"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