‘JUST IN TIME’: Jonathan Groff. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

JUST IN TIME
Book by Warren Leight and Isaac Oliver
Based on an original concept by Ted Chapin
Music supervision & arrangements by Andrew Resnick
Choreography by Shannon Lewis
Directed by Alex Timbers
Through September 6, 2026
Circle in the Square
235 W 50th St.
https://justintimebroadway.com/

Editor’s Note: Jeremy Jordan has taken over the role of Bobby Darin. Isa Briones is now in the role of Connie Francis, and Carrie St. Louis is now playing Sandra Dee.

By Scott Harrah

Tony Award winner Jonathan Groff gives his best performance to date in Just in Time, the new Broadway musical about the iconic Bobby Darin, the velvet-voiced pop singer of the 1950s and 1960s who died at age 37.  Mr. Groff brings the man who sang such classics as “Splish Splash,” “Mack the Knife,” “Dream Lover” and “Beyond the Sea” to vivid life in the best “jukebox musical” since Jersey Boys nearly two decades ago. One doesn’t need to be a Bobby Darin fan to appreciate the nonstop energy that Mr. Groff brings to the role.

Broadway via the Copacabana & Las Vegas

Scenic designer Derek McLane has turned Circle in the Square into a glorious retro nightclub that pays homage to the venerable Copacabana in Manhattan and the glitzy Las Vegas lounge stages of yesteryear. It’s a winning tribute to a bygone era when stylish ladies and gentlemen would gather in cozy, intimate nightclubs to sip cocktails, smoke cigarettes and marvel at the latest pop crooners of the day. Shortly after the show opens, Mr. Groff reminds us that he’s not the real Bobby Darin and we’re actually watching this spectacle “in the basement of Wicked.”

What’s more, the mellifluous orchestrations by music supervisor Andrew Resnick and Michael Thurber bring all the ebullient brass and jazz-hot sounds of a “big band” orchestra to the Broadway stage. This lets audiences immerse themselves in the nostalgic glory of the classic songs being performed.

As an added treat, we see performances by two of Mr. Darin’s real-life romantic partners: The inimitable, golden-throated pop queen Connie Francis (Gracie Lawrence); and “America’s sweetheart,” movie superstar Sandra Dee (Erika Henningsen), who was briefly married to Mr. Darin. Both women, like Bobby Darin himself, lived very public, volatile lives and were scandalous tabloid fodder in their heyday and beyond.

An icon & his lady loves

Bobby Darin (real name Walden Robert Cassotto) had a short but dramatic life. Growing up in East Harlem, New York, he suffered from bouts of rheumatic fever as a child and doctors said he would only live to be 16, but he proved them wrong.

He started out as a songwriter for Ms. Francis. She was already a household name with such hits as “Stupid Cupid” and “Who’s Sorry Now?” Darin immediately took a shine to the star and she was also smitten with him, but her parents did not approve.

Goody-two-shoes matinee idol Sandra Dee also won his heart. After pouring on lots of charm and giving flowers to her demanding, overprotective mother (Valeria Yamin), Mr. Darin got her blessing and was allowed to date Ms. Dee while filming Come September in Portofino, Italy in 1960. She was just 18 and he was 24 at the time. They had a brief, passionate affair and later married. Ms. Dee and Mr. Darin had one child, son Dodd, before divorcing.

Scandalous family secret

Mr. Darin was raised by Polly Walden (Michele Pawk), his nurturing mother. His older sister Nina (Emily Bergl)  looks out for him as if she is his nanny. When Mr. Darin becomes successful, he hires Nina’s husband—his brutish brother-in-law, Charlie Maffia (Joe Barbara)—as his personal valet. All three family members have been keeping a scandalous secret from Bobby all his life and his world is shattered when he learns the truth

Outstanding performances

Director Alex Timbers skillfully directs the gifted cast, all of whom give outstanding performances.

The supporting cast are certainly worth noting. Gracie Lawrence is superb as Connie Francis, singing the nostalgic star’s songs with the right mix of zest and vulnerability. Ms. Lawrence’s take on the Connie Francis standard “Who’s Sorry Now?” is one of the show’s highlights. She also captures the singer’s demure presence and powerhouse presence with aplomb. That’s no easy task considering Ms. Francis was a superstar in the 1950s and 1960s, singing both pop chart-toppers as well as ethnic standards. Songs from her two albums Connie Francis Sings Italian Favorites and Connie Francis Sings Jewish Favorites are still played at many Italian and Jewish weddings today.

Erika Henningsen also gives a knockout portrayal of Sandra Dee, another megastar from the era. Ms. Henningsen brings all the saccharine sweetness and melodrama to the character, and does so with consistent conviction. It’s quite a departure from her most famous Broadway role, originating the lead part of Cady Heron in Mean Girls. 

Michele Pawk as Polly Walden, and Emily Bergl as Nina, both bring plausibility to their respective roles, and each has a unique and crisp voice. Valeria Yamin is magnificent as Sandra Dee’s overbearing mother.

Noteworthy supporting cast

Other noteworthy supporting performances include the always-delightful Cesar Samayoa (How to Dance in Ohio and Come From Away). Mr. Samayoa really nails the part of 1970s music maven Don Kirshner, the man who discovered many pop and rock greats, including Bobby Darin. Gen X audiences will remember his 1970s TV show “Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert.”  Mr. Samayoa has an amazing voice and does a fine job portraying Mr. Kirshner as well as other small parts in the show. In addition, Joe Barbara is the ultimate New York tough guy as Charlie, Bobby’s personal valet and brother-in-law.

Jonathan Groff’s best role yet

Bobby Darin is the role Jonathan Groff was born to play. He won a Tony Award for Merrily We Roll Along and was nominated for a Tony for his portrayal of Mad King George in Hamilton. However, he is at the top of his game here. Mr. Groff has the charm, acting chops and beautifully textured voice to bring Bobby Darin back to glorious life. He sweats profusely and is a manic, energized force who keeps us riveted and mesmerized from the moment the show starts and he never lets up. Don’t miss Just in Time.

Editor’s note: Just in Time received six 2025 Tony Award nominations, including one for Jonathan Groff for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical.

Published April 30, 2025
Reviewed at press performance on April 26, 2025

‘JUST IN TIME’: Jonathan Groff & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘JUST IN TIME’: Gracie Lawrence. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘JUST IN TIME’: Jonathan Groff & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘JUST IN TIME’: Gracie Lawrence (Connie Francis) & Jonathan Groff (Bobby Darin). Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘JUST IN TIME’: Christine Cornish, Jonathan Groff & Julia Grondin. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘JUST IN TIME’: Valeria Yamin, Michele Pawk & Julia Grondin. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘JUST IN TIME’: Erika Henningsen. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘JUST IN TIME’: (left) Emily Bergl; (right) Caesar Samayoa. Photos: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman & Caesar Samayoa is courtesy of Polk PR.

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‘ROMEO + JULIET’: Rachel Zegler & Kit Connor. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

ROMEO + JULIET
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Sam Gold
Circle in the Square Theatre
235 West 50^th Street
https://romeoandjulietnyc.com/

By Scott Harrah

William Shakespeare’s classics are often revived with modern-day costumes and endless gimmicks to help bring in new, younger audiences. Sam Gold has previously directed two “reinvented” productions of the Bard’s classics, Macbeth and King Lear (which starred the late Glenda Jackson in a gender-bending role as King Lear). Mr. Gold has been more successful putting a contemporary spin on other classics, namely his outstanding revival of Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People earlier this season (which also played at Circle in the Square).

Back in 2013, David Leveaux directed a dismal revival of Romeo and Juliet, starring the miscast Orlando Bloom and Condola Rashad in which Romeo rode onto the stage on a motorcycle and Juliet delivered the iconic “Romeo, Oh Romeo” soliloquy by rote in American vernacular. This revival of Shakespeare’s popular classic about ill-fated lovers is a far superior production, but that would not be hard.

Mr. Gold’s interpretation of the story of the Capulets vs. the Montagues in Verona, Italy in the 14^th century (or later—scholars cannot seem to agree on the time period) is “modern” in the broadest sense. The circular theatre-in-the-round setting is used as a vehicle for all the madness happening on stage and off. We see overhead catwalks and a bed that goes up and down. Towers of teddy bears are seen on stage (don’t ask) and actors climb up on ladders to shout out their lines.

Need a brief plot summary? Shakespeare himself said it best in the prologue: ”Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona, where we lay our scene, from ancient grudge break to new mutiny, where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes a pair of star-crossed lovers take their life.”

Despite the insanity in this production—from the cast dancing provocatively before the show to Enver Chakartash’s outrageous costumes—fortunately there are two solid actors playing the lead roles. Kit Connor (who played the older Elton John in the 2019 biopic Rocket Man) is the perfect teenage heartthrob as Romeo. Although Romeo + Juliet is not a musical, this production inserts short songs throughout the show, with music by Jack Antonoff and movement direction and choreography by Sonya Tayeh. Mr. Connor has a nice voice and the dynamic stage presence necessary to pull off the character.

Rachel Zegler, best known for playing Maria in the Steven Spielberg remake of West Side Story, is one of the show’s standouts. She adds the right mix of vulnerability and determination in her performance. When she sings, Ms. Zegler almost looks and sounds like a younger version of Ariana Grande. She has all the passion, spark and yearning of a young girl who is deliriously in love for the first time.

The other noteworthy performance is given by the marvelous Gabby Beans (Tony nominee for the Lincoln Center revival of The Skin of Our Teeth). She brilliantly portrays three characters: the wisecracking Mercutio (Romeo’s best friend), Romeo’s advisor the Friar and Prince Escalus, who tries unsuccessfully to make peace between the Montagues and Capulets.

Not everything works in this revamped version of the doomed young lovers of Verona. Modernized versions of Shakespeare have become standard fare on Broadway the past few years, and Sam Gold’s Romeo + Juliet is hardly as offensive or a “bastardization” like other 21^st century versions we have seen the past decade. Still, it would be great to someday soon see Shakespeare’s works done the way they were intended to be performed: In period costumes, without gimmicks and in all the original Elizabethan era glory. It was only 11 years ago in 2013 that two amazing British productions of Twelfth Night and Richard III were done in repertory, starring the legendary Mark Rylance and Stephen Fry. What made those two productions so enjoyable was their authenticity in recapturing the mood of that era. When performed in original period costumes, with musicians playing Elizabethan tunes, Shakespeare is much more palatable to modern audiences. With all the characters in his plays and endless subplots, Shakespeare makes for difficult reading, but when his plays are performed as the Bard intended, they are easy to follow and truly delightful. Mr. Gold’s Romeo + Juliet might be bringing in the Gen Z audience, but hopefully in future seasons Broadway will mount a few traditional Shakespeare revivals so the younger generation can judge for themselves whether they prefer a modernized Bard or plays performed in a more conventional manner.

Published October 24, 2024
Reviewed at October 19, 2024 press performance

‘ROMEO + JULIET’: Rachel Zegler & Kit Connor. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘ROMEO + JULIET’: Gabby Beans. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘ROMEO + JULIET’: Rachel Zegler & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘ROMEO + JULIET’: Kit Connor, Rachel Zegler & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘ROMEO + JULIET’: Rachel Zegler & Kit Connor. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

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‘AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE’: Jeremy Strong. Photo: Emilio Madrid.

AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE
By Henrik Ibsen
Adapted by Amy Herzog
Directed by Sam Gold
Through June 16, 2024
Circle in the Square
235 West 50^th Street
(212-239-6200), www.anenemyofthepeopleplay.com

By David NouNou

Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen was often called “the father of modern drama” because his stories focused on realism and social issues, so it is gratifying indeed to see a topical play such as the thought-provoking An Enemy of the People mounted this year on Broadway. What a difference a brilliant adaptation makes.

It was last produced in 2012 by the Manhattan Theatre Club with a listless and tepid adaptation by British playwright Rebecca Lenkiewicz,  dull leads consisting of Boyd Gaines and Richard Thomas and misguided direction by Doug Hughes. Fast forward to March 2024: Amy Herzog has provided a heart-pounding adaptation of Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People.

It updates Ibsen’s 1882 classic tale of social morality and responsibility, public health, fear of disease, and political grandstanding. It is a cautionary tale about science and sanity and the uprooting of everything sane and rational to universal irrationality of the masses and small-town corruption.

Dr. Thomas Stockmann (Jeremy Strong) has recently returned back to his small town in Norway with his daughter, Petra (Victoria Pedretti) and son Ejlif after the death of his wife Catherine. Thomas has been commissioned by his brother, Mayor Peter Stockmann (Michael Imperioli) to approve the benefits and results of the spas for the forthcoming summer tourist trade that will be arriving for health purposes.

Midway through the results, Dr. Stockman discovers the spas are contaminated and built over manure-infested pipes with bacteria that will bring illness to many visitors. Everyone stands behind Dr. Stockmann to bring this news to the forefront, including the newspaper owner, Aslaksen (Thomas Jay Ryan) and firebrand editor, Hovstad (Caleb Eberhardt) and let the townspeople learn of these dire situations. However, there is a holdout, the Mayor; he sees his brother as being hasty and feels he hasn’t seen everything from all aspects. Such as, how this kind of news can close tourism down for two years and bankrupt the city. In turn, one by one the townspeople start turning on Dr. Stockmann and his family, firing him, firing Petra as the schoolteacher, and abusing his son Ejlif.

Naturally, the standout performance is given by Jeremy Strong who has recently won every major TV award for his role in “Succession.” Although playing a very down-to-earth country doctor, he imbues his character with passion, trust, and a genial demeanor that is heartbreaking when his pleas go unheard.

Michael Imperioli of HBO’s “The Sopranos”—and more recently in his Emmy-nominated role on HBO’s “The White Lotus”— brings it on: the greed, avarice, turning against his brother and bringing an end to him. He is relishing his bravado on stage and it is a delight to see such wonderful sparring partners.

There is, however, one drawback to the evening: Sam Gold, the director. I don’t think there is a shtick he can ever resist to inject into a play whether it is warranted or not. Excess is his trademark. How can anyone ever forget him inserting a four-piece Philip Glass string quartet into the 2019 revival of King Lear, starring the late Glenda Jackson as King Lear? Or the abysmal 2022 mess of a MacBeth revival with Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga in which nothing made sense? This time around, instead of giving us a 10-minute break to use the facilities, he has the actors coming up on stage with the lights on, getting audience members to drink shots and asking them to participate as jury members for the second half of the play, with lots of needless carousing on stage.

However, in the end it is Amy Herzog’s brilliant adaption that makes this revival a must-see for this or any other season, with the added bonuses of Jeremy Strong and Michael Imperioli giving excellent performances.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published March 18, 2024
Reviewed at March 17, 2024 press performance.

‘AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE’: Michael Imperioli. Photo: Emilio Madrid.

‘AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE’: Victoria Pedretti & Jeremy Strong. Photo: Emilio Madrid.

‘AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE’: Victoria Pedretti. Photo: Emilio Madrid.

The post ‘An Enemy of the People’ revival a must-see appeared first on StageZine.

‘MELISSA ETHERIDGE: MY WINDOW’: Melissa Etheridge. Photo: Jenny Anderson.

MELISSA ETHERIDGE: MY WINDOW
Written by Melissa Etheridge with Linda Wallem Etheridge
Directed by Amy Tinkham
Through November 19, 2023
Circle in the Square Theatre
https://melissaetheridge.com/
 

By Scott Harrah

One doesn’t have to be a fan of rock icon Melissa Etheridge to appreciate her many musical talents and contributions to American pop culture since her 1988 debut album. Even those unfamiliar with the artist or her work will revere her for the music and her story of overcoming adversity after watching her one-woman Broadway concert confessional, Melissa Etheridge: My Window. Although she was hardly the first female rocker—she arrived on the American scene years after such icons as Pat Benatar, Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac, Debbie Harry of Blondie, Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders and Tina Turner held their own in a sea of testosterone—Ms. Etheridge still shattered musical glass ceilings in the 1980s and 1990s for women, especially lesbian women. She was one of many women who came of age and made it big when the rock scene was mostly male-dominated. Ms. Etheridge commands our respect from the moment she steps on stage. She is not afraid to tell us her age and her birthday in 1961, the same birthday she shares with her older sister.

Ms. Etheridge opens the first act talking about growing up in Leavenworth, Kansas—home of the famous United States Penitentiary and also the U.S. Army’s Fort Leavenworth with its adjacent military prison—with a supportive father who was a schoolteacher, and a distant, emotionally aloof mother who worked as a computer programmer.  Young “Missy” (as she was called by her family) falls in love with pop music when she hears the Beatles’ “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” on the radio at age three. She later learns to play guitar and is encouraged by her father to pursue her dream of becoming a professional musician. By the time she’s in high school, she has played music for the inmates at the Leavenworth prison and is soon playing with bands in local bars, and her loving father is behind her every step of the way—he accompanies her at gigs because she’s not legally old enough to be performing in places that serve alcohol.  However, her mother is not exactly thrilled about young Melissa spending weekends playing music in bars.  All of Act One is consistently compelling, with Ms. Etheridge vividly recounting her middle-class Midwestern childhood and teenage years with searing honesty and emotion. Now in her early 60s, Ms. Etheridge hasn’t lost any of her charming, bad-girl spunk and she is still in fine, raspy voice.

She recalls being sent off to Boston to attend the Berklee College of Music. She was not really interested in studying and started meeting “out” lesbians for the first time ever, starting first with her college dorm roommate from New York City. She played music and sang at local bars in Boston, including lesbian bars. She dropped out of Berklee after three semesters and moved back home to Kansas briefly, but after her mother discovered she was gay, Melissa was told she was “not welcome” at the family home in a rather cruel and dismissive note. Melissa recalls telling her father that she is gay and he’s more accepting because her dad is much more open-minded.  She then heads to Los Angeles to pursue her music career. Life in California is a struggle, but she manages to land a job playing music a few nights a week at a lesbian bar in Long Beach. It is at this bar that Melissa is eventually “discovered” and immediately offered a record contract by Chris Blackwell of Island Records.  She recorded her first album with Island Records, the eponymous Melissa Etheridge in 1988, with the hit single “Bring Me Some Water.” The song and album received major radio airplay and earned her a Grammy Award nomination. While she was on the way “up” to mainstream success, she was not “out” as a lesbian professionally yet.

The retelling of Ms. Etheridge’s early years and her road to success in Act One holds the audience’s interest throughout, and she sings early hits and covers songs she admires such as “On Broadway,” and as the show breaks for intermission, we are left in high anticipation for Act Two because the first half of the show is engaging enough to leave us wanting more, as we know that most of her big hits will be in the latter part of My Window.

Act Two starts out promising, with Ms. Etheridge performing some of her signature songs like “I Want to Come Over’ and “I’m the Only One” from her mega-smash hit 1993 album Yes, I Am. Of course, her most famous hit, “Come to My Window,” is included, but later in the show. Ms. Etheridge talks about the highs and lows of her career after “making it,” from her many lovers to grappling with her father’s death from cancer in the early 1990s to her own battle with breast cancer in 2004.

She discusses officially coming out at the first LGBTQ+ inaugural ball for President Bill Clinton to winning a Grammy Award and eventually an Oscar for the song “I Need to Wake Up” that she wrote and performed for Al Gore’s climate change film An Inconvenient Truth in 2006. It is somewhat disappointing that Ms. Etheridge (who co-wrote the show’s book with her wife, Linda Wallem Etheridge) chose to pad up the second act with filler like a cover of Janis Joplin’s “Piece of My Heart” (which she performed at the 2005 Grammy Awards). She also goes a bit overboard with a story about “tripping” after eating cannabis brownies and having an out-of-body experience and then sings a lesser-known song, complete with psychedelic projections on the stage. In moments like this—when she dwells on some hippie-dippy psychobabble about intergalactic cats that even confused her girlfriend at the time (don’t ask!)—she loses the audience. Perhaps director Amy Tinkham should have trimmed out the show’s more self-indulgent moments because at two and a half hours with an intermission, My Window is a bit long and might work better as a streamlined, fine-tuned 90-minute one act.

However, Ms. Etheridge makes up for the distractions in other parts of the show, especially when she goes out into the audience to sing directly to her fans. In addition, her personal stories about losing her first-born son at age 21 to a fentanyl overdose in 2021 during the pandemic, anecdotes about her many failed relationships, and her regrets about not spending more time with her children—are all heartfelt and painful, and show she’s brave enough to share some of her life’s darkest moments.

Melissa Etheridge: My Window is an ambitious and insightful look at Melissa Etheridge that, like the artist herself, isn’t perfect but still has a lot of heart and soul.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published October 8, 2023
Reviewed at October 6, 2023 press performance.

‘MELISSA ETHERIDGE: MY WINDOW’: Melissa Etheridge. Photo: Jenny Anderson.

”MELISSA ETHERIDGE: MY WINDOW’: Kate Owens & Melissa Etheridge. Photo: Jenny Anderson.

‘MELISSA ETHERIDGE: MY WINDOW’: Melissa Etheridge. Photo: Jenny Anderson.

‘MELISSA ETHERIDGE: MY WINDOW’: Melissa Etheridge. Photo: Jenny Anderson.

‘MELISSA ETHERIDGE: MY WINDOW’: Melissa Etheridge. Photo: Jenny Anderson.

‘MELISSA ETHERIDGE: MY WINDOW’: Melissa Etheridge. Photo: Jenny Anderson.

‘MELISSA ETHERIDGE: MY WINDOW’: Melissa Etheridge. Photo: Jenny Anderson.

‘MELISSA ETHERIDGE: MY WINDOW’: Melissa Etheridge. Photo: Jenny Anderson.

The post ‘Melissa Etheridge: My Window’ is heartfelt appeared first on StageZine.

‘KPOP’: The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

KPOP
Originally conceived by Woodshed Collective & Jason Kim
Book by Jason Kim
Music & lyrics by Max Vernon
Directed by Teddy Bergman
Choreographed by Jennifer Weber
Circle in the Square
235 West 50^th Street
212-239-6202, www.KPOPBroadway.com

By David NouNou

If you ever wondered what it would be like to watch “Korea’s Got Talent” or “Idol,” songs lip-synched in Korean and then translated in English, mash it up with “Project Runway,” backstage drama filmed by a documentarian, and as a bonus throw in early Lady Gaga for a finale, you now have KPOP.

In addition, you will also be treated to every cliché in the book. The girl band known as RTMIS and all the sacrifices they have made in their lives by not seeing their families for years at a time, practicing relentlessly, weeping, wanting to quit and then giving each other a pep talk to stay in the quintet.

Let’s not forget the boy band known as F8 (the title says it all), singing and dancing their hearts out, posing, swaggering, the outsider who jumped the line to get in the group, the group leader who is against the outsider because he jumped the line. The boys talking sense to the two and unifying them to be the best boy band octet they can be.

To add tension, there is Ruby (Jully Lee), the head of the record label aptly named RBY, and the young singer, Mwe (Luna), a South Korean musical sensation. Ruby has played mother figure to Mwe since she was nine when Mwe came to audition for her. Mwe was abandoned as a child by her mother and Ruby took her under her wings and nurtured her to be the sensation she never could be.

There is also the sleazy documentarian, Harry (Aurie Merrylees), making a film about the struggles of the performers preparing their acts to come to America for their New York City debut. He tries to stir trouble by having the band members turn against each other and having it all filmed by his camera operator (Major Curda) so he can have a better documentary.

Moral of the musical is you have to suffer and sacrifice for your art. Your talent has to be unique and make you standout, but here is the conundrum: They are all dancing in unison and hand movements and placement are robotically in sync. If all this appeals to you, you have the opportunity to see KPOP and whip yourself up into a frenzy.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published December 3, 2022
Reviewed at December 2, 2022  press performance.

‘KPOP’: Luna. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘KPOP’: The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘KPOP’: Kevin Woo & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘KPOP’: The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

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‘AMERICAN BUFFALO’: Sam Rockwell & Laurence Fishburne. Photo: Richard Termine.

AMERICAN BUFFALO
Written by David Mamet
Directed by Neil Pepe
Through July 10, 2022
Circle in the Square
235 West 50th St.
New York, NY
212-239-6202, wwwAmericanBuffaloNYC.com
 

By David NouNou

It’s hard to review a David Mamet play these days without including his heinous quotes recently on Fox News: “Teachers are abusing children mentally and using sex to do so,” further alleging “Teachers are inclined, particularly men, because men are predators to pedophilia.” It’s amazing he can make quotes like these when most of his plays are full of overt sexism and toxic masculinity driving the narrative. What I find most amazing in today’s culture is the double standard for women. With all the expletives that are used in this play, especially the misogynist name calling of women with the use of the “c” word and the women that are talked about by one character as “lesbian dykes,” some people who find the text most amusing are women. When you are seated at Circle in the Square Theatre, you not only get to hear audience reaction, you also get to see audience reaction. As written and spoken by Mamet, it is acceptable and humorous, but if spoken by the average person on the street, it is offensive, demeaning and contemptible to women.

The action takes place in a junk shop on a Friday morning and later that night around eleven o’clock. In Act I, Donny (Laurence Fishburne), owner of the junk shop and a father figure to the slow-witted Bobby (Darren Criss)— who has made a mistake and apologizes for it—wants Bobby to learn from his mistake. They’re also discussing on how to go about doing “the thing.” In comes Teach (Sam Rockwell), a repugnant conman  loser if ever there was one. He is sexist, racist and has total disdain for humanity.

Turns out “the thing” is a robbery to take place later that night. A buyer has come to the shop a couple of days earlier and bought a buffalo nickel for $90. He has given his number to Donny to call him if he should come across some more. Donny now feels he has been cheated and should have gotten more for that nickel   Bobby later informs Donny that the buyer has left town with his girlfriend and a suitcase in a car that morning for the weekend and his place will be empty. Upon hearing of this job, Teach wants a piece of the action and wants Bobby out for being slow and unreliable for such a job. The meeting is set for 10:30pm that night with Donny, Teach and a third party named Fletch to break in to the buyer’s home and take back the coin and more if there are any.

Act II begins with Teach being late, and Fletch nowhere to be found. Only Bobby shows up with a lot on his mind. No spoiler alert here, but violence does ensue. This unraveling is what keeps the audience’s attention.

The redeeming grace of the evening is the solid work of the three actors, each giving stellar performances. As loathsome as Sam Rockwell’s character Teach is, his performance is as powerful as it is menacing. Having seen the original Teach, Robert Duvall in 1977, Al Pacino in 1983 and John Leguizamo in the disastrous 2008 revival (which only lasted for 20 previews and eight regular performances), Mr. Rockwell’s performance is by far the most nuanced and pulsating with seediness and rage.

Laurence Fishburne gives an equally stunning and riveting performance; the beauty here is the strength in his character as well as his protective feelings toward Bobby.

Darren Criss as Bobby is of course the least showy character in the play. However, Mr. Criss delves into Bobby to make him more than the simple character he is. There is a genuine desire to please his mentor, thus imbuing his character with humanity.

There are two more notable assets to the play.  First, Scott Pask has created the best junk shop set devised for this play. It is a work of art. Second is the pulsating direction by Neil Pepe, for even in a moment of stillness, there is constant movement. Whether it is in the dialogue or the actors, something is always moving.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 22, 2022
Reviewed at April 21, 2022 press performance.

‘AMERICAN BUFFALO’: Darren Criss & Laurence Fishburne. Photo: Richard Termine.

‘AMERICAN BUFFALO’: Laurence Fishburne. Photo: Richard Termine.

‘AMERICAN BUFFALO’: Sam Rockwell. Photo: Richard Termine.

‘AMERICAN BUFFALO’: Darren Criss. Photo: Richard Termine.

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‘CHICKEN & BISCUITS’: (left to right) Ebony Marshall Oliver, Michael Urie, Devere Rogers & Cleo King. Photo: Emilio Madrid.

CHICKEN & BISCUITS
Written by Douglas Lyons
Directed by Zhailon Levingston
Through November 28, 2021
Circle in the Square
235 West 50th Street
212-239-6202, https://chickenandbiscuitsbway.com/

By David NouNou

Since the inception of dramedies and a barrage of mediocre sitcoms on TV, comedies have gotten scarcer and scarcer on Broadway. Once a staple for entertainment (Neil Simon’s annual outings), they are now almost non-existent. However, one has managed to squeeze in this season. At times it borders on the absurd and broad farce, but we’ll take our laughs any way we can when comedies are so desperately needed in these times.

The story centers on the death of a Southern Baptist minister, whose family has come together for his funeral. What we get is a few more members that the family didn’t expect. The two sisters mourning their father are Baneatta Mabry (Cleo King), the older and more sensible one, and the self-proclaimed beauty and flashier younger sister, Beverly Jenkins (Ebony Marshall-Oliver). Beverly believes that displaying her bosom at her father’s funeral is more important to attract a man who has come to pay his respects than to be appropriately dressed.

Baneatta is married to Reginald Mabry (Norm Lewis).  He has taken over the ministry and is supposed to deliver the eulogy. They have a daughter, Simone (Alana Raquel Bowers) who has been dumped by her boyfriend—a man she was expecting to marry— for a white woman. They also have a son, Kenny (Devere Rogers) who is gay and the only person who accepted him was his deceased grandfather. Kenny has brought his white, flamboyant, sweet Jewish boyfriend, Logan (Michael Urie), and he has a tough time being accepted at a Baptist funeral. Also, there is La’Trice Franklin (Aigner Mizzelle), Beverly’s  high-strung, eccentric 15-year-old daughter whose father left her when she was young.  There is a last-minute secret character, Brianna Jenkins (Natasha Yvette Williams), whose identity I will keep a secret. Needless to say, they all have issues.

The premise is grand and really fun; there are even some very touching scenes between the characters voicing their feelings, but the playwright, Douglas Lyons and the proceedings are greatly misled by a young, inexperienced 27-year-old director, Zhailon Levingston, making his Broadway debut. The director has totally failed the show and the cast in giving them any nuanced direction. There is very little cohesion to the scenes other than what Mr. Lyons has given us. The cast are left to their own devices at times, mugging and ranting relentlessly. Their deliveries are not modulated and everything seems to run helter skelter.

Even seasoned performers like Norm Lewis and Michael Urie—both of whom have had many Broadway ventures and have always been interesting to watch—seem to be trying too hard. Cleo King does her best in being the matriarch of the family, but the most natural and enjoyable performance is delivered by Natasha Yvette Williams who comes near the end of the play and allows her natural sweetness to envelop the theatre.

You won’t get many surprises in Chicken & Biscuits, but you will get an enjoyable evening full of laughs.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published October 10, 2021
Reviewed at October 9, 2021 press preview performance.

‘CHICKEN & BISCUITS’: Norm Lewis & Cleo King. Photo: Emilio Madrid.

‘CHICKEN & BISCUITS’: Aigner Mizelle, Ebony Marshall-Oliver & Alana Raquel Bowers. Photo: Emilio Madrid.

‘CHICKEN & BISCUITS’: Alana Raquel Bowers & Devere Rogers. Photo: Emilio Madrid.

‘CHICKEN & BISCUITS’: Ebony Marshall-Oliver, Michael Urie & Devere Rogers. Photo: Emilio Madrid.

‘CHICKEN & BISCUITS’: The cast. Photo: Emilio Madrid.

‘CHICKEN & BISCUITS’: The cast. Photo: Emilio Madrid.

‘CHICKEN & BISCUITS’: Michael Urie & Aigner Mizzelle. Photo: Emilio Madrid.

‘CHICKEN & BISCUITS’: Cleo King, Ebony Marshall-Oliver & Natasha Yvette Williams. Photo: Emilio Madrid.

‘CHICKEN & BISCUITS’: Cleo King & cast. Photo: Emilio Madrid.

‘CHICKEN & BISCUITS’: Norm Lewis & cast. Photo: Emilio Madrid.

The post ‘Chicken & Biscuits’ a yummy but flawed dish appeared first on StageZine.

‘OKLAHOMA!’: Ali Stroker. Photo: Teddy Wolff

OKLAHOMA!
Book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Music by Richard Rodgers
Based on Green Grow the Lilacs by Lynn Riggs
Original choreography by Agnes DeMille
Choreographed by John Heginbotham
Directed by Daniel Fish
Circle In The Square
235 West 50th Street
212-239-6200
www.OklahomaBroadway.com

By David NouNou

There is a difference between reimagining a classic and just plain hubris from a director run amok. Sam Mendes and Rob Marshall brilliantly reimagined the 1997 and 2014 Cabaret revivals, but director Daniel Fish totally annihilates Oklahoma!

Earlier this month, director Sam Gold desecrated Shakespeare’s King Lear with pretentious overindulgence. Now director Daniel Fish has managed to obliterate and underwhelm the legendary Oklahoma! with pretentious minimalization. What was once a glorious, melodic milestone in musical history has become a barren dustbowl of Oklahoma! Agnes DeMille and Rogers and Hammerstein are rolling over in their graves. What is supposed to be reimagined is just another way of saying it is being done cheaply, gimmicky and experimentally, hoping something in it will stick.

As you walk into the auditorium of Circle in the Square, there are guns all over the walls of the theater. If this is a metaphor for the times we live in, then give me the escapism of the Oklahoma! of 1943. A revival of any musical from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s is meant as pure escapism and entertainment. Hence the term “revival,” an escape to times that were gentler and to give us a chance to enjoy a beloved musical as it was created.

Mr. Fish has stripped Oklahoma! of any breath, color, insight, delicacy, intimacy, choreography, costumes, subtle acting, and beautiful singing. Instead, our senses are assaulted with characters either over acting and screaming their parts or being lackadaisically laid back. Lackluster voices are substituted for beautiful harmonizing. The theater is lit brightly throughout the show, but for some inexplicable reason there are two scenes that are performed in total darkness, both of them involving Jud Fry, the villain (Patrick Vaill): one in the smokehouse with Curly, the hero (Damon Daunno) in the first act; the other with Laurey, the leading lady (Rebecca Naomi Jones) in the second act, and both scenes using microphones for over amplification, again done in pitch black darkness. All that aside, the biggest offense comes at the beginning of Act II where Agnes DeMille’s beautiful ballet (the dream sequence where Laurey is torn between Curly and Jud) has been totally eliminated and substituted with a vulgar, modern dance replete with running around the stage, writhing across the stage, aerobic moves throughout the stage, all of which last for what seems an eternity.

Ironically, the folks you should be rooting for aren’t the people as written in the original version. The person you end up rooting for is Jud Fry, the villain. Patrick Vaill imbues Jud with all the qualities of a bad guy but also gives him a touch of humanity that the rest of the cast lacks. You actually feel sorry for his circumstances that have driven him to this point. Curly, who is supposed to be a strapping horseman, is nothing but a wastrel who yodels. There is nothing really redeeming about him as portrayed by Damon Daunno. As for this Laurey, as played by Rebecca Naomi Jones, she is a strapping gal who claims she is afraid of Jud, but in reality, she can out lick him with one hand tied behind her back. Casting should have been more exacting here.

After last year’s abysmal reimagined revival of Carousel, this year’s desecration of Oklahoma!, what next? Have another avant-garde director reimagine a revival of The Sound Of Music with the Von Trapp children doubling up as Hitler’s SS storm troopers?

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 10, 2019
Reviewed at April 9, 2019 press performance.

‘OKLAHOMA!’: Mary Testa. Photo: Teddy Wolff

‘OKLAHOMA’!: Rebecca Naomi Jones. Photo: Teddy Wolff

‘OKLAHOMA!’: The cast. Photo: Teddy Wolff

‘OKLAHOMA!’: Damon Daunno & Rebecca Naomi Jones. Photo: Little Fang Photo

‘OKLAHOMA!’: Ali Stroker & Will Brill. Photo: Little Fang Photo

‘OKLAHOMA!’: Ali Stroker & James Davis. Photo: Little Fang Photo

‘OKLAHOMA!’: Damon Daunno & Mary Testa. Photo: Little Fang Photo

‘OKLAHOMA!’: Gabrielle Hamilton. Photo: Little Fang Photo

‘OKLAHOMA!’: Damon Daunno & cast. Photo: Little Fang Photo

‘OKLAHOMA!’: Patrick Vaill & Will Brill. Photo: Little Fang Photo

‘OKLAHOMA!’: Mallory Portnoy & Damon Daunno. Photo: Little Fang Photo

‘OKLAHOMA!’: Mallory Portnoy & Patrick Vaill. Photo: Teddy Wolff

‘OKLAHOMA!’: The cast. Photo: Little Fang Photo

The post Reimagined ‘Oklahoma!’ revival is not OK appeared first on StageZine.

‘ONCE ON THIS ISLAND’: (left to right) Alex Newell, Lea Salonga & Merle Dandridge. Photo: Joan Marcus

ONCE ON THIS ISLAND
Book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens
Music by Stephen Flaherty
Based on the novel My Love, My Love by Rosa Guy
Directed by Michael Arden
Choreographed by Camille A. Brown
Circle In The Square
235 West 50th Street
212-239-6200, www.OnceOnThisIsland.com

By Scott Harrah

Tales of star-crossed lovers might be nothing new, but director Michael Arden offers a unique twist in this charming, innovative revival of Once On This Island, the 1990 Lynn Ahrens and Steven Flaherty musical, based on a Rosa Guy novel. Set on an island in the French Antilles, this Caribbean fantasy is beautifully re-conceived by Mr. Arden, with clever sets by Dane Laffrey, lavish period costumes by Clint Ramos and imaginative lighting design by Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer. With the help of his scenic and lighting team, Mr. Arden offers a vivid “theater in the round” experience that works well in the confines of Circle in the Square, totally enveloping the audience and making us feel as if we are there on a windswept tropical island, complete with sand, a live goat, water, etc.

The rhythmic score by Ahrens and Flaherty transports us to a mythical time and place with a story paralleling Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Instead of the Montagues and Capulets, we have a beautiful Afro-Caribbean native girl, Ti Moune (the outstanding Hailey Kilgore), rescued from a near-fatal accident during a storm. She is adopted by two islanders, Mama Euralie (Kenita R. Miller) and Tonton Julian (Phillip Boykin), both of whom raise the orphan child as their own. Later, Ti Moune falls for the lighter-skinned, aristocratic native Daniel (Isaac Powell), an upper-class guy from the other side of the island who lives in a gated community.

Once On This Island relies heavily on the mystical superstition, voodoo and folklore of the French-speaking Caribbean, offering an endless parade of Calypso-infused songs like “We Dance,” “And the Gods Heard Her Prayer,” ‘The Sad Tale of the Beauxhommes,” and more. The songs propel the story forward like any well-made musical should, filled with the faith and rituals of the islanders. Granted, there’s a lot of confusing talk about gods and sorcery, but all one needs to believe in is the magic of the music while marveling at Camille A. Brown’s winning choreography.

Although the narrative conflict is fairly standard (dark-skinned Ti Moune can never truly be accepted by lighter-skinned Daniel’s family), the message still packs an emotional punch, considering the current political climate in America. However, under Michael Arden’s trenchant direction, the musical is more about the celebration of life and the gorgeous Afro-Caribbean songbook than anything else, so the story never seems heavy-handed.

This revival works so well thanks to the near-seismic energy of the cast, all brimming with talent. The multi-ethnic cast members gel together marvelously, but a few stand out. Ms. Kilgore gives a vivacious, sincere and truly heartbreaking performance as Ti Moune, the “peasant” girl, but Mr. Powell as Daniel is somewhat forgettable in comparison. Mr. Powell’s Daniel doesn’t always convince us that he’s someone Ti Moune would risk her life for, but without this notion there would be no story. Love perpetuates life, it seems.

Some of the show’s greatest performances are given by supporting cast members, like Tony winner Lea Salonga, bewitching us with her mellifluous voice as goddess Erzulie in such songs as “The Human Heart.” Kenita R. Miller, as Mama Eurlie, is often haunting as she sings of the love she has for Ti Moune, while Alex Newell, as gender-bending Asaka, has the whole house grooving as she belts out the rousing “Mama Will Provide.”

Once On This Island is a colorful, immersive experience for everyone, giving audiences a helluva joyful ride, making it one of the season’s freshest surprises.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published December 5, 2017
Reviewed at December 4, 2017 press performance.

‘ONCE ON THIS ISLAND’: Hailey Kilgore. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘ONCE ON THIS ISLAND’: Lea Salonga. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘ONCE ON THIS ISLAND’: Hailey Kilgore. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘ONCE ON THIS ISLAND’: Kenita R. Miller. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘ONCE ON THIS ISLAND’: Quentin Earl Darrington. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘ONCE ON THIS ISLAND’: Phillip Boykin. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘ONCE ON THIS ISLAND’: Isaac Powell & Merle Dandridge. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘ONCE ON THIS ISLAND’: (left to right) Emerson Davis, Lea Salonga, Alex Newell, Quentin Earl Darrington & Merle Dandridge. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘ONCE ON THIS ISLAND’: Isaac Powell & Quentin Earl Darrington. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘ONCE ON THIS ISLAND’: The cast. Photo: Joan Marcus

The post ‘Once On This Island’: Caribbean musical magic appeared first on StageZine.

‘IN TRANSIT’ (left to right): Nicholas Ward, David Abeles, Margo Seibert & Moya Angela. Photo: Joan Marcus

IN TRANSIT
Book, music & lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez, James-Allen Ford, Russ Kaplan & Sara Wordsworth
Conceived with Gregory T. Christopher and Karla Lant
Directed & choreographed by Kathleen Marshall
Circle in the Square
235 West 50th Street
212-239-6202, www.InTransitBroadway.com

By David NouNou

In Transit has to be the most contrived musical of this year–or in many years. I can see where the creators came up with the idea that millions of people ride the subway every day; why not write an a cappella musical about it? It would be about New Yorkers seeing themselves riding the subways and how idyllically their lives get intertwined. Well, what they came up with was a germ of an idea–if I can even call it a germ at that–and riddled it full of clichés.

You have the actress who has been auditioning for 15 years and never got a part but works as a temp in an office. You have the gay couple who wants to get married but one of their mothers is a Texas religious zealot and he introduces his fiancée as a roommate. You have the West Coast girl who was a grad student and left it to come to New York to be with the boyfriend she just met, only to be dumped by him and now she’s running in marathons in order to forget him. You also have the Wall Street tycoon who lost his job, saved nothing and is in desperate need of funds. Also, there is the requisite nasty token-booth lady, the one empty subway car that reeks of stench due to a homeless man, and the ever-annoying delay announcements.

Now for most of us a subway ride is not a pleasant experience. What with crammed cars, pushing and shoving, people hogging two seats, constant delays, it’s an ordeal just to get from point A to point B, but we have to do it because we really don’t have much of a choice. However, the authors, in a delusional manner, figured that chance meetings, romances, altering one’s life can help you move forward with all the nice people you meet on a subway. What a crock.

What it has going for it are some wonderful voices by the entire cast. After all, they have to sing a cappella. Standouts include Moya Angela (who plays three different roles), Justin Guarini, Erin MacKay, Margo Seibert and James Snyder. Kathleen Marshall, the director/choreographer who can usually take dross and turn it into silk, in this case has kept it as dross. As if we haven’t been disappointed enough earlier this year–what a way to end the 2016 Broadway season on another sad note indeed.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published December 14, 2016
Reviewed at press performance on December 13, 2016

‘IN TRANSIT’: The cast. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘IN TRANSIT’: Erin Mackey & company. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘IN TRANSIT’: Margo Seibert & James Snyder. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘IN TRANSIT’: Justin Guarini & Telly Leung. Photo: Joan Marcus

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