David Rigano's Theatre Reviews

It's Fucking Great to Be in Theta Pi

2011-10-02T11:28:00.007-04:00

As I walked in the frat house, I was greeted by the fraternity's chaplain, who introduced us to a bunch of the brothers. We just happened to be there for... oops. Did I call it a "frat"? We were later reminded never to abbreviate "fraternity" as "frat." After all, we wouldn't abbreviate our country the same way, would we?

This is the tone of The New Colony's hilarious hit show Frat playing at The Apartment Lounge, a nightclub above Chicago's Lion Head Pub. Evan Linder's play brings us into the Theta Pi Psi fraternity house during the week before initiation (known as "Hell Week") and introduces us to a group of fraternity pledges, the brothers who are initiating them and their respective girlfriends. The new pledges are roommates Fleet (Will Cavedo) and Ross (Joel Kim Booster), legacy Kevin (Quinn White) and Todd (Patriac Coakley) who just wants to see if he can make some new friends.

Determined to make life dificult for them--at least until they become full-fledged brothers--are Jerry (Gary Tiedmann), Benjamin (Steve Gensler) and Blake (Jared Fernley), despite the better efforts of some of the gentler brothers like Michael (Alexandr Lane) and Steven (Wes Needleham).

The girls in the play are Sara Catherine (Meg Johns) Blake's girlfriend whose tits are the reason most of the new pledges signed up, Natalie (Thea Lux) Benjamin's girlfriend who has already slept with most of the Theta Pis, Amy (Tara-Jayne Sissom) no one's girlfriend and the frat house DUG--Designated Ugly Girl--and Katie (Caitlin Chuckta) Todd's girlfriend who doesn't understand why Greek life is so important to her boyfriend and his friends.

Rounding out the cast are playwright Evan Linder, Benno Nelson, Kevin Stangler, Brandon Ruiter, Sophie Gatins and Nick Delehanty.

Andrew Hobgood's direction utilizes the entire space and the actors encourage the audience to walk around the room, following the action of the play (often to the tune of "Dude, you gotta see this!" or "You don't wanna miss this!"). We walked around the room as the lights changed or as we heard a scene begin somewhere else, we sat on the couches and chairs with the characters as we watched scenes unfold, and in some cases, if we were in the way, we had to interact with them. Maneuvering a cast of this size is no easy task, but Hobgood accomplishes it with ease.

The play moved seamlessly from scene to scene, location to location. Many of us had to be coaxed early on to get closer to the action (I was told at one point, "Go ahead, sit on the couch"), but as the play went on and we all got more comfortable with how it would work, we were eager to get ourselves to the next playing space when a new scene would begin.

This was also due to the wit and humor with which playwright Evan Linder allowed us to get to know his characters. We got to laugh with them and learn their jokes, like when Natalie describes the difference between Theta Pi and some of the other fraternities on campus ("Theta Pi, helluva guy! Sigma Chi, rapists.") or when Ross yearns for the kinds of girls he'll be able to get once he's initiated ("I wound up making out with a Gender Studies minor, Tech Theatre major.").

But the play is not just a fun romp through sophomoric nostalgia. It's a searing look at what one will go through to make friends, the kind who will presumably "stand next to you at your wedding" and whatever major life event should follow, including your funeral. Hell Week finally takes its toll on all involved during the night before the final initiation. Rifts between friends begin when Lux as Natalie and Johns as Sara Catherine drop the humor which had characterized them as they expose each other's more embarrassing sexual exploits in front of the brothers. Gensler as Benjamin questions Natalie's fidelity to him and takes his anger out on his least favorite of the new pledges. Coakley as Todd navigates through the difficult decisions of where to place his loyalty while Chuckta as Katie urges him to be faithful to the real friends whose loyalty has been tested rather than those who put him through hell testing his. If the play's ending is not as jovial as the opening promises, it leaves us with more to consider and chew on than a neatly wrapped up comedy.

Frat is the kind of theatrical experience one rarely finds, and even more rarely done as well as this one was. Anone who finds themselves in the Chicago area should definitely head over and check out The New Colony's Frat. After all, "it's fucking great to be in Theta Pi!"

Frat runs at The Apartment Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm. To buy tickets, click here.

Good, Old Fashioned Italian-American fairy Tale

2010-10-16T20:43:00.001-04:00

I was delighted to see a brand new musical comedy playing at the Prospect Theatre Company recently. Maybe because old-fashioned musical comedies make me giddy, or maybe because I love all things Italian-American (except for Jersey Shore). But this new musical is actually a product of New Jersey, not just a Staten Island import. It's called Once Upon a Time in New Jersey and it's the story of Vinnie, a nebbish Italian deli clerk who falls for Angie, who has fallen for Rocco, as have all the other women in town. Alas, one of the women who has fallen for Rocco is the local dance teacher, Celeste, whose husband is not only jealous, but also a mob member. So, while Rocco lays low, Vinnie gets to be Rocco.

The music by Stephen Weiner, is infectious and romantic and the lyrics by Susan DiLallo are often very clever and always full of heart. Particularly fun, for me, was the second-act comedy song "Quando Scungili," in which Rocco translates faux Italian phrases for lovebirds Vinnie and Angie.

In the central role of Vinnie, David Perlman was equal parts adorable and awkward. And it wasn't difficult to see why he'd fall for a girl like Angie, especially as portrayed by Briga Heelan who's sweet smile and silver voice won everyone over. As Rocco, Jeremy Cohen brought a beautiful sensitivity to a role that could easily have been played as Danny-Zuko-lite. Also worth mentioning are the hilarious and high-kicking Catherine LeFrere as Celeste and Jonathan Gregg as her thuggish but equally hilarious husband Billy. Samie Mounts, Darcy Yellin and Mishaela Faucher brought a beautiful blend of humor and harmony as Rocco's gaggle of girlfriends, Conchetta, Lorretta and Etta.

All in all, it was a wonderful evening at the theatre that left me with a huge, silly grin on my face. It was sweet, fun and romantic. Everything you'd want out of an old-fashioned Italian-American fairy tale!

One Upon a Time in New Jersey is no longer running.

Manhattan Rep's Trifecta

2010-10-12T09:00:00.007-04:00

I got to see three new one-act plays in Manhattan Repertory Theatre's fall play series. Manhattan Rep's home is in a very intimate black-box theatre in the Times Square Arts Center building. This is an advantage for some of the plays, though unfortunately not all.

The first of the three was called Family Business, written by, produced by and starring Julia Genoveva. The play centers around a family owned funeral home, run by three sisters. Elizabeth (Alex Celeste Muniz) wants to honor the promise she made to their parents and keep the funeral home running. Jessica (Genoveva) is fed up with the home and, it seems, her sisters. Jules (Cherish Monique Duke) doesn't seem--at first--to care about anything. Until Angel (Lodric D. Collins) appears. Jessica falls in love at first sight, but Angel asks Liz out instead. Suddenly Jules, seeing her family slipping apart, feels the urge to keep her sisters together, at any cost, no matter how melodramatic. The script doesn't offer much and Mia Anderson's direction does not help, particularly in the case of the play's writer/star, who has created Jessica to be whiny and self-centered with little perspective on how ridiculous she sounds with almost every line. The main problem, though, is the play which is inconsistent and doesn't seem to be about anything except petty problems of petty people. Muniz and Collins rose to the occasion, offering not only the most realistic acting, but also the most honest relationship. Still, the play seemed like the round table cloth placed on the square table in one scene. Everything was in the right place, yet nothing really fit.

Next up came Pervert, written and directed by Dean Preston, which was certainly several steps up from its predecessor, though not without room for improvement. Pervert at least has something to say, though exactly what it is gets a little lost somewhere within the play. Still, the play raises some serious issues, and though it doesn't answer all of its questions, it attempts to tell a story that matters. The plot somewhat mimics David Mamet's Oleanna, a college campus story of the clash between a teacher and his female student when his actions are percieved as sexual harassment, though the male and female in Preston's play are both students. Kaitlyn (Jesikah Murray) likes to track down sickos in chat rooms and tempt their perversions. But when an online chat leads her to a conversation with classmate Eddie (Charlie Solis) she decides to take action and expose him in the school's newspaper. Her article, intending to warn female students against perverts, defames Eddie. His attempts to find out why she targeted him escalate until both students find themselves in the Dean's office. Solis is an honest actor, though his energy doesn't always match that of his cast-mates, especially Murray, with who he shares most of his stage time. Victoria Curtain and Emily Rupp bring a nice air of humor to the mostly grim play as Kaitlyn's friends Emma and Rebecca, and Brandon Peker is delightful as Eddie's friend, would-be womanizer Walker. The necessary grounding and maturity is provided by Bobbi Owens in the role of Dean Hodstern. The biggest difference between Oleanna and Pervert is that where Mamet makes it difficult to discern who is right and who is wrong, Preston has clearly marked Kaitlyn as manipulative and dishonest in her indecent exposé. I look forward to seeing where this play goes. At the moment, there are three endings and it's difficult to tell exactly what the play wants to be about, but it raises topics that deserve the scrutiny the play gives them: What exactly makes a pervert? When does a perversion become a danger? And who are you actually talking to in that internet chat room?

The final play that I saw was entitled Chinatown is Full of Rooms or (Kiss)(Kiss)(Purr). This remarkable play by Seth Moore seemed to be two plays in one. One one side of the stage a man and a woman, named only + (Leigh Adel-Arnold) and -- (Sean Tant), are together in bed under accidental circumstances for the first time since their relationship ended. She needed somewhere to stay because of something that happened. He found himself at the same bar she was at for some reason or other. Moore makes it very clear that the actual reasons that brought them together aren't important. It was their need that brought them together. As they talk, mostly about how much they dislike each other, they slowly disrobe and climb into bed. Simultaneously on the other side of the stage a character named LuvR (Jessica Hendricks) has breakfast with a man she just spent the night with, and regales him with stories of her past lovers, particularly the one who died the same day a charcoal etching of him faded, in an attempt to... endear him? Warn him? Scare him away? Directed by Alex Bisker, the production is simple and honest, willing the audience to hang on every word, not in order to find the story, but in order to feel the need of all three characters. Tant is beautifully scruffy and rough around the edges as he attempts to woo his ex, not quite sure if the same lines will still work. Adel-Arnold presents herself as cold-as-ice, but every refusal she gives is filled with yearning and every glance back towards her ex is the glare of self-restraint. Hendricks finds ways to make the most absurd lines (for example, "I'll never forget it, it was so timeless") seem completely natural, so that you not only believe every story she tells, you want to hear more Most remarkable about all of the performers is their ease with language, as they navigate through a play that seems to move seamlessly between naturalistic dialogue and slam-poetry, rhythms and rhymes intertwining like music as the lovers explore each other, be it for the first time or the last. As the young woman finishes her muffin and makes her new lover an etching of his own, the ex-couple's failed attempt at sex comes to a halt with a cry of pain. She doesn't remember the things he wishes she did and he's not as drunk as she wishes he were. And it starts to snow.

The Manhattan Repertory Theatre's Fall Play series is no longer running. Visit www.manhattanrep.com for information on upcoming festivals.

Environmental Dance for 'Scherzo'

2010-08-03T22:27:00.004-04:00

Something very exciting happened the other night at Alice's Teacup on the Upper East Side. Then again, the most exciting things tend to happen in unconventional theatre spaces.

When I walked into Alice's after hours, one side of the room had been lined with chairs where a long table normally sat, and the other side had been shifted so that it was as though the audience were peering into the window of a cafe, almost like Alice's. Upon arrival, the actors were already in place at their tables, checking phone messages, listening to music, sipping iced coffees and picking at scones and croissants. Some of them were practically in our laps!

Then the action began for the first installment of what is to be a series of environmental theatre pieces by David Alex Andrejko called Scherzo. It started, appropriately enough, with music which set the tone for a tightly choreographed evening of glances into the lives of seemingly unrelated people in a cafe.

At first the server, named Capacity (Melissa McNerney), seemed to be the only link between the customers, though her main interest seemed to be in a scruffy blue collar worker named Man (Adrien Saunders) who appears, at least inwardly, to reciprocate her interest. At the opposite table sat a young woman named Our (Jillian Mason) a compulsive eater waiting to hear back from a man she'd been seeing. And in the middle sat two friends, Maid (Molly Groome) and Create (Zac Walker), discussing rifts between friends, co-workers and lovers, without ever really listening to each other.

At many points during the action Andrejko has the characters talking simultaneously, as would happen in a real cafe, forcing the audience to catch glimpses of all the conversations, focus in on one, or else let the symphonic cacophony speak for itself.

Ellen Orenstein's direction, alongside Anna DeMers' choreography, help to guide the audience's eye where it needs to go, and also let us know when it's okay to just soak everything in. The connection of movement to dialogue to character to sound is impeccable. At moments the entire cafe will go into slow motion, focus on one or two character for just a moment, before rushing back into the noisy hustle and bustle of daily life. We get just enough to glimpse those moments of true human interaction before a cell phone buzzes or a car horn honks.

Groome and Walker, as the friends in the middle, seem completely in tune with each other, their rhythms both balancing and battling each other as they talk, but don't hear. Mason's ferocity is kept in check by extreme discipline, which shines through in her quieter moments. McNerney's honesty, through all the stylized choreography and staging, makes the absurdity of her character's actions come across as always sincere. In fact, all the actors live in a world of stylized motion and absurdity, which is tempered by emotional truth. The most down to earth of the bunch, without losing the style completely, is Saunders as the hard working Man.

The soundtrack to this ballet comes from Alex Winston's recently released EP album Choice Notes, with additional music by Kevin Becker. The score, designed meticulously by Chip Rodgers, is central to the piece. The term "scherzo" comes from music, a jaunty comical refrain to be played as a part of a more serious whole. Indeed, the term "scherzo" is directly translated as "joke."

Throughout the piece, each character has a chance to talk to each other character in the piece, and yet, through the text interruptions, the phone calls, the bathroom runs, the cigarette breaks, we get the impression that no one has actually communicated with another person onstage. The last few moments of the show left the audience watching the characters solitary, disconnected from each other, focused only on their own issues, plugged into their electronic devices. So, who's the joke on?

A Surprising 'Cabaret' from Brooklyn

2010-03-28T12:24:00.003-04:00

I will admit that when I was invited by a friend to join her to see a production of Joe Masteroff, John Kander and Fred Ebb's Cabaret in the tiny upstairs space at The Players Theatre on MacDougal Street, I was terrified at the prospect. Terrified to see what would be--no doubt--a glorified concert with a small cast and an upright piano. Terrified to see what would be--no doubt--another rehash of the Sam Mendes production which I loved upon first viewing, but have grown tired of. Terrified to see what would be--no doubt--an oversexed bastardization of a show I love dearly.

Boy was I wrong.

There were a few elements of the Brooklyn Theatre Arts Project's production of Cabaret, directed by Carlo Rivieccio, that didn't sit so well with me. This production had more girl-on-girl action than I've ever seen in any production which, while titillating, was dramatically questionable at points. Some of the performances, particularly the sweet-voiced Alex Amarosa who gave us his best Jackie Mason impersonation as Herr Schultz, left me cold if not cringing. And the Nazi death dance at the end was simply unnecessary; I'm fairly certain everyone in the audience was aware of what happened after the Nazis rose to power.

But overall, this production had a lot to boast about. Josh Iacovelli's design for the show--both sets and lights--is stark, spare and very flexible, allowing the small space to serve as a boarding house, a fruit shop and the Berlin train station, seemingly without ever leaving the Kit Kat Klub. The lights often add eerie red glows and even illuminate the audience at points, reminding us of our roles in the action. Taking this a step further, director Rivieccio often has the Kit Kat girls and boys seated in the house as audience members during scenes outside of the Kit Kat Klub, holding a distorted mirror up to the audience. One thinks of the myriad people who sat back and watched while the Nazi Party grew more powerful.

Janine Molinari's choreography is often inspired, flowing more from the material itself than the oft-seen urge to imitate Bob Fosse's choreography from the film. There are a few clever homages, but overall it is refreshingly creative. Molinari's routines for the opening numbers of both acts were high points of the show. I was sorry to see that "The Telephone Song," listed in the program, was omitted from the production. It would have been fun to see what Molinari could do with that far-too-often cut dance.

The program promised a few numbers that were, unfortunately, not delivered. One of these is my personal favorite song in the show, "Why Should I Wake Up?" which was replaced by the seldom heard and very charming "Don't Go," which was a lovely showcase for Stephen Elkins as Cliff Bradshaw, who had not had much of a chance to show off his lovely tenor voice. Mr. Elkins did a terrific job providing the eyes of the audience in the character of Cliff, allowing us to first be seduced and along the way fall in love with Sally Bowles as he did.

Which brings us to the central character of the piece: Sally. Played by Vivienne Cleary, this was a Sally unlike any Sally I can ever remember seeing. And somehow, this was the truest Sally I can remember seeing. Perhaps it's because of the stamp left by Liza Minelli from Fosse's film version (in which a number of elements about her character were changed from the stage version) that has caused so many actresses to play her a little too glamorous, a little too talented, a little too worldly wise. Cleary portrayed Sally Bowles as all of those things--within the confines of her own mind. Sally Bowles is whatever Sally Bowles decides to be, but Cleary made sure we were aware that it was all a fantasy. Mix that with her strong dancing and stronger voice and you've got a performance that deserves to go down in the records as one of the best performances of the role--at least that I've had the pleasure of seeing.

Also worth noting: Christopher Semidey danced the you-know-what out of his role as the Emcee and sang a beautifully sleazy rendition of "I Don't Care Much." Jackie Wolter brought tears to my eyes as Fraulein Schneider during "What Would You Do?" Johanna Telander played Fraulein Kost with just the right mixture of sex and guile. And I mentioned my fear of seeing Cabaret accompanied by one upright piano, right? Well, their tiny band, consisting of baby grand, percussion, bass guitar, violin and trumpet filled the room with sound beautifully.

Bravo to the Brooklyn Theatre Arts Project for their stunning production of Cabaret. I'll be sure to be on the lookout for more productions from them, and I'll be sure to post them here.

The Brooklyn Theatre Arts production of Cabaret is no longer running.

A Collaborative Double Feature

2010-03-27T12:02:00.005-04:00

I've been remiss in my posting, particularly in regards to Collaborative Stages, a small company which has been bringing full productions of established and new plays, as well as concerts and special events, to the New York theatre community.

Most recently they produced the double feature of Somewhere in Between by Ryan Sprague and Deflowering Waldo by Adam Szymkowicz.

The contrast, for those of us who spent the entire evening with Collaborative Stages, was beautiful, and beautifully orchestrated.

We started off our evening with an intimate look at relationships. Blood vs. water. It's blood that brings that characters together and blood that ultimately bonds them.

Greg (Erik Gullberg) and Joshua (Jeffrey A. Wisniewski) are brothers who come together for this first time since their mother has passed away. And also for the first time since Joshua has married Lissa (Ariel Woodiwiss), a conservative Christian. Greg is rebellious, confrontational and a disruptive force in what he sees as false happiness in his brother's home. Lissa wants him out until they are forced to spend a day together, during which all of the secrets come out. Both Joshua and Greg have secrets about their past and the death of their younger brother, and each will tell the story differently. Though these secrets bring Lissa and Gr

eg closer together, Greg acts rashly when he fears it could come between him and his brother.

The stark design by Elise Handelman showed us the structure of a home with no real walls, no real doors, and no real roof. The semblance of a home which, when struck by Michael Megliola's lighting design, proves to be nothing more than a shell. The cast, under the direction of Collaborative Stage's Artistic Director Brian Letchworth, was well up to the challenges of the play, and wide open to the questions posed by it. It was good to see that no one involved was afraid of the insecurity posed by the play's grisly end, nor to embrace that which is grisly in all relationships.

Ariel Woodiwiss and Erik Gullberg

After this rollercoaster of emotional highs and lows, they brought us into the life of Waldo (Jordan Levin), an agoraphobic, misanthropic, manic-depressive virgin who--at 24--is still afraid of the monster under his bed. If Somewhere In Between was a rollercoaster of emotions which rang true for its audience, Deflowering Waldo was a rollercoaster of stylized hilarity. Waldo's psychologist, the brilliantly uninhibited Heather Dudenbostel, must visit his room to analyze him, since he will not leave. Convenient for her, since her only real plan is to de-virginize him. There are problems, though. Waldo's mother (Cheryl Lynn Crabtree) has dinner on the table and his father (Robert Eigen) wants him to mow the lawn. (Waldo's father has also recently adopted a Scottish accent.) To make matters worse, his newest girlfriend (Megan Sass) is pounding down the door to know why he stood her up on their date. The cast is rounded out by Danielle Strauss as Waldo's ex-girlfriend and Erin M. Callahan as the Monster under Waldo's bed.

Levin, as Waldo, is the axis on which this frightening carousel revolves, and he is up to the task. He provides a mania that fits into the stylized nature of the show, but never loses the honesty we need to believe in his fears. The rest of the cast follows suit to bring a sincerely touching conclusion to the frantic evening, tightly directed by Jeff Crosley.

From the divine to the absurd (and back again) Collaborative Stages' double feature of Somewhere In Between and Deflowering Waldo made for an evening of tears, both of laughter and catharsis.

Great Comedy (via the Back Door)

2010-02-06T13:07:00.003-05:00

I've stumbled upon a comedy duo that I need to recognize here. Not only are they hilarious, they're also running a terrific stand-up show every other Monday night at Bar Nine where comedians of all stripes come to try out their new material and tickle the audience's collective funny-bone. They are Kelly and Lindsey and they are the brassy, beautiful and always blunt hostesses of Back Door Comedy.

Kelly Wallace-Barnhill and Lindsey Gentile

An evening with Kelly and Lindsey can range from stories about pinworms to the history of their dating lives (Lindsey has a new boyfriend named Micah and 2010 is looking to be a repeat of what Kelly refers to as "The Year of the Dry Vagina"). In fact, sex--or the lack thereof--seems to be a common thread in the act. Kelly even put an ad out on Craigslist to find a new man... not so much for the sex, but so she'd have someone to take on double dates with Lindsey and Micah. They even video-taped the test-date they went on with their three finalists:

Kelly and Lindsey also bring along with them a slew of talented comedians, including Harrison Greenbaum, Trevor Williams, Ali Wong, and many others. Their next show is February 15 (the day after Valentine's Day) when these two lovely ladies and their friends will regale us all with tales of the worst dates of their lives. It should be fun!

Back Door Comedy's next show is Monday night, February 15 at 8:00pm at Bar Nine on 9th Avenue between 53rd and 54th Streets.

What makes a musical a musical?

2010-01-14T21:37:00.005-05:00

Normally I don't blog about professional shows. I pretty much figure they don't need my attention, and I'd rather give it where it might not get the attention. But something has occurred to me that is somewhat troublesome. Despite the recent insurgence of movie musicals, Hollywood still seems to be afraid of them. Beginning with Baz Lurhman's flashy--if somewhat hollow--Moulin Rouge, a re-telling of Camille utilizing popular music from the 50s through the present day, it seemed there was an audience for super-charged musical numbers allowing the heroes and even the villains to pour their hearts out through song. Rob Marshall's Chicago found a way to comment on the action through song, the way the stage show does with its vaudevillian musical numbers, by employing dream sequences for the stage-struck Roxie Hart. Dreamgirls didn't have an all-out real-time musical number until almost halfway through the first act with the song "Family," though the music was handled very well after that. It wasn't until Hairspray, Sweeney Todd and Mamma Mia! that we saw no-holds-barred musical numbers in a film, and even those had their fair share of flaws.

This brings us to the latest project by Chicago director/choreographer Rob Marshall. He seems to be systemmatically going through the works of the great choreographers of the American Musical Theatre, starting with Fosse, now Tommy Tune, and rumor has it that Michael Bennett's Follies (which already has some elements of fantasy in it) may be next up. So, for a man who obviously has such reverence for these great men who told stories so beautifully through song and dance, why does he seem ashamed of the musical sequences in his latest project, Nine? Why has he hidden them, once again, in dreamland? And why are they so painfully under-choreographed and--even worse--filmed as though the dancing were unimportant? The musical sequences in Nine, which at one point were of great importance to the plot and to the central character Guido Contini, have been bannished to the inside of Guido's head where words that were sung to him in previous incarnations are now imaginary.

I will say that musical numbers like "Be Italian" and even parts of the unimpressive new "Cinema Italiano" served their purposes beautifully on screen. But even the devestating "My Husband Makes Movies," performed by the infinitely talented Marion Cotillard, lacked the power that the number should have, and does have on stage when it is sung in earnest by woman trying to express to vulturous journalists her simultaneous admiration and disappointment in her husband's craft.

And yet, the unashamed, unabashed musical production number does not seem to be quite as dead as the creators of Nine would have us believe. I've noticed them popping up more and more in non-musical entertainment. What sparked me to write this post was something I saw this week on my favorite current sitcom, How I Met Your Mother. When Barney Stinson, the infamous playboy of the series portrayed by musical theatre star Neil Patrick Harriss, must decide between the opportunity to have sex with a hot bartender (his first) or his closet-full of suits (his first love), his thoughts go something like this:

Now, this musical sequence, while much more satisfying than almost all of the production numbers in Nine, is still a fantasy sequence, the likes of which Rob Marshall is so fond of. In general, dance and musical sequences are supposed to bring out the essence of what a character is feeling, beyond the capacity of mere words. This was brilliantly utilized in the only musical sequence in the non-musical film 500 Days of Summer in the scene after Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) spends his first night with Summer (Zooey Deschanel):

So, if artists still find the use of musical numbers effective, and if audiences still seem to react positively to them, why do films like Nine feel the need to hide their musical numbers? It seems to me that audiences will react positively to anything, if it's given to them honestly and without any excuses. The second a musical begins to make excuses for its musical numbers, it begins to lose its audience, as Nine has also proven so far. Perhaps Rob Marshall should take advice from one of his own characters in Nine (ironically from one of the more lacklustre numbers in the film) and just allow himself to provide good, harmless entertainment without gussying it up.

Queens Midsummer no more yeilding but a dream

2009-12-08T14:32:00.007-05:00

The Secret Theatre is one of the best kept secrets in Queens. It took me nearly twenty minutes to find the place. Once you can deecipher betwee 44th Road, 44th Street, 44th Avenue and 44th Drive, you come to the arts building that houses The Secret Theatre (located on 23rd Street between 44th Road and 44th Avenue). But The Secret Theatre is not actually in said arts building, it's down the alley just right of the arts building. And there are two productions running concurrently, so make sure you go into the correct theatre.

However, it's all worth is for the production of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream which is playing in the theatre closest to the street (go up a small set of stairs to the plateau that forms the entrance to the theatre) produced by The Queens Players and directed by Katherine M. Carter.

The cast of A Midsummer Night's Dream

Ms. Carter's production was sleek without being cheap, chic without being gaudy and an all-around good time. Employing a design reminiscent of Peter Brooks' "white box" Midsummer, Carter takes us to a dreamlike no-man's land. So dreamlike, in fact, that all of her performers are dressed in pajamas! This white set (complete with flowing white columns) serves the multi-faceted purpose of indicating every setting of the play, with the help of the beautifully whimsical light design from Lisa Hufnagle.

The play concerns the forbidden love between Lysander, an Athenian youth, and Hermia, whose father Egeus wants her to marry Demetrius, beloved for Hermia's childhood friend Helena. Make sense so far? To escape the harsh Athenian law, Hermia and Lysander flee through the forest, pursued by Demetrius who is, in turn, pursued by Helena. Also in the forest are a motley crew of handymen-turned-actors, lead by Peter Quince, rehearsing a play of Pyramus and Thisbe. Got that? All of these mortals find themselves entangled in the marital feud of Oberon and Titania, the king and queen of the fairies. And, in the morning, Theseus (of the Minotaur myth) will wed Hippolyta (Queen of the Amazons, from later on in the same myth). Follow?

In the central roles of the lovers, James Parenti and Katie Braden (as Demetrius and Helena) provide the more slapstick and sex-driven humor to the more pastoral and domestic humor of Joe Mullen and Angelica Duncan (as Lysander and Hermia). This does not mean, however, that the slapstick is not provided by all. Mullen must, at one point, catch Duncan as she propells herself horizontally across the stage toward a cowerring Braden.

Next up are the mechanicals, a ragged bunch of actor-wannabes, provide a far less romantic brand of comedy than the lovers. Lead by Timothy J. Cox as Peter Quince, whose power is often usurped by the dramatic Nick Bottom, played by Chris Kateff, this is about the sorriest band of crude actors with the biggest hearts anyone could ask for. The performance of Pyramus and Thisbe in the last scene of the play--always a highlight of any production--is spot on campy, ridiculous and completely honest.

Tiffany Denise Turner, Chris Kateff, Trish Phelps and Sarah King

Finally, the fairies. Mischevous creatures who take joy in screwing with mortals. The first we meet is Jeni Ahfield, deliciously malicious in the role of Robin Goodfellow, better known as Puck, quickly followed by the imposing Randy Warshaw as Oberon and the devestatingly elegant Tiffany Denise Turner as his Queen Titania. Rounding out the fairies are the delightful Trish Phelps and Sarah King (who provides beautiful ukelele music throughout her scenes with her queen).

The production is whimsical and farcical, but not bagatelle. In its seriousness, in its humor, in its honesty, it is a delight from beginning to end.

A Midsummer Night's Dream runs at The Secret Theatre, 44-02 23rd Street, LIC through January 3rd. Tickets can be purchased through OvationTix.

Festival Season

2009-09-14T01:24:00.004-04:00

Sorry I'm a little late with this one. Things have gotten busy since Festival Season has begun! The New York Fringe Festival has come and gone, and I saw two fascinating piece of theatre.

I've probably raved enough about the Five Flights Theater Company, who started out with their ensemble theatre piece Don't Step on the Cracks, which they took to the Woodstock Fringe Festival last summer along with You Are Cordially Invited..., before arriving at the New York Fringe Festival this summer.

The 5 Flights Theater Company

So, since my adoration for the work of this ensemble is no secret, I'll just spend a little time going over the highlights of this new streamlined, one-act Don't Step. The segment which probably always punches the biggest wallop for me is the monologue "Goodnight Moon," written and performed by Jake Bartush. spoken to the moon, a young man thanks a fellow student for bringing his parents back into his life after the suicide of the fellow student. Bartush's performance has only gotten better the more he's done this show. And the monologue itself is as fine a piece of writing as you'll find in any of the best audition books.

It was fascinating to come back to the character of "Nanny," portrayed by Laurel Casillo in Adam Delia's sketch about a young man coming to terms with his grandmother's Alzheimer's disease, since the company did an entire play (written by Casillo and Delia) around this character. Ms. Casillo is in fine form and still as transformative as ever.

What struck me this time as it hasn't before is the honesty and sincere commeraderie with which Nick Hepsoe and Will Lacker perform Eryck Tait's scene "O Captain, My Captain," in which Hepsoe's character deals with the fall of a favorite superhero. In the past the comedy of this scene has seemed to come from its absurdity, but this time it came from the integrity behind the words and the intensity of the emotions.

The piece was expertly reformed and reshaped for this theatre and this new one-act format by Eryck Tait. I said to my companion after the show, "I don't think I'll ever get tired of seeing this show."

The other Fringe show I saw was a semi-autobiographical tale of coming of age--and simply coming--in Israel called Sex and the Holy Land by Melanie Zoey Weinstein. Trapped between the land of "sex farce" and "coming of age story," Sex and the Holy Land has some very fascinating potential. The play deals with Lili (Weinstein), a Long Island Jewess who travels to Israel with her best friends Chaya (Ruby Joy) and Or (Sarah-Doe Osborne) to find... something. There are parts that are wonderfully written and characters that are beautifully formed, though overall the play fails to deliver what it promises. It would seem that the play suffers from too much autobiography and not enough play, to the extent that the playwright has been cast as herself. A little bit of distance might do both playwright and play a great service.

But, to the successes of Sex and the Holy Land first. Probably the most affective convention Ms. Weinstein uses comes in the form of three Jewish mothers (played to exhaustive hilarity by Goldie Zwiebel, Michelle Slonim and Susan Slatin) who embody not only Lili's mother, but the mother or grandmother of anyone who's ever been guilt-tripped.

The play also comes with some beautifully grounded performances, mostly from Ms. Joy and Ms. Osborne who portray Lili's best friends. When the three are together, we understand why they all came. We see the bond that they share that brought them to the Holy Land together. Apart, there are strengths and weaknesses to the character. While Ms. Joy plays Chaya with subtle intensity, the character's basic motive--searching for sex to replace a missing father figure and uncertain belief in God--tends to come across as rather flat. One wishes that the play offered Ms. Joy the opportunity to really show what she's obviously capable of. However, when not following Lili, the play tends to lean in the direction of Or, also somewhat sex crazed, but devoted, for most of the play, to Dan the Man (Gabriel Sloyer), an American Jew who trained and fought in the Israeli army. Ms. Osborne really gets to show off her chops and her range when her character accidentally finds herself in a bind not easily broken. She shows us that this is a girl who likes fun, but knows when the fun has to end. Mr. Sloyer, portraying Or's army boyfriend, is no slouch either. His scenes with the women of the play are genuine and often touching, with a healthy dose of humor.

The staging by Lee Gundersheimer is often clever, though sometimes too much so for its own good, calling attention to its own cleverness. Still, the transitions were smooth and graceful, often resulting in striking stage pictures. Utilizing just a sheet and benches, Gundersheimer was able to create the beach and the desert, an airplane and a nightclub, and--most striking--Jeruselem's Western Wall.

Michelle Slonim (Jewish Mother 2), Goldie Zwiebel (Jewish Mother 1), Susan Slatin (Jewish Mother 3); Sarah-Doe Osborne (Or), Gabriel Sloyer (Dan the Man), Melanie Zoey Weinstein (Lili), Ruby Joy (Chaya)

The question becomes "Is this a play for people who are not Jewish or Israeli?" Looking at the overarching themes and goals for the main characters, it ought to be. If it could find a way to stick with its specificity without being about Judaism (the way that a play like Fiddler on the Roof or Agnes of God can be specific to a culture without being about its religion) then it can be, but at present there were too many alienating moments for those of us who are not Jewish (or at least don't identify that closely with that portion of our heritage). Since Lili herself doesn't seem to know exactly what she's trying to find in Israel, it's hard for us in the audience to follow her journey with much interest beyond the curiosity of "What's going to happen next?"

Unfortunately, though, the most alienating moment had nothing to do with Judaica at all. The climax of the play--and I use that phrase both figuratively and literally--comes when Lili is finally able to find her orgasm (possibly the thing she was looking for all along?), which comes with awkward tableaux and silly projections. If the moment was supposed to symbolize the release of Lili's hold on herself and her ability to let go and enjoy life, then the staging did not reflect that, which is a shame.

But sometimes, the good overrides the not-as good, and perhaps this play's niche audience spoke in praise loud enough, because the play has been chosen for the Fringe Festival's Encore Series, performing from September 11-22, so there's still a chance for you, faithful reader, to catch it and decide for yourself.

"Something Witty" This Way Comes

2009-08-24T22:49:00.002-04:00

There's blood on my program from the show I saw last Friday night, and I'm not sure whose it is. You see, there were four zombies in the show, and I chatted afterward with all of them, so it could be any one.

The show I saw was called Hilarity/Belly Laughs and Snorts and it was an evening of short comedies produced by the newly formed 'Something Witty Productions,' headed by Alicia Rachel Becker and Dana Hunter (who recently appeared together in the wildly funny Happy Hour at the 45th Street Theatre).

Among the many performances in the nine absurdist comedies presented, many of them were admirable, but there were a few stand-outs. The absolute stand-out of the evening was Donna Brookbanks performance in Anne Breslaw's "Middle School Dance," directed by Alicia Rachel Becker. The piece seemed to be more guided than scripted as Ms. Brookbanks went through the motions of trying to find a dance partner among those in attendance (only to wind up dancing with a married man... eek!) and reminding us of all the awkwardness we'd like to pretend we didn't actually go through when we were pre-teens.

Phoebe Halkowich's performance in David Alex Andrejko's "Edgewise" was another stand-out, a tour-de-force performance as a self-centered, babbling Manhattanite. She should win a prize for memorization alone.

Also notable was Sarah King's wonderful performance in Joe Tracz's less than wonderful play "Death Comes for a Wedding," as an old woman who's ready to make a choice for herself for once. The quality of that play was especially disappointing given how wonderfully stylized his other play, "American Werewolf in Equus," was (both gracefully directed by Katherine Carter).

Both of the Artistic Directors got a chance to strut their stuff, as well. First, opening the second half of the show, Alicia Rachel Becker (under the direction of Maggie Levin) played a bi-polar new wife to husband Anthony Lobrasco in Brett Hursey's play "Scrambled." The play dealt with the question of fidelity when a man buys his co-worker a box of tampons. Though, for Ms. Becker, there seemed to be no question. As she scrambled the eggs, and with them her mind, she seemed certain that her time had run out when another woman's time had come.

Brett Hursey's other play, "The Stand-In," featured Dana Hunter as a desperate actress auditioning opposite a sock puppet. The key, it seems, to the comedy in this piece is the honesty and sincerity with which Ms. Hunter gave her all in this audition opposite the absurdity of Kyle Wood's performance as a manic director and Matthew Groff's performance as Xocko.

The evening came to a close with a play by Dusty Wilson called "Fortnight of the Living Dead." Danny Tenzer lead Adam Schneider and Brandon Waters in a fight against the--you guessed it--zombies that had overtaken their city. The plan, however, is foiled when the talented and attractive Allison Tebbano seduces each one of the party one by one, ending in a blood-lust orgy. Take that, Megan Fox. Tom Bonner's direction of the piece kept it in a healthy reality that the audience could both recognize and dread. Truth be told, I'd probably let Allison Tebbano eat my brains, too.

The producers kept their word with this one. There was certainly hilarity, there were certainly belly laughs, and I definitely heard a couple of snorts from the woman behind me.

Competition Season!

2009-08-21T17:40:00.003-04:00

It's so exciting! There are all of these amazing competitions going on in and around NYC, giving a vast variety of amazing performers the chance to strut their stuff and show off. I've been able to make it to some of these competitions and I'm very happy to say that the competition is tight. It's very hard to try to figure out who's going to win these.

I'm going to start with the MetroStar Talent Challenge. This is a competition that's been going on at the Metropolitan Room. I found out about the competition because of one of the Top Five contestants, Danielle Grabianowski. I was amazed by the talent! Of the three women in the top five, I will say with no hesitation that any one of them could easily take the win. I'll start by talking about Liz Lark Brown. Ms. Brown is one of the two "Kissin' Kazoo Sisters" who often perform with Joe Iconis:

(she's the taller one with the darker lipstick)

Ms. Brown opened her set with the lyric "The saddest thing about having one leg..." (paused long enough for the crowd to snicker appropriately) "... is that having one leg isn't the saddest thing about me!" She used this song of loneliness and physical disproportion to lead her into a beautiful rendition of "Sleepy Man" (God, but I wish I had a video of this to show you!), and that's not even the most impressive part. Her dulcet tones in "Sleepy Man" worked as the perfect set-up for her next line: "That song is dedicated to someone who has passed on." (Awwww!) "He's not actually dead, he's just dead to me." Count that among one of the biggest and longest laughs I've ever heard in any theatre. Her versatility from comic to dramatic and back again--add that to her incredibly impressive vocals--makes her a must-see cabaret performer.

Next, I'll mention Carole Bufford, who opened her bluesy set with "Gimme a Pigfoot":

Ms. Bufford is a trained musical theatre performer who chose to focus on that age-old American institution, the blues, for her set the night I was there. She runs the gamut from outlandish to subtle all within each song. She has a sense of humor that brings out the sincerest human emotions in every song she sang. And she's got a range to match. She also looks (as I'm not sure you can tell from the angle of that video) like Betty Boop, so it's lucky for her Ms. Boop will be coming to Broadway in a new musical next year!

Now, I'll talk about my friend Danielle Grabianowski. Danielle has one of the most unique voices I've ever heard. Listen to her BroadwayDemo, and I'm sure you'll agree. She seems very rooted in pre-1950s music (though she did mention that one of her latest influences is Regina Spektor). Her vocal quality and her understanding of the musical structure of those early years of American music make her a stand-out among many of today's cabaret singers. I was lucky enough to hear her sing what the judges referred to as possibly the definitive rendition of one of my favorite songs, "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" It's this quality that won Danielle the title of 2008 1930s Idol last summer, another competition which she judged this year.

1930s Idol is an annual competition held in honor of Dorothy Parker's birthday. She would be 116 years old this year, and as Bill Zeffiro aptly puts it in his song "Happy Birthday, Mrs. Parker" I'm sure she doesn't wish she was here. But those of us who attended the finals last night were very glad we were there! A number of impressive performer sang their little hearts out--a la Depression Era crooners--in order to win the title of 2009 1930s Idol.

The first runner-up for the evening was the always entertaining and wildly funny Ritt Henn:

Mr. Henn could not sing one of his own compositions for the competition, but instead, wowed us with his hilarious rendition of "Has Anybody Seen My Gal?" accompanying himself on ukelele and slap-bass. His comparisons of the bass (which stands even taller than he does) to his gal (mentioned in the song as being 5' 2", which would come about to Mr. Henn's shoulder) tickled the audience and obviously tickled the judges, as well.

The 2009 audience favorite was the amazing Merrill Grant:

Ms. Grant, a Shirley Temple fanatic, has an uncanny ability to mimic the vocal stylings of the 1930s in a way that doesn't sound mocking nor unintentionally comic, but sincere and nostalgic for an era long gone. I'm sure she was voted so high by the audience because she truly brought us all back to a time of black and white, toes tapping and Busby Berkely beauties.

The 2009 1930s Idol champion was the 2008 first runner up, Sigali Hamberger--who does not have any video or audio up anywhere. If you see her, tell her to remedy this. Ms. Hamberger brought the 1930s style sex to the evening, starting with her somewhat shocking and very funny rendition of "Primative Man" and concluding with a sultry "Do It Again" by the Gershwin brothers, surely steaming up at least a few sets of spectacles in the room (I was wearing my contact lenses which, to my knowledge, do not steam up). Among Ms. Hamberger's prizes was her own evening at Big Night Out, so we'll have to come back and see what she drums up when she has an entire hour to fill!

I would be remiss if I did not mention the other two of 1930s Idol's Top Five, the stunning and sweet Julie Leedes and the sassy and brassy Sierra Rein, both of whom gave the other contestants a good run for their money.

Well, competition season is not yet over, and we are getting right into the thick of festival season. I will be back next week with news from the NY Fringe Festival and I look forward to seeing what comes out of the NY Musical Theatre Festival next month. I'll also be sure to let you know who wins the MetroStar Talent Challenge, and perhaps I'll see you there next Monday night!

Drag Racing

2009-05-22T14:45:00.004-04:00

This is a quick shout-out for my friend Mimi Imfurst. Mimi is a drag queen whose holiday events "A Very Mary Christmas," "Mary: Like a Virgin" and "O, Holy Shit! It's Christmas" have been making controversial headlines for the past three years. She appears weekly in several cabarets and clubs throughout the city, and now she's entering RuPaul's Drag Race. Give this fierce and fiesty queen the national attention she deserves, and go vote for her. You can vote once every 24 hours, right here.

More theatre reviews to come very shortly!

Mimi as The Virgin Mary in "A Very Mary Christmas"

A quick shout-out

2009-04-28T09:42:00.005-04:00

This isn't so much a review as a shout-out for some of my friends. As some of you know, I'm a regular at a bi-weekly cabaret/open-mic called Big Night Out hosted by The Fabulous Jennifer Wren and Musical Genius Bill Zeffiro. Bill and Jenny have recently found themselves homeless as the fantastic Reprise Room is no longer since Dillon's/Purnima has shut down (damn recession!). BNO will continue, however, on the East Side, for the time being. The last show I saw at BNO (ironically their first anniversary and also their last night at Dillon's) featured the music of composer John Meyer, and what an evening it was! It was an intimate affair, featuring the composer himself alongside Summer Broyhill (Hairspray), Bill Zeffiro and Jennifer Wren (complete in Judy drag). I cannot speak more highly for this terrific team and the wonderful shows they put on--and will continue putting on, despite their recent set-back. BNO resumes on May 7.

I also have to applaud the work of Peter Napolitano and Mark Janas at The Algonquin Salon, which meets every Sunday evening in the lobby of the Algonquin Hotel. I have not been able to attend for several weeks, but found myself with some time to spare in the area of 44th and 6th this past Sunday, so I dropped in. I'm so glad I did. The atmosphere that Peter created, along with his guest host Hector Coris and Gonquette Sierra Rein was fun and sophisticated. It's also worth mentioning that The Salon, as well as Peter himself and many Salon/BNO regulars are up for some pretty big MAC Awards. Very exciting.

I urge you all to check out the cabaret scene in NYC, especially the open-mics, because that's where the new talent is coming out of the woodwork to strut their stuff. And if you're not from NYC (as I have devoted readers all over the country), next time you're in town, do slate some time for Big Night Out and The Algonquin Salon. You won't be sorry.

In other news, there is so much theatre coming up. Brand new for this blog: in the right-hand margin I list the shows that I've heard about coming up and that I plan on seeing and reviewing for you all. Scheduling may not permit me to get to all of them, but if you have any interest, just drop me an e-mail and I'll give you all of the information. And, as usual, if you or someone you know is in a show that's coming up, please e-mail rigano.reviews@gmail.com with all of the information and I'll post the show here and do my best to come and see it (comps are always welcome).

The Best of All Possible Weekends

2009-04-23T12:10:00.005-04:00

I have been remiss in my duties and for that, my most devoted reader, I apologize. In my last blog I promised a write-up of my then upcoming whirlwind weekend of theatre, and that weekend has come and gone with no write-up. But, a whirlwind weekend it was!

I'll start off with NYU Steinhardt's new production of the enigma known as Leonard Bernstein's Candide. It is known as "Leonard Bernstein's Candide" because his score for the musical (first billed as a "comic operetta") is the only element that has remained in the several productions that have felt the hands of Lillian Hellman, Dorothy Parker, Felicia Bernstein, John LaTouche, Richard Wilbur, Hugh Wheeler, Stephen Sondheim, Hal Prince, John Caird and Lonny Price. The only other name that seems to come with every production is that of the novella's original author, Voltaire, and even he disappears sometimes. We can add to that list of names William Wesbrooks, who directed the production I saw down on West 4th Street at the Frederick Loewe Theatre.

This production, as Lonny Price's recent concert production did, forsook the trappings of time and place with the addition of more modern-day elements in production and costuming (including a sling-shot in the opening scene). However, where Price's production mixed the old with the new in an odd no-man's-land, Wesbrooks made it clear that his production took place in the here and now. While this goes along with Voltaire's original intent of current social satire, one wonders how strong the similarities truly are if we need to be shown them (and it brings to mind Lillian Hellman's blatant use of the Spanish Inquisition to represent the House UnAmerican Activities Committee in her original 1956 production).

Still, the productionproved a rousing one with many stand-out performances. Starting with that glorious Overture marvelously conducted by Michael Ricciardone and played by an onstage orchestra of 32 pieces (oh, that NYU might loan some of its musicians to the Roundabout Theatre Company) the evening proved to be one of extremely high energy. Crystal Mosser's manic performance of the other most-famous piece of music in the show, "Glitter and Be Gay" received one of the longest ovations I've had the pleasure of participating in.

The problems of Candide often lie in the second act once the characters and complications have been established, yet more misfortune must befall our hero before the conclusion. This production, I'm sorry to say, was unable to escape these problems. Starting off with a somewhat misplaced "Paris Waltz" (here labeled as "The Governor's Waltz") the second act of this show ran into more confusion than is perhaps necessary for Candide (including a new scene set in Cuba, credited to a dead Hugh Wheeler).

However, as with most productions of Candide (including Hal Prince's opera house production, the war-horse that this new production is based on) it is the performances and the music that carry the show. Marvin Avila was beautifully stylized with a voice that bathed the audience in innocence as the title character. Ms. Mosser's Cunegonde was a refreshing change from the mostly doe-eyed ingenues I've seen play the role, giving her bi-polar nature a much richer form with heavy accent of the depressive side. (Though, given the modern setting of the show, one wonders why Dr. Pangloss didn't give her a Prozac and tell her to shut up.) And to Dr. Pangloss. Paul Sandberg gave a fine performance as both Dr. Voltaire (of the realism camp) and Dr. Pangloss (of the optimism camp--this production omitted, as many do, the third philosopher Martin of the pessimism camp). The finest performance of the evening, however, belonged to Katharine Heaton as Cunegonde's faithful servant, the one-buttocked Old Lady. Ms. Heaton has a rich mezzo voice and spot-on comic timing. One rarely finds the combination of a well-trained opera singer and a true comedienne, and we often settle for one or the other with this role.

All-in-all, a very enjoyable evening at the theatre, and I cried--as I do--during the finale, "Make Our Garden Grow." It should be noted that the children sitting with the family next to me also seemed to enjoy themselves immensely. Bravo, NYU.

On to the other evening of theatre (actually going in reverse order). Are there seriously those of you who read this blog who have yet to attend a Five Flights show? Get on their mailing list, because you are missing delightful and insightful new theatre.

The newest installment from this exciting company derived from the idea that it is impossible to utilize super-heroes in live theatre. The effects ("woosh," "crunch," and "blammo," for example) are too necessary and only work on the page or the screen. So, Will Lacker set out to create a super hero drama in which the "boom"s and the "blast"s happen off-stage, while the drama unfolds onstage.

The result was The Custodian, the story of a janitor who--tired of cleaning up after super heroes--takes matters into his own hands. Eryck Tait is the title character who offers a surprisingly honest arc from beginning to end, surprising only considering the zany antics going on around him. His roommate Remy (Nick Hepsoe) plays video games all day and night, girlfriend (ex-girlfriend?) Wanda (Carlyn Kautz) is shacking up with Remy's childhood buddy Fing (Adam Delia) and there's a hostage super hero sidekick (Steve Yates) in his living room.

Early on, the play seems to take place in Manhattan as we know it. The trials and tribulations of the characters are familiar to us. The only things that seem out of place are the earthquakes (we'll later find out that those are caused by The Incredible Hulk). However, Lacker quickly employs the use of The Professor (Kacy Rice), a British know-it-all who pops up to explain the more archaic details of the story, to push the play from quirky to out-right ridiculous. Ms. Rice also appeared as a TV news anchor and a radio DJ, offering glimpses of life outside the apartment. (In other news, Ms. Rice's 21st birthday happened to land on the night of the performance I attended. Happy Birthday, Kacy!)

The ridiculous nature of the play and the honesty with which it was presented was truly a new great feat hurdled by the Five Flights Theater Company. And, true to Lacker's intent, there was only one special effect in the show (it could either be described as a "splat" or a "sploosh," or perhaps a combination thereof).

The best of all possible weekends spent with the best of all possible shows.

I Get a Tap Out of Wallkill HS

2009-04-01T17:32:00.004-04:00

I have another whirlwind weekend of theatre coming up, and I’ll be sure to be back here with information on what’s certain to be an entertaining and thought provoking couple of shows (including NYU Steinhart’s production of the Leonard Bernstein classic Candide and a new play by bourgeoning pioneers Five Flights Theatre Company). Still, I’d be remiss if I left out the show I saw last weekend at Wallkill High School in upstate New York.

Now, I don’t have any real connection to Wallkill or its students. I’m not from the town, I didn’t attend or work at the school and I did not know anyone in their production of Cole Porter’s Anything Goes. Well, that last part isn’t completely true: my brother, Paul, was the choreographer for this production, which is what brought me to Wallkill in the first place. But I did not feel any real responsibility to the players or staff going in.

Coming out, however, I had a huge grin on my face, the kind that comes from eating something really sticky and sweet or from seeing pure shameless musical comedy. For those of you who don’t know, Anything Goes is one of those pre-Oklahoma musicals that seldom pretends to have much of a plot, and even more seldom that the songs have anything to do with the plot (as a matter of fact, the only plot driven song in the show—an ode to Public Enemy #1—is hardly a minute long). It’s a vehicle for big voices, show-stopping numbers, great comic timing and tapping. Lots and lots of tapping.

To see these young performers dancing their feet off you’d never guess that all but a small handful had never taken a tap lesson before. Perhaps this is nothing more than a vain testament to the talent of the choreographer, my brother. But I truly think that there is little that could have gotten those kids tapping as they were (four of the girls did wings!) if the students themselves did not have the talent to learn and perfect those steps in the few months’ time they had to rehearse.

I must commend director Liz Bailey on her crisp and sophisticated staging of show, and for her educationally sound and experience-savvy policy of employing understudies for all of the major roles. The night I attended, the actress playing Reno Sweeney was too ill to perform. Elise Macur, her understudy, went on at the very last minute (I get the impression she was still zipping up as the overture played) and gave a solid performance in a demanding role made famous by the likes of Ethel Merman and Patti LuPone.

Additional kudos is owed to John Dunigan as Moonface Martin, Public Enemy #13, who managed to steal almost every scene he was in from everyone except for Abe Bliden who managed to hold his own in the role of Sir Evelyn Oakley. Crooners Sara Lobdell and Tyler Keeno, in the roles of the lovers hope Harcourt and Billy Crocker, leant just the right amount of gravity to their renditions of Porter favorites “It’s De-Lovely” and “All Through the Night.”

Good job, Wallkill HS. You’re the top!

Secretary of the Arts

2009-01-31T22:50:00.006-05:00

In light of my New Year's blog post, I felt it was necessary to post this: http://www.petitiononline.com/esnyc/petition.html

This is an online petition for our new President, Barack Obama, to appoint a Secretary of the Arts. This is something we've needed for a long time, and in the current financial climate, the arts are getting struck harder than before. Arts education programs in schools are being cut like never before and the new voices of the arts are finding it even harder to make themselves heard. We need the help wherever we can get it. The exciting part of this news is that so far there are 221565 signatures on the petition. I also read an article stating that a new petition has recently been formed against the appointment of a Secretary of the Arts. As of the writing of the article, that petition has six signatures. I think we all feel the way poster #221517, Laura Hope-Gill, feels: "It's time."

Expect new posts in the very near future, and as usual if you know of any exciting new theatre happening in the New York area, please let me know! feel free to comment here or drop me an e-mai: rigano.reviews@gmail.com.

Drawn to Mary Fishburne

2009-01-19T12:57:00.004-05:00

I promised you all an update on the concert given by my friend--a fantastic singer/actress--Mary Fishburne. The show was called Drawn to You, a clever title for a cabaret act of songs created for a slew of legendary characters... cartoon characters. Mary opened the show with a silver-voiced interpretation of "What Can I Do for You?", a song by Edward Heyman and Sammy Timberg that was introduced to the world by the croaking voice of Popeye the Sailor Man. (Fishburne proceeded to muse that, although it is taboo to sing a song that was introduced by such a legend, she felt she brought a new quality to the song--singing.)

This proved to be a fantastic and charming opening for a fantastic and charming show. First of all, Ms. Fishburne is a delight. She brings an air of Southern charm combined with New York know-how, a stunning mix, to this performance. This is most apparent in her performance of the Alan Menken song "Pink Fish," a song about a Southern girl in New York discovering bagels and lox.

The other thing she and writer/director Jeffrey Sweet brought to the evening was a sense of sincerity. This was not a gimmick show. While they gave us the requisite jokes comparing Ms. Fishburne to the likes of Minnie Mouse and Olive Oil, she also brought a grounding--dare I say it?--third dimension to the material.

With material ranging from silver-screen Disney to classic television and back, the show, accompanied by the amazing Rick Hip-Flores, married whimsy to true human (or in some cases, animal) emotions for a beautiful show. Kudos to producer Jeff Landsman (of the York Theatre's Developmental Reading Series) for finding these artists and bringing them together.

In attendance the night that I saw the show was the daughter of legendary cartoon composer Sammy Timberg (of the Popeye opening number), who was there to see her father's material celebrated. We chatted beforehand and she asked me if I was Mary's boyfriend. I thought to myself after seeing the show, I should just lied and said "Yes!"

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2009-01-06T20:12:00.005-05:00

Happy New Year, all! I hope you all had sufficiently raucous December 31st celebrations. Mine were filled with theoretical discussions of theatre while making brand new friends (I kid you not).

I've got a few things to cram into this post. The first is a very belated review of a production of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown that I saw at Marymount Manhattan College. Directed by Jesse Marchese, this production utilized--in many ways--found objects representing the scenery and props dictated by the script, much the way the original Off-Broadway production did. Jesse's theory, he told me, was that kids can make a performance space out of anything. His production certainly proved that point. Rather than recreating the 'Peanuts' characters of the cartoons, as the most recent Broadway revival did, this production--staged in a non-traditional space--gave the impression of kids putting on a show in their backyard.

The performances astounded me. As a teacher of young people (a number of my students came to see the show with me!) I've seen several children perform material from Charlie Brown. But there's something so thrilling about adults letting themselves go and embodying these small children with these big ideas. The best example of this would have to be Katie Hutchison's Sally Brown, characterized in equal parts by her capriciousness and her precosiousness. Austin Wolf was delightful as the put-upon title character, his optimism all but forcing you to root for him throughout the whole show. It was a joy to watch Melissa Benoist (who I named last year's break-out performance of the year) lose herself in the egomaniacal Lucy VanPelt, and even more a joy to hear her sing. The necessary air of maturity and sophistication was supplied by Kevin O'Malley who portrayed a Snoopy that one might find more suited to sipping martinis with the likes of Noel Coward or Alexander Wollcott than hanging out with that round-headed boy.

Overall, the production was a delight and my students from The Children's Acting Academy had a wonderful time. I hope to post photos from the production as soon as I can.

On a more serious note, New York is currently recovering from The Great Broadway Massacre of 2009, a day that will go down in infamy as that day that saw the simultaneous closing of nine Broadway shows (and put a number of friends of mine out of work). January 4, 2009, left a staggering number of Broadway houses dark, and while new shows are coming in, they're going much more swiftly. It could be argued that some of the shows that have left my friends on unemployment (Hairspray, for example) have stayed their welcome and met with a timely demise, while others (Spring Awakening, anyone?) were more difficult to fathom.

In any event, right now more than ever in recent memory, we need to support the arts however we can. We need to go to Broadway shows, Off-Broadway shows, tours, regional theatre, community theatre. We need to show our solidarity for the up-and-coming talent out there. The arts have never been an easy field to break into. But due to the current recession, performers, writers, creators of all kind are finding that there are fewer and fewer venues for their voices to be heard.

So, here's my New Year's resolution: I will go to see as many performances [especially of new talent] as my wallet will allow [comps are always welcome] and I will spread the word right here.

Here's how you can do your part: PLEASE let me know of shows that you or your friends are doing so that I can plug them and review them. And please, pass this blog on to your friends so that the word can spread even faster. Let's join forces to support the insane amount of talent that is out there all over the country waiting to be heard!

On that note, I have a few things to plug. First: the insanely talented Mary Fishburne will be performing in her new cabaret Drawn to You, featuring music from some of her favorite cartoons. The show opens December 7 (TOMORROW) and runs until December 11. It's sure to be a sensational evening, and you're sure to hear more about it from me.

I also have to give a shout-out and a big Thank You to The Fabulous Jennifer Wren (that's her full name) who hosts the bi-monthly open-mic/cabaret Big Night Out. Jenny is a big part of the coallition to give new voices a chance to be heard. Every other Thursday at their new home at Dillon's Lounge, she and Musical Genius Bill Zeffiro (that's his full name) can be found hamming it up and allowing others to do so, as well.

That having been said, I have a belated Christmas/New Year gift for you all. On December 17th, Jenny and Bill hosted a Holiday Extravaganza, and I was honored to be among the truly amazing composers and performers. Here is a video of me singing my song "(Let's Go) Under the Mistletoe."

'What a Life' Transcends

2008-10-06T16:45:00.003-04:00

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?

2008-09-01T22:09:00.006-04:00

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

2008-08-22T00:51:00.005-04:00

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

2008-08-02T22:51:00.003-04:00

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

2008-06-04T11:15:00.006-04:00

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

2008-05-13T11:08:00.003-04:00

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

2008-05-12T17:09:00.004-04:00

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

2008-05-06T21:59:00.008-04:00

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!

2008-04-28T16:27:00.000-04:00

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

2008-04-28T14:15:00.003-04:00

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

2008-04-28T14:07:00.009-04:00

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?

2008-04-28T14:02:00.003-04:00

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

2008-04-28T04:55:00.001-04:00

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