GUEST REVIEW: “Soul Doctor” at the Circle in the Square Theater

There is a scene in the first act of “Soul Doctor,” one that features the characters of Nina Simone and Rabbi Shlomo, a piano, a chair, and a tip jar.   She smokes and plays, he sits and frets, and through the scene they invariably sew their souls together in conversations of race, heartache and loss, and the healing and spiritual power of music.  The scene, lovingly performed by Eric Anderson as Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach and Amber Iman as Nina Simone, is at the heart of “Soul Doctor,” which opens on Broadway tonight at the Circle in the Square Theater.   As wonderful as this scene is, unfortunately the soul of this musical has been buried in Rabbi Shlomo’s storied rise to Jewish music stardom; the show suffers, as with many biographical plays, the need to incorporate one person’s timeline in flashbacks, a series of “highlight reel” scenes, and offers many unanswered questions while never taking the time to explore all the varied themes it introduces.

I attended Wednesday’s matinee with an open…well, an admittedly empty mind.  I didn’t know the true history of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, who traveled with family as a boy to escape pre-Nazi Vienna only to become a “Rock Star Rabbi” in 1960s America.  He broke with Traditional Jewish norms and took European Hebrew music into modern rock and roll and folk riffs, updating it, writing new melodies to ancient words, and connecting it to the youth of the day.  He even held his own version of a Synagogue on the corner of Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco.  The audience sitting with me was an older crowd and more knowledgeable about the subject matter: the mere mention of “Rabbi Schneerson” caused a low murmur to ripple across them.  So, I felt a bit in the dark in my half-Jewish/half-Catholic, mostly-ignorant state.

 In “Soul Doctor,” the story of Reb Shlomo unfolds on stage like the pages of a well-worn and comfortably familiar book – the staging is simple, the set does not get in its own way to flow from scene to scene, and the story is straightforward.  There are few shocks or twists and turns to his story, although from an insider’s perspective I may be dismissing this as age-old “stuff my Mother’s generation went through” angst.  Humor (both Jewish and universally funny guffaw-inducing moments) keep the script fun and not too heavy-handed.   The show itself strives to tell the story of his journey to forgive Vienna and his enemies through song (all music is by Carlebach, with translated lyrics by Carlebach and additional narrative lyrics by David Schechter).  The show questions “how can you change the world with a song?” and “what good are the words if you forget the melody?”…basically, what good are you as a religious leader in knowing all the words written in the Torah if you are not instigating action and creating life-changing connections with your congregation?  After these questions were posed, I waited to be shown how Shlomo answered them during the times when he wasn’t singing; yet, only in one scene did we get a glimpse how the Rabbi taught his form of Judaism to his congregation without the use of a guitar.

Eric Anderson sings and performs Shlomo to great effect, with high energy and fervor at times, and at most times with a true inner peace and understandable love.
Amber Iman as Nina is fierce, funny, vocally spectacular, and showed her own Rabbinically spiritual side in music effortlessly.  The rest of the cast was also very wonderful, although at times some non-traditional gender and race casting within the multiple-character storytelling knocked me out of the mostly historically accurate world.  The music itself was well arranged and at times beautiful and stirring; however, Carlebach’s music flowed from one melody to the next without much of a hook, and I felt certain scenes to be over-melodized rather than simply spoken.  This is not a show to walk out humming the hit theme song (and “I Put A Spell On You” from Nina Simone won’t count), although from the audience’s reaction there were many of the Rabbi’s hits featured.  The standing ovation at the end was more a clap-along than applause.  It did make me smirk from a musical point of view when Nina encouraged the “congregation-audience” of her Baptist church to clap on the 2’s and 4’s, only have the entire audience clapping on the 1’s and 3’s instead…some cultural rhythms take time to learn, I guess.  The show also allowed for some beautifully acted moments; Zarah Mahler as Ruth, Shlomo’s student saved from the shadow of Washington Square Park, has a gorgeous song, “I Was a Sparrow (Schifchie),” which offers Mahler a chance to take the Rabbi’s lyrics and tenderly carve her heart into them.

 But back to the scene between Nina and Shlomo – their story truly hooked me, how two different people on opposite sides of the race, gender, and religion spectrum could connect so lovely and with so much fervor.  I would almost say their scenes in the show are reason enough to see this on Broadway, and to allow the introduction of his life into one’s consciousness.  Shlomo’s ostracization by his family and religious overseers became emotionally second to the relationship he had with Nina on stage.  Indeed, after seeing this scene my heart ached for a two-person show featuring conversations and combinations of Nina Simone’s “African-American Classical” music (as she put it) and Reb Shlomo’s reinvented Hebrew music, rather than a glossary-glance biomusical that left some questions unanswered.  Since the show blossomed out of Carlebach’s own daughter’s one-woman show idea, I felt the addition of so many scenes and characters diluted the messages inherent in his message and glimpses of his soul we were able to see were left largely untouched.

I’m not sure if I’m the target audience of this musical, although the emotional questions it offers are universal in nature – human pain, striving to deal with one’s feelings of hopelessness, and the attempts to heal our hearts through music and forgiveness are the same no matter where you hail from or what your religious beliefs are.  Seeing it caused me to hit Wikipedia and YouTube the Rabbi himself, and although my parents didn’t remember hearing about him during their time in 1960s San Francisco, I do believe his story is important to learn about, as his teachings certainly changed a specific generation’s world through story and song.   I only wish the book by Daniel S. Wise delved deeper.
-SI-


Eric Anderson plays Shlomo, the role that garnered him a 2013 Drama Desk Award nomination for Best Leading Actor in a Musical, for his performances Off-Broadway, and Amber Iman, making her Broadway debut, will play the role of Nina Simone.  They will be joined by a multi-cultural cast including Jacqueline Antaramian, Dianna Barger, Richard Cerato, Tara Chambers, Maria Conti, Alexandra Frohlinger, Afra Hines, Abdur-Rahim Jackson, Jamie Jackson, Ethan Khusidman, Dillon Kondor, Zarah Mahler, Vasthy Mompoint, Ron Orbach, Ian Paget, Heather Parcells, Michael Paternostro, JC Schuster, Eric J. Stockton, Ryan Strand and Teddy Walsh.

The award-winning design team for Soul Doctor includes scenic design by Neil Patel ([title of show]), costume design by Maggie Morgan (David’s Red-Haired Death), lighting design by Jeff Croiter (Newsies) and sound design by John Shivers (2013 Tony®-winner for Kinky Boots) and David Patridge.  Orchestrations and additional arrangements are by Steve Margoshes, music supervision and arrangements are by Brian Koonin and music direction and arrangements are by Seth Farber.

This production is produced by Jeremy Chess, Jerome Levy, Robert Beckwitt, Edward Steinberg, Joel Kahn and Danny Boy Productions.

The new Broadway musical Soul Doctor, about the life and music of Shlomo Carlebach and his unlikely friendship with Nina Simone, begins performances on Wednesday, July 17 at Circle in the Square Theatre (1600 Broadway, entrance on 50th Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue), with an official opening set for Thursday, August 15.

All tickets are $135 and can be purchased through www.SoulDoctorBroadway.com, by calling (212) 239-6200, or at the Circle in the Square box office.  For groups of 10 or more, please visit www.groups.telecharge.com or call (212) 239-6262 or (800) 432-7780.
CIRCLE IN THE SQUARE THEATRE
(1633 Broadway, Entrance on 50th Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue)

     – Sierra Rein-
(646) 961-3942
sirein@sierrarein.com
www.sierrarein.com
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“Either you die slowly or you find the strength to go crazy” – J.B. Hapgood, “Anyone Can Whistle”

An Interview with: Pia Zadora (in 1080p)

Star of Stage, Screen, TV, Grammy nominated artist and all around sweetheart the fabulous Pia Zadora took time before the last New York show of her coming out of retirement tour, PIA ZADORA: BACK AGAIN AND STANDING TALL at the Metropolitan Room in New York City, to sit down and chat about her life in the arts, raising children, tweeting and handcuffs!

Don’t forget to change the settings to view this at 1080p! and… Enjoy!

For more on this sweet as sugar star check out:

Official Website               Facebook                Twitter

Thanks to the Metropolitan Room and Bernie Furshpan for hosting this interview!

Guest Review of Encores! Concert Revival of FIORELLO!

Ballots over Broadway.

A review of Encore’s! Concert Revival of FIORELLO! at New York City Center

February 2, 2013

FIORELLO! is a show about politics, righteous indignation, ambition and love. It’s focus is the making of the dynamic and legendary Mayor of New York City Fiorello H. LaGuardia: nicknamed the “Little Flower.” The many eventful chapters in LaGuardia’s highly interesting public life are an embarrassment of riches for any writer to tackle and authors Jerome Weidman and George Abbot limit themselves to relating Fiorello’s life during the ‘teens and ‘twenties, covering his progress from a socially conscious and ambitious Manhattan lawyer to congressman and war hero, and eventually his rise to Mayor of the now corrupt and depression stricken City of New York. While Fiorello moves forward, the audience has the chance to look at both the hero and his relationship with the people around him.

Essential in telling LaGuardia’s story is a musical score that goes a long way towards fleshing out the personalities and situations involved in FIORELLO. Beautifully presented by the Encores! Orchestra as directed by Mr. Rob Berman, the songs and music by Composer Jerry Bock and Lyricist Sheldon Harnick are spirited and vivid musical guides through backroom politics, strikes, the First World War, the Jazz Age and the corruption of Mayor Jimmy Walker’s administration. Politics may be a dirty game but Messrs. Bock and Harnick also make it a wonderfully tuneful one with such treats like “Politics and Poker” and “Little Tin Box.” Outside of governmental affairs we are treated to a goodly measure of well honed songs ranging from the comic (“Marie’s Law”) to the tender (“Till Tomorrow”).

As far as the cast is concerned the gravel voiced Mr. Shuler Hensley practically walks off with the show in the part of Ben Marino. His resignation as being Republican Leader in a strongly Democratic district and his surprise at LaGuardia’s congressional victory delight the audience Even if Marino is a political flunky, Mr. Hensley makes sure he is no slouch.
Aiding and abetting Mr. Marino are the other hacks of the evening who also earn a goodly share of appreciation. Messrs. Justin Barnette, Rob Gallagher, Kevin Ligon, Steve Routman, Nathaniel Stampley and Kevin Vortmann are always marvelously present for plot machinations – both political and musical.

Adding his share of administrative flavor to the evening was former Congressional Representative Barney Frank in a one-time surprise walk on as a Senator who advises LaGuardia on his first day in Congress. Rep. Frank played his moment gamely and deserved his ovation, but seemed less self-assured as a stage Senator than he did as a real-life Congressman.

Keeping the lights on in LaGuardia’s law office are the young bright eyed gofer Niel – played with amusing “omigosh” appeal by Mr. Andrew Somanosky – and Morris, the loyal drudge who has seen it all and will be the first to tell you so. Such a character might easily become the office kvetch, but the excellent Mr. Adam Heller imbues Morris with a good-natured tolerance and feeling of quiet pride in his boss that makes him both sympathetic and likable.

More importantly is Marie, the loyal secretary, go-between and driving force in LaGuardia’s legal and political careers. Ms. Erin Dilly is ideal in the role, showing a young woman with integrity and gumption, who would go far anywhere – if she just wasn’t so stuck on her boss.

The other woman in Fiorello’s life is Thea, the Ladies Garment Workers strike leader. I must give real praise to Ms. Kate Baldwin in her ability to take Thea from friendship with Fiorello to begrudging engagement and finally to romance. She manages so much with little time and one beautiful song: “When did I fall In Love?”
A friend to both Thea and Marie is Dora who rises out of the sweatshop to find love and eventually life in a penthouse. Dora is admirably enacted by Ms. Jenn Gambatese with a winning combination of cuteness and determination that is exhibited as its best in her number “I Love a Cop.” It is very understandable why her former tormentor of strike days, the Police Officer Floyd McDuff – played with amusing bluffness by the Mr. Jeremy Bobb – finds himself in love with her.

Ms. Emily Skinner plays a brief though very memorable role as the singing star Mitzi Travers. Her rendition of “Gentleman Jimmy” was a rousing salute to the New York of the roaring ‘twenties.

The other members of the cast deserve applause as well, expertly populating the scenes and musical numbers with immigrants, shopgirls, soldiers, citizens, etc…

What about the Little Flower himself?

Fiorello H. LaGuardia is not an easy role to play and requires the actor to carry off a thespian juggling act. The title character exhibits pushiness, brashness and impatience and does not even get a major share of the songs: yet he must come across as a likeable, admirable opportunist whose presence permeates all the action even when he is not onstage. I have heard from spectators that Mr. Danny Rutigliano gave a wonderful performance as Fiorello in other performances, but sadly the night I saw him, Mr. Rutigliano did not seem up to the demands of the part. Much as I truly wanted to enjoy Mr. Rutigliano’s performance as LaGuardia, all I could see was a very eager man who wanted to be liked but who did not seem to be enjoying himself very much. Perhaps it was fatigue or an off night, but this Little Flower tended to wilt: the eager reformer being eclipsed by a nebbishy noodge. As a result of the play FIORELLO! itself weakened and exhibited flaws that a stronger, more confident performance might have hidden.

To be fair I would not put all the blame on Mr. Rutigliano for FIORELLO’s shortcomings. While many of the scenes and numbers in FIORELLO are relished by the audience, Director Gary Griffin and Mr. John Weidman who did the concert adaptation did not seem to fully grasp the difficulties that adapting a musical into a concert format would involve. Primarily the problem of adapting scenes that would have probably been performed “in one” – that is in front of a curtain, to keep the story moving while a set is changed – in a fully staged production. In the evening’s presentation, they chose to present such moments as fully as any other scene forcing pauses in the action to allow the next part to be put in place. I thought this hurt the momentum of the show dreadfully, distracting the audience and hindering actors who could not fully capitalize on the energy of the previous scene. Then too, though it might be churlish to say this about a Pulitzer Prize winning play, but the Messrs. Jerome Weidman and George Abbot seemed to rely more on the legend of LaGuardia in this show than work to show what a marvel he really was. Without a strong lead actor to drive the show, FIORELLO shows itself to be one of those shows where we have to take the word of the main character and his associates on how great he has been rather than seeing how great he is. That is not the best story telling.

Still whatever story was present, it was excellently set by Mr. John Lee Beatty’s building block scenery and Mr. Jess Goldstein’s simple costumes that commendably reflected the time frame rather than attempt to recreate the ‘teens and ‘twenties. Their look was well illuminated by Mr. Ken Billington’s lighting.

I must also praise Mr. Alex Sanchez’s delightfully varied choreography and Mr. Scott Lehrer’s sound designs that came across as carefully balanced and natural even in the top balcony where the audience is directly facing the main speaker.

For all my reservations concerning this remounting of FIORELLO! – which had been the first concert Encores! ever performed in 1994, – the Encores! series provides once more the vital reminder that even if a show has its imperfections, it doesn’t have to be flawless to make for an evening of memorable theater.

(My thanks to my sister Cronshi for the wonderful “thespian juggling act” description. It is too good to be used without some expression of appreciation.)

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

An Interview with: Kathryn Kates (1080p)

After seeing Kathryn her wonderful and amazing performance as the mother trying to hold her whole family together in “The Last Seder” I knew we had to have her tell her story to you, our dear viewers. That actress that you all know from… that thing…! Enjoy!

Don’t forget to change the settings to view this at 1080p!

For more info the this amazing actress go to www.kathrynkates.com
www.facebook.com/kathrynkates

VIDEO INTERVIEW & REVIEW: Martha Wash at B.B. King

The Queen of Clubland sat down with me between her Sound Check and Performance at the legendary B.B. King Blues Club to talk about her amazing life in Music and how she forever changed the way singer get credited for their work.

 

PRESS RELEASE: FORBIDDEN BROADWAY RETURNS TO NYC FOR A LIMITED ENGAGEMENT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

GERARD ALESSANDRINI’S FORBIDDEN BROADWAY

RETURNS TO NEW YORK

FOR A LIMITED ENGAGEMENT

WITH

FORBIDDEN BROADWAY:
ALIVE AND KICKING

NOW IN PREVIEWS

AT THE 47TH STREET THEATRE

OPENING SET FOR SEPTEMBER 6TH

 

After a three-year absence, Gerard Alessandrini’s FORBIDDEN BROADWAY, one of NYC’s best-loved and highly anticipated productions, returns to the 47th Street Theatre (304 West 47th Street – just west of Eighth Avenue) with a brand new edition, FORBIDDEN BROADWAY: ALIVE AND KICKING. The show is now in previews,  with an opening set for Thursday, September 6th.    FORBIDDEN BROADWAY; ALIVE AND KICKING will play a limited engagement through January 6, 2013.  This production will mark FORBIDDEN BROADWAY’s 30th Anniversary, as well as its 21st edition.

FORBIDDEN BROADWAY; ALIVE AND KICKING returns with Gerard Alessandrini’s take on Porgy and Bess, Once, Evita, Anything Goes, Follies, Spiderman, Newsies, Book of Mormon, Nice Work if You Can Get It, and Death of a Salesman, among others.

Featured in the cast are Natalie Charlé Ellis, Scott Richard Foster, Jenny Lee Stern and Marcus Stevens.

 In a statement, Gerard Alessandrini said: “Over the past three years, I sat through show after show, with no outlet at all. Finally, I couldn’t take it any more. Now I have 3 years worth of pent-up parodies, and am blessed with a season that has practically written itself. We were able to get our favorite Forbidden Broadway theatre again, but only for a limited chunk of time. But that should more than long enough to say everything we have to say, and then come back to New York again, from time to time. ”

This edition is created and written by Gerard Alessandrini, and directed by Mr. Alessandrini and Phillip George, with musical direction by David Caldwell.  Costumes are designed by Philip Heckman, with set design by Jesse Poleshuck, lighting design by Mark T. Simpson and wig design by Bobbie Cliffton Zlotnik.  The show is produced by John Freedson, Harriet Yellin and Paul Bartz, in association with Paul G. Rice, Carol Ostrow, Paxton Quigley, Robert Driemeyer, Jamie DeRoy, Lawrence Poster and Tweiss Productions.

FORBIDDEN BROADWAY has been an unstoppable force in theatre since 1982, when Gerard Alessandrini created the first edition that lampooned the Broadway shows and stars of the day.  It has been a favorite among theatre lovers, as well as the Broadway stars themselves (Carol Channing, Angela Lansbury, Patti Lupone, Stephen Sondheim, Raul Esparza, Tyne Daly, Christine Ebersole, Bernadette Peters, Whoopi Goldberg Cameron Mackintosh, and Hal Prince, to name a few) who often stop by to laugh at themselves alongside the public.  FORBIDDEN BROADWAY has won numerous awards in its history including a Special Tony® Award as well as Drama Critics’ Circle, Obie, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Drama League, and Lucille Lortel Awards.  A theatrical institution, FORBIDDEN BROADWAY has received national and international notoriety having performed in over 200 US cities as well as engagements in Tokyo, Singapore, Sydney and London’s Meniere Chocolate Factory.

GERARD ALESSANDRINI (Creator, Writer & Director) is best known for writing and directing all the editions of Forbidden Broadway and Forbidden Hollywood in New York, Los Angeles, and London and around the world. He was also a member of the original cast of Forbidden Broadway. Gerard is from Needham, Massachusetts and the Boston area, where he graduated from the Boston Conservatory of Music. In 1982, he created Forbidden Broadway, which has spawned 18 editions, 8 cast albums and a record-breaking 30-year- run in New York. Television credits include writing comedy specials for Bob Hope and Angela Lansbury on NBC, Carol Burnett on CBS and “Masterpiece Tonight,” a satirical revue saluting “Masterpiece Theatre” on PBS. He can be heard on four of the eight FB cast albums and on the soundtracks of Disney’s Aladdin & Pocahontas. Directing credits include many corporate industrials and regional musicals, including a production of Maury Yeston’s musical In the Beginning. Gerard also co-directed a revival of Irving Berlin’s final musical Mr. President, which he updated & “politically corrected.” Gerard is the recipient of an Obie Award, an Outer Critics Circle Award, two Lucille Lortel Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Drama League and three Drama Desk Awards for Best Lyrics for Forbidden Broadway. He received the 2006 Tony® Honor for Excellence in the Theatre. Most recently his Madame X: The Musical won acclaim and multiple awards at the 2011 NYMF Festival; his holiday extravaganza The Nutcracker and I, written with Peter Brash was a smash at the George Street Theatre, and he is currently collaborating with Paul Mazursky and Bill Conti on a musical version of Mr. Mazursky’s film Moon Over Parador.

PHILLIP GEORGE (Director) is a director and writer.  As director Off-Broadway: Shout!, The Road to Qatar (York Theatre Company), Forbidden Broadway Goes to Rehab, Forbidden Broadway SVU, Forbidden Hollywood, Whoop-Dee-Doo (Drama Desk Award, Best Musical Revue), Forbidden Broadway Twentieth Anniversary Edition, and many other editions of this infamous revue series.  Along the way, Forbidden Broadway was also honored with a special Tony for long time achievement.  He has also directed musicals in London, Los Angeles, Toronto, Boston, etc., with Forbidden Broadway transferring to the West End.   With his longstanding collaborator Peter Morris, Phill also wrote Frankly Scarlett, which played at the Kings Head Theatre in London.  In addition to his directing assignments, he is also one of the writers of High Hair and Jalapenos, which skewers all things Texas and is currently preparing for the fifth edition.   When not directing and writing, Phill is on the staff of the American Musical and Dramatics Academy where he passes on some of the wisdom he acquired along the way.

DAVID CALDWELL (Music Director) has been the music director of Forbidden Broadway since 2004. He composed music and lyrics for All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten and Uh-Oh Here Comes Christmas, both based on the writing of Robert Fulghum. He also composed music for Fulghum’s novel Third Wish. He conducted the American premiere of Stephen Schwartz’s Children of Eden. He recently music-directed two shows in China, with Inner Mongolian authors and casts. He arranged and orchestrated Marvin Hamlisch’s new song “I’m Really Dancing” for Career Transitions for Dancers’ 25th Anniversary Gala, featuring Angela Lansbury, Chita Rivera and Bebe Neuwirth. His new show, Gotta Getta Girl, was featured in the NYMF Reading Series. He is interviewed at length in Oliver Sacks’ book about music and the brain, Musicophilia.

PHILIP HECKMAN  (Costume Designer) is an Emmy-nominated costume designer for daytime television’s As the World Turns. He recently completed the New York run of My Big Gay Italian Wedding. Other Off-Broadway credits include SHOUT! The Mod Musical, Go-Go Beach, We’re Still Hot!, Are You There God? It’s Me, Ann-Margret, Marry Me A Little, I Love My Wife, Enough About Me and The Very Worst of Varla Jean Merman (Garland Award). Television credits include commercials, promos and shorts for LOGO, MTV, and VH1. Philip has also worked on several Broadway productions as a costume design assistant including Born Yesterday, The Boy From Oz, Chicago, Cry Baby, Democracy, Flower Drum Song, Follies, Frost/Nixon, The Graduate, Kiss Me Kate, Mamma Mia, Sideshow and Spamalot. Philip received his MFA in costume design from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.

The playing schedule for FORBIDDEN BROADWAY: ALIVE AND KICKING is as follows: Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 7:30pm, with matinees on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2pm.  Tickets are $29-$79. Premium Tickets are available at $110.Tickets can be purchased by calling Telecharge at (212) 239-6200 or by visiting www.telecharge.com

 

www.forbiddenbroadway.com

Review of “Porgy & Bess” on Broadway by Sierra Rein, Guest Reviewer

Review of “Porgy & Bess” on Broadway by Sierra Rein, Guest Reviewer

I almost pinched myself whilst sitting in the balcony of the Richard Rogers theater Friday night (August 3, 2012) – finally I would be able to see the Broadway production of “Porgy and Bess,” featuring at least three amazing musical theater performers – Norm Lewis, Audra McDonald, and David Alan Grier. I had never seen a production of it before, neither on stage nor on the screen. I had only heard clips, and of course have heard “Summertime” in both classical and cabaret styles over the years. But I never knew the show from top to bottom, the characters, the plot, and am not an expert on the score or the history of the show. I went in with innocent/virgin ears and eyes.

It was brilliant. Moving, gorgeous, amazing music, vocals to die for (in both the classical and the more modern musical theater sense). The running time was obviously cut down to reflect Broadway audience schedules, but I could have seen another 1/2 hour of material. I know there are purists who rail against the cuts, the edits, the character changes, how certain songs do not have the original orchestrations or vocal harmonies as the original. And I say that I understand this; however this Broadway version whets my appetite to want to see more, so in a way it’s a great introduction to the original show.

What I appreciated the most about this production was the care the director and actors took to make these people absolutely, 100% real and emotionally present. Not a moment was glossed over, not a down-dirty piece of information was missed. Drugs, rape, babies, love, death, poverty, obsession, hope, nature, racism, big city vs. country life – all were dealt with from the ground up, nothing ignored. I felt immense tension all through my body watching some scenes; others made me tear up and have a lump in my throat, they were so gorgeously done; still others were perfectly attuned to the comic side for relief.

This was one time of many that I had seen Norm Lewis perform on stage, and unsurprisingly his Porgy was amazing. He just radiated hope and love and care, a true hero you wanted to root for. He was in constant struggle with his physicality, his crippled state, and it was brilliant to see him consistently hold that physicality for the entire show. His “nothing” with a wry smile into “I Got Plenty O’Nothin” was pitch-perfect, you just instantly fall in love with him and want to follow his journey with your whole being.

His Porgy was the perfect antidote to Audra McDonald’s Bess. She burned with the physicality of a druggie, from her speech (a bit of a stutter), to her sensuality, to a leg tremble that appeared at intense moments of decision. I have never seen her perform on stage (I have only listened to her amazing voice on CD) and I was awestruck by her ability to make Bess a truly conflicted character, and I followed her struggle and the love she had for Porgy (and moments of hopelessness for that love to survive) until the end. Her stellar vocals aside, I would watch that woman on stage doing anything – she was specific, grounded, consistent, and mesmerizing.

Indeed, the entire cast floored me with the exact same strengths. I rose to give them a Standing O as soon as the curtain came up for bows. This music is not easy, and to perform it with full emotional power is not easy as well (and sometimes dangerous to the vocal chords). Not one person held back, and the other characters on stage GAVE of themselves in full. I loved the care that the director made to make their stories as vibrant and as fully human in scope and power as Porgy and Bess’ love affair. I was rooting for everyone, and interestingly enough I understood where the villains and antagonists of the story were coming from too – they were 3D villains and a part of the world of the play (as a**holes are in the real world), not stereotypes. Yes, this is an OPERA and has the breadth and scope of an operatic story, but everything was done with such specificity that the audience should be able to track the true emotions of everyone involved.

And David Alan Grier…what can I say?! He played the scoundrel Sporting Life with stray cat pizazz, hitting the light and the dark sides of his character perfectly. It wasn’t too hard to imagine his character strutting down the streets of New York. I’m hoping someone in the future might write the sequel to “Porgy and Bess” (uh oh, do I hear a “blasphemy!”?) just so I can see how this scoundrel does his thing in New York. He invoked an evil Cab Calloway, and was pretty amazing.

I praise this production for introducing me to the world of “Porgy and Bess,” and look forward to seeing the original in one form soon. In the meantime, the souls of the story are being brilliantly portrayed on Broadway – it closes September 23rd, so go see it! My husband stated that it was the best musical he had ever seen (he’s a stickler for character motivation and storytelling, and he was just as thrilled as I).

About the Reviewer:

SIERRA REIN
SAG-AFTRA • AEA

Sierra was last seen at Goodspeed Musicals in “City of Angels” as Angel City 4 Alto and Donna/Oolie understudy. She also has performed with members of the New York City Opera in a reading of the new opera “Strange Fruit” and had her New York City stage debut with Theater Ten Ten’s “Ruddigore.”

Her vocal group, Marquee Five (www.marqueefive.com) won a MAC Award for Vocal Duo/Group and released their debut CD, “8-Track Throwback,” in 2011. She yearly sings with the Definitely Dickens Holiday Carolers. She has also performed in numerous composer showcases in New York and has become a regular at The Salon open mic. She has regularly appeared at open mics, for composer showcases, and has shot many videos with her puppet, Kay “ThePal” Pringle. Along with her husband, Pete, they perform online puppetry via www.ThePal.us (his puppet’s name is Jay ThePal).

Favorite credits: Chiffon in “Little Shop of Horrors” (Utah Shakespearean Festival), Sister Sophia in “Sound of Music” and Nimue in “Camelot” (Fullerton CLO), Nadia in Ovation-winning “bare” (Hudson Theater), Second Soprano in “Master Class” (Odyssey Theater), roles in “The Pajama Game” and “The Boys from Syracuse” (Reprise!), and Ellen Beach Yaw in cult favorite “A Mulholland Christmas Carol” (Theater of N.O.T.E.). In 2007, she premiered “Ridin’ High,” her debut cabaret show (directed by Calvin Remsberg). Read a more detailed bio here.

www.sierrarein.com
sirein@sierrarein.com

Video Interview: Alec Mapa “America’s Gaysian Sweatheart”

I was SO happy to be able to sit down with “America’s Gaysian Sweetheart” Alec Mapa after his delightful one man show, “Baby Daddy” currently playing at The Laurie Beechman Theatre. Here is the video interview:

GO SEE THIS SHOW!!! Enjoy!

For more information about this show, visit ALEC MAPA: BABY DADDY”.

Buy tickets HERE.

• “Smart, hilarious and funny.” — Ellen DeGeneres
• “Alec Mapa is a freak. No one should be this talented” — Variety
• “Truly insightful, hilarious, pungent and persuasive… See it! It says something important about how we live today.” — Edge
• “Both funny and poignant” — BistroAwards.com
• “By turns filthy, fierce and fabulous, Mapa’s seemingly mundane anecdotes are an outrageous delight… utterly divine.” — Next Magazine

After selling out a short run in February, ALEC MAPA (Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty, The View, RuPaul’s Drag Race, The Gossip Queens, Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure) returns to New York with his critically acclaimed and wildly popular new show ALEC MAPA:  BABY DADDY.  It runs July 19 – 29, Thursday – Sunday at 7:30pm. The Laurie Beechman Theater is located inside West Bank Cafe at 407 West 42nd Street — at Ninth Avenue, accessible from the A,C,E,N,R,V,F,1,2 & 3 trains at 42nd Street). Tickets are $22 (plus a $15 food/drink minimum). To purchase tickets call 212-352-3101 or visitwww.SpinCycleNYC.com.