‘The Outsiders’: Sky Lakota-Lynch & Joshua Boone. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

THE OUTSIDERS
Based on the novel by S. E. Hinton

Book by Adam Rapp with Justin Levine
Music & lyrics by Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay & Zach Chance) & Justin Levine
Choreography by Rick Kuperman & Jeff Kuperman
Directed by Danya Taymor
Bernard Jacobs Theatre
242 West 45th Street
(212-239-6200), www.OutsidersMusical.com

By David NouNou

Intense would be the appropriate word to summarize The Outsiders. Not having read the 1967 novel by S. E. Hinton, or seen the 1983 Francis Ford Coppola movie of the same name, I didn’t want to make any comparisons to previous incarnations but strictly base it on its own merits as a musical.

Set in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1967, the story is told through the eyes of Ponyboy Curtis (Brody Grant), writing what he experiences that summer with his “Greaser” friends, and the rich kids of Tulsa, “The Socs” (short for “socials”). Ponyboy lives with his two older brothers: Darrell Curtis (Brent Comer), the head of the household now, and his middle brother, Sodapop (Jason Schmidt). Their parents both died by crashing into a moving train, and all the responsibility from raising his two brothers and making the money all befalls on Darrell.

The “Greaser” family also consists of two major friends: Dallas Winston (Joshua Booth) and Johnny Cade (Sky Lakota Lynch), who is Ponyboy’s best friend. Dallas is an outsider and more of a brother, protector, and friend to both Ponyboy and Johnny and he genuinely cares for them.

This brings us to the “Socs” who are the rich kids from the right side of the tracks. They are constantly picking on and terrorizing the greasers for entering into their parks and movie theaters. With the exception of Cherry Valance (Emma Pittman)— who crosses that line one night and engages in a conversation with Ponyboy—they find out they both share the same problems, it’s not easy to be rich and it’s not easy to be poor. This is, of course, noticed by the other “Socs” and ultimately results into a rumble and an ultimate death.

At this point, I couldn’t help but notice that I was watching some form of West Side Story set in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Instead of the Jets and the Sharks, you have “Socs” against “Greasers” fighting for who gets to keep the turf. Instead of Tony and Maria at a dance, you have Ponyboy and Cherry at a movie house. There is the rumble that is supposed to be a clean fight, but ends up with the gory blood and guts brawl in slow motion in this inexplicable rain storm, and ultimately someone gets stabbed and dies. West Side Story was groundbreaking, heart-pounding and brilliant in every way. The Outsiders, as the title implies, focuses on outsiders wanting a better life and a better place to fit in without being bullied.

Creators Adam Rapp and Justin Levine have written a solid book, but it could have used some editing since it becomes repetitious at times. However, on the plus side there is a haunting and pleasing score by Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance) and Justine Levine.

This is an ensemble cast. However, there are four standout performances, most notably from Joshua Boone as Dallas Winston. His voice, performance and stage presence are a force with which to be reckoned. Sky Lakota-Lynch, as Johnny Cade, gives a heartbreakingly genuine performance and both performances deserve nominations for this year’s Tony Awards. Brent Comer as older brother Darrel and Joshua Schmidt as middle brother Sodapop make their presences felt through their strong voices and compelling performances.

Although Brody Grant has a mellifluous singing voice for Ponyboy, he sometimes lacks the stage presence to carry the whole show on his shoulders because the role is enormous. He is overshadowed by the four previously mentioned actors. Director Danya Taymor should have edited the show in certain scenes to make the narrative more focused and also strengthen Mr. Grant’s performance.

As stated earlier, the show is intense and if you enjoy seeing something outside your comfort zone, this is the ticket for you.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 19, 2024
Reviewed at April 18, 2024 press performance

‘THE OUTSIDERS’: (top row) Barton Cowperthwaite, Dan Berry, RJ Higton, Kevin William Paul, Emma Pittman, Melody Rose; (front row) Sean Harrison Jones. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘THE OUTSIDERS’: The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘THE OUTSIDERS’: Emma Pittman & Brody Grant. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘THE OUTSIDERS’: The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘THE OUTSIDERS’: The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

The post ‘The Outsiders’: Intense adaptation of classic appeared first on StageZine.

‘PARADE’: Micaela Diamond & Ben Platt. Photo: Joan Marcus.

PARADE
Book by Alfred Uhry
Music & lyrics by Jason Robert Brown
Conceived by Harold Prince
Directed by Michael Arden
Through August 6, 2023
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
242 West 45^th Street
(212-239-6200), https://paradebroadway.com/

By David NouNou

A lot has happened since Parade originally opened in 1998 at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre. In its original form, it was compelling theatre; now it is very difficult to sit through. Not that the subject matter has changed—it’s the times that have changed. If anything, Parade is more relevant today than it was back then. Watching antisemitism in full display now, bigotry, the state of Georgia currently in turmoil and making headlines about an injustice perpetrated by a former president—plus, the divisiveness that is splitting the country on so many different issues—there is a lot to process here.

The story is set in Georgia, the time is 1913-1915, and it is about the rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl, Mary Phagen (Erin Rose Doyle), and the subsequent arrest, trumped-up trial, unjust sentencing and lynching of a Jewish factory superintendent, Leo Frank (Ben Platt).

Leo Frank moved from Brooklyn to Atlanta to be with his Southern Georgian Jewish wife, Lucille (Micaela Diamond), whose uncle offered Leo a superintendent’s job and hopefully a better life to be able to raise a family. He is totally uncomfortable in this environment because he is Jewish and feels out of place. It is Memorial Day 1913: Mary Phagen (Miss Doyle), has come to the pencil factory on a Saturday for her weekly pay of $1.20. The next day she is found dead in the basement of the factory. The suspects at the time are the black janitor, Newt Lee (Eddie Cooper) and Leo Frank.  Prosecutor Hugh Dorsey (Paul Alexander Nolan) is coerced by Tom Watson (Manoel Felciano), a writer for The Jeffersonian, an extremist right-wing newspaper, and conspire to release Newt Lee reasoning “hanging another Negro ain’t enough this time. We gotta do better.”

Leo is sentenced to jail to eventually hang. His wife Lucille goes to Governor Slaton (Sean Allan Krill) to show the inconsistences of the trial, which Slaton reluctantly looks over, and ultimately finds enough evidence of conspired lying decides to transfer Leo to another jail, only to be hauled away at night by “rebels seeking revenge” and hanging him.

The book by Alfred Uhry is fascinating and intriguing, while the score by Jason Robert Brown is too lugubrious and unmemorable. For such an intense subject matter, the play could have used more book and less score to make the point of injustice more effective. You yearn for the scenes that have Leo and Lucille speaking frankly to each other or Lucille making her point to Governor Slaton. Originally directed by Harold Prince, director Michael Arden has taken a darker approach to the proceedings. It’s apropos for the times.

What mesmerized me most and made the evening more tolerable was Ben Platt. With the role of Leo Frank, he has finally shed his teenage persona of Evan Hansen, and taken the mantle of Broadway’s next leading man. He is so convincing as Leo that I could not see a sign of Evan. He is solid, as an actor and a singer and genuinely believes in his role.

Two other performances that leapt out were Micaela Diamond as Lucille Frank, her unrelenting pursuit to exonerate her husband and the love behind her motives are palpable. The other performance is from Sean Allan Krill as Georgia Governor Slaton, with his commanding voice and charming Southern gentility; he delivers genuine compassion in trying to resolve this heinous case. The rest of the cast is the usual stereotypes one would find in the South.

Parade is making a meaningful and lasting impression on this year’s theatrical season. It’s mirroring the times in which we live.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published March 22, 2023
Reviewed at March 21, 2023 press performance.

‘PARADE’: The cast. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘PARADE’: (left to right) William Michals, Jackson Teeley, Paul Alexander Nolan, Eddie Cooper & Max Chernin. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘PARADE’: Alex Joseph Grayson. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘PARADE’: Jay Armstrong Johnson & Jake Pedersen. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘PARADE’: Erin Rose Doyle & Jake Pedersen. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘PARADE’: Paul Alexander Nolan & Alex Joseph Grayson. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘PARADE’: Benn Platt. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘PARADE’: Micaela Diamond. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘PARADE’: Manoel Felciano. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘PARADE’: Stacie Bono & Sean Allan Krill. Photo: Joan Marcus.

The post ‘Parade’: Antisemitism & injustice in old South appeared first on StageZine.

‘ALMOST FAMOUS’: Casey Likes & Solea Pfeiffer. Photo: Matt Murphy.

ALMOST FAMOUS
Book & lyrics by Cameron Crowe
Music & lyrics by Tom Kitt
Directed by Jeremy Herrin
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
242 West 45^th Street
(212-239-6200), https://almostfamousthemusical.com/

By Scott Harrah

This Broadway musical stage adaptation of Almost Famous, the 2000 Cameron Crowe film, follows the movie’s narrative almost word for word. Perhaps that’s because Cameron Crowe himself wrote the book and lyrics for this stage version. As ambitious an effort as this is, adding in Tom Kitt’s songs—most of them sung like power-pop cover anthems from “American Idol” and “The Voice”—takes away the raffish charm and authenticity of the film and slows the story down instead of propelling it forward.

William Miller (Casey Likes) is 15 and dealing with tension at home. He starts writing freelance rock articles for underground newspapers in San Diego. His 18-year-old sister Anita doesn’t get along with her mother and moves away to San Francisco to become a stewardess, leaving William her collection of rock albums.

The show opens with teenage William speaking to legendary rock critic Lester Bangs (Rob Colletti). Lester Bangs gives William an assignment to review a Black Sabbath concert but the band won’t let him in backstage, but he manages to get in by making flattering comments to the opening band, Stillwater. He meets Stillwater’s lead guitarist Russell Hammond (Chris Wood) and groupie Penny Lane (Solea Pfeiffer). Penny tells William she and her friends aren’t groupies but are instead “band aids,” female fans who are purportedly hanging out with the group because they really like the music.

William gets an unbelievably lucky break into rock journalism when Ben Fong-Torres (Matthew C. Yee), the editor of Rolling Stone magazine, calls up and hires the teen to write an article about Stillwater and follow them around on tour.  This doesn’t sit well with his mother Elaine (Anika Larsen), who wants him to stay home and graduate from high school before going on the college to study pre-law and one day become an attorney. William goes on the road with the band and is able to interview everyone in the group except Russell Hammond. The band starts derisively calling William “the enemy” as he tries to follow rock journalist Lester Bangs’ advice and not become too friendly with band members because he must remain objective if he wants to write an honest profile of Stillwater. This is no easy task as William becomes seduced by the glamour of the rock world, the band members, the groupies and proverbial sex, drugs and rock and roll. He finds it impossible to meet his deadline as he becomes just another fan and hanger-on instead of a professional journalist on assignment.

Comparisons to the 2000 Cameron Crowe film starring Patrick Fugit as William, Kate Hudson as Penny Lane, Billy Crudup as Russell Hammond and Frances McDormand as concerned mom Elaine Miller are inevitable because this stage adaptation follows the film almost verbatim.  The film was supposedly semi-autobiographical, based on Mr. Crowe’s experiences, and the narrative on screen made much more sense because it focused on the turmoil of the characters, and used real 1970s rock music as the backdrop. The movie’s performances were also more in sync and solid. Unfortunately, this Broadway adaptation lacks the thread of authenticity that made the movie so powerful.  Yes, there are original new songs by Cameron Crowe and Tom Kitt, but they add little to the story. When Solea Pfeiffer, as Penny Lane, belts out the ballad “Morocco,” there’s no doubt she’s a gifted vocalist with a pleasant voice and good range, but the song just doesn’t fit in the era in which the show is set. The only song that isn’t original is a cover of Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer,” sung by everyone just as it was in the movie.

Supporting characters are the true standouts here. Anika Larsen is luminous and gives a heartbreaking performance as Elaine Miller, a mother who knows she’s lost control of both her children and feels helpless. A scene showing Elaine speaking on the phone with Russell Hammond is a show stopper. One really gets the sense of a protective mother, angry that a rock band has “kidnapped” her teenage son.

Rob Colletti is outstanding as Lester Bangs, the real-life “gonzo” rock journalist and critic who inspired a whole generation of music writers with his intellectual working-class hero persona and his almost academic yet hip dissections of 1970s rock artists. His take on Lester Bangs is as an avuncular figure and mentor to the teenage wannabe rock journalist.

Casey Likes as William and Solea Pfeiffer as Penny are serviceable but not as convincing for anyone who has seen the movie and the iconic, Oscar-nominated performance of a young Kate Hudson playing the messed-up groupie.

What’s supposed to be a retro look at the world of 1973 rock comes across as awkward, and Jeremy Herrin’s uneven direction doesn’t help matters. That’s a shame because there’s still a great story here of innocence lost, the decadence of the early 1970s rock scene, “gonzo” rock journalism, and many interesting characters. Almost Famous was a great movie about 1970s rock music and the people who made up that world, but it simply falls flat as a Broadway musical, with songs that make the story drag instead of enhancing it and setting things in motion.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published November 3, 2022
Reviewed at October 28, 2022 press preview performance.

‘ALMOST FAMOUS’: Casey Likes & cast. Photo: Matt Murphy.

‘ALMOST FAMOUS’: Casey Likes & Rob Colletti. Photo: Matt Murphy.

‘ALMOST FAMOUS’: Anika Larsen. Photo: Matt Murphy.

‘ALMOST FAMOUS’: Drew Gehling & Chris Wood. Photo: Matt Murphy.

‘ALMOST FAMOUS’: Emily Schultheis, Anika Larsen, Casey Likes. Photo: Matt Murphy.

‘ALMOST FAMOUS’: Matt Bittner, Drew Gehling, Chris Wood, Brandon Contreras. Photo: Matt Murphy.

‘ALMOST FAMOUS’: Solea Pfeiffer & Chris Wood. Photo: Matt Murphy.

The post ‘Almost Famous’: Ambitious stage adaptation appeared first on StageZine.

‘COMPANY’: Katrina Lenk. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

COMPANY
Music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by George Furth
Directed by Marianne Elliott
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
242 West 45th Street
(212-239-6200), https://companymusical.com/

By Scott Harrah

The latest Company revival could drive a critic (and purists) crazy with British director Marianne Elliott’s new, often confusing and very European spin on this masterpiece that has never needed tampering. Why?  It is the quintessential New York musical, a show renowned for its simplicity, sophistication and gorgeous score, featuring classics like “Being Alive,” “The Ladies Who Lunch,” “You Could Drive a Person Crazy,” “Another Hundred People,” “Getting Married Today” and others.  What’s offered here is a 21^st century perspective to dust off the narrative cobwebs and dated dialogue and make it relevant in 2021, but the score by Stephen Sondheim (who died last month) is so timeless that there was no need for a major overhaul here   More than 50 years have passed since Company first premiered on Broadway but much of the overall premise of the show rings true today.  Manhattan is still a maddening, overcrowded insane world with millions of people, and it’s still so easy to feel alone when you’re single.  This is certainly one of Mr. Sondheim’s greatest works, if not the best.  George Furth’s original book was—dare I say it?—ahead of its time back in 1970 when Company premiered on Broadway.  Many aspects of the show—tiny Manhattan apartments, expectations about getting married, the hustle and bustle of the New York City subway—are still relevant today.  Company is both an all-American musical and a paean to New York City, but Ms. Elliott’s interpretation (a hit in 2018 in London) has diminished many of the charms of the original show.

Director Marianne Elliott’s biggest change to the story is swapping the gender of lead character Bobby. Tony Award winner Katrina Lenk (The Band’s Visit) plays Bobbie, a single Manhattan woman celebrating her 35^th birthday.  Ms. Lenk has a great voice and an effervescent stage presence, but she appears too bland and emotionally distant for audiences to root for her, and this is problematic since the original Bobby was always the least interesting character in Company.

Marianne Elliott did such a superb job with the 2018 Broadway revival of Angels in America and the 2014 British import The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, so it is disappointing that she has added too much European-style excess here, from a scene showing Bobbie in the rain to various characters running through Bobbie’s bedroom during the “Barcelona” number in act two.  The last revival in 2006, starring Raul Julia as Bobby, was also very minimalist and featured gimmicky touches from another British director, John Doyle.  Remember how John Doyle had the actors play instruments onstage in the revival of Company and, in 2005, Sweeney Todd?  One of the changes that truly works is changing a straight couple to a gay couple. The character of Jamie (originally Amy) is played with manic exuberance by Matt Doyle as a gay man about to marry his partner Paul (Etai Benson).  Mr. Doyle truly stops the show with his outstanding rendition of “Getting Married Today.”  He displays all the nervous emotions of wedding-day jitters that both men and women, straight or gay, can relate to, and Mr. Doyle should certainly be a front-runner for a Tony Award in a few months.

Another standout is Tony nominee Jennifer Simard as Sarah, the diet-crazed woman married to recovering alcoholic Harry (Christopher Sieber).  Fans of Patti LuPone will not be disappointed with her take on the glamorous, acid-tongued Joanne, Bobbie’s oldest and dearest friend who loves to talk about her many husbands.  Ms. LuPone is her usual over-the-top self, belting out one of the show’s most famous songs, “The Ladies Who Lunch,” with her famous tough-diva pipes.

Scenic designer Bunny Christie mostly fills the stage with Neon-lit boxes and Mylar balloons in an attempt to make the show more contemporary, but doing so takes away some of the show’s New York accent.  Anyone who has at least studied the 1970 original remembers the set was actually a character in the show. Walter Kerr wrote in his 1970 New York Times review that the set by Boris Aronson “at first looks like the prison setting for ‘The Last Mile’ [but] becomes a breath-taking mobile, an interlocked Tinker-Toy of rippling platforms, sighing elevators, spun-glass spindles for dances to chin themselves on.”  In this revival, the set designs look nothing like New York City and could be Anywhere, USA.

Despite this revival’s many shortcomings, it is worth seeing Company simply for the score resurrected one more time to truly appreciate the late, great Mr. Sondheim and hear all the beautiful songs by the last of the great Broadway songsmiths.

Edited by David NouNou
Published December 12, 2021
Reviewed at December 11, 2021 press performance.

‘COMPANY’: (left to right) Christopher Sieber, Jennifer Simard, Katrina Lenk & Patti LuPone. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘COMPANY’: (left to right) Claybourne Elder, Manu Narayan, Bobby Conte. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘COMPANY’: Katrina Lenk & Claybourne Elder. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘COMPANY’: (left to right) Rashidra Scott, Katrina Lenk & Greg Hildreth. Photo: Brinkhoff-Moegenbur.

‘COMPANY’: Matt Doyle. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘COMPANY’: Katrina Lenk. Photo: Brinkhoff-Moegenburg.

‘COMPANY’: The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

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‘BETRAYAL’: (left to right) Charlie Cox, Tom Hiddleston & Zawe Ashton. Photo: Marc Brenner

BETRAYAL
Written by Harold Pinter
Directed by Jamie Lloyd
Through December 8, 2019
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
242 West 45th Street
(212-239-6200),BetrayalOnBroadway.com

By David NouNou

I always found Betrayal to be Harold Pinter’s most accessible play. It has a lyrical flow and showcases a love triangle in the most mature manner without chronicling all the baggage that bogs down a ménage a trois. However, under Jamie Lloyd’s ultra-minimalistic staging, it has been stripped of any form or flow. It looks more like a first day rehearsal than a full performance. In this case minimalism is another way of saying pretentious.

Since the play spans a nine-year period and moves backward in time, when it originally opened in 1980, it had a specific time and was set in many places. The time now is irrelevant; it can be 1980 or 2019. However, there are many specific settings and on a threadbare stage, it is very difficult to decipher where you are in that moment. Since Mr. Pinter is a man of words and every word and sentence has to be listened to and digested, the audience has to now formulate where they are at any given time/year, thus robbing the play of the full attention it deserves.

As the curtain rises, Jerry (Charlie Cox) is having drinks “somewhere” with Emma (Zawe Ashton). It’s been two years since they have last seen each other and they are discussing their seven-year relationship. Jerry is a literary agent for writers, Emma runs an art gallery and is married to Robert (Tom Hiddleston), a book publisher. Robert and Jerry have been best friends since college, and Jerry was best man at Robert and Emma’s wedding. However, at this particular moment, various betrayals are being revealed. Emma is currently having an affair with Casey, an author, whose agent is Jerry and his publisher is Robert. Robert has been cheating on Emma for many years, and they are at the juncture of a divorce. Emma tells Robert about her seven-year relationship with Jerry. Betrayal runs through marriages, friendship and extra-curricular affairs, but all in a civilized manner without any mire to bring it down.

The next scene follows the previous one and is between Robert and Jerry. I’ve seen the play three times before, (so I know where it is being held) “in Robert’s apartment.” Robert and Jerry are casually conversing and it comes up that Robert didn’t find out about the affair the previous night but in actuality four years earlier in Venice. Betrayals in affairs and friendship keep mounting

The scenes keep moving backwards in time; the next is two years earlier at the flat where Jerry and Emma used to meet in the afternoons for their rendezvous but now are breaking up and giving it up. Moving back four years earlier to where Emma and Robert are in Venice where Robert first learned of Emma’s affair with Jerry. Time keeps going backwards to the time when a drunken Jerry surprises Emma in her bedroom and professes his love for her while a party is going on downstairs in her and Robert’s home.

A lot of movies and shows have since used this format of moving back in time. Betrayal was an original with its technique of reverse chronology. Affairs in general but especially extra-marital affairs have always been messy; how refreshing it was to see something handled so delicately and eloquently. Under this regime of “ultra-minimalism,” subtlety and nuances are being sacrificed under the guise of visionary directors. This means doing it on the cheap, especially for a play of this nature where time and places play such an important factor.

This is another movie-star vehicle and Tom Hiddleston making his Broadway debut as the cuckolded husband, Robert, is brilliant. His stage presence is palpable. His Robert is strong, venerable and multi-faceted. Even when he is off to one side of the stage and he is not in the scene, his presence and stature is felt. Mr. Hiddleston’s is probably the best Robert to date.

Charlie Cox as Jerry is effective but not commanding. Zawe Ashston as Emma seems more like she is modeling instead of acting in a Pinter play. Her staccato delivery of lines, which is good for a Pinter play, is overshadowed by her striking poses, and at times it appears she’s more into the poses than performing. Also, can anyone tell me why Emma is barefoot in every scene spanning over nine years? Couldn’t she afford a pair of shoes for one of those scenes? I guess this is yet another one of director’s minimalistic choices.

Like Sea Wall/A Life, another Hollywood star vehicle (which opened back in August), the latest Betrayal revival is another example of ultra-minimalism. This is the price we have to pay for seeing Tom Hiddleston or Jake Gyllenhaal. It seems minimalism must be the new theatrical experience for the rest of this season.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published September 9, 2019
Reviewed at September 8, 2019 press performance.

‘BETRAYAL’: (left to right) Zawe Ashton, Charlie Cox & Tom Hiddleston. Photo: Marc Brenner

‘BETRAYAL’: Tom Hiddleston. Photo: Marc Brenner.

‘BETRAYAL’: Charlie Cox. Photo: Marc Brenner

‘BETRAYAL’: Tom Hiddleston & Zawe Ashton. Photo: Marc Brenner

‘BETRAYAL’: The cast. Photo: Marc Brenner

‘BETRAYAL’: Tom Hiddleston. Photo: Marc Brenner

The post ‘Betrayal’: Sparse spin on Pinter’s classic appeared first on StageZine.

‘THE FERRYMAN’: (left to right) Willow McCarthy, Brooklyn Shuck, Genevieve O’Reilly & Matilda Lawler. Photo: Joan Marcus

THE FERRYMAN
Written by Jez Butterworth
Directed by Sam Mendes
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
242 West 45th Street
(212-239-6200), www.theferrymanbroadway.com

By Scott Harrah

Jez Butterworth’s third Broadway drama is also his most provocative. The Ferryman, which recently opened on Broadway after an Olivier Award-winning, sold-out run in London’s West End, is a complicated epic. With a running time of more than three hours, complete with actors speaking in thick Irish brogues, a storyline filled with Anglo-Irish political themes, multiple characters and a plot that sometimes delves into the metaphysical, it is not for the fainthearted or those seeking a light evening of theater. However, for those familiar with the past conflict between the Irish Republican Catholics and U.K.-loyal Protestants in Northern Ireland during the late 20^th century, Mr. Butterworth’s saga is a multi-layered, searing reminder of centuries-old animosities, exquisitely directed and produced.

The Anglo-Irish conflict in Northern Ireland, often called “the Troubles,” was at its worst in 1981 when the story takes place. As the play opens, three IRA goons are shown in a rural area of Derry ambushing a priest, Father Horrigan (Charles Dale). The leader Muldoon (Stuart Graham) tells the priest to keep quiet about a well-preserved corpse of the late Seamus Carney recovered in a nearby bog. This proves to be troubling because the priest knows the Carney family well.

The remainder of the show is set in the home of the Carney family farm in rural County Armagh. Quinn Carney (Paddy Considine) lives there with his ill wife Mary (Genevieve O’Reilly) and seven children, along with sister-in-law and Seamus’ widow Caitlin (Laura Donnelly), Uncle Patrick (Mark Lambert), cranky, chain-smoking Aunt Patricia (Dearbhla Molloy) and wheelchair-bound elderly Aunt Maggie Far Away (Fionnula Flanagan). The Carneys are preparing for the harvest while news of 10 Republican prisoners on a hunger strike disturbs the family, especially since British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher refuses to capitulate to any of the IRA’s demands. Father Horrigan arrives to speak in private to Caitlin about the grim news of her husband’s body being found after a decade. When her son Oisin (Rob Malone) eavesdrops and hears the truth about his father, the rest of the play becomes a guessing game of what the ramifications might be. Should the English be blamed? The IRA? Others?

Mr. Butterworth weaves a complex spell in a story featuring more than 20 characters, a live goose and rabbit, a real infant, Irish dancing, revelry and pathos. Granted, some of what is presented here seems riddled in Irish clichés—drinking, quarreling, quoting literature and anti-English diatribes—but the narrative is often compelling and there is a haunting sincerity to the characters and their predicament. Rob Howell’s rustic set is all too real and the performances are consistently outstanding. Paddy Considine is first rate as patriarch Quinn, as is Laura Donnelly as the long-suffering Caitlin. Both Mr. Considine and Ms. Donnelly have the most difficult tasks in the story, displaying a wide range of emotions from joy to tragedy as the tale unfolds. In addition, the supporting cast’s performances are some of the show’s greatest assets, particularly Fionnula Flanagan as Aunt Maggie Far Away.  When she breaks out of her mental fog to deliver a soliloquy about the one true love who always eluded her, it’s one of the true show-stopping moments of The Ferryman. Justin Edwards is also noteworthy with his portrayal of the awkward English farmhand and longtime family friend, Tom Kettle.

Director Sam Mendes brilliantly directs the amazing ensemble of actors, which could not have been easy considering the many dialects depicted here. The Ferryman might be a hard sell to American audiences unfamiliar with the intricacies of Irish history and conflicts, but beneath the political veneer, Mr. Butterworth’s epic has all the elements of a great tragedy, centered on a family slowly losing everything, from love to trust and hope.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published October 25, 2018
Reviewed at October 24, 2018 press performance.

‘THE FERRYMAN’: (left to right) Laura Donnelly, Genevieve O’Reilly, Sean Frank Coffey & Paddy Considine. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘THE FERRYMAN’: (left to right) Niall Wright, Matilda Lawler, Justin Edwards, Mark Lambert, Fra Fee & Willow McCarthy. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘THE FERRYMAN’: Laura Donnelly. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘THE FERRYMAN’: (left to right) Fionnula Flanagan & Mark Lambert. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘THE FERRYMAN’: The cast. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘THE FERRYMAN’: Paddy Considine. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘THE FERRYMAN’: (left to right) Fra Fee, Tom Glynn-Carney & Conor MacNeill. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘THE FERRYMAN’: Genevieve O’Reilly & Sean Frank Coffey. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘THE FERRYMAN’: (left to right) Carla Langley, Brooklyn Shuck, Willow McCarthy, Matilda Lawler, Tom Glynn-Carney & Rob Malone. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘THE FERRYMAN’: (left to right) Glenn Spears, Charles Dale, Dean Ashton & Stuart Graham. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘THE FERRYMAN’: Glenn Spears & Paddy Considine. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘THE FERRYMAN’: (left to right) Willow McCarthy, Brooklyn Shuck & Dearbhla Molloy. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘THE FERRYMAN’: The company. Photo: Joan Marcus

The post ‘The Ferryman’: Epic of Irish pathos & politics appeared first on StageZine.

‘THE ICEMAN COMETH’: (left to right) Michael Potts, Denzel Washington & company. Julieta Cervantes

THE ICEMAN COMETH
Written by Eugene O’Neill
Directed by George C. Wolfe
Through July 1, 2018
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
242 West 45th Street
(212-239-6200),www.icemanonbroadway.com

By David NouNou

Eugene O’Neill’s classic has been and still is hailed as a classic. Clocking in at nearly four hours, you have to have the stamina of a bull elephant to sit through a repetitious, “slosh fest” babblethon of has-beens and “never weres” who sit all day and night boozing and bemoaning their pipe dreams and wallow in the lies they conjure for themselves to see life through another day.

Set in 1912 at Harry Hope’s bar in the Lower West Side of New York City, the denizens of this dive are awaiting the arrival of Theodore Hickman or “Hickey” (Denzel Washington). The audience in the theater must wait over an hour until Mr. Washington makes his entrance (so you have to endure all the wallowing as well). He is a traveling salesman, a drunkard like themselves, to come and cheer them up from their life of misery with his brand of humor and open pockets to buy the drinks. However, on this arrival Hickey doesn’t bring fun, but instead brings them sobriety to face the next day and get out and do something with their lives.

They all pull it together to go out in the world and face their fears, except for the disenchanted Socialist and resident cynic, Larry Slade (David Morse) who knows the reality of things. They all return more despondent because what they were hoping to find were only untruths and pipe dreams. Hickey’s mission wasn’t so much as to help them go out to find jobs or connect with the world; he wants to help them face their future without fear or living in pipe dreams.

Denzel Washington and David Morse provide solid performances and manage to make this ponderous evening bearable. Honestly speaking, spending eight hours at Angels in America, which deals with the advent of AIDS and Roy Cohn, is more uplifting and epic than this miserable evening of self-pitying and self-loathing, but if one is a Denzel Washington or Eugene O’Neill fan, it should not be missed.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published May 29, 2018

‘THE ICEMAN COMETH’: (left to right) David Morse, Denzel Washington & Colm Meaney in ‘The Iceman’. Photo Credit: Julieta Cervantes

‘THE ICEMAN COMETH’: Denzel Washington. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

‘THE ICEMAN COMETH’: Denzel Washington & David Morse. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

‘THE ICEMAN COMETH’: Denzel Washington & cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

‘THE ICEMAN COMETH’: Denzel Washington & cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

‘THE ICEMAN COMETH’: The company. Photo; Julieta Cervantes

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‘BANDSTAND’: (left ro right) Joe Carroll, James Nathan Hopkins, Alex Bender, Laura Osnes, Geoff Packard, Corey Cott & Brandon J. Ellis. Photo: Jeremy Daniel

BANDSTAND
Music by Richard Oberacker
Book & lyrics by Rob Taylor & Mr. Oberacker
Directed & choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
242 West 45th Street
(212-239-6200), www.bandstandbroadway.com

By David NouNou

The joy of experiencing Bandstand is seeing an original musical. Not musicalizing a hit movie or an animated motion picture, Bandstand is created from scratch. The subject matter is familiar but still relevant today; it’s about soldiers returning from a war, in this case WWII, and having to rebuild their lives. They have served their country and now they are outcasts because they lost their jobs and it is a struggle to find anything.

It is 1945 and Danny Novitski (Corey Cott) has returned to his home town of Cleveland and can’t find a musical gig until he hears on the radio that there is a contest (“Tribute to the Troops”) for the best band from each of the states to compete for the grand prize in New York City. Danny is a pianist and singer forms his own swing band by enlisting five other musicians: bass (Brandon J. Ellis), drums (Joe Carroll), trumpet (James Nathan Hopkins), trombone (Alex Bender) and sax (Geoff Packard). They are all veterans who have returned from the war with their own battle scars and they all play their own musical instruments to perfection.

Danny carries the heaviest burden;he has to inform and look after the wife of his dead war buddy. Their dream was to form their band and play in New York. He eventually has to confront his problem and come to Julie Trojan’s (Laura Osnes) home who lives with her mother June Adams (Beth Leavel). Julie sings in the church choir and has a great voice, Danny implores her to join his band as the singer which she does and he ultimately has to tell her that her husband died in friendly fire.

All this may not sound new and it has a familiar feel of the old “let’s put on the greatest show” but it is put together honorably and entertainingly. The book seems contrived and you can see how things are going to fall in place. However, the score is transporting and the sound of the big band/swing era is exhilarating. Andy Blankenbuehler, who serves as both director and choreographer, has bumps along the way, where the two forms have to mesh together (in this case at times they seem to obstruct each other as a stop-and-go motion). The musical numbers are cohesive enough, but the choreography is almost forced to fit in with the context of the scene.

Laura Osnes is pure joy, she has the voice, the presence and the chops to make everything believable. Where Corey Cott floundered a few years ago in the misguided revival of Gigi, here he has honed his craft with the flair and charm of the returning soldier who makes good on a promise he made to his war buddy. The above-mentioned five musicians are expert players and actors simultaneously.

With Bandstand you may feel you’ve seen this plot before, but who cares? Among the swing music, vitality, sound, Ms. Osnes and Mr. Cott, it is an evening of sheer delight.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 30, 2017
Reviewed at press performance on April 29, 2017

‘BANDSTAND’: Laura Osnes (center) & cast. Photo: Jeremy Daniel

‘BANDSTAND’: Corey Cott & Laura Osnes. Photo: Jeremy Daniel

‘BANDSTAND’: (left to right) Brandon J. Ellis, Corey Cott, Joe Carroll, James Nathan Hopkins, Alex Bender & Geoff Packard. Photo: Jeremy Daniel

‘BANDSTAND’: Corey Cott. Photo: Jeremy Daniel

‘BANDSTAND’: Laura Osnes & Beth Leavel. Photo: Jeremy Daniel

‘BANDSTAND’: The company. Photo: Jeremy Daniel

‘BANDSTAND’: Corey Cott & Laura Osnes (center) & cast. Photo: Jeremy Daniel

‘BANDSTAND’: Corey Cott & Laura Osnes (center) & cast. Photo: Jeremy Daniel

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