New Way to Subscribe to Review Posts

A Note to Our Subscribers:

On Nov. 1, 2010 we will be switching the way theater review posts are distributed from the Reflections in the Light website. If you receive an email (like this one) each time we post a new review, you'll need to resubscribe, as the old contacts won't switch over to the new system. Subscriptions in blog readers will continue as before.

To subscribe, send an email to reviews@masterworkproductions.org with "reviews" in the subject line. You'll receive an email when there is a post and if we post more than one review in a day, you'll receive just one email containing all of them.

Don't miss out on reviews of all the great Broadway and Off-Broadway shows opening this season. Once the new system goes into effect, you won't receive the emails unless you subscribe at this new address.

For the latest reviews including Edward Albee's Me, Myself & I, Mrs. Warren's Profession starring Cherry Jones and The Pitmen Painters, visit http://reflectionsinthelight.blogspot.com/.

Reviews will be up this week for A Life in the Theatre with Patrick Stewart and T.R. Knight, The Language Archive and La Bete with David Hyde Pierce, Joanna Lumley and Mark Rylance.

Theater Review: Me, Myself, I

Identity, Reality Depend on What You See in the Mirror
By Lauren Yarger
Would you exist if someone decided you didn’t? Can reality be defined by love? These and other perplexing questions propel Edward Albee’s intriguing yet bizarre new play Me, Myself, & I running Off Broadway in its New York premiere at Playwright’s Horizons.

The questions start when OTTO (Zachary Booth) decides that his identical twin brother (Preston Sadleir) doesn’t exist any more and tries to convince his mother (Elizabeth Ashley), her boyfriend, Doctor (Brian Murray), and his brother’s girlfriend, Maureen (Natalia Payne) that he really is both of the identities in one person. And oh, OTTO also has decided that he will become Chinese.

Mother is confused enough already, having given both boys the same name with one slight difference: one is upper case OTTO, the evil one -- or is he?; the other one is small case otto. She hasn’t been able tell the twins apart since their birth when their father abandoned the family and left her on her own to raise them. She continually asks each boy, “Which one are you -- are you the one who loves me?”

Doctor filled the father’s shoes, or bed rather, 28 years ago, but sleeps fully clothed because the family keeps reminding him that Father might return at any time bringing panthers and emeralds (don’t ponder this too much) and reclaim his place in Mother’s bed and with the boys. Doctor brags that he can tell the twins apart because neither one loves him, but Maureen isn’t so lucky. She loves lower cased Otto, but ends up having sex with OTTO unaware that he’s not his brother.

It’s all just a little bizarre and confusing. The characters address the audience from time to time (Murray’s perfect timing with tongue-in-cheek delivery make his lines the most effective this way) with one of the twins leaning nonchalantly against the proscenium while watching his brother interact with the others. Set Designer Thomas Lynch ingeniously uses golden strips on the sides and across the top of stage to create the effect of a giant beveled mirror, creatively placing the observing brother outside the mirror looking in.

Director Emily Mann’s casting of two actors who look and act so incredibly alike (aided by Kenneth Posner’s lighting design and Jennifer von Mayrhauser’s costuming) will send you to your Playbill biographical listings several times to confirm that the men aren’t real-life identical twins. It’s intriguing and Ashley is fun as the bewildered mother with hair as frazzled as her emotions.

Why Mann didn’t urge an awkward Payne to do something besides stand with her arms outward in a pleading position every time she speaks is not clear, however, but then neither is a lot of the storyline. As OTTO keeps telling us, “Confusion is its own master. It brings itself with it.”

It sure does, especially in this play, but in then end, Albee makes confusion a lot more fun than you’d think it could be. Me, Myself & I runs through Oct. 31 at Playwrights Horizons, 416 West 42nd St., NYC. Tickets are available by calling 212-279-4200.

Christians might also like to know:
Sexual dialogue
Sexual activity
Nudity
Lord’s name taken in vain
Language

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

Theater Review: Mrs. Warren’s Profession

Cherry Jones in Mrs. Warren's Profession
(Photo: Joan Marcus)

Play Fails to Procure Interest, but Cherry Jones on Stage Always is a Treat
By Lauren Yarger
George Bernard Shaw’s Mrs. Warren’s Profession was a shocker at the turn of the century when it prompted protests and threats of arrest because the aforementioned “profession” is that of a brothel madam. In 2010, however, the Broadway production is a yawner, despite a welcome return to the New York stage by Tony Award winner Cherry Jones in the title role.

It’s a shame Roundabout Theatre Company couldn’t have selected a better script, not only for Jones, but for director Doug Hughes, who helmed Jones’ award-winning performance in Doubt. Besides a few scenes where Mrs. Warren gets to show some emotion, there is little here to make use of the actress’s abundant depth of talent. Disappointing, too, is the casting of a weak Sally Hawkins making her Broadway review as Mrs. Warren’s daughter, Vivie, who is shocked to discover how her estranged mother has provided for her needs all these years. The actress expresses all of her emotions in a monotone shout.

Fueling various subplots are a variety of male characters who all factor into Mrs. Warren's past and profession: Mr. Praed (Edward Hibbert), Sir George Crofts (Mark Harelik), Frank Gardner (Adam Driver) and his father, the Rev. Samuel Gardner (Michael Siberry).

When the most interesting things about a play are its sets and costumes, it’s obvious that whatever else is happening isn’t holding interest. Lovely interiors and exteriors of an English country estate and an office are nicely executed by always excellent designer Scott Pask (nicely lighted by Kenneth Posner) and costumes are the work of the talented Catherine Zuber.

Questions like “Who will be upset by what Mrs. Warren does for a living?,” “Will Vivie and her mother find a way to reconcile their relationship?" and “Who is Vivie’s father?” aren’t as thought provoking as others to which the mind wanders like, “How did Cherry Jones’ agent ever let her do this show?,” “Why do they keep moving all of the chairs around?,” and “What in the world is that strange modern art on the curtain supposed to be any way?” The latter was the main topic of conversation among audience members near me at intermission and to my knowledge, no one had an answer.

The production also has the feel of a rehearsal, rather than a finished product. Here's hoping Jones will return after this run in another show that makes more use of her talent.

Mrs. Warren’s Profession runs through Nov. 28 at the American Airlines Theatre, 227 West 42nd St., NYC. For tickets, call 212-719-1300.

Christians might also like to know:

 Well, obviously, Mrs. Warren deals in prostitution.

NY Musical Theater Festival Review (sort of):I Got Fired

Note: I don't usually review shows in the NY Musical Festival, or shows written by and starring personal friends, but for a variety of reasons, I'll include some notes about this one because the subject is probably one that will appeal to many of my readers. I don't want you to miss out entirely just because I know Keith, but I promise that nothing here is influenced by the fact that I think he's a neat guy. I'll use the same format I use to review shows in the NY Fringe Festival. If there were tassels (like we award for the Fringe shows) or some other form of something awarded "1-5" with 1 being worst and 5 being the best to rate the show, it would have received 4.0.
--Lauren Yarger

NYMF Review: I Got Fired: A Semi-Autobiographical Sort-of-True Revenge Musical
Presented by: Moonshine Project; Producer Liz Ulmer
Writer: Keith Varney, based on a concept with Devon Goffman
Director: Steve Bebout
Choreographer: Dontee Kiehn
Music Director: Doug Oberhomer

Summary:
Keith recreates a fictionalized account of the events leading up to his being fired and escorted out of the building by security at a NY medical school where he had been working in the special events department as a temp (for more than five years...). The laid-back, family-like atmosphere in the office run by Kathy (Toni DiBuono) is threatened when over-achieving Jenny (Kelly Karbacz) is hired. She looks and talks as sweet as the lollipops she distributes to her co-workers, but her eye is on Kathy's office. She is rewarded with promotions as she lies, manipulates and stabs people in the back to ingratiate herself with the big boss, Dr. Weinberg (Michael Thomas Holmes).

Meanwhile, caught in the crossfire, and singing some catchy tunes like "The Daily Grind," "Things Have Gone to S***," "Office Warfare" and "I Got Fired," are Keith's co-workers Steven (Devon Goffman) Mike (also Holmes) Rick (Collin Leydon), Chen (EJ Zimmerman), Maria (Robyn Corujo), Myrtle (Shana Barone) and Phil (Jake Lowenthal).

The funniest of the characters also are the most stereotypical: Mike as the office incompetent whose hysterical, near-death-sounding messages on the answering machine provide entertainment for his co-workers (and for me -- I laughed as heartily as I had when I and my co-workers used to gather around the answering machine to listen to a particular employee call in sick. Who knew that happened in other offices too?)

Maria is the busty, Latin bombshell; Rick is the geek who spends most of his time outside of the office watching "Star Trek." Chen, so called because no one in the office can pronounce her real Chinese name, is the Asian with an attitude shouting a curt,"None of your business!" to anyone asking a question work-related or otherwise. The humor comes not from the stereotypes, but from the fact that if you have ever worked in an office, you have worked with someone just like one or more of these characters.

Highlights:
• If you've ever been fired, had a boss from hell, worked with incompetent people or just worked in an office, you'll relate and enjoy.
• Rick's courting of Chen and their eventual coming together in a "Star-Trek" lovers number titled "Green-painted Girl." Funny stuff, engagingly staged.
• Lots of funny lines with many clever asides dropped in specifically for the audience's enjoyment.
• You can't help but take a little pleasure in knowing that there's a real "Jenny" out there whose actions have come back to haunt her and make her the villain of a New York musical.

Lowlights:
• Some characters are stereotypical and/or underdeveloped.
• Some of the songs sound repetitive.
• Lots of curse words used in the lyrics and dialogue. It's a little lazy.

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

I Got Fired has been extended with an additional performance Thursday at 1 pm at TBG Theatre, 312 West 36th St., NYC. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online at http://www.nymf.org/ or by calling (212) 352-3101.

Theater Review: The Pitmen Painters

Painting a Colorful Portrait of the Face of Art
By Lauren Yarger
British miners discover a new way to express themselves while at the same time painting a new definition of art on a previously blank canvas: one for the working class, in Lee’s Hall’s play The Pitmen Painters, presented on Broadway by Manhattan Theatre Club.

Hall, who brought us the stage version of Billy Elliot, brings to life another tale of miners striving to express themselves through the arts, this time, in telling the story of the Pitmen Painters, a real-life group of miner/artists known as the Ashington Group, for the area of Newcastle, England where they worked in the mid 1930s to mid 1940s. The story is based on the book by William Feaver.

Brought together to study art appreciation at a class taught by Robert Lyon (Ian Kelly), the men (the strong ensemble of Christopher Connel, Michael Hodgson, Brian Lonsdale, Deka Walmsley and David Whitaker) discover they have some talent and opinions about art and what it all means.

The play, with its tight dialogue (though sometimes hard to understand through the thick accents) and humor blends colorful discussions not only about art, but about society. Should art belong to the upper classes? Can the working classes produce and understand it without the patronage of the privileged?

The painters are part of a socialist movement that eventually nationalizes the mining industry and they struggle through just who owns the work -- the individuals who created it or the collective miners who sponsored the art class that started it all? Conflict between the classes also comes to a head when wealthy heiress and art collector Helen Sutherland (Philippa Wilson) offers to support the most talented painter of the group, Oliver Kilbourn (Connel) so he can leave the mines and paint full time – and maybe even explore the possibility of a relationship with her. Oliver finds out that members of the upper class aren’t the only ones who can be prejudiced.

Hall uses masterful strokes to tell the story. The dialogue is lyrical and the characters intensely likable, despite a tendency to make them more intellectual and even cleaner looking than you would expect working class miners to be (but then maybe that’s just prejudice talking…)

Director Max Roberts deftly positions the men and art (scenic and costume design by Gary McCann) to create a classy, interesting presentation. He also stages a nude scene, where a model, Susan Parks (Lisa McGrillis) drops her clothes for the painters, in such a way that if you blink, you might miss it.

Pitmen runs through Dec. 12 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, 261 West 47th St., NYC. Discounted tickets for friends of Masterwork productions, Inc. are available at http://www.givenik.com/show_info.php/Masterworks/275/individual.

Christians might also like to know:
• Lord’s name taken in vain
• Language
• Nudity

Theater Review: Brief Encounter

Film, Stage Versions, Waves Crash
By Lauren Yarger
The worlds of film and stage collide in a new rendering of Noel Coward’s story of an impossible affair between two married people in Roundabout Theatre Company’s production of Brief Encounter, adapted and directed by Emma Rice.

This version, combining elements of video, special effects and original music by Stu Barker, tries really hard to recapture the charm and clever staging of another film-to-stage hit, The 39 Steps, a tongue-in-cheek rendering of the Alfred Hitchcock classic still running Off-Broadway after a critically acclaimed Broadway presentation. Brief Encounter falls short, however, as all of the elements, while interesting in their own right, fail to come together to create a parody of the film or a cohesive story, for that matter.

Much of the presentation is a lot of fun. There are comedic actors (Annette McLaughlin as a horny waitress of the rail station cafe and Dorothy Atkinson as her assistant among other characters), puppets (two mop dogs are particularly funny) and terrific special effects that allow the characters to travel in and out a movie screen and swing from chandeliers -- literally (Neil Murray, set and costume design; Jon Driscoll and Gemma Carrington, production design; Malcolm Rippeth, lighting design; Steve Beers, technical supervisor). The story about the two lovers just gets lost in the mix.

Laura (Hannah Yelland) and Alec (Tristan Sturrock) share an attraction after a brief meeting in the train station, then allow their passion to grow with subsequent encounters, despite the fact that both already are married. Laura’s husband, Fred (Joseph Alessi) doesn’t seem to notice Laura’s absences, even when she’s nowhere to be found when their son (played by a puppet) is in an accident.

We’re supposed to grasp that the crashing waves projected onto a screen behind the action represents the unsatiated passion that Alec and Laura feel for each other. Meetings in secret rooms and the taking off of clothes following a spill into the water during a rowboat encounter lead us to think the couple are having an affair. Fans of the movie, and perhaps those who read a story in the Playbill, will know that the affair is unconsummated and the waves only symbolic of feeling, not depiction of anything actually happening. If the waves weren’t crashing, however, you might miss that pent-up passion, because the straight-laced characters really don’t have any apparent chemistry. That Alec is struggling with any guilt also is lost, as the fact that he’s married doesn’t become clear in Rice’s adaptation until the story is almost completed.

There are subplots with Myrtle (McLaughlin) and Albert (also Alessi) getting physical and Stanley (Gabriel Ebert), the candy vendor, declaring his love for the clumsy, scooter-riding Beryl, who gets physical with a bass instrument while singing Coward’s “Mad About the Boy” (the musicians are costumed, on stage and provide some period music before and after the show). There are a few attempts to copy the hysterically funny windy scenes and tiny prop bits from The 39 Steps, but everything remains disjointed with the impression that each element was added to stand out on its own, rather than to be part of a larger work.

Brief Encounter runs through Dec. 6 at Studio 54, 254 W54th St., NYC. Tickets are available by calling (212) 719-1300.

Christians might also like to know:
• A bathing suit in a film projection is rather scanty.



.