Death of a Salesman

         There are many plays that are worthy of reviving. There are even some plays that are worthy of reviving more than once. There are very few plays that are worth reviving five times in only 63 years. Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman is one of those rare plays that no matter how many times it is done on Broadway, audiences still seem to flock to the theater.

          Part of the reason for their current flocking is the unparalleled cast assembled to inhabit the humble Brooklyn dwellings of the Lohman clan. The other, of course, is Arthur Millers wonderful play which, to modern audiences may seem dated in it's language and subject, is truly universal in it's themes.

        The heart of Death of a Salesman lies in The American Dream, that which is described as "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". Willy Lohman, a traveling salesmen, has been working his entire life to achieve this American Dream, and finds that at this stage of his life, he has very little to show for it. It is the want of most parents to create a better life for their children than they experienced. It is the want of most husbands to provide for their wives a decent home and a few comforts. Willy Lohman feels he has failed on all accounts.

   This is the plight of many an American Citizen living amongst us today. We are constantly berated with messages of what it means to "have it good" in America. We are oppressed by our bosses, our government, and various financial obligations vying for a piece of our proverbial pie. We are all faced with that most basic of questions, "What's the point?".

    In the role of Willy Lohman, Phillip Seymour Hoffman is giving a master class of a performance. Though he is at least 15 years too young to play the role, it hardly matters. This is the stuff of theatrical legend being created on the stage of the Barrymore Theater.

  He is equally matched by Andrew Garfield as favorite son Biff, Linda Emond as faithful wife Linda, and Finn Wittrock as Happy. Linda Emond as Linda Lohman brings the perfect mixture of a faithful wife who longs to see her husband happy, coupled with a woman who has been on the sidelines of her husbands life and hasn't been able to live much of her own. As Biff, Garfield may at first seem to small of frame to be portraying a former football player, but soon displays a talent so large you forget how small of stature he may in fact be.

   The rest of the cast, including John Glover as Ben, Bill camp as Charley, and Fran Kranz as Bernard are all equally wonderful in their roles. Mike Nichols direction is superb. His choice to recreate the original Broadway set designs by Jo Mielziner is a huge asset to the production. Mr. Nichols guides his cast perfectly though Arthur Millers minefields, though no character seems to come out unscathed.

  The current revival of Death of a Salesman  is currently booking through June 2nd. Due to the high demand of certain cast members, an extension is unlikely so make sure you see it while you can. There are $30 rush seats given out on the day of performance for those patrons under 30 years old. Get there at least 90 minutes before the box office opens if you want one of these tickets as the line forms early. However you see it, be sure not to miss it. To quote Linda Lohman, "Attention Must be Paid".

Wit

There are some plays that stick with you long after you have left the theater. They ruminate in your mind and leave an indelible impression on your heart and soul. Margarete Edison's Pulitzer prize (and many other award) winning Wit is just such a play. Just as there are plays that endure, there are performances. Cynthia Nixon (Tony winner for Rabbit Hole, and Miranda on Sex and the city) gave one such a performance in the role of Vivian Bearing PhD.

As Dr. Bearing, Ms. Nixon often addresses the audience directly. From the start of the play she makes no bones about telling you that she is going to die, and that it will not be pleasant. It is this earnest frankness, and that analytical approach to examining the process of her own death, and subsequently life, which propels the play forward.

Cynthia Nixon delivers each scene with exceptional power and grace. Her ability to navigate the different points of Vivian Bearings life, from her time as a professor of literature, to her early childhood, to her time as a student of literature, is astounding. Her costume never changes. She is always clad in hospital gown and baseball cap (to hide her bald head). Yet you would swear you see her at each specific stage of her life.

The rest of the cast is fine, though they more often than not fade into the background. Greg Keller as Dr Jason Posner fares best against Nixon as the impersonal, and possibly unethical fellow studying her case. Carra Patterson as Suzie, the nurse who befriends and ultimately stands up for Vivian Bearing comes off as weak. The rest of the cast is fine.

The set design by Santo Loquasto is simple yet effective, being able to transform between a hospital room, a college lecture hall, an professors office, and Vivian's child hood living room with a simple turn of a white panel. Peter Kaczorowski's lighting design is similar in it's simplicity and equal in it's utter brilliance of being able to transform the stage by emitting soft pools of light, and darkness when needed. Lynn Meadows direction is flawless.

Wit ended it's first (limited) Broadway run at Manhattan Theater Clubs Samuel Friedman Theater on March 17th 2012. Expect Nixon (and quite possibly the production, and Lynn Meadows direction) to be nominated for a Tony award on May 1st.

Godspell

Prepare ye, the way of the lord! These are the familiar opening refrains of Stephen Schwartz's seminar musical theater classic Godspell. The show done by many a high school, college, community theater, regional theater, and church group. It's filled with toe tapping music that can't help but sticking in your brain. The classic show is currently getting a revival for our current times over at The Circle in the Square Theater, and all I have to say is bless the Lord my soul!

I was very wary going into the theater because (having played Jesus in an aforementioned community theater production a number of years ago) I somewhat understand the essence of what makes Godspell enjoyable for audiences (other than the great songs). It's a camaraderie between the actors and the audience. Godspell is a show that has always thrived on the creativity of it's actors. There is many a place for improvisation and ad libbing. Too often, the audience is excluded from the joke while the performers seem to be having a great time of themselves.

Happily I report this is not the case with the current Godspell. From the opening (which I have never seen performed before now) which brings new clarity to the piece, you can tell you are for something exciting. Each and every actor brings something fresh and exciting to the table.

Lead by Hunter Foster (from Weeds) as Jesus, we are presented with an energetic bunch of young people with an exuberance befitting the piece as well as this particular production. Gone are the harlequin face paint and superman shirts of old (though a slight homage is made) and in comes a Jesus that is everything you would want him to be.

Oh Bless the Lord My soul, By my side, and Beautiful City are particular standouts in this production, though every musical number is absolutely fantastic in my opinion. The book scenes are also extremely well done. Uzo Akuba is particularly wonderful in all of her scenes as is Lindsay Mendez. The only weak link for me was Judas, He seemed to be overindulging himself with the score and I didn't find anything special in his scenes either.

The set, costumes, lighting, and special effects are also brilliant. Now, some purists may think that part of what made Godspell special was it's simplicity. I understand that. But we can't just keep doing shows the way they were originally done every time we do them. We need to bring fresh perspective to them otherwise they become redundant.

This Godspell has new, fresh orchestrations that make almost every song ready for the radio (as did the original production at the time). Do not miss this production! Hunter Parish leaves on April 14th to film the 8th season of WEEDS, but the show continues on with Corbin Blue. Tickets are currently on sale through January of 2013.

The (extremely long) Road to Mecca

I can see the appeal of this Athol Fugard play. The subject matter is quite interesting, and on the page I'm sure it's literary value is apparent. In this Roundabout Theater Production helmed by director Gordon Edelstein it is nearly unbearable to sit through.

Roundabout bills the play as such: In a desolate stretch of the Karoo Desert in South Africa, an elderly woman has turned her home into a highly personal work of art. The townspeople are threatened by her eccentricity and want to send her to an old age home, but a younger woman, a kindred spirit, wants to save the woman and her home.

This is a three person play, but for the majority of the show it is a two person play. The two woman are Miss Helen (Rosemary Harris) the aging artist in question, and Elsa Barlow (Carla Gugino) a younger woman from the city who spent a number of years living with Miss Helen. The third person is that of Marius Byleveid (Jim Dale) the reverend who is attempting to remove Miss Helen from her home and bring her to a retirement house.

Miss Helen and Reverend Byleveid are Afrikaans, descendants of the dutch settlers of South Africa - an extremely religious sect at that. Elsa is a more modern woman, descending from the British. This plays an important part in their respective world views.

It's important to note that this play is based on an actual living (now dead) person, Miss Helen. Her story is very interesting and is brought to brilliant life by Rosemary Harris. The problem is in the direction which is very one dimensional and dry, and also the writing, which is basically a series of monologues that the characters deliver to one another.

Even when the third character enters (a breath of fresh air), most of the dialogue is monologues rather than conversational. The conversational dialogue is interesting and brightens up the play, as does Jim Dales serio-comic portrayal of Marius. Overall you just can't wait for them to finally reach the end of the road so you can get the hell out of the theater (several people left during intermission).

The set and costume design by Michael H. Yeargan and Susan Hilferty are spot on, particularly the set design which seeks to capture the spirit of the art of Miss Helen without being garish to the audience. I wonder what this production would have been like with better pacing and a director who knew how to move things along a little better and create interesting stage pictures rather than people just standing around talking.

This play closed on Broadway at The American Airlines Theater on March 4 2012. Don't expect to see it nominated for any Tonys.

On a Queer Day, You can see my penis...

On a clear day you can see forever, is a Burton Lane and Alan Jay Lerner musical from 1965. It is based loosely on the book Berkley Square and is about a woman who has ESP and has been reincarnated. The original production was plagued with a poorly constructed book with ridiculous plot points and holes that left the audience scratching their heads. It was subsequently turned into a film starring Barbra Streisand in 1970.

The show has never really "worked" though it does have a tuneful and enjoyable score. Michael Mayer had the idea to redevelop the show to try and fix the problems in the book and sew together the holes in the plot. His solution to this was to take the lead character of Daisy (and her alter ego and past life Melinda) and turn her into DAVEY, while still keeping Melinda as a female. Interesting no? Unfortunately it wasn't.

While the idea of Daisy being Davey IS interesting, it wasn't at all executed well. New Book writer Peter Parnell did what he could under the new construct to help make the story make sense, but the concept was not fully developed, or committed to.

A new framing device was added for the Psychiatrist Mark Bruckner (played by Harry Connick Jr.) which basically made him the leading role and delegated the role(s) of Davey and Melinda to supporting characters in what was now HIS story. This may have fixed some of the earlier problems but it added a whole set of new ones.

Harry Connick Jr. was terrible in the role of Mark. His singing (as always) was superb, his acting however (not as always) was stiff and miserable. After the opening monologue we meet "Davey" who is portrayed as a boring, unremarkable type of guy who works in a florist shop. Basically every ounce of charm that Daisey possessed has been removed.

Davey wants to be put under hypnosis so that he can quit smoking and move in with his wonderful boyfriend Warren who hates smoking. While Davey is under hypnosis Dr. Bruckner discovers that Davey has the ability to remember his past lives.

Dr. Bruckner meets Davey's immediate past Life, Melinda, (played by a real girl, Jessie Mueller) and ends up falling in love with her. We see them dancing, experiencing all kinds of things, and we even see them kiss - many times in female form, and once, very quickly in male form.

The problem is that it's difficult to buy into the idea that Dr. Mark doesn't realize that he is looking at a man. It subtly bring up the subject of latent homosexual tendencies and the fact that two people can love each other and that their external parts don't matter but it never actually deals with them in a satisfying way.

Not to mention all of the ethical problems with taking advantage of a patient physically. Even in the 70's I can't imagine a Psychiatrist would not have lost his license for making out with a patient while they were under hypnosis. Luckily we never see them make love, though it is somewhat implied that it may have happened.

On a clear day contains a wonderful score. This production was "augmented" with songs from the film The Royal Wedding which also contained a Lane/Lerner score. The songs mix in just fine, but by separating the two characters the whole thing just loses steam.

The production was not helped with the fact that The Saint James theater is a cavernous house and the story is much more intimate than the theater allowed. Also, the set design, choreography and costume design was near disastrous.

Four things would have made this production better:
1) A stronger commitment to the idea that Marc Bruckner fell in love with a woman in a mans body
2) Stronger design elements (Set, Costumes)
3) More cohesive choreography
4) Being done in a smaller house, less than 1200 seats.

This production of On a clear day you can see forever closed on Broadway on January 31st 2012.

Perhaps someday we will see a successful (at least creatively) production of this show, but sadly this was not it.

Stick Fly

There were two plays on Broadway this year that were about well to do family's with deep dark secrets and the people who refuse to let them stay buried in the holes that were dug for them. One of them was Other Desert Cities which I have already discussed (and which I loved) and the other, is Lydia R. Diamonds Stick Fly which I also thought to be extremely profound.

Stick Fly, produced by and featuring incidental music by Alicia Keys, is described thus by producers: Stick Fly follows the LeVays, an affluent African American family who come together to spend a summer weekend at their Martha's Vineyard home. The adult sons, aspiring novelist Kent and golden boy plastic surgeon Flip, have each brought their respective ladies (one Black and one White) to meet the parents. Food, drink and Trivial Pursuit tangle with class, race and identity politics in this contemporary comedy of manners.

Dark secrets are brought to the light and more than one characters true natures are bared before the evening is through. The play is extremely well written. Some may liken it to a soap opera in it's construction and the way in which it's plot devices are used, but I found it to be compelling and poignant.

The performances were hit and miss. Rubin Santiago Hudson was the strongest male in the cast as Joe, the patriarch of the LeVay family. Though the family bears his name, he married into the affluence and is therefore not considered part of the legacy. Dule Hill and Mekhi Phifer give acceptable if sometimes bland performances as Kent and Flip, respectively.

The woman fair much better. Tracie Thoms is excellent as Kent's Fiance Taylor, and Rosie Benton is a comic delight as Trips (white) girl friend Kimber. The utter revelation, however, is Condola Rashad as Cheryl, the daughter of the long time house keeper. Her performance is breath taking, powerful, and intense while at the same time being vulnerable and introspective.

The direction by Kenny Leon is smart and informative. The lighting design by Beverly Emmons is sufficient as are the costumes by Reggie Ray. The set design by David Gallo perfectly evokes that of a summer home on Martha's Vineyard complete with ornate interiors and quaint patios. Alicia Keys music is pretty darn good too, if not sometimes a little more featured a presence than incidental music in a play ought to be.

So, what was the problem? Why should Other Desert Cities thrive while Stick Fly closes early? As the play suggests, America still has a race problem, and a class problem. Put more simply, Cities is about white people while Stick Fly is about black people. It's a little known "fact" on Broadway that black people don't go to the theater, so the only way that shows about black people do well is if something compels the black community to go to the theater or if white audiences find interest and start showing up.

Stick Fly closed on Broadway at The Cort Theater on January 31st. If it comes to a local theater near you, see it, because it is one powerful play.

Seminar

The saying goes that you can't judge a book by it's cover, but in Theresa Rebeck's (SMASH) new play Seminar a world renowned writer turned private celebrity tutor attempts to mold a group of young students by reading just the first few lines of their manuscripts. The play is described as thus:  four aspiring young novelists sign up for private writing classes with Leonard (Alan Rickman), an international literary figure. Under his recklessly brilliant and unorthodox instruction, some thrive and others flounder, alliances are made and broken, sex is used as a weapon and hearts are unmoored. The wordplay is not the only thing that turns vicious as innocence collides with experience in this biting new comedy.

While I was watching Seminar I must say that I enjoyed it very much. It lasts a swift 99 minutes without an intermission. The play itself is quite good. It's about the creation, and subjectivity of art, as well as the honing of skills and the importance of developing a craft. Theresa Rebeck, who is one of the executive producers and head writers over at the new NBC desperate to be a hit show SMASH, has created fully formed characters where a lesser writer may have presented archetypes. Though the character of Leonard is somewhat of an archetype of the typical intellectual and liberal elitist, doused with the slightest touch of misogyny.

Alan Rickman, though he receives top billing, is not the leading male role. He is fantastic though, and possesses a complete magnetism whenever he is onstage. The role is, in my opinion, the weakest written but due to Rickmans wonderful presence and performance it becomes something better than it is on the page.

The two true stars of this piece are Hamish Linklater and Lilly Rabe as two aspiring writers who are students in this once weekly writing class. They both imbue their characters with an instant likability, vulnerability, and complexity that makes them interesting and entertaining to watch. They are joined by the equally excellent Jerry O'Connell and Hettienne Park.

The set design by David Zinn (who also did the costumes) is simple and effective. The direction by Sam Gold is smart and well paced. Overall I'd say this has a decent shot of being nominated for Tony Awards, specifically for Alan Rickman, Lilly Rabe, and Hamish Linklater. The best play category is going to be tough this year, so that might be a stretch.

Seminar continues to play at The John Golden Theater on Broadway however Alan Rickman, Hamish Linklater, and Lilly Rabe will be exiting the production in Early April. They will be replaced by Jeff Goldblum, Justin Long, and Zoe Lister Jones, receptively. I may or may not see the play again, just so I can swoon over Justin Long at the stage door, but that all depends on whether or not I can successfully lose 30 lbs, and convince him that he doesn't REALLY like women.