"Much Ado About Nothing" at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey (through December 28)

Marian Adler and Scott Wentworth
Photo credit: Jerry Dalia

The era is World War II. A soldier sits forlornly alone peeling potatoes in the barracks. Behind him on the wall is a large poster, a reminder to "Buy War Bonds." Weary, he falls asleep. It looks as if he has fallen down on his KP duties. But it isn't long before he's up on his feet not only on leave but also back in his home town as a guest in the Governor's mansion just in time for a Christmas party.

It certainly isn't the worst fantasy Officer Benedick (Scott Wentworth) could imagine. The scene gracefully changes (nice work by designer Michael Ganio) from the barracks to ballroom where numerous dazzling chandeliers adorned with mistletoe will bring added glow to a Much Ado that glitters glibly from start to finish. For starters, the voice of Bing Crosby's crooning "White Christmas," is heard followed by Benedick who is now in the uniform of an officer and joined by others from his regiment.

Except for Benedick's assertion that he is a confirmed bachelor, all the other officers are eager to make merry and dance with all the beautiful young women, friends and relations of Governor Leonato (an imposing Raphael Nash Thompson) all of whom are dressed in their holiday best (gorgeous period-perfect costumes designed by Candida Nichols). Despite all that jitterbugging to the sounds of the Glenn Miller Orchestra and the obligatory conga line, Benedick is still not ready to break the long-standing stand-off of wits that has defined his testy relationship with his beguiling, equally stubborn and most emphatically sharp-tongued cousin Beatrice (Marion Adler.) Both being determined not to reveal how and what they really feel for each other despite their having reached middle-age, theirs is a romance that demands some interference from Santa and his corps of similarly bearded helpers.

What a grand idea of director Scott Wentworth has to not only update Shakespeare's most operetta-like and melodramatic comedy to the mid 1940s but to also take on the role of Benedict, which he does with petulance and panache. Among the most charming conceits of this production, however, is the body language that amusingly defined the era, including the soldiers' at-ease posturing.To read the rest of the review, please go to http://curtainup.com/muchadonj14.html

"Elf" at the Paper Milll Pllayhouse (through January 4)

Paul C. Vogt and James Moye
Photo: Matthew Murphy

Elf , the 2003 film starring Saturday Night Live comedian Will Ferrell as a thirty year old human who was raised by Santa and his helpers to believe he was an elf, if an overgrown one at over six feet tall, has become a cult classic. Adapted as a musical for the stage by Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin with music by Matthew Sklar and lyrics by Chad Beguelin, it ran on Broadway in 2010 ( my review- with song list ) and 2012, each time staying for the duration of the holiday seasons. This New Jersey premiere of a newly envisioned Elf, under the direction of Seattle native Eric Ankrim originated at the 5th Avenue Theater in Seattle.

Elf may not be one of the best adaptations from film to stage, and it most certainly isn't a great or even a very good musical. However, if you leave the theater without a smile on your face and feeling good for having been there then there is something seriously wrong with you. For whatever reason, almost everything that I perceived was wrong and had rubbed me the wrong way with the show the first time around needs to be reconsidered.

As close to a perfect holiday attraction for the whole family as one can get (barring the obligatory resurrections across the continent of A Christmas Carol, Elf has a story that just doesn't place any value on being credible on any level, but it embraces its aspirations and all of its absurdities to the fullest. I admit to feeling a bit foolish in reversing my first opinion, yet I can see how the current production has worked its joy-filled magic. In every way, this staging and the performances surpass the 2010 show that I reviewed for CurtainUp.To read the rest of the review, please go to http://curtainup.com/elfsnj14.html 

"Cafe Society Swing" at 59E59 Theaters A (through January 4, 2015)

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L to R: Charenee Wade, Allan Harris, Cyrille Aimee
Photo Credit: Carol Rosegg

If there was one nightclub that stood out as it also stood for something quite unique during the 1930s and 1940s, it was Cafe Society. It was there, beginning in 1938 and for the next eleven years, that many of the finest and most celebrated black and white jazz singers and musicians as well as theatre comics and satirists not only shared the spotlight but shared their artistry with an integrated audience. This nightclub was a dream that was to be fully realized for its entrepreneurial former shoe salesman from New Jersey Barney Josephson. As a socially and politically progressive Jew, Josephson would be, as was his more activist brother, an inevitable target of The House Un-American Committee.

While his club earned a reputation as a Commie hangout during the "Red Scare," Jacobson was, nevertheless, fervently committed to providing a hospitable, intimate space for the showcasing and the co-mingling of celebrities, luminaries and, dignitaries - - - a space where a stepping-out Eleanor Roosevelt, Orson Welles, Charlie Chaplin, Gene Kelly, Errol Flynn and Lauren Bacall the former Betty Perske would stop in to see such performers as Lena Horne, Billie Holiday, Hazel Scott, Mildred Bailey, Count Basie, Paul Robeson, Zero Mostel and Jack Gilford.

Cafe Society was fabled as "the wrong place for the right people," but 59E59 Theaters is exactly the right place for this small-scaled, but big-hearted bio-revue written by Alex Webb (based on "Cafe Society: the Wrong Place for the Right People" by Barney Josephson and Terry Trilling-Josephson) in which four splendid singers are teamed with eight terrific musicians. A narrative thread is provided by an engaging Evan Pappas as Josephson and on occasion by superb guitarist and singer Allan Harris. The thread may not be as strong or as stirring as one might like considering the swirling history and events of the time, but Pappas also get to portray credibly a head-line seeking journalist and a commiserating barkeep. These characters contribute to the atmosphere and back story for twenty-two musical numbers.

It's what's between the lines that really matters, however, and that's where the singers make the songs count and account for something a little different from what you might expect. The big band sound is prominent throughout with standout playing from Benny Benack III on trumpet, Harris on guitar, Bill Todd on alto sax and Clarinet and Alex Webb on piano, with the distaff side represented by Mimi Jones on bass, Lucianna Padmore on drums and Camille Thurman on tenor sax. Upbeat instrumentals are well balanced with the predominantly bluesy tempos of the vocals.

Another plus is the exceedingly cool, unhurried staging of each segment by director Simon Green. What was especially appreciated and enjoyed was the integration of many songs with which I was not familiar but were clearly intended to enrich our experience. Six Deco panels designed by David Woodhead also enrich the otherwise simple bandstand setting that also makes accommodation for a small office and a bar.

No need or reasons for impersonations of Lena Horne, Queen Ida Cox, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Billie Holiday from singers Charenee Wade, Cyrille Aimee, Allan Harris and, indeed, Pappas, who impress with their own and very fine interpretations of the classic jazz repertoire. The closest number to a show-stopper is Aimee's joyously animated version of the famed Nellie Lutcher hit "Hurry On Down." Other highlights include trumpeter Benack taking the vocal spot to commemorate Josh White's famed protest song "One Meatball" and Webb leaving the ivory to embrace Billy Strayhorn's "Lush Life" with his own velvety voice. But if there is one moment and one number that defines Cafe Society's impact on our society, and it is "Strange Fruit," the song that changed Holiday's career when she introduced it. It serves as a terrific and touching closer.

"Cafe Society Swing"

For tickets ($70) call 212 279 - 4200 or http://www.ticketcentral.com

"Punk Rock" (at the Lucille Lortel Theatre through December 7, 2014)

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Noah Robbins and Will Pullen (Photo by Joan Marcus)



British playwright' Simon Stephens adaptation of Mark Haddon's novel "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" is currently a big hit on Broadway. He will undoubtedly find additional favor with this gripping, but also terrifying portrait of British teenagers in peril inspired by his own experiences as a teacher. The seventeen year olds preparing for their mock A level exams we meet are financially privileged. However, they are neither emotionally mature nor brave enough to either handle or consider seriously the sign-posts that one of their pack is seriously skewed, if not downright demented.To read the entire review please go to http://curtainup.com/punkrockmcc14.html

"Grand Concourse" (now at the Playwrights Horizons through November 30, 2014)

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(L-R) Ismenia Mendes and Quincy Tyler Bernstine in Grand Concourse (Photo: Joan Marcus)

How nice it is to be personally moved and stimulated by a new play as happened with "Grand Concourse" by Heidi Schreck. First introduced to the playwright when her play "There Are No More Big Secrets" was produced at the Rattlestick Theater in 2010, I am not familiar with her writing for the TV series "Nurse Jackie." That she is also a fine actor with numerous New York and regional credits only confirms her as multi-disciplined and talented. I am pleased to bring to your  attention her latest and another excellent play that again relies on as well as benefits from her  "...Big Secrets" director Kip Fagan.  

Set in a soup kitchen in the Bronx, it involves the spiritual and secular conflict in which a Catholic sister Shelley (Quincy Tyler Bernstine) finds herself. This dilemma applies to the act of forgiving, a very basic and fundamental core of her Christian belief. At the start, Shelley is in prayer in front of a microwave for an amusing reason. In her late thirties, she is far from humorless but is, however, very serious about her commitment to the daily routine that includes chopping  up vegetables for the hearty soups for the homeless, as well as seeing to the care and maintenance of the facility of which she is co-manager.

Along with her dedication to this daily routine, Shelley  depends a lot on late-twenty-something Oscar (Bobby Moreno), an easy-going Dominican, employed as a security guard whose primary job is to make sure that none of the homeless make trouble,  or make their way from the dining room to the kitchen - - - that is except for Frog (Lee Wilkov), an aging, somewhat scattered intellectual whose frequent visits are tolerated despite ample evidence of his unstable but not-dangerous mental state apparently held in check with medication.

For the element of danger and for the potential for the unexpected which you can be sure is forthcoming, there is Emma (Ismenia Mendez), a disquieting nineteen year-old college drop-out.  Her request to work as a kitchen helper is tentatively approved by Shelley, especially when Emma tells Shelley she has cancer and just beginning chemo therapy.

Despite the evidence that surfaces that Emma is more needy and unstable than either Shelley or Oscar are initially aware, they are unprepared for the havoc and mayhem ahead. On the surface, Shreck's play seems uncomplicated as its four characters carve out an uneasy alliance. That it becomes a profound study in compassion and tolerance amid crises makes it very special study in human behavior.

Bernstine is heart-breaking as the Sister whose devotion to her faith is taxed to the breaking point not only by Mendes but also by a unresolved long-standing relationship with her own family. Mendes may be pretty, but is nevertheless scary as the willfully deceptive Emma. Moreno gives the play a welcomed buoyancy as the sweet-tempered guard who allows an unguarded incident to come close to ruining his life. Frog is kind of a running joke through the play, but Wilkof's terrific performance defines him also as a poignant and pathetic soul whose deteriorating mind is slowly betraying him. The kitchen has been effectively designed by Rachel Hauck to accommodate a play that will keep on cooking in your mind long after you see it.

     The performance schedule for GRAND CONCOURSE is Tuesdays through Fridays at 7:30 PM, Saturdays at 2 & 7:30 PM and Sundays at 2 & 7PM.  There are special Monday evening performances at 7:30 PM on both November 10 and November 24. Single tickets ($60-75) may be purchased online via www.TicketCentral.com, by phone at (212) 279-4200 (Noon-8pm daily) and in person at the Ticket Central Box Office, 416 West 42nd Street (between Ninth & Tenth Avenues).

"The Last Ship" (at the Neil Simon Theater)

Michael Esper and Rachel Tucker (Photo: Joan Marcus)

Pop-rock star Sting (of The Police and solo fame) is making a splashy debut on Broadway. It is not with a personal appearance, but rather as the composer of an impressive and rather traditionally conceived musical. Not be entirely autobiographical, it has been culled from Sting's memories of his early life growing up in an English coastal town that was once renowned for its ship-building industry.  A grand and eclectically constructed score that is stunningly removed from anything resembling the rock musical style, it resonates fervently with the influences of Kurt Weill, as well as the folk cannon, sea chanties and the jazz genre. At its best, it is the rock (in the original sense of the word) upon which the musical's weakly structured book co-written by John Logan and Brian Yorkey has been tethered.

Even beyond the lush melodic textures that carry the show, Sting's gritty and stirring lyrics do more to inform the characters' feelings than the feeble, minimally involving story. This is a shame as there is a thread running through this musical of an impassioned community fighting for its life after losing its sustaining industry. But the thread is weakest at its center as it plods through the story of a man, Gideon Fletcher, who returns to the town he left as a restless youth to escape the life of a ship-builder. Upon his return and just as shiftless as ever, he not only finds that his former girl friend has born and raised the son he never knew he had but also has found love and support from another man. This plot line is anchored to the incredulous decision by the unemployed workers to build one last ship. Total hokum, but we get on board in order to believe.

Notable for its lusty, tough-as- nails performances from both the men and the women, but with a particularly riveting one by Michael Esper, as Gideon, this musical is also graced with terrific choreography by Steven Hoggett. The exhilarating foot-stomping dances as well as the melancholy waltzes and beautifully sung ballads define the hard-scrabble life of the community. A distinctly dark show in its dramatic content and in its grimly effective scenic design by David Zinn, "The Last Ship," will most likely see Broadway as it last port of call.

"On The Town" (at the Lyric Theater, 213 West 42nd Street)

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L-R: Jay Armstrong Johnson, Tony Yazbeck, Clyde Alves and the cast(Photo: Joan Marcus)

There is a very good reason why members of the audience feel they can't help but dance up the aisles after the curtain falls on this exuberant, ebullient effervescent revival of this classic 1944 musical about sailors on leave looking for love. It would be enough if you only had the gorgeous score by Leonard Bernstein to lift your spirits, but there is the warmly funny book written by geniuses Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and the alternately robust and dreamy choreography created by Joshua Bergasse to further enrich a show that may be familiar to many. Just about every aspect of this musical that has come to Broadway by way of a well-received summer production at Barrington Stage in Massachusetts, is perfection as directed by John Rando. 

There is nothing summer-stock-ish about it visually. Its wonderfully mobile, spectacularly stylized scenic and projection designs by Beowullf Boritt are a plentiful, eye-filling  delight,  as enhanced by Jason Lyons' sparkling lighting.  But best of all is the unusually large and versatile cast, all of whom have been winningly costumed to reflect the 1940s by Jess Goldstein.  Standout among them is the sensational Tony Yazbeck, as Gabey the gob in search of his love Miss Turnstile, as played to perfection by the lovely New York City Ballet's principal ballerina Megan Fairchild, in her Broadway debut. Comical show-stopper Jackie Hoffman deserves high marks for playing three equally hilarious roles. And just think what a twenty-eight piece orchestra does for such memorable songs as "Lonely Town," "Lucky to be Me," and "Some Other Time." It's enough to keep you swooning through the crooning in this thoroughly joyous entertainment.

It's Only a Play" (at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, 236 West 45th Street)

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Megan Mullally and Nathan Lane (photo: Joan Marcus)

True enough that "It's Only a Play," but one only wishes it was only a good play and not the joke-drenched,  up-dated name-dropping,  plot-deferred vehicle for Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick that is the hottest ticket in town. A flop when it was first produced in 1986,  Terrence McNally's insular comedy is about an actor (Lane) who left the stage to star in a TV series and his contentious relationship with his former friend a playwright (Matthew Broderick) who is having his first play produced on Broadway.

The opening night party is in progress and it's a barrel of laughs - - - that is when Lane is left alone to do his incomparable shtick, and also when a host of opening nighters, including a producer, a critic, a star, and others get time and space to say and do a lot of very funny, often outrageous, and generally unacceptable things that more or less are meant to define what life is like in the theater. It's a shame that the energy level drops precipitously the minute Broderick enters, doing his version of a schlemiel in need of a transfusion of blood.

There is no reason in the world the play should suddenly come to a dead stop and only get revived when Broderick is not at the center of it. Lane, however, is not left without a complimentary straight man. He is Micah Stock who is hilarious as a young innocent (or is he?) wannabee who has been hired as a coat checker and greeter and who parries expertly with Lane, as does everyone else in the cast including a terrific Megan Mullally as the play-within-the- play's nutty novice producer, a scene-stealing Stockard Channing as a drug-fortified leading lady, an off-the-wall Rupert Grint, as a kleptomaniac avant-garde director, and the excellent F. Murray Abraham, as an acerbic critic who gets what's coming to him.

Jack O'Brien's direction, that is except for his inability to extract something resembling a performance from Broderick, makes sure that guffaws follow every gag and that we are never concerned overly with what happens to whom and why at the producer's townhouse, as elegantly designed by Scott Pask. If it's only a laugh that you need, then go for it.

"The Country House" (at the MTC Samuel J. Friedman Theatre 261 West 47th Street)

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Blythe Danner (photo: Joan Marcus)

 

It won't take savvy theater audiences or more specifically those familiar with the plays by Anton Chekhov (notably "Uncle Vanya," and "The Seagull") to recognize the playful conceit deployed by playwright Donald Margulies in his play set in a country home in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Here, a family of self-centered theater folk feud, fret and fuss about their careers while giving equal time to their complicated personal lives. It's glib to be sure, with its unsubtle Chekhovian references and its more unsubtle characters played for all they are worth by actors who know how to land a line. Director Daniel Sullivan has taken this Manhattan Theatre Club production as seriously as have the cast who make their numerable entrances and exits with suitable affectation and appropriate aplomb in the handsomely appointed home designed by John Lee Beatty.

It really isn't important to know who is cheating on whom, whose career is on the wane, or whose lives are being wasted, only that the Blythe Danner commands center stage as a fading stage and screen star while the others take their cue, say their lines and orbit around her with an understandable  sense of frustration. Some may enjoy playing the Chekhov-game of naming each of the character's counterpart, while others will grow weary as they also laugh at the prevailing pettiness and the phony poignancy that abounds in this country house.