‘I NEED THAT’: Danny DeVito. Photo: Joan Marcus.

I NEED THAT
Written by Theresa Rebeck
Directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel
Through December 30, 2023
American Airlines Theatre
227 West 42nd Street
(212-719-1300), www.RoundaboutTheatre.org

By David NouNou

What is there to be said about a hoarder? We’re all guilty of it in one form or another. Hoarding is a universal condition which most people suffer from, but can it sustain a play for 100 minutes? The answer to that would be a resounding no, but what sustains I Need That is Danny DeVito’s Sam, the hoarder.

Sam is a widower living alone. His home (amply hoarded by set designer Alexander Dodge), is uninhabitable; as a matter of fact, his neighbor from across the street as taken pictures of the inside the house and reported him to the police as a hazardous place that can be a fire trap. He has gotten a few eviction notices to make his place habitable but he has ignored them. His mementos go back as far as 60 odd years and includes books that his late wife used to read, board games he played with his daughter, a 60-year-old TV set that was built by his father, and all sorts of items that only have importance to a hoarder.

Sam has not stepped outside his home in years. His contact to the outside world is Foster (Ray Anthony Thomas) who is his best friend, and who steals from him. Sam tells Foster about the items he has collected over the years: a ring, bonds, and magazines which Foster then steals, then pawns, cashes in and/or sells on eBay behind Sam’s back and keeps the proceeds.

The other contact in Sam’s life is his daughter, Amelia (Lucy DeVito). She devotes her life to trying to protect her father from bringing him food to trying to fend off the law from evicting him. Both Foster and Amelia try their best to help Sam unload, but he argues back that he is organizing.

To tell you more would be revealing the outcome which is unfair to a theatergoer. Suffice it to say there is a lot of extemporaneous filler halfway into the play, and the play goes off into tangents. There is even a mention of the TV show “Hoarders.” While most hoarders may be crotchety and unlikable, Sam is crotchety but lovable.  After all, he is Louie De Palma from “Taxi” in the form of Danny DeVito.

Having seen Mr. DeVito in the 2017 Roundabout revival of Arthur Miller’s The Price (in which he was robbed of a much-deserved Tony Award), Mr. DeVito is a consummate stage actor. He is as comfortable on the stage as he is on any TV set. He is the oxygen that pumps into the veins of this lackluster play. What also adds dimension to the performance is that he is performing opposite his daughter, Lucy. There is a beautiful care and chemistry between them that comes across as only a real father and daughter possess. They enhance each other’s performances.

Ray Anthony Thomas gives a sincere performance as a caring friend but is also guilt-ridden from his constant stealing. His apology scene to Sam is very touching.

Ms. Rebeck is a good and prolific playwright. She always has a grand idea, but in a lot of cases she can’t flesh them out properly. Think of Dead Accounts, Seminar and Bernhardt/Hamlet (also at the Roundabout), to name a few. Her two best plays are Mauritius, and Mad House, the play I saw in London last year at the Ambassador Theatre with David Harbour and Bill Pullman, also directed by Mr. von Stuelpnagel. I am truly stunned that Mad House has not made it to Broadway yet. With a little tweaking and editing by Mr. Von Stuelpnagel, it can be a terrific play on Broadway.

The positivity here is that both Ms. Rebeck and director Moritz von Stuelpnagel work together well and both have their own quirky, edgy chemistry together. Mr. von Stuelpnagel has the capacity to flesh out and edit scenes in Ms. Rebeck’s play to give them a smoother polish and finish.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published November 8, 2023
Reviewed at November 7, 2023 press performance.

‘I NEED THAT’: Ray Anthony Thomas, Lucy DeVito & Danny DeVito. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘I NEED THAT’: Lucy DeVito & Danny DeVito. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘I NEED THAT’: Danny DeVito. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘I NEED THAT’: (left to right) Ray Anthony Thomas, Danny DeVito & Lucy DeVito. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘I NEED THAT’: Ray Anthony Thomas, Danny DeVito & Lucy DeVito. Photo: Joan Marcus.

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‘FAT HAM’: (Left to right, clockwise): Calvin Leon Smith, Nikki Crawford, Billy Eugene Jones, Benja Kay Thomas, Adrianna Mitchell & Marcel Spears. Photo: Joan Marcus.

FAT HAM
Written by James Ijames
Directed by Saheem Ali
Through July 2, 2023
American Airlines Theatre
227 West 42nd Street
(212-719-1300), www.FatHamBroadway.com

By David NouNou

There is a lot to process in James Ijames’ 2022 Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Fat Ham. There is a lot of fat and gristle to go through until you get to the meaningful middle, and that’s Marcel Sparks as the delicious Juicy.

Since there is no curtain, as one walks into the American Airlines Theatre, the setting is a backyard, somewhere in the Black South replete with tables, folding chairs and a barbecue smoker. In the middle of this set is a wreath with Pap’s picture in the middle. At the onset Juicy and his childhood friend Teo (Chris Herbie Holland) are chatting away and setting up decorations for a backyard party. Pap, Juicy’s dad (Billy Eugene Jones), died last week, and Juicy’s mom, Tedra (Nikki Crawford) has just gotten married today to Rev (again Billy Eugene Jones) who happens to be Pap’s brother, and Juicy’s uncle. Hence the preparations for this festive barbecue.

During setting up, Pap’s ghost appears in a white suit and smoke billowing from his shoulders, and he wants Juicy to avenge his murder by the hands of Rev. This sets up the narrative/comparison to Hamlet. Pap taunts Juicy for being “soft” (gay) and doesn’t have the courage to do it. At this point, Juicy breaks the fourth wall and addresses the audience. Both Pap and Rev have been mean to Juicy while growing up and never gave him the respect he deserves. It also gives Juicy his conscience and dilemma—at what point does one break the cycle of meanness and killing and stand up for one’s own principles and convictions as the kind and sweet-natured man Juicy is?

There are more people arriving to this barbecue: Rabby (Benja Kay Thomas), Tedra’s loud church lady friend and her two children, Juicy’s childhood friends: Larry (Calvin Leon Smith) and Opal (Adrianna Mitchell). Besides Juicy being “soft,” every character has a secret that can’t be revealed till a crisis has to eventually emerge.

There are parts that seem contrived and stereotypical, but at the center of it all is Juicy. A wonderful young man who is kind on the inside, has a heart and a mind and cares about everything and everyone, and who is determined on the outside. Marcel Sparks is the embodiment of Juicy. He infuses life into this complex character and gives him dimension to lift him up from his everyday life and surroundings.

Everyone else gives an over-the-the top quality to their performances that is not always honed, fine-tuned or reined in by director Saheem Ali. The performances are outrageous and all over the place. They lack the discipline Mr. Sparks has given to Juicy.  Despite its shortcomings, Fat Ham has many funny moments and has a lot to say about family ties and adjusting to one’s own true self.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 17, 2023
Reviewed at April 16, 2023 press performance.

‘FAT HAM’: Adrianna Mitchell, Chris Herbie Holland & Marcel Spears. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘FAT HAM’: Marcel Spears & Calvin Leon Smith. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘FAT HAM’: Marcel Spears & Billy Eugene Jones. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘FAT HAM’: Adrianna Mitchell & Benja Kay Thomas. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘FAT HAM’: Marcel Spears & Nikki Crawford. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘FAT HAM’: Marcel Spears & Adrianna Mitchell. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘FAT HAM’: Marcel Spears. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘FAT HAM’: (Left to right): Nikki Crawford, Billy Eugene Jones, Benja Kay Thomas, Adrianna Mitchell, Calvin Leon Smith & Marcel Spears in front. Photo: Joan Marcus.

The post ‘Fat Ham’: Family ties & secrets revealed appeared first on StageZine.

‘1776’: The company. Photo: Joan Marcus.

1776
Book by Peter Stone
Music & lyrics by Sherman Edwards
Directed by Jeffrey L. Paige & Diane Paulus
Through January 8, 2023
American Airlines Theatre
227 West 42nd Street
(212-719-1300), www.roundabouttheatre.org

By David NouNou

1776, as originally written in 1969, was a masterpiece of American musical theatre. At the time it sounded absurd to write a musical about the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It had no advance sale but ended up winning the 1969 Tony Award for Best Musical and deservedly so. The book by Peter Stone is most interesting and illuminating. The score by Sherman Edwards is lilting and memorable. The direction by Peter Hunt was heart-stoppingly impeccable and he won the Tony Award for Best Direction.

In 1997, Roundabout did an excellent revival of the show, brilliantly directed by Scott Ellis. This year we get one of the most ill-conceived revivals of any musical. Most people know the signing of the Declaration of Independence and our forefathers from the painting by John Trumbull and the signatures boldly signed on the document. Anyone familiar with the picture and the show 1776 knows this is one of the most indelible portraits in American history. Historically, it is male-dominated and attired in the dress code of the day.

Directors are taking risks and reimagining musicals with mixed results. Case in point was last year’s gender-bending revival of Stephen Sondheim classic musical Company, directed by Marianne Elliott, changing Bobby, a male character, to a female lead, Bobbie. It worked because the character is interchangeable. However, when you uproot embedded history that strongly deals with sensitive issues like the abolition of slavery into “woke” standards of today, you are left with a very poor explanation/translation of American history.

The story needs no explanation but the ill-conceived reimagining direction by Diane Paulus and Jeffrey L. Page and absurd choreography by Mr. Page is a head-scratcher for the ages. Right or wrong, 1776 is inherently the most male oriented/dominated musical ever conceived. Where it really gets dicey is when directors have to deal with the score of a musical; just imagine if you heard a male Maria singing “I Feel Pretty” from West Side Story. 1776 has one of the most arresting and uncomfortable songs written for a musical, “Molasses to Rum to Slaves.” It is sung by a strong-willed, “distasteful” Edmund Rutledge from South Carolina (Sara Porkalob), refusing to sign the Declaration because he wants abolishing slavery to be stricken from the document. This song is not a throwaway; it has to be sung with hard, cold conviction and no gimmicks.

In another instance, “Momma Look Sharp” is a ballad and lament and is sung by a courier (Imani Pearl Williams) in a letter from George Washington to the congressional committee relating a soldier’s cry to his mother before dying. What is meant to be a tribute to the lost man here has been turned into a production number of a wailing mother and members of the cast in black jackets.

Another instance is the final song “Is Anybody There?” sung by John Adams (Crystal Lucas-Perry). It is a sincere,sad song about a letter from Washington to the committee about his losses, asking “is anybody there, does anybody care?” and Adams translates it into his vision of a monarch-free America but no one else seems to see his ideal; it now sounds like a “belt out” power-pop ballad on “American Idol.”

The biggest disappointment comes in the end. The ending usually is one of the most dramatic moments in musical history that sends shivers down the spine. As originally conceived, you hear each delegate being called by name to sign the document and take their place in the designated spot as in the Trumbull portrait in full regalia. With each name signing, you hear the Liberty Bell clanging, with each name the music builds and the clanging gets louder until the tableau is completed. You get to see the entire portrait that is frozen in time and the music swells to a full crescendo.

Don’t have any high expectations here. The costumes by Emilio Sosa look more like bargain-basement Halloween costumes and no goosebumps or portrait. The cast marches out, one by one, to sign a piece of paper with the signature on a projection. The end.

In all fairness, I have to single out one person, Eryn LeCroy as Martha Jefferson. Her rendition of “He Plays the Violin,” sung after a night of unbridled passion with her husband Thomas, is simply sublime. Ms. LeCroy delivers one of the few authentic moments in this revival of 1776, a brilliant musical that just comes across as a total misfire under the direction of Jeffrey L. Paige and Diane Paulus.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published October 10, 2022
Reviewed at October 9, 2022 press performance.

‘1776’: (left to right) Elizabeth A. Davis, Patrena Murray & Crystal Lucas-Perry. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘1776’: The cast. Photo: Joan Marcus.

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‘BIRTHDAY CANDLES’: Christopher Livingston & Debra Messing. Photo: Joan Marcus.

BIRTHDAY CANDLES
Written by Noah Haidle
Directed by Vivienne Benesch
Through May 29, 2022
American Airlines Theatre
227 West 42nd Street

(212-719-1300), www.RoundaboutTheatre.org

By David NouNou

Birthday Candles has so much going on and simultaneously not much is happening. We first get to see Ernestine Ashworth (Debra Messing) at the age of 17 making her first birthday cake as per her mother’s instructions, where the ingredients—floor, sugar, butter and salt—are of the utmost importance, and continues to bake them for the next 90 years of her life. This lengthy time span all takes place in 90 minutes.

At 17, Ernestine is pursued by the nerdy Kenneth (Enrico Colantoni) whose wish is to take her to the prom, but instead she goes to the prom and eventually marries the slick Matt (John Earl Jelks). They have a son Billy (Brandon J. Pierce) and a daughter, Madeline (Susannah Flood) and thus the begetting unfolds where grandchildren and great grandchildren come into the scene.

After 35 years of marriage, infidelity creeps into their marriage and Ernestine separates from Matt. Ultimately, Ernestine does find the true love of her life. I don’t want to give more plot information, but Ernestine gets to live beyond her 100^th birthday.

All the action takes place in the same kitchen throughout the years: the good and the bad, the happy and the sad, life and death. Ernestine not only lives a full life but ultimately a fulfilling life with hazards along the way. Things that I would say we all go through in some form or another throughout our lives.

Mr. Haidle has written this lovely piece about a person’s life that in good times life breezes past in an instant and in bad times, it can seem interminable. The intentions here are great, but in the theatre, scenes need to be fleshed out to make sense and not just jump from scene to scene at the sound of a bell. The problem here is the life that is talked about is just skimmed through and not fully realized. So much can happen in a lifetime but upon looking back, one’s life seems to have occurred in a flash. Life can go so fast.

Ms. Messing is a delight from start to finish. It is not easy to go from 17 to 107 and never leaving the stage to make any changes in her appearance. Her changes are made through her hairstyle, posture and voice. She does command the stage throughout.

Enrico Colantoni is excellent and heartbreaking as the ardent pursuer from the nerdy annoying teen to the patient, lovable old man.

As an older person, I can appreciate the fact of the speed of time, and how fast the decades fly; if only Mr. Haidle or any of us can find a way to make the good times in life move slower and last longer and be more meaningful.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 14, 2022
Reviewed at April 13, 2022 press performance.

‘BIRTHDAY CANDLES’: (left to right) Christopher Livingston, Debra Messing, Crystal Finn, John Earl Jelks & Susannah Flood. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘BIRTHDAY CANDLES’: John Earl Jelks & Debra Messing. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘BIRTHDAY CANDLES’: Debra Messing. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘BIRTHDAY CANDLES’: Susannah Flood & Debra Messing. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘BIRTHDAY CANDLES’: Debra Messing, Christopher Livingston & Susannah Floood. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘BIRTHDAY CANDLES’: Enrico Colantoni & Debra Messing. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘BIRTHDAY CANDLES’: Susannah Flood & Debra Messing. Photo: Joan Marcus.

The post ‘Birthday Candles’: Debra Messing a delight appeared first on StageZine.

‘TROUBLE IN MIND’: Brandon Micheal Hall, LaChanze & Chuck Cooper. Photo: Joan Marcus.

TROUBLE IN MIND
Written by Alice Childress
Directed by Charles Randolph-Wright
Through January 9, 2022
American Airlines Theatre
227 West 42nd Street
(212-719-1300), www.RoundaboutTheatre.org

By David NouNou

Written and first performed in 1955 as an Off-Broadway show to critical acclaim, Trouble in Mind was meant to transfer to Broadway in 1957 but never came to fruition because the playwright, Alice Childress, refused to tone down the racial discourse in her play to make it more palatable for white audiences.

Being an actress herself, Ms. Childress was tired of playing maids and other types of demeaning roles, so she wrote this play within a play and created the role of Wiletta Mayer, the title character. Wiletta has been an actress for many years and has played by the rules of the stage games of complying with everything she has to do to stay in the game.

We meet Wiletta (LaChanze), walking across the stage on the first day of rehearsal, stopping center stage in order to absorb that solitary moment where she is alone on the stage and savoring the thrill of that magical moment. She is about to star in a drivel of a play set in the South. Fellow cast members waft in: John Nevins (Brandon Micheal Hall), a young actor who will be playing her son; Millie Davis (Jessica Frances Dukes), the best friend; Sheldon Forrester (Chuck Cooper), veteran of the stage playing Wiletta’s husband; Judy Sears (Danielle Campbell), the white ingénue who becomes friendly with John Nevins; and the imbecilic white director, Al Manners (Michael Zegen), a guy who has stereotypical notions of directing this show about a black family and whose word is the only word that counts.

On the third day of rehearsals, the fur begins to fly. The director wants all the wailing and flailing and broad gestures associated with black characters from his cast.  However, Wiletta tries to explain that she can’t play the character that way and wants to play it in a normal, natural, and real manner. Floodgates open.

Racial issues are at the core of this play but they are intertwined with both humor and seriousness that makes it relevant to this day.

LaChanze is a Broadway veteran who received her first acclaim and Tony nomination for Once On This Island and has never stopped being a force of nature. We know her mostly for her musical performances, but in Trouble in Mind, she hits new heights as a dramatic actress. Her blowup/meltdown in Act II leaves one breathless.

Michael Zegen, better known for playing Joel Maisel in Amazon’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” is in the unenviable role of delusional director, Al Manners. His name is an oxymoron.

Chuck Cooper adds nobility to every role he plays, and newcomer Jessica Frances Dukes keeps the laughs coming.

Not as universal in theme as Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, Alice Childress shows the universality of what every African American actress has had to endure.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published November 22, 2021
Reviewed at November 21, 2021 press performance.

‘TROUBLE IN MIND’: LaChanze, Chuck Cooper & Michael Zegen. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘TROUBLE IN MIND’: The cast. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘TROUBLE IN MIND’: LaChanze. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘TROUBLE IN MIND’: LaChanze. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘TROUBLE IN MIND’: Jessica Frances Dukes & LaChanze. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘TROUBLE IN MIND’: LaChanze & Simon Jones. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘TROUBLE IN MIND’: Michael Zegen, Alex Mickiewicz & Don Stephenson. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘TROUBLE IN MIND’: Danielle Campbell & Michael Zegen. Photo: Joan Marcus.

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‘A SOLDIER’S PLAY’: (left to right) Warren Miller, Nnamdi Asomugha & Blair Underwood. Photo: Joan Marcus

A SOLDIER’S PLAY
Written by Charles Fuller
Directed by Kenny Leon
Through March 15, 2020
American Airlines Theatre
227 West 42nd Street
(212-719-1300), www.RoundaboutTheatre.org

By David NouNou

Originally opening Off Broadway in 1981 and winning the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1982, it is hard to imagine that it has taken almost 40 years for A Soldier’s Play to finally have a Broadway production. However, I must caution that at times the play might seem a bit dated —through no fault of playwright Charles Fuller, but due to Kenny Leon’s heavy-handed direction.

Set in Fort Neal, Louisiana in a segregated U.S. Army barrack in 1944, Captain Richard Davenport (Blair Underwood) has come to the base to investigate the unusual circumstances of the murder of company Sergeant Vernon C. Waters (David Alan Grier). Davenport is there to find out the truth but is met with hostility by not only the white base commander, Captain Charles Taylor (Jerry O’Connell), who would want to make it seem like the Ku Klux Klansmen did it, but also by the black serviceman who served under Waters.

By examining each person in the barracks, Davenport tries to unravel the tangled lives of the men vis-à-vis Waters. First, he has to find out why Waters, who was drunk on the evening of his death, was shot twice and his body found by the river to give credence that the Klansmen would have done this heinous crime. As each soldier presents his story in connection to the murder, Davenport unveils bigotry, self-loathing, death, guilt, and a life of a man who was always trying to obey the law even at the cost of incriminating his own people.

A Soldier’s Play is beautifully written and its framework stands like an Agatha Christie murder whodunit. This is one hell of a powerful play and its themes resonate to this day. It is further aided by the perfect and riveting performances of the entire company, especially by David Alan Grier, who gives a sterling performance as the tormented Waters. Blair Underwood is dauntless and perfectly chiseled (you’ll see in Act II) as the defiant and determined Davenport.

Although most of the men are making their Broadway debuts—Nnamdi Asomugha as Private First Class Melvin Peterson, Billy Eugene Jones as Private James Wilkie, J. Alphonse Nicholson as C.J. Memphis, Jared Grimes as Private Tony Smalls, and McKinley Belcher III as Private Louis Henson— they form a strong, tight-knit ensemble that raises the bar for acting.

Kudos to the Roundabout for having the vision to bring this gem of a play back for its long overdue Broadway debut.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published January 24, 2020
Reviewed at January 23, 2020 press performance.

‘A SOLDIER’S PLAY’: David Alan Grier. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘A SOLDIER’S PLAY’: (left to right) Rob Demery, J. Alphonse Nicholson & McKinley Belcher III. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘A SOLDIER’S PLAY’: The company. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘A SOLDIER’S PLAY’: David Alan Grier, Blair Underwood & Billy Eugene Jones. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘A SOLDIER’S PLAY’: Jerry O’Connell & Blair Underwood. Photo: Joan Marcus.

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‘THE ROSE TATTOO’: Marisa Tomei. Photo: Joan Marcus

THE ROSE TATTOO
Written by Tennessee Williams
Directed by Trip Cullman
Through December 8, 2019
American Airlines Theatre
227 West 42nd Street
(212-719-1300), www.RoundaboutTheatre.org

By David NouNou

The Rose Tattoo is not one of Tennessee Williams’ more revived plays because of the demanding role of Serafina Delle Rose. Unlike any of Mr. Williams’ fragile heroines, whether Amanda Wingfield from The Glass Menagerie, Blanche DuBois from A Streetcar Named Desire, Alma Winemiller from Summer and Smoke or Hannah Jelkes from The Night of the Iguana, they are all sisters or cousins of each other, sharing the bond of being one step away from the brink of a breakdown. Serafina is unique; she’s governed by her heart and emotions and not her mind or the fragility of it. She is a passionate Italian woman and very few actresses can embody her.

Originally written for Italian actress Anna Magnani—she refused the part because of her lack of command of the English language—the part then went to Maureen Stapleton, a great American stage actress and she won her first Tony Award for the role. In 1955, Burt Lancaster made the movie version of The Rose Tattoo, starring Anna Magnani in an Oscar-winning role. If you know anything about either actress, you know why it is such a difficult role to cast.

Set in 1950 in a Gulf Coast village between New Orleans and Mobile, Serafina (Marisa Tomei), a seamstress, is a married woman whose soul is bound to her Catholic faith, the statue of the Madonna she keeps in her house and her boundless love for her husband, Rosario. Tonight, she is awaiting the arrival of her husband, a truck driver who carries bananas with illegal items under them. She deifies the man; she loves his body, the smell of roses in his hair, and the rose tattoo on his chest.

Her waiting is interrupted by the chorus of woman who descend upon her and give her the news of her husband’s death. She dissolves not out of frailty but due to the loss of lust for the deceased man. After mourning for three years, Serafina has gone to pot, and is a slovenly mess, still devoted to her late husband’s memory. Serafina locks her daughter Rosa (Ella Rubin) in her room and doesn’t allow her to go to her graduation because she has been seeing a sailor, Jack (Burke Swanson).

After much pleading by the chorus for their daughter’s graduation dresses and upon the urging of the teen’s headmistress, Rosa is allowed to go. As Serafina is getting ready to go to the graduation, a customer comes in for her blouse and taunts Serafina that her husband wasn’t as faithful as she thought he was, and that he had an affair with a casino dealer for over a year. This sends Serafina into a rage until the arrival of Alvaro Mangiacavallo (Emun Ellott), also a Sicilian truck driver of bananas. Alvaro is the opposite of her husband in every way (except for his body) and they begin to console each other. He even sets her on the path of discovery about her late husband and the mistress he had which causes Serafina to smash her husband’s urn with his ashes in it. This exorcises Serafina’s demons and lets her be the passionate woman she once was.

This saga is not a typical Tennessee Williams turgid tale. It is not lyrical in any way and does not possess his eloquent, almost poetic style. Instead, it is raw in nature, and there is redemption for Serafina and a happy ending.

The Rose Tattoo really is a lovely play and, if done properly, it can be luminous because it is gutsy and deals with human relations and emotions in many forms. Unfortunately, director Trip Cullman has cast it unevenly and his direction aims for too much lowbrow humor at the expense of the drama. His sometimes inconsistent direction is a detriment to the play.

Marisa Tomei gives a brave, heartfelt interpretation of Serafina, it is lusty and bold, but physically she lacks the slovenly widowed harridan quality that is so desperately needed in the middle of the play until Mangiacavallo comes on the scene. Serafina has to transform from a widow still riddled with grief to a lady with a big heart and come back to life again. Ms. Tomei manages to capture the character’s essences here and there, but she is too lovely and svelte to be a disheveled matron.

Emun Elliott makes a delightful Mangiacavallo but lacks the chemistry to set off sparks between these two passionate Sicilians. With fine-tuned casting of the supporting cast and tighter direction, The Rose Tattoo can be a glorious play. If you like Tennessee Williams’ works, you should never miss the opportunity of seeing The Rose Tattoo, because you never know when it will be revived again.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published October 23, 2019
Reviewed at October 22, 2019 press performance.

‘THE ROSE TATTOO’: Marisa Tomei. Photo: Joan Marcus

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‘ALL MY SONS’: Tracy Letts & Annette Bening. Photo: Joan Marcus

ALL MY SONS
By Arthur Miller
Directed by Jack O’Brien
Through June 23, 2019
American Airlines Theatre
227 W. 42nd Street
(212-719-1300), www.roundabouttheatre.org

By Scott Harrah

Arthur Miller’s All My Sons is not as renowned as some of his other plays, but it is indeed one of his greatest. The tragic epic, originally produced in 1947, right after World War II, has volumes to say about war and people who profit from it, making Sons rather timely as we now live in a world where dictators are on the rise and populism and political divisiveness threaten to tear apart the U.S. and Europe. All My Sons was last mounted on Broadway back in 2008 in a production that starred John Lithgow, Diane Wiest, Patrick Wilson and Katie Holmes. Eleven years ago, the show seemed dated and mostly a vehicle for the all-star cast, but the drama is much more relevant in 2019 in this age of political chaos and instability.

Arthur Miller’s moralistic saga focuses on the emotionally fragile family of Joe Keller (Tracy Letts), owner of a factory that made defective parts for warplanes and sold them to the U.S. Air Force, resulting in crashes and the deaths of 21 servicemen.  Joe’s wife, Kate (Annette Bening), is a woman in complete denial, convinced that her soldier son Larry, missing in action for over three years, is still alive.  Son Chris (Benjamin Walker) spends a good portion of the first act trying to convince his parents that marrying girlfriend Ann Deever (Francesca Carpanini) is the right thing to do, and things really unravel when she suddenly arrives in town after being in New York for several years.  The mother is completely against her son marrying Ann because she was Larry’s fiancé.  Ann is also the daughter of Joe’s business partner, a man serving time in prison allegedly for the crimes involved with the Keller’s business.

Tracy Letts and Benjamin Walker have superb onstage chemistry as father and son.  One of their last scenes—an argument that gets brutally physical—is especially effective and riveting. Mr. Letts is brilliant as the stubborn father, and Mr. Walker is marvelous as his aggressive, caustic son.  Annette Bening is first rate and really looks and sounds like the Midwestern mother she’s portraying—screaming, crying and emoting in all the right places, in an authentic Middle American twang. She definitely delivers as the high-strung mother who refuses to accept reality, despite the fact that her family is deeply wounded and has completely fallen apart. Ms. Bening is primarily known for her Hollywood films and was last seen on Broadway in Coastal Disturbances in 1987. She proves she is a great stage actress here, with an imposing command of the stage.

Francesca Carpanini is perfect and peerless as Ann. She gives a scorching portrayal of Ann as a shrewd, quick-witted woman who has endured years of suffering during and after the war.

Douglas W. Schmidt’s set, featuring an old house and its yard, anchors the story well and is a big improvement over the minimalistic set in the 2008 production. In that revival, there were too many projections and video montages. Director Joe O’Brien keeps things straightforward here, with a simple black and white video projection of war planes preceding the first act. Mr. O’Brien keeps the focus on the story. Although not all cast members are up to the par of the task at hand, Mr. O’Brien gets superlative performances from the actors playing the lead roles.

All My Sons, with its ongoing themes about greed and the ugliness of war, is still topical today. Its story about the ethics of selling faulty airplane equipment is especially germane in 2019, considering all the news about Boeing, defective 737 Max jets and crashes. After the final curtain falls, All My Sons gets audiences thinking about the long-term impact of war on families, making it an unforgettable, important evening of theater.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 25, 2019
Reviewed at April 24, 2019 press performance.

‘ALL MY SONS’: Tracy Letts & Benjamin Walker. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘ALL MY SONS’: Tracy Letts, Benjamin Walker & Annette Bening. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘ALL MY SONS’: (left to right) Benjamin Walker, Hampton Fluker, Francesca Carpanini & Chinasu Ogbaugu. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘ALL MY SONS’: Hamilton Fluker, Benjamin Walker & Francesca Carpanini. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘ALL MY SONS’: Annette Bening. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘ALL MY SONS’: Tracy Letts & Annette Bening. Photo: Joan Marcus

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‘TRUE WEST’: Ethan Hawke & Paul Dano. Photo: Joan Marcus

TRUE WEST

Written by Sam Shepard
Directed by James Macdonald
Through March 17, 2019
American Airlines Theater
227 West 42nd Street
(212-719-1300), www.RoundaboutTheatre.org

By David NouNou

Siblings by nature tend to have a rivalry. Some of the rivalry is created by parents, some by nature, and some by Sam Shepard. Some are friendly rivalries but in Shepard’s plays, they seem to have a nihilistic overtone. They start with tension, move to the absurd, and then go for the kill.

While Mom (Marylouise Burke) is off on vacation in Alaska, her sons stay in her well-maintained California home. She has left her house to be looked after by her younger, meek, college-educated writer son, Austin (Paul Dano). Austin has come for solitude to write his screenplay and desperately wants to sell it to filmmaker Saul Kimmer (Gary Wilmes). On this particular night, the unexpected older brother, Lee (Ethan Hawke), the black sheep of the family, has arrived to wreak mayhem on Austin’s life. To say he is menacing is an understatement.

Austin is set to close the deal with Saul to sell his screenplay (which is a love story) gets blind sided by Lee with his ridiculous story of two cowboys chasing each other at night in Texas by car and horses whichever the occasion suits them. In losing a golf match to Lee, Saul drops Austin’s piece in favor of Lee’s drivel. To make matters worse, Saul wants Austin to drop his own work and instead write Lee’s Western screenplay. This ends Act I.

Act II starts in a hilarious manner, Mom’s home has been trashed and decimated. Her beloved plants have been neglected and are dead, and Lee is having a fight with the typewriter in trying to get his dialogue moving. Thus, the role reversal, Lee is now the tormented writer and Austin is the instigator knowing his illiterate brother won’t be able to crank a word out for his screenplay. This leads to anarchy and unusual turns of event.

The play is boldly directed by British director James Macdonald with new twists and more humor inserted to make it more like theater of the absurd. The two aces here are Ethan Hawke and Paul Dano, both giving sterling performances and their best stage performances to date. The changing of their dynamics is precision sharp, and they make each moment count.

In all honesty, Sam Shepard isn’t the easiest playwright to sit through and understand the fatalistic psychological undercurrents throughout his plays. For audiences he is an acquired taste. For most actors, they love to get a crack at his machinations and come up with new meanings. Ethan Hawke and Paul Dano have done this and their performances are a welcome addition to the start of a new theatrical year.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published January 31, 2019
Reviewed at January 30, 2019 press performance.

‘TRUE WEST”: Ethan Hawke & Paul Dano. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘TRUE WEST”: Paul Dano & (standing) Ethan Hawke. Photo: Joan Marcus

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‘BERNHARDT/HAMLET’: Dylan Baker & Janet McTeer. Photo: Joan Marcus

BERNHARDT/HAMLET
Written by Theresa Rebeck
Directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel
Through November 18, 2018
American Airlines Theatre
227 West 42nd Street
(212) 719-1300
www.RoundaboutTheatre.org

By David NouNou

Playwright Theresa Rebeck is one of the few modern-day female playwrights who has made a major impact on the American theatrical stage. She is prolific and has good ideas. As in her previous outings Dead Accounts, Seminar and Mauritius, she starts with a great premise but somehow the plays never flesh out to full fruition.

The ambitious Bernhardt/Hamlet is no exception. Ms. Rebeck has Sarah Bernhardt (Janet McTeer) taking on the role of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The conflict here is that no female has ever dared play the part of the Great Dane. The public would just not stand for it and it could turn out to be her biggest debacle. After all, Sarah Bernhardt was the foremost actress of her day and one of the most eccentric divas as well. Her offstage antics were just as publicized as her roles of Medea and Cleopatra, as well as Shakespeare’s heroines: Cordelia, Desdemona and Ophelia as well as her renowned Camille.

Act I is saddled with long-winded passages from Hamlet. Ms. Bernhardt is having difficulty with all the poetry that is essential to Hamlet and decides to engage French playwright, Edmond Rostand (Jason Butler Harner), to revise Shakespeare and Hamlet and strip it of its poetry. This is where the humor is supposed to be. The plot is further mired with Bernhardt’s affair with the married Rostand. He forsakes his greatest masterpiece to do the revisions on Hamlet due to his love for Bernhardt.

The best scene in Act II comes when Madame Rostand (Ito Aghayere) forces her way in to see Bernhardt. Here, she presents Bernhardt with what will be Rostand’s greatest triumph Cyrano de Bergerac, but he has stopped working on it because of his love and trying to fulfill his obligation to Bernhardt. The scene then dissipates into scenes and passages from Cyrano and thus makes the evening interminable.

Kudos have to be given to the four supporting players that ground this show with their natural, low-keyed genuine performances; they are Matthew Saldivar (as Alphonse Mucha) who does all of Bernhardt’s divine posters but has problems drawing one for Hamlet, because he has never drawn men; just women at their glorified best. Next is Tony Carlin as the French critic Louis who has problems accepting a woman playing Hamlet. Equally wonderful is Nick Westrate as Maurice, Bernhardt’s steadfast son, who comes to knock some sense into her and her Hamlet folly. Last but not least is Ito Aghayere as Rostand’s wife, Rosamond; her quiet dignity brings reality to the forefront.

It is never easy for one actress to capture another actress’ essence, especially on the stage and certainly someone like Sarah Bernhardt of whom 2018 audiences know nothing except what we have read about her. It is Ms. McTeer’s impossible task to come up with a creditable interpretation of the fire that was Bernhardt. Instead, we have a petulant Sarah bossing people around to satisfy her whims and throwing giddy tantrums. She comes across more as the wonderful late British actress Kay Kendall and Vanessa Redgrave but lacking any nuances. It’s a full-throttle performance that, while enthusiastic, never varies much.

Alas, part of the problem is with Moritz von Stuelpnagel, a splendid director of the absurd. Remember his Hand to God and last year’s Present Laughter, both flawlessly directed? He has derailed the proceedings without imbuing any seamless shadings or editing. In this case, it is a free-for-all of the preposterous with no reining in of the rough edges that are way over-the-top for his leading lady and the plotline.

A high note of the evening is the set designs by Beowulf Borritt, a genius for any season.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published September 28, 2018
Reviewed at September 27, 2018 press performance.

‘BERNHARDT/HAMLET’: Jason Butler Harner & Janet McTeer. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘BERNHARDT/HAMLET’: (left to right) Dylan Baker, Jason Butler Harner, Janet McTeer & Matthew Saldivar. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘BERNHARDT/HAMLET’: (left to right) Dylan Baker, Janet McTeer & Jason Butler Harner. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘BERNHARDT/HAMLET’: Janet McTeer. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘BERNHARDT/HAMLET’: Janet McTeer & Brittany Bradford. Photo: Joan Marcus

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