Susan Granger’s review of “The Wiz” (Marquis Theater)

 

After a 13-city national tour, “The Wiz” is back on Broadway – almost 50 years after it began. This fast-paced, reimagined revival, directed by Schele Williams with an updated book by Amber Ruffin, aims to be the Blackest of all Oz adaptations.

Sad and bullied by her classmates, plaintive Dorothy (Nichelle Lewis) is a city girl who has moved to Kansas to live with her kindly Aunt Em (Melody A. Betts, also doubling as the Wicked Witch Evillene). This opening scene takes its grayscale cue from the classic Judy Garland film.

Then, suddenly, swept away by a tornado, Dorothy finds herself in a flashy, fantastical, CGI-augmented land, where she’s greeted by gold-clad Glinda (Deborah Cox) and befriends the Scarecrow (Avery Wilson), who’s in need of a brain; Tin Man (Phillip Johnson Richardson), who yearns for a heart, warbling “What I Would Do If I Could Feel”; and Lion (Kyle Ramar Freeman), seeking courage – as she eases on down the Yellow Brick Road – exuberantly choreographed by JaQuel Knight.

Dorothy’s dog Toto has been jettisoned but comedian Amber Ruffin’s narrative adds more background information about her companions than we’ve had before, although much of it either doesn’t really make sense or its meaning is drowned out by the excessive amplification of Charles Smalls’ score.

As for the titular Great & Powerful Wiz (suave Wayne Brady), he’s dancin’ through hip-hop Emerald City, along with the rest of the funky, Afro-futuristic candy-color clad cast – courtesy of costumer Sharen Davis.

Problem is: while earnest 24 year-old Nichelle Lewis has a sweetly delicate voice, eventually belting out “Home” in front of a star-studded night sky, she lacks ‘star quality’/emotional depth. As a result, this flimsy, underwhelming production still looks, feels and sounds like a family-friendly, second-rate road-show which, given the exorbitant price of Broadway tickets, is disappointing.

For far more fun, setting a Black spin on L. Frank Baum’s beloved fairy tale, search out Sidney Lumet’s “Wiz” film, starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson.

Susan Granger’s review of “Enemy of the People” (Circle in the Square)

 

The idiom “Everything old is new again…” reverberates throughout Sam Gold’s revival of Henrik Ibsen’s 1882 classic drama “An Enemy of the People,” since it seems to reverberate with contemporary allusions to truth being discarded in favor of ‘alternative facts’ and conveniently advantageous interpretations.

Set in a small town in late 19^th century Norway, it revolves around earnest, recently widowed physician Dr. Thomas Stockmann (Jeremy Strong), who has discovered dangerous bacterial contamination in the popular public baths of the local spa resort.

Now, university lab reports have confirmed the scientist’s suspicious that the newly opened spa has been poisoned by industrial pollutants emanating from a tannery owned by his father-in-law, Morten Kiiil (David Patrick Kelly).

His revelation that the runoff is “a buffet of poison” and “public health risk” evokes memories of the Flint, Michigan, 2016 water crisis, along with the initial denial of the COVID pandemic. Thomas is guilelessly arrogant and naively abrasive, bristling with righteous indignation – but he’s right.

Vehement opposition erupts from Thomas’s brother Peter Stockmann (Michael Imperioli), the town’s pragmatic Mayor, who accuses his sibling of irresponsibility in threatening to go public at a town meeting with these findings which inevitably close the spa for three years or more, probably causing their tourist-driven economy to crash.

Gold’s wife Amy Herzog (“A Doll House”) has adroitly condensed this adaptation for a contemporary American audience, emphasizing the cynicism about science by people who have been manipulated by those in power, the precarious position of being a whistleblower, the perennial conflict between environmental vs. economic interests, and trial by public opinion.

While Ibsen’s moral indignation still abounds, Herzog and Gold change his concluding speech. Instead, seafaring Captain Horster (Alan Trong), Thomas’ only loyal friend, notes: “There’s something to be said for…being at the very bottom. You know where the ground is.”

Both Jeremy Strong and Michael Imperioli deliver passionate performances, along with the ensemble, consisting of Thomas Jay Ryan as the self-righteous printer Aalaksen, Caleb Eberhardt as the opportunistic editor Hovstad, and Victoria Pedretti as Thomas’s schoolteacher daughter Petra.

Scenic design by collective known as “dots” utilize the staging-in-the-round to develop the Scandinavian concept with weathered white wood, real candles and oil lamps, enhanced by Isabella Byrd’s lighting and David Zinn’s authentic period costumes.

At one point, described as a ‘pause,’ a full bar is lowered from the ceiling and theatergoers in the first few rows are welcomed to enjoy free Linie aquavit; some are even invited to stay on the set for the pivotal scenes to follow.

Running about two hours with no intermission, “An Enemy of the People” plays at the Circle-in-the-Square (235 West 50^th Street) through June 16.

Susan Granger’s review of “Stalker” (Off-Broadway at New World Stages)

 

Mentalism is a fascinating branch of magic, one that involves the mind, triggering the imagination. Performers who specialize in mentalism assume the appearance of having psychic powers that transcend the ordinary.

Effective mentalists are able to trick the brain into seeing or believing something that does not exist. Despite the mystery that surrounds it, the human brain is actually rather easy to manipulate. Mentalism has been practiced for years, dating back to ancient seers and oracles.

Yet, as mentalists will be the first to tell you, they are not magicians. Instead, they make use of the powerful psychological concepts of suggestion and influence to involve the audience in ways ordinary magicians do not.

After Peter Brynolf & Jonas Ljung served as their Opening Act at the Ritz Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, renowned magicians Penn & Teller are presenting their amazing mentalism show “Stalker” in its New York debut at New World Stages (340 West 50^th Street).

Swedish performers Brynolf & Ljung combine stunning illusions, physical mentalism, and sleight-of-hand, involving various members of the audience in every phase of their presentation.

Pivoting on the sinister lack of privacy in this modern age, Brynolf & Ljung ask for volunteers to come to the stage where they reveal their names and have their photographs taken.  After that, it’s all about surveillance and collecting personal data which, apparently, is abundant and absurdly revealing.

Technology as invaded our lives. Cyber culture has enabled others to know far more about us than we realize…and that’s what “Stalker” is all about.

“Eurovision” mastermind Edward AfSillen directs, utilizing lighting by Jamie Roderick and Drew Levy’s sound design. The awesome show runs 90 minutes with no intermission with the tagline, “Follow us. We’re already following you…”

Susan Granger’s review of “The Who’s Tommy” (Nederlander Theater)

 

One wonders: just how often is “The Who’s Tommy” going to come back?

I’m old enough to remember guitarist Pete Townshend’s 1969 landmark concept album. As years passed, the rock opera morphed into a ballet, a symphony and Ken Russell’s 1975 psychedelic movie. As if that wasn’t enough, director Des McAnuff teamed with Pete Townshend to turn it into a high-flying hit Broadway musical in 1993, blasting the eardrums of anyone who hadn’t thought to buy ear plugs.

Now – 30 years later – it’s back again!

Set in England just after W.W. II, the book follows the surreal journey of four-year-old Tommy Walker (played at alternating performances by Cecilia Ann Popp and Olive Ross-Kline) who is traumatized after seeing his PSD-afflicted father (Adam Jacobs) shoot  his mother’s (Alison Luff) lover. When his parents realize Tommy was there, they swear him to secrecy, insisting: “You didn’t hear it/You didn’t see it/You won’t say anything to no one/Never in your life!”

So Tommy shuts off his senses, appearing to be deaf, mute and blind. As years pass, vulnerable Tommy (Quinten Kusheba, alternating with Reese Levine) suffers additional abuse, including sexual assault by his pedophile, beer-swilling Uncle Ernie (John Ambrosino) and brutal bullying by his sadistic Cousin Kevin (Bobby Conte).

Then there’s the seductive Acid Queen (Christina Sajous) with her hallucinogenic stash….and Tommy’s bizarre fixation with a mirror, cueing Alison Luff’s “Smash the Mirror” showstopper.

Yet, miraculously – in the second act – grown Tommy (Ali Louis Bourzgui) becomes a messianic whiz at pinball, signaling the possibility of regeneration and rock celebrity/stardom.

This colder, harsher version is quite different from previous incarnations. Tommy doesn’t soar (literally) since the flying has been eliminated and the string quartet, which was part of the orchestrations, has also been discarded.

Instead, there’s sensory overload with Peter Nigrini’s projections, including live video, and Amanda Zieve’s kaleidoscopic lighting – which tend to be quite overwhelming atop David Korins’ spare, shape-shifting set. Serafina Bush’s costumes appear unimaginative, as is Lorin Latarro’s humdrum choreography.

All of which made me yearn to revisit Ken Russell’s cinematic adaptation – with The Who’s lead singer Roger Daltrey as Tommy, Ann-Margret & Oliver Reed as his parents and myriad cameos from Elton John, Jack Nicholson and Tina Turner.

Susan Granger’s review of “The Notebook” (Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre)

 

Some movie-to-stage transitions work, some don’t. Unfortunately, Broadway’s  boring musical adaptation of “The Notebook” falls into the latter category.

Based on Nicholas Sparks’ best-selling 1996 novel, it’s a romantic chronicle that begins in a nursing home where elderly Noah (Dorian Harewood) is reading from his journal to his wife Allie (Maryann Plunkett), who has Alzheimer’s. He’s hoping that passages will remind her of their past and bring her back to him – one more time.

That cues flashbacks to when they met as carefree teenagers (John Cardoza, Jordan Tyson) in the 1970s; she was a rich girl on vacation in a mid-Atlantic coastal town, while he was a local, sworking-class boy. She liked to paint; he strummed a guitar. When summer ended, everyone assumed they’d forget each other but they didn’t.

Their paths crossed again as young adults (Ryan Vasquez, Joy Woods) when Allie is engaged to lawyer Lon (Chase Del Ray), but decides to return to the place where she met Noah after reading a newspaper clipping about an antebellum farmhouse he’s spent years renovating; of course, he’d never forgotten her.

The book by Bekah Brunstetter (“This Is Us”) only sketches their characters in the most superficial way and the mid-tempo ballads by singer/songwriter Ingrid Michaelson (“The Way I Am”) are ultimately forgettable.

So it’s up to the actors to enmesh the audience in the manipulative content; they try but only partially succeed, perhaps due to the casually accepted, yet inconsistent cross-racial casting; Maryann Plunkett and Dorian Harewood achieve the strongest, most compassionate connection.

Co-directed by Michael Greif (“Dear Evan Hansen,” “Next to Normal”) and Schele Williams (“The Wiz”) with sets by David Zin and Brett J Banakis, its non-linear timeline is choreographed by Katie Spelman, lit by Ben Stanton and costumed by Paloma Young.

Needless to add, this musical adaptation lacks the emotional impact of the 2004 tear-jerker, starring Rachel McAdams & Ryan Gosling/Gena Rowlands & James Garner, despite the sale of $5 tissues in the lobby.

Susan Granger’s review of “Water for Elephants” (Imperial Theatre)

 

Step right up, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Broadway’s new musical “Water for Elephants” is great, exuberant family fun!

Adapted from Sara Gruen’s best-selling 2006 novel, it revolves around the reminiscences of elderly Jake Jankowski, (Greg Edelman), who sneaks out of his dreary assisted living facility to visit a nearby traveling circus.

Back in the 1930s Depression era, young Jacob (Grant Gustin), having almost graduated from veterinary school, hops aboard a circus train transporting the “Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth.”

When he advises Marlena (Isabelle McCalla) about her ailing white stallion Silver Star, it’s love-at-first-sight. But Marlena’s married to cruel ringmaster/owner August (Paul Alexander Nolan), so there’s bound to be trouble.

So much for melodrama. Far more impressive is the enchanting fantasy adventure that erupts when Rosie, an abused, abandoned elephant, arrives and Jacob discovers that she understands commands only when they’re spoken in Polish.

Working with a book by Rick Elise (“Peter and the Starcatcher”), folkloric-yet-forgettable songs by the seven-member collective PigPen Theatre Co, choreography by circus expert Shana Carroll & Jesse Robb, director Jessica Stone (“Kimberly Akimbo”) showcases members of the Montreal Cirque Troup 7 Fingers whose exuberant acrobatics dazzle and delight.

Puppetry by Ray Wetmore, Jr Goodman and Camille Labarre evokes the various animals cavorting around Takeshi Kata’s imaginative set. There are thrilling aerial routines on ropes with silks, hoops and snaps, along with tumbling, juggling, knife throwing and a Cyr wheel – creating a visual marvel!

Adding to the engaging Big Top effects are David Israel Reynoso’s costumes, Walter Trarbach’s sound design, Bradley King’s strobe lighting and David Bergali’s mood-setting projections. Too bad the so-called ‘clown’ interlude is decidedly clunky.

(FYI: Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon and Christoph Waltz starred in the 2011 movie version, streaming on Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, YouTube & Vudu.)

For ticket information: waterforelephantsthemusical.com

Susan Granger’s review of “Brooklyn Laundry” (Manhattan Theatre Club at NY City Center Stage 1 – Off-Broadway)

 

Playwright/dirctor John Patrick Shanley is renowned for his romantic dramedy partiality to unlikely couples, as evidenced by “Danny and the Deep Blue Sea,” “Outside Mullingar” and the Oscar-winning movie “Moonstruck.”

Now there’s “Brooklyn Laundry” in its world premiere at Manhattan Theatre Club at New York’s City Center: Stage 1.

When middle-aged Fran Costello (Cecily Strong) drops off her bag of dirty clothes in a wheeled cart at a Bushwick full-service laundromat, she strikes up a conversation with its genial manager/owner Owen (David Zayas).

As they banter and bicker about why Fran has to pay the minimum fee – even though her bag is underweight – and how she can get a refund for some dry-cleaning clothes that went missing months ago, there’s an undeniable flicker of attraction.

If Fran comes across as ‘gloomy,’ she has good reason. Her boyfriend left her and her older sister Trish (Florencia Lozano) is in the final stages of terminal cancer.

“I don’t think I’m gloomy,” she says. “I think what I am suffering from is reality.”

Owen is carrying his own emotional baggage since his fiancée ditched him two years ago when he was unable to have sex because of a back injury caused by an automobile accident.

Nevertheless, Fran agrees to a dinner date with Owen when she gets back from taking care of impoverished Trish in her double-wide trailer park home in rural Pennsylvania. Trish’s drug-addict ex-husband is in Florida, leaving her to raise their two young children alone.

By the time they meet at a vine-draped outdoor restaurant with twinkling fairy lights, Fran has fortified herself by ingesting some chocolate psychedelic mushrooms which she subsequently shares with Owen, enhancing their evening together.

But then there’s another family emergency involving Fran’s other older sister, pragmatic Susie (Andrea Syglowski), who counsels her not to reveal more to Owen, reasoning, “Who needs a sob story up front?…Get him on-board first.”

Running an all-too-short 75 minutes – because the audience is obviously eager to know more about these two lonely, vulnerable souls – “Brooklyn Laundry” is a promising introduction to a thought-provoking play that still seems to be in development.

Credit Santo Loquasto’s detailed revolving scenic design, Suzy Benzinger’s costumes, Brian MacDevitt’s lighting and John Gromada’s original music/sound.

“Brooklyn Laundry” plays through April 14 at New York’s City Center: Stage 1. For information and tickets, go to www.manhattantheatreclub.com.

Susan Granger’s review of “Five: the Parody Musical” (Theater 555 – Off-Broadway)

 

Farcical “Five” is funny – vulgar and timely – as the women in Donald Trump’s life compete as to who has had it worse.

Remember how – in the girl-power Broadway hit “Six” – each of the six wives of Henry VIII sings her song of woe, each summing it up with one word? For Catherine of Aragon: DIVORCED – Anne Boleyn: BEHEADED – Jane Seymour: DIED – Anne of Cleves: DIVORCED – Catherine Howard: BEHEADED – Catherine Parr: SURVIVED.

Librettists/lyricists Shimmy Braun and Moshiel Newman Daphna with co-lyricist/composer Billy Recce utilize the same structural concept, crudely skewering the five women who figure most prominently in the life of Donald J.  Trump. They’ve ostensibly assembled for a debate as to who had it the worst – with the audience left to decide.

There’s the Donald’s resentful first wife Ivana (Anyae Anasia): DIVORCED – porn star Stormy Daniels (Gabi Garcia): GAVE HEAD – second wife, pseudo-religious Marla (Gabriella Joy Rodriguez): FIRED – third wife, Slovenian Melania (Jamie Lyn Beatty): HIRED – and last, but far from least, privileged daughter Ivanka (Hannah Bonnett): FAVORITE, DADDY’S PRINCESS and NUMBER ONE.

Ivana warbles “You Veel Always Love Me,” reminiscent of Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You.” Stormy’s “Storm’s Comin’ In” suggests “There’s a Coach Comin’ In” from “Paint Your Wagon.” Marla’s “Un-popular” was inspired by “Popular” from “Wicked.” Melania’s “Everything Vas Betta Wit Potato” conjures “Everything Was Beautiful at the Ballet” from “A Chorus Line.” And Ivanka’s “Kiss Me Daddy One More Time” evokes Britney Spears’ “Hit Me Baby One More Time” from “Once Upon a One More Time.”

After they’ve each made her case, Hillary Clinton (drag star Jasmine Rice Labeija) appears in a white pants suit, claiming that – while she didn’t sleep with him – she was certainly his prime victim. Her sensational “Don’t You Miss Me Now” song stops the show!

Eventually, as with the wives of Henry VIII, Trump’s women realize, “Just because we were fucked by Donald doesn’t mean we need to fuck over each other.”

Directed and choreographed by Jen Wineman, it’s presented like a cabaret/revue on David Goldstein’s tacky red/white/blue Presidential set with music – often far too loud for my taste – supplied by Lena Gabrielle’s four-piece all-female band, over-amplified by sound designer Uptown Works.

Credit Florence D’Lee’s creative costumes and Ian Joseph’s hair/wig contributions.

Responding to popular demand and Marla’s query, “So, are there any Republicans in the house?” – “Five” has been extended through April 21 at Theater 555 on 42^nd Street. The show runs one hour, 25 minutes – and tickets are available at http://www.FiveTheMusical.com.

 

 

 

Susan Granger’s review of “Deadly Stages” (Theatre 5/Theatre Row – Off-Broadway)

 

I really wanted to laugh. I really wanted to enjoy this parody of 1940 and ‘50s backstage murder mysteries – like Stage Fright, Murder at the Vanities and The Velvet Touch. But it’s just too hammy and derivative.

Let me explain.

Set in 1955, the gender-bending plot revolves around two feuding divas. Legendary Veronica Traymore (Marc Castle – in drag – channeling Charles Busch), whose last show Young and Deadly flopped, has reluctantly agreed to play – not the lead – but the mother of bitchy Hollywood movie star Rita Vernon (Ellen Reilly), making her Broadway debut, in a new production titled Sins of the Flesh by playwright/director Anthony Arlo (David Leeper).

But then Veronica’s longtime dresser, Irish-accented Miss Muldoon – a.k.a. Dooney (Ellen Reilly) – is murdered. Whodunnit?

Could it be ambitious Phoebe (Dani Marcus), whose past employer was Eve Harrington (remember All About Eve)? Veronica’s British, ascot-wearing, playboy soon-to-be ‘ex’ husband Graham Sinclair (Rob Hancock)? Literary agent Barbara Landis (Ellen Reilly)? Gossip columnist Connie Edison (Dani Marcus), whose column is titled ‘Broadway Lights’ (Edison=Lights…get it?). Beatnik actor Wade Elliot (Rob Hancock)?

Adding to the confusion there’s producer Marvin Maxwell, veteran actor Fredrick ‘Fritz’ Farley, and stereotypical tough-guy Detective Collucci- all played by Tom Gilantich.

Written by Marc Castle and Mark Finley, it’s directed by Mark Finley who expects great resourcefulness from his limited cast of six Equity actors, each playing multiple roles – without much assistance from Court Watson’s wigs, costumes and/or props. Sound confusing? It is.

Along with a plethora of ‘inside’ jokes and ‘Easter Eggs,” the actors are burdened with reciting cliched phrases like “You can’t fire me; I have a run-of-the-play contract”…”It’s like Grand Central Station in here”…and “Lead on, Macduff.”

Plus there’s an additional campy conceit that (fictional) Veronica Traymore has her own extensive biography in the Stagebill…and black-and-white parody television commercials featuring flashy pianist Liberace (Sean Chandler).

There are nine scenes that run for 90 minutes without an intermission. “Deadly Stages” can be seen at Theatre 5 on Theatre Row (410 West 42^nd Street) through March 16. For tickets, go to https://bfany.org/theatre-row/shows/deadly-stages/

 

 

Susan Granger’s review of “Hamlet” (Greenwich House: Off-Broadway)

 

Requiring an inordinate amount of talent, passion and stamina, a solo theatrical performance can be brilliant or boring – or, as is often the case, fall somewhere in-between.

British stage/screen star Eddie Izzard tackles William Shakespeare’s longest and, perhaps, most challenging play with wit, determination and gusto, playing and differentiating its 23 diverse characters in the Danish court of Elsinore.

Dressed in black vinyl pants and a Tudoresque blazer, one minute she’s the melancholic Prince ordered to revenge the murder of his father, the next she’s treacherous Claudius, Queen Gertrude, vulnerable Ophelia or garrulous, stiff-gaited Polonius.

Perhaps Izzard’s cleverest interpretation is turning hangers-on Rosencranz and Guildenstern into her hand puppets, chirping and squawking at one another.

Adapted by Eddie’s older brother Mark Izzard and directed by Selina Cadell – with movement choreographer Didi Hopkins – it’s vital and fluid as the self-styled “executive transvestite” darts about the stage, into the audience and up to the balcony, even fighting herself in the climactic duel (staged by J. Allen Suddeth).

Tom Piper’s minimalist stage is basically a bare white box without adornment or props, evocatively lit by Tyler Elich, punctuated by Eliza Thompson’s original medieval-style music.

Born Edward John Izzard on Feb. 7,1962, in Aden, Yemen, to English parents, Izzard grew up in Bangor, Northern Ireland, before moving to Skewen, Wales in 1967. After “coming out” as a straight transvestite in 1985, she began performing improvisational comedy at London’s Covent Garden and made her West End dramatic debut in David Mamet’s “The Cryptogram.” Her American breakthrough came with HBO’s 1999 concert special “Eddie Izzard: Dressed to Kill.” In last year’s solo “Great Expectations,” she collaborated with director Selina Cadell.

In her director’s program notes, Cadell reminds: “Shakespeare’s theater was essentially street theatre. No darkness separated the audience from the cast…This fundamental connection to the audience kept the experience present…talking to the house, acknowledging the audience as the purpose of the evening, making theatre together.”

Running two hours, 20 minutes with one intermission, this unique “Hamlet” plays at Greenwich House Theater through March 16.