‘MCNEAL’: Robert Downey Jr. (center right) & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

MCNEAL
A new play by Ayad Akhtar
Directed by Bartlett Sher
Through November 24, 2024
Lincoln Center Theater
at the Vivian Beaumont
160 West 65^th Street
www.lct.org

By Scott Harrah

One might think McNeal—with Hollywood star Robert Downey Jr. making his Broadway debut in a drama with the controversial topic of AI (artificial intelligence) as a running theme—would be an instant blockbuster. Written by renowned, Pulitzer Prize-winning, Tony-nominated playwright Ayad Akhtar (Disgraced and Junk), the play also features a high-tech set by Michael Yeargan and Jake Barton and clever projections by Jake Barton. While this may sound like a winning formula, not everything works but the show is still thoroughly engrossing.

Mr. Downey Jr. plays Jacob McNeal, a troubled well-known novelist with numerous personal problems, including alcoholism. He is self-centered, rude and egotistical; not the most likeable character. It is difficult to have much sympathy for him.

As the story opens, Jacob is seeing his doctor, Sarah Grewal (Ruthie Ann Miles). She tells him that he’s in poor health and he needs to stop drinking for the sake of his liver. He isn’t interested in hearing about his health because he’s waiting for the Nobel committee to announce who will win the prize for literature.

There is much buzz about his latest novel Evie, but people are questioning its origins. Even before the show opens, a projection of a smartphone is seen with someone typing who will win the Nobel for literature. This is clever foreshadowing because we soon learn that Jacob has been using ChatGPT to help him with his writing, but he is doing more than using it for research and outlines. He is actually using it to have AI rewrite classics from Shakespeare to Ibsen in the “Jacob McNeal style.”

AI is rapidly changing the way we do everything, especially in the workforce. Everyone from Hollywood actors and writers to blue-collar workers and journalists are concerned that AI may eventually take away jobs. Many are concerned about the capabilities of ChatGPT and other types of AI because these high-tech applications can do everything from writing an email to composing fiction. All one has to do type in a few keywords and descriptions of what is needed and within a few minutes, AI can produce a grammatically correct and satisfactory but often wooden and stilted email, marketing promotion, and so on. However, AI is never something to use for one’s own writing, but Jacob has become so depressed and down and out from alcoholism and personal problems that he starts using ChatGPT for his novels.

Of course, people soon catch on, and there is a particularly tense scene between Jacob and Natasha Braithwaite (Brittany Bellizeare), a New York Times reporter. The interview was arranged by his savvy literary agent Stephie Banic (Andrea Martin).

Other subplots involve a strained relationship between Jacob and his son, Harlan (Rafi Gavron). The son’s mother was also a struggling writer and died by suicide when Harlan was very young. Harlan cannot stand his father, and there’s a powerful scene in which both have a nasty argument.

Meanwhile, Jacob’s ex-lover Francine Blake (Melora Hardin) is a writer and editor and he is attempting to rekindle their romance. She blasts him for using and exploiting private details about his life for his work.

Despite the final portion of the show unraveling a bit and a grim ending, director Bartlett Sher does a nice job of keeping the show together with all the high-tech projections and lighting. Mr. Sher manages to extract many outstanding performances from the cast. Mr. Downey Jr is the main attraction here, and he definitely delivers, portraying Jacob McNeal as a man with many shortcomings, one whose humanity is often difficult to see on the surface. It’s a big departure for Mr. Downey Jr. after his many Marvel movies and his role in last year’s box-office phenomenon Oppenheimer.  Rafi Gavron gives a heartbreaking performance as Jacob’s son Harlan. Andrea Martin is amazing as Jacob’s agent. It is great seeing Ms. Martin play a serious character for a change, something we have not seen since her Tony-winning performance in the last Pippin revival back in 2013.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published October 9, 2024
Reviewed at October 5, 2024 press performance

‘MCNEAL:’ Robert-Downey Jr. & Brittany Bellizeare. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘MCNEAL’: Robert Downey Jr. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘MCNEAL’: Andrea Martin. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘MCNEAL’: Melora Hardin & Robert Downey Jr. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

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‘CAMELOT’: Phillipa Soo & Andrew Burnap. Photo: Joan Marcus.

CAMELOT
Music by Frederick Loewe
Original book & lyrics by Alan Lerner
Book by Aaron Sorkin
Based on T. H. White’s The Once and Future King
Directed by Bartlett Sher
Vivian Beaumont Theatre
150 West 65th Street
(212-239-6200), https://camelotbway.com/

By David NouNou

Lord, save the musical theatre from heavy-handed “serious” writers who insert themselves into classic musicals in the name of reinventing them. Camelot was the next venture for Lerner and Loewe following their smash hit My Fair Lady. They tackled T. H. White’s fantasy novel The Once and Future King, which were short stories based about King Arthur based on the 1485 work Le Morte d’Arthur by Sir Thomas Mallory. They created this fantasy world for the theatre about King Arthur, meeting and marrying Guenevere, creating the round table with knights of the highest order and valor, and its most formidable knight Lancelot du Lac. Visually, Camelot was and may still be the most opulent, extravagant, lavish and colorful musical ever created. I know, I saw it and remember it vividly, thanks in large part to my parents taking me to the theatre at a very early age.

The book by Mr. Lerner wasn’t perfect; it contained too much plot and so many characters but it had an easy flow. The score was sublime especially the lilting music by Mr. Loewe. This is not an easily revivable musical in great part because of the complicated and overlong book and Aaron Sorkin hasn’t made it any better. Between him and Bartlett Sher—who is a formidable director of musicals: South Pacific, The King and I, My Fair Lady,  all under the banner of Lincoln Center—have stripped the fantasy, joy, glory, pomp, extravagance and whimsy and left us this dreary, vapid, monochromatic, joyless world that once was known as Camelot.

Starting with Arthur (Andrew Burnap) hiding from his arranged betrothal to Guenevere (Phillipa Soo), Princess of France, to end the wars and seal the relationship between England and France. Arthur and Guenevere, while escaping from her retinue, stumble upon each other in the wintry woods near the castle where Arthur explains the virtues of Camelot in the song “Camelot.” The two form a bond, which will lead to the creation of the round table. Arthur’s mentor and tutor, Merlin (Dakin Matthews), before dying, warns Arthur of impending doom but doesn’t tell him what it is. In walks Lancelot (Jordan Donica), the knight of the highest ideals singing his own virtues in “C’est Moi.”

Temptation does enter this magical kingdom of virtue, morals and standards where no one is above the law. Arthur’s illegitimate son, Mordred (Taylor Trensch), is the snake in the garden of Eden who tempts Lancelot and Guenevere to be caught together, and causes the undoing of Arthur and all of his idealistic dreams.

Again, although it wasn’t perfect, Lerner and Loewe attempted to create a beautiful world where one could hope for a better future. In Sorkin and Sher’s world, on the enormous Vivian Beaumont stage, their world starts out bleak, threadbare, and has no chance for any higher ideals, the illusion and fantasy are missing and there is no hint of it in Michael Yeargan’s nonexistent sets. Instead of armor, gossamer and brocade, the costumes by Jennifer Moeller are so drab, dreary and adorned with black leather that this Camelot lacks any illusion, mystique or charm.

Thankfully, what is kept intact is the beautiful and melodic score and that is in large part due to its musical director and conductor Kimberly Grigsby. One can just close one’s eyes and listen to Ms. Grigsby and her full glorious orchestra and I’ll quote “Don’t let it be forgot, that once there was a spot, for one brief shining moment that was known as Camelot.”

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 16, 2023
Reviewed at April 15, 2023 press performance.

‘CAMELOT’: Phillipa Soo, Andrew Burnap, Dakin Matthews & Jordan Donica. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘CAMELOT’: Andrew Burnap. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘CAMELOT’: Jordan Donica. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘CAMELOT’: Andrew Burnap. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘CAMELOT’: Jordan Donica & Phillipa Soo. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘CAMELOT’: Phillipa Soo. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘CAMELOT’: Taylor Trensch & Marilee Talkington. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘CAMELOT’: Danny Wolohan, Anthony Michael Lopez, Fergie Philippe & Dakin Matthews. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘CAMELOT’: Phillipa Soo & cast. Photo: Joan Marcus.

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‘PICTURES FROM HOME’: Zoe Wanamaker. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

PICTURES FROM HOME
Written by Sharr White
Based on the photo memoir Pictures From Home by Larry Sultan
Directed by Bartlett Sher
Through April 30, 2023
Studio 54
254 West 54th Street
(212-239-6200), www.PicturesFromHomeBroadway.com

By David NouNou

Here is the conundrum: Pictures From Home, “based on the photo memoir”—in a digital age, where every picture is either posed for or a selfie on a smartphone camera, where every shot looks like the previous shot, and the images are thumbed through and disposable—feels awkward in 2023. Writing a play about analyzing pictures that seem to appear as they are when they were taken, but can tell a different story when dissected, is inherently problematic in the 21^st century. It’s a singular idea viewed in a dual dimension.

The play has the feeling of being performed in a vacuum. Sharr White’s play is based on photographer/college professor Larry Sultan’s book, a photo memoir, analyzing pictures from his childhood in Brooklyn with his parents and two brothers. His parents move to the San Fernando Valley in California. Starting in 1982, for eight years Larry (Danny Burstein) is searching for his parents’ aspirations in various pictures taken in earlier years. His father, Irving Sultan (Nathan Lane), was a suit salesman in New York City and moved to California for a better life and became a VP, selling Schick razors. His mother, Jean Sultan (Zoe Wanamaker), is a successful real estate broker. His father has been retired for years, but his mother is still working, awaiting the day they can both retire and move to Palm Desert. What’s keeping them in their home? It is Larry coming every two weeks to dissect his parents and their pictures.

Although Larry is a successful photographer and a college professor, he lives in San Francisco with his pregnant wife and son. He flies down in constant search for something even he doesn’t know what he is looking for— it must have been nice to have such an understanding wife—and here is the head-scratcher: I understand that this is Larry’s odyssey; however, there is no mention of either one of his brothers. They are nowhere to be seen or talked about other than their childhood photos. Larry behaves as if he is the only son in the family searching for his aspirations through the dissection of his parents.

59 Productions must be given credit for their projections of Larry Sultan’s family pictures. They are not superimposed pictures of Nathan Lane and Zoe Wanamaker but the actual pictures of Irving and Jean Sultan. This is also where the vacuum and conundrum take place. Trying to thread aspirations through yesteryear’s pictures and trying to get a resolution is not compelling enough for a 105-minute play. Because ultimately, what family doesn’t have its ups and downs?

We are left with three of Broadways best veteran actors doing their best to give us a semblance of what Larry is searching for. Nathan Lane delivers a savagely charming performance as Irving, both biting and effective. Zoe Wanamaker as Jean, long absent from Broadway, delivers the best performance of the evening. She is the anchor that gives reality to this flimsy tale and she does it with great compassion. The hardest part is Larry. Mr. Burstein tries to imbue him with humanity, but the character is so lost in search of his parents, that when Larry’s children grow up, they will be facing the same dilemma of where was their father when they were growing up.

Director Bartlett Sher works hard trying to breathe life into this project, but it is very difficult to add focus to a play with so many flaws.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published February 23, 2023
Reviewed at February 22, 2023 performance.

‘PICTURES FROM HOME’: Nathan Lane & Danny Burstein. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘PICTURES FROM HOME’: Danny Burstein & Nathan Lane. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘PICTURES FROM HOME’: Nathan Lane & Danny Burstein. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

The post ‘Pictures from Home’: Scenes from a marriage appeared first on StageZine.

‘MY FAIR LADY’: Lauren Ambrose. Photo: Joan Marcus

MY FAIR LADY
Music by Frederick Loewe
Book & Lyrics by Alan Lerner
Based on Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw
Choreography by Christopher Gattelli
Directed by Barltett Sher
Vivian Beaumont Theatre
150 West 65th Street
(212-239-6200), www.LCT.org

By David NouNou

Revivals are becoming more of a thorny subject, especially when it comes to classic musical masterpieces of yesteryear. There is the purist/traditionalist vs. the revisionist standpoint. I’d like to think of myself somewhere in the middle. Let’s consider the big musical revivals of this year: Michael Arden took Once On This Island, a bittersweet musical, and reimagined it as an eternal love story. Jack O’Brien took a gloriously scored bittersweet musical and reimagined it into a dark, dreary love story. Bartlett Sher took a sumptuous recognizable classic—one of the three greatest musicals of all time, My Fair Lady, with the most sublime of scores—and turned it into a show for the #MeToo movement era.

To begin with, the Lerner and Loewe score is still sublime, this production is about as sumptuous as you will ever get; the sets by Michael Yeargan, costumes by Catherine Zuber and lighting by Donald Holder are all visually stunning. However, there is a clear shift here that contradicts what the creators originally conceived. If you recall the original poster from 1956 (Google it), it has George Bernard Shaw as a puppeteer pulling the strings of Rex Harrison/Henry Higgins who, in turn, is controlling the strings of Julie Andrews/Eliza Doolittle. It is one of the greatest theatrical posters of all time, which I proudly display in my living room. It seems that, in this version, it is Eliza Doolittle who is controlling the strings on Henry Higgins.

Here is the thorny side: My Fair Lady is set in Victorian times and it is all about class distinction. The #MeToo movement hasn’t been conceived yet. A poor cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle (Lauren Ambrose) meets Professor Henry Higgins (Harry Hadden-Paton), a linguistics professor and an old friend of his Colonel Pickering (Allan Corduner) accidentally outside of Covent Garden. Eliza comes to Higgins’ home the next day to take diction lessons to be a proper genteel lady in a flower shop. Higgins and Pickering take Eliza on as a wager to see if Higgins can turn this simple “heartless guttersnipe” and transform her into a glorious lady in six months so she could be presented at the embassy ball as a lady of high station.

Along the way is Eliza’s father, a poor, common, drunken cockney dustman, Alfred Doolittle (Norbert Leo Butz) who has no morals or scruples to sell his daughter for five pounds so he can drink with his buddies. There is also Mrs. Higgins (Dame Diana Rigg who unfortunately was out at our performance due to illness) as an upper class, high-minded elitist.

As conceived, it was clear in which direction this musical was going: Higgins is the professor and Eliza is the pupil. Eliza eventually blossoms into a titan and gives Henry his comeuppance. In this version, Bartlett Sher has shifted the dynamics from the first moment after the overture ends. Eliza walks solely across an empty stage until she comes front and center to her flower basket as the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden set starts rolling into place. The upper class are filing out of the Opera House to get cabs to take home and the commoners are trying to sell their wares and keep warm by an open stove. You don’t even know that Henry Higgins is on the stage.

The dynamics also play a large part in casting. Starting with Eliza, Lauren Ambrose is an unexpected miracle. Last weekend, a cable TV channel was showing the 1997 comedy In and Out in which Ms. Ambrose had a small part as a teenager. Having seen this movie umpteen times, I was watching it recently because of Ms. Ambrose. I was curious to see how the teenager back then was going to transform 21 years later into Eliza Doolittle on Broadway. Who knew she could sing so beautifully? She starts out rocky as the cockney flower girl but transforms into a magnificent butterfly gradually and methodically. Her rendition of “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly?” is charming but her “I Could Have Danced All Night” is breathtaking. By the end, she is a lady for the ages.

In contrast, Harry Hadden-Paton as Henry Higgins never quite registers. Unknown to American audiences, he must have been chosen only to make Eliza be more dynamic. I wasn’t expecting the bombast of Rex Harrison, but I was expecting a connection between him and Eliza or him with Pickering. Unfortunately for Mr. Hadden-Paton, the stage at the Vivian Beaumont is so cavernous, even with brilliant songs like “Why Can’t the English,” “I’m An Ordinary Man” and the haunting “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face” barely gets the needle moving on the Richter scale. He gets no help from Allan Corduner’s bland Colonel Pickering, either.

Norbert Leo Butz, a two-time Tony winner, has two show-stopping numbers: “With A Little Bit of Luck” and “Get Me to the Church on Time.” Mr. Butz is poised to win his third Tony. However, his Alfred Doolittle is more Broadway shtick than a cockney dustman. Also, curious and jarring in the number, why did Mr. Sher feel there was a need for a chorus of drags to take Alfred to the church?

Although casting and directorial choices are an issue here, all I’ll say is what the hell was the character of Zoltan Karpathy doing here as well as the drags? However, thanks to Lauren Ambrose and the outstanding design team, this is still a glorious revival. You’ll go in humming the tunes to yourself, and you’ll come out actually singing the lyrics.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published May 12, 2018
Reviewed at May 10, 2018 performance.

‘MY FAIR LADY’: Lauren Ambrose & Harry Hadden-Paton. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘MY FAIR LADY’: Lauren Ambrose & Diana Rigg. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘MY FAIR LADY’: Norbert Leo Butz. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘MY FAIR LADY’: Jordan Donica. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘MY FAIR LADY’: Harry Hadden-Paton. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘MY FAIR LADY’: Norbert Leo Butz & company. Photo: Joan Marcus

The post ‘My Fair Lady’: New spin on Eliza Doolittle appeared first on StageZine.

‘OSLO’: (left to right) Daniel Oreskes, Michael Aronov, and Anthony Azizi (foreground) with Daniel Jenkins and Jeb Kreager (background). Photo: T. Charles Erickson

OSLO
Written by J. T. Rogers
Directed by Bartlett Sher
Vivian Beaumont Theatre
150 West 65th Street
(212-889-6300), http://www.lct.org/

By David NouNou

Many remember the famous handshake between Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Chairman Yasser Arafat in the White House Rose Garden, presided over by President Bill Clinton on September 13, 1993. Playwright J.T. Rogers brilliantly documents all the details that took place before that historic moment in time in his outstanding drama Oslo.

It all started with the married Norwegian diplomatic couple Terje Rod-Larsen (Jefferson Mays) and Mona Juul (Jennifer Ehle). On a visit to the Holy Land, they witnessed an Israeli soldier and a Palestinian youth with weapons aimed at each other and the senselessness of all this loss of lives. They form the backstory of what is now known as the Oslo Peace Accords. Instead of dealing with the United States to broker such a deal, they dealt with the two warring factions: the Israelis and the PLO, bringing them together to sort out their own peace. Rather than having foreign countries getting involved and roiling up the waters, peace was to be made by these emissaries in acceptance with their leaders. All this was done in secret locations and with code names, without having the rest of the world in the know. If anything ever leaked out of such meetings, the consequences would have been dire and fatal for all.

Although we know of the final outcome of the Oslo Accord, J. T. Rogers has masterminded an epic journey of the events that took place and keeps us riveted throughout. Director Bartlett Sher and projectionists 59 Productions take us through this fraught journey (with footage of Israeli-Palestinian conflict) of foreign lands and intrigue as if it were an espionage movie. The storyline unfolds both mysteriously and vividly. We come to know all the players and the intrigue that took place behind closed doors and the ordeals they experienced to forge this peace treaty.

The cast works magnificently as an ensemble. As the masterminds, Rod-Larsen and Juul, Jefferson Mays and Jennifer Ehle are brilliant as usual. Although they have the less flashy roles, they work hard as both the organizers as well as the storytellers of this incredible endeavor. Michael Aronov as Uri Savir, the Israeli Director General of the Foreign Ministry, and Anthony Azizi as Ahmed Qurie, the Finance Minister of the PLO, are powerhouses in their scenes of rage, both trying to forge an alliance. They are wonderfully supported by Adam Dannheisser, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister  Yossi Beilin; Daniel Oreskes as Yair Hirschfeld and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres; and Daniel Jenkins Jan Egeland, Norwegian Foreign Minister, as well as Israeli Ron Pundak.

Oslo valiantly shows the lengths people are willing to go through for Middle East peace.  It also shows at what price peace is attained; and when it is all said and done, is the price worth it when there is so much hatred between these two factions? Will peace ever be attained? For as much goodwill as there is, ultimately there will be dissenters who will bring it crashing down.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 17, 2017
Reviewed at press performance on April 16, 2017

‘OSLO’; (left to right) Michael Aronov, Jefferson Mays & Anthony Azizi. Photo: T. Charles Erickson

‘OSLO’: Henny Russel (center) with Daniel Jenkins, Dariush Kashani, Jefferson Mays, Angela Pierce, Daniel Oreskes, & Anthony Azizi. Photo: T. Charles Erickson

‘OSLO’: Jefferson Mays & Jennifer Ehle. Photo: T. Charles Erickson

‘OSLO’: Jennifer Ehle & Jefferson Mays. Photo: T. Charles Erickson

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‘FIDDLER ON THE ROOF’: Danny Burstein as Tevye. Photo: Joan Marcus

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF
Book by Joseph Stein
Music by Jerry Bock
Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick
Based on the Sholem Aleichem stories by special permission of Arnold Pert
Directed by Bartlett Sher
Choreographed by Hofesh Shechter
Broadway Theatre
1681 Broadway at 53rd Street
(212-239-6200), http://fiddlermusical.com

By David NouNou

If you are one of the lucky people (still around to talk about it) who saw the original version in September 1964 when it opened at the Imperial Theatre with the one and only Zero Mostel, you knew there was a masterpiece for the ages unfolding in front of your very eyes. Over the years, there have been numerous revivals, and some versions, as well as some Tevyes, were better than others. However, in the case of Fiddler on the Roof, what stands the test of time is its eternal and universal story and the sublime score that is joyously giddy, and absolutely heart wrenching and always memorable. I maintain that it is one of the two most outstanding scores ever written for a musical.

Tevye (Danny Burstein) is a poor milkman who lives in Anatevka, a village in Czarist Russia. He has five unmarried daughters, a shrewish wife, Golde (Jessica Hecht), a lame horse, and has a penchant to talking to God about his misfortunes. The one thing that has kept Anatevka going for all those years is tradition and Tevye has to watch each tradition that he holds sacred unravel. Therein lies the beauty and texture of the family dynamics and Tevye’s turmoil of upholding his covenant with God and his religious beliefs, especially when his third daughter Chava (Melanie Moore) marries the Russian Christian soldier, Fyedka (Nick Rehberger).

When you watch Fiddler on the Roof, you must really forget about past revivals, who starred in them and especially the movie version. Any Fiddler revival has to be strong enough to sustain itself for the new generation who may be seeing it for the first time. I was so pleased that so many young people who were attending the same press performance as me seemed genuinely intrigued and heartily enjoying the proceedings. Not one of them was texting or had his cellphone on. They were actually engrossed. Mazel tov.

With Danny Burstein, we do not get a bombastic, bigger-than-life, argumentative Tevye. We get a sweet interpretation of a man who speaks to God in a gentle manner and gingerly admonishes God about why couldn’t He just once throw a little extra his way as in the song “If I Were a Rich Man”? Incidentally, Mr. Burstein is in phenomenal voice. What he lacks in “bigger than life,” he makes up for with his rendition of his songs.

Jessica Hecht as Golde is the weak link; her accent comes and goes, and she’s not really a singer and turns in a one-note shrew performance with no shadings. The rest of the townspeople are portrayed more as caricatures than real human beings. Tevye’s Daughters: Tzeitel, (Alexandra Silber), Hodel (Samantha Massell) and Chava (Melanie Moore) are a constant delight with angelic voices.

Bartlett Sher for his part has done magnificent revivals of South Pacific and earlier this year the sublime The King and I. However, the brilliance that is usually associated with Mr. Sher seems to be lacking here. The direction is uneven with both the actors and the events taking place on the stage.

When you see Fiddler, you don’t sweat the small stuff; you go and marvel at its universality and how it has been embraced all over the world. At one time there was even a Japanese version. We never tire of its wonderful, timeless themes.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published January 6, 2016
Reviewed at press performance on January 5, 2016

‘FIDDLER ON THE ROOF’: (left to right) Lori Wilner, Jessica Hecht & Danny Burstein. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘FIDDLER ON THE ROOF’: (left to right) Adam Kantor, Alexandra Silber, Jennifer Zetlan (arm), Lori Wilner, Jacob Guzman, Adam Grupper, Reed Luplau, Jeffrey Schecter, Mitch Greenberg & Michael Bernardi. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘FIDDLER ON THE ROOF’: (left to right) Marla Phelan, Alexandra Silber, Jenny Rose Baker, Melanie Moore, Hayley Feinstein, Samantha Massell & Sarah Parker. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘FIDDLER ON THE ROOF’: The cast. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘FIDDLER ON THE ROOF’: (left to right) Alexandra Silber, Samantha Massell, Melanie Moore, Danny Burstein, Jessica Hecht, Jenny Rose Baker & Hayley Feinstein. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘FIDDLER ON THE ROOF’: (left to right) Tess Primack, Reed Luplau, Jennifer Zetlan, Lori Wilner, Eric Bourne, Jessica Vosk, Alix Korey, George Psomas, Jeffrey Schecter, Adam Grupper, Jacob
Guzman, Marla Phelan & Jesse Kovarsky. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘FIDDLER ON THE ROOF’: Melanie Moore, Alexandra Silber & Samantha Massell. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘FIDDLER ON THE ROOF’: Jesse Kovarsky (center) & cast. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘FIDDLER ON THE ROOF’: (from top) Jessica Vosk, Danny Burstein, Jessica Hecht & cast. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘FIDDLER ON THE ROOF’: Jessica Hecht & Alix Korey. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘FIDDLER ON THE ROOF’: Jessica Hecht. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘FIDDLER ON THE ROOF’: Melanie Moore. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘FIDDLER ON THE ROOF’: Melanie Moore & Nick Rehberger. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘FIDDLER ON THE ROOF’: Melanie Moore & Danny Burstein. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘FIDDLER ON THE ROOF’: Stephen Carrasco, Nick Rehberger, Aaron Young, Reed Luplau, Mitch Greenberg, Sarah Parker, Jesse Kovarsky, George Psomas, Eric Bourne & Marla Phelan. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘FIDDLER ON THE ROOF’: Danny Burstein. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘FIDDLER ON THE ROOF’: The cast. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘FIDDLER ON THE ROOF’: The cast. Photo: Joan Marcus

The post ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ for a new generation appeared first on StageZine.

SHALL WE DANCE? Kelli O’Hara & Ken Watanabe in ‘The King and I.’ Photo: Paul Kolnik

THE KING AND I
Music by Richard Rodgers
Book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Based on the novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret London
Choreography by Christopher Gattelli
Based on the original choreography by Jerome Robbins
Directed by Bartlett Sher
Vivian Beaumont Theatre
150 West 65th Street
(212-239-6200), www.KingandIBroadway.com

By David NouNou

I’m not going to beat around the bush. The King and I is simply the best musical of the year. Each year in April, it has become customary for a crush of shows that open almost every night of the month and this year is no exception. What is an exception is the phenomenal revival that Lincoln Center is presenting and it is, by far, the best revival ever done of this classic 1951 musical. When most shows are being pared down to skimpy and tacky revivals, Lincoln Center and the formidable director Bartlett Sher have kept The King and I in its original sumptuous size and the result is simply breathtaking.

From the moment you enter the theater, Michael Yeargan’s magnificent Siamese set frame and curtain is in full view and already the mood is set for the magnificence and story to unfold. The same creative team and designers who did the outstanding 2008 revival of Rogers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific have outdone themselves here. As in South Pacific, there is the incomparable Kelli O’Hara as Anna Leonowens, giving an incandescent and what may be her best performance to date.

Going to Siam to teach the children of the King of Siam (Ken Watanabe) English, Anna gets exposed to a whole new way of life, culture, standards, rules and the role of women as slaves or concubines of the king. This is against anything she has known as an Englishwoman, widow and a mother of a young boy. At the palace, she gets to know the king and his demands, his wife, Lady Thiang (Ruthie Ann Miles), the Crown Prince Chulalongkorn (Jon Viktor Corpuz) and his 60-plus children as well as befriending the king’s latest present/slave from Burma, the lovely Tuptim (Ashley Park) and her lover, Lun Tha (Conrad Ricamora).

Intertwined with all these characters is the sumptuous score that actually propels the story forward; from the tuneful opening song of “I Whistle A Happy Tune” and “Getting to Know You” to the heartbreaking “Hello, Young Lovers” “We Kiss in a Shadow,” “Something Wonderful” and “I Have Dreamed” and to the heart-pounding rendition of “Shall We Dance,” each song is a story unto itself and each one is done to perfection.

I extolled Kelli O’Hara already; two more ladies are due their kudos: Ruthie Ann Miles nails Lady Thiang. As head wife of the king and future Queen Mother, Ms. Miles is flawless in her rendition of “Something Wonderful,” it is a showstopper; and Ashley Park as Tuptin is both lovely and vibrant. Ms. Park’s rendition of “The Small House of Uncle Thomas (Ballet)” is exhilarating.

I honestly wish I could end my review here, but how can one write a review about a show entitled The King and I and not mention the king? In South Pacific, Kelli O’Hara played against Paulo Szot who was outstanding and won the Tony as best actor as Emile de Becque. I’m afraid the same cannot be said here. Like the king in the show, Mr. Watanabe does try his best to be the best he can be, but his performance is a puzzlement. Who is to blame for it? On the surface, it seems that he just clenches his words so tightly, which render them totally incomprehensible. However, that is not the only problem. In trying not to do a carbon copy of Yul Brynner, the strength and the personality of the king become totally lost and he is no match for Anna. I wish more attention was paid to him to have improved the king’s diction and demeanor.

Despite this shortcoming, the show is still the best of the year, with the best score, best book from the days when they knew how to write one and tell a story, and the best creative team of sets, costumes, lighting, sound, musical direction and the crowning touch of Kelli O’Hara as the leading “I.”

ANNA & THE KING: Kelli O’Hara & Ken Watanabe. Photo: Paul Kolnik

GETTING TO KNOW YOU: The royal children with Kelli O’Hara. Photo: Paul Kolnik

GORGEOUS COSTUMES: Kelli O’Hara in one of Catherine Zuber’s exquisite costumes. Photo: Paul Kolnik

LADY THIANG, WOMEN OF THE COURT & ANNA: Ruthie Ann Miles & Kelli O’Hara. Photo: Paul Kolnik

THE KING OF SIAM: Ken Watanabe. Photo: Paul Kolnik

‘THE SMALL HOUSE OF UNCLE THOMAS’ (BALLET): Christopher Gattelli beautifully recreates Jerome Robbins’ original choreography. Photo: Paul Kolnik

‘THE SMALL HOUSE OF UNCLE THOMAS’ (BALLET): Another glorious scene. Photo: Paul Kolnik

PROPER ENGLISH EDUCATION: Kelli O’Hara with her royal pupils. Photo: Paul Kolnik

LADY THIANG & ANNA: Ruthie Ann Miles & Kelli O’Hara. Photo: Paul Kolnik

PERFORMANCE OF HER CAREER: Kelli O’Hara. Photo: Paul Kolnik

ANNA & THE KING: Kelli O’Hara, Ken Watanabe & the cast. Photo: Paul Kolnik

ANNA & SON: Jake Lucas & Kelli O’Hara. Photo: Paul Kolnik

ANNA MEETS BRITISH DIPLOMAT: (left to right) Ken Watanabe, Edward Baker-Duly & Kelli O’Hara. Photo: Paul Kolnik

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 20, 2015
Reviewed at press performance on April 19, 2015

The post ‘The King and I’: Revival of classic is the best ever appeared first on StageZine.

INTIMATE MOMENT: Kelli O’Hara & Steven Pasquale. Photo: Joan Marcus

THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY
Book by Marsha Norman
Music & lyrics by Jason Robert Brown
Based on the novel by Robert James Walker
Directed by Bartlett Sher
Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre
236 West 45th Street
(212-239-6200), www.BridgesOfMadisonCountyMusical.com

By David NouNou

The score by Jason Robert Brown is lush; Kelli O’Hara is perfection and gives her best performance to date; and Steven Pasquale is a handsome leading man with an exquisite voice. The Bridges of Madison County, whether as a novel, a gloriously filmed movie, or now in its current incarnation as a musical, is essentially a delicate, two-character piece with some background people who happen to be Francesca’s (Ms. O’Hara’s) family, friends and neighbors. However, in Marsha Norman’s tedious and lackluster book, these extemporaneous people now seem more as annoying fillers and pad the show up to two hours and 45 minutes. Way too long for such an intimate musical.

Basically the plot is Francesca, an Italian war bride, came to America and settled down on an Iowa farm and has raised two teenage children. Married for over 18 years, she fulfills her obligations as a dutiful wife. On a particular weekend in 1965 when her family is off to the Indiana state fair, and Francesca stays behind, Robert Kincaid, (Mr. Pasquale) on an assignment to take pictures of the famed Madison County Bridges for National Geographic, gets lost and ends up in Francesca’s driveway for directions. What starts as an innocent flirtation ends in a life-altering love affair. It is Francesca’s dilemma to either follow her heart to live and love the man who brings her back to life, or stay behind to fulfill her obligations as a mother and wife.

Ms. O’Hara’s Francesca is incandescent and by far the best performance of her productive career. She makes Francesca a three-dimensional character with a heart, a soul, charisma, and a voice that is heavenly. Mr. Pasquale matches Ms. O’Hara’s splendid tonal quality, is certainly charming and plausible as to why Francesca would fall for him. He is a bit young for the part, and comes across more as a hunky gas-pump jockey, rather than as a grizzled photographer for National Geographic.

Now comes Ms. Norman’s book, a throwback to 50s and 60s musicals but without the fun, structure or characters. In the old days musicals were almost three hours long. With today’s short attention span, you don’t prolong a show with scenes full of fillers; certainly a good half hour could have easily been cut off this one. She derived a scene from Evita; just as Francesca and Robert are finding each other, she inserts Robert’s wife Miriam across the stage from them with the song “Another Life,” reminiscent of Che’s mistress singing “Another Suitcase in Another Hall.” The beginning of Act II and the finale are even more blatant. Act II starts with a hoedown “State Road 21/The Real World” as did Oklahoma in the song “The Farmer and The Cowman” but not as exhilarating; and the finale, “Always Better,”  is ripped out off Carousel’s “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”

What is most perplexing here is the direction of Bartlett Sher. He is a great director; just to mention the revivals in this case (South Pacific, Golden Boy, Awake and Sing) and is a very keen editor. Had Madison County been a 50s or 60s revival, I can see where he would have kept it intact, but this is an original musical that lacked any originality and his editing skills were desperately needed. Mr. Sher is a clean director and always manages to trim the fat to make the show run as smoothly as possible. Wow, was this show full of gristle.

Scene changes as well are supposed to be as seamless and unobtrusive as possible. However, everything from the kitchen sink, to the dining table, and the bed are all rolled on and off stage by actors in the show and not at the most appropriate of times. Worst of all, every time you see the bridges, they are wheeled out as fences by the actors and positioned to represent these majestic bridges that thousands of visitors come to see annually. I don’t know who is to be blamed more: the scenic designer, Michael Yeargan, for not coming up with some exquisite idea and images of the bridges or Mr. Sher for okaying these cheesy sets that cheapen the show in the worst possible manner.

The show is far from perfect, but does have three important elements to be savored: the never-been-better Kelli O’Hara, an equally admirable Steven Pasquale, and a rhapsodic score by Jason Robert Brown.
The Bridges of Madison County – 4 Tony Nominations, including Best Musical Actress – Kelli O’Hara, BEST SCORE- ROBERT JASON BROWN, Best Lighting Design, BEST ORCHESTRATION – ROBERT JASON BROWN.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published February 28, 2014
Reviewed at press performance on February 27, 2014

The post Broadway adapts ‘Madison County’ as musical appeared first on StageZine.