Cori Thomas Wins Osborn New Play Award

The American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA) announces that Cori Thomas has won its 2011 M. Elizabeth Osborn New Play Award for an emerging playwright. The award will be presented today at the Humana Festival of New American Plays at Actors Theatre of Louisville, Ky.

The Osborn Award recognizes Thomas’ play, When January Feels Like Summer, which premiered in March 2010 at City Theatre in Pittsburgh (director Chuck Patterson, artistic director Tracy Brigden), supported in part by the Edgerton Foundation fund for new American plays. It received an initial reading there at the 2007 Momentum Festival, and was developed in part at the Sundance Institute Theatre Lab in 2008.

Thomas was born in New York to a Liberian diplomat and a Brazilian mother, but lived in seven countries before returning to the United States to attend school. She studied theater at Marymount Manhattan College. A lifetime member of the acting/writing ensemble of the Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York City, her plays include: His Daddy; Pa’s Hat: Liberian Legacy and My Secret Language of Wishes.

She has been a finalist for a Juilliard Fellowship and the National Playwrights Conference at the O’Neill Festival, and was nominated for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. She recently received a commission from South Coast Repertory Theatre and The Sloan Foundation.

Her street-smart When January Feels Like Summer is a comic and touching tale of love, sex, redemption and the survival of the American Dream in the 21st century, amid the struggle with the polar attractions of identity and assimilation. Thomas stirs together a diverse group of urban dwellers on an atypically warm winter month: a middle-aged African American sanitation worker, an East Indian shopkeeper whose husband from a loveless marriage is in a coma, her brother in the midst of a transgender transformation, and two bright homeboys trying to understand everything from global warming to meeting girls. All are on a quest for the healing power of true love, a mythic journey presided over by the Hindu god Ganesh, lord of the removal of obstacles.

The Osborn Award is designed to recognize the work of an author who has not yet achieved national stature. Last year’s Osborn Award went to Jason Wells for Perfect Mendacity. Previous winners included Rebecca Gilman and Keith Glover.

The award was established in 1993 to honor the memory of Theatre Communications Group and American Theatre play editor M. Elizabeth Osborn. It carries a $1,000 prize, funded by the Foundation of the American Theatre Critics Association. Honorees are recognized in The Best Plays Theater Yearbook, edited by Jeffrey Eric Jenkins, the annual chronicle of United States theater. Making the selection from plays nominated by ATCA members is the ATCA New Plays Committee, chaired by Wm. F. Hirschman, which also selects honorees for the Harold and Mimi Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award.

ATCA was founded in 1974 and works to raise critical standards and public awareness of critics’ functions and responsibilities. The only national association of professional theater critics, it has several hundred members who work for newspapers, magazines, radi, TV and websites across the United States. ATCA is a national section of the International Association of Theatre Critics, a UNESCO-affiliated organization that sponsors seminars and congresses worldwide.

ATCA also presents the Francesca Primus Prize, funded by the Francesca Ronnie Primus Foundation, honoring contributions to the American theater by female artists who have not yet achieved national prominence. It makes recommendations for the Regional Theater Tony Award presented by the American Theatre Wing/Broadway League and votes on inductions into the Theater Hall of Fame.

For more information on ATCA, visit www.americantheatrecritics.org.

Theater Review: Kin

Family Tree Branches Shade Many Relationships By Lauren Yarger Our roots give fruit to the relationships with people we call family, but the tree where we’re planted grows and extends its branches to entwine others we come to call kin. These ties that bind, and how they bundle us in kinship during life are the examination of Bathsheba Doran’s delightful, moving new play Kin running Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons, directed by Sam Gold. Played out on a Paul Steinberg’s cleverly designed, movable-frame set, Doran tells the story of a couple trying to figure out whether they are destined to become kin --through marriage -- with the help of people in their lives who already are family. Anna (Kristen Bush) and Sean (Patch Darragh) meet on an internet site and start dating. Back in his native Ireland, Sean’s mother, Linda (Suzanne Bertish), confesses to her brother and drinking partner Max (Bill Buell), that she’s not sure she wants her son to get serious because he might never come back home. If he won‘t come there, she might never see him again, because Linda doesn't leave her house. She has been agoraphobic since she was raped and shunned by the church after aborting the child conceived. Meanwhile, Anna’s zany best friend, Helena (an absolutely fabulous Laura Heisler), feels increasingly left out as Anna spends more time with Sean. Anna struggles to impress her father, Adam (Cotter Smith), a military colonel from whom she’s always been estranged who tries to reach out and make amends for not being there for Anna, especially after her mother died. He seems more at ease comforting his one-time mistress, Kay (Kit Flanagan), who is dying of cancer. Adding to the uncertainty of whether Anna and Sean will make it are his unresolved feelings for former girlfriend Rachel (Molly Ward). Rounding out the cast is Matthew Rauch in separate minor roles that cement a couple of very humorous scenes. Doran handles all of the relationships and situations with chuckles and insight. Most thought-provoking is how the characters interact with and learn from each other. Anna provides a new bud of friendship for Linda and helps her think about leaving the house. Adam and Sean develop a respect that’s closer than father/daughter. Flaky, self-centered Helena surprises by providing tough-as-bark friendship and Kay reveals a nest of affection for Anna. And in the middle of everything looms the question of whether Anna and Sean will ever become kin officially. Gold shines in his use of rain and fog in one scene and the placement of the characters in relation to them to paint a picture of the mood of this uncertainty. The sharp dialogue, engaging performances and expert storytelling make for a satisfying family gathering (Playwrights hits another one out of the park with play selection). Kin plays through April 3 at Playwrights Horizons, 416 West 42nd St., NYC. Tickets visit www.playwrightshorizons.org. Christians might also like to know: God’s name taken in vain Sexual dialogue Language Eastern Meditation

Theater Review: Arcadia

Broadway Debut Performance Highlights Arcadia

By Lauren Yarger

Nothing – and everything – is certain in Arcadia, Tom Stoppard’s smart, intelligent play mixing the past and present, both in the plot and physically with the present-day Broadway revival of the 1995 Tony award winner. As characters from 1809 and 1993 intertwine and blend in the story, this version has the satisfying additional connection between past and present productions with original cast member Billy Crudup returning to play a different role this time around.

Crudup is totally engaging as the present-day Bernard Nightingale, a scholar who arrives at an English country house to explore its connection to Lord Byron. He collaborates with Hanna Jarvis (Lia Williams), an author who has written a best-selling book about Byron’s mistress, who also is at the house to conduct research to discover the identity of the illusive hermit who once lived on the grounds. They are joined there by Chloe Coverly (Grace Gummer). The current daughter of the house, her brother and mathematician Valentine (Raul Esparza), and their younger brother, Gus (Noah Robbins), who doesn’t speak, but who has a crush on Hannah.

Together they research old documents and landscape drawings left by the estate’s architect Richard Noakes (Byron Jennings –such an appropriate-sounding name to be cast in this production….) for clues as to the identity of the hermit and other mysteries about the lives and loves of the 1809 occupants of the house and why Lord Byron might have visited there.

In opposing scenes, the lives of those past inhabitants are played out and we discover that history isn't always as accurate as we think. Thomasina Coverly (Bel Powley in a dynamite Broadway debut) discusses algebraic and other scientific theories with her tutor, Septimus Hodge (a wonderful Tom Riley in the role originated in the 1995 show by Crudup). Hodge is called out for his affair with the wife of Ezra Chater (David Turner), a talentless poet who quickly forgets the duel when Septimus promises to praise his work in a review. Hodge’s real affections are directed where they can’t be returned: to Lady Croom (Margaret Colin), Thomasina’s mother. Lady Croom’s brother, Captain Brice (Glenn Fleshler), Thomasina’s brother Augustus (also played by Robbins) and the butler, Jellaby (Edward James Hyland) round out the cast form the past.

The scenes play out on Hildegard Bechtler’s simple, but towering set, lighted by Donald Holder, like paintings on a canvas. Gregory Gale’s costumes are perfect and past and present blend on the same set with props used throughout thr two time periods (love the turtle). Particularly delightful is a scene toward the end where all of the characters are in the house at once, waltzing or turning the pages of the same books simultaneously. It’s a lovely play, but the revival is flawed in a few places.

Like the dichotomy he’s directing, Director David Leveaux has cast two groups of actors: one that’s perfect and another that seems miscast. In the past sequences, Powely and Riley shine and make you almost sad to leave them to have to journey to the future. Powley is a powerhouse, expertly portraying Thomasina as a delightful, innocent girl who can cry, “Goodie” at one moment, then let lose the genius able to unmask complicated scientific theories about heat exchange and time. She’s thoroughly delightful and engaging and Riley is the perfect balance as the carefree tutor trying not to get too serious about anything, but increasingly amazed by his pupil’s abilities. The rest of the 1809 group is fine, except for Colin. Though her delivery of humorous lines is good, she is miscast and looks awkward.

In the present, Crudup mops up the stage, leaving the less exciting Esparza and Williams in the dust while the miscast Gummer strikes various poses trying to find some place to fit in. In addition, some of the high-clipped English accents employed by some of the actors are very difficult to understand many lines are lost. It’s a shame, because Arcadia is a lovely play well worth its two-hour-and-45-minute run time.

It plays at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, 243 West 47th St., NYC through June 19. Discounted tickets are available at http://www.givenik.com/show_info.php/Masterworks/300/individual Christians might also like to know:
• Language
• God’s name taken in vain

Theater Review: Priscilla Queen of the Desert

Glitz-tech Musical is Big on Show, but Short on Substance

By Lauren Yarger

A disco ball reflecting a swirl of lights with loud '70s music isn’t only the opening for the show, it’s the theme for the whole production, supervised by Jerry Mitchell and directed by Simon Phillips in a glitzy, bright Broadway stage version of the cult film “Priscilla Queen of the Desert.”

The explosion of color and sensory-attacking flashiness travels from the campy bus and set (Brian Thompson, bus concept and production design), to sparkle in the sure-to-be-Tony-nominated ’70s-era transvestite showgirl costumes (Tim Chappell and Lizzy Gardiner, design) -- there’s pink, lots of pink -- and to flash in the lights (Nick Schlieper, design)which never seem to dim. While it’s visually stimulating to say the least, it’s a bit of overkill, probably in an effort to keep us from noticing that there is little else happening in the rather weak book by Stephan Elliott and Allan Scott.

There are some good elements in the production. The score is comprised of popular songs from the time period played by a wonderfully full sounding orchestra under the supervision of Stephen “Spud” Murphy. His fine arrangements stand out and give new depth and meaning to lyrics when they show up in context to non-traditional action in the show. Choreography by Ross Coleman including good sounding flying divas (Jacqueline B. Arnold, Anastacia McCleskey and Ashley Spencer) are on equal footing with some standout performances in minor roles by Keala Settle as rather “butch” Shirley whom our threesome meet in a bar and Nathan Lee Graham, who does a fun Tina Turner impersonation.

So if watching a bunch of guys dress up and dance around in outrageous female garb (there’s even an opera piece) is your cup of tea, you’ll undoubtedly enjoy this show. For the rest of us, however, all of elements combine to make Priscilla an enjoyable romp, but aren’t enough to disguise the weak plot and give us a real reason to spend two and a half hours watching people croon while sitting in large oversized, sequined platform shoe on top of the bus, for example.

The story follows two transvestites, Tick/Mitzi (Will Swenson), Adam/Felicia (Nick Adams) and a transsexual, recently-widowed Bernadette (Tony Sheldon), who travel in a bus they name Priscilla Queen of the Desert on their way to do a show at the Alice Springs, Australia night club run by Tick’s wife Marion (Jessica Phillips). The gig is more than a much needed job: Tick apparently left his wife years ago to embrace his feminine identity. He hides the marriage from Adam and Bernadette as well as his fears about meeting the son he left behind, 6-year-old Benji (Luke Mannikus and Ashton Woerz), who doesn’t know that his “show business” father impersonates women for a living.

Along the way, they meet various people, most of whom are hostile to the men’s lifestyle choices. An exception is Bob (C. David Johnson) who comes to their aid when Adam is attacked in the "he-man-type" bar where he goes looking for love. Dissatisfied with his mail-order-bride, Cynthia (J. Elaine Marcos), despite the fact that she can perform sexual tricks with ping pong balls, Bob hops aboard Priscilla to join the trio on their journey and eventually enjoys romance with Bernadette.

The plot often seems contrived to serve as a vehicle for a transvestite fest. It is unrealistic at times, with both Marion and Benji perfectly fine (and politically correct) in their total acceptance of Tick and his life choices. Would Adam really go to a homophobe type bar looking for love? It plays like a predictable plot device more than a poignant moment that could be used to promote understanding and give the story some depth.

On the other hand, by treating everything with a lighter touch, the show never takes itself very seriously, which allows us enjoy all of its outrageous glitz, whether that means laughing at the silly costumes and wigs, enjoying a funny rendition of “MacArthur Park” or clapping along at the great “get-’em-back-after-intermission” number of “Thank God I’m a Country Boy.”

Priscilla plays at the Palace Theatre, 1564 Broadway, NYC. Discounted tickets are available at http://www.givenik.com/show_info.php/Masterworks/280/individual

Christians might also like to know:
Show posts a Mature advisory
Language
Sexual dialogue
Sexually suggestive moves (the ping pong sexual trick goes way too far in my opinion)
Scantily-clad actors
Obviously, cross dressing/transgender

Theater Review: Ghetto Klown

John Leguizamo’s Autobiographical Journey to Find Meaning By Lauren Yarger John Leguizamo shares his journey of battling forces that didn’t always work in his favor, and which he doesn’t always understand -- a.k.a. life -- in a autobiographical one-man show playing Broadway’s Lyceum Theatre.

The TV and film actor returns to the stage (previous works include Freak, Sexaholic … a Love Story, Spic-o-rama and Mambo Mouth) for a “soul exchange” in which he shares, among other things, stories about growing up with an abusive father, his failed first marriage, his almost-failed second marriage, and how he got along as a Latino actor in show business, eventually starring with some of Hollywood’s biggest names in films like “To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everythng Julie Newmar,” the Leonardo DiCaprio version of “Romeo & Juliet” and “Carlito’s Way.”

The story is recreated for clarity, he tells us, but there is a lot in the two-and-a-half-hour performance, including vulnerability and willingness to share that makes the story interesting and personal. Humor, video projections, music and dance moves enhance the production, directed by Fisher Stevens.

Most of all, there is a feeling of truth in the actor’s discoveries that fame and fortune aren’t all he thought they would be. Friends come and go, he has to come to terms with his father and he finds therapy and what he comes to define as “religion” in writing and performing his plays.

Ghetto Klown runs through July 10 at the Lyceum, 149 West 45th St., NYC. For tickets, call 212-239-6200 or 800-432-7250.

Christians might also like to know:
 Show posts a Mature advisory
 Strong Language
 God’s name taken in vain
 Sexual dialogue
 Drug use depicted
Note: Some of the jokes are in Spanish.

Quick Hit Theater Review: Double Falsehood

Haley Treider and Clayton Apgar. Photo by Joan Marcus

Double Falsehood
Off-Broadway at Classic Stage Company, 136 East 13th Street, NYC
Adapted by Lewis Theobald from a work attributed to William Shakespeare and John Fletcher
Director: Brian Kulick

Summary:
Brothers, one good, one bad -- Roderick (Bryce Gill) and Henriquez (Slate Holmgren)-- view for their inheritance from the Duke (Philip Goodwin). Roderick wins favor, especially following Henriquez' behavior, which includes raping Violante (Mackenzie Meehan), forcing Leonora (Hayley Treider) into a marriage by striking a deal with her unfeeling father, Don Bernardo (Jon Devries) and betraying her true love, and his supposed friend, Julio (Clayton Apgar). Vilante goes undercover as a shepherd (you'll onky know this from dialogue) when Henriquez rejects her, but foresooth, all ends that ends well, though we're not exactly sure why (see lowlights).

Lowlights:

The play, which I'm surprised has been attribited to the Bard -- it just doesn't have the feel to me, but what do I know? -- seem to be missing pieces and is rather confusing. And the idea of a Violante being OK with being raped didn't endear me to the story.

Set and costume designer Oana Botez-Ban uses multiple oriental rugs for backdrop and on the floor, but what they signify is a mystery. The cast's constant repositioning of the rugs in act one proves very distracting.

There isn't any chemistry between Leonora and Julio.

Highlights:
DeVries gives a robust performance and Holmgren does a nice job of protraying the double falsehood of the reprehensible, spoiled brat who innocently justifies his bad behavior.

• For ticket and other information, visit http://www.classicstage.org/.

Christians might also like to know:
• Rape scene

Tyne Daly, Mercedes Ruehl to Announce Outer Critics Nominations

Tyne Daly, left, and Mercedes Ruehl, right, will announce the nominees for the 2010-11 season Outer Critics Circle Awards Tuesday, April 26

Outer Critics Circle will post award nominations in 23 categories and are the first major Broadway/Off-Broadway award nominees of the New York theater season.

Celebrating its 61st season of bestowing awards of excellence in the field of theater, the Outer Critics Circle is an association with members affiliated with more than 90 newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations, and theatre publications in America and abroad.

Winners will be announced on Monday, May 16 and the annual awards ceremony will be held on Thursday, May 26 at Sardi’s Restaurant.