Fun at the Outer Critics Circle Awards

I enjoyed a very well planned and written Outer Critics Circle awards program at Sardi's last week. The winners already had been announced (for the list of winners, click here), so this was a chance to mingle with them as they received their scrolls.

First, I owe a large hug to whomever did the seating arrangements. I had a front-row seat next to the delightful Elyse Sommer of Curtain Up and at the same table as Best Actress in a Musical co-winner Josefina Scaglione. (Angela Lansbury was supposed to be at our table, but another commitment forced her to change her arrival time to just before she was presented with the award for best featured actress in a play for Blithe Spirit. )

I loved the more intimate setting, and most of the winners seemed to sense it as they shared more personal thoughts when they accepted their awards. One them came through: that we all are involved in the theater because we love it and we have lots of fun doing what we do.

Presenter Tyne Daly adopted a mock British accent, feigning intimidation form the cast of The Norman Conquests who also presented. The three young boys who star as Billy Elliot received a special award for their performance. All were darling, every bit young men whose egos appeared unaffected by their catapult into the limelight this year, as they thanked their director Stephen Daltry, who also took home an award for Best Direction of a Musical. He most graciously thanked the boys for their part in the project and then walked over to their table where he embraced each in heartfelt appreciation. Very touching.

Pulitzer-prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage accepted her award for Best Play, Ruined, saying it was a blessing to be part of this theater season and to have been able to touch so many people with her moving tale set in war-torn Africa.

Scaglione, who is just as lively in person as when she's causing Tony to fall in love with her in West Side Story, dedicated her award to her country (Argentina) and to her family.

Perhaps the highlights was hearing Lansbury joke about "an old ham like me" needing to play a character like Madame Arcati in Blithe Spirit. She joked about people coming to the theater to see Jessica Fletcher, the character she is famous for playing for years on television's "Murder She Wrote." She also made some gracious and heart-felt remarks thanking us critics for writing about theater so people will come.

Overall, it was a very pleasing get together and reaffirmed my feeling that it's a blessing to be part of this group of talented critics, with whom I also enjoyed getting to visit.

For photos from the event, click here.

Review: Next to Normal

This Musical is Anything but Normal. It's a Standout
By Lauren Yarger
From the first jolting chord of Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey’s Next to Normal playing at the Booth Theatre, it’s obvious that this musical is anything but normal. It quickly defines itself as a standout on the Great White Way, with a marvelous cast, a terrific score, insightful lyrics and an unlikely, but wonderfully engaging story about a family dealing with depression and bi-polar disorder.

Mark Wendlend’s imposing three-story set provides a framework for the family’s residence and other locations while housing the band on two of the levels. The framework for a happy home might be there, and the family tries to be “normal”, but the foundation shifts on quicksand as Diana (Alice Ripley) battles depression. The opening number entitled “It’s Just Another Day” has double meaning as we see Diana shift from “normal” mom packing the family’s lunches to what’s really “normal” for her: a mom coping with mental illness.

She tries to go through the motions, but her husband, Dan (J. Robert Spencer), whom she finds boring, tunes out the wife he doesn’t understand. Daughter Natalie (a fantastic Jennifer Damiano) copes by tuning out socially and focusing on good grades and getting into Yale. Soon the question becomes who is crazier: the person who can’t hope or the one who keeps hoping?

There’s a terrifically funny song in which Diana fantasizes about her psychiatrist as a rock star (Louis Hobson) as he discusses possibilities for medications. Her diagnosis of “bipolar disorder” doesn’t seem to cover it. Diana goes on and constantly adjusts medications, but there are side effects and she misses the “highs and lows” she trades for feeling “nothing at all.” The lethargy renders her incapable of helping Natalie when she begins a new relationship with friend Henry (Adam Chanler-Berat) and experiments with drugs, so she goes off the meds.

Michael Greif expertly directs, using space between the characters to enhance emotions. Lighting designer Kevin Adam’s individual light bulbs and contrasting hues create the feeling of being inside a brain as he makes the emotions palpable.

As Diana succumbs to a desire to be free, the family must cope with her suicide attempt and the electric shock therapy that follows. The scenes where Dan cleans up the blood and when he reaches out to her in the song “A Light in the Dark” are gripping. Can the family survive? The well-developed characters (Ripley's portrayal is deep and honest) in this well-written story make you hope so.

It’s compelling stuff, told mostly through the songs (Yorkey, responsible for the witty, clever and tightly penned lyrics also wrote the book) which are unusual, catchy and give both Ripley and Damiano a chance to put their Broadway belts to good use. Aaron Tveit also gives great vocals to Diana’s son Gabe.

The musical wasn't eligible for Outer Critics Circle or Drama Desk awards this season because of its previous off-Broadway run. It is up for a Tony, however, and it might just give Billy Elliot a little competition.

Next to Normal Plays at the Booth Theatre, 222 w. 45th St., NYC. For tickets call (212) 239-6200/ (800) 432-7250. For special group rates, click here.

Christians might also like to know:
• Drug use depicted
• Language
• Suicide (act not show; blood after seen)
• Sex outside of marriage

Review: Desire Under the Elms

Carla Gugino and Pablo Schreiber

Rock Solid Performances and Stone Hearts
By Lauren Yarger
The rocks forming walls and suspended by ropes that threaten to crush the life out of characters are literal and metaphors for the hearts of stone at which lust and greed chip away in a revamped Broadway revival of Eugene O’Neill’s Desire Under the Elms.

Scenic designer Walt Spangler sets the rocky stage with a stark and dark images of the 1850 New England farm and house (itself also suspended over the characters at times) of the Cabots, a deeply dysfunctional clan headed toward disaster. The always excellent Brian Dennehy stars as patriarch Ephraim who brings his new, much younger bride, Abbie (Carla Gugino), to the homestead to meet his sons: simpleminded and disgusting Peter and Simeon (Boris McGiver and Daniel Stewart Sherman) who are the products of his first marriage, and the sensitive Eben (Pablo Schreiber) by his second wife who had claims to the farm.

The object of everyone’s affection, however, is the farm itself. Peter and Simeon feel their hard labor has earned them equal shares, but Eben believes the property is his because his father stole it from his mother, then drove her to her death. Abbie makes her own claims and intimates that she only married Ephraim to have a home of her own. The harsh and selfish Ephraim isn’t buying any of it. The farm is his, he tells them, and he promises to outlive them all so they’ll never inherit any of it.

Eben purchases any claims his brothers might make by giving them each $300 to go west where they hope to make a gold strike. Abbie solidifies her claims by telling Ephraim she wants to give him a son to inherit the place. Meanwhile, what begins as hatred becomes a growing attraction between Abbie and Eben. It smolders (lighting designer Philippi excels at making this appear literal) and in some nice staging from director Robert Falls which has Abbie and Eben mirroring moves and reaching out to each other from different scenes, the attraction ignites and when the fire can be extinguished no longer, the two become lovers.

It’s a rocky path indeed as Abbie becomes pregnant and presents the child to Ephraim as his heir. Eben objects and suspects that Abbie has used him as a means to get the farm. When Abbie makes a decision to prove her love for Eben, tragedy ensues.

All of the performances are strong, though the play, presented in a shortened version of O’Neill’s work staged at Chicago Goodman’s theater before coming to Broadway (it’s approximately 100 minutes, no intermission ), is less rock solid, however, as it offers some unrealistic plot and dialogue from time to time. It feels like a practice piece for some of the playwright’s later masterpieces. Original music from Richard Woodbury sets the mood (you can almost hear animals screaming in there) and a too-long recorded song is sung while a dialogue-free scene is acted out.

Desire Under the Elms is depressing, but this is to be expected when characters driven by lust, greed and selfishness develop hearts as heart as the stones surrounding them. The performances make it worthwhile.

Hurry if you want to see it. Desire Under the Elms closes Sunday at the St. James Theatre, 246 W.44th St., NYC. For tickets, click here.

Christians might also like to know:
• Mature Advisory
• Nudity
• Sexual Acts
• Sex outside of Marriage

Review: 9 to 5

Dolly Parton Music Transitions Popular Movie to Broadway
By Lauren Yarger
To create yet another movie-turned-Broadway-musical, country music star Dolly Parton pens songs and lyrics to repackage the 1980 big-screen hit 9 to 5 (in which she starred with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin) into a staged musical running at the Marquis Theatre.

Fans of the movie should enjoy. Most of the plot involving three secretaries who kidnap their sexist boss and take over during his absence to improve working conditions at their corporation is there, as well as 16 songs added to the 9 to 5 theme song Parton had written for the movie.

The tunes unfortunately don’t stand out (though they benefit from some terrific orchestrations by Bruce Coughlin and Musical Director Stephen Oremus) and the lyrics are simple by Broadway standards, but the show’s stars, directed by Joe Mantello, pack enough punch to carry the engaging story (book by Patricia Resnick, who wrote the movie screenplay). There are a few changes from movie to stage, some for no apparent reason, but the overall package is there.

Megan Hilty plays Doralee, the buxom secretary whom everyone thinks is having an affair with the boss, Franklin Hart, Jr. (Marc Kudish). She looks and sounds so much like a younger Parton, it’s scary. Stephanie J. Block lends her lovely singing voice (and gets a really great belting number) in the role of Judy, the newly divorced woman with no work experience. She is taken under the wing of seasoned secretary Violet (Allison Janney, who doesn’t have a Broadway belt, but who holds her own and recently won the Drama Desk award for best actress in a musical) who keeps getting passed over for promotions by the men she trains.

During a pot party, the women fantasize about getting even with the unfair, demeaning Hart and in a bizarre set of circumstances that follow, their fantasies become reality when Violet accidently poisons his coffee. Hart discovers the attempt and threatens to have them arrested. The women react by kidnapping him and keeping him tied up in his house until they can find incriminating evidence of his illegal business transactions with which to bargain for their freedom.

Meanwhile, with Violet’s business know-how, Judy’s availability to babysit the kidnap victim at night and Doralee’s talent for forging Hart’s signature, the three transform their workplace into a productive environment and manage to keep Hart devotee Roz (Kathy Fitzgerald) at bay. Violet even has time to develop a romantic attachment with one of the corporation’s junior accountants, Joe (Andy Karl).

Scott Pask’s set pieces neatly swing and glide into place and a smoking, spitting copier is quite amusing. Andy Blankenbuehler adds some snappy choreography and William Ivey Long designs the costumes.

9 to 5 isn’t up there with the best musicals ever to grace a Broadway stage, but it’s not one of the worst to make the jump from screen either. It’s a fun, entertaining piece of theater.

9 to 5 plays at the Marquis, 1535 Broadway, NYC through Sept. 6. For tickets, call (212) 307-4100/(800) 755-4000. For special group rates, click here.

Christians might also like to know:
• Drug use depicted
• God’s name taken in vain
• Sexually suggestive dialogue and lyrics

Review: Rock of Ages

80’s Rock Songs and a Plot for Good Measure
By Lauren Yarger
The scene: long-haired, leather-studded, tongue-flicking rock stars; special lighting and fog effects; lots of drinks in the house; lighters waving in salute to the music. Oh, did I mention that this is in a Broadway theater, not a rock concert?

It’s Rock of Ages, playing at the Brooks Atkinson Theater where 80’s rock hits by Queen, Poison, Journey and other bands are showcased around a silly plot (book by Chris D’Arienzo) involving the romance of a small-town girl and a boy who dreams of becoming a rock star while working at the Bourbon Room, a club owned by friend Dennis (Adam Dannheisser).

Amy Spangler is Sherrie, the girl form Kansas, who misses true love with the boy, Drew (Constantine Maroulis, though I saw understudy Jeremy Jordan, who did well), when she takes up with hard-core rocker Stacee Jaxx (James Carpinello), whom “women love and who men want to be” (although an invitation to have sex in the men’s room at a club wouldn’t cause me to swoon).

Meanwhile, father-son developers Hertz and Franz (Paul Schoeffler and Wesley Taylor), with the help of the mayor (Andre Ward), try to close down the club, which they believe is a bad influence on youth, so they can proceed with development. Planner Regina (Lauren Molina) leads protests against the development and finds romance with the effeminate Franz.

Sherrie, used and dropped by Stacee, finds herself working on the shady side of town at the Venus Club, run by “Mama” who tells her that many small-town girls end up stripping at her “gentlemen’s club.” Lenny, the technical guy at Bourbon, is a sort of narrator for the musical and provides a great deal of its humor.

All of the look of ‘80s rock is recreated by costume designer Gregory Gale and makeup designer Angelina Avallone. The ever-talented Beowulf Boritt designed the set which extends into the house where Director Kristin Hanggi makes good use of space having actors interact with audience members on both orchestra and mezzanine levels. The bumping and grinding choreography is by Kelly Devine.

I’m not a fan of ’80s rock (OK, I’m not a fan of any kind of rock, or the 1980s, for that matter), but surprisingly, I knew a lot of the songs. Still, I didn’t feel qualified to comment on the music experience, except that I can tell you the band rocks the place out (Music Direction by Henry Aronson). So I chatted with a few audience members during intermission to get their reactions and they thought the songs sounded authentic, but that Spangler has a Broadway, rather than a rock voice.

The musical certainly feels more like a rock concert (yes, I have been to one, so I can compare) than a Broadway show, and it probably felt more at home off-Broadway (it ran there last season). The younger-than usual audience seemed to be enjoying it, however, especially the “drinks-in-the-house policy.”

Rock of Ages plays at the Brooks Atkinson, 256 W. 47th St., NYC. For tickets, call (212) 307-4100/ (800) 755-4000. For special group rates, click here.

Christians also might like to know:

• Suggestive dialogue and movements
• Scantily clad women and men
• Language
• God’s name taken in vain
• Sex Outside of Marriage
• Cross Gender/bondage
• Dennis returns from the dead as some sort of winged angel

Review: Accent on Youth

David Hyde Pierce and Mary Catherine Garrison.

Dated, but Pleasant – and the Costumes are to Die For
By Lauren Yarger
Manhattan Theatre Club’s revival of Accent on Youth starring David Hyde Pierce is a sleepy sort of play. It has been around for years (since 1934 to be exact) and playwright Samson Raphaelson’s work has a rather dated feel to it, but for some reason, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to put my finger on why exactly, I really enjoyed it.

There isn’t a lot of plot, making the play a surprise choice for a revival, not to mention films over the years starring Bing Crosby and Clark Gable. But Pierce fits the bill nicely as witty Steven Gaye, a successful Broadway playwright who has written an uneven play that just doesn’t seem to work about a romance between an older guy and a younger woman. The cast of characters Gaye has asked to play his characters on stage are Miss Darling (Lisa Banes), Dickie Reynolds (David Furr) and Frank Galloway (Byron Jennings).

Former flame Genevieve Lang (Rosie Benton) invites Gaye to chuck it all and run away with her to Finland. Gaye tells his butler Flogdell (Charles Kimbrough) to pack his bags, but a sudden declaration of love from his younger secretary, Linda Brown (Mary Catherine Garrison), changes everything. Life suddenly imitates art and Gaye is inspired about how to make the play’s romance work.

Brown goes on to star in the play as she and Gaye become and item. When Dickie falls in love with his leading lady, however, the real-life plot takes an unscripted Cyrano twist. Flogdell enjoys his own May-December romance as well.

It’s a light, uncomplicated, and fun evening at the theater, thanks in part to tight direction by Daniel Sullivan on John Lee Beatty’s book-lined, gentleman’s quarters set.

The other part, and the real highlight in this production, is the fabulous 1930s-era costumes by Jane Greenwood worn by Benton and Garrison. From business skirt suits to evening gowns, each is stunning. Every time one of the actresses appeared, I would want to run out and buy what she was wearing, right down to the shoes. Pierce sports an attractive smoking jacket and robe in addition to his suits as well.

Accent on Youth plays through June 28 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, 261 W. 47th St., NYC. For tickets, click here. For special group rates, click here.

Review: Waiting for Godot

Pleasing Performances, Puzzling Play
By Lauren Yarger
Sharp performances from all four actors make Roundabout Theatre Company’s Broadway revival of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot a pleasing theatrical experience even though the play itself is still as puzzling as ever.

The performances come from Nathan Lane (Estragon) and Bill Irwin (Vladimir), who play off each other so well that they bring to mind great partners of comedic timing like Abbot and Costello. Also terrific are John Goodman (Pozzo) and his slave John Glover (Lucky). What exactly they’re so good in, however, is puzzling. If you think I’m just not theater savvy enough to figure it out, a post-show discussion followed the play, featuring Annette Saddick, associate professor of 20th-century drama and performance at New York City College of Technology, who spoke on “making meaning out of Godot.” People even are puzzled about how to pronounce Godot (is it God-oh or gud- oh? In this play, it’s the former).

Godot is the mysterious person for whom Estragon and Vladimir wait. Why, we’re not sure. While they pass the time, one day seems just like the next. Estragon looks at his boot a lot while Vladimir peers into his hat a lot and they agree there’s “nothing to be done” in their purgatory-like existence where they ponder bigger questions about God and repentance from time to time.

Their friendship and dependence on each other deepens and they fluctuate between outrage and intrigue at Pozzo’s subhuman treatment of Lucky which provides a diversion while they wait. Directed by Anthony Page, Glover is excellent as the wheezing, slobbering “beast of burden.”

A young boy (a role shared by Cameron Clifford and Matthew Schechter) comes to announce that Godot won’t be there until tomorrow and a sun sets on Santo Loquasto’s impressively stark rock scape. The only thing different the next day is the appearance of some leaves on a stark, grey tree as they begin waiting for Godot again.

The philosophical nature of the play (especially since there aren't any real answers) might not be for everyone, but the performances shouldn’t be missed.

Waiting for Godot plays through July 12 at Studio 54, 254 West 54th Street, NYC. For tickets, call 212) 719-1300 or visit. http://www.roundabouttheatre.org/. For discounts on group tickets, click here.