Mr. Saturday Night

 Mr. Saturday Night
Nederlander Theatre
April 23, 2022 

Photo courtesy of Mr. Saturday Night

Billy Crystal lights up Broadway in Mr. Saturday Night.  The show is full of one liners, double takes, and heartfelt moments.  The book is written by the same three who wrote to original move (Billy Crystal, Lowell Ganz, & Babaloo Mandel).  Jason Robert Brown’s score is lively and memorable.  Amanda Green’s lyrics are witty and character driven.  Director John Rando brings all the elements together and shines them up to create a fun new musical.  

The year is 1994.  Buddy Young Jr. (played by Billy Crystal), who was a famous TV comic in the 1950s, is now performing in Senior Homes and feels he has hit bottom.  When he is mistakenly listed as “recently deceased” on the Emmy Awards presentation, his brother Stan (played by David Paymer) flies in from Florida.  Stan was Buddy’s manager in the early days, until they had a falling out.  The Today Show calls Buddy for an interview to correct the error from the Emmy Awards.  Buddy feels this is his chance to make a comeback, so Stan calls in a favor with a big agency, who sends Annie Wells (played by Chasten Harmon) to discuss the possibilities.  In his usual style, Buddy manages to insult Ms. Wells, but she still wants to represent him.  Buddy has a rough road ahead, not just with his career, but in building back the relationship with his brother and healing the relationship with his daughter, Susan (played by Shoshana Bean).  

David Paymer & Billy Chrystal in the 1992 film
Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

Billy Crystal’s timing during his stand-up routines and old comedy sketches is impeccable.  He and David Payne have a strong connection as brothers, both having played these roles in the original 1992 film.  Their relationship plays out through rhythm and comic timing.  They create a few very serious moments that are genuine and touching.

Randy Graff plays Buddy’s wife, Elaine.  Her character is a grounding force for Buddy.  She is solid and charming in this role, keeping the characters around her connected and the action moving.  Shoshana Bean is engaging and charismatic as Susan.  Her energy pushes each scene forward.  Her solos are strong and emotionally engaging.  Chasten Harmon brings heart and determination to the character of Annie Wells.  She raises the stakes and builds the momentum of the story. 

David Paymer, Billy Crystal, Shoshana Bean, & Chasten Harmon
Photo courtesy of Mr. Saturday Night

The ensemble is made up of three amazing performers: Jordan Gelber, Brian Gonzales, and Mylinda Hull.  Each play numerous roles that resurface throughout the story.  They are full of surprises, while skillfully keeping the action connected and delivering the laughs.  

Mr. Saturday Night has all the humor and heart you expect from a Billy Crystal project.  The story is touching.  The performances are bold and honest.  The set design, by Scott Pask brilliantly incorporates the video and projection designs of Jeff Sugg.  Get a ticket today.  You will definitely enjoy this show.     

Domenick Danza

The Babylon Line

The Babylon Line

Lincoln Center Theatre

At the Mitzi E. Newhouse

December 31, 2016

Photo courtesy of Lincoln Center Theatre

Lincoln Center Theatre’s production of The Babylon Line is astounding.  Richard Greenberg’s script is prolific.  His characters are bold, honest, peculiar, and real. Director Terry Kinney finds just the right rhythm and flow for the play in order to keep the audience focused on the characters, their challenges, and their connections.

It is 1967 and Aaron Port (played by Josh Radnor) commutes on the Babylon Line to teach a creative writing adult education class in Levittown, Long Island.  His class is an eclectic mix of six students.  He is drawn to one student in particular, Joan Dellamond (played by Elizabeth Reaser).  She is a bit of an outcast, yet has a promising writing style with a unique voice.  The students in the class gradually open up in their writing, while the instructor remains separate and aloof.  The class comes to an end, yet their stories do not.

Photo courtesy of Lincoln Center Theatre

There are strong performances by the entire cast.  Josh Radnor is charming and allusive as Aaron Port.  Elizabeth Reaser has a quirkiness that is disturbing and off beat.  As the details of her character are revealed, the depth of these qualities hold true.  She grows and changes due to the connection to Josh Radnor’s’character.  Their honesty and relationship is riveting.  Randy Graff is commanding as Frieda Cohen.  Maddie Corman and Julie Halston join with her in creating a trio of Long Island housewives that are both funny and sad.  Perhaps the most amusing touch by Mr. Greenberg is when he builds Maddie Corman's character into the main character in his play Our Mother's Brief Affair.  Frank Wood and Michael Overholtzer are brilliantly underplayed and ever present.  These actors all create rich, realistic characters with the specific backstories in Mr. Greenberg’s script.  Their relationships keep the energy flowing throughout the play.

Photo courtesy of Lincoln Center Theatre

The set by Richard Hoover and costumes by Sarah J. Holden strongly establish the time period and location of the play.  Lighting by David Weiner and sound by Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen allow for a consistent tone and smooth transitions.  All of this supports Mr. Greenberg’s theme that the ending of a story is really the beginning.

The Babylon Line is playing at Lincoln Center Theatre at the Mitzi E. Newhouse through January 22.  Time is running out.  Get there before it closes.

Domenick Danza