Theater Reviews

Susan Granger’s review of “Chaplin: The Musical” (Ethel Barrymore Theater: 2012-2013 season)

    Since Charlie Chaplin scored his greatest success in silent pictures, it’s not surprising that the sight triumphs over sound in this new Broadway musical.

    The curtain opens with Chaplin (Rob McClure), dressed as his iconic Little Tramp, adroitly balancing on a tightrope, as those below question: “What you gonna do when it all falls down?”

    Flashback to 1894 in the East End of London, where young Charlie (Zachary Unger) is singing in the streets – to the delight of his loving mother, Hannah (Christiane Noll) a vaudeville star who was becoming more and more emotionally and mentally unstable, even as she taught him to astutely observe those around him.  After catching the eye of pioneer movie-maker Mack Sennett (Michael McCormick), now-grown Charlie moves from the Music Hall to Hollywood, where he creates the Little Tramp character in ‘flickers’ like “The Kid,” “The Gold Rush,”  “Payday,” “Modern Times,” “Limelight,” “The Circus” and “The Great Dictator,” achieving fame and fortune. When his brother Sydney (Wayne Alan Wilcox) joins him, they place demented Hannah in a Glendale nursing home. A succession of young, gold-digging wives follows, but then Charlie’s liberalism incurs the wrath of vituperative gossip columnist Hedda Hopper (Jenn Colella), who contrives to have him deported. In 1972, Charlie returns – with his fourth wife, Oona O’Neill (Erin Mackey), the estranged daughter of playwright Eugene O’Neill – to accept an Honorary Oscar.

    Built around songs by Christopher Curtis and a chronologically biographical book by Curtis and Thomas Meehan (“Annie,” “The Producers,” “Hairspray”) – borrowing liberally from the 1993 film “Chaplin,” starring Robert Downey Jr. – it’s directed and choreographed by Warren Carlyle. Characterized by a shades-of-gray color palette, the sets by Beowulf Boritt and costumes by Amy Clark and the late Martin Pakledinaz reflect that muted tone, heightening the pathos.

    While Jenn Colella does some laudable scene-stealing, most memorable is Rob McClure’s sweetly uncanny Chaplin impersonation, which he first created at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego two years ago – and the stylish, monochromatic projections effectively recreate early Hollywood.

Susan Granger’s review of “Tartuffe” (Westport County Playhouse)

    There’s nothing remotely archaic about the idea of a patriarch becoming so infatuated with a religious guru that he loses all reason, although that’s the concept behind Moliere’s satire, written back in 1664, as a commentary on the excesses of the Catholic Church during the reign of Louis XV, the Sun King.

    Set in Orgon’s house in Paris, it begins as Orgon’s critical mother, Madame Pernelle (Patricia Conolly), proclaims, “This house appalls me!” She’s convinced that the resident ‘holy man’ interloper, Tartuffe (Marc Kudisch), is there to save them. Orgon’s wife Elmire (Nadia Bowers) disagrees, as does her brother Cleante (Tyrone Mitchell Henderson), and the other members of the household, particularly the outspoken maid Dorine (Jeanine Serralles). Told that she has to break off her engagement to marry Tartuffe, Orgon’s daughter Mariane (Charise Castro Smith) is heartbroken, as is her beloved fiancé Valere (Matthew Amendt). And when Orgon’s son Damis (Justin Adams) catches Tartuffe trying to seduce Elmire and reports this indiscretion to his father, he is not only chided but disinherited.

    Act II consists of various clever ploys to convince Orgon of the truth, as he suffers the calamitous results of his folly. Translated by Richard Wilbur and directed by David Kennedy, it’s spoken, as written, in rhyming couplets, forming a considerable challenge for the actors, most of whom rise to the occasion. Jeanine Serralles obviously relishes her comedic moments, while Marc Kudish oozes an oily charisma, particularly as he manipulatively confesses, “I am a wicked man, I fear, a wretched sinner.”

    Wilson Chen’s symmetrical set, filled with doors, seems perfect for a French farce, while Ilona Somogyi’s costumes are idiosyncratic – from Orgon’s formal suit to Dorine’s scanty maid’s uniform.

    As a result of its popularity, both the French and British still use the word ‘tartuffe’ to designate a hypocrite who ostensibly and exaggeratedly feigns virtue, especially religious virtue.

    Due to ticket demand, Moliere’s “Tartuffe” will continue at the Westport Country Playhouse through Sunday, August 5. For tickets and more information, call 203-227-4177 or go to www.westportcountryplayhouse.org.

Susan Granger’s review of “The Year of Magical Thinking” (Westport Country Playhouse)

    Fiercely believable Maureen Anderman gives a “must see” performance of unwavering integrity, playing acclaimed writer Joan Didion in the one-woman stage adaptation of Didion’s eloquent, National Book Award-winning memoir about the sudden death of her husband, author John Gregory Dunne, and the subsequent demise of their grown daughter, Quintana Roo.  In a coolly cerebral,  90-minute lament about these two heart-wrenching events which occurred within a period of two years, Ms. Anderman’s control is extraordinary, as is her daring. She is impeccable. She is incandescent.

    But the wry, self-indulgent play can only be called ‘troubling theater.’  Talking to the audience, Didion begins with the dire, doomsday-like admonition: “This happened on December 30, 2003. That may seem a while ago, but it won’t when it happens to you.”  

    But it has happened to me – and probably to you.  By the time you reach an age when you’re sitting in the audience of the Westport Country Playhouse, inevitably, a tragedy or loss has occurred in your life – at least once, perhaps twice. There are the tense hospital encounters, often grotesque funeral arrangements and a detached, sanity-preserving numbness that permeates your consciousness during the mourning period. While I understand the cathartic value of theater, once you’ve lived these real-life experiences, why would you want to re-visit similar ones as an audience member – without even the mercy of an intermission during which to make a surreptitious escape from the pervasive negativity?

    Versatile Weston-resident Maureen Anderman stood by for Vanessa Redgrave during the Broadway production of this play and “Driving Miss Daisy” – and now, working with director Nicholas Martin, she makes the role distinctly her own, poignantly explaining how the “magical thinking” refers to the insistent delusion of many bereaved that their lost loved  ones will, somehow, come back.  Alexander Dodge’s fluid scenic design, Philip Rosenberg’s melancholy lighting design and Drew Levy’s subtle sound design facilitate the elegant simplicity of the austere production.

   “The Year of Magical Thinking” plays through June 30. For more information, visit www.westportplayhouse.org or call 203-227-4177 or 888-927-7529.

Susan Granger’s review of “Leap of Faith” (St. James Theater: 2011-2012 season)

    There’s a reason why this screen-to-stage adaptation was – financially – the biggest flop of Broadway’s 2011-2012 season with losses estimated at more than $14 million. Quite simply, the redemptive musical about a con-man evangelist who experiences a spiritual conversion was wretched, despite an experienced creative team that included composer Alan Menken, lyricist Glenn Slater, book writers James Cercone and Warren Leight, director Christopher Ashley, set designer Robin Wagner and choreographer Sergio Trujillo.

    Clad in sparkly suits, Raul Esparza (“Company,” “Arcadia”) takes on the role of faith healer Jonas Nightingale, which genial Steve Martin played in the 1992 movie. After their bus breaks down in Sweetwater, a small town in Kansas, Nightingale and his troupe pitch their revival tent and are soon fleecing the flock with the help of Nightingale’s sister, Sam (Kendra Kassebaum) who secretly feeds info to the preacher. The local sheriff, Maria McGowan (Jessica Phillips), has their number but she’s also a lonely widow with a brave, disabled son, 13 year-old Jake (Talon Ackerman), and obviously smitten with this sinister new man in town. Besides, there’s this severe draught and maybe, just maybe, if he’s not a complete charlatan, Nightingale could conjure down some rain.

    While Esparza exudes energy, it’s been a rough road to get to Broadway and many elements were lost along the way, including pacing and the kind of essential coherence that distinguished other charismatic con-man tales like “The Rainmaker,” “The Music Man” and “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” among others.  The original director never got beyond the Los Angeles tryout, nor did the original female star, Brooke Shields. The collaborative duo of Alan Menken and Glenn Slater. who wrote the music for “Sister Act,” contribute oddly similar numbers for this show, which begs for some originality, particularly for the backup gospel choir called the Angels of Mercy, led by Ida Mae Sturdevant (Kecia Lewis-Evans).

    Closing almost as soon as it opened, “Leap of Faith” concludes this musical season on Broadway. Praise the Lord – and Amen!

Susan Granger’s review of “Don’t Dress For Dinner” (American Airlines Theater:  2011-12 season)

    Marc Camoletti’s naughty bedroom farce reunites the characters of Bernard (Adam James) and Robert (Ben Daniels), last seen on Broadway romancing airline stewardesses in Camoletti’s previous comedy “Boeing-Boeing.”

    Set in 1960 in a converted farmhouse northwest of Paris, it begins as Bernard’s wife, Jacqueline (Patricia Kalember) is preparing to depart to spend the weekend with her mother. Unbeknownst to her, Bernard has slyly planned a rendezvous with his mistress Suzanne (Jennifer Tilly), a voluptuously vulgar model.  But when the telephone rings, Jacqueline discovers to her delight that Bernard’s best friend Robert will be arriving shortly. Since Robert is Jacqueline’s secret lover, she quickly cancels her plans and decides to stay to have a tryst with her paramour, forcing Bernard to make Robert promise to cover for him by introducing Suzanne as his girl-friend. More frantic confusion commences as Suzette (Spencer Kayden), the Cordon Bleu chef whom Bernard has hired to cater an elegant, romantic dinner, arrives – and Robert assumes that she is Suzanne. Eventually, Suzette agrees to pose as Robert’s girlfriend/niece or whatever but she disdainfully demands additional bribery payments from both men for each layer of philandering deception – until her own beefy husband, George (David Aron Damane) shows up in the second act.

    Despite John Tillinger’s stylish staging of the mistaken identities and double-entendres and the cast’s obvious effort to try to keep the pace fast, the labored, over-the-top characters and their alleged ardor never really ring true – which makes it so simple for comedienne Spencer Kayden to steal the show – even without whipping up cheese soufflé and baked Alaska.

     John Lee Beatty’s chateau set evokes a sense of rustic elegance, giving rise to amusing lines about the converted dairy, hen house, pig sty and hay loft, but it is William Ivey Long’s inventive costume-change, as Suzette swiftly transforms from mousy maid to slinky, strapless vamp, that evokes spontaneous applause.

    BOTTOM LINE: If you’ve never seen a French sex farce, you might find this hilarious. But if you’ve seen several before, this Roundabout Theatre Company production is only mediocre.

Susan Granger’s review of “Into the Woods” (Westport Country Playhouse:  2012 season)

    Mark Lamos’ 25^th anniversary revival of this fanciful, fairy-tale musical by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine is powerful, potent and bewitching.

    As the wish-fulfillment story begins, the narrator (Jeffrey Denman), manipulating a puppet theater, introduces four characters: lovely Cinderella (Jenny Latimer), who yearns to go to the Palace Festival; amiable Jack (Justin Scott Brown), who needs his cow, Milky-White, to give milk; and the anxious Baker (Erik Liberman) and his Wife (Danielle Ferland), who desperately want a child. Their quests are interwoven with familiar Grimm tales of the wicked Witch (Lauren Kennedy), Little Red Riding Hood (Dana Steingold), the Wolf (Nik Walker), Rapunzel (Britney Coleman), and Prince Charming (Robert Lenzi), among others.  Then, having achieved their respective “happily ever afters,” Act II examines the catastrophic consequences of their actions as touching and tender relationships – both romantic and parental – falter…”sometimes people leave you/halfway through the wood”…culminating in poignant lessons each traveler has learned along the way.

    What’s unusual about this metaphorical musical is Stephen Sondheim’s intelligent, intricate lyrics, sometimes setting the tone of the story, other times delving into the subconscious.  In “Your Fault,”  everyone places blame on others for the terrible events that occur – until they realize that they are each at fault in their own way: “I ventured out and saw within.”  And always: “Children will listen.”

    Astutely conceived by Artistic Director Mark Lamos, the staging of this challenging musical sets a high standard as it opens the Playhouse’s 82^nd season – with a top-notch cast, including many Broadway veterans, and creative team that includes Sean Curran, Wayne Barker, Allen Moyer, Candice Donnelly, Robert Wierzel, Zachary Williamson and Michael Rossmy, among others.

    “Fairy tales are the bedrock of dreams, psychosis and creativity,” notes Mark Lamos. “They lodge in our fantasies and nightmares.”

    FYI: After years of negotiation, it’s reported that Rob Marshall (“Chicago”) will direct a film adaptation for Walt Disney Pictures with Lapine writing the script and Sondheim developing new songs.

    Until then, don’t miss “Into the Woods” at the Westport Country Playhouse through May 26^th.

Susan Granger’s review of “The Columnist” (Samuel J. Friedman Theatre)

    Anecdotal history can be fascinating – particularly in David Auburn’s play about Joseph Alsop (John Lithgow), one of Washington D.C.’s most influential, liberal journalists during the mid-20^th century. A distant cousin of Eleanor Roosevelt’s, Alsop was hired at the age of 27 by The New York Herald Tribune, working as a syndicated columnist, often with his brother, Stewart (Boyd Gaines).

    Fervently anti-Communist, Alsop not only supported the Vietnam War but also exhorted Presidents and politicians to make an all-out push for victory. That arrogant, intractable position earned him the enmity of New York Times reporter David Halberstam (Stephen Kunken), who accused him of being the most “imperial and imperious of American journalists,” noting that he’d drop by the United States Embassy in Saigon before being helicoptered around the war zones, conferring with military and diplomatic brass while enjoying fine wine and French food.

    But the crux of Auburn’s character study begins long before that – in 1954, when, on a fact-finding visit to Moscow, Alsop was compromised in a homosexual liaison by a clever K.G.B. agent (Brian J. Smith) disguised as a tourist guide. Skip ahead to January 21, 1961, when Alsop was at the height of his glory, as President John F. Kennedy famously stopped by his Georgetown home for a very late nightcap after the last of his Inaugural Balls, much to the surprise and delight of Alsop’s platonic companion, Susan Mary Jay Patten (Margaret Colin) and her teenage daughter, Abigail (Grace Gummer). Although Alsop’s marriage-of-convenience to Susan lasted 17 years, their relationship ran its course, ending in bitterness and regret.

    While director Daniel Sullivan weaves an episodic tapestry of political influence, revealing the seduction of self-importance, not unlike that of contemporary pundits like Rush Limbaugh and Keith Olbermann, John Lithgow insightfully embodies the indignation of a righteous WASP amid the power Establishment. Conferring an understated sense of elegant reality on this Manhattan Theatre Club production are John Lee Beatty’s sets, lit by Kenneth Posner, and Jess Goldstein’s costumes.

Susan Granger’s review of “Ghost The Musical” (Lunt-Fontanne Theatre 2011-2012 season)

    Paul Kieve is perhaps the most unknown, underrated participant in this screen-to-stage adaptation of “Ghost,” the 1990 tear-jerker which paired Demi Moore with the late Patrick Swayze as the star-crossed lovers.

    According to his Playbill bio, illusionist Paul Kieve created original magical effects for more than 100 West End, Broadway and international productions, including “The Phantom of the Opera,” “The Lord of the Rings,” “The Witches of Eastwick,” “The Invisible Man,” etc., along with tutoring Daniel Radcliffe in “Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkaban.”  And it’s his expertise, along with that of high-tech multi-media designer Rob Howell and video/projection creator Jon Driscoll that are most memorable about this disappointing Broadway musical.

    There’s the familiar plot about an ebullient Brooklyn artist, Mollie Jensen (Caissie Levy), who is madly in love with Sam Wheat (Richard Fleeschman), a shy, reticent, guitar-strumming banker, who tends to say “Ditto” whenever Molly declares she loves him. After Sam is accidentally shot and killed in what seems like a street robbery, he realizes Mollie is in grave danger. Miraculously, he makes spiritual contact with Oda Mae Brown (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), a sassy, Gospel-singing psychic who reluctantly agrees to act as an intermediary, warning Mollie not to trust Sam’s scheming partner/best-friend Carl (Bryce Pinkham), who hired Willie Lopez (Michael Balderrama), the thug who botched up the mugging.

    Oscar-winning screenwriter Bruce Joel Rubin teams up on the forgettable music and bland, repetitious lyrics with Glen Ballard and Dave Stewart of the ‘80s synth-pop duo Eurythmics. While director Matthew Warchus does the best he can to breathe some emotional life into this relentlessly ephemeral, ectoplasmic romance, including re-imagining the clay-play pottery scene, it’s to no avail, even though Caissie Levy and Richard Fleeschman recreate the roles they originated on-stage in London last year.

    As a result, what was once a sensual, sentimental ‘weeper’ has been sculpted into a special-effects extravaganza, complete with digital dancers.  If you want to experience “Ghost” again, rent the movie – for which Whoopi Goldberg won a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award as the psychic.

Susan Granger’s review of “Nice Work If You Can Get It” (Imperial Theater)

    Obviously riding the coattails of the Tony Award-winning revival of the Cole Porter musical “Anything Goes,” this is a jukebox compilation of George and Ira Gershwin songs – and pales by comparison, even though what we now think of as ‘book’ musicals did not really begin until Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma.” As a result, there’s no connective narrative tissue or emotional relevance attached to each song.

    Inspired by “Oh, Kay” (1926) by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse, the Jazz Age book by Joe DiPietro (“Memphis”) introduces a much-married Manhattan playboy, Jimmy Winter (Matthew Broderick), who unwittingly becomes involved with a tomboyish bootlegger from New Jersey named Billie Bendix (Kelli O’Hara), whose gang is hiding hooch in the cellar of his ritzy Long Island estate. His obvious infatuation infuriates not only his pampered fiancée, Eileen (Jennifer Laura Thompson, who appears to be channeling madcap Madeline Kahn), the avant-garde dancing daughter of Senator Max Evergreen (Terry Beaver), but also his droll mother, Millicent (Estelle Parsons), who holds the purse-strings to the family business. Providing comic relief, there’s Duchess Estonia Dulworth (Judy Kaye), Eileen’s avidly Prohibitionist aunt who, literally, swings from the chandelier after tough-talking Cookie (Michael McGrath), posing as a butler, spikes her lemonade with gin.

    Having become the toast-of-the-town in recent musical revivals of “South Pacific” and “Pajama Game,” soprano Kelli O’Hara bubbles like vintage champagne, especially when director/choreographer Kathleen Marshall  (“Anything Goes”) inventively re-imagines “Someone to Watch Over Me” to include her cradling a rifle. Marshall scores again when dancers emerge like shimmying, shimmering froths from a bubble bath. And there’s no topping Kelli O’Hara’s rendition of “But Not For Me.”

    In contrast, it’s remarkable how lackluster Matthew Broderick’s performance is. Having enjoyed screen success in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and Broadway acclaim for playing deadpan opposite Nathan Lane in “The Producers,” he’s now chunky and clunky, seemingly unable to make the transition from naively boyish straight-man to romantic leading man.

    Derek McLane’s opulent 1920s sets are a visual delight; Martin Pakledinaz’ vintage costumes are fanciful; and Peter Kaczorowski’s textual lighting enhances the mood-changes.

 Susan Granger’s review of “One Man, Two Guvnors” (Music Box Theater:  2011-2012 season)

    Highly recommended for those who love to laugh, this frantic British music-hall farce, set in seedy Brighton in 1963, revolves around hefty and perpetually hungry Francis Henshall (James Corden) who seeks to improve his financial situation by going to work for two different people at the same time.

    Obviously, his two employers (a.k.a. ‘guvnors’) aren’t aware that they’re sharing the same blathering, bungling manservant. Indeed, Rachel Crabbe (Jemima Rooper) is far too busy impersonating her recently-killed twin brother Roscoe, while smug Stanley Stubbers (Oliver Chris ,who murdered Roscoe, is Rachel’s posh lover.

    It’s a giddy tour-de-force for English comic star James Corden, who last appeared on Broadway as the fat kid in “The History Boys” and reprised his role in the film. As the scheming fool, his cheeky gluttony is as palpable as is his flair for slapstick clowning and improvisational comedy, adapted to fit any plot twist that comes along.  In the second act, he’s matched, merry pratfall-for-pratfall, by Tom Edden as a bumbling, almost blind, 96 year-old waiter with an erratic pacemaker. The rest of the cast includes Claire Lams as a lovelorn dimwit, Daniel Rigby as her self-consciously leather-clad thespian fiancé, Suzie Toase as a buxom bookkeeper with Trevor Laird and Fred Ridgeway as former convicts-turned-con men.

    Satirically devised by Richard Dean, who adapted it from Venetian Carlo Goldoni’s “The Servant of Two Masters,” it’s staged with silly, mistaken identity abandon by Nicholas Hytner, Artistic Director of Great Britain’s National Theatre, and Cal McCrystal, who is credited for the ‘physical comedy.’  

    In the late 18^th century Italian Commedia del’Arte style, it introduces familiar stock characters, like Corden’s ‘harlequin,’ and includes earthy, jesting interaction with unwitting theatergoers.  Providing a musical introduction and punctuating the action, there’s an on-stage, four-piece skiffle band, punningly called The Craze, performing Grant Olding’s original songs and playing an eclectic assortment of banjos, guitars, xylophones, washboards, jugs and squeeze-ball horns. Mark Thompson’s sets and costumes suit the lightness of mood and the middle-class seaside resort town perfectly.

    Not since Monty Python and “Noises Off” has there been this kind of great, raucous fun!