For Peter Pan on her 70th birthday

For Peter Pan on her 70^th birthday

Playwrights Horizons

August 25, 2017

 

Photo courtesy of Playwrights Horizons

Sarah Ruhl states that she wrote For Peter Pan on her 70th birthday as a gift for her mother on her 70^th birthday.  Presently in previews at Playwrights Horizons, this play is a gift of opportunity to all of us to ponder the occurrences in life that we cannot turn back from.  It is a chance to contemplate the circumstances that push us toward growing up, no matter our age.  Les Waters directs an amazing ensemble cast, creating a close-knit family of five adult brothers and sisters who face and accept the death of their father.  The script gives insight to each of their varied perspectives.  It is a tender and intimate story.

Ann (played by Kathleen Chalfant), John (played by Daniel Jenkins), Michael (played by Keith Redding), Jim (played by David Chandler), and Wendy (played by Lisa Emery) surround their father (played by Ron Crawford) on his death bed.  Time moves slowly until he finally lets go.  The brothers and sisters meet back at their childhood home to reminisce and toast their father and the memory of their other departed loved ones.  They realize they are now orphans.  The only one who admits she has not grown up is Ann, who played Peter Pan in her youth.  As they sleep in their childhood beds that night, the thought of flying off to Neverland overpowers them all.

Kathleen Chalfant, Daniel Jenkins, Keith Redding, & Lisa Emery
Photo courtesy of Playwrights Horizons

In the program notes, Ms. Ruhl talks about how she structured this play after Japanese Noh drama.  In part one the protagonist meets the ghost.  In part two they recognize the ghost.  In part three they embrace and dance with the ghost.  Since the play is in three scenes, this structure is clearly defined.  Being aware of it gives a deeper insight into the emotional and universal journey of the play.  Each member of the cast builds distinctive characters who unite during this solemn occasion to face the challenges and the changes ahead. 

For Peter Pan on her 70^th birthday runs on Playwrights Horizons’ Mainstage Theatre through October 1.  It is Sarah Ruhl’s most personal play, and is touching on many levels.

Domenick Danza

Leni & Joseph

Leni & Joseph

The Shelter / Threshold

New Ohio Theatre

August 19, 2017

 

Photo courtesy of The Shelter

The Shelter is showcasing three emerging playwrights as part of their Threshold Fellowship at the New Ohio Theatre in the West Village.  I saw Leni & Joseph written by Jacob Marx Rice.  The play is very well produced.  Director Anna Strasser keeps the action focused and allows Mr. Rice’s well-crafted dialogue to beautifully tell this captivating story.

The play begins during the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany.  Filmmaker Leni Reifenstahl (played by Jessica Afton) is being recruited by the Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels (played by Samuel Adams) to create propaganda films for the Nazi Party.  She accepts the work, but not a position or title, which keeps her clear of political involvement, even though her high quality work affects million.  Mr. Rice brilliantly puts these two well drawn characters in constant conflict, ranging from the firing of a cameraman for a bad attitude to powerful political points of view.  This keeps the audience engaged while developing distinct characters driven by strong personal beliefs, one in art and the other in the greatness of a country.

Jessica Afton portrays Leni as a strong minded woman determined to achieve her goals as an artist.  Her self-awareness keeps her moving, creating, and surviving during one of the most tumultuous times in world history.  Her character lives until 2003.  Samuel Adams fully develops the character of Joseph Goebbels.  We see him as a compassionate individual, fully capable of betraying his own children for the cause.  That is a strong statement, yet one the character makes during the play.  The relationship these two actors create is based on mutual respect and understanding.  It is both warm and cunning.  Mr. Rice has written a truly complex and compelling relationship, and these two actors make it genuine and engaging.

Playwrights Jacob Marx Rice, Maiken Wiese,
& Morgan McGuire
Photo courtesy of The Shelter

The additional two plays in The Shelter’s Threshold Fellowship are The Other Kids Ran Away by Maiken Wiese and tselem by Morgan McGuire.  Performances run through August 26.  Check their website (www.theshelternyc.org) for tickets.  You need to get to know this company and hear the voice of these playwrights.

Domenick Danza

A Parallelogram

A Parallelogram

Second Stage Theater

Tony Kiser Theater

August 18, 2017

 

Photo courtesy of Second Stage Theater

In his play A Parallelogram, Bruce Norris asks the questions: If you are able to go back and live your life over again, knowing how it will turn out, would you do it?  There are a lot of complex issues to contemplate in a decision like this.  His play, while delivering a lot of laughs, considers them all, and also looks at the probability of affecting a different outcome if you have the courage to change your actions.

Bee (played by Celia Keenan-Bolger) is in the middle of a heated discussion with her boyfriend Jay (played by Stephen Kunken), when the woman she met at the grocery store earlier that day (played by Anita Gillette) pushes a button on her remote and rewinds the scene so Bee can relive it.  She does this a few times until Bee is satisfied with her participation in the discussion.  The woman explains to Bee the science behind the phenomenon.  She then reveals to the audience that she is from the future, when most of the population of the world dies off from a mysterious illness.  She does not.  She is Bee in the future.  She is able to tell Bee the outcome of her experiences.  The remote (a parallelogram) offers Bee the opportunity to move backwards and forwards in time to assess her choices and possible change her behavior.  Will any of this effect the final outcome?

Photo courtesy of Second Stage Theater

Celia Keenan-Bolger portrays Bee rationally and logically, allowing for the transitions in time to be realistic and believable.  Her character is driven by and inquisitive desire to understand how her actions can improve the future.  She challenges the rules of the parallelogram as set up by her older self, and keeps the action flowing forward with her determination.  Anita Gillette is beguiling, direct, and funny as Bee's older self.  Her monologues are full of information needed to understand the context of the story.  She delivers them with charm, energy and delight, keeping the audience engaged as the complex layers of the story unfold.  Since Bee’s boyfriend is not in the know of the phenomenon, Stephen Kunken plays Jay as the straight man for most of the jokes, setting up and following through with the situational humor keenly established by Ms. Bolger and Ms. Gillette.  He does not miss a beat.  His comic timing and physicality is spot on.

Celia Keenan-Bolger & Anita Gillette
Photo courtesy of Second Stage Theater

The set, designed by Rachel Hauck, is a realistic rendition of two interior locations.  What makes it spectacular is the way they move into place.  At the push of a button, the stage right and left walls smoothly spin and the upstage wall moves forward, then back again.  This, along with lighting design by Kenneth Posner and sound design by Matt Tierney, creates the swift flow the story line requires in order to be credible and engaging. 

Mr. Norris’ play is very well constructed and keeps you thinking throughout.  The direction by Michael Greif keeps the action tightly focused on the details that make the show work.  The Second Stage Theater production of A Parallelogram is closing on August 20.  Their upcoming season looks great.  Check out their website for details. 

Domenick Danza

Hamlet

Hamlet

The Public Theater

August 11, 2017

 

Photo courtesy of The Public Theater

Sam Gold has directed a bare bones production of Hamlet at The Public Theater that is accessible, riveting, and engaging.  He incorporates humor and song to render this tale of power, revenge, and madness into a story of human emotion and frailty.  The cast of nine are all in modern dress and double on a few roles.  The action builds from one act to the next, erupting to its fatal climax and tragic conclusion.

It is reported to the grieving Prince Hamlet (played by Oscar Isaac) that the ghost of his father, the King, has been seen roaming in the dark of night.  Hamlet seeks out the specter, who reveals that he was murdered by his brother, Claudius (played by Ritchie Coster), who now wears the crown.  This builds on Hamlet’s despair, since Claudius has already married Hamlet's mother, Gertrude (played by Charlayne Woodard).  Hamlet is obligated to take revenge.  His plot is a slow one, delayed by his need for proof of Claudius’ deed and his mother’s participation, and his desire to separate from his love, Ophelia (played by Gayle Rankin).

Charlayne Woodard & Oscar Issac
Photo courtesy of The Public Theater

Oscar Isaac’s Hamlet carefully figures out his plan while purposefully keeping the other characters at arms distance with a convincing act of madness.  His soliloquies transport the audience into Hamlet’s deeper layers of thought and emotion.  His Hamlet grows over the course of the play, coming to terms with his grief and desolation, and becoming keenly focused on his choices for action.  Charlayne Woodard’s Gertrude slowly draws the conclusion that Claudius murdered her husband.  Her physicality transforms as the realization becomes clear.  You see it in her eyes, especially in the way she looks at Claudius.  These small moments play powerfully and flip the action at unexpected moments. 

Mr. Gold juxtaposes the intensity of Laertes’ need for retribution and the heightened emotion of Ophelia’s mad scene with the slow build of Hamlet’s well thought out plan of revenge and act of madness.  Both depictions ring true, and serve two purposes.  It frames Claudius’ suspicion of Hamlet throughout the course of the play and also offers a visceral insight into Hamlet’s character and thought process.  Mr. Gold also does a stunning job of double casting.  Ritchie Coster plays both Claudius and the Ghost of King Hamlet.  His Claudius is presuming and cunning.  His King Hamlet is haunting and consumed.  There are a few scenes where he switches roles on the spot, which impressively make a strong statement.  Peter Friedman is cast as both Polonius and a Grave Digger.  He is witty and authoritative as Polonius, then, shortly after his murder, successfully hits the comic timing of one of the Grave Diggers. 

Oscar Isaac & Gayle Rankin
Photo courtesy of The Public Theater

Anatol Yusef is bold as Laertes.  His character maintains his composure and strength, then becomes overwrought with emotion at the murder of his father and suicide of his sister.  Gayle Rankin plays Ophelia’s mad scene to the max, conjuring a deep level of compassion and empathy.  Keegan-Michael Key is warm and charming as Horatio.  He is the window with which the audience enters the story, and the final voice of reason at the end.

Hamlet is playing at The Public Theater through September 3.  It runs four hours with two intermissions.  The journey is rich, truthful, and well worth every second.       

Domenick Danza

Prince of Broadway

Prince of Broadway

The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre

Manhattan Theatre Club

August 8, 2017

 

Photo courtesy of Manhattan Theatre Club

Prince of Broadway is presently in previews at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.  Produced by Manhattan Theatre Club and under the direction of Hal Prince himself, the show celebrates his career and highlights some of the most memorable moments in Broadway musical history.  Susan Stroman collaborates as co-director and choreographer doing what she does best, making this a cohesive piece of theatre.  The cast of nine of heavy hitting performers (Chuck Cooper, Janet Dacal, Bryonha Marie Parham, Emily Skinner, Brandon Uranowitz, Kaley Ann Voorhees, Michael Zavier, Tony Yazbeck, and Karen Ziemba) left me wanting more.

Hal Prince started his career working for free in the office of director George Abbott in the late 1940s.  He stage managed, directed, and/or produced some of the most well know Broadway musicals.  The Pajama Game, Damn Yankees, She loves Me, West Side Story, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Merrily We Roll Along, Parade, and Phantom of the Opera, to name a few.  He has worked with the top directors, choreographers, composers, lyricists, book writers, and performers ever known.  The nine cast members all tell his story, wearing his trademark look, glasses on top of his head, when they are speaking his words.

The cast of Prince of Broadway
Photo courtesy of Manhattan Theatre Club

The Follies sequence is intense and mesmerizing.  The two selections from A Little Night Music are biting and emotional.  The Act II opening of three songs from Company pulls you into the questioning/rebellion mindset of the time period.  The Evita section is powerful.  The Sweeney Todd scenes are haunting.

The highlight of Act I is Karen Ziemba’s rendition of “Who Cares” from Cabaret.  The Act I finale of “Cabaret” sung by Bryonha Marie Parham is stunning.  Chuck Cooper delivers an invigorating “If I Were a Rich Man” from Fiddler on the Roof, then later pulls you into the rolling rhythm of “Ol’ Man River” from Mr. Prince’s Showboat revival.  Ms. Stroman’s choreography for “The Right Girl’ from Follies masterfully depicts the inner conflict of Buddy's character.  Tony Yazbeck delivers it to perfection.

Photo courtesy of Manhattan Theatre Club

The scenic design by Beowulf Boritt and lighting design by Howell Binkley are brilliant and effective.  They create strong impressions and vivid images that exemplify the complete settings and overall mood of each varied segment.  They keep the flow seamlessly moving from one moment to the next. 

From the insert in the program you can see they are tweaking and refining, but no matter what they do, this show is a wondrous look at the legendary body of work of a Broadway icon.  Prince of Broadway is scheduled to open on August 24.  It is on TDF during previews.  Get a ticket right away!

  

Domenick Danza

Henry VI, Part 3

Henry VI, Part 3

Shakespeare in the Parking Lot

The Drilling Company

August 5, 2017

 

Photo courtesy of The Drilling Company

Director Hamilton Clancy skillfully dramatizes the battle for power in a divided nation in The Drilling Company’s Shakespeare in the Parking Lot production of Henry VI, Part 3.  He sets it present day, making the timeless motives of loyalty, entitlement, betrayal, and greed wholly relevant.  Mr. Clancy cuts this Shakespeare history play down to two hours without intermission, focusing the action of the play and giving the audience a clear understanding of bloody events and willful characters, all of whom are well versed in the art of war.  His battle scenes are simply staged and highly effective.

Joe Clancy, Erin Noll, & Bill Green
Photo courtesy of The Drilling Company

King Henry VI (played by Skyler Gallun), who is a Lancaster, gives his crown to York (played by Bill Green) with the hope of keeping the peace between the disputing powers.  It has the opposite effect.  Under the influence of Queen Margaret (played by Evangeline Fontaine) and lead by Clifford (played by Bradford B. Frost), the Lancasters respond by attacking, killing York and his youngest son, Rutland (played by Joe Clancy).  The Yorks retaliate and are victorious, crowning Edward (played by Lee Seymour) king.  He marries Lady Grey (played by Kendra Oberhauser), losing the loyalty of Warwick (played by Kyle Maxwell) and Clarence (played by Eddie Shields), who were vital in his gaining power.  This causes great a war which does not end until Henry VI is put to death.

The cast magnificently works together exposing the basic human needs that motivate these huge, historic characters.  Bill Green is noble as York.  Lee Seymour is cunning as Edward.  Skyler Gallun gallantly portrays Henry as a pensive and peaceful man, always deep in reflection.  Kyle Maxwell is bold and brazen as Warwick.  Evangeline Fontaine delivers a strong performance as the vengeful and fearless Queen Margaret.  Alessandro Colla is ruthless and commanding as the complex Richard, concealing his deeper desires under the cover of family loyalty.  Bradford B. Frost shows a wide range of skill playing both Clifford and King Louis of France.  Every cast member deserves a shout out for their intense level of focus and truthful characterization: Joe Clancy, Bryce Dutton, Marcus Jones, Lindsay Nance, Erin Noll, Kendra Oberhauser, Ben Peterson, Eddie Shields, Sophie Sorensen, Ross Stoner, and Gracie Winchester.

Photo courtesy of The Drilling Company

Henry VI, Part 3 plays for one more weekend (Thursday, Friday, Saturday, August 10, 11, 12 at 7:00 PM) at the Clemente Cultural & Educational Center Parking Lot.  Check the website for directions (shakespeareintheparkinglot.com).   In addition, be sure to see The Drilling Company’s production of The Tempest at Bryant Park Shakespeare.  It opens August 25 and runs Fridays and Saturdays at 7:00 PM through September 9.  All these shows are FREE.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, The Drilling Company presents the best outdoor Shakespeare in the city.  Don’t miss these opportunities for a great experience.   

 Domenick Danza

Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812

Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812

Imperial Theatre

August 2, 2017

 

Photo courtesy of Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812

Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 is a Broadway show like no other!  The entire theatre is the set and the audience is totally submerged in the action of the play.  The orchestra is spilt into four different locations and musicians move throughout the theatre.  The concept and design are brilliantly conceived and superbly accomplished, giving every audience member, no matter where they sit, a visceral, engaging and memorable experience.

The story comes from a seventy page section of Leo Tolstoy’s War & Peace.  Natasha (played by Denee Benton) is betrothed to Andrey (played by Nicholas Belton).  When he goes off to war, she and her cousin, Sonya (played by Ingrid Michaelson), stay in Moscow with her Godmother, Marya (played by Grace McLean).  While at the opera, Natasha catches the eye of Anatole (played by Lucas Steele).  They fall in love, risking Natasha’s reputation.  It is after consolation with family friend Pierre (played by Okeiriete Onaodowan) that she regains her self-assurance. 

Denee Benton & Lucas Steele
Photo courtesy of Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812
 

The music, lyrics, book, and orchestrations are all by Dave Malloy, and are pure genius.  He tells this story with bold, fiery passion, developing strong and true characters who, since it is Russia in 1812, are highly dramatic.  At the end, he takes you to a quiet and touching meeting between Natasha and Pierre that leads to a deep emotional catharsis in the shadow of the great comet.  Denee Benton and Okeiriete Onaodowan deliver the honesty and tranquility needed in this final moment, after two and a half hours of heightened exuberance.

Ingrid Michaelson as Sonya
Photo courtesy of Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812

The show has no spoken lines and a number of arias that stand out.  Denee Benton’s rendition of “No One Else” sets up the inner life of her character.  Ingrid Michaelson’s solo in Act II, “Sonya Alone,” is flawlessly performed, filled with compassion and tenderness.  “Charming” sets up the character of Helen, Pierre’s wife, as cunning and untrustworthy.  Amber Grey stands out in her portrayal of this character playing every layer of subtext from subtle to palpable.  Okeiriete Onaodowan delivers “Dust and Ashes” with a keen insight into the yearning of Pierre’s soul that connects all the action to the final moment of the story.

Lukas Steele is fantastic as Anatole.  Every one of his entrances grabs attention.  He is charismatic and beguiling.  Another stand out performance is Grace McLean as Marya.  She is warm and welcoming in Act I, then explosive when she feels betrayed by Natasha in Act II.  These are two strong and absrobing performances.

Photo courtesy of
Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812

Mimi Lien and Bradley King well deserve the Tony Awards they received for set design and lighting design.  Together with sound design by Nicholas Pope, they transcend any pre-conceived notion of environmental theatre.  They transport the audience into a space filled with heightened emotion and vivid imagination.  Director Rachel Chavkin’s vision and collaborative mastery create an intimate experience for a very large Broadway audience.    

Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 is playing at the Imperial Theatre.  Be sure to see it!

Domenick Danza