‘1776’: The company. Photo: Joan Marcus.

1776
Book by Peter Stone
Music & lyrics by Sherman Edwards
Directed by Jeffrey L. Paige & Diane Paulus
Through January 8, 2023
American Airlines Theatre
227 West 42nd Street
(212-719-1300), www.roundabouttheatre.org

By David NouNou

1776, as originally written in 1969, was a masterpiece of American musical theatre. At the time it sounded absurd to write a musical about the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It had no advance sale but ended up winning the 1969 Tony Award for Best Musical and deservedly so. The book by Peter Stone is most interesting and illuminating. The score by Sherman Edwards is lilting and memorable. The direction by Peter Hunt was heart-stoppingly impeccable and he won the Tony Award for Best Direction.

In 1997, Roundabout did an excellent revival of the show, brilliantly directed by Scott Ellis. This year we get one of the most ill-conceived revivals of any musical. Most people know the signing of the Declaration of Independence and our forefathers from the painting by John Trumbull and the signatures boldly signed on the document. Anyone familiar with the picture and the show 1776 knows this is one of the most indelible portraits in American history. Historically, it is male-dominated and attired in the dress code of the day.

Directors are taking risks and reimagining musicals with mixed results. Case in point was last year’s gender-bending revival of Stephen Sondheim classic musical Company, directed by Marianne Elliott, changing Bobby, a male character, to a female lead, Bobbie. It worked because the character is interchangeable. However, when you uproot embedded history that strongly deals with sensitive issues like the abolition of slavery into “woke” standards of today, you are left with a very poor explanation/translation of American history.

The story needs no explanation but the ill-conceived reimagining direction by Diane Paulus and Jeffrey L. Page and absurd choreography by Mr. Page is a head-scratcher for the ages. Right or wrong, 1776 is inherently the most male oriented/dominated musical ever conceived. Where it really gets dicey is when directors have to deal with the score of a musical; just imagine if you heard a male Maria singing “I Feel Pretty” from West Side Story. 1776 has one of the most arresting and uncomfortable songs written for a musical, “Molasses to Rum to Slaves.” It is sung by a strong-willed, “distasteful” Edmund Rutledge from South Carolina (Sara Porkalob), refusing to sign the Declaration because he wants abolishing slavery to be stricken from the document. This song is not a throwaway; it has to be sung with hard, cold conviction and no gimmicks.

In another instance, “Momma Look Sharp” is a ballad and lament and is sung by a courier (Imani Pearl Williams) in a letter from George Washington to the congressional committee relating a soldier’s cry to his mother before dying. What is meant to be a tribute to the lost man here has been turned into a production number of a wailing mother and members of the cast in black jackets.

Another instance is the final song “Is Anybody There?” sung by John Adams (Crystal Lucas-Perry). It is a sincere,sad song about a letter from Washington to the committee about his losses, asking “is anybody there, does anybody care?” and Adams translates it into his vision of a monarch-free America but no one else seems to see his ideal; it now sounds like a “belt out” power-pop ballad on “American Idol.”

The biggest disappointment comes in the end. The ending usually is one of the most dramatic moments in musical history that sends shivers down the spine. As originally conceived, you hear each delegate being called by name to sign the document and take their place in the designated spot as in the Trumbull portrait in full regalia. With each name signing, you hear the Liberty Bell clanging, with each name the music builds and the clanging gets louder until the tableau is completed. You get to see the entire portrait that is frozen in time and the music swells to a full crescendo.

Don’t have any high expectations here. The costumes by Emilio Sosa look more like bargain-basement Halloween costumes and no goosebumps or portrait. The cast marches out, one by one, to sign a piece of paper with the signature on a projection. The end.

In all fairness, I have to single out one person, Eryn LeCroy as Martha Jefferson. Her rendition of “He Plays the Violin,” sung after a night of unbridled passion with her husband Thomas, is simply sublime. Ms. LeCroy delivers one of the few authentic moments in this revival of 1776, a brilliant musical that just comes across as a total misfire under the direction of Jeffrey L. Paige and Diane Paulus.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published October 10, 2022
Reviewed at October 9, 2022 press performance.

‘1776’: (left to right) Elizabeth A. Davis, Patrena Murray & Crystal Lucas-Perry. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘1776’: The cast. Photo: Joan Marcus.

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‘BIRTHDAY CANDLES’: Christopher Livingston & Debra Messing. Photo: Joan Marcus.

BIRTHDAY CANDLES
Written by Noah Haidle
Directed by Vivienne Benesch
Through May 29, 2022
American Airlines Theatre
227 West 42nd Street

(212-719-1300), www.RoundaboutTheatre.org

By David NouNou

Birthday Candles has so much going on and simultaneously not much is happening. We first get to see Ernestine Ashworth (Debra Messing) at the age of 17 making her first birthday cake as per her mother’s instructions, where the ingredients—floor, sugar, butter and salt—are of the utmost importance, and continues to bake them for the next 90 years of her life. This lengthy time span all takes place in 90 minutes.

At 17, Ernestine is pursued by the nerdy Kenneth (Enrico Colantoni) whose wish is to take her to the prom, but instead she goes to the prom and eventually marries the slick Matt (John Earl Jelks). They have a son Billy (Brandon J. Pierce) and a daughter, Madeline (Susannah Flood) and thus the begetting unfolds where grandchildren and great grandchildren come into the scene.

After 35 years of marriage, infidelity creeps into their marriage and Ernestine separates from Matt. Ultimately, Ernestine does find the true love of her life. I don’t want to give more plot information, but Ernestine gets to live beyond her 100^th birthday.

All the action takes place in the same kitchen throughout the years: the good and the bad, the happy and the sad, life and death. Ernestine not only lives a full life but ultimately a fulfilling life with hazards along the way. Things that I would say we all go through in some form or another throughout our lives.

Mr. Haidle has written this lovely piece about a person’s life that in good times life breezes past in an instant and in bad times, it can seem interminable. The intentions here are great, but in the theatre, scenes need to be fleshed out to make sense and not just jump from scene to scene at the sound of a bell. The problem here is the life that is talked about is just skimmed through and not fully realized. So much can happen in a lifetime but upon looking back, one’s life seems to have occurred in a flash. Life can go so fast.

Ms. Messing is a delight from start to finish. It is not easy to go from 17 to 107 and never leaving the stage to make any changes in her appearance. Her changes are made through her hairstyle, posture and voice. She does command the stage throughout.

Enrico Colantoni is excellent and heartbreaking as the ardent pursuer from the nerdy annoying teen to the patient, lovable old man.

As an older person, I can appreciate the fact of the speed of time, and how fast the decades fly; if only Mr. Haidle or any of us can find a way to make the good times in life move slower and last longer and be more meaningful.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 14, 2022
Reviewed at April 13, 2022 press performance.

‘BIRTHDAY CANDLES’: (left to right) Christopher Livingston, Debra Messing, Crystal Finn, John Earl Jelks & Susannah Flood. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘BIRTHDAY CANDLES’: John Earl Jelks & Debra Messing. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘BIRTHDAY CANDLES’: Debra Messing. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘BIRTHDAY CANDLES’: Susannah Flood & Debra Messing. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘BIRTHDAY CANDLES’: Debra Messing, Christopher Livingston & Susannah Floood. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘BIRTHDAY CANDLES’: Enrico Colantoni & Debra Messing. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘BIRTHDAY CANDLES’: Susannah Flood & Debra Messing. Photo: Joan Marcus.

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‘TROUBLE IN MIND’: Brandon Micheal Hall, LaChanze & Chuck Cooper. Photo: Joan Marcus.

TROUBLE IN MIND
Written by Alice Childress
Directed by Charles Randolph-Wright
Through January 9, 2022
American Airlines Theatre
227 West 42nd Street
(212-719-1300), www.RoundaboutTheatre.org

By David NouNou

Written and first performed in 1955 as an Off-Broadway show to critical acclaim, Trouble in Mind was meant to transfer to Broadway in 1957 but never came to fruition because the playwright, Alice Childress, refused to tone down the racial discourse in her play to make it more palatable for white audiences.

Being an actress herself, Ms. Childress was tired of playing maids and other types of demeaning roles, so she wrote this play within a play and created the role of Wiletta Mayer, the title character. Wiletta has been an actress for many years and has played by the rules of the stage games of complying with everything she has to do to stay in the game.

We meet Wiletta (LaChanze), walking across the stage on the first day of rehearsal, stopping center stage in order to absorb that solitary moment where she is alone on the stage and savoring the thrill of that magical moment. She is about to star in a drivel of a play set in the South. Fellow cast members waft in: John Nevins (Brandon Micheal Hall), a young actor who will be playing her son; Millie Davis (Jessica Frances Dukes), the best friend; Sheldon Forrester (Chuck Cooper), veteran of the stage playing Wiletta’s husband; Judy Sears (Danielle Campbell), the white ingénue who becomes friendly with John Nevins; and the imbecilic white director, Al Manners (Michael Zegen), a guy who has stereotypical notions of directing this show about a black family and whose word is the only word that counts.

On the third day of rehearsals, the fur begins to fly. The director wants all the wailing and flailing and broad gestures associated with black characters from his cast.  However, Wiletta tries to explain that she can’t play the character that way and wants to play it in a normal, natural, and real manner. Floodgates open.

Racial issues are at the core of this play but they are intertwined with both humor and seriousness that makes it relevant to this day.

LaChanze is a Broadway veteran who received her first acclaim and Tony nomination for Once On This Island and has never stopped being a force of nature. We know her mostly for her musical performances, but in Trouble in Mind, she hits new heights as a dramatic actress. Her blowup/meltdown in Act II leaves one breathless.

Michael Zegen, better known for playing Joel Maisel in Amazon’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” is in the unenviable role of delusional director, Al Manners. His name is an oxymoron.

Chuck Cooper adds nobility to every role he plays, and newcomer Jessica Frances Dukes keeps the laughs coming.

Not as universal in theme as Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, Alice Childress shows the universality of what every African American actress has had to endure.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published November 22, 2021
Reviewed at November 21, 2021 press performance.

‘TROUBLE IN MIND’: LaChanze, Chuck Cooper & Michael Zegen. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘TROUBLE IN MIND’: The cast. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘TROUBLE IN MIND’: LaChanze. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘TROUBLE IN MIND’: LaChanze. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘TROUBLE IN MIND’: Jessica Frances Dukes & LaChanze. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘TROUBLE IN MIND’: LaChanze & Simon Jones. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘TROUBLE IN MIND’: Michael Zegen, Alex Mickiewicz & Don Stephenson. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘TROUBLE IN MIND’: Danielle Campbell & Michael Zegen. Photo: Joan Marcus.

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‘CAROLINE, OR CHANGE’: Sharon D. Clarke (center) & cast. Photo: Joan Marcus.

CAROLINE, OR CHANGE
Book & lyrics by Tony Kushner
Music by Jeanine Tesori
Directed by Michael Longhurst
Through January 9, 2022
Studio 54

254 West 54th Street
(212-719-1300), www.RoundaboutTheatre.org


By David NouNou

Topical, controversial and ambitious would be three words to describe Caroline, or Change. It’s a show with a mystique for its devoted fans and a cult following, but it has also had a bumpy road from the onset. The original opened in 2004 at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre with Tonya Pinkins as Caroline and Anika Noni Rose in her Tony-winning role as Emmie, her daughter, and lasted for only 136 performances.

Set in Louisiana in 1963, we first see Caroline, the African-American maid (Sharon D. Clarke), in the basement doing the laundry for the Gellmans, a white Jewish family. She has been working at this job for most of her adult life. She has been dealt a tough hand. In addition to physical abuse, her husband abandoned her and left her with four children to raise. Caroline is a very bitter woman. She can talk and communicate better with inanimate objects than human beings. The objects that have a human form are: a washing machine (Arica Jackson), a dryer (Kevin S. McAllister), and her radio (Nasia Thomas, Nya and Harper Miles).

The one person who does pierce her armor is an eight-year-old boy, Noah Gellman (Adam Makké). Despite her personal feelings, she likes him and tries to protect and guide him. Noah leaves his loose change in his pockets and Caroline finds them and puts them in a laundry cup to return to him. In order to teach Noah the value of money, his stepmother Rose (Cassie Levy) tells Caroline to keep that change and supplement her income with it. This prompts a dilemma for Caroline on whether to keep the money to help her by giving some pocket money to her children or to leave it in the laundry cup.

The topicality of this musical is very pertinent today what with all the racial issues and Judaism, both of which are under attack; putting them together becomes an explosive issue. The message of the story being coexistence, both in 1963 and today.

The show was set to open in 2020, but the pandemic forced it to shut down. In the midst of a pandemic, the nation went reeling with the death of George Floyd and the aftermath of racism sent shockwaves around the world. This makes the message of coexistence in Caroline, or Change that much more pertinent.

The problem of the show isn’t in the message as much as it is in the messaging. The score is unmemorable and the book is so overwrought. Being Jewish myself, I always found the Jewish aspects of the book by Tony Kushner to be cliché to the point of ad nauseam, the language and the Yiddish idioms spoken by the Gellmans at times sound like a TV episode of “The Nanny” with Nanny Fine’s family.

There is a silver lining here: Sharon D. Clarke as Caroline. She originated the role in London in 2018 and she’s sensational. The songs may be unmemorable but the voices in this show are phenomenal.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published November 3, 2021
Reviewed at November 2, 2021 press performance.

‘CAROLINE, OR CHANGE’: The cast. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘CAROLINE, OR CHANGE’: Caissie Levy & Sharon D. Clarke. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘CAROLINE, OR CHANGE’: (Left to right): Nasia Thomas, Harper Miles, Nya, Arica Jackson, Sharon D. Clarke. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘CAROLINE, OR CHANGE’: Adam Makké & Sharon D. Clarke. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘CAROLINE, OR CHANGE’: Sharon D. Clarke. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘CAROLINE, OR CHANGE’: Tamika Lawrence & Sharon D. Clarke. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘CAROLINE, OR CHANGE’: Nya, Harper Miles & Nasia Thomas. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘CAROLINE, OR CHANGE’: Nasia Thomas, Kevin S. McAllister & Sharon D. Clarke. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘CAROLINE, OR CHANGE’: Nasia Thomas, Kevin S. McAllister, Sharon D. Clarke, Arica Jackson & Harper Miles. Photo: Joan Marcus.

The post ‘Caroline, or Change’: A timely revival appeared first on StageZine.

‘A SOLDIER’S PLAY’: (left to right) Warren Miller, Nnamdi Asomugha & Blair Underwood. Photo: Joan Marcus

A SOLDIER’S PLAY
Written by Charles Fuller
Directed by Kenny Leon
Through March 15, 2020
American Airlines Theatre
227 West 42nd Street
(212-719-1300), www.RoundaboutTheatre.org

By David NouNou

Originally opening Off Broadway in 1981 and winning the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1982, it is hard to imagine that it has taken almost 40 years for A Soldier’s Play to finally have a Broadway production. However, I must caution that at times the play might seem a bit dated —through no fault of playwright Charles Fuller, but due to Kenny Leon’s heavy-handed direction.

Set in Fort Neal, Louisiana in a segregated U.S. Army barrack in 1944, Captain Richard Davenport (Blair Underwood) has come to the base to investigate the unusual circumstances of the murder of company Sergeant Vernon C. Waters (David Alan Grier). Davenport is there to find out the truth but is met with hostility by not only the white base commander, Captain Charles Taylor (Jerry O’Connell), who would want to make it seem like the Ku Klux Klansmen did it, but also by the black serviceman who served under Waters.

By examining each person in the barracks, Davenport tries to unravel the tangled lives of the men vis-à-vis Waters. First, he has to find out why Waters, who was drunk on the evening of his death, was shot twice and his body found by the river to give credence that the Klansmen would have done this heinous crime. As each soldier presents his story in connection to the murder, Davenport unveils bigotry, self-loathing, death, guilt, and a life of a man who was always trying to obey the law even at the cost of incriminating his own people.

A Soldier’s Play is beautifully written and its framework stands like an Agatha Christie murder whodunit. This is one hell of a powerful play and its themes resonate to this day. It is further aided by the perfect and riveting performances of the entire company, especially by David Alan Grier, who gives a sterling performance as the tormented Waters. Blair Underwood is dauntless and perfectly chiseled (you’ll see in Act II) as the defiant and determined Davenport.

Although most of the men are making their Broadway debuts—Nnamdi Asomugha as Private First Class Melvin Peterson, Billy Eugene Jones as Private James Wilkie, J. Alphonse Nicholson as C.J. Memphis, Jared Grimes as Private Tony Smalls, and McKinley Belcher III as Private Louis Henson— they form a strong, tight-knit ensemble that raises the bar for acting.

Kudos to the Roundabout for having the vision to bring this gem of a play back for its long overdue Broadway debut.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published January 24, 2020
Reviewed at January 23, 2020 press performance.

‘A SOLDIER’S PLAY’: David Alan Grier. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘A SOLDIER’S PLAY’: (left to right) Rob Demery, J. Alphonse Nicholson & McKinley Belcher III. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘A SOLDIER’S PLAY’: The company. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘A SOLDIER’S PLAY’: David Alan Grier, Blair Underwood & Billy Eugene Jones. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘A SOLDIER’S PLAY’: Jerry O’Connell & Blair Underwood. Photo: Joan Marcus.

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‘THE SOUND INSIDE’: Will Hochman & Mary-Louise Parker. Photo: Jeremy Daniel.

THE SOUND INSIDE
Written by Adam Rapp
Directed by David Cromer
Through January 12, 2020
Studio 54
254 West 54th Street
(212-239-6200), www.soundinsidebroadway.com

By David NouNou

When you have an intense 90-minute, two-character drama that is almost a monologue and a thriller, the less said the better. That being said, it is better for the viewer’s benefit to go into The Sound Inside with as little knowledge as possible.

Bella (Mary-Louise Parker) is a Yale professor. She is a loner and is heavily involved in academia. She loves books and enlightening students with the bounty that’s inside them. Bella also has been diagnosed as having an advanced stage of stomach cancer.

Her life is interrupted by a most challenging and rebelliously stringent student, Christopher (Will Hochman). Christopher wants to write a novel, and Bella is intrigued by his ideas and the concept of his writing. This forms an unusual bond between them. It leads into twists and turns that the viewer has to decipher and that is a good thing. The possibilities are boundless.

The dialogue is crisp and the chemistry between Bella and Christopher is palpable. It is incredible how David Cromer, the director, paces the proceedings and extracts beautiful, unforgettable moments from such a delicate, intricate drama

What makes the show so indelible are the two exquisite performances by Mary-Louise Parker and Will Hochman. Ms. Parker’s performance is subtle and divine; she pulls you in ever so gently. Mr. Hochman’s performance is so perfectly matched to Ms. Parker’s, that he, as a newcomer, is fresh and destined to become a new force on Broadway.

Between the great acting onstage and precise direction, suffice it to say that Adam Rapp has written the most fulfilling, engrossing play of the season and it is open to each viewer’s interpretation, which is the stuff of great theatre.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published October 25, 2019
Reviewed at October 24, 2019 press performance.

‘THE SOUND INSIDE’: Mary-Louise Parker & Will Hochman. Photo: Jeremy Daniel.

‘THE SOUND INSIDE’: Will Hochman & Mary-Louise Parker. Photo: Jeremy Daniel.

‘THE SOUND INSIDE’: Mary-Louise Parker. Photo: Jeremy Daniel

The post ‘The Sound Inside’ one of season’s best plays appeared first on StageZine.

‘THE ROSE TATTOO’: Marisa Tomei. Photo: Joan Marcus

THE ROSE TATTOO
Written by Tennessee Williams
Directed by Trip Cullman
Through December 8, 2019
American Airlines Theatre
227 West 42nd Street
(212-719-1300), www.RoundaboutTheatre.org

By David NouNou

The Rose Tattoo is not one of Tennessee Williams’ more revived plays because of the demanding role of Serafina Delle Rose. Unlike any of Mr. Williams’ fragile heroines, whether Amanda Wingfield from The Glass Menagerie, Blanche DuBois from A Streetcar Named Desire, Alma Winemiller from Summer and Smoke or Hannah Jelkes from The Night of the Iguana, they are all sisters or cousins of each other, sharing the bond of being one step away from the brink of a breakdown. Serafina is unique; she’s governed by her heart and emotions and not her mind or the fragility of it. She is a passionate Italian woman and very few actresses can embody her.

Originally written for Italian actress Anna Magnani—she refused the part because of her lack of command of the English language—the part then went to Maureen Stapleton, a great American stage actress and she won her first Tony Award for the role. In 1955, Burt Lancaster made the movie version of The Rose Tattoo, starring Anna Magnani in an Oscar-winning role. If you know anything about either actress, you know why it is such a difficult role to cast.

Set in 1950 in a Gulf Coast village between New Orleans and Mobile, Serafina (Marisa Tomei), a seamstress, is a married woman whose soul is bound to her Catholic faith, the statue of the Madonna she keeps in her house and her boundless love for her husband, Rosario. Tonight, she is awaiting the arrival of her husband, a truck driver who carries bananas with illegal items under them. She deifies the man; she loves his body, the smell of roses in his hair, and the rose tattoo on his chest.

Her waiting is interrupted by the chorus of woman who descend upon her and give her the news of her husband’s death. She dissolves not out of frailty but due to the loss of lust for the deceased man. After mourning for three years, Serafina has gone to pot, and is a slovenly mess, still devoted to her late husband’s memory. Serafina locks her daughter Rosa (Ella Rubin) in her room and doesn’t allow her to go to her graduation because she has been seeing a sailor, Jack (Burke Swanson).

After much pleading by the chorus for their daughter’s graduation dresses and upon the urging of the teen’s headmistress, Rosa is allowed to go. As Serafina is getting ready to go to the graduation, a customer comes in for her blouse and taunts Serafina that her husband wasn’t as faithful as she thought he was, and that he had an affair with a casino dealer for over a year. This sends Serafina into a rage until the arrival of Alvaro Mangiacavallo (Emun Ellott), also a Sicilian truck driver of bananas. Alvaro is the opposite of her husband in every way (except for his body) and they begin to console each other. He even sets her on the path of discovery about her late husband and the mistress he had which causes Serafina to smash her husband’s urn with his ashes in it. This exorcises Serafina’s demons and lets her be the passionate woman she once was.

This saga is not a typical Tennessee Williams turgid tale. It is not lyrical in any way and does not possess his eloquent, almost poetic style. Instead, it is raw in nature, and there is redemption for Serafina and a happy ending.

The Rose Tattoo really is a lovely play and, if done properly, it can be luminous because it is gutsy and deals with human relations and emotions in many forms. Unfortunately, director Trip Cullman has cast it unevenly and his direction aims for too much lowbrow humor at the expense of the drama. His sometimes inconsistent direction is a detriment to the play.

Marisa Tomei gives a brave, heartfelt interpretation of Serafina, it is lusty and bold, but physically she lacks the slovenly widowed harridan quality that is so desperately needed in the middle of the play until Mangiacavallo comes on the scene. Serafina has to transform from a widow still riddled with grief to a lady with a big heart and come back to life again. Ms. Tomei manages to capture the character’s essences here and there, but she is too lovely and svelte to be a disheveled matron.

Emun Elliott makes a delightful Mangiacavallo but lacks the chemistry to set off sparks between these two passionate Sicilians. With fine-tuned casting of the supporting cast and tighter direction, The Rose Tattoo can be a glorious play. If you like Tennessee Williams’ works, you should never miss the opportunity of seeing The Rose Tattoo, because you never know when it will be revived again.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published October 23, 2019
Reviewed at October 22, 2019 press performance.

‘THE ROSE TATTOO’: Marisa Tomei. Photo: Joan Marcus

The post ‘The Rose Tattoo’: Rarely revived Williams gem appeared first on StageZine.

‘ALL MY SONS’: Tracy Letts & Annette Bening. Photo: Joan Marcus

ALL MY SONS
By Arthur Miller
Directed by Jack O’Brien
Through June 23, 2019
American Airlines Theatre
227 W. 42nd Street
(212-719-1300), www.roundabouttheatre.org

By Scott Harrah

Arthur Miller’s All My Sons is not as renowned as some of his other plays, but it is indeed one of his greatest. The tragic epic, originally produced in 1947, right after World War II, has volumes to say about war and people who profit from it, making Sons rather timely as we now live in a world where dictators are on the rise and populism and political divisiveness threaten to tear apart the U.S. and Europe. All My Sons was last mounted on Broadway back in 2008 in a production that starred John Lithgow, Diane Wiest, Patrick Wilson and Katie Holmes. Eleven years ago, the show seemed dated and mostly a vehicle for the all-star cast, but the drama is much more relevant in 2019 in this age of political chaos and instability.

Arthur Miller’s moralistic saga focuses on the emotionally fragile family of Joe Keller (Tracy Letts), owner of a factory that made defective parts for warplanes and sold them to the U.S. Air Force, resulting in crashes and the deaths of 21 servicemen.  Joe’s wife, Kate (Annette Bening), is a woman in complete denial, convinced that her soldier son Larry, missing in action for over three years, is still alive.  Son Chris (Benjamin Walker) spends a good portion of the first act trying to convince his parents that marrying girlfriend Ann Deever (Francesca Carpanini) is the right thing to do, and things really unravel when she suddenly arrives in town after being in New York for several years.  The mother is completely against her son marrying Ann because she was Larry’s fiancé.  Ann is also the daughter of Joe’s business partner, a man serving time in prison allegedly for the crimes involved with the Keller’s business.

Tracy Letts and Benjamin Walker have superb onstage chemistry as father and son.  One of their last scenes—an argument that gets brutally physical—is especially effective and riveting. Mr. Letts is brilliant as the stubborn father, and Mr. Walker is marvelous as his aggressive, caustic son.  Annette Bening is first rate and really looks and sounds like the Midwestern mother she’s portraying—screaming, crying and emoting in all the right places, in an authentic Middle American twang. She definitely delivers as the high-strung mother who refuses to accept reality, despite the fact that her family is deeply wounded and has completely fallen apart. Ms. Bening is primarily known for her Hollywood films and was last seen on Broadway in Coastal Disturbances in 1987. She proves she is a great stage actress here, with an imposing command of the stage.

Francesca Carpanini is perfect and peerless as Ann. She gives a scorching portrayal of Ann as a shrewd, quick-witted woman who has endured years of suffering during and after the war.

Douglas W. Schmidt’s set, featuring an old house and its yard, anchors the story well and is a big improvement over the minimalistic set in the 2008 production. In that revival, there were too many projections and video montages. Director Joe O’Brien keeps things straightforward here, with a simple black and white video projection of war planes preceding the first act. Mr. O’Brien keeps the focus on the story. Although not all cast members are up to the par of the task at hand, Mr. O’Brien gets superlative performances from the actors playing the lead roles.

All My Sons, with its ongoing themes about greed and the ugliness of war, is still topical today. Its story about the ethics of selling faulty airplane equipment is especially germane in 2019, considering all the news about Boeing, defective 737 Max jets and crashes. After the final curtain falls, All My Sons gets audiences thinking about the long-term impact of war on families, making it an unforgettable, important evening of theater.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 25, 2019
Reviewed at April 24, 2019 press performance.

‘ALL MY SONS’: Tracy Letts & Benjamin Walker. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘ALL MY SONS’: Tracy Letts, Benjamin Walker & Annette Bening. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘ALL MY SONS’: (left to right) Benjamin Walker, Hampton Fluker, Francesca Carpanini & Chinasu Ogbaugu. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘ALL MY SONS’: Hamilton Fluker, Benjamin Walker & Francesca Carpanini. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘ALL MY SONS’: Annette Bening. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘ALL MY SONS’: Tracy Letts & Annette Bening. Photo: Joan Marcus

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‘KISS ME, KATE’: Kelli O’Hara. Photo: Joan Marcus

KISS ME, KATE
Book by Sam & Bella Spewack
Music & lyrics by Cole Porter
Directed by Scott Ellis
Choreography by Warren Carlyle
Through June 30, 2019
Studio 54
254 West 54th Street
(212-719-1300), www.RoundaboutTheatre.org

By David NouNou

In last year’s revival of My Fair Lady at the Vivian Beaumont, the balance of power shifted from Henry Higgins to Eliza Doolittle. This year Roundabout Theatre Company has chosen to do the same sort of gender-power transference with Kiss Me, Kate, in which Lilli Vanessi/Katherine (Kelli O’Hara) trounces Fred Graham/Petruchio (Will Chase) at every turn and in every scene. Having Ms. O’Hara in the part opposite Will Chase, it becomes an absolute knockout.

Cole Porter wrote one of the most glorious scores of all time for a Broadway musical and the songs are as vibrant as ever. The book by the Spewacks hasn’t weathered as well. Act I sets the story in motion, and for all the wonderful songs in Act II, they do not advance the story line much further; they act more as fillers, which was the case in a lot of musicals at the time.

Set in a Baltimore theater, the show starts with the brilliant “Another Op’nin, Another Show,” which sets the tone and mood of what is about to unfold. Lilli Vanessi has returned to the theater one last time to make her farewell performance in Taming of the Shrew, written, produced and directed by her ex-husband Fred Graham. They were married, very much in love but are currently divorced. The complications begin when Fred has cast his latest flirtation, Lois Lane/Bianca (Christine Cornish Smith) and her one true love Bill Calhoun/Lucentio (Corbin Bleu) to also be in Taming of the Shrew. Trouble ensues when Lili finds about Fred’s extracurricular activity involving Lois.

Due to the shift in power, it isn’t so much as taming of the shrew as getting even with your ex-husband. Kelli O’Hara as the shrew, Katherine, is an absolute revelation. She was a sensation in South Pacific, The Pajama Game and her Tony Award-winning role of Anna in The King and I. Here she has elevated her rank to a prima donna diva. Her voice is stunning and her acting is sublime. Will Chase does a valiant Fred/Petruchio, but the deck is stacked against him. Corbin Bleu as the hoofer Bill Calhoun is sensational. However, the highlight of the night is the opening number in Act II “Too Darn Hot,” set on the rooftop of the theater during their intermission where the dancers come up to cool off but instead end up blowing the roof off the theater.

The other thing to remember is when you see a show being directed by Scott Ellis, you know you are in for a treat. He never disappoints and he always has new tricks up his sleeve. He is rhythmically complemented by the wonderful choreographer, Warren Carlyle, and each of his numbers are absolute eye-poppers.

Wunderbar!

Editor’s Note: Understudy Christine Cornish Smith played the role of Lois Lane/Bianca at the performance reviewed here, substituting for Stephanie Styles.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published March 21, 2019
Reviewed at March 20, 2019 press performance.

‘KISS ME, KATE’: The cast. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘KISS ME, KATE’: The cast. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘KISS ME, KATE’: Will Chase. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘KISS ME, KATE’: (left to right) Preston Truman Boyd, Stephanie Styles, Corbin Bleu & Justin Prescott. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘KISS ME, KATE’: (left to right) Will Burton, Rick Faugno, Stephanie Styles & Corbin Bleu. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘KISS ME, KATE’: (left to right) John Pankow, Will Chase & Lance Coadie Williams. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘KISS ME, KATE’: Corbin Bleu, Sarah Meahl & Erica Mansfield. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘KISS ME, KATE’: Corbin Bleu & Stephanie Styles. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘KISS ME, KATE’: Kelli O’Hara. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘KISS ME, KATE’: Kelli O’Hara & Will Chase. Photo: Joan Marcus

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‘APOLOGIA’: Hugh Dancy & Stockard Channing. Photo: Joan Marcus

APOLOGIA
Written by Alexi Kaye Campbell
Directed by Daniel Aukin
Through December 16, 2018
Roundabout at Laura Pels Theatre
Harold & Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre
111 West 46th Street
(212-719-1300),www.RoundaboutTheatre.org

By David NouNou

Set in 2009 in an English countryside cottage, Kristen Miller (Stockard Channing) is awaiting the arrival of her two sons Peter and Simon, both roles played by Hugh Dancy, their girlfriends Trudi (Talene Monahon) and Claire (Megalyn Echikunwoke) and her gay best friend, Hugh (John Tillinger) to celebrate her 60-something birthday.

Kristen is a former 1960s and 1970s American activist, now living in England, believed what she was fighting for was fighting for a better world. She and Hugh were on a mission; she fought and he followed. Kristen, along the way, was divorced by her husband and he took away her two sons. In desperation, after her loss, she dove into her activism which led to her bohemian lifestyle. She has since become an art historian and has just published a book about her memoirs in which she totally neglects to mention her sons as if they never existed. And so this party from hell begins.

Of course, there is a lot of wine drinking, and a lot of blaming and a lot of recriminations and who did wrong to whom but there will be no apologies forthcoming. Kristen is still her stalwart strong-willed self and can dispense a sarcastic line to people she feels have not come up to the level she expects namely the two girlfriends Trudi, an evangelical Christian Nebraskan soon to be engaged to British-born Peter; and Claire, a soap-opera actress soon to break up with Simon due to his many psychological problems, now mostly stemming from his childhood.

Stockard Channing is a force of nature to be reckoned with. Even when the material is sub-par and not to her level of expertise, she still captivates you. There are very few stage actresses left of Ms. Channing’s caliber who can dazzle you from the first moment to last.

Hugh Dancy, who plays both Peter, the accomplished son, and Simon the unfortunate one, plays them with two distinctive personas and is quite good but here again his characters are both poorly fleshed out. John Tillinger comes off best as Kristen’s gay friend and defender with all the salty lines.

Unfortunately, director David Aukin doesn’t do much for the proceedings; he just lets the scenes ramble by themselves. An example: Beginning of Act II where Simon comes in after getting shards of glass in his hand. Kristen enters to take them out, and the stage is so dimly lit where you can hardly see the actors let alone a woman taking out shards of glass with a pair of tweezers It just seems so implausible. Did anyone forget to pay the electric bill?

In the end you are left with an unfulfilling drama, and stock characters that are not fully developed, but there is Stockard Channing. Watching her in any play is a night well spent, watching her cast her spell over an audience.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published October 18, 2018
Reviewed at October 17, 2018 press performance.

‘APOLOGIA’: Stockard Channing. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘APOLOGIA’: (left to right) Hugh Dancy, Talene Monahan & Stockard Channing. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘APOLOGIA’: Stockard Channing. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘APOLOGIA’: Talene Monahan & Hugh Dancy. Photo: Joan Marcus

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