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SLAVA’S SNOW SHOW ANNOUNCES MOBILE RUSH POLICY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: Vivacity Media Group, 212-812-1483
Leslie Papa, leslie@vivacityny.com
Whitney Holden Gore, whitney@vivacityny.com 
Kelly Wells, kelly@vivacityny.com
Maggie Trabucco, maggie@vivacityny.com  

MOBILE RUSH POLICY ANNOUNCED
FOR TONY-NOMINATED & OLIVIER AWARD-WINNINGBACK ON BROADWAY
FOR A LIMITED HOLIDAY ENGAGEMENT
AT THE STEPHEN SONDHEIM THEATRE
NOVEMBER 11, 2019 – JANUARY 5, 2020 

 TICKETS ON SALE NOW AT TELECHARGE.COM
MOBILE RUSH TICKETS AVAILABLE THROUGH TODAYTIX

(New York, NY – Wednesday, October 30, 2019) – Producers David Carpenter, John Arthur Pinckard, and Hunter Arnold are thrilled to announce that the Broadway return of the Tony-nominated, Olivier Award-winning international sensation SLAVA’S SNOWSHOW has partnered with TodayTix to offer $35 mobile rush tickets beginning at 9 AM EST each performance day. The rush will begin on Monday, November 11 for the first performance at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre (124 W 43rd St., NYC). Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis exclusively through the TodayTix app.

SLAVA’S SNOWSHOW will return to Broadway this winter for a limited holiday engagement at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre from November 11, 2019 through January 5, 2020. Tickets are on sale now at Telecharge.com. The production will feature SNOWSHOW creator Slava Polunin alongside Artem Zhimo, Robert Saralp, Vanya Polunin, Georgiy Deliyev, Aelita West, Bradford West, Alexandre Frish, Nikolai Terentiev, Francesco Bifano, Spencer Chandler and Elena Ushakova. The Snowshow company is made up of a number of clowns; it is rarely known in advance which clowns will perform at which performances. The Opening Night Celebration is November 13, with the Press Opening on November 14. 

 Returning to the New York stage for the first time in over a decade to delight a whole new generation of theatergoers, the singular troupe of SLAVA’S SNOWSHOW brings its spellbinding and romantically wistful theatrical adventure back stateside for the holiday season. Unleashing a breathtaking artistic thrill ride for audiences of all ages and languages, the show offers a dreamlike vision that overflows with magical dynamism and humorous antics, set within an absurd and surrealistic world. Each scene paints a picture: an unlikely shark swimming in a misty sea; heart-breaking goodbyes on a railway platform; an entire audience enveloped in a gigantic web; a wave of vibrant balloons bouncing off the fingertips of theatergoers; and a world-renowned roaring snowstorm of a finale that’s sure to leave audiences spellbound.   

 SLAVA’S SNOWSHOW made its American debut in 2004 and became an instant theatrical sensation, breaking the record for highest grossing show in the history of the Union Square Theatre. Treating New Yorkers to an immersive experience unlike any other, the show incited The New York Times’ critic to confess, ““my heart leapt… [SNOWSHOW] induces waves of giggles and sighs of pleasure.” The off-Broadway production ran for over 1000 performances, won a Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience (2005), and then transferred to Broadway in 2008 for a limited engagement which earned a Tony Award Nomination for Best Special Theatrical Event. 

 Now a theatrical classic, SLAVA’S SNOWSHOW pushes the boundaries of family show to its highest standards and has been rewarded with more than twenty international awards, including an Olivier Award for Best Entertainment, a Drama Desk Award, and a Tony Award nomination. Having played the world’s major cities many times over, SLAVA’S SNOWSHOW is a bona fide international sensation amongst theatergoers and critics who have declared it “a thing of rare theatrical beauty not to be missed” (London Daily Telegraph) and “an unmistakably unique, unmissable comedy masterpiece…It is simply and childishly thrilling, it fills you with innocent amazement and it is lyrically beautiful.” (The Independent) 

 Born in a small town in central Russia, Slava Polunin discovered the art of pantomime in high school. As he grew to adulthood in Leningrad, he developed an eccentric version of the form, which he lovingly dubbed ‘Expressive Idiotism.’ From 1979 on, Slava quickly became a fixture on Russian stages and TV, sharing his gifts and continuing to redefine the art of clowning with his poetic and poignant approach to comic performance. This discovery would reach its zenith with SLAVA’S SNOWSHOW, which burst onto world stages at the 1996 Edinburgh Festival to universal praise and wonder. Since its debut, the work has toured constantly, introducing new audiences and generations to its world of dreams, fantasies, and childlike wonder. 

 Created by Slava Polunin, SLAVA’S SNOWSHOW is presented in collaboration with Slava and Gwenael Allan. Production Management is by Tinc Productions and General Management is by KGM Theatrical.  

 Tickets are on sale at Telecharge.com. The show is recommended for audience members age 8 to 108.  The performance schedule is Tuesdays at 7 PM, Wednesdays at 2 PM and 7 PM, Thursdays at 7 PM, Fridays at 8 PM, Saturdays at 2 PM and 8 PM, Sundays at 3 PM.  Additional performances will be held on Monday, November 11 at 8 PM and Monday, December 16 at 7 PM. The performance on Tuesday, November 12 will be at 8 PM. The performances on Sunday, December 29 and Sunday, January 5 will be at 1 PM and 6:30 PM. There will be no performances on Sunday, November 17; Thursday, November 28; Tuesday, December 17; Wednesday, December 25; Tuesday, December 31; and Wednesday, January 1. Though it is being performed at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre, SLAVA’s SNOWSHOW is not a Roundabout Theatre Company production.

www.slavaonbroadway.com
@snowshowonbway 

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PRESS RELEASE: SUDDENLY, a new play based on the classic 1954 noir film starring Frank Sinatra

LIVE SOURCE THEATRE GROUP
PRESENTS
SUDDENLY

THE WORLD PREMIERE PLAY ADAPTED BY GIANFRANCO SETTECASI
AFTER THE SCREENPLAY BY RICHARD SALE

DIRECTED BY TYLER MERCER

WITH DREW ALLEN, HENRY BERRY, CHRIS DIEMAN, PHOEBE DUNN,
ARIEL ESTRADA, SEAN A. KAUFMAN, JOSEPH J. MENINO AND BRENDAN WALSH

LIMITED ENGAGEMENT — OCTOBER 5-20, 2018
AT HERE (145 6TH AVE, NYC – ENTER ON DOMINICK, ONE BLOCK SOUTH OF SPRING)

OPENS SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7TH AT 4 PM
Tickets: http://www.live-source.org/ 

Live Source Theatre Group (Tyler Mercer, Co-Founder & Artistic Director; Chris Dieman, Co-Founder & Artist in Residence), as part of their 7th season, presents the world premiere of SUDDENLY, a new play based on the classic 1954 noir film starring Frank Sinatra, adapted by Gianfranco Settecasi after the screenplay by Richard Sale. Directed by Tyler Mercer, SUDDENLY will play a limited engagement at HERE (145 6th Avenue, NYC – Enter on Dominick, one block south of Spring). Performances begin Friday, October 5th and the engagement runs through Saturday, October 20th, 2018. The Opening is Sunday, October 7th at 4pm.

SUDDENLY is a new play adapted from the 1954 film of the same name, about an attempted presidential assassination that rocks a quiet town in northern California. When the Bensons’ home is placed on lockdown after local law enforcement learns of a potential threat to the president’s passage through the nearby train station, it soon becomes very clear that nothing is as it appears. Set against a post-war backdrop but staged with contemporary urgency, this intense political thriller explores a particularly American culture of violence.

Utilizing Live Source Theatre Group’s signature design-heavy production values, SUDDENLY will blend its stylized 1950s influences in a contemporary production with integrated video/projection design, highlighting the timeliness of this period script as it explores how far we have (and haven’t) come in the national dialogues on guns, the treatment of veterans, PTSD, and the dark side of the American dream.

The cast of SUDDENLY includes Drew Allen, Henry Fin Berry, Chris Dieman, Phoebe Dunn, Ariel Estrada, Sean A. Kaufman, Joseph J. Menino and Brendan Walsh.

SUDDENLY has scenic and video design by Bryce Cutler, costume design by Angela Harner, lighting design by Mary Ellen Stebbins, sound design by Adam Smith, and properties by Brett Warnke. The Production Manager is Emma Ruopp. The Production Stage Manager is Mackenzie Trowbridge. Meghan Rose Murphy is the Associate Producer.

SUDDENLY will play the following performance schedule beginning Friday, October 5th through Saturday, October 20th: Tuesdays at 8:30pm, Wednesdays at 8:30pm, Thursdays at 8:30pm, Fridays at 8:30pm, Saturdays at 8:30pm, and Sundays at 4:00pm, with an additional matinees Saturday October 6th at 4pm and Saturday, October 20th at 4pm.

Tickets for SUDDENLY are priced at $35 and may be purchased now by visiting www.live-source.org/ or by calling 212-352-3101.For special pricing for groups of 10+, contact info@live-source.org, or call 646-598-4803. In-person purchases can be made at HERE (145 6th Avenue) with the Box Office opening 2 hours before curtain.

Live Source Theatre Group was founded in 2011 with the mission to elevate the role of design in the creation, development, and production of new theatrical works. The group uses both classic and original plays to reveal and explore contemporary themes, drawing from a blend of styles, stories, and live sources. With innovative design and technology in constant play with highly stylized performances, Live Source engages audiences through a bold new theatre aesthetic. The company’s inaugural production in 2012, Macbeth, was a multimedia reimagining of Shakespeare’s violent tragedy, invoking midcentury influences from Watergate to On the Waterfront in an exploration of political corruption. This past Fall, Live Source Theatre Group presented the world premiere production of Solstice Party!, a new play by Susan Soon He Stanton (HBO’s Succession), at the A.R.T./NY Theaters, commissioned and developed by Live Source. Critics called it “superb” (The Huffington Post) and “a thrilling and compelling cauchemare” (Stage Buddy). Additional company works include We Are Live, a devised work which blended Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull, with Alfred Hitchcock’s Stage Fright; the English-language U.S. premiere of Bohemian Lights, adapted after Ramón Valle-Inclán’s masterwork Luces de Bohemia; and The Incredible Fox Sisters, a world premiere by Jaclyn Backhaus based on the true events following the infamous séances held in 19th Century by the Fox sisters in upstate New York. Live Source Theatre Group’s Board of Directors includes Chris Dieman, Sarah Dunn, Kathryn Giamo, Tyler Mercer and Bobbi Thompson.

This production is a part of SubletSeries@HERE: a curated rental program, which provides artists with subsidized space and equipment, as well as technical support.

CAST BIOGRAPHIES

Drew Allen (John Baron) was recently seen as Tony Wendice in Dial M for Murder (Ocean State Theatre), nominated for best actor in a leading role as Henry VIII in Copse (MITF/Roy Arias Theatre), Dr. David Blau in Red Angel by Eric Bogosian, (Theatre Row), Lord Capulet in Romeo and Juliet (Connelly Theatre), Ben Casey in Shark Play (Samuel French OOBF Finalist/Classic Stage Co.), Martin in On The Rocks (Theatre at St Clement’s), Robert F. Kennedy in The File on J. Edgar (Wild Project Theatre), Giovanni in We Won’t Pay! We Won’t Pay! (Drilling Co. Theatre), Bernard in Don’t Dress For Dinner (Rosewater Theatre, GA). Recent film roles include JFK in Dick & Jack, which premiered at Cinema Village, and Michael/Jared, twins in The Dumping Fields, official selection for The Art of Brooklyn Film Festival.

Henry Fin Berry (Pidge Benson) was most recently seen in A Very Merry Unauthorized Children’s Scientology Pageant. Favorite roles include Les in Newsies, Small Boy in Billy Elliott, Michael in Peter Pan, Grover Dill in A Christmas Story, and both Zeke and Troy in High School Musical Jr. Henry originated the role of Timmy in the Off Broadway premier of Dance Divas Nutcracker. Henry was a featured vocalist in “The Tony Show” at Carnegie Hall. He is a competitive dancer at Kick Dance Studios (national title winner 2017 and 2018) as well as a member of NYC Tap Crew with Thommie Retter.

Chris Dieman (Bart Wheeler) is an actor, composer, and musician. As a performer, his theater credits include Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale (Newport Music Festival, solo performance), The Smart Set (Cornerstone Playhouse), Dick on Dick (Bowery Poetry Club), The Cherry Orchard (LABA Theater), and workshops with Abrons Arts Center, Guild Hall, and New York Theater Workshop. TV: “Blue Bloods” (CBS) and “Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight” (HBO). He began playing piano at age six and later attended the music school of the Rhode Island Philharmonic, and received a B.F.A. from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. He serves as the music associate for legendary composer John Kander (Cabaret, Chicago, The Visit). In roles ranging from music transcriber to assistant musical director, Chris has helped Kander and his new writing partner, Greg Pierce, usher two of their world premieres to the stage – The Landing (Vineyard Theatre) and Kid Victory (Signature Theatre in Washington DC and Vineyard Theatre). Chris’ work as a composer includes his one-man show Peter and the Piano, the full-length musical Prohibited Love, a score for ballet called Done Dancing: Suite For Piano, and several other scores for film and dance. As a musician, he played a seven-country tour across Europe with a 35-piece orchestra in 2005. He has worked alongside Bridget Everett, Marin Mazzie, Malcolm Gets, David Hyde Pierce, Julia Murney, Judy Kaye, orchestrators Larry Hochman and Michael Starobin, and directors Liesl Tommy and Walter Bobbie, among many others. He also served as co-producer on the critically acclaimed LYPSINKA! The Trilogy.

Phoebe Dunn (Ellen Benson). Theatre credits include Pipi in Solstice Party! (LiveSource), Karen in J N K 1965 (Live in Theater), Leah Fox in The Incredible Fox Sisters (The New Ohio Theatre), Eve in The Bad Years (Kerrigan-Lowdermilk). TV: Hulu’s “The Looming Tower” (Margie), Travel Channel’s “Mysteries at the Museum: Swimming the Channel” (Gertrude Ederle). Film: Water On The Moon (Bec), False Negative (Emma). Graduate of The Juilliard School of Drama (Group 42). www.phoebedunn.net

Ariel Estrada (Benny Conklin). Off-Broadway: A Persistent Memory (MBL Productions, Jessi D. Hill, dir.); Double Falsehood (Letter of Marque, Andrew Borthwick-Leslie, dir.); Far East, Lincoln Center Theater (Daniel Sullivan, dir.); Shogun Macbeth, Cambodia Agonistes (Pan Asian Repertory Theatre). Selected Off-Off/Regional: Tartuffe (NYITA Nominee), Phoenix Theatre Ensemble; Made in China, Wakka Wakka (NYT Critics Pick); All We Have Left, Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center, Jim Henson Foundation Puppetry Residency; The Imbible (FringeNYC Encore Award); Disoriented, Theater C; Honor, Prospect Theater Company; Miss Saigon, Merry-Go-Round Playhouse; 90 North, Kennedy Center, ASCAP/In the Works Program; Two Gentlemen of Verona, Twelfth Night (Colorado Shakespeare Festival). TV/Film: Title VII, Future Folk, Don’t Let Me Drown; “Occupy White House Sprites,” “Tell Me A Story,” “Blue Bloods,” “The Americans,” “One Life to Live,” “Another World.” Awards: 2018 Rising Leader of Color, Theatre Communications Group. www.arielestrada.com

Sean A. Kaufman (Jud Kelly/Dan Carney) was recently seen in Noël Coward’s Fallen Angels, and soon will be seen in the independent short film, Maturing Youth, a dramedy produced by R&F Entertainment that will be hitting the indie film festival scene over the course of the next year. He also just finished Assistant Directing a different independent film, Joaquin & Luke. Favorite stage credits of his include Twelve Angry Men at Northern Stage, Les Misérables and others at The New London Barn Playhouse, and The Liar at Dartmouth College. He received his acting training from the two-year program at The Maggie Flanigan Studio and is a proud Dartmouth ’13. www.SeanAKaufman.com

Joseph J. Menino (Peter “Pop” Benson). New York: Phoenix Theatre Ensemble: Murrow (one-person show as Edward R. Murrow); The Gambler, Don Juan in Hell, Electra, Agamemnon Home, Art, Iphigenia at Aulis, Hapgood, No Exit, Enemy of the People, The Lifeblood, Antigone, Wolfpit; Jean Cocteau Repertory (nine seasons) including Othello, What the Butler Saw, Travesties, The Importance of Being Earnest; Willow Theatricals: Boys of a Certain Age; Shakespeare Forum: Merchant of Venice; Axis Theater Co.: Woyzeck; New York Classical Theater: Comedy of Errors, Triumph of Love, Twelfth Night; Case Goodmen Productions: Frankie and Johnnie in the Clair de Lune. Regional: Greenbrier Valley Theatre: Enemy of the People; Gretna Theatre: Broadway Bound; ACANSA Arts Festival: Murrow; Arkansas Repertory: Macbeth, Death of A Salesman, Henry V, All My Sons, All the King’s Men, Rough Crossing, Grapes of Wrath. Television: “American Genius: Hearst v. Pulitzer” (NatGeo), “Secret Lives of Stepford Wives” (Investigation Discovery). Film: Forbidden Cuba (2015) directed by Art Jones, Forgetting Sandy Glass (2016), The Sublet (2010).

Brendan Walsh (Sheriff Tod Shaw) A U.S.M.C. veteran, Brendan returned home to pursue his love for theatre. He is a graduate of Columbia University and is an Esper Studio alumni. Brendan continues his studying at HB Studio with Trudy Steibl and Austin Pendleton. He has performed regionally and nationally. Recent works include: Macduff, Macbeth; Vincent Van Gogh, Eulogy for Vincent; Eugene, The Au Pair Man; Claudius, Hamlet. He can be as Moke in the upcoming season of “The Punisher.”

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GUEST REVIEWER: “Stark and Shtark: A review of the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene Production of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (in Yiddish)”

Stark and Shtark

A review of the
National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene Production of
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (in Yiddish)
At the Museum of Jewish Heritage

August 19, 2018
GUEST REVIEWER: Moshe Bloxenheim

Now, I am not a natural Yiddish Speaker by any means and I entered the theater to see this Yiddish Production of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF with the attitude of one who might be going in to see an opera in a familiar but foreign language. To my amazement the addition of Yiddish to FIDDLER ON THE ROOF did not alienate me, nor did it feel like a gimmick. While the use of Mr. Shraga Freidman’s Yiddish translation did not always have the flowing poetry of the English of Mr. Joseph Stein’s book and Mr. Sheldon Harnick’s lyrics, the language had its own particularly biting beauty to the ear. Even in Mr. Friedman’s Yiddish rendition, Mr. Sheldon Harnick’s words still flow with Mr. Jerry Bock’s music in a classic unity, from the buoyant introductory song “Traditsye” [Tradition] to the final mournful and ironic “Anatevke” [Anatevka].

The plot itself may be a simplified adaptation of Mr. Sholom Aleichem’s Tevye stories, but this Yiddish FIDDLER ON THE ROOF gives me the sense of an old sepia photograph taken to preserve a sense of place.

Within this picture, we behold 1905 Anatevka – a village on the Russian Pale of Settlement. Tevye, the poor yet philosophical dairyman, scratches out a meager living for himself and his wife Golde and their five daughters. When Tevye’s older daughters reach out beyond the safe and traditional futures that their parents had expected for them, it signals the beginning of changes that will eventually overturn the seemingly stable world of Anatevka.

A keen cast of performers populate this little Shtetl.

Mr. Steven Skybell splendidly imbues Tevye with the weariness of a man who can barely get by, but he also shows Tevye’s spirit: that wonderfully wry sense of humor and the deeply personal – if sometimes annoyed – relationship with G-d that makes him so moving. This Tevye clearly values the past but will do his best to adjust to the changes that will affect him and his family. What is more, is start turns such as “Ven Ikn Bin a Rothchild” [If I were A Rich Man], Mr. Skybell knows how to stay admirably and enjoyably in character.

As Tevye’s wife, Golde, Ms. Jennifer Babiak gives a good performance. She is indeed the careworn wife and mother who manages, but wants security for her daughters. Ms. Babiak is fine singing the soulful “Shabes Brokhe” [Sabbath Prayer] and she gets good laughs when she chides of Tevye or reacts to Yenta. But I did not feel that Ms. Babiak’s Golde was the most wifely counterbalance to Tevye.

On the other hand, Ms. Rachel Zatcoff truly makes Tsaytl her father’s child. She is willing to do her best to be a good daughter, but she cannot keep silent when she feels her own life will be thrown away. When Tsaytl speaks up for herself, Ms. Zatcoff lets us feel the desperation and thrill of her audacity.

Similarly, Tevye’s second daughter Hodl discovers that her own future runs contrary to Anatevka and family expectations. Ms. Stephanie Lynn Mason skillfully portrays Hodl’s development as she discovers love and sees that the world is more than just Anatevka. In “Vayt Fun Mayn Liber Haym” [Far From The Home I Love] Tevye’s second daughter is not merely singing about the sorrow of leaving all that she held dear for love. Instead, Ms. Mason makes it clear that Hodl is now paying the price of looking beyond herself.

The role of Khave is a role of little dialogue yet she is the daughter who brings Tevye and Golde’s world crashing down. It is amazing how Ms. Rosie Jo Neddy still gives us the full emotional impact Khava’s choosing a man outside her faith and how it would make her an outcast. Tevye’s heartbreaking song “Khavaleh” becomes all the more affecting due to Ms. Neddy’s beautiful dancing.

What about the men who have won Tevye’s daughters?

It is possible to make Motl Kamzoyl a nebbish’l but if the likable Mr. Ben Liebert shows us a Motl who is meek, his Motl is also clearly in love with Tsaytl and takes inspiration from her – even facing Tevye for Tsaytl’s hand against all hope.

Mr. Daniel Kahn gives us a principled Pertshik who is out to want to improve the world and who thinks a bit too highly of his own ideas, but Mr. Kahn’s Pertshik wins us over with his open appreciation of Hodl who easily brings him down to earth. When he sings “Itst Hob Ikh Di Gantse Velt” [Now I Have Everything] Pertshik is not only a man who has found love but also humanity.

Compared to Motl and Pertshik, the Russian, Fyedke, has little to say. Nevertheless, the attractive Mr. Cameron Johnson says it with an honest flair. Singing and dancing, Mr. Johnson takes a memorable moment in the spotlight in “Lekhayim” [L’Chayim, To Life].
In spite of Leyzer-Volf being wrong for Tsatyle, Mr. Bruce Sabath makes us sympathize with this lonely widower, and like him. Unsuitable as he might be, it is clear that Mr. Sabath’s Lazar-Volf would try hard to make Tsaytl happy. In addition, Messrs. Sabath and Skybell know how to make the best out of their character’s bickering.

Of course Ms. Jackie Hoffman’s Yente the Matchmaker has her own definite opinions regarding girls who find their own husbands. Here is a hilariously sublime and all-too recognizable noodge: She busily rises above her own lone status, ignoring defeat as she poses and answers all her own questions, pushes some surreal matches and outright steals the very scenery.

Another delightfully notable presence was the spectre of Leyzer-Volf’s first vife, Frume-Sore, enacted with wickedly melodramatic abandon by Ms. Jodi Snyder.

Mr. Adam B. Shapiro plays the Rabbi of Anatevka with a sweet and sad buffoonery of a man who had always been assured and comfortable in his position and is now trying to use the same formulas in the face of circumstances he had never conceived of.

Any actor taking on the role of Der Gradavoy [The Constable] has to portray a prejudiced man who can countenance the persecution of innocents by government ukase. Mr. Bobby Underwood understandably avoids the easy melodrama inherent the role, but I felt his understatement was more a case of playing it safe.

Ms. Lauren Jeanne Thomas is excellent playing the Fiddler of the title, punctuating the show with her musical presence.

The rest of the company are first-rate as well and all bring this isolated community to vivid life..

Director Joel Grey has an admirable trust in the material, deftly interweaving the comedy and drama, never allowing the action to flag for a second. Every person seems to have a story in this Anatevka, even if there is not time enough for them to tell it — this is an even more noteworthy achievement when you realize that several of the performers are working phonetically in an unfamiliar language.

Although Choreographer Staś Kmieć is clearly influenced by Mr. Jerome Robbin’s staging of the original Broadway production, he creates a remarkable spectacle that is surprising for such a small venue. Besides the dancing, Mr. Kmieć works ideally with Mr. Grey to set up both public and private moments in the life of the community.

The orchestra is ably led by Mr. Zalmen Mlotek using Mr. Larry Blank’s adaptation of Mr. Don Walker’s original orchestrations for Mr. Jerry Bock’s wonderful music. Mr. Mlotek and his players appear onstage, underlining the fact that they too are part of the proceedings and can comment on and underline the action without intruding. In addition, Director Gray and Conductor Mlotek know how give those performers who were not so comfortable in Yiddish an air of fluency that happily fools those of us who are also not that familiar with the “Mamaloshen” [Mother Tongue].

Mr. Beowulf Boritt’s stark scenic design with its paper and fabric hangings and basic props are a suitable canvas for Messrs. Grey and Kmieć to paint a picture of the past. Assisted most effectively by Mr. Peter Kaczowrowski’s lighting, Ms. Ann Hould-Ward’s costumes and the hair and wigs of Mr. Tom Watson, the performers vividly summon up the houses and streets of Anatevka on the deceptively simple set.

I am always surprised when a small theater needs amplification, but Mr. Dan Moses Schreier’s sound designs are suitably understated. (Finally, I realize how apt the name Schreier – which is Yiddish for “a shouter” – is for audio work).

In all, the Yiddish FIDDLER ON THE ROOF is an amazing production that gives far more to the audience than one might expect. Would it be as satisfactory in English? That is something to consider, but not too intently, since this Yiddish Language production is quite marvelous as it is.

Having finished the overall review, I would like to applaud Mr. Sheldon Harnick, the original lyricist of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF who prevented the present adaptation from replacing the word “Tradition” with “The Torah”. Understandably, this change promises a real dramatic kick to the play but I believe it would make the whole premise of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF ring false. “Tradition” implies rules based on societal norms and roles. “The Torah” deals with the religious belief that defines Tevye and his community not merely as residents of Anatevka with quaint customs but as Jews. In FIDDLER ON THE ROOF Tevye struggles to balance his understood position in Anatevka with the changes that are threatening tradition while trying to understand what G-d would want from him. Under “Tradition” Tevye can question and even adapt, but he does not defy G-d. If “The Torah” became the theme, then we would be seeing Tevye and his neighbors finally being evicted from Anatevka for the very religion that Tevye would have been discarding all along.

 

Fiddler on the Roof (in Yiddish)

DIRECTED BY JOEL GREY

July 4, 2018 – Oct. 25, 2018
at Museum of Jewish Heritage

 

 

or call 866-811-4111

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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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Comedy Can’t Be Taught ~ A review of Renée Taylor’s “My Life on a Diet”

Comedy Can’t Be Taught!
A review of Renée Taylor’s

“My Life on a Diet”
July 19, 2018
Theatre at S. Clement’s

If ever there was proof that comedy can’t be taught, Renée Taylor is that living proof.

After a lifetime consisting (so far) of 22 plays, 4 films, 9 TV movies and TV series, 3 Broadway shows, an Off-Broadway show, Oscar noms, Emmy and countless other awards, and a 52 year marriage to the man of her dreams, actor/director Joseph Bologna, Renée Taylor is still at it – and still trying out new diets!

In “My Life in a Diet”, co-written and originally directed by her late husband, Ms. Taylor, at a spry 85 years young, delivers a hysterical 90+ minute monologue about her life which sparkles and shines almost as much as the dress she wears. 

Best known for her role as Sylvia Fine, Fran Drescher’s food obsessed mother in “The Nanny”, Ms. Taylor started her acting career at age 15 in a Purim Pageant at Madison Square Garden and earned her Actor’s Equity card at age 19 for her appearance in “The Rehearsal” on Broadway. A Wikipedia or IMdB search will tell you all the details of her amazing credits, what I will tell you is this show is a goldmine of stories, Hollywood secrets and a personal journey that is a master class in comedy and story-telling that should not be missed.

Her on stage biography is liberally sprinkled with anecdotes about Hollywood legends such as Joan Crawford, Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando, Cary Grant, Barbra Streisand, and her mother, Frieda, the ultimate stage mom.

Ms. Taylor also shares the myriad of fad and celebrity diets she has tried over the years. As she says, “I used to think that if I ate like star, I just might live like one!”

Ms. Taylor is living proof that you’re either born with it or not. Go see a living comedy legend  for a delightful evening of laughs and tears. There is nothing like it on or off Broadway right now.

Elli with Renée Taylor @ “My Life on a Diet” 07.19.18

*********************

MY LIFE ON A DIET is presented by Mr. Schlossberg in association with Morris S. Levy, Rodger Hess, Harold Newman, Jim Fantaci, Andrew Tobias, andRonald Glazer/Sabrina Hutt.

MY LIFE ON A DIET has set design by Harry Feiner, lighting design by Stefanie Risk and sound design by Jay Risk.

MY LIFE ON A DIET will be performed Off-Broadway at Theatre at St. Clement’s (423 West 46 Street, btw. Ninth & Tenth Aves). The limited engagement runs Thursday, July 12ththrough Sunday, August 19th. UPDATE: Now extended thru Sunday, September 2nd. The performance schedule is as follows: Wednesdays at 2pm, Thursdays at 7pm, Fridays at 7 pm, Saturdays at 2 pm and 7pm, and Sundays at 3pm.

Tickets to MY LIFE ON A DIET — priced at $65 ($75 premium seating) — are now available online at MyLifeOnADietPlay.com or by calling Telecharge at (212) 239-6200.

Follow Renée Taylor online:
Facebook:         https://www.facebook.com/Ren%C3%A9e-Taylor-394298697354583/
Twitter:            https://twitter.com/ReneeTaylor1613
Instagram:       https://www.instagram.com/official_renee_taylor/?hl=en

PRESS RELEASE: ‘THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL’ WILL PLAY IN CONCERT FEBRUARY 2019

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release

MANHATTAN CONCERT PRODUCTIONS ANNOUNCES

‘THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL’

IN CONCERT

Related imageNew York, NY, June 27, 2018 – Manhattan Concert Productions (MCP) is pleased to announce the seventh annual presentation of its beloved Broadway Series with the critically acclaimed musical The Scarlet Pimpernel, for one night only at David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center on February 18, 2019 at 8:00 pm. Jeff Calhoun (Stage Director) and Jason Howland (Music Director) will lead this concert performance of The Scarlet Pimpernel featuring a chorus of over 200 singers from across the United States, a stunning professional cast and creative team, and the outstanding New York City Chamber Orchestra.

With music by Frank Wildhorn and lyrics and book by Nan Knighton, The Scarlet Pimpernel is based on Baroness Orczy’s famous 20th-century novel of the same name, which takes place at the peak of the French Revolution and the fight for liberty, equality and fraternity. Set in England and France, The Scarlet Pimpernel tells the story of an English nobleman, Sir Percy Blakeney, who adopts a secret identity to battle the forces of evil during the Reign of Terror of the French Revolution. The Scarlet Pimpernel serves as a brilliant window to life in 18th-century England, and was a precursor to the spy fiction and superhero genres, featuring a hero hiding under an alias. The musical made its Broadway debut at the Minskoff Theatre on November 9, 1997 and ran through January 2000 in several theatres, has had numerous regional U.S. productions, and has been produced internationally in Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden, Canada, Mexico, Malta, and Norway.

The Scarlet Pimpernel joins MCP’s previous Broadway Series concert performances, which include Broadway Classics in Concert (2018), Crazy for You  (2017), The Secret Garden (2016), Parade (2015), Titanic (2014), The Hunchback of Notre Dame workshop (2014), Broadway Classics in Concert (2013), and Ragtime (2013).

Tickets for The Scarlet Pimpernel will go on sale in July with cast and creative team to be announced soon.

ABOUT MANHATTAN CONCERT PRODUCTIONS

Manhattan Concert Productions (MCP) is an esteemed production company in its 20th Anniversary season. MCP has provided performance and travel opportunities to thousands of musicians in choirs, bands, and orchestras at famous venues throughout the United States and many countries abroad. The guest musicians of The Scarlet Pimpernel chorus will spend five days in New York City rehearsing and performing with the professional cast and crew as part of Manhattan Concert Productions’ continuing mission of student and professional collaboration. Visit www.mcp.us to learn more.

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Guest Review: THE BAND’S VISIT at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre 

“The Accidental Tourists”

A review of
THE BAND’S VISIT: a New Musical
At the Ethel Barrymore Theatre 
June 6, 2018

 
One pronunciation mistake at a bus ticket window results in the visiting Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra arriving in the remote town of Bet Hatikvah instead of metropolitan Petah Tikvah… with no bus out until the next morning.  THE BAND’S VISIT traces the course of this one night where different people, Egyptian Musicians and Israeli Townsfolk are thrown together by this mishap and get to know each other.  As the mutual caution lifts, people come out of their shells, stories are shared and some personal lessons are learned before the Orchestra heads off to their scheduled concert the next day.
Based on the 2007 film of the same name, THE BAND’S VISIT does not set out to bedazzle.  There is no glitz, nor power ballads, nor earth-shaking crises, nor any of the other standard hooks that are usually needed to engross an audience.  What THE BAND’S VISIT has to offer is absolutely outstanding theater as it tells its tale in its own good time.  As the scenes of Mr. Ithamar Moses’s book unfold, the audience member feel like eavesdroppers and at other times like neighbors sharing the evening with these people who are making the best of an awkward situation.
From the opening number “Welcome to Nowhere,” Composer David Yazbek adventurously creates evocative music and lyrics that truly blend into the play:  Each character is given a special voice representing their own life and ethnicity and the songs heighten the different moments of this one evening where people share their time.  Common pleasures and desires form bridges in numbers like the wonderful “Omar Sharif” where Dina remembers enjoying Egyptian Movies on TV or when the hapless youth Papi explains how he is uncomfortable talking to women in the hilariously and sweetly self-pitying “Papi hears the Ocean.”
From the very first, we can see that the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra is not the orderly group that Colonel Tewfiq Zakaria would like it to be.  Mr. Dariush Kashani is superb as the quiet Orchestra leader who begins by trying to keep his feelings, the Orchestra and the situation in tight control and slowly and cautiously opens up in the company of Dina, the local Café owner.
Ms. Katrina Lenk is unforgettably Dina, the café owner who comes to the aid of the stranded Orchestra.  The extraordinary Ms. Lenk lets us see a soul that is fading in the lackluster world of Bet Hatikvah come to full passionate life for at least one night.  Whether she is casually describing the loss of dreams in “It Is What It Is”, sweeping us along in “Omar Sharif” or delivering the piquant “Something Different’ with its memorable lyrics “The Honey in Your Ears/The Spice in your Mouth”, Ms. Lenk gives a unforgettable performance that keeps the audience wanting more.
If Dina has been marking time after losing her romantic hopes, young Papi is currently in the throes of an infatuation that incapacitates him and Mr. Etai Benson is appealingly and comically recognizable as the really nice guy who can never do the right thing around his crush.
Jazz-inspired Haled makes for a good contrast to Papi in that he always has something to say to an attractive lady.  Haled’s cool-cat attitude can backfire, but if Mr. Ari’el Stachel’s character wants to be a charmer, the audience is more than willing to buy in.
Haled’s band mate Simon is a composer who has never finished his one concerto.  Mr. Alok Tewari shows us this shy but skilled clarinetist who finds himself a guest in Itzik’s home.  Itzik is also a person who never quite completes things, but if he is without any ambition, Mr. John Cariani makes him a downright loveable guy – even if we fully understand his wife’s frustration with his drifting.  Itzik’s Father-in-Law Avrum keeps out of the young couple’s friction and hits it off with Simon as a fellow musician.  Like many of the roles, in THE BAND’S VISIT, Avrum’s time onstage is limited and Mr. Andrew Polk truly makes the most of it, singing Avrum’s rousing story of meeting his wife, “The Beat of Your Heart.”
Even though so many of the parts are brief they are carefully filled by the marvelous cast of THE BAND’S VISIT whether as locals or as the actual orchestra that accompanies the show, but one last mention has to be made about Telephone Guy, the young man whose girlfriend left town some months before and had promised to call him – on the only pay phone in town.  Mr. Adam Kantor gives a noteworthy performance in a role that ranges from schlemiel – HOW many months has he been waiting for that call? – to surreal hero.
Some directors might have given THE BAND’S VISIT a more compact pacing and a different focus.  However, Director David Cromer wisely keeps things more diverse, taking full dramatic and comic advantage of the slowly dissipating air of painful embarrassment and reluctance that arises when the Orchestra realizes it in the wrong town and the citizens of Bet Hatikvah find themselves stuck hosting a group of unwilling guests.  Mr. Cromer easily moves from story to story and back revealing various private scenes as if by chance, adjusting the pace as needed.  Dialogue flows to match the language skills and comfort levels of the characters and it is very clear that Egyptians and Israelis are speaking English so they can understand one another, but will naturally revert to Arabic and Hebrew as the stress of the situation dictates.  Furthermore, Mr. Cromer recognizes that in Israel, one may hear a variety of accents even in a place as nowhere as Bet Hatikvah.
The musicians of THE BAND’S VISIT seem to be in a wonderful, show-long jam session where tunes are picked up and then tweaked as players join in, forming groups of different sizes that can build to the striking sound of the unified orchestra.  There is a whole musical palette on display ranging from suave to joyously raucous and clearly Musical Director Andrea Grody is making the most of Mr. David Yazbek’s compositions – orchestrated by Mr. Jamsheid Sharifi, with additional arrangements by Ms. Grody.  No matter what direction a song might take, the style always places us firmly in the Middle East.
The locale is also established through the amazing skills and united work of Mr. Scott Pask’s scenic design, Ms. Maya Ciarrocchi’s projections and Mr. Tyler Micoleau’s lighting.  I cannot imagine how much care must have gone into the planning but turntables, sets and lights work together effortlessly and unobtrusively to shift the show from scene to scene without ever breaking the sense of milieu.  Choreographer Patrick McCollum also shows his skills in this aspect because the characters are able to move so smoothly through the changing settings as well as set off the musical numbers.  Even when performers are sitting still in a song, Mr. McCollum arranges onstage images that are downright beautiful.
Ms. Sarah Laux’s costumes do much to set up the characters, whether in the uniformed Orchestra which aspires to some sort of regimental air, or the casual look of the inhabitants of Bet Hatikvah.
The sound of the Orchestra and of the other performers is quite natural thanks to Mr. Kai Harada’s subtle sound designs which even allow for a sense of direction onstage.
While it may not overwhelm with flash and glamour, THE BAND’S VISIT should please anybody looking for incredible storytelling with excellent music and truly brilliant performances.

The Ethel Barrymore Theatre
243 W 47th Street (between Broadway & 8th Avenue)

To Buy by Phone:
Call Telecharge 212-239-6200

Running time:
90 minutes (no intermission)

Audience:

Ages 12+;
Children under 4 are not
permitted in the theatre.

Tickets

Tickets Starting at $49 – Orchestra Seats from $99

Box Office Hours:

Monday – Saturday
10:00am – 8:30pm
Sunday
12:00pm – 6:00pm
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRaHXBNn8FM

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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An interview with comedian Ashely Blaker

Broadway Kingdom was fortunate to be able to sit down with Ashely and talk about things – and talk we did for almost an hour!

At first glance, one might think Ashley Blaker is just an Orthodox Jewish Nerd but then, he begins to speak and the comic gems that flow out are pure genius – and you, my amazing viewers and readers, all know how much I admire genius.

Ashley Blaker Strictly Unorthodox is 90+ minutes of “things about Observant Jewish life and practices you might have thought of but never dared to speak out loud” – so Ashley will say them for you and with a ‘plotz in your seat’ take to boot!

Appropriate for all ages, genders, religious affiliation, or no affiliation at all. Jew, Gentile et al, Ashley will have you in stitches.

So sit down, relax, and enjoy our longest video interview to date… then go see the show!

Ashley Blaker Strictly Unorthodox
May 27th – June 28
Off-Broadway at the
Jerry Orbach Theater
1627 Broadway @ 50th Street.
For tickets phone the box office 212 921 7862
or click here
(tix are cheaper by phone than thru Ticketmaster)
Running Time: 90+ minutes
(Minchah or Maariv may follow the show)
Appropriate for all ages.
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Ashley Blaker is “the UK’s only Orthodox stand-up comedian”. Blaker is a writer for TV and radio and was producer of Little Britain. Mr. Blaker is an alumnus of The Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School where he was a contemporary of Sacha Baron Cohen and friend of Matt Lucas, with whom he went on to create Little Britain and The Matt Lucas Awards. In 2017, he was commissioned by the BBC to create a show called “Ashley Blaker’s Goyish Guide To Judaism”, described as “an insider’s view of his religion” Ashley will next be see at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in “Ashley Blaker Observant Jew” at 3pm Sunday-Friday.

For more info on Ashley: CLICK HERE

Ashley Blaker’s Goyish Guide To Judaism on the BBC Radio 4 – stand-up from Ashley Blaker 1 episode in 2018. Due to be broadcast on Sunday 3rd June on Radio 4 at 7:15pm. The program will be repeated on Radio 4 Extra on Friday 8th June at 7:30am.

PRESS: https://nypost.com/2018/05/25/this-jewish-comedian-has-a-lot-to-kvetch-about

Gemma Blaker (Ashley’s Wife)
https://www.thejc.com/lifestyle/family/pesach-with-six-kids-1.461510
http://3principles6kids.com/

PRESS RELEASE: Renée Taylor in The New York Premiere of  “My Life on a Diet”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE:
PHOTO: https://photos.app.goo.gl/qtcWFtZ4LQ8x92U92

Press Contact:
Bill Coyle – coyleentertainment@gmail.com, 917-279-6044 

Julian Schlossberg
Presents 

Academy Award Nominee and Emmy Award Winner
Renée Taylor
in
The New York Premiere of  

By Renée Taylor and Joseph Bologna
Directed by Joseph Bologna

Six-Week Off-Broadway Engagement
Begins Thursday, July 12th

Opens Wednesday, July 25th at 7:00 PM
At Theatre at St. Clement’s (423 West 46 Street, between 9th & 10th Aves)

MyLifeOnADietPlay.com

 New York, NY (May 31, 2018) – Producer Julian Schlossberg announces that Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning writer and actress Renée Taylor – known to millions for her role as Fran Fine’s food-obsessed mother, Sylvia, on “The Nanny” – will return to the New York stage this summer in MY LIFE ON A DIET, an autobiographical comedy written by Ms. Taylor and her late husband Joseph Bologna.  Originally directed by Mr. Bologna, MY LIFE ON A DIET will have its New York premiere Off-Broadway at Theatre at St. Clement’s (423 West 46 Street, between Ninth & Tenth Aves) beginning Thursday, July 12, 2018.  The limited, 6-week engagement is currently scheduled to run through Sunday, August 19th. The Opening is Wednesday, July 25th at 7:00 p.m.  Tickets to MY LIFE ON A DIET are now available online at MyLifeOnADietPlay.com or by calling Telecharge at (212) 239-6200.

Renée Taylor looks back on a life full of memorable roles in Hollywood and on Broadway, and just as many fad diets. A self-described “diet junkie,” Taylor, in MY LIFE ON A DIET, dishes out juicy anecdotes about — and weight loss tips from — Hollywood legends such as Joan Crawford, Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando and Cary Grant (she used to think that if she ate like star, she’d just might live like one). By sharing her high and lows – on and off the scale – as only she could, RenéeTaylor proves how the ability to laugh will get you through it all.

Renée explains, “A few years ago, I had the pleasure to work with my friend Nora Ephron on her wonderful play, Love, Loss, and What I Wore. I told her that, as a woman who had worn every size from 4 to 18 over the years, my version of the play would be called, ‘Love, Loss, and What I Ate.’  Well, this is that play, but I ended up calling it MY LIFE ON A DIET.”

Renée Taylor. Born in The Bronx, Renée made her professional stage debut at age 15 in a Purim Pageant at Madison Square Garden (earning $5 for her role as ‘Slave Girl’).  She then appeared in the showcase Talent 60, which led to her earning her Actors Equity card, at age 19, for appearing in The Rehearsal at The President Theatre. Around this time Renée was also performing stand-up in Greenwich Village nightclubs (a young Barbra Streisand opened for her at Bon Soir). After seeing Renée in a production of Easy Does It, Elaine May cast her in her improvisational revue The Third Ear. Mike Nichols then cast her as a standby for Anne Jackson in the Broadway production of Luv in 1964. After seeing her go on in Luv, George Abbot cast her in Agatha Sue I Love You.  Another time she went on, performing opposite Gene Wilder, Mel Brooks saw her and cast her as Eva Braun in his Academy Award-winning film The Producers. Renée married Joseph Bologna in 1965, and the two co-wrote the hit comedy Lovers and Other Strangers, which debuted on Broadway in 1968, with Renée featured in the cast.  The couple received an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay for the 1970 film. Renée and Joe co-wrote and co-starred in Made for Each Other, receiving a Writers Guild of America Award nomination for Best Comedy in 1971. The couple won Emmy Awards for writing the 1973 television special “Acts of Love and Other Comedies,” and were nominated once again the following year for writing the TV movie “Paradise.” They returned to Broadway in 1981, appearing in their play It Had to Be You, and again in 2001 in If you ever leave me … I’m going with you! Renée and Joe co-wrote, co-directed and co-starred in the 1984 TV movie “Bedrooms,” the 1989 film adaptation of It Had to Be You, and the 1996 film Love Is All There Is (which introduced a young Angelina Jolie). Together, the prolific couple collaborated on 22 plays, four film screenplays, and nine TV movies and series.  Known for her Emmy nominated role of Sylvia Fine in “The Nanny,” Renée’s other TV acting credits include “Daddy Dearest” (opposite Richard Lewis and Don Rickles) and the groundbreaking HBO sitcom “Dream On” (she appeared on these three television shows simultaneously).  More recently she has had recurring roles in “How I Met Your Mother,” “Bob’s Burger’s,” and “Happily Divorced.” Jerry Lewis gave Renée her big break in film, writing a role for her in The Errand Boy in 1961, and her many film credits also include A New Leaf, Last of the Red Hot Lovers, Lovesick, White Place, Life During Wartime, Tyler Perry’s Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor, and more recently, The Do-Over and How To Be a Latin Lover.

Julian Schlossberg (Producer). Theatre: Bullets Over Broadway, Relatively Speaking, Sly Fox, Fortune’s Fool, Terms of Endearment, After the Night and the Music, Adult Entertainment, The Unexpected Man, Tommy Tune, Madame Melville, Taller Than a Dwarf, Beauty Queen of Leenane, Power Plays, If Love Were All, Death Defying Acts, Vita and Virginia, etc.  Film:  Widow’s Peak, In the Spirit, Bad Girls, No Nukes, Ten From Your Show of Shows.  Television: “Mike Nichols – American Masters” (PBS), “Nichols and May” (PBS), “Elia Kazan:  A Director’s Journey” (AMC), Claire Bloom’s “Shakespeare’s Women” (Bravo), “Lives of Lillian Hellman” (PBS).  He is currently producing a fourteen hour series, “Witnesses to the 20th Century.” Mr. Schlossberg previously worked with Ms. Taylor when he presented It Had to Be You on Broadway in 1981.

MY LIFE ON A DIET is presented by Mr. Schlossberg in association with Morris S. Levy, Rodger Hess, Harold Newman, Jim Fantaci, Andrew Tobias, andRonald Glazer/Sabrina Hutt.

MY LIFE ON A DIET has set design by Harry Feiner, lighting design by Stefanie Risk and sound design by Jay Risk.

MY LIFE ON A DIET will be performed Off-Broadway at Theatre at St. Clement’s (423 West 46 Street, btw. Ninth & Tenth Aves). The limited engagement runs Thursday, July 12th through Sunday, August 19th. The performance schedule is as follows: Wednesdays at 2pm, Thursdays at 7pm, Fridays at 7 pm, Saturdays at 2 pm and 7pm, and Sundays at 3pm.

Tickets to MY LIFE ON A DIET — priced at $65 ($75 premium seating) — are now available online at MyLifeOnADietPlay.com or by calling Telecharge at (212) 239-6200.

###

Follow Renée Taylor online:
Facebook:         https://www.facebook.com/Ren%C3%A9e-Taylor-394298697354583/
Twitter:            https://twitter.com/ReneeTaylor1613
Instagram:       https://www.instagram.com/official_renee_taylor/?hl=en

REVIEW: “How to Handle a Woman” A review of Rogers & Hammerstein‘s Carousel at the Imperial Theatre

“How to Handle a Woman”

A review of the revival of
Rogers & Hammerstein‘s “Carousel”
at the
Imperial Theatre

Disclaimer:

I am not particularly fond of Rogers & Hammerstein‘s “Carousel”. 

Even though much of the music is among my favorite in the Rogers & Hammerstein catalogue, save for the Soliloquy which to me is a cringe worthy 6 minutes – I even joked pre-show that Soliloquy was my early intermission bathroom break, to hear a brilliant Rogers & Hammerstein score played by a Broadway orchestra is one of the reasons that I decided to attend this Revival, 

Much to my dismay I did not even get that.

The orchestrations were flat, two dimensional representations, and the sound design by Mr. Scott Lehrer woefully underwhelming. Sitting in the Orchestra I expected the music to be spectacular but I was sadly disappointed – especially after the recent multi-million dollar remodel of the Imperial Theatre.

I also could just not get past “Carousel’s” main character, Billy Bigelow, the dishonest, wife-beating, carnival barker not being portrayed by a white actor.

Go ahead, get it out of your system, start calling me all kinds of names (you’d be totally wrong) but here’s the thing – perhaps it’s conditioning, perhaps it’s purism, I’m not sure, but in my mind the connotations of such a vile character being played by a Black man is just wrong. The thought kept going through my mind, ‘Why would any person of color agree to play this role?” As far as performance goes, Josh Henry nails it, and nails it strong. His smooth, silk like, baritone voice in any other role would, and have, taken me to great heights emotionally.

 Throughout the entire show I felt like I was at a performance of MCC’s Miscast. Great voices cast in the wrong roles.

 Further, while I have always felt that the part of Julie Jordan, played by a delightful, if not completely doe-eyed and confused Ms. Jessie Mueller, is terribly underwritten, there were times Mr. Jack Doyle, the Director seemed to forget Julie/Jesse was even in the show. More disappointment came from Ms. Renée Fleming, whose gorgeous operatic soprano voice is just too prim and proper to be Aunt Nettie.

 Then there’s the casting of a Middle Eastern actor, the talented and graceful ballet dancer, Amar Ramasar, making his Broadway (and possibly acting) debut, to play “Jigger”, another monster of a character. This is yet another dangerous step towards stereotyping. Every time I heard Billy Bigelow call his name I thought he was using the N-word .

 There is some good news. The shining stars of the show were most definitely the lark-voiced Ms. Lindsay Mendez who portrayed Carrie Pipperidge with a delightful and quirky style to her that played extremely well off of Mr. Alexander Gemignani’s playfully-teasing Mr. Enoch Snow. As a matter of fact, Mr. Gemignani’s performance is award worthy in my opinion.

 I must also admit to you that while I tend to tune out the seemingly obligatory ballet sequences of most early 20th century musical theater, Ms. Brittany Pollock and Mr. Andrei Chagas were graceful and visually stunning in the Fairground Ballet sequence – a great tribute to the fabulous Choreography of Mr. Justin Peck.

Santo Loquasto’s scenic design was executed well, although there were too many ‘played in front of the curtain’ scenes while scenery was being noisily shuffled around Backstage. Note to Production: PLEASE Oil the stage right light motors and the sheer curtain pulleys.

Sadly, Ms. Ann Roth’s costumes look like they have been recycled from my high school production of ‘Oklahoma!’ And what’s with those baggy pants that come up to the men’s bellies?

 The lighting design by Brian McDevitt left me squinting many times to see what was happening on stage and again, that was from Orchestra Row M – I can only imagine what it was like up in the oxygen-tank seats.

Speaking of seats, it appears to me that when they remodeled the theater after “The Great Comet“ they added many more seats then there were before. In my cushy (read expensive) Orchestra seat I was sucking on my knees or more annoyingly to her, scraping the back of the chair of the lady in front of me.

All that being said, I haven’t told you the worst part:
I DIDN’T CRY!!!
Me – the person who “cries at everything” – DIDN’T CRY!!!

If you’ll remember, I said up front that I’m not the biggest fan of this show – BUT when I DO see it I always CRY – ALWAYS! This tells me everything I need to know.

All said, the audience seemed to love the show, hooting and hollering along with their thunderous applause, it was a Press Preview, so perhaps you too will enjoy Rodger’s & Hammerstein’s Carousel as much as they did.

Me, I’m still optimistically looking forward to Lincoln Center’s revival of “My Fair Lady”

* * * * * *

Rogers & Hammerstein‘s Carousel

Opens Thursday, April 12th 2018

To order tickets online
https://www.broadwayinbound.com/shows/carousel/ 

To order tickets by phone,
call 212-239-6200

IN PERSON
VISIT THE IMPERIAL THEATRE
249 W 45th St,
between 7th Avenue and 8th Avenue

BOX OFFICE HOURS
Monday–Saturday: 10am–8pm,
Sunday: Closed
(Beginning March 25: Noon–6pm)