April 21st, 2009
   
ROCK OF AGES is a retro rock musical with ole timey R & R from the ‘80’s with good loose action and half-naked ladies dancing in the aisles. What’s not to like? They have jig-sawed a pastiche into an almost romantic story as the plot, which is soft-edged as they construct a story based on the songs; the numbers are hard-edged. I brought with me Australian singer Chloe Walton, who grew up with these songs, and knew every word and melody. I knew none of them. Here are her comments on the show: “It’s a blast! It brings in the new and the best of the past. The pop hits were delivered as if they had been written for Broadway-- just got here twenty years later. The clever intertwining of dialogue into song shows progressive writing, and I almost knew what song was coming and how it fitted the narrative. It brought back memories of growing up in a somewhat awkward pop culture era where clothes, hair and musical taste were loud and proud.
It reminded us to Dream the Dream, Endure the Darkness, and be brave enough to sing about it.”

For me, though, the simplistic story doesn’t work, but the music and dancing (hot choreography by Kelly Devine) do. It’s all flashily directed by Kristen Hanggi with spectacular costumes by Gregory Gale on Beowulf Boritt’s imaginative set with super lighting by Jason Lyons, and, on Broadway, a lap dance-- I’m shocked! It’s all a joyous romp.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and
lively-arts.com.

Bartlett Sher’s directorial concept of August Wilson’s magnificent play JOE TURNER’S COME AND GONE has opened up the drama to new dimensions that seem to reach far beyond the home of this Pittsburg family in 1911. The innovative, stylized set by Michael Yeargan, with lighting by Brian MacDevitt, is magical, and reaches to infinity, and so do we as we experience the lives of people in a boarding house as they are played out. The acting is deep and believable (except for a young boy who is basically incomprehensible) and the men and women in the cast, including an extraordinary Roger Robinson, and Arliss Howard as an outsider/insider, seem totally invested in the characters they play. They live the lives of their characters with such conviction that it seems we are part of a reality. It’s delicately directed, building to a spectacular spiritual/theatrical climax to end Act 1, and an even more thrilling one to end the play. It’s stunning.
Wilson’s play is rich, delicious, inspirational. He is in the elite of American playwriting— along with Eugene O’Neil, Arthur Miller, Horton Foote and Tennessee Williams, and this is one of his very best. Don’t miss it.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and
lively-arts.com.

April 16th, 2009
   
THE HARD LUL

Ella Jane New’s fresh New York Company, Discovery Hill Productions presented its first production, THE HARD LUL, at the off-Broadway Richmond Shepard Theatre, directed by David Rey. It was a well crafted combination of eight fifteen-minute plays which all question our ability to ‘live in the moment’! There were some strong performances, including Ms New, the young English actress, whose vivid persona was a definite plus for this production as both actor and producer. Other outstanding performances included Leigh Dillon, and Al Miro. The production included a combination of comedy and drama, and it was a very positive and enjoyable theatre experience professionally produced and performed.

Rollo Bretwick-- Performing Arts INSIDER and lively-arts.com

April 13th, 2009
   
HAMLET, clearly directed by David Esbjornson, now at The Duke on 42nd St., is a well-crafted, modern dress (costumes by Elizabeth Hope Clancy), contemporary rendition of Shakespeare’s play with a fine actor, Christian Camargo, in the title roll, my old Mime teacher Alvin Epstein as a crotchety Polonius, and a mostly quite good supporting cast on an imaginative set by Antje Ellerman with fine lighting by Marcus Doshi.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and
lively-arts.com.

April 13th, 2009
   
THE CODY RIVERS SHOW impresses as powerfully and uniquely as “Blue Man Group” did when it first appeared years ago: original brilliance. Two men, Andrew Connor and Mike Mathiey, wearing brightly-colored satin wrestlers’ costumes, perform perfectly synchronized, mostly abstract movements and dance while telling stories and reciting punchlines. And their verbal riffs tickle the mind as they fix a car using familiar foreign words to describe auto parts, as they do an interview in Greenland, as they do a romance between two chairs, and perform a sketch on “Opposite Night.” There is nothing like this act-- original physical and intellectual comedy, terrific Mime and puppetry renditions, and all totally without profanity. This is a great family show, and if the right booker sees them they should be on all the late night talk shows, and eventually a top Las Vegas act making the big bucks. Of course, in Showbusiness, one never knows, do one?

And they have an opening act for their show: David Cope, a calm-speaking, pleasant, likable young man with an original slant whose unique, smart humor, aimed at the intellectual (educated? geek? perceptive?) audience, is another mind-tickler who starts you with smiles and seques into big laughs. And without profanity— what a pleasure. This is a comedian who could go all the way.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and
lively-arts.com.

The Center for Contemporary Opera’s production of DINNER & DELUSION, with libretto by Nancy Manocherian and music by Michael Sahl, gives us a company of accomplished singers in an opera about a Jewish family reality, and a boy’s fantasy of romance as he grows from early teens to old age. It’s an engaging, entertaining work with humor, good voices and a quirky story including a handsome fairy godfather (Christopher Herbert), a taste of the Hippie era, a female trio with a hookah, and a dream of mother’s chicken. Leading man Demetrios Bonaros, in Hilary Krishnan’s appropriate costumes, nicely transits through the stages of life, from yearning boy to demented grandfather, and Blythe Gaissert as the object of his yearn is particularly strong. Director Kira Simring gives lively life and truth to the whole proceedings, and it’s a joy to find this little opera company in a work with charm, fine performances, a story I can identify with, and the
Jewish-flavored melodies and rhythms were fun for this old Jew-- in a comfortable salon setting at The Cell on West 23rd St.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and
lively-arts.com.

April 09th, 2009
   
Remember “Steambath” or “Outward Bound”? Plays that take place in Limbo where people don’t know they’re dead? HAPPINESS, book by John Weidman, music by Scott Frankel, lyrics by Michael Korie, now at Lincoln Center, is another one, and this time the transition vehicle is a subway car filled with a warm friendly cross-section of New York. They are to pick a happy time in their lives, revisit it, and then can stay there forever. An earnest Hunter Foster is the conductor, and all of the very large cast can sing well. Director/choreographer Susan Stroman has done as much as possible with the material, but it’s a musical with virtually no memorable songs except possibly “Road to Nirvana” sung by the glowing Joanna Gleason whose radiance fills the theatre, and stories that are mostly corny and ordinary. It’s “10 Little Indians” as one after the other of the deceased conjures and then leaves. There’s a cute tooth fairy number,
an attempt at levity and tolerance when a Jewish/Chinese couple endeavor to learn words in each other’s language, a fantasy of schtupping Mick Jagger is entertaining, and Gleason’s trip to the ‘60’s is fun because she has such a strong presence, but it’s a pale shadow of “Hair.” There is some preaching, some shallow philosophy. The show is basically static, and there has to be some movement and action and there is-- in the brilliant, active set by Thomas Lynch. It’s inspired, but it can’t dazzle us with footwork into thinking the book is similarly inspired. Costumes by William Ivey Long and Donald Holder’s lighting are, as usual, excellent. But the choices of situations explored are obvious, ordinary, without innovation or sparkle, and without any tangents of brilliance it’s all okay, which is not enough for me. As we used to say: “You walk out whistling the scenery.”

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and
lively-arts.com.

In REASONS TO BE PRETTY, writer Neil LaBute gives good argument. Set in a warehouse, the play starts with a well-performed (by Marin Ireland and Steven Pasquale) amusing filthy word-filled (by the wife) battle— a screaming, idiotic fight sprinkled with clever expressions. It’s all very well directed by Terry Kinney, but it seems to me to be built on a sophistry: that saying the obvious truth about someone’s looks will destroy a relationship. LaBute has the wife insist that saying that a woman in dreary clothes who wears no makeup is “regular” is a gross insult. I wouldn’t want to spend ten minutes with this unpleasant woman. Ireland is so good an actress that the more she complained the more I was repelled. I learned a long time ago to stay away from a chick as crazy as this with her idiotic list of complaints. This character is like the last stop in the fallout from the beauty culture of America. OK— there are some clever lines,
but who wants to spend time with these “lumpen proletariat” morons. Thomas Sadoski and Piper Perabo are terrific as the other couple, and there’s a really good physical fight scene, directed by Manny Siverio, with the two men, and Ireland turns quite attractive for the finish. LaBute is a good writer-- he has a gift for naturalistic dialogue that can be entertaining. I just don’t have a lot of patience for people like this. Despite LaBute’s claim in the program that he comes from a working class background, and in spite of some absolutely believable perceptions and expressions by the characters, it seems to me to be an intellectual’s riff on working class conflict— a peek through the curtain into basically uninteresting lives spiced by a super-bright writer with a gift for words.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and
lively-arts.com.

April 06th, 2009
   
The excitement, the elation, shakes the theatre at HAIR (book and lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado, music by Galt MacDermot) now on Broadway. It has the characteristics of other great musicals: terrific, memorable songs, sympathetic characters and a positive message of hope and joy that can’t be resisted. This cast is great: all good-lookin’ terrific singer/actors, and Will Swenson as Berger is (in Act one) the dynamo that drives the production. It’s more than a show-- it’s an experience. You’re part of a ritual, and the message of free sexuality still resonates in our bones. With powerful lighting by Kevin Adams on Scot Pask’s multi-level set with the band suspended on the structure and spectacular retro costumes by Michael McDonald, filled with stirring anthems, this show, mostly sung, is so complex it seems almost impossible to have been done. But director Diane Paulus and choreographer Karole Armitage have created a new HAIR for
our time, and it’s a great, moving, spectacular piece of nostalgia which is, in a way, even more relevant today with it’s spirit of youth, rebellion and joyfulness. A great show.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and
lively-arts.com.

BEOWOLF: A THOUSAND YEARS OF BAGGGAGE, by James Craig, starts cleanly with three scholars talking about Beowolf. Then the music (by Dave Malloy) starts-- it’s thunk-a-thunk and dreary, slow and boring, all minor dissonance-- like a bad German expressionistic band from 1927. I’m sure that’s what they intended, but it doesn’t work for me as entertainment. It got better with the arrival of Beowolf (played by a strong Craig). While the lecture, which they keep coming back to, has satirical humor, some of the dialogue in the show is repetitive, simplistic and boring. It’s very inventive, but the product invented is basically monotonous-- Kurt Weill meets Steven Sondheim in an immature anti-musical with a punk tone. Act Two has a lively well-sung and danced number that picked up the show, but some of the music seems out of the Ukrainian Steppes. All-in-all an earnest endeavor, but a failed experiment, with some very good singer/actors,
quite cleanly directed by Rod Hipskind.

Rhonda Coullet, from the original Los Angeles cast of "Hair," then its Eoropean choreographer, and star of two Broadway musicals came to "Beowolf" with me, and I think her comment tops my own:

RHONDA COULLET’S REVIEW—

BEOWULF, a new down for downtown. Mack the Knife meets Sweeney Todd meets Beowulf, in the dark historical streets of violence put to music, but this composer surrenders Weill and Sondheim sophistication and smarts to banal punk melodies and lyrics. You either like nihilistic, repetitious, childish punk jokes or you don't. If you do, welcome to an irritating but amusing, well directed and performed, big band musical, and a very very hip reduction of literature's oldest and most boring poem to an exercise in absurdity.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and
lively-arts.com.

THE TOXIC AVENGER, book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro, music and lyrics by David Bryan, is a dynamite little Rock Musical staged hilariously by director John Rando and choreographer Wendy Seyb, and performed by superb, versatile Broadway-level actor/singers: Nick Cordero in a sympathetic star turn as Toxie, the amazing Nancy Opel in a duet with herself, Mathew Salvidar and Demond Green spectacular in multiple roles and sexy Sara Chase as Sarah, the sexy, blind, blonde heroine. With clever lyrics, catchy tunes (like “Evil is Hot”), fabulous fast-change costumes by David C. Woolard, great prosthetics by John Dods, on Beowolf Boritt’s brilliant flexible set, THE TOXIC AVENGER, Good versus Evil (toxic waste in New Jersey), with twists, turns, surprises, and super musical director Doug Katsaros’s impeccable timing driving the music, is one of the most entertaining shows in town. If you don’t have a great time, I’ll give you a dollar.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and
lively-arts.com.

April 02nd, 2009
   
The current Broadway production of Noel Coward’s antic comedy of marital relations beyond the grave, BLITHE SPIRIT, directed by the master-of-timing and comic business Michael Blakemore, with the brilliant, zany, powerful actress/comedienne Angela Lansbury as the medium who connects with the “other” world, is one of the most entertaining theatrical evenings in town. For me, there is a flaw though. The fast-talking Rupert Everett is tall, handsome, and sometimes incoherent, and Coward’s wit is blurred by the speed of some of his delivery and his dropping of final consonants. As Alfred Lunt said: “The secret of Acting is: say your lines loud and clear, and don’t bump into the furniture.” I guess Everett has done a few too many movies. He’s a contrast to Jayne Atkinson, playing his wife, who is loud, clear and convincing. Christine Ebersole as the ghost is a beautiful, effervescent star actress who lights up the stage and the theatre.
And when Lansbury does a “take,” the whole theatre laughs— she’s a master of the reality of a comic character. It’s rare to have two performers of this caliber of acting and comedy on a stage at the same time, and it’s a delight. Plus— there’s a third: Susan Louise O’Connor as the maid is a great physical comedienne. Both Simon Jones and Deborah Rush are just right as participants. Martin Pakledinaz’s costumes, eccentric for Lansbury and properly misty and floaty for Ebersole, are perfect, as is the set by Peter J. Davison, lighting by Brian MacDevitt and sound design by Peter Fitzgerald. If you don’t want to see a sophisticated, stylized comedy of the highest level, laugh and feel lifted by its amusements, don’t go to BLITHE SPIRIT. Coward is the wittiest of the witty, and if you miss Ms Lansbury’s performance you do it at your peril. She’s a treasure.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and
lively-arts.com.

Dan Gordon’s play IRENA’S VOW, about a Polish Catholic woman who hid and saved twelve Jews during World War Two, starring one of Broadway’s greatest actresses, Tovah Feldshuh in a wonderful, heartbreaking, thrilling performance, is a great history lesson, and, in part, a tough show for an old Jew to watch. It’s a ripper. But ultimately it’s totally uplifting, and Feldshuh, with great craft, and even humor, hits her lines and moments with great craft, skill and heart. The entire cast is excellent, and Thomas Ryan as the German major is so good that every word, every look is totally believable. I see nominations for him and for Feldshuh for best actress and best supporting actor. Played on an imaginative set by Kevin Judge with projections by Alex Koch, perfectly lighted by David Castaneda, with just right costumes by Astrid Brucker, under the clear direction of Michael Parva, IRENA’S VOW is a great, warm, moving drama with superb
performances.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and
lively-arts.com.

March 31st, 2009
   
Eugene Ionesco’s EXIT THE KING, beautifully directed by Neil Armfield, is a vivid example of “Theatre of the Absurd.” This production is absurd from start to finish in all aspects: set and costumes by Dale Ferguson, lighting by Damien Cooper, soundscape by Russell Goldsmith, action by the splendid cast. Geoffrey Rush gives a tour-de-force turn as the king, with great physical schtick, and presence that fills the theatre. You can’t compete with a tornado, so the strong, statuesque Susan Sarandon stays cool, firm, and in that way is indeed a foil for him. While Lauren Ambrose and the rest of the cast are excellent, it is Andrea Martin, whose every word and action is the embodiment of Absurd, who almost steals the show. The play itself is interesting— the last ninety minutes of an incompetent ruler, and the absurdist style gives it highlights, tangents and surprises beyond the ordinary. Armfield and Rush did the adaptation, and it’s super.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and
lively-arts.com.

March 26th, 2009
   
WEST SIDE STORY is a dance show, and right from the opening number the awesome acrobatic dancers performing Jerome Robbins’ brilliantly spectacular choreography as reproduced by Joey McKneely is thrilling to watch as played out on the marvelous, powerful set by James Youmans. Directed by the author of the book, Arthur Laurents, this rendition of the musical, with its Romeo and Juliet story and unforgettable music by Leonard Bernstein with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, still stands as one of the greatest shows in Musical Theatre history. Two days later the melodies are still spinning through my head. The lighting by Howell Binkley is magical, the dancing exquisite. Costumes by David C. Woolard, except for what look like orange Gap T-shirts on three of the white boys, are quite good, especially on the PR dancing girls. Josefina Scaglione is a lovely, sensitive clear-voiced Maria, George Akram is a sexy and convincing Bernardo, and Karen Olivo as
Anita, the most dynamic person on the stage, steals the show with her beauty, presence, voice, movement, verve and charisma. She a star. Not so Matt Cavenaugh as Tony. Seems like a nice boy in the wrong play— without the dash, splash, panache, fire, strength of a Romeo who is supposed to be the acknowledged leader of his pack. Sorry. Most of the rest of the acting is poor— lines recited amateurishly by the boys and the plainclothes cop. But those boys can dance, jump, fight, fly superbly. Also-- some of the speaking in Spanish is fine, but more English would be more appropriate for an American audience who does not speak Spanish-- like me. A song like “I feel Pretty” needs at least one verse in English. But I quibble, Sybyl. It’s a great show, Laurents’ punch line to each of the two acts is touching, moving, and all that it should be, and the rendition now on Broadway is the only WEST SIDE STORY in town. You have to see it--
it’s basically terrific.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and
lively-arts.com.

Yasmina Reza’s dramady GOD OF CARNAGE is the funniest farce seen on Broadway since “Lend Me A Tenor.” Two couples meet to figure out what to do-- the son of one couple hit the son of the other couple in the mouth with a stick. Two great farceurs, Hope Davis, whose takes and reactions are subtle and brilliantly hilarious, and Marcia Gay Harden, who can leap from gentility to hyper-fury in a split second, fuel the conflict that develops, and Jeff Daniels’ cell phone-obsessed manipulator is a gem. James Gandolfini is perfect as the working-class slob of a husband. Reza’s point/counterpoint, contrasting allegro and andante, is theatrically amazing, and they don’t make better comedy directors than Matthew Warchus. The odd set by Mark Thompson, with a wall of cracked concrete and a huge splash of red, somehow works with and fits the underlying theme of the play: the inevitable changes and conflicts inherent in marriage, and his costumes are
just right, perfectly suiting each character. Subtle lighting by Hugh Vanstone enhances all, especially at the finale. GOD OF CARNAGE should win for ensemble cast, for best comedy, and for outrageousness in one (“Never Before Seen On Broadway”) scene by Hope Davis.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and
lively-arts.com.

March 24th, 2009
   
IMPRESSIONISM by Michael Jacobs, a romantic comedy now on Broadway, has an all star cast in an interesting, but odd, and somewhat confusing play. In this exploration of Art, coffee and broken relationships, the entire cast is excellent, and both Jeremy Irons as a photographer and Joan Allen as an art gallery owner are totally engaging, and Andre De Shields is magnetic. His old man interpreting a painting is a gem, and should get him a nomination. The confusion is in the flashbacks where Irons and Allen play Allen’s parents, and the little girl with them is not defined as the young Allen. It seemed at that moment that the young girl was the child of Iron’s and Allen’s characters, which was puzzling. There is another flashback scene in which Irons, with a Southern accent, plays a former almost-lover of Allen’s. It would have clarified things if this part had been played by one of the other men in the cast. Marsha Mason does a turn as an Art
buyer, and she’s terrific, and Irons AND Allen are exciting when they cross verbal swords. The play’s power is in the art works themselves, which are brilliantly displayed throughout by designer Scott Pask with projection design by Elaine J. McCarthy. Catherine Zuber’s costumes and Natasha Katz’s lighting design help lift the production itself, directed by Jack O’Brien, into the realm of Art. IMPRESSIONISM, which could use a bit of tightening and clarification, is a still a show worth seeing. As Joe E. Brown said to Jack Lemon: “Nobody’s perfect.”

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and
lively-arts.com.

March 23rd, 2009
   
GUYS AND DOLLS, one of the great musicals, with unforgettable songs by Frank Loesser (they don’t write songs like this for musicals anymore) and a still snappy book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, opens with super style in an inventive set (by Robert Brill), spectacular costumes,(by Paul Tazewell) super choreography (by Sergio Trujillo) and period tone with a Mime show of New York gangsters and gamblers in action in the 1930’s. While the entire chorus of terrific singers and acrobatic dancers can move dynamically to the innovative choreography, there are, for me, a couple of flaws in the principal cast. While Craig Bierko as Sky Masterson and Lauren Graham as
Adelaide are vibrant, Broadway-level performers, Oliver Platt as Nathan Detroit lacks the edge the character needs, and Kate Jennings Grant, who is very pretty and has a lovely, strong singing voice, lacks the undercurrent of repressed sexuality the character should have in Act 1 that Masterson will bring to fruition in Act 2. Mary Testa as The General just about steals the show with her energy and verve. I love the theatricality of the production (snappily directed by Des McAnuff), the great songs sung well, the wonderful stage pictures where every nuance in action and costume cooks-- it’s a great musical that the audience loved.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and
lively-arts.com.

In SOUTHERN GOTHIC NOVEL, written and performed by Frank Blocker, he really captures the caricatured essence of many Southern men and women in voice, posture and attitude: a June Bug girl, her mother, a black lady, a Chinese woman, and a redneck molester, and many more. Blocker has great vocal and physical expressiveness, his creation of the imaginary objects around his characters is clean and clear, and the show, a country melodrama, nicely directed by Cheryl King, is an entertaining visit, filled with laughs, to a subculture that is exotic and interesting to us citybillies. Wednesdays, Stage Left Studio, 438 W. 37th, 212/838-2134, through June.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and
lively-arts.com.

Lissa Moira’s surreal creation WHO MURDERED LOVE? Is a strange, Chandleresque Film Noir musical filled with jokes, puns, and dreams in music and stylized action. A little Fellini, a little “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” a DaDa extravaganza with elves, sprites, a detective (Nathan Wirmer), his beautiful, sexy client (Jennifer Guest) and a secretary who loves him (Anne Elyse Chambers). With strange costumes and masks, and a touch of Kurt Weill in one song (music by co-writer Richard West), the story brings us a seque (and a battle) from DaDa to Surrealism in Art, in dance (innovative choreography by Mariana Bekerman), song and action. It’s all very strange fun with a good cast, including Olivia Gilbert and Nicky Romaniello as young lovers. Moira, who wrote the book, lyrics, and directed, is very odd, but quite entertaining in her faroutness. It’s a “Midwinter’s Day Dream.” Moira is a talented creator of the off-beat, with her own
vision, and she creates a strange world that will take you on a trip— a fun one.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and
lively-arts.com.

March 17th, 2009
   
Want to see a show with smart writing, catchy melodies, wonderful performances on a clever efficient set (by Adam Koch), with great costumes (by Alejo Vietti) and two terrific performances, one of them a star? Check out “ROOMS—a rock musical” with music and lyrics by Paul Scott Goodman and book by Goodman and Miriam Gordon now off Broadway. A reclusive, alcoholic working class young man with shy charm (the excellent Doug Kreeger) meets lively, ambitious middle class girl (the major star Leslie Kritzer) and they collaborate on a singing career in the ‘70’s. Director Scott Schwartz and choreographer Matt Williams are brilliant, and Kritzer practically bounces off the ceiling. It’s the brightest, best staged, best performed little musical in town, and the amazing punk number will knock your socks off in all areas.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and
lively-arts.com.

March 14th, 2009
   
Hey— you want to see a perfectly directed (by Scott Alan Evans), beautifully acted play written by a master who knew how to construct a play in terms of content, dialogue and action better than almost any American writer of the last hundred years? Don’t miss Arthur Miller’s brilliant 1964 play INCIDENT AT VICHY. Set in a detention room in southern France as the Nazis are taking command and searching for Jews, men are sitting and wondering in this dangerous situation, talking, and it is one of the most exciting Theatrical experiences in town. What a cast! Not a weak link— they look the parts-- they ARE the parts they play. Fascinating moral issues are explored in an examination of the psychology of trapped people (and their trappers), some of whom accept the reality of their fate (death) and some deny the possibility. The drab set by Scott Bradley, giving hints of what is going on in the interior interrogation room is exceptional, as is the
subtle lighting by Mary Louise Geiger, the perfect costumes by David Toser and sound design by Jill BC du Boff. The play really explores the inner nature, the sub-depths of humans under stress, the disparate reactions, the core of their natures (with combinations of human and barbaric) ripped open and revealed. Once again the best play-reading group in town, The Actors Company Theatre, brings us a powerful, fully-realized production of a masterpiece that is at the very top of the Theatre on view in our city.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and
lively-arts.com.

March 13th, 2009
   
33 VARIATIONS, by Moisés Kaufman, is a play that explores why Beethoven, at the height of his musical power, near the end of his life, chose to write this many variations on a simple melody that he didn’t like. An intriguing idea. This play is a conglomerate of inconsistencies: Jane Fonda is terrific as the scholar doing the investigating as she deteriorates from Lou Gehrig’s Disease, and her performance has great depth as the character fights to finish her work before she dies. The center of the play is the music itself, played beautifully by pianist Diane Walsh. Sub plots abound-- the daughter (Samantha Mathis) is a constant nay-sayer trying to get her mother to give up her final quest before she dies and to take a rest instead. Booooo. Sub plot: the daughter meets a young man (Colin Hanks, who is good looking, charming, and full of acting mannerisms that undercut his performance). Should she or shouldn’t she? She wants to take care
of her mother. It’s a bit awkward, and a bit clumsily performed. Sub plot 2-- Beethoven appears (Zack Grenier in a performance that is grating, overbearing, overacted and hammy), and he, too, has a nay-sayer: his assistant (Erik Steele) who is concerned with paying the rent. These sub plots are full of redundancies as simplistic arguments go nowhere, but do repeat a lot as we wait for the music to begin again. Susan Kellermann is excellent as a Beethoven scholar who befriends Fonda. The production is GREAT: vital imaginative set by Derek McLane with corresponding lighting by David Lander and appropriate costumes by Janice Pytel, all directed by the author who stages well but could use help with some of the acting. Near the end, there is a short scene where Beethoven talks us through his process as a variation is played— a big mistake in writing and directing as the contrast between the artistry of the music and the banality of the comments
almost destroys the moment. So the play, which does have a good basic idea and dramatic thrust as fascinating analysis of the variations is expressed, and a few good jokes, is flawed with too much plot, but has a lovely Minuet ending, and Fonda is a charming charismatic star, and you’ll want to see her. The initial question of why Beethoven did it is, to me, who has spent his entire life as an artist, quite simple: He knew how good he was-- how dare they ask him to write a variation on trivia? Oh yeah? Bach wrote 32 Goldberg Variations-- I’ll do 33, and make the whole thing a masterwork. And he did. You’ll hear it as Walsh plays.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and
lively-arts.com.

March 06th, 2009
   
ARISTOCRATS by Brian Friel at the Irish Rep. Is an odd dish to swallow. It starts with long exposition by a family in a crumbling large manor house in Donegal, Ireland, as they talk legend and perhaps some fact to an American who is writing a piece about Irish past and personalities— while intrusive piano music dampens comprehension. As it goes on we see the play is a view of Irish “Aristocrats” as very ordinary and not very interesting people. A couple of possibilities for action are not pursued. At intermission I asked several people what they thought the play is about. All were puzzled. By the end I realized that it was about the deterioration of a dysfunctional family in the 1970’s whose circumstances matched the crumbling of the physical old house. The hints at pre and post play relationships do keep us involved with these bent, complex personalities. The acting, as usual with this theatre company, is excellent, the staging by
Charlotte Moore beautifully utilizes the space, and the fine set by James Morgan gives an authentic flavor to the production.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and
lively-arts.com.

Lorenzo Pisoni was stunning as the major horse in the recent production of “Equus.” Now Manhattan Theatre Club is presenting him in his one-man show HUMOR ABUSE— his life as a clown, starting at age 3, with his father in the Pickle Family Circus. So for over thirty years this superb performer has been honing and perfecting his circus skills, which he tells us about and shows us in this captivating, marvelous show. He is handsome, charming, and his warm, unpretentious performance is dazzling in its complexity and his mastery of the genre. Co-created with, and directed by, Erica Schmidt, Pisoni gently reveals a lifetime of clown-infusion so that whatever he does, juggling, balancing, acrobatics, hat schtick, takes and double takes, and much more, has the ease of virtuosity. They don’t make better than this. Go see it-- if you don’t agree with me I’ll give you a dollar.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and
lively-arts.com.

March 03rd, 2009
   
Here’s the setup for THE SAVANNAH DISPUTATION by Evan Smith at Playwrights Horizons: two sisters, one acerbic (Dana Ivey), one simple, sweet and quirky (Marylouise Burke), both Catholic, are visited by a young, spunky Born Again Christian (Kellie Overbey) who wants to convert them. The sisters invite her and their priest (Reed Birney) to dinner. What follows is a smart, insightful play— a funny, and ultimately moving, battle with great theological arguments and contrapuntal bible references performed by four dynamite actors on John Lee Beatty’s fine set, with appropriate costumes by David C. Woolard, who is smart enough not to put the priest in a white clerical collar-- just a sportshirt. What a pleasure to be at a play with ideas. To me, the basic subtext is the destruction of people’s souls (by countering their basic human empathy) by the dogma and sectarianism of religions and their narrow boundaries. And the play also shows the basic
sincerity that well-meaning people have in the security they find in the doctrines of their religions. It was so engrossing that I wanted to come back the next night to continue the disputation, even though it was clear that solid boulders cannot be moved by wind. To quote from my own book “HYPHEN: A Spiritual Adventure Between Two Dates”: “Anyone who thinks HIS way is the ONLY way hasn’t found ‘The Way’”. THE SAVANNAH DISPUTATION is terrific Theatre for anyone who likes to cross intellectual/spiritual swords (or be present at such a skirmish).

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and
lively-arts.com.

March 02nd, 2009
   
I took another look at Tracy Letts’ powerful award-winning play AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY to experience this year’s cast with Estelle Parsons now playing the mother. It is still a shattering three and a half hour piece of rural drama. The intricate family melodies in contrapuntal dysfunctional clashings at this family get-together in Oklahoma, is a wonderfully directed (by Anna D. Shapiro) slice of twisted life with a super ensemble cast. This play, with this cast, with the powerful Johanna Day as the central protagonist and Parsons, one of the most riveting actress you’ll ever see, is still the best straight play in New York at this time. The play is long, but the evening is not-- both the writing and the acting will hold you.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and
lively-arts.com.

COMING APHRODITE!, a musical adaptation of Willa Cather’s novella, written and directed by Mary Fulham, with music by Mark Ettinger and lyrics by Paul Foglino, is a charming musical about a handsome young artist (Greg Henits), his neighbor, an aspiring actress/dancer (Liz Kimball), his dog (Clayton Dean Smith), and a landlady (Anne Gaynor- a terrific singer who also plays a sexy performer). This is an engaging, high-level show in all aspects, with sweet, enjoyable songs, marvelous projections, art work and puppetry (by Spica Wobbe), terrific costumes, including a fabulous fat suit, (by Ramona Ponce), and four accomplished performers. To see the supple, graceful Kimball stretch, nude, as a shadow behind a screen, made my week (choreography by Heidi Latsky). Smith gives good dog. His personification of the dog is inventive, subtle, tasteful. It is all imaginatively directed by Fulham, on a good stylized set by Jim Boutin with fine lighting by Alex Bartenieff. This lovely little show deserves a big hug and a long New York run. It’s at La MaMa through March 8th.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and
lively-arts.com.

February 28th, 2009
   
The York Theatre’s production of ENTER LAUGHING, the musical based on Carl Reiner’s book, with book by Joseph Stein and songs by Stan Daniels, is a delightful romp— a simple old fashioned romantic comedy, beautifully staged by Stuart Ross, acted with great charm by a super cast of actor/farceurs, with terrific choreography giving us the funniest physical comedy now on stage in New York next to “The 39 Steps.” Terrific set by James Morgan, great costumes by David Toser, and lighting by Chris Robinson, all lift the proceedings. The show has some of the funniest songs I have ever heard— clever lyrics and lively melodies, and the leading man, Josh Grisetti, is a comic star-- and when matched with the matchless Bob Dishi, it’s comedy at its highest level. This is a wonderfully entertaining production that deserves a long life on Broadway, and hopefully someone will agree with me.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and
lively-arts.com.

BECKY SHAW by Gina Gionfriddo opens with a most irritating, fast-talking performance by David Wilson Barnes in a grating exhibition of repulsiveness as tedious reminiscences are shared with his faux sister with nothing happening, and the word “fuck” used as an adjective every other paragraph. I found the play to be annoying and boring, like a bad sit-com, but stayed to see what it might become in the second act. It got a bit better—a try for relevance-- with a psychological examination of racism, and a little melodrama, robbery and sex, and a few good aphorisms. Annie Parisse, as the title character, brings life to what initially seems to be a pretty moron, but turns out to be, perhaps, clever. Parisse is a good actress in a bad soap, the rest of the cast are all quite good, except that Barnes remains the major repellent I’ve ever seen on a stage. I would blame director Peter DuBois for the excesses in this performance. And the “fucks”
get thicker-- perhaps a feeble thrust at naturalism by the author. Derek McLane’s active set is excellent, as are costumes by Jeff Mahshie and lighting by David Weiner. Obviously, this wasn’t my cup of Theatre.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and
lively-arts.com.

The Mint Theater gives us a beautifully executed production of a gem by D.H. Lawrence: THE WIDOWING OF MRS. HOLROYD. The play is quite elemental: an abusive husband, a lonely wife, a lonely neighborhood man who is gentle. It’s the classic D.H. Lawrence triangle. The tensions of love and conflict are beautifully staged by director Stuart Howard, and a fight scene is masterfully choreographed by Michael G. Chin. The entire cast is excellent, and Julia Coffey as the protagonist is splendid— a towering performance without a moment that isn’t believable. The set by Marion Williams and the lighting by Jeff Nellis, evoking the reality of a home in a mining town a hundred years ago, are merely superb. The subtly-changing atmosphere is entrancing. About the accent: apparently D.H. wrote it in dialect, but let’s face it— it’s not necessary. I couldn’t understand a word the two children in the play said, and early on I had to strain my ears
a bit to pick up some of what people said (not Ms Coffey). The timing of the entire production, to me, is just right, except for the final scene which went past empathy into a bit of impatience as it finally dimmed out. All in all, a good evening of theatre by a first rate writer performed by a first rate company.

Richmond Shepard-- Performing Arts INSIDER and
lively-arts.com.