Joe, Author at TheaterReviewsFromMySeat

About This Reviewer - December 3, 2018April 12, 2019

Thom Pain (based on nothing) – Signature Theatre

A finalist for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for drama, Thom Pain (based on nothing) was written by Will Eno. His burst on to the literary scene was followed by three fine plays that I saw: Middletown, The Realistic Joneses and Wakey, Wakey. Mr. Eno has a quirky voice and develops his big themes in the small details. His writing is often dark, introspective and quietly poetic. I’ve enjoyed his work immensely. Signature Theatre’s revival of his first success has allowed me to finally catch up with the one that put him on the map.

When a character has the last name Pain, you guess there is going to be some angst on display. I assume that his title is also a distant homophonic cousin to Thomas Payne, the political philosopher during America’s revolutionary war. The parenthetical “based on nothing” could be referencing Samuel Beckett’s Stories and Texts for Nothing since both have minimalism as writing tattoos. These two men offer a bleak, tragicomic outlook on the human condition which is then tinged with offbeat humor.

This play is a monologue and there is a palpable air of loneliness encircling the stage. We meet our man while sitting in the dark. He is trying and failing to light a cigarette. As we will learn over the course of 75 minutes, things don’t often go well for Thom. He shares certain events that resonate firmly in his mind as a self-examination of his own unremarkable life. Once he went for a walk since it was so nice outside. He then drily states that it was raining. I laughed out loud at the simple absurdity.

Michael C. Hall (Lazarus, Six Feet Under and Dexter) takes us through this journey which never seems to go anywhere, often has major detours seemingly without purpose, only to return to several existential questions about life. What should one do with an infinitely short lifetime? The play uses memories from childhood and relationships to illuminate his uncomfortable malaise. Round and around the monologue travels in an unconventional way. Mr. Hall keeps our attention through the absurdities but the quiet moments are shaded with the right hue of sadness.

Directed by Oliver Butler, the words become the star of this production linking simple stories to profound realities. Mr. Hall’s delivery pulls us in and pushes us away, but we never really disappear. Do any of these philosophical musings apply to me? Long after we depart this life, we too will be nothing. In the meantime, consider living life with less pain and less regret. Thom Pain (based on nothing) really was a memorable debut by a playwright. Mr. Eno’s works are well-worth seeking out and thinking about.

www.signaturetheatre.org

About This Reviewer - December 1, 2018April 12, 2019

November 2018 Podcast

The November 2018 podcast is now live. You can click the buzzsprout link below or search for theaterreviewsfrommyseat on iTunes, Spotify or Stitcher.

The current episode discusses this past month’s theatergoing experiences including six Broadway shows and a two new off-Broadway musicals based on the famous words of poet Edna St. Vincent Millay and songwriter Bob Dylan.

The mission of theaterreviewsfrommyseat is to record my theatergoing experiences in concise summaries without plot spoilers in order to share my love of theater and inspire you to see a play, musical or theater company.

theaterreviewsfrommyseat/November2018podcast

About This Reviewer - November 29, 2018April 12, 2019

My Fair Lady

Laura Benanti took over the lead role in My Fair Lady this fall. She is one of my favorite Broadway actresses and entertainers (54 Below, Stephen Colbert’s show and Fosca on Youtube). Unfortunately she was not performing the night I attended. For the people seated next to us, that was intolerable and they left. While it can be a disappointment when a star is out, those who see the glass half-full can take the opportunity to let an understudy lead the way. Heather Botts nicely played Eliza Doolittle, especially as an actress. Her microphone was dialed a bit too low, however. I strained to hear some of her singing while other people boomed loudly.

This production of My Fair Lady was directed by Bartlett Sher. Unlike his triumphant revivals of South Pacific and The King and I, this show came across to me as underpopulated and unfinished. The thrust stage of the Vivian Beaumont Theater may be the reason. When the cast is on stage for the larger ensemble scenes, there is so much open space. The classic Act I closer at the Ascot Races was an odd visual of beautiful costumes in front of a lighted backdrop. It felt as if the budget had run out.

Much of the investment in the set design here seemed to be used to create Henry Higgins’ immensely handsome study. When a scene was to take place, the room lumbered from the back of the stage to the front. I use the word lumber deliberately as the noise of the effort was audible. Then the scene begins and there is still more movement to be completed as the backdrops have to fall into place while the actors are performing. That’s a lot of distraction in a show which, from my seat, never took off.

Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Lowe’s score contains quite a number of Broadway gems, including “I Could Have Danced All Night” and “On the Street Where You Live.” The story is well-known, involving a gentleman who takes a bet to transform a “flower girl” into a classy lady. Given the #MeToo moment, the timing of this revival is a bit unfortunate but Eliza’s got a feminist streak in her which is used effectively here. With this pedigree, I find it hard to pinpoint why the evening came across so flat and uninspired.

My guess is that the Svengali tone of the piece has been softened slightly. As Professor Henry Higgins, I found Harry Hadden-Paton’s characterization leaning to the side of nice or even goofy awkward frat boy dumb. He calls her names without any real edge to those insults. The words are indeed biting but the meanness did not register far enough. Since this interpretation has cast a much younger Higgins than is typical, the effect is perhaps less menacing and creepy.

I find it fascinating that this year Broadway has staged My Fair Lady, Carousel and Pretty Woman given the current national discourse on the treatment of women by men. Eliza is a particularly interesting case. Luckily plucked from obscurity, she is strongly driven to pursue a golden opportunity to raise her stature in life. That feminism is well represented in this version. The show as a whole, however, is fairly inert with a couple of highpoints: the Ascot race scene and the memorable performances of Colonel Pickering (Allan Corduner), Alfred P. Doolittle (Norbert Leo Butz) and the maid, Mrs. Pearce (Linda Mugleston).

I was really looking forward to seeing this musical. My Fair Lady is a favorite for many and there were older audience members obviously enjoying its famous score being played by a full orchestra. I am surprised how disappointed I was leaving the theater.

www.myfairladybway.com

About This Reviewer - November 27, 2018April 12, 2019

The Lifespan of a Fact

Broadway used to be a place where comedies such as The Lifespan of a Fact thrived. These were topical entertainments; thought provoking but not too heavy with a talented cast you really wanted to see. On a dismal rainy Monday night in Manhattan, I was rewarded for my effort. In our world of fake news, conspiracy theories and outright lies, a play about a fact checker at a magazine could not be more timely.

Jeremy Kareken, David Murrell and Gordon Farrell wrote this play based on a non-fiction book of the same name. John D’Agata and Jim Fingal published their personal story concerning an essay about a seventeen year old who killed himself in Las Vegas. John is played by Bobby Cannavale (The Big Knife, The Hairy Ape, The Motherfucker With the Hat). His persona is literary genius, big picture guy. Cherry Jones (The Glass Menagerie, Doubt, The Heiress) portrays Emily, the magazine editor torn between brilliant writing and probable literary license. On the one hand in the age of declining circulation, print magazines need stories this brilliant. On the other hand she has to weigh the risks of lawsuits and reputation hits caused by later corrections.

Emily hires Jim to fact check the article. John points out to Jim that the piece is an essay not an article. Dumb intern. A Harvard graduate, Jim throws himself into his work and has copius notes for the story. Every detail is analyzed. John wants to write that the building’s bricks are red even thought they are brown. He states that there are 34 strip clubs in Vegas based on a source that says there are only 31. Red and 34 are much better, more poetic “facts” than the real ones. And so it goes, writer and fact checker sparring the details with a nervous editor on deadline teetering between extremes.

This is a comedy which doesn’t take sides. The two sparring characters are very funny in their quest to prevail. We see ourselves through Emily and her decisions. We live in a world where people believe crazy stuff. I know someone who believes that Michelle Obama is a man and can prove it. Facts are an increasingly valuable commodity in a society dumbed down with underfunded education and overzealous idolatry. How important are the details? If incorrect, does that put a question mark on the story being told? Should there be literary license to let an author tell the tale in their stylistic way? What is true? Is the brick brown all day or can it seem red during sunset?

Daniel Radcliffe’s performance as the fact checker was spot on. He’s a hero, a nerd and a idealist who can also be seen as an indignant snob whose youthful exuberance colors the world in black and white. I’ve seen this actor four times previously in New York: The Cripple of Inishmaan, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Equus and Privacy. Mr. Radcliffe is always good. In The Lifespan of a Fact, he excels with sharp comedic timing and a precisely drawn character who is nicely outlined in gray. Further, he confidently holds the stage with Ms. Jones and Mr. Cannavale, two powerhouse actors.

At the end of this enjoyable evening of theater, I am reminded of the band Talking Heads. The song “Crosseyed and Painless” contains the lyric,” Facts don’t do what I want them to.” Whether you are a writer, a businessperson or a politician, there will always be facts that are inherently difficult to swallow. The smartest and most talented people usually figure out a way to embrace them and move on. Then again, there will always be multitudes of ostriches burying their heads in the sand.

www.lifespanofafact.com

About This Reviewer - November 26, 2018April 12, 2019

Natural Shocks (WP Theater)

Apparently Lauren Gunderson, the author of Natural Shocks, was the most produced playwright in the United States last year. While that designation excludes perennial favorite William Shakespeare, it is nonetheless a major accomplishment. WP Theater, a company focused on presenting works by female artists, seemed a logical choice for this world premiere production. This tedious play does nothing to help me fathom Ms. Gunderson’s success.

Pascale Armand (a Tony nominee for Eclipsed) portrays Amanda, a woman trapped in her basement as a storm is approaching. The whole play is a monologue to the audience about the impending tornado and her feelings on many, many hot button issues. Who are we, the audience, and why are we listening? That oddity is cleared up in the last ten minutes or so but by then this play has jumped down so many rabbit holes that regrouping is not a reasonable expectation. Ms. Gunderson bludgeons this play with themes which are either subtle throwaways or bolded banner headlines.

At one point, Amanda reaches into a storage box labeled books. She pulls out Sense and Sensibility which she says she is currently rereading. Why is it in a box in the basement? That book is never referred to again but the feminist foreshadowing continues to pile on. The large theme here is that men are very, very bad people. Her father left her mom. Her husband is not the man she thought he was. She’s very analytical – an actuary! – so her analysis is calculated and measured. Amanda is trying to be happy and forcefully (and sarcastically) sings “C’mon Get Happy” repeatedly, ominously warning that she needs to be ready for the judgment day.

With excitement, Amanda realizes there is alcohol in the basement. She opens the bottle, swigs and soon thereafter puts it down, never to be touched or mentioned again. Rabbit holes show up everywhere as if every calamity and self-preservation tactic facing a woman in danger must be checked off. Ms. Armand tries to make this amateurish storytelling vaguely interesting but she cannot hold our attention, nor quite remember all her lines (though it is a long, often awkward monologue).

The ending of this play is perhaps the reason this vehicle was selected as part of WP’s season. Even that section, however, strained all credibility despite being well-intentioned. If the danger had passed over the house, as we are told, why stay in the basement? The dialogue often made me cringe. Here is a playwright who knew she wanted a powerful, topically relevant ending but was incapable of building a story or a character in which we believably could follow. Or care. Natural Shocks is a complete misfire.

www.wptheater.org

About This Reviewer - November 25, 2018April 12, 2019

Cleopatra

Here’s the idea. Let’s follow the stratospheric success of Broadway’s Hamilton and tell a story using contemporary music, including rap, about a famous historical figure smack dab in the middle of politics, war and tumultuous personal relationships. Let’s model Cleopatra, the original queen of the Nile, after a contemporary one, Beyoncé. Let’s capitalize on the omnipresent juggernaut that is RuPaul’s Drag Race and add another queen as Mistress of Ceremonies to bring some downtown cred (and more fans). Create a basement club space containing a runway, a throne and a bar. Add a DJ to the mix to warm up the preshow crowd with big, catchy hits. Grab a cocktail, sit or stand (depending on your budget), and let big fun wash all over you.

Inside Cleopatra’s palace, invited guests and her entourage are lavishly indulged, celebrating the Queen’s recent successes against Rome. Outside the city walls, however, lurk the alluring Marc Antony and the nefarious Octavian. Royal intrigue must certainly follow. Dusty Ray Bottoms, a recent contestant on RuPaul’s Drag Race, confidently leads this journey with big heels and bigger hair though this is not a drag show at all. Cleopatra is an original musical written by Jeff Daye and Laura Kleinbaum. There are a wide range of influences in this score which effectively fuse multiple styles. Club beats meet contemporary Broadway pop/rock and big radio hits to create familiar-sounding and entertaining songs.

Adding to the tuneful score is energetic, bouncy choreography with a whiff of Egyptian realness thrown in once in a while. (By realness, I mean of the “Walk Like an Egyptian” variety.) The entire creative team has put together a solidly designed environment which admittedly seemed a little underwhelming when I arrived. After viewing the production, however, the action is truly all on stage from this committed ensemble. Cleopatra is a party so grab a drink and let the entertainment begin.

With a lovely voice able to cover many genres, Nya plays the queen. She’s a contemporary of Beyoncé both in concept and in execution. Her eyes convey her innermost thoughts. As Marc Antony, Christian Brailsford was a fine match, filled with smoldering intensity. The history books note that Cleopatra bore three of his children. Here they are simply drawn to each other like moths to a flame. Danger is lurking and power needs to be consolidated. This version is a much steamier coupling that the Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton film from 1963.

Like any good party, audience participation is encouraged (but happily not demanded). These sections of the show are smile inducing, appropriately quick and silly, leading to eruptions of support from the revelers. If you can, sit in the first row. Some of the action will literally take place within a foot of your face. Also, there will be no sightline issues. All of the ebullient dancing and kinetic staging by director and choreographer JT Horenstein will be more easily seen as the platform is only a foot or so off the ground.

As a musical and as an experience, Cleopatra kicks asp.

www.cleopatraexperience.com

About This Reviewer - November 23, 2018April 12, 2019

The Thanksgiving Play (Playwrights Horizons)

This Thanksgiving I was home, cooking and going to see the Macy’s parade live for the first time on what turned out to be the coldest turkey day in over a century. My toes were not happy. The parade was great fun in person and the meal was traditional, comforting and delicious. The night before the big day, I decided to check out The Thanksgiving Play at Playwrights Horizons. “Good intentions collide with absurd assumptions in Larissa FastHorse’s wickedly funny satire” was the description that drove me to start celebrating the holiday with a little snarky fun.

In the program notes, we learn that Ms. FastHorse is a Native American who loves Thanksgiving, the food and time with family. A great quote: “I love a whole day set aside to focus on gratitude.” She is also acutely aware that this holiday was created by President Lincoln who was looking to unifying a very divided country during the Civil War. (Maybe Ivanka Day is coming?) After the Pilgrims survived their first New England winter, the inaugural feast occurred in 1621. Centuries of genocide followed. That is not what is taught to our children in school however.

Ms. FastHorse cleverly framed The Thanksgiving Play as a comedy with her characters in an elementary school. They are rehearsing for the upcoming holiday show for the children. Since the three locals are all white, they hire an actress to bring a real Native American to the proceedings. The actress (Margo Siebert) does not really fit the description but she was an understudy for Jasmine in Aladdin, so that will have to suffice.

The play essentially covers the rehearsal period as they work through a series of scenes or improvisations to form a believably realistic message of what Thanksgiving means from the Native American point of view. Well-meaning white liberals who are vegan-friendly, yoga practicing and self-lacerating attempt to do the right thing. How should white people who are sensitive to the “true” history of this vilified race of people put on a play with white people playing all the parts and telling the story, as did the history books?

There are laughs in this play and the main target of Ms. FastHorse’s wit is clearly racism. Her play covers a lot of ground and meanders around a lot of topics. As a result, the play rarely hits the acerbic satire level that could be achieved. There is one scene which is outstandingly inappropriate, contains horrifically offensive props and is very, very funny. Four or five more of those scenes would elevate The Thanksgiving Play to a higher level of inspired lunacy or repulsive absurdity. Instead, the production is a nicely performed, mildly amusing diversion. It’s like turkey with no gravy. Enjoyable but a little bland.

www.playwrightshorizons.org

About This Reviewer - November 21, 2018April 12, 2019

Girl From the North Country (Public Theater)

This month I saw and reviewed Renascence, the musical celebration of the poetry of Edna St. Vincent Millay. I went back to see it again despite a heavy theater schedule which confirmed my rave. Some critics were quite negative in their assessment which I found incomprehensible. That is why multiple points of view (and the existence of bloggers) is essential to discourse in the theater. I had heard great things about Girl From the North Country when it ran in London last year so I decided to attend only knowing that this was a show based on the music of Bob Dylan, the first songwriter to receive the Nobel Prize for literature. On the way home from the theater I decided to read some of the critic’s reviews. They were raves which I found incomprehensible.

Successful playwright Conor McPherson (The Weir, The Seafarer) wrote and directed Girl From the North Country. The setting is Duluth, Minnesota in 1934 during the Great Depression. Mr. Dylan’s songs are used to comment on the bleak despair blanketing America at the time. Racism, poverty, mental illness, criminals, false prophets and hooch all swirl around an inn run by the Laine’s (Scott Bogardus and Mare Winningham). There is a morphine addicted Doctor who vaguely acts as a narrator to occasionally outline the plot as the story clearly needs explanation. Elizabeth Laine starts off the show severely mentally challenged, unable to feed herself. By the end, her backbone is quite developed, she dances at parties and she’s got lots of opinions to bark. (Years do not pass by.) The story arc is preposterous and Ms. Winningham gives the one of the best performances in the show.

The problems here are numerous. The music and lyrics are quite beautiful but have little to do with the comings and goings other than to be moody and introspective. Repetitively the cast surrounds a microphone like this exercise is a radio show (?) concert. There is often no way – at all – to discern why certain characters are singing these particular songs (and why they return to the stage). This musical is all atmosphere and mood which is fine. If you make a big deal about creating a period piece (costumes, projections, storyline) then perhaps the actors should have some sense of place in their performances and dialogue. Was the word “fuck” THAT common in Duluth in 1934?

Is there anything to recommend in Girl From the North Country? The sound design was superb and the songs were delivered beautifully. The New York Times review made a big point that this show was not your standard issue jukebox musical. If frequently standing at a microphone facing the audience while (more than once) snapping your fingers and swaying your hips during group harmonies is not jukebox, then I’m confused. The songs were indeed nicely performed and richly evocative of Mr. Dylan’s commentary on America. They were shoehorned into a show that largely did not connect to them other than to set a mood. I was bored throughout this entire show.

As this musical was coming to a close, once again the Doctor (Robert Joy) had to come up to the microphone to tell us what was happening. We learned the fates of all the main characters years later. By that point, I was simply glad the evening had come to a close. When I left Renascence, I felt overwhelmed by the words of Ms. Millay’s poetry which was ingeniously connected to the character’s stories in her orbit. Comparing that show to this much higher budgeted affair at the Public Theater is unfair. One was a glorious celebration of the words of a woman who was the voice of her generation. The other was a jumble of well-intentioned affected skit-like musings celebrating the words of a man who was the voice of his generation. What’s the best word to describe Girl From the North Country? I choose terrible.

www.publictheater.org

theaterreviewsfrommyseat/renascence

About This Reviewer - November 19, 2018April 12, 2019

The Waverly Gallery

Elaine May is the star of The Waverly Gallery, Kenneth Lonergan’s memory play based on his grandmother’s dementia. Gladys Green lives in Greenwich Village and operates an art gallery in a neighborhood where everything is past its prime. Her grandson lives in the apartment next door. Daniel Reed (Lucas Hedges) is the narrator, occasionally breaking out of the play to speak with the audience about his grandmother’s decline and its impact on him and his family. Written in 2000, this play was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

Dementia is certainly a major illness impacting the lives of so many people, including families that I know. At the time of its writing, this play may have been revelatory in its exploration of this woman and the fearsome descent into a frightening place of confusion and despair. In this version, I found the proceedings extremely slow. Director Lila Neugebauer paces this piece deliberately with long scene changes. The images projected seem to showcase scenes from a world when life was being lived to the fullest. The speeches from the grandson are thoughtful but oddly clinical.

The words in this play are often clever but nothing really happens. There is a side story about an artist (Michael Cera) showing his work in her gallery that was diverting but overlong. The core of the problem for me was the fact that I only felt emotion for Gladys. I left the theater wondering if Ms. May’s performance was so strong that it lifted the play into something more meaningful. I found the rest of this talented ensemble too actorly and stiff.

Frankly, I am surprised that The Waverly Gallery did not speak to me having witnessed (and still witnessing) levels of dementia being dealt with in families I know. I’ve absorbed gut wrenching stories like the novel Still Alice by Lisa Genova and its depiction of a woman’s sudden descent into early onset Alzheimer’s disease. Why could I not connect with the material here? Is it the play, perhaps not deep enough anymore with this terrain having been explored more thoroughly in the last twenty years? Was it the direction which plodded along hurting a thinly plotted story? Was it the actors who didn’t seem to connect me to their inner feelings other than superficially? What I do know is that Elaine May’s performance was an incredible combination of understated yet big, and undeniably magnetic.

www.thewaverlygalleryonbroadway.com

About This Reviewer - November 18, 2018April 12, 2019

School Girls; or, The African Mean Girls Play (MCC Theater)

After a very successful premiere last year, MCC Theater has reprised Jocelyn Bioh’s play, School Girls; or, The African Mean Girls Play. The title informs the premise. At the Aburi Girls Boarding School in Ghana, Paulina (Maameyaa Boafo) is the alpha. She has friends who tolerate her abuse to be part of her circle. Not exactly the most unique scenario but the location choice makes the formula seem fresher. Paulina tells Nana (Abena Mensah-Bonsu) she looks like a cow and needs to stop eating. Paulina knows best. She is certain that she will be selected to compete in this year’s Miss Ghana 1986 pageant as she is clearly the most beautiful girl – and delights in telling everyone within earshot.

Who will be selected to represent this school in the beauty pageant is the train that guides the plot. The stops along the way to get to know these young ladies are the real fun. A new girl is introduced into the mix having just moved from the United States to her father’s home country. Will she be adopted into the clique or become a ferocious alpha herself? The laughs are plenty in this gleeful situation comedy before things get mean. Or should I say meaner?

Paulina wants to win badly. All the other girls are competing but only new arrival Ericka (Joanna A. Jones) seems to have a realistic chance. When the pageant recruiter arrives (herself a Miss Ghana 1966), the fangs emerge. When our alpha girls finally sit down and retract their claws, there is an overlong scene which turns this play into a hokey afterschool special with dramatic revelations and personality swings which are not believable. Thankfully, the scene ends and we get back on track.

School Girls is also about the things school age girls think about. Boys. Makeup. College. Dresses. Friendships. Marriage. Peer pressure. At the end of this exceptionally well-acted play, there is a deeper message. Meanness also comes from the competitive nature of who is better than whom and why. And in whose opinion? What does beauty mean? What actions does society wittingly or unwittingly proffer upon young females as they develop themselves for life?

Laughs are plentiful in School Girls; or, The African Mean Girls Play. As are slights much bigger than name calling. Those indignities that are more systemic and long lasting is where true meanness lurks. We laugh because we recognize it. We cringe because we recognize it. We face it because we need to move forward generation by generation.