"Loot" - Laughing All the Way to the Grave

By Judd Hollander

Photo by Rahav Segev / Photopass.com

Red Bull Theater Company hits a home run with their presentation of Joe Orton's 1966 farce Loot, an absolutely side-splitting tale of corruption, greed, sex, and potential murder. In 1965 London, grieving Mr. McLeavy (Jarlath Conroy), a god-fearing man is saying his final goodbyes to his late wife, a god-fearing woman who recently passed away. Her body for the moment laid out in a coffin in the family home. Holding vigil with McLeavy is Fay (Rebecca Brooksher), a lovely nurse some years his junior. Also present is McLeavy's son Hal (Nick Westrate), a twenty-something young man who's been in trouble with the law for years but who also is completely unable to lie ("it's against my upbringing") and who keeps a cupboard in the house locked for some mysterious reason. There is also news of a daring robbery where thieves tunneled into a bank from the undertaker's establishment next door. An employee named Dennis (Ryan Garbayo) from that same undertaker establishment being about to arrive to collect Mrs. McLeavy's remains. 

It's quickly revealed Dennis and Hal were behind the robbery, the money being stored in the locked cupboard. That is, until they take Mrs. McLeavy out of her coffin, put her in the cupboard and store the money in her former resting place, figuring to use the funeral as a cover to move the ill-gotten gains to a safer location. However doing so may not be that easy. For it turns out Fay, a woman's who's buried at least seven previous husbands, has now has her eyes on Mr. McLeavy and the money his wife has left him. Fay has also been having an affair with Dennis, who wants very much to marry her. There's also the sudden appearance of Mr. Truscott (Rocco Sisto), a rather tall, mysterious and foreboding figure who claims to be from the local water board, but who keeps asking quite a lot of questions at the most inopportune times.

These then are the pieces that make up the delicious satirical soufflé that is Loot. A riff on religion, the generation gap and moral corruption in high places, particularly in the police department. Orton gleefully attacking each of these institutions with razor sharp dialogue, all delivered at breakneck speed. Toss in the almost frenetic energy of the cast and the result is a hysterical vehicle, filled with double and triple takes along with hilarious pregnant pauses which bring the house down more than once.

It also helps that the show has a great amount of physical comedy. I.E. eyes rolling on the floor (literally), bodies being up-ended, and coffins falling apart. As well as the various characters being either tossed about or intimidated, usually by Sisto who takes great delight in quoting that while the police may need warrants and invitations to search a place or interrogate a suspect, the water board has no such restrictions and so he can move about with impunity. The effectiveness of the piece is aided immeasurably by every one of the actors playing their roles perfectly straight, other than the aforementioned double takes, no matter how inane or macabre the situations might otherwise be. Jesse Berger's direction is absolutely flawless here, allowing the actors to take their characters almost over the top as each tries to maintain some semblance of sanity while everything around them is falling to pieces.

Casting is excellent, particularly with Sisto as Truscott - an imposing sort who never takes off his hat, with an air about him which calls to mind one of those film noir detectives from the 1940s. A man determined to solve a mystery and arrest the guilty party, he's also someone who never worries about the little things. Such as regulations or proof, and if he can't find said guilty party, he'll be more than happy to select a patsy instead. Though definitely an exaggeration of what Orton saw as a problem with society at the time, there's no mistaking the playwright's underlying message - one which still echoes powerfully today. 

Conroy is great as McLeavy, the only one who really doesn't know what's going on, at least in the beginning. The most honest person in the play, McLeavy's a true believer through and through and who has blind faith in those in power and authority. He even gives a speech about the need to keep the law-abiding safe from danger and if one has to give up one's rights to so, then so be it. Brooksher makes an enjoyable Fay, a black widow type always one step ahead of the authorities, though she may not be so lucky this time. Westrate and Garbayo make a funny pair of anti-establishment sorts who plan the perfect crime but then see it all start come apart with everything from a car crash, a mad afghan hound, and some loose body parts all coming between them and the stolen cash.

Narelle Sissons' set of the McLeavy parlor where the story occurs nicely sets the time and place of the tale with the scenery giving the place a charmingly old-fashioned appearance. Costumes by Sara Jean Tosetti are all nicely tailored, especially the outfits Brooksher, Westrate and Garbayo wear.

Starting slowly, moving to a cataclysm of chaos and decreasing just enough to allow the audience to catch their breath while things move towards a satisfactory conclusion, Loot is a gem of a tale brilliantly brought back to the stage for all to see. Well done!!

Also in the cast is Eric Martin Brown.

Loot
by Joe Orton

Featuring Jarlath Conroy (McLeavy), Rebecca Brookshire (Fay), Nick Westrate (Hal), Ryan Garbayo (Dennis), Rocco Sisto (Truscott), Eric Martin Brown (Meadows).

Scenic Designer: Narelle Sissons
Costume Designer: Sara Jean Tosetti
Lighting Designer: Scott Zielinski
Sound Designer: Brad Berridge
Dialect Coach: Stephen Gabis
Fight Choreographer: Rick Sordelet
Associate Producers: Craig Baldwin
Production Stage manager: Mary Spadoni
Production Manger BD White
Casting Directors: Stuart Howar & Paul Hard
Publicist: David Gersten & Associates
Directed by Jesse Berger

Presented by Red Bull Theater
Lucille Lortel Theatre
121 Christopher Street

Presented by Red Bull Theatre
Lucille Lortel Theatre
121 Christopher Street
Tickets: 212-352-3101 or www.redbulltheatre.com
Running Time: Two Hours, with one intermission

Closes: February 9, 2014

WHEN WE MET, a new musical: playful, lyrical, heartbreaking

By Rob Hartmann
Photos by Jenny Anderson

WHEN WE MET, the new musical being workshopped at CAP21, seems to start off like a meet-cute romcom. Two fortyish singles - he a divorced professor, she a never-married holistic healer - have a disastrous first date which plants the seed for a relationship to take root.

In lesser hands, this premise might travel down clichéd paths. But WHEN WE MET, created by Julianne Wick Davis and Dan Collins in collaboration with the actors, Sally Wilfert and Michael Winther, brings the characters to fully dimensional life, in a story that is never predictable, but which feels completely truthful. The piece is genuinely funny, thought provoking, and deeply moving.

The book, by Dan Collins, sets the perfect tone as the characters try to relieve the awkwardness of the blind date – the way you can find yourself rambling, lost in an anecdote, as your dinner partner stares in polite puzzlement. Collins wisely gives the actors room to use their own natural razor-sharp comic timing: Wilfert is able to get laughs just in the way she picks up and sets down her menu.

As the story unfolds, moving fluidly forward and back through time, deeper themes emerge. Winther's Henry is a professor of quantum physics, who raptly explains the theory of "entanglement" - the way that two particles can become intimately connected, even at a distance. At home, Henry tries to lose himself in newly adopted Buddhism, struggling to free himself of painful memories. Even with his openness to the esoteric in his field of science and his spirituality, Henry still finds himself not quite able to take Maggie (Wilfert) seriously. Her particular field of therapy (which I won't spoil here), although he regards it with puzzlement, actually is more similar to his work than either one will admit. Both are trying to discover deeper truths by observation, to open up new channels of communication, to uncover the unknown.

The difficulty of communication with another person - even with someone you love and need - is expressed vividly in Julianne Wick Davis's music and lyrics. The songs explore the challenges of trying to make room in one's life for another - a toothbrush, space in the bed, space in one's soul - with precise, bittersweet lyrics. These are intelligent, vulnerable, emotional people. The music that Davis has crafted for this score is surging, rhythmic, lyrical. She is able to express finely-tuned emotional nuance, and powerful, driving need. This is music that the cast clearly loves to sing.

The score is played with great sensitivity by music director Charity Wicks on piano, along with Justin Smith on violin, Christine Kim on cello, and Mary Jo Stilp on viola. The orchestrations, by Michael Starobin and Greg Pliska, are full of shivering, delicate tremolo chords, capturing the hesitancy of the characters' shifting emotions.

Sally Wilfert and Michael Winther are Broadway veterans who too often have been given characters who are off to the side. Here, they are given full reign to create two engaging,complicated, fully realized characters. Vocally, they are a perfectly matched pair, whose voices meet in a crystal-clear blend. They both bring a relaxed charm to their roles – these are people you want to spend time with.

Ms. Wilfert, who at times evokes the don't-mess-with-me toughness of a young Barbara Stanwyck, gives Maggie a wry surface that conceals a wariness and weariness brought on by too many years watching over her younger sisters, while never having space enough for herself. But when Maggie is at work, reaching out to her uncommunicative clients, Wilfert finds a wellspring of joy which makes us understand how much she needs to be heard. Sally Wilfert's voice is a perfect, clear soprano which floats effortlessly from the lowest ranges to the highest belt; every note comes directly from her soul.

Mr. Winther gives Henry a sense of professorial authority and remove, as well as an impish charm. He is tasked with the evening's most challenging song, which comes when Henry reveals a private pain from his past. It's a moment which is set up and delivered perfectly: you sense what's coming but are still devastated by the revelation. Winther plays the moment completely truthfully, letting his pure tenor soar. Like Maggie, we are both moved and crushed; Wilfert's silent reaction is as powerful as Winther's delivery of the song. The emotion of the scene is cathartic and completely earned.

Eric Hoff’s direction gives the evening a clear, direct momentum. With only a table and two chairs, Hoff fluidly creates the multiple locations of Maggie and Henry’s worlds – restaurants, classroom, home, bed. The emotional peaks and valleys of the story are skillfully navigated – the energy continues to build throughout, keeping the audience constantly engaged.

The scenic design, by James J. Fenton, is, like the story, deceptively simple on the surface - walls and floor of blond wood, with doors and cabinets which open to reveal props as necessary. Fenton has given the floor grooves which, during blackouts, glow with light from underneath - icy blue, deeper red - just like the characters' past pain glows under their carefully controlled facades.

Brian Tovar's lighting design takes us nimbly from moment to moment, catching the pair in individual pools of cold light as they are caught in their own inner monologues. John Emmett O'Brien provides sound design which subtly creates the ambience of the restaurants Henry and Maggie find themselves in - including an aural representation of the Rainforest Cafe which got a laugh of recognition from the audience.

CAP21, with founders Frank Ventura and Eliza Ventura at the helm, has produced yet another example of smart, moving, genuinely affecting musical theater. Although it is a workshop and not technically a full production, this staging of WHEN WE MET is firing on all cylinders. CAP21 also produced Southern Comfort by Davis and Collins: although the two pieces could not be more different, they share an aesthetic of truthful humor, full-voiced musicality, deep emotion, and a desire to explore the vulnerability and human-ness present in relationships. This is theater that means something.

WHEN WE MET, A new musical

Starring Sally Wilfert and Michael Winther

Book by Dan Collins, music and lyrics by Julianne Wick Davis, in collaboration with Sally Wilfert and Michael Winther
Director: Eric Hoff
Music Director: Charity Wicks
Scenic/Prop Design: James J. Fenton
Costume Design: Kara Harmon
Lighting Design: Brian Tovar
Assistant Lighting Design: Scot Gianelli
Sound Design: John Emmett O’Brien
Orchestrations: Michael Starobin and Greg Pliska
Copyist: Salomon Lerner
Stage Manager: Catherine DiGirolamo
Production Manager: Becca Doyle

Presented by CAP21
Frank Ventura, Executive Artistic Director & Founder
Eliza Ventura, Artistic Director & Founder

Runs February 4 – 22 at CAP21, 18 West 18^th Street, 5^th Floor

Tickets and information: www.cap21.org

Alison Fraser on her double life: touring in Wicked, and producing her new recording

By Rob Hartmann

Alison Fraser (alisonfraser.com) is living a double life: she’s currently starring as Madame Morrible in the Emerald City National Tour of Wicked (wickedthemusical.com) Meanwhile, she’s been putting the finishing touches on her new recording, Tennessee Williams: Words and Music, which will be released by Ghostlight Records/Sh-K-Boom early this spring. You can find her on Twitter at @alisonfraser.

Rob Hartmann: So I’m loving the pictures that you’ve been tweeting from every stop on the Wicked tour, as you explore each city.

AF: My sister had wanted me to do a road diary, and this is my version of it. (laughs.) 

Here in Pittsburgh, I’m living in the Omni William Penn Hotel, which is of course one of the great old hotels. It was built by Henry Clay Frick – and I look out on what I just assumed was a magnificent cathedral. And then we find out, no, it’s the Union Trust Building, also built by Frick. A church to money, basically. (laughs) On the 17^th floor of our hotel, seeing the ballroom is like walking into the past. It’s just a magnificent gilded dreamworld. To be able go on tour and experience these things, and to live in the same building with them, is kind of astonishing.

RH: And how is the tour going?

In Wicked, I have the great good fortune to have been cast as Madame Morrible, which adds yet another fantastic villainess to my pantheon. I love the character. I have a great advantage, because Wicked is one of my favorite musicals. The first time I saw it, I said, “That’s what a musical should be.” Stephen Schwartz’s score is spectacular, Winnie Holtzman’s book is very, very smart and witty. I’m going into the piece because I love it. And it’s a well-oiled machine. If you’re in Wicked, you know that every night you go out, there’s going to be a full house. It’s a luxury for somebody like me, who has been involved with so many little scrappy shows that had to fight for an audience. With Wicked, we have people coming twenty times. 

There’s this one fan who waits outside the stage door, and he says, “Yeah, it was my seventeenth time tonight” “Yeah, it was my eighteenth time tonight.” Some might call that a little odd, but I think it’s fantastic, especially when you’re that young, to find a real passion. I mean, that’s what happened to me in high school, I had that same palpable passion for theater.

RH: I’m always intrigued by shows that really unlock something – shows that inspire that kind of devotion. 

AF: Who in their lives has not felt like an ugly duckling? What kid doesn’t feel some days like that ugly duckling, like that green girl? To be given this hope that there is a future, there is room for individuality, there is room for the “you-ness” of you. And if you can embrace that “you-ness”, and present it to the world, you’ve given the world a gift. I think that is the great message of hope that this show gives: that there is room in this world for the uniqueness of you. 

RH: Morrible seems like she must be such a fun character to play.

AF: I love Morrible, and you know, I’ve played so many of these villains. I’ve played, you know, Arsinoe in School for Lies, and Sister Walburga in The Divine Sister, Lizzie Borden in Lizzie Borden, Uta in The Green Heart, and of course Veronica Bailey in the wonderful web series It Could Be Worse. (www.itcouldbeworse.tv) [Ms. Fraser recently won “Grooviest Supporting Actress in a Comedy” for her work in the series.] I enjoy villains, because I approach them as the heroines of their own story. I think that Morrible absolutely believes that she is the woman most capable of ruling Oz. I like to think of her as Cheney to the Wizard’s Bush. 

I think I’m a different kind of Morrible than has happened before. This is obviously a very vain woman – Susan Hilferty’s costumes are absolutely drop-dead gorgeous. I cannot put those clothes on without feeling, “Oh my god, I’m fantastic!” It’s like, I can rule the world. 

You know, I’ve been put into this beautiful, beautifully oiled machine. We’ve been superbly prepared for this. I had two weeks of rehearsal with a stage manager who knows that show like the back of his hand. We were folded into it gradually. Like, “Today you’re going to do the magic trick with the wheelchair. Tomorrow, you’re going to be onstage with the other people. The next day, we’re going to have a rehearsal with the actual Elphaba,” the magnificently talented Alison Luff. By the time you’re actually onstage, you’re superbly prepared. And if an actor is superbly prepared, I think that is the springboard for inspiration and hopefully a great performance. 

We had the great fortune of having the director Joe Mantello and his wonderful associate director, Lisa Leguillou come in, along with the marvelous resident director, Stephen Sposito. I have to say, it was one of the most thrilling notes sessions I have ever been in, in my life. For a ten year old show – and this tour is nine years old –these people care so much. It’s their art. Joe’s saying, you know, shake it up a little bit. Make it living. Make it you. Joe, Lisa and Stephen are very much about making this show live artistically. You get to really fly. 

RH: Every time that I’ve seen a different cast, you absolutely get the feeling that everyone has been given permission to put their own spin on it, to bring themselves to it. 

AF: My great friend Jenn Gambatese, who was in School for Lies with me, was playing Glinda in this tour. I love her and I came to see the show, and her take on it was just delightful and hilarious. But then I went into the show with the Glinda from England, Gina Beck, who is just absolutely glorious but completely different from Jenn. I mean, you can’t imagine two more different Glindas, yet each is completely viable and fabulous. So, I think that is a great tribute to the writers of this musical, that you have these magnificent characters that do allow for personalization.

It’s also one of the nicest groups of people I’ve ever, ever been involved with. Everybody’s just a sweetheart. It’s almost like that’s part of the job – you gotta be nice to get into the Wicked company.

And for many people in the audience, it’s the theater event of the year. Last night, I met a boy whose grandmother brought him to the theater for the first time. And I could see that he was hooked already. And I said, so, do you want to go into theater? And he said, yeah, but I don’t want to be onstage. I want to produce. You could see the show sparked something in him. And to have a show inspire a new generation of theatergoers and theater makers is great. It’s all due to the producer, David Stone, of course Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman, and Joe Mantello. 

RH: So while you’ve been touring, you’ve also been preparing to release your new recording.

AF: Yes, it’s called Tennessee Williams: Words and Music. I’m thrilled that it’s going to be on Ghostlight Records/Sh K Boom (www.sh-k-boom.com). We are pretty confident that once people hear this CD, they’ll realize, oh, this is a show that could be done in any theater in the country. 

(The show, originally called The Tennessee Williams Songbook, was reviewed by Stagebuzz here: http://www.stagebuzz.com/2013/02/dont-miss-alison-fraser-in-tennessee.html)

It’s a great show – the creator, David Kaplan, (www.davidkaplandirector.com) came up with a brilliant concept. What you’re listening to with this CD is really the soundtrack of Tennessee Williams’s life. As a lonely little boy in Mississippi, he would sit by the Victrola, and listen to the American songbook. And once he was writing his plays, he put those songs in his plays. He put “It’s Only A Paper Moon” in A Streetcar Named Desire. Blanche sings it in the bathtub while Stanley is castigating her. And the fact that every single one of Tennessee Williams’s plays either references music or has the actual music in it – that really tells you how much music was a part of his life. David has interwoven the songs with superbly chosen pieces of text from the plays. The emotional trajectory of the Blanche archetype, played by me, is the emotional trajectory of Blanche’s journey, which as we all know, is not a happy one (laughs.) We have a little encore so that people don’t want to kill themselves by the time they leave (laughs.)

RH: How did the recording get put together?

AF: We had a deal to do the album in New York, under a different label, and I was not happy with their proposal of how to record it – which was one day in a studio, editing as you went along. I said, “Have you heard my CDs? My CDs are really, really meticulously done, and take months… so I don’t think we’re going to do that.”

Then, I talked to Allison Leyton-Brown, (www.allisonleytonbrown.com) the great music director who shares the stage with me in the show, and said, “What can we do?” And she said, “Why don’t we do it together? And then we’ll pitch it to a record company.” And I thought, okay, I can do that, because I did that with my other albums, New York Romance and Men In My Life and it worked just great. 

We were going to record in New York or New Jersey, and it was so expensive. I said to Allison, “We’re going to be in New Orleans. We’re going to have unbelievably great musicians down there – not that New York musicians aren’t great, but New Orleans has a particular flavor, and a lot of our stuff is Dixieland and jazz. And I bet it’s cheaper down there to record.” Well, we got such an unbelievable deal down there, in a great studio called The Music Shed. We had the best musicians – unbelievable musicians. When you get off the plane in New Orleans, there’s a jazz mural there: on one side is Louis Armstrong, and on the other side is James Singleton – and he’s my bass player. 

So that is the kind of musician we have on the CD. Every musician we got down there is like a legend in New Orleans. And we also have the great J. Walter Hawkes, the trombone and ukulele player. 

Singing all the different kinds of music was just a joy. David had heard my first CD, New York Romance, which has a lot of very very different types of songs on it. And he said, you’re the one that I need to be able to sing the blues, to be able to sing country western. I didn’t even know I could sing a Bessie Smith song. And… I can. Now I know (laughs.) You can rise above your own expectations when the material is good.

It took a long time to master the recording to our specifications, to make sure the story was getting across. I would send it to people like [famed record producer] Thomas Z. Shepard and say, what do you think? I got a lot of great opinions. And then I realized: I’m the producer. Allison and I are the producers of this. Yesterday, I had a hundred emails going back and forth about the included 8-page booklet, the rights, the publishing, the fonts, the wording, the special thanks. And I realized, this is a full-time job. So in the daytime, I am a producer. 

The CD should be released in about six weeks. I hope the recording leads to this show being done in many, many other places – with other people besides me –I can absolutely imagine other people doing that part.  After I do it in New York, thank you, because I really want to do it there. (laughs) 

So during the day, I’m totally in control, working on Tennessee Williams: Words and Music. And then, at night, what a joy to be absolved of those responsibilities, and just put on my magnificent clothes and live in the world of Oz, and fly. 

Train in Vain: New Musical Crossing Debuts at Signature Theater in Arlington, Va.

Review by Mark A. Newman

The Signature Theater in Arlington, Va., has once again debuted a new musical and, once again, the results are mixed but overall fairly positive. The premise is a bit worn – travelers meeting from different eras who wait for a train that never comes – but a game cast and lively tunes keep the show from devolving into a cliché-ridden amalgam of “been there, done that.”

The characters are a hodgepodge of “types” from throughout the ages: the young soldier about to go fight in World War I (a winning Austin Colby) being seen off to war by his mother (Peggy Yates); a man born into wealth from the 1930s (Chris Sizemore); a modern-day backpacker off to see the world (a likable Christopher Mueller); a mother at the station to meet her daughter (legendary diva Florence Lacey); a mother and son from the 1950s (the excellent Tracy Lynn Olivera, the not-so-excellent John Ray); a homeless lady (the always incomparable Nova Y. Payton, fighting a cold the night I saw it but it truly didn’t matter); and the cast standout, newcomer Ines Nassara as a freedom rider from the 1960s, on her way to make a difference in the world.

Was the show a tad on the predictable side? A little. I felt like I had seen similar stories done in a variety of other venues. It had the feeling of purgatory, as these ghosts of the past wandered around the train platform quite fluidly thanks to Eric Schaeffer’s solid direction. However, the show never delved into maudlin territory despite its themes. Admittedly the book by Grace Barnes gets a little heavy handed at times as each of the character’s motivation is really hammered home. Yes, we get it, the backpacker’s mom died and she never got to see Paris. Yes, the wealthy man feels like a failure and unworthy; let’s move on. 

Thankfully Matt Conner’s refreshing score keeps these wayward travelers’ journeys from stopping dead in their (train) tracks. To be honest, the music is one of the better scores to a new musical that I’ve heard in recent weeks, which may in some way have made the show more enjoyable for me. The score is tuneful, hummable, and full of memorable numbers, but most of all, it’s straightforward. In other words, it’s no Sunday in the Park with George. And that’s a good thing. 

One of the highlights of the show was the amazing design, especially the lighting scheme dreamed up by Chris Lee. Since the action all takes place on one set, it was up to Lee to enhance the emotions of the songs with his transformative designs. While he’s never met a blue gel he didn’t like, I have to admit that Lee’s lighting is easily becoming one of the many attractive features about seeing shows at Signature. 

The same is true for the scenic design, this time by Schaeffer, and the mish mash of costumes by Kathleen Geldard, which could’ve easily fallen into the “let’s see what’s in the costume trunk” category but easily and eloquently help determine each of the character’s era. The rustic train depot set worked well as it could’ve easily been anywhere in time as well as anywhere in the U.S. Crossing is most decidedly a show with American themes of regret, hope, missed opportunities, etc., all of which ring true from decade to decade, era to era, generation to generation.

Featuring: Austin Colby (Soldier), Florence Lacey (Woman with Flowers), Christopher Mueller (Backpacker), Ines Nassara (Civil Rights Marcher), Tracy Lynn Olivera (Woman in Pink), Nova Y. Payton (Homeless Woman) John Ray (Boy) Chris Sizemore (Wealthy Man), and Peggy Yates (Mother).

Book by Grace Barnes
Music & Lyrics by Matt Conner
Additional Lyrics by Grace Barnes
Directed by Eric Schaeffer
Orchestrator August Eriksmoen
Music Director Gabe Mangiante
Scenic Design Eric Schaeffer 
Costume Design Kathleen Geldard
Lighting Design Chris Lee
Stage Manager Kerry Epstein

Tickets: Ticketmaster (703) 573-SEAT (7328)
Signature Theatre • 4200 Campbell Avenue • Arlington, VA 22206

http://www.signature-theatre.org

"King Lear" - A Performance for the Ages

By Judd Hollander

Frank Langella gives a marvelous performance as the title character in a sturdy production of William Shakespeare's King Lear. Currently at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the play presents a classic example of a man who learns too late the folly of pride, arrogance and the dangers of making assumptions.

In ancient Britain, Lear, now nearing 80, has decided to divest himself of his throne and all the power and responsibilities that come with it as he begins to make the final "crawl towards death". He plans to divide his kingdom into thirds, each section going to one of his three daughters. However before Lear makes his bequests, he demands each of his children tell him how much they love him. His first two daughters Goneril (Catherine McCormack) and Regan (Lauren O'Neil), married to Albany (Chu Omambala) and Cornwall (Tim Treloar) respectively, swear their undying love for him above all else, but when his third and favorite child Cordelia (Isabella Laughland) says she only loves Lear as a daughter loves a father, reserving her greatest love for her future husband, Lear becomes enraged and disinherits her. When Kent (Steven Pacey), a noblemen and Lear's long-time faithful friend desperately tries to get Lear to reverse his edict, he finds himself banished for his pains.

It is Lear's intention to spend his retirement shuttling between the estates of his two remaining daughters, staying a month with each, along with the 100 knights he has in his company. However Goneril and Regan, who were always more interested in what their father can do for them rather than his actual welfare, have other ideas. Not relishing having to play host to his vast entourage and demanding he start exhibiting the proper respect now due them, the two set their own conditions for Lear's visitations. His sudden change of circumstances forcing Lear to realize just how impotent he has become. A fact his Fool (Harry Melling) keeps reminding him, and which causes Lear's aged mind to begin to crack under the strain. Refusing to surrender to his daughter's commands, Lear finds himself left to the mercy of the elements, his only remaining companions being the aforementioned Fool and the ever-faithful Kent, who has returned to Lear's side in the guise of a servant.

While all this is going on Edmund (Max Bennett), the bastard son of the well-regarded Gloucester (Denis Conway), angered by his illegitimate status, sets in motion a scheme whereby his older brother and the legitimate heir Edgar (Sebastian Armesto) is seemingly plotting Gloucester's death. As a result Edgar is forced to flee while Edmund takes pains to make sure his father does not find out the truth of the matter. Eventually these two plotlines come together when Lear encounters the nearly naked Edgar, who has disguised himself as a mad beggar; while Edmund chooses to side with Goneril and her just as ruthless husband Cornwall against Gloucester - who has remained loyal to Lear.

King Lear is one of the most oft-performed plays in the Shakespeare canon, containing not only a choice title part for any actor of a certain age, but also numerous examples of generational conflict to which most people can relate. Also present are underlying messages that with age does not always come wisdom and how pride unchecked can quickly bring one to ruin. A fact Lear soon learns to his sorrow. 

One of the more appealing elements of the play is the surprising amount of humor in the text. The lighter moments often existing side by side with the darker ones. One such example is when Lear in a rage screams how sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have thankless child, and then, shortly after meeting the disguised Edgar, asking the younger man if his condition is due to the actions of the beggar's daughters. It's this interesting mixture of the two genres that makes the play move so well.

Langella is wonderful as Lear, the character at first wearily but ably wearing the mantle of authority he has carried for decades, along with a sometimes violent temper. However once he becomes simply another common man he learns that traits tolerated when he wore the crown are not always accepted when one lacks the power to back them up. As such, he finds there is naught he can do but rage against his tormentors, disintegrating both mentally and physically right before the audience's eyes till nothing is left but a pitiful old man. Though Lear is also capable of moments of tenderness and remorse, they often come too late to save himself and those he loves.

Bennett is nicely appealing as Edmund, at first coming off as a sort of mischievous rogue who carries out his machinations with explanations and asides to the audience all delivered in a witty and matter of fact way that makes the character somewhat endearing. All of which help to leaven out the deadly seriousness of the situation, as he uses everyone in his orbit as helpless pawns in order to further his own ends. Those ends include trying to decide whether he will offer his sword - and his intimate services - to either Goneril, who is disgusted with the indecision of her husband Albany, or to the recently-widowed Regan. Each sister offering themselves to Edmund to help ensure the continuation of their own positions of power.

McCormack and O'Neill are good as Goneril and Regan, the two initially appearing as loyal and loving daughters; this quickly proving to be a disguise to hide their ultimate ruthlessness and lust for power. Allies with one another when expedient, they are each more than willing to turn on each other if circumstances warrant.

Pacey makes a good Kent, a man determined to help Lear in spite of himself, while Conway is a believable and occasionally bombastic Gloucester, but who, like Lear, is unable to see the treachery in his own family until it is almost too late. Pacey also gets in some humorous moments of his own, such as when Kent attacks a servant of Goneril's for insulting Lear. Melling makes an interesting Fool and Armesto works well as Edgar, the final showdown between Edgar and Edmund both well-choreographed and realistically presented. Laughland is effective as Cordelia, her few scenes showing this character to be both Lear's conscience and one who is wise beyond her years.

Angus Jackson's direction is very strong throughout, allowing the different elements of the show to come to the fore as needed. There is also very little feeling of anything being padded or poorly paced, the show moving along well despite its lengthy running time.

Robert Innes Hopkins' sets work well and his various costumes are nicely done. Peter Mumford's lighting is very good here and the various effects, such as the storm scene are quite effective indeed. The only major technical problem is that it was hard to hear what was being said by some of the characters at times, especially during the first half of he show.

Strong performances, good direction and mostly good technical aspects make this a King Lear well worth catching.

Also in the cast are Rob Heaps, Rendah Haywood, Tom Mothersdale, William Reay, Michael Sheldon, Part Thakerar and Alan Vicary.

King Lear
by William Shakespeare

Featuring: Sebastian Armesto (Edgar), Max Bennett (Edmund), Denis Conway (Gloucester), Rob Heaps (France/King/Guard), Rendah Haywood (Ensemble/Understudy), Frank Langella (King Lear), Isabella Laughland (Cordelia), Catherine McCormack (Goneril), Harry Melling (Fool), Tom Mothersdale (Oswald), Chu Omambala (Albany), Lauren O'Neil (Regan), Steven Pacey (Kent), William Reay (Burgundy/Captain/Guard), Michael Sheldon (French Commander/Servant), Parth Thakerar (Servant/Herald/Messenger), Tim Treloar (Cornwall), Alan Vicary (Doctor)

Set and Costume Design: Robert Innes Hopkins
Lighting Design: Peter Mumford
Music Composed by Isobel Waller-Bridge
Sound Design: Fergus O'Hare
Fight Director: Terry King
Casting Director: Gabrielle Dawes
Directed by Angus Jackson


Brooklyn Academy of Music
BAM Harvey Theatre
651 Fulton Street
Tickets: 718-636-4100 or www.bam.org
Running Time: Three Hours, including one intermission
Closes: February 9, 2014

"The Night Alive" -Where Friendships and Relationships Collide, Separate and Collide Again

By Judd Hollander

In The Night Alive, playwright Conor McPherson offers a powerful look at people on the edges of society attempting to survive the best they can. All the while trying to fight off the terrible fear of loneliness they carry inside.

In present-day Dublin Tommy (Ciarán Hinds), a good-hearted yet somewhat brutish fellow who walked out on his family, is living in an old house owned by his aged uncle Maurice (Jim Norton). Tommy's living space being best described as in a perpetual state of extreme disarray. A constant companion of Tommy's is Doc (Michael McElhatton), a bit of a slow-witted philosopher type who sometime in the past latched onto Tommy and never really left.

This tenuous living situation is disrupted when Tommy comes to the aid of the much-younger Aimee (Caoilfhionn Dunne) during her altercation another man. Someone she apparently knows quite well and whom she would do anything to avoid in the future. Like the rest of the characters in the story, Aimee is a bit of a question mark when it comes to her past. Is she a prostitute, a runaway or someone fleeing a bad relationship? Either way, Tommy takes her into his home and, as time goes on, begins
to see a possible future with her. Though Aimee's past and Tommy's friends may upset these perhaps too hopeful plans for the future.

The play is an involving character study about people with precious little in their lives grabbing onto whatever constants they can find in order to make themselves feel both normal and comfortable in their existence. Such as Maurice allowing Tommy to stay with him and also allowing Doc, and eventually Aimee, to crash there simply because he hates being alone. This despite him being the only one with any kind of financial wherewithal. This need also manifests itself in Tommy's continually looking after Doc simply because he feels sorry for him, as well as being a little protective, at least to a point. There's also
Doc's need to belong somewhere which is reason he keeps hanging around. It also helps that these characters are interesting enough for the audience to follow, with each having a least a few brief moments where they get to show just who they are and the desperation inside them.

Another underlying theme present is the importance of happily ever after coming at a time when everyone involved is ready for it. I.E. just because someone has fall in love with another, or thinks they have, doesn't mean the other person in the equation feels the same way; as relationships and friendships are usually contingent upon those involved being emotionally able to handle them. A point which becomes clear when Tommy makes plans to go away with Aimee, leaving Doc to his own devices.

The script and performances are nicely drawn out in a leisurely place, yet with a continual undercurrent of tension always present. Something which comes to a head when Kenneth (Brian Gleeson), Aimee's former acquaintance, suddenly appears. Said appearance serving as the catalyst for what is to follow.

Casting is very good, Hinds makes an excellent Tommy. A not-all-that-lovable loser type, but with a personal set of ethics and slowly changing priorities which make quite him intriguing. He's also the character who changes the most over the course of the story. Morton is fine as Maurice, a rather crotchety sort with a rather short temper and set-in-his-ways feel. Someone who, like Tommy, has a tender side not always visible at first glance. McElhatton is good as Doc, a good-hearted fellow with the soul of a poet. Doc's ramblings about God and the universe showing how interconnected everything is, while at the same time showing how insignificant we all are in the greater scheme of things.

Dunne works quite well as Aimee, a girl on the run. Just what she's trying to hide from or put behind her is open to question, though there are more than a few hints in that regard. There is also a hint of vulnerability behind her seemingly hard veneer. Kenneth is the one character not fully-drawn, but Gleeson makes his entrance on the scene fraught with tension, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats as they wait for what he may or may not inflict on those unlucky enough to cross his path.

McPherson, who also handles the directing chores here, helms the story with a sure hand, letting the text and characters unfold naturally with nothing feeling forced, padded or staged in any way. Soutra Gilmour's set of Tommy's room is messy enough to hide a multitude of sins, and her costumes nicely fit in with the story presented. The sound design by Gregory Clarke is also very good.

An well crafted multi-layered tale, The Night Alive presents a quietly powerful look at people's possibilities, hopes and dreams. It should also be noted however, that not everything is nice and neat when all is finished - just like life that way.

The Donmar Warehouse Production of
The Night Alive
written and directed by Conor McPherson

Featuring: Ciarán Hinds (Tommy), Caoilfhionn Dunne (Aimee), Michael
McElhatton (Doc), Jim Norton (Maurice), Brian Gleeson (Kenneth)

Sets and Costumes: Soutra Gilmour
Lights: Neil Austin
Sound: Gregory Clarke
U.K. Casting: Alistair Coomer CDG
Violence Consultant: J. David Brimmer
Production Stage Manager: Mary Kathryn Flynt
Press Representative: Boneau/Bryan-Brown
Production Manager: Michael Wade
Associate Artistic Director: Christian Parker
General Manager: Jamie Tyrol
Assistant Stage Manager: Patrick Wetzel

Atlantic Theatre Company
Linda Gross Theater
336 West 20th Street
Tickets: 866-811-4111 or www.atlantictheater.org.
Running Time: 1 Hour, 50 Minutes, no intermission


Closed: February 2, 2014

"The Jacksonian" - Taut and Suspensful

By Judd Hollander

Some people will go to extreme lengths to avoid being alone while at the same time doing their best to ignore the gravity of their situation even as it comes crashing down around them. A point soberly brought home in Beth Henley's The Jacksonian, now being presented by The New Group at Theatre Row Studios.

1964 Jackson, Mississippi. Bill Perch (Ed Harris), a local and well-respected dentist is going through a rough patch. His practice is losing money and he's moved out of his home at the request of his wife Susan (Amy Madigan), ending up at the Jacksonian Hotel, one of the less respectable establishments in town. Here he has remained for several months, despite the continual pleas of his teenage daughter Rosy, (Juliet Brett), a somewhat hi-strung sort, that he return home.

However Bill may have bigger problems than the possible the end of his marriage. He has trouble controlling his temper, is addicted to nitrous oxide and chloroform, among other substances, and soon catches the eye of hot-to-trot hotel employee Eva White (Glenne Headly), who is looking for her latest meal ticket. Bill also may be in trouble with the state licensing board over an alleged incident with one of his patients. As for Eva, she was originally going out with Fred Weber (Bill Pullman), the monosyllabic, slow moving hotel bartender who keeps hemming and hawing about their plans to marry. At least that was her plan before Bill became a possibility in her eyes. Fred's quiet manner also hiding an unsettling air of danger about him. Meanwhile, the entire town is dealing with the aftermath of a gas station shooting where a young mother was killed, an elderly black man now on death row for the crime. Though some have doubts he actually pulled the trigger.

With all these volatile elements threatening to explode, it's not surprising there's murder afresh in the air. Though in actuality the murder is committed even before the play begins with Rosy announcing this to the audience in the opening moments, the question then becoming who was killed, who did the killing, and why. Taking place over an approximately seven month period, the play skillfully flashes back and forward in time answering these questions while showing how damaged each of the people in the story actually are.

If there's a constant theme running through Hanley's text, it's how change can be both terribly frightening and exhilarating at the same time. Each of the characters having to make that choice or face it being made for them. Conversely, many of those portrayed are also desperately trying to hold on to what makes sense to them, even if it's entirely the wrong thing to do. Such as Susan, who is clearly ready to leave Bill on the one hand, but on the other still has a deep sense of proprietary rights when it comes to his relationship with Eva.

Casting is excellent. Harris is great as the rapidly downward spiraling Bill. A man whose addictions threaten to consume him even as he strives to maintain an air of respectability. He's also has a rather strong anti-racist streak in him, continually correcting the racial epithets hurled by Eva. Indeed, one begins to wonder if the incident with one of his patients happened solely because of his rumored inebriation or was in actuality a strike against a bigoted person egged on by Bill's clouded judgment.

Where Harris' character wears his emotions just below the surface, Pullman plays Fred as a sort of ticking time bomb. His appearance calling to mind an aging Elvis Presley, there is something about his performance that's positively skin-crawling. Yet at the same time so compelling, it's impossible to take one's eyes off him whenever he's on stage. Fred also makes quiet clear his intentions toward Bill's wife and daughter; ones that may lead to no good if followed up on.

Madigan is okay as Susan, though this is the one place where Henley didn't develop a character as much as she should. Susan often existing more as a plot device, one representing home and togetherness for both Bill and Rosy rather than anything resembling flesh and blood and it would have been nice to see a little more of who she is, as she's only given a fleeting moment or two to define herself. Still Madigan does well with what she has to work with.

Headly is fine as Eva, a stereotypical southern redneck who has her own hopes and dreams for the future even through they're pretty much non-realistic from the get go. She's also not above using her feminine wiles to snare a man with deep financial pockets, while not caring in the least who she may hurt in the process.

Brett is interesting as Rosy, a quiet and shy girl desperate for her mother and father to reunite yet also contemplating a rather dangerous fall back position if that doesn't happen. More worried about being left alone than anything else, it is in Brett's and Pullman's scenes together - one which is quite painful to watch - which clearly shows how terrifying change can be for some people. Brett also serves the narrator for the play, setting up the story at the beginning and imparting the denouement at the end, the moments tying things up in a very realistic and satisfactory, if not completely neat package.

Robert Falls' direction is sure handed here, helping the piece to move in a lackadaisical manner which benefits the story atmosphere, yet never making anything feel overlong or unnecessary. Falls also helps to keep the tension present throughout, setting up a situation where one can never tell what will happen next, with the threat of violence never far away.

Walt Spangler's set of the hotel is excellent, nicely setting the tone and place for the story. Bill's hotel room having the air of a thousand similar locations around the country; that being one of impersonality, loneliness and completely devoid of intimacy. Costumes by Richard Woodbury are good and Woodbury's sound design and Daniel Ionazzi's lighting work very well here, especially in the opening and closing sequences. The fight choreography by Ned Mochel is superbly done and quite realistic.

Tautly written and staged where the outcome is never certain until the very end, The Jacksonian is a gripping suspense thriller offering a haunting look at people caught up in circumstances of their own making without a moral compass to guide them home.

The Jacksonian

Featuring: Ed Harris (Bill Perch), Glenne Headly (Eva White), Amy Madigan (Susan Perch), Bill Pullman (Fred Weber), Juliet Brett (Rosy Perch).

Written by Beth Henley
Scenic Design: Walt Spangler
Costume Design: Ana Kuzmanic
Lighting Design: Daniel Ionazzi
Costume and Sound Design: Richard Woodbury
Assistant Director: Young Ji
Fight Coordinator: Ned Mochel
Production Supervisor: PRF Productions
Production Stage Manager: Valerie A. Wright
Casting: Judy Henderson, CSA
Public Relations: Bridget Klapinski
Advertising: DR Advertising
General Management: DR Theatrical Management
Directed by Robert Falls

Presented by The New Group
Theatre Row Studios
Acorn Theatre
410 West 42nd Street
Running Time: 1 hour, 35 minutes, no intermission

Closed: December 22, 2013

“Juno and the Paycock”- A Brilliant Look at Those in the Dregs of Despair

By Judd Hollander

Photos by James Higgins

The Irish Repertory Theatre hits a home run with their presentation of Juno and the Paycock, a searing indictment of how far a man will go to keep the cloak of deniability about him, while at the same time showing how some people, no matter how patient and understanding they may be, eventually reach the breaking point. All brought powerfully home by J. Smith Cameron and Ciarán O'Reilly as the title characters.

1922 - Dublin, Ireland. A civil war is raging and people are getting shot in the street. Living in the midst of the turmoil is the working class Boyle family. The matriarch of which is Juno (Cameron), a hardworking woman with an alcoholic and basically worthless husband - "Captain" Jack (O'Reilly) - whose chronic "pains in his legs" seem to get worse whenever he learns of even the remotest chance of a job opportunity. Jack, who still has more than a little spirit left in him, spends most of his time with Joxer Daily (John Keating) another useless fellow, the latter sponging off whomever he can. There's also Juno and Jack's bitter son Johnny (Ed Malone) who had his arm shattered in one of the street clashes and who still has nightmares what happened; as well as their pretty daughter Mary (Mary Mallen) who recently broke up with longtime boyfriend Jerry Devine (David O'Hara) after she becomes attracted to Charlie Bentham (John Russell), a person who may be the key to a better life for her.

As it turns out, the entire family may soon get a better life when Charlie, who works in a law firm, reveals Jack to be one of two heirs set to receive monies from a huge estate. Overjoyed, the family begins to dream about what is to come, with no shortage of people willing to offer them credit once word of the expected windfall spreads. However things are not always as bright as they first appear and soon talk arises that what has been promised may not arrive at all as the family's window of opportunity that all too unexpectedly opened in front of them, slowly and inexorably begins to shut.

Juno and the Paycock is at its heart a strong family drama with the different political factors that enveloped Dublin at the time helping to give it a specific sense of atmosphere. This is nicely illustrated by having a funeral procession passing by the Boyle's front door while they celebrate their sudden change of status inside. It also helps immeasurably that every one of the characters is clearly drawn with nothing stereotypical or caricature-like about any of them.

Smith-Cameron is superb as Juno, a no-nonsense woman who has the patience of a saint and the tooth of a serpent. One long since fed up with the antics of her husband but still sticking by him both for the sake of the family and because she loves him still. It takes a threat to one of her children to realize that if she doesn't try to change things for herself and those around her, no one else will.

O'Reilly does very well with the character of Jack, a rouge of a fellow with a gift for the blarney. The stories he tells even when everyone, including the audience, knows full well he is lying are hilarious. The Captain is not so much a dreamer as he is a realist, accepting his position in life, happy in drink and in the company of Joxer - a man who's presence can lead to no good, but Jack is long past the point of caring about such things. There's a pivotal moment when he realizes what his options are and one can see just how tiny this once gregarious man has become.

Keating is interesting as Joxer, playing the role as more of one continually in the right place at the right time rather than a consummate schemer who cannot be trusted. Likeable enough, he will not think twice of betraying a friend if it is to his advantage. Joxer is also a born survivor, always finding someone he can take advantage of and leaving one with no doubt he will always land on his feet, albeit on the backs of others.

Malone nicely gives Johnny a haunting quality, a man prone fits of terror as a result of past events and his involvement in them. Mallen is good as the hopeful Mary, a girl wanting something more than the life to which she was raised, though she's not above letting her heart get in the way of reason. O'Hara gives Malone a salt-of-the-earth quality as one who loves Mary dearly even as she begins to grow beyond him. Russell works well as Bentham, a man whose motives may not be as pure as originally thought.

Charlotte Moore's direction is excellent here, keeping the show tightly focused and intimate while allowing the cast and situations to connect with the audience; be the moments comic, dramatic or a combination of both. There is also no feeling whatsoever of the show being stilted or overlong.

James Noone's set of the Boyle home is well done, nicely adding to the feeling of both the hopelessness, and later hopefulness the family feels - at least for a while. The lighting effects by Brian Nason are good and the sound design by M. Florian Staab is strong.

An intimate portrait of a family at wit's end as life threatens to completely overwhelm them while they continue slowly tearing each other apart, this production of Juno and the Paycock is a winner at every level.

Also in the cast are Terry Donnelly, Fiana Tobin, Laurence Lowry, Ciaran Byrne and Kern McFadden.

Juno and the Paycock

Featuring: Mary Mallen (Mary Boyle), J. Smith-Cameron (June Boyle), Ed Malone (Johnny Boyle), David O'Hara (Jerry Devine), Ciarán O'Reilly ("Captain" Jack Boyle), John Keating (Joxer Daly), James Russell (Charlie Bentham), Terry Donnelly (Maisie Madigan), Fiana Tobin (Mrs. Tancred), Laurence Lowry (Neighbor/An Irregular/A Moving Man), Ciaran Byrne ("Needle" Nugent), Kern McFadden (An Irregular Mobilizer)

Written by Sean O'Casey

Scenic Design: James Noone

Costume Design: David Toser

Lighting Design: Brian Nason

Sound Design: M. Florian Staab

Properties: Sven Henry Nelson

Wigs: Robert Charles Vallence

Dialect Coash: Stephen Gabis

Casting: Deborah Brown

Production Stage Manager: Pamela Brusoski

Assistant Stage Manager: Rebecca C. Monroe

Press Representative: Shirley Herz Associates

Directed by Charlotte Moore

Presented by The Irish Repertory Theatre

132 West 22nd Street

Tickets: 212-727-2737 or www.irishrep.org

Running Time: Two Hours, 15 minutes, with one intermission

Closes: December 29, 2013

Sheri Sanders Blows the Roof Off the Joint - "Sheri Sanders: In Concert"

By Rob Hartmann

Part rock concert, part master class, part interactive exploration of pop music history, and part autobiography-confessional, Sheri Sanders: In Concert is a theatrical experience unlike any other.

Sheri Sanders is currently best known for her long running series of classes, “Rock the Audition” (which later became a book and DVD), in which she gives musical theater actors the tools to fully engage with pop and rock music – music which can be intimidating and mystifying to performers raised on show tunes.

Sanders, along with director Joe Barros and musical director Meg Zervoulis, created an evening which gives three dimensional life to her credo: that rock and pop songs are inextricably entwined with the social history of their time – but that performers today can connect with them as still-living, still-relevant personal expressions.

Each performance of the concert featured a different opening act: Todd Almond, (www.toddalmond.com), Bobby Cronin (www.bobbycronin.com) Joe Iconis (www.mrjoeiconis.com), Michael Mott (www.michaelmott.net), Brad Simmons and Paul Oakley Stovall, Katie Thompson (www.katiethompson.com) and, at this performance, Max Vernon (www.maxvernon.com).

Max Vernon, accompanying himself at the piano, began with a wry song that drew on his days as a young fixture on the fashion-punk-party scene: “Lower East Side Angry Face.” His set included two moving numbers from his new musical, The View UpStairs, inspired by the horrific 1973 arson attack on a gay club in New Orleans.

Sanders is a tasty explosion of fizzy giddiness as she charges onto the stage. The simple setting pays respect to both the past and the future: downstage is a portable record player and a collection of LPs; stage right is a flat-screen where images of pop music icons float by.

Sanders immediately takes the audience in hand as she unrolls the tale of her journey from performer to teacher and mentor. After early career success, she fell prey to vicious self-sabotage. In order to take the pressure off herself, she decided to put the focus on others: she would step back from the intensity of high-stakes auditions, and teach what she had learned.

Sanders immersed herself in studying pop music history hand in hand with cultural history, specifically from a performer’s point of view.  She developed a course (at one point she displays the very first flyer she ever posted, complete with rainbow background) which eventually grew into “Rock the Audition.”

She segues effortlessly into a brief survey pop music history, shifting into song to demonstrate points – dipping into the blues tune “Come Back, Baby” and later Leonard Cohen’s “Suzanne”, as covered by Judy Collins.

Sanders is a consummate performer, able to shift emotional gears and fully inhabit any style of music with complete conviction and authenticity.  After completely mesmerizing the audience on her own, she takes the spotlight off herself, and transforms the proceedings briefly into a master class. Two different students took part each night of the concert; at this performance, they were Elijah Caldwell and Jessica Norland. Sanders first worked with Caldwell on his rendition of Earth, Wind & Fire’s 1979 hit “Boogie Wonderland”; in minutes she had him loosened up and fully embracing the spirit of the 70s with a full-on disco falsetto.

Norland’s song was Heart’s 1985 “Nothin’ At All.” At first, Norland gave a completely credible, straightforward rendition of the song, in a clear, strong voice. With quick, intuitive coaching from Sanders, Norland completely transformed her voice and physicality: a new power, strength, and confidence, completely emanating from the music.

Much credit must be given to music director Zervoulis, who coaxed sounds of every decade from the piano. Playing rock music convincingly at a solo piano is extremely difficult; the genre is built for guitars and drums. Zervoulis breathed along with Sanders and the student singers, while keeping a rock-steady rhythmic drive.

After watching Sanders in action as a master teacher, we resume the story of her journey: landing a book deal by cold calling the music publisher Hal Leonard. (The book and accompanying DVD were reviewed on this site here: http://www.stagebuzz.com/2011/09/book-review-rock-audition-how-to.html)

In a dizzying montage, we see Sanders come smack up against a grim truth of the entertainment industry: in the end, so many of the people employed to help  – publishers, PR reps, agents – do very little. The artist is on her own.

This is a point where many one-person shows would stop, content to sigh or sneer at the cynical realities of “the business.” Sanders moves through it, in a moving, deeply felt exploration of “The Great Escape”, written by Pink and Dan Wilson.

I’m the king of the great escape
You’re not going to watch me checkin’ out of this place
You’re not going to lose me, cause the passion and pain
Are going to keep us alive someday
Yeah the passion and the pain
Are going to keep us alive, someday

Sanders understands that the artist’s journey is equal parts passion and pain: they are inescapably bound to each other. She recognizes it in her own life’s story, and in the stories of the pop and rock artists whom she honors.

The evening was subtly and fluidly directed by Joe Barros, who keeps the narrative thread moving through each shift of format. Holly Long contributes skillful lighting design which moves effortlessly from intense, deep tones during the performances, to bright clarity when Sanders chats with the audience.

The innovative producers of the event were Kenny Metzger and Kristin Morris, operating under the auspices of the Araca Project, which seeks to mentor up and coming producers.

Sheri Sanders In Concert concluded its limited run in New York on October 2^nd, but will tour in conjunction with Sanders schedule teaching master classes at colleges, universities and theaters across the country. If you have the opportunity to see Sheri Sanders work her alchemic magic of performance and transformative teaching in person, do not miss it. In days past, Broadway shows or television series would be built around Sheri Sanders and her extravagant hug-you-madly personality: we can only hope that the industry will take note and bring us more Sheri Sanders, pronto.

Sheri Sanders: In Concert. September 25 – October 2, The American Theatre of Actors, 314 W. 54^th Street. Produced by Kenny Metzger and Kristin Morris, KMM Productions, LLC. Conceived by Sheri Sanders. Directed by Joe Barros. Musical direction by Meg Zervoulis. Lighting design by Holly Long. Sound design by Andy Sowers. Casting by Kitay-Witt Casting. Stage manager, Tiffany de Bruyn. Assistant director, Aimée Cucchiaro.

"Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty: A Gothic Romance" - Wonderful melding of movement and story

By Judd Hollander

With a crash of thunder and the stirring sounds of Tchaikovsky's music, Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty bursts wonderfully upon the City Center stage. Drawing inspiration from several sources - including the Grimm's fairy tale and Disney animated film - as well as new material created especially for this production, the work is able to stand completely on its own thanks to director/choreographer's Bourne's vision.

This particular tale begins in the year 1890 where a childless King (Edwin Ray) and Queen (Daisy May Kemp) implore Carabosse, the dark fairy (Tom Jackson Greaves) to bless them with the offspring they so desperately seek. Carabosse grants their request, but when the new parents fail to show the proper gratitude in return, the now-angry fairy descends on their castle with a pair of hellhoundish-like servants to place a curse on the infant child. One which will destroy her when she comes of age. Fortunately all is not lost as Count Lilac, the King of the Fairies (Liam Mower) and some of the magical creatures under his command arrive to save the infant Princess Aurora (played by a marionette as a child - wonderfully brought to life by the puppeteers in the Company - and Ashley Shaw as an adult). Yet even though Carabosse is defeated, her son Caradoc (Jackson) returns years later to wreck vengeance in his mother's name. This time, the best Count Lilac can do is soften the curse and place Aurora into a deep sleep until her one true love arrives to break the spell.

This is a production filled with universal themes: good versus evil and the power of true love being the two most obvious examples. There's also a hint of class prejudice present - as shown via Leo, the Royal Gamekeeper (Dominic North) who Aurora seems to love dearly, but as she's quite literally a pampered princess, she also enjoys the company of high society and all the attention that goes with it. Through it all, Bourne takes great pains to leaven out the more serious sequences by tossing in some enjoyable moments of merriment. Such as when the palace servants try to care for the tantrum-throwing infant Princess while her parents just flit in and out to dote on her now and again. Showing quite clearly how it takes a village to raise a child and that doing so is not all fun and games. There are also some funny moments in the beginning of act two - set in 2011 - when a group of kids with iPhones take pictures of themselves in front of the now-closed up castle which has become overgrown with rose bushes. Bourne also nicely shows the wonderment the child Aurora first experiences when the fairies appear at her bedside one night.

Just as interesting are the way the various acting styles themselves unfold. At first everything shown seems slightly off-center; as if what we're seeing isn't quiet real, with movements that look quite stiff - apparently deliberately so - with the different characterizations feeling only half formed. Something that also carries over to the dancing. It's only when Aurora becomes a young woman and she and Leo are together do the tightly controlled movements really start to explode, with everything becoming more fluid, graceful and flowing. In both dance and expression.

Some of the best dancing occurs in the second act where Caradoc holds the sleeping Aurora captive, and who is now determined to make her his unwilling bride, yet needing Leo's love to waken her after 100 years of slumber. While Cardoc's plans are unfolding, Leo is involved in a mission of his own. That being to find Aurora, while Count Lilac does whatever he can to aid him in his search. This entire extended sequence being a variation on the "quest" storyline with Leo having previously being given the ability to remain near the Princess thanks to Count Lilac in one of the more erotic moments of the production.

Mower is wonderful as Count Lilac, a sort of combination avenging angel and noble guardian. His various movements filled with passion and a determination to make sure Aurora ultimately survives the tragedy that has befallen her. Shaw is great as Aurora, her dancing and actions showing the exuberance of youth, the wonder of first love and the restraints and liberation that come with the privilege and position she holds. A particularly enchanting scene, one bordering on farce, occurs as Aurora is getting ready for a party with her friends and parents when Leo sneaks in and Aurora must take great pains to hide Leo's presence from others who walk in and out of her room. The nature of the story limits Shaw's performance at times, particularly in the second act, but she still rises to the occasion when called for. Who knew that a sleeping person could be so animated?

Greaves' performances come across as strong and impassioned. Playing both the dark and foreboding Carabosse, arriving in manner akin to a Disney villain, and her vengeful son, eventually becoming almost animalistic in his actions in the latter role. Caradoc's evil plans making him a good contrast for the heroic Leo, North nicely embodying the qualities of both rebelliousness and impetuousness as he too comes of age in this timeless tale, the two playing off each other well in their eventual showdown.

Bourne has a strong handle on what he wants to present, his directorial and choreographic efforts succeeding flawlessly while working in the various dance styles - ones which range from quietly subdued to those brimming with an athletic grace - into the storyline he helped envision. Juggling both moments of humor and despair, as well as those of hope and desire, he is able to make the entire production come brilliantly together in a cohesive and very satisfying whole.

Also deserving of credit are the various costumes by Lez Brotherston, which are wondrous to behold. Brotherston's impressive sets also working well in helping to set the atmosphere for the overall story.

Wonderfully conceived, beautifully executed to showcase a rich tapestry of both dance and performance, Sleeping Beauty is a joy from start to finish and a fine feather in the cap of Matthew Bourne as well as everybody else connection with the production.

Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty: A Gothic Romance

Featuring: Edwin Ray (King Benedict), Daisy May Kemp (Queen Eleanor), Ashley Shaw (Princess Aurora, their daughter), Dominic North (Leo, the Royal Gamekeeper), Liam Mower (Count Lilac, King of the Fairies), Tom Jackson Greaves (Carabosse, the dark fariy/Caradoc, her son), Mari Kamata (Ardor, the Fairy of Passion), Katy Lowenhoff (Hibernia, the Fairy of Rebirth), Joe Walkling (Artumnus, the Fairy of Plenty), Dena Lague (Feral, the Fairy of Spirit, Luke Murphy (Tantrum, the Fairy of Temperament), Daniel Collins (Lord Rupert, Suitor to Aurora), Danny Reubens (Viscount Aubrey, another Suitor), Mami Tomotani (Miss Maddox, Aurora's Nanny), Pia Driver (Flossie (Aurora's Maid), Leon Moran (Archie, Palace Footman), Phil Jack Gardner (Bertie, Palace Footman)

Carabosse Attendants, Garden Party Guests, Tourists, Sleepwalkers, Caradoc's Henchman, Wedding Guests and Puppeteers all performed by members of the Company.

Directed, Choreographed, and New Scenario by Matthew Bourne

Music Composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Set and Costume Design by Lez Brotherston

Lighting Design by Paule Constable

Sound Design by Paul Groothuis

Associate Director: Etta Murfitt

Associate Choreographer: Christopher Marney

New York City Center

131 West 55th Street

Closed: November 3rd, 2013