‘WEST SIDE STORY’: Shereen Pimentel, Isaac Powell & cast. Photo: Jan Versweyveld

WEST SIDE STORY
Based on a conception by Jerome Robbins
Originally directed & choreographed by Jerome Robbins
Book by Arthur Laurents
Music by Leonard Bernstein
Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Directed by Ivo van Hove
Choreographed by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker
Broadway Theatre
1681 Broadway & 53rd Street
(212) 238-6200, www.westsidestorybway.com

By David NouNou

Where and how does one begin to disseminate this preposterous “reimagination” of a once-revolutionary Broadway classic that reinvented musical theatre, now reduced to an abstract Eurotrash mess? Credit for this abomination must certainly go to Belgian director Ivo van Hove. His definition of directing is having a downpour of rain on stage in anything he directs. Remember his production of A View From the Bridge from 2015? Well, there are two downpours here: one in the rumble scene and the second is in Tony’s death scene and finale. Mr. van Hove takes American classics and injects them with European pretentiousness.

That is just one of the absurd insertions in this revival. I’ll name you a few more just so you will know what you are paying for. The stage is totally bare, making the Broadway Theatre stage seem cavernous. What you get instead is a videographer on stage taking pictures of cast members and imposing them on the back wall of the theatre; that’s how the show starts. The hardest thing to explain to you is also the dumbest: Why are cast members in different scenes being videotaped behind a makeshift set obstructed from audience view and shown on the back wall as if watching a movie? As if that isn’t enough, some of the cast members in some scenes are actually photographed on real streets and then splashed on the wall.

Naturally every song has a videotape with various images on that infamous wall. One example is “America”, sung by Anita, Bernardo and the Sharks. When Anita sings “I like to be in America,” you see pictures set in America. However, when Bernardo sings about Puerto Rico, you get the images of downtrodden people and hovels. With all these images bombarding our line of vision, it is counterproductive to what is actually going on stage. The actors are so dwarfed by the images that you hardly notice them but are preoccupied with all the photographed visuals.

Here is another one: Remember the brilliantly conceived balcony scene where Tony climbs a fire escape to meet Maria in her apartment complex, ultimately confessing their love for each other and then sing “Tonight”? What once was a lovely, touching and romantic scene has now been reduced to the two of them chasing each other around on a bare stage singing, then writhing on the dirty streets of New York in each other’s arms—and all this is superimposed on the giant back wall.

Jerome Robbins conceived a brilliant musical adaption of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and moved the setting to 1957 in modern-day New York City. He changed the Capulets and Montagues to the Jets being the American gang and the Sharks being the Puerto Rican gang. He gave them distinct looks and mannerisms that fit each group. Each gang was fighting for their turf and trying to eliminate the other. Well, that wasn’t good enough for Mr. Van Hove, so he decided to make them all tattooed ’hood rats hip-hopping their way on the stage and making them indistinguishable from one another. Whether it is the opening scene where you meet the two gangs, or the dance at the gym, or the rumble, the cast members have so melded and morphed into one another that you have no idea who is fighting whom, and by this point you don’t care because it has become a big, aimless mess on stage.

As for the leads Tony (Isaac Powell), Maria (Shereen Pimentel), Anita (Yesenia Ayala), Bernardo (Amar Ramasar) or Riff (Dharon E.Jones), there is nothing that makes them stand out in any form. For those unforgettable characters have been reduced to memories of what we know of them either from previous revivals or from the classic iconic (though dated) 1961 movie.

Back to Jerome Robbins. Not only did he conceive this masterpiece, he also directed and choreographed the show. The choreography was innovative and electrifying, it changed dance forever on the musical stage. The staging was concise and synchronized with razor-sharp movements. Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker has scraped all that genius precision and come up with a mash-up of dance styles with the usual back flips and the one-arm stand kick with nothing visually pleasing or exciting. I guess she didn’t hear the adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

I’ll give you another dilly for the road. This is just for laughs: Who wears gold-sequined capri pants to a rumble? This sparkly gem comes from costume designer, An D’Huys–another ridiculous idea gone bad.

There is really nothing more one can say about a masterpiece that once was throbbing with excitement being reduced to a cliché of tedium in the name of “reimagination.” Of all the recent musical revivals of West Side Story, Oklahoma, Carousel, The King and I or Kiss Me Kate, this has to be the saddest and most pitiful, because it had the most sublime heart-pounding score of any show. The score by Leonard Bernstein is one of the most memorable and exciting pieces ever composed, thus making West Side Story one of the most vibrant and legendary musicals of our time. West Side Story deserved a better fate than this abysmal Eurotrash version.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published February 20, 2020

‘WEST SIDE STORY’: The cast. Photo: Jan Versweyveld.

‘WEST SIDE STORY’: The cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

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‘NETWORK’: Bryan Cranston & Tony Goldwyn. Photo: Jan Versweyveld

NETWORK
Based on the film by Paddy Chayefsky
Adapted by Lee Hall
Directed by Ivo Van Hove
Through March 17, 2019
Belasco Theatre
111 West 44th Street
(212-239-6200), www.networkbroadway.com

By David NouNou

The 1976 movie of Network had a triumvirate set of characters of Diana Christiansen (Faye Dunaway), head of network, programming department, Max Schumacher (William Holden), news division president and Howard Beale (Peter Finch), anchorman.

Playwright Lee Hall has maintained all three characters but the onus of Network has now shifted to “The Howard Beale Show.” The reason being he is the most interesting character and with Bryan Cranston as Howard, it really is “The Bryan Cranston Show.”

After 25 years of being the anchor of the “UBS Evening News,” Howard is going to be fired due to low ratings and he announces that a week from tonight he is going to blow his brains out on the air. Howard is sick and tired of all the BS that is going on in the world as well as the corporate greed and he states it on the air. Howard has come to the end of his rope; his whole life revolves around TV and now that oxygen has been sucked out of his life. Howard’s longtime and best friend, Max (Tony Goldwyn) comes to his defense and wants to give Howard a proper farewell appearance before he is yanked off the air.

However, Diana (Tatiana Maslany) sees things in another way. Seeing that Howard’s ratings have gone up since his announcement and knowing all about the ratings game, she wrests control of the evening news department from Max, and gives Howard a brand-new news format of “The Howard Beale Show” as a modern-day TV messiah stating his views on all the corruption and greed that is going on in the world. How UBS has been sold to another company, which in turn has been bought by the Saudis. Howard is apoplectic with the proceedings and tells his viewers to go to their windows and yell out as loud as they can “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.” Howard’s ratings soar and he becomes the voice of the nation

Naturally all this doesn’t sit well with the powers that be, namely CAA Chairman, Arthur Jensen (Nick Wyman – in a totally powerful and captivating performance) who gives Howard a warning. Howard sees this as the voice of God, and starts changing his tone, as these changes take place, his ratings start to plummet.

Throughout the proceedings Max and Diana have started a torrid love affair. Max is going through a midlife crisis, and during one of their sexual encounters, during an orgasm Max is talking about his life and Diana is talking about the market share of shows. Max confesses to his wife, Louise (Alyssa Bresnahan) about the affair. One of the highlights of this show is when his fed-up wife freaks out and tells him to get out of their house.

There are two elements that strongly add to the proceedings: Ivo van Hove’s direction, which has the action constantly on the move as in a TV studio where everything is in flux; and the set by Jan Versweyveld, which shows all the fluctuations in such proceedings (from studios to multiple TV screens).

As much as I loved Peter Finch in the movie, seeing Howard Beale portrayed live by Bryan Cranston giving one of the best performances of this decade is outstanding. From his fearless rants to his meltdowns, he wipes everything else off the stage. Mr. Cranston is electrifying.

Since everything now centers around Howard, the other characters are less dynamic. Tony Goldwyn does a good job in keeping up with Mr. Cranston. However, his scenes with Ms. Maslany are flat. I was never a big Faye Dunaway fan, but dear God did I miss her and her bravura Oscar-winning performance. His most powerful scene comes playing opposite Alyssa Bresnahan as his long-suffering wife. Ms. Bresnahan is heartbreakingly wonderful in that all-too- brief scene.

Your two main reasons to see Network are to see the Best Play of the season and to see Bryan Cranston giving the performance of a lifetime.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published December 10, 2018
Reviewed at December 8, 2018 press performance.

‘NETWORK’: Tony Goldwyn & Bryan Cranston. Photo: Jan Versweyveld

‘NETWORK’: Bryan Cranston. Photo: Jan Versweyveld

‘NETWORK’: Tatiana Maslany & Julian Elijah Martinez. Photo: Jan Versweyveld

‘NETWORK’: Tony Goldwyn & Tatiana Maslany. Photo: Jan Versweyveld

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‘THE CRUCIBLE’: (Left to right) Ben Whishaw & Tavi Gavinson & cast. Photo: Jan Versweyveld

THE CRUCIBLE
Written by Arthur Miller
Directed by Ivo Van Hove
Through July 17, 2017
Walter Kerr Theatre
219 West 48th Street
(877-250-2929) www.TheCrucibleOnBroadway.com

By Scott Harrah

Whether one understands Belgian director Ivo van Hove’s modern spin on Arthur Miller’s 1953 masterpiece about the 1692 Salem witch trials, complete with a spooky, ambient score by Philip Glass, seems almost irrelevant. Why? The material is so brilliantly written, it literally leaves us spellbound. This is Mr. Miller’s most complex work, and Mr. van Hove overlooks (if not ignores) the allegorical subtext about the early 1950s McCarthy-era Communist “red scare” in America many believe the show parallels. Instead, the focus is on the paranormal and the creep factor, from eerie lighting to a levitating girl, ominous wind, flickering candles, a lone wolf/dog on stage, and scribbled messages on a classroom chalkboard. Granted, this interpretation is unorthodox and infused with the European sensibility Mr. van Hove used in last fall’s revival of another Arthur Miller classic, A View from the Bridge. Mr. van Hove’s touches may seem affected, but this remains a gripping, intense piece of theater, even at nearly three hours long.

In step with the current trend in retooling classics, the cast sports modern clothes, with the young girls dressed in parochial school uniforms, and cast members drinking coffee dispensed from a 21st century thermos. However, it’s easy to look beyond the surface here and instead focus on Mr. Miller’s tense narrative about real-life events in late-17-century Massachusetts, and how false accusations and government corruption, coupled with religious fanaticism, result in a horrifying outcome. Allegations of “witchcraft” in Salem certainly have similarities with the red-baiting of the 1950s, and perhaps with all the finger-pointing and scare tactics modern politicians use to persuade the masses on the campaign trail.

The accusations begin when a group of local girls allegedly frolicked in a nocturnal “Satanic” ritual in the woods with a Caribbean slave, Tituba (Jenny Jules). After being caught by Reverend Samuel Parris (Jason Butler Harner), his daughter Betty (Elizabeth Teeter) falls into what appears to be a coma-like trance.

The “mean girls” of Salem give some of the show’s best performances. Saoirse Ronan (fresh from her Oscar-nominated performance in Brooklyn) is first rate as Abigail Williams, Reverend Parris’s niece and the girls’ ringleader. With her manic mannerisms and ghoulish features, Ms. Ronan is the perfect demonic catalyst for the trumped-up charges. She is the devil incarnate indeed. Equally disturbing is Tavi Gevinson (This is Our Youth) as Mary Warren, the young house servant who eventually tries, unsuccessfully, to prove the girls are lying.

Ciarán Hinds is excellent as Deputy Governor Danforth, the sanctimonious judge who precipitates the ultimate fate of the accused. Fine portrayals are also given by Bill Camp as Reverend John Hale, and Broadway veteran Jim Norton as Giles Corey, husband of one of the accused.

However, there are inconsistencies in the casting of other roles. Ben Whishaw is often passionate as accused farmer John Proctor—a tough role indeed, played in the past by everyone from Daniel Day Lewis to Liam Neeson—but he has little chemistry with wife Elizabeth (played by Oscar nominee and Tony Award winner Sophie Okonedo). Ms. Okonedo, while a great actress, is miscast here.

This revival won’t please Arthur Miller purists. In fact, it might outrage some. Regardless, the most telling aspect of The Crucible is how much the message of what some see as “good” vs. “evil”—and the ways lives can be ruined with slander and lies—holds up today, even in a production as unconventional as this. Be prepared to be bewitched, bothered and (thanks to director Ivo van Hove) possibly bewildered by Arthur Miller’s haunting masterpiece.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 8, 2016
Reviewed at press performance on April 7, 2016

‘THE CRUCIBLE’: Elizabeth Teeter, Saoirse Ronan & Tavi Gavinson. Photo: Jan Versweyveld

‘THE CRUCIBLE’: (left to right) Elizabeth Teeter, Saoirse Ronan, Tavi Gevinson, Ashlei Sharp Chesnut & Erin Wilhelmi. Photo: Jan Versweyveld

‘THE CRUCIBLE’: Ben Whishaw & Tavi Gevinson. Photo: Jan Versweyveld

‘THE CRUCIBLE’: Ben Whishaw, Tavi Gevinson & cast. Photo: Jan Versweyveld

‘THE CRUCIBLE’: Sophie Okonedo & Ben Whishaw. Photo: Jan Versweyveld

‘THE CRUCIBLE’: Saoirse Ronan & Ben Whishaw. Photo: Jan Versweyveld

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‘A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE’: Russell Tovey & Mark Strong. Photo: Jan Versweyveld

A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE
By the Young Vic Production
Written by Arthur Miller
Directed by Ivo van Hove
Through February 21, 2016
Lyceum Theatre
149 West 45th Street
(212-239-6200), http://www.aviewfromthebridgebroadway.com/

By David NouNou

Having just had an outstanding revival in 2010 starring Liev Schreiber, Scarlett Johansson and Jessica Hecht and magnificently and authentically directed by Gregory Mosher, was it necessary to have this Arthur Miller classic revived again just five years later? It depends on one’s perspective. The 2010 production never went to London, and this version is a stripped-down British import of A View From The Bridge done by the Young Vic Production, directed by Belgian Ivo van Hove.

Ivo van Hove is having a theatrical moment right now. He certainly has stripped the play down to its basic characters and no sets. However, he has added so much more. Depending on one’s tastes, one could view this as either good or bad. It has European sensibilities and none of the American aesthetics, and this play is as American as you can get. It’s about Brooklyn longshoremen in the 1950s. What we have now as we walk into the theatre is an ominous black square cube that overtakes the height of the stage and on either side are rows of seats, giving the effect that the performance takes place in a Plexiglas arena. Lights dim, cue  operatic music, the cube rises, the stage is engulfed in smoke, revealing two semi-naked, buff men in what seems to be a steam room, rinsing themselves off. Is it titillating? Indeed, but what this has to do with longshoreman or starting the play (unless Mr. van Hove knows something about Eddie that we did not before) is anyone’s guess. The entire performance is done barefoot. Lots of sound effects, different types of ominous music, tribal drums symbolizing murmuring heart beats, blood pouring on the stage. Too many directorial choices; hence the European perception performed in the very raw present.

The original production was mounted in 1955. Longshoreman Eddie Carbone (Mark Strong) lives in a blue-collar environment in a working-class apartment with his long-suffering wife Beatrice (Nicola Walker) and her niece, Catherine (Phoebe Fox). Catherine was left in their care since she was 12 when her mother died. Catherine is now almost 18 and blossoming into a woman. Eddie’s love for Catherine has also developed to more than that of an uncle. This love has taken over Eddie to the point of an uncontrollable obsession. Matters are further complicated when the Carbones take in two illegal Italian immigrants, Marco (Michael Zegan) and his younger brother Rodolpho (Russell Tovey), both of whom are Beatrice’s relatives. Marco has left Sicily, his wife and three children to make a living so he can send money to support his family. Rodolpho is a happy-go-lucky person who came over to enjoy what America has to offer. Marco is diligent and hardworking. Rodolpho is a free spirit, who sings, has a sense of humor, can make dresses and also cooks. (Now he’s a real catch.) He also has genuine feelings for Catherine. However, all this does not sit well with Eddie. He has long sacrificed for and protected Catherine to the point of unnaturalness and is not about to give up Catherine to what he calls a “Paper Doll,” a disparaging comment as to how he perceives Rodolpho. That’s also the name of an American song that Rodolpho sings upon first meeting the Carbones.

Like any Greek tragedy, Eddie’s world will come crashing down on him, knowing full well that, through his actions, the consequences will be irreversible, but they are beyond his emotional control. Throughout it all is his fierce determination that never lets him give up what he rightfully believes and feels is his: His respect. When he demands “respect,” not only in words but also with the fury in his eyes, not even Alfieri, his counselor at law (Michael Gould, the Greek Chorus in this case), can rescue him with any advice.

I would not suggest sitting on the side stage sections because the performances are incredibly intense and you don’t want to miss a single facial tic or expression. As an example, when Eddie comes to Alfieri to ask for advice and Alfieri remarks “his eyes were like tunnels, my first thought was that he had committed a crime,” it is frustrating when you can’t see the eyes or the tunnels. Instead, you see the back of the actor’s head. I did say the effect is you are in an arena so you don’t want to miss a single nuance. You don’t want to see direction; you want to see the performance.

And what amazing performances indeed. Mark Strong, as Eddie Carbone, gives an indelible performance, I wish I could have seen all of it, his intensity is mesmerizing. Equally brilliant is Nicola Walker as Beatrice, Eddie’s long-suffering wife. I have seen four other excellent actresses play this part but none better than Ms. Walker. Phoebe Fox as Catherine was too childlike and not enough of a desirable woman; one wonders why Eddie is so obsessed with her when he has such a great-looking wife. Every time she throws herself at Eddie and wraps her legs around him and he squeezes her tightly, in front of Beatrice, it becomes creepier than a loving hug. Michael Zegan (as Marco) and Russell Tovey (as Rodolpho), also give memorable performances.

Despite directorial overindulgences, Mark Strong and Nicola Walker certainly make A View From The Bridge a must-see, raw and different interpretation of an American classic.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published December 6, 2015
Reviewed at performance on December 4, 2015

‘A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE’: Mark Strong & cast . Photo: Jan Versweyveld

‘A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE’: Phoebe Fox & Nicola Walker. Photo: Jan Versweyveld

‘A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE’: (left to right) Phoebe Fox, Mark Strong & Nicola Walker. Photo: Jan Versweyvel

‘A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE’: Mark Strong. Photo: Jan Versweyveld

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