‘BURN/THIS’: Adam Driver & Keri Russell. Photo: Matthew Murphy

BURN/THIS
Written by Lanford Wilson
Directed by Michael Mayer
Through July 14, 2019
Hudson Theatre
141 West 44th Street
(855-801-5876), www.BurnThisPlay.com

By David NouNou

Death, mourning, guilt and grief make strange bedfellows in Burn/This.

Anna (Keri Russell) a dancer who recently became a choreographer, has just returned from her gay choreographer roommate Robby’s funeral where his family had no idea of what he did as a profession, who he was as a person, or that he was gay and had a lover. The general belief of the mourners is that Anna was his girlfriend. All they knew was from the news media that he was in a boating accident with his partner but didn’t want to know the details. Burton (David Furr) arrives from Canada to comfort the grieving Anna and offer solace. Burton is a well-to-do author and is serious about her. In comes her other gay roommate, Larry (Brandon Uranowitz), an adman that delivers everything with a biting sting, and they are all commiserating over the death of their friend and roommate, Robby.

Anna wants to be alone to pull her thoughts together, Burton leaves and Larry goes to his room. Like a bolt of lightning, Pale/Jimmy (Adam Driver) smashes drunkenly into the scene, in this case this vast downtown loft. He stumbles in with a barrage of incoherent cursing. Known as Pale professionally, “Jimmy” to friends, he is the brother of the deceased Robby. He is a month late in coming to pick up Robby’s belongings. Through his mumblings we ultimately learn of the guilt he feels for not knowing anything about his brother and abandoning him. Grief and guilt bring these two together. Anna finds out in the morning as he leaves that Jimmy is married and has two children.

Act II begins with Anna and Burton returning from a New Year’s Eve party. Burton is writing a new book, Anna is trying to choreograph a piece to dedicate to Robby, and Larry returns from Detroit after spending time with his family. This happy trio’s celebration is interrupted by Jimmy crashing in again and getting into a fight with Burton. Anna throws Burton out and Jimmy passes out momentarily. Thus starts the complications of their life.

The story is paper thin. How do these two mismatched people get to come together when the forces act against them? The late Lanford Wilson sets up the premise but for feasibility you have to stretch the imagination. I was not a fan of the 1987 Broadway production, featuring a psychotic John Malkovich and a more relatable Joan Allen as Anna, but in the original production there was a raw chemistry between Anna and Pale/Jimmy. Unfortunately, no such chemistry exists here. Keri Russell is gorgeous but lacks the theatrical presence of a frustrated choreographer. On the other hand, Adam Driver is hypnotic and galvanizing as Pale/Jimmy. So magnetic is his performance that when he leaves the stage, his presence can still be felt. It is unfortunate that it boils down to “The Beauty and the Beast.”’

There are two other interesting performances: One from David Furr as the losing suitor; he embodies strength, character and a sense of humor. The other is from Brandon Uranowitz, who supplies all the acidic humor with gusto and panache.

Director Michael Mayer has opted to infuse a comedic spin to the proceedings, and it is fine in some places, but it dilutes the more profound moments. There is enough solid acting and substance here to make this revival of Burn/This worth seeing, but the real burning comes from Adam Driver. He makes the stage come alive.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 19, 2019
Reviewed at April 18, 2019 press performance.

‘BURN/THIS’: (left to right) David Furr, Keri Russell & Brandon Uranowitz. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘BURN/THIS’: Adam Driver. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘BURN/THIS’: Keri Russell. Photo: Matthew Murphy

The post Adam Driver provides the sparks in ‘Burn/This’ appeared first on StageZine.

‘NOISES OFF’: (left to right) Daniel Davis, Kate Jennings Grant, Andrea Martin, Jeremy Shamos & Megan Hilty. Photo: Joan Marcus

NOISES OFF
Written by Michael Frayn
Directed by Jeremy Herrin
Through March 6, 2016
American Airlines Theatre
227 West 42nd Street
(212-719-1300), www.RoundaboutTheatre.org

By David NouNou

There was a time when comedy was a staple on Broadway, now it is a rarity, and a fun-loving farce is nonexistent. So whenever Noises Off is revived, it is a welcome addition to any theatrical season. Mr. Frayn’s comedy has never been considered high art, but is a wonderful, gut-splitting tale about a regional touring company of a bad show, with second-rate actors, from the time of a final dress rehearsal to final performance of the tour. It could be about any American touring company, but this particular one is set in the British hinterlands.

The setup is brilliant: Act I is set at the final dress rehearsal hours before curtain time; you get to see the dreadful play being performed onstage. A lot of the plot centers on sardines, missed cues, slamming doors, pratfalls, bloated egos, affairs souring; in short, every conceivable disaster that a farce faces. Act II is a month later, with all the action taking place backstage at a performance of said dreadful play where the performance starts unraveling. Act III is two months later at the end of the tour and everything has unraveled.

Whether you are a seasoned or a first-time theatergoer, the fun here is the situation is so relatable. You might think that some of the action is so outlandish and far-fetched, but in the theatre it really isn’t, and that is the nature of a farce and one is supposed to go with the flow. With the theme being so universal, I’ve often wondered why when this show is done in America, why Mr. Frayn hasn’t given license to change the setting from England to the USA. This farce would work in any country that has a touring company and it wouldn’t saddle the actors doing atrocious British accents, and most of the actors onstage can’t do a proper English accent to save their life and this is not a deliberate part of the play. The cumulative accents of the actors in this production go in and out of their accents throughout the play, and you wonder why not just drop the British accent and just do it as a straightforward farce without the audience having to strain to understand what is said on stage?

That being said, just sit back and enjoy the high jinks taking place onstage. As this is an ensemble piece, I can’t help but mention the entire cast: Tracee Chimo, Daniel Davis, David Furr, Kate Jennings Grant, Megan Hilty, Andrea Martin, Rob McClure, Campbell Scott and Jeremy Shamos. All lend their comedic talents to this exhausting farce and it is no small feat. Jeremy Herrin, who last year directed Wolf Hall, keeps the cast moving at a frantic pace. All you have to do as the audience is sit back and enjoy an hysterical evening of high jinks in the theatre.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published January 18, 2016
Reviewed at press performance on January 17, 2016

‘NOISES OFF’: (left to right) Megan Hilty, Daniel Davis, Kate Jennings Grant, Jeremy Shamos, David Furr & Andrea Martin. Photo: Joan Marcus

The post ‘Noises Off’: Farce within a farce returns appeared first on StageZine.