Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Vanya and Sonua and Masha and Spike: My Pick for The Tony Award for Best Play 2013
By Jonathan Jones
Sunday, December 9, 2012
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Lincoln Center Theatre's Production of Vanya and Sonua and Masha and Spike is playing on Broadway at The Golden Theatre. Tickets can be purchased here.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
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Lincoln Center Theatre's Production of Vanya and Sonua and Masha and Spike is playing on Broadway at The Golden Theatre. Tickets can be purchased here.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Thursday, November 8, 2012
A Scandal Comes to Broadway
By Jonathan Jones
Thursday, November 8, 2012
I like this musical play - kudos to the creative team as they have taken on a tremendously difficult task - for this work will undoubtedly be compared to a slew of recent Broadway offerings, some good, and some awful.
On the surface, this musical is Leap of Faith with a woman evangelical preacher, rather than a man. Leap of Faith, however, was monumentally flawed. The music was unmemorable. The characters were all despicable. And the performances were unfortunate. In Scandalous, the music is also unmemorable - but it doesn't grate on the sense in the way that Leap of Faith's music did. Kathie Lee Gifford's strength here is the book she has carfted, for the character of Aimee Semple McPherson could easily be as despicable as those we saw in Leap, but she is shown to be flawed, but tremendously likeable. She is entirely sympathetic and we want to root for her (more on that later). And Carolee Carmello's performance is undeniably tremendous.
In moments, we see The Book of Mormon for part of Aimee Semple McPherson's oeuvre included extravagant biblical stage spectacles - and we do have a few moments of this in Act 2 - though no-where near the polish and pizzazz that is seen in Mormon.
At times, we have Chaplin, for this is a biographical musical that sings its way into your heart. You want to love Aimee. The problem is, we don't know here. In fact, I would venture to say that the average theatre goer has never heard of her. This might not be a problem (would we know Gypsy Rose Lee anymore without the musical to remind us), but here it is a problem because the work is a tough sell. It's not religious, but it is. It's called scandalous, but there is no scandal until Act 2, and even then - nothing remotely scandalous to 2012 audiences - so how do you sell the show without a name? In light of Ms. Gifford's achievement in book writing, the music is adequate - but we need to LOVE the music so we can LOVE Aimee. We want to see her explode into song that is so strong and memorable that we too will leap to our feet when she triumphs, and sob into Kleenex when she fails. But that never happens because the music isn't strong enough.
But, the music isn't bad. Like I said of Chaplin a few months ago, this work will not last long here on Broadway as there is little appetite for the conventional musical when bloated revivals of the greats are competing, but this little show should have a life in regional and community theatre where the audience may well know the actress is they don't know the character and they can laud her (whomever she might be) out of their deep love for her, if the music leaves them failing to love the character. And this is not in any way a shortcoming on the part of Ms. Carmello - she's doing the best she can with the material she's been given.
And to Ms. Gifford. She is very capable and I could not be happier. I have been a fan for twenty years, but I had my doubts as to what this would sound like. She must keep writing. Disney would do well to hire her to write music for their animated films - her charms definitely live through the lyrics. Like Queen of the Mist last year, this little show is worth seeing, but not at Broadway prices. And that's not a bad thing. We need new voices and I'm so happy that Kathie Lee Gifford has found a new way to use hers.
Scandalous is playing at The Neil Simon Theatre. Tickets can be purchased here.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
A Dickensian Christmas at Studio54
By Jonathan Jones
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Tickets for The Mystery of Edwin Drood is playing at Studio 54. Tickets can be purchased here.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Maybe...Maybe Not...
By Jonathan Jones
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Leapin' lizards! This production of Annie is unfortunate.
Maybe I'm too old. Or maybe it's just bad. But I can't think of a good word to say.
Well, I adore Katie Finnernan. I do not adore her in this show. But I adore Katie Finnernan.
The dialect coach for this production should re-think career choices. The orphan girls sound British when they sing, and Lilla Crawford's shrill tone sits somewhere between Cyndi Lauper and Ellen Green's rendition of Audrey in the Orginal Off Broadway cast of Little Shop of Horrors (and the film as well). Why is this happening? Poor Miss Crawford means well, is appropriately precocious and eager, but what voodoo are they doing with her voice and why?
We get it - this desire to pretend that everyone in New York has a twisted vulger accent and have had them for the last two centuries - but we know better. In a city of immigrants, some do indeed have that harsh accent, but not everyone. We will accept it is New York because we see that it is New York (hell, they even sing the dreadful "N Y C" tune to be clear about it) - we don't need to pretend. Just let the kids sing!
And, for many in my generation who are too young to have seen the original outing on Broadway 30-some years ago but old enough to have grown up with the original film version, it is no wonder that some songs were shaved from the score for the film. "You Won't Be an Orphan for Long" "Something Was Missing" "New Deal for Christmas" - Cringeworthy!
But I'm sure the kids will like it, so by all means, bring them to the theatre. It is a holiday treat. But it's saccharine qualities will soon decay and this revival will hopefully decay along with them.
Annie is playing at The Palace Theatre. Tickets can be purchased here.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Leapin' lizards! This production of Annie is unfortunate.
Maybe I'm too old. Or maybe it's just bad. But I can't think of a good word to say.
Well, I adore Katie Finnernan. I do not adore her in this show. But I adore Katie Finnernan.
The dialect coach for this production should re-think career choices. The orphan girls sound British when they sing, and Lilla Crawford's shrill tone sits somewhere between Cyndi Lauper and Ellen Green's rendition of Audrey in the Orginal Off Broadway cast of Little Shop of Horrors (and the film as well). Why is this happening? Poor Miss Crawford means well, is appropriately precocious and eager, but what voodoo are they doing with her voice and why?
We get it - this desire to pretend that everyone in New York has a twisted vulger accent and have had them for the last two centuries - but we know better. In a city of immigrants, some do indeed have that harsh accent, but not everyone. We will accept it is New York because we see that it is New York (hell, they even sing the dreadful "N Y C" tune to be clear about it) - we don't need to pretend. Just let the kids sing!
And, for many in my generation who are too young to have seen the original outing on Broadway 30-some years ago but old enough to have grown up with the original film version, it is no wonder that some songs were shaved from the score for the film. "You Won't Be an Orphan for Long" "Something Was Missing" "New Deal for Christmas" - Cringeworthy!
But I'm sure the kids will like it, so by all means, bring them to the theatre. It is a holiday treat. But it's saccharine qualities will soon decay and this revival will hopefully decay along with them.
Annie is playing at The Palace Theatre. Tickets can be purchased here.
Friday, October 19, 2012
Loving Jason Tam: Marry Me a Little
By Jonathan Jones
Friday, October 19, 2012
Jason Tam first became an object of my theatrical-hero worship after his appearance in Every Little Step as he delivered his heartbreaking audition for Paul in the latest revival of A Chorus Line. Thereafter, I endured the drek of Lysistrata Jones where he emerged as one bright light. Thus, upon reading of his latest appearance in Marry Me a Little, I jumped at the opportunity to see the show.
Jason is wonderful. His costar, Lauren Molina was new too me yet she too was wonderful. This revue - ah - less so. For Sondheim lovers, I'm sure this is a dream. But for me, who is less inclined to love the sonic-chaos of Sondheim's 'smart' music, this was a jagged pill to swallow. And if there was more to hang your hat on than the music, it might not have been so jarring, but as this revue meanders from one song to the next trying desperately to weave together a tale of two unfortunate New York singles living literally on top of each other in an apartment building - yet this weave is so loose, it barely holds together at all.
Alas, hero worship for the talents on the stage was all I had to hold onto, and I was very grateful that it only lasted 55 minutes.
Friday, October 19, 2012
Jason Tam first became an object of my theatrical-hero worship after his appearance in Every Little Step as he delivered his heartbreaking audition for Paul in the latest revival of A Chorus Line. Thereafter, I endured the drek of Lysistrata Jones where he emerged as one bright light. Thus, upon reading of his latest appearance in Marry Me a Little, I jumped at the opportunity to see the show.
Jason is wonderful. His costar, Lauren Molina was new too me yet she too was wonderful. This revue - ah - less so. For Sondheim lovers, I'm sure this is a dream. But for me, who is less inclined to love the sonic-chaos of Sondheim's 'smart' music, this was a jagged pill to swallow. And if there was more to hang your hat on than the music, it might not have been so jarring, but as this revue meanders from one song to the next trying desperately to weave together a tale of two unfortunate New York singles living literally on top of each other in an apartment building - yet this weave is so loose, it barely holds together at all.
Alas, hero worship for the talents on the stage was all I had to hold onto, and I was very grateful that it only lasted 55 minutes.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
I Hate Jonathan Franzen: House for Sale
By Jonathan Jones
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
In 2002, like many a New York commuter, I was sucked in by my fellow strap hangers who were all carrying the same book: The Corrections. Like a fool, I followed the heard and bought the book. Page after page, I grew to hate the characters more and more. And page after page, I kind of started to hate myself for not ending the torturous read. But, given the hundreds of pages and hours of time invested, I was finishing that book no matter how much I hated it.
With that memory still fresh in my mind, when I saw the ad for Transport Theatre Group's production of House for Sale, I thought - there must be something hear. Last year, I LOVED their production of Queen of the Mist so much that I trusted their artistic choices. Alas, with Jonathan Franzen, I should know better - fool me once...
This show is basically one long verbose first-person essay delivered (for reasons I cannot comprehend) by five actors. Franzen tells about his mother's death, his detachment from his family and his mother's earthly possessions - and basically, his utter douchiness. When I crawled through The Corrections, I wanted to hate him since he created the despicable characters that inhabit his narrative - and from the way he so clearly paints their picture, I felt he surely must love them - thus, I wanted to hate him. But, I couldn't be sure how much of him was there. Now I know. And now I am sure that I hate him. He is utterly self-serving, self-congratulating, and foolish enough to disguise a story that should clearly be about his mother in a story that is him, him, him.
In the style of the most bland and unfortunate ethnodrama, this show is a disaster. With moments of unison, overlapping dialogue, repetition, curious wall climbing, and a bizarre Minnie Mouse costume (you have to see it to believe it), this plods along in such a "CRAFTY" way that you can literally see the director's anguish as he tries so desperately to make the undramatic dramatic. The most foolish convention of all is a series of small color-coded strip lights strategically placed around the set - each actor assigned a color - and when their color lights up, they speak. And when it goes dark, they go silent. Was the stage manager telling them when to speak? Prompting them? Going insane trying to keep up? Sometimes messing up, causing ever-so-slight snickers from the cast. We had unwittingly taken a trip to the nut house - and we wanted our money back.
House for Sale is at the Duke on 42nd Street through November 18. Tickets can be purchased here.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
In 2002, like many a New York commuter, I was sucked in by my fellow strap hangers who were all carrying the same book: The Corrections. Like a fool, I followed the heard and bought the book. Page after page, I grew to hate the characters more and more. And page after page, I kind of started to hate myself for not ending the torturous read. But, given the hundreds of pages and hours of time invested, I was finishing that book no matter how much I hated it.
With that memory still fresh in my mind, when I saw the ad for Transport Theatre Group's production of House for Sale, I thought - there must be something hear. Last year, I LOVED their production of Queen of the Mist so much that I trusted their artistic choices. Alas, with Jonathan Franzen, I should know better - fool me once...
This show is basically one long verbose first-person essay delivered (for reasons I cannot comprehend) by five actors. Franzen tells about his mother's death, his detachment from his family and his mother's earthly possessions - and basically, his utter douchiness. When I crawled through The Corrections, I wanted to hate him since he created the despicable characters that inhabit his narrative - and from the way he so clearly paints their picture, I felt he surely must love them - thus, I wanted to hate him. But, I couldn't be sure how much of him was there. Now I know. And now I am sure that I hate him. He is utterly self-serving, self-congratulating, and foolish enough to disguise a story that should clearly be about his mother in a story that is him, him, him.
In the style of the most bland and unfortunate ethnodrama, this show is a disaster. With moments of unison, overlapping dialogue, repetition, curious wall climbing, and a bizarre Minnie Mouse costume (you have to see it to believe it), this plods along in such a "CRAFTY" way that you can literally see the director's anguish as he tries so desperately to make the undramatic dramatic. The most foolish convention of all is a series of small color-coded strip lights strategically placed around the set - each actor assigned a color - and when their color lights up, they speak. And when it goes dark, they go silent. Was the stage manager telling them when to speak? Prompting them? Going insane trying to keep up? Sometimes messing up, causing ever-so-slight snickers from the cast. We had unwittingly taken a trip to the nut house - and we wanted our money back.
House for Sale is at the Duke on 42nd Street through November 18. Tickets can be purchased here.
Friday, October 12, 2012
Douglas Hodges Slays In Cyrano
By Jonathan Jones
Friday, October 12, 2012
Cyrano De Bergerac is playing at The American Airlines Theatre. Tickets can be purchased here.
Friday, October 12, 2012
Cyrano De Bergerac is playing at The American Airlines Theatre. Tickets can be purchased here.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Grace Fails at The Cort Theatre
By Jonathan Jones
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Grace is playing at The Cort Theatre. Tickets can be purchased here.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Shakespeare's Globe Brings Hamlet Stateside
By Jonathan Jones
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Shakespeare's Globe production of Hamlet is currently touring the US. Inormation on the tour can be accessed here.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Shakespeare's Globe production of Hamlet is currently touring the US. Inormation on the tour can be accessed here.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Virginia Woolf: The Houseboy Edition (They Couldn't Get It Up)
By Jonathan Jones
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf is playing at the Booth Theatre. Tickets can be purchased here.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf is playing at the Booth Theatre. Tickets can be purchased here.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
An Enemy of the People: A Play for Our Time
By Jonathan Jones
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
An Enemy of the People is playing at The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. Tickets can be purchased here.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
An Enemy of the People is playing at The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. Tickets can be purchased here.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
War Horse: Not As Good As London's Version but Still a Thrill
By Jonathan Jones
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
War Horse is playing at The Vivienne Beaumont Theatre through January 2013 only. Tickets can be purchased here.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
War Horse is playing at The Vivienne Beaumont Theatre through January 2013 only. Tickets can be purchased here.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
A Delightful Little Show, for a Delightful Little Tramp
By Jonathan Jones
Thursday, August 30, 2012
As I see so many Broadway shows, I know how rare it is for a show to arrive on Broadway that truly does warm the heart. Chaplin delivers on all accounts.
Perhaps it is the adoration that our culture has towards The Little Tramp that spills over into this production - but the feat of capturing that charm is itself amazing.
There is nothing earth shattering here. This does not try in any way to re-define the form, as many shows try so desperately to do today. Chaplin is a traditional book musical with a traditional story - good guy goes bad needs redemption - but it is just lovely.
I'm not sure this will have an extended life here on Broadway - it's not gimmicky enough to live on for years (and that is part of its charm) - but it will live on in regional and community theatres and school productions for years to come.
Chaplin is playing at The Ethel Barrymore Theatre. Tickets can be purchased here.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
As I see so many Broadway shows, I know how rare it is for a show to arrive on Broadway that truly does warm the heart. Chaplin delivers on all accounts.
Perhaps it is the adoration that our culture has towards The Little Tramp that spills over into this production - but the feat of capturing that charm is itself amazing.
There is nothing earth shattering here. This does not try in any way to re-define the form, as many shows try so desperately to do today. Chaplin is a traditional book musical with a traditional story - good guy goes bad needs redemption - but it is just lovely.
I'm not sure this will have an extended life here on Broadway - it's not gimmicky enough to live on for years (and that is part of its charm) - but it will live on in regional and community theatres and school productions for years to come.
Chaplin is playing at The Ethel Barrymore Theatre. Tickets can be purchased here.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Monday, July 30, 2012
Bring It On!!
By Jonathan Jones
Monday, July 30, 2012
I LOVE this show.
I’ve said it.
I first saw Bring It
On during its premiere engagement at The Alliance Theatre in Atlanta
in January 2011 (yes, I traveled there specifically to see the show). Here’s
what I had to say then:
The first 40 minutes were a snore and made me think that High School Musical had forever ruined
my favorite art form, but then came the hip hop and the dance crew and two
amazing talents and I loved every subsequent minute - until the closing number
(which is hideous cheese). With some tweaking, this could sit nicely next to Hairspray as a personal favorite.
I was deeply concerned at first, but then the joy began to shine through. Jon Rua (who played Sonny when in In the Heights on Broadway) is one of the stars - he's incredible - look him up - he's really great. And then this woman was just in the Dreamgirls tour (which I never saw=shame) - Adrienne Warren - she is a
Further, any show that mentions that Madonna used to be a cheerleader in order to convince a hip-hopping basketball player boy to join a
cheerleading squad has to be a success.
What I’d add now:
The audience contributes so much to this show. The
subscribers in Atlanta were mainly
old ladies and they appreciated the acrobatics but showed nothing of the pleasure
and enjoyment that the young crowd on Broadway did. They laugh at the jokes,
cheer on the performers, and are clearly not Broadway regulars as they didn’t
all stand up at the end – it was like being in London = LOVELY.
As for the first 40 minutes that I loathed the first time
around, I had no idea what to expect going into that show t and I was terrified that the un-amusing drek would carry on for the rest of the
show. It's 40 minutes of exposition that moved quite quickly tonight and I didn't mind it nearly as much as I now understood what purpose it served. That said, I still nearly exploded with joy when we
moved from Truman High to Jackson High. From that moment on, the smile never
left my face.
The casting has changed somewhat and I knew Jon Rua left
after the Atlanta engagement. His replacement,
Nicolas Womack, is good, but pales in comparison as his performance is more imitation
than making the role his own, as Jon did.
Adrienne Warren is still amazing. I adore her and I will see
her in anything she does. She is incredible and I look forward to where her
career will take her.
After suffering through LysistrataJones last season, I was worried that I would now hate this show too, but
there really is something special in Jeff Whitty’s book that is completely
endearing and really gets the audience going. The young women about me in the
mezzanine kept commenting, “I had no idea this would be so funny.” I imagine
the movies are a poor-man’s Clueless
or Legally Blonde, but the book here
really stands its own against those films and would make a powerhouse movie
musical.
The score has some fine moments. “It’s All Happening” derives much from “Blackout” in “In the Heights” but I’ll take it. The ballad “Enjoythe Trip” is stirring and the finale “I Got You” is still cheesy as can be, but
pure joy nonetheless.
I adore this show and I hope that you will too.
Bring It On is on
Broadway at The St. James Theatre. Tickets can be purchased here.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Memphis: A Jukebox Musical Without Any Hits
By Jonathan Jones
Thursday, July 26, 2012
It took me two years to see Memphis because I was convinced that it was a stinker. Tony night surprised me, but did not shift me view so I stayed away. However, with the addition of Adam Pascal, my interest was piqued, but it was only the posting of their closing notice and the emergence of tickets on TDF that got me into the theatre.
Unfortunately, my suspicions were accurate - Memphis is a stinker. I can't recall what initially made me think it would be a stinker, but I now know that like Sister Act, the music is the problem. The emergence of the jukebox musical has had an indellible impact on the Broadway musical, largely in the proliferation of the form. Memphis, like Sister Act and Once, relies heavily on performance numbers that are thematically related to the story but fail to tell the story with any necessity. The songs could be cut, reduced, or removed and the plot wouldn't really change. Jukebox musicals often have to be structured this way because pop music rarely tells a story on its own, and when it does and is then put into a larger narrative as was seen in Julie Taymour's visually brilliant Across the Universe, the audience recoils in the requisite schmaltz. The form is what it is, and audiences seem to like it, so I will not judge the form - the problem with Memphis (like Sister Act) is that it doesn't use pop hits - so now the audience is left with irrelevant, derivative music that is far from compelling. Worse, because of the running undercurrent of race relations, the lyrics sound like they should be in an Avenue Q style parody rather than a serious telling of musical history - but sadly lacking all humor and wit. "Everybody Wants to be Black on a Saturday Night"? You've got to be kidding me. And then of course, there is the fact that a parallel story was told with wit, humor, and unforgettable musical moments in Hairspray (the original film and the Broadway version; the 2007 movie is unfortunate at best).
That is not to say that Montego Glovers' "Someday" is charming, as is she. Adam Pascal was awkward at best and none of his costumes seemed to fit him. I desperately searched the stage to see if any of the other men were having this issue - perhaps it was a stylistic choice - but no - only he looked like he traded in one potato sack for another as the show progresses.
The only musical moment of the show that really uplifted the production was the 11 O'clock number, "Memphis Lives in Me," which really was incredible. The rest - well - Broadway isn't losing anything when this show closes next week.
Adam Pascal sings "Memphis Lives in Me":
Memphis will end its three-year run at the Shubert Theatre on August 5, 2012.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
It took me two years to see Memphis because I was convinced that it was a stinker. Tony night surprised me, but did not shift me view so I stayed away. However, with the addition of Adam Pascal, my interest was piqued, but it was only the posting of their closing notice and the emergence of tickets on TDF that got me into the theatre.
Unfortunately, my suspicions were accurate - Memphis is a stinker. I can't recall what initially made me think it would be a stinker, but I now know that like Sister Act, the music is the problem. The emergence of the jukebox musical has had an indellible impact on the Broadway musical, largely in the proliferation of the form. Memphis, like Sister Act and Once, relies heavily on performance numbers that are thematically related to the story but fail to tell the story with any necessity. The songs could be cut, reduced, or removed and the plot wouldn't really change. Jukebox musicals often have to be structured this way because pop music rarely tells a story on its own, and when it does and is then put into a larger narrative as was seen in Julie Taymour's visually brilliant Across the Universe, the audience recoils in the requisite schmaltz. The form is what it is, and audiences seem to like it, so I will not judge the form - the problem with Memphis (like Sister Act) is that it doesn't use pop hits - so now the audience is left with irrelevant, derivative music that is far from compelling. Worse, because of the running undercurrent of race relations, the lyrics sound like they should be in an Avenue Q style parody rather than a serious telling of musical history - but sadly lacking all humor and wit. "Everybody Wants to be Black on a Saturday Night"? You've got to be kidding me. And then of course, there is the fact that a parallel story was told with wit, humor, and unforgettable musical moments in Hairspray (the original film and the Broadway version; the 2007 movie is unfortunate at best).
That is not to say that Montego Glovers' "Someday" is charming, as is she. Adam Pascal was awkward at best and none of his costumes seemed to fit him. I desperately searched the stage to see if any of the other men were having this issue - perhaps it was a stylistic choice - but no - only he looked like he traded in one potato sack for another as the show progresses.
The only musical moment of the show that really uplifted the production was the 11 O'clock number, "Memphis Lives in Me," which really was incredible. The rest - well - Broadway isn't losing anything when this show closes next week.
Adam Pascal sings "Memphis Lives in Me":
Memphis will end its three-year run at the Shubert Theatre on August 5, 2012.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Harvey: When the Imaginary Becomes the Reality
By Jonathan Jones
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Roundabout Theatre's Production of Harvey is playing at Studio 54. Tickets can be purchased here.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Roundabout Theatre's Production of Harvey is playing at Studio 54. Tickets can be purchased here.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Death of a Salesman: Breathtaking
By Jonathan Jones
Saturday, June 2, 2012
I went into this production with low expectations due to a distrust of Philip Seymour Hoffman's stage persona (see below). In fact, I wasn't going to see this production at all as a result of that distrust. Somehow, I put my feelings aside and laid out a ridiculous amount of money on eBay to catch this surprising gem before it closed.
Framing the work with the original set designs and incidental music, Mike Nichols created a stirring rendition of what has been described as the great American play. Just hearing that moniker also provided additional distrust. I've seen a number of productions in my youth, but none recently and thus, I was skeptical about what made this so 'great' in the eyes of so many. As the play opened, I immediately began to think that perhaps this was the great play of White America, which was equally troubling. Forgetting the exact turns that were forthcoming, and finding myself incredibly vested in the story due to the captivating performances across the board, I uncovered what made the work so great: identifying that the hyper-optimism of Americans is a great illusion and if we were to give up the dream that we will be more than we are (i.e. the American Dream) and accept that we are just another cog in the wheel, we would have grave difficulty getting out of bed everyday. Further, many (like Willy) would rather die than give up their illusion.
When Andrew Garfield's Riff rails on Hoffman's Willy at the end of the show, the rapture of the audience was palpable. Sniffles and tears were audible as was the communal breathing that had taken over the audience. Michael Musto would describe this moment as "acting with a capital A" where the screen performer has to scream at the end of the show to get accolades - but I would make a converse observation. What I perceive to be this bad acting is what Mr. Hoffman did three years ago in LAByrinth Theatre Company's Othello - which is to portray an angry, unlikable Iago by yelling from start to finish. No nuance. No character arc. Mr. Garfield's Riff is played like a fine symphony; moments of quiet; moments of shocking awe; moments of heartbreak and moments of disbelief. In The First Wives Club, Goldie Hawn's character leads us to believe that she has all emotions because she's an actress. While she says this line for great comedic effect, it is true that a great actor should be able to inhabit a range of emotions, yet have honest reactions to the given circumstances - and Mr. Garfield has a supreme fluidity in his portrayal of Biff that really was incredible to behold.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
I went into this production with low expectations due to a distrust of Philip Seymour Hoffman's stage persona (see below). In fact, I wasn't going to see this production at all as a result of that distrust. Somehow, I put my feelings aside and laid out a ridiculous amount of money on eBay to catch this surprising gem before it closed.
Framing the work with the original set designs and incidental music, Mike Nichols created a stirring rendition of what has been described as the great American play. Just hearing that moniker also provided additional distrust. I've seen a number of productions in my youth, but none recently and thus, I was skeptical about what made this so 'great' in the eyes of so many. As the play opened, I immediately began to think that perhaps this was the great play of White America, which was equally troubling. Forgetting the exact turns that were forthcoming, and finding myself incredibly vested in the story due to the captivating performances across the board, I uncovered what made the work so great: identifying that the hyper-optimism of Americans is a great illusion and if we were to give up the dream that we will be more than we are (i.e. the American Dream) and accept that we are just another cog in the wheel, we would have grave difficulty getting out of bed everyday. Further, many (like Willy) would rather die than give up their illusion.
When Andrew Garfield's Riff rails on Hoffman's Willy at the end of the show, the rapture of the audience was palpable. Sniffles and tears were audible as was the communal breathing that had taken over the audience. Michael Musto would describe this moment as "acting with a capital A" where the screen performer has to scream at the end of the show to get accolades - but I would make a converse observation. What I perceive to be this bad acting is what Mr. Hoffman did three years ago in LAByrinth Theatre Company's Othello - which is to portray an angry, unlikable Iago by yelling from start to finish. No nuance. No character arc. Mr. Garfield's Riff is played like a fine symphony; moments of quiet; moments of shocking awe; moments of heartbreak and moments of disbelief. In The First Wives Club, Goldie Hawn's character leads us to believe that she has all emotions because she's an actress. While she says this line for great comedic effect, it is true that a great actor should be able to inhabit a range of emotions, yet have honest reactions to the given circumstances - and Mr. Garfield has a supreme fluidity in his portrayal of Biff that really was incredible to behold.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Lonely, I'm Not (Or So I Keep Telling Myself)
By Jonathan Jones
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
It is a rare occasion when art imitates the particularities of ones life so perfectly and I was not prepared to have such a close encounter when I entered The Second Stage Theatre for a production of Paul Weitz's Lonely, I'm Not, but here it was. A gentleman has a mental breakdown and after years of not being sure how to put his life back together, meets someone who he might possibly have a relationship with, but she moves to New York and he stays away to see where things might end up and decides that getting a job as a barrista at Starbucks will be his low stress entre back into the world of the living. Not to be too transparent, but in the last few years, I have been like that girl, entwined with a man who has had the same exact experience over the last four years (breakdown, tries the relationship, decides to work at Starbucks as it will not be mentally taxing). She, however, is blind and it made me wonder if I too was metaphorically blind. Blind to what, who can be sure. But much like Topher Grace's Porter, I too might well say, "Lonely? I'm not." and it would be no less convincing.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
The Columnist: Reflections on a Time Gone By
By Jonathan Jones
Sunday, May 27, 2012
The Columnist is playing at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on Broadway. Tickets can be purchased here.
You can watch an Episode of PBS' Moyer's & Company where Bill Moyers interviews Jonathan Haidt about his book here.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
David Auburn's work has not spoken to me in the past (yes, Proof, I know - but it just didn't seem that appealing to me) so I wasn't gung-ho about seeing this play. When I learned about the subject matter, I thought it might be up my alley - and indeed it was.
Jonathan Mandell's write up of the play in Playbill Magazine describes the trajectory of Joseph Alsop's career as one in which he went from being one of the most influential players in American media on politics to being nearly forgotten by history. This to me was fascinating in our world of the 24 hour cable news world, where bloviating idiots can shape elections and entire political agendas - and Alsop was no different. Apart from the history, Mr. Auburn's play is captivating as we know that the character (if not the man) is a war mongering asshole obsessed with American exceptionalism (sound familiar?), and though we know we are to hate him, our hearts cleverly break for him. This is in part due to Mr. Auburn's exceptional writing and also to do with John Lithgow's inviting performance.
Jonathan Haidt at the University of Virginia has just written a book about this historical dichotomy that has escaped modern American society - being able to disagree with the policy positions of the other side, but understanding that they too wanted the best for the country and were not just evil. It was a different time, and it was nice to see a concrete representation of what that time might have looked like.
The Columnist is playing at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on Broadway. Tickets can be purchased here.
You can watch an Episode of PBS' Moyer's & Company where Bill Moyers interviews Jonathan Haidt about his book here.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Potted Potter: Good for Kids, But Not for Me
By Jonathan Jones
Saturday, May 26, 2012
One hour; seven lengthy novels; two performers; minimal props. What could go wrong? In the tradition of The Complete Works of Shakespeare (abridged), The Complete History of America (abridged), and The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged) by the Reduced Shakespeare Company, we get Potted Potter.
In defense of the creators, Daniel Clarkson and Jefferson Turner, I would be remiss if I didn't point out that something is definitely lost in transition in moving this work from its British home to an American audience. While Potter enthusiasts of any age may have some investment (hence my attendance), this really appeals to a juvenile mentality (which I am apparently over), and more specifically, a British juvenile mentality. There were many a joke that this American knew to be inappropriate for the largely juvenile audience (typical of British TYA) and there were a number of Brtishisms that were indecipherable to an untrained ear (having spent a lot of time in the UK, I knew the references, but I was a minority at this matinee).
Beyond that, the piece just wasn't that good. There was a lot of running around and silliness that would have been better channeled through legitimate parody of the characters and circumstances of the books. Instead, we are treated too extended commentary on the performances and lack of production values - commentary which quickly grew stale and largely stunned an eager and willing audience into large swaths of uncomfortable silence.
Potted Potter is playing at the Little Shubert Theatre. Tickets can be purchased here.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
"Venus in Fur" Is Luminous
By Jonathan Jones
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Yes, I know. I was late to the party. But I'm so glad I got here before the party ended. Venus in Fur is a triumph, not only for its star Nina Arianda, but also for playwright David Ives.
I have experienced broad over acting a number of times during the past week, so I was a bit put off from the time that Ms. Arianda took the stage as she seems to have succumed to this unfortunate bug. However, when she launched into the role of Vanda in the play-within-a-play, I knew that each note she struck was carefully calculated, necessary, and pushed the point that she was indeed more than she seemed. I was captivated, mesmerized, and admittedly on seat edge waiting for the reveal. Reversals abound and Hugh Dancy was no slouch, ever up to each successive ploy that Ms. Arianda engaged him in. I was truly amazed.
Venus in Fur is playing at the Lyceum Theatre, now through June 17th only. Tickets are available here.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
My Trip To Musical Theatre Hell
By Jonathan Jones
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Jesus Christ Superstar is awful. Now, I know that may seem extreme - but it's just my opinion.
First released as a concept album in 1969, I'm sure the work seemed to be a theatrical revelation. Jesus cavorting with Mary Magdalene. All the accoutrements of late 60s/early 70s rock music. As the work was later developed for the stage (first as a concert, later as a fully staged theatrical work), I'm sure the revelation continued. Unfortunately, as is the case for much of Andrew Lloyd Webber's work, the score is constrained by its ties to that particular rock music from when it was first recorded. Under an insistent and inspired musical director and orchestrator, this could easily be resolved for today's stage - but it would require the commitment and permission of the Really Useful Group, and I'm not sure anyone involved is really for updating the work. So we're stuck - sitting in the theatre - listening to what may as well be an LP of the concept album recorded 43 years ago (which, I might add, I have never heard - but I have listened to enough music for that era during my lifetime to know full well what to expect - the only thing missing are the requisite pops and hisses of the turntable).
Never to shy away from reductive elements in his compositions, we hear bits of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat here and there ("Potiphar" and "Grovel, Grovel" in particular) and Evita is supremely in my consciousness thanks to the film soundtrack and some of Superstar eeked its way into that score a few years later.
Aside from the musical shortcomings, there's the subject matter. Need I say more.
Then, of course, there are the performances - which I'm sure are worthwhile to some, but I was not really moved by any of it. Listening to people do harm to their vocal chords is always uncomfortable for me.
Jesus Christ Superstar is playing at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre. Tickets can be purchased here.
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