Joe, Author at TheaterReviewsFromMySeat

About This Reviewer - September 4, 2017April 13, 2019

Puffs, Or: Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic

Are you eagerly anticipating next season’s soon-to-be impossible ticket, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two? (Registration for tickets starts October 1st.) Have you read all the books and seen all the movies? Is Moaning Myrtle your favorite ghost of all time? Does the idea of sticking a Land O’Lakes label on a brown beer bottle make you laugh? If you answered yes to some of these questions, perhaps Puffs is the diversion you need.

I have read all the books and loved the series. My favorite was The Prisoner of Azkaban. I’ve seen some of the movies. The Pensieve, a magical memory bowl, was a remarkable plot device. So I have enough knowledge to comment on Puffs, Or: Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic. This play is a take on the series from the point of view of the House of Hufflepuff, the most underrated of the four houses in Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. If you care not, stop reading now. This show is not for you.

If you are fully aware that the Puffs were perennial losers in competitions and you’d like to see them try again to be great wizards, then this madcap sendup of the series is a silly, funny, entertaining comedy. The audience roared when a joke was made about the book, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Only after looking it up afterward did I learn that it was “written” by a Puff. Yes, it will help to be a total Potter nerd to get every joke. Those who did – and there were many – seemed to be beside themselves with joy. For the rest of us, this was ninety minutes of well-directed fun with a high energy cast and some very impressive staging. One more thing to consider before you go. The Puffs are a little over Harry Potter, his hero attitude and those two friends of his. They did not heed the “he who will not be ridiculed” motto.

www.puffstheplay.com

www.harrypottertheplay.com

About This Reviewer - August 29, 2017April 13, 2019

Anastasia

I will find some good things to say about Anastasia later, but first the sad truth. This musical is quite bad in very many ways. Based on both a cartoon movie and an Ingrid Bergman film, this is a musicalized tale of the execution of the Russian Romanoff family and its aftermath. (They wear Dr. Zhivago white and parade around ghostlike when we need a visual reminder.) Their daughter Anastasia went missing and was never found. So, we have an amnesiac heiress named Anya who may or may not be the real deal. Let’s get her to Paris for the reward money! Let’s sing “Paris Holds the Key (To Your Heart)” at the opening of the second Act!

I have not seen either movie so my only frame of reference is what I saw from my seat. A handful of good songs out of 32 in the show. Music and lyrics are by the often reliable Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens (Once on this Island, Ragtime). Act II is significantly better than the first for two reasons: (1) there is more dialogue so we stop getting bored by the musical monotony, and (2) the main story moves offstage and we get a little fun with Countess Lily and Vlad, played by Caroline O’Connor and John Bolton, in “Land of Yesterday” and “The Countess and the Common Man.” Never a good sign for a musical to shine when it’s less musical and spends more time with minor characters.

The sets were bad. The whole show is framed by a Russian palace/rotunda with screen projections that were obviously not working properly. The creative team here was Darko Tresnjak (Director), Peggy Hickey (Choreographer), Alexander Dodge (Scenic Design) and Linda Cho (Costume Design). That’s the team behind the Tony winning A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. I was not a big fan of that one either but at least it was creatively staged. This was not. The leads here, Christy Altomare and Derek Klena, sing nicely but could be any young, in love couple in any show. Mary Beth Peil was nominated for a Tony for her work here as the Dowager Empress and she brought real depth and heart to her performance. A story that you might care about was trying to emerge. That’s the last of the good news about Anastasia.

www.anastasiabroadway.com

About This Reviewer - August 26, 2017April 13, 2019

The Suitcase Under the Bed (Mint Theater Company)

Jonathan Bank, the Artistic Director of The Mint Theater, specializes in finding and producing neglected or forgotten plays. Teresa Deevy was “discovered” while researching female Irish playwrights. Her plays were produced in the 1930s and then forgotten. Since she had been previously published, the search eventually took him to the two-century old family home in Waterford, Ireland. Stuffed under a bed were two suitcases filled with a treasure trove of typescripts. Working with Teresa’s grand-niece, the Deevy project was born.

From 2010 through 2013, the Mint produced three of her plays: Wife to James Whelan, Temporal Powers and Katie Roche (currently running in Dublin’s Abbey Theater). All three plays were excellent. What is remarkable about her work is the feminist point of view at the time they were written. The Suitcase Under the Bed is a collection of four of her short plays, two of which have never been produced or published. One of those, Holiday House, was so good I wanted a whole play with these characters. Two brothers going to the family vacation home for the month of August with their wives, one of which had been previously engaged to the other brother. Tossed into the mix is a nervous, judgmental sister and their Mater.

Two of the other three shorts were impressive as well, notably the final piece, “The King of Spain’s Daughter.” Aidan Redmond plays Peter Kinsella, a labourer and the father of Annie (Sarah Nicole Deaver), a “wild” child with boys on her mind. Mr. Redmond appeared in all four plays and inhabited a completely different character in each one. Surrounded by a very talented cast, he was a standout. (A side benefit from attending this production is being able to watch actors change roles.) One of the plays, “In the Cellar of my Friend” did not capture me as much as the others did.

In addition to selecting the shorts to be played, Jonathan Bank directed The Suitcase Under the Bed. As is often the case with the Mint Theater, the acting was exceptionally good. The production values at the Mint are usually very high for an off-Broadway company. Here, the costumes by Andrea Varga were right on target. If you haven’t had the opportunity to encounter any of Teresa Deevy’s work, this is a nice introduction.

www.minttheater.org

About This Reviewer - August 23, 2017April 13, 2019

Prince of Broadway

Harold Prince has won 21 TONY Awards. The titular Prince of Broadway has directed and/or produced some of the most significant musicals of the last sixty years including West Side Story, Cabaret, Zorba, Fiddler on the Roof, Company, Sweeney Todd, Evita, Phantom of the Opera and one of my personal favorites, On the Twentieth Century. He was involved with dozens and dozens of shows since the 1950s. Yes, there were some admitted failures, notably Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along which closed after sixteen performances in 1981. From that abundance of Broadway material, this retrospective has been assembled.

For fans of musical theater, this evening is a rare opportunity to celebrate some historic artistic and commercial successes, along with a few that were not. Like all “greatest hits” compilations, one can easily find a show or a song which could be added into the mix. When I sat down, I purposely did not peek at the Playbill so I did not know what was coming. That’s a nice way to take this show in. And here I will keep the details to myself. Eight performers doing a little storytelling and highlighting memorable numbers from major works of Broadway history. That’s all you need to know.

Also, you need to know this. Tony Yazbek stole the first Act. Everything he did was outstanding; the tap dancing alone guarantees a Tony nomination. Bryonha Marie Parham’s vocals, especially right before intermission, are not to be missed. Emily Skinner interpreted some well-known classics and nailed them down cold, while looking radiant and gorgeous. Everyone in the cast had great moments. Loved the costumes by William Ivey Long; so many periods to be covered. Beowulf Boritt’s set design kept things moving with interesting and creative hints of what the show was about originally. The cartoon panel was flawless. Special mention to Jon Weston for his sound design in which every word was crisp and clear. To be critical, Act II is not as strong largely due to one segment that did not compare favorably to the frequent revivals.

Yes it helps to be a huge fan of musicals to enjoy Prince of Broadway, directed by Harold Prince himself. And if you are, it’s a must see.

www.princeofbway.com

About This Reviewer - August 21, 2017April 13, 2019

The Play That Goes Wrong

Currently, there is a deluge of sharp political humor, for good reason. John Oliver. Stephen Colbert. Samantha Bee. Most recently Tina Fey’s sheetcake rant. And on and on. That’s because the target(s) are big, obvious and, well, it’s oh so easy to stick the landing. Still, sometimes I want to laugh out loud without being reminded of the shit show that is our government. When that time arrives (and it is now), head to the Lyceum Theater for The Play That Goes Wrong. It is hilarious from start to finish.

A 2015 Olivier Award winner for Best New Comedy, this play was created by Mischief Theater and is still running in the West End. Like another classic British farce, Noises Off, the hijinks are structured as a play within a play but with character development replaced by nonstop tomfoolery. This time it’s “The Murder at Haversham Manor,” a slightly run down English manor house with a dead body at the top of Act I. Think Agatha Christie meets Monty Python in a bad play performed very badly. If it can go wrong, it does. The audience with whom I saw this play laughed hard and very, very often.

Everyone in the cast is funny with Dave Hearn’s performance as Cecil Haversham my frontrunner for best in show. Nigel Hook deservedly won the Tony Award for Best Scenic Design of a Play. The set not only gives the actors the platform to be hilarious, it sometimes even upstages them as if it were a character unto itself. If you are not a fan of farce, slapstick humor or broad physical comedy, perhaps stay away. If you are, get your tickets and have a great fun night at the theater. Even the Playbill goes wrong. Loved it.

www.broadwaygoeswrong.com

About This Reviewer - August 19, 2017April 13, 2019

Napoli, Brooklyn (Roundabout Theater Company)

Meghan Kennedy’s Napoli, Brooklyn is set in 1960 in the tenement house of an Italian family, the Muscolino’s. The mother is an excellent cook, while the father is a rough, abusive, difficult man. There are three daughters who share a bed: Tina, the strong, silent type; Vita, the sharp-tongued smart one; and Francesca, the spirited, energetic one who has recently chopped her hair to look boyish. The play begins after one of the sisters has been sent off to live with nuns after she had a major altercation with her father.

The first act ambles through as we try to grasp the not-quite-right family life and some of their outside relationships such as the neighborhood butcher, a best friend and a coworker. Everyone in the family is unhappy in some way and you can sense the tension bubbling under the surface. Then a major event happens in their neighborhood which changes everything. Act II propels us forward to a Christmas Eve dinner where the anticipated fireworks finally appear.

The play is stuffed with contrivances which pull the proceedings so far from believability that the ending ultimately crushes under the weight of so much junk to wrap up. The butcher and mother relationship in particular is overwrought and overwritten. I will say, however, that this play was ambitious and character rich. The mother’s monologue near the end was beautiful and touchingly performed by Alyssa Bresnahan. The director, Gordon Edelstein (Artistic Director of the Long Wharf Theater) did a fine job pacing the cast through this slow burn of a play through its explosions. The simple, effective set by Eugene Lee (Wicked, Bright Star) effortlessly supported the transitions from place to place and scene to scene without overwhelming the staging (unlike Marvin’s Room).

My favorite moments of the play involved the eldest sister Tina (Lilli Kay) and her own slow burn of a life as an uneducated factory worker. Ms. Kay and Shirine Babb as her co-worker, created a fully realized story arc with portrayals that grew organically from beginning to end. Everyone in the cast was at least fine and there were quite a few scenes that were excellent. On the whole, Napoli, Brooklyn reminded me of Naples, Italy – a bit rough around the edges but not without its pleasures.

www.roundabouttheater.com

www.theaterreviewsfrommyseat/marvins-room.com

About This Reviewer - August 16, 2017April 13, 2019

Marvin’s Room

Produced off-Broadway in 1991 and later made into a film with Meryl Streep, Diane Keaton and Leonardo DiCaprio, Marvin’s Room has been exhumed (or buried for good) by the Roundabout Theater on Broadway this summer. Here are the essentials: Marvin, unseen throughout, is dying and his daughter Bessie (Lili Taylor) has chosen to live in Florida to take care of him and his wife for the last twenty years. She now has leukemia. An estranged sister and her kids take a trip to see if there is a bone marrow match. Who did the right thing and who did the wrong thing? All of this is framed in sort of an absurdist comedy that includes a wisecracking doctor and mostly unfunny one liners.

A small, intimate character play thrust on a large stage does not help at all. The actors are lost amidst the space. I was in Orchestra Row F and had to concentrate hard to hear what they were saying despite the fact that much of the time the cast is downstage. On the way out, people were talking about not being able to hear key speeches. The set was oddly spacious with a turntable that sometimes moved chairs and benches two or three feet during scenes for no discernible reason at all. When you notice how many times the actor’s faces are not lit because another person is in the way, it’s hard to praise the lighting design.

The only performance I enjoyed was the troubled son Hank, played by Jack DiFalco who at least developed a full character, one who is in a mental institution for burning the family house down. (Yes, really.) The principles were just milling about and, in many cases, mumbling. The New York Times review of Janeane Garofalo’s performance called her “such a brilliant underplayer that I could hardly tell the difference between Lee’s awfulness and her kindness.” Bullshit. The only possible way this play could work is for everyone to be ACTING, in capital letters. This is not subtle stuff. This is a play where a costumed animal character rescues Bessie when she faints at Disney World. (Yes, really.)

The blame for this production of Marvin’s Room has to lie firmly with the director, Anne Kauffman, who has done fine, if not exceptional, work in past seasons that I enjoyed; Marjorie Prime, Detroit, Sundown Yellow Moon and Belleville. An unfortunate Broadway directorial debut in a production that can only be graded as poor.

www.roundabouttheater.org

About This Reviewer - August 14, 2017April 13, 2019

Alaska & Jeremy: On Golden Girls

Alaska was the winner of the second Ru Paul’s All Star Drag Race. If you don’t know what that is, “regular” theater reviews will return later this week. As stated in this show, Jeremy is not only her accompanist on the piano but also friend for fourteen years. This performance was an homage to all things Golden Girls. Alaska asked, “How many people here have seen every episode of the Golden Girls at least twice?” A show of hands. The answer was five. Everyone else got an apology.

All the girls – Sofia, Blanche, Rose and Dorothy – were spotlighted in drag, naturally, lovingly skewered with musical numbers and an abundance of comedy. There were trivia questions and sing-a-longs during the costume changes, aka cosmic channelings. The one hour plus act was hilarious (even heartfelt during the Rose segment) and over the top entertaining. This is the second Alaska show I’ve seen, the first being Cher and Cher Alike, which, unless you are truly under a rock, you can guess the plotline. Two for two. That’s a star.

www.spincycle.com

About This Reviewer - August 13, 2017April 13, 2019

1984

From Wikipedia: “Nineteen eighty-four, often published as 1984, is a dystopian novel published in 1949 by English author George Orwell. The novel is set in Airstrip One (formerly known as Great Britain), a province of the superstate Oceania in a world of perpetual war, omnipresent government surveillance and public manipulation.”

Adapted and directed by Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan, 1984 lands on Broadway after it debuted in the West End in 2013. The play has received a lot of press, noting that it’s making theatergoers faint, vomit, scream at the actors from their seats, and get in fights. I saw none of that but I will add that a young lady turned to her mom after it was over and said, “sorry, I thought this was a musical.” 1984 does include rough scenes, albeit brilliantly executed and unforgettable.

An inherently violent and disturbing book has been brought to three dimensional life and the result is incredibly theatrical, uncannily in the present time and, yes, uncomfortable. Adventurous types will be rewarded by watching a knockout performance by Tom Sturridge as Winston, the cautious rebel at the center of this story. On Saturdays, 1984 is performed at 5:00 and 9:00. Hard to imagine pulling this role off eight times a week, no less twice in one evening. Bravo.

Olivia Wilde (Julia) and Reed Birney (O’Brien) co-star in this production, both inhabiting this world and their characters with restrained intensity. I enjoyed watching the entire cast, with Wayne Duvall (Parsons) and Michael Potts (Charrington) as particular standouts. The set design, use of projections and lighting is top drawer.

The publication of 1984 popularized the adjective Orwellian, which describes official deception, secret surveillance and manipulation of recorded history by a totalitarian or authoritarian state. Winston’s job, as a matter of fact, is to rewrite the historical record so that it always supports the party line. Written in 1948, George Orwell brought us the phrase “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU.” The time for this exceptional play is now. Run.

www.thehudsonbroadway.com

About This Reviewer - August 13, 2017April 13, 2019

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

What’s better then grabbing a Kir Royale (or two) and a Croque Monsieur in Greenwich Village prior to a matinee performance of Sweeney Todd? Nothing. Probably my favorite musical, I’ve seen the original (on video), the 1989 and 2005 Broadway revivals and now this off-Broadway incarnation three times. This visit was expressly to see a friend, Liz Pearce, understudy the role of Mrs. Lovett.

My favorite version of this show still belongs to John Doyle’s 2005 revival starring Michael Cerveris and Patti LuPone with Lauren Molina’s super fragile Johanna. I went back a second time with my daughter because it was not to be missed. A stripped down staging and orchestration with the actors playing the instruments, we were treated to an intimacy to Stephen Sondheim’s music and lyrics that added even more dimensions (and levels of appreciation) to an already classic musical. In the current version, the Barrow Street Theater is reconfigured into an actual pie shop, where you can actually have a pie before the show. It’s intimate, a little claustrophobic, in your face and abundantly entertaining.

The cast is changing again this month but I’ve seen both the British pair who brought this version from London as Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett (Jeremy Secomb, Siobhan McCarthy) and also Norm Lewis and Carolee Carmello. In supporting roles, I loved Alex Finke as Johanna and Matt Doyle’s Anthony and Jamie Jackson’s Judge Turpin were the best I’ve ever seen. And another Mrs. Lovett! Ms. Pearce gave a terrific performance, nailing the humor. Norm Lewis’ Sweeney was even darker than I remembered. Riveting stuff.

If you can, go seen this. If you’ve never seen it, even better. As Sweeney Todd continues to be restaged, reimagined and recast, this macabre masterpiece defines great theater. More hot pies !