Stereophonic

 Stereophonic
Golden Theatre
October 26, 2024 

Photo courtesy of Stereophonic

The Tony Award winning Broadway production of Stereophonic is a unique and engaging experience.  Playwright David Adjmi draws you into the relationships, challenges, and backstories of the characters.  His well-crafted dialogue causes you to lean forward and listen carefully.  The phenomenal cast, under the masterful direction of Daniel Aukin, plays the rich subtext, raising the stakes in every moment.  Heated arguments flare up, rooted in ambition, jealousy, and need.

It is 1976 in a recording studio in Sausalito, California.  The band is cutting their second album.  Diana (played by Amy Forsyth) just had a single from their previous album rise high on the charts.  Peter (played by Benjamin Anthony Anderson), who is her lover and manager of the band, is proud of her, but also threatened by her rising success.  Reg, the bass player (played by Will Brill), arrives drunk for the recording session.  Grover, the sound engineer (played by Eli Gelb) confesses to his assistant, Charlie (played by understudy Denver Milord), that he lied about his experience to get this job.  He is nervous about the band members finding out, so he keeps them supplied with alcohol and cocaine.  Holly, the keyboard player (played by Rebecca Naomi Jones), confides in Diana that she is moving out of the house the band shares because she needs space.  She bought a condo.  When Reg retreats under a blanket in his usual funk at the end of the session, the drummer, Simon (played by Chris Stack), tries to cheer him up.  Peter, looking to bond, joins in their conversation.  He admits that his brother is competing in the Olympics.  His whole family is watching the televised swim meet, except him.  His choice is to be in the recording studio with the band.  Every time the band records a track, they fight.  Every piece of advice for improvement is taken as a personal criticism.  The more they try to separate the work from their personal lives, the more entwined they all become.  When their album is completed, it goes to number one on the charts, and the complex entanglements accelerate. 

Photo courtesy of Stereophonic

This is truly an ensemble piece.  Each character is precisely developed.  Their needs, ambitions, and flaws are distinct and intense, creating a dynamic that fuels their work together.  As their success increases, so does their dependence on one another, causing deep-seeded conflict in their ability to achieve their individual objectives.  Some of them rise independently from this struggle, and some do not.  Each character has their own arc of growth and self-awareness, creating a realistic tone and enthralling atmosphere.  This cast has a phenomenal connection, each delivering fierce portrayals of these compelling characters.

Stereophonic is playing at the Golden Theatre through January 12.  It is skillfully written, directed, and performed.  You will be fully immersed in the passions of the characters for the three-hour fifteen-minute running time.  Don’t miss it! 

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

Significant Other

Significant Other

Booth Theatre

February 19, 2017

Photo courtesy of Significant Other

Joshua Harmon’s Significant Other is witty, charming and packs a surprising punch.  Directed by Trip Cullman, the Broadway production flows seamlessly through the obsessions and experiences of the main character and his close circle of friends.  The cast is tightly connected by honest relationships and crisp timing that keeps the audience entertained and engaged on the journey.

Jordan (played by Gideon Glick) is happy when his friend Kiki (played by Sas Goldberg) gets married.  She sets up their other close friend Vanessa (played by Rebecca Naomi Jones) at her wedding, and then she gets engaged.  Jordan’s friends continue to find time for him to work through his search for love and attraction with a workmate (played by John Behlmann).  It is when his BFF Laura (played by Lindsay Mendez) finds her soulmate, that Jordan realizes he is alone.  Only his grandmother (played by Barbara Barrie) gives him the advice that makes sense.

Photo courtesy of Significant Other

Gideon Glick is charming and quirky as Jordan.  His portrayal is just neurotic enough to be likable and funny… and identifiable.  He builds very different relationship with the three female friend characters.  Sas Goldberg is boisterous as Kiki.  Rebecca Naomi Jones is edgy as Vanessa.  Lindsay Mendez is heartwarming as Laura, the character who Jordan is closest with.  Barbara Barrie anchors the action of the play as Jordan’s grandmother.  Her timing is impeccable.  Her presence is grounded and strong.  The relationship she develops with Mr. Glick is tender, caring, and honest.

Barbara Barrie & Gideon Glick
Photo courtesy of Significant Other

Significant Other explores the realizations that occur when the lives of close friends change around us, leaving us feeling isolated and left out.  Although the characters are in their late twenties, there are identifiable realities in the play that ring true for all.

Domenick Danza

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Belasco Theatre

August 11, 2015

Photo courtesy of Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Hedwig and theAngry Inch is a visually enthralling revival of the John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask 1998 rock musical.  It takes its audience on a painful journey through separation and sacrifice to self-acceptance and unification.  Presently Taye Diggs is gracing the stage at the Belasco Theatre with a starkly honest interpretation of the title character that will stun and captivate you.

The premise of the show is that Hedwig is performing for one night only on the Broadway stage with her band, The Angry Itch.  She tells the story of her life, which began in Berlin, when the wall split a culture down the middle.  After her father, a US Army Major General abandons them, her mother tells her the story of love.  The song, “The Origin of Love” is choreographed with stunning projections and declares how love split in two, and our purpose is to find the other half and reunite with it.  Her mother is the one who arranges her brutally botched sex change to help Hedwig escape East Germany by marrying an American soldier.  The journey of abandonment continues in a trailer park in Kansas.  The image of the wall, which is present on the set throughout the show, and the representation of the wigs as persona and identification are poetic and striking.

Taye Diggs as Hedwig
Photo courtesy of Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Taye Digg’s Hedwig is tall, bold, brassy, and as hurtful as she is wounded.  His characterization is mature, detached, and indignant.  The character’s humor is angry and projected on those closest to her.  Mr. Diggs nails every song and hooks you into following him deeply into the reality of Hedwig’s veiled need.  Rebecca Naomi Jones is fierce as Hedwig’s husband Yitzhak.  Throughout the show her character retreats from every confrontation with Hedwig.  In the end she rises like the phoenix when finally set free. 

The show is harsh, brash and cold.  More importantly, it contains a powerful message of love and self-acceptance.  It has a strong relevance to a teenage audience, and a large following to prove it.  Taye Diggs will be starring until October 11.  He is worth seeing in this role.

Domenick Danza