Monday, October 18, 2010

Theater Review: Once Upon a Time in New Jersey

Fairytale Fun in an Above-Average Showcase Production
By Lauren Yarger
Boy meets girl. Girl likes boy #2. He is having an affair with another girl who’s married to boy #3 who orders a hit on boy #2 who trades identities with boy #1. Implausible? Yes, but it's also good for a lot of laughs when it takes place Once Upon a Time in New Jersey playing Off-Broadway at Hudson Guild Theatre.

The Prospect Theater Company production features an earlier collaboration between composer Stephen Weiner and Susan DiLallo (book and lyrics) and it’s fun to see sparks of the creative talent that would fuse again into the hilarious musical Iron Curtain (on which they collaborated with lyricist Peter Mills). Strains of Weiner’s style and DiLallo’s witty way with words flow throughout the musical produced this time in association with New York Musical Theatre Festival.

The script could use an edit (especially the first act) and a trimming to 90 minutes without an intermission (it’s two plus with one), but there’s still a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor there to enjoy, especially in this show, directed by Cara Reichel (who also helmed the production of Iron Curtain I enjoyed in 2008 at the O’Neill Playwright Festival.)

This energetic, vocally strong cast of 15 romps through Christine O’Grady’s choreography and more than 20 musical numbers on a set constructed of multi-tasking flats (Jen Price Fick, designer). These elements, combined with a six-person band conducted by Musical Director Remy Kurs, make this an Equity Showcase production of exceptional quality.

Told in the guise of a loose fairytale, the 1956 love story of Angie (Briga Heelan) and Vinnie (David Perlman) plays out against the deli in the Garden State where they work. Shy Vinnie who thinks a dream date involves watching "Beowolf," can’t express his feelings to Angie, especially when she sets her sights on his anthithesis, Rocco (Jeremy Cohen), the local cool-guy Cassanova. Rocco’s most recent conquest, ballroom dance instructor Celeste (Catherine LeFrere), may be his last, however, when her jealous mobster husband, Billy (Jonathan Gregg), orders a hit to eliminate his competition.

Rocco enlists geeky Vinnie to trade identities with him and gives him lessons on how to dress and perfect the lines and moves that will attract women. Vinnie employs the techniques to win Angie’s heart, but Rocco might not be what she needs for a happily-ever-after ending after all. No explanation is given for how the men are mistaken for each other with just the help of a haircut and some exchanged clothing (even Vinnie‘s mother can't tell the difference), but when you get to enjoy songs like “Someone That I Hate,” “Married to a Thug,” and “Sandwiches to Make,” some of which are sung with salamis and hearts made out of garlands of garlic, you don’t ask a lot of questions.

Catch it until Oct. 31 at Hudson Guild Theatre, 441 West 26th St., between 9th and 10th avenues. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased by calling 212-352-3101 or by visiting www.ProspectTheater.org. Specially-priced student tickets ($22) also are available.

Christians might also like to know:
 God’s name taken in vain
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Gracewell Prodiuctions

Gracewell Prodiuctions
Producing Inspiring Works in the Arts
Custom Search
Our reviews are professional reviews written without a religious bias. At the end of them, you can find a listing of language, content or theological issues that Christians might want to know about when deciding which shows to see.

** Mature indicates that the show has posted an advisory because of content. Usually this means I would recommend no one under the age of 16 attend.

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

My Bio

Lauren Yarger has written, directed and produced numerous shows and special events for both secular and Christian audiences. She co-wrote a Christian musical version of “A Christmas Carol” which played to sold-out audiences of over 3,000 in Vermont and was awarded the Vermont Bessie (theater and film awards) for “People’s Choice for Theatre.” She also has written two other dinner theaters, sketches for church services and devotions for Christian artists. Her play concept, "From Reel to Real: The Jennifer O'Neill Story" was presented as part of the League of professional Theatre Women's Julia's reading Room Series in New York. Shifting from reviewing to producing, Yarger owns Gracewell Productions, which produced the Table Reading Series at the Palace Theater in Waterbury, CT. She trained for three years in the Broadway League’s Producer Development Program, completed the Commercial Theater Institute's Producing Intensive and other training and produced a one-woman musical about Mary Magdalene that toured nationally and closed with an off-Broadway run. She was a Fellow at the National Critics Institute at the O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT. She wrote reviews of Broadway and Off-Broadway theater (the only ones you can find in the US with an added Christian perspective) at http://reflectionsinthelight.blogspot.com/.

She is editor of The Connecticut Arts Connection (http://ctarts.blogspot.com), an award-winning website featuring theater and arts news for the state. She was a contributing editor for BroadwayWorld.com. She previously served as theater reviewer for the Manchester Journal-Inquirer, Connecticut theater editor for CurtainUp.com and as Connecticut and New York reviewer for American Theater Web.

She is a Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter of the League of Professional Theatre Women. She is a former vice president and voting member of The Drama Desk.

She is a freelance writer and playwright (member Dramatists Guild of America). She is a member if the The Outer Critics Circle (producer of the annual awards ceremony) and a member of The League of Professional Theatre Women, serving as Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter. Yarger was a book reviewer for Publishers Weekly A former newspaper editor and graduate of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, Yarger also worked in arts management for the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and served for nine years as the Executive Director of Masterwork Productions, Inc. She lives with her husband in West Granby, CT. They have two adult children.

Copyright

All material is copyright 2008- 2024 by Lauren Yarger. Reviews and articles may not be reprinted without permission. Contact reflectionsinthelight@gmail.com

Search

Key to Content Notes:

God's name taken in vain -- means God or Jesus is used in dialogue without speaking directly to or about them.

Language -- means some curse words are used. "Minor" usually means the words are not too strong or that it only occurs once or twice throughout the show.

Strong Language -- means some of the more heavy duty curse words are used.

Nudity -- means a man or woman's backside, a man's lower front or a woman's front are revealed.

Scantily clad -- means actors' private areas are technically covered, but I can see a lot of them.

Sexual Language -- means the dialogue contains sexually explicit language but there's no action.

Sexual Activity -- means a man and woman are performing sexual acts.

Adultery -- Means a married man or woman is involved sexually with someone besides their spouse. If this is depicted with sexual acts on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Sex Outside of Marriage -- means a man and woman are involved sexually without being married. If this is depicted sexually on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Homosexuality -- means this is in the show, but not physically depicted.

Homosexual activity -- means two persons of the same sex are embracing/kissing. If they do more than that, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Cross Dresser -- Means someone is dressing as the opposite sex. If they do more than that on stage the listing would include the corresponding "sexual activity" and/or "homosexual activity" as well.

Cross Gender -- A man is playing a female part or a woman is playing a man's part.

Suggestive Dancing -- means dancing contains sexually suggestive moves.

Derogatory (category added Fall 2012) Language or circumstances where women or people of a certain race are referred to or treated in a negative and demeaning manner.

Other content matters such as torture, suicide, or rape will be noted, with details revealed only as necessary in the review itself.

The term "throughout" added to any of the above means it happens many times throughout the show.

Reviewing Policy

I receive free seats to Broadway and Off-Broadway shows made available to all voting members of the Outer Critics Circle. Journalistically, I provide an unbiased review and am under no obligation to make positive statements. Sometimes shows do not make tickets available to reviewers. If these are shows my readers want to know about I will purchase a ticket. If a personal friend is involved in a production, I'll let you know, but it won't influence a review. If I feel there is a conflict, I won't review their portion of the production.

All Posts on this Blog