For some unknown reason, our pre-theater dining has recently slid downhill. The result of last night’s dinner at the West Bank Cafe on W 42nd Street was to serve as a reminder to never, ever eat there again and to tell our readers and friends to avoid it too. I guess we are just not as smart as we think we are, as we should have realized that when a pre-theater restaurant directly across from a theater is nearly empty, one should take a hint.
We survived the ordeal that was dinner and made our way across the street to the very modern Playwrights Horizons Theater to see THIS. The theater is really lovely with relatively spacious seats. It’s a small, intimate theater which lends itself perfectly to plays like this new one by Melissa James Gibson, which by the way is very much about intimacy.
A great set serves as the backdrop for two uninterrupted hours of dialogue between 4 longtime and “very dear” friends and one newcomer. Gibson’s script is very free flowing and quick. Contemporary without being pushy. Perhaps she tried a little too hard to present a topical play that features two interracial couples, a single gay Jewish man and a single bisexual Frenchman. Perhaps it’s not a show for your great-grandma, unless your great grandma likes to discuss adultery.
We liked this show, which is thought provoking and spurred great after-theater-ride-home talk. We liked the set. We liked most of the costumes but found the sexy Frenchman’s outfit in the last act an insult to even the colorblind. And we really, really liked the casting of most of the show. Glenn Fitzgerald plays the gay Jew with aplomb. Louis Cancelmi is actually French which must be why his accent sounds so incredibly authentic. Eisa Davis is wonderful as the beleaguered new mother and her brief forays singing at the piano give a tiny insight into her wonderful musical ability. Darren Pettie as the cheating husband gives a solid performance.
Oh my, did we leave out the lead, Julianne Nicholson? The only thing we agree on about her is that she is wearing the positively worst haircut we have seen on Broadway. Jeff thinks she was perfectly cast and handled the role as it was meant to be played. Cathy thinks she could not possibly have been anyone’s first choice as her performance seemed flat-lined despite how the character is written. What annoyed Cathy even more was the total absence of any chemistry between the adulterers….even a tiny spark would have been welcome. Jeff on the other hand thought this lack of chemistry was also as these characters were meant to be played.
Despite our disagreement about Julianne we enjoyed THIS. We are taking a little winter break and going South in search of sun and to catch up on our movie watching. We wish you a happy, healthy and theater filled 2010. We’ll be back here with our reactions after we see PRESENT LAUGHTER on January 6th!
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
FOR GOD’S SAKE . . .
. . . Don’t miss SO HELP ME GOD!
Pizza again? The excuse Jeff gave for why we were going to be dining on pizza yet again was that "for business" he had to try out a new village pizzeria - Keste! It was OK but it’s not John's. But enough with the food because this off Broadway show merits our full attention.
Written in the 1920’s by Maureen Dallas Watkins – who also penned CHICAGO – this is a spoof within a spoof. If you don’t like a lot of laughing - stay away. If whomever you go with tends to bruise easily from your constantly pinching their upper arm – pick someone else to go with.
Kristen Johnston is drop dead gorgeous. She's statuesque and confident enough to still totter in 3” heels. But more impressive than being gorgeous is her talent as an incredible comedic actress. She’s the “star” playing the “star” and her timing is near flawless. Her delivery is delicious and she made over-the-top seems absolutely the right size.
We think this show is almost perfectly cast. Kristen captivates as do many of the supporting actors and actresses. Anna Chlumsky – you do remember the movie My Girl? – is delightful and Allen Lewis Rickman – who we are sure you do not remember from the Yiddush Pirates of Penzance – kept us laughing.
The two plus hours spent in the Lucille Lortel Theatre (with such wonderful seats, in case you are wondering, Jason) flew by. The sets were perfect and totally evocative of the 1920 era in which the play is set. The costumes were also perfect for the period except for one teeny weeny oops – the plaid lined Burberry raincoat sported by an actor jarred because the trench was actually introduced in American in 1919 but the signature plaid lining did not debut until 1960!
The costume designer is forgiven because we had so much fun. So we end where we started; with this advice - for God’s sake go see SO HELP ME GOD.
Next up..THIS. Stay tuned.
Pizza again? The excuse Jeff gave for why we were going to be dining on pizza yet again was that "for business" he had to try out a new village pizzeria - Keste! It was OK but it’s not John's. But enough with the food because this off Broadway show merits our full attention.
Written in the 1920’s by Maureen Dallas Watkins – who also penned CHICAGO – this is a spoof within a spoof. If you don’t like a lot of laughing - stay away. If whomever you go with tends to bruise easily from your constantly pinching their upper arm – pick someone else to go with.
Kristen Johnston is drop dead gorgeous. She's statuesque and confident enough to still totter in 3” heels. But more impressive than being gorgeous is her talent as an incredible comedic actress. She’s the “star” playing the “star” and her timing is near flawless. Her delivery is delicious and she made over-the-top seems absolutely the right size.
We think this show is almost perfectly cast. Kristen captivates as do many of the supporting actors and actresses. Anna Chlumsky – you do remember the movie My Girl? – is delightful and Allen Lewis Rickman – who we are sure you do not remember from the Yiddush Pirates of Penzance – kept us laughing.
The two plus hours spent in the Lucille Lortel Theatre (with such wonderful seats, in case you are wondering, Jason) flew by. The sets were perfect and totally evocative of the 1920 era in which the play is set. The costumes were also perfect for the period except for one teeny weeny oops – the plaid lined Burberry raincoat sported by an actor jarred because the trench was actually introduced in American in 1919 but the signature plaid lining did not debut until 1960!
The costume designer is forgiven because we had so much fun. So we end where we started; with this advice - for God’s sake go see SO HELP ME GOD.
Next up..THIS. Stay tuned.
Monday, December 14, 2009
LOVE, LOSS AND WHY EVERY WOMAN SHOULD SEE THIS SHOW
When Jeff and I started this blog we agreed to go forward, not backward. This meant no blogging about what we’ve already seen. We also do write every blog together because we see everything together - we really do not go to theatre without one another. There has been one “sort of” exception.
LOVE, LOSS AND WHAT I WORE opened the first week of October at the West Side Theatre - the old and wonderful home to the Vagina Monologues. Much like its predecessor there, the current show is also designed to have a rotating cast of stars. It is also performed with the actresses seated…with scripts on music stands in front of them.
God bless Jeff. He indulged me when I read about LOVE, LOSS AND WHAT I WORE and insisted we see this “chick-theater”. Last October we saw it with Tyne Daly and Rosie O’Donnell. Jeff liked it and I really, really loved it. What I didn’t love was that every time something was mentioned that pertained to an experience I'd shared with my daughter she wasn’t next to me so I could pinch her arm. So I bought a second set of tickets and my daughter and I saw it this weekend.
And this is how you are supposed to go to this particular show. If you are lucky enough to have your mother or daughter near you - go with her. If you live near your sister - go with her. If your best friend is coming to town - go with her. I promise you that you will NOT be sorry. Without even speaking, my daughter and I acknowledged the bit about the pushy saleswoman adjusting you in a push up bra. We immediately related to standing in front or in our closets totally confused and wondering who bought what, when. And so much more.
Rhea Perlman, Rita Wilson and Kristen Chenowith took our breath away. They brought us to stores we shopped in, outfits we loved, clothes we hated….and every woman’s fight with weight. This is not a play that is Pulitzer prize winning material…actually both my daughter and I were sure we each could have written parts of it. But we didn’t. It’s so much easier to just go and have a wonderful experience that you share with your daughter, mother or best friend. You get to laugh and cry within the cocoon of an audience all doing the same thing.
So go. And take your tissues.
LOVE, LOSS AND WHAT I WORE opened the first week of October at the West Side Theatre - the old and wonderful home to the Vagina Monologues. Much like its predecessor there, the current show is also designed to have a rotating cast of stars. It is also performed with the actresses seated…with scripts on music stands in front of them.
God bless Jeff. He indulged me when I read about LOVE, LOSS AND WHAT I WORE and insisted we see this “chick-theater”. Last October we saw it with Tyne Daly and Rosie O’Donnell. Jeff liked it and I really, really loved it. What I didn’t love was that every time something was mentioned that pertained to an experience I'd shared with my daughter she wasn’t next to me so I could pinch her arm. So I bought a second set of tickets and my daughter and I saw it this weekend.
And this is how you are supposed to go to this particular show. If you are lucky enough to have your mother or daughter near you - go with her. If you live near your sister - go with her. If your best friend is coming to town - go with her. I promise you that you will NOT be sorry. Without even speaking, my daughter and I acknowledged the bit about the pushy saleswoman adjusting you in a push up bra. We immediately related to standing in front or in our closets totally confused and wondering who bought what, when. And so much more.
Rhea Perlman, Rita Wilson and Kristen Chenowith took our breath away. They brought us to stores we shopped in, outfits we loved, clothes we hated….and every woman’s fight with weight. This is not a play that is Pulitzer prize winning material…actually both my daughter and I were sure we each could have written parts of it. But we didn’t. It’s so much easier to just go and have a wonderful experience that you share with your daughter, mother or best friend. You get to laugh and cry within the cocoon of an audience all doing the same thing.
So go. And take your tissues.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
TAKE BACK THE NIGHT
We knew the evening was in trouble from the minute our cab driver stayed on Second Avenue, choosing to join the horrific 59th Street Bridge traffic rather than cross the Park. It became apparent at 6:45 that we were not going to make our 6:30 reservation at Redeye Grill. This would be the second time this week that the horrendous holiday traffic in the city was forcing us to have pizza for dinner. Note to you: one of our pet peeves is cab drivers who do not understand and/or pay attention to directions! Note to selves: next year do NOT buy tickets to shows the 2 weeks preceding Xmas!
In an effort to be eat more healthfully than a couple of slices of pizza and with a significant lack of time, we elected to have dinner at the Astro Restaurant on 6th & 55th, just one-half block from the theatre. A tiny booth (keep in mind that Jeff is not a tiny guy) in front of a door that kept opening to twenty something degree cold, very noisy and uncontrolled little kids and nearly inedible food made for a simply horrible “dinner” that disappointed us as much as the hour plus long cab ride to get there.
Now you may wonder why we are so focused on the horrific cab ride and dinner. OK…you caught us. We confess. We are stalling because we are really unsure of what to say about NIGHTINGALE. We had great seats in the first row, which is clearly a plus in the Manhattan Theatre Club’s NYC Center Theatre and as we were seated we were actually excited to be just a few feet from the iconic Ms. Lynn Redgrave. This is a one woman show, an hour and a half of Ms. Redgrave, seated at a table facing the audience, at times reading from a script she wrote. The fact that Ms. Redgrave was seated and reading is apparently the result of recent medical treatment. For for having the courage to do this, we applaud Ms. Redgrave. Frankly, the best thing that we can say about this play is that it actually was enjoyable to just watch this actress. She has aged so gracefully, remains fully engaged with the audience for much of the performance, notwithstanding her malady. Ms. Redgrave’s perfect English diction was a delight to listen to - most of the time.
From the outset, the “play” appeared to be autobiographical as Ms. Redgrave spoke of her famous family, including references to her sister and recently deceased niece. However; after the first fifteen minutes or so the script rambled. As she spoke of her son who went off to war in the 1940’s, we realized that the 66 year old actress could not possibly be speaking of herself (we’re pretty good at math, you know). It wasn’t until an hour AFTER we left the theater that we finally figured out that at this point in her story she had taken on the persona of her grandmother.
The last fifteen minutes of NIGHTINGALE were actually as enjoyable as the first fifteen minutes however; the hour in between just left a great deal to be desired. Ms. Redgrave’s acting talents clearly outshine her writing talents.
Next up: “SO HELP ME GOD!”
In an effort to be eat more healthfully than a couple of slices of pizza and with a significant lack of time, we elected to have dinner at the Astro Restaurant on 6th & 55th, just one-half block from the theatre. A tiny booth (keep in mind that Jeff is not a tiny guy) in front of a door that kept opening to twenty something degree cold, very noisy and uncontrolled little kids and nearly inedible food made for a simply horrible “dinner” that disappointed us as much as the hour plus long cab ride to get there.
Now you may wonder why we are so focused on the horrific cab ride and dinner. OK…you caught us. We confess. We are stalling because we are really unsure of what to say about NIGHTINGALE. We had great seats in the first row, which is clearly a plus in the Manhattan Theatre Club’s NYC Center Theatre and as we were seated we were actually excited to be just a few feet from the iconic Ms. Lynn Redgrave. This is a one woman show, an hour and a half of Ms. Redgrave, seated at a table facing the audience, at times reading from a script she wrote. The fact that Ms. Redgrave was seated and reading is apparently the result of recent medical treatment. For for having the courage to do this, we applaud Ms. Redgrave. Frankly, the best thing that we can say about this play is that it actually was enjoyable to just watch this actress. She has aged so gracefully, remains fully engaged with the audience for much of the performance, notwithstanding her malady. Ms. Redgrave’s perfect English diction was a delight to listen to - most of the time.
From the outset, the “play” appeared to be autobiographical as Ms. Redgrave spoke of her famous family, including references to her sister and recently deceased niece. However; after the first fifteen minutes or so the script rambled. As she spoke of her son who went off to war in the 1940’s, we realized that the 66 year old actress could not possibly be speaking of herself (we’re pretty good at math, you know). It wasn’t until an hour AFTER we left the theater that we finally figured out that at this point in her story she had taken on the persona of her grandmother.
The last fifteen minutes of NIGHTINGALE were actually as enjoyable as the first fifteen minutes however; the hour in between just left a great deal to be desired. Ms. Redgrave’s acting talents clearly outshine her writing talents.
Next up: “SO HELP ME GOD!”
Friday, December 11, 2009
WISHES DO COME TRUE
Anything we see at Roundabout’s 54th Street theater brings backs lots of memories…not of great shows we’ve seen there but of great times clubbing and dancing at Studio 54. And come to think of it….there were a lot of drugs bouncing around in those old days so it’s actually a very appropriate setting for Carrie Fisher’s auto-biographical one woman show - WISHFUL DRINKING.
Carrie grabs you and drags you into her life immediately. She’s endearing and charming even if you were not a Star Wars groupie. Her sense of humor is delicious and her use of a visual aid (large, drop-down blackboard) to explain all the marriages of her parents was really perfect. Even for those of us who don’t live in the rarified world of Hollywood…we understand love, marriage, divorce, dating, remarriage…heartache and the range of emotions Carrie describes. She tries very hard to convince us that she’s the craziest woman on the planet. We think she succeeded in convincing us that we are all a little bit crazy. And that’s what makes everyone so interesting!
She’s clearly come out on the right side of therapy, rehab and the various mental institutions she’s visited. Carrie is confident and self effacing which is totally endearing. It’s also obvious she’s no longer a 105 pound ingénue and one of our most favorite lines was “I haven’t been naked in 15 years or sleeveless in 20”. So she’s not 100 pounds and guess what? She looks great because she looks happy. That being said...we still don;t understand why someone couldn’t help her find two comfortable, figure-forgiving outfits for this show? Black silk pajamas would be OK…how about getting the top in her size? And we "get" the whole concept of “cover-up” but surely there have to be 2 long swirly schmatas somewhere in all of New York that actually complement black silk! If we both weren’t so busy ourselves, we would make the time to find them for her.
But you should find time to go see WISHFUL DRINKING. It’s not ordinary theater…and maybe it really belongs in more of a club or cabaret. But it’s intelligent. It’s real. And it did what we think really good theater is supposed to do…it made us think and it made us laugh.
Stay tuned...Saturday night we see Lynn Redgrave in NIGHTINGALE!
Carrie grabs you and drags you into her life immediately. She’s endearing and charming even if you were not a Star Wars groupie. Her sense of humor is delicious and her use of a visual aid (large, drop-down blackboard) to explain all the marriages of her parents was really perfect. Even for those of us who don’t live in the rarified world of Hollywood…we understand love, marriage, divorce, dating, remarriage…heartache and the range of emotions Carrie describes. She tries very hard to convince us that she’s the craziest woman on the planet. We think she succeeded in convincing us that we are all a little bit crazy. And that’s what makes everyone so interesting!
She’s clearly come out on the right side of therapy, rehab and the various mental institutions she’s visited. Carrie is confident and self effacing which is totally endearing. It’s also obvious she’s no longer a 105 pound ingénue and one of our most favorite lines was “I haven’t been naked in 15 years or sleeveless in 20”. So she’s not 100 pounds and guess what? She looks great because she looks happy. That being said...we still don;t understand why someone couldn’t help her find two comfortable, figure-forgiving outfits for this show? Black silk pajamas would be OK…how about getting the top in her size? And we "get" the whole concept of “cover-up” but surely there have to be 2 long swirly schmatas somewhere in all of New York that actually complement black silk! If we both weren’t so busy ourselves, we would make the time to find them for her.
But you should find time to go see WISHFUL DRINKING. It’s not ordinary theater…and maybe it really belongs in more of a club or cabaret. But it’s intelligent. It’s real. And it did what we think really good theater is supposed to do…it made us think and it made us laugh.
Stay tuned...Saturday night we see Lynn Redgrave in NIGHTINGALE!
Friday, December 4, 2009
MEMPHIS Mesmerizes!
You need to get yourself to the Schubert. Who cares that the seats are made for midgets? Who cares that some very, very rude people came in 15 minutes into the show and took forever to sit down and were incredibly rude to both the performers and those of us who know how to get to a show on time? Who cares that people sit in the audience looking at their CrackBerries during the performance?
From the very first note of the show we were mesmerized. MEMPHIS is that now rarity on Broadway . . . an original show with an original score and a cast whose names we have never heard before. But you will be hearing about them now. It’s a powerhouse of talent and energy. Singers who can dance and dancers who can sing.
From the moment he steps on stage, Chad Kimball - the male lead - forces you to like him with his kinetic energy and quirky mannerisms. Montego Glover is on Broadway for only the 2nd time in her life and if we have anything to say about it, she should move her things to the theatre district and find an apartment very close by. Montego has just a few kilowatts' less power in her voice than Jennifer Holiday but she dances and acts as if she’s been doing it forever.
A little bit of Romeo and Juliet perhaps, with a touch of Dreamgirls to make this an exciting adventure, the set was the perfect backdrop for the story. While there are probably thousands of stories about segregated life in the early 50’s in the South this one touched us. The costumes worked perfectly against the set and the entire ensemble oozed talent. There was an energy throughout the theater . . . so much so that when the show ended every single audience member was on his or her feet.
Montego then spoke for 5 minutes about the importance of Broadway Cares Equity Fights Aids and almost no one left. We were all as mesmerized by her plea for help as we were by the show.
A major disappointment though was that the cast album has not yet been produced. We are still humming the music and will be anxiously checking itunes for its release. MEMPHIS is the current top runner for our vote for Best Musical.
Have a great weekend!
Next week look for our impressions of WISHFUL DRINKING and NIGHTINGALE.
From the very first note of the show we were mesmerized. MEMPHIS is that now rarity on Broadway . . . an original show with an original score and a cast whose names we have never heard before. But you will be hearing about them now. It’s a powerhouse of talent and energy. Singers who can dance and dancers who can sing.
From the moment he steps on stage, Chad Kimball - the male lead - forces you to like him with his kinetic energy and quirky mannerisms. Montego Glover is on Broadway for only the 2nd time in her life and if we have anything to say about it, she should move her things to the theatre district and find an apartment very close by. Montego has just a few kilowatts' less power in her voice than Jennifer Holiday but she dances and acts as if she’s been doing it forever.
A little bit of Romeo and Juliet perhaps, with a touch of Dreamgirls to make this an exciting adventure, the set was the perfect backdrop for the story. While there are probably thousands of stories about segregated life in the early 50’s in the South this one touched us. The costumes worked perfectly against the set and the entire ensemble oozed talent. There was an energy throughout the theater . . . so much so that when the show ended every single audience member was on his or her feet.
Montego then spoke for 5 minutes about the importance of Broadway Cares Equity Fights Aids and almost no one left. We were all as mesmerized by her plea for help as we were by the show.
A major disappointment though was that the cast album has not yet been produced. We are still humming the music and will be anxiously checking itunes for its release. MEMPHIS is the current top runner for our vote for Best Musical.
Have a great weekend!
Next week look for our impressions of WISHFUL DRINKING and NIGHTINGALE.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
ZERO HOUR is no zero!!!
We very rarely see a show on a Saturday night . . . because more often than not that’s when tourists usually descend on the theater district. Sometimes we have to break our own rules because a show has a limited run and we simply have no other night to fit it in.
This was our situation this past Saturday night. It was Thanksgiving weekend and we were full of turkey and not terribly interested in eating. We also weren’t really sure what we would be in for when we bought tickets for Zero Hour. But we loved Zero Mostel and we adored "Fiddler on the Roof" so we figured, why not?
We arrived at St. Clement’s Theater at 423 W. 46th Street (between 9th and 10th) and immediately thought how could anyone portray Zero in a church? Next we realized that Zero would not have fit in the seats in this theater. They are tiny, tiny, tiny. We, of course, adore Piper Laurie's work as an actress and were curious how her directing would be. And who the hell is Jim Brochu though?
We quickly discovered that he’s the actor/playwright who wrote this one man show and who also performs it. The show turned out to be a very wonderful little surprise . . . the set was impressive for such a small production . . . totally evocative of a garret art studio. Brochu looks so much like Zero and has his mannerisms down so well that there were moments when we thought Mostel was still alive.
Although we were slightly disappointed there was so little attention paid to “Fiddler on the Roof” the feeling was easily superseded by learning so much about the famous Blacklisting of the 1950’s. This July we saw the movie “Yoo Hoo Mrs. Goldberg” which also discussed Blacklisting. But apparently there’s much we still didn’t know. But the movie is when first heard about Philip Loeb’s suicide. During Zero Hour we discovered that Loeb was Mostel’s best friend and ultimate houseguest of Zero and his shiksa wife when he lost everything as a result of being blacklisted. There’s apparently still much to learn about this subject and it really was wonderful to be simultaneously educated and entertained.
Zero Hour is a little gem and worth the ticket price. We rate it zero plus 8!
This was our situation this past Saturday night. It was Thanksgiving weekend and we were full of turkey and not terribly interested in eating. We also weren’t really sure what we would be in for when we bought tickets for Zero Hour. But we loved Zero Mostel and we adored "Fiddler on the Roof" so we figured, why not?
We arrived at St. Clement’s Theater at 423 W. 46th Street (between 9th and 10th) and immediately thought how could anyone portray Zero in a church? Next we realized that Zero would not have fit in the seats in this theater. They are tiny, tiny, tiny. We, of course, adore Piper Laurie's work as an actress and were curious how her directing would be. And who the hell is Jim Brochu though?
We quickly discovered that he’s the actor/playwright who wrote this one man show and who also performs it. The show turned out to be a very wonderful little surprise . . . the set was impressive for such a small production . . . totally evocative of a garret art studio. Brochu looks so much like Zero and has his mannerisms down so well that there were moments when we thought Mostel was still alive.
Although we were slightly disappointed there was so little attention paid to “Fiddler on the Roof” the feeling was easily superseded by learning so much about the famous Blacklisting of the 1950’s. This July we saw the movie “Yoo Hoo Mrs. Goldberg” which also discussed Blacklisting. But apparently there’s much we still didn’t know. But the movie is when first heard about Philip Loeb’s suicide. During Zero Hour we discovered that Loeb was Mostel’s best friend and ultimate houseguest of Zero and his shiksa wife when he lost everything as a result of being blacklisted. There’s apparently still much to learn about this subject and it really was wonderful to be simultaneously educated and entertained.
Zero Hour is a little gem and worth the ticket price. We rate it zero plus 8!
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