Judgment Day

Judgment Day

The Park Avenue Armory

December 14, 2019

Photo courtesy of The Park Avenue Armory

The Park Avenue Armory production of Judgment Day is spectacular.  Director Richard Jones creates an impressive atmosphere and significant impact, while keeping the action moving at an accelerated pace.  He and Movement Director Anjali Mehra maneuver a cast of seventeen and two monumental set pieces around the Armory’s vast and expansive space with grace and precision.  Christopher Shinn’s adaptation of Ödön von Horváth’s play is skillfully crafted.  The characters are strong.  The underlying themes motivate the action, which builds to a stunning climax.

Luke Kirby & Cast Members
Photo courtesy of The Park Avenue Armory

It is the 1937.  Stationmaster Thomas Hudetz (played by Luke Kirby) is respected by the people of the small town he serves.  His wife (played by Alyssa Bresnahan) is thirteen years his senior, paranoid, and the subject of distasteful gossip from the same people who admire her husband.  When she spies the Inn Keeper’s daughter, Anna (played by Susannah Perkins), flirting with Thomas while he is on the job, she is filled with jealousy.  Anna kisses Thomas, causing him to be distracted and miss the train signal.  His delay in switching the track causes an accident that kills eighteen passengers.  Anna lies to protect Thomas and save her reputation.  She claims she witnessed him switching the tracks before the train passed.  Thomas’ wife confesses what she witnessed, both the kiss and Thomas’ error.  However, her reputation in the town make her less credible.  Anna’s false testimony frees Thomas of prosecution, yet neither of them can escape the guilt that amplifies over time.

Luke Kirby & Susannah Perkins
Photo courtesy of The Park Avenue Armory

Luke Kirby transforms the character of Thomas Hudetz from a meek and vigilant civil servant to a reckless, haunted, and broken man.  While we feel for him, we are also struck by how he buys into the lie that frees him from appropriate consequences.  Susannah Perkins portrays Anna as naïve, young girl, unaware of her own emotion and influence.  The impulses that propel her actions and the affect these actions have on her self-consciousness are astounding.  She and Mr. Kirby are brilliant together.  The discovery of their passion and power combined with their inability to control these emotions are mesmerizing.

Set Design by Paul Steinberg
Photo courtesy of The Park Avenue Armory

There is a synchronicity in the Park Avenue Armory with this production, as the space ignites the energy for the cast and the cast fills the space with life.  You have to experience this production for yourself.  Lighting design by Mimi Jordan Sherin and sound design by Drew Levy and Daniel Kluger create astounding effects.  Judgment Day is playing at the Park Avenue Armory through January 10.  Get your tickets and see it for yourself!

Domenick Danza

Oklahoma!

Oklahoma!

St. Ann’s Warehouse

October 13, 2018

Photo courtesy of St. Ann's Warehouse

If you’d have told me that a production of Rogers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! could have a gut-wrenching emotional impact and offer a brutally honest point of view as to who we are as Americans, I’d have said that is not conceivable.  Yet, the Bard Summerscape production at St. Ann’s Warehouse in the Dumbo section of Brooklyn, does just that.  Director Daniel Fish reframes this American classic, making it startlingly relevant to a present day audience.  The production revels in the idealistic goals of the characters, then puts a truthful spotlight on the length they are willing to go to achieve them.  More importantly, it illustrates how their bond tills the soil for future incongruity.

Rebecca Naomi Jones as Laurey & Damon Daunno as Curly
Photo courtesy of St. Ann's Warehouse

The cast creates one honest moment after another, showing the power and quality of Oscar Hammerstein’s book.  They deliver layer upon layer of richness, depth, humor, and intensity to these well-known characters, who we have seen over and over.  This phenomenal work gives us an opportunity to meet them for the first time.  There are riveting performances by Damon Daunno (Curly McLain), Rebecca Naomi Jones (Laurey Williams), Mary Testa (Aunt Eller), Ali Stroker (Ado Annie), Patrick Wail (Jud Fry), James Davis (Will Parker), Michael Nathanson (Ali Hakim), Gabrielle Hamilton (Dream Laurey), Mitch Tebo (Andrew Carnes), Mallory Portnoy (Gertie Cummings), Anthony Cason (Cord Elam), and Will Mann (Mike).  Their chemistry, timing, physicality, and vocal characteristics are flawless. 

Damon Daunno as Curly with the Band
Photo courtesy of St. Ann's Warehouse

Daniel Kluger re-orchestrated the Richard Rogers score for a seven piece country/western style band.  His work puts a strong focus on the vocals, luminously highlighting the Hammerstein lyrics.  The small, diverse, and powerful cast shines vocally, both in skill and styling.  The newly conceived choreography by John Heginbotham rides on the structure and story advancing format set by Agnes DeMille, yet delivers it in a powerfully visceral and original manner that is both engaging and deeply psychological. 

Mary Testa as Aunt Eller & James Davis as Will Parker
Photo courtesy of St. Ann's Warehouse

The interpretation of the ending is shocking.  Once the main characters achieve their goal, the community bond allows them to get away with the murderous actions they felt justified to execute.  They carry the weight of that burden forward as they begin their lives together and their territory becomes a state.  The finale is sung with brutal determination while characters are covered in blood.  It is upsetting… and brilliant, bringing new and darker meaning to the lyrics, “We know we belong to the land, and the land we belong to is grand.”  

The Bard Summerscape production of Rogers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! is running through November 11 at St. Ann’s Warehouse.  Do whatever you need to do to get a ticket.  It is a bold, risky, and brave production that will sit with you for a long time.

Domenick Danza