‘THE MUSIC MAN’: Hugh Jackman, Sutton Foster & cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

THE MUSIC MAN
Book, music & lyrics by Meredith Willson
Based on a story by Meredith Willson & Franklin Lacey
Directed by Jerry Zaks
Choreographed by Warren Carlyle
Winter Garden Theatre
1634 Broadway at 50th Street
(212-239-6200), www.MusicManOnBroadway.com

By David NouNou

Americana at its very best.

I have been called a traditionalist, and I am proud of it. Being one of the few remaining dinosaurs who saw the original version of The Music Man in 1959 at the Majestic Theatre, starring Robert Preston and Barbara Cook, I can’t say I was overwhelmed by it. I was only a little boy, I thought it was too long and I didn’t understand the lingo being spoken on stage.  The things that excited me most were so many people dancing, singing and having a good time on stage. I was dazzled by the sets and costumes. I actually wanted to learn to play a musical instrument so I could be a part of the show and play in Professor Harold Hill’s band.

This brings us to 2022. I never learned to play a musical instrument, but over the years I’ve come to appreciate the complexities of what it takes to write a musical. This is a period piece for sure and for modern audiences it may seem stilted. However, one must see it from the context of when it was written and about the times in which it was written. Meredith Willson, being a native of Iowa, wrote a beautifully complex and textured tale about the people he knew best at the turn of the 20^th century in the small town of River City, Iowa. He also wrote the entire score which defines all the characters and their attitudes in the score.

Into this small, sleepy, and unfriendly town storms Professor Harold Hill (Hugh Jackman), trying to sell these cold and gullible folks musical instruments and band uniforms for their children. Once he fleeces his sheep, he usually runs out of town with the money and leaves them with no band. In this instance, there is a little hitch by the name of Marian the librarian (Sutton Foster) who is on to Professor Hill’s antics. In turn, one gets to meet all the colorful townspeople and their quirks.

Once you get accustomed to the lingo used—the likes of jokes from Captain Billy’s whiz bag, Sen-Sen, “so’s your old man,” dime novels, libertine men, “scarlet women and shameless music”—and get in step with the proceedings, it becomes a joyride from start to finish.

This revival brings back to life the magic that was Broadway. A musical that has an orchestra pit, an actual visible conductor, and an orchestra playing real instruments that you can hear and feel the music with no prerecorded and overmiked tracks. An actual live orchestra and a stageful of marvelous performers acting, singing, hoofing and giving it their all. What a joy to finally see a revival or any musical with a cast of 42 people filling the stage and each playing their designated role and not have to watch 20 people going in and out of different characters and play chorus members as well.

Hugh Jackman may not be Harold Hill of 1912, but he is certainly Professor Hill for 2022 and hopefully for years to come. His charm and energy are boundless, he sings sublimely, looks divine, and he is a hoofing Harold Hill. What more can you ask of the man?

Sutton Foster gives us a different interpretation of Marian Paroo, the librarian. Unlike any of her predecessors who came off as sweet and ladylike, this young lady takes no guff from any one, stands her ground, and isn’t waiting for a white knight to rescue her. She is in complete control.

The townsfolk are priceless: Marie Mullen as wise Mrs. Paroo is an Irish charmer; Jayne Houdyshell as Mrs. Shin, the Mayor’s wife, is a showstopper with every move and glance. Jefferson Mays as Mayor Shin is perfect at getting flummoxed easily. The quartet of Phillip Boykin, Eddie Korbich, Nicholas Ward and Daniel Torres is impressive, and their harmonizing is a constant delight throughout the show. One will especially fall in love with Benjamin Pajak as Winthrop Paroo; that was the role I was willing to learn an instrument for when I was a kid and wanted to be in the show to play Winthrop.

To my glee, Warren Carlyle has kept the infectious period dances and his excellent dancers of all ages keep in step. Jerry Zaks, usually an expert director on extravaganzas, could have decluttered the sets a bit and instructed Santo Loquasto, the designer, a more realistic vision than just a side of a barn or painted backdrops. These are mere trifles for an evening that explodes with joy and heart; the musical theatre’s cup has runneth over.

Please indulge me in being able to thank my parents for taking me to the theatre at an early age and introducing me to the magic that was Broadway to such an extravaganza as The Music Man. Watching Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster and the rest of the glorious cast took me back decades to being a small child who wanted to learn the cornet so he could be in a show. I urge parents to take their children to see this glorious version of The Music Man and know what magic Broadway can create if done well, and who knows— maybe someday your kids will thank you, too.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published February 16, 2022
Reviewed at February 15, 2022 press performance.

‘THE MUSIC MAN’: Hugh Jackman, Sutton Foster & cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘THE MUSIC MAN’: Hugh Jackman (center) & cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘THE MUSIC MAN’: Jefferson Mays (center) & cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘THE MUSIC MAN’: (left to right) Phillip Boykin, Nicholas Ward, Hugh Jackman, Daniel-Torres & Eddie Korbich. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘THE MUSIC MAN’: The cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘THE MUSIC MAN’: The cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘THE MUSIC MAN’: Shuler Hensley. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘THE MUSIC MAN’: Benjamin Pajak & Marie Mullen. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘THE MUSIC MAN’: Sutton Foster. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘THE MUSIC MAN’: Jayne Houdyshell. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘THE MUSIC MAN’: Hugh Jackman & Sutton Foster. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

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‘KING LEAR’: Glenda Jackson. Photo: Brigitte Lacombe

KING LEAR
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Sam Gold
Original score by Philip Glass
Cort Theatre
138 West 48th Street
(212-239-6200), www.KingLearonBroadway.com

By David NouNou

Whatever happened to the adage of less is more? In this revival of King Lear, Shakespeare has been bastardized and vandalized by director Sam Gold.

Shakespeare has been presented in many ways: traditional, contemporary, and with dates shifting from Roman times to Fascist times (as was the case of Julius Caesar with Denzel Washington playing Brutus in a 2005 revival that was a mess). Well, nothing will prepare you for this reincarnation of King Lear with Glenda Jackson, a role she performed in 2016 at London’s Old Vic.

Shakespeare is convoluted enough, and listening to the Bard’s dialogue is crucial in order to comprehend the narrative. It is complicated, so attention must be paid. External distractions are unnecessary because there are enough of them here. Clocking in at three hours and 35 minutes, it’s a Herculean sit-through.

Lear (Glenda Jackson) has three daughters: Goneril, the oldest (Elizabeth Marvel), Regan, the middle (Aisling O’Sullivan); and Cordelia (Ruth Wilson), the youngest. Ms. Wilson also portrays The Fool. Lear has two too many daughters. Goneril and Regan, along with their husbands, honor Lear with their false love and devotion, while Cordelia just honors him without any false flourishes. This galls Lear’s vanity. thus banishing Cordelia from the kingdom, only too late discovering the treachery of his other two daughters. Thus, his unraveling and dissent into madness ensues.

What also ensues is the madness that takes place on stage. With no clear focus but pretentiousness by director Sam Gold, throwing everything on stage, including the proverbial kitchen sink, the viewer has to make some sense of the proceedings. Why is there a four-piece chamber orchestra consisting of two violins, a cello and viola and whose members are clad in formal attire, playing chamber music and moving about the stage, courtesy of Philip Glass? If the raison d’etre of the piece is a gender-bending role for Glenda Jackson as Lear, then why diminish and take away from her bravura performance by adding other members of the cast in gender-reversed roles like Jayne Houdyshell as the Earl of Gloucester and Ruth Wilson, doubling up as the Fool? Both diminish the returns from Ms. Jackson.

It is truly important to give everyone a chance to perform on the stage. Mr. Gold uses many African-American actors in important roles, he is giving Sean Carvajal, a Latino actor, the part of Edgar, son of Gloucester, to speak in Spanish phrases to an army for comic relief, which makes absolutely no sense and is offensive to Shakespearean devotees. He also uses Russell Harvard, a hearing-impaired actor, portraying the Duke of Cornwall, Regan’s husband, using a sign-language interpreter, the wonderful Aide to Cornwall, Michael Arden. All of these are admirable choices, but they create so much distraction that there is no cohesive flow. A viewer loses focus and concentration, because one’s attention keeps changing from one thing to another.

In the past Mr. Gold directed A Doll’s House, Part 2 beautifully and concisely but he also directed the abysmal 2017 revival of The Glass Menagerie with Sally Field, where he sucked out all the poetic brilliance of Tennessee Williams. Ann Roth is usually a meticulous costume designer and designed gorgeous costumes for Ms. Jackson in Three Tall Women, but here she is all over the place as well.

Be forewarned that, with all the noise and distractions, this is a three hour and 35-minute hollow production, so bring lots of cushions for your seats. It just might make sitting through this more bearable.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 4, 2019

‘KING LEAR’: Jane Houdyshell & Glenda Jackson. Photo: Brigitte
Lacombe

‘KING LEAR’: Glenda Jackson. Photo: Brigitte Lacombe

‘KING LEAR’: Pedro Pascal & Jayne Houdyshell. Photo: Brigitte Lacombe

‘KING LEAR’: Ruth Wilson. Photo: Brigitte Lacombe

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‘THE HUMANS’: (left to right) Sarah Steele, Arian Moayed, Jayne Houdyshell & Lauren Klein. Photo: Joan Marcus

THE HUMANS
Written by Steven Karam
Directed by Joe Mantello
Through December 27, 2015
Laura Pels Theatre
111 West 46th Street
(212-719-1300), www.Roundabouttheatre.org

By David NouNou

Stephen Karam is one of the most promising and exciting new playwrights to have emerged in the last 10 years. So I was most anxious to see what his follow-up to the exquisite 2011 production of Sons of the Prophet would be, and true to form, he has lived up to his early promise with The Humans.

For The Humans, he has created a puzzle in which all the pieces should fit together seamlessly but amazingly all the pieces have imperceptible jagged edges where nothing fits. The puzzle might as well have the setting of a “The Twilight Zone” episode and the outer parameter of the puzzle is centered on one of the most iconic American holidays, Thanksgiving. The Blake family has driven all the way from Scranton, Pennsylvania to celebrate Thanksgiving dinner with their younger daughter in her new basement duplex apartment in lower Manhattan, NYC.

As in Sons of the Prophet, everyone here carries a heavy burden and each person carries their burden in silence…until that fateful moment. Eric (Reed Bierney) and Deidre (Jayne Houdyshell) Blake have come with their older daughter, Aimee (Cassie Beck), and Momo (Lauren Klein), their Alzheimer-riddled mother, in what appears to be celebrating Thanksgiving with their younger daughter, Brigid (Sarah Steele) and her boyfriend Richard Saad (Arian Moayed) in what most any family would deem as a happy get-together and that’s all you’re going to get out of me.

I say this because I truly believe that each viewer has to formulate his or her own opinion when first viewing a new piece of such magnitude. It is unfair both to the playwright and the audience to divulge more information because it hinders the experience and the layers that the writer has imbued in this piece.

As directed by Joe Mantello, he extracts excellent performances from each of his cast members; however the veterans Reed Bierney and Jayne Houdyshell are standouts. In the wrong hands, this could have been a maudlin evening, but in Mr. Mantello’s hands, he keeps his cast and things moving at a fast-pace. I have to add that David Zinn’s set is a visual treat. His duplex anchors the show and all that is about to unfold.

This is a theatrical experience that is most enjoyable in a small, almost claustrophobic venue, so I urge you to see it at the Laura Pels Theatre. For this particular Thanksgiving dinner, you have to be a guest and not an audience member.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published October 29, 2015
Reviewed at press performance on October 28, 2015

‘THE HUMANS’: (left to right) Cassie Beck, Arian Moayed, Reed Birney, Jayne Houdyshell, Lauren Klein & Sarah Steele. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘THE HUMANS’: (clockwise from top) Sarah Steele, Cassie Beck, Arian Moayed, Jayne Houdyshell & Reed Birney. Photo: Joan Marcus

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