Dying City

Dying City

Second Stage Theater

Tony Kiser Theater

June 22, 2019

Photo courtesy of Second Stage Theater

Christopher Shinn’s Dying City is enthralling.  Mr. Shinn holds back the details, building suspense and intrigue until the characters spill out the truth.  He then takes the characters to a place of understanding, both free of what was weighing them down and newly burdened by their current awareness.

Kelly (played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead) receives an unexpected and unwelcomed visit from Peter (played by Colin Woodell).  It is the one year anniversary of her husband Craig’s death during the Iraq War, and a visit from his identical twin brother Peter brings up memories that she has finally put to rest.  When Peter shares the emails he received from Craig while in Iraq, she is forced to face truths about her husband that she did not previously know.

Colin Woodell (as Craig) & Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Photo courtesy of Second Stage Theater

Mr. Shinn masterfully structured this play going back and forth in time from July 2005 to January 2004, with the same actor playing the roles of Peter and Craig.  This allows the audience to experience Kelly’s perspective of what is happening.  It is a powerfully effective and highly engaging devise.  His dialogue is driven by conflict, uncertainty, and subtext, all coming together to deliver an impactful ending.

Colin Woodell (as Peter) & Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Photo courtesy of Second Stage Theater

Colin Woodell embodies two distinct characters in Peter and Craig.  It is impeccably clear which character his is portraying the instant he enters a scene.  Mary Elizabeth Winstead slowly peels back the layers of Kelly’s pain as details are revealed.  She is mesmerizing in this role.  The chemistry between these two actors is scintillating.  Ms. Winstead creates opposing relationships with the two characters of Peter and Craig, and the energy between her and Mr. Woodell shifts dramatically from scene to scene.

Dying City is an intriguing and powerful play, exploring the effects of post-traumatic stress on family and loved ones.  The Second Stage Theater production is of high quality, skillfully directed by the playwright.  It is playing at the Tony Kiser Theater through June 30.  Go see it!

Domenick Danza

We’re Only Alive for a Short Amount of Time

We’re Only Alive for a Short Amount of Time

The Public Theater

June 15, 2019

Photo courtesy of The Public Theater

Playwright/Performer David Cale’s We’re Only Alive for a Short Amount of Time is an intimate and personal story of the continuity of life.  David tells the story of growing up in Luton, England, when a family tragedy set his life on an unexpected trajectory.  His writing is touching and honest.  His performance is vulnerable and heartfelt.  His lyrics are simple and effective.  The music, co-written by Matthew Dean Marsh, is emotional and tender.

Photo courtesy of The Public Theater

The story starts with David telling how, when a young boy, he transformed the shed in his backyard into an animal hospital, merely by painting the sign “animal hospital” above its doorway.  Over a short period of time he built it into an aviary where he raised hundreds of tropical birds.  He often stopped in his tracks to watch a flock of geese fly over his yard in a V-formation.  David goes on to tell about his alcoholic father, his strict and emotionally abusive grandfather, and his mother, who felt as if she sold her soul when she married into the unknown darkness of her husband’s family.  David’s brother, Simon, also found solace in flight, only his was through building model airplanes and hanging them from the ceiling of his bedroom.  One morning, when he was sixteen, David’s life flew into confusion and uncertainty when his father brutally and unexpectedly beat his mother to death with a hammer.  His grandfather’s hammer, which David borrowed to build his aviary.  The spirit of his mother soared inside David, as he traveled to America to fulfill his dreams to become everything she was unable to achieve.

Photo courtesy of The Public Theater

We’re Only Alive for a Short Amount of Time is a life-affirming tale of hope, brilliantly structured and stunningly shared.  David Cale is genuine.  His skills are so fine-tuned that he makes everything look easy and comfortable.  This is a show that MUST be experienced firsthand.  It is running at the Public Theater through July 14.  Get you tickets right away!

Domenick Danza

Toni Stone

Toni Stone

Roundabout Theatre Company

Laura Pels Theatre

June 8, 2019

Photo courtesy of Roundabout Theatre Company

Lydia Diamond develops a captivating storytelling style in her new play Toni Stone.  Director Pam MacKinnon collaborates with choreographer Camille A. Brown to generate momentum and build a tight and unified ensemble.  April Matthis is mesmerizing and genuine in the title role.  The audience gets to know this character through Ms. Diamond’s prolific and humorous writing.  Ms. Matthis delivers a superb portrayal.

Toni Stone (played by April Matthis) is the first woman to play professional baseball in the Negro League.  The opening of the play is her onstage alone, telling how natural the weight of the ball feels in her hand.  As she is growing up, nothing gets in the way of her pursuing her interest in the game of baseball.  Her naiveite about social interaction is overcome by her extreme focus on the art of the game.  She memorizes stats of players from their baseball cards and repeats them over and over as she faces the challenges of playing in the Negro League.  The sexism and racism on the road during her playing career are rough, yet even more shocking is the jealousy and resentment from her own teammates.  Her story is found between, as she says, “the weight of the ball and the reach.”  It is an inspiring story of perseverance, determination, and self-awareness. 

April Matthis as Toni Stone
Photo courtesy of Roundabout Theatre Company

Surrounding the main character throughout the show is an ensemble of her eight teammates.  These eight men play numerous characters in Toni Stone’s life.  These characters vary in race and gender.  This brilliant choice by Ms. Diamond illustrates the strength of a team and the value it played in building Ms. Stone’s integrity, both on and off the field.  These eight actors are all magnificent, creating distinct and complete characters.

Photo courtesy of Roundabout Theatre Company

Toni and the players tell about the entertainment component of the Negro League, how they had to purposefully lose games when playing against white teams, and how they were refused rooms in hotels after spending long, tiring hours on the bus.  The final scene in Act I, choreographed by Camille A. Brown, depicts the team playing a game while clowning and performing as if in a minstrel show.  It is a stunning and effective way to show the degradation they all experienced in order to participate in a sport they were dedicated to play.  It is an impactful ending for Act I.

Toni Stone is a little-known American hero.  She broke barriers in professional baseball and lived life on her own terms.  Lydia Diamond does a spectacular job dramatizing her story.  The Roundabout Theatre Company production of Toni Stone is playing at the Laura Pels Theatre through August 11.

Domenick Danza

Frankie & Johnny in the Clair de Lune

Frankie & Johnny in the Clair de Lune

Broadhurst Theatre

June 1, 2019

Photo courtesy of Frankie & Johnny in the Clair de Lune

Audra McDonald and Michael Shannon are astounding in Terrance McNally’s Frankie & Johnny in the Clair de Lune.  Director Arin Arbus finds the perfect rhythm to build the tension and intimacy between the characters.  Mr. McNally’s play is just as impactful today as it was when it was first produced in 1987.  This is because of its subject matter: the connection between two people in need.  A story like this is timeless and will forever touch the soul of an audience.

Audra McDonald & Michael Shannon
Photo courtesy of Frankie & Johnny in the Clair de Lune

Frankie (played by Audra McDonald) is on her first date with Johnny (played by Michael Shannon).  He is the short order cook at the diner where she works as a waitress.  They go to a movie, stop for ice cream, then go to her one-room walk up apartment.  That is where the play begins, in Frankie’s apartment, where her and Johnny are is the throws of passion.  He adores her.  The more she showers her with complements, the higher her guard goes up.  As they share details of their lives, they find they have a lot in common.  They are both originally from Allentown, Pennsylvania.  Both their mothers deserted them at a young age.  They both hide the scars they carry.  Gradually, Johnny wears down Frankie’s protective shell.  When the sun comes up in the morning, they have to face the reality of their lives with a different sense of themselves and one another.

Arin Arbus, Michael Shannon, Terrance McNally, & Audra McDonald
Photo courtesy of Frankie & Johnny in the Clair de Lune

The timing and chemistry between Ms. McDonald and Mr. Shannon are crisp and fluid.  There is a lot of humor in their continual badgering.  The pay off is the connection they create.  It is honest and genuine.  There are heightened moments of fear, followed by profound moments of calm.  The production is beautifully orchestrated.

Frankie & Johnny in the Clair de Lune is paying at the Broadhurst Theatre.  It is Terrance McNally at his most intimate.  The production is tenderly directed and stunningly performed, proving that amazing things can happened under the "light of the moon."

Domenick Danza