‘HADESTOWN’: Reeve Carney & Eva Noblezada. Photo: Matthew Murphy

HADESTOWN
Book, music & lyrics by Anais Mitchell
Directed by George C. Wolfe
Choreographed by David Neumann
Walter Kerr Theatre
219 West 485th Street
212-239-6200, www.hadestown.com

By David NouNou

Although it has come late in the season, we have the winner for best musical. Hadestown is a towering theatrical journey to hell. It’s sort of a metaphor for the times in which we live.

Based on the Greek tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice, and his journey to hell to rescue her back from the dead, this tale is set in New Orleans. Our Orpheus (Reeve Carney) is the sweetest and gentlest of souls who works in a café and Eurydice (Eva Noblezada) is a wandering waif who crosses Orpheus’ path and he falls madly in love with her. To narrate all that happens or will happen is Hermes (the remarkable Andre DeShields). He is like the emcee in Cabaret.

The rulers of Hadestown are Hades (Patrick Page) and Persephone (Amber Gray). Persephone comes up and joins the living every summer. She has a wild time entertaining all by wining and dining but has to return to Hades back in the winter. Eurydice being poor, cold and hungry goes down with Persephone on the false illusion that life will be better down there, only to find the grind and misery that prevails.

There are also the muses who butt into everyone’s lives and not for the good. It is up to Orpheus upon realizing the loss of Eurydice, on how he is going down to Hadestown and how he will rescue her from the grip of Hades.

What makes this journey bearable is the remarkable score by Anais Mitchell. It is jazz- infused, rhythmic, pulsating and palpable. From the opening song “Road to Hell” to the closing number in Act I, “Why We Build the Wall,” the music and lyrics are all arresting and haunting. “Why We Build the Wall” is a chilling reminder of where we’re at in 2019, but in actually it was written years before the ongoing nightmare we live with today. The score is phenomenal throughout till the end, the reprise of “Road to Hell.”

The cast is superb, headed by the indefatigable Andre DeShields, a theater legend. His Hermes is the velvet protector of the lost. Patrick Page is spine chilling as Hades, especially when it comes to singing “Why We Build the Wall.” Amber Gray’s Persephone is sheer delight and can lure anyone to go down to Hades with her. Eva Noblezada was enchanting in the 2017 revival of Miss Saigon, and she is in good voice here. Reeve Carney is guileless as Orpheus.

Director Rachel Chavkin has outdone herself here. Her Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 overloaded the senses to distraction, but here she has brilliantly modulated the proceedings and is greatly abetted by the overwhelming set by Rachel Hauck.

The nightmarish story is not necessarily uplifting, but the theatrical experience is priceless.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 22, 2019
Reviewed at April 21, 2019 press performance.

‘HADESTOWN’: Amber Gray & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘HADESTOWN’: Eva Noblezada & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘HADESTOWN’: (left to right) Amber Gray, Patrick Page & Reeve Carney. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘HADESTOWN’: Eva Noblezada & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘HADESTOWN’: Amber Gray & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘HADESTOWN’: Patrick Page & Amber Gray. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘HADESTOWN’: Reeve Carney. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘HADESTOWN’: (left to right) Jewelle Blackman, Kay Trinidad & Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘HADESTOWN’: Andre De Shields. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘HADESTOWN’: The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

The post ‘Hadestown’ is one hell of a great musical appeared first on StageZine.

SAINT JOAN

Written by Bernard Shaw

Directed by Daniel Sullivan
Through June 10, 2018

Samuel J. Friedman Theatre

261 West 47th Street

(212-239-6200), www.saintjoanbroadway.com

By David NouNou

Shaw’s Saint Joan in the best of productions is ponderous and lugubrious. And in the worst-case scenario, it can be like a bad college production with poor direction, acting of all different styles and no cohesion. Well, here we are, folks. What is most mystifying about this production is the direction of Daniel Sullivan, a brilliant director with occasional misfires. Last year at this same time, he directed Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes for the Manhattan Theatre Club with glorious results; fresh, crisp, and razor sharp. This time around everything is stale, wilted and tiresome

The proceedings aren’t made any easier by the mere fact of Bernard Shaw’s verbose text. It is so bogged down by repetition, you need a red pencil for major editing. Starting in 1429 in Vaucouleurs (in Northeastern France), the French have been at war with England for over 90 years and have been severely defeated, demoralized, and depleted. On top of it all, France hasn’t had a king for over 10 years, and a lot of the cities have been governed under British rule.

It is at this point that Joan (Condola Rashad), also known as “the Maid,” is presented to the squire of her province, Robert de Baudricort (Patrick Page), stating that the voices of St. Margaret and St. Catherine have spoken to her to lead an army against England. All she needs is a horse and a suit of armor to lead the men into battle. When presented with the obstacles in front of her, she states that it doesn’t matter, for she has God on her side.

Claiming victories and proving victorious, thus earning the respect of the men in her command, her next mission is to find The Dauphin, Charles VII, known as Charlie (Adam Chanler-Berat) and crowning him King of France. Charles has his own problems; he is a spineless twit, who gets no respect and just wants to be left alone and remain the nothing that he is. Joan persists and eventually crowns him as the next king.

Being vexed by Joan’s rising popularity and victories, the Earl of Warwick (Jack Davenport) wants her burned at the stake as a heretic, thus bribing the French Catholic Church to bring her in and charging her with sedition. The Bishop of Beauvais, Cauchon (Walter Bobbie), has some moral misgivings about prosecuting her. But due to her strong willfulness and refusing to renounce her voices and God, and her refusal to dress as a woman instead of a soldier, in a mock trial stacked against her, Joan signs her own death warrant and is burned at the stake. As history, this is a glorious tale of the hypocrisy of church and state. As written by Bernard Shaw and the unnecessary 20-minute epilogue that follows, it is an interminable evening.

Adding to the production’s misfires is Condola Rashad as Joan. Ms. Rashad is a lovely young actress, and one of the best of her generation. She is a three-time Tony Award nominee and deserved to win for each of her performances. The problem here is Joan is supposed to be a simple peasant girl whose motivations are clearly directed by the voices she hears. She is an innocent trapped by her own victories and strongheadedness. Ms. Rashad is by no means simple in any way, her actions seem of her own doing rather than the voices she hears, thus causing a major and tragic flaw to the balance of the play.

As for the rest of the cast, renowned as they are: Patrick Page, Walter Bobbie, Daniel Sunjata, John Glover, Adam Chanler-Berat, Jack Davenport are all doing various degrees of hamming. From Mr. Page’s Shakespearean intonations to Mr. Davenport’s unnecessary comedic buffoonery, each brings a different style from 1400s France to 2018. Wasn’t Mr. Sullivan out there watching the ensuing proceedings? Isn’t he supposed to bring them together and place them all on the same page?

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 30, 2018
Reviewed at April 27, 2018 press performance.

‘SAINT JOAN’: Condola Rashad. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SAINT JOAN’: Condola Rashad & Daniel Sunjata. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SAINT JOAN’: Adam Chanler-Berat. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SAINT JOAN’: Jack Davenport. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SAINT JOAN’: Walter Bobbie. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SAINT JOAN’: John Glover. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SAINT JOAN’: Patrick Page. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SAINT JOAN’: Adam Chanler-Berat & Condola Rashad. Photo: Joan Marcus

The post ‘Saint Joan’: Shaw revival misses the mark appeared first on StageZine.

‘SPRING AWAKENING”: Katie Boeck (left) providing vocals for Sandra Mae Frank in the American Sign Language revival of the Tony-winning musical. Photo: Joan Marcus

SPRING AWAKENING
Based on the play by Frank Wedekind
Book & lyrics by Steven Sater
Music by Duncan Sheik
Choreography by Spencer Lift
Directed by Michael Arden
Through January 24, 2016
Brooks Atkinson Theatre
256 West 47th Street
(888-250-2929), http://www.springawakeningthemusical.com/

By Scott Harrah

When Spring Awakening debuted on Broadway nine years ago in 2006, it was a well-crafted, ambitious musical adaptation from Frank Wedekind’s play about misunderstood teens in 1891 Germany and the clashes with their uptight, Victorian-era parents, with an outstanding score by Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik. The show won eight Tony Awards, including one for Best Musical. Fast forward to nearly a decade later. This is no ordinary revival as the show has been completely reinvented by director Michael Arden and Deaf West Theatre, featuring actors using American Sign Language, including Oscar winner Marlee Matlin. It is not really a gimmick, but is a totally new interpretation. However, it would be remiss to not point out that some of the original drama and intensity, performed by both deaf and hearing actors, is lost in translation here.

The plot is emotionally packed indeed, centering on sexually repressed teens in late 19th century Germany and dealing with such then-taboo topics as sex education, teen sex and pregnancy, wet dreams, masturbation, abortion, child abuse, etc.

It can be quite moving to watch American Sign Language in the theater, but also a hindrance when seeing it used in a musical. Changing tempos in a song or trying to enact a dramatic moment—and this piece has plenty of such moments—it breaks up the tension. Although it usually works here, it can be frustrating for mass Broadway audiences trying to understand the structure of the musical while reading projected signs and not knowing American Sign Language symbols. The narrative, even in the 2006 production, was hard to follow at times, and that’s certainly the case here because watching and listening to one actor signing while another speaks or sings takes some getting used to for non-deaf audiences.

We see Wendla (charming and sweetly played by Sandra Mae Frank) interpreting the lyrics in American Sign Language to “Mama Who Bore Me,” while Katie Boeck sings and plays the guitar. Look at the Playbill and you’ll notice that for nearly every deaf actor, there is another listed as “Voice of” who also plays guitar or piano. However, one of the show’s standouts is Austin P. McKenzie as Melchior (Wendla’s boyfriend), and he signs, sings and speaks with conviction.

A few scenes are done solely in American Sign Language, with subtitles projected onto a giant screen. This multimedia effect is innovative, but again dilutes some of the story’s dramatic tension for non-deaf audiences.

The show features two big name actors. Marlee Matlin looks gorgeous and brings a lot of raw intensity to the multiple roles of Frau Gabor, Frau Bessell and Frau Schmidt, but most of her talents seem underutilized here. Camryn Mannheim, who also takes on multiple roles and sometimes acts as Ms. Matlin’s voice, is powerful, but her German accent as Wendla’s mother, among other characters, comes off exaggerated at times and, thus, difficult to understand. A noteworthy performance is given by Krysta Rodriguez as the young outcast Ilse.

Michael Arden’s direction and vision are wonderfully executed. However, in the 2006 production, each character was uniquely distinct and identifiable. In this revival, with so many actors (and others doing their voices), the characters are more undistinguishable and the show’s overall impact is less effective.

‘SPRING AWAKENING’: Marlee Matlin. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SPRING AWAKENING’ (left to right) Katie Boeck (back), Sandra Mae Frank & Camryn Mannheim. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SPRING AWAKENING’: Austin P. McKenzie (center) & cast. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SPRING AWAKENING’: Austin P. McKenzie (center) & cast. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SPRING AWAKENING’: (seated, left to right) Joshua Castille, Austin P. McKenzie & Daniel N. Durant; (top row, left to right) Alex Wyse, Miles Barbee & Andy Mientus. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SPRING AWAKENING’: Austin P. McKenzie & Patrick Page. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SPRING AWAKENING’: Daniel N. Durant, Austin P. McKenzie & Alex Boniello. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SPRING AWAKENING’: (counter-clockwise from bottom left): Treshelle Edmond, Ali Stroker, Amelia Hensley, Lauren Luiz, Kathryn Gallagher, Krysta Rodriguez & Alexandra Winter. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SPRING AWAKENING” Daniel N. Durant & Krysta Rodriguez. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SPRING AWAKENING’: Treshelle Edmond. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SPRING AWAKENING’: Russell Harvard & Daniel N. Durant. Photo: Joan Marcus

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published October 5, 2015
Reviewed at press performance on October 3, 2015

The post ‘Spring Awakening’ Returns to Broadway appeared first on StageZine.