Theater Reviews

Susan Granger’s review of “The Scottsboro Boys” (Lyceum Theater)

    John Kander and Fred Ebb revolutionized Broadway’s musical theater, adding their own unique razzle-dazzle style to the decadence and squalor inherent in “Cabaret,” “Chicago” and “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” so perhaps it shouldn’t be such a surprise that they’d tackle controversial, highly political subject matter like a shameful racial incident in American history and stage it within the minstrel show format.

    Back in 1931, nine black teenagers – the “boys” of the title – were falsely accused of raping two white women near a train station in Alabama. They’re immediately convicted and remain in prison, despite the fact that one of the women later recants her testimony.

    John Cullum, Colman Domingo and Forrest McClendon play the stock characters in the 19^th century minstrel show: the Interlocutor/narrator and the buffoonish Mr. Bones and Mr. Tambo. In addition, Domingo and McClendon play the absurdist ‘white’ roles, like the sheriff, the attorney general and the liberal Jewish lawyer, while Joshua Henry is outstanding as the most vocal, muscular and memorable defendant. 

    According to librettist David Thompson, the minstrel tradition began in the 1840s as a collection of sentimental songs, dances and sketches meant to be a depiction of Southern black life. It was staged by white men wearing blackface until after the Civil War, when black people began performing it. “Minstrel shows were a part of the national culture,” 83 year-old John Kander explains. “We didn’t think about how offensive that was. Now, looking back on it, and having researched it a lot, you know what it really meant.”

    Meticulously directed and toe-tappingly choreographed by five-time Tony winner Susan Stroman, the injustice resonates within the rousing, ragtime framework of lively, satirical songs and intriguing, inventive backstories, audaciously reflecting America’s insidious bigotry.  As the momentum builds, the haunting, sardonic significance of the singular, silent African-American woman (Sharon Washington) is only revealed at the symbolic conclusion. This subversively challenging Broadway musical is a must see!

Susan Granger’s review of “A Life in the Theatre” (Gerald Schoenfeld Theater)

    Patrick Stewart and T.R. Knight team up for David Mamet’s two-person comedy.that explores the rigors and indignities of being an actor. Chatting only with each other for 90 minutes – no intermission – they lament their hardships, recall their humiliations and reveal their loneliness and inner turmoil.

    Smoothly staged by director Neil Pepe, it’s – nevertheless – a tedious, unwieldy series of 26 trifling vignettes. The vain, imperious elder Robert (Patrick Stewart) behaves like a leading man, belying the truth that he’s most often just a supporting player in a local repertory company, while John (T.R. Knight) is not only eager to learn but also to please. Their egocentricity runs rampant, as each grasps for praise and acknowledgement. But there’s an underlying sense of desperation that resonates with a disconcerting sadness.

    Perhaps best known as Jean-Luc Picard, the Enterprise captain who succeeded William Shatner on TV’s “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” Sir Patrick Stewart – he was knighted last June – has an equally admirable reputation with the Royal Shakespeare Company, having appeared in more than 40 of their productions. His film credits also include three “X-Men” movies. In addition to his considerable stage work, T.R. Knight attained national recognition in TV’s “Gray’s Anatomy.”

    Despite the actors’ theatrical prowess and obvious rappport, this featherweight, not-very-funny Mamet play was never intended for a large Broadway theater. Back in 1977, as somewhat of a cartoon of the reality that goes on backstage, it enjoyed a long run at the Theater de Lys (now the Lucille Lortel Theater) in Greenwich Village. So it seems curiously out of place and certainly overpriced for what it offers audiences, despite Santo Loquasto’s evocative set, Laura Bauer’s authentic costuming, Kenneth Posner’s effective lighting and J. David Brimmer’s fight choreography. And when this comedy concludes, there’s no sense of completion, only melancholy.

Susan Granger’s review of “Brief Encounter” (Roundabout Theater/Studio 54)

    Romance reigns as David Lean’s 1945 movie and its source – Noel Coward’s short play “Still Life” – comes to life on-stage at Studio 54.

    Set in pre-World War II Britain in 1938, it’s the heart-tugging, ill-fated love story of Alec (Tristan Surrock) and Laura (Hannah Yelland), two respectable, middle-class people who meet in the tea room at a train station. Married to other people – repressed and trapped in frustrating, mundane lives of their own making – they realize their fleeting attraction to one another is as unacceptable as it is unavoidable. But they’re not alone. There’s also the shamelessly bawdy affair between the stationmaster Albert (Joseph Alessi) and Myrtle (Annette McLaughlin), who manages the eatery, and a youthful flirtation between young, ukulele-playing Stanley (Gabriel Ebert) and the scooter-riding waitress Beryl (Dorothy Atkinson).

    Adapted and directed by Emma Rice, the artistic director of London’s Kneehigh Theater, it combines not only the movie and play but also projections, puppetry and several Noel Coward songs, performed live with an on-stage band, in addition to Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2, which resonates throughout. Rice also breaks the theatrical fourth wall by having the musicians and, occasionally, the actors, popping in and out of the audience. The entire concept is utterly enchanting, particularly the finale in which the participants mingle with the audience as they are leaving the theater.

    Kudos to all those who participated in this inventive production: Neil Murray’s set and costume design, Malcolm Randolph’s lighting, Simon Baker’s sound, Jon Discoll and Gemma Carrington’s projections.

Susan Granger’s review of “A Delicate Balance” (Berkshire Theatre Festival 2010)

                              “Creativity is magic. Don’t examine it too closely.”

                                                      American playwright Edward Albee

    Like his best known play, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” Edward Albee’s “A Delicate Balance” is another relevant examination of relationships, particularly marriage.

    Living in upper middle-class suburbia, Agnes (Maureen Anderman) and Tobias (Jonathan Hogan) have been married for many years. Now in their late fifties, they occupy separate bedrooms, as Agnes struggles to maintain not only their stability but her sanity which is severely strained by the constant presence of her audacious, unmarried, alcoholic sister Claire (Lisa Emery). Agnes’ tenuous equilibrium is further tested by the unexpected arrival of their closest friends, Edna (Mia Dillon) and Harry (Keir Dullea), who are inexplicably “frightened” and beg to spend the night. Ordinarily, that would not be difficult since their grown daughter Julia’s bedroom is empty, but Agnes and Tobias have just heard that volatile, petulant Julia (Mia Barron) has left her fourth husband and is en route home. Then, as Albee, so succinctly puts it, “The shit hits the fan.”

    Seething with unspoken anger and repressed resentment, Maureen Anderman elegantly embodies the conflicting emotions that propel Agnes, the character who epitomizes Edward Albee’s ferocious vitriol. Director David Auburn (who wrote “Proof”) has assembled an exemplary cast that deliciously delves into the precarious, sniping dysfunction that’s engendered by family and close friends. R. Michael Miller’s set is gracefully evocative of ‘60s WASP society, enhanced by Dan Kotlowitz’ lighting.

    A beacon of quality theater, “A Delicate Balance” is on the Main Stage of the Berkshire Theatre Festival in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, thru Sept. 4^th …tickets available at 413-298-5576 and online at: www.berkshiretheatre.org.  It’s a must-see.

Susan Granger’s review: “I Do, I Do” at the Westport Country Playhouse (2010-2011 season)

    As Peter De Vries put it, “The bonds of matrimony are like any other bonds – they mature slowly.” And that bittersweet note is reflected by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt in “I Do, I Do,” based on Jan de Hartog’s 1940s play “The Fourposter.”

    Beginning with their wedding in 1898, “I Do, I Do” chronicles the joys and pains, trials and tribulations of the marriage between Agnes and Michael for the next 50 years, as they warble gentle, tell-tale songs like “I Love My Wife,” “Together Forever,” “The Honeymoon is Over,” “Nobody’s Perfect,” “Love Isn’t Everything,” “When the Kids Get Married,” “Someone Needs Me” and the poignant standard, “My Cup Runneth Over.”

    When this two-character musical opened on Broadway in 1966, it was propelled by the star power of Robert Preston and Mary Martin, producer David Merrick and director Gower Champion. Which explain why this current production, starring Kate Baldwin and Lewis Cleale as the archetypal couple, is more of charming trifle. Yet it still has the same kind of frothy, endearing, light-hearted innocence that’s made Jones and Schmidt’s other musical, “The Fantasticks,” into the longest-running production on the American stage.

    Acknowledged by a Tony Award nomination, along with the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle, for her enchanting performance in the recent revival of “Finian’s Rainbow,” Kate Baldwin is sensational, which may explain why Lewis Cleale has a tough time keeping up with her, although his credentials are also impressive. Director Susan H. Schulman keeps the pace lively, centered around the large four-poster bed that occupies center stage on Wilson Chin’s simple, intimate set – with accolades to Devon Painter’s period costumes, Philip Rosenberg’s lighting and Domonic Sack’s sound.

    “I Do, I Do” will run at the Westport Country Playhouse through Sept. 4^th. For information, go to www.westportplayhouse.org or call 203-227-4177.

Susan Granger’s review of DEFENDING THE CAVEMAN (Long Wharf Theater: 2010-2011 season)

    Looking for laughter? There’s plenty to be found in this thoroughly engaging, delightfully entertaining monologue comedy exploring the difference between the sexes.

    Comedian Rob Becker developed the insightful concept in 1987, delving into psychology, sociology and pre-history. Originally opening in San Francisco, he toured the country with it and performed two and a half years at the Helen Hayes Theater in New York, becoming the longest running solo play in Broadway history.

    After 12 years, Becker has now turned the one-man show over to Arkansas-native, Chicago-honed actor Paul Perroni, whose likeable, easy-going, charming manner enchants the audience immediately. His gestures, mimicking the masculine personality are evocative, particularly in the segment about two men going fishing together, followed by a father and son sharing the fishing experience. Perroni’s rich, resonant vocal range is admirable, and his Second City ‘improv’ training is obvious in the way he genially banters with the more vocal audience members during the more raucous segments.

    The spare stage is decorated with an all-important television set, chair and two wall hangings – one depicting a man with a bison and the second a goddess carving – along with a small statue derived from the Venus of Willendorf, dating back to 25,000 B.C.

    An ideal ‘date night’ for people in relationships, DEFENDING THE CAVEMAN plays Wednesday through Sunday at the Long Wharf Theater in New Haven through Aug. 22^nd  and there’s more ticket and show-time information at www.longwharf.org.

Susan Granger’s review of “Happy Days” at the Westport Country Playhouse

    It’s understandable why the poetic works of Irish playwright Samuel Beckett, who won a Nobel Prize for “Waiting for Godot,” have never been presented before at the Westport Country Playhouse. With their enigmatic, oblique, obscure dialogue and minimalist style, they’re dense and difficult to understand, open to individual interpretation. Certainly not the usual ‘summer stock’ fare. Which is probably why artistic director Mark Lamos decided to take a risk, make a leap of faith and aim for the emotional essence of theater.

    In the beginning, Winnie (Dana Ivey), a plump, middle-aged housewife, is buried to her bosom in the center of a huge pile of rocks in a barren landscape with the sun blazing down. Within her reach are a parasol and a huge black handbag, from which she removes various items, including a brush, cosmetics and a revolver. While it’s her cheerful, optimism-infused chatter that we hear, her husband, Willie (Jack Wetherall), is perched on the other side of the rocks with only the back of his head showing. He’s reading a newspaper, grunting occasionally. The incessant clanging of a bell marks a change of time. While there is no intermission, the curtain comes down and up again quickly for the second act, which finds Winnie sunk up to her neck and formally dressed Willie crawling over to her side, attempting – in vain – to scale the rocks.

    Initially incomprehensible, the play is a haunting, existential allegory about the human condition. Within its rueful ramblings and repetitions, silences and precise movements is a compassionate commentary on life, relationships, loneliness and mortality. “So little to say, so little to do, and the fear is so great.” Beckett doesn’t make it easy for the audience to figure out; it takes thought. There’s wry humor and allusions to Shakespeare, Dante, Aristotle and the Anglican Litugy, among others, along with the “Merry Widow” waltz. 

    With a silly, little feathered hat atop her head, exuberant, ever resilient Dana Ivey uses her face and voice – with a soft Irish brogue – to animate a remarkable range of emotions, delivering a brilliant, inventive, bewitching tour-de-force performance. “Happy Days” is at the Westport Country Playhouse through July 24.

Susan Granger’s review of “Dinner With Friends” (Westport Country Playhouse)

    Associate artistic director David Kennedy has turned Donald Margulies’ perceptive Pulitzer Prize-winning play about the fragility of marital relationships and the ephemeral nature of friendship into a strident, sit-com version of a summer stock comedy.

    Basically, the plot revolves around two 40-something Connecticut couples. There’s happily married Karen (Jenna Stern) and Gabe (Steven Skybell) and their unhappily-splitting best friends, Beth (Mary Bacon) and Tom (David Aaron Baker) The first act takes place one snowy night, while the second contains a flashback to 12 years earlier, when Karen and Gabe introduced Beth to Tom at their seaside cottage on Martha’s Vineyard, before settling into what’s happening with all four members of the quartet during the summer following that fateful winter’s night.

    Deception, betrayal and infidelity are the themes, as Karen poignantly muses, “You spend your entire life with someone and it turns out that person, the one person you completely entrusted your fate to, is an impostor.”

    Unfortunately, either through casting choices or off-key direction, the foursome fails to establish an affecting connection which means the audience is never fully emotionally engaged about the outcome. Without dynamic energy and proper timing, the pace tends to drag, despite Margulies’ crisp dialogue that’s distinguished by insightful honesty and inherent humor. On the plus side are Lee Savage’s smoothly rotating sets, Matthew Richards’ inventive lighting and Emily Rebholz’ costumes. And if the title sounds familiar, it was a far-more-effective 2001 made-for-TV movie with impressive performances by Dennis Quaid, Andie MacDowell, Toni Collette and Greg Kinnear.

     “Dinner With Friends” plays in Westport through June 19. For further information and tickets, go to www.westportcountryplayhouse.org or call 203-227-4177.

Susan Granger’s review of “Enron” (Broadhurst Theater 2009-2010 season)

    Quick – before it closes…Oops! You missed it. After being snubbed for most major awards, including the Tony, and perhaps because many critics were not given access, Lucy Prebble’s satirical show about the collapse of the infamous Texas-based energy conglomerate posted its closing notice after only 15 performances – and a $4 million loss. 

   When the curtain goes up, three allegorical blind mice are center-stage, ready to relate the story of four people. There’s Enron’s religious, courtly CEO Kenneth Lay (Gregory Itzin from “24”); his ambitious protégée Claudia Roe (Marin Mazzie); arrogant, avaricious company president Jeffrey Skilling (Norbert Leo Butz from “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels”); and numbers-crunching chief financial officer, smarmy Andy Fastow (Stephen Kunken). And testosterone-fueled greed is what propels the play.

    Intellectually stimulating playwright Prebble cleverly delineates several complicated financial concepts, like “mark to market,” while director Rupert Goold cleverly alternates between naturalism and the highly stylized caricatures, though he’s often far from subtle. And their use of ravenous, debt-eating, “Jurassic Park” ‘raptor’ dinosaurs is fiendishly brilliant, offering a corollary with Greece’s current financial disaster. For an even more incisive explanation, rent the dvd “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room” (2005).

    Highlighting Anthony Ward’s smart corporate set and flashy, flamboyant costumes is Jon Driscoll’s perceptive, multimedia video/projection with Mark Henderson’s incisive lighting, Adam Cork’s sound and Scott Ambler’s fast-paced ‘Light Saber’ choreography. Memorable as Enron’s employee ‘victims’ are Lusia Strus and Brandon J. Dirden.

    Since commercial success is not always synonymous with artistic merit, it does not necessarily mean that a “hit” – like “The Addams Family” – is a good show, while a “flop” is a bad show. Often, it just comes down to economics. And while nobody loves a loser, this provocative, inventive musical concept from Britain deserved a better fate.

Susan Granger’s review of “Sondheim on Sondheim” (Roundabout’s Studio 54: 2009/2010 season)

    The 80^th birthday of Broadway’s most influential living composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim is celebrated by this dazzling autobiographical revue, a multimedia musical portrait covering six decades and 20 shows, conceived/directed by Sondheim’s longtime collaborator James Lapine (“Sunday in the Park With George,” “Into the Woods”).

    While Barbara Cook, Vanessa Williams and Tom Wopat sing familiar and obscure Sondheim songs, witty, insightful video reminiscences and wry, informative observations from the composer himself about his life and work serve as the highlight. There are photographs showing how, as a child, Sondheim was integrated into lyricist Oscar Hammerstein’s family after his parents’ marriage disintegrated, along with glimpses of the décor of Sondheim’s Manhattan office, including his memorabilia. And the biggest laugh comes from his anecdote about Ethel Merman’s encounter with Loretta Young.

    Making her first Broadway appearance since the early ‘70s, the exquisite 82 year-old chanteuse Barbara Cook, along with Vanessa Williams and Tom Wopat, tops the talented, energetic ensemble – that includes Euan Morton, Leslie Kritzer, Norm Lewis, Erin Mackey and Matthew Scott – as they romp through an uneven succession of songs and stories, including how the opening number of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” evolved, along with the development of “Follies” and “Company.” There’s barely a dry eye in the house after Sondheim relates how – when he was in his 40s – his mother cruelly told him her greatest regret in life was giving birth to him; after which, the cast performs the deeply touching “Children Will Listen” from “Into the Woods.”

    While Peter Flaherty’s projections are stunning, Beowulf Boritt’s modular set is inventive and Ken Billington’s lighting is evocative, Susan Hilferty’s costumes lack flair. And amid other 80^th birthday tributes, the nonprofit Roundabout Theater is renaming a Broadway theater (the Henry Miller) for Stephen Sondheim.