Theater Reviews

“Breathless”

Susan Granger’s review of “Breathless” (59E59 – Off-Broadway)

 

My mother often said, “Your home is living space, not storage space.” So I’m not quite sure what she’s make of Laura Horton’s one-woman show “Breathless.”

Engaging actress Madeleine MacMahon embodies Sophie, an aspiring writer in her late ‘30s who is wildly, madly, totally besotted by clothes. She indulges her passion for designer fashion at sample sales, wardrobe clearances and charity thrift shops.

Bottom line: Sophie is a hoarder….or, as she puts it, “It makes me feel safe but it also suffocates me.”

Sophie’s angst is heightened by her need to hide this obsession from Jo, a woman to whom she’s romantically attracted after years of unsuccessful connections with men. Problem is: Jo is, essentially, a minimalist.

“There’s all the time in the world to see my place,” Sophie tells Jo, but – how long can she keep up this façade? Is it worth sacrificing the potential relationship?

Sophie’s sensitive, self-exploratory, comic monologue is funny, honest and heartfelt.

Directed by Stephanie Kempson with technical support from Natasha Whitley, Dan Heesemas, Holly Harbottle and Ellie Showering, it’s imported from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Playwright Laura Horton is Plymouth Laureate of Words, 2021-22, the first playwright and woman in that position…and obviously she’s devoted much time to researching the mental illness known as hoarding addiction.

According to Psychology Today, “Hoarding disorder can create social, professional, and functional problems that affect not only the individual but also the people around them.” And the Mayo Clinic website adds, “People with hoarding disorder may not see it as a problem, so getting them to take part in treatment can be challenging.”

Running 1 hour, 15 minutes with no intermission, “Breathless” is presented by Theatre Royal Plymouth as part of the Brits Off-Broadway Festival at the 59E59 Theatre on the Upper East Side through May 7, 2023.

 

 

 

 

 

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“Plays for the Plague Year”

Susan Granger’s review of “Plays for the Plague Year” (Off-Broadway at the Public Theater)

 

Suzan-Lori Parks was the first black woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for drama for her 2001 “Topdog/Underdog,” but I’ve been intrigued by her prolific work ever since she became a mystifying force at the Yale Rep in New Haven.

Now at Joe’s Pub, Parks shares the stage with eight performers who play her husband, son, friends, cops and colleagues – living and dead – in a marathon, three-hour session, recounting 13 months of songs and stories written at the height of the recent Covid pandemic and punctuated by Parks performing her own music with a band (guitarist Rick Molino, bassist Graham Kozak, percussionist Ray Marchica).

These short vignettes – a play-a-day – chronicle Parks’s family life, working on a television project while guiding her eight year-old son (Leland Fowler) through the rigors of remote learning and nursing her quarantined husband (Greg Keller) through a long bout of Covid – in a one-bedroom apartment.

Directed and choreographed revue-style by Niegel Smith with Rodrigo Munoz’s imaginative costumes, there are additional Black Lives Matter commentaries that ‘bear witness’ to Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Herman Cain. Above the stage, production designer Peter Nigrini displays the date attached to each memory segment.

There’s even audience participation since each of us fills out yellow notecards on which we write what we would like to remember about the pandemic year and what we would like to forget. Some of these are later read aloud.

“I had this belief that theater would save us,” Parks notes. “But it won’t. Not in the way I thought it would. But it does preserve us, somehow.”

A unique presentation, “Plays for the Plague Year” is at the Public Theater through April 30.

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“Stranger Sings!”

Susan Granger’s review of “Stranger Sings! The Parody Musical” (Off-Broadway  – Playhouse 46 at St. Luke’s)

 

Whether or not you’ve been faithfully watching the Netflix sci-fi/horror series “Stranger Things,” there’s something to laugh about in writer/producer Jonathan Hogue’s campy, delightful satire “Stranger Sings! The Parody Musical.” Of course, if you’re an avid fan, it’s even funnier.

Background info: Now in its fifth and final Netflix season, “Stranger Things” is set in 1983 in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, where unauthorized experiments in a secret laboratory have opened a portal to an alternate dimension called The Upside Down, where there are monsters like the Demogorgon, a hideous humanoid with supernatural powers.

Meanwhile, nerdy local middle-schoolers have befriended a telekinetic young girl called Eleven, who managed to escape from the laboratory; they hide her and offer her sanctuary….So much for the TV series plot.

On-stage, it seems that young Will Byers (a puppet operated by Carolina Huerta) is now stuck in the Upside Down and needs to be rescued; his mother, Joyce Byers (Caroline Huerta), is, predictably, frantic.  Eleven helps Will’s pals Mike Wheeler (Nicolas Hermick), Dustin Henderson (Jeremiah Garcia) and Lucas Sinclair (Jamir Brown) find him, aided by Chief of Police Jim Hopper (Nicolaus Colon).

In a departure from the TV series, one of the primary characters turns out to be Nancy Wheeler’s best friend, Barbara “Barb” Holland (SLee) as the formulaic “frumpy best friend.”   They sing: “We’ll stick together, friends forever, and best friends never, they never die.”

Nancy is Mike’s older sister who is dating Will’s older brother, Jonathan Byers (Kyle Mangold), along with Steve Harrington (Kyle Mangold). Yes, it’s a bit confusing.

On the TV show, Barb mysteriously disappears and is eventually discovered to have been killed by the Demogorgon.  But – here – it’s “Barb’s Turn,” an energetic musical number. Justice for Barb!

With book, music and lyrics by Jonathan Hogue – who is pursuing a graduate degree in theater management & producing at Columbia – the show is directed by Nick Flatto with choreography by Ashley Marinelli, scenic design by Walt Spengler, lighting by Jamie Roderick, sound by Brendan McCann, and puppets by Matt Anderson.

Extended by popular demand, “Stranger Songs! The Parody Musical” will run at Playhouse 46 at St. Luke’s, just off Times Square in Hell’s Kitchen, through August 13, 2023. FYI: You must climb six steps to get into the theater; plus, the two bathrooms are small and do not have wheelchair access.

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“Camelot”

Susan Granger’s review of “Camelot” (Vivian Beaumont Theater/Lincoln Center)

 

We all bring preconceived concepts when we go to theater. With “Camelot,” I have many. The source material – T.H. White’s “Once and Future King,” detailing the Arthurian legend, is my favorite book – and I was dazzled by Lerner & Loewe’s 1960 Broadway show with Richard Burton, Julie Andrews and Robert Goulet. I can even remember how Jacqueline Kennedy associated it with her late husband’s brief tenure as President of the United States. Just the name “Camelot” strikes a deep resonance inside me.

So while I was eager to see the new version of “Camelot” at Lincoln Center, I was curious about Aaron Sorkin’s revision of Alan Jay Lerner’s libretto and Bartlett Sher’s casting. The first I found provocative, the second disconcerting.

Best known for TV’s popular “West Wing,” Oscar-and-Emmy-winning Aaron Sorkin is a master wordsmith; he’s updated T.H. White’s romantic fantasy to a more idealistically political concept, no longer filled with sorcery and spells.  After all, the reason France’s Princess Guenevere (Phillipa Soo) married England’s King Arthur (Andrew Burnap) was to broker a treaty between their nations.

While their union brings peace and prosperity, along with a new concept of equality and fairness, at no time does insecure, aloof Arthur express any modicum of affection for Guenevere. Instead, he calls her his “business partner.”  Indeed, he seems far too boyish, awkward and sexless to cope with her snarky sophistication – which makes one wonder if their union was ever consummated.

So when uber-manly, vainglorious Lancelot du Lac (Jordan Donica) arrives in court, it seems only natural for Genevere to be attracted to him. Sorkin hints that her adultery isn’t as much a betrayal as a desperate plea for physical affection. Of course, that’s not the way it’s reported by malevolent Mordred (Taylor Trensch), Arthur’s illegitimate son from a one-night stand with cynical, conniving Morgan La Fey (Marilee Talkington).

In 2019, Bartlett Sher staged a Lincoln Center concert version of “Camelot” with Lin-Manuel Miranda playing Arthur; too bad he could not repeat that aspirational casting. Eliminating the magic was one thing but not to offer exciting/enticing casting in its place is a major mistake.

Scenic designer Michael Yeargen disappoints by never showing an actual ‘Round Table’ on his overly-spare set but Jennifer Moeller’s medieval costumes are quite sumptuous and kudos to B.H. Barry’s rousing swordfight.

Fortunately Frederick Loewe’s original score remains intact – except “I Loved You Once In Silence” is sung before, not after they made love, which doesn’t make sense.  But Robert Russell Bennett & Philip J. Lang’s orchestrations are well served by Music Director Kimberly Grigsby’s 30-piece orchestra.

Performing Tuesday through Sunday at Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont Theater, “Camelot” runs approximately 2 hours, 55 minutes with one intermission.

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Judy Gold’s “Yes, I Can Say That!”

Susan Granger’s review of Judy Gold’s “Yes, I Can Say That!” (Off-Broadway at 59E59 Theaters)

 

At the very beginning of her provocative one-woman show, Judy Gold says that a comedian’s only goal on-stage is to make audiences laugh. Considering that criterion, the veteran stand-up performer’s hilarious “Yes, I Can Say That!” is a resounding success.

She’s not alone in her sentiment. Victor Borge said, “Laughter is the shortest distance between two people,” Charlie Chaplin attested, “A day without laughter is a day wasted,” and Milton Berle noted, “Laughter is an instant vacation.”

“Calm the fuck down!” Gold demands, beginning her tirade against the sanctimonious book-banning, drag-queen-pursuing gestapo that comprises current Conservative eagerness to censor free speech.

Yet drawing the line isn’t easy. Gold admits that she once made a joke about a Hasidic woman in Brooklyn who had her wig ripped off while she was walking down the street with her children that totally backfired on her. But she cites her collaborator Eddie Safaty, who maintains, “Going to a comedy club and expecting not to be offended is like going on a rollercoaster and expecting not to get scared.”

Acknowledging the great – but often corrosive – female comedians who have influenced her, Gold imitates and cites Moms Mabley, Lily Tomlin, Joan Rivers, Totie Fields, and Phyllis Diller. Plus, she acknowledges comedians who have been imprisoned – even murdered – by their governments, particularly Afghan’s Khasha Zwan, killed by the Taliban.

And she’s open about her venomous reaction to “misogynist pig” Jerry Lewis’ notorious appraisal: “A woman doing comedy doesn’t offend me, but sets be back a lot. I think of her as a producing machine that brings babies into the world.”

Openly lesbian, Gold confesses to a having a childhood crush on Brooke Shields and not ‘coming out’ publicly until the mid-‘90s.

Based on Gold’s 2020 book of the same name, it’s directed by BD Wong for Primary Stages; the show incorporates Shawn Duan’s clever projections and inventive stage business, serving as one woman’s very personal narrative, augmented by Lex Liang’s set design, Anshuman Bhatia’s lighting and Kevin Heard’s sound.

Gold has invited Sandra Bernhard to join her for an after-show talk-back and has scheduled Mary Trump to join her on Friday, April 14th.

Running 1 hour 20 minutes with no intermission, “Yes, I Can Say That!” is Off-Broadway at 58E59 Theaters through April 16th.

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“Sanocho”

Susan Granger’s review of “Sancocho” (WP Theater – Off-Broadway)

 

I’m not surprised that the Off-Broadway premiere of Christin Eve Cato’s “Sancocho” is extending its limited engagement through Sunday, April 16, 2023.

Forced to confront the reality of their father’s rapidly declining health since he’s now in hospice care, two Puerto Rican sisters – young, seven-month pregnant Renata (Shirley Rumierk) and much older Caridad (Zuleyna Guevera), whose twin brother died – clash over their inherent cultural differences, scratching the scabs off old wounds.

Meanwhile on the stove, practical Caridad is assembling the ingredients for the hearty Sancocho, teaching Renata how to properly peel plantains. As they take turns stirring the bubbling pot, the mouth-watering aroma of the traditional Caribbean beef stew intoxicates the audience, much the way the scent of hot apple pie wafted through each Broadway performance of “Waitress.”

Set in Raul Abrego’s remarkably realistic East Harlem kitchen, the savory 90-minute family drama unfolds under the meticulous direction of Rebecca Martinez, who adroitly contrasts each sister’s very different background and upbringing.

Born a full generation apart, Caridad’ expectations and experiences are far different than Renata’s, who has become a lawyer, living in New Jersey.

It reminds me of how – at all family reunions – there are various memories of what occurred in the past. Like “Rashomon,” each person has his/her own interpretation – which is why Cato’s theme -encompassing forgiveness and love – has a relatable universality.

FYI: In the program, Cato includes her grandmother’s recipe for Sancocho – which I’m tempted to try.

“Sancocho” is at the WP Theater (2162 Broadway) in a co-production with Latinx Playwrights Circle and the Sol Project, a national theater initiative dedicated to amplifying the voices of Latinx playwrights.

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“Asi Wind’s Inner Circle”

Susan Granger’s review of “Asi Wind’s Inner Circle” (Judson Theater Off-Broadway)

 

 If there were a pantheon of psychic entertainers, Asi Wind would be in the top tier. His 75-minute, one-man show “Asi Wind’s Inner Circle” has played for several months Off-Broadway and will no doubt continue for many more.

The intimate setting, resembling a small Greek amphitheater with a large, round table at its center, involves each member of the audience as soon as they take their assigned seats, writing their full names and initials on the blank back of the black-and-red playing cards that Asi will use throughout that performance.

Opening with a monologue explaining how he left Israel and changed his name to become an authentic New Yorker, Asi’s low-key charisma charms and totally disarms the audience.  Those who are seated around the center table periodically shuffle and mix the cards as Asi calls out various audience members’ names to be participants.

According to Asi, how we respond to the sound of our names is of great importance, as he proceeds to identify various people whom, presumably, he’s never met before. Obviously, each show is different since the composition of the audience changes – but his remarkable ‘effects’ remain the same.

Asi’s hero – master magician Harry Houdini – understood that it’s not enough to fool people with magic. You have to make them care. “A playing card has information on it but – to most people – the diamonds, hearts, clubs and spades mean nothing,” he candidly explains. “But if you put your name on that card, suddenly it has significance. It’s not a card. It’s a person.”

At one point, an audience member is asked to leave the theater and go across the street to Washington Square Park to ask a random passerby for a number – any number – up to 30. When the audience member returns – after some adding and subtraction – Asi guesses the number.

I’ve seen many ‘close-up’ card magicians but none compare with Asi Wind’s simple, elegant, absolutely undetectable sleight-of-hand. He has even fooled Penn and Teller!

Bottom Line: “Asi Wind’s Inner Circle” is awesome and has been extended to September 3. It’s well worth the trek to The Gym at the Judson Theater at 243 Thompson Street in Manhattan.

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“Bad Cinderella”

Susan Granger’s review of “Bad Cinderella” (Imperial Theatre on Broadway)

 

Despite what you may have heard, “Bad Cinderella” is not Andrew Lloyd Webber’s worst musical, nor – alas! – is it one of his best.

Working from a flimsy, trivial book by Alexis Scheer & Emerald Fennell with overly wordy lyrics by David Zippel, the stridently feminist theme seems to be society’s shallow standards of beauty. You see – in the fairyland of Belleville – everyone is measured by his or her superficial appearance.

The women are reputed to be gorgeous (but, unfortunately, the actresses chosen by director Laurence Connor are not). In contrast, the men – displaying their bare beefcake like sexed-up Chippendales dancers – are actually prettier, strutting to JoAnn M. Hunter’s choreography as the turntable spins.

Poor Cinderella (Linedy Genao), a waif dressed in rags, is considered plain which she, rightfully, resents, predictably displaying ‘bad’ behavior. Her only friend is the Queen’s (Grace McLean) hapless second Prince Sebastian (Jordan Dobson). Prince Charming is the presumed heir and Sebastian is the ‘spare.’

But since brawny Prince Charming went AWOL, Prince Sebastian must now choose a wife. Why not Cinderella, whom he loves? Because that would end the show in 30 minutes – and audiences have paid top ticket prices to watch them dither for another two hours, egged on by Cinderella’s wicked, scene-stealing stepmother (Carolee Carmello) and vainly moronic step-sisters (Sami Gayle, Morgan Higgins)

What about Andrew Lloyd Webber’s music?  Sung by Joran Dobson, “Only You, Lonely You” is the most memorable song, followed by Carolee Carmello’s drolly comedic “I Know You” with Grace McLean.  Linedy Genao warbles “Easy To Be Me,” “I Know I Have a Heart (Because You Broke It)” and “Far Too Late,” but they’re quite forgettable.

What I find curious that that all Andrew Lloyd Webber’s leading ladies somewhat resemble his second wife, soprano Sarah Brightman, who starred in “Phantom of the Opera,” among other notable roles. Too bad Ms. Genao lacks Ms. Brightman’s glorious voice and charisma.

It’s also bizarre that in an expensive Broadway production, Gabriella Tylesova’s scenery and costumes are tacky and garish – like those in a second-rate dinner theater.

So should you go to “Bad Cinderella”? Only if you’re a die-hard Andrew Lloyd Webber fan and determined to see every show he’s ever staged.

 

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“The Coast Starlight”

Susan Granger’s review of “The Coast Starlight” (Off-Broadway: Lincoln Center’s Mitzi Newhouse Theatre)

 

When I taught screenwriting, one of my students’ assignments was to ride on public transport in order to eavesdrop on conversations, envisaging the interactions of those around them. That’s one of the most effective ways to learn to write dialogue.

Along those same lines, Keith Bunin’s compassionate new play, “The Coast Starlight,” revolves around six passengers who fantasize what they might have said to one another on the Amtrak Coast Starlight train that runs from Los Angeles to Seattle – a 35-hour trip.

First to board the sleeper coach is T.J. (Will Harrison), a young Navy medic who’s – instead of facing another deployment to Afghanistan – has decided to go AWOL with stolen identification. He’s followed by Jane (Camila Cano-Flavia), a movie animator who is travelling to visit her boyfriend and, being naturally observant, enjoys sketching those around her.

Then there’s Noah (Rhys Coiro), a bartender/Army vet traveling to Oregon to visit with his elderly mother who is suffering from dementia, and loud-mouthed Liz (Mia Baron), who’s suffering from a humiliating break-up with her boy-friend after participating in the Esalen Institute’s “Extraordinary Couples Workshop.”

Finally, there’s liquored-up Ed (Jon Norman Schneider), who lost his driver’s license after a DUI and is heading for a tech industry meeting, and Anna (Michelle Wilson), who is returning home after the grisly task of identifying the body of her heroin-addicted brother from whom she’s been estranged for ten years.

We learn about these characters since each delivers an explanatory monologue. While their actual interaction is limited, Noah cautions T.J. about the long-term consequences of his desertion – one that would necessitate him living the rest of his life on-the-run. Like this, most of the confessional conversations are imagined.

Directed by Tyne Rafaeli, the ephemeral interaction of the acting ensemble is extraordinarily effective, perhaps because at least half of them have been working together since the play had its 2019 premiere at the La Jolla Playhouse.

Arnulfo Maldonado’s rotating square platform set has moveable Amtrak seats while 59 Productions’ projections reflect California’s western coastline whizzing by, superbly lit by Lap Chi Chu. Asta Bennie Hostetter’s costumes capture each person’s personality, and Daniel Kluger’s music is appropriately melancholy.

Running 95 minutes, “The Coast Starlight” plays at Lincoln Center’s Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater until April 16, 2023.

 

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“The Wanderers”

Susan Granger’s review of “The Wanderers” (Off-Broadway at Roundabout’s Laura Pels Theatre)

 

While Katie Holmes is best known for “Dawson’s Creek,” she’s no stranger to the New York stage, having made her Broadway debut in Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons” with John Lithgow, Dianne Wiest and Patrick Wilson; she also starred in Theresa Rebeck’s “Dead Accounts” opposite Norbert Lee Butz and Judy Greer.

Now in Anna Ziegler’s “The Wanderers” at the Off-Broadway Laura Pels Theatre, Katie Holmes is playing Julia Cheever, a glamorous movie star who causes chaos when she sends an e-mail to acclaimed novelist, igniting an infatuation that threatens his marriage and raises questions about happiness within a relationship.

The poignant, five-character drama focuses on two couples who live in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in different time periods. One marriage involves two contemporary secular Jewish writers and the other a 1970s pre-arranged union between two young Hasidic Jews.

Having won a Pulitzer Prize and two National Book Awards before he was 30, Abe (Eddie Kaye Thomas) is married to frustrated Sophie (Sarah Cooper), whose first book was a critical and commercial disaster. They’ve known each other all their lives since their mothers were close friends who both left the cloistered Hasidic community. They have two children and are contemplating a third.

Years before, Orthodox Jews Esther (Lucy Freyer) and Schmuli (Dave Klasko), who barely met before their wedding day, come to realize their future is dictated by the strict laws of the Torah. But Esther is chafing at the confines of being a dutiful stay-at-home wife yearning, instead, for an independent identity as a librarian.

Utilizing scenes from these parallel relationships, the perennial question posed by playwright Anna Ziegler is: Can we be happy with what we have while we have it?

Or, as Sophie says, “It can take a lifetime just to grow up…to let go of a sort of galvanizing restlessness that always leaves your empty.”

Subtly and sensitively directed by Barry Edelstein, Artistic Director of San Diego’s Old Globe, where Ziegler’s play premiered in 2018, it’s filled with spiritual and emotional questioning, centering on Jewish life in its various aspects.

Edelstein’s superbly cast ensemble production is enhanced by Marion Williamson’s shape-shifting, book-constructed set, exquisitely lit by Kenneth Posner.

In a limited engagement, “The Wanderers” is presented without an intermission at the Roundabout’s Laura Pels Theatre in the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre (111 West 46th Street) through April 2, 2023.

 

 

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