was The School for Lies, David Ives’s delightful riff on Moliere’s The Misanthrope, at Classic Stage Company. The cleverness of Ives’s rhymed couplets, full of anachronisms and contemporary references, more than compensated for the silliness of the plot. Three years later, Ives was back at CSC with his “translaptation” (his word) of “The Heir Apparent,” a comedy by lesser known French playwright Regnard. While enjoyable, it did not reach the hilarious peaks of the earlier piece. Now CSC is presenting Ives’s latest adaptation of a classic French comedy, Corneillie’s The Liar (Le Menteur). The good news is that Ives is in top form and the production is another triumph of style over substance. The slight plot, a trifle based on mistaken identities, is performed with conviction by an excellent cast led by Christian Conn in the title role of Dorante and the ever-enjoyable Carson Elrod (“All in the Timing,” “The Heir Apparent,” “The Explorers Club’) as his manservant Cliton, who cannot tell a lie. Ismenia Mendes and Amelia Pedlow are charming as Clarice and Lucrece. Tony Roach is fun as Alcippe, Clarice’s secret fiance. Aubrey Deeker is fine in the less showy role of Philiste. Adam LeFevre brings warmth to the role of Dorante’s father Geronte, Kelly Hutchinson is a delight its the twin maids Isabelle and Sabine. The elegantly simple set by Alexander Dodge and the attractive costumes by Murell Horton enhance the production. Michael Kahn directs with a light touch. My only reservation is that it is almost too much of a good thing. The slenderness of the plot barely supports the play’s length, despite all its cleverness. Running time: 2 hours 10 minutes including intermission.

Comfort alert: The seats in Row A do not have arms.

Tiny Beautiful Things ** C

Cheryl Strayed’s 2012 collection of her “Dear Sugar” advice columns from The Rumpus, an online website, was a bestseller. Actor Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) thought it would be a good idea to adapt it for the stage and enlisted Marshall Heyman and Thomas Kail to assist with the concept. Kail (Hamilton) also directs. The result is this sporadically involving 80-minute production now at the Public Theater. An epistolary play with no direct interaction between characters is not an easy thing to bring off, but it can be done (cf. Love Letters). Here, however, it is an unequal exchange with one person responding to questions from several others. Three actors — Phillip James Brannon (Nat Turner in Jerusalem),  Alfredo Narciso and Natalie Woolams-Torres — play a variety of people with a variety of problems, large and small, who write to Sugar for advice. Sugar differs from the typical advice columnist by her willingness to share her own painful experiences with her readers. Nardalos portrays her with no-nonsense directness, folding laundry or packing school lunches as she speaks. Each time one of the other actors appears, he or she is playing a different person so there is little opportunity to build a character. One notable exception is an extended scene in which Narciso plays a man whose son has been killed by a hit-and-run driver; he is absolutely wrenching. While the questions more or less resemble ordinary speech, Sugar’s answers come out in polished prose. I would have preferred reading them at my leisure over hearing them on a stage. Rachel Hauck’s set of Strayed’s kitchen and living room looks so lived in that I found myself studying its details when my interest lagged. Jennifer Moeller’s costumes suit the characters well. Thomas Kail’s direction tries hard to enliven a basically static situation. I admired all the good intentions, but I found the effort ultimately misguided.

On Your Feet ** C+

If exuberance were all it took to make a Broadway musical a winner, this jukebox bio-musical about Gloria and Emilio Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine would make the grade. The infectious music of this Cuban-American couple is played by a terrific orchestra that is onstage for the big numbers. The two leads, Ana Villafañe and Ektor Rivera, are both excellent and are supported by a fine cast that includes Andrea Burns, Alma Cuervo and a young tap-dancing terror named Eduardo Hernandez. The dance numbers, choreographed by Sergio Trujillo, are relentlessly energetic. David Rockwell’s hyperactive set features two tall panels made of shutters that move around a lot. The costumes by Esosa are a treat. Jerry Mitchell’s direction is slick. Unfortunately, all the show’s strengths are largely undone by a lame book by Alexander Dinelaris. Its weaknesses are less apparent during the lively first act, but become increasingly problematic during the weak second act. The abrupt and rather flat finale morphs into an unusually lively extended curtain call. Go for the music and the dancing and try to ignore the book. It has been running for over a year, so clearly it has found an audience. Running time: 2 hours 25 minutes including intermission.

Looking Back at 2016

Judging from the shows I saw in 2016, New York theater has had a better year than in 2015. This year I awarded **** (Very Good) ratings to 17 shows. Last year there were only 9.

Here are my 4-star shows listed alphabetically:

Butler

The Color Purple

Dear Evan Hansen

Eclipsed

Fiddler on the Roof

The Golden Bride

Hamilton

“Master Harold” …and the Boys

Noises Off

Old Hats

Sense & Sensibility

She Loves Me

Shuffle Along

Sweat

Thank God for Jokes

Turn Me Loose

The Wolves

Only 3 shows received my * (Poor) rating, as compared to 8 last year.

In alphabetical order they are:

Boy

Newsical: The Musical

Our Mother’s Brief Affair

Incidentally, a few people asked whether I had ever awarded a show 5 stars. The answer is yes: The Piano Man and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf in 2013 and a previous version of Old Hats in 2012. Let’s hope that with the new rating system it won’t be too long a wait until the first A+.

I hope you had many enjoyable theatrical experiences this year and will have even more in the coming year.

With best wishes for the Holiday Season,

Bob Sholiton

Theater Reviews: A Change in Scoring

Loyal reader,

For some months, I have been concerned that my 0-to-5 star rating system lacks sufficient nuance. In particular, a 3-star rating covers so much territory that it is not all that informative. Therefore, I am testing a letter-grade system with pluses and minuses to see whether that is more helpful. I have added a letter score to all the reviews since July of this year to give you an idea how it would work. If you scroll to the bottom of this screen, you will see "Blog Archive." Click on the name of each month starting with July 2016 and you will see the names of the plays I reviewed that month with both a star and a letter rating. Please let me know what you think. If you have trouble using the comment function, just send me an email at rsholiton@gmail.com. If there is general approval, I will switch from stars to letters starting in January.

Best wishes for a wonderful holiday season.

Bob Sholiton