Relatively Speaking

       An evening of one act plays written by the likes of Ethan Cohen, Elaine May, and Woody Allen would probably seem like a great idea to anyone. The premise for each roughly 30-40 minute play seemed interesting enough. Each one would tackle a different area of "family" or "life events". The cast assembled was a mix of seasoned professionals and a few up and coming actors. The director (John Turturo) is adept as both an actor and a director. This left audiences (myself included) wondering, what went wrong?

     Lets start with the material. Relatively Speaking is made up of three one act plays by the aforementioned playwrights. Each one act must be judged individually, and also as part of the larger whole.  Ethan Cohen's Talking Cure was the first horse out of the gate. The play concerns a prison Psychiatrist who is trying to understand why a former Postal Worker - err, went postal so to speak, on a customer. There is some very amusing back and forth between the Dr. and the Patient, and the subject of childhood and parental guidance is eventually brought up. Just in the middle of this, the set splits in two and we see the patients parents before he as born, and we are meant to possibly understand through this quick encounter how he got to be where he is today.

    The problem is (and is often the case with one act plays of this nature) that we are not given what feels like a complete story. The performances are fine. Jason Kravits and Danny Hoch are quite good as Dr. and Patient, while Katherine Borowitz and Allen Lewis Rickman shine as mother and father. The whole thing is just a bit confusing, and feels slightly underdone.

   George is Dead by Elaine May, in contrast, does feel like a fully formed story. The characters are three dimensional (most of the time) and even though you can tell that something has happened before the action begins, you get a sense that you are seeing a complete story. We open on Carla, a woman who appears to be in her early 40's, stressing over an argument she had with her live in boyfriend when she is interrupted by Doreen, a woman of an indeterminate age but older by at least 15 years than Carla who announces that her husband, George, is dead.

    This is the funniest of all three plays, because it is the most fully developed, and also has the added benefit of Marlo Thomas playing Doreen. Ms. Thomas is probably about 10 years too old (if not 20 years too old) to be playing Doreen, but she makes it work with aplomb. Grant Shaud and Lisa Emery also give extremely nuanced performances as Carla and her boyfriend Michael.

    This brings us to what many I would imagine, expected to be the highlight of the evening, Woody Allen's Honeymoon Hotel. We are met with a man in a tux and a woman in a bridal gown entering a cheap, sleazy, honeymoon suite and a cheap and sleazy roadside motel. They speak of the wedding, how much they love each other, and how much they cannot wait to start the honeymoon. There is a knock at the door, and it is the man in the tux brother. We learn that the man in tux is in fact NOT the groom, but the grooms father who has run away with the bride. The rest of the wedding party files in eventually including the rest of the parents, the actual groom, and the rabbi who was to have performed the ceremony.

    The play itself is not that bad. It's not Woody Allen's best work by any means, but it's really not that bad. Part of the problem is that it both begins and ends awkwardly, and feels like it belongs in 1995 rather than in 2011. The other problem is the casting. Nearly everyone is miscast. Steve Gutenberg and Grant Shaud withstanding, nearly everyone else is terrible in their roles. Julie Kavner is doing her best, but unfortunately she doesn't have much to work with.

   As a whole evening of theater, these plays are so unevenly matched that though there is the common thread of family that binds them together, it's a very thin, white, barely visible thread. The set and costume designs were hit or miss, and as I said the casting was also inconsistent.

    Relatively Speaking closed on Broadway at The Brooks Atkinson Theater on January 29th 2012. Marlo Thomas is really the only Tony Nomination the play can hope for. Considering it's large ensemble cast, and the marquis value of it's three writers, I would imagine that Relatively Speaking will live on in regional and community theaters. Though a Broadway revival is pretty unlikely.

Lysistrata Jones

          Sex is probably the oldest and most powerful weapon on earth. The ancient Greeks knew it, and so was born a legend (and a play). Lysistrata is one of the oldest surviving pieces of Greek theater. What better platform to base a musical on? Douglas Carter Beane (The Little Dog Laughed, Sister Act) and  Lewis Flynn have concocted a "High School Musical" of Greek proportions.

         Lysistrata Jones updates the classic tale to our modern times and centers around a new girl at Athens University named (Lyssie J for short) and her attempt to turn around the mens basketball team (who hasn't won a game in 30 years) by convincing all the girls not to 'give it up' until they win. Basketball, comedy, and show tunes ensue.

       The book is one of the smartest, laugh inducing, and relevant librettos to surface on Broadway for some time. I would be looking for Mr. Beane to be nominated (and possibly even win) a Tony for this stellar book filled with quotable one liners and seamless pop culture references. The music is catchy, up beat, modern, and altogether fun.

     Casting could not have been more perfect. As Lysistrata Jones Patti Murin goes deeper that the shallow blank exterior and gives us a Lyssie J that is passionate, funny, and human. Josh Segarra as Mick has the difficult job of making the audience like a character who isn't very nice, but he succeeds. Jason Tam and Lindsay Nicole Chambers shine as two nerdy folks desperate for love (though Ms. Chambers does appear to be a bit too old).

   The rest of the supporting cast (it's not really fair to call them supporting when there are only 12 people in the show) is fantastic. A special mention must be maid of Liz Mikel making her Broadway debut as Hetaira, as Greek Chorus/brothel Madame with one of the funniest reveals I've ever seen. From the moment Ms. Mikel steps onstage you know that you can count on her to be the shit. And she delivers every time she is on stage. If any woman in any Broadway production could count on a Tony nomination this season it would be Liz Mikel.

   Sadly, despite Lysistrata Jones being one of the most well crafted musicals to hit the Broadway stage in many years, it closed on Broadway on January 8th 2012. Due to it's small, young cast, and minimal set requirements  I would expect to see Lysistrata Jones pop up at a College campus or regional theater near you as soon as it becomes available for licensing. When it does, do not miss it!

Private Lives

Noel Coward isn't every ones cup of tea. To be honest, it's not my favorite theatrical drink, but I appreciate it for what it is, and even enjoy certain flavors of it. Noel Coward has a very dry, and somewhat old fashioned sensibility. What makes his work stand the test of time is that he has always written about the human condition using characters that are somewhat relate able no matter what time period they reside in.

Take Amanda and Elyot, who are a couple of divorces from the 1930s. What they are going through could be happening to anyone. They have been divorced for 5 years, and are now each on their honeymoon with new partners, only to discover that they are honeymooning at the same hotel, in hotel rooms with side by side balconies. They discover that though their relationship was tumultuous that they still have feelings for each other. Comedy (and drama) ensues.

The recent Broadway Revival (the 4th) was as good a production as I think you could ask for. The cast was led superbly by Kim Cattrall (Sex and the City) as Amanda and Paul Gross as Elyot. The supporting cast of Simon Paisley Day, Ana Madeley, and Caroline Lena, Olsson were also quite good if a bit tiresome.

The costume design was perfect, though the set design was a bit odd for my taste. There wasn't anything wrong with it, but the second and third act set was too expansive for my taste. A slightly smaller playing area would have suited the piece better. The script is filled with clever Noel Coward puns and one liners. It's also filled with so much sex and sensuality one wonders how this played to audiences in the 1930's (and other decades for that matter).

Unfortunately despite excellent notices from The Times and other publications Private Lives ended it's run prematurely at the end of December.

Hugh Jackman: Back on Broadway

Yes folks, I'm bringing you another blog about another closed show. I'm hanging my head in shame as I do so, I promise. Some of you may know that Hugh Jackman is one of my favorite performers. There is just something about the way he fills up a pair of jeans on screen that makes me appreciate his huge talent. He has a smile that makes even Tom Cruise Jealous and abs that would make Ryan Gosling cry.

But seriously, he is also a hugely talented actor. Not many guys can BE wolverine, and Peter Allen. At the same time. It's been a little more than a year since Hugh Jackman graced the Broadway stage in a play called A Steady Rain (which I saw). It has been even longer (8 years) since Hugh Jackman did a musical.

There is many a talented musical theater performer who could not command the stage for two hours in their own one person show. Hugh Jackman isn't one of them. Though he isn't exactly alone (he is backed by a great onstage orchestra, and some very talented young ladies who sing and dance with and around him), Hugh Jackman commands the stage every moment that he is on it.

There is no song list in the playbill. The audience is met with a personal note from Hugh about the show which we are about to see. It explains how the show came about, and what prompted him to create it. We are also met with a list of artists of whose work Mr. Jackman will be interpreting that evening.

The show is filled with many highlights, including many a tear jerking moment and also many a jazz hands, toe tapping, eyes wide moment as well. My favorite moments included a fantastic homage to MGM style movie musicals in which Hugh Jackman not only sang but also tap danced, a spot on rendition of soliloquy from Carousel, a "Peter Allen" moment at the top of act II in which Hugh Jackman recreated some of his Tony award winning magic, and the best moment of all was towards the end of Act II where Hugh was joined on stage by a wonderful group of Australian Aboriginal singers, Didgeridoo players, drummers, and chanters.

Overall it was a spectacular night at the theater. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it sooner, though you wouldn't have been able to get a ticket anyhow. In fact, I didn't have even have a seat. I stood for the entire 2 hour show, and also waited for a half hour at the stage door to get Hugh Jackmans autograph and to faint at his feet.

My proudest moment, I have to say, was when my Husband trampled two middle aged ladies (who hadn't even seen the show) and got pointed at my Hugh Jackman and had his playbill signed. That's my boy!