American Moore

American Moore

Red Bull Theater

Cherry Lane Theatre

August 29, 2019

Photo courtesy of Red Bull Theater

The Red Bull Theater production of American Moor offers a riveting perspective on Shakespeare’s character of Othello.  Although there are two roles in this show, it is pretty much a one-character play.  Director Kim Weild works closely with Lighting Designer, Alan C. Edwards and Sound Designer, Christian Frederickson to create quick and smooth transitions between the action and the formidable inner monologues, while keeping the focus sharp and the pace briskly moving forward.

Keith Hamilton Cobb
Photo courtesy of Red Bull Theater & Bay State Banner

An Actor (played by Keith Hamilton Cobb) is on stage alone, script in hand, preparing the role of Othello.  He is a black male, six feet four inches tall, with a commanding voice.  He tells of his love for Shakespeare, the passion of the words and the emotional depth of the characters.  The audition begins.  His first attempt at the monologue is focused and powerful.  The Director (played by Josh Tyson) gives a few notes.  The Actor is not comfortable with how this interpretation will reflect on the character of Othello.  Through a series of inner monologues, the Actor justifies his discomfort based on the evidence in Shakespeare’s text.  He expresses how, as a black man, he has a more visceral understanding of how Othello would handle that specific moment.  The Actor knows to keep this point of view to himself if he wants the job.  Will his hubris get the best of him, as it does Othello?

Keith Hamilton Cobb successfully portrays this character as charming and intelligent with a great sense of humor.  He is in command of every moment, every transition, and every delivery of the Shakespeare material.  He wears this character like a second skin, which makes sense because he is also the playwright.  His performance reflects his understanding of each layer in the skillful writing.  It is sharply structured and effectively crafted.  He makes strong and bold statements that hold lasting meaning and take time to process.

American Moor is playing at Cherry Lane Theatre through October 5.  Check it out.

Domenick Danza

Beetlejuice

Beetlejuice

Winter Garden Theatre

August 20, 2019

Photo courtesy of Beetlejuice

The Broadway production of Beetlejuice is wild, crazy, and over the top.  Director Alex Timbers pulls out all the stops.  The minute you walk into the Winter Garden Theatre you are drawn into a fun house atmosphere.  Music and lyrics by Eddie Perfect establish an environment and pace that keeps the audience captivated and engaged.  The choreography by Connor Gallagher is energetic and creative.  The scenic design by David Korins, costume design by William Ivey Long, and lighting design by Kenneth Posner brilliantly come together, making the show a visual feast that exceeds the highest expectation.

Rob McClure, Alex Brightman, & Kerry Butler
Photo courtesy of Beetlejuice

The show opens in a cemetery.  Lydia (played by Sophia Anne Caruso) is burying her mother.  Enter Beetlejuice (played by Alex Brightman), who lightens the mood by making it clear that the story we are about to see is “all about death.”  He needs to get a living person to say his name three times in order to achieve his quest, which is to be seen by the living.  He visits the home of Barbara (played by Kerry Butler) and Adam (played by Rob McClure).  They are about to die.  They will be able to see him as they pass over.  His plan is to trick them into helping him by getting them to haunt their house.  When the new owner, Charles (played by Adam Dannheisser) moves in with his daughter Lydia and their Life Coach, Delia (played by Leslie Kritzer), they all face one life and death encounter after another.

Leslie Kritzer & Adam Dannheisser
Photo courtesy of Beetlejuice

The only way to make this raucous story work is with a cast that can bring it to life and make it believable.  Every member of the cast rises to that challenge.  Alex Brightman is absolutely amazing in this role.  He is a vocal powerhouse, instantly switching tone and intention.  His comic timing is impeccable.  His energy is sharp and awe-inspiring.  Leslie Kritzer  also delivers a phenomenal performance.  Her timing and physicality are perfect.  Her range is amazing.

Beetlejuice is playing at the Winter Garden Theater.  If you’re looking for a fun time, this is the show to see. 

Domenick Danza

Betrayal

Betrayal

Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre

August 16, 2019

Photo courtesy of Betrayal

Jamie Lloyd has brilliantly directed the Broadway production of Harold Pinter’s Betrayal, originally produced by his theatre company in London.  He keeps the pace slow, steady, and deliberate so that every glance and detail holds the meaning it need to convey the underlying story.  Every moment is rich with emotion that layers deep subtext throughout the dialogue.  The reverse chronology flows seamlessly.  All three main actors rarely leave the stage, even when they are not in a scene.  This adds a haunting reminder of the betrayal that is constantly occurring and ever-present.

In the opening we see three people on stage.  One male character fades into the background as Emma (played by Zawe Ashton) and Jerry (played by Charlie Cox) seat themselves downstage.  After some light small talk about their spouses and children, we find out that they had a five-year affair that ended two years earlier.  Emma called Jerry to meet because the previous night her and her husband, Robert (played by Tom Hiddleston), decided to split up.  During that conversations, Robert admitted that he betrayed her on numerous occasions.  She, of course, confesses the truth of her long-standing affair with Jerry, who is also Robert’s best friend.  Jerry meets with Robert the next day to face his friend directly, only to find out that Robert knew about the affair for years.  Robert never addressed it with Jerry, who now feels confused and surprisingly betrayed.  The story unfolds by going backwards, peeling open past everts and interactions layered with deceit and betrayal.

Tom Hiddleston, Charlie Cox, & Zawe Ashton
Photo courtesy of Betrayal

Tom Hiddleston, Zawe Ashton, and Charlie Cox are remarkable.  The chemistry between all three actors is riveting.  Their characters are constantly on edge, and every scene contains a different level of emotional danger.  When the story unravels back to the first moment of betrayal, we see them as vulnerable and unaware of how their subsequent actions will shape them.  It is a genuine and touching moment.

Betrayal is playing at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre for a limited time.  It is a sensitive and emotionally driven production of a well-crafted play.  You have until December 8 to see it.

Domenick Danza

Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow

Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow

The Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space

August 15, 2019

Photo courtesy of MCC Theater

Playwright Halley Feiffer takes a highly effective look at Chekhov’s Three Sister in her unconventional adaptation.  Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow is dark, zany, and poignant.  The characters are truthful and clear mirrors of Chekhov’s characters.  Their yearning and despair is viewed through a lens of absurdity, which makes their loneliness and desperation that much clearer and more identifiable.  Through succinct timing and a heightened style, director Tripp Cullman skillfully unifies this magnificent cast of twelve to engage and enlighten the audience through laughter and self-contemplation.

Chris Perfetti, Tavi Gevinson, & Rebecca Henderson
Photo courtesy of MCC Theater

We are in a house on the Russian countryside in 1900.  Olga (played by Rebecca Henderson) goes on and on about how unattractive she is.  Irina (played by Tavi Gevinson) is selfishly focused on the fact that it is her birthday.  Masha (played by Chris Perfetti) is absorbed in her book.  They all long to return to Moscow, but can’t… but don’t know why… so they are unhappy.  Very unhappy.  Their brother Andrey (played by Greg Hildreth) plays the violin and aspires to study science and achieve greatness, but instead falls in love with a local girl, Natasha (played by Sas Goldberg), who the sisters consider to be a low-class whore.  Tuzenback (played by Steven Boyer) is madly in love with Irina, but she doesn’t give him the time of day.  He introduces the family to Veshinin (played by Alfredo Narciso), who becomes attracted to dark and brooding Masha.  She madly reciprocates, even though she is stuck in a loveless marriage with closeted Kulygin (played by Ryan Spahn).  They all want more out of life, but can’t get it… but don’t know why… so they are unhappy… but we see and understand, and laugh at the absurdity of it all.

Steven Boyer & Matthew Jeffers
Photo courtesy of MCC Theater

This entire cast is truly phenomenal.  Out of tightly timed high comedy scenes come genuine moments of hurt and sorrow, that are then topped off with a laugh.  Each character is truthfully drawn, carrying sincere hurt in their hearts.  These actors portray them in such a way that we distance ourselves from them in order to get a more precise view of who they are, which causes us to connect even stronger.  The humor is raucous.  The timing takes us out of the moment, then plunges us back into the darkness of their pain.  The play is skillfully written.  The production is masterfully conceived and directed.

Greg Hildreth & Sas Goldberg
Photo courtesy of MCC Theater

If you have not seen MCC’s new space on 53^rd St. and 10^th Ave, check it out as soon as you can.  The space is sharp, and offers a great opportunity for this company to step up and stand out.  This production is a sure sign that they will be doing just that.  Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow is playing at The Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space through August 17.  Time is running out, so get your ticket before it’s too late.

Domenick Danza

Mojada

Mojada

The Public Theater

August 11, 2019

Photo courtesy of The Pubilc Theater

Playwright Luis Alfaro adapts the mythological story of Medea in his play Mojada.  His writing is layered in truths that peel back to reveal the deep bonds that unite the characters.  The Public Theater production is viscerally engaging and emotionally jarring.  Director Chay Yew gradually opens the action to draw the audience in so they can fully understand the tragic events.

Benjamin Luis McCracken, Alex Hernandez,
Sabina Zuñiga Varela, & Socorro Santiago
Photo courtesy of The Public Theater

The show opens with Tita (played by Socorro Santiago) looking for the latest gossip and telling of how different it is here than her native country.  She lives with Medea (played by Sabina Zuñiga Varela), who she raised as a young girl in Mexico.  Together they teach Medea’s son Acan (played by Benjamin Luis McCracken) the rituals and customs of their native land.  Medea works from their home as a seamstress while Acan’s father, Jason (played by Alex Hernandez) works construction.  Other than to go in the back yard, Medea does not leave the house.  She shares the brutal story of their border crossing and the experiences that cause her to live in so much fear.  As Jason works tirelessly to create a prosperous life for his son, Medea feels betrayed and grows desperate.

Alex Hernandez, Socorro Santiago,
& Sabina Zuñiga Varela
Photoc courtesy of The Public Theater 

Sabina Zuñiga Varela portrays Medea’s dakness with conviction.  She is heavy hearted and full of sorrow.  As the facts of her experiences are revealed, we see these emotions are so deeply rooted in the soul of her character.  Socorro Santiago and Vanessa Aspillaga inject fast paced and well needed humor as Tita and Luisa.  Their portrayals are honest and realistic, keeping the truth of the story on track.  Benjamin Luis McCracken, Alex Hernandez, and Ada Maris also deliver strong and genuine performances as Acan, Jason, and Pilar.

Mojada has been extended at the Public Theater through August 18.  Luis Alfaro’s writing is prolific.  He brings the Medea story into a different perspective by viewing it through the lense of the present day immigrant experience. 

Domenick Danza

Sea Wall / A Life

Sea Wall / A Life

Hudson Theater

August 9, 2019

Photo courtesy of Sea Wall / A Life

SeaWall / A Life are two back to back one-act, one-character plays starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Sturridge.  Sea Wall is written by Simon Stephens.  A Life is written by Nick Payne.  They are very different in style and structure, and when placed together, invoke the joy, wonder, pain, and solitude of the mystery of life.  These two playwrights craft characters that are exposed and vulnerable.  They openly admit their flaws and fears, while sharing the intimacies of their brightest and darkest moments.  Director Carrie Cracknell finds the uniqueness of each piece and juxtaposes them in a way that magnetically unifies them.

Sea Wall:  Alex (played by Tom Sturridge) shares the first impression he has of a close friend of his in Ireland.  He flows into telling of the meeting of his girlfriend, who later becomes his wife.  Together they travel to visit his friend’s home in the South of France  They swim and scuba dive, and engage in discussion of God and existence.  Alex and his wife have a daughter, Lucy, who brings love and completion to Alex’s heart.  They continue to visit the South of France, until events take a sudden and unexpected turn.   

Tom Sturridge
Photo courtesy of Sea Wall / A Life

Tom Sturridge is pensive and distracted as Alex.  He clumsily knocks things over, then waits to get his bearing.  He starts to get to the best part of his story, then retreats incapable of making words.  As the story unfolds, we understand the depth of this physical and emotional behavior.  He embodies this character in his core.  His performance is raw and moving.

A Life:  Abe (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) starts off telling of the awkward moment when his wife told him she was pregnant.  It takes him by surprise.  He then jumps to telling of the time his father woke him in the middle of the night because his arm was numb and tingling.  Being a teenager, Abe could not fully understand his father’s need for his company.  He jumps again to the time he brought his girlfriend, later to be his wife, to first meet his parents.  He jumps forward to telling of his father being taken to the hospital with heart failure.  Abe continually skips back and forth as his stories of losing his father gel with the birth of his daughter, meshing his feeling of joy and grief to such an extreme that they become one. 

Jake Gyllenhaal
Photo courtesy of Sea Wall / A Life

Jake Gyllenhaal is quirky and openhearted as Abe.  As the story jumps from moment to moment in a seemingly disjointed manner, we understand the thought process of his character.  He brilliantly juggles and blends the humor and intensity of the writing, creating honest moments of realization and discovery.

Sea All / A Life is playing at the Hudson Theatre for a limited time.  Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Sturridge are magnificent.  You only have until September 29 to see these two outstanding performances of two skillfully written and moving plays.  Don’t miss it!  Get your tickets right away!

Domenick Danza

Broadway Bounty Hunter

Broadway Bounty Hunter

Greenwich House Theater

August 7, 2019

Photo courtesy of Broadway Bounty Hunter

Broadway Bounty Hunter is the most fun you’ll have in an Off-Broadway Theater.  How can you go wrong with music and lyrics by Joe Iconis?  He partners on the book for this project with Lance Rubin, and Jason Sweettooth Williams to create an unexpected laugh riot.  Every set-up in Act I pays off in multitudes in Act II.  Director/Choreographer Jennifer Werner uses every corner of the Greenwich House Theater to give her powerful, high-energy cast the space to let loose and captivate every member of the audience.

Annie (played by Annie Golden) was a Broadway star back in her day.  Being a “woman of a certain age,” she is now having trouble getting work.  Her husband, a Broadway director and producer, died ten years earlier, leaving her broken-hearted and vulnerable.  She is visited one night by Shiro Jin (played by Emily Borromeo), and recruited to be a bounty hunter.  Having nothing to lose, she accepts the challenge.  After vigorous training, she is partnered with Lazarus (played by Alan H. Green), who reluctantly agrees to take her under his wing.  Their first mission is to find and bring back alive Mac Roundtree (played by Brad Oscar), a deadly drug dealer in South America.  What lies ahead for Annie is a journey of self-discovery and empowerment beyond anyone’s imagination.

The Full Cast of Broadway Bounty Hunter
Photo courtesy of Broadway Bounty Hunter

Annie Golden, Alan H. Green, and Brad Oscar are magnificent together.  They play the humor with just the right amount of edge.  They hit every laugh and make this raucous story truthful and believable.  Emily Borromeo, Badia Farha, Jasmine Forsberg, Omar Garibay, Jared Joseph, and Christina Sajous do numerous instantaneous costume and character changes, keeping the pace moving fast and the action continually rising.  Just when the story progresses and builds, the plot twists and the stakes spike even higher, making every moment funnier and more dangerous.

Broadway Bounty Hunter is playing at the Greenwich Village Theater.  Treat yourself to a fun time.  You deserve it!

Domenick Danza