Torch Song
   
       By Joseph Cervelli

It has been so long that I have seen Harvey Fierstein’s landmark 1982 play “Torch Song Trilogy” which garnered him the Tony Award for best play I had forgotten how wonderfully funny and intensely moving it was. 

Fierstein has trimmed the show now entitled “Torch Song” at Second Stage Theater from about four hours to a concise and every bit rewarding under three.  While the playwright appeared in the original off off Broadway and Broadway production now the immensely talented Michael Urie (“Buyer and Seller” “The Government Inspector”) takes over and with a supercharged adrenaline is simply mesmerising. 

The first section of the show entitled The International Stud takes place in 1974 at the gay bar so named which was located in the Village. Urie portrays Arnold the drag queen, Virginia Ham. His monologue is filled with self deprecating humor and, at times, pathos explaining that he really wants an international stud to fill his life although still would like someone to say those three words, “I love you.” Fierstein’s quicksilver humor, such as “a drag queen is like an oil painting--You gotta stand back from it to get the full effect” still tickles the funny bone. Throughout the playwright’s writing is so razor sharp both in its delicious humor (the simulated sex that Arnold engages in just proves how accomplished the superb Urie is at physical comedy) and more serious situations. 

In the bar, Arnold meets the handsome bisexual Ed (an excellent Ward Horton) and they hit it off and have a tentative relationship. Arnold is so needy and demanding  that the unsure Ed cannot devote the amount of time Arnold craves.  And he is devastated when Ed tells him that he could never love him the way he loves his girlfriend. How does someone like Arnold or anyone for that matter deal with that except to end the affair. 

The second section of the show Fugue in a Nursery takes place in 1975 and has Arnold and his boy toy Alan (a perfect Michael Rosen) visiting Ed and his wife Laurel (a delightful Roxanna Hope Radja) whose idea it was to invite the guests (Ed has previously informed her about his relationship with Arnold.) Again Fierstein has infused this section with spirited dialogue--loved Laurel finding the entire situation “downright Noel Coward” and in a way it has the allure of a gay “Private Lives.” You see all four of the participants in this section in a huge bed which is basically a platform (smartly designed by David Zinn and used in the first act) with interplay of dialogue that vividly captures the mood. What makes the scene work so well is that Alan is  more than just a sex object--he may be young but knows exactly what he wants and is truly in love with the frequently overbearing Arnold.

The third section occurs in 1981 and entitled Widows and Children First taking place in Arnold’s apartment. We learn that something tragic has befallen Alan. Ed is separated from Laurel and currently sleeping on a sofa bed in a platonic situation with Arnold. Into the picture come two new players. The sixteen year old David (Jack DiFalco) who is a runaway and taken in by a caring Arnold who acts like a father or as David would prefer addressing  him, “Ma.” He has taken this misguided youth who is gay given him guidance and makes sure he is well taken care of. While DiFalco is quite funny and very well portrays David as a confused young boy full of anguish from his days on the street he does appear a bit too old for the part looking closer to twenty. Then arriving on the scene like a cannonball just fired is Arnold’s mother Ma (the incomparable Mercedes Ruehl). The interaction between the incessantly annoying Ma who can volley from being  quite funny to mercilessly cruel and Arnold is like an exploding piñata. Both of these extraordinarily fine actors play off each other so well that one also needs to give credit to Moises Kaufman for his sterling direction and making each character far from stereotypes but real people. 

While Every performer is ardently committed to his/her role, Urie takes utmost credit for the success of this revival for he is the hallmark of this production. He emanates but never impersonates the invincible Fierstein with the latter’s distinctive raspy voice. At times Urie lowers the decibels when he speaks and yet develops his own style of whining without being annoying. His Arnold with all the nervous energy,  tics and wailing of arms is fighting for acceptance which is something the playwright has always fought for. 

It is sometimes astounding to think that this play was written post Stonewall and pre AIDS and yet was so far ahead of its time. Imagine a gay man wanting to adopt a child or wanting or a bisexual man coming to grips with the fact he may have used that as an excuse for being truly homosexual during that time period.  

There is nothing dated about this dazzling work that is given such a richly realized production. 

Tickets are available at the Second Stage Theater 305 West 43rd Street or by calling 212.246.4422. As of this date the show has extended its run through Dec. 3. 

PHOTO CREDIT: JOAN MARCUS

Lonely Planet

by Joseph Cervelli

The Keen Company is reviving the Steven Dietz play “Lonely Planet” which was first seen 25 years ago. While I never saw the original, this current production at The Clurman Theater at  Theater Row about two men during the height of the AIDS epidemic (although AIDS itself is not mentioned)  left me cold. While Dietz does aim for something meaningful the two characters never feel like friends even though they have known each other for years. Also, neither really is all that likable a character. To make matters worse, Jody (Arnie Burton) who owns a map store (comfortably designed by Antihuman Bhatia) appears to be so callous in the play’s last scene that it left me in wonderment as to the playwright's true intention. 

The flamboyant Carl (Matt McGrath) spends most scenes bringing in chairs into the store which he salvages from the apartments of friends who have succumbed to the disease. At first, Ionesco’s “The Chairs” comes to mind and in a bit of a joke the playwright actually has Jody with a copy of the play later on. Why indeed would Jody allow these chairs to clutter his store when he is such a fussy, organized individual makes little sense. Burton appears too stiff in the role although it was probably written that way. Not an easy character to warm up to even though he has just about self-exiled himself to his store,  and you are never quite sure if he even leaves it to go home.  In one of a series of monologues  he talks about  about the “Greenland Problem” which basically is that on the classic  Mercator’s map Greenland is not in accurate proportion being much smaller than it appears. He goes on to explain why it was made that way by the ancient cartographer and somehow there is an analogy here between that and people whom he knows that are dying from the disease. The reasoning seems more pedantic than anything else. He also reveals several of his dreams which in which fear plays a part. Perhaps, a metaphor for why he stays in his store fending off any sense of foreboding illness. 

Carl is more an an enigma in the sense you really don’t know what he does for a living (Jody mentions a laundry list of possible professions) and seems to live in a continual flux and delves in flights of fancy. There is talk several times about a game called “truth” they play but never delve into that.  Except for the play’s last scene or two McGrath who was so memorable in “The Legend of Georgia McBride” gives a much too overblown performance which director Jonathan Silverman could have tethered in. Jody and Carl who while friends never have any real connection thoughout the play  and when they speak of the passing of friends you never feel any real real grief. Not every show needs to pack the centrifugal force of other plays dealing with AIDS like “As Is” or “The Normal Heart” but real emotion is lost in this one which, sadly, becomes tedious.

Tickets are available at Theater Row 410 West 42nd Street or by calling 212.239.6200. The limited engagement as of this date is November 18. 

PHOTO: CAROL ROSEGG

The Honeymooners

By Joseph Cervelli

Fans (myself included) of the classic 50’s television show “The Honeymooners” may find themselves with a smile on their faces, well, at least, for the first half or so of the new musical premiering at Paper Mill Playhouse. While Dusty Kay and Bill Nuss have provided a fairly pleasant first act book, the mediocre second act easily turn that smile to a frown. 

The good news is that the always reliable set designer Beowulf Boritt has recreated the Kramden’s drab Brooklyn apartment as it was first scene in the television series and has provided some nifty additional sets along with on target costumes by Jess Goldstein. 

Michael McGrath who makes a perfect Kramden not only looks and is built (probably, with a fat suit) like Jackie Gleason who personified the lovable blowhard bus driver but has Gleason’s many movements down pat. Notice the way he even wipes his forehead after he makes verbal blunders never thinking before speaking. 

It is a pleasure having the immensely talented Leslie Kritzer back on stage here channeling Ralph’s always sensible wife, Alice. It is a treat that composers Stephen Weiner (music) and Peter Mills (lyrics) give her a knockout jazz number “A Woman’s Work” which stops the show in the second act. The overall music is genial enough and the lyrics even better. Although the rather dumb “Love Goes Down the Drain” and “The Raccoon Hymn”  go nowhere. 

Michael Mastro is quite good as the goofy sewer worker, Ed Norton, who is both neighbor and best pal to Ralph who always has some new foolish idea to make it big. In a funny twist, it is Norton who comes up with ideas, such as, a device to record tv shows and a phone you can take with you anywhere. All ideas torpedoed by the not so smart Ralph.  

Here Kramden who is hoping for a promotion which he never gets  decides to enter a jingle contest for Faciamatta Mazzeroni  cheese named after its founder played by an always humorous Lewis J. Stadlen.  The intuitive Alice helps Ralph with the words to the jingle and the two men not only win the contest but are offered jobs by the ad agency who sponsored the contest. . The two advertising gents  seem like they came directly from “How To Succeed In Business.....” especially Lewis Cleale who seems to be doing an over the top impression of Charles Nelson Reilly who originated the role in that 60’s musical. While the show is well staged by the gifted choreographer Joshua Bergasse, the dancing on the office tables doing a Tarantella and then Ralph  Irish jig is unnecessarily silly. 

There is a subplot which feels more like a filler than anything else. Trixie (a shrill sounding Laura Bell Bundy) is no longer just a housewife married to Ed, but a singer. She actually was a burlesque star who met (in an unneeded flashback) her future husband outside the theater she had been performing. She auditions for a new show and has a number with the lecherous Francois (Kevin Worley) who is both her ex-boss and one time boyfriend. There is a dreadful second act production number headlined by Trixie which showing a Nativity scene which is a promo for the the popular Faoiamatta cheese. And by the end of the show there is a surprise little twist which is little more than a gimmick.

The pleasures besides the three leads are moments plucked from the original show. The famous Kramden sayings, “King of the castle,” “I have a Big Mouth,” etc. and the memorable scenes that include Ed teaching Ralph how to hit a golf ball and “Captain Video.” If you don’t know what I am speaking of you are most definitely not the target audience for the this show. And that leads to a bigger problem if the show, as intended, does arrive on Broadway. If  you are not of a certain age much of this is will leave you cold.   

While director John Rando keeps the show moving at a jaunty speed, the entire production feels like the generally inferior musical variety show Gleason included a new and poor edition of  "The Honeymooners" after the original series ended. 

Tickets are available at the Paper Mill Playhouse 22 Brookside Drive, Millburn, NJ. or by calling 973.376.4343. The limited engagement ends October. 29. 

PHOTO CREDIT: PHOTO ONE: EVAN ZIMMERMAN

                                 PHOTOS TWO AND THREE: JERRY DALIA

A Clockwork Orange--A Pulverizing Adaptation of a Brutal Novel 

By Joseph Cervelli

Oh, that prolonged stare which is both eerily seductive and frightening. I am speaking of the leader of the Droogs, Alex (a mesmerizing Jonno Davies), who may exude sexual prowess but beware of this maniacal young man who is ready to tear you to shreds on a whim. Based on Anthony Burgess’s dystopian novel “A Clockwork Orange” this pulverizing stage production at  New World Stages utilizes dance in both stunning ballet and military style movements. The book was turned into the brilliant Stanley Kubrick film of the same title. 

Alex and his band of equally crazed hoods Dim (Sean Patrick Higgins), Pete (Misha Osherovich) and Georgie (Matt Doyle) along with a few other undesirables along the way with their androgynous looks take to robbing, rape, mutilation with not the slightest compunction of guilt. For them this is their goal in life and standards of society is something that means nothing. They even have invented their own language to offset themselves from others which is spoken throughout this dazzling work directed with incredible self assurance by Alexandra Spencer-Jones.Don’t be put off by the unintelligible dialogue when these cretins are addressing each other for you will easily get the gist of their conversation. 

When not marauding through the streets, they take up residence at the MilkBar where they're drinking something as wholesome as milk is so incongruous with their sordid behavior.  Although you become aware the milk has been spiked with some drugs which add to their violent nature. 

In one scene you see  Alex in a striking pose of full assault standing on what is supposed to be the roof of the house (no credit for set design)  breaking in with his friends and killing a woman. Throughout all this horrific behavior classical musical is being played (his idol is Beethoven) which gives him the sickening inspiration to carry on.  Interspersed with Beethoven is Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s catchy “Relax.” Taken away by the police (each of the male cast plays a multitude of roles)  Alex enters a program of rehabilitation in which he is forced to look at violent images and films to cure him of his destructive behavior. His eyes are kept open so he cannot look away. During this “treatment” he is also listening to Beethoven so eventually any sight of violence or hearing the composer’s music will make him physically ill.

When released he has nowhere to go for his parents don’t want him (his mother is having an affair with their lodger). His fellow Droogs have now become police officers and while they beat him he lies defenceless, since he is unable to involve himself in any type of violence. I shall not divulge any further except to say that the ending of the play follows the book not the film. 

The production is enhanced by the almost film noir style of lighting by James Baggaley. But what makes the play work so well is the amazingly talented cast who exhibit a Bacchanalian energy to every scene they are in. Led by Davies who looks like he was the inspiration for the statue David he is quite unbelievable as he is transformed from this barbarous young man (he is really supposed to be fifteen) to a cowering, frightened individual. His writhing and convulsive movements  on the floor after the so called  treatment he was given is astonishingly real. 

Spencer-Jones has given the play a more homo-erotic style although there is nothing prurient about it and when Alex plants cold kisses on some other men you are never sure if they are male or female characters. It really does not matter for to these characters sex is just that. Love is anathema to all of them. Spencer-Jones has expertly brought to life Burgess’s creation of characters with their lack of remorse and morality. The infusion of dance (no credit is given to a choreographer in the program) only intensifies the play's savage nature which is so stylish that there is an almost obscene beauty. 

You may turn away at a few of the scenes, but the cast will draw you in as you enter a harrowing world that you will not easily forget.  

         Tickets are available at New World Stages 350 West 50th Street or by calling 212.239.6200. As of this date the limited engagement ends January 8.

PHOTO CREDIT: CAITLIN MCNANEY

For Peter Pan on her 70th birthday

By Joseph Cervelli

Playwright Sarah Ruhl like many writers has her share of admirers and detractors. I tend to fall somewhere in the middle. She never travels along the same track in terms of topic which is definitely an admirable trait. While I loved “”In the Next Room, or the vibrator play” and enjoyed “The Clean House,” I found both “Dead Man’s Cell Phone” and “The Oldest Boy” starting off fine until both faded into oblivion. Sadly, her new work “For Peter Pan on her 70th birthday” at Playwrights Horizons collapses almost from the very beginning which is a shame because somewhere here there is a worthwhile statement to be made about dealing with growing old. 

The play begins promising enough when the always superb Kathleen Chalfant as Ann (if you have a bad play put this gifted actress in it and it helps a great deal) stepping out from the curtain with a program in her hand informing us that she played the part of Pan in Davenport, Iowa, about 40 years earlier.  She  jokes about the funny name of the director and how she really hates to fly. 

From that lighthearted moment we are in a hospital  and her four siblings’ dad (Ron Crawford)  keeping a death watch as he lies in a bed. He soon dies and most of the first part of the intermissionless play takes place while the family has an Irish wake in his home in Davenport. One thing was refreshing is that the family is not--thankfully!--another dysfunctional one. They all seem to like and respect each other even if their feelings of politics among other topics are greatly different. There is talk about Clinton--the time is the 90’s--and then about conservatism vs. liberalism. The most outspoken brother is the oldest, Jim (David Chandler), who is a surgeon; Michael (Keith Reddin) also is a physician; John (Daniel Jenkins) is a college professor plays a good bugle; and the skittish Wendy (Lisa Emery) who seems to be on the verge of tears any given moment. Ann is a college professor. The political talk seems to dissipate before they are discussing growing old and death. Meanwhile the spirit of the father sometimes walks around  and on one occasion drops something  in the home as the offsprings stare at each other in confusion and speculation.  After a while all of this talk becomes unnecessary babble leading nowhere. We really learn nothing about the family or even their dynamics together. 

Then suddenly the play takes a new detour and we are in Neverland. Here things go completely off kilter and becomes quite foolish. Ann becomes Pan and I must say that Chalfant flies around with incredible grace and charm. What becomes unclear is that while all the siblings take their roles as characters in”Peter Pan” you are never quite sure if they are supposed to be adults or children. For at one moment one is exclaiming “There’s the volcano” yet at other times one of them states that he has to leave to attend to his patients. Meanwhile, Pan seems to have her own problems when she discusses her “panic attacks.” 

There are many ways of looking at this play--do we really embrace our childhood enough or are too impatient  to get to become adults overlooking all the little joys? While  we accept the inevitable about growing older is there a way to make it a better existence?  Despite the smooth direction by Les Waters and the dedicated performances--especially Chalfont who always has a unique ability to show an unforced depth in all of her roles, the play remains stagnant never shedding new light on much. 

Tickets are available at Playwrights Horizons 416 West 42nd Street or by calling 212.279.4200. As of this date the limited engagement ends October 1.

PHOTO CREDIT: JOAN MARCUS

Prince of Broadway--A Rousing Salute to a Musical Theater Icon

By Joseph Cervelli

The word “Prince” mentioned in the name of the new musical revue “Prince of Broadway”  at the Friedman Theater is director/producer Harold Prince and that word aptly describes him. Prince gave us a staggering amount of unforgettable musicals including “Phantom,” “ Cabaret,” “Evita,” “Fiddler” and the list simply goes on. Even those less familiar shows (about eight or so were flops) still were memorable for a varied amount of reasons.

The show directed by Prince and Susan Stroman (“The Producers”) who choreographed it, is basically a compilation and tribute to the genius of Prince for not only having the intuitiveness to direct such classic wonders but obtaining  some of the best songwriters in the business for his shows. 

The musical is vastly entertaining thanks to an array of very talented performers. There is one slight caveat in casting but other than that the cast is terrific with two standout performances. 

The overture with arrangements by Jason Robert Brown sets the stage for some glorious tunes and what makes the show work so very well is that almost every number aptly recreates scenes from the original show. 

I vividly remember first seeing the brilliant dancer Tony Yazbek in the 2008 revival of “Gypsy” and being blown away by how much his movements in the “All I Need is the Girl” number reminded me of Gene Kelly. For me, I have never seen a better Tulsa than he.   Yazbeck was a standout in “On the Town” and in this musical  he nearly stops the show with his rendition of “The Right Girl” from “Follies.” While dancing did not figure in that number in any of the productions of “Follies,” Stroman has incorporated it here and Yazbek expresses his character’s near breakdown through dance and song. He also makes a perfect Tony along with the charming and gorgeous voiced Kaley Ann Voorhees as Maria in their duet “Tonight” from “West Side Story.”

While I never thought anyone could come close to the late Barbara Cook’s rendition of “Will He Like Me?” from “She Loves Me,” Laura Benanti certain did in the recent revival. And now with the liltingly lovely voice of Bryonha Marie Parham who does a beautifully ethereal presentation she  is up there with the previous two women. She then gives us a powerhouse “Cabaret” which nearly raises the roof off the theater. This young lady needs a show of her own to star in. 

I can never forget the frightening performance Chuck Cooper gave in the underrated musical “The Life” from quite a few years ago. Here he  adds charm and humour to his “If I Were a Rich Man” from “Fiddler” and gives a heartfelt rendition of ‘Ol’ Man River” from “Showboat.”

Emily Skinner (“Sideshow”)  does a perfect job of the wonderfully bitchy “The Ladies Who Lunch”  from “Company” and the always sublime Karen Ziemba makes for a delightful Mrs. Lovett in her number from “Sweeney Todd” and a touching Fraulein Schneider singing “So What?”  from “Cabaret.”

Brandon Uranowitz needs to be considered if there is a revival of “Kiss of the Spider Woman” just for his on spot rendition of “Dressing them Up” while Janet Dacal gives her all as the Spider Woman and provides the fun in “You’ve Got Possibilities” from “Superman.”

While Michael Xavier (“Sunset Blvd”) lends his remarkably powerful voice to “The Phantom of the Opera” and “Being Alive” from “Company” he tends to be bland as an actor. All the others are acting out their respective parts which is quite difficult trying to get into the mood of their respective characters from so many shows yet he stands out only as a singer. 

Each of the performers come out various times holding Prince’s replicas of Prince’s ubiquitous eyeglasses and give some anecdotes about the shows. I just wished there was a bit more of this.

The show has a broad appeal for not only veteran theatergoers who can sit in the audience and mouth many of the songs,  but even those not all that acquainted with some of them. It is worth see how some exceptionally fine performers lend their own brand of talent to some of the most enduring musicals in Broadway history. 

Tickets are available at the Samuel J. Friedman Theater 261 West 47th Street or by calling 2112.239.6200.

PHOTO CREDIT: Matthew Murphy (Top: Tony Yazbeck; Center: Bryonha Marie Parham and Kaley Ann Voorhees; Below: Brandon Uranowitz) 

CORRECTION: In my Upcoming Fall/Winter Broadway Shows article which ran this week in North Jersey Media it should have stated that The Parisian Woman will be playing at the Hudson Theater. This will be so noted in next week’s papers. 

Hamlet--Playing A Tragedy For Laughs

By Joseph Cervelli

I first came upon the brilliant actor Oscar Isaac in the off Broadway play “Grace” a few years ago. While the play itself was fair, Isaac took the stage by storm especially in his one scene where his primal scream was electrifying. He has proven to be just a fine an actor in films, most especially “Inside Llewyn Davis” and the more recent “The Promise.” 

In Sam Gold’s muddled new version of “Hamlet” at the Public there are a few saving graces and Isaac is certainly at the top of that list.  As the famous Dane he is true to the character in occasionally being deep in thought though not as contemplative as portrayed by a slew of fine actors including both Ralph Fiennes and Jude Law both of whom portrayed Hamlet on Broadway. Isaac plays him with a visceral, emotional ferocity none of which I have seen before. This is not to say that the actor becomes so demonstrative that his famous soliloquy “To be or not to be” is less than introspective. He is experienced enough to know when to come on strong and when to be pensive. 

Yet, as terrific as he is and almost worth the endurance test of a “Hamlet” which runs close to four hours with two intermissions, Gold whom I normally have a fondness for with his originality flounders badly here. I admired the director’s deconstructing last season’s  “The Glass Menagerie” which worked beautifully for me and his placing actors right at the very front of the stage in his powerful “Look Back in Anger” a few seasons back. However, here he has turned what is considered one of the finest pieces of literature into a silly, convoluted mess. 

Gold who found much more success with his thrilling production of  Shakespeare’s “Othello” from last season staged the opening scene of that play in the dark. While I had some reservations with that, his staging the opening of “Hamlet” also in darkness makes more sense. For it is in the dark when suddenly a faint light comes on and  the two officers on night watch see the ghost of Hamlet’s late father who was murdered by his brother Claudius now King of Denmark. 

Gold has the nine actors doubling various parts which does work although some of the other performers do not match up to the superiority of Isaac. 

Ritchie Coster portrays both the Ghost and Claudius and is a bit too laid back as the latter. His calculating nature is never forthright and his crazed desire for power never is convincing. The  usually fine Charlayne Woodard makes for a less than impressive Gertrude and is not helped by costume designer Kaye Voyce putting her in an unflattering pants suit or is  lounging pajamas?  Roberta Colindrez and Matthew Saldîvar  who was quite funny in “Honeymoon in Vegas” and touching in “Daphne’s Bare” are both far from the bumbling and crowd pleasing clowns Rosencrantz  and Guildenstern. I have never seen such lumbered portrayals of both those characters as portrayed  these two actors. The famed line “Frailty thy name is woman” certainly does not apply to the lasagna (not kidding) eating Ophelia played too strongly by Gayle Rankin. Gold has her singing some blue grass style number in her mad scene. Instead of her being vulnerable she has a hardness that you would expect to see in the new Netflix show “Ozark.”

Yet, on a more positive note the always reliable Peter Friedman does quite well as the pompous Lord Chamberlain Polonius although having him sit on a toilet giving instructions to his son Laertes (a fine Anatol Yusef) was absurdly foolish. Speaking about foolish, having Ophelia drown herself by turning on a garden hose over her head is dumb enough without having her then falling on her father’s grave with. Keegan-Michael Key does well as Horatio although in the staged play “The Murder of Gonzago,” he plays his scene for slapstick laughs going way overboard. 

The purpose of that “play” which mirrors the death Hamlet’s father  has added lines written by our hero pointing  an accusatory finger at Claudius. Yet, for some inexcusable reason Claudius leaves as “Gonzago”  begins which makes no sense whatsoever while  Gertrude’s reaction is so unemotional it is as if she is on a sedative.  

While Gold does adhere to Hamlet’s demise at the end of the play it makes little sense  having both Claudius and Gertrude remain alive. Talk about deconstruction.  

If you are well acquainted with the play you might find yourself shaking your head at much of the director’s interpretation, yet if you are unfamiliar with it you certainly will be completely  baffled at its conclusion if you last that long. 

Tickets are available at the Public Theater/Anspacher Theater 425 Lafayette Street or by calling 212.967.7555. Limited engagement ends September 3. 

PHOTO CREDIT: CAROL ROSEGG