GUEST REVIEWER: THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE or, The Slave of Duty! At the Kaye Playhouse

This latest limited run of THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE had its final Performance on December 30, 2018.

NYGASP’s next New York production will take place March 1 through March 3, 2019, Ô of a double bill of one act operettas: AGES AGO written in 1869 by Sir. W.S. Gilbert and Mr. Frederic Clay and the 1893 Savoy Comic Opera, MR. JERICO by Messrs. Harry Greenbank and Ernest Ford.

Classical Comedy is Serious Business.
A review of the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players’ (NYGASP) revival of
THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE or, The Slave of Duty
At the Kaye Playhouse
December 29, 2018
by Moshe Bloxenheim, Guest Reviewer

It is a tribute to their dual devotion to the Savoy Operas and the art of stagecraft that The New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players manage to come across as fresh and vibrant in their latest production of the 1879 classic THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE. While NYGASP sticks close to the classic idea of the production (with its double edged sword of “Traditional Performance”) they mine the original material for its inherent humor and entertainment value as if it were the latest new minted show.

Sir W.S. Gilbert’s plot for THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE takes on the obligations of Duty (with a capital “D”) and runs amok with it. Due to a misunderstanding, Frederic had been signed on as a Pirate Apprentice by his nursemaid Ruth until he reached his 21st year. At that point Frederic announces his intention not merely to leave Piracy, but to follow his Duty (capitalized “D”) and destroy his mentors – an engagingly loopy band of cutthroats who cannot bring themselves to harm any orphan and who are now making a poor living in a world where ALL their possible victims claim to be orphans. Leaving with the good wishes of his former guardians, Frederic – having never met any other women at sea – questions Ruth on whether she will be an ideal woman for him. Ruth’s assurances are wasted when her former charge discovers the pretty young daughters of Major-General Stanley. Angrily sending Ruth away, Frederic tries to win over one of the charming young ladies only to have them all spurn him except for the dazzling Mabel. The ensuing highly musical moment of joy, love and chaperonage is interrupted by the returning Pirates who seize the entire group. Just as the Pirates are about carry these well-bred ladies off and – horror of horrors! – marry them, Major General Stanley arrives and uses his ingenuity to prevent such a rash act of mass matrimony. Soon Frederic joins up with the rather timid local Constabulary with the aim of eliminating the Pirates. All seems to be going Frederic’s way when the Pirate King and Ruth drop in and reveal a technicality in our heroes terms of Apprenticeship that plays upon Frederic’s sense of Duty (with the same capital “D”) and gets him back in their power.

Remember though – this is a COMIC Opera – and though there may be the threat of lovers parted for years and a dire pirate vengeance, all will end happily for everybody.

Sir Arthur Sullivan’s music is first rate – especially when one realizes that he had left his original work at home in London and had to recompose most of the score for the world premiere in New York City – and he and Sir W.S. Gilbert show their brilliant range from the lush and rollicking piratical “Oh, Better Far to Live and Die” to the sly excesses of Frederic’s “Oh, Is There Not One Maiden Breast” and Mabel’s operatic “Poor Wandering One”. Composer and Librettist fully understand that songs on their own can be funny, sad or romantic but they also prove themselves experts in the wit of context; such as the Major General’s hilariously pastoral “Sighing Softly to The River” while surrounded by hidden pirates and policemen in Act Two.

The cast consisting of pirates, policemen, daughters, nursemaid and Major General are marvelous with never a false step. They are all personalities, not merely mobile stage settings or musical window dressing.

In appearance and vocal abilities, Mr. Carter Lynch is as dreamy a Frederic as any Mabel could wish for. An excellent actor, Mr. Lynch truly grasps the humor of his role and never loses sincerity no matter what naiveté or extreme idealism Frederic must exhibit.

The attractive Ms. Kate Dixon is a perfect Mabel. A delight on the ear, she brings out the heroic and comic drama of operatic new love and matches Frederic with the earnestness of her feelings.

Mabel’s sisters are all appealing and whether they are celebrating the seaside or urging unwilling officers to “death and glory”, Mss. Hannah Holmes, Amy Maude-Helfer and Merrill Grant truly shine as the siblings Edith, Kate and Isabel.

Ruth’s attempts to keep Frederic for herself could possibly make her the villainess of THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE. Fortunately, Ms. Angela Christine Smith’s deft and comic portrayal of this nursemaid-turned-pirate shows her as an unsuccessful, yet highly likeable opportunist who is a joy to listen to.

Exhibiting pleasing vocal power together with a stylish sword wielding dignity, Mr. Matthew Wages cuts considerable dash as the Pirate King, making the most of his contradictory position of a truly nice man in a not so virtuous career.

The timid and nervous Sergeant of Police is another contrast of a man in an unlikely line of work. Mr. David Auxier makes him a memorable and downright hilarious character, exhibiting some highly amusing reactions and footwork.

As part of the excellent ensemble of policemen, Mr. Louis Dall’Ava has his own highly diverting moments as the one officer who does everything wrong even when he is in the right.

Mr. James Mills is downright endearing in the role of the Pirate Lieutenant, Samuel. His Samuel is the pirate who tries to keep things in some sort of order and even express unwelcome truths.

In the role of Major General Stanley, Mr. David Macaluso is a treat. Like his colleagues he never lets his portrayal slip no matter how absurd the situation: whether he is acting out the phrases of his classic introductory patter song, “I am The Very Model of a Modern Major General” or executing his fanciful Act Two pas-de-deux with pirates and policemen in attendance, Mr. Macaluso ensures that it is the Major General who is being sublimely silly, not he.

Conductor Albert Bergeret leads his admirable orchestra and singers with a masterful hand and, together with Mr. David Auxier, directs the show with a joyful zest. The two directors recognize that THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE is a cartoon, but they make sure to remind us what the show is parodying as well: villains and heroes who are more talk than action, overqualified incompetents, romantic idealists, and so on… This is what keeps a work that premiered nearly 140 years ago as present and successful as ever.

The choreography is part of the fun and Mr. Bill Fabris celebrates the moments and characters staging the Piratic horseplay, the schoolgirl glee of young ladies let loose on a seaside and the musical theater riff that is slipped into “With Cat-Like Tread” in Act Two. Whether staging ensemble pieces or the more intimate numbers, like Mabel and Frederic’s “Stay Frederic, Stay,” Mr. Fabris shows a skilled touch.

Ms. Lou Anne Gilleland’s scenic designs of the seashore and the ruined chapel are fine settings and Ms. Gail J. Wofford and Mr. Quinto Ott’s costumes are quite picturesque as well, ranging from the eccentric garments of the pirates to the bouffantly bustled daughters of Major General Stanley. All are suitably lit by Mr. Benjamin Weill’s atmospheric lighting.

Rapidly paced shows always make me appreciate the efforts backstage and considering the rather frantic action of THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE, kudos must be given to Production Stage Manager, Joshua Strone and Assistant Stage Manager Annette Dieli who ensure an apparently seamless frenzy onstage.

People go to THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE expecting musical silliness and NYGASP ensures an abundance of merriment, but they also make you admire both the work that provides the amusement and the artistry needed to deliver it so successfully.

About the reviewer:
I am a computer programmer, wannabe writer who loves theater and just got into the habit of inflicting my theatrical opinions.
I live in New York.Moshe can be reached at MB1224@aol.com
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GUEST REVIEWER: “Stark and Shtark: A review of the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene Production of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (in Yiddish)”

Stark and Shtark

A review of the
National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene Production of
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (in Yiddish)
At the Museum of Jewish Heritage

August 19, 2018
GUEST REVIEWER: Moshe Bloxenheim

Now, I am not a natural Yiddish Speaker by any means and I entered the theater to see this Yiddish Production of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF with the attitude of one who might be going in to see an opera in a familiar but foreign language. To my amazement the addition of Yiddish to FIDDLER ON THE ROOF did not alienate me, nor did it feel like a gimmick. While the use of Mr. Shraga Freidman’s Yiddish translation did not always have the flowing poetry of the English of Mr. Joseph Stein’s book and Mr. Sheldon Harnick’s lyrics, the language had its own particularly biting beauty to the ear. Even in Mr. Friedman’s Yiddish rendition, Mr. Sheldon Harnick’s words still flow with Mr. Jerry Bock’s music in a classic unity, from the buoyant introductory song “Traditsye” [Tradition] to the final mournful and ironic “Anatevke” [Anatevka].

The plot itself may be a simplified adaptation of Mr. Sholom Aleichem’s Tevye stories, but this Yiddish FIDDLER ON THE ROOF gives me the sense of an old sepia photograph taken to preserve a sense of place.

Within this picture, we behold 1905 Anatevka – a village on the Russian Pale of Settlement. Tevye, the poor yet philosophical dairyman, scratches out a meager living for himself and his wife Golde and their five daughters. When Tevye’s older daughters reach out beyond the safe and traditional futures that their parents had expected for them, it signals the beginning of changes that will eventually overturn the seemingly stable world of Anatevka.

A keen cast of performers populate this little Shtetl.

Mr. Steven Skybell splendidly imbues Tevye with the weariness of a man who can barely get by, but he also shows Tevye’s spirit: that wonderfully wry sense of humor and the deeply personal – if sometimes annoyed – relationship with G-d that makes him so moving. This Tevye clearly values the past but will do his best to adjust to the changes that will affect him and his family. What is more, is start turns such as “Ven Ikn Bin a Rothchild” [If I were A Rich Man], Mr. Skybell knows how to stay admirably and enjoyably in character.

As Tevye’s wife, Golde, Ms. Jennifer Babiak gives a good performance. She is indeed the careworn wife and mother who manages, but wants security for her daughters. Ms. Babiak is fine singing the soulful “Shabes Brokhe” [Sabbath Prayer] and she gets good laughs when she chides of Tevye or reacts to Yenta. But I did not feel that Ms. Babiak’s Golde was the most wifely counterbalance to Tevye.

On the other hand, Ms. Rachel Zatcoff truly makes Tsaytl her father’s child. She is willing to do her best to be a good daughter, but she cannot keep silent when she feels her own life will be thrown away. When Tsaytl speaks up for herself, Ms. Zatcoff lets us feel the desperation and thrill of her audacity.

Similarly, Tevye’s second daughter Hodl discovers that her own future runs contrary to Anatevka and family expectations. Ms. Stephanie Lynn Mason skillfully portrays Hodl’s development as she discovers love and sees that the world is more than just Anatevka. In “Vayt Fun Mayn Liber Haym” [Far From The Home I Love] Tevye’s second daughter is not merely singing about the sorrow of leaving all that she held dear for love. Instead, Ms. Mason makes it clear that Hodl is now paying the price of looking beyond herself.

The role of Khave is a role of little dialogue yet she is the daughter who brings Tevye and Golde’s world crashing down. It is amazing how Ms. Rosie Jo Neddy still gives us the full emotional impact Khava’s choosing a man outside her faith and how it would make her an outcast. Tevye’s heartbreaking song “Khavaleh” becomes all the more affecting due to Ms. Neddy’s beautiful dancing.

What about the men who have won Tevye’s daughters?

It is possible to make Motl Kamzoyl a nebbish’l but if the likable Mr. Ben Liebert shows us a Motl who is meek, his Motl is also clearly in love with Tsaytl and takes inspiration from her – even facing Tevye for Tsaytl’s hand against all hope.

Mr. Daniel Kahn gives us a principled Pertshik who is out to want to improve the world and who thinks a bit too highly of his own ideas, but Mr. Kahn’s Pertshik wins us over with his open appreciation of Hodl who easily brings him down to earth. When he sings “Itst Hob Ikh Di Gantse Velt” [Now I Have Everything] Pertshik is not only a man who has found love but also humanity.

Compared to Motl and Pertshik, the Russian, Fyedke, has little to say. Nevertheless, the attractive Mr. Cameron Johnson says it with an honest flair. Singing and dancing, Mr. Johnson takes a memorable moment in the spotlight in “Lekhayim” [L’Chayim, To Life].
In spite of Leyzer-Volf being wrong for Tsatyle, Mr. Bruce Sabath makes us sympathize with this lonely widower, and like him. Unsuitable as he might be, it is clear that Mr. Sabath’s Lazar-Volf would try hard to make Tsaytl happy. In addition, Messrs. Sabath and Skybell know how to make the best out of their character’s bickering.

Of course Ms. Jackie Hoffman’s Yente the Matchmaker has her own definite opinions regarding girls who find their own husbands. Here is a hilariously sublime and all-too recognizable noodge: She busily rises above her own lone status, ignoring defeat as she poses and answers all her own questions, pushes some surreal matches and outright steals the very scenery.

Another delightfully notable presence was the spectre of Leyzer-Volf’s first vife, Frume-Sore, enacted with wickedly melodramatic abandon by Ms. Jodi Snyder.

Mr. Adam B. Shapiro plays the Rabbi of Anatevka with a sweet and sad buffoonery of a man who had always been assured and comfortable in his position and is now trying to use the same formulas in the face of circumstances he had never conceived of.

Any actor taking on the role of Der Gradavoy [The Constable] has to portray a prejudiced man who can countenance the persecution of innocents by government ukase. Mr. Bobby Underwood understandably avoids the easy melodrama inherent the role, but I felt his understatement was more a case of playing it safe.

Ms. Lauren Jeanne Thomas is excellent playing the Fiddler of the title, punctuating the show with her musical presence.

The rest of the company are first-rate as well and all bring this isolated community to vivid life..

Director Joel Grey has an admirable trust in the material, deftly interweaving the comedy and drama, never allowing the action to flag for a second. Every person seems to have a story in this Anatevka, even if there is not time enough for them to tell it — this is an even more noteworthy achievement when you realize that several of the performers are working phonetically in an unfamiliar language.

Although Choreographer Staś Kmieć is clearly influenced by Mr. Jerome Robbin’s staging of the original Broadway production, he creates a remarkable spectacle that is surprising for such a small venue. Besides the dancing, Mr. Kmieć works ideally with Mr. Grey to set up both public and private moments in the life of the community.

The orchestra is ably led by Mr. Zalmen Mlotek using Mr. Larry Blank’s adaptation of Mr. Don Walker’s original orchestrations for Mr. Jerry Bock’s wonderful music. Mr. Mlotek and his players appear onstage, underlining the fact that they too are part of the proceedings and can comment on and underline the action without intruding. In addition, Director Gray and Conductor Mlotek know how give those performers who were not so comfortable in Yiddish an air of fluency that happily fools those of us who are also not that familiar with the “Mamaloshen” [Mother Tongue].

Mr. Beowulf Boritt’s stark scenic design with its paper and fabric hangings and basic props are a suitable canvas for Messrs. Grey and Kmieć to paint a picture of the past. Assisted most effectively by Mr. Peter Kaczowrowski’s lighting, Ms. Ann Hould-Ward’s costumes and the hair and wigs of Mr. Tom Watson, the performers vividly summon up the houses and streets of Anatevka on the deceptively simple set.

I am always surprised when a small theater needs amplification, but Mr. Dan Moses Schreier’s sound designs are suitably understated. (Finally, I realize how apt the name Schreier – which is Yiddish for “a shouter” – is for audio work).

In all, the Yiddish FIDDLER ON THE ROOF is an amazing production that gives far more to the audience than one might expect. Would it be as satisfactory in English? That is something to consider, but not too intently, since this Yiddish Language production is quite marvelous as it is.

Having finished the overall review, I would like to applaud Mr. Sheldon Harnick, the original lyricist of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF who prevented the present adaptation from replacing the word “Tradition” with “The Torah”. Understandably, this change promises a real dramatic kick to the play but I believe it would make the whole premise of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF ring false. “Tradition” implies rules based on societal norms and roles. “The Torah” deals with the religious belief that defines Tevye and his community not merely as residents of Anatevka with quaint customs but as Jews. In FIDDLER ON THE ROOF Tevye struggles to balance his understood position in Anatevka with the changes that are threatening tradition while trying to understand what G-d would want from him. Under “Tradition” Tevye can question and even adapt, but he does not defy G-d. If “The Torah” became the theme, then we would be seeing Tevye and his neighbors finally being evicted from Anatevka for the very religion that Tevye would have been discarding all along.

 

Fiddler on the Roof (in Yiddish)

DIRECTED BY JOEL GREY

July 4, 2018 – Oct. 25, 2018
at Museum of Jewish Heritage

 

 

or call 866-811-4111

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About the reviewer:
MOSHE BLOXENHEIM

I am a computer programmer, wannabe writer who loves theater and just got into the habit of inflicting my theatrical opinions.
I live in New York.Moshe can be reached at MB1224@aol.com

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Guest Review: THE BAND’S VISIT at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre 

“The Accidental Tourists”

A review of
THE BAND’S VISIT: a New Musical
At the Ethel Barrymore Theatre 
June 6, 2018

 
One pronunciation mistake at a bus ticket window results in the visiting Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra arriving in the remote town of Bet Hatikvah instead of metropolitan Petah Tikvah… with no bus out until the next morning.  THE BAND’S VISIT traces the course of this one night where different people, Egyptian Musicians and Israeli Townsfolk are thrown together by this mishap and get to know each other.  As the mutual caution lifts, people come out of their shells, stories are shared and some personal lessons are learned before the Orchestra heads off to their scheduled concert the next day.
Based on the 2007 film of the same name, THE BAND’S VISIT does not set out to bedazzle.  There is no glitz, nor power ballads, nor earth-shaking crises, nor any of the other standard hooks that are usually needed to engross an audience.  What THE BAND’S VISIT has to offer is absolutely outstanding theater as it tells its tale in its own good time.  As the scenes of Mr. Ithamar Moses’s book unfold, the audience member feel like eavesdroppers and at other times like neighbors sharing the evening with these people who are making the best of an awkward situation.
From the opening number “Welcome to Nowhere,” Composer David Yazbek adventurously creates evocative music and lyrics that truly blend into the play:  Each character is given a special voice representing their own life and ethnicity and the songs heighten the different moments of this one evening where people share their time.  Common pleasures and desires form bridges in numbers like the wonderful “Omar Sharif” where Dina remembers enjoying Egyptian Movies on TV or when the hapless youth Papi explains how he is uncomfortable talking to women in the hilariously and sweetly self-pitying “Papi hears the Ocean.”
From the very first, we can see that the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra is not the orderly group that Colonel Tewfiq Zakaria would like it to be.  Mr. Dariush Kashani is superb as the quiet Orchestra leader who begins by trying to keep his feelings, the Orchestra and the situation in tight control and slowly and cautiously opens up in the company of Dina, the local Café owner.
Ms. Katrina Lenk is unforgettably Dina, the café owner who comes to the aid of the stranded Orchestra.  The extraordinary Ms. Lenk lets us see a soul that is fading in the lackluster world of Bet Hatikvah come to full passionate life for at least one night.  Whether she is casually describing the loss of dreams in “It Is What It Is”, sweeping us along in “Omar Sharif” or delivering the piquant “Something Different’ with its memorable lyrics “The Honey in Your Ears/The Spice in your Mouth”, Ms. Lenk gives a unforgettable performance that keeps the audience wanting more.
If Dina has been marking time after losing her romantic hopes, young Papi is currently in the throes of an infatuation that incapacitates him and Mr. Etai Benson is appealingly and comically recognizable as the really nice guy who can never do the right thing around his crush.
Jazz-inspired Haled makes for a good contrast to Papi in that he always has something to say to an attractive lady.  Haled’s cool-cat attitude can backfire, but if Mr. Ari’el Stachel’s character wants to be a charmer, the audience is more than willing to buy in.
Haled’s band mate Simon is a composer who has never finished his one concerto.  Mr. Alok Tewari shows us this shy but skilled clarinetist who finds himself a guest in Itzik’s home.  Itzik is also a person who never quite completes things, but if he is without any ambition, Mr. John Cariani makes him a downright loveable guy – even if we fully understand his wife’s frustration with his drifting.  Itzik’s Father-in-Law Avrum keeps out of the young couple’s friction and hits it off with Simon as a fellow musician.  Like many of the roles, in THE BAND’S VISIT, Avrum’s time onstage is limited and Mr. Andrew Polk truly makes the most of it, singing Avrum’s rousing story of meeting his wife, “The Beat of Your Heart.”
Even though so many of the parts are brief they are carefully filled by the marvelous cast of THE BAND’S VISIT whether as locals or as the actual orchestra that accompanies the show, but one last mention has to be made about Telephone Guy, the young man whose girlfriend left town some months before and had promised to call him – on the only pay phone in town.  Mr. Adam Kantor gives a noteworthy performance in a role that ranges from schlemiel – HOW many months has he been waiting for that call? – to surreal hero.
Some directors might have given THE BAND’S VISIT a more compact pacing and a different focus.  However, Director David Cromer wisely keeps things more diverse, taking full dramatic and comic advantage of the slowly dissipating air of painful embarrassment and reluctance that arises when the Orchestra realizes it in the wrong town and the citizens of Bet Hatikvah find themselves stuck hosting a group of unwilling guests.  Mr. Cromer easily moves from story to story and back revealing various private scenes as if by chance, adjusting the pace as needed.  Dialogue flows to match the language skills and comfort levels of the characters and it is very clear that Egyptians and Israelis are speaking English so they can understand one another, but will naturally revert to Arabic and Hebrew as the stress of the situation dictates.  Furthermore, Mr. Cromer recognizes that in Israel, one may hear a variety of accents even in a place as nowhere as Bet Hatikvah.
The musicians of THE BAND’S VISIT seem to be in a wonderful, show-long jam session where tunes are picked up and then tweaked as players join in, forming groups of different sizes that can build to the striking sound of the unified orchestra.  There is a whole musical palette on display ranging from suave to joyously raucous and clearly Musical Director Andrea Grody is making the most of Mr. David Yazbek’s compositions – orchestrated by Mr. Jamsheid Sharifi, with additional arrangements by Ms. Grody.  No matter what direction a song might take, the style always places us firmly in the Middle East.
The locale is also established through the amazing skills and united work of Mr. Scott Pask’s scenic design, Ms. Maya Ciarrocchi’s projections and Mr. Tyler Micoleau’s lighting.  I cannot imagine how much care must have gone into the planning but turntables, sets and lights work together effortlessly and unobtrusively to shift the show from scene to scene without ever breaking the sense of milieu.  Choreographer Patrick McCollum also shows his skills in this aspect because the characters are able to move so smoothly through the changing settings as well as set off the musical numbers.  Even when performers are sitting still in a song, Mr. McCollum arranges onstage images that are downright beautiful.
Ms. Sarah Laux’s costumes do much to set up the characters, whether in the uniformed Orchestra which aspires to some sort of regimental air, or the casual look of the inhabitants of Bet Hatikvah.
The sound of the Orchestra and of the other performers is quite natural thanks to Mr. Kai Harada’s subtle sound designs which even allow for a sense of direction onstage.
While it may not overwhelm with flash and glamour, THE BAND’S VISIT should please anybody looking for incredible storytelling with excellent music and truly brilliant performances.

The Ethel Barrymore Theatre
243 W 47th Street (between Broadway & 8th Avenue)

To Buy by Phone:
Call Telecharge 212-239-6200

Running time:
90 minutes (no intermission)

Audience:

Ages 12+;
Children under 4 are not
permitted in the theatre.

Tickets

Tickets Starting at $49 – Orchestra Seats from $99

Box Office Hours:

Monday – Saturday
10:00am – 8:30pm
Sunday
12:00pm – 6:00pm
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRaHXBNn8FM

About the reviewer:

MOSHE BLOXENHEIM
I am a computer programmer, wannabe writer who loves theater and just got into the habit of inflicting my theatrical opinions.
I live in New York. Moshe can be reached at MB1224@aol.com

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Guest Review: A review of INDECENT At the Cort Theatre

“The Play is the Thing”

A review of
INDECENT
At the Cort Theatre
June 20, 2017
by Moshe Bloxenheim 

INDECENT is a biography: The protagonist is born, grows up, has some trouble in adolescence, moves beyond parental control and has many discoveries.

The main character is also a play – THE GOD OF VENGEANCE written by Mr. Sholem Asch in 1907. Created as an indictment of religious hypocrisy and the piety that glosses over terrible actions, THE GOD OF VENGEANCE takes place in the home of Yekel, the owner of a bordello. He and his former prostitute wife Sarah have raised their daughter Rifkele in the strictest respectability, planning for her to marry a Rabbinical Scholar and even commissioning the writing of a Torah Scroll in honor of such a future marriage. Though Rifkele is forbidden to enter the brothel basement of the family home, she has visited there and befriended Manke, one of the women who work for her father. The two girls are drawn together and Rifkele runs away with Manke. When Rifkele is brought back, her enraged father – stripped of his devout pretensions – drags her off to work in his basement.

THE GOD OF VENGEANCE begins its life in the Yiddish Theater as a well-received drama. Once in New York, like many immigrants, it tries to adapt to a more mainstream society only to lose its way and become the subject of an infamous obscenity trial. Abandoning Broadway, THE GOD OF VENGEANCE thrives, lasting beyond the demise of the Yiddish Theater that had nurtured it, and the author who has eventually turned his back on it. Many issues are bought up by the play as it is produced through the years: Idealism that is crushed by reality, a desire for more realistic literature, a need to face unpleasant facts and the fear of trouble that publicizing such truths can cause a people.

Ms. Paula Vogel wrote the play INDECENT, but it is very hard to separate the superb story telling of her script from the inventive direction of Ms. Rebbeca Taichman, which makes it understandable why they are both billed in the Playbill as the creators of INDECENT. With THE GOD OF VENEGANCE as the star, the actors take on their roles as in a traditional Yiddish Repertory: One actor plays all the older gentlemen, another covers the youthful men while a seasoned lady takes on the women of maturity, etc. Performers flow from scenes about Mr. Asch’s play into actual passages of THE GOD OF VENGEANCE as it gets played in one of its many productions. Mr. Asch and other characters are shared out by the actors so a young Sholem Asch and his wife are first introduced by youthful performers and as time passes the more mature players take them over. Traditions of theater are both invoked and turned on their heads. Expositions are acted out most convincingly and projections (brilliantly designed by Mr. Tal Yarden) set the places of the action and of the languages being used in a way that amazed me. INDECENT is true theater of alienation, and it would have made Mr. Bertolt Brecht green with envy.

With the shifting nature of the roles, it is not so easy to give my usual breakdown of actors in the show, but be assured that the troupe of INDECENT is a truly fine one.

Mr. Tom Nellis is memorable as the senior actor covering dignified scholars, noted actors, the older Sholem Asch and leading a delightfully surprising turn as a Berlin cabaret performer. He is a new person in practically every scene, even to the point of being a different actor performing Yekel in THE GOD OF VENGEANCE as it passes through its various presentations.

This is also true of the other members of the cast. Ms. Katrina Lenk fascinates as a flirtatious star in the first staging of THE GOD OF VENGEANCE and takes on other people as INDECENT dictates.

Similarly Mss. Mimi Lieber and Adina Verson suitably play many characters – some of whom have to play the same part in the successive enactments of Mr. Asch’s play – with different accents as needed.

As the young Sholem Asch, Mr. Max Gordon Moore provides the idealistic writer who slowly loses his fervor as he begins to second guess his aspirations and motives for writing THE GOD OF VENGEANCE in the face of the Anti-Semitism, Pogroms and the Holocaust that an enlightened world should have prevented.

Taking on a host of roles, Mr. Steven Rattazzi ranges admirably from annoying intellectuals to eager producers.

Adding to the stage as well are the first-rate instrumental and performing talents of the musicians Ms. Lisa Gutkin and Messrs. Matt Darriau and Uri Sharlin. They play the evocative music composed by Ms. Lisa Gutkin and Mr. Aaron Halva (incidentally, at the performance I attended Mr. Sharlin filled in most admirably for Mr. Halva).

There is one acting part that is constant throughout INDECENT: Lemml, the Stage Manager is in many ways the human representative of THE GOD OF VENGEANCE as it travels the world. First seen as a poor relative invited to Sholem Asch’s first reading of his script, Lemml becomes the play’s biggest champion and the one who feels its triumphs and failures the most – even more than Asch himself. Mr. Richard Topol is truly marvelous as he shows Lemml evolving into the voice of THE GOD OF VENGEANCE and the conscience of the doomed Jewish world that brought the play into being. His is a great performance in a special role.

And how does THE GOD OF VENGEANCE perform? Although THE GOD OF VENGEANCE permeates the very fabric of INDECENT we are repeatedly shown only two scenes of the actual play and it is the Rain Scene that is the pivotal piece: Having slipped out late at night to dance in a rainstorm, Manke and Rifkele enter the silent house and express their love for one another – an action that allows them one moment of true joy and hope outside the harsh realities of their lives. In the various reenactments, this scene becomes an emotional escape for many of the portrayers of Manke and Rifkele, culminating in a ghetto staging in Nazi occupied Poland where starving, fearful actors transcend their own misery when the heroines once again rise beyond their daily despair and capture something wonderful. And we are better for this.

 Mr. Riccardo’s stark scenery is a fitting setting for the actors who must roam the world and time, aided by Mr. Christopher Akerlind’s lighting and Mr. Tal Yarden’s informative and haunting projections. Similarly, Ms. Emily Rebholz has created deceptively simple costumes that allow the players to inhabit literary salons, nightclubs, rehearsal halls, wartime garrets or even the afterlife. All of these elements, together with the wigs and hair design by Messrs. J. Jared Janas and Dave Bova, give a memorable and occasionally unsettling feeling of peering into a series of forgotten old photographs.

The sound system of Mr. Matt Hubbs provides a good impression of natural sound.

From the title, one might think INDECENT is about the outrage of the subject matter of THE GOD OF VENGEANCE or focuses on the first sexual kiss between two women on a public stage, but instead INDECENT is more about how a classic play rises above the real hardships that can make life itself an indecency. It is this story and the thoughtful and innovative way it is told that make INDECENT a true theatrical event about a theatrical event.

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About the reviewer:

MOSHE BLOXENHEIM
I am a computer programmer, wannabe writer who loves theater and just got into the habit of inflicting my theatrical opinions.
I live in New York. Moshe can be reached at MB1224@aol.com

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Guest Review: Scott Sickles’s “COMPOSURE” at the WorkshopTheater

“Offstage Drama”
A review of
COMPOSURE
 At the WorkshopTheater
June 21, 2017
by Moshe Bloxenheim

Mr. Scott Sickles’s thoughtful play COMPOSURE is about people trying to get beyond the past: One year after a broken relationship results in a fatal campus shooting, the local college puts on a student production of ROMEO AND JULIET to commemorate the tragic anniversary. Former alumnus Fletcher is hired to direct this controversial production and after his first rehearsal he meets Jeff, a recently divorced academic who has recently begun to come to terms with his sexuality. Over the six weeks of Fletcher’s stay, the two men find themselves being drawn close to one another, but both men also are forced to come to terms with their earlier lives: Fletcher must resolve his feelings about Tommy, a bullying friend of his teenage years who left young Fletcher with more than a few damaging scars, while Jeff has to clear the air between himself, his ex-wife and the memory of his deceased brother-in-law.

The sounds of the student’s rehearsal of ROMEO AND JULIET provide a surprisingly fitting commentary on the adult’s events onstage as the play’s themes of doomed love, mishandled information, exile, etc., constantly resurface throughout COMPOSURE. In addition, Mr. Sickles’ love of language wittily permeates COMPOSURE, capitalizing on both the modern scenario and the parallel us of Shakespearean text.

 Fletcher is the man around whom all the action of COMPOSURE revolves and Mr. Robert Bruce McIntosh shows the ambivalence and confusion of a person who wants to complete his task and move on but who cannot easily follow the course he had planned out for himself; whether those plans involves directing ROMEO AND JULIET, having a no-strings connection with Jeff or trying to get some sort of undefinable closure with Tommy. Mr. McIntosh’s character is all too human so even if he does not quite follow the story arc of a triumphant hero, Fletcher is likable, understandable and real.

 Mr. C.K. Allen’s Jeff has the wide-eyed aspect of someone who is still new at being himself. We see Jeff’s fear about hurting people and how that complicates his own need for honesty. Jeff still has a lot to discover and Mr. Allen makes us root for him as Jeff allows himself credit as being a man who can feel desire and love.

Jeff’s ex-wife Amanda thought she had Jeff’s devotion but is now forced to confront the realities of their failed marriage and the need to stop looking back. Ms. Susan Izatt gives a fine, incisive performance, making it clear that Amanda is trying very hard not to hate her former husband but she is still not able to make peace with the fact of who he now is. We feel the control Amanda exerts over her feelings and even over Jeff and when things reach a breaking point, Ms. Izatt’s delivery of irony and anger are all the more pointed and yet still sympathetic.

 Another character who still has to learn something about being loved is Beth, Tommy’s worshipful but self-denigrating wife. We might not care for a doormat, but Ms. Christine Verleney makes us care for Beth even though this character does everything she can to keep her belief in the loutish Tommy as the ideal husband. Ms. Verleney makes it pretty apparent that the moment that Beth believes in herself, Tommy will be in trouble.

 Then there is Tommy.

 As I have stated before, Tommy is a bully who must be everybody’s idol. Yet Mr. Rob Ventre presents this self-assured man in a way that makes me think of the sort of jerk who victims claim “…loved me – in his fashion…” Mr. Ventre’s convincing Tommy may very well believe that his brand of love is the best thing to happen to the people around him, but his manipulations and denials make it obvious that deep down he knows how wrong he is.

 Christopher is a brief role, but a very significant one, and Mr. Cliff Miller clearly understands the angst and disbelief of a young man who was not only a victim of the tragedy, but is forced to survive in a story that is different from real situation and an aftermath which he has no idea how to remedy.

 Under Mr. Fritz Brekeller’s direction the characters are all quite real as the people who would be encountered in a college town setting. Even Fletcher – the traveling Director – is a person determined to do the best of a difficult job with his eye already on his next task. Director Brekeller takes full advantage of Ms. Elizabet Puksto’s movable set, Ms. Diana Duecker’s lighting, Mr. Greg Emetaz’s surprising projections and Mr. Ian Wehrle’s sound design to allow the story of COMPOSURE move at its own steady pace. Using these excellent assets, the events and scenes (both contemporary and those related to ROMEO AND JULIET) can easily change and flow into one another in a cinematic way so that the momentum of the play is never lost.

Mr. Anthony Paul-Caveretta’s costumes are suitably day-to-day and give some inkling to the personalities of their wearers (such as Amanda’s more serious clothing: suitable for a divorce, an academic lecture or having an outburst at a gravesite).

With its excellent script, cast and staging, this current production of COMPOSURE offers a lot to enjoy and to think about.

 COMPSURE’S last performance was on June 24, 2017


Scott Sickles

CK Allen
CK Allen

* Appears courtesy of Actors Equity Association

 

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About the reviewer:

MOSHE BLOXENHEIM
I am a computer programmer, wannabe writer who loves theater and just got into the habit of inflicting my theatrical opinions.
I live in New York. Moshe can be reached at MB1224@aol.com

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GUEST REVIEWER: A Star is Reborn: A review of the Cabaret MULLIGAN & MOORE, VEGAS ‘55

A Star is Reborn 

A review of the Cabaret

MULLIGAN & MOORE, VEGAS ‘55

At the Metropolitan Room
June 22, 2017


Before his 1969 knighthood and achieving his legendary status in the entertainment world, Sir Noël Coward found his position as the leading British playwright and actor threatened by postwar changes in the English theatrical establishment of the early 1950’s. Turning to the cabaret stage, Sir Noël found a more welcoming venue that led to his famous 1955 turn at the Desert Inn in Las Vegas Strip.

Singer Gregory Moore and Pianist Simon Mulligan could have easily offered up an entertaining time by simply delivering the material from that famous performance, but instead — from Mr. Frank Sinatra’s attendance of the opening night show to Noël Coward’s appreciation of American audiences – MULLIGAN & MOORE, VEGAS ‘55, captures the anticipation, surprise and relief that were all a part of Sir Noël Coward’s famously successful performance and its notable aftermath. While most of the evening is devoted to The Master we are also treated to Mr. Moore’s enjoyable summoning up of Mr. Sinatra with “Luck Be a Lady Tonight” which begins a very interesting and often amusing discussion of Mr. Sinatra’s personal and career woes and leads to his need to offer support to his friend Sir Noël by not merely taking seats at the Desert Inn but flying in the largest and most glittering group of celebrities to ever cheer a cabaret act on its first night.

Though Mr. Simon Mulligan does not supply anecdotes nor lyrics, his superb piano playing supplies both a marvelous accompaniment and at intervals takes center stage with some wonderful solo performances. These musically relate to Mr. Moore’s narrative as well, such as the lushly atmospheric “Brazil,” Mr. Mulligan’s tribute to pianist Carmen Cavallaro which neatly sets off “Nina” Sir Noël’s riposte to Mr. Cole Porter’s tropical “Begin the Beguine”. In fact, though the evening seems to enjoyably go from anecdote to song to observation, it is a discreetly managed flow that sometimes focuses on one point briefly and then spends more time entertaining the audience with more detailed revelations on another matter: such as Sir Noël Coward’s willingness to make some modifications of his material for American tastes, but not when it led to foolish censorship.

As a singer, Mr. Gregory Moore does Sir Noël Coward proud. It is not merely that he knows how to deliver songs like “Bar on the Piccola Marina” but Mr. Moore relishes the wit and humor in the piece and shares that delight with his audience, never missing a laugh. This is not only limited Sir Noël’s songbook; Mr. Moore’s dapper style works very well with numbers by Mr. Frank Loesser or Messrs. Harold Arlen and Ira Gershwin. Indeed, the only criticism I might offer Mr. Moore has to do with his microphone placement which tends to hide the lower part of his face from the audience.

Even if you know the numbers or have heard the anecdotes elsewhere, Messrs. Mulligan and Moore make it all sound new and share in the delight Sir Noël Coward himself must have felt on that 1955 evening in Las Vegas when he had the audience eating out of his hand.

MULLIGAN & MOORE, VEGAS ’55 was last performed at the Metropolitan Room on June 22, 2017

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About the reviewer:

MOSHE BLOXENHEIM
I am a computer programmer, wannabe writer who loves theater and just got into the habit of inflicting my theatrical opinions.
I live in New York. Moshe can be reached at MB1224@aol.com

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Guest Review: “Face Off” A review of WAR PAINT at the Nederlander Theatre

Face Off

A review of

WAR PAINT
at the Nederlander Theatre
by Moshe Bloxenheim

April 26, 2017

WAR PAINT is a glamorous show with a marvelous cast, stunning sets, stylish costumes and a really engrossing Second Act.

Act Two shows the competing heads of the cosmetics and beauty industry, Miss Elizabeth Arden and Madame Helena Rubinstein, having survived Governmental hearings and the Food and Drug Administration’s investigations into their product lines. All seems bleak until the outbreak of war causes an increased demand for cosmetics and a need for technologies that are patriotically developed and supplied by both Mme. Rubinstein and Miss Arden’s companies. The Postwar boom places the two ladies in what seem to be unassailable positions in the cosmetics market. After a few years, the business changes as new competitors seek out the youth market, use new forms of advertising and sell product lines that our heroines deem tasteless and shoddy. Miss Elizabeth Arden and Mme. Helena Rubinstein must then face being figures of the past with shrinking empires who cannot adapt because their pride and high standards will not let them come to terms with a rapidly changing trade and radically different concepts of beauty. The ladies must also live with the effects that their drive and determination have left on their personal lives.

There is much that is thoughtful and sympathetic this last act and the show delivers some fine moments of theater. Unfortunately to get to Act Two, one must sit through a First Act that tells much about the protagonists but can’t quite figure out how to hook the audience.

Act One begins with Miss Elizabeth Arden approaching the height of her career as the socially approved supplier of cosmetics and beauty treatments. As her success increases, her husband and merchandising assistant Tommy Lewis chafes at the fact that he is his wife’s subordinate and cannot be a public part of MISS Arden’s success. To add to her worries, her competitor Madame Helena Rubinstein has returned from Europe and has repurchased the American wing of the firm she had sold off before the 1929 stock market crash. Mme. Rubinstein is zealously developing new products and treatments and her assistant Harry Fleming is eagerly providing new ideas to reestablish her cosmetics as a necessary luxury. Unfortunately he too is beginning to feel that his work is not being properly appreciated. Deep in the throes of competition new alliances are forged, relationships severed and the ladies bring the FDA down upon the entire cosmetics industry.

Based on Ms. Lindy Woodhead’s book “War Paint” and Ms. Ann Carol Grossman and Mr. Arnie Reisman’s documentary “The Powder & the Glory”, Mr. Doug Wright’s book for WAR PAINT clearly had to deal with an embarrassment of riches. It was a brave decision to focus on the ladies at their best and follow their paths to becoming obsolete relics in the fields that they had created, but the audience ends up being told about the things that make and drive Miss Arden and Mme. Rubinstein, rather than being shown what happened. True, there are quite a few interesting scenes, such as Harry Fleming showing Mme. Rubinstein how her face crème can be marketed in different ways or Miss Arden’s rejection of Revlon founder Charles Revson while she inspires his young lady assistant, but the actions are a double course of the characters: 

  • Being successful at any cost.
  • Making decisions that alienate the men in their lives because they are women.
  • Wondering what that horrible woman at the other company is doing.
  • Scheming how to get ahead of that horrible woman at the other company.

 None of these are bad story points by any means, but as they are currently presented they are easily topped by the more intriguing references of prior events – Mme. Rubinstein leaving Poland for Australia to escape an arranged marriage or Miss Arden’s being born as Florence Nightingale Graham, etc. Instead of fully focusing on how their climb has made them who they are, we see these ladies spend much of their time pushing concoctions on a credulous public, aggravating men and playing dirty tricks on one another. While this still provides Act Two with a solid basis to tell the story, it also leaves Act Two to do the work of pulling the audience in: Both ladies may be outsiders who aspire to an American Dream they are not allowed to be a part of, but there is little reason in Act One to care for either of them.

The cast is really great and work so very hard to make the most of WAR PAINT.

Ms. Christine Ebersole is amazing as Miss Elizabeth Arden, the lady who longs for acceptance into the highest social circles, but who has worked too hard to ever leave behind the days when she mixed up the face lotions herself. Even in Act One she has some magical moments such as her performance of the number “Better Yourself” which is sung to a young lady who also has business aspirations, but it is in Act Two where Ms. Ebersole shines, becoming downright heartbreaking in the angry self-review of her career “Pink”. We feel for this Elizabeth Arden who is appalled by the world that seems to be turning cheap and inferior while remaining as unwelcoming as ever.

As Miss Arden’s nemesis, Ms. Patti LuPone brilliantly creates a fierce and dominating Helena Rubinstein who has never left her past, in part because she knows that no one else will let her forget who she is: a Jew and a woman. She too must battle to keep ahead and she feels that every cosmetic advance she can create is hers and hers alone even if she hires the brightest people to help market her products. There are times when Ms. LuPone’s take on her character’s Polish/Yiddish accent (by way of Australia, London and Paris) defeats her intelligibility, but all vocal confusions are forgiven whenever Ms. LuPone lands a number. In the End of Act Two, Helena sings “Forever Beautiful”, a number about trying to stop time with art that could have easily been a tribute to a woman’s self-absorption and mania as a collector of her own portraits, but Ms. LuPone makes it a touching appreciation of a woman who is facing the end of her life without any of the consolations of love and family.

Tommy Lewis is the husband of Miss Elizabeth Arden. He is a very talented businessman and gives much to his wife’s enterprise, but resents being Mr. Elizabeth Arden. Harry Fleming begins as Mme. Rubinstein’s brilliant marketing and advertising man who is treated like a son and soon enough discovers some of the reasons Mme. Rubinstein’s male family members keep a good distance from her. Mr. John Dosetti’s Tommy Lewis is excellent as the husband who feels more and more out of place in his wife’s world. Similarly, Mr. Douglas Sills gives an admirable performance as Harry Fleming, a man who thinks he deserves more credit than Madame will give anyone. There is humor and much pathos in the fact that these two individuals can be so interchangeable in the lives of Mme. Rubinstein and Miss Arden that when they end up leaving these ladies both gentlemen merely switch bosses and much continues as before (which makes one wonder how intelligent Lewis and Fleming really are if they think the other lady would give them any more recognition – but who am I to quibble with a reality that does make for a darned good plot twist?). When watching Messrs. John Dosetti and Douglas Sills play these roles so expertly, I just kept imagining Director Michael Greif saying “You are the embodiment of all the emasculated men in the lives of these ladies.” A surprising highlight was their number “Dinosaurs” sung by the gentlemen at the end of their careers as they see their bosses and their companies being left behind by the youth culture and changes in fashion. Of course, after some of the really bad advice they both give their bosses in Act One (which brings on the FDA) I wondered why anyone would keep listening to them.

Mr. Erk Liberman’s Charles Revson is fine as a determined though unpolished male parallel to Miss Arden and Mme. Rubinstein and Ms. Steffanie Leigh is memorably eye-catching as Dorian Leigh. They also perform other people in the in the world of our two Ladies as do the rest of the superb company: Most notably Ms. Mary Ernster who summons up the best of Helen Hokinson’s Dowager cartoons from the New Yorker.

 Director Michael Greif clearly understands the importance of Act Two because he could have easily introduced an element of camp into Act One which might have made it more enjoyable (indeed it begs for camp) but that would have hurt the Second Act. Instead, regardless of its flaws, Act One is consistent with Act Two which gives the decline from greatness far more grounding. Mr. Greif also shows skill in how he deftly handles two lead characters who are constantly on the same stage yet cannot acknowledge each other’s presence. This makes for a wonderful payoff in certain scenes, especially at the end of the show.

Unfortunately he too cannot overcome the snags of Act One nor the problems with some of the numbers.

Elizabeth and Helena exhibit a dignity and maturity that does not allow for much in the way of high kicks and twirls, so Choreographer Christopher Gattelli makes them the center of a world that dances around them, creating some very imaginative numbers such as “Best Face Forward” an overview of how cosmetics can affect a woman’s world and “Step on Out” where Tommy Lewis and Harry Fleming both have a night out to blow off steam in their different (yet similar) ways.

Mr. Lawrence Yurman ably conducts Mr. Bruce Coughlin’s standard Broadway house orchestrations of Mr. Scott Frankel’s Music and Mr. Michael Korie’s lyrics. This makes for some songs that show off Mss. LuPone and Ebersol to their best advantage, and lay out the situations quite well. But besides the funny, self-pitying “Dinosaurs” and the angry “Pink” the tunes seemed to vanish from memory. The scenes were there, but not the numbers themselves. Additionally, certain pieces made very important points but didn’t know when to stop. “Now You Know” is Helena’s musing upon overhearing Elizabeth having one of her greatest disappointments right after Helena herself has been reminded that as a Jew she is still sometimes unwelcome. It is a sincere and sympathetic song that underscores their outsider status and similarity but kept on long after its message was delivered. Similarly the Revlon TV commercial “Fire and Ice” begins as the ideal contrast between the changing world of the 1950’s and the ideals of Elizabeth and Helena, but since it is also out to evoke the banalities of a television ad, this 60 second spot goes on for at least five or more minutes more than necessary as if the producers were determined to get their money’s worth of the gowns and mirror sets.

Admittedly, the sets and costumes are well worth showing off. Mr. David Corin has come up with some striking scenic designs that range from the beautiful salon backdrop of frosted geometric bottles and jars on row after row of illuminated shelves to the simple yet effective TV studio mirrors for the “Fire and Ice” number and the sedate St. Regis restaurant where people can be heard and not seen. Mr. Kevin Posner lights up each scene with great care allowing moments to successfully transition in a cinematic way and enables intimate scenes to flow easily into public displays.

The look of the people onstage is just as outstanding. Ms. Catherin Zuber’s exceptional costumes capture each period from the 1930’s to the 1960’s and Ms. Angelina Avallone’s makeup designs and Mr. David Brian Browns’ wigs are superb, making Ms. Ebersole a feminine vision of pink determination and giving Ms. LuPone the perfect look of Helena Rubinstein down to her the unforgettable jet black hair.

Mr. Brian Ronan’s sound system works admirably, assisting the performers on stage instead of taking over for them.

Overall, the stage work is truly top notch and the high caliber of the performances alone could have done much to make a reasonably good show become a must-see treat for the audience. But all the effort given to WAR PAINT is sadly defeated by a weak first act and an often unremarkable score.

NEDERLANDER THEATRE
208 West 41st St
Between 7th & 8th Ave

BOOK BY DOUG WRIGHT ~ MUSIC BY SCOTT FRANKEL ~ LYRICS BY MICHAEL KORIE
ALSO STARRING JOHN DOSSETT AND DOUGLAS SILLS
CHOREOGRAPHED BY CHRISTOPHER GATTELLI
DIRECTED BY MICHAEL GREIF

NEW BLOCK OF TICKETS AVAILABLE SOON!
BUY TICKETS

About the reviewer:

MOSHE BLOXENHEIM
I am a computer programmer, wannabe writer who loves theater and just got into the habit of inflicting my theatrical opinions.
I live in New York. Moshe can be reached at MB1224@aol.com

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GUEST REVIEWER: Life behind the Wicked Stage. PERFECTING THE KISS

Life behind the Wicked Stage

A review of Mind The Gap Theatre & YouBlinked Productions presentation of

PERFECTING THE KISS

At the NuBox Theater/John DeSotelle Studios
April 20, 2017
by Moshe Bloxenheim

 

Billed as a “Mocumentary for the Stage”, Mr. Scott C. Sickles’ excellent play PERFECTING THE KISS is a savagely hilarious show that finds its wit in the way very real and flawed personalities pursue their desires even when it clashes with how they present themselves and what they want to achieve.

Helen McMillan – the former Stage Manager of Harvest Carruthers’ latest overwrought play – very bluntly begins by announcing that what we are about to see is a form of therapy. We are then taken back to the very first script reading of Harvest’s play where we see director Edwina cheerfully welcoming the sensitive and word-proud author, the two actors Mike and Buck and kind of acknowledging Helen. It is soon very clear that Edwina has her own reasons for casting Mike in this show and Mike is not exactly thrilled with either her motives or the show itself. Mike is also disconcerted by Buck’s rather overblown first reading which does not quite mesh with his own low-key style of rehearsing. But Harvest seems more and more fascinated by Buck even as he begins to change his sacred texts… and so it continues.

Mr. Sickles lets his situations evolve into farce in a way that is every bit as sidesplitting as it is realistic. This is theater: an industry where everyone acts on what they think they have heard and seen and are all too willing to take each other at face value. So actions and reactions pile up in a believable comedy of manners that works on multiple levels – firstly as a really funny show where people have to work together even while pursuing each other in a sort of mad Mobius strip of desire. Then there is the added treat of evil recognition for anyone who has been to one too many play readings or rehearsals of a certain offbeat theatrical type.

The cast is wonderfully directed by Ms. Paula D’Alessandris, who clearly understands that the characters of PERFECTING THE KISS are not mere theatrical stereotypes hyped up for a laugh, and that the reality of these people make the show even funnier. If there is any exaggeration it is all in the realm of possibility so that we can really feel Helen’s anguish even when we laugh at the ludicrousness of it all.

Ms. Helen McMillan is brilliant as the alternately pestered and ignored Stage Manager Helen McMillan (Yes, that is the name of both actress and character). As the Cinderella who blows up the Ball just as her fairy coach arrives, Ms. McMillan’s understated recollection of the egos and issues of the people involved absurdly heightens her sense of walking on emotional whoopee cushions. She is truly an actress who knows how wield a wry brief comment and isn’t afraid to use it.

As Harvest Carruthers, the playwright, Mr. Hugo Trebels presents one of those sensitive creative types who cannot easily write a simple sentence if several pages of dialogue can suffice. Of course every one of his written words is sacrosanct and woe betides the people who cannot read his mind: he wants to uplift the audience’s intellect. Mr. Trebels never misses a trick, whether Harvest is being outraged by the honesty of a person who truly admires him, flattered by one of his actors or taking out his frustration in his scripts revisions.

Harvest’s director Edwina O’Halloran is another prize piece of work. She is intent on keeping Harvest happy, while trying to make his play more presentable. But besides the many concerns involved with the show, Edwina wants actor Mike Porter to be in love with her and cannot appreciate the fact that Mike is gay. This all leads to some fascinating mind games which Ms. Janette Johnston‘s superb Edwina plays with great skill.

Mr. George Redner gives a fine tuned performance as Mike Porter, one of the two actors in Harvest’s play. Though he may not show it initially, Mike is one of those actors who will put everything he has into doing a good job – no matter what he thinks of the material and in spite of having to cope with Edwina’s maneuverings.

The other actor, Jonah ‘Buck’ Jackson is played with a delightful Gee Whiz charm by Mr. Patrick Harman. ‘Buck’ may seem innocent enough but he knows what to do when he needs to, even if he apparently has no idea how much Harvest is attracted to him. In addition, Messrs. Harman and Redner’s work as two actors of VERY different styles and their interactions in rehearsals are some of the comic highlights of PERFECTING THE KISS. Both gentlemen are truly believable in their offstage and onstage moments.

Naturally kudos must be given to Ms. Judith Feingold as the actual Stage Manager for helping PERFECTING THE KISS move forward convincingly with only lighting, sound and minimal sets.

 PERFECTING THE KISS is a truly funny show that I cannot recommend highly enough. Alas, it has just ended its limited run and I can only finish by wishing that it soon be brought back onstage again.

CAST & CREATIVES
PATRICK HARMAN – Jonah “Buck” Jackson
JANETTE JOHNSTON – Edwina O’Halloran
HELEN MCMILLAN – Narrator
GEORGE REDNER – Mike Porter
HUGO TREBELS – Harvest Carruthers
Directed by PAULA D’ALESSANDRIS
Written by SCOTT C SICKLES

About the reviewer:

MOSHE BLOXENHEIM
I am a computer programmer, wannabe writer who loves theater and just got into the habit of inflicting my theatrical opinions.
I live in New York. Moshe can be reached at MB1224@aol.com

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GUEST REVIEWER: We’ll Take Manhattan! A review of Encores! concert reconstruction of Cole Porter’s THE NEW YORKERS

We’ll Take Manhattan

A review of Encores! concert reconstruction of

Cole Porter’s
THE NEW YORKERS

At New York City Center
March 22, 2017

by Moshe Bloxenheim

 THE NEW YORKERS originally featured specialty acts, material built around Mr. Jimmy Durante’s unique personality and took a very amused look at the world of Park Avenue Society, Gangsters and Prohibition, making no bones about the fact that this was not a show for “The Little Old Lady from Dubuque” though I daresay she might have had a whale of a time too. Encores! manages in a case of sheer theatrical chutzpah to piece together a fine entertainment that gives an impression of the enjoyment that was to be found in the original 1930 show even if an accurate reconstruction is not in cards.

Mr. Cole Porter’s score alone is well worth the price of admission. Admittedly many numbers are hits imported from other shows, but they seem to make themselves perfectly at home sometimes showing up in surprisingly adroit ways. Mr. Jack Viertel assists in this with a concert adaptation of Mr. Herbert Fields original book that allows the plot to entertain and move the show onward without ever forgetting that the songs come first.

The gangsters, good time girls, vapid socialites, adulterers, hoofers, gigolos, prisoners and so on that inhabit THE NEW YORKERS are all likeable and occasionally endearing and make the most of whatever story had first been furnished by Mr. E. Ray Goetz and the famous New Yorker Magazine cartoonist, Mr. Peter Arno: Alice Wentworth, a pretty socialite, is engaged to marry the stodgy, wealthy and reputable Phillip Booster. She expects her marriage to be like that of her parents, Dr. Windham and Mrs. Gloria Wentworth. The Doctor is the swain of the entertainer Lola McGee and the famous inventor of the pick-me-up drug Alcodol while Gloria has Captain Hillary Trask as her special pick-me-up. When the handsome young Captain goes off with Lola, the Doctor and Gloria are rather nonplussed to have to go home together. All plans for a similar life with fiancé Phillip go out the window the moment Alice meets the dashing speakeasy owner Al Spanish. Al and Alice are quite smitten and, for good measure, Philip falls hard for Al’s girlfriend, the singer Mona Low. Unfortunately, complications arrive in the guise of Feet McGeegan, who wants Al to keep out of the Caviar Racket (as if rum-sunning wasn’t hazardous enough). Merry mayhem ensues with some frequency and lots of great music and dancing. Through it all comedian and drink Inventor supreme Jimmie Deegan struts his stuff, the Three Girl Friends Trio and the Varsity Eight chorus sound and look stunning, and jokes about prohibition, politics, society, prison and Cole Porter references are tossed in with happy abandon. Oh yeah – it all ends right.

Delightful Ms. Scarlett Strallen ensures that Alice Wentworth is no mere pretty face, making the most of the character’s savvy naiveté and getting her some wonderful laughs in Alice’s discovery of Real Life (in the form of Al Spanish). Ms. Strallen can also deliver a song with the best of them making the well-known “Most Gentlemen Don’t Like Love” and “Night and Day” just two of the many high points of a very well scored evening.

Anti-antihero Al Spanish may be a gun-toting gangster but Mr. Tam Mutu makes him the perfect gentleman from the wrong side of the tracks. He exhibits a sort of Gee Whiz quality that makes him the good guy even as he guns down his rivals. Mr. Mutu has an ability to put a number over that looks downright effortless and yet so enjoyable.

Usually a musical has one main lead couple and one subplot. But THE NEW YORKERS delivers far more.

Ms. Mylinda Hull gives a wonderful performance as Mona Low. Mona may be losing her Al to Alice but Ms. Hull can make one quite believe that this torch singer knows how to set the stolid Phillip Booster on fire and Mr. Todd Buonopane’s Phillip is a hoot as he transforms from Alice’s burden to Mona’s pleasure.

Alice’s parents are the second couple as they discover that although infidelity is lots of fun, it is always nice to come home to one another. Dr. Windham Wentworth is one of those urbane if slightly vague men-about-town and Byron Jennings plays him with fine understatement. Ms. Ruth Williamson makes Gloria Wentworth a fine contrast to the good Doctor, giving us a woman-about-town who might like home better. Her delicious delivery of “The Physician” comes across is the complaint of a lady who feels a bit ashamed that she much prefers her husband to her boyfriend – if he would only give her a glance!

Then there is Lola McGee and Captain Hillary Trask. These two may not end up together living happily ever after, but Ms. Robyn Hurder and Mr. Tyler Lansing Weaks ensure that they and the audience have a good time for the present. When Ms. Hurder delivers “Please Don’t Make Me Be Good” it is clear that she already is.

Then there is Mr. Kevin Chamberlain in the role of Jimmy Deegan – the comic mixologist. Just the knowledge that Mr. Jimmy Durante originated the part makes his memory a hard act to follow. Still, Mr. Chamberlain makes Jimmy Deegan truly funny and gets the best out of the silly dialogue, yet he is able to add enough Durante mannerisms to make us see how Mr. Durante might have laid them in the aisles in 1930 just as Mr. Chamberlain proceeds to do in 2017. His Act One closer “Wood” is an example of how great absurd comedy can really last.

Aiding and abetting Mr. Chamberlain are his two comic and dancing sidekicks Monahan and Gregory, played with gleeful skill by Messrs. Clyde Alves and Jeffery Schecter.

While Jimmy Deegan is a unique comedy turn all by himself, there are several other specialty acts that deserve much praise:

The Gangster Feet McGeegan is the villain of the show in the mold of Snidely Whiplash or Witch Hazel. So naturally as one of those characters who deserves killing, THE NEW YORKERS obliges, having Feet coming to an untoward end over and over and over again. Mr. Arnie Burton manages to give him just the right level of cartoonish melodrama proving that death may be easy and comedy is hard but comic death is an art all its own. As an added highlight, Mr. Burton stops the show with the brilliant patter number “Let’s Not Talk About Love”.

Other musical delights include the trio of Mss. Christine DiGiallonardo, Lindsay Roberts and Kathryn McCreary as the Three Girl Friends and the Varsity Eight in the guise of Messrs. Matt Bauman, Sam Bolen, Brian Flores, Matthew Griffin, Curtis Holland, Timothy McDevitt, Brendon Stimson and Cody Williams, who recreate the numbers originated by the megaphone-wielding Waring Pennsylvanians.

Many of these performers double up in several roles but Mr. Eddie Korbich laudably wins the multiple casting honors as he appears and reappears as a doctor, a nightclub major domo, a waiter at a deli, a policeman, a butler…

The rest of the company deserve top marks for their acting and dancing, but even with the wealth of pleasure offered onstage, one performer still stands out indelibly: Ms. Cyrille Aimée delivers “Love for Sale” on an empty stage without any introduction and brings down the house. This lonely, haunting performance on its own would have made THE NEW YORKERS worth seeing.

Director John Rando has no trouble with the fact that THE NEW YORKERS is a series of songs with barely enough plot to keep the show from being designated a revue or vaudeville (not that there would be a problem with either one). But Mr. Rando ensures that even with all the numbers being launched in so many ways by different people and acts that everyone gets to shine and nothing ever clashes so that the show buckets along engagingly to its loopy conclusion (the memorable “I Happen To Like New York” chorale). Mr. Chris Bailey’s choreography has a lot to do with this because so much movement and dancing carry THE NEW YORKERS forward. A gangster battle where the machine gun fire is enacted by tap-dance emphasizes the period, plot and cartoonish nature of the show since the assailants and their would-be targets just keep happily tapping and firing. More than that, the specialties are clearly staged to make the most of the talents involved yet invoke their predecessors in the roles. In fact, where many songs have at least a line to cue them in, Messrs. Rando and Viertel know that sometimes a song should be left to fend for itself and ensure that a moment like Ms. Cyrille Aimée’s singing of “Love for Sale” stands alone as the jewel of the show as the original piece did in 1930.

This care with THE NEW YORKERS songs and music is obviously shared by the Rob Berman and the Encores! Orchestra. Mr. Berman’s arrangements and conducting and Messrs. Josh Clayton’s and Larry Moore’s orchestrations are out to get the best of musicians and actors and all deliver beautifully. Even when a number is an import from another show and of a slightly different style (like “The Physician” from the English show NYMPH ERRANT), it just seems to be a natural fit in THE NEW YORKERS. Certainly it would have been braver and wiser for the show to have selected more obscure pieces from Mr. Porter’s songbook and give them the currency they may deserve but I enjoyed myself too much to quibble with what is on offer.

The look of the show is also quite striking with designs that appear as an idealized 1930. Thanks to Mr. Allen Moyer’s scenery and Mr. Alejo Vietti’s costumes one can see glitz and glamor even in Sing-Sing prison and Mr. Ken Billingtons’s top-notch lighting makes even the shimmering reflections of the ladies’ lamé gowns become part of the visual pleasure.

I was a little surprised at the unevenness of Mr. Dan Moses Scheier’s sound system, but besides a few aural fades in Act One, everything sounded pretty good, upholding the illusion that you could hear the voices from the actors rather than the loudspeakers.

THE NEW YORKERS is a loving and varicolored bouquet to the people, foibles and theater of that 1930’s city but it still has an enchanting effect in today’s Empire City as well. As with all first public Encores! performances there was a slightly tentative feeling as the performers gauged how the material was landing, but all went wonderfully well and I am sure that the future performances will only get better and even funnier.

Encores! final Performance of THE NEW YORKERS was 7 PM Sunday Night, March 26, 2017.

About the reviewer:

MOSHE BLOXENHEIM
I am a computer programmer, wannabe writer who loves theater and just got into the habit of inflicting my theatrical opinions.
I live in New York. Moshe can be reached at MB1224@aol.com

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Read how ENCORES restored the show: http://www.nycitycenter.org/Home/Blog/March-2017/Reclaiming-The-New-Yorkers?fullsite=true

GUEST REVIEWER: DEAR WORLD at The York Theatre

Small WORLD, isn’t it?

A Review of Musicals in Mufti’s concert production of

DEAR WORLD

At the York Theatre
by Moshe Bloxenheim 

Musicals in Mufti’s concert production of DEAR WORLD is one of those lovingly staged productions that can beguile an audience into wondering why this show didn’t work the first time? With a book based on Monsieur Jean Geraudoux’s play THE MADWOMAN OF CHAILLOT and an often delightful score by Jerry Herman, DEAR WORLD relates how Countess Aurelia, Madwoman of Chaillot saves humanity from being overrun by the soulless seekers of money and power. In the Countess’ adventure the audience is introduced to the characters who make up her world and those who threaten it.

The Prospector and the three corporate Presidents seek to destroy the Countess’ beloved Paris for the lake of oil that they know is below the city. Mr. Gordon Stanley is a perfectly peevish Prospector who is driven by oil and cannot see any romance beside it. He fits perfectly in with the Presidents who are played with relish by Messrs. Stephen Mo Hanan, Peter Land and J. Bernard Calloway. All the gentlemen gleefully twirl a metaphysical villainous mustache with panache, bringing their best to their anthem of greed “Just A Little Bit More” and being merrily hissable in “The Spring of Next year” where they exult in the destruction of Paris.

The young executive Julian had been one of their crew until he realized that people would be hurt and Mr. Hunter Ryan Herdlicka manages to show this change of heart quite briefly and yet credibly. Indeed, under the Countess’ idealistic spell Julian goes from accomplice to uncertain to penitent to hero and lover and the handsome Mr. Herdlicka accomplishes the changes with charm and ease, most memorably in a tender scene where Julian pretends to be Adolphe Bertaut – the man who had broken the Countess’ heart many years in the past.
Nina is a waitress and general factotum at the Café Francis – the bistro where the Countess holds court and the place that the Prospector wants to destroy to start the oil drilling. Ms. Erika Henningsen makes a sweet and pretty Nina who clearly enjoys being a part of the Countess’ world. We root for her Nina and Julian to fall in love with each other and cheer when Ms. Henningsen sings “I Never Said I Love You” (even with its inept positioning in the show).

One of the Countess’ aides and links from the harsh real world to her romantic existence is Mr. Lenny Wolpe’s jovial Sewerman. From his number “Pretty Garbage” and onwards Mr. Wolpe creates a man who has his mind in the most delightful of gutters, giving cheerful denials about the outrageous world below that make it seem even more wonderful and fantastic. When the Sewerman gives a “sympathetic” defense of the rich in Act Two, Mr. Wolpe extracts some wonderfully timely comedy out of the moment.

It is a talent indeed to play a role without practically a word and Mr. Kristopher Thompson-Bolden makes a beautiful Mute – the observer of all and assistant to the Countess. For a man who will not speak, Mr. Kristopher Thompson-Bolden’s Mute is a real chatty soul and can even deliver a song with flair – allowing gesture and dance to supply the lyrics that are then picked up and sung by the other performers.

Other helpful men who brighten the stage are Mr. Dewey Caddell as the Police Sergeant and Ben Cherry who is the Waiter at the Café Francis.

Two other Madwomen assist the Countess: Ms. Alison Fraser gives us a striking and memorable Madame Constance, Madwoman of the Market. She could have jauntily stepped out of an Edward Gorey drawing but her fancies are less gothic and more aurally and erotically absurd.

Adding to the fun, Ms. Ann Harada’s superb Madmoiselle Gabrielle, Madwoman of Montmarte is relentlessly virginal and unsullied. Ms. Harada’s character could simply be childish and a bore about her imaginary lap dog, Dickie, but Ms. Harada makes us see why the others would care for her and even makes us wonder if we aren’t seeing the dog too, even though Mlle. Gabrielle then claims she hadn’t brought Dickie after all.

Finally, the Doyenne of Madwomen: Countess Aurelia, Madwoman of Chaillot.
Ms. Tyne Daly gives a definitive performance as the sanest Madwoman there ever was, living in a romantic dream that must be cruelly interrupted to save the beauty of the real world. As a Madwoman, Ms. Daly sensibly gives her Countess the only French Accent in this stage Paris and often seems to have to refocus her fantasy driven mind. Musically, Ms. Daly does not sing her songs prettily but delivers them to brilliant effect, making them truly enchanting. The Countess’ plea against reality “I Don’t Want to Know” is downright heart-stirring as Ms. Daly performs it. Then again, the Madwoman’s tea party in Act Two could easily become a scene stealing battle, but Ms. Daly is clearly at stage center joining in with Ms. Harada and Ms. Fraser in creating a wonderful piece of musical theater studded with comic gems. You want to hug and take care of Ms. Daly’s Countess even while knowing full well that she is more than capable of taking care of you.

Mr. Michael Montel directs DEAR WORLD with the clear understanding that the more intimate this show is, the better it will work and makes the most of the small York Theatre Stage with its basic setting by Mr. James Morgan and lighting by Brian Nason. He does his best to make us forget some of the bumpier moments of the book and well evokes the fairy tale atmosphere of this whimsical story.

There have been times when I have been to a musical that sadly manages to evoke earlier recording of the show by its current shortcomings. Happily, this cannot be said of DEAR WORLD where Mr. Christopher McGovern’s first-rate musical direction and piano playing – along with the fine bass and accordion skills of Mr. Louis Tucci – sound anything but spare.

Messrs. Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee’s original book for DEAR WORLD has been revised by Mr. David Thompson and he has made a noble effort of reworking and tightening the show, changing the song order, working with added material and introducing some numbers to better effect. While “Just a Little Bit More” is not my favorite number, it now gives a suitable way for our Villains to better define who they are and relocating “The Spring of Next Year” to Act Two gives these characters a number that lets them reestablish themselves to the audience as evil beings when they musically celebrate Paris’ impending ruin. The Countess’ “Kiss Her Now” has become a very satisfying moment, framing Julian and Nina’s love towards the end of Act Two. Still, even the concert premise cannot really overcome the clumsy placement of Nina’s lovely “I’ve Never Said I Love You” which suddenly erupts without rhyme or reason.

And then there is the Title Song.

Mr. Jerry Herman creates some unforgettable pieces: “I Don’t Want To Know”, “Each Tomorrow Morning”, “Kiss Her Now”, etc. – but the title song “Dear World” is one of those things that must be gotten through because it is a TITLE SONG. Messrs. Thompson and McGovern clearly have done their level best to make “Dear World” work as an anthem that will bring heart back to the protagonists but in spite of their efforts, it still feels like being beaten repeatedly between the eyes with a Hallmark Get Well card. One annoying aspect of the song is the fact that the people singing “Dear World” are the ones being forced save the world – it will not save itself like the song repeatedly insists. The song that immediately follows it, “One Person”, is actually more to the point and moves things forward. Perhaps it is heretical, but I think the show would be much better if “Dear World” was totally rewritten with more suitable lyrics or even dropped altogether.

Still, even in its current condition, DEAR WORLD is well worth it – as a marvelous entertainment with a great cast and as an appropriate fable for these times. Even the flaws are intriguing and some of the more creative spectators may leave the theater both thrilled with what they have seen and contemplating what might be done do to overcome the imperfections.

 Alas, DEAR WORLD closed March 5.

About the reviewer:

MOSHE BLOXENHEIM
I am a computer programmer, wannabe writer who loves theater and just got into the habit of inflicting my theatrical opinions.
I live in New York. Moshe can be reached at MB1224@aol.com

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DEAR WORLD
Book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee
New Version by David Thompson
Music and Lyrics by Jerry Herman
Based on The Madwoman of Chaillot by Jean Giraudoux as adapted by Maurice Valency
Directed by Michael Montel
Music Directed by Christopher McGovern
Featuring Tyne Daly
With Dewey Cadell, J. Bernard Calloway, Ben Cherry, Alison Fraser, Stephen Mo Hanan, Ann Harada, Erika Henningsen, Hunter Ryan Herdlicka, Peter Land, Gordon Stanley, Kristopher Thompson-Bolden, Lenny Wolpe