‘MJ’ : Myles Frost. Photo: Matthew Murphy

MJ
Book by Lynn Nottage
Directed & choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon
Neil Simon Theatre
250 West 52nd Street
(800-755-4000), https://mjthemusical.com

By Scott Harrah

Jukebox musicals that attempt to tell the story of a superstar while weaving hit songs into a narrative are always problematic in nature.  Sometimes jukebox bio-musicals work brilliantly (such as Tina and Jersey Boys) or they miss the mark completely.  Attempting a jukebox bio of an artist as iconic, enigmatic and controversial as the late Michael Jackson is inherently an ambitious effort, particularly with a book writer as first rate as Lynn Nottage.  However, while MJ fails as a solid bio-musical, it has enough of his hits to please MJ fans and tourists and is a crowd-pleaser, if nothing else.

One wonders why the producers chose to include a book and story when Michael Jackson has enough of a classic songbook to fill an entire show as a revue.  Think of past Broadway revues of songs that were huge hits like Smokey Joe’s Café (featuring the songs of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller) and Ain’t Misbehavin’, starring the late Nell Carter. More recently we had After Midnight in 2013 as well as the long-running Michael Jackson revue Thriller Live on London’s West End, featuring hits by the Jackson 5 and Michael Jackson.  All that would be needed for MJ could have been a recreation of all his iconic hit songs spanning the decades and that would certainly have sufficed, without the need for a book or story line.  The show, if simply a revue, would have thrilled his fans and easily run for years.  Instead, what we have here is another messy jukebox musical with an awkward book that sanitizes the truth.  MJ is not the first bio-musical to sugarcoat a music legend’s life.  Remember the Janis Joplin musical A Night with Janis Joplin a few years ago?  That show, “approved” by her estate, portrayed Joplin as an almost saintly figure and barely mentioned her pesky little heroin addiction.

MJ was produced “by special arrangement with the Estate of Michael Jackson,” so there was no way the show ever intended to give anything resembling the “real” Michael Jackson.  Here, he is portrayed as a “victim” of the media.  The story focuses on his Dangerous Tour in 1993 as he tells everything to an MTV reporter interviewing him for a documentary.  We have three versions of Michael here: Early Motown Michael (Christian Wilson), who is perfect in voice and movement. Next is “Thriller” Michael (Tavon Olds-Sample), impressive in voice and manner, if a bit too terrified of his father Joe (Quentin Earl Darrington) by that point. Finally, we have the 1993 “victimized” Michael (Myles Frost).  Mr. Frost has some of the physical qualities of Michael Jackson down well, from his wispy voice and quirky mannerisms to his famous “robot” and “moonwalk” dances.  However, Mr. Frost lacks Michael Jackson’s magnetism.

As a biographical musical that attempts to encapsulate a certain time in the superstar’s life, MJ fails. Derek McLane’s set (mostly a dreary rehearsal hall) is often drab, Christopher Wheeldon’s direction is all over the place, and Jason Michael Webb’s musical direction and orchestrations are inconsistent.  Granted, recreating Michael’s iconic pop songs and videos is no easy task, but it is difficult to know what is prerecorded here and what is live.  MJ is a true “thriller” for diehard Michael Jackson fans who simply want to see covers of his classics, such as recreating the Jackson 5 singing “ABC” on TV’s “Soul Train.”  The show works best when it aims for pure nostalgia.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published February 6, 2022
Reviewed at February 3, 2022 press performance.

‘MJ’: Myles Frost & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘MJ’: Myles Frost & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘MJ’: Myles Frost & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘MJ’: Tavon Olds-Sample & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

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‘CLYDE’S’: Uzo Aduba & (left to right) Kara Young, Ron Cephas Jones, Edmund Donovan & Reza Salazar. Photo: Joan Marcus.

CLYDE’S
Written by Lynn Nottage
Directed by Kate Whoriskey
Through January 16, 2022
The Helen Hayes Theatre
240 West 44th Street
(212-541-4516), https://www 2ST.com

By David NouNou

To call Clyde’s the best play of the season might not sound much of a compliment, considering the slim pickings that were offered this year, but let me assure you it can stand on its own merits in any season. It is a thought-provoking play peppered with laughs about hell, purgatory, dreams and hopes.

Clyde’s is set in a truck-stop sandwich shop in Berks County, Pennsylvania. It’s a modern-day purgatory. Run by the devil incarnate Clyde (Uzo Aduba), it is a place for former incarcerated inmates upon release to work and make some money to restart their lives. Clyde was once incarcerated herself because of a man that did her wrong, and she made sure he isn’t around to talk about it. She knows the system and worked out the deal. Thus, working long hard hours for very little pay, that’s the deal with Clyde because there is nowhere else for inmates to work or get paid. Do the job as told—or back in the clink you go.

In this hellhole work four former incarcerated people, their crimes ranging from petty larceny to assault:  Montrellous (Ron Cephas Jones) is the oldest and wisest who tries to keep hope alive. Jason (Edmund Donovan) is the tattooed-all-over loner who doesn’t fit in anywhere. Rafael (Reza Salazar) is the aspiring sous-chef with a positive attitude. Finally, there is the feisty Letitia (Kara Young) whose crime was stealing medicine to keep her baby alive. They are four misfits indeed, all of whom ultimately come together by having a dream in their spare time to talk about making the perfect sandwich.

There really isn’t much time for daydreaming or hoping because the dragon lady, Clyde, is there at every turn to make sure their dreams are crushed and there is nowhere to go but further down. From this misery comes people of diverse identities, forming this bond to keep their hopes and dreams alive and a feeling a self-worth. They feel that their past doesn’t have to constantly identify them.

Although this is an ensemble piece, director Kate Whoriskey makes sure every actor and movement on stage is meticulously timed. Just watch the inmates working around this hellhole of a kitchen, with a great set by Takeshi Kata; navigating through it is almost choreographic.

Uzo Aduba’s Clyde is phenomenal—whether berating the employees or pulverizing their souls and making sure they never get a break with anything—she rules. Her costumes by Jennifer Moeller are a drag queen’s fantasy.

Ron Cephas Jones imbues Montrellous with so much dignity that when he describes making a perfect sandwich, you are transformed in his dream. Mr. Cephas Jones, Edmund Donavan, Reza Salazar and Kara Young all mesh together seamlessly as an ethnically diverse group of actors and give performances that complement each other perfectly.

Is there such a thing as the perfect sandwich?  Depends on your taste, but I can assure you Lynn Nottage is offering us a devilishly delicious one with Clyde’s.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published November 27, 2021
Reviewed at November 26, 2021 press performance.

‘CLYDES’: Reza Salazar, Kara Young, Ron Cephas Jones & Edmund Donovan. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘CLYDE’S’: Reza Salazar & Kara Young. Photo: Joan Marcus.

The post ‘Clyde’s’ is best play of the season appeared first on StageZine.

‘SWEAT’: (left to right) John Earl Jelks, James Colby (behind bar), Michelle WIlson, Johanna Day & Alison Wright. Photo: Joan Marcus

SWEAT
By Lynn Nottage
Directed by Kate Whoriskey
Studio 54
254 West 54th Street
(212-239-6200), www.sweatbroadway.com

By Scott Harrah

Friendships among coworkers at a factory in Reading, Pennsylvania are tested in this gritty drama about working-class heroes and betrayal. The show, by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage, transferred to Broadway after a successful run last year at the Public Theater downtown. Sweat could not be more topical and timely. In addition, the ensemble cast is so powerful and the performances so strong that it is easy to overlook most of the thematic clichés and directing flaws.

Sweat is a Rust Belt epic that goes back and forth from 2000 to 2008, set in a factory town that typifies and reflects everything we heard about “battleground states” in last year’s presidential election, with union workers worried that their jobs will be shipped to cheaper plants in Mexico. Everything about that world is here, from talk of NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) to xenophobia about “outsiders” and disenfranchised whites.

The story is told in both the past and present. The opening unfolds in 2008 as parole officer Evan (Lance Coadie Williams) gives the third degree to Chris (Khris Davis) and Jason (Will Pullen), both of whom have been friends for years. Next, we go back to 2000 to a bar in which most of the story takes place. The watering hole is run by Stan (James Colby), a guy who once toiled at the mill himself and has seen and heard the troubles of local workers all his life. We meet longtime factory worker Tracey (Johanna Day) and her friends and coworkers Cynthia (Michelle Wilson) and Jessie (Alison Wright). Tensions arise when Cynthia applies for a management job at the plant, irking Tracey and Jessie. Can coworkers remain friends with someone once she’s promoted to management? What follows is fairly predictable, but still mirror stories of layoffs, lockouts and broken dreams in factory towns across the USA.

Other characters include bar worker Oscar (Carlo Albán), the U.S.-born son of Colombian immigrants and Cynthia’s ex Brucie (John Earl Jelks), a substance abuser. Oscar unwittingly provides even more tension for Tracey as she realizes he may take a non-union job at the plant at a far lower hourly wage than she makes.

One of the show’s only problems is Kate Whoriskey’s uneven direction. Although Ms. Whoriskey gets first-rate performances from everyone, she and fight director U. Jonathan Toppo have trouble choreographing a violent fight scene in Act II.  While this scene is crucial, most of the stage combat comes across as awkward.

The characters are multi-faceted and realistic, and although Ms. Nottage’s twists are a bit hackneyed, the cast brings a sense of authenticity to these hard-working people faced with no hope. As the three lead women, Ms. Day, Ms. Wright and Ms. Wilson are all exceptional and yell and scream with conviction. Standouts of the show include Mr. Colby as Stan, giving a gut-wrenching performance, and Mr. Albán, whose portrayal of Oscar is infused with subtle honesty and integrity.

Ms. Nottage reportedly wrote the play after conducting countless interviews with real-life factory workers in Reading, and her research ultimately paid off because, despite some shortcomings, Sweat is a thought-provoking drama that is especially relevant in modern-day America.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published March 31, 2017
Reviewed at press performance on March 30, 2017

‘SWEAT’: (left to right) Alison Wright, Johanna Day, Khris Davis, James Colby, Carlo Alban & Will Pullen. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SWEAT’: (left to right) Carlo Alban, John Earl Jelks, Johanna Day, Michelle Wilson & Johanna Wright. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SWEAT’: (left to right) Johanna Day, Michelle Wilson, Carlo Alban & Alison Wright. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SWEAT’: Michelle Wilson & Johanna Day. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SWEAT’: Khris Davis & Lance Coadie Williams. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SWEAT’: Alison Wright, Will Pullen & Michelle Wilson. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SWEAT’: Will Pullen & Khris Davis. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SWEAT’: Michelle Wilson & John Earl Jelks. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SWEAT’: Alison Wright, Johanna Day & Michelle Wilson. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SWEAT’: Johanna Day & Carlo Alban. Photo: Joan Marcus

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