Half Time--Generally Entertaining With Grand Cast 

The pleasant and generally entertaining new musical “Half Time” which perks up during the second act just had its northeast premiere at the Paper Mill Playhouse before it is scheduled to arrive on Broadway in the near future. 

The show is based on a true story about a group of over 60 seniors who are recruited by the NBA’s management to actually be the stars of the half time show. Only here they are not performing for the Nets as was the case but a fictionalized team named The Cougars.  They are to be trained by the coach Tara (Haven Burton) as directed so by the snarly head of management Alison Prager (Tracy Jai Edwards.) The goal is for Tara to teach these “over the hill” group of  eight women and one man hip hop. However, the seniors think they will be performing standard dances when they signed on. 

What works best in the show is the mostly superb cast who are Broadway veterans several having  created some memorable characters through the years. 

The wonderful Andre De Shields (“The Wiz” “The Full Monty”) whom I remember vividly doing the show stopping “Big Black Man” from “Monty” still has lost none of his zest for dancing. He can still move around with the best of them. He has a charming number “The Prince of Swing” written by the late great Marvin Hamlisch who contributed a few songs to the show. De Shields portrays a lonely widower who has spent most of his time in his daughter’s basement before taking this job on. 

Lillias White who won a well deserved Tony for “The Life” is a hoot as the outspoken Bea who tries to convince her granddaughter Kendra (Nkei Obi-Melekwe) that her boyfriend is a lout. She has the lovely number “Princess” she sings to Kendra about how much she enjoyed being a part of her life  through the years. 

The always welcome Donna McKechnie portrays the not so self assured Joanne whose claim to fame was starring in some awful sounding musical and then marrying a famous urologist. In a nod to McKechnie from her Cassie role in  “A Chorus Line” the panels from the rear of the stage turn with mirrors appearing where she breaks into her famed “Music and the Mirror” from that show. She still exhibits the vitality that she had when she opened in that show decades ago. 

Georgina Engel with her whispery voice is the kindergarten teacher Dorothy who is the only senior who actually has a love for hip hop and her idol is the late Tupac. I am not sure if I completely believed this and found her one number “Dorothy /Dottie”  which should have been much better falling flat. It does not seem to matter to the audience  for the fact that is she is most definitely a crowd please was evident by the cheering she receives by just making a few hip hop moves which to me came across a bit silly. 

Nancy Ticotin brings the dynamic bounce to the show with her fiery “Como No?” dancing with her 25 year old hunky new boyfriend (Alexander Aguilar). Lenora Nemetz is  humorous as the Mary Kay salesperson and Kay Walbye is funny as the not so legally blind Bea. Lori Tan Chinn is both comical and touching as the least prolific dancer Mae whose husband is in the throes of what might be dementia. She has a beautiful number “The Waters Rise” which smartly opens the second act. 

The book by Bob Martin (“The Drowsy Chaperone”) and Chad Beguelin (“Aladdin”) is serviceable and improves in the second act.  Cuts should be made to the exceedingly overlong first act before considering a Broadway transfer. It is later in in the show when you get to know more about the performers’ personal lives and thankfully nothing is belaboured. 

Even the score by Matthew Sklar (music) and Nell Benjamin (lyrics) is much improved later in the show. The positive attitude the characters developed through their determination shines brightly in  “New Point of View” a rousing number in which they all let loose. 

Director/choreographer Jerry Mitchell is the perfect fit for this type of show keeping it moving a good speed and having several of the leads get their time in the spotlight. 

The valuable set designer David Rockwell has done a fine job of creating a colourful looking gym with excellent projections by Jason Lee Courson.  

Despite some stale jokes and that sometimes tedious first act, those veteran performers still have it and they alone are worth the price of admission. 

Tickets are available at the Paper Mill Playhouse 22 Brookside Drive, Millburn NJ or by calling 973.376.4343. Limited engagement ends July 1. 

PHOTOS: JERRY DALIA

The Great Leap--Immensely Entertaining 

By Joseph Cervelli

I must say that I am not familiar with playwright Lauren Yee’s previous works which I now regret after viewing the highly satisfying and original “The Great Leap” at the Atlantic Theater Company. 

I was slightly unsure about attending since it seemed the play deals with basketball which I know about as much of as nuclear physics. Yet, I was completely taken in from the very first scene,  since the play is about determination in setting and fulfilling your goals along with some surprises along the way. While the play’s conclusion is a bit contrived it by no means spoils the vast enjoyment throughout and is helped immensely by a superior cast of four exceptional performances. 

The play begins in 1989 with the basketball coach for the University of San Francisco, Saul (played with mastery skill by Ned Eisenberg) who has been invited to bring his team to Beijing for an exhibition game. The manic and quite funny high school senior Manford (a wonderfully convincing Tony Aidan Vo), wants to play point guard for the team. His height is a problem so the foul mouthed Saul refuses despite Manford’s constant begging him. Saul has enough problems with a not very amicable divorce and problems in seeing his daughter.  We later find out that the young man’s mother has passed away and he is living with this “cousin” Connie (an excellent Ali Ahn) who is not really related but her father is the superintendent of their building. There is little mention of what happened to Manford’s own father in the first act. In a flashback to 1979 we see Saul (at first, you might not immediately  recognize the impressive Eisenberg with a toupee and shorts looking years younger as he is supposed to ) who was invited to Beijing to help teach the Chinese team some American techniques. There he meets the humble translator Wen Chang (a superb BD Wong) who has a difficult time trying to translate Saul’s epithets and vile comments which prove to be more amusing than offensive. 

Things turn more serious in the even better second act when Saul agrees to bring Manford to Beijing in which complications develop. Wen Chang has become the basketball coach and suddenly the new Chinese players are now about seven feet tall. Not exactly what Saul nor Manford anticipated.

What Lee has done under the decisive direction by Taibi Magar is not only to build the suspense of what will happen during the basketball game (staged thrillingly in almost a stationary position) but Manford getting caught up at the time the students were marching and being killed in Tiananmen Square. David Bengali’s projection designs are extremely effective.

What is admirable is that Yee could have easily have had Wen Chang become a  condescending voice on the behavior of the  Americans but that is  not the case. There is some worthwhile and faithful philosophising but no preaching which is an easy pitfall. 

Hagar and the tremendous cast has pulled the audience into this show that slowly blossoms into a social conscience  that informs and entertains along the way.

        Tickets are available at the Atlantic Theater Company/Stage 2 330 West 16th Street or by calling 866.811.4111.


PHOTO CREDIT: Ahron R. Foster

Peace For Mary Frances

By Joseph Cervelli

First time playwright Lily Thorne’s “Peace for Mary Frances” presented by The New Group at The Pershing Square Signature Centre is thoroughly exasperating. This play which lacks structure and has characters walking from room to room like robots is directed by the usually very reliable Lila Neugebauer . But she can add nothing to this with thoroughly disagreeable characters in a lumbering  slice of life drama. 

While it is always wonderful to have the memorable Lois Smith in any play, even she can do little to save this for her own character is not all that likeable. She portrays the title character who is  the matriarch of an Armenian family, and decides that at  age 90 and suffering from water on her lungs it is time for her to die. She seems vital enough except for this issue, and it is more than strange that no family member (and what a bunch they are!) even tries to convince her that if this medical condition was cleared up it would make her life easier. But they themselves are such a miserable bunch they care for no one but their own lives. Her one daughter the messed up Fanny (Johanna Day) is an ex-heroin addict now on methadone and is estranged from her daughter which her family enjoys taunting her about. She seems to be taking care of her mother but her sister Alice (J. Smith-Cameron) who took off from her job spends most of the time complaining about having to now take care of her mother because according to her Fanny has no idea what she is doing. Alice is also an astrologer and spends most of the time complaining she has no money and is thankful that her blouse cost her about $8.00.    

There is  divorced brother Eddie (Paul Lazar) a lawyer having the personality of a wet dishrag and spending most of the time sitting by his mother’s bed eating lunch.

There are two other family members both of whom are Alice’s daughters. Rosie (Natalie Gold) spends time at her grandmother’s house with her baby and her sister Helen (Heather Burns) is an actress on a television series and seems depressed. Since neither characters add nil to the play it makes little sense for their being there.  What also makes even far little sense is why the family decides for no apparent reason to speak about the Armenian Genocide. Thorne just inserts dialogue that has no bearing on the proceedings. 

Bonnie (Mia Katigbak) is the hospice nurse who seems a bit forgetful leaving the morphine in the car and Brian Miskell (Michael)  is the hospice psychologist while Melle Powers is Clara the home healthcare aide.  

Besides dealing with the cacophony of the family which is unceasing there are scenes that are just not believable.  When Mary Frances asks Bonnie how long she has to live the nurse answers, “About two days.” It is hard to believe any health care provider would make such a ludicrous statement. Michael walks into the bedroom where Mary Frances spends just about the entire play, introduces himself and leaves. Why would a psychologist not  speak to ascertain her frame of mind. In one scene Mary Frances hears something from outside her window and literally sprints out of bed astonishing her daughter Alice. Has a miracle occurred or is this just to give the play some bounce? Well, neither is the case here. 

Despite some committed performances, it is a completely dismal play with characters that are either objectionable or just plain bores complete with dialogue that sinks into the mundane.

Mary Frances does find peace at the conclusion and happily so does the audience when they are about to exit. 

Tickets are available at the New Group at the Pershing Square Signature Centre 480 West 42nd Street or by calling 212.279.4200. 

PHOTOS CREDIT: MONIQUE CARBONI

Paradise Blue--An Intense and Beautifully Woven New Play

By Joseph Cervelli

It is not a spoiler to state that one of the lead characters is shot in the very first scene of Dominique Morisseau’s intense new play at the Pershing Square Signature Theatre which is marked with both fierceness and humor.  Morisseau gave us the excellent “Pipeline” this past season,  and as I did with that show marvel at how well this playwright has an innate feel for her characters. The storyline is never simple but there is such a palpable embodiment in each of her characters. Few playwrights can draw you into the psyches of their characters yet she does it with such ease and believability. 

The first thing you notice are the multitude of posters alining the walls of the theater with ads (scenic designer Neil Patel) for the top jazz musicians and singers and where there they are playing (time of play is 1949.) 

Director Ruben Santiago-Hudson has an ostensible feel for the time period directing in a film noir style which enhances the play's time period. 

The play takes place in Detroit in a jazz club owned by Blue (J. Alphonse Nicholson) which is a fixture in the area previously owned by his late dad who suffered  severe mental issues resulting in tragic consequences. Blue's girlfriend, Pumpkin (Kristolyn Lloyd),   who loves and frequently recites poetry is both dedicated to him and to the bar both cooking and serving the patrons. She is so in love with Blue that she accepts his physical abuse knowing that he is possessed by some demons he cannot control. He is also the trumpet player and has just fired one of the three  other musicians. The other two are the womanising and heavy drinking drummer P-Sam (Francois Battiste) and the mild mannered pianist Corn (Keith Randolph Smith.) P-Sam wants Blue to hire another musician but has the fear that the owner will kowtow to the demands of the mayor who wants to rid the area of “blight” which the musicians feel refer to the blacks. Gentrification is taking place even during this particular time. Blue’s personality is an enigmatic one and Nicholson plays him quite well. He always appears on the  the verge of exploding. You later find out what all these emotional outbursts are the result of. 

The other character is the stunning Silver (Simone Missick) played with the style of a true film noir temptress. She swaggers and purrs when she speaks to the musicians. One thinks of both Lana Turner and Lizabeth Scott from so many of their roles as true femmes fatales. She rents a room above the bar and while she said she killed her husband you never are quite sure. Her sultry seduction of the likeable Corn is for ulterior motives. 

Battiste is both superbly funny and vehement in his portrayal of a man who wants more for this town than to be pushed out. His performance is always on target, and even when he rages it is never overwrought.

Smith makes Corn a very kind hearted fellow who wants to do best by everyone. And Lloyd beautifully plays  the supportive Pumpkin who eventually gets caught up in the behavior of the distraught Blue.

What makes for  such an impressive play is  the way the characters under Santiago-Hudson’s indelibly  sensitive direction interplay with each other so convincingly. The sadness of the plight of these inhabitants  when the redevelopment of the Black Bottom district of Detroit takes place is rendered with real feeling. 

"Paradise Blue" proves to be an  arresting work by Morisseau that makes me full of hope to see what else she has for us. 

Tickets are available at the Pershing Square Signature Theatre 480 West 42nd Street or by calling 877.661.6439. Limited engagement has been extended to June 17. 

PHOTOS: JOAN MARCUS

The Gentleman Caller--A Missed Opportunity

By Joseph Cervelli

I am not quite sure what to make out of Philip Dawkins’ maddeningly annoying new play “The Gentleman Caller” at the Cherry Lane Theater. Dawkins who wrote the delightfully funny and sincere “Charm” falters here big time.

The title of the play refers to the working one for Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie” before it was changed. Here Dawkins has decided to write what he believes took place between Williams and playwright William Inge (“Picnic” “Come Back Little Sheba”) on two separate occasions back in 1944. I am not sure if this is all just conjecture on the playwright’s part or he actually read reports about what transpired, but it is hard to believe that they carried on in such a wildly campy and frightfully silly manner. 

One big mistake takes place right from the start when Juan Francisco Villa who looks and sounds like Williams addresses the audience about what they are going to see. It lessens the seriousness of the work setting the mark for a frivolous evening which it actually turns out to be. Villa appears to be a fine actor yet under Tony Speciale’s overbooked direction he becomes frustratingly obnoxiously loud and becomes more of  a caricature of the late playwright instead of a true portrayal. 

The first act takes place at the home of Inge (Daniel K. Isaac)  where he is the arts critic for the St. Louis Star-Times and is to interview Williams a month before “Menagerie” is to open in Chicago. I am not sure if there were any interviews recorded with Inge who was a closeted homosexual but from all reports he was not as overt in behavior as Williams.  You would think that part of this misguided play would include a serious yet humorous interview but that is not what Dawkins has in mind. He has written most of  it as pure farce which lessens any tribute to both giants of playwriting. When Inge asks Williams to sign an autograph photo of himself for his nephew he does so by writing something sexual. Suddenly the knotty and frantically insecure Inge becomes sexually crazed and starts to rip off Williams’ clothing. Thankfully, Williams makes him stop before it appears to be a real rape. As written there is such a contradictory look at Inge. We know from interviews that Williams was quite promiscuous especially as he tells tales here about being robbed by two hustlers at a local YMCA. Yet, for Dawkins to have Isaac suddenly adapt an almost  sexually uncontrollable personality makes no sense except to garner laughs from the audience which is achieves. 

The first act goes on with much talk about Williams’ family and his dedication to his sister Rose whom we know he idolized. But there is little connection between the two illustrious playwrights and the interview seems to fall by the wayside. We do discover that Inge has written his first play “Far Off From Heaven” and would like Williams to read it. What we learn from Williams any theater buff will have already known and what we don’t really know about Inge which I would think is a lot is never delved into.

The second act takes place in Williams’ hotel room on New Year Eve just after the opening of “Menagerie.” Inge has arrived and while the sexual content is played more seriously the play still sheds little light the relationship between these two men. It seems that Dawkins is more interested in writing scenes that are nods to the famous works by both men. We see Williams slightly inebriated again with his robe open walking with one crutch (think Brick from “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”) and Inge telling him that his  dog which attacked the other playwright has run away (“Come Back Little Sheba.) Inge has this rather ineffectual and unpleasantly meaningless monologue (nevertheless, well delivered by Isaac)  near the end that is reminiscent of Williams’ “Suddenly Last Summer.” 

While Villa is extreme in his portrayal,  Isaac never seems to gain a grasp on his character. It does not help when Inge’s character is never full delineated. 

Sara C. Walsh’s fascinating set of stacks of manuscripts piled on each other with lamps (not sure about that touch) on each would be more fitting in a play that took a more substantial look at the playwrights instead of this juvenile one.  

What is so disconcerting is that instead of a well written play about what could have transpired which most  could have included romantic and humorous moments has been turned into a doltish affair by both playwright and director. 

         Tickets are available at the Abingdon Theatre Company at the Cherry Lane Theater 38 Commerce Street or by calling 866.811.4111/  The limited engagement ends May 26. 

PHOTOS: MARIA BARANOVA

Carousel--In Search of Julie and Billy

By Joseph Cervelli

If there is one musical that just about guarantees getting  the tissues out, it is Rodgers and Hammerstein’s glorious “Carousel.” I was enraptured when I saw the unforgettable 1994 Lincoln Centre production. So, I was thrilled to hear that it was coming back with two usually excellent performers Jesse Mueller (“Beautiful” “Waitress”) and Joshua Henry (“The Scottsboro Boys” “Violet.) Yet, by the end of this misguided revival directed by Jack O’Brien at the Imperial Theater, I was left quite dried eyes. 

First, the best things about the show which  stand out in a striking form. The opening scene though from from remarkable was pleasant enough with the irrepressible “Carousel Waltz” playing showing Billy Bigelow (Henry) as the carnival barker. The nice switch it that you get the impression they are all in heaven which appears to be a harmonious place resulting in probably the only time you see Billy smile. Add to that is the superb orchestrations by veteran Jonathan Tunick. 

The scenery by another superb veteran in the theater, Santo Loquasto,  has devised an authentic looking set of late 19th and 20th Century Maine with the sailboats on shimmering water and his frequent use of diaphanous curtains that adds this “heavenly” quality to them as they gently glide across the stage. Ann Roth’s appealing  costumes also have the look of the times.

Justin Peck who is with the New York City Ballet has done a spectacular job of choreographing the show in the original form but never copying the immortal Agnes de Mille who was responsible for its first production.  The movements of the dancers is breathtakingly sublime and accomplished as if they are floating in midair. 

As the brassy Carrie Pipperidge and best friend of the demure Julie Jordon (Mueller)  Lindsay Mendez almost runs away with the show displaying both humor and a great singing voice. She eventually marries the up-tight but liable and hardworking Enoch Snow (a delightful Alexander Gemignani.) 

Opera singer Renee Singer delivers a chillingly beautiful rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” giving Julie strength after the death of her husband Billy.

Sadly, the big problem deals with the complete lack of chemistry between the two leads. If you don’t believe in the kind of “love at first sight” between the quiet and reserved Julie and the ill tempered roustabout Billy you are in trouble. And we are indeed in trouble here.

Both Mueller and especially Henry have displayed their acting chops in other shows excellently. So, what has gone wrong in this production? Mueller is so unassertive that she almost becomes part of the scenery. True, her voice is lovely but her Julie is devoid of any personality. And if you have a forgettable Julie Jordan you are in trouble. You need to feel for this young woman but she left me totally cold. 

As for Henry who knocked me out in the much underappreciated “The Scottsboro Boys” he comes on much too strong here. There is no nuance or balance in his performance. Yes, his voice is tremendously effective but he never captures the charisma or charm of the ne'er-do-well Billy. If Billy was always as full of anger as displayed by Henry,  I doubt he would have been as successful as a carnival barker with the women supposedly falling in love with him. His duet with Julie, the unimaginably beautiful “If I Loved You” left me completely frozen.  I wanted ever so much to see the attraction between these two characters but there is none. His “Soliloquy” while sung with great authority misses the mark again because his Billy never seemed to believe in himself. Someone who could really enjoy having a boy and doing all the things a father does with his son is not realized. And when he believes that  he may have a daughter there is no real softening of his delivery. It is sadly all one note.

If you  try to concentrate on the production numbers and the other cast members along with that ethereal score you will definitely be entertained. Look for no more. 

Tickets are available at the Imperial Theater 239 West 45th Street or by calling 212.239.6200.

PHOTOS: JULIETA CERVANTES

   

This Flat Earth--A Flawed But Heartfelt New Play

By Joseph Cervelli

Lindsey Ferrentino is a playwright who knows how to combine humor along with grief and compassion in her plays. Her “Ugly Lies the Bone” was a moving tale about a returning physically scarred female  war veteran trying to put her life back together. Her “Amy and the Orphans” dealt with family relationships and new discoveries about themselves.  Ferrentino's current and heartfelt new play “This Flat Earth” at Playwrights Horizons deals with the aftermath of a school shooting focusing on one thirteen year old Julie (an unforgettably good Ella Kennedy Davis) who finds it difficult to return to school after a recent dedication ceremony for a deceased student,  Noelle. The school is to reopen the following day. 

Ferrentino and the perpetually fine director Rebecca Taichman(“Indecent”) both have the ability to understand young people and their moods as is evident in this slightly flawed but, nevertheless, absorbing new play.

Dane Laffrey’s set is on two levels. The bottom floor is the apartment shared by Julie and her single parent dad Dan (Lucas Papaelias) who is struggling to make ends meet while working at the water company. Upstairs is the elderly woman Cloris (Lynda Gravatt)  who is bit of an enigma. She is a solitary figure who never seems to leave her apartment but would rather read while putting on a Bach Cello Suite on her phonograph.  As a nice touch, there is an excellent cellist (Christine H. Kim) who plays the composition  in the audience. 

The play begins on a playful note with Julie and her friend Zander (an excellent Ian Saint-Germain) watching a film on a laptop while he would prefer getting just a bit romantic by kissing her.   Much of their dialogue is pure teenage banter including  her wanting  to move to Japan because she heard that they have the ability there to increase her “boobs.” 

Her dad arrives with Noelle’s mom Lisa (a very believable  Cassie Beck) who has asked Dan to store boxes of tinned popcorn that her late daughter won in a fundraiser. Lisa is barely holding it together and through the smiles and attempts at laughter she breaks down into bouts of tears. 

We later find out that Julie really should not be attending this particular school she is because she is out of  district.  Her father lied to the school administrator about exactly where they live so  Julie who is a talent violinist could benefit from school’s superior music program rather  than the other one closer to her  home. Things take an unfortunate term when Lisa finds this out.

Some aspects of the play don’t exactly ring true. Julie is surprised to learn this is not the first school shooting in the States. It is hard to believe that no student, especially Zander, would not have discussed this. Also, Lisa’s reasoning to alert the school about Julie’s home location seems too far fetched even with the reason she gives.

Because  Ferrentino exudes such warm humanity in all her works without being maudlin it is easy to overlook these moments. 

While Papaelias seems a bit uneasy in his portrayal of the widowed dad, the others are solid in their roles most especially  Davis who runs the gamut of emotions as a teenager. Her relationship with Zander is especially natural and  her final moment alone of the stage is breathtaking.  

Growing up with all the pains involved is not easy for a teen not going through a catastrophic school incident let alone dealing with what has occurred. And the last scene has a transcendental and spiritual quality that will result in some discussion. 

I always anticipate what Ferrentino is planning for her next play ever since the beautifully written “Ugly” and despite certain reservations here, she and Taichman have created a vivid work of  living with constant uncertainty in the world 

Tickets are available  at Playwrights Horizons 416 West 42nd Street or by calling 212.279.4200.

The play runs through April 29. 

PHOTOS CREDIT: JOAN MARCUS