Magic/Bird

          Anyone who knows me well, or even a little, knows that "sports fan" is not a word that anyone would use to describe me unless it was opposite day and we were in first grade. It might shame my Boston based family for this to be made public, but I knew nothing about Larry Bird other than that he has bushy hair, is very tall, and played for the Celtics. I knew equally as much about Magic Johnson. I didn't even know that they had ever had a "rivalry".

        The play Magic/Bird would have very much benefited from an out of town production before coming to Broadway. I'm sure that the creative team would have learned a lot about the way they chose to tell this story, and may have fixed some of the obvious "kinks" in what could have been a very powerful story of friendship in the face of adversity.

        Magic/Bird takes place entirely on a basketball court. Not the action of the play, but rather different locations are depicted by bringing in different small pieces to establish a bar, a farm house, a locker room etc. The back wall is also lined with screens that show video images and projections of the real men themselves. All in all it was a very theatrical and affective way to tell the story.

        The real problems with this play are in the characters. The author Eric Simonson (who wrote last years better by comparison Lombardi) has failed to develop either of the main characters in way that lets the audience into who these men were, what made them dislike each other, and then what eventually drew them together.

         In addition to the lack of connection to the two star players, the supporting characters in Magic/Bird are all played by one white woman, one white man, and two black men. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, however, most of the characters these actors portray are so nondescript that they all seem to blend together and it's difficult to tell who each one is playing at what time.

        This is not a good play, however, it is a compelling story. For this non sports fan, it would have been so wonderful to see more of these two great athletes of our time and less of the people around them who didn't matter (random reporters, fans, TV execs etc). Also, very little time is spent on Magic Johnson discovery he is HIV positive. We see nothing of how it effected him. We see how it impacted him professionally, but nothing of the private struggle. Magics wife never makes an appearance on stage.

    All is all I went in expected to not like the play, but hopeful that if I kept my expectations low perhaps I might be surprised. All I left feeling was disappointed that this story didn't get told in the way that it deserved to be. Magic/Bird closed on Broadway at The Longacre Theater on May 12 after 37 performances.

Gore Vidals The Best Man

Long gone are the days when presidential primaries came "down to the wire". Where at convention, candidates made speeches, fought for delegates, and had more than one round of voting to choose their parties candidate. This, however, is the plot of Gore Vidal's 1960's era play The Best Man, currently being revived (for the second time in 12 years) at The Schoenfeld Theater.

The cast is starry. James Earl Jones and Angela Landsbury are billed above the title, though their roles are small (particularly Landsburys). Mr. Jone's role is somewhat more pivotal though his stage time is scarce. The true stars of the production are Tony award winner John Laroquette (Bill Russel) and Eric McCormick (Joe Cantwell) who play rival candidates in the same political party. One is considered to be more liberal than the other, and one is considered to be more of a "celebrity politician" than the other.

The first act is somewhat dry, with not much but character exposition taking place. The "conflict" is revealed toward the end of the first act where things start to pick up. The second act is much livelier and very entertaining. It is interesting to see how little the political circus has changed since 1960.

The direction, set, costume, and lighting are fine but nothing special. The entire theater is decorated in patriotic bunting. There are also several television screens to bring you "up to the minute" news reports. The house left box has also been made up to look like a news desk set up in a hotel.

The reason to see this play is for the stars. Besides the aforementioned Landsbury, Jones, McCormick, and Laroquette, are Candace Bergen, Michael McKeon, Jefferson Mays, and Kerry Butler, all giving wonderful performances. The play was short on Tony award nominations, but it's still worth seeing. It's also packing audiences in and recently extended until the September 1st. There are student rush tickets available, as well as most of the time being available on TKTS.

This wouldn't be the first play I would send people out to see (That would be Other Desert Cities) but if you enjoy politics, and famous people, this is the show for you.

Newsies

It might surprise some of you to know that I have never seen Disney's film musical Newsies. It was a flow when it came out in 1992 (when I was 8 years old) and though I was probably the prime audience for the film, my parents didn't take me to see it, nor do I even remember it being on my radar at the time. Over the course of the next 20 years many people have scoffed at me for having never seen the film, and it's one of those movies that I keep meaning to add to my Netflix que but never get around to actually doing it.

This past week I had the pleasure of seeing Newsies in it's new incarnation as Broadway musical, and I can say that what is happening on stage at The Nederlander Theater 8 times a week must be making the folks at Disney very happy. Not only is the production creatively successful, but it's a success with the critics (for the most part) and most definitely with the enthusiastic audiences.

Having never seen the film any changes that may have been made did not bother me in the slightest. Though I understand that there are some significant changes (such as the addition of a love interest for Jack). The score to Newsies is very good. There are rousing anthems of sticking it to the man, as well as soft and sultry ballads of far away dreams and places.

Harvey Fiersteins new book is a gem. He does a wonderful job at keeping the show fast paced without glossing over any of the important details. The only character that is underwritten is that of Joseph Pulitzer, who seems more of a cartoon character villain (think a journalistic Gargamel with the newsboys being the smurfs) than a flesh and blood character. There is also a theater owner named Medda played with aplomb by the wonderful Capathia Jenkins, but the character seems extraneous.

Newsies is by no means a perfect musical, but what is? It is my every means a wonderful evening of Broadway entertainment. The set design by Tobin Ost is not only functional, the solid steel framework that weaves in and out and serves as many a location brings forth the new dawn of the industrial revolution and the changes in the country. Jess Goldsteins costumes are less effective, but none the less do their intended job. Jeff Croiters lighting is serviceable but nothing terribly special. The direction by Jeff Calhoun is sleek and fast paced. Christopher Gattelli's choreography is energetic and entertaining, and may finally earn him a well deserved Tony award.

Everyone has been raving about Jeremy Jordan's performance and he doesn't disappoint, though at this particular performance he did seem to be a bit vocally under the weather. Kara Lindsey is making a sparkling debut as Katherine. Andrew Keenan-Bolger as Crutchie and Ben Fankhauser as Davey are particularly delightful.

Newsies just announced an open ended run at The Nederlander Theater. The Tony awards are June 10th and I suggest buying your tickets before that date, otherwise you may end up having to wait a very long time to see this fantastic show!