'What a Life' Transcends

Laurel Casillo, Steve Yates and Sara Lukasiewicz in What a Life.

There's no doubt that the most transformative performance in The Five Flights Theater Company's debut production of Don't Step on the Cracks was Laurel Casillo as the aging 'Nanny' in a sketch by Adam Delia. Casillo and Delia have teamed up to expand this character and explore her life in their new play What a Life, which premiered this weekend in a production by The Five Flights Theater Company.

Under Delia's direction, and with Casillo as the star, Nanny (who has been named 'Lucy') reaches new heights as a theatrical character. She is a tour-de-force, ripe for any actress with the chops to handle her. And this actress has. If Casillo transformed herself for Don't Step, she transcends in this performance. Here, we follow Lucy from age 6 to 94, and Casillo is believeable all the way up.

Special attention must also be paid to the task placed on the shoulders of Steve Yates in the role of Anthony, Lucy's grandson and currently the only constant in her life. Yates provides the lens through which we view Lucy--that which much be broken down so we can see everything she really is and was. He gives a sensitive, powerful and most importantly honest performance.

With such detailed attention given to Lucy and Anthony, the rest of the characters (skillfully played by Sara Lukasiewicz and Eryck Tait) are sometimes given a short shrift in terms of development. Still, there is always an air of humanity and truth about the play. Lukasiewicz and Tait give nuanced and varied, often chameleon-esque, performances. They seem to shed their own skins for those of the characters, especially when they swap genders as Lucy's comical neighbors in her nursing home.

Lukasiewicz is strongest--not surprisingly--in the role given the most stage time, that of Susan, Lucy's daughter, who we follow through her life with her mother. Her initial appearance is reminiscent of Marisa Tomei's performance in My Cousin Vinny but the more we watch, the more we see both the pain and love that exist in her life. Tait pulls off the delicate dichotomy of Frank, Lucy's ne'er-do-well husband. In his few scenes with the character we see his obvious charm, his troublesome behavior and his undying love for his wife.

If a few Italian phrases get garbled, it can be forgiven. If there are a few cheesy epithets (such as the repeated "Sometimes life hands you a different kind of fairy tale") it can be chalked up to the era the characters come from. If the final scene gets a little too sappy a little too fast (the sudden onslaught of "I love you"s does seem a little gushy), the play still earns its final moment. I was forwarned that this production would be unlike anything I'd seen from Five Flights, but I was not warned that the play would have the entire audience in tears by the end.

The production, aptly stage managed by Will Lacker, is as graceful, poignant, nostalgic and filled with yearning as an old Italian love song. If I were you, I'd keep my eyes open for future productions of this play. It comes chock-full with something for everyone from age 6 to 94.

Laurel Casillo and Eryck Tait in What a Life.

'What a Life' is no longer running. For more information on The Flive Flights Theater Company and future Five Flights productions, visit www.fiveflightstheatercompany.org.

Juneau: the musical?

This is not a political blog, it's a theatrical blog... so I'll try to keep this entry as much about theatre as I possibly can.

If someone were to write a play about Republican Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin announcing that her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant, I wonder if it would be a tragedy or a comedy. Sarah Palin is an advocate of 'abstinence-only' education. For those of you unaware, this means teaching students that abstinence is the only way to avoid pregnancy and not teaching them about other forms of birth control. Our play already has dramatic irony, in that Bristol Palin has proven that teens who are taught to abstain from sex will have sex anyway. And, our play may also have a happy ending, as Sarah Palin has announced that Bristol plans to keep the baby and marry the child's father. This upholds strong family morals (despite one small indiscretion), though given the media attention thrust upon her by her mother's political campaigning, it's rather tragic that Bristol and her boyfriend seem to have no real choice in the matter. But this brings about more irony, as 'choice' was never something that Republicans have been fond of.

I cannot tell the outcome of this play at this date. I suppose we shall have to wait until November to see. But, luckily for those of you who can't wait, there is a musical on Broadway that might satiate your need for closure on this matter. Spring Awakening is a show that deals with a teenage girl who finds herself unexpectedly pregnant after the adults in her life refuse to give her the necessary information about the facts of life... but I won't spoil the ending for those who haven't seen it.

Edit: Okay, now it has to get blatantly political. In re-reading this entry, I realize that it can come across as mean-spirited, which was not my intent. I feel for Bristol Palin, especially given the sudden media attention she's getting during what is, no doubt, a trying time for her. This entry was in no way intended to be an attack on her or her privacy. And I most certainly do not wish on her the fate of the character of Wendla from Spring Awakening. In light of recent developments, I wish to state that I agree with Senator Barack Obama that families of the candidates should be off-limits politically. However, I regard this event and how the GOP has spun it as a result of Sarah Palin's politics, and those are under scrutiny at the moment.

Second edit: Now, several months, several SNL sketches and one election after the Palin debacle, we have a new president in office and his VP is not Sarah Palin. This was written very early in the campaign, just after Senator John McCain chose Palin as his running mate, when it seemed that everyone was looking for some way to nail this inexperienced pageant princess. She very quickly proved to us that we did not need to turn to teen pregnancies to find faults in her campaign. She did that all on her own. If this post weren't so darn clever (if I do say so myself) I'd just delete it.

Five Flights on the Fringe

Not a review, just a plug.

It has come to my attention that the fantastic NYC based Five Flights Theater Company is performing at the Woodstock Fringe Festival through August 30. They will be performing both of their original works, You Are Cordially Invited to the Wedding of Andrew Pepperidge and Allison Short and their staple Don't Step on the Cracks. If you did not get a chance to see either of these shows in their New York runs and are looking for an end-of-summer getaway (possibly to upstate NY?) I urge you to check out the work that these exciting and inspiring artists are doing.

For more information, go to www.woodstockfringe.org or www.fiveflightstheatercompany.org.

Cutting 'Edge' at the Cherry Lane Theatre

Those of us who were in high school on September 11, 2001, remember what it was like to have a wrench thrown into our teenage years. We also remember what it was like to try to have a ‘normal’ high school experience through the code-red drills the rest of our adolescence.

The characters in Edgewise, a new play at the Cherry Lane theatre, do not remember when the world turned upside-down. They have been living through war, panic and air strikes their entire lives. For them, it’s just the world. The play, written by Eliza Clark, takes place in the near future and its characters—high school seniors in the play—are probably in seventh or eighth grade right now.

Marco (Justin Levine), Ruckus (David Gelles-Hurwitz) and Emma (Jessica Howell) all work at Doogle, a hamburger chain. Ruckus has just become manager—because his father is the owner. Marco arrives early, but falls asleep on the job. Emma arrives to find that nothing’s been done. Just an ordinary day in war-ridden New Jersey. That is, until an unidentified stranger in army boots covered in dirt and blood stumbles in and collapses. (We will later learn that this man—played by Jedadiah Schultz—is named Louis.)

So, what to do now? This is the question that playwright Eliza Clark poses to her audience. In war times who can you trust? How can you tell who is the enemy and who is not—especially when the radio just said two soldiers of the enemy are on the loose?

The play offers many different perspectives about war. Ruckus can’t wait to join up. Marco lost his father to a group of traitors. Emma’s mother has just been called up. Louis has seen more than he can bear. And more than that—Louis remembers the way things used to be. All of these stakes and emotions are guided skillfully by director Lila Neugebauer. The staging is daring, often giving us actors’ backs—a Grade A No-No that Neugebauer utilizes with grace and power.

The performances carry great weight and energy in the three protagonists who are diverse characters with a feeling of unified ensemble. Shultz brings the necessary gravity to the piece in his role as an older and wiser soldier who brings not only years, but real life experience. A surprising comic turn comes about half way through with the entrance of Eric Gilde as a seemingly innocent customer. The necessary relief of tension lasts only long enough for us to catch our breath before the action starts up again.

There are a few flaws, I’m sorry to say. They are minor in the grand scheme, but glaring in comparison to the excellence of the rest of the play. Far too often characters would disappear—frequently to the bathroom—for extended periods of time, allowing for expository one-on-one scenes for those still in view. Not a terrible convention if they weren’t gone so long. Too frequently the absences would be longer than one would assume they ought to be, convenient for them and for those still onstage, but odd, especially given the circumstances. The second comes in a specific moment when Emma, just after closely escaping a pair of scissors in her throat, offers her attacker an Advil. The exchange has no clear dramatic purpose and makes the audience wonder just how nice a person can actually be.

Still, the point of the play is vibrantly clear in this energetic and powerful production. Clark gives us a world that is much like our own. The daily lives of these teens are much like every day life now. But the climate is tense. She reminds us that life in a police state is not normal, even for people who grew up with it.

It is not the first play to discuss where we are in danger of heading if we’re not careful. The genius of the play lies in the constant reminder of war’s affect on civilian life. The main cast is comprised of a generation of kids who only know war. Perhaps not quite what Senator McCain had in mind when he proposed that we stay in Iraq for a hundred years.


For more information on Edgewise, go to www.CherryLaneTheatre.org.

Good Fortune Comes in Many Guises

This past Sunday evening's performance of Minnie's Boys, the first show in The York Theatre Company's summer line-up of Musicals in Mufti, was postponed nearly forty minutes while we waited for the fire-department to save the people trapped in the elevator. Those of us sitting in our seats during those forty minutes, anticipating the final concert performance of this Larry Grossman/Hal Hackady musical starring Pamela "Another Hundred People" Meyers, certainly thought ourselves fortunate not to be the ones stuck in the elevator. But not necessarily for reasons one might assume.

It can't be much fun being stuck in an elevator, and I hope never to find myself in that predicament. But the folks at The York know how to take what could have been an annoyance for those of us sitting and waiting and turn it into a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

When, at about ten minutes after the intended curtain, player Jim Walton (Broadway's original Franklin Shepard, Inc. in Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's Merrily We Roll Along) bounded across the stage and sat at the piano, I was confused. Frequent York actor and musical director Matt Castle (most recently of another Sondheim/Furth collaboration, the John Doyle revival of Company) was to be the MD for this performance, no? Perhaps this was a fun gimmicky thing to--finally--start the show?

Then Producing Artistic Director James Morgan anounced news of the elevator crisis and told us that in the interim, Jim Walton would be taking requests. He began with what I can only describe as an intentionally dubious and utterly hilarious rendition of "The Man on the Flying Trapeze." He then asked for requests. As I sat in my seat wondering if I should ask for the Kander and Ebb song "Sara Lee" that he sang in And the World Goes 'Round, someone else beat me to it. We all got to join in for the chorus, as well as sing-along renditions of "On the Sunny Side of the Street" and "Ain't Misbehavin'" (as per my father's request for some Fats Waller, which resulted first in a delightful Jim Walton original melody set to the lyric "Fats Waller"). The real highlight for me was when he began the opening vamp from "Good Thing Going," a favorite from the ill-fated Merrily We Roll Along, and almost directly segued into my personal favorite, "Not a Day Goes By." The performance was peppered with anecdotes about the original production, including a story about Lonny Price whispering "There are actually people in the balcony!" at the top of the second act during a preview performance. He was not joined by any of his fellow Minnie's Boys castmates, but they seemed to enjoy heckling him from the wings.

Then the heroes of the evening came in. No, not the firemen, the brave people who took one for the team in that elevator so the rest of us could listen to the glorious Jim Walton. They received a huge round of entrance applause--almost as much as Pamela Meyers received upon her entrance.

After the show--which was wonderful--I asked Jim Walton if he does birthday parties. He said, "No, but I can." Just something to keep in mind if you have a birthday coming up!


Edit: I've just learned from Jim Morgan at tonight's Mufti performance of Goodtime Charley that there is a video of the heroes themselves in the elevator, and it's been posted on YouTube. So, here it is, folks:

Not Quite a Month, but Three Hours

I generally make it a point not to review the mainstage shows at Marymount Manhattan College. Too many politics attached. Too many professors involved. But when one comes along that makes an impression on me the way A Month in the Country did, I have to sing its praises. That’s what this website is for, after all!

The proper place to start is probably the play itself, by Ivan Turgenev in a translation by Brian Friel. It’s a three-hour Russian piece labeled as a “comedy.” As we all may be well-aware, those Russians have a funny definition of the word “comedy,” but let that rest. The last time MMC saw a three-hour Russian comedy it was the raucous Inspector General two years ago. Inspector received a mixed reaction from the students and faculty, though I’m probably not the best person to comment on the quality of the show, as I worked on the production. A woman sitting outside the theatre asked me before we went in if I thought A Month in the Country would be anything like The Inspector General. No matter anyone’s opinion of one or the other, the answer to that is decidedly: no. A Month in the Country could be closer compared to a Neil Simon family drama. The play deals with Natalya Petrovna (Stephanie Card) who is torn between the man she loves, old friend Michel Rakitin (William Farrell), and the man she lusts after, her son’s tutor Aleksey Balyayev (Nicholas Vorderman), and keep it all a secret from her husband Arkady (Taylor Miller). The complication begins—haha—when it seems there is a potential rival for Aleksey’s affections: Natalya’s 17-year-old ward Vera (Melissa Benoist). All eyes are on Natalya as she navigates between the men in her life while keeping her own eye on Vera.

But, to the production. Rob Dutiel’s stained-glass window set suggests that the family within the house is as fragile as the glass surrounding them, even the powerhouse Natalya, who may not be as strong as she seems. Kyle McGahan’s lighting perfectly compliments Dutiel’s sets, while adding to the atmosphere of the Russian countryside. Kirche Leigh Zeile’s costumes, while not what any of us would wear during the summertime, perfectly evoke the lightness of a depressing Russian comedy. And, to top it off, the fluid staging of the actors by director Lisa Rothe makes this production one of the best I’ve seen on Marymount Manhattan College’s stage.

There are those of us who have followed Stephanie Card’s performances since freshman year, and I’m sure those who have been following even longer. Still, how could anyone be prepared for the whirlwind performance she gave when Hurricane Natalya swept in? Card’s Natalya could give The Graduate’s Mrs. Robinson a run for her money in a role portrayed on the professional stage by the likes of Helen Mirren and Harriet Harris. She gives us a woman who will sever any and all ties to get what she wants in the moment, which of course will leave her with very little in the end, and we follow every step and hang on every word. She is a force to be reckoned with and, eventually, the cause of her own downfall. (I told you those Russians had weird ideas concerning “comedy.”)

Of the many people who share the stage—which Card rarely leaves—three stand out the most, both in terms of their relationship to Natalya, and their ability to hold their own against her. William Farrell has been seen many times on the Marymount stage in both mainstage and student directed productions. It would seem almost as if all of his training and experience thus far has lead him directly to this production in which he must stand up to the force of nature which is Card’s Natalya. Playing the rival for Natalya’s affections, Nick Vorderman offers a delightfully double-handed performance as Aleksey Balyayev—at ease with the young Vera, and uncomfortable around the brazen Natalya. His shift in the second act is a twist in the plot, but a natural progression from whence he came.

Still, the break-out performance of the year would have to be Melissa Benoist, a freshman at MMC, as the 17-year-old Vera, who gives us a genuinely touching scene opposite Ms. Card in the first act, and a triumphantly defiant scene in the second. Her shift from youthful curiosity to cynical maturity, keeping in mind that this is within the span of a month, is heartbreaking. (Remember about those Russians and the word “comedy”?)

There are some characters on hand to remind us that through all of the bleak Russian pathos, this is still a comedy. This mainly comes from Chip Rodgers as the malapropping German tutor Herr Shaaf, Seth James as the quack doctor Shpigelsky, and Tyler Neale as the Russian 40-year-old Virgin Bolshintsov.

The rest of the cast does an admirable job, with surprising dramatic turns from two otherwise comical characters in the second act. Taylor Miller as Arkady, the bumbling husband of Natalya, comes out with great sympathy in a lovely scene opposite Antoinette Henry playing his mother, a woman who’s never afraid to speak her mind. This may be the only scene in the play where no one is lying or manipulating, and the two actors play it with heartfelt sincerity.

And even though it seems like just about everyone loses out by the end of A Month in the Country, the final moment gives us Tyler Neale with a triumphant yet ridiculous grin, reminding us that we are supposed to laugh at the events of the evening. It’s a comedy.

A Month in the Country is no longer running.

Little Women and Twenty-five Strangers

After a whirlwind weekend of theatre, I'm back to report on two shows which are running for one more weekend each.

The non-equity national tour of Little Women has found its way to its final stop in Flushing, Queens. There are reasons to go see it and reasons not to waste the time and money going all the way out to Flushing. If you caught the play on Broadway in its initial 2005 run starring Sutton Foster, you probably don't need to go back again. If you didn't and you're a big fan of Louisa May Alcott's 1868 novel, this is a good way to see the characters come passionately and humorously to musical life. If you have children and would like to introduce them to the theatre, this is a well-done production of a fairly tight show with some nice tunes for humming.

Finally, if you want to be able to say you saw Paige Faure in an astonishing star-turn before she was famous (and I don't think you'll have very long to say that), then it's definitely worth shelling out the thirty bucks and hopping on the 7 train. Faure handles the lead role of Jo March with grace and poise, even throughout the rambunctious shenanigans that characterize the role. Her progression through the three-years that the play takes place move seemlessly from go-getter adolescent to mature young woman, always accented by the ever-present wit. And when she sings, you can be sure that if there was anyone who should fill a role written for Sutton Foster, this is the performer. Other stand-out performances include Tabatha Skanes very funny and silver-voiced Amy, Stephen Lukas's heartfelt and sincere Laurie, and Jodi Lynne Sylvester's hilarious double-take as Aunt March and Mrs. Kirk.

On the island, Ten Grand Productions has brought award-winning playwright Matthew Fotis's play A Year in the Life of Twenty-five Strangers Living in a City by the Lake to the Algonquin Theatre for its New York premiere. Over the course of a year (one month per scene) twenty-five people who may have more in common than they'd think live out their lives, trying to make it from one New Year's party to the next. The play was a finalist for the 2005 Theatre Publicus Award for Dramatic Literature. It's an ambitious idea and a mostly admirable execution, though there are scenes where it feels like some characters get let out too soon or let off too easy. Still, the production is tightly directed by Shaun Colledge, who defied the original intent of the playwright by actually casting twenty-five actors where the script originally called for double- and triple-casting.

Colledge's staging has the cast entering for completely visable scene changes--the only times during the play when everyone is onstage together--giving us a reminder of the relationships between the characters, as well as foreshadowing things to come between characters we've not yet seen. This makes a play which could easily feel like a series of unrelated vignettes a cohesive whole.

Twenty-five actors in a play leaves room for many stand-out performances. Jennifer Bishop and Ben Rosenblatt offer an almost sickeningly sweet portrait of the youngest characters in the play, a pair of high school graduates in August going in different directions for college. Though the scene deals with honest emotions and real concerns, the end leaves us with a rather naive optimism that can make us feel that even if they do stick together and get married, they may end up like the June couple (David Stadler and Michele Rafic) trying to rekindle and long-since-gone flame in Paris. Still, Bishop and Rosenblatt's performances make you believe it can work, just as much as Stadler and Rafic's performances make you wish it could have been better.

November brings us performances by Chloe Cahill and Josh Hurley in a scene that deserves to be a little longer and explore the characters a little more. Both actors give honest performances that make us care about the people they embody, though the scene gives us little more than a moment of conflict and nothing for the audience to discover about the character or for the characters to discover about themselves. Aside from adding to the talley (for those keeping count of who's related to whom and in what way) the scene provides little insight or purpose in the play. It's the actors in the scene who make us care, and make us want to know more about the characters.

Other notable performances come from Edward Chin-Lyn, who somehow makes pigeons fascinating, Taylor Baugh, who gives a funny and honest portrait of everyone's mother, and Matthew Murumba, with a monologue that is certain to start popping up in auditions very soon.

If you have the time and money and wish to spend your weekend with some fascinating people doing fascinating things, take a look at Little Women and A Year in the Life of Twenty-five Strangers Living in a City by the Lake.

Little Women plays at Queens Theatre in the Park (www.queenstheatre.com) and A Year in the Life of Twenty-five Strangers Living in a City by the Lake plays at The Algonquin Theatre (www.tengrand.org). Both close on May 18th.

Five Flights Does it Again

So, did you hear that Andy and Allison got married?

The Five Flights Theater Company, who last brought us an in-depth examination of the art of growing up with their debut Don’t Step on the Cracks, have chosen for the subject of their newest play another age-old institution: marriage.

The new show is called You Are Cordially Invited to the Wedding of Andrew Pepperidge and Allison Short and everyone is present for the wedding: Allison’s brother and sister, Josh (Jake Bartush) and Emma (Kacy Rice), Andy’s best high school friends Nick (Adam Delia) and Ben (Nick Hepsoe), Nick’s girlfriend Julia (Sara Lukasiewicz), Ben’s ex-girlfriend Audrey (Carlyn Kautz), old friends Chris-who-is-now-Narhari (Will Lacker) and Liz (Laurel Casillo), and college buddies Casey (Eruck Tait) and party-planner Beth (Claire McGinley). The event is directed by Alli Taylor and stage managed by Adam Chanler-Berat, both founding members of the Five Flights Theater Company. When everyone gathers for the wedding, the old values clash with the new ideals, and some of the old friends clash with the old.

In comparison, You Are Cordially Invited to the Wedding of Andrew Pepperidge and Allison Short may seem like a complete opposite from their last show, but there are themes that have carried over. Cordially Invited also tackles the subject of growing up and dealing with the twists life can send you, but this time through the lens of one couple of friends tying the knot.

A note in the program states, “No matter how mature you think you've gotten, you're never quite ready for the first time one of your friends tells you they're about to get married.” This is the sentiment that rings true for the majority of the characters in the play. It would seem that no one is truly ready for Andy and Allison to get married, so how do those gathered at the reception deal with it? This is often shown through monologues (beautifully lit by Marymount Manhattan College senior Lisa Hufnagel) during which character toast the bride and groom. Each character has a different opinion on their friends’ nuptials and how they take it out on themselves and each other makes for compelling and honest drama. The more we see ourselves in each of the characters, the more we can laugh and cry at the events of the evening.

I was impressed by the fluidity of the writing. For those of you unfamiliar with the Five Flights Theater Company, let me take this opportunity to explain. Five Flights is made up of twelve company members, all recent or upcoming graduates of Marymount Manhattan College. In their last endeavor, they came together on a theme, separated to write scenes and sketches, then came back together to create a show. With Cordially Invited, the company members worked together creating characters around the performers and collaborating on the script.

The product is an organic theatre piece that is marked with the sensibilities of not one playwright, but several. And yet, there’s no feel of “too many cooks” with their work. The multiple perspectives add up to make a final product that is thoughtful and very real, especially for those of us who have friends who are recently engaged or married.

Cordially Invited is a work in progress. It is listed as such in the program. And it definitely is. There is room for improvement. There are scenes that could be tighter, exposition that could be clearer and a few general tweaks to be made. But the show has obviously gone through a lot of work already. The original script, so I’ve been told, clocked in at three and a half hours. The current production came down at just over an hour.

Five Flights has definitely developed a sense of honesty and a style that easily makes them one of the most exciting things to happen to New York theatre in recent years. They’re hardly the first to try to make theatre that speaks to a generation, but they’re doing the best that I’ve seen in a while. Sorry for the superlatives, but it’s true. As company member Jake Bartush put it, “It’s about growing up and coming to terms with our lack of understanding.”

Where Don’t Step on the Cracks got Five Flights noticed for doing brave, new theatre, Cordially Invited solidifies them as a voice in the theatre that will be around for some time. Look forward to their upcoming show coming this September.


You Are Cordially Invited to the Wedding of Andrew Pepperidge and Allison Short is no longer running.

Hello, all!

This is my first blog here at David's Theatre Reviews. For the past few months I have been the theatre critic at Marymount Manhattan College's newspaper, the Marymount Monitor. As my time at Marymount comes to a close, I will be transferring all of my reviews over to this blog, and continuing to review exciting new theatre.

Stay tuned for my upcoming archive of theatre reviews and new upcoming reviews. If you or someone you know will be in a production you'd like me to review, send an e-mail to rigano.reviews@gmail.com with all of the information.

Life is a Labyrinth

The theatre is one of the few places where truly anything can happen. We suspend our disbelief long enough to go on a journey with the characters, and we don’t need realism in order to take us on the ride.

When word got out that recent Marymount Manhattan College graduate Cathy Thomas was to mount a full-scale Broadway production of the 1986 Jim Henson epic musical Labyrinth, the New York theatre crowd called it impossible, but ‘impossible’ was a word that Ms. Thomas did not know. In fact, when I asked her about the reaction she said, “What does that mean?”

Ms. Thomas went on to explain, “If they could make The Lord of the Rings and Carrie into successful musicals, then why not Labyrinth? Besides, it already is a musical. The trick is bringing it to the stage.”

It would seem that if adapting the screen musical to the stage is Ms. Thomas’s only worry, she has little to worry about. The original cult classic movie about a teenage girl who must save her younger brother after making a dubious pact with a goblin was written by Terry Jones and scored by David Bowie. She has brought in to adapt the script and score some of Broadway’s current brightest. Adapting the movie script for the stage will be a joint effort between playwright Doug Wright, who was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for his play I Am My Own Wife before adapting Disney’s The Little Mermaid, and Thomas Meehan, who originally penned the book to Annie but more recently has collaborated on The Producers, Young Frankenstein and Bombay Dreams. Filling in the gaps in the score is Broadway newcomer, Tony Award winner Duncan Sheik.

“How could we possibly go wrong?” Ms. Thomas asks.

I was lucky enough to catch a reading of this new musical with an all-star Broadway cast, including Michael McGrath, Ernie Sabella and Annie Golden. I was chatting with Ms. Thomas before the performance. I asked her the question I’m sure we had all been anticipating: Who was going to play Jareth, King of the Goblins, the role made famous by David Bowie in the original movie? I was told I’d just have to wait and see like everyone else, which led me to believe she had possibly gotten Bowie himself to come back for the stage version.

What a surprise we all got when who should leap onto the stage singing a new Duncan Sheik song—I won’t give the hilarious title away for you—but the one and only Johnny Depp. Ms. Thomas confided in me afterwards that when she first saw Depp in Sweeney Todd she thought his singing voice had been dubbed by Bowie. “When I found out that it was his own voice,” she said, “everything just clicked!”

As this is a project still in development, I can’t say much. But don’t worry, theatre-goers, Depp gives a performance comparable to Bowie’s original and can, in fact, fill a theatre with his voice. As for the quality of the new script and updated score, I enjoyed myself, but you’ll have to wait and see, as Cathy Thomas would say, “like everybody else.”


This article was written for The Marymount Monitor's April Fools issue.

Five Flights Finds Complexity in Simplicity

The Cast of Don't Step on the Cracks
Photo by Bert Berat

To say that Five Flights Theater Company’s new production of Don’t Step on the Cracks is “simply wonderful” would be to do the company a grave disservice. Though the play is mostly inspired by children’s books and poems, there is nothing simplistic about it.

Created entirely by the members of the newly formed Five Flights Theater Company, Don’t Step on the Cracks is about growing up and looking back. The very talented cast, made up entirely of Marymount students and alumni, takes us through a series of skits examining the moment when you realize it’s time to grow up.

From the very start, the introduction to the show—expertly written and choreographed by Eryck Tait—mixes the worlds of youth and adulthood together, weaving original lines from the play with familiar verses from Shel Silverstein poems to accentuate the shift into maturity. It sets up the events to come as we watch our own childhoods mature in the characters and themes presented during the show.

The characters and situations are familiar—bits of our childhood shown back to us under the lens of experience. Will Lacker exposes the “truth” behind Puff the Magic Dragon’s relationship with Jackie Paper. Sara Lukasiewicz navigates the everyday life of Amelia Bedelia, who takes things too literally. Jake Bartush, Eryck Tait, and Adam Delia take us on a journey in a flying shoe with Ickle Me, Pickle Me and Tickle Me, too. Other sketches give examples of moments in the lives of twenty-somethings faced with real grown-up problems.

At its core, Don’t Step on the Cracks analyzes loss. Loss of innocence, but also loss of friends, family, pets, even childhood idols. In the incredibly poignant “Goodnight, Moon” (written and performed by Jake Bartush) a high school student comes to terms with the suicide of a classmate, and the realization that “he was simply the first one to succeed.”

This production is actually a re-mounting of their premiere production, which played at Center Stage on West 21st Street last July. I was lucky enough to catch both productions, and am happy to say that this show has only gotten stronger. Most noticeably stronger are Sara Lukasiewicz’s “Amelia” monologues, written and directed by Five Flights Stage Manager Alli Taylor. Ms. Lukasiewicz’s sense of innocence in these pieces brings adult issues to light through the lens of youth in a refreshing opposition to the rest of the show.

It is no secret that I have worked with the majority of the people in this company in the past and am a vocal fan of their work. I may seem biased in this instance. Still, the reception to the performance I was at and the sold out three-performance run at Center Stage speaks for itself.

I think a lot of the success can be credited to the unique nature of the company itself. Formed in a five-flight walk-up (hence the name) they started as a bunch of theatre artists with an idea for a show. The sketches were written, some were handed off to directors, all were assigned to actors, rehearsed and put back together again to create the show. “It’s the only form of communism I’ve seen that works,” company member Claire McGinley commented.

For me, the heart of the show and of the company can be summed up in one line from a piece by Ms. McGinley. In the final scene of the play, Eryck Tait turns to Laurel Casillo and says, “You know we can’t live forever.” She responds: “But I’ve always wanted to try.” This is a company that—if I may make a prediction—will be around for a long time and will produce important pieces of new theatre. I hate to gush, but I mean it when I say I highly anticipate great new works to come out of Five Flights in the future.

Still, I think that Don’t Step on the Cracks may just turn out to be Five Flights’ staple. Its resonance hits a place that we all need to go to every now and then, and I won’t be surprised to see this show pop up in new productions, just when we need it most. You’ll be certain to find me there every time.


Don't Step on the Cracks is no longer running.

Normal? Or Next To It?

It’s got a song about “Costco.” You’d think this would be the making of a happy musical! Off-Broadway’s new musical Next To Normal, which opened at Second Stage this month, is an off-kilter look at suburbia which exposes the truth behind a family’s struggle for normalcy. Costco is just one of the many items on the chopping block.

The show, with a wonderful score by Tom Kitt (High Fidelity) and libretto by Brian Yorkey (Making Tracks), boasts the six person ensemble of Adam Chanler-Berat, Jennifer Damiano, Brian D’Arcy James, Alice Ripley, Asa Somers and Aaron Tveit under the masterful hand of director Michael Greif (Rent, Grey Gardens). The story centers around the marriage of Dan and Diana (D’Arcy James and Ripley) which is on the rocks—partly because of Diana’s overmedication. As a result, their teenage daughter Natalie (Damiano) is often neglected. She even has trouble dealing with the attention and affection of classmate Henry (Chanler-Berat) who tries to help her cope. As the adults become more and more unavailable due to Diana’s constant doctor visits, Natalie lashes out, leaving Henry to catch her when she falls. But who will be there to catch Dan and Diana?

Ripley and D’Arcy James, both veterans of the Broadway and off-Broadway stage, give powerful performances with nuance that is often reserved for non-musicals (think Mamet). But the young’uns more than hold their own. Ms. Damiano plays the role of Natalie with the tension of a firecracker trying desperately not to explode as Mr. Chanler-Berat’s quirky charm and sincere friendship ease her out of her rigidity. Asa Somers brings a refreshing dose of supposed sanity as Diana’s therapist Dr. Madden (and all of her other doctors).

The highlight for any Marymount student will definitely be Adam Chanler-Berat’s performance as Henry, the jazz pianist who gives Natalie her first toke of freedom. Chanler-Berat has graced the MMC stage with his offbeat wit in STAM’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins as well as improv performances with MMC’s resident improv troupe “Nutz and Boltz.” His seemingly effortless transitions from comedy to drama are rivaled only by his seemingly effortless singing.

This stellar cast is guided through the story of love and loss by Michael Greif, who is no stranger to characters in pain and longing. Greif’s direction combines the best elements of his staging of Rent (which I admittedly did not love) and his staging of Grey Gardens (which I loved every minute of). Of course, he brings in some new tricks for this production, which are enhanced by Mark Wendland’s three-tiered fiberglass set and Kevin Adams’ literally electric light design.

If you told me I had to find one fault in the show, I would tell you that it is a little long—at the preview performance I attended, the first act ran almost an hour and a half—and a couple of the songs overstay their welcome. The one that immediately comes to mind has the wonderfully powerful Aaron Tveit repeating two words over and over to the point where one assumes the song could easily be cut down. The show can also be rather heavy-handed in its condemnation of medical procedures, including anti-depressants and electro-convulsion therapy, that have proven helpful in a majority of cases.

Still the point does come across that American society relies too heavily on chemical treatment—prescribed and not—to make our problems and our unpleasant emotions go away. We are reminded that getting rid of the bad feelings often means getting rid of the good, as well. Through stirring music, plot twists, and a healthy dose of cynical comedy the show emphasizes how striving for normalcy can result in numbness. Head over to Second Stage to see if this not-so-normal family can settle for next to normal.


Next to Normal is no longer running.

Maximum Entertainment at Minimum Wage

Many students have worked in minimum wage burger places to make ends meet while in school. I have not had the pleasure. For those of us who knew nothing about working at one of these facilities, going into Minimum Wage: the musical was not only an evening of entertainment, but education, as well. For walking into the audience of Minimum Wage is the equivalent of walking into a training session at Happy Burger University (so be sure you sit nice and close like a good student).

The show starts off with Happy Burger University’s very own collegiate a cappella group introducing themselves—while handing out Burger Boy hats to the crowd. The troupe is comprised of Hux (creator/composer Jeff LaGreca), his brother Orwell (creator/composer Charly LaGreca—they’re actually brothers), the somewhat shy Bradbury (Bill Caleo), the somewhat promiscuous Piercy (Elena Meulener) and finally the somewhat unhygienic Titus (Marymount Manhattan College senior Tony Daussat). These five then proceed—without the aid of a pit band—to sing the audience through the entire training session.

So what makes Minimum Wage so special? Well, for one thing, it’s an entirely a cappella musical, meaning that all of the music comes from the five performers’ own mouths. It’s also audience interactive, so don’t plan on just sitting back and letting this one wash over you. Be fully prepared to participate, even if it means shaking your booty with danger. And do pay attention, as there is a quiz at the end of the show.

Minimum Wage is a concept musical that not only breaks the boundaries of dramatic form—there are lots of flashbacks—but also breaks the boundaries of theatrical convention making the audience an active part of the show. We are taught the art of Spatulation, the intricacies of Post-Mustardism, all under the umbrella of Hamburger-ology. But don’t let this fool you. Underneath all the schtick there is a big heart and though each character appears to be a caricature of a type you’d find in a minimum wage burger palace, they all have dreams and aspirations much like yours or mine. The show is a delightful mix of schticky fun (as well as sticky fun) and surprising pathos. Yes, pathos. A strong word, perhaps, for such a comedic piece, but as the characters’ inner fears and dreams come out we find ourselves cheering them on, not only because they can make us laugh, but because we truly care about them.

The highlight of the evening for any Marymount Manhattan College student would have to be Daussat’s performance as the hapless bass, Titus, who just wants a chance to sing a solo. Many who have enjoyed Daussat’s performances on our mainstage in productions such as The Inspector General, The Wild Party and The Old Law are familiar with his wide range of character acting, which he displays in his multiple supporting roles in Minimum Wage. For those who have not yet had the pleasure of witnessing Daussat onstage, his performance in Minimum Wage is a glowing reminder that there is indeed a chance that you, too, will work in the theatre after you graduate.

And did I mention how good the music is? In my experience the music is the last priority for many comedy driven musicals, but this is not the case in Minimum Wage. The tunes are inventive, infectious and wildly fun (perhaps even moreso after a few drinks… that’s right, the performance is BYOB). The very talented composers of Minimum Wage have created a joyous piece which runs the gamut from gaudy to ridiculous and back again—with even a touch of pathos. Oh, and every Saturday night at 10:30 tickets are only ten dollars when you present your student ID. That’s for all of you out there living on minimum wage.


Minimum Wage is no longer running