What's In A Name?: "Here I Go" and "Lonely, I'm Not"

A title can inspire, amuse, mystify, engage.

"Lonely, I'm Not," at 2econd Stage Theatre through June 3rd, truly deserves a more imaginative moniker. Playwright Paul Weitz does his fine romantic comedy a great disservice by not finding a worthier title to represent it. In fact "Lonely, I'm Not," is arguably the best of the four Weitz plays 2econd Stage has produced.

On the other hand, the title of the performance piece at 59E59 Theaters, also playing through June 3rd, "Here I Go,", conjures up a favorite Dolly Parton tune. "Here I Go" lives up to the promise, if not the spirit, that the tune inspires.

Heather (Olivia Thirlby) on a date with Porter (Topher Grace) in Paul Weitz’s “Lonely, I’m Not.” Photo © Joan Marcus.

The hooks in Dolly Parton's songs are so catchy and bouncy that it's hard to imagine them as a soundtrack for heartbreak, but in "Here I Go," Lynette, widowed at 60 (Natalie Leonard), not only has lost her husband but also had lost touch with her family.

Gates Loren Leonard, Michael Howell, Natalie Leonard in “Here I Go.” Photo © Corey Torpie.

"Here I Go" is a very engaging silent show, with a musical soundtrack, some of it live (Lynette at 16, Mariah Iliardi-Lowy, sings as does Michael Howell, billed as The Man) and a voice over narration (voiced by Julie Nelson.) Written by David Todd, "Here I Go" is a stylized performance conceived by Luke Leonard, who also directs, and set to Western sounds (designed by Michael Howell.)

In "Here I Go," Lynette revisits the highlights and low points of her life as a cowgirl, bringing to life her younger selves (along with her at 16 years old; at 8, Gates Loren Leonard; at 26, Jessica Pohlman).

Jessica Pohlman and Michael Howell in “Here I Go.” Photo © Corey Torpie.

"All I ever wanted was a few moments to myself, just to think...." Lynette says. "And then I'd put on my music and it would sound so sweet, because I had you and I had them.... But when you take it all away... the music just doesn't do it anymore."

In "Lonely, I'm Not," Porter (Topher Grace), still reeling from his divorce three years ago, has also fallen on hard times. Once he was a high-powered, hard-driving success. His father, Rick (Mark Blum), a con artist, still thinks of him as a soft touch, although he is running low on funds.

Little Dog (Christopher Jackson) with Porter (Topher Grace) in Paul Weitz’s “Lonely, I’m Not.” Photo © Joan Marcus.

It Was Often Bleak at "February House"

Stanley Bahorek as Benjamin Britten,. Ken Barnett as Peter Pears, A.J. Shively as Chester Kallmann, Stephanie Hayes as Erica Mann, Kristen Sieh as Carson McCullers, and Erik Lochtefeld as W.H. Auden shivering at 7 Middagh. Photo © Joan Marcus.

In 1940, George Davis (Julian Fleisher), had a dream of creating a communal hothouse for brilliant talents in a ramshackle Victorian on a Brooklyn hill. Davis,having published a novel to some acclaim, went on to a very luminous career as an editor.

"February House," at The Public Theater through June 10th 17th, will appeal to lit. nerds and English majors. The musical by Gabriel Kahane (music and lyrics) and Seth Bockley (book), and direction by Davis McCallum, is based on Sherell Tippins non-fictional 2005 exploration of life at 7 Middagh Street, Brooklyn and the ragtag assortment of famous and accomplished intellectuals who resided there.

The group included Gypsy Rose Lee (Kacie Sheik) who worked on a best-selling murder mystery while boarding with George.

Kacie Sheik as Gypsy Rose Lee at 7 Middagh, Brooklyn. Photo © Joan Marcus.

Carson McCullers (Kristen Sieh), just 23 and fresh off the success of "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter," left her husband, Reeves (Ken Clark), and took up residence. W.H. Auden (Erik Lochtefeld), in a moment of abandon, took a room with his young protege, Chester Kallman (A.J. Shively.) Benjamin Britten (Stanley Bahorek) and his lover, the singer Peter Pears (Ken Barnett) reluctantly decided to join the experiment.

Auden worked with Britten and Pears on the opera "Paul Bunyon" at February House. Photo © Joan Marcus.

At "February House," Davis coaxed and coddled his charges. He exerted a flair for the dramatic and decorative, sometimes at the expense of the practical. Life at 7 Middagh Street was never dull, but often it was far from comfortable. There was plenty of booze, but not enough heat; frequent partying lead to missed deadlines.

George Davis' little experiment in communal artistry did not fare well. Gypsy Rose may have been the only one of his tenants to have produced a successful work while boarding with George. Erika Mann (Stephanie Hayes), Thomas Mann's daughter who was married to Auden, adds a little political gravitas to the house on the hill when she shows up. It is after all the middle of World War II.

A highlight of "February House" is the song "California," sung by the endearing Bengy and Peter; the score successfully blends the post-modern with California pop when the pair of resident Brits announce their departure for Hollywood.

The tone of the musical is often wistfully alegiac. Among the charms of this production, along with the cast of fine young performers, is the fact that the characters are both icons and ordinary folk.

"February House" is the first commissioned musical as part of The Public Theater's Musical Theater Initiative. To find out more, visit www.publictheater.org

Setting Hillside Fires

Theo Stockman as Danny Mueller and Gordon Clapp as his Pop, Emil in David Rabe’s “An Early History of Fire.” Photo © Monique Carboni.

Watching things burn has an almost universal fascination. In "An Early History of Fire," at The New Group at Theatre Row through May 26th, Danny Mueller (Theo Stockman) and his friends Terry (Jonny Orsini) and Jake (Dennis Staroselsky) have graduated from setting fires on the hillside to blue collar jobs in their small mid-western hometown.

Jake is a disgruntled, misogynistic bully. Terry reflects his sweetness on everyone. "This is a nice town," he tells Danny, "with nice people in it. Why would you want to leave?" Danny yearns to escape from the town and his Pop, Emil's, (Gordon Clapp) household where he feels like the family drudge.

Devin Ratray as Benji and Gordon Clapp as Emil in David Rabe’s “An Early History of Fire.” Photo © Monique Carboni.

Emil is a self-aggrandizing narcissist, who is dependent on Danny since he lost his menial job. His ego is buoyed by the mentally challenged Benji (Devin Ratray) who doggedly accompanies in his idleness. Danny rejects his father's conventional suggestion that he finish college as a way out.

Danny is ambivalent about the rich college girl, Karen Edwards (Claire van der Boom), who fulfils his dreams of aspiration. He is both attracted and repelled by the genteel. Nonetheless, Karen and Danny get each other, even though he is not as simple as she wished when they first met.

Theo Stockman as Danny, Claire van der Boom as Karen, Jonny Orsini as Terry and Dennis Staroselsky as Jake in David Rabe’s “An Early History of Fire.” Photo © Monique Carboni

Karen, apparently an avid reader, quotes Kerouac, Salinger, and a little Ginsberg. She was looking for a bit of Lady Chatterley's experience with someone with "a strong back and a weak mind," she says. She is his ticket out even if he is only a diversion for her.

Theo Stockman as Danny, Dennis Staroselsky as Jake, Erin Darke as Shirley, Jonny Orsini as Terry and Claire van der Boom as Karen, in David Rabe’s “An Early History of Fire.” Photo © Monique Carboni

The atmosphere in "An Early History of Fire," is not especially heated. There are confrontations but their intensity is banked, and they are not full-out battles. The actors all encapsulate the thin distinctions of class in an era in small-town 1960s on the brink of monumental change.

Stockman's Danny is stolid, stumbling on a path that may give him the future for which he hopes. It's Staroselsky's Jake whose character is most combustible, hiding his sense of inferiority and misogyny behind a rakish charm. Gordon Clapp plays an Emil who has a capacity to disappoint anyone who relies on him.

Everyone in the fine cast treats the material in Rabe's excellent new play tenderly. For more information and a schedule of performances, visit www.thenewgroup.org

"Take What Is Yours"

All of us benefit from the struggles of three generations of American women for whom getting the right to vote was nearly a full-time job.

Erica Fae in “Take What Is Yours” at 59E59 Theaters. Photo © Augustinus Tjahaya

In “Take What Is Yours,” at 59E59 Theaters through May 27th, Erica Fae along with Jill A. Samuels, who also directs, tells the story of Alice Paul (Erica Fae,) a particularly dedicated Suffragette.

Alice Paul, educated with multiple degrees from prestigious colleges in the US and England, was relegated to a psychiatric ward for her determination. She was arrested for leading marches at the White House; in prison, she led a hunger strike. "Take What Is Yours," based on the writings of Alice Paul and members of The National Women's Party, is a fictionalized account of Alice Paul's time spent at Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia.

To say that her jailers were neither kind nor sympathetic understates the cruelty she suffered. Alice Paul rallied against the inhumane conditions under which she and the women with whom she was arrested were held. She offended the authorities, particularly the prison physician Dr. Gander (Adrian Jevicki)by requesting status as "political prisoners."

Wayne Maugans and Erica Fae in “Take What Is Yours” at 59E59 Theaters. Photo © Augustinus Tjahaya

The claustrophobic staging (Jill A. Samuels, concept, design consultant by Deb O) adds to the oppressive realism of the production. Theater B at 59E59 is a small space, made so much smaller by the wall behind which Fae and Wayne Maugans (as The Man,) Jevicki (who plays a Guard as well as Dr. Gander,) David Riley (as a Guard) and Courtney Stallings (Nurse) appear. Panels of the wall move aside to reveal the action; the half-sized bed in Alice Paul's tiny room spins as she is interviewed repeatedly by The Man and Dr. Gander.

Wayne Maugans air of aggressive hostility, even distaste, makes The Man a truly unpleasant visitor. Erica Fae is superb in the lead.

To find out more about "Take What Is Yours," please visit www.59e59.org.

Geeks to Whales: Can Devolution Be Progress?

Evolutionary biology has somehow become controversial.

Sets and video design by Jim Findlay. Patricia Buckley as Minnie, one of the characters she portrays in “Evolution.” Photo © Russ Rowland

Darwinism battles creationism in "Evolution" at 59E59 Theaters through May 20th.

Minnie is overmedicated and living with her mother. Minnie was the bright sister, but it's Pammy whose career as an evolutionary biologist has made her the family star in "Evolution."

All three women, and Minnie's nurse Sherry, are intelligently played by Patricia Buckley, who is also the author of this funny and poignant new play.

Patricia Buckley is Pammy, an evolutionary biologist, one of the characters she portrays in “Evolution.” Photo © Russ Rowland

Sea mammals, as Pammy drolly lectures, can only be explained as land animals regressing back into the ocean. Minnie, whose name teases the word minnow, seems to be drawn to water. She may be a victim of devolution and the sea.

Jim Findlay's sets and video designs for "Evolution." project dynamic marine scenes, enhancing the production.

Meanwhile, downtown on Here's stage, the New York Neo-Futurists present "You Are In An Open Field" on Thursdays -Saturdays through May 19th.

Steven A. French and Cherylynn Tsushima. Photo © Anton Nickel Marta (Marta Rainer) in "You Are In An Open Field" has a similar compulsion to Minne in "Evolution" for breathing under water. Marta is one of the geeks riffing on game theory in this musical slash video game entertainment.

"You Are In An Open Field" is written and performed by Kevin R. Free (Kevin), Marta Rainer and Adam Smith (Adam) and Eevin Hartsough. Rounding out the cast are Steven A. French (Actor) and Cherylynn Tsushima (Dancer) who add to the air of absurdity and whimsy. Music is created by the Neo-Futurists' frequent collaborator Carl Riehl who leads a live hip hop band. Christopher Dippel directs this off-beat and amusing theatrical event. To download tracks from the New York Neo-Futurists new musical "You Are In An Open Field" go to SoundCloud. Two songs, "I'm The Boss" and "Do It," are available on SoundCloud at the direct link http://soundcloud.com/ny-neo-futurists/sets/music-from-you-are-in-an-open. Visit www.59e59.org for a schedule for "Evolution."

To find out more about "You Are In An Open Field", visit www.here.org