‘PLAZA SUITE’: Sarah Jessica Parker & Matthew Broderick. Photo: Joan Marcus.

PLAZA SUITE
Written by Neil Simon
Directed by John Benjamin Hickey
Through June 26, 2022
Hudson Theatre
141 West 44th Street
(855-801-5876),www.PlazaSuiteBroadway.com

By David NouNou

In the Hudson Theatre’s lobby, there is an impressive wall full of theatre posters (by my count 33), displaying all of Neil Simons plays and musicals. The man was indeed prolific, starting in 1960 with Come Blow Your Horn to his last Broadway play 45 Seconds From Broadway in 2001. Most of them were extremely successful: the likes of Barefoot in The Park, The Odd Couple, Promises, Promises and Plaza Suite, which originally starred George C. Scott and the legendary Maureen Stapleton. As I was reading all the names of his shows, I was astounded that so many of them, as remarkable and hilarious as they were in their day, now seem so dated and frozen in time. Plaza Suite is no exception. What keeps it afloat is the joyous buoyancy of the real-life husband-and-wife team of Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker.

Act I: “Visitor From Mamaroneck” has Karen Nash (Ms. Parker) coming to the Plaza Hotel to celebrate her 24th anniversary in suite 719, the same suite in which she spent her wedding night. She is waiting for her husband Sam Nash (Mr. Broderick) to arrive. In the course of their time together that afternoon, Sam informs her they are celebrating their 23rd anniversary, they were in suite 819, and Karen finds out Sam is having an affair with his secretary. She is dismayed by the fact that he’s so typical, as to have an affair with his secretary; she expected more of him.

Act II: “Visitor From Hollywood” features Jesse Kiplinger (Mr. Broderick), a big-shot Hollywood producer in town for a deal, staying at the Plaza Hotel in Suite 719, awaiting his former girlfriend from 17 years earlier, Muriel Tate ( Ms. Parker) from New Jersey. Jesse is a letch. Muriel is lovely, sweet, innocent, married and enthralled by Jesse’s career and his associations with names like Lee Marvin, and Frank Sinatra and Mia Farrow (now there’s a couple I bet you forgot they were married to each other; dated factoid). The hilarity ensues when their roles get reversed.

Act III: “Visitor From Forest Hills” focuses on Norma Hubley (Ms. Parker) and Roy Hubley (Mr. Broderick) in Suite 719 where their daughter is to be married at the Plaza Hotel that afternoon. Their daughter, Mimsey, has locked herself in the bathroom and refuses to come out. The merriment for the audience is all the travails the Hubleys go through to try to lure Mimsey to unlock the bathroom door.

It’s never fair to compare different sets of actors in the roles they play. George C. Scott and Maureen Stapleton were galvanizing in their parts in 1968. In 2022, it’s refreshing to see an actual married couple play these roles.

In Act I, it is Ms. Parker’s Karen who is full of life, energy and excitement, coming to New York to celebrate her anniversary, only to have her heart broken by her husband, Sam. Ms. Parker is the glue here that keeps this act afloat. Mr. Broderick as Sam, having a mid-life crisis by having an affair with his secretary, is so passive and monotone that you would think Karen would be glad to get rid of him. What’s missing in this act is Sam’s strength and determination and Karen’s heart-wrenching fear and vulnerability of losing Sam to a younger woman. He is too weak and she is too strong.

In Act II, they both ace their parts. Mr. Broderick as the Hollywood letch Jesse, and Ms. Parker as the innocent, ditsy Muriel, are perfection. It’s a laugh riot from start to finish.

Act III was always the overwrought section of slapstick comedy. Ms. Parker as the mother of the uncooperative bride is in a constant state of a breakdown, and Mr. Broderick as the frazzled father of the bride uses physical energy he never displayed before trying to break down the bathroom door to get his daughter out of there and get her married.

It is a joy to watch Ms. Parker and Mr. Broderick playing in a fun show together. They know each other’s rhythms and it is a pleasure to watch them banter, seduce, and bicker with each other. Also, I’m a thrilled to report that Ms. Parker plays three characters with each having a distinct tonal voice and personality and none of them resemble Carrie Bradshaw from “Sex and the City” as she offers appropriate mannerisms for each of her characters. Kudos to both of them for the laughs they provide.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published March 31, 2022
Reviewed at March 30, 2022 press performance.

‘PLAZA SUITE’: Matthew Broderick & Sarah Jessica Parker. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘PLAZA SUITE’: Sarah Jessica Parker & Matthew Broderick. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘PLAZA SUITE’: Matthew Broderick. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘PLAZA SUITE’: Sarah Jessica Parker. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘PLAZA SUITE’: Sarah Jessica Parker. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘PLAZA SUITE’: Sarah Jessica Parker. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘PLAZA SUITE’: Sarah Jessica Parker. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘PLAZA SUITE’: Sarah Jessica Parker. Photo: Joan Marcus.

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‘SYLVIA’: Annaleigh Ashford & Matthew Broderick. Photo: Joan Marcus

SYLVIA
By A. R. Gurney
Directed by Daniel Sullivan
Cort Theatre
138 West 48th Street
212-239-6200, www.sylviabroadway.com

By David NouNou

Sylvia may have seemed cute as presented by Manhattan Theatre Club back in 1995 in the small and intimate Center Stage One, but in today’s world in which social media dominates (i.e., Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest to name a few, plus “dog blogs”), people post everything about their dogs from “stupid pet tricks” on YouTube and Vine videos on Instagram to dogs in Halloween costumes, among a myriad of other online pet antics. Sylvia’s paper-thin plot on a big Broadway stage has shrunk to a wisp of an idea even if you’re a fan of canine humor (and this is coming from a reviewer who is a dog lover and the owner of a golden retriever named Bagels).

The premise is simple. One day Greg (Matthew Broderick), while on a nature walk in Central Park, comes across Sylvia (Annaleigh Ashford), a dog that talks (in dog language, I assume), but is interpreted in English to enable Greg and the audience to know that they are communicating with each other. Greg is going through a mid-life crisis and Sylvia is his newfound love, bordering on mistress. He brings her home and his wife Kate (Julie White) is not happy with this arrangement. Their children are off to college, their marriage is getting routine, Greg skips work only to spend more time with Sylvia, and things get creepier and creepier. Oh, did I mention that Sylvia can be extremely foul-mouthed, gets horny at times, and loves to smell people’s crotches? This is the nature of this comedy.

I wish I could tell you more, but there really isn’t much more to say other than the constant walks to the park with Sylvia during which Greg meets a fellow dog owner, Tom (Robert Sella,) who explains to Greg the facts of life and the special bond between men and their dogs. Kate in turn runs into a friend, Phyllis (also played by Robert Sella in drag). Both Kate and Greg go to a therapist, the androgynous, Leslie (Robert Sella again); for Leslie can be either a man’s or a woman’s name, so Leslie allows the patient to pick which gender they want to speak to. Somewhere in that mix is a showdown between Kate and Sylvia.

The cast consists of formidable names. Starting with Annaleigh Ashford, who has been making quite a sensation on Broadway in the last few years; getting a Tony nomination for Kinky Boots a couple of years ago and winning one this year for You Can’t Take It With You, is delightful as usual but what with the aforementioned social media making it harder and harder these days to appreciate a feisty talking dog on stage, all is not kibbles and bits.

Julie White, who always brings such pathos to the characters she portrays, whether in her Tony-winning role in The Little Dog Laughed or in her Tony-nominated role earlier this year in Airline Highway, does her best considering the material she’s given. This woman can do everything that involves comedy or drama, but even she seems to flounder as the exasperated but valiant wife in dealing with Sylvia.

The evening’s most delightful performance is provided by Robert Sella as the geeky Tom, the haughty Phyllis and the androgynous Leslie. Mr. Sella gives us three distinct characters and three desperately needed gems.

Oy, and now to the hardest. Matthew Broderick was such an incredible talent when I first saw him in Torch Song Trilogy, followed by Brighton Beach Memoirs (for which he won his first Tony Award as Eugene Jerome). By the time he did Eugene again in Biloxi Blues, a pattern was emerging: the disengaged youth. Call it a curse or a blessing; Mr. Broderick hasn’t seemed to age a day in 32 years. At 53, he still has that boyish face, but his performances have turned from disengaged to laconic to downright somnambulant. Ever since he played Leo Bloom in 2001 in The Producers, he has been playing the same character over and over again: Last year in It’s Only a Play, three years ago in Nice Work If You Can Get It, plus The Philanthropist and The Starry Messenger, just to name a few.

Considering Sylvia’s wispy and dated plot, Mathew Broderick’s low-energy performance, and Daniel Sullivan’s flimsy direction, there is hardly any reason to sit up, pant or roll over with delight

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published October 30, 2015
Reviewed at press performance on October 29, 2015

‘SYLVIA’: Annaleigh Ashford. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SYLVIA’: Julie White & Matthew Broderick. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SYLVIA’: Julie White. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SYLVIA’: Matthew Broderick & Annaleigh Ashford. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SYLVIA’: Robert Sella & Matthew Broderick. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SYLVIA’: Matthew Broderick & Annaleigh Ashford. Photo: Joan Marcus

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STAR POWER: (left to right) Megan Mullally & Nathan Lane. Photo: Joan Marcus

IT’S ONLY A PLAY
Written by Terrence McNally
Directed by Jack O’Brien
Through January 4, 2015
Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre
236 West 45th Street
(212-239-6200),www.ItsOnlyAPlay.com

By David NouNou

The first instinct of any theatre-goer who hears that Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Stockard Channing, Megan Mullally, F. Murray Abraham and Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley of Harry Potter fame) are starring in Terrence McNally’s revival of It’s Only A Play would be to order tickets. And they did just that, creating an advance sale of millions of dollars. One wonders what this cast of luminaries saw in this flimsy excuse for a play.

It was presented as a re-write of Mr. McNally’s Broadway Broadway and played at the small Off-Broadway house at the Manhattan Theatre Club for 47 performances in 1985. It must have been a fluff piece about a playwright, his best friend, cast, producer and a critic awaiting the reviews of a show on opening night.  The premise was this: While waiting for the reviews, a lot of famous names of the day were mentioned, those evoking the mirth and humor. Well, now it is a fully mounted Broadway show with all the above-mentioned stars in this overblown, overlong, namedropping bacchanal, in which boldfaced names—ranging from Lady Gaga to Alec Baldwin and James Franco to Ben Brantley, critic of the New York Times—are bandied about as if the very mention of them creates an instant hysterical punch line.

For a comedy to truly work, it has to be embedded in reality, the people have to make sense, and the humor has to flow naturally. Yes, there are some genuinely funny lines as a result of the celebrity namedropping, but you can’t build a whole show around it. In addition, a critic who hasn’t written his review of the show yet would never be attending the producer’s opening night party. Worse yet is having a British director throw a tantrum that critics have only praised him and his works and he has not known a failure. I know that theatre people live for praise; I don’t think anybody in the theatre yearns for a failure…..and so it goes. What humor did all the above- mentioned A-listers see in this bit of fluff that has not been revived since 1985?

Thank God for Nathan Lane, for no one can inject humor into a listless line like he can. He and Stockard Channing manage to save the day with their over-the-top performances. Mr. Lane is James Wicker, the playwright’s best friend. Ms Channing is the drug and booze-addled leading actress Virginia Noyes of said play, The Golden Egg. The playwright, Peter Austin, is Matthew Broderick, delivering another one of his one-dimensional robotic, monotone performances; it now seems no one can flatline a comedy like him.

Megan Mullally is a puzzlement here; she is among the best scene stealers in comedy. However, as the producer, Julia Budder, she seems lost between a combination of her Karen Walker character from TV’s “Will & Grace” and a Southern bimbo who wants to be the sole producer of a show. Her part is too underwritten to make her believable or effective.

A part that could have very easily been written out of the play is Ira Drew, a critic played by F. Murray Abraham. He is fine in the role but there is nothing to substantiate his existence here because critics are a producer’s nightmare. Totally miscast, as the sniveling British director, is Rupert Grint. Why he was made out to look like Tim Burton, the film director, is a head scratcher.

Jack O’Brien, the director, does his best to keep things moving. After all, it is a step up from his 2013 Macbeth with Ethan Hawke at Lincoln Center. The pity of it all is there was so much anticipation and potential for this show. Had it not had so many stars, with each needing their stage time, this could have been written as a tighter, more insightful play for audiences to learn what really goes on after the curtain comes down on opening night and the agony of cast and crew having to wait for those ever-dreadful reviews. But then again, this is supposed to be a comedy.

OPENING NIGHT JITTERS: (left to right) Rupert Grint, F. Murray Abraham, Stockard Channing & Nathan Lane in ‘It’s Only a Play.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

THERE’S NO PEOPLE LIKE SHOW PEOPLE: (left to right) Micah Stock, Megan Mullally, Rupert Grint & Nathan Lane in ‘It’s Only a Play.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

Video Excerpt from It’s Only a Play

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published October 12, 2014
Reviewed at press performance on October 11, 2014

The post ‘It’s Only a Play’: Did we like it? appeared first on StageZine.

SWEET & CUTE ‘NICE WORK’: (center) Matthew Broderick & Robyn Hurder with the ensemble of ‘Nice Work If You Can Get It.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

By David NouNou

Is sweet and cute enough to ride the Broadway deluge, all of which are opening in late April on Broadway, right now? The competition is stiff out there, and there are some shows that will get lost in the shuffle. Unlike Kathleen Marshall’s 2011 revival of Cole Porter’s Anything Goes, Nice Work lacks the originality and razor-sharp crispness she imbued in that show, especially in the choreography department. This show looks like it has run out of steam from the get-go and is just pieced together with Gershwin songs. It is as if they took random songs and interspersed them throughout the show. The book has some humor injected by Joe DiPietro. However, both the direction and choreography are uninspired.

Set in New York and the Hamptons, and loosely based on the Gershwins’ musical Oh, Kay, the plot centers on handsome, filthy rich, and never-worked-a-day-in-his-life Jimmy Winter (Matthew Broderick) on his last night of bachelorhood, for tomorrow he will be marrying Eileen Evergreen (Jennifer Laura Thompson), daughter of Senator Evergreen (Terry Beaver), and his fourth wife-to-be. However, tonight in his drunken stupor, he will run into Billie Bendix (Kelli O’Hara), a bootlegger with a prison record (after all, this is 1927 in the Prohibition era), outside the saloon, where an instant attraction develops. Oh, how simple and undemanding the plots of 1920s musicals were.

I honestly couldn’t tell if Matthew Broderick was tired at the preview performance I attended. After all, it was Saturday night, the end of the week, or he was just uncomfortable on the stage? I haven’t seen someone so uncomfortable since Harry Connick in last winter’s On A Clear Day You Can See Forever. He is still youthful looking and charming but lacks chemistry with any of his fellow actors, especially the leading lady, Kelli O’Hara. She is a dream as usual, with her lovely voice and acting ability; she has finally developed her persona to command a stage and have her presence felt. Imagine the possibilities had the part of Jimmy been played by Neil Patrick Harris or Matthew Morrison. The chemistry with either one would have erased a lot of the flaws that are obvious in the show now.

The standouts in the supporting cast are Michael McGrath, who always brings humor and versatility to all his roles; Estelle Parsons in too-brief a role; and Judy Kaye, with her imposing presence and booming voice.

Even the visual concepts of the show are unmemorable: Be it the sets by Derek McLane or the costumes by Martin Pakledinaz, they both have a used look to them, as if they have been transported from another show. Even the score by the Gershwins, which should be a standout, just comes across as ho-hum, and nothing is staged vibrantly. Any pleasure that is derived from the show is, in large part, due to the personality and humor of the cast and not necessarily by the creative teams.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 24, 2012
Reviewed at press preview performance on April 21, 2012

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