GUEST REVIEWER: Return to the Comet

On revisiting NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812, I was pleased to discover that several points in my original review of December 3, needed updating for the better.
The reconsideration will come before the original review. 
Thank you,
Moshe Bloxenheim
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Return to the Comet

 Some additional thoughts about
the current Broadway Production of

 NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812

At the Imperial Theatre
February 19, 2017

by Moshe Bloxenheim 

Perhaps some performances have improved since December 3, or maybe on that night I had caught some cast members who were not at their very best.  It might even be that I needed a second visit to better appreciate the performances and the nuances of Ms. Rachel Chavkin’s direction.  Whatever the reason, I am delighted to say that I like NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812 even more now than when I had seen the show on December 3, 2016 and much of the “roughness” I had then perceived has been smoothed out.
While I still believe that Pierre’s Act One number “Dust and Ashes” is an unnecessary and badly placed song, it is now harder for me to resent Mr. Josh Groban’s star turn because his Pierre has become an excellent portrayal of the alienated and injured man who saves himself by saving Natasha’s reputation and throwing off his affected cynicism.
While Ms. Denée Benton’s previous performance already revealed the naïve and adored young lady who is the charming Countess Natasha, I now find Natasha’s state of high emotion and eventual despair in Act Two when her world collapses far more sympathetic and believable.  Natasha is no noble heroine but a real human being gripped in the power of an infatuation that she does not fully understand.  It is through Ms. Benton’s interpretation that we feel for Natasha and appreciate this innocent girl’s desperation when love, attraction and desire threaten her ideals, reputation and life.
Mr. Lucas Steele has added subtlety to his already admirable Prince Anatole, heightening the sense of a swaggering, self-involved predator who can easily delude himself that he and his amour share the same fascination.  There is less of the Muscovite Frat-Boy out to score now and more of the man who is lost in the sense of his own desirability and need for pleasure: never deliberately evil or out to harm, but extremely dangerous and so very alluring.
Finally, thanks must go to Mr. Nicholas Pope for achieving a better level of amplification.  There is less far less sonic blasting in the show than there had been at the December 3rd show and the voices are clear and can be far more easily associated with the performers who produce them.
 
Now on to the original review…
 

Back from the Front  

A review of the new Broadway Production of

NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812

At the Imperial Theatre

December 3, 2016

 
NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812 is a remarkable show that sweeps the audience into the chaotic and hedonistic world of Moscow during the Napoleonic wars.
Based on several chapters on Mr. Leo Tolstoy’s classic novel WAR AND PEACE, the story focuses on the Countess Natasha’s life-changing journey to this imposing city.  She and her cousin and dearest friend Sonya have gone to visit Natasha’s godmother Marya D. while she waits for her fiancé Prince Andrey to return from the war.  After paying a disastrous call on Andrey’s sister, the sacrificing Princess Mary, and his vicious and elderly father, Prince Bolkonsky, the distraught Natasha encounters the dangerously alluring Prince Anatole.  He is the brother-in-law of Pierre, an old family friend of Natasha.  Pierre has made a very unhappy marriage to Anatole’s sister, the unfaithful and manipulative Hélène.  In disgust at his life, Pierre isolates himself in his books, keeping a kindly but vague eye on the distressing world around him.
With the assistance of Hélène and his comrades, Anatole overwhelms the naïve Natasha with his fervent declarations of love. Ignorant of the fact that Anatole is already married, Natasha throws over her engagement to Andrey and prepares to elope with the romantic Anatole.  Sonya and Marya D. do their best to save Natasha in spite of herself, but it is Pierre who must try to put back the pieces of Natasha’s wrecked world and in doing so, discovers that he is not as isolated from life as he believes himself to be.
 
Ms. Denée Benton exhibits a girlish charm as the beautiful Countess Natasha.  Natasha knows she is pretty, loved and admired – especially due to her advantageous engagement to Prince Andrey – but in spite of the resentment this could have created, Ms. Benton shows the innocence of a girl discovering the big world that makes her very assumptions of rank and privilege downright endearing.   Ms. Benton lets us feel Natasha’s bewilderment as she rapidly finds herself clearly out of her depth and thrill to her discovery of what passion can be.  She has a fine acting range but in Act 2 there are moments that jar against the overall portrayal of the desperately heartbroken Natasha.  Perhaps it is the direction and staging, but Ms. Benton’s character sometimes comes across as shrilly self-dramatizing.  Musically, however, Ms. Benton is wonderfully consistent and does Natasha full justice at all times.
With her delightful vocal catch and country artlessness, Ms. Brittain Ashford’s Sonya is a delight to watch and hear.  She is truly an affectionate cousin, taking joy in being with Natasha, but when Natasha rushes into danger, Sonya understands that saving her dearest friend might cost her the friendship that she values so highly and Ms. Ashford’s performance of “Sonya Alone” is truly profound and honest.
Marya D. is a warm and caring hostess of these two young ladies while they are in Moscow and the glorious Ms. Grace McLean gives her role a booming enthusiasm that makes it impossible not to feel that she is welcoming the entire theater.  Whether Marya D. is chaperoning her charges and showing them the suitable pleasures of Moscow, or trying to avoid a disaster, Ms. McLean is no stranger to the grand manner, tossing off vital exposition in so matter-of-fact a way that it feels downright conversational.  Ms. McLean is always a vital presence in the show and unforgettable in the songs “In My House” and “A Call to Pierre” where she brings out Marya D.’s visceral turmoil in the face of Natasha’s crisis.
As the man who turns Natasha’s world upside down, Mr. Lucas Steele expertly plays Prince Anatole.  One can appreciate why Natasha loses her head over this charmer who is so invested in his own pleasure and aware of his own desirability that he assumes that everybody else will have a good time too, even his victims in amour.  In his acting and singing Mr. Steele never misses a note, whether Anatole is enticing Natasha at the ball, gathering up his resources for the elopement or having to face the ruin of his plans.
Hélène, Anatole’s sister is another fascinating and dangerous person and Ms. Amber Gray beautifully conveys her manipulative and dissolute allure.  In the alluring number “Charming,” Ms. Gray’s Hélène is the consummate seductress who turns Natasha’s head and makes the young Countess even more susceptible to Anatole.  Even when winning this young girl over Hélène exudes a slightly smirking air of someone who has lost all morals.  Hélène could be a truly evil character but Ms. Gray manages to let us feel the sadness of this lady who cannot comprehend anything better for herself than her lovers and her feckless brother.
If Hélène is a siren without virtue, Natasha’s intended Prince Andrey – starkly played by Mr. Nicholas Belton — provides the unspoken rebuke to all the indulgence that is going on in the face of war.  Though he is Natasha’s valiant hero, Andrey’s ideals seem better at a distance.  When Andrey does return, his rigid lack of empathy makes one feel that Natasha has a knack for unfortunate entanglements.  Mr. Belton also doubles in the role of Andrey’s father the decrepit and unpleasant Prince Bolkonsky.  Perhaps it fits in with the tongue-in-cheek conceit of this production, but I think that Mr. Belton’s dress-up charade of an elderly Prince could have been better developed to bring out more of the possessive decaying man who is out to embarrass his daughter and disconcert Natasha.
On the other hand Ms. Gelsey Bell’s Princess Mary is a brief but memorable character.  Both she and Mr. Belton are a worthy duo in “The Private and Intimate Life of the House” where Mr. Belton’s aged Prince Bolkonsky grinds down his selfless daughter, but it is Ms. Bell’s Princess Mary whose character gets fully shaded in as she combines the resentments and aggravation of this duty-bound young lady whose life is passing by with the protectiveness and even love that Mary feels as she watched her father’s deterioration.  The Princess Mary may be the only one who really cannot appreciate the fortunate and beautiful Natasha but Ms. Bell’s plain, spinsterish Mary with her isolation and anxieties deserves our sympathy.  Ms. Bell also makes a surreal impression in Act One as a stylized opera singer.
Speaking of stylized opera singers, Mr. Paul Pinto is quite striking as the other grotesque and stately performer at the Opera, and it is his rollicking, don’t-give-a-damn performance as the troika Driver Balaga that is a highlight of the evening.
Dolokhov’s role is described as “Minor” in the Prologue, nevertheless Mr. Nick Chokis ensures that he is a vital figure, providing a notable delivery as Hélène’s lover, noted duelist and Anatole’s comrade in dissipation.
The Prologue also asks: “What about Pierre?”
Mr. Josh Groban’s performance is very much in keeping with the outsider nature of everybody’s friend, the awkward and unhappy Pierre.  Unfortunately the direction Mr. Groban receives often seems to be intent on giving the audience their money’s worth of this famous star which does not assist the unity of the show.  There are times where he would be better served retreating into Pierre’s oft stated discomfort and confusion on the sidelines or offstage rather than remain left out on center stage (primarily in the piano pit where he plays some of his numbers).  It may not be Mr. Groban’s fault that he cannot become the definitive Pierre and we must settle for a star who gives a decent performance while singing beautifully.
The rest of the cast is made up of circuit party Muscovites, peasants and gypsies who are often undistinguishable from contemporary clubbers and that is both part of the fun and enhances the timelessness of the story.  They are certainly picturesque but are never mere window dressing.
 
Mr. David Malloy who created the book, music and lyrics of this fascinating adaptation of Mr. Leo Tolstoy’s novel does not attempt to create a period piece nor a modern reworking.  He presents the situations and the people and lets it all take place.  This creates some high powered storytelling where the action often happens at the same time as the narrative which describes it which can also shift speedily between a character’s viewpoint and that of the people around them.  Perhaps this is not always in keeping with typical musical theater but there are elements of a classic operatic mode and even something of a dramatic recital too.
Most of the incredible score is inseparable from what is happening.  Starting from the delightfully catchy opening Prologue which thumbs its nose at the current disdain for exposition and gleefully sets forth who is who in show, Mr. Malloy takes us through a variety of styles that push the story onwards – a folk song can become a dance rave; a quiet duet becomes an operatic challenge.  Conductor Or Matias and Music Coordinator John Miller both perceive how integral the music is and allow their skillful musicians to become part of the story.
For me, the only flaw in the dynamic score of NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812 is Pierre’s number “Dust and Ashes.”  It is a marvelous and thoughtful song and Mr. Josh Groban makes it a showpiece.  But it is the only song in the entire musical that does not add new insight to a character nor carry the action forward.  Instead, Mr. Groban takes the stage to sing a poetic and introspective song that restates much of what Pierre has already established, causing everything to grind to a halt for a badly placed star turn.  The audience loves “Dust and Ashes” but more for Mr. Groban’s sake than any other reason.  Placed where it is, the song actually weakens the show.
Besides the occasional highlighting of Mr. Groban, Director Rachel Chavkin obviously has worked hand in hand with Choreographer Sam Pinkleton in the inventive staging, uniting the different types of acting and singing and bringing the audience along as each step of the story unfolds.  Characters flow in and out of scenes and practically populate the Imperial Theater as they all head towards the shattering climax and its aftermath.  Even Ms. Mimi Lien’s flowing multileveled settings and Mr. Bradley King’s varied lighting schemes get into the act with performers in the audience, massive doors slamming and lights constantly moving and changing as if to comment on the story.
A show occurring in 1812 might be expected to have costumes firmly set in that time frame, but while much of Ms. Paloma Young’s attractive costumes and Ms. Leah J. Loukas’ wigs and hair designs are rooted in that era, these Napoleonically garbed performers could easily find themselves at home at the current Goth scene or one of today’s more baroque downtown gatherings.  This sense of timelessness allows even the use of modern light up sneakers or neon glow bands fit into the show as if in mocking comment on the idea that humanity is so much better now than in the turbulent years of the early 19th century.
Mr. Nicholas Pope is one of those Sound Technicians who sadly has yet to learn that even the loudest moment of a show can be handled with clarity and subtlety.  In justice, Mr. Pope’s sound design make the most quiet moments clear to the audience, but he cannot seem to comprehend what harm he is causing Mr. Malloy’s fine score, the excellent actors and the audience’s eardrums by his constant over amplifying of the show’s louder sequences.
Considering all the players and musicians who have to circulate through both the stage, orchestra and mezzanine areas of the theater, Production Stage Manager Karen Meek and her staff do first-rate work to make everything flow as seamlessly as it does.
 
While it might have its rough spots, NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812 is an amazing and engrossing show with a score that is unforgettable and I highly recommend it.
 
One final thought:  Since so much happens all over the Imperial Theatre, the best place to see NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812 is the Mezzanine.  Even the Rear Mezzanine gives a great view of all the proceedings.

About the reviewer:

MOSHE BLOXENHEIM
I am a computer programmer, wannabe writer who loves theater and just got into the habit of inflicting my theatrical opinions.
I live in New York. Moshe can be reached at MB1224@aol.com

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NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812
Runtime 2 hrs. and 30 min. Open Ended Run

Credits Book, music and lyrics by Dave Malloy; Directed by Rachel Chavkin

Cast Josh Groban (thru 7/2), Denée Benton, Dave Malloy (on select performances 5/4-6/27), Okieriete Onaodowan (starting 7/3), Brittain Ashford, Gelsey Bell, Nicholas Belton, Nick Choksi, Amber Gray, Grace McLean, Paul Pinto, Scott Stangland, Lucas Steele, Sumayya Ali, Courtney Bassett, Josh Canfield, Ken Clark, Erica Dorfler, Lulu Fall, Ashley Pérez Flanagan, Paloma Garcia-Lee, Nick Gaswirth, Alex Gibson, Billy Joe Kiessling, Mary Spencer Knapp, Reed Luplau, Brandt Martinez, Andrew Mayer, Azudi Onyejekwe, Pearl Rhein, Heath Saunders, Ani Taj, Cathryn Wake, Katrina Yaukey and Lauren Zakrin

3 WAYS TO PURCHASE TICKETS

BOX OFFICE HOURS: MON – SAT, 10AM – 8PM SUN, 12PM – 6PM

RUSH POLICY

A LIMITED NUMBER OF $39 RUSH TICKETS WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE IN PERSON AT THE IMPERIAL THEATRE BOX OFFICE AT 10AM (12PM ON SUNDAYS) ON THE DAY OF THE PERFORMANCE. LIMIT OF TWO TICKETS PER PERSON. SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY. CASH AND MAJOR CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED. SEATING LOCATIONS WILL BE AT THE DISCRETION OF THE BOX OFFICE.


GUEST REVIEWER: THE MIKADO (Revised)

Sword-Play

A review of the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players’ new production of
THE MIKADO: or, the Town of Titipu
at the Kaye Playhouse

by Moshe Bloxenheim

December 31, 2016

The new NYGASP production of THE MIKADO has closed after an all too limited run, but even though I had already reviewed one cast during the run, attendance of later performances convinced me that the alternate principal actors deserved mention as well (and I could clean up some of my worst typos).  So here is the expanded “get the whole set’ review, in the usual text below and DOC attachment formats.

Moshe
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Sword-Play

 A review of the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players’ new production of

THE MIKADO: or, the Town of Titipu

At the Kaye Playhouse

 Covering the performances of December 31, 2016, January 5 & January 8, 2017

 As this MIKADO is a significant production for NYGASP, it seemed only fair to cover ALL the performers who alternated in the lead roles.

According to theatrical legend, a falling Japanese battle sword inspired Sir William S. Gilbert to create a new operatic satire of English foibles set in the contrasting framework of the Japonaiserie craze that was then sweeping London.  Whatever the cause, Sir William, aided by his producer Richard D’Oyly Carte then embarked placing THE MIKADO in as authentically Japanese a setting as could be possible for an 1885 English Comic Opera Company.  The New York Gilbert & Sullivan Player’s (NYGASP) brand new production of THE MIKADO sets the work as it might have appeared newly born in Sir William’s mind – a very English world in “Japanese” fancy dress that has yet to be touched by the research in costume and sets that was to come.

To prepare the audience for this cerebral concept, NYGASP’s Mr. David Auxier has written very brief and effective tongue-in-cheek prologue that confronts Sir W.S. Gilbert with the challenges faced by an author in a successful theatrical partnership: To create a new work that is acceptable to his composer partner Sir Arthur Sullivan, their producer Richard D’Oyly Carte and some very distinctive and demanding members of the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company.  Suffice it to say a Japanese sword figures most effectively, literally knocking the author into a world based on the characters, expressions and Japanese goods he had just experienced.

Sir William’s hero, Nanki-Poo arrives in the town of Titipu.  He is, in fact, the heir to the throne of Japan, but has disguised himself as a minstrel to escape the matrimonial claims of the formidable lady Katisha.  In his musical wanderings, Nanki-Poo has fallen in love with Yum-Yum who is a ward of Ko-Ko, a cheap tailor.  When Ko-Ko is condemned to death under the Mikado’s ban for flirting, the town of Titipu promote him to Lord High Executioner under the reasoning that Ko-Ko can execute other miscreants after he carried out the job on himself.  Circumstances soon require that Ko-Ko execute SOMEBODY and as he would rather not be the victim, he strikes a bargain with the love-blighted Nanki-Poo.  Betrothals are made, revelations are prevented, complications run cheerfully rampant, logic is taken to lunatic extremes and eventually all ends happily with more than a few sacred cows being taken on.

 Musically, THE MIKADO shows its composer Sir Arthur Sullivan as a worthy match to Sir William’s language.  Sir Arthur clearly enjoys the characters of THE MIKADO and carefully fits the music to the characters and actions, whether for Ko-Ko’s busy sounding list, Nanki-Poo and Yum-Yum’s youthful, romantically teasing “Were You Not To Ko-Ko Plighted,” Katisha’s threatening yet sympathetic melodies or the brashly imposing “A More Humane Mikado” sung by the title character.  This score is not simple accompaniment, but is a vital contribution to the setting and action of the play and THE MIKADO shows both men at a creative high point.

In revising and refreshing THE MIKADO, NYGASP has cast the roles very carefully and quite successfully.

 Mr. Jesse Pimpinella’s Nanki-Poo may appear at first glance to be a wide-eyed youth, but he certainly knows when he has the advantage and takes it, to the glee of the audience.  This Prince disguised as a Wandering Minstrel is uniquely artless and direct and I am sure time and experience will make Mr. Pimpinella’s performance even more enjoyable.

It is easy to see why Nanki-Poo falls in love with Yum-Yum because the charming Ms. Quynh-My Luu is everything one could hope for in the role.  Her Yum-Yum is a pretty and sweet girl but Ms. Luu also adds a bit of assurance and a hint of steel that brings certain scenes to new life as well as making the most of some classic bits of humor.  Vocally, Ms. Luu’s redition of “The Sun Whose Rays are all Ablaze” is a highlight of the evening and reveals the smooth transition from the girl first seen in “Three Little Maids From School” to a woman who is aware of her powers.

Yum-Yum’s sister Pitti Sing is given a wonderful zest by Ms. Jessica Rose Futran.  Her character is always a bit more aware of the situation to excellent effect, delightfully culminating in her desperate, yet eager taking of the spotlight in the Trio “The Criminal Cried’

Ms. Lauren Frankovich is quite winning as Yum-Yum’s other sister, Peep-Bo, with her drolly unfortunate tendency to state the obvious when everybody else would rather not hear it.

One wonders HOW these three girls became the wards of the cheap Tailor Ko-Ko, but the audience should consider itself very fortunate that Mr. Adam B. Shapiro is performing as the guardian who became Lord High Executioner.  Already amusing in the prologue as the unsatisfied Arthur Sullivan, Mr. Adam B. Shapiro takes elements from that introduction and creates what is for me one of great Ko-Kos.  This is a man who cannot believe where he has ended up and is waiting for the other anvil to drop.  Nevertheless, this Ko-Ko is more than a cartoon and even when he is forced to woo the aggressive Katisha, there is byplay between the two that is very human.  Mr. Shapiro’s mastery of musical numbers is a pleasure to witness ranging in moods and delivery from the updated list of social quirks in “A Some Day it May Happen” through the comic yet touching ballad “Tit-Willow.”

Ms. Cáitlín Burke’s Katisha is fantastic.  In the prologue as the lead Contralto and in Katisha’s later Act One entrance, the fire and storminess of the part blast onto the stage, but Ms. Burke then reveals shading in the character that makes her so much more than a villainess.  Katisha may be a pain in the neck, but she earns our sympathy and beneath the bossiness it is clear that she has something to offer.  Ms. Burke’s ability to capture all this makes for musical, dramatic and comic gold, especially in Act Two when Katisha mourns her single state in “Alone, and yet Alive,” and is then won over by the fearful Ko-Ko, culminating in the buoyant duet “There  is Beauty in The Bellow of The Blast.”

Considering Katisha’s demanding presence in his court, the Mikado clearly has a lot to put up with and Mr. Cole Grissom plays the Emperor of Japan with the smooth, disdainful air of one who might easily have entire the cast executed; would it not make such a mess and bother.  In the Mikado’s song, “A More Humane Mikado,” Mr. Grissom’s character knows how uncomfortable the townsfolk are in his royal presence and uses that to great advantage.  HE is the Mikado and do not forget it!

Another man with aspirations to power is Pooh-Bah, the Lord High Everything Else.  Mr. Andy Herr builds an admirable Pooh-Bah of flash and cash who is obviously rooted in the prologue part of the urbane producer, Richard D’Oyly Carte.  Both men will do it all – so long as there is money in it.  Pooh-Bah uses his alleged dignity to his advantage as Mr. Herr shows quite entertainingly but I truly enjoyed his eagerness to gild the lily in “The Criminal Cried as he Dropped Him Down.”

In the Gilbert and Sullivan canon there are Ko-Ko roles, Pooh-Bah parts and Katisha contraltos, etc., but not as much thought about Pish-Tush, “A Noble Lord.”  But it is here where the genius of NYGASP’s new version lies, because this Pish-Tush is the William S. Gilbert of the prologue who is dreaming up this new operetta.  The estimable Mr. Chris Vaughn embodies the author discovering, enjoying and even critiquing his own idea; Tentative at first, as a dreamer realizing who he is supposed to be, Gilbert/Pish-Tush becomes a keen witness and eager contributor to the proceedings.

 In the course of the current production, other NYGASP members have taken on these roles and deserve their own mention too.

Mr. Daniel Greenwood’s Nanki-Poo gives the air of innocence that such a young hero must have, but adds a delightful touch of awareness that allows him to deliver a line or even a pause that homes right into the humor of the moment.  Vocally as well, this Nanki-Poo ranges from heroic to tender to whimsical with ease.

If Mr. Greenwood knows how to provide just the right amount of cleverness, Ms. Sarah Caldwell Smith understands how to take part in the most nonsensical situations with skillful sincerity, giving THE MIKADO another truly fine Yum-Yum.  Musically as well Ms. Smith is superb and her scene and duet with Mr. Greenwood in “Were You Not To Ko-Ko Plighted” is an “anti-flirtatious” highlight.

If Yum-Yum lacks irony, Ms. Amy Maude Helfer makes a very effective Pitti-Sing with her air of one who has a good idea of how silly things are becoming and has to pitch in against her better judgment.  She is neatly contrasted by Ms. Alexandra Haines as the third little maid, Peep-Bo: a most amiable girl who drops social bricks with amusing nonchalance.

As their guardian, Mr. David Macaluso’s truly funny Ko-Ko is indeed a tailor out of his element.  Even when he wants to take advantage of his new rank of Lord High Executioner, this Ko-Ko knows something is bound to go wrong.  It is just a question of What Now?  Yet for all Ko-Ko’s foolery, Mr. Macaluso also develops a subtly sympathetic side that really works well in his wooing of the daunting Katisha.

Ms. Angela Christine Smith creates a marvelous Katisha who may enter in a fury, but we can see her humanity from the very first.  If we feel the force of this lady’s anger and desire for vengeance, Ms. Smith also makes us see the despair and loss of hoped for love.  This Katisha has been hurt and she is downright heartbreaking in her aria “The Hour of Gladness is Dead and Gone.”  Though the “Daughter-In-Law-Elect” is a bossy-boots there is a feeling that she may be doing it to ensure that she is not left out in the cold.  While Ko-Ko’s winning of Katisha is still wonderfully comedic, Ms. Angela Christine Smith made me root for Katisha too.

Katisha’s intrusive presence seems to be the one thing that visibly annoys the Mikado because Mr. Chris White splendidly portrays him as a dangerously jovial fellow – this Emperor clearly takes pleasure in his absolute power and how is it his fault if his witty inclination for boiling oil may unnerve some people?

One citizen of Titipu who does not care extreme punishment is the “Lord High Everything Else” Pooh-Bah.  Mr. Matthew Wages quite lives up to Sir W.S. Gilbert’s best satire of mendacious bureaucracy and class consciousness.  This Pooh-Bah will certainly “…put in his oar” to great amusement, and does very nicely too in the prologue as the eager Richard D’Oyly Carte.

As I mentioned before, the role of Pish-Tush is now far more significant because he is now the unconscious W.S. Gilbert who is literally dreaming up the show in front of us.  As played by Mr. Joshua Miller, Pish-Tush/Gilbert is ever the creative playwright who is happy to see how the plot unwinds to his prodding, even if he might give a grimace or two at a rhyme or joke that his characters deliver.

 The Chorus of Noblemen, Schoolgirls and Townspeople are all to be praised, populating Titipu with as Victorian a suburban London crowd as could ever be found in Japan.

 In addition to the admirable cast, Mr. David Auxier’s brilliant reconsideration and careful direction of THE MIKADO goes very far to ensure the success of this production.  With the directorial assistance of Mr. Kelvin Moon Loh, Mr. Auxier has not missed a trick in highlighting and reviving the humor of the story and its characters while keeping everything united and moving merrily along.  These gentlemen understand that this is an English comedy set in a “Japanese” framework of the imagination –The non-English setting pointing out the absurdity and parody without being a caricature on its own.  Even the most radical of changes are carried out with respect to context: While I am quite partial to the original “Mi-ya Sa-ma” chorus that greets the Mikado of Japan and his entourage, I believe Mr. Auxier’s new lyrics “Oh Mikado, Great Mikado” are not merely an effective substitution, but cleverly add to the Gilbertian whimsy of the moment by allowing the citizens of Titipu to express their true feelings while ostensibly chanting praise of their monarch.

In addition, Mr. Auxier’s choreography is very well done, ideally setting off the music and singing or to create tableaux that highlight the story itself.

The unreal, dreamlike atmosphere is further enhanced by the beautiful setting by Mr. Anshuman Bhatia – based on Japanese Block prints and Mr. Quinto Ott’s highly stylized costumes that feature exotic yet recognizable touches such as straw derbies and ornate open framework bustles and even snippets of other Gilbert and Sullivan operas.  Mr. Ott truly excels with his fanciful Mikado regalia and Katisha’s striking outfit.  Mr. James Mills also rises to the occasion in his make-up work especially in his expressive design for Katisha.  Sets, costumes and visages all look extremely well under Mr. Benjamin Weill’s deftly handled lighting and all unite to give a sort of picture-book aspect that is most appealing.

In the first version of this review I had mentioned that the first performance I saw under the baton of Conductor and Music Director Aaron Gandy seemed a bit out of sorts.  Knowing how good the NYGASP musical direction usually is, I assumed this was a unique occurrence.  I am pleased to say that later shows found Mr. Gandy and the NYGASP orchestra back in top form.  Mr. Gandy and the musicians clearly enjoy the vitality and range of Sullivan’s music and share the same energy and sense of fun as the performers onstage.

Production Stage Manager David A. Vandervliet and Assistant Stage Manager Annette Dieli do amazing work ensuring the smooth flow of THE MIKADO, ensuring that it entertains without a hitch.

There is always much risk and a great deal of work inherent in any new production. So Producer David Wannen and Mr. Albert Bergeret, the founder of NYGASP and Production Manager deserve special congratulations for their willingness to bring this new version of the classic work to fruition.  As it is now, NYGASP’s new staging of THE MIKADO has shed a lot of distracting addenda, firmly and happily returning the focus back to where it belongs: on Sir William Gilbert’s witty libretto and Sir Arthur Sullivan’s timeless score. 

Performances:
Click on any of the links for tickets or go to:
https://kayeplayhouse.primetix.com/Tickets/?perfid=425

*Family Overture – Musical introduction and plot summary made entertaining for the entire family (1 hour and 15 minutes before curtain in theatre)

The Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College
68th Street Between Park and Lexington Avenues

About the reviewer:

I am a computer programmer, wannabe writer who loves theater and just got into the habit of inflicting my theatrical opinions.
I live in New York. Moshe can be reached at MB1224@aol.com

GUEST REVIEWER: Encores! Concert staging of CABIN IN THE SKY

Devil may care.

A review of Encores! concert staging of
cabin

at New York City Center
February 11, 2016

CABIN IN THE SKY is one of those battles between the Heavenly and Hellish forces over a soul – that of the hapless Little Joe to be specific – that encourage the spectators to root for the good and grand even if there seems to be much more entertainment in the bad and brassy. To be fair, both sides are blessed with the marvelous music by Mr. Vernon Duke and the fine lyrics of Mr. John Latouche as well as some eye-catching choreography inspired by Mr. George Balanchine’s work for the original production, but even at its most buoyant moments, CABIN IN THE SKY’s Virtue always has a whiff of smug schoolroom morality. I can’t say if this was inherent in Mr. Lynn Root’s original book for the show or the result of Messrs. Ruben Santiago-Hudson and Jack Viertel’s concert adaptation for Encores! but no one is exactly at the edge of their seat rooting for Righteousness. Especially since the Devil has the charm, the campier lines and most of the best dance numbers.

Nevertheless, the cast of CABIN IN THE SKY provides some very winning performances that often transcend the limitations and triteness of the material.

Mr. Chuck Cooper is a petulant delight playing the Head Man: a son of the Devil who is trying to “make good” in his Poppa’s business by getting Little Joe’s soul. While his satanic efforts may not exactly breed success, they are always diverting and earn well deserved applause. Musically as well, Mr. Cooper never flags, and his rendition of “Do What You Wanna Do” backed up by his superb assistants in evil – Ms. Tiffany Mann and Messrs. Dennis Stowe and André Garner – is a veritable crowd pleaser.

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On the other side of the scale, Mr. Norm Lewis makes a gratifyingly caring Lord’s General, earnestly fighting for good but with a level of amusement that keeps him from being a cardboard seraph. The problem is, that even while the Lord’s General is trying to help Petunia and Little Joe, the best argument he can offer up is the very engaging but still tame “It’s Not So Bad to Be Good.” Not exactly heady stuff for Little Joe after the production numbers that the Head Man brings onstage. Basically Mr. Lewis’ Lord’s General and his angels – played by the worthy Ms. Kristolyn Lloyd and Messrs. Jared Joseph and Nicholas Ward – are the sort of beings you would bring home to impress your folks, whereas Saturday night is more entertaining in Mr. Cooper’s diabolically fun company.

10-cabin-in-the-sky.w529.h352As for the object of Good and Bad’s dispute. Little Joe is a schmo, yet, we don’t wonder why Petunia bothers with him, because Mr. Michael Potts makes Little Joe Jackson a likeable and sympathetic hero. Indeed, Mr. Potts makes even Little Joe’s enjoyment of his newly virtuous life believable. His playfulness when singing “In My Old Virginia Home (On the River Nile)” with Petunia makes us fully appreciate why his wife has been fighting for him when she obviously can do better.

Of course, there is nothing like another woman to mess things up for a man and Georgia Brown – as played by the talented Ms. Carly Hughes – is perfect for the job. Georgia Brown is one of those terribly attractive and self-assured ladies who is perplexed when she cannot get what she wants – such as Little Joe. Ms. Hughes gives her pursuit of Little Joe a good dash of humor as well as spice, and plays off Mr. Michael Potts most effectively.

Fighting to save her man from Hell is Little Joe’s devoted wife Petunia. By rights, this lady should be a romantic doormat, but the admirable actress billed as “LaChanze” creates a plausible woman with backbone who can see the good in her husband and lovingly draw it out. This heroine is both a worthy wife and darned good company who easily captivates the audience with numbers like “Taking a Chance on Love.” When it appears that she has reached the last straw, Ms. LaChanze’s Petunia changes dramatically into a woman who can best even the worldly Georgia Brown and bring down the house with the impressively sung number “Savannah”

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The rest of the company is truly first-rate and deliver many high points in the show, most memorably the wonderful and boisterous “Dry Bones” which in itself is worth the price of admission.

Director Ruben Santiago-Hudson creates many memorable moments in the action of CABIN IN THE SKY but while I was entertained and interested, I was never really gripped by the sometime sitcom setup of the story (which Mr. Santiago Hudson also had a hand in). There is unevenness in the narrative that saps some of the drama out of the twists in the plot.

On the other hand, Ms. Camile A. Brown’s choreography provides impressive pieces of dance and movement. But at times certain numbers seem to get lost in a sort of Balanchine recital mode that merely extends the performances instead of enhancing the songs or adding to the story.

Musically the Encores! Orchestra conducted by Mr. Rob Berman is superb and Mr. Jonathan Tunick’s orchestrations of Mr. Vernon Duke’s music is a joy to listen to, taking full advantage of the chorus’ Gospel voices along with a big band sound reminiscent of the early 1940’s. Everything is properly amplified by Mr. Scott Lehrer’s audio designs, though the body microphones seem to be a little more obvious than intended.

Keeping with the concert staging, Ms. Anna Louizos’ sets are basic yet very effective – especially the opposing twin thrones in which are seated the Head Man and Lord’s General. Ms. Karen Perry is just as skilled in providing attractive costumes that go far in illustrating the personalities of the characters from the cheerful red garments of the Head Man and his henchmen to the white suit and amusing silver lamé cape worn by the Lord’s General. Everything is lit to good advantage by Mr. Ken Billington.

With its unequal book and overabundance of “Balanchine,” this CABIN IN THE SKY could have used more work on its dramatic foundation. But if it does not approach perfection, CABIN IN THE SKY is often very entertaining, with splendid songs and a praiseworthy cast who work hard to give the show a substance that it might not otherwise have.

About the reviewer:

I am a computer programmer, wannabe writer who loves theater and just got into the habit of inflicting my theatrical opinions.
I live in New York. Moshe can be reached at MB1224@aol.com

Originally produced in 1940, Cabin in the Sky followed Porgy and Bess in celebrating African-American music and dance traditions. The musical tells the story of “Little Joe” Jackson (Michael Potts), a charming ne’er-do-well who dies in a saloon brawl and is given six months on earth to prove his worth to the Lord’s General (Tony Award nominee Norm Lewis) and the Devil’s Head Man (Tony Award winner Chuck Cooper)—all while struggling to remain true to his loving wife Petunia (Tony Award winner LaChanze) and resist the wiles of temptress Georgia Brown (Carly Hughes). Long considered a lost treasure, the score of Cabin in the Sky—which includes jazz hits like “Taking a Chance on Love” and “Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe”—will be restored to its original glory for Encores!

GUEST REVIEWER: THE VISIT At the Lyric Theatre

Be our guest.

A review of
THE VISIT
at the Lyric Theatre

April 12, 2015 and April 21, 2015 – Opened April 23, 2015

THE VISIT offers so much that one does not usually get in a typical new musical nowadays: a score with memorable songs, a plot that is thought provoking and best of all, a Star Turn of the Highest Caliber. THE VISIT is also a brave show, in the sense that it does not try to stroke the audience’s sensibilities and even dares to make them work at understanding what happens onstage. In the VISIT, the citizens of the desperately poor Swiss town of Brachen welcome Claire Zachanassian, the richest woman in the world, who is returning to the hometown that she had fled long ago. The impoverished villages hope that they can persuade Claire to use her wealth to revitalize the town. To their surprise Claire agrees but lays out a deal. She will endow the village with untold billions if they kill the man who loved her, impregnated her and then denied being the father of her child, forcing her to flee Brachen when she was a young girl and make her own way in a cruel and dangerous world. That man is Anton Schell, an impoverished shopkeeper who can’t even win the respect of his own family. The leaders of the town indignantly reject such a horrendous offer, but soon after townspeople start buying expensive items from Anton’s store, charging their purchases to some unmentionable windfall they expect and talk darkly about how Anton had so foully wronged poor Claire…

Mr. Terence McNally has created an often powerful book based upon the original play by Mr. Friedrich Dürrenmatt and Mr. Fred Ebb’s lyrics and Mr. John Kander’s music further hone the sharpness of this Brechtian Fractured Fairy Tale. Justice, revenge, the violent collision of love and self-interest, and the moral fluidity of honorable people are all covered in rather raw terms, but somehow there is a humor and even lightness that flavors even the most severe and unsavory moments of this story with a touch of vaudeville. Messrs. McNally, Ebb and Kander work very carefully together contrasting the diverse feelings of the Brachen denizens with their attempts to form a united front in the face of poverty with such numbers like the community glee “Out of the Darkness.” They eventually show these same people descending into moral self-delusion with the bitterly entertaining “Yellow Shoes.” As far as Claire is concerned, her very first entrance provides her with firm dramatic footing augmented with strong numbers like the unforgettable matrimonial success catalogue “I Walk Away” or Claire’s soulful description of her feelings for and about Anton and their broken past in “Winter.”

Admittedly, not every song is a gem – Anton’s first number “I know Claire” has a very general feeling as if it could be from any show at any period from 1965 to the present. In fact there is sometimes an uneven style that seems less an attempt at being rustic and more a case of needing more work. Nevertheless much of what is on offer is choice indeed.

The opening scene of THE VISIT makes for a most appropriate introduction to the threadbare inhabitants of Brachen: Ms. Diana Dimiarzo’s plays the Mayor’s wife and local gossip and Messrs. David Garrison, Rick Holmes, Aaron Ramey, Timothy Shew and Jason Danieley are the town’s Mayor, Priest, Policeman, Doctor and Schoolteacher respectively: all are excellent as desperately respectable people who will throw aside all scruples if they have to, all the while convincing themselves of their decency.

Just as bad – and very good – are the members of Anton’s own family. Ms. Mary Beth Peil is wonderfully acerbic as Matilde Schell, a wife who never hesitates to reminds Claire that she is the woman who married Anton, yet doesn’t even find much satisfaction in that fact. Mr. George Abud is Anton’s son Karl and Ms. Elena Shaddow plays daughter Ottilie, showing a very effective indifference for a father who couldn’t even afford to let them have things from their own family store. The promise of prosperity brings this family and the town to life, even though they all have to keep tamping down that little part of them that knows what the price will be. Mss. Piel and Shaddow and Mr. Abud make this painfully clear in the song “A Car Ride;” a pleasant and simple number sung with Anton where the Schells enjoy what is the first happy family moment that they have had in many years. Everyone is delighted but the unspoken cost is still there.

Contrasting the dingy indigence of Brachen’s people is Claire Zachanassian’s astonishing entourage led by Mr. Tom Nelis’ imposing Butler Rudi. Mr. Matthew Deming is Eunuch Louis and Mr. Chris Newcomer takes the role of Eunuch Jacob. All three are always dressed in dapper suits, carefully hatted and walking in eye-catching footgear. These performers shine in their marvelously fantastic roles, often taking the spotlight with remarkably controlled insanity beginning with the Eunuch’s startling backup chorus in “I Walk Away.”
Since this is a show about a present that can never escape the past, the figures of the young Claire and Anton are part of every scene whether reenacting their amour or watching the current situation. Ms. Michelle Veintimilla and Mr. John Riddle truly haunt the show, vividly showing the joy of young love and standing aside as observers to the demands and cruelties of the real world. When Ms. Veintimilla and Mr. Riddle join their present counterparts (such as in the beautiful song “You, You, You”) the contrast of destroyed youthful romance and the cynicism, hurt and longing that has taken its place is deeply moving.

Of course the present Anton has long been a beaten down man who cruelly sacrificed love for security and has since had to make do without either. Mr. Roger Rees plays this role expertly rising from the miserable storekeeper to the hopeful former lover who dares to hope a little. Mr. Rees displays every turn of amazement, disgust and realization that is inherent in Anton Schell as he sees the past catch up with him and the future demand his removal. Mr. Rees makes it painfully clear that anyone in Brachen could have been as cruel and stupid as Anton had been in his youth, but there are times in the middle of THE VISIT when Anton is less caught by the story than bogged down in it.

Of course it is a task indeed for Anton to approach the level of the fabulous Claire Zachanassian – especially when Ms. Chita Rivera so embodies that adjective. This is natural, not only due to Ms. Rivera’s phenomenal performance but because Claire’s presence simply permeates the play – even when the action does not focus on Claire, it occurs because of her. Ms. Rivera imbues this glamorous and wealthiest of women with the world weary brio of one who is always in charge, but when Claire turns to the only happy memory of her past, Ms. Rivera lets the joy and pleasure of that youthful love melt her hardness. This is one of the reasons that Claire Zachanassian is not a monster of vengeance, but someone all too human and desperate to take back something that had been stolen from her so long ago. This performance keeps the play’s ending from being the grotesque finale that it might have been and transforms it into something that ought to be seen to be appreciated: a true example of Theatrical Power at its height.

Director John Doyle does amazing work with THE VISIT giving the story the universal feeling that a fable ought to have. But Mr. Doyle wisely never paints anyone as an outright villain, making the wrongs committed all the more real. People can disassociate themselves from bad actions that happen in the present just as they did so many years ago. Other folks may demonstrate what can happen when justice is withheld. But the moral caprices are far from alien. Unfortunately, while the show engrosses and appeals and appalls two thirds of the way through THE VIST seems to get stuck. The depiction of Anton feeling trapped and his putting up with the emotional justifications of an apologizing villager is essential but the storytelling at this point seems to go awry and put a drain on the energy of THE VISIT’s surreal narrative. Maybe Anton ought to have more or different emotional power as he watches his own world turn on him, but as done now, Anton, Mr. Doyle and THE VISIT seem to just soldier through this void, until theatrical balance returns. Happily the ending is well worth it.

Ms. Graciela Daniele’s choreography lets the citizens of Brachen make much use of Mr. Scott Pask’s spare scenic design with its decrepit railroad station setting and Claire’s vast pile of luggage and coffin. With the addition of Mr. Japhy Weideman’s lighting, we are taken all over Brachen from station to hotel to woods to past and present with amazing clarity, giving a wonderful meaning to the idea of dealing with people’s baggage. Then also, both Mr. Doyle and Ms. Daniele gives nodding acknowledgement to the notion that Claire Zachanassian now has some trouble with her limbs, but they allow Ms. Rivera to soar gloriously beyond such commonplaces as physical infirmity in this mythic role. When handling the young Anton and Claire too, director and choreographer are amazingly able to let these shades be a part of the action and still keep them firmly in the past.
Music Director David Loud contributes mightily with the orchestra allowing the different types of numbers – choral to star solo to ghostly echoes – to shine and fit the action even when the music suddenly shifts from one style to another.

The costumes by Ms. Ann Hould-Ward with hair and makeup by Messrs. Paul Huntley and J. Jared Janas are downright spellbinding with the dusty threadbare denizens of Brachen contrasted strikingly against the glamorous and dapper beings that are Claire and her crew and the cream white garb of the young Claire and Anton.

As it is now, Ms. Chita Rivera and Messrs. Kander and Ebb’s score make THE VISIT a truly amazing spectacle to behold and well worth the trip to the Lyceum Theatre, but there is still a feeling of inertia in the middle of THE VISIT that cannot be ignored and must be endured as one goes from the extraordinary start to its dazzling finish.

Running Time: 95 minutes, no intermission

LYCEUM THEATRE
149 West 45th Street
Between 6th Avenue and Broadway
Box Office Hours:  Mon – Sat: 10am – 8pm | Sun: Noon – 6pm
Online Tickets: Or Call 212.239.6200

About the reviewer:

I am a computer programmer, wannabe writer who loves theater and just got into the habit of inflicting my theatrical opinions.
I live in New York. Moshe can be reached at MB1224@aol.com

EDITOR’S UPDATE: 04/28/2015

GUEST REVIEWER: A review of Lincoln Center Theater revival of THE KING AND I

Anna’s Undies
or
The Front Row Follies

A review of Lincoln Center Theater revival of
THE KING AND I
At the Vivian Beaumont

April 7, 2015 IN PREVIEWS

NOTE TO READERS: I usually try to treat every show I review as if I am seeing it for the first time. However in the case of THE KING AND I such a position was not entirely possible.

Mr. Oscar Hammerstein II wrote the book and lyrics for the classic 1951 musical THE KING AND I basing his work on Ms. Margaret Landon’s novel ANNA AND THE KING OF SIAM, (which is in turn a reworking of Ms. Anna Leonowens’ dramatic memoirs of the 1870’s). THE KING AND I tells the story of the young widow Anna Leonowens who in the 1860’s has journeyed to Siam with her young son Louis. Anna has been hired as teacher for the King of Siam’s royal family as part of the King’s plan to modernize (westernize) his country while fending off the imperialist ambitions of European powers. As she starts her work, Anna finds herself being drawn into the intrigues of Palace life and even having conflicts with the King – primarily regarding a certain term of her contract that he claims to have no knowledge of. In turn the King is intrigued by the Englishwoman who apparently has no fear of him and who represents the western advances in sciences and ideas that he is aspiring to achieve. When Western adventurers call the King a barbarian whose country should be made a protectorate Anna helps him to entertain and influence an English Delegation with results that deeply affect the King, the Royal Family, Siam and herself.

Director Bartlett Sher and his production team are clearly in awe of THE KING AND I and have mounted a revival that is both an astonishing eyeful and a veritable crowd pleaser. But for all that Mr. Sher and Co. have accomplished to impress the hell out of the audience and make it feel that it has gotten its money’s worth, there is an air of self-importance and a tendency to miss details that keeps this revival from being the truly outstanding production it so clearly is trying to be.

The book itself is an example of this problem: the current revival makes certain revisions to Mr. Hammerstein’s book and cuts the song “A Puzzlement” in a way that adds emphasis to the King’s difficult position as a traditional Eastern monarch who must adapt and strategize in the face of European imperialism. For the most part, I actually like these changes which make His Majesty seem less naïve and driven by personal desires than in previous productions. However, there is a tendency to make the situation clear and then immediately expound upon another variation of the same point. This causes certain scenes to lose their tension and focus and become rather labored. Judicious cutting and refining would definitely help.

Of course even with such changes, the rest of the score is wonderfully intact: from the optimistic trepidation of “I Whistle a Happy Tune,” through the endearing “Getting to Know You,” and the climactic “Shall We Dance,” Composer Richard Rodger’s and Mr. Hammerstein’s widely ranging music and lyrics define characters, enhance the action and make up one of the truly great musical scores.

This production of THE KING AND I is indeed “Mrs. Anna’s” show as Ms. Kelli O’Hara’s Anna Leonowens sweeps into Siam with all the apparent eagerness and self-confidence of someone who is certain that she is right. But Ms. O’Hara makes it clear that Anna’s assuredness and insistence of promises being fulfilled is actually the armor her character uses to protect herself and her son in this strange new place. Bit by bit this shell is removed, letting us see the woman who can become a discreet champion of doomed lovers in the moving “Hello Young Lovers,” make a classroom of royal children into a believable mutual adoration festival through the joyful “Getting to Know You.” It is Ms. O’Hara’s ability to contrast Anna’s humanity and vulnerability with her overwhelming desire to have everything set to rights in the Kingdom that makes this Governess a heroic and sympathetic person instead of the interfering intruder she might easily have been. This Anna may be exasperated and critical of the King – earning our sympathy and well deserved laughs and applause in the explosive and difficult soliloquy “Shall I Tell You What I Think of You?” – but she champions his goals and even makes some effort to understand him.

As Anna’s employer, Mr. Ken Watanabe is a truly formidable King Mongkut of Siam, presenting a man driven by politics as well as royal prerogative. This King understands how essential it is for him to speedily assimilate new ideas and languages, while trying to maintain authority in a changing world. Thus for Mr. Watanabe’s King, his fascination for Mrs. Anna is that of someone who represent the challenge of a Western influence as well as a colleague with whom he can communicate. Mr. Watanabe uses his accent to provide a vocal brusqueness that would be natural for a Monarch who is still feeling his way through English. Alas, some of the spectators around me did have some trouble fully understanding him – especially when he sometimes hastened though his sentences. Furthermore – although I fear this may have been due to Mr. Bartlett Sher’s direction – Mr. Watanabe’s depiction of angst was often of an “all or nothing” style of delivery that made his version of “A Puzzlement” appear less a song of intellectual perplexity than of digestive trouble.

Adding to His Majesty’s anxieties is the emotional isolation of his new wife, the Lady Tuptim. A gift from the court of Burma, Tuptim had already fallen in love with Lun Tha, one of the Burmese delegates, before she had ever been presented to the King. Charming Ms. Ashley Park is a wonderful Lady Tuptim, giving her role a grace and spirit that makes Tuptim more than just a girl driven by love. This is a woman who dares to hope for a better future even in the face of futility. Ms. Park’s memorable rendition of “My Lord and Master” – a song describing Tuptim’s emotions when she has been accepted as a wife to the King – manages to be both operatic and yet believably from Tuptim’s secret heart.

Although the handsome Mr. Conrad Ricanora’s Lun-Tha is not as imposing or even as heroic a character as the King is, his reckless and despairing love for Tuptim endows his role with its own power. When he sings “We Kiss in a Shadow,” Mr. Ricanora makes it Lun-Tha’s musical lure that unites him to Tuptim in their dangerous dream.

Where Tuptim feels trapped in the world of the Palace, Ms. Ruthie Ann Miles’ brilliant Lady Thiang is a poised inhabitant. Ms. Miles’ shows us the embodiment of a loving consort, who truly loves the King and does all she can for him and her son, the Crown Prince Chulalongkorn, seeing their potential for good. This is clearly shown in Ms. Miles’ moving performance of “Something Wonderful” which can all too easily become a hymn to enablement rather that the longing need of a woman to assist someone she loves in their aspirations for greatness.

As the heir of the King, Prince Chulalongkorn represents the aspirations for the future. Mr. Jon Viktor Corpuz presents us with a sturdy young prince who is not sure that he is really thrilled with life under Anna’s instruction and plays the Prince’s gradual warming to his teacher most quite well, keeping Anna unsure of how much her lessons are reaching him.

Mr. Jake Lucas succeeds nicely in preventing Anna’s son Louis Leonowens from becoming a mere prompt for other people’s dialogue. Indeed Mr. Lucas’ sunny young man provides an interesting contrast to the Royal Children, always being part of the crowd yet apart from them too which gives his duet with Chulalongkorn in the recap of a “A Puzzlement” a bit more depth than I expected in a reprise that was originally devised to cover a scene change.

Another surprise was Mr. Paul Nakauchi’s finely tuned performance as the King’s Prime Minister, the Kralahome. Mr. Nakauchi created an aloof dignitary who truly understands and respects his ruler, letting his feelings for him show briefly but most effectively.

The rest of the performers are all excellent, be they wives, children, courtiers, dancers and foreigners. Indeed the troupe who dance the balletic play-within-a-play THE SMALL HOUSE OF UNCLE THOMAS are simply phenomenal, performing this earnest “Siamese” take of UNCLE TOM’S CABIN with a flair and sense of fun that never crept into parody.

It is obvious from this splendid cast and the ornate production that Director Bartlett Sher truly has an embarrassment of riches on his hands. I only wish he could let some of that wealth fall to the sidelines when a concept does not quite work. Also it is apparent that Mr. Sher is enthralled by staging and designs that can only be appreciated properly from the back rows of the theater. This results in a lovely and inspiring state of affairs for anyone seated in the rear of the house but downright frustrating to those holding seats closer to the action, starting with the opening scene which became a debacle for many people sitting in the first four or five rows around the Orchestra Pit: As the stage extends over the musicians in orchestra an imposing model steamer sails onward, its prow towering above the front of the stage apron. When Captain Orton and Louis Leonowens appear on the top deck of this vessel, all that is visible for those unfortunates in the closer seats is Captain Orton’s cap. Then Ms. Kelli O’Hara makes what ought to be THE star entrance as Anna Leonowens. Her voice is clear and her hat the only visible part of her until she approaches the ship’s rail and treats the spectators seated beneath the ship to several long and unnerving views of the vast underside of her hoopskirt. After THAT introduction, I can report that under the interesting array of her crinoline, Ms. O’Hara wears sturdy traveling shoes, proper hose and clean pantalets that ended above the knee.

After this annoyingly awkward sequence, everyone climbs off the ship which pulls away to reveal a quayside setting that would have been perfectly fine from the very beginning since most of the action and singing takes place here anyway IN FULL SIGHT. But clearly someone’s judgement was woefully affected by the concept of that unfortunate ship.

This “sightlines be damned” tendency occurs consistently and aggravatingly throughout the evening, caused by the arrangements of the set, a prop or groupings of the cast members and I firmly and regretfully lay the blame for this ineptitude at Mr. Bartlett Sher’s feet. Doubtlessly Mr. Sher is trying to emulate the beautifully cinematic flow of SOUTH PACIFIC (a show he dazzlingly revived at the same theater some years ago), but the palatial progression and set pieces of THE KING AND I constantly works against such a dynamic approach due to the need for the action to be visible to the entire audience and because all the time taken for the constant onstage shifting and rearranging of scenery tends to drain off more and more energy.

Then too, it appears that Director Sher sometimes focuses on the impressive climax of a scene but lets everything coast into it. At other times he allows the action to build up ponderously, such as the aforementioned thematic repetition of the King’s concerns with Europe. For me the worst instance of all this sloppiness is in Act 2 during Anna’s final confrontation with the King. Each of her accusations is rushed along like a run-on sentence that comes to a halt with her final indictment of His Majesty. This haste robs Ms. O’Hara and Mr. Watanabe of their most powerfully dramatic moment since each of Mrs. Anna’s charges is meant to hit the king like an emotional body blow until he can no longer take it and finally erupts at her.

Still, there is much to praise in Mr. Sher’s work from the scholarly and politically shrewd King through Anna’s delightfully individual relationship with each of the Royal Children. Mr. Sher makes certain that even the smallest role onstage provides another character in the story rather than function as mere walking scenery. If I had to argue with any of the characterizations it would be with Mr. Edward Baker-Duly’s Sir Edward Ramsey: why must this visiting dignitary who had been part of Anna’s past always get played with a sort of to-the-gallery vapidity? I have seen this style of portrayal often enough to assume it is traditional with revivals of THE KING AND I but to me is just seems silly and makes Anna and the King’s interaction with Sir Edward of far less importance than we have been led to believe it should be, especially after all the highlighting of the King’s political concerns.

Choreographer Christopher Gattelli is quite faithful to Mr. Jerome Robbin’s original dances but marvelously makes the fullest use of the vast Vivian Beaumont stage to permit the performers to come alive rather than merely re-enact the glory of Mr. Robbin’s past work.

Similarly Mr. Ted Sperling directs a wonderfully large orchestra that truly glories in Mr. Richard Rodgers unforgettable music (with the classic orchestrations of Mr. Robert Russell Bennett and Ms. Trude Rittman’s additional arrangements). Alas the Overture deserves better treatment, not merely being truncated which would have been understandable given the length of the show, but being rewritten into a mere hit parade of tunes lingering on “Shall We Dance,” a theme that is usually never heard in the overture because it is reserved for actual performance to heighten it’s impact. Such a spoiler of an overture is better discarded altogether.

The sets (besides the confounded boat) are simple yet grand. Mr. Michael Yeargan understands how sumptuous and magnificent does not have to be overwhelming. He skillfully evokes the Bangkok riverside and the Palace Environs on the large performance space with care and even delicacy. The sets and stage action were admirably lit by Mr. Donald Holder and Mr. Scott Lehrer’s judicious sound designs assured that even if the scenes cannot be fully seen by everybody, they can clearly be heard.

It has been observed that certain moments of THE KING AND I star not only the actors but the costumes they wear and Ms. Catherin Zuber’s gorgeous creations take the stage most impressively. From English hoopskirts to Siamese pha nungs, Ms. Zuber’s garments both capture the eye and define the character of the wearer. While using new designs to make Mrs. Anna look most charming, Ms. Zuber wisely does not eschew the magic of the famous pink satin ball gown that has always made “Shall We Dance” one of the most memorable moments in musical theater. On an irreverent note, THE KING AND I’s opening scene makes it most clear to the closer seat holders that Ms. Zuber is as just meticulous about designing the cast’s underclothes.

THE KING AND I is slated to open on April 16 and it is sure to be a popular draw and should not be missed. All the same, I feel sad that some unfortunate and thoughtless choices will prevent this revival from being the defining hallmark production that it ought to be. And I close with a word of advice:

When booking your seats, avoid the first five rows around the stage.

and an ardent plea to Mr. Sher:

SINK THAT SHIP!

About the reviewer:

I am a computer programmer, wannabe writer who loves theater and just got into the habit of inflicting my theatrical opinions.
I live in New York. Moshe can be reached at MB1224@aol.com

Guest Review of ONE NIGHT WITH FANNY BRICE

Oh! What a past.

A Guest Review of

“ONE NIGHT WITH FANNY BRICE”

at the 13th Street Repertory Company

November 10, 2014

How does one bring Fanny Brice back to the stage? The inspired insanity of her comedy departed with her. The ornate and riotous reviews in which she performed are a long gone memory. All that is left are very few films, some recordings and broadcast transcriptions of her “Baby Snooks” radio show. In ONE NIGHT WITH FANNY BRICE, Author Chip Deffaa realizes that attempting to minutely recapture that unique side of Fanny Brice would do no favors to either the subject or the actress who would have to make the attempt. To be sure ONE NIGHT WITH FANNY BRICE provides a good framework with an impressive song list that illustrates and comments on Fanny Brice’s life and career. The show even manages to invoke brief flashes of her stage presence and humor. But it is her life story backstage and out of the theater that drives this play. And what a story Fanny shares with the audience! She guides us along her girlhood start in the vaudeville amateur nights, works her way through the burlesque circuit and then makes her name as a star on Broadway and finally in radio. At the same time Fanny must copes with her dysfunctional but fascinating personal life. A lot is revealed – much of it surprising – that show what a complex woman Fanny Brice was, but Mr. Deffaa focuses largely on her relationship with Nicky Arnstein. This makes sense as Arnstein – gambler, swindler and lothario – was the love of Fanny’s life and so much has been romanticized about their love affair and marriage that part of the fun of the evening is having Fanny set the story straight. Still the glimpses of her dealings with her stage associates – producers such as Florenz Ziegfeld and friends like W.C. Fields, Eddie Cantor and Gypsy Rose Lee – or the rather offhand description of her final marriage with Billy Rose, offer up the promise of so much more that Fanny ought to be able to tell. But as the Show Business saying goes; always leave them wanting more.

Ms. Chloe Brooks gives an outstanding and memorable performance. Her Fanny Brice really comes to life in Mr. Chip Deffaa’s play; chatting with her audience and taking them through her life as if she is sharing their amazement and amusement on how it all happened. We see Fanny re-enact a crucial episode of the past, first as herself and then another person and then, in the middle of it all, toss an observation to the audience that really defines the situation. This Fanny Brice truly relishes a good story – including her own. Ms. Brooks also understands that an impression is better than a slavish imitation and if she only occasionally slips into the phrases and accents that Fanny was known for, it is because Fanny is telling her story – not giving a performance in a Ziegfeld production. It is the same for the singing as well: in ONE NIGHT WITH FANNY BRICE Fanny is using the songs to tell her story – not telling her story to sing the songs, and in Ms. Brooks’ hands the songs are nicely delivered whether with an amused detachment as in her burlesque number “Be My Little Baby Bumble Bee” or using “My Man” both seriously and ironically to punctuate how her biggest hit song capitalized on her troubled relationship with Nicky Arnstein. Ms. Brooks’ singing is adeptly aided by Music Director Richard Danley who deserves high praise for his skilled and delightful piano playing.

A good deal of credit for this exceptional presentation must also be shared with Director Rachel Hundert. She paces the proceedings extremely well, making it hard to believe that this is a nearly two hour performance of a one actor show. Every scene and number flows onwards believably even when Fanny is being Fanny imitating the other people who are talking to Fanny.

As Producing Artistic Director, Ms. Sandra Nordgren created a very simple but highly effective stage setting that always kept the focus on Fanny and perhaps it is she who provided Ms. Chloe Brooks with the costuming that allowed her to span Fanny’s life so effectively.

If anything significant was missing from ONE NIGHT WITH FANNY BRICE it was the way Fanny often used an exaggerated Yiddish accent in her sketches and songs. Perhaps there was fear that the ethnic side of her comedy might not play so well and needed to be diminished but it was an essential part of Fanny’s career. Now Ms. Chloe Brooks does give some idea of Fanny’s inflections in performance, but I think that had she been given the opportunity, Ms. Brooks would have marvelously captured Fanny Brice’s wonderfully incongruous onstage mixing of the Yiddish and the Uptown.

But even with that deficiency, this is still very much a fascinating telling of Fanny Brice’s story, but even more, it is truly Ms. Chloe Brooks’ show and should not be missed.

One Night with Fanny Brice
Monday, November 24, 2014 at 7:00PM

Tickets available here


13th Street Repertory Company
50 West 13th Street
New York, NY 10011
The theatre is located between 5th Ave and 6th Ave.
Take the 1, 2, 3, F, M train to 14th Street; A, C, E to West 4th Street; 4, 5, 6, N, Q, R, W to Union Square; L to 6th Avenue.
 
One Night with Fanny Brice Written and Arranged by Chip Deffaa Starring Chloe Brooks Directed by Rachel Hundert Musical Direction by Phillip Cheah The legendary Fanny Brice–whose life inspired Funny Girl–rose from poverty to become America’s highest-paid singing comedienne. ASCAP award-winning writer Chip Deffaa has crafted a solo show featuring songs Brice made famous, from Second-Hand Rose to My Man. “Deffaa has distilled Fanny Brice’s busy life and career into a well-paced two-hour show.” The Associated Press. This show “delves deeper into Brice’s story than Funny Girl ever did” The New York Times.

About the reviewer:

I am a computer programmer, wannabe writer who loves theater and just got into the habit of inflicting my theatrical opinions.
I live in New York. Moshe can be reached at MB1224@aol.com

Guest Review of Encores! “THE BAND WAGON” at New York City Center

Off the wagon.

A Guest Review of Encores!

“THE BAND WAGON”

at New York City Center

November 8, 2014

THE BAND WAGON is an energetic celebration of the music and lyrics of Messrs. Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz. Based on the 1953 MGM film THE BAND WAGON, Mr. Douglas Carter Beane uses the original screenplay by Ms. Betty Comden and Mr. Adolph Green to provide a workmanlike pastiche of scenes in which to launch the songs; many of which had originally been created for the 1931 Broadway review of the same name. And what a lovely score there is, with fun numbers like “I Love Louisa,” the wistful “I Guess I’ll Have to Change My Plan,” and the intense “Dancing in the Dark” to name but a few. All are played with the flair and obvious pleasure that has come to be a hallmark of the Encores! Orchestra which is led for THE BAND WAGON by Mr. Todd Ellison. Indeed there is such a wealth of beloved songs that the couple behind me had a lovely time quietly singing along with the music onstage and I had not the heart to turn around and ask them to stop.

The plot is simple: Hollywood Screen Idol Tony Hunter is slipping at the box office and in hopes of revitalizing his career Tony has accepted the invitation of British Thespian Jeffrey Cordova to star in a new Broadway show. Tony arrives in New York only to learn to his reluctant surprise that the show is going to be a musical that Jeffrey will direct – his first musical to be precise. Adding more to Tony’s hesitation is the fact that his former friends Lily and Lester Martin – who aren’t exactly thrilled to be working with Tony again – are supposed to supply the book and score to this new production. Toss in Paul Byrd, a self-important choreographer, and his girlfriend Garielle Gerard, a former member of the Tony Hunter fan club and you know that there are going to be complications, hijinks, tantrums and spur-of-the-moment decisions of such significance before they make it to Broadway, that I wondered why they didn’t simply resort to Judy and Mickey’s barn – actually someone DOES ask that same question in the show.

The cast works very hard to flesh out the cinematic shadows they are saddled with. Mr. Brian Stokes Mitchell gives a pleasantly light performance as Tony Hunter that is in keeping with the “aw shucks” 1950’s ambiance. In fact he’s a somewhat more entertaining but slightly flawed “Father Knows Best” figure; trying to marshal his troupe to a successful first night and at the same time renew his career and inspiration. But there was very little Tony Hunter for Mr. Mitchell to work with so I took Mr. Mitchell at his word that this was his role and just enjoyed watching him try to make the best of it. Song and dance-wise he was simply delightful.

The Great British Dramatic Actor Jeffrey Cordova is a theatrical babe in the woods who is such a good sport and so eager to take up the latest half-baked idea that he would be absolutely impossible to believe as a character had not Mr. Tony Sheldon had so much fun playing him with a wink and a nudge. Jeffery is unreal, but Mr. Sheldon makes him amusingly good company.

Complementing Jeffrey Cordova is his devoted right-hand man Hal Meadows. Hal is down to earth and often keeps Jeffrey from running off the rails. As the show proceeds Hal is often the one who is there to keep things moving forward for everybody. Mr. Don Stephenson plays Hal with wonderful understatement often providing an ideal counterpoint to the more volatile “creative” people.

Speaking of volatile, Mr. Michael Berresse is the egocentric choreographer Paul Byrd. Byrd is something of the heavy of the piece – determined to have an advanced ballet produced in the show at all costs (Boo! Hiss!). Thankfully Mr. Berresse remembers that this is a MOVIE version of Broadway and NOT “A Chorus Line” and if he does not quite twirl a moustache and mutter “Curses,” he does exude a villainous single-mindedness to his plot to inflict his interminable ballet upon the public, even at the expense of the show.

It is surprising that Paul Byrd has a girlfriend as talented and idealistic as Gabrielle Gerard who clearly seems to overshadow him. There is something of a blushing “Gee Whiz” demeanor in Gabrielle that Ms. Laura Osnes makes believable. Here is a sweet and likable young lady who has something of a full story to tell us. Better still Ms. Osnes makes us root for her.

Lester Martin is another incompletely drawn character; he is there to sit at the piano and push his music while worrying about losing his wife Lily to Tony Martin. Somehow Mr. Michael McKean brings him sweetly to life and makes us care for this man who knows that his wife had settled for him after Tony left for Hollywood.

Indeed I too was in love with Ms. Tracey Ullman’s Lily Martin. Lily is not glamorous nor does she have any major dance number, but she is the most three dimensional and sympathetic of all the people trying to bring this musical to a successful Broadway opening. Here we have a successful woman who was deeply in love and only married her best friend Lester because she could not have Tony. She has to work out her feelings for both men while trying to keep the show from closing out of town. Watching Ms. Ullman’s superb portrayal of Lily, I thought, “What an amazing musical there might have been had Lily Martin been the focus of THE BAND WAGON – not Tony Hunter.”

The rest of the ensemble do their best to be believable city people and show folk, not even cracking a smile during the most ludicrous of Paul Byrd’s dance excesses.

The problem with adapting a well-known and beloved film into another form is that the original is a ghostly presence that haunts whatever new version is created. In the case of THE BAND WAGON an exorcism would have been a good idea. Mr. Douglas Carter Beane’s book does not want to risk alienating the audience who remembers the original – like the musical duo I mentioned before – but at the same time he often forgets that the speedy development of the plot points that might work in a movie may come across as incomplete onstage. Interactions that can mean a lot in close-up need more fleshing out when on a big stage. Matters that should be detailed are merely relayed to the audience in a second hand way, sometimes with minimal exposition: Who really cares about Tony Hunter and his bad movie making decisions?

Director and Choreographer Kathleen Marshal has to make the most of the uneven script but she cannot get beyond some of the moments that are staged for the sole purpose of setting a song that has no logical place in the script. She tries to interest us in these musical numbers that are often part of the Broadway bound show in a show but beloved as some of these scenes are in the movie (like “Triplets” and “Louisiana Hayride”) it might have been better just to assemble them as some sort of independent entre-act rather than waste time in a painful attempt to make them integral. Again, I have to hearken back to Mr. Beane’s adaptation. I understand that this BAND WAGON is based on Hollywood’s take on Broadway, but the creaky conventionalities (commercial entertainment versus ART, the comeback of the has-been, etc…) and the hackneyed theme of the Lester and Lily Martin’s plot for the Broadway Bound show are either a spoof or a lousy script.

Even when there are departures that seem promising, everything is firmly buried in what Mr. Beane assumes are the Hollywood conventions of the day. Mr. Beane claims the script was a tribute to Ms. Comden’s and Mr. Green’s work as a writing team. As an admirer of the duo, I had this sinking feeling that they’d have demanded a rewrite Happily when the musical numbers get going they are a lot of fun to hear and watch. Ms. Kathleen Marshal does know how to make performers move and some of the staging is memorable such as for the song “I Love Louisa.”

Mr. Derek McLane’s excellent sets and Mr. Peter Kaczorowski’s lighting followed and highlighted the action smoothly, while Mr. William Ivey Long’s costumes were very much of the 1950’s and he allowed himself a sly joke of dressing some performers in the show within the show as recognizable characters from other musicals of the era. But little point: Ms. Osnes please tuck in ALL of your hair for “Triplets” – it just spoils the point when the three babies sing about how they are all alike when one of them is sporting long flowing curls down past her shoulders. Then too in “Triplets”, Mr. Brian Ronan’s sound design is either muffling some of the lyrics or amplifying the performers’ mumbling of them – and not only in that number.

I feel like a grump writing down all these criticisms – especially as the audience seemed to be having a whale of a time. And I enjoyed THE BAND WAGON too for what it was: a pleasant diversion that entertained in spite of its story – not because of it.

  • Cast & Credits

    Book by Douglas Carter Beane
    From the screenplay by Betty Comden and Adolph Green
    Music by Arthur Schwartz
    Lyrics by Howard Dietz
    Based on the classic MGM film
    Produced by special arrangement with Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures
    Featuring The Encores! Orchestra
    Guest Music Director Todd Ellison
    Directed and Choreographed by Kathleen Marshall

    Starring Brian Stokes Mitchell, Tracey Ullman, Michael McKean, Tony Sheldon, Laura OsnesWith Michael Berresse, Don Stephenson, Lawrence Alexander, John Carroll, Joyce Chittick, Jason DePinto, Ericka Hunter, Dionna Thomas Littleton, Gavin Lodge, Erica Mansfield, Brittany Marcin, Paul McGill, Kaitlin Mesh, Jermaine R. Rembert, Brandon Rubendall, Jennifer Savelli, Eric Sciotto, Samantha Zack

  • An Encores! Special Event

    The Band Wagon

    • Mainstage
    • Nov 6 – 16, 2014
    • Tickets start at $30 available here:

About the reviewer:


I am a computer programmer, wannabe writer who loves theater and just got into the habit of inflicting my theatrical opinions. I live in New York. Moshe can be reached at MB1224@aol.com

GUEST REVIEWER: ON THE TOWN – Lyric Theater – October 21, 2014

Bringing up Gabey.

A review of the revival of
ON THE TOWN
At the Lyric Theater

October 21, 2014

by Moshe Bloxenheim, Guest Reviewer

When the house lights dimmed in the Lyric Theatre on 42nd Street and the audience hushed expectantly, no strains of Bernstein rose from the orchestra pit – instead we heard the stately notes of the “Star Spangled Banner.” Ours was doubtless not the first performance where everyone looked at one another in confusion, but soon enough all rose from their seats, hand over heart, and began to join in singing the National Anthem – first unsure of themselves but finishing the first stanza in full. It was only then that the curtain – itself a large US flag – rose and the show began.

A cynical scheme to make sure no one could hate this show?

No, we are traveling back to 1944 and wartime when New York was truly part of the Home Front and all theater performances started off with this tribute to our embattled country before taking the audience away from the grim realities of battle news, casualties, blackouts and rationing.

Happily there is no rationing or actor shortage in this revival of ON THE TOWN. Nicely cast, cleverly staged and lushly orchestrated, the new production is an enthusiastic valentine to a bygone New York City: a glorious eyeful and earful that goes far to please the audience.
The premise of ON THE TOWN is simple: Ozzie, Chip and Gabey are three US Sailors who have 24 hours leave in New York City before they ship out. As they ride the subway from the Navy yard, Gabey sees a picture of the latest month’s “Miss Turnstiles” and longs for the exotic young lady who has been so honored by the New York City Board of Transportation: Miss Ivy Smith. The three young men agree to split up and use clues from the Miss Turnstiles poster to locate her. As they search, Chip meets the delightfully direct ex-cabbie Hildy Esterhazy and Ozzie encounters a soul-mate in the volatile anthropologist Claire de Loone. But poor Gabey must endure many more obstacles before he can meet the Ivy Smith of his dreams.

Jay Armstrong Johnson, Tony Yazbeck and Clyde Alves

Jay Armstrong Johnson, Tony Yazbeck and Clyde Alves

These three young men and three young ladies may be the lead roles, but the starring spot is reserved for the setting of ON THE TOWN itself; the big, confusing, often tawdry New York City that even in wartime offers a magic wonderland that beats the organized, rational happiness of Disneyland hollow.

To populate such vibrant metropolis, the company has to be large by necessity and many performers play multiple roles: exiting as one citizen of the fair city and reentering the scene as another different character, each one with his or her own story to tell, be they sailor, cop, schoolgirl, commuter, lover or employee of Mr. Godolphin. Such careful delineations are certainly due to the efforts of the director and the choreographer, but a long and hearty ovation surely must go to these actors who never devolve into walking stage properties.

One of these many-faceted players is the very talented Mr. Stephen DeRosa. He plays a motley series of individuals and the spectator is hard put to recognize the tired shipyard worker, wise guy bill poster, harried professor, hackneyed club hosts, etc., as one and the same person even though Mr. DeRosa often adds his own funny touch that makes the most of each individual.

Mr. Phillip Boykin is another skillful actor who adds to the multitude, with his warm booming voice and the ability to go from the sleepy worker who memorably opens the show to the campily shrill announcer for the Miss Turnstiles contest and finishes off as a gritty Coney Island carny.

Megan Fairchild and Jackie Hoffman

Megan Fairchild and Jackie Hoffman

If other actors are giving us a remarkable parade of the New York public, Ms. Jackie Hoffman gleefully rounds up her various personalities to show how many people can be a singular pain in the neck. Whether she is a crotchety Old Lady who objects to our heroes or becomes each of the various club singers who must moan the most inconveniently depressing of songs, Ms. Hoffman is hell bent on demonstrating how ruining everyone else’s fun can be a grand activity, especially when she is playing the chief obstacle between Gabey’s and Ivy’s meeting: the dipsomaniacally mercenary singing teacher Maude P. Dilly.

Though Mr. Michael Rupert only inhabits one role –Judge Pitkin W. Bridgework – he makes the most of this slowly building gag who is Claire’s relentlessly understanding fiancé. For the good Judge, realism is not worthy of a hearing.

Just as gratifying in her small, but vital part is Ms. Allison Guinn as the definitive drip and third wheel, Lucy Schmeeler.

So what of our sailor’s and their ladies?

Jay Armstrong Johnson and Alysha Umphress

Jay Armstrong Johnson and Alysha Umphress

The cutely handsome Mr. Jay Armstrong Johnson definitely gets a merit badge for his performance as the boy-scoutish Chip, who wants to see the big city but is there for his pals. One can easily see why Hildy is determined to get this Sailor away from his guidebook. Not that sensible Chip can resist Hildy for long, and who can blame him? The marvelously named Ms. Alysha Umphress provides a deliciously voluptuous and direct young lady who knows what she likes and is happy to let us all in on the secret. Vocally Ms. Umphress belts her numbers with a wonderfully knowing air that makes her singing “I Can Cook Too” one of the highlights of the evening.

In direct contrast to Hildy is Claire de Loone: she also knows what she wants, but is trying to make do with what she believes would be better for her – such as her fiancé Judge Pitkin W. Bridgework. But deep down Claire knows that better isn’t always best. She is a healthy mademoiselle who tries desperately to maintain a cool, intellectual facade only to give way to vigorous explosions of enthusiasm as she amusingly explains in the whimsical song “Carried Away.” Unfortunately Ms. Elizabeth Stanley never quite strikes the balance between a vessel of simmering passions about to hilariously blow her top or a cartoonish basket case who is dangerously close to putting her carefully manicure index finger to her rosy lips and going Bliblbliblblibl… Still, when avoiding the outright caricature, Ms. Stanley’s Claire can be quite a girl.

Ozzie might get carried away too, but the excellent Mr. Clyde Alves keeps it all in fun and avoids psychiatric undertones. Here is a likeable fellow who might get a bit full of himself but his reaction to the overwhelming Claire shows that he has a thing or two to learn.

Tony Yazbeck

Tony Yazbeck

As a farm boy from the Midwest, one might think the innocent Gabey would have a LOT to learn, but in spite of all his friend’s advice, Mr. Tony Yazbeck’s sweet and boyish Gabey does better relying on himself. From the moment he falls for Miss Turnstiles’ poster, Gabey has everybody rooting for this heart-struck young man. A one dimensional character would be hard put to convey the helpless loneliness of “Lonely Town” or the jubilation of “Lucky to Be Me,” let alone bring the audience along in Gabey’s nightmarish fantasy search of “Imaginary Coney Island.” Yet, Mr. Yazbeck makes it all feel real.

Megan Fairchild and the cast of On The Town

Megan Fairchild and the cast of On The Town

Happily for Gabey, Ms. Megan Fairchild’s Ivy Smith is just what he needs – a nice and pretty girl who is far from the exotic creature that was conjured up by the Miss Turnstiles campaign. Ms. Fairchild can soar in a fantasy ballet and do a Miss Turnstiles strut, but her Ivy is a likeable down-to-earth person who is more than a little bewildered by everyone else’s expectations for her and she proves a droll foil for Ms. Hoffman’s conniving Maude P. Dilly.

Such a big cast could easily engulf a less carefully thought out stage, but Mr. Beowulf Boritt provides a mix of sets, curtains, moving panels and projections that is well worth seeing on its own merit. Under the expert lighting of Mr. Jason Lyons, streets rush by, clubs spring up, subways hurry through a fantastic city that can seamlessly expand to handle the show’s biggest dances and contract to focus on the most intimate moments. This is ON THE TOWN’s native environment and everyone and everything involved seem to belong here and take sheer joy in the energy and motion of the show – even the Status of Liberty’s torch, which would have been blacked out during the war years, beams approvingly over the goings on.

If Messrs. Borrit and Lyons provide the world of 1944 New York, then the costumes, hair and makeup designs of Mr. Jess Goldstein, Ms. Leah Louks and Mr. Joe Dulude II do a fine job of filling the streets with believable 1944 New Yorkers, strikingly imaginary people for the dream ballets, eye-catching carnies and lots and lots of handsome sailors.

On the whole the direction is quite good with Mr. John Rando effectively keeping the development of the characters and their situations flowing smoothly and enjoyably. Unfortunately Mr. Rando does not always know where the fine line lies between the believably funny or the flatly cartoonish. There are, of course, downright caricatures like Judge Pitkin W. Bridgework and Maude P. Dilly where any degree of actuality would ruin the fun, but I somehow wondered if Director Rando had something to do with poor Claire de Loon’s operatic excess. Also Hildy’s speedy moderation of her initial “Duh Bronx” accent with its “Youse” and “Dese” inflections to a more pleasing enunciation show how much this was just a sloppy and unnecessary gimmick to establish character.

But I thought Mr. Rando’s staging had one misstep which went beyond funny-papers “haha” to downright crude: When the Announcer of the Miss Turnstiles competition struggles to relieve the unwilling Ivy of her crown at the end of the month, he looks like he is ripping it off her hair.

It is unfortunate that such lapses are there for both the actors and the audience to endure, but they are happily outnumbered by Mr. Rando’s better choices, Adding to the plusses, Conductor James Moore, the orchestra and the singers clearly appreciate Mr. Leonard Bernstein’s music and (Assisted by Mr. Kai Harada’s subtle sound designs) give it a glorious sound. Ms. Betty Comden and Mr. Adolph Green provided the lyrics as well as a fun book and, along with Mr. Bernstein, convey their own youthful enthusiasm for New York and life and optimism about the future. The songs are gems and more than a few are classic hits starting with the unforgettable “New York, New York (a helluva town).” From the blissful “Lucky to Be Me,” to the endearingly raunchy “I Can Cook Too,” to the sweeping ballet pieces, and the heartfelt “Some Other Time” it is clear that even in their twenties Ms. Comden and Messrs. Bernstein and Green could cover emotional and dramatic ground with a skill that seems harder and harder to find in modern musicals.

ON THE TOWN is a show that was inspired and in part developed by the legendary Mr. Jerome Robbins. Choreographer Joshua Bergasse understands this heritage, giving us a city where dance inhabits every onstage motion without any air of “art for culture’s sake”; it is often funny, frequently beautiful and more than one moment brings a lump to the throat.

With all the people and sets that must pass on and off the stage in such a smooth and continuous progression, it would be ungrateful not to offer up an extra round of applause to the Production Stage Manager Bonnie L. Becker. I bet her backstage work with its split second timings of cast and properties would be another fascinating performance to behold.

At any rate what is offered on stage is a true jewel of Musical Theater. It may not be a flawless pearl, but ON THE TOWN is still to be valued and delighted in.

————————————————————————-

Leaving the theater I was left with an interesting question; how many people below a certain age would now see ON THE TOWN as anything but three goofy sailors who have left their ship for a day?

When ON THE TOWN opened in 1944, the musical had dramatic undertones that were felt by everyone whether onstage or in the audience: At the end of their 24 hour leave, these three sailors who had already undergone combat would be shipped off once more to a possibly dangerous destination from which they may never return. Additionally, the three girls were discovering themselves in a world changed by war and no one knew what the outcome would be even at home. Even after 1945, further unrests in the world and the possibility of the draft must have lent the show’s final moments poignancy that I fear many of today’s younger people must miss – living as we now do in a compartmentalized world where the US can be fighting wars that have far less affect back at home than they once might have had. Who would have the nerve these days to talk of a home front or ask anyone to make sacrifices for our nation’s good?

I began my review by mentioning how the show attempted to evoke 1944 by the singing of the National Anthem. Perhaps the sense of those uncertain times could have been enhanced by the addition of one more lighting effect to the dazzling array of projections: a discreet image of World War II news sliding across the Times Square News Ticker.

One more notion: Although it might ruin a desired measure of surprise for the show, I think it would be a little more respectful to both the audience and the National Anthem if everyone had fair warning that the “Star Spangled Banner” was imminent before they got to their seats. It just isn’t something one ought to spring on people.

————————————————————————-

On the Town Tickets

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About the reviewer:


I am a computer programmer, wannabe writer who loves theater and just got into the habit of inflicting my theatrical opinions.
I live in New York.

Moshe can be reached at MB1224@aol.com

REVIEW: Encores! concert revival of IRMA LA DOUCE – New York City Center – May 11, 2014

Giving La Douce her due

A review of Encores! concert revival of IRMA LA DOUCE

New York City Center – May 11, 2014

by Moshe Bloxenheim, Guest Reviewer

IRMA LA DOUCE is a fairy tale of Paris:  a very adult and amoral fantasy set in the underworld of Le Milieu where everyone has a descriptive name, socializes around a zinc bar and assumes a happily cynical sang-froid about the seamier side of life.  This shady place is brightened by the optimistically down-to-earth Irma La Douce, who is the carnal and emotional outlet for all the men of le Milieu.  That is until a young law student by the name of Nestor-Le-Fripe (or Nestor-the-Shabby) falls passionately in love with sweet Irma.  Jealously Nestor tries to keep Irma to himself, adopting the disguise of Monsieur Oscar an alleged elderly millionaire who hires Irma exclusively.  Meanwhile Irma’s boss Polyte-Le-Mou and his associate the Police Inspector do not care for Nestor’s upsetting of their financial and sexual applecart and would be delighted with any pretext to remove the young student from the scene.  Of course the young man supplies them with a reason, when, tired of being his own rival, Nestor decides to have Monsieur Oscar disappear and everyone assumes that he has murdered the wealthy man in a fit of lover’s rage.

 Like the storyline, the credits for IRMA LA DOUCE are a bit complicated having an original French book and lyrics by Monsieur Alexandre Breffort and an English adaptation by Messrs. Julian More, David Heneker and Monty Norman.  This was then adapted for the Encores! stage by Mr. John Doyle who also directed the current revival.

The music by M. Marguerite Monnot is a delight in any language whether proudly sardonic as in “Noble Sons of France” or giving us a defiantly sentimental finale with “Christmas Child.”  Under Conductor Rob Berman, the Encores! Orchestra certainly makes the most of Mr. Andre Popp’s orchestrations (augmented by Mr. Robert Ginzler).

All the same the Encores! revival of IRMA LA DOUCE seems to me to be at something of a loss on how to effectively juggle the many requirements of a story that often demands point blank acceptance from the audience.  While I appreciated the gleefully raffish presentation of a bourgeois underclass that gave a sort of Gallic “3-Penny Opera” flavor to IRMA LA DOUCE, I could not enjoy the show with the same zest experienced by several discerning friends of mine: I kept feeling that something vital is missing.

 For the most part I cannot blame the cast for this.  The denizens of the underworld are as amusing a group of charmers as one could desire.  Polyte-Le-Mou (‘Le Boss”) might be a bluff bully and the Police Inspector is as corrupt as they come, but excellent Messrs. Chris Sullivan and Stephen DeRosa keep them well in the realm of make-believe villains who can be unnerved by words of legal Latin or brought to tears by the slap of a working girl.  Even more enjoyable are the likably comic cutthroats Jojo-Les-Yeaux-Sales, Roberto-Les-Diams, Persil-Le-Noir and (I kid you not) Frangipane.  These fellows, played with wonderful enthusiasm by Messrs. Zachary James, Ken Krugman, Ben Crawford and Sam Bolen respectively, are both delightfully self-serving, yet charmingly familial.

Living respectably on the wrong side of the law as they do, it would take some doing to disturb such a crew’s peace of mind.  So it is all the funnier to see Mr. Rob McClure’s Nestor-Le-Fripe naively wander into Le Milieu and turn their world upside-down.  Mr. McClure exhibits a gee-whiz sort of sensibility that would usually be found in a character who puts on shows in a barn or rises to the top of a corporate ladder by following a paperback manual.  And what with delivering numbers like the romantic “Our Language of Love” with Irma or Nestor’s hilarious lament to a double life “Wreck of a Mec” it is only natural for this Nestor-Le-Fripe to win over the girl, the gang and the audience.  But Mr. McClure doesn’t stop there.  As the bearded elderly Monsieur Oscar, Mr. McClure is wickedly droll, playing the self-created rival of Nestor and soon the jealous competitors are practically acting each other off the stage – not a bad feat for a single actor to carry off.  Yet Mr. McClure never forgets that Nestor is a man truly torn by love and jealousy and his eventual separation from Irma rises touchingly above the farcical complications and comic turns.

With the storybook nature of the show, it would be quite right to have a Narrator who keeps everyone and thing in order and Mr. Malcolm Gets performs this vital role of Bob-le-Hotu, the proprietor of the Bar des Inquiets in which the story unfolds.  Mr. Gets gives the air of one who has seen it all and who knows what has to be done, whether he is introducing characters, setting up a scene or handing over props.  Perhaps Mr. Gets is being low-key, but I just wish he would be a little more amused and invested in the world he offers us.  After all, the opening song “Valse Milieu” is not a song sung by a man who is losing his taste for dance.

But what of Irma, the sweet one, herself?

Ms. Jennifer Bowles is a singing, dancing powerhouse who is an admirable part of the ensemble.  Her bouyant rendition of the big number “Dis-Donc” and her sweet performance of “The Letter” are highlights of the show.  But to me, Irma’s being one of an ensemble is a problem.  I understand the rightness of Irma being very matter-of-fact in the aspects of her life (being both a hooker and a nice girl), but Ms. Bowles and Director John Doyle seem to forget that Irma is the title character – the only female lead – with her own streetwise rules and standards.  In a show where several chairs placed atop bar can become a ship or we can delight in the hallucinated Arctic ballet, why can’t this Irma completely impose her vision of the world on the audience: whether to convincingly demonstrate her prerogative to buy a man a drink or to maintain her faith in the reality of Monsieur Oscar (even if it is just Nestor in a beard)?  I think Ms. Bowles could be far more effective if she would remember that Irma is supposed to be the Princess of this Fairy Tale: the déclassé Darla Hood to this mature Our Gang Comedy.

The rest of the Ensemble well earns their praise as they roam and cavort across the stage in the persona of various low-lives, officials, and clientele and so on.

 Mr. John Doyle’s direction is often very good.  Whether we are in the lowest dive or watching prisoners in Devil’s Island, Mr. Doyle always keeps it on an endearingly cartoonish level so that the brutal reality never intrudes on the whimsy and romance of the tale.  His staging of Nestor’s murder trial is a delightfully flippant depiction of judicial corruption and breaks Nestor’s heart as effectively as would the most sinister indictment of the legal system.  But as I have said before, something seems to be lacking with Irma and I wonder if Mr. Doyle could not find a satisfactory balance between the wholesome, healthy girl and the ma’amselle of the streets on which he could root Ms. Jennifer Bowles’ performance.  Whatever the reason, I feel that Irma deserved to be stronger and the show itself better.

Still Mr. Chase Brock’s choreography is very imaginative and makes for some wonderful moments on a stage evocatively set by Mr. John Lee Beatty to be the all-encompassing Bar des Inquiets.  With Mr. Paul Miller’s clever lighting and Mr. Scott Lehrer’s sound designs, Messrs. Doyle and Beatty are able to let the audience leave the bar and travel around Paris and even across the world.

Ms. Ann Hould-Ward’s costumes are nicely atmospheric with the gentlemen looking quite understated in their scarves, trench coats, sweaters and suits (save for Polyte-Le-Mou who contrasts with them nicely in the checked jacket and saddle shoes that seem appropriate for a small time boss).  Irma’s red dress with its heart-patterned bodice is both suitably alluring and amusingly reputable.

I am always grateful when Encores! gives me the opportunity to discover a show I know nothing about.  But by the final curtain of IRMA LA DOUCE, I was left wondering why I felt so unmoved after so much effort and imagination had been expended.

About the reviewer:
I am a computer programmer, wannabe writer who loves theater and just got into the habit of inflicting my theatrical opinions.
I live in New York.

Moshe can be reached at MB1224@aol.com

REVIEW: Encores! concert revival of THE MOST HAPPY FELLA

That’s Amore!

A review of Encores! concert revival of
THE MOST HAPPY FELLA

At New York City Center – April 6, 2014
by Moshe Bloxenheim, Guest Reviewer

Within the first few minutes of the overture of THE MOST HAPPY FELLA, the strings, horns and cymbals of the overture joined in a musical
exclamation that sent a thrill up my back which pretty much stayed there until the final notes of the evening, when we all began to shuffle out of City Center feeling that we had just witnessed something truly great.
Yet the plot is a simple one, focusing on everyday people; their problems and joys. Mr. Frank Loesser’s book of THE MOST HAPPY FELLA – based on the play THEY KNEW WHAT THEY WANTED by Mr. Sidney Howard – features no villains or changing epochs. Set on and around Tony Espozito’s ranch in Napa Valley, California, THE MOST HAPPY FELLA shows how two ordinary people can pick themselves up from the wreck of their dreams and build something newer and better. Insecure about his age and looks, the Italian-born farmer Tony encloses a picture of his handsome young foreman Joe in a letter to the young lady he has been wooing by mail. When the romantically dubbed Rosabella actually arrives at the farm to meet and marry the farmer she has been writing to for so long, she is tragically disillusioned; not merely learning that her wooer isn’t the handsome young man she had anticipated, but that she also must deal with the crumpled and battered body of the much older Tony who has had a serious accident on his way to pick her up from the train. In shock and yielding to the pleas of the badly injured Tony and his friends, Rosabella marries him. On this tragic wedding night, Rosabella is unable to cope with the total overturn of her expectations and gives herself to the thoughtless but responsive Joe. It is then up to Tony and Rosabella to truly discover each other and try to make some sort of life for themselves. That they triumph so wonderfully and believably in this production is a tribute to both Mr. Loesser and the Encores! company.
If I had to point out the true star of THE MOST HAPPY FELLA it would be Mr. Frank Loesser’s sweeping and amazingly varied score. There are some very beloved standards in this song book; “Standing on the Corner”, “Joey, Joey, Joey” and of course that love song to Urban Texas “Big D.” However, it isn’t just that there are some wonderful tunes. Mr. Loesser’s music and lyrics carry the listener along, unfolding the action and expressing the emotions of the performers. This isn’t drama simply accompanied by song: it is all of one piece. Perhaps that is one reason why there is a tendency to call THE MOST HAPPY FELLA ”operatic.” The developing love of Tony and Rosabella is a simple and beautiful thing to behold, but when they express their joyful desire for one another in the number “My Heart is So Full of You” the show was well and truly stopped by the cries and applause of an audience that was deeply moved.

Excellent music and drama alone was only a part of the sensation that was Encores! THE MOST HAPPY FELLA. The cast sounded great and acted brilliantly. The man of the title, Tony Esposito is a truly good man who wants to achieve something better than he has – marriage, a family, a loving wife. Mr. Shuler Hensley was a very likeable Tony, whom we can easily sympathize with even when he makes the fateful photo switch. Mr. Hesley made it clear that throughout the show that Tony always had that bad deed in the back of his mind and he made us feel for the poor man and root for him as well. Musically, Mr. Hensley acted his songs with intensity rather than trying to be a perfect tenor. Indeed, he was able to use his body mike to great effect, taking moments that might have sounded technically fine in other hands but used a whisper here, an outright shout there or a breaking voice to bring drama and emotion to this rustic farmer. Happily as well, Mr. Hensley’s Tony may not have been the carelessly handsome Joey, but he had a rough-hewn attractiveness too, making Rosabella’s eventual love for Tony on both a physical and emotional level very believable.
Just as convincing was Ms. Laura Benanti’s Rosabella. This character is pretty enough to have men appreciate her, but also smart enough to know that she is one of many attractive waitresses and that she ought to find something better while she has the chance. Ms. Benanti knew how to exhibit both the good humor and fear of a woman who may have seen more of the world than she would have liked to. Rosabella can discover and eventually love the goodness in Tony, and like Tony she is a nice person who makes a mistake that she has to live with. In Ms. Benanti’s characterization, we wanted this heroine to be happy and feel deeply for her when things go wrong. Rosabella was already touching in her songs like “Somebody Somewhere” but once she meets Tony, Ms. Benanti musically met Mr. Hensley on equal terms of emotional power and dramatic skill.
I overheard someone describe Mr. Cheyenne Jackson’s Joey as “detached,” but is that a bad thing for this drifting foreman? Handsome and sounding better than ever, Mr. Jackson showed someone who wants to keep to himself free of any complications. When Joey feels that he is developing roots he pulls up and moves on. Mr. Jackson clearly understood that somebody like that would avoid emotional investment in the people around him. He was at his most emotionally open when he wistfully sang about leaving in the memorable “Joey, Joey Joey.”
Another isolated soul is Tony’s spinster sister Marie. Marie has long been Tony’s caregiver and support. She does not want to be hateful but she does not want her brother and Rosabella to be husband and wife either. So Ms. Jessica Molaskey had a difficult task as Marie: how could she show a woman who wants to break up our hero and heroine without making her an out and out villainess? Ms. Molaskey presented a very frightened woman who fears a future she cannot imagine. Even with her verbal digs at Tony and her concern over Rosabella we could feel sympathy with Marie who is seeing the life she worked so hard at getting changed beyond recognition. Indeed, Ms. Molaskey’s Marie made me wish that we might have seen more of her feelings and interactions. As it was, this Marie clearly had a story and a life outside of the play we were watching.
Only one person seemed to actually dislike Marie and in the number “I Don’t like This Dame” Ms.Heidi Blickenstaff’s Cleo brought the house down with her feelings, all the while politely acknowledging Marie’s doubts about Tony and Rosabella. Of course, Ms. Blickenstaff brought down the house with happy frequency. Cleo is the classic “second lead,” the one that the hero and heroine rely on to let them express thoughts that would otherwise be monologues and who points out destinies that might not be so easily seen. In life this is usually called “a best friend” and Ms. Blickenstaff made Cleo a supremely marvelous and credible pal to Rosabella… and who doesn’t love a buddy who pulls out a belly laugh with the same facility as she can generate cheers?
A perfect match for Cleo was Herman, the young ranch hand who “…likes ev’rybody.” Mr. Jay Armstrong Johnson played Herman as a truly sweet and amusing man who can never imagine the worst about anyone: If someone plays a trick on Herman, well; it makes them happy and hurt him none. Mr. Johnson carried this off with a real innocence so that even though Herman may be laid back and naïve, he was never an imbecile. Together with Messrs. Ryan Bauer-Walsh, Ward Billeisen and Arlo Hill, Mr. Johnson performed the wistful “Standing on the Corner” creating one of the most delightfully memorable moments of the show.
Mr. Kevin Vortmann was highly praiseworthy as the Doctor – a sincere medical man with a surprisingly fine sense of humanity as we discover in the superb “Love and Kindness” and the warming “Song of a Summer Night.”
It would be wrong not to mention other brief but vital contributions to THE MOST HAPPY FELLA: Mr. Wayne Prentlow as the Postman and Messrs. Zachary James, Bradley Dean and Brian Cali as Giuseppe, Pasquale and Ciccio who truly gloried in “Abbondanza” and kept right on going.
The rest of the cast was just plain delightful whether singing and dancing up a storm or lulling us along with a quiet ensemble piece.

If the company and material did a lot for the success of THE MOST HAPPY FELLA then Director and Choreographer Casey Nicholaw’s efforts were just as significant. Using the respectful concert adaptation by Mr. Bill Rosenfeld, Mr. Nicholaw made a rather lengthy show feel as if it ended all too soon. It is a tribute to him that the combined second and third acts of the show moved along as effectively and smartly as the first. Not only was the pacing well done, but even the smaller roles seemed to fill out and add to the vitality onstage. His staging of the dances was just as commendable, creating a “Big D” number that really packed a punch . Yet Mr. Nicholaw excelled at the smaller intimate moments too – from the already mentioned “My Heart is So Full of You” showstopper to heartbreaking moments between Rosabella and Tony that generated audible sobs from the audience.
Alas, not all the directorial decisions were perfect. While I actually liked the idea of Marie’s reconciling with the fact of Tony’s and Rosabella’s being together in the final scene of the show, I thought Mr. Nicholaw’s staging messed up the relationships between Tony, Marie and Rosabella and removed the purpose of Cleo and Herman’s number “I Made A Fist”:

· If Tony was not shown as lame anymore, why did Marie’s keeping hold of his cane (which he hates using) prevent him from going after Rosabella and triggering the final outburst?
· Once Marie and Tony resolved their issue, he never went offstage to get Rosabella as a man determined to keep his wife ought to. So what was all the fuss with that cane in the first place?
· Tony and Marie remaining onstage distracted from Cleo and Herman celebrating Herman’s willingness to fight for Cleo (a moment clearly intended to let Tony go offstage to get Rosabella back as well as ease the overall tension before Tony and Rosbella have their final quiet moment). So Cleo and Herman now just seem to be in the way and their number looks badly placed.
· After all this, Rosabella walked back onstage as if she was wondering where everyone was and Tony did not have the physical chance to show how he was going to go and bring her back.

With everything else so wonderful, this was just too bad and too late in the performance to be ignored; on the other hand there is nothing I could say to criticize the glorious sound of the augmented (38 pieces!) Encores! Orchestra under the musical direction of Mr. Rob Berman and using Mr. Don Walker’s original orchestrations. The only disappointment I’d have there would be if the company did not get back together to at least record this extraordinary music.

Like all of Encores! Musicals in Concert, there may be a full – in this case fuller – orchestra onstage, but Mr. John Lee Beatty cleverly set the remaining part of the stage with enough suggestions of place to keep anyone from ever missing full scenery. He was helped in this by Mr. Ken Billington’s very evocative lighting.
Naturally the cast’s clothing also set the location and Costume Designer Gregg Barnes went to town on the farm, defining the actors most convincingly and attractively.
Sound Designer Scott Lehrer clearly knew how to keep everyone sounding their best, but it was when Mr. Shuler Hensley made the best use of the amplification to add impact to his songs that I began to really appreciate what miking can do in a theater.

What with the narrow stage and all the sets, props and people, I can only express admiration at how Production Stage Manager Ms. Karen Moore and her crew always keep things running so smoothly and so well.

I am just sorry that the run of THE MOST HAPPY FELLA is over now. Would I see it again?

Happily, and repeatedly.

Still, there is something about these limited runs that make them very special: I feel mighty grateful when Encores! gives some of the lesser works a well-deserved chance to shine, but even more so when FRANK LOESSER works are shown.

About the reviewer:
I am a computer programmer, wannabe writer who loves theater and just got into the habit of inflicting my theatrical opinions.
I live in New York.

Moshe can be reached at MB1224@aol.com