The Fears

       By Joseph Cervelli

I don't find the need to mention the producer of shows I have reviewed but in the case of Emma Sheanshang's askew new play "The Fears," I feel I should. The superb director Steven Soderbergh ("Sex, Lies, Videotape", "Erin Brockovich," and "Traffic" among others) is listed as the producer of this play at The Pershing Square Signature Center. I doubt if he had taken over the reins of director instead of Dan Algrant it would have made much difference. It seems like the playwright is unsure what she is aiming for. 

I do have to say I was perplexed by the loud audience laughter during the early scenes. Try as I might I did not find anything that was funny--maybe, mildly amusing but that is saying a lot. Actually, the funniest part happens offstage with the foul mouthed people on the street and the jack-hammering drowning out the members' meditation. 

Not knowing much about Buddhism I heard a lot of terms which never were fully explained yet the real issue is that it was difficult to believe that those attending the meeting at a Buddhist Center in New York would act like this array of people. Meditation is one of the main ingredients in that religion yet the cast of characters seem to need more help than that. Some were definitely in need of therapy which the leader of the group Maia (Maddy Corman) could not possibly supply. 

Except for newcomer Thea (Kerry Bishe) all the other five attendees have been here a number of times. And Thea is completely confused what is being offered since she never received the email explaining things to her. 

Rosa (Natalie Woolams-Torres) has a great deal of emotional issues including leaving her young son alone who ends up in the hospital. During one of her panic attacks she states that she is "130" whatever that is referring to.  

Fiz (Mehran Khaghani) a gay man has some very humorous moments in describing his sister whom he despises and cannot understand why she has invited him to her wedding. It is a given that some of his dialogue is funny but after a while you feel for what he has been through. 

Katie (Jess Gabor)  is Goth who has more problems than anyone in this group could possibly help her with. She is a member of the cult COD (Children of Death.) 

Mark (Carl Hendrick Louis) has a relationship going with one of the other members that should have been revealed to the Maia because apparently that is a no-no along with no phones, not saying  your sorry and no asking questions of when someone is speaking. Needless to say, he has his own emotional issues involving his mother. 

Suzanne (Robyn Peterson) is an angry middle aged woman who was raped by her priest. She mellows for some moments but is filled with a great deal of anger, especially towards Fiz for reasons not really explained. 

And getting back to Thea you find that her issues were somehow intertwined with the death of her mother dying in the Pan Am 73 flight. Yet, she blames the United States for part of this. And according to her  to her one of the people that caused her emotional dishevel was Alexander the Great. That led into other invaders in history which she is quite adept at. 

Unless you are into Buddhism I am afraid that hearing "Ashland is Leidenkrantz" and "Roykritz is Plum Lotus"will leave you as bewildered as I was. 

Also, not so sure what is funny about "want some Himalayan cashews," but I did not find the humor as some audience members did.  

I would think that Maia's comment about finding forgiveness in those that were harmful by imagining them as a five year old child is based on truth although when anger erupts in one or two of them her suggestion about wanting to plant a tree should have been delved into further. 

And what does not work is the title of the play. Maia suggests that they write down their fears just "not the big one." That would have been a great start to have the play move into a direction where issues could coalesce but it falls flat. The playwright seems to be move interested in writing dialogue than actually have matters come to some semblance of fruition. And the change in Katie seems phony based on what she states made the difference. 

I cannot fault the performances at all. They are the only saving grace to this haphazard play. 

PHOTOS: Daniel Rader

Tickets are available at The Pershing Square Signature Center 480 West 42nd Street.

 Oliver!--A Truly Glorious Production 

       By Joseph Cervelli

I have to admit that I never saw a live production (not even at a community theater) of the beloved musical "Oliver!" I only saw the lavish film version. So, was thrilled to attend the Encores! presentation of it.  Encores! tends to be more scaled down in terms of production design (although David Rockwell's two tiered setting works perfectly for this show) but this is certainly an ebullient, stunning production thanks to the sublime cast.  Despite some grimmer moments this basically family musical would be a welcome edition on Broadway. It originally had a lengthy Broadway run in the ‘60’s. It is too joyous a show to have only a two week run.

I cannot imagine anyone unfamiliar with the Charles Dickens’ array of such varied characters as he created in all his novels. The downtrodden, the wealthy, the kind, the vicious. And quite important the social inequities of classes along with corruptness of the system. And this show has it all.

The moment that the simply wonderful Benjamin Pajak (this young actor is going places) takes to the stage you sit up and notice. Pajak was a delight in "The Music Man" yet here he really comes into his own. The character of Oliver while not a minor one because he is the central force here, only has one big number with comes at the beginning of the show after he leaves the workhouse where the orphans live to become an apprentice to the miserable undertaker Mr. Sowerberry (Thom Sesma) along with his equally cruel wife (Rashidra Scott). His heartrending rendition of the gorgeous "Where is Love?" is so honest and moving that it is one of the highlights of the show. Pajak not only is a confident performer but has this ability to convey sadness (watch the almost quivering look on his face while being escorted from the orphanage) to happiness which comes much later. He also has the necessary feistiness when a young employee of Mr. Sowerberry insults his deceased mother and he starts to pummel him. Physically, Pajak is thin and enhances this so he brings a waif like character to Oliver. The realism he brings to the stage at such a young age in quite an accomplishment.

As the master of the workhouse Mr. Bumble, Brad Oscar is perfectly blusterous and Mary Testa is a fine counterpart to him as the mistress of the workhouse, Mrs. Bumble. 

When Oliver escapes the Sowerberry's clutches he ends up meeting an experienced older pickpocket, The Artful Dodger (a winning Julian Lerner) who takes him to meet his fellow young thieves in the hideaway of the unforgettable character Fagin (the incomparable Raul Esparza). Fagin is a devious, though quite appealing character who has a genuine fondness for his "boys" and Esparza brings an unusual warmth in caring for them. Esparza is an experienced enough actor to know when to pull back so he does not "chew up the scenery." But he has the ability to take the stage by storm and still never overdoing it. His "You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two" is fancifully and zestfully performed as he prances around showing the inexperienced Oliver how to go about doing it. There is one particularly touching moment when he gently places the sleepy Oliver on a space to sleep as he looks over him to make him as comfortable as possible lying on a wooden floor. Esparza has this ability to in a moment's notice change his character's demeanor. I will never forget extraordinary performance of Bobby in "Company." His rendition of "Being Alive" is still the best I have heard to this date.   His last number "Reviewing The Situation" when he has lost the boys and his livelihood varies from humor to sadness. He dances around the stage in a state of dilemma which never for a moment feels out of place. He is quite the eccentric character with his unkempt hair and clothing which is a pastiche of whatever he possibly found (excellent costumes by Sarafina Bush). And that last moment when realization takes place and he knows he is on his on is almost startling. He looks out knowing he is lost and must move one. He makes for an unforgettable Fagin. 

Lilli Cooper is a robust and perfectly delightful Nancy who was one of Fagin's older members of the pickpocket group. She is madly in love with the psychopathic Bill Sikes (a truly menacing Tam Mutu). Even though there is a brutal scene where Nancy meets an unfortunate end director Lear Debessonet's razor sharp direction makes sure it occurs basically offstage. I am not sure how much grittier this production is from what I have read it to be,  having not seen previous ones. But glad Debessonet kept things intact. I did wonder (again only based on this production) if Nancy might be feistier than other actors who played the part but it works here for her love for Oliver and for the insidious Sikes is her ultimate downfall.  

Besides the unsurpassed skill of the performers, the key to making this show work is the rousing score  of composer Lionel Bart. His luscious score from the snappy "Consider Yourself" to the moving "As Long as He Needs Me" is always balanced. Being the bookwriter for the original show he makes sure that  neither the comedic moments nor the dramatic ones overshadow each other. They all blend together perfectly. 

Great credit must be given to choreographer Lorin Altar for her exhilarating staging. One number that was a standout was the youngsters creating a carriage by holding white parasols as wheels  in which Nancy and Dodger driving around as wealthy members of society. Also, the Youth Ensemble which is made up of 20 public school children come out for only one number, the buoyant "Consider Yourself." It certainly was a treat. 

Everything in this vividly acted and sung production works to perfection. Let's hope some producers bring this to Broadway where it most definitely belongs.

PHOTOS: Joan Marcus 

Tickets are available at City Center 131 West 55th Street. The show runs till May 14.

 Best Shows of the Second Half of the 2022-2023 Theater Season

           By Joseph Cervelli

I had previously  listed shows which I considered the best from May of 2022 to December. Here are those I feel are the best which opened from January 2023 to April. 

Again, I am listing them in no particular order. 

It is hard to believe that Betty Smith who wrote "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" never had her radiant 1931 play "Becomes a Woman" published nor produced. A feminist story about a determined young woman with inner strength and fortitude to make something of her life. There is a bravura performance by Emma Pritzer Price who plays the leading role. Thankfully, she has been nominated for Best Lead in an Off Broadway play from the Outer Critics Circle.    

I was very moved by Anthony Rapp's "Without You." A one person musical based on his memoir he was one of the leads in the mega hit "Rent." In this show of love and loss he discusses the making of the show in a very poignant manner. The show may have first premiered off Broadway in 1996, but he speaks of it in such a loving manner that you have the feeling it only opened recently. My first thought was that the "without you" refers to a lost romantic love. Not at all. It is a wonderfully touching tribute to his mother who was the inspiration in his life.   

 

Suzan Lori-Parks brings the popular 1972 crime film "The Harder They Come" to the stage and it was a terrific show. It takes place in Kingston, Jamaica, where a young aspiring singer (an amazing Natey Jones) tries to make something of himself but has to deal with a corrupt music magnate. If a show should move from off Broadway to Broadway this is certainly on the top of my list. 

I was not a huge fan of one of my favorite composer's Jason Robert Brown's shows "Parade" when it first opened at Lincoln Center in 1999. Despite an excellent cast it just never clicked for me despite the engrossing book by Alfred Uhry. However, under Michael Arden's superlative direction this Broadway production which is based on the imprisonment and hanging of Leo Frank a Jewish man in Atlanta, Georgia, after being found guilty of the murder of a young girl who was one of his employees is first rate. The witnesses were all bamboozled into lying. Jews were not exactly welcomed down there in 1913. With the anti-Semitic attacks happening now the show resonates. While I had some issues with Ben Platt's sometimes too laid-back performance, I was most impressed by Micaela Diamond who portrays his wife. 

"Life of Pi" based on the famous book and film is a thrillingly vibrant account of a young man's months at sea on a boat with a Bengal tiger. Almost a phantasmagorical tale it combines philosophy and spirituality in a wonderous tale with lifelike puppetry and incredible staging. Hiran Abelsekara gives a monumental and exhausting performance.  

 

Bravo to Josh Groban for his surprisingly exciting performance as that demon barber of Fleet Street in the must see revival of Stephen Sondheim's brilliant "Sweeney Todd."Some have complained he was not as menacing as his predecessors who played the role. Not sure what they wanted more of because he was frightening enough. And his pure, lucious voice was perfect for this role, Gaten Matarrazzo was one of the best if not the best Toby I have seen; Jamie Jackson the best Judge Turpin; and John Rapson a very different and smarmy Beadle. As much as I do like Annaleigh Ashford I found her performance too cartoonish. No need for some of those antics. Not sure if it was the fault of director Thomas Kail or Ashford's concept for the role. It did not work for me. Everything else certainly did.   

"Shucked" is quite simply the best musical of the season. Hysterically funny with rapid fire one liners by the incomparable book writer Robert Horn (no justice if he does not win for every nomination he obtains) it is also a lovely tribute to people in a small town who just get along wonderfully. There are star turns by so many including a knockout performance by Alex Jewell. Everything in this laugh a minute show works.  

It is always a pleasure having Laura Linney and Jessica Hecht on stage and having them in the same play is a real treat. Such is the case in David Auburn's ("Proof") lovely "Summer, 1976" about a friendship between two very different women. Watching this two hander I began thinking of various friendships in my life. Those that lasted and why some never did. Notice the almost lyrical lighting design by Japhy Weideman. The play breaks the fourth wall which tends to annoy me but here the monologues they speak to the audience works beautifully. 

Sean Hayes gives a brilliant performance as the famed raconteur and classical pianist Oscar Levant in "Good Night, Oscar." He captures all the tics and emotional despair that the late Levant who was addicted to alcohol and prescription drugs went through. The play basically is one of many appearances he made on the Jack Paar talk show which was a must see during the 50's. The only fault I found was that Ben Rapporport was too animated as Paar who was more laidback as I recall. Emily Bergl was excellent as Levant's supportive wife.

 

I had mixed feelings about the musical "New York, New York" in the first act because of too many subplots, but it redeemed itself in the second. Based on the not very good film of the same title this is a vast improvement. A few of the numbers by John Kander and Fred Ebb still are in the show and Lin-Manuel Miranda has provided lyrics for the new ones. While bookwriters David Thompson and Sharon Washington are aiming for a Valentine to New York and building the dreams of those coming here  it would have been better to eliminate one or two storylines in the first act. The second act is so much better focusing on the two stars Anna Uzele and Colton Ryan who  not only have tremendous singing voices but have a wonderful charisma so their relationship works completely. And the set design by Beowulf Borritt whom I have sung the praises of for quite a few years and Susan Stroman's choreography are exemplary. 

PHOTO CREDITS IN ORDER

Todd Ceveris

Russ Rowland

Joan Marcus

Joan Marcus

Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

Jeremy Daniel

Joan Marcus

Paul Kolnik

 

Life of Pi--The Most Wondrous Show Broadway Has Seen In a Long Time

By Joseph Cervelli

Anyone who read the novel "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel most likely was very excited when it was turned into a film and an excellent one at that. Yet, as good as that was, the extraordinary stage production with book adapted by Lolita Chakrabarti at the Schoenfeld Theater surpasses it. The expression "nothing like live theater" certainly applies here. I can easily see why the show won the Olivier Award for Best Play and Best Actor (Hiran Abeysekera) who reprises his role here. He alternates the exceptionally demanding role both in an emotional and physical sense with Adi Dixit. I saw Abeysekera who indeed was amazing and Tony worthy.

 

The play which combines realism with fantasy and whimsy (your decision what is real and what is not ) starts out quite sedately. Taking place in a hospital room in Mexico 1978 a nurse comes in speaking Spanish and addressing someone who is not in the bed. Is this where fantasy begins? And then comes in a woman (Kirstin Louie)  from the Canadian Embassy and a man (Daisuke Tsuji)  from the Japanese Ministry of Transport. They want to know how Pi (Abeysekera) who is actually hiding under the bed survived by himself for over one hundred days at sea when the cargo  ship he was on with his family sunk. Pi (a name he gave himself) is a spunky and impish seventeen year old who delights in being both serious and silly. 

His story begins with the run down zoo his family owns in India and their need to escape to Canada because of riots in the streets. Pi is a mischievous lad who decides to get a too close up look at the Bengal tiger which Pi's father has named Richard Parker (you will find out why in this  amusing running joke). He barely escapes. Pi is quite funny as he decides he will adapt several faiths--Muslim, Judaism and Christianity along with Hinduism. There may be a few others thrown in there. The family board the not very conducive cargo ship filled with a crew of undesirables and several animals from the zoo. Now, while this is more than a bit questionable, dispel rationale beliefs and just go with the show for full enjoyment. Pi is an exceptionally bright young  man who delights in discussing philosophical ideas with a family that is more interested in surviving. A storm ensues and the superb lighting by Tim Lutkin, sets and costumes by the always wonderful Tim Hadley along with the ominous sound design by Carolyn Downing makefor a breathtaking experience. But most important are the realistically designed puppets by Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell with movement by Caldwell and associate Scarlet Wilderink. 

The ship sinks and all are lost except for a few of the animals which include the organtuan, hyena, zebra and the frightful tiger. You know immediately that the only one of those animals that will survive will be the latter. So, how does Pi not fall to this prey. That is part of the story which is almost lovely in its simplicity. Abeysekera pulls off the very difficult feat of near starvation and dehydration so realistically. His listlessness is incredibly believable as one can imagine. 

There are so many scenes of visual wizardry including one when Pi just into the sea and goes under. And great praise to all the puppeteers too many to mention but each is an expert at what they are able to accomplish. You might, at first, wonder why the hospital bed appears on the boat Pi escapes to but when you give it some thought as my companion and I did it really does make perfectly good sense. 

While visually you will be entranced there is much more here dealing with faith, love and goodness in the way you celebrate each.

Under the brilliantly inventive direction by Max Webster, this is the most wondrous show Broadway has seen in a very long time. 

PHOTOS: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

Tickets are available at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre 236 West 45th Street.

Becomes a Woman--One of the Season's Best

     By Joseph Cervelli

It is amazing and sad that Betty Smith's vivid and extremely engaging 1931 play "Becomes a Woman" was never published nor produced. Well, until now that is, thanks to the ever wonderful Mint Theater Company's presentation at City Center Stage ll. 

So many of the Mint productions of shows have not been seen for decades and yet when you now see them are taken back by how apropos they are to today's times. 

The plays starts off in a rather light hearted manner at Kress's Dime Store chain. While the action here take place in Brooklyn the actual Kress's never opened in there. And two of the characters Leonard Kress Sr and Jr. who play prominent roles bear no semblance to the original owner Samuel Henry Kress who remained unmarried. The carefree atmosphere clearly becomes more serious in the next two acts and most definitely had to cause a startling sensation when it was written. 

The lovely first act set by Vicki R. Davis who has provided her craft for many past Mint Productions has a section of the store filled with artificial flowers and another with  a piano along with a counter with mounds of sheet music. When customers come in to purchase the music they can not only hear the song being played by the piano player Florry (Pearl Rhein) but also have a singer there performing what they choose. Not exactly the nicest person with a flippant personality Florry is envious of the younger and more alluring singer nineteen year old Francie Nolan (Emma Pritzer Price.) She is the main reason   so many of the young men enter the store. The petite Francie dressed in a stunning black dress with fringes not only has a lilting voice perfect to sing the songs of the times but is attractive enough to be asked out by many of the male customers. The play takes a rather unflattering view of the male gender. In Smith's eyes most are interested in basically sex and not much else. 

Francie beautifully played by Price (keep an eye open for this exceptionally fine young actor) is not a fool by any means but is a sweet and kind young woman dealing with both male customers who call her "baby" and a family life we are soon to see which is none too happy. She seems very vulnerable and is, but as the title suggests she indeed becomes a woman and learns the hard way how to deal with what happens to her. The other character who plays a more prominent role in the second and third acts is the very likable and kind Tessie (Gina Daniels) who has had misfortune with men herself. 

Without giving too much away, the second act takes place in the slightly rundown home of Francie where she lives with her mother Ma Nolan (Antoinette LaVecchia) totally domineered by her obnoxious police officer husband Pa Nolan (Jeb Brown). He is both verbally and physically abusive to her and soon his behavior towards Francie is abhorrent. Living in the home are her two unlikable brothers played by Tim Webb and Jack Mastrianni (both men play customers in the first act)  who bear the wrath of their vile father. Brown does a good job of show how callous his character is. He could lower the volume because the theater is small so his bombastic voice does become a bit piercing. Also living upstairs as a boarder, is the lovable Tessie who proves what a source of help and inspiration she is to Francie.

It is the third act that is the pivotal moment in the play in which we meet two other characters. Both of whom try to manipulate Francie, but it is here where she lives up to the title of the play. Her subordinate nature can no longer rule her. She knows she needs to be a strong individual for several reasons. 

Britt Berke has directed with such clarity and hard-edged honesty which is what the play intends. 

While the performers are all fine it is indeed the radiant presence of Price whose character goes through a difficult transformation that she becomes the shining star of this production. 

The play concentrates on the inner strength and fortitude to get thought difficult times with the help of even one or two good friends to get you through. It may not be family at all but friends who reach out and help to make you survive what feels like insurmountable difficulties.  And besides that you need your own inner determination which Francie is ingrained with. 

Bravo to the Mint for presenting among the finest shows of the current season. 

Photos: Todd Cerveris

Tickets are available at City Center Stage ll 131 West 55th Street.

 A Bright New Boise

     By Joseph Cervelli

While Samuel D. Hunter's 2010 play "A Bright New Boise" which is having its off Broadway debut at the Signature Theatre is moderately fascinating and absorbing it never truly resonates for a number of reasons. 

Hunter has too many situations going on here. There is the issue of finding the son a character gave up for adoption, lonely people who don't know where to turn, and in the forefront religion. It is not clear exactly how Hunter feels about all kinds of religion but it does not seem to help the characters in his play. 

Interestingly, the action takes place in the break room of a Hobby Lobby Craft Store in Boise, Idaho. Those familiar with this company will be aware that the founders are ingrained in conservative religious beliefs along with strict Christian ideals. Yet, some things here just don't gel. Would one of the characters Leroy (Angus O' Brien) be allowed to wear provocative tee shirts he himself has designed outside of the break room. Hard to believe any store policy would allow an employee to wear such on the selling floor. Can you imagine a conservative Christian institution allowing "F***" to be worn for customers to see. There would be a riot. Hobby Lobby is also anti unions a topic that is gone over very briefly in the beginning of the play. And the manager of the store Pauline (Eva Kaminsky) who was hired to get its failing status back up to par spends most of her time screaming at the employees. Why indeed would she allow Leroy to wear a standard Hobby Lobby shirt without anything underneath? Not exactly realistic.

There is a new employee Will (Peter Mark Kendall) who is starting his first day. We find out Will belonged to a controversial non-denominational church in northern Idaho. He worked he says as both a janitor and bookkeeper. Something happened at the church concerning the pastor which sent the pastor to jail and closed the church down. Hunter does have the audience guessing what exactly transpired which is explained at the end. And it is the last fifteen or so minutes that are the most interesting. I kept wondering why not bring that part of the play into the limelight much earlier. And one of the characters may not be as unassuming as you are led to believe. 

Right from the onset (no real spoiler here) Will announces to the teenage boy Alex (Ignacio Diaz-Silverio) who works there that he is his father who gave him up as a child. Alex has loads of issues which include lying and panic attacks. He also despises his adoptive parents whom he calls alcoholics among other things. Not sure how much is true or not. We also find out that Leroy is his stepbrother. 

As if this is not enough we meet the rather banal Anna (Anna Baryshnikov) who has her own issues trying to find a boyfriend but is very jittery and a rather uninteresting character. For some strange reason the playwright has both entering the lounge area after the store is closed. Will needs the internet for his book and Anna goes there to read. Apparently Will has not service where he is currently living and Anna has to put up with disruptive brothers. Still makes little sense and it would be fine if Hunter had them meet once but twice becomes tedious. 

The performances are adequate but here is a stilted feeling here among all of them. I felt that Oliver  Butler's direction never clearly gives them the energy they should have. The storyline is original but never feels as developed as it should be because too much is transpiring that just never clearly coalesces into a play that should be more involving than it is. 

Tickets are available at the Pershing Square Signature Theater 480 West 42nd Street. 

PHOTOS: JOAN MARCUS    

 Best Shows of The First Half of the 2022-2023 Season

            By Joseph Cervelli

I used to list what I considered to be the best shows of the entire season while other reviewers would write the best of the year. I never quite understood that (and still don't) because quite a number of those shows were already nominated for the previous season. I now prefer to list my favorites from those that opened from May till December and then January to April. The normal cut-off date of shows for the Tony and Outer Critics Circle Awards is in April. 

So, in no particular order here are those I felt were the best during the time period mentioned. 

"Soft" by Donja R. Love was a smashingly good, high intensity play about a group of Black and Latino boys in a juvenile boarding school. The young men have explosive personalities for the most part along with the teacher who tried to keep order. It was an amazing play directed by Whitney White. How they did not (as far as I know) harm themselves in the physical encounters is amazing. 

James Ljames' Pulitzer Prize winning "Fat Ham" which is arriving on Broadway in the spring is a rollicking tale that takes place at a southern barbecue and is a clever, thoughtful takeoff of "Hamlet." It is both seriously entertaining and the next moment a real hoot. I wish it well on Broadway. It has not been easy for transfers of shows off Broadway recently. 

A 1909 play about the lower class in Edwardian England sounds rather dull, yet that is far from what Elizabeth Baker's "Chains" is. Marriage, work, a lodger and a surprise ending made this exceptionally well acted play one that I hope you had a chance to see. 

The wonderfully appealing "Kinky Boots" was given an equally delightful revival. Some might quibble that it was a carbon copy of the original Broadway show but it worked so well.  With a wonderful score by Cyndi Lauper it boasted a bravura performance by Callum Francis as the drag queen performer Lola who forms a friendship with a young man who makes shoes (an equally excellent Christian Douglas.)

While I had some problems figuring out the ancestry in the otherwise superb "Leopoldstadt" by Tom Stoppard,  it is a remarkably effective work about a Viennesse family who thinks they have little to fear from the Nazis living where they have for many years. There are sadly parallels to what we have seen    in this country over the past years. 

Two brilliant performers Corey Hawkins and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II bring new life in the revival of Suzan-Lori Parks' Pulitzer Prize play Topdog/Underdog. How they are not mentally and physically exhausted by the play's end is quite a feat. Or, perhaps, they indeed may be. Sibling rivalry explodes into a fury of tragedy. 

Despite some unfairly negative reviews, I loved every minute of Gabriel Byrne's lovely, lilting autobiographical "Walking With Ghosts." It was a heartfelt tale about his life--funny, touching and even upsetting. Closed much too early. 

And speaking of unfairly negative reviews, I was completely enthralled by "Ohio State Murders" which was a frightening story about the kidnapping of two babies. Told by the incomparable Audra McDonald who certainly helped to propel the story. I just wondered if those who were not taken with this show were mystery story devotees. If you love reading such genre then I would be surprised if you were not immersed in the storyline. 

"Chester Bailey" by Joseph Dougherty was an intriguing and deeply felt play taking place in a hospital in Long Island in 1945 about the relationship between a psychiatrist and his patient who refuses to believe after a monstrous attack by a fellow worker that he is blind, lost his hands and one ear. Reed Birney and his real life son Ephraim Barney give award winning performances. Especially Ephraim who broke your heart. 

While this list is in no particular order, I do have to say the best of the season, thus far, was the mesmerizing "Downstate" by Bruce Norris who wrote the very good "Clybourne Park." This hard to tell and harder to sit through (but you never take your eyes off the explosive performers) play is about a group home for sex predators and the sexually abused man who comes to confront one of them. If ever revived I urge you not to miss it. In any other hands under than Norris's and Pam McKinnon's direction, it could have been been a true disaster. The one caveat is something obvious that occurs in the second act. But that, notwithstanding, it was quite a play. 

I loved "Cost of Living" off Broadway and the recent Broadway revival conjured up the same feelings. One of the new additions was the unforgettable David Zayas who needs to be remembered at award time. Zayas who was superior in the unforgettably exciting  "Dexter" takes to the stage beautifully. 

An excellent revival of the wild "Between Riverside and Crazy"by Stephen Adly Guirgis with a memorable Stephen McKinley Henderson reprising his role is a must. Funny, touching and interesting how your feelings about the injured ex-cop played by Henderson starts to turn as the play evolves. I would hope that someday my personal favorite of all Guirgis' works "Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven" arrives on Broadway. It is a knockout play. 

Mike Birbiglia never fails to disappoint in any of his hilarious and touching one person shows. Birbiglia is a kind of Everyman. A type of guy you want to call up and ask, "Hey, buddy, want  to go out for a beer?" and find out what is going on in his life. His latest and best "The Old Man & The Pool" makes you laugh out loud one moment and wipe away a tear the next. 

"& Juliet" is a rollicking delight about what happens if Juliet wakes up while Romeo supposedly never awakens. Stark Sands as Shakespeare and Betsy Wolfe (Anne Hathaway) just about steal the show. The music while not original fits in perfectly. It is a romp from beginning to end.

Jefferson Mays astounded (not a surprise) in his one man "Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol." Taking every major role in the play he is miraculous as is the thrillingly alive production with the scenic and sound design. And that lighting was award winning. I hope he brings it back next year. 

One of the most frightening performances in a play from many years go, "Wait Until Dark," was Robert Duvall as a psycopath. Now there is another one that was just as chilling. In Harrison David Rivers' deeply engrossing play "The Bandaged Place"  Anthony Lee Medina gives a performance that could easily keep you up nights as the psychotic ex-boyfriend who refuses to stay away from his lover well played by a gentle Jhardon DiShon Milton. There was also a performance of many layers beautifully played by Stephanie Berry. This one stayed with me for days after attending it. 

"Into The Woods" was a joy when it opened back in 1987 and the revival ending on January 8 is just as jubilant with a cast that brought new life into a play about the retelling of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales. Stephen Sondheim at his very best. 

Bravo to the immensely talented performer/actor Maria Friedman for her direction that made the Sondheim show "Merrily We Roll Along" now more accessible. The book was always troublesome but now makes much more sense. The three leads Jonathan Groff, Lindsay Mendez, and Daniel Radcliffe could not be better. And that score still is a reigning achievent for the extraordinary composer. Moving to Broadway next season. 

Both Danielle Brooks and John David Washington bring life into the revival of  "August Wilson's The Piano Lesson." It is a masterwork about the fight between a sister and brother over the sale of a piano that has more riches than the young man cares about. How the past influences who we are today is one of the themes and in its own way it is a deeply spiritual experience.

HONORBLE MENTION:

Johnny Berchtold and Lily McInerny were standouts in "Camp Siegfried"; Nicholas Barasch was amazing in the difficult role of a crazed young man in the bizarre "The Butcher Boy"; As much as I admire Wendall Pierce along with Khris Davis and McKinley Belcher III,  I was not taken with their performances in the latest revival of "Death of a Salesman," yet Sharon D Clarke plays the part of Linda Loman with complete elegance; Tonya Pinkins was simply wonderful as Lena Younger in the disappointing revival of the classic "A Raisin in the Sun"; While I was not a fan of  "Straight Line Crazy," Ralph Fiennes never failed to disappoint and there was a subtly good performance by Helen Schlesinger; the  hardworking cast of "Ain't No Mo'" made it almost worth a visit; the cast, music and dancing were the only assets in the trite "KPOP"; Except for a noteworthy performance by Matt DeRogatis almost everything was wrong about the last revival of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"; and the late Douglas McGrath gave an immensely likable performance in his last show "Everything's Fine" which was cut short by his untimely death. 

PHOTO CREDITS IN ORDER:

Daniel J, Vasquez

Joan Marcus

Todd Ceveris

Matthew Murphy

Joan Marcus

Marc J. Franklin

Emilio Madrid

Richard Termine

Carol Rosegg

Joan Marcus

Julieta Cervantes

Joan Marcus

Emilio Madrid

Matthew Murphy

A Christmas Carol Live

Joan Marcus

Evan Zimmerman

Joan Marcus 

Julieta Cervantes