Woman Around Town’s Editor Charlene Giannetti and writers for the website talk with the women and men making news in New York, Washington, D.C., and other cities around the world. Thanks to Ian Herman for his wonderful piano introduction.
According to the New York Times, prestige beauty sales in the United States rose six percent in the year ending in February, tallying $15.9 billion. Most women, it seems, prioritize keeping up appearances despite financial setbacks. The timely subject of War Paint is heated competition between two fabulously successful female entrepreneurs, both cosmetic pioneers.
Helena (Chaja) Rubinstein (1872-1965) came from Poland with homemade beauty recipes and had her first company success in Australia. London and Paris followed before opening a Fifth Avenue Salon in 1915. The lavish establishment featured a restaurant, gym, and rugs by Joan Miró. Rubinstein was an avid collector of art (she also sat for numerous commissioned portraits) and jewelry. The beauty innovator believed in making the most of a woman’s attributes. “There are no ugly women, just lazy ones.”
Patti Lupone
Down the street, Elizabeth Arden’s already established Red Door Salon would, by 1929, be one of 150 in the entrepreneur’s empire. (Florence Nightingale Graham chose Elizabeth to save money on signage and Arden from the name of a farm near her native Canadian home.) Arden innovations included the use of estrogen, makeovers and coordinating colors. It was arguably she who convinced “us” that women could wear makeup and still be ladies. Her motto: “Purity, Grace and Eternal Youth.”
Contrasting the outsider status of dark, diminutive Rubinstein (Patty Lupone) who was rejected by a co-op board because she was Jewish, turned around and bought the building, with blonde, blue-eyed, nouveau riche Arden (Christine Ebersole) who fraternized with socialite clients, makes a natural scenario. Both women were philanthropists, both were indomitable, short-sighted, and likely as lonely as portrayed. Neither achieved the kind of class acceptance she craved.
Christine Ebersole
Creatives involved have done their homework. Some of the plot is concocted, certainly trading the important men in their lives didn’t occur. Douglas Still plays Rubinstein’s head of marketing, Harry Fleming, while John Dossett enacts Arden’s husband/head of marketing Tommy Lewis. (Both actors deserve better.) Still, much is accurate and rather interesting. (A litany of cosmetic ingredients might be somewhat curbed.) Watch for the early appearance of a lean, hungry Charles Revson. Two long, heavy handed numbers: A Fire and Ice television commercial and Lewis taking his wife’s Salon girls out could be easily jettisoned.
The musical takes us from the opening of Rubinstein’s atelier to the end of both careers.
Douglas Sills and John Dossett
Several of this year’s Tony Award aspirants for Best Musical have opened on Broadway with music and lyrics the weak link of elaborate productions. This is one of them. While Doug Wright’s book is grounded, clever, and illuminating, music by Scott Frankel is bland and repetitive, lyrics by Michael Korie range from congested to cliché.
There are exceptions to both. Elizabeth Arden’s/Ebersole’s “Pink” which despite a fluffy title becomes the moving eruption of a Valkyrie and the wry “Dinosaurs,” performed by Lewis/Dossett and Fleming/Sills stand out for musicality and expression. Titles like “If I’d Been a Man” and “Beauty in the World” promise much and deliver little.
Christine Ebersole’s Elizabeth Arden is palpably formidable. The actress doles out glimpses of vulnerability that make them all the more effective. Her interpretation of Arden is that of a cold woman. Ebersole is in superb voice.
As Helena Rubinstein, Patti Lupone’s vibrancy is equally forbidding, but her brush stroke is so wide, we see a cartoon. Despite impressively soaring vocals, Lupone is extremely hard to understand when singing. We do, however, feel her desperation.
Helena Rubinstein; Elizabeth Arden (Wikipedia)
Director Michael Greif gives each diva her due with grand entrances and clear-the-stage solos. Book scenes are well crafted. Extreme similarity in music makes it difficult to discern emotion in most vocal performance. Restaurant scenes at The St. Regis Hotel and the men’s two-hander at its King Cole Bar are deft. The ladies’ eating habits are droll.
Choreography by Christopher Gattelli reminds one of 1940 movie musicals. Make of that what you will.
David Korins’ fanciful salons offer evocative backdrop, but the neon signs of each lady’s name are irritating and unnecessary. (They might just as well read: APPLAUSE.)
Catherine Zuber’s Costumes are terrific, especially the hats. When it comes to the leads, color coordination is uncomfortably contrived, however.
Photos by Joan Marcus Opening: Patti Lupone, Christine Ebersole and The Company
War Paint Book by Doug Wright Music by Scott Frankel Lyrics by Michael Korie Directed by Michael Greif Nederlander Theatre 208 West 41st Street
Whether or not you believe in the Loch Ness Monster will not affect your reaction to Fossils, a slight, entertaining piece that revolves around “Nessie’s” possible existence. Whether or not the quirky appeals, on the other hand…The play is original, well acted and deftly directed. I have no idea what happened at the end, but the trip is fun.
We’re in a laboratory. A glass case ostensibly filled with fossils stands center stage. At either side on stools, are fish tanks with water. Organic findings are represented by plastic dinosaurs often held out as if speaking when characters communicate. This sounds silly but is executed with stylized gravitas.
Adam Farrell, Luke Murphy; Helen Vinten, Adam Farrell
Twelve years ago, when Vanessa (Helen Vinten) was 18, her father disappeared researching the monster with which he was obsessed. The girl was long accustomed to bonding trips at the Loch. Her parent’s unexplained absence left a sink hole. Vanessa became an all-work-no-outside-life evolutionary biologist whose avowed secret vice is late night creationist confrontations in chat rooms.
Working in the lab with her are two PhD Students, Dominic (Adam Farrell) and Myles (Luke Murphy), both looser than their boss. When new images revive interest in the creature, journalists show up at Vanessa’s workplace to ask about her father’s papers.
Technology has changed. Perhaps there’s something new to be found; perhaps there’s something old. If nothing else, the scientist rationalizes, she might get closure. Dominic is conscripted to go on the field trip. She doesn’t tell him where. You guessed it.
The imaging mechanism is a tank filled with wires. Toy boats represent those on which characters ride…in tanks signifying the lake.
Helen Vinten, Luke Murphy
Vanessa does find someone.
Was the last watery disturbance we see, another boat? The reptile? Her father? Did she capsize? Was she drawn to the black waters? And then?
All three actors/musicians are excellent; focused, with just the right demeanor to carry this off. Against formalization, speaking is natural. We buy Vinten’s preoccupation and her desperation, commonality of scientific language among the breed, refuge of intellect, appeal and threat of the fantastic.
Nel Crouch’s direction is terrific. Movement is graceful but regimented – even running in place – yet oddly never stressed. Players shift precisely like a well oiled machine. The story holds – until its quixotic finish.
Luke Murphy, Adam Farrell
Fossils is integrally carried by David Ridley’s bizarre, haunting music and sound design, controlled before our eyes. There’s a harmonium, a Theremin, a violin, a mixing board and a sampler. We hear oooeeee mystery tones, 40 mile an hour winds, rain, bubbles, waves, splashes; a Scottish folk tune sung by Vanessa and several synchronized pop songs contributed by the men. Rebecca Jane Wood’s Set and Costumes and Joe Price’s Lighting serve well. (Lighting the inside of the case works wonderfully.)
Photos by Carol Rosegg Opening: Adam Farrell, Helen Vinton, Luke Murphy
Fossils by Bucket Club Directed by Nel Crouch 59E59 Theaters 59 East 59th Street Through May 14, 2017
On December 14, 2012, twenty year-old Adam Lanza fatally shot 20 children between six and seven years old and six adult staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. Someone flipped the PA switch at the time. Everyone heard what was happening. Lanza then committed suicide.
How do wails of local community rise above the cacophony of international human need? How does one begin to offer more than temporary balm?
“The country is …wounded, bleeding, hurt…the country needs to be healed…Art is the healing force.” Robert Redford- National Arts Policy Roundtable
Prologue: From Broadway with Love
BROADWAY WITH LOVE Poster
Shortly after the tragedy, producer Van Dean reached out on Facebook to his community-theater people. Michael Unger was asked to direct what became FROM BROADWAY WITH LOVE, A Benefit Concert for Newtown. Twenty Broadway stars the caliber of Brian Stokes Mitchell and Christine Ebersole volunteered time and talent. Innumerable volunteers managed busing, catering, lighting, sound…
Feeling it imperative that local kids be involved, Unger arranged with Sandy Hook Music Teacher Maryrose Kristopik to videotape three hundred elementary school students singing their school song. Area dance schools contributed seventy kids who performed to Mark Shaiman’s “Can’t Stop the Beat” from Hairspray, with the songwriter himself at the piano. Six young dancers had been working on “Good Morning Baltimore” from that musical. One was killed. The other five performed as Shaiman played and the film’s Tracy Turnblad, Nikki Blonsky, sang.
“Kids from Newtown made it special, not the stars. Sesame Street folks who have done more than anyone in the universe to help kids, said it was the most moving thing they’d ever done. It was about showing support, giving the community two hours of joy.” Michael Unger.
Dr. Michael Baroody heard news reports of the shooting in real time on the 14th. He telephoned his wife to pick up their daughter at a neighboring school. When she arrived, the building was already in lockdown. One of the kids at Sandy Hook who didn’t make it had appeared in a piano recital with his daughter the week before. Her father, a state trooper, stood unknowingly in front with an assault rifle. Another child lost was a patient Dr. Baroody had operated on several times. I asked how he explained to his daughter what occurred. “We said there was a bad person with a gun who shot her friend at school. The police came and everyone was safe now.”
Sandy Hook School Gifts (Photo from Shutterstock)
Teddy bears and toys poured in. These were, at best, appropriate Band-Aids. Recognizing this might “victimize” children and that people would write them off, Dr. Baroody wondered how to empower survivors. A few months later, he founded the nonprofit 1214 Foundation. “…I’m a plastic surgeon. I see a problem and try to make it better…when a 6 year-old kid looks up at you with silent trust…The things I do for a living I couldn’t implement.”
The concerned parent of young girls decided on a two pronged approach. A division called NewArts would establish an ongoing summer theater program providing a cathartic way for those affected to express themselves, while character workshops he eventually called ARC would offer life tools. Dr. Baroody had no background in either field, just unerring instinct.
In theater, this architect of potential envisioned a way the community could come together with the people they were assisting. His premise was that the kids needed to push themselves to prove they could still deal with a challenge; to believe it, not just be told; to be able to say look what I did. Participating in shows would provide a communal context. Dr. Baroody asked Michael Unger to be the Producing Artistic Director of NewArts, The Theater Division of the foundation.
Having worked with children many times during his multifaceted career and a father himself, Unger was not only enthusiastic but experienced. “We wanted to give these kids an environment where they could trust everything as well as opportunity to get cheered by an audience and their peers. Love puts everything back into balance.”
“They were the stars, I was just a lucky guest.” Actor John Tartaglia
Michael Unger Leading Seussical Rehearsal
Unger chose Lynn Ahrens/Stephen Flaherty’s Seussical for their first production because it’s about protecting the community. The show centers on a big-hearted elephant named Horton hearing tiny voices cry out from a dust speck that turns out to be Whoville. Moved by its vulnerability, he vows to protect the community: “Don’t give up! I believe in you all. A person’s a person, no matter how small!” Because no one else can hear them, Horton is criticized and ridiculed; the speck is stolen and must be rescued. In order to prove they exist, every Who in Whoville must make a loud enough noise.
Auditions were held. Dozens of untrained children came in quaking, often accompanied by an older sibling or parent. Some had never been in a show. Though initially uncomfortable onstage, Unger had faith that ultimately the experience would be good for them. “I was honored to be their leader, their friend, and part of a family.”
Two NewArts Students Building Egg Nest & Tree for Seussical
Opening an astonishing ten weeks after Unger met D. Baroody, NewArts’ Seussical featured eighty-four nonprofessional Newtown performers ages five through high school. It starred Broadway veteran John Tartaglia. Lynn Ahrens rewrote a few lyrics and the creative team sensitively cut an army section. Otherwise the musical played as if created for the occasion. Twenty design professionals, stage manager, choreographer, etc. worked for a pittance. The orchestra was comprised of professional theater musicians, parents and even a few students.
“You can’t bring back what we had beforehand, but the ability to cope with it, we can help with that… you can choose how you respond.” A Newtown parent
During rehearsal, when Horton loses, then regains the dust spec on which Whoville is situated, the teenager playing him didn’t convey how upset and determined the character was feeling. “So I said, we all failed to protect this community in December 2012. Your job right now is to make that dust spec Newtown. You have a second chance to commit to protect those who survived and to honor those that were lost… He did the scene again and I’ve never seen a connection between performer and material so locked in. We had a big cry fest.”
Willem Sandercox as Horton in Seussical (Photo: T. Charles Erickson )
“I told them to let Seussical be THEIR story, if even for 75 minutes, four times in the next week. We all had a new understanding of how we must fight to protect each other and embrace what makes us different so that fear doesn’t divide us.” Michael Unger
For many years a cast member of Sesame Street, then Avenue Q, Tartaglia’s empathy with children is highly developed. “Also I’m a wacky performer who can do voices…My go-to when I walk into a room is to do or say something funny because it breaks the ice. (Pitch perfect for the kids.) I want them to know that I’m one of them, just there to help keep everything moving.” The actor wondered whether these particular amateurs would be “super introverted or cry”, but instead found fellow thespians completely focused under Unger’s benign but demanding direction. Not a line was forgotten at any performance.
Occasionally a parent or teacher would take Tartaglia aside to explain the way a child might behave because of what happened. The company was warned in advance about sudden loud sounds or bright lights. Still, “in many ways, you just wouldn’t know the tragedy had occurred, some of those initially most shy shone brightest onstage.”
Opening of Seussical (Photo: Charles T. Erickson)
“Theater is a healing art form. Sometimes the only way you can learn to express yourself is through the arts, getting things out on stage in secure surroundings. These kids showed you just gotta keep moving on. They don’t know a right or wrong way to deal with tragedy. It’s like- Yup, we’re all just here doin’ a show. The wall of healing energy was viscerally overwhelming. I left with hope for humankind. They were the stars, I was just a lucky guest”
Midsummer in Newtown
The next year Unger decided on two shows in repertory. The first was a sympathetic version of 101 Dalmatians by Styx member Dennis DeYoung and B. T. McNicholl (Unger had permission to eliminate killing the puppies and Cruela de Vil’s death). One child was too frightened to go on. The director said, that’s ok, whenever you’re ready…She joined the company for a number at the end of the show. Closing night, the girl told him she wanted a bigger part next year.
The second show was an original pop music version of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. “The play starts in a world of imbalance and disorder…it’s about finding harmony.”
Unger approached composer Eric Svejcar about collaborating on what became A Rockin’ Midsummer Night’s Dream: 85% verbatim lyrics by Shakespeare, adaptation by Unger and Svejcar. Not only was the young cast learning dialogue, blocking, and choreography, they were now tasked with delivering Shakespeare. If a young person didn’t understand something, meaning was explained in modern terms. Svejcar’s lively music structured phrasing to help the bard sound natural.
Marla Mindelle as Titania in ARockin’ Midsummer Night’s Dream (Photo: Richard Termine)
Around this time, the NewArts director met filmmaker Tom Yellin of The Documentary Group on a bench outside their respective daughters’ ballet class. Yellin became interested in the project and enlisted Director Lloyd Kramer who spent about four months in Newtown with a crew.
Kramer found the children knew much more than assumed. He spoke with parents first asking whether there was anything he shouldn’t talk about, but in any case, never brought up the event. If someone showed signs of upset, he moved on. A parent was always present during interviews. “Kids were tentative at first. The undercurrent was always there. No one wants to be branded…”The filmmaker watched kids he initially perceived as “lost souls” evolve.
“I feel like I have my before-the-incident child back.” A NewArts child’s parent
Curtain Call: A Rockin Midsummer Night’s Dream (Photo Richard Termine)
“Participating gave them courage. Bonding with people in the town, creating something positive, reminded them about the warmth of community. They all understood what they were doing was a shared experience.” Lloyd Kramer
“The average adult will have trouble understanding Newton even if he’s lost someone. We get to be 37. My son was 8. His heart was broken when he lost his sister. We wanted to wrap him in a bubble and lock him in the house, but we let ourselves be lead by him.” A Newtown parent from the documentary Midsummer in Newtown
The splendid Midsummer in Newtown particularly tracks kids from three families starting with auditions. It includes children talking to the camera, candid parents, rehearsal, and performance footage through a triumphant opening night. You won’t find more stirring affirmation to the transformative power of the arts. It’s poignant, honest, respectful and immensely uplifting. Sometimes heroism is just getting on with it.
“All the kids said Seussical changed their lives. What was important was for experiences to affect the way they approach problems off stage, to enrich values and life skills.” Dr. Baroody turned his thoughts towards character development. The arts, he reflected, touch people in ways that make them human. Continuing to explore outside the box, convinced we underestimate kids, he solicited participation by The Yale School of Management normally hired by enlightened businesses.
ARC Workshop L to R (back) Nicole Kolitsas, Marina Kolitsas, Kat Wolff, Kyle Mangold, Olyvia Shaw, Kirsten Liniger, Claire Alexander, Lexi Tobin; L to R (front) Sammy Vertucci, Victoria Madden, Abbi Winter
Ted Kolditz, the director of the program wrote that 70% of leadership is learned and that he wished he had more time with students. Dr. Baroody proposed giving him ten years with ten year-olds. Kolditz responded the same night. “I drove up. He didn’t say, Oh my God, you’re from Newtown. He said, let’s make this happen.” Dr. Baroody. The second division of 1214 Foundation synergistically meshes with NewArts. It’s acronym is ARC: Aspire, Reach, Confidence.
Kolditz found fifteen willing practitioners. The now monthly program, free to kids five and up, has greatly expanded. Dr. Baroody has been trained to lead groups between visiting experts. “When my patients go to sleep, I hold their hands. They relax and smile. I transfer my confidence to them…” He looks at ARC’s process the same way.
The four aims of ARC are:
Develop personal strength and the ability to recognize strength in others
Develop confidence and transfer confidence to other people
Develop emotional agility and intelligence
Recognize fear and anxiety when it appears and use it to push yourself forward
ARC Workshop
A program is being developed with teachers for kindergartners. Dr. Baroody and his team are writing a workbook to take home and a guidebook for other communities. “The tragedy needs to have an exponential benefit to the world. These are universal concepts that may be implemented in other communities…”
“I kind of need it to survive.” A Newtown/NewArts student
Kids who personally experienced the tragedy are now in 5th grade; some have transferred to another school. (Sandy Hook itself was torn down and rebuilt) Many have appeared in a NewArts production or two every summer. (Most attend ARC workshops.) Rehearsal to performance of both shows lasts six to seven weeks. In so0me productions leads are double cast to give actors a taste of the spotlight.
“One boy had survivor guilt. He didn’t know why he was alive and thought if he was an angel, he’d be safer. Processing seemed impossible. Diving into this creative environment gave him a haven, a place to have fun and make new friends.” Michael Unger
ARC Workshop Power Tools
“If I wasn’t here, I would still be the broken person I was…”
“After the tragedy, we felt that nothing would ever be the same until NewArts came…”
“If NewArts were not here, a lot of kids would be lost”
“NewArts means renewal”
“I kind of need it to survive.”
Testimonials from Newtown NewArts students
Newtown NewArts students
Apprentices are taken on to work with Scenic, Light and Sound designers. Two have moved on to higher education, but return to Newton for the season. This year, Unger is reaching out to local college students offering intern opportunities.
A wide roster of professionals are enlisted for every show. Those that don’t commute often sleep in the private homes of participants. Costumes and props are stored in people’s basements. Productions look so good, many people don’t realize the organization needs funding. “We had 38 wireless mikes for Midsummer. I beg, borrow, or steal.” Michael Unger. NewArts’ goal is to create a bricks and mortar Center for Creativity. Until such time as monies are accrued, the organization is hosted by a local church theater.
Much of the foundation’s start up endowment came directly out of Dr. Baroody’s pocket. Shows break even with tickets currently ranging from $18-$26, program sales, and donations. There is now a sliding scale tuition to participate in the summer program (and scholarships.) The 1214 Foundation is actively researching grants.
Banners Made by the Children
The further away we are from a tragedy, the less sensitive people are to it. 1214 Foundation was created to help a suffering community. It now offers life tools to all kids, attempts to help them connect and collaborate, encourages confidence, supports courage, and celebrates perseverance. With the value of Arts programs being challenged, 2014’s NewArts stands out as a prime example of their value and potency. This is what the reach of compassionate creative thinking looks like.
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot/Nothing is going to get better. It’s not. Dr. Seuss from The Lorax
Shows for summer 2017 include: Roald Dahl’sWilly Wonka (Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley) July 28-30 (not to be confused with a version of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory currently on Broadway) and Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber) August 11-13
Opening Photo: John Tartaglia as the Cat in the Hat and Nicole Kolitsas as Jojo (Photo: T. Charles Ericsson)
Six Degrees of Separation was inspired by the true story of con man David Hampton who, in the 1980s, ingratiated himself with several well heeled Manhattan residents by misrepresenting himself as a friend of their children and the son of Sidney Poitier. The young man evoked sympathy garnering various gifts and assistance. One couple allowed him to spend the night only to discover two strangers occupying the morning guestroom. Hampton was eventually caught, tried and acquitted.
Playwright John Guare found himself fascinated with the ease with which Hampton accomplished his deception, particularly the way it reflected on the moneyed class he snookered. (He had the story firsthand from friends who’d believed the boy.) What made the grifter so appealing and relatable to his hosts? Did he change their lives?
Allison Janney and Benjamin Hickey
Paul (Corey Hawkins) appears at the Fifth Avenue door of Ouisa (Allison Janey) and Flan (John Benjamin Hickey) unannounced and bleeding. He tells the couple he’s a Harvard friend of their children and having been mugged across the street in Central Park, remembered the Kittridges proximity. He’s eloquent and well dressed.
The interloper couldn’t have picked a worse night. Ouisa and Flan are entertaining Geoffrey (the somewhat unintelligible Michael Sieberry), a wealthy South African friend whom they hope will supply the last two million dollars of a deal to purchase and resell a Cezanne. (Flan is a discreet art dealer.) Still, they can’t turn the boy away. He’s not only immensely flattering but seems to know everything about them.
Before the evening ends, Paul has declared himself the son of Sidney Poitier (about whom he’s also well versed) and promised them Extra jobs in the artist’s imminent production of Cats-the movie (Ouisa calls Flan a “starfucker” for asking, but they’re both extremely impressed.) He’s regaled his captive audience with the text of his (stolen) thesis – a theory that the iconic Catcher in the Rye has turned into “a manifesto of hate” (the red deer hunter hat is conjectured as indicating a killer of men), whipped up five star pasta, and indirectly secured Flan’s investment funds.
Lisa Emery, Michael Countryman, Allison Janney, Ned Eisenberg, John Benjamin Hickey
The next morning, Ouisa goes in to wake their guest so he might meet his dad at The Sherry Netherland and finds him having sex with another boy. Outraged, she throws them both out. (James Cusati-Moyer’s wild turn as the naked hustler is wonderfully played and directed.) “Give me back my $50.00!” demands Flan. “I spent it,” Paul responds nodding towards his company. “Please don’t tell my father, he doesn’t know…”
At this point, friends Kitty (Lisa Emery) and Larkin (Michael Countryman) show up with a similar story, bragging the anecdote. The group realizes they’ve been taken. A police detective (Paul O’Brien) can be no help. What are the charges?! By the time Dr. Fine has given Paul his brownstone keys and a young couple who can ill afford it are ripped off (a splendidly imagined tangent), Paul seems unstoppable.
In search of answers, the adults interview their collective kids, Tess (Colby Minifie), Woody (Keenan Jolliff) and Ben (Ned Riseley). (One remains at Groton.) Instead of help, the spoiled young people unleash anger and disparagement. (This is hysterically performed and directed.) Tess, however, tracks a theory to Paul’s ignominious “origin.” (Chris Perfetti does a fine job as Trent, the link here.)
Lisa Emery, Ned Eisenberg, Cody Kostro, Keenan Jolliff, John Benjamin Hickey, Allison Janney, Ned Riseley, Colby Minifie, Michael Countryman
The rest of the play, in fact the piece, centers on Ouisa’s strong connection to the needy, aspiring Paul who continues, rife with delusions, to reach out until captured. An existence with which she’s been content seemed suddenly as much an illusion as the young man’s masquerade and for reasons just as compelling.
Playwright John Guare’s 27 year-old piece holds just as much bite as it did when it emerged. Sharp satire is enhanced by on-target detail and wry syntax. Current purveyors of “fake news” give it an additional dimension. Paul’s theory about the Saroyan classic is clever. Flan’s muses on art are erudite. Watch for the second Paul reverts, when he tells Ouisa he likes being watched.
Ouisa’s hypothesis that everyone is linked to everyone else through six acquaintances (here, the boy who taught Paul how to seem as if he belonged and children of those duped) has beco0me a part of modern lexicon. “I find that A) tremendously comforting that we’re so close and B) like Chinese water torture that we’re so close. Because you have to find the right six people to make the connection,” she declares towards the end of the tale.
Corey Hawkins and Allison Janney
Allison Janney (Ouisa) is splendid, her appreciable comedic talents well showcased. Expression, tone, pitch perfect timing, and patrician demeanor make the actress a pleasure to watch. Despite being drawn to and moved by Paul, Janney’s take on Ouisa does not emulate that of Stockard Channing who played the character at Lincoln Center and in the film. Janney is less visibly emotional, more pragmatic. Still we see the shift.
John Benjamin Hickey does a yeoman like job but is miscast, lacking an Alpha Male persona.
As Paul, Corey Hawkins gives us a well honed Tom Ripley-like character (Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley) an absorber of others’ lives at all costs. He’s convincingly Ivy League when spinning webs and frighteningly street predatory in a flashback. Unlike Tom, this young man lacks luck and funding or he might be out there still.
Of the supporting cast, Colby Minifie makes Tess as credibly smart as she is whiney and demanding; Peter Mark Kendall manifests a young victim named Rick with naivete, excitement, and shock; Ned Eisenberg imbues Dr. Fine with querulous confidence.
Director Trip Cullman offers an interpretation with black humored snap and imagination. Staging is minimal and sharp-edged. When emotion shows itself, it’s all the more effective.
Mark Wendland’s stark RED set is unnerving from the get-go which somewhat telegraphs issues to come and perhaps shouldn’t. Hanging a large, two-sided Kandinsky which figures in the piece, high above heads works well as a symbol. Minimal furniture is exactly right. Clint Ramos’ Costumes don’t look sufficiently expensive. Ben Stanton’s often imaginative Lighting Design emphasizes rigidity and pith.
Photos by Joan Marcus Opening: Corey Hawkins; John Benjamin Hickey & Allison Janney
Prolific author/playwright/broadcaster J.B. Priestley is perhaps best known for the novel, The Good Companion, his play The Inspector Calls, and pro-Britain wartime propaganda broadcasts until socialist themes got him booted off by the government. This is the U.S. premiere of 1932’s The Roundabout which played on its native soil and was then retired. One can see why.
Ostensibly a lightweight drawing room satire about changing social order, the play evolves over a Saturday afternoon in the life of failing businessman, (Lord) Richard Kettlewell (Brian Protheroe). The reserved patrician has a single guest at his country manse, old friend, Churton Saunders, aka “Chuffy” (Hugh Sachs), a self avowed Edwardian who gets all the good lines. Expecting only his young associate Farrington Gurney (Charlie Field), the host is informed by butler Parsons (Derek Hutchinson) of imminent arrivals by Lady Knightsbridge (Richenda Carey), a mercenary, all purpose “fixer,” and territorial mistress Hilda Lancicourt (Carol Starks). Kettlewell is long separated, but still married.
Steven Blakeley, Emily Liang
Add to this curious mix the highly unexpected appearance of daughter Pamela (Emily Liang), whom he hasn’t seen in ten years, her companion, Comrade Staggles (Steven Blakeley), both avowed communists returned from Russia, and, lastly his wife, Lady Kettlewell (Lisa Bowman).
In the hands of George Bernard Shaw, we might’ve seen the classes spar with meaningful illumination. Were the piece by Noel Coward, then it might’ve been sharply witty. As it stands, we’re subjected to a tedious two hours in the hands of milquetoast Kettlewell, almost-ran Chuffy, bratty, tantrum-throwing, mischief-making Pamela, and boorish, cliché Comrade Staggles. (Other characters are frankly negligible.)
Hugh Sachs, Lisa Bowerman, Emily Liang, Charlie Field
Having not seen Roundabout before, I can’t conjecture whether it might improve with a different cast (or some cast members would appear more capable in a different play). Here, aside from flickers, those onstage range from poor to irritating to ho-hum.
Hugh Ross’s Direction is so heavy handed, movement has no motivation except audience view, irony goes by practically unnoticed. Pamela is so over the top she’s in another script, there’s not a flicker of character definition, actors often tune out when not speaking.
Polly Sullivan’s Set works fine but has no attractions. Holly Henshaw’s Costumes exhibit well tailored men but, except for Hilda, uniformly unflattering apparel for women.
What more can one say?
Photos by Carol Rosegg Opening: Carol Starks, Derek Hutchinson, Anne Jackson, Brian Protheroe, Rachenda Carey
Also featuring Ed Pinker as artist Alec Grenside and Annie Jackson as Alice the maid.
The Roundabout by J.B. Priestley Directed by Hugh Ross 59E59 Theaters 59 East 59th Street Through May 28, 2017
Based on the buzz, cheers and applause that greeted even familiar songs in the overture, Bette Midler, could’ve performed Dolly Levi with a bag over her head and received standing ovations. Well, not quite, but you get the idea. Increasingly preconceived theater opinions seem to have reached a pinnacle. When ticket costs are substantial and the New York Times review is good, audiences are damn well going to appreciate the hell out of a show.
Long story short: In her capacity as matchmaker to wealthy Yonkers citizen, “half a millionaire” Horace Vandergelder (David Hyde Pierce), widow Dolly Levi eliminates milliner Irene Molloy (Kate Baldwin) as a candidate by implicating immorality. She then fixes Irene up with Horace’s ingenuous chief clerk, Cornelius Hackl (Gavin Creel). Second clerk Barnaby Tucker (Taylor Trensch) reaps the benefits, falling in with his very first girl, Irene’s assistant Minnie Fay (Beanie Feldstein). Almost incidentally, Dolly also facilitates the marriage of disapproved suitor Ambrose Kemper (Will Burton) to young Ermengarde Vandergelder (Melanie Moore).
Bette Midler, David Hyde Pierce
Horace Vandergerlder is effectively freed to be ensnared by the matchmaker herself.
I myself am a fan of Midler who can, as a rule, act, sing, and commandeer a stage with one hand tied behind her back. In Director Jerry Zak’s production, however, acting has become the kind of self conscious mugging that might be sequenced as: Get ready,I’m going to be funny, I’m being funny, Wait-did you get it, I’ll do it again.
The fourth wall has been jettisoned in favor of overt self consciousness and extensive milking of comic “bits” which the leading lady sometimes literally repeats for several minutes. The familiar eloquent wink is now broad vaudeville. Not for a moment does one attribute any sympathetic emotion to a heroine more interested in playing to the crowd than her fellow characters.
Beanie Feldstein, Taylor Trensch, Kate Baldwin, Gavin Creel
Whether from exhaustion, throat strain, or a cold tonight, Midler utilizes limited range, rarely holds a note and often misses one. Her sound is scratchy, verve diminished. Dancing seems an effort. This is not to say the talent doesn’t intermittently deliver, but…
Like most with whom I spoke, I considered David Hyde Pierce an odd choice for the role of Horace Vandergelder who’s generally big, slow, and gruff. Much to one’s surprise, the actor pulls it off. Pierce brings his own wry, deadpan perfection to the role. Manipulation of an unaccustomed mustache is ridiculously effective.
David Hyde Pierce, Bette Midler
Kate Baldwin (Irene Molloy), also typically splendid, performs the beautiful “Ribbons Down My Back” without an ounce of femininity, tenderness or hope. Only later, do we see flickers of Irene.
Gavin Creel (Cornelius Hackl) sings well, dances swell, and manages characterization even in this wide brushstroke interpretation. He’s attractive, thoroughly believable and a pleasure to watch.
As Minnie Fay, Beanie Feldstein uses saucer eyes and physical comic timing like a silent film actress. Taylor Trensch makes a cute, credibly naïve, Barnaby Tucker.
As in the past, Jerry Zaks has a deft hand with sight gags. When Cornelius and Barnaby hide from their boss in Irene’s shop, farce becomes a Rube Goldberg vision. (Baldwin handles this adroitly.) The young men’s occasional synchronized reactions invariably elicit a smile. Horace’s conversation with the mannequin he mistakes for Miss Money, potential bride #2, is such sheer Hyde Pierce, it may have been written for this version. Dolly’s continuing to eat dinner during the scene in court would be much funnier if she weren’t still sitting at The Harmonia Gardens Restaurant table with those arraigned watching.
Why Zaks chooses to present several solos as in-one (in front of the curtain) is a mystery. Jerked from plot line perhaps because of necessary scenery changes, we watch songs stripped of context. Dolly’s “So Long Dearie” without Horace to address is ludicrous.
Continuity Notes: Dolly enters Irene’s shop in one hat and shortly appears down the street wearing the same dress, but a boater she had on in an earlier scene. Later, she briefly leaves the courtroom (while others sing), returning to confront Horace in another dress!
Santo Loquasto does a marvelous job with detailed Costumes in mouthwatering colors. Scene-setting drawings seem to be in opposition to the bright, brash mood of the musical, however. A train that occupies most of the stage, almost full scale horses and carts, and Vandergelder’s wonderfully chock-a-block Hay and Feed Store are appealing and inventive.
Photos by Julieta Cervantes Opening: Bette Midler
Hello, Dolly! Based on the play The Matchmaker by Thornton Wilder Book by Michael Stewart Music and Lyrics by Jerry Herman Directed by Jerry Zaks Choreographed by Warren Carlyle Sam S. Shubert Theatre 225 West 44th Street
Bandstand is the kind of struggling-Midwest-veterans-make-it-big-in-show-biz story that might’ve starred a young Dan Dailey, a simple tale with a big heart.
It’s 1945. Cue lights, explosive sounds, fallen soldiers. Donny Novitski (Corey Scott) loses his best friend Michael. He returns home to Cleveland emotionally shattered with plans to resume life as a musician (pianist). The club in which he performed, however, has hired an 18 year-old. Confident in his talent, Donny applies all over town. (The innocent nature of the piece dictates that he never attempts to find work as anything other than a musician.) “Just Like It Was Before” turns out to be an illusion.
Corey Cott, Laura Osnes
A national contest sponsored by the American Songbook of Popular Music and Bayer Aspirin (do you think they pay for product placement?) offers pie-in-the-sky hope. The winning band will perform their original song in an MGM film. Donny puts together a skeptical group comprised of veterans from every branch of the service. Each recommends another. Each has his own credible, well indicated issues.
Wry, self aware Bassist Davy (Brandon J. Ellis) drinks. Sweet Drummer Johnny (Joe Carroll), a bit slow due to mortar fire, is often high. Trombonist Wayne (Geoff Packard), inordinately stressed about supporting a wife and children and Trumpet Player Nick (Alex Bender) are short tempered; (Nick is also judgmental). Saxophonist Jimmy (James Nathan Hopkins), the only level headed participant, often finds himself acting as peacemaker. Donny is bandleader, vocalist, songwriter, and pianist. He could, as Jimmy points out, use some social skills. These multifaceted actors also sing and play instruments live onstage. Ellis, Carroll, and Packard stand out with characterization.
Laura Osnes and Beth Leavel
Wait-you object- where’s the love story? Donny has promised to check up on Michael’s widow, Julia (Laura Osnes), who lives with her mother (the warm, excellent Beth Leavel). Surprise, it turns out she sings! And writes poetry aka lyrics! Though Donny has a secret which might alienate the incipient couple, Julia joins the band. She insists on using her married name out of respect for Michael. (The show brims with patriotism and integrity.) The contest outcome is not as expected for reasons even less predictable. A pretty good plot.
Both Laura Osnes and Corey Cott are fine singers and good actors imbuing their roles with straight from the hip sincerity. One wishes them better luck next time.
Front: Joe Carroll, James Nathan Hopkins, Alex Bender, Geoff Packard; Back: Laura Osnes, Corey Cott, Brandon J. Ellis
Muddy arrangements (Greg Anthony Rassen) of music that lack not only 1940s flavor but actual melody conflict with unoriginal lyrics which neither sync nor sing. (Rob Taylor and Richard Oberacker) In a show about a band! Choreography that shows up outside of actual (skilled) dance numbers, serves to perpetually distract and busy-up the stage. Except for the omnipresent club, David Korins’ Set Design is some of the ugliest I’ve seen, completely discordant with the tone of this story. Paloma Young’s Costumes are almost uniformly drab and unflattering. The book is the best thing about this piece. It has grit, wit and sincerity.
While Director Andy Blankenbuehler works well with his actors, overall action is often a mess. See choreography comment above.
In different hands, this might’ve been a genial, vivacious show with a future in national touring.
Photos by Jeremy Daniel Opening: Corey Cott, Laura Osnes and The Company
Bandstand Music by Richard Oberacker Book & Lyrics by Rob Taylor & Richard Oberacker Directed by Andy Blankenbuehler Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre 242 West 45th Street
In a season crowded with what have turned out to be so many disappointing Broadway shows rushing to make the Tony Award deadline (April 27), Anastasia rises above the fray. Here is an old fashioned (that’s a compliment) book musical with a ravishing score, expressive, illuminating lyrics, significant talent, remarkable visuals, war, deception, and love.
The Cinderella story, for those of you unfamiliar with Anatole Litvak’s 1956 film or the Disney cartoon, revolves around what might’ve happened had Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia, the youngest daughter of Czar Nicholas II, escaped the murder of her family by Bolshevik secret police in 1918. There were, in fact, rumors of survival and young women who declared themselves to be the princess.
Nicole Scimeca, Mary Beth Peil
Ostensibly caught in an explosion, our heroine (Christy Altomare), is an amnesiac called Anya by the hospital in which she was treated. The girl is scraping by as a street cleaner in poverty-stricken St. Petersburg: A city on the rise/It’s really very friendly/If you don’t mind spies…She remembers only someone’s promise to meet in Paris, where all will be well. We’ve seen that covenant made by her grandmother, the Dowager Empress (Mary Beth Peil) who inadvertently decamped to the French capital in time to escape joining her family in death. A Faberge music box is given little Anastasia (the superb Nicole Scimeca).
Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna
Anya is conscripted by con men Dmitry (Derek Klena, a young audience heartthrob with an excellent tenor, though less presence than he might have) and Vlad (John Bolton – a fine comic actor in the vein of Billy De Wolfe) to masquerade as Anastasia in order to collect a sizeable reward 0ffered by the Dowager. Vlad was once a palace insider and provides fount of information. Lyric details add historical interest. Hesitant about the dishonesty, Anya reconciles it as a way to get to France and then begins to believe the possibility.
Every now and then during tutoring, the girl finds she knows something she shouldn’t – like French. These windows of recollection, skillfully woven through the book, are dismissed by Dmitry and Vlad as imagination. A scene at the last palace ball Anastasia attended is evocatively recreated with projected spectres joining dancers on stage and balconies.
Ramin Karimloo, Christy Altomare
Meanwhile, Anya is noticed by Gleb (Ramin Karimloo) a regimental official so taken with her that despite staunch commitment to the authoritarian state, he lets the girl go even after hearing of the plot in which she’s involved. Anya, Vlad and Dmitry make it to Paris backed by a surprising resource. (Oh, the ingeniously imagined train ride!)
Gleb follows, instructed to kill the girl if she turns out to be Anastasia. His father was one of the soldiers who killed the Tsar’s family. Will he be able to finish the job? Also in the balance is Dmitry’s romance with the young woman he must give up should her identity be proven.
Vlad hopes to get to the Dowager Empress through her lady in waiting, Countess Lily with whom he was once romantically entangled. (Caroline O’Connor – imagine a more attractive Martha Raye.) A charming push/pull number with Lily and Vlad (O’Connor and Bolton make farce delicious) recalls early Hollywood musicals as does a number in The Neva Club peopled by white Russian exiles. Outcome rests with hopeful, frightened Anya and Anastasia’s disillusioned grandmother – no, her Nana. “You can’t be anyone unless you first recognize yourself.”
John Bolton, Caroline O’Connor and the Company
Fellow journalists have objected to sidelining the royal family’s deaths/turbulent Russian politics. I disagree. The event is unmistakable. Poverty and government shifts are not the point. Enough is evoked to give context to the situation. This is not an opera.
In fact, Anastasia might be considered a primer for well conceived musicals. Numbers organically elaborate on dialogue. Comic relief appears after quiet intensity. Past and present occupy the stage with cohesive luster. Even aware of the conclusion, we willingly, appreciatively succumb.
Songs like the music box’s “Once Upon a December,” “Journey to The Past”: Heart, don’t fail me now!/Courage, don’t desert me!/Don’t turn back now that we’re here… and “Crossing a Bridge” may be familiar, but empathetic emotion feels fresh. Several solos by Gleb are as edifying as they are musically powerful and “Still” by the Dowager Empress is heart wrenching. At least two vocal arrangements play conspirators’ themes against one another with consummate skill. (There’s no analysis in the moment, just intoxication.)
John Bolton, Christy Altomare, Derek Klena in the box
In her Broadway debut, Christy Altomare is grave and radiant. We’re with her every step of the way. Warm vocals wonder and soar. Memory fragments emerge credibly abrupt. Doubt feels sincere. An artist to watch.
Mary Beth Peil is stunning. Every inch the Dowager Empress, the actress embodies magisterial grace. She exudes love for Anastasia, bone deep suffering of loss – her vocals tear at one, galvanizing expectation, and weary joy. A masterful turn.
Ramin Karmiloo (Gelb) is a leading man to his toes. Stage presence is unconditional, his muscular, expansive voice hypnotic. Karmiloo shows us the nuance of Gelb’s conflicting feelings while maintaining a habitually rigid outer demeanor.
Christy Altomare, Derek Klena
Director Darko Tresnjak, like four other members of the show’s creative team, was responsible for the gleefully high-wattage A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. Tresnjak adroitly handles the Dowager Countess’s delicate goodbye to little Anastasia and small, telling gestures – like Gelb’s dismissal of his subordinates, as well as he manifests murder, revolution, and nightclub frivolity. Visual tableaux are always pleasing.
Choreographer Peggy Hickey melds Broadway hoofing with 1920s Charleston, gives us a comic tango with panache, and engineers shimmering waltzes.
Alexander Hodge’s Scenic Design and Donald Holder’s Lighting (from war to ghostly dreams) work symbiotically hand in hand with some of the most fantastic Projection Design I’ve ever seen (by Aaron Rhyne). Though I’d’ve preferred a bit more solid scenery and a tad less Peter Max coloration in videos, cumulative results are astonishing. Settings are comprised of full scale, detailed photographs artfully manipulated to indicate time of day and character movement. Anyone in this field should emphatically attend.
Linda Cho’s Costumes are period perfect, believably tattered, stylish when appropriate, glorious at court, and always collectively flattering.
Photos by Matthew Murphy Opening: Christy Altomare Photo of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna, Wiki
Anastasia Book by Terrance McNally Music by Stephen Flaherty Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens Directed by Darko Tresnjak The Broadhurst Theatre 235 West 44th Street
