Saturday, May 7, 2011

Theater Review: The People in the Picture


Portrait of the Past Comes Alive with Murphy's Performance
By Lauren Yarger
A picture’s worth a thousand words, or in the case of Roundabout Theatre’s The People in the Picture, a whole Broadway musical.

Giving a flash of brilliance to the show is Donna Murphy who gives a strong performance as Raisel, a grandmother slowly slipping into Alzheimer’s while bringing alive her past as a star of Yiddish theater in pre-war Poland.

“Bubbie” recounts her experiences and teaches Yiddish to granddaughter Jenny (Rachel Resheff) with the help of the spirits of the members of her acting troupe known as The Warsaw Gang -- captured in an old photo (massive gilded picture frames provide the set backdrop designed by Ricardo Hernandez). They are Doovie Feldman (Hal Robinson), Chayesel Fisher (Joyce Van Patten), Yossie Pinsker (Chip Zien), Avram Krinsky (Lewis Stadlen), Moishe Rosewald (Alexander Gemignani), and Chaim Bradovsky (Christopher Invar). Megan Reinking gives a nice turn in a minor role as Dobrisch, a woman who helps hide Raisel’s daughter from the Nazis.

All grown up now, Raisel’s daughter, Red (the lovely voiced Nicole Parker), doesn’t like leaving Jenny alone with the increasingly forgetful and confused Bubbie, however, and starts looking for a care facility for the mother whom she resents teaching her daughter about a past she would rather forget.

Leonard Foglia directs Murphy in flawless morphs from Bubbie in 1977 Manhattan to Raisel in Poland between 1935 and 1946. Ann Hould-Ward’s simple costumes prevent a stark visual difference between the time periods. Murphy really is fascinating to watch and gives sympathy to a woman who not only endured the Holocaust, but who now stands to lose her mind, her home and the chance to pass on traditions when she’s denied the privilege of spending time with her beloved granddaughter.

Her portrayal keeps us interested, despite the completely predictable book from Iris Rainer Dart whose sole purpose seems to be to set up a good cry like the one guaranteed if you watch her movie “Beaches.” She succeeds, as loud sniffles and searching around for tissues in handbags can be heard throughout the house toward the end.

Dart’s lyrics are clever (additional lyrics and music by Mark Warshavsky are used for an old Yiddish lullaby), but they don’t overcome the melodramatic, hokey tone of the book (and Jenny’s just a little too sweet and good). One number, in which actress Raisel portrays The Dancing Dybbuk, a demon-like spirit who used to be a song-and-dance-man, is really ridiculous. Andy Blankenbueler provides the musical staging for the numbers, one of which evokes spirits of  Fiddler on the Roof.

Also disappointing is the music by Mike Stoller (of Leiber and Stoller fame) and Artie Butler. There are some strange note choices and none of the tunes is memorable.

Murphy’s performance has earned her Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics award nominations.

The People in the Picture runs through June 19 at Studio 54, 254 West 54th St., NYC. For tickets, visit www.roundabouttheatre.org.


Christians might also like to know:
• God’s name taken in vain
• Homosexuality
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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.

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

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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.

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