Poor Yella Rednecks

 Poor Yella Rednecks
Manhattan Theatre Club
New York City Center Stage I
November 24, 2023 

Photo courtesy of Manhattan Theatre Club

The Manhattan Theatre Club production of Qui Nguyen’s Poor Yella Rednecks is outstanding.  Mr. Nguyen tells the story of his mother and father, and his growing up in a small town in Arkansas.  It is funny and touching, rough and sweet.  Mr. Nguyen’s storytelling style is unique.  He tells this personal story of struggle and hardship in a bold and colorful manner.  His rhythms and humor are fully engaging, pulling the audience into the deeper emotion of the story.     

Maureen Sebastian, Samantha Quan, Little Man,
& Jon Norman Schneider
Photo courtesy of Manhattan Theatre Club

The playwright (played by Jon Norman Schneider) enters the stage and tells the audience he is getting ready to interview his mother.  He is going to write a play about when she met his father.  His mother, Tong (played by Maureen Sebastian) lays down the rules for the interview and what she expects from his play.  She transforms into a young woman, a refugee from Vietnam in the 1981.  She meets and falls in love with Quang (played by Ben Levin), who has a wife and two children in Vietnam.  He was a helicopter pilot during the war.  His wife thinks he is dead.  He and Tong decide to get married.  They live in El Dorado, Arkansas with Tong’s mother, Huong (played by Samantha Quan), who helps raise their son, Little Man (a puppet, manipulated and voiced by Jon Norman Schneider).  When Quang receives a letter from his wife in Vietnam, the guilt from abandoning his two children rises to the surface.  He sends them money without telling Tong, which breaks her trust.  This is only the beginning of their many ups and downs, including the fact that Little Man is having trouble speaking English and is bullied at school.

Maureen Sebastian & Ben Levin
Photo courtesy of Manhattan Theatre Club

The cast is superb.  Maureen Sebastian and Ben Levin have great chemistry and create a genuine bond as Tong and Quang.  Samantha Quan is full of energy as Huong.  She not only delivers the laughs, but also renders a truthful and touching scene in Act II with her grandson, Little Man.  Jon Norman Schneider’s grounded presence keeps the whole story connected.  There are strong performances by Jon Hoche and Paco Tolson, who both play numerous roles.  

Mr. Nguyen tells a lot of the story through rap lyrics.  They enhance the plot and heighten emotional impact.  Director May Adrales has done a brilliant job bringing this play to the stage.  Scenic design by Tim Mackabee is bright and colorful.  It is full of surprises, as each piece turns around to reveal unexpected settings.  Choreography by William Carlos Angulo is fun and energetic.  Puppet design by David Valentine is wonderous and charming. 

Poor Yella Rednecks is playing at the New York City Center Stage I through December 3.  Don’t miss it! 

Domenick Danza

Waiting for Godot

 Waiting for Godot
Theatre for a New Audience
Polonsky Shakespeare Center
November 11, 2023 

Photo courtesy of Theatre for a New Audience

Theatre for a New Audience’s production of Waiting for Godot is dark, gritty, and haunting.  Under Arin Arbus’ direction, the poetry in Samuel Beckett’s writing emerges as the rhythms in the dialogue rise and play out between the characters.  Ms. Arbus creates honest moments of companionship and  comfort, as well as truthful instances of distress and suspense.  The cast delivers masterful performances, pulling the audience deeper and deeper into their endless waiting and mounting despair.

Estragon (played by Michael Shannon) and Vladimir (played by Paul Sparks) are waiting for Godot.  They know they are in the right location, by the tree.  Maybe it’s the wrong day.  How many days have they been there?  They think they see him coming, but it is Pozzo (played by Ajay Naidu) and his servant Lucky (played by Jeff Biehl).  Estagon and Vladimir pass the time with them, then Pozzo and Lucky leave.  A boy (played by Toussaint Francois Battiste) arrives with a message from Godot.  He will be there tomorrow. 

Michael Shannon & Paul Sparks
Photo courtesy of Theatre for a New Audience.

Tomorrow arrives.  Estragon and Vladimir are waiting for Godot.  The tree has one new leaf.  Time is
passing.  Pozzo and Lucky return, but they are blind and dumb.  They do not recall having been there the day before, and neither does the boy when he returns with the same message from Godot.  Estragon and Vladimir debate what to do, then they wait. 

When you first enter the theatre, Michael Shannon is sitting on the stage as Estragon.  The theatre space fills with a strange quiet and heavy anticipation.  The waiting has already begun.  Time feels suspended through a lot of this production, giving the audience a visceral sense of one of Mr. Beckett’s themes in the piece.  There are also numerous biblical references connecting the characters and the waiting to a greater sense of existence. 

Jeff Biehl, Michael Shannon, Ajay Naidu, & Paul Sparks
Photo courtesy of Theatre for a New Audience

Paul Sparks and Michael Shannon are phenomenal together.  They have impeccable timing and a genuine bond that keeps the audience fully engaged.  Mr. Sparks’ Vladimir is highly physical, fidgeting and rapidly moving around the entire playing area, while Mr. Shannon’s Estragon is sedentary, weary, and unsteady on his feet.  

Ajay Naidu is energetic and antagonistic as Pozzo.  Jeff Biehl is discomfiting and mesmerizing as Lucky.  Their presence throws the rhythm and pace of the play into another realm.  All your attention goes to Toussaint Francois Battiste both times he enters as the boy.  Mr. Battiste embodies a different energy from the other characters.  He is the only one who has seen Godot.  He embodies a calm and certainty that the others are lacking. 

Samuel Beckett’s play has elusive and provocative existential and philosophical images and levels.  This production will engage you emotionally and leave you thinking.  Waiting for Godot is playing at Theare for a New Audience’s Polonsky Shakespeare Center through December 3. 

Domenick Danza

The Frogs

The Frogs
Master Voices
Lincoln Center’s Rose Hall
November 4, 2023 

Photo courtesy of Master Voices

The Frogs, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, was performed in concert by Master Voices at Lincoln Center’s Rose Hall.  It was a rare opportunity to experience this unique  musical theatre piece.  Based on the 405 BC comedy by Aristophanes, the book was adapted by Burt Shevelove in 1974.  It was revived by Lincoln Center in 2004, with additional music by Mr. Sondheim.  That production was directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman, with book revisions by Nathan Lane.  Mr. Lane introduced and narrated this concert presentation.  

Dionysos, the god of theatre and wine (played by Douglas Sills), realizes there is a desperate need for truth and humor in present day theatrical productions.  He takes his servant, Xanthias (played by Kevin Chamberlin), on a quest.  They travel to Hades to bring back George Bernard Shaw (played by Dylan Baker) to write new work.  While crossing the River Styx, Xanthias and Charon, the Boatman (played by Chuck Cooper), save Dionysos after he is captured by a group of frogs.  Upon arrival in Hades, they meet Plato (played by Peter Bartlett), who allows Shaw to leave for a short period of time.  They are all set to depart until Dionysos encounters a few other surprises that alter his original plan. 

This stellar cast and brilliant chorus presented this lesser-known Sondheim gem with skill and grace.  There were masterful and humorous performances by Douglas Sills, Kevin Chamberlin, Marc Kudisch, Chuck Cooper, Peter Bartlett, Dylan Baker, Jordan Donica, and Candice Corbin.  The choreography by Lainie Sakakura was creative and energizing.  Director/Conductor Ted Sperling delivered a stunning concert event. 

This presentation of The Frogs played for only one weekend (November 3 & 4).  Congratulations to Master Voices for making it memorable.  Check out their website for future concert performances (mastervoices.org).  They are sure to be valuable experiences.      

Domenick Danza