Myra Slotnick's "The Weight of Water" Opens Tonight

The Weight of Water
Myra Slotick, Geany Masai, David Drake
Photo by Bobby Miller, 2011

On October 6th, 2011, the Provincetown Theater company will continue to enrich its legacy of debuting vital new American plays with the world premiere of Myra Slotnick’s profoundly moving new drama The Weight of Water. As directed by Obie Award winner David Drake, The Weight of Water tells the story of Pearl Haines, a 69 year old African-American widow in the St. Bernard Parish of New Orleans who survives Hurricane Katrina by remaining in her home throughout the storm. Visited nine days after the devastation by two rescue workers, Pearl begins to face her predicament: having survived Katrina, can she survive the memories of her past... and the possibilities of her future?

Starring New York-based actress Geany Masai -- fresh from her acclaimed performance off-Broadway this past summer in A Play About My Dad at 59E59 -- The Weight of Water also features actors Jamie Heinlein, Andrew Clemons, Linda Daniels, Jimi Little and Keith Amato.

The design team for The Weight of Water includes Ellen Rousseau (scenic design), Mike Steers (lighting), Karen Billard (costumes), Sarah Beals (props) and Jeffrey Billard (sound). Roberta Eggart is the production stage manager.

The Weight of Water runs at the Provincetown Theater, 238 Bradford Street in Provincetown, MA, Oct 6th thru 9th, and Oct 13th thru 16th. All performances are at 7:30pm. Tickets are $25. for adults, $22. for students & seniors, and can be obtained by calling 508-487-7487, or online at provincetowntheater.org.

"Completeness" - Love among the theorems

Review by Judd Hollander

The need for commitment and the phobias which prevent lasting relationships form the basic building blocks in Completeness, Itamar Moses' delightfully engaging scientific comedy at the Playwrights Horizons.

On a university campus, computer science graduate student Elliot (Karl Miller) finds himself attracted to Molly (Aubrey Dollar), herself a graduate student, who specializes in molecular biology. Seeking a reason to keep seeing her, Elliot offers to design a computer algorithm to help Molly with her latest project, which involves yeast. However it turns out Elliot doesn't have to try that hard because Molly is attracted to him almost as much. 

It might be smooth sailing for the two were it not for a couple of rather large sticking points. The first being that Elliot already has a girlfriend, named Lauren (Meredith Forlenza); who it turns out is a "rebound" relationship for Elliot after his previous situation with a former girlfriend went bad. In the meantime, Molly's ex-boyfriend (Brian Avers) is also her adviser at the college and he's not taking the news about being dumped all that well.

It quickly becomes apparent Elliot and Molly are more alike than either originally thought. Both have serious commitment issues, preferring to live in the "right now" rather than thinking about how things might turn out in the long run; or even in the short term.

What makes the entire work so entertaining, along with the very strong appeal of the characters, is the setting in which the playwright has placed the story. Specifically, using a scientific approach to problems as a backdrop to human interaction; while ultimately pointing out that no matter how much data or calculations one may have acquired, unless said information is applied to real-life situations, the material has no value.

At the same time, all of the characters presented (Forlenza and Avers play multiple roles) are quite easy to relate to. From a very uncomfortable emotional meltdown which at least one party would like to avoid, to the continual use of the "I'll call you" excuse when one party tries to end a relationship, these are situations most of the audience can understand and sympathize with. Miller is excellent as Elliot, a guy who's always attracted to his next potential girlfriend, rather than concentrating on what he already has. It also helps that Miller has an easy and powerful chemistry with both Dollar and Forlenza.

Dollar is very good as Molly, an eager young woman trying to rush perhaps too fast into her next romance, or perhaps end an old one; a process she also sometimes applies to her work. Forlenza gets to run the gamut of emotions from happiness to suspicion, rage and tears when it becomes apparent Lauren's time with Elliot may be over. Avers has the least work of substance to do in the play, but gets off some good moments with a desperate (and ultimately comical) telephone call to Molly early on, and also while giving her a dressing down when she may be getting forgetting a few scientific protocols in regards to her research. (Or is it because he's simply angry over their break-up?)

Pam MacKinnon's direction is very strong, keeping the action moving nicely and the characters all believable and interesting. Indeed, the play's two and a half-hour running time moves rather quickly. David Zinn's set is a bit sparse at times, especially when showing various campus locations (such as the computer center), but it ultimately works. Projection & Video Design by Rocco DiSanti works well, especially when operating (often in conjunction) to demonstrate the workings of the different computer programs

Completeness offers an interesting look at the science of love and the algorithms of compatibility; showing that when all is said and done, one must listen to their heart just as much as their intellect for there are no easy answers when it comes to finding the one you're meant to be with.

Completeness

by Itamar Moses

Directed by Pam MacKinnon

Featuring: Karl Miller (Elliot), Aubrey Dollar (Molly), Meredith Forlenza (Lauren/Katie/Nell), Brian Avers (Don/Clark/Franklin)

Scenic & Costume Design: David Zinn

Lighting Design: Russell H. Champa

Original Music & Sound Design: Bray Poor

Projection & Video Design: Rocco DiSanti

Casting: Alaine Alldaffer, CSA

Press Representative: The Publicity Office

Production Manager: Christopher Bell

Production Stage Manager: Charles M. Turner III

Playwrights Horizons

416 West 42nd Street

Running Time: two hours, thirty minutes

Closed: September 25, 2011

"The Bald Soprano" - Non-sequitur hilarity

Review by Judd Hollander

Photos by Jacob J. Goldberg

Did you ever wonder why newspapers always list the age of a person when they died but never their age when born? Or if someone is actually there when the doorbell rings? These and other questions are not answered in the Pearl Theatre Company's delightful presentation of Eugène Ionesco's The Bald Soprano.

Ionesco, it should be explained, is a master of theatre of the absurd, where linear logic doesn't always apply. The playwright wrote this work in response to his attempts to learn the English language, with a result that is somewhat satirical, somewhat confusing and always hilarious. As Mary the maid (Robin Leslie Brown) points out, everyone is not what they seem to be. (It should also be noted that Mary's real name is Sherlock Holmes.)

Things start out in the quiet parlor of the Smiths, a typical English couple living in the suburbs of London. They and their children have had a lovely English dinner, drunken English water and now Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Bradford Cover, Rachel Botchan) are enjoying the English evening and discussing such things as the passing of the late Bobby Watson, who never married and left a wife, also named Bobby Watson, and never had children, only a son and a daughter, each also named Bobby Watson. Then the clock on the mantle starts chiming, and chiming, and chiming as the Martins (Brad Heberlee, Jolly Abraham) arrive for dinner but don't seem to recognize one another (how curious) and try to figure out where they have seen each other before.

As the play careens from one situation to another, taking pot shots at the sexes and society and logic in general, the evening evolves/devolves into story telling and cross conversations, ones often a beat out of sync, helped in no small part by The Fire Chief (Dan Daily). There are also outbursts of emotion and completely foreign expressions as the audience is swept along in this tidal wave of insanity.

What makes the entire play such a joy is the complete seriousness and utter lack of outward humor by the various characters in relating the dialogue and dealing with the confounding circumstances presented. This only serves to make the show that much more hilarious. (There's also continual breaking of the fourth wall). It also helps that Ionesco made sure his script was nicely compact, with the work moving quickly, striking hard when necessary and never overstaying its welcome. Credit also goes to Donald M. Allen for his wonderful translation of the original text.

Acting is excellent, the six characters playing off each other like a well-oiled machine and not allowing for any dead spaces as things move forward (non-linearly, of course).

Botchan presents a good English wife in Mrs. Smith; a staid, proper and repressed woman, moving ever so slowly at times for maximum comic effect. Cover portrays Mr. Smith as a strong patriarch: brusque, stern and with frequent outburst of temper which might be frightening were it not all so funny. Heberlee and Abraham are good as the earnest Martins, each matching the other matching the line for line and action for action; showing themselves as two other English folks, though perhaps just a hair less steeped in the English tradition than the Smiths. Brown has some good comic moments as the maid-with lines uttered in all utter seriousness, just like the rest of the company-and Daily makes an enjoyable if somewhat woebegone Fire Chief; a sort of lost soul looking for a place to land.

Hal Brooks' direction is very strong, working with the actors to bring the tale to life with just the right amount of pacing to make the end project come off as less than a farce and more than a sitcom; with punctuations and emphasis in all the right places. It also helps that none of the actors milk their lines to get an extra laugh; rather they let everything come across quite naturally as it were.

Harry Feiner's set of the Smith's living room/parlor is nicely appropriate, though one may note that the dishes on the shelves, not to mention the shelves themselves, are upside down. Sounds design by M.L. Dogg is good; Stephen Petrilli's lighting works nicely with the piece and the costumes by Barbara A. Bell are lovely to look at.

The Bald Soprano (and yes there is an explanation for the title in there somewhere) makes for quiet the enjoyable journey through the absurdity that is the English language, with more than a few delightful twists and turns along the way.

The Bald Soprano

Featuring: Bradford Cover (Mr. Smith), Rachel Botchan (Mrs. Smith), Brad Heberlee (Mr. Martin), Jolly Abraham (Mrs. Martin), Robin Leslie Brown (Mary), Dan Daily (The Fire Chief)

Written by Eugène Ionesco

Translated by Donald M. Allen

Directed by Hal Brooks

Scenic Designer: Harry Feiner

Costume Designer: Barbara A. Bell

Lighting Designer: Stephen Petrilli

Sound Design: M.L. Dogg

Dramaturg: Kate Farrington

Production Stage Manager: Erin Albrecht

Presented by the Pearl Theatre Company at New York City Center Stage II

131 West 55th Street

Tickets: 212-581-1212 or www.NYCityCenter.org.

Information: http://www.pearltheatre.org/

Running Time: 65 Minutes, no intermission

Closes: October 23, 2011

"Noċtú": Poetry with Dancing Shoes

Review by Judd Hollander

True dancing has passion. Nowhere is that more evident than in the absolutely exquisite Irish dance revue Noċtú, presented by Ériu Dance Company at the Irish Repertory Theatre.

The show is the brainchild of Breandán de Gallaí, who created this intimate work in response to some of the larger spectacles of the same genre, (i.e. Riverdance, Lord of the Dance), in order to show that bigger doesn't always necessarily mean better. He also handles the directing chores for this production.

Photo by Carol Rosegg

'Noctu' is defined as 'to bare, strip or expose' and that is exactly what happens here, with the rending of the outer emotional shells of the various dancers, (three principles - Peter Anderson, Nick O'Connell, Callum Spencer - in particular), and taking the audience below the surface to see what drives these people to attempt to succeed in their profession despite numerous obstacles to the contrary.

While there is an overall plot of the performers being members of a dance troupe, the focus is more on the individual stories of the characters involved; all of which are told through the various dance routines. Among some of the stories presented are a perennial understudy (Anderson) who never gets the chance to shine due to what she (and others) perceive as a lack of talent, and a young man (Spencer) often thought of as being a 'sissy' by his schoolmates because of his interest in dance, and his desperate attempts to convince them (and perhaps himself) otherwise.

Photo by Carol Rosegg

What's truly amazing about the different dances is the power and emotions that Gallaí and the company bring to the individual sequences. Watching the performers move together in perfect synchronization or in the midst of a complicated routine where they must interact with one another perfectly to avoid the breaking of the movement and rhythm is breathtaking. Oftentimes it's impossible for one's eyes to keep up with the movements of the dancers' feet, as they're going so fast they seem to be in a continual blur. Gallaí's direction is amazing here, not only in his ability to keep each sequence flowing smoothly and seamlessly, but also to be able to make the show work in the relatively small confines of the Irish Rep stage.

The music used is excellent. Hopefully the show will be recorded at some point. Among the highlights are the songs 'Night of the Swallow' by Kate Bush and 'Hornpipes' by Seán O'Brien. Other dances feature music by Cake ('I Will Survive'), Björk and Stravinsky, among others.

As the principal dancers, Anderson, O'Connell and Spencer are superb, but this is not to take away anything from the rest of the company; all of whom embody at times airs of fatalism, contempt, anger and menace, depending on the story being told.

A superb blending of dance and human emotions, Noċtú is one of the best shows of the 2011-2012 season and one that should definitely be seen by all - and as many times as possible.

Noċtú

Dancers: Jack Anderson, Peta Anderson, Ellen Bonner, Orlagh Carty, Joseph Comerford, Niamh Darcy, Gyula Glaser, James Greenan, Kyla Marsh, Megan McElhatton, Ashlene McFadden, Kienan Melino, Nick O'Connell, Katrina O'Donnell, Aislinn Ryan, Callum Spencer

Conceived and directed by Breandán de Gallaí

Lighting Design: Michael O'Connor

Costume Design: Nikki Connor

Original Music: Joe Csibi

Script Consultant Seán De Gallaí

Irish Repertory Theatre

132 West 22nd Street

Tickets: 212-727-2737 or http://www.irishrep.org/
Running Time: 75 Minutes

Closes: October 2, 2011

"Dublin by Lamplight": Flickers more than a bit

Review by Judd Hollander

A combination of commedia dell'arte and an Irish history lesson, with political posturing and old-fashioned melodrama thrown in, Inis Nua Theatre serves up the intriguing Dublin by Lamplight by Michael West as part of 2011 1^st Irish Festival at 59E59 Theaters. A valiant try, with the company and creators having invested much emotion and enthusiasm in the project, the final effort is sadly rather lackluster with a story that literally runs helter-skelter rather than concentrating specifically on what it wants to say.

In 1904 Dublin, on the day the King is set to visit the city, playwright/producer Willy Hayes (Jered McLenigan) is getting ready to have an important meeting with his patron, Eva St. John (Megan Bellwoar) where she will sign a lease which will give life to his dream of the National Irish Theatre of Ireland. Their first project under that banner will be Willy's play "The Wooing of Emer," which is slated to begin performances that very night.

However there are multiple complications on the horizon. Eva, a political suffragette, is passionately interested in pursuing her agenda via the stage, not to mention having a more than professional relationship with Willy. Willy on the other hand, just wants to get the theatre up and running. In the meantime, Willy's brother Frank (Jared Michael Delaney), one of the actors in the play, seems to have his own ulterior motives in all this. There's also Maggie (Sarah Van Auken), the pretty costume designer, who's carrying a torch for an important man in her life, while set painter Jimmy Finnegan (Michael Doherty), has his own lovesick eyes set on Maggie.

There is more than enough material in the script to fill a dozen plays, or works in various other mediums for that matter (i.e. TV movies, soap operas, etc.) Also present are political undertones from the time in which the play is set, as well as comments on how actors and the theatre in general were viewed by most people back then. A very telling point is the mention of deplorable living conditions, which are only being cleaned by the local authorities because of the pending royal visit. (A practice which still crops up today more often than not.)

Unfortunately the story ends up becoming so scattered, it never really takes hold. While there are more than a few flashes of both brilliance and emotional depth, from Maggie's worrying about her future, to Frank's being temporarily diverted from his purpose by the sight of a little boy; the play ultimately tries to cover too much ground and, as a result, oftentimes feels meandering and lost.

Among the casualties of this process is much of the political emphasis. Never really explained except in the simplest of terms, more is needed to make it really resonate. Or, when the various issues do start to come to the fore, their plot thread is quickly dropped or passed over. The playwright also seems to have been unable to decide which point of view to take or which character to follow, this indecision also hurting the overall story. Another problem is the structure of the play itself. Running only 90 minutes in length, the show goes on approximately twenty minutes too long; with scenes towards the end seemingly tossed in that don't need to be there. The play also contains an intermission that isn't needed, and which only serves to further slow everything down.

An interesting touch was having all of the actors wear white painted masks. Distracting at first, it actually helps to show the versatility of the performers as they keep changing characters. All told, 30 people are brought to life by six actors. Most of the on-stage personas are quiet believable, making it a shame that the players are hamstrung by a script that throws in everything but the kitchen sink.

The acting is quite good. McLenigan makes a fine Willy, a man who just wants his dreams of a National Theatre to become a reality. Van Auken is particularly touching as Maggie, a young girl who has hopes of becoming an actress, while in love with someone who may not love her back the same way. Bellowar is fine at Eva, the wannabe fire and brimstone agitator, who also has perhaps a bit of hypocrisy in her possessiveness of Willy and her endless determination for a place on the stage. After all, does it really matter who delivers the message as long as it's delivered? Delaney cuts an interesting figure as the tormented Frank, and Doherty is fine as the lovelorn Jimmy. Your heart will ache for Jimmy during a rather poignant scene concerning a rose. Mike Dees rounds out the cast nicely as the journeyman actor Martyn Wallace, among others.

Direction by Tom Reing is fine up to a point. He has a firm grasp of the characters and the various situations depicted, but he's unable to integrate the stage production with the effusiveness of the text, which ends up bringing the potential of the story to a screeching halt more than once.

Set by Meghan Jones, recreating elements of an old-style theatre, works nicely. Costumes by Maggie Baker are very good and fit the various personalities of the multiple characters. Lighting by Terry Smith is appropriate throughout.

Dublin by Lamplight represents an interesting effort, but one which ultimately comes up short. Though I dare anyone who has seen the movie Dodgeball to think of the phrase "The National Irish Theatre of Ireland" without smiling.

Dublin by Lamplight

Featuring Megan Bellwoar (Eva, Others), Mike Dees (Martyn, Others), Jared Michael Delaney (Frank, Others), Michael Doherty (Willy, Others), Jered McLenigan (Willy, Others), Sarah Van Auken (Maggie, Others)

Written by Michael West

Directed by Tom Reing

Music devised, composed and performed by John Lionarons

Meghan Jones: Set Designer

Terry Smith: Lighting Designer

Maggie Baker: Costume Designer

Melanie Leeds: Stage Manager

Mark Jesse Swanson: Assistant Director, Assistant Stage Manager

Katie Chick: Wardrobe

Katie Reing: Photography

Presented by Inis Nua Theatre at 59E59 Theaters

59 East 59^th Street

Tickets: 212-279-4200 or www.59e59.org

Running time: 90 Minutes

Closes: October 2, 2011

"The Pretty Trap": An Alternate Version of a Classic

Review by Judd Hollander

Many plays go through multiple changes and versions before their final form, but seldom as much as with The Pretty Trap by Tennessee Williams, a one-act comedy/drama which would eventually become The Glass Menagerie, one of the classics of American Theatre. Yet The Pretty Trap is not an abbreviated version of the later story; rather it is an almost altogether different interpretation and told from a much different viewpoint, although the characters, setting and story is basically the same. The show only now making its New York debut, at the Acorn Theatre.

Set in perhaps early 1940s St. Louis, The Pretty Trap, (supposedly written about 1942) is the story of the Wingfield Family. Matriarch Amanda (Katharine Houghton), whose husband disappeared more than 20 years earlier; her painfully shy daughter Laura (Nisi Sturgis), who would prefer to spend time with her collection of tiny glass animals rather than other people; and Amanda's son Tom (Loren Dunn), a dreamer and would-be writer whom Amanda doubts will amount to anything.

While Amanda has pretty much given up on Tom, as seen in their brief conversations together, she is quite worried about Laura's future and what will happen to her after Amanda passes on. As Amanda caustically notes, women like Laura have two options: a business career or a husband. With the former not much of a possibility, for reasons explained in the play, Amanda settles on the latter in the form of a Gentleman Caller named Jim (Robert Eli), a co-worker of Tom's who is coming over for dinner.

Laura however, is not at all happy at being put on display and it falls to Amanda to cajole, wheedle, plea and persuade her daughter to join them at dinner and also arrange it so Laura and Jim spend some quality time together where hopefully things will turn out happily for all concerned.

This is quite a pleasurable show to behold; though when comparing it to other pieces in the Williams canon, it's a rather lightweight affair. Still the tale is both sweet and enjoyable, with quite the performance by Houghton. While it's overshadowed by its far more famous successor, The Pretty Trap, the title referring to snares young women set for eligible men, is able to stand on its own as a charming yet telescopic look at a family in turmoil and transition.

There's a carefully constructed drama-comedic line running throughout the play (it's described as a comedy in the press notes) and indeed there are many times when the play feels almost sitcomish. (Such as when Amanda peeks in on Laura and Jim at an awkward moment.) At the same time there's a lot of heartfelt emotion present when Amanda describes her own past and struggles, often with a bitter note and sarcastic aside. Plus the dinner often takes on an almost dirge-like atmosphere with Jim, Tom and Laura desperately wishing they were somewhere else. If there's one major difference from The Pretty Trap and The Glass Menagerie, it's that there's no sense of ultimate gravitas, pain or tragedy in The Pretty Trap that permeates so many of the other Williams works.

Photo by Ben Hider

The Pretty Trap could also be called The Amanda Wingfield Story, as it is essentially her tale of how she has been forced to survive and raise two children essentially on her own. As such, Amanda, the faded southern belle (another element Williams often uses) is by far the most well-rounded character in the piece. Brittle, yet determined; and angry, yet all too much a realist. She knows life has dealt her a rough hand, yet makes no complaints even as she reels off a litany of the jobs she has been forced to take to earn money for her family, all the while trusting no one but herself. (She made it a point to check out the Gentleman Caller before he arrives with Tom). All of these qualities, as well as her continual mental and physical actions, are brought together quite nicely to reveal the character as both a mother from hell and also a complicated individual who wants only the best for her children. (The best as she sees it, of course.)

Dunn does adequate work as Tom, through this character, a stand-in for Williams, is the most underdeveloped of the four. Rather ironic as in The Glass Menagerie it is Tom, not Amanda, who takes center stage, with the story being told from his point of view. Here however, Tom seems little more than an afterthought, existing only for plot reasons and one is left wishing the character had more incite or passion to make him somewhat interesting.

Eli is fine as the Gentleman Caller, a sort of everyman outsider brought into an uncomfortable situation, one which most in the audience can relate to. As with Tom, the character doesn't have that much depth to him, but he comes across with a charming and caring attitude that works rather well in his scenes with the emotionally closed-off Laura.

Sturgis's Laura is the catalyst for the second part of the story. At first a terribly timid girl, she eventually finds herself opening up to Jim when he reveals his ability to take the time to see behind the shyness, allowing Laura to experience a sort of comfortable joy for the first time in a long while.

Direction by Anthony Marsellis is very strong, allowing Haughton, Sturgis and Eli room to work and explore their characters. (Dunn really doesn't have that much of a character to explore.) Yet Marsellis is also able to keep the show grounded in the time in which it is set, thus allowing the underlying tensions to come through when necessary.

Ray Klausen's design of the Wingfield home is excellent, showing a family stuck in a time long gone, the house and its furnishings almost exactly the same as when Amanda's husband disappeared. This effect adds a sort of loss to the proceedings, with the home and Amanda representing the past, the Gentleman Caller being a stand-in for the future, and Tom and Laura caught in-between. Bernie Dove's lighting is nicely atmospheric, as his work with sound design.

Touching and intimate, yet with more than the usual flashes of humor found in a Williams work, The Pretty Trap makes for an interesting piece of theatre. Would it be as interesting were it not for The Glass Menagerie? No, but the play does offer a fresh incite into Williams and the characters he would later make famous. 

The Pretty Trap

Featuring Katharine Houghton (Amanda Wingfield), Nisi Sturgis (Laura Wingfield), Loren Dunn (Tom Wingfield), Robert Eli (Gentleman Caller)

Written by Tennessee Williams

Directed by Anthony Marsellis

Scenic Designer: Ray Klausen

Lighting and Sound: Bernie Dove

Costumes: David Toser

Production Stage Manager: Anita Ross

Stage Manager: C. Renee Alexander

Assistant to the Producer: Brendan Hill

Public Relations: Springer Associates PR

Accounting: Ira Schall

Legal Counsel: M. Graham Coleman, Esq.

Presented by CAUSE CÉLÈBRE 
Artistic Director: Susan Charlotte

in Association with Mary J. Davis

The Acorn Theatre

Theater Row Studios

410 West 42nd Street

Closed: August 21, 2011

"Bluebird": Confessions are Good for the Soul - Aren't They?

Review by Judd Hollander

There's something about cabdrivers that makes them easy to talk to and confide in. As with bartenders, priests and psychiatrists, listening is part of the taxi driver's job. Such is the case with Jimmy (Simon Russell Beale), a former novelist who now drives a taxi full-time, plying his trade each night on the streets of 1998 London in Bluebird by Stephen Stephens as presented by the Atlantic Theater Company.

Jimmy is the perfect cabbie: quiet, calm and a sort of blank slate. Listening to those who need to talk, engaging those who need human contact, and having just enough of a sense of humor to wheedle information out of those who would rather say nothing. Among his passengers are Guvnor (Tobias Segal), a somewhat seedy-looking plainclothes cop; Angela (Charlotte Parry) a working-girl presently down on her luck; and Robert (Michael Countryman) an officious sort who's suffered a terrible personal tragedy.

In between the tales these and others passengers tell, a portrait of Jimmy begins to emerge. He doesn't own a cell phone, smokes quite a lot, and hasn't seen his wife in five years, although he still thinks of himself as married. Jimmy is also haunted by an incident in his own past, one for which he is desperately trying to make amends.

With Bluebird, the playwright has constructed an absorbing tale of a flawed individual, one trying to atone for past sins, albeit all on his own terms. Not quite a martyr, he continually punishes himself for what has gone on before, projecting an attitude of not caring about what happens to him personally. As evidenced with his choice of lifestyle and his rather fatalistic attitude with some of his passengers.

Indeed, it is the way the different stories are told that really holds one's interest. The darkness of the cab (actually just a few chairs), together with a feeling of oppressive stillness from all around, makes one feel completely immersed in the action. Some of the more affecting tales include Countryman's heart-wrenching portrayal of a man who suffered a shattering loss; and those told by Richard (Todd Weeks), a worker on the London Underground; and Andy (John Sharian), a professional bouncer at a local night club. There's also more than a hint of danger present throughout, with several of the passengers projecting an ominous aura to Jimmy via their attitudes and conversations.

In a nicely nuanced performance, Beale offers a good portrayal of a broken individual whose soul is unpeeled layer by layer over the course of the play. He also brings more than a bit of pathos to Jimmy, someone who never seems truly happy; rather a man putting up a good front and lending an ear when he can. He does his best to help those he comes in contact with through a kind word, cigarette or smile; but never receiving what he himself needs in return.

As the entire play is seen through Jimmy's eyes and experiences, most of the other characters are rather undeveloped, but all acquit themselves well. After all, it's not easy to enrapture an audience just by sitting and talking, but it certainly works here. The only other fully formed person in the piece is Clare (Mary McCann), Jimmy estranged wife, who brings to their meeting years of anger and rage not only for what happened earlier, but also over Jimmy's mysterious absence, one which left her to handle the resulting fallout. Not surprisingly, she is not all that eager to see Jimmy again.

Set by Rachel Hauck, basically a few pieces and props here and there, works very well in contributing to the overall quiet and lonely atmosphere; as does Ben Stanton's lighting and Darron L. West's sound design. Gaye Taylor Upchurch's direction is quite good, letting events come together slowly and naturally, both through the individual stories told and via the overall play itself.

Bluebird is a sobering piece of theatre and a journey through one man's tortured psyche. It also has a somewhat open-ended finale that works perfectly in terms of the contextual structure of the piece.

Also in the cast are Mara Measor and Kate Blumberg.

Bluebird

Featuring: Simon Russell Beale (Jimmy), Tobias Segal (Guvnor/Billy Lee), Michael Countryman (Robert/Man), Todd Weeds (Richard/Enthusiastic Man), Charlotte Parry (Angela), Mara Measor (Girl), Mary McCann (Claire), Kate Blumberg (Janine), John Sharian (Andy)

Written by Simon Stephens

Directed by Gaye Taylor Upchurch

Scenic Design: Rachel Hauck

Costume Design: Sarah J. Holden

Lighting Design: Ben Stanton

Sound Design: Darron L. West

Composer: Mark Bennett

Dialect Coach: Stephen Gabis

Casting: MelCap Casting

Production Stage Manager: Kasey Ostopchuck

Assistant Stage Manager: Molly Minor Eustis

Press Representative: Boneau/Bryan-Brown

Production Manager; Michael Wade

Associate Artistic Director: Christen Parker

General Manager: Jamie Tyrol

Presented by the Atlantic Theater Company

Atlantic Stage II

330 West 16th Street

Tickets: 212-279-4200

Running time: 1 hour 40 minutes

Closed: September 9, 2011

"Olive and the Bitter Herbs": Sweet Enough, Though Not Always Savory

Review by Judd Hollander

Playwright Charles Busch spins an amiable and gentle web in his latest comical offering Olive and the Bitter Herbs, (with some dramatic overtones worked in), presented by Primary Stages at 59E59 Theaters. While not nearly as powerful or over the top as some of Busch's other works, the play does contain some interesting life lessons about trust, respect and growing old. 

Olive (Marcia Jean Kurtz), an aging actress whose main claim to fame was being "the sausage woman" in a 1980s television commercial, is, to put it mildly, a rather bitter person. (Literally anyone who has ever come into contact with her has a resulting unpleasant experience to relate.) She's also a constant and chronic complainer, getting into arguments with those who live nearby, such as with Robert (David Garrison) and Trey (Dan Butler), her new next-door neighbors. Olive's only real close companion is Wendy (Julie Halston), a woman who volunteers as an aide to the elderly.

Recently Olive has had a new person, or actually an entity, come into her life. This new arrival being a ghost who she often catches a fleeing glimpse of in her living room mirror. Said spirit goes by the name of Harold and who, it turns out, has a connection not only to Olive, but also to Wendy, Robert and Trey, as well as Sylvan (Richard Masur); a thrice-widowed elderly gentleman who finds himself becoming attracted to Olive. It's a feeling Olive, who despite all her best (and worst) efforts, soon starts to reciprocate.

Photo by James Leynse.

At its heart, Olive and the Bitter Herbs is an interesting character study of the lengths people will go to prevent being alone. Such as when Wendy arranges for an armistice of sorts, setting the stage for a rather hilarious and ultimately über-disfunctional Passover Seder. (Robert's well-meaning attempts to understand a tradition he knows nothing about are hysterical.) Another subject Busch repeatedly touches on is that of pride and how people are willing to sacrifice portions of their self-respect in order to maintain a seeming illusion of stability.

As mentioned above, there's nothing earth-shattering presented here, but the performances are rather enjoyable. Kurtz is a wonder as Olive, a cantankerous older woman who has had such a tough life, and been hurt so much, that she no longer allows anyone to get close. At least not until Sylvan enters the picture. An extremely telling moment occurs when Olive tries to prevent Wendy from moving away, thus depriving her of the only person she really depends on. Kurtz is also able to evoke great sympathy for Olive at points, much of it involving the character's upcoming guest appearance on a popular television series.

Garrison and Butler play off each other well as the cultured gay couple; Robert being the more upper crust of the two, while Trey is the more blunt and bitter. Yet both men find themselves drawn to Olive (and Harold) for their own specific reasons. Masur is fine as Sylvan, one of those people who can best be described as “pliable,” taking everything life throws at him with a smile while coming back for more. Halston is good as Wendy, a stalwart defender of Olive, at least until a particularly funny scene where Wendy finally boils over and rages at the world for the way her life has turned out.

Direction by Mark Brokaw is sound, though nothing all that special, kind of like the play itself. Anna Louizos's set of Olive's apartment is both realistically neat and shabby, and the lighting design by Mary Louise Geiger and sound design by John Gromada are okay. There are however, several places where the play could have ended before the audience is finally presented with the endgame Busch actually picked.

Olive and the Bitter Herbs is a perfectly serviceable and enjoyable piece of theatre, offering an interesting blend of comedy and pathos. Not a bad play in any sense of the word, and one could actually do a whole lot worse.

Olive and the Bitter Herbs

Featuring: Marcia Jean Kurtz (Olive), Julie Halston (Wendy), David Garrison (Robert), Dan Butler (Trey), Richard Masur (Sylvan)

Written by Charles Busch

Directed by Mark Brokaw

Set Design: Anna Louizos

Costume Design: Suzy Benzinger

Lighting Design: Mary Louise Geiger

Original Music and Sound Design: John Gromada

Properties Coordinator: Kathy Fabian/Propstar

Production Stage Manager: William H. Lang

Production Supervisor: PRF Productions

Press Representative; O&M Co.

Casting: Stephanie Klapper Casting

General Manager: Toni Marie Davis

Director of Development: Jessica Sadowski Comas

Director of Marketing: Elizabeth Kandel

Associate Artistic Director: Michelle Bossy

Presented by Primary Stages

59E59 Theaters

59 East 59th Street

Running time: Two Hours, 10 Minutes (with intermission)

Closed: September 4, 2011

Tonight - "8" by Dustin Lance Black

"The Judy Show: My life as a sitcom" - Endearingly Funny and No Laugh Track Needed

Reviewed by Judd Hollander

Are you ready for The Judy Show? Comedienne/actress Judy Gold certainly is, and thinks of rest of America should be too, her desire to get the show on the air forming the major thrust of her solo stage production, The Judy Show: My life as a sitcom. 

Gold has a keen affinity for the sitcom format, noting more than once how the genre had a major influence in her life. Growing up in the 1970s and 80s she would watch them for hours, often wishing her life was like that, where every problem or issue was solved in 30 minutes (including time for commercials). Among the programs she watched were such "classics" as M.A.S.H., Family Ties, The Brady Bunch (her all-time favorite), One Day at a Time, Maude and Welcome Back, Kotter.



Judy Gold in The Judy Show - My Life As A Sitcom
Photographer: T. Charles Erickson



However Gold's actual life, as she tells it here, was somewhat different from the people she saw on television. Her parents argued frequently and she was never close to her two siblings. Yet conversely Gold was always the "go-to" person in the family - i.e. the one everyone prevailed upon when they had problems. Gold also spent her formative years trying to come to terms with her homosexuality, not to mention consistently being one of the tallest kids in her class and a frequent object of teasing. Though the more Gold looks back on the significant incidents in her past, which includes her first major relationship, the birth of her children and eventually meeting the love of her life, the more she realizes that most of what she went through is indeed something of the sitcom variety; or at least a reality show. It's a premise which, in Gold's able hands and the hands of director Amanda Charlton, becomes quite poignant and funny.

Gold's amiable presence is the reason the entire evening goes down so easy, as she offers up a warm and welcoming attitude while taking the audience on a nostalgic journey through her life. After all, anyone who understands the significance of Sherwood Schwartz in the pantheon of television sitcom history is definitely someone worth listening to. Gold also draws the audience in via her playing excerpts from various sitcom themes on a handy piano and relating them to incidents in her own history. She also comes up with numerous theme songs for the Judy Show, only to find time and again that the world, or at least television programming executives, isn't quite ready for the scenario that Gold has to offer. Or at least, not so far.

The stage play is also a very personal experience for Gold as she looks at her sometimes strained relationship with her parents, at growing up in New Jersey, and the realization of how popular she became when she learned she had the talent to make people laugh. The awkwardness and pressure Gold feels as she struggles to find her own way is one of the things that make the story very relatable to those watching. There's also the gentle lesson that while one's parents can often drive you to distraction, when looking at all that happened with the benefit of hindsight, you start to realize that just perhaps they weren't that crazy after all. It's moments like these where you find yourself rooting for Judy and her extended family to triumph over all the problems they face and wind up happy. Just like in a sitcom. Although it would have been nice to have learned more about Gold's history with her brother and sister, who are only mentioned in passing, as well as some additional back story on her raising and interacting with her two children. The inclusion of which would have added an extra emotional layer or two to the proceedings.

Direction by Amanda Charlton is very good, allowing Gold to make full use of the stage and also to really express herself through the material, making it seem both immediate and fresh. Set by Andrew Boyce is fun-especially the wallpaper consisting of images from different classic sitcoms, some of which you've probably loved since childhood, others which you may have long forgotten. Sound design by Alex Neumann and Janie Bullard, which includes selections from many of the afore-mentioned sitcoms, is quite enjoyable.

The Judy Show hasn't made it on the air yet, though it's come close a few times. But until it does, the Judy Show: My life as a sitcom will do just fine.

The Judy Show: My life as a sitcom

Starring Judy Gold

Written by Judy Gold and Kate Moira Ryan

Directed by Amanda Charlton

Original Music by Judy Gold

Lyrics by Kate Moira Ryan and Judy Gold

Additional Material by Eric Kornfeld and Bob Smith

Music Director: Kris Kukul

Scenic and Projection Design by Andrew Boyce

Lighting Design by Paul Toben

Sound Design by Alex Neumann and Janie Bullard

Stylist: Emily Deangelis

Marketing: HHC Marketing

Advertising: Hofstetter + Partners/Agency 212

Production Stage Manager: Scott Pegg

Production Manager: Joshua Scherr

Associate Producers: Alexander Fraser, Jeremy Katz

General Management: Maximum Entertainment Productions

Presented by Daryl Roth and Eva Price

Produced in association with Jamie Cesa, Lynn Shaw, Tom Smedes, Bruce Robert Harris and Jack W. Batman.

Press Representative: Keith Sherman and Associates

The DR2 Theater

103 East 15^th Street

Tickets; 212-239-6200 or www.telecharge.com

Information: www.JudyGold.com

Running Time: 85 minutes, no intermission

Extended through November 27th, 2011

May be inappropriate for children under 12

Book Review - Rock the Audition: How To Prepare For And Get Cast In Rock Musicals by Sheri Sanders

Review by Rob Hartmann

ROCK THE AUDITION: HOW TO PREPARE FOR AND GET CAST IN ROCK MUSICALS.  By Sheri Sanders.  264 pp.  Hal Leonard Books, 2011.  $29.99 (paperback with DVD); ISBN 978-1-4234-9943-5

You could read this entire review, or you could save yourself a few minutes and just run out and get this book now. Order it online, whatever you need to do. Trust me, if you’re working in musical theater, you want this book – no matter if you’re a performer, director, composer, or music director.

This is one of those books that, as you devour it page by page, you think, why hasn’t someone written this book before? And then you think, who else could have written this book? The author, Sheri Sanders, has a distinctive thought process and writing style which attempts to demystify the process of auditioning for rock musicals. (A disclaimer: I worked briefly with Ms. Sanders on a number of readings of new rock/pop musicals at the Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program at New York University. I can attest to the fact that Ms. Sanders knows what she’s doing – she was always first on our must-call list for rock musicals.)

As part of her research while she was writing the book, Ms. Sanders sat in on a number of auditions for rock musicals, interviewing the casting directors and other members of the production teams to get the answer to every actor’s question: what are they looking for? Surprisingly, she found that a common complaint, even at the Broadway level, was that actors were coming to rock auditions unprepared – unsure of how to do their best work in a rock or pop idiom. Ms. Sanders also points out that many times, creative teams don’t know how to describe what they’re looking for – which contributes to the vicious cycle of everyone involved knowing they need to solve the mystery of just how to deal with pop and rock music in the context of musical theater – but not really knowing specifically how to go about it.

Ms. Sanders smartly begins by breaking down the task into manageable pieces: the first lesson, of course, is acknowledging that the rock and pop genres cover over a half a century’s worth of music – the styles varying from decade to decade, with multiple subgenres springing off from one another. Her points are simple, but useful (for instance, knowing the difference between the musical era in which a musical was written and the era in which it takes place.)

One of Ms. Sanders’ most useful observations is that the singer must be aware of the social forces which gave rise to any genre of music. She provides pithy observations on the historical events of each decade – hopefully spurring her readers to further research of their own. I was particularly struck by the smart way she translated her history bullet points into useful advice on audition clothing choices. For example, when discussing the 70s, she writes:

Look at John Travolta (Tony) and Karen Lynn Gorney (Stephanie) in the 1977 movie Saturday Night Fever. When on the dance floor, their moves were choreographed to be profoundly crisp and clean. However, inside of that “crispness,” their moves are fluid, loose, languid, relaxed and easy. Their clothes are tailored and really tight, but take a look at their legs! You’ll see the men (and women) are wearing bell-bottom pantsuits! With platform shoes! This was truly an era of freedom inside a structure.

The real meat of the book, however, is the section in which Ms. Sanders discusses the nuts and bolts of cutting songs to make them appropriate for use in an audition. Making rock and pop songs (which are so often guitar-based) work in a situation where they are being sung with solo piano accompaniment is notoriously challenging. The book addresses this problem, along with how to create a dramatic structure in a song where one might not naturally exist, through judicious cutting from section to section. (Ms. Sanders’ understanding and explanation of song structure and dramatic build is why I recommend this book to writers, composers and directors as well as performers.)  Most importantly, the book contains example after example of sheet music with cuts and notations to the pianist written in – demystifying the process of creating a well-prepared piece of audition music. (So often audition technique books merely describe the process of assembling, say, a sixteen-bar cut, but don’t actually show the reader what that means.)

The text is written in a very personal style: get ready to be called ‘darling.’ The cynical reader might roll his or her eyes  - but Ms. Sanders’ writing is genuine and honest. That’s who she is – her particular emotional energy emanates from the page. Since this book is in essence all about the art of personal self expression (the key to making rock music come alive in an audition room), the choice of style seems perfectly appropriate. I particularly enjoyed the section in which Ms. Sanders relates the Kinsey sexuality scale to performing rock music. (I can’t describe her analogy further and do it justice: you’ll need to read that for yourself.)

The book is a deceptively quick read: the narrative structure pulls you along through the book (a real feat which many “how-to” books don’t master.) There is so much packed into the text, however, that the reader should resist the temptation to swallow the book in a single gulp.

On its own, the book is a must-have; as a bonus, the accompanying DVD does what so many books of this type can’t do – demonstrate in action what can’t be fully explained in words. The DVD contains short videos which were shot as though the viewer were sitting in on one of Ms. Sanders’ master classes (with voice teacher Tom Burke at the piano.) In her energetic and engaging style, Ms. Sanders tackles “Voice”, “Body” and “Final Performance.” Under the topic of “Voice”, she covers the essentials of vocal styling of various decades by breaking down exactly what a singer can do with a sample song of the era. She contrasts rock styling with traditional musical theater vocal styling – demonstrating what approaches work and why. She’s loose and funny in the videos (at one point holding her nose while she sings to demonstrate what an 80s song sounds like with no nasality at all.) 

Any performer who is serious about wanting to perform in rock musicals should have this book; performers who may have avoiding rock auditions because they are intimidated will sleep better with this book by their side. Using Ms. Sanders’ clear and specific approach, directors, music directors and writers will find new ways to communicate with their actors about the sounds and styles they’re looking for. The essence of the book comes through in a quote from casting director Geoff Johnson:

“Casting directors just love to claim, ‘Oh, I gave this person their big break, I gave that person their big break.” In truth, they don’t give any actor their big break. An actor does. Actors give themselves their big breaks. We merely hold the door open for them to come through. Give yourself the big break that you deserve.”

Rob Hartmann is a composer/lyricist who is on the faculty of New York University’s Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program.

Review - Eightythree Down (Hard Sparks)

By Byrne Harrison

Sometime everything just clicks into place.  A strong play, a great cast, an amazing director - it all just comes together to make a memorable evening of theatre.

Hard Sparks' first full-length production, Eightythree Down, is one of those shows.  This short, taut thriller about four desperate people thrown together on New Year's Eve 1983 is terrific.

Photo by Hunter Canning

Martin (Brian Miskell) is a young man who is stuck - stuck at home, stuck in life, unsure how to move forward.  That is until Dina (Melody Bates), an old high school friend, crashes into his parents' basement with two friends in tow - Stuart (Ian Holcomb), a strutting, highly sexual Brit punk, and Tony (Bryan Kaplan), a thug with self-control issues.  On the run from a string of bad decisions, Dina has brought them to Martin, the smartest guy she knows, hoping he can help them out.  What follows is a fast-paced game of cat and mouse, full of sexual tension and violence.

Photo by Hunter Canning

The cast is amazing and does an excellent job with playwright J. Stephen Brantley's script.  Bates is outstanding as Dina, at times child-like and innocent and at others, marvelously manipulative, but always with a mixed together core of sadness and hope.  Watching her peel back the layers and exposing just a little bit more of Dina's true self is marvelous.  Kaplan radiates menace as Tony, but there is a charisma there, too, that explains why Dina and even Stuart would be attracted to and repelled by him.    Holcomb's Stuart is full of heat which he aims at any target.  Sensing shy Martin's true nature, Stuart goes into power seduction mode.  A brief sex scene between Stuart and Martin is both exciting and disturbing, due to superb work by Holcomb and Miskell.  Miskell's Martin is outstanding.  Timid and cringing, socially awkward, alone on New Year's Eve, he could easily become pathetic.  But Miskell creates a fully fleshed-out character, whose choices, while not as violently wrong as Dina, Stuart, and Tony's, have still led him to a dead end, leaving him as desperate as they are, even if he can't recognize that at first.  Shocked out of his torpor by sex and violence, Martin can either crumble to nothing or finally grow.  Though the resolution is no surprise to the audience, the beauty of Miskell's performance is that it is clearly a surprise to Martin.

Director Daniel Talbott has done an exceptional job building the tension in the play, teasing it out in fits and starts until it comes crashing down like an avalanche.  He uses every inch of the albeit small space at UNDER St. Marks, not playing to the audience as some directors do, but making the audience feel like voyeurs, peeking into the basement and watching the story unfold.  And he doesn't shy away from physical violence - books fly, shelves teeter, people crash into walls - further increasing the tension.

Eightythree Down is an exciting play and bodes extremely well for this new company.  Hard Sparks is definitely on my list of companies to keep an eye on.

Eightythree Down
Written by J. Stephen Brantley
Directed by Daniel Talbott
Sound: Janie Bullard
Scenery: Eugenia Furneauzx-Arends
Lighting: Brad Peterson
Costumes: Tristan Raines
Stage Manager: Amanda Michaels
Assistant Stage Manager: Alex Marks
Assistant Director: Evan Caccioppoli
Fight Choreographer: Laura Ramadei
Casting Director: Jenn Haltman
Press Representative: Emily Owens
Graphics: Julia Bernadsky
Assistant Set Designer: Judy Merrick
Casting Director: Jenn Haltman

Featuring: Melody Bates (Dina), Ian Holcomb (Stuart), Bryan Kaplan (Tony), Brian Miskell (Martin)

UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1st Ave and Ave A)
September 1-17 (Thursday through Saturday at 8pm)