You know, you really can't

Extended through February 22nd

Rose Byrne as Alice Sycamore and James Earl Jones asMartin Vanderhof in George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart's
"You Can't Take It With You" at the Longacre. Photo by  Joan Marcus.

In the zany Sycamore clan, Alice (Rose Byrne) seems to have fallen farthest from the tree. She's a level-headed girl who holds a conventional job as a secretary in a Wall Street firm. In a pleasing turn of events, she and the boss's son, Anthony Kirby, Jr. (Fran Kranz) have fallen madly in love.

 James Earl Jones, Kristine Nielsen, Fran Kranz, Reg Rogers,
Annaleigh Ashford,Patrick Kerr and Mark Linn-Baker.
Photo by Joan Marcus

Will the antics of her charmingly eccentric family spoil her engagement?

Kaufman and Hart's Pulitzer Prize-winning "You Can't Take It With You," at the Longacre Theatre, is a very American comedy. It's about freedom and the pursuit of happiness.

Alice's father, Paul (Mark Linn-Baker) constructs elaborate fireworks in the basement with the aid of Mr. DePinna (Patrick Kerr), who has taken up residence in grandpa's home with them. Grandfather Martin Vanderhof (James Earl Jones) walked away from his office one day years ago, and spends his days at Columbia commencements and his evenings with the neighborhood cop on the corner.

Alice's mother, Penny (Kristine Nielsen) is a serial artist currently writing steamy plays.
Essie, Alice's sister, (Annaleigh Ashford) breaks into dance while her husband Ed Carmichael (Will Brill) plays Beethoven --with a little more he's composed-- on the xylophone. Her tutor, the boisterous Boris Kolenkhov (Reg Rogers, who seems to have been born for this role), indulges her despite her deficiences as a dancer. Rheba (Crystal Dickinson), the family's maid who lives in with her beau Donald (Marc Damon Johnson) takes a keen interest in the household's businesses, which include Essie's candy-making enterprise.

"You Can't Take It With You" is both profoundly subversive and sweetly innocent. Charming, well-acted, beautifully constructed, and fabulously staged with Scott Ellis at the helm and David Rockwell (sets) and Jane Greenwood (costumes) designing. "You Can't Take It With You" is as irrestible as Olga's (Elizabeth Ashley) blintzes, but that comes later.

Elizabeth Ashley as Olga. Photo by
Joan Marcus.

Rounding out the cast are Byron Jennings as Tony's father, Anthony Sr., and Johanna Day as his wife and Tony's mother, Miriam. Also stopping by the Vanderhof-Sycamore home are Henderson, an IRS agent (Karl Kenzler) and some Justice Department fellows (Nick Corley, Austin Durant and Joe Tapper.) Gay Wellington (Julie Halston) spends her time there mostly in a madcap drunk.

"You Can't Take It With You" is a romantic comedy. Expect to see the triumph of good sense.

Every performance, in minutest detail, is perfect in "You Can't Take It With You." In fact the cast are all entirely impressive. James Earl Jones subdues that big voice to play an amicable, wise and peaceable Martin Vanderhof . Rose Byrne is delightful. Elizabeth Ashley makes the most of her Olga, as Reg Rogers does with his Kalenkhov. Kristine Nielsen, Annaleigh Ashford, Patrick Kerr, Marc Damon Johnson and Mark Linn-Baker are understatedly screwball.

To learn more about "You Can't Take It With You," please visit http://youcanttakeitwithyoubroadway.com/. Hurry, tickets should be hard to get.
For additional commentary,  http://lnkd.in/d7rJpzy

Peace in our time

Peace is elusive. Not the concept of peace. Everyone buys into that. The actual absence of war or threats of war is difficult to find. In part, it's hard to come by because war and peace are so much about posturing: "How dare they!" "We have to defend our values."

Paul Niebanck as John Honeywell and Kathleen Chalfant  as Irina Botvinnick in "A Walk in the Woods"
by Lee Blessing. At the Keen in a production directed by Jonathan Silverman. Photo by Carol Rosegg.

In Lee Blessing's vision in "A Walk in the Woods," at the Keen through October 18th, arms negotiations are a game leading to "Nyet" on one side, and "No" on the other.

Paul Niebanck as John Honeywell and Kathleen Chalfant  as Irina Botvinnick in "A Walk in the Woods"
by Lee Blessing. At the Keen in a production directed by Jonathan Silverman. Photo by Carol Rosegg.

Irina Botvinnick (Kathleen Chalfant) understands this. John Honeyman (Paul Niebanck), her naive counterpart from the USA, expects to save the world from itself.

Detente is an old-fashioned word. It melted with the ice of the Cold War. Blessing's play, ably directed by Keen's Artistic Director, Jonathon Silverstein, is about people--specifically about two people whose business is politics and whose mission is useless. The two are negotiators for the great and well-armed superpowers of the Soviet Union and the United States of America.

Chalfant's Irina is charming as she eggs Honeyman into trivial conversations as they walk and talk in a Geneva park.  The play, which was nominated for both a Tony and the Pulitzer Prize in 1987, echoes he futility and frustration of arms-race peace talks. It also drags to a point where it loses focus and our interest.

Is "A Walk in the Woods" dated in the post-Cold War era? Much of what it has to say about the unwillingness to scale down and give up weapons rings true. The opponents have changed shape and geography, perhaps. Despite its real-politik plot, however, the play lags. The leads are never anything but compelling to watch, but the outcome is evident and protracted.

The costumes by Amanda Jenks and Jennifer Paar are lively, and provide a nice rhythm to the seasons of the plot.

For more information on "A Walk in the Woods," and the Keen Company, please visit http://www.keencompany.org/.

          

An excuse to raise a glass

As if you needed a reason to drink, the Bard's 450th birthday is being toasted all around town.

The New York Shakespeare Exchange (NYSX) originated the beer and performance festivities, aka ShakesBEER, along with The Sonnet Project, as a way to infuse our culture with the classical. They want to bring Shakespeare alive to a modern audience.  

ShakesBEER is a three hour pub crawl, with scenes from the Shakespearean repertoire breaking out at each location. October's ShakesBEER features scenes from A Midsummer Night's Dream; Henry IV, Part 2; Romeo & Juliet; and Twelfth Night. The featured actors, who will be cheek by jowl with you, include Harry Barandes, Chris Corporandy, Phil Mutz, Sarah Nedwek, Katherine Puma, Colin Ryan, and Katelin Wilcox.

There are so many things you could debate after enjoying your ShakesBEER outing: Was William Shakespeare the Neil Simon, Arthur Kopit, Arthur Laurents, Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller rolled into one of his generation? Has any contemporary playwright come along to rival his efficacy in conveying the human condition? Did Marlowe write Shakespeare? Why isn't Tamberlaine performed more often? Is Lear or Hamlet WS's most iconic hero? Are his comedies funnier than The Big Bang Theory?

Book in advance for ShakesBEER. A schedule of the October outings can be found here: http://shakespeareexchange.org/content/shakesbeer-2014. 

"The Fatal Weakness" afflicts us all

As human beings, we are all to a greater or lesser degree, sentimental creatures.

Before the curtain rises on "The Fatal Weakness" by George Kelly.
Set design for The Mint Theater production by Vicki R. Davis.
Photo by Richard Termine.

"The Fatal Weakness," written by George Kelly in 1946, in revival at The Mint Theater through October 26th, is man's (and woman's) essential romanticism.

Kristin Griffith as Mrs. Ollie Espenshade in "The Fatal Weakness" by George Kelly.Photo by Richard Termine.

It leads Mrs. Ollie Espenshade (Kristin Griffith) to attend random weddings and her husband Paul (Cliff Bemis) to find a little extra kick in his step.

Cliff Bemis as Mr. Paul Espenshade and Victoria Mack as Penny Hassett
in George Kelly's "The Fatal Weakness," at the Mint. Photo by
Richard Termine.

On the other hand, their daughter, Penny Hassett (Victoria Mack) wears a veneer of cynical bravado. Can her free-thinking views on marriage be upended by her husband Vernon's (Sean Patrick Hopkins) staunch fidelity?

"The Fatal Weakness" is a top-shelf drawing room comedy.Under Jesse Marchese's direction, George Kelly's upper crust comedy is perfectly paced. The actors, all outstanding, bring this charming play to life. Kristin Griffith, as Ollie, is centerstage, and gives a wonderfully nuanced performance.

Kristin Griffith as Ollie, Cliff Bemis as Paul, and Cynthis Darlow
as Mrs. Mabel Wentz in "The Fatal Weakness" by George Kelly.Photo by Richard Termine.

Ollie's friend Mrs. Mabel Wentz (Cynthia Darlow)  delights in carrying tales. She has no illusions about why Paul has begun whistling and paying such careful attention to his wardrobe. Hers is a kind of inverse of romanticism.  Unlike Penny or Ollie, Anna (Patricia Kilgarriff),  the household maid, may be the only one completely clear-eyed about how relationships prosper or end.

Patricia Kilgarriff as Anna with Kristin Griffith as Ollie in
"The Fatal Weakness" by George Kelly. Costumes by
Andrea Varga. Photo by Richard Termine.

As "The Fatal Weakness" opens, a lace curtain rises to reveal a stunningly opulent room, designd by Vicki R. Davis, with mirrored walls and plush furniture.

The Mint Theater has once again rediscovered a lively and enjoyable jewel of a "forgotten" play.

For more information about "The Fatal Weakness," please visit www.minttheater.org.

The intoxicating mix of "Bootycandy"

Phillip James Brannon and Jessica Frances Dukes
in the openiing scene in Robert O'Hara's
"Bootycandy" at Playwrights Horizons
through October 12th. Photo (c) Joan Marcus.

To say "Bootycandy," written and directed by Robert O'Hara, at Playwrights Horizons through October 12th, is brilliant is an enormous understatement.

It's hard to say which episode of the seven vignettes O'Hara created was funnier, brighter, crisper as "Bootycandy" unrolled. Suffice it to say that each segment, standing alone, had its own kind of sparkle.

If there are not enough roles (and you know there are not) for black actors to display their talents, Robert O'Hara has tried to remedy the deficit, providing ample opportunity for this wonderful group of players to shine. In a phenomenally talented cast, with Phillip James Brannon taking the lead as Sutter, it is hard to pick a stand out. All these men and women put themselves whole-heartedly before us. In one uprroariously funny and incisive scene, Jessica Frances Dukes and Benja Kay Thomas dazzle as they play four disparate characters. The one white performer, (Jesse Pennington) in the ensemble of five gets to strut his stuff too, playing a range of parts.

"Bootycandy" exposes both its process and artifice as the chapters of Sutter's life emerge and merge as one. Sutter's progress from boy to man in a homophobic world is about sense and sensuality. "Have you lost your mind in the real world?," is a phrase his mother inherits from his grandmother, and uses to answer many of his life questions.

Sutter (Phillip James Brannon) with his granny (Lance Coadie Williams) in a scene from
Robert O'Hara's "Bootycandy." Photo by Joan Marcus.

'I don't write about white people," Sutter says definitively in the "Writers Conference" sketch that closes out Act I. Sutter, the stand in for the author, is a mixture of innocence and understanding. O'Hara, too, writes about all people. His central character happens to be a young gay black man, finding his way.

Sutter (Phillip James Brannon) with his sister (Benja Kay Thomas), mother (Jessica Frances Dukes) and stepfather (Lance Coadie Williams) in a scene from Robert O'Hara's "Bootycandy." Photo by Joan Marcus.

"Bootycandy" is a heady cocktail of styles and wisely observed details. The fact that its humor is gently satirical does not mean that it lacks bite and insight. Did we mention that Robert O'Hara's play is brilliant? It truly is.

For more information on "Bootycandy," please visit www.PHnyc.org.

Who was Rudolf Bauer? and "Boys and Girls"

Why would a prolific modernist painter suddenly stop making art?

"Bauer," Lauren Gunderson's drama at 59E59 Theaters through October 12th, is based on a true art mystery: what made Rudolph Bauer  (Howard Sherman,) the leading modernist of his generation, quit? He abandoned his legacy to Kandinsky, who is better known today as a master of modern art.

Did Hilla Rebay (Stacy Ross,) once the love of Bauer's life, betray him when she made him sign over all his work and his future artworks to Solomon  Guggenheim?

Howard Sherman and Stacy Ross in Lauren Gunderson's "Bauer" at 59E59
Theaters. Photo by Carol Rosegg

The play begins thirteen years after Bauer began his self-imposed exile in New Jersey. His wife, Louise (Susi Damiliano) has engineered a meeting between the former lovers who have not spoken in all those years.Modern art was in defiance to the Nazis, who abhorred it. Bauer seemed to like to defy. Guggenheim was his patron, who not only rescued him from the Nazis but also gave him a house, a Dusenberg, and a stipend, none of which satisfied Bauer.

It seems like  there should be drama in the anticipation of this meeting. Will they resolve their difference? Can Bauer return to his easel and create new masterworks? Despite decent performances, it's hard to get engaged in Bauer's ruined career or his motives.

As Louise, Susi Damiliano gives a resilient performance. Howard Sherman is convincing as the stubborn and perhaps broken artist. However, as the story unwinds,  it barely keeps our interest.

 Rudolf Bauer (Howard Sherman) welcomes Hilla von Rebay (Stacy Ross)
as his wife Louise (Susi Damiliano) stands by  in Lauren Gunderson's "Bauer" at 59E59 Theaters. Photo by Carol Rosegg.

"Bauer," originally produced at the San Francisco Plyhouse, is mostly talk, although the staging attempts to enliven. There are some nice projections (design by Micah J. Stieglitz, with scenic design by Ewa Muszynska), showing the artist's work and setting recollections.

The Weinstein Galleries are showing of Bauer's art to coincide with the New York production of the play. Sotheby's is auctioning off works by Bauer from September 22nd to October 10th.

Also at 59E59 Theaters: "Boys and Girls," written and directed by Dylan Coburn Gray, is part of Origin's 1st Irish 2014. Confessedly, it was the promise of the risqué that brought me to the theater, and the failure to fulfill it that had us take an early departure, not awaiting the climax as it were.

"Boys and Girls" is billed as being "naughty" -- if having  a young and pretty girl utter the dreaded "c" word can be considered ribald, then "Boys and Girls" is that.

Seán Doyle, Maeve O’Mahony, Claire O’Reilly, and Ronan Carey Seán Doyle in "Boys and Girls"written and directed by
Dylan Coburn Gray, part of 1st Irish at 59E59 Theaters. Photo by Carol Rosegg

The format of the play is a series of monologues in which the eponymous quartet take turns telling their love stories. Sweet young foul-mouthed things they are, too.

For more information on "Bauer" and "Boys and Girls," please visit 59e59.org

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Vahr ist Godot?

Poster from 1st Irish website

Samuel Beckett gets a fresh start as New Yiddish Rep renders his seminal absurdist masterwork “Waiting for Godot” in Yiddish for the first time, at the Barrow Street Theatre beginning tomorrow, Thursday, September 4th.  The play is translated by Shane Baker, and returns to New York for 12 performances only through September 21.

“Vartn Auf Godo” is presented in New York  on the heels of its European premiere in Northern Ireland where it opened the 3rd annual Happy Days Enniskillen International Beckett Festival, which ran from July 31 to August 10. Beckett wrote the play in ’48-’49 although its world premiere at the Théatre de Babylone in Paris did not occur until 1953. 

This production of this Irish born playwright's work is presented as part of Origin's 1st Irish Festival.

Not part of the 1st Irish, but an Irishman nonetheless, and an oft-quoted playwright, George Bernard Shaw is the Gingold Theatrical Group's "project" on Mondays at Symphony Space. 

GBSwas never shy about the breadth and places in which his ideas played out. His "Village Wooing," written in 1933,is a romance set on the high seas. See the seldom-seen play for two voices at GTG at Symphony Space on Monday, Sep 29th. 

For more on “Vartn Auf Godo” and the Origin's 1st Irish Festival, please visit http://1stirish.org/. To find out about GTG's Shaw Project and "Village Wooing," please visit http://www.symphonyspace.org/.

"Poor Behavior" --it's very good!

Marriage can be a very fragile alliance.

Katie Kreisler and Brian Avers in Theresa Rebeck's "Poor Behavior"
at Primary Stages through Sep 7.  Photo (c) 2014 James Leynse

In "Poor Behavior," at Primary Stages at The Duke through Sept 7th, Theresa Rebeck explores/exposes two couples at the most tenuous point in their clearly wobbly relationships. 

Heidi Armbruster and Brian Avers in
"Poor Behavior." Photo
(c) 2014 James Leynse

Ian (Brian Avers) and Maureen (Heidi Armbruster) are spending an ill-advised country weekend with their friends, Peter (Jeff Biehl) and Ella (Katie Kreisler). The first evening begins with a drunken argument between Ella and Ian over morality. His Irish sensibility is aroused by even the suggestion that things can be deemed good or bad, but it is evident that only he and Ella relish the fight. As their respective spouses head off to bed, Ian and Ella share an innocent tender moment, caught by the ever-hysterical Maureen.

Jeff Biehl in "Poor Behavior." Photo (c) 2014 James Leynse

The actors, guided by Evan Cabnet's excellent direction, are wonderful. The play, a brilliant work in the Rebeck oeuvre, is at once funny and distressing. Watching things devolve is agonizing and delightful. The dialogue in "Poor Behavior" is sharp, quick and witty. Lauren Halpern has designed an admirable country house, just cramped and uncomfortable enough to echo the proceedings of the script.

"Poor Behavior" is an entirely satisfying experience.

To learn more about Theresa Rebeck's "Poor Behavior" and Primary Stages, visit www.PrimaryStages.org. 

Premieres and more at MDC's Debut New York Season

Often it seems that defying gravity is how we define dance. Hold your breath as dancers twirl in impossible contortions before you. Catch your breath as they move gracefully and effortlessly through air and space, sometimes telling a story, sometimes just rejoicing in movement.

Annmaria Mazzini, a former Paul Taylor Dance Company dancer, and Artistic Director of The Mazzini Dance Collective rejoices in dancemmaking as story telling.

The Mazzini Dance Collective (MDC) holds its two-day only debut New York season on September 6th and 7th at The Ailey Citigroup Theater in The Joan Weill Center for Dance.

MDC was formed to be a collaborative between artists across visual and performing arts media. MDC is an inter- disciplinary, multi-generational troupe, integrating the arts of film, music and design.  At MDC, young dancers are inspired by veterans to reach new levels of excellence in technique, performance and choreography.

On the bill in this inaugural season are the work of MDC Composer-in-Residence Robert Paterson, members of the American Modern Ensemble, Orion Duckstein, and Francisco Graciano, appearing courtesy of the Paul Taylor Dance Company.

Several premieres will be presented during the two days of programming. They include "Playing with Angels," a reflection on the relationship between mothers and sons, choreographed by Annmaria Mazzini with music by Robert Paterson, with the score performed live by members of American Modern Ensemble: Billy Hestand on bassoon, Billy Short on bassoon, and Bryan Wagorn on piano. "When We Rise" is a premiere of a piece choreographed by longtime MDC collaborator Orion Duckstein with music by Zoe Keating and performed by Mr. Duckstein and Annmaria Mazzini. Another new Mazzini creation, "Criminal Commoners," set to music by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, St. Vincent, Phantogram, Cold War Kids, Pulp, and Goldfrapp, and an original piece by Damian Eckstein,  features guest artist Francisco Graciano.

For additional information, and a full list of programming,  please visit http://www.mazzinidancecollective.org

Short, poignant and sweet: "Summer Shorts" Series A

"Sec. 310, Row D, Seats 5 and 6," Warren Leight's crowd-
pleasing one-acter in "Summer Shorts Series A" at
59E59 Theaters. Pictured Peter Jacobson and Geoffrey Cantor
in a photo by Carol Rosegg.

If brevity is the soul of wit, the short short play should prove the embodiment of that spirit.

Some do so with heart, some with humor, but all three of the "Summer Shorts: Series A," at 59E59 Theaters through August 30th, are entertaining and interesting. Each in its own unique way.

The most pleasing of the lot is "Sec. 310, Row D, Seats 5 and 6," Warren Leight's ode to men and sportsfans. Three season ticket holders in Madison Square Garden nosebleed seats share the agonies of being Knick fans as their lives unfold over some twenty years. It's a funny and well-played little drama. Geoffrey Cantor, Peter Jacobson, and Cezar Williams give nicely tuned performances under Fred Berner's direction.

Alex Breaux and Shane Patrick Kearns in "The Sky and The Limit" by
Roger Hedden at "Summer Shorts Series A." Photo by Carol Rosegg.

Did spirtuality or too much weed drive George (Shane Patrick Kearns) to jump off a cliff? This mesa was where he wanted to celebrate his marriage. Aldie (Alex Breaux) lives with the regret of cracking wise when he should have been attentive to his friend. Allison Daugherty rounds out the cast in Roger Hedden's "The Sky and the Limit." Under Billy Hopkins' direction, this simple story simply told has depth and humanity.

Miriam Silverman and Adam Green in a scene from Eric Lane's "The Riverbed."
Photo by Carol Rosegg.

Filling the spaces of loss with a calm that belies their emotions, Adam (Adam Green) and Megan (Miriam Silverman) take turns retelling the story of the death of their daughter Lucy. Eric Lane's "Riverbed" is about the consequences of one moment of inattention. Megan and Adam are nice people struggling to reconnect after their younger child drowns. It's the unexpected in their story that makes this monologue come powerfully together.

For more information about "Summer Shorts," please visit www.59e59.org.

Putting on our "Summer Shorts" Series B

There are many iterations of the short story. Probably that look your mama gave you is the shortest. The tales Lydia Davis tells are almost haiku like. For most playwrights, the short form is aka the one-act. 

Traditionally, "Summer Shorts," a Throughline Artists production in repertory at 59E59 Theaters through August 30th, have upped the ante on short by curtailing the action to a mere fifteen or 20 minutes. Developing a storyline from top to bottom in that time is a challenge. This year's offerings are a bit longer, running into regular one-act territory.

Some of these succeed better than others.

Henny Russell and Will Dagger in
"Napoleon in Exile," from Series B,
"Summer Shorts".
Photo by Carol Rosegg.

One that does so brilliantly is "The Mulberry Bush." 

With every chatty line of dialog, Neil LaBute builds tension, so that you wonder where his story is going and how or if it will resolve. What seems casual is deliberate and taut.

The poignancy in Daniel Rietz' "Napoleon in Exile" burns beneath genuine humor. Henny Russell and Will Dagger are natural and charming as mother and son.

Albert Innaurato disappoints with a ranting sketch comedy-- of excessive length at 40 minutes--that aims to offend. Innaurato's liner notes on the trajectory of his career are the best part of his contribution. The piece, entitled "Doubtless," no doubt as a not so subtle pun on John Patrick Shanley's "Doubt," gets a little help from Jack Hofsiss' lively direction and a fearless cast.

Victor Slezak and JJ Kandel in Neil LaBute's "The Mulberry Bush," Part of "Summer Shorts Series B."
Photo by Carol Rosegg.

The acting in "Summer Shorts 2014, Series B" is universally excellent with stand-out performances by Victor Slezak and JJ Kandel in "The Mulberry Bush."

For more information on "Summer Shorts 2014," visit www.59e59.org or http://summershortsfestival.com/.

Looking forward; dP dances R&J

To be young and in love against the wishes of family and friends is a timeless and eminently romantic tale. Long before William Shakespeare turned Juliet and Romeo into household names, stories of the star-crossed pair were lore. 

Photo by Eduardo Patino.

In celebration of Shakespeare's 450th birthday and for its 25th anniversary, Dances Patrelle (dP) performs "Romeo & Juliet," featuring Francis Patrelle's choreography, based on Shakespeare's play and Prokofiev's score. 

Each year, dP presents two seasons in New York City-- the holiday production of FP's "The Yorkville Nutcracker," and a spring repertory season featuring world premieres and favorites from FP's body of danceworks. For this year's offering, dP will be at Hunter College's Kaye Playhouse from September 11-14. 

The roles of Romeo and Juliet will be played by Alexander Castillo, a Bayside, NY native, who at 13 performed in Patrelle's "The Yorkville Nutcracker," now dancing on the West Coast, and Chloé Sherman, also originally a New Yorker featured in the "The Yorkville Nutcracker," as a student, who is now in the Los Angeles Ballet company.   FP has wrought a wide range of styles in his repertory, from the strictly classical to the contemporary with stops at the American Songbook along the way, always finding the drama in the dance. His "Romeo & Juliet" celebrates the soulful tragedy in the best classicist form.

In 2013, dP was named the resident ballet company of the Kaatsbaan International Dance Center in Tivoli, NY. 

For more information, visit www.dancespatrelle.org.

In Loving Memory: "The Pianist Of Willesden Lane"

Mona Golabek stars in "The Pianist Of Willesden Lane," adapted (from the book The Children of Willesden Lane) and directed by Hershey Felder, which launches the inaugural 5A Season at 59E59 Theaters. Photo by Carol Rosegg.

There are those memories which stir the heart and inspire. Mona Golabek shares some of hers with us in "The Pianist of Willesden Lane," a lovely  tribute to her mother, playing at 59E59 Theaters through August 24th, Lisa Jura, who survived the ravages of WWII to achieve the success she dreamt of as a young girl in Vienna. 

Mona Golabek stars in "The Pianist Of Willesden Lane," adapted (from the book The Children of Willesden Lane) and directed by Hershey Felder, which launches the inaugural 5A Season at 59E59 Theaters. Photo by Carol Rosegg.

Like her mother, Mona Golabek is a musician with world-renown, whose memory play is accompanied by her performance at the piano.  "The Pianist of Willesden Lane" is told in words and music, beginning with Lisa's first encounter with the Nazis that make Vienna unsafe for her, and continuing to her concert debut in London some years later.

"I had always known they were there, but I hadn't really seen them before-- ugly men with rifles, armbands-- they were everywhere...," Lisa says. She is just fourteen and her parents are able to send her to England on the Kindertransport.

Lisa Jura finds her way in England, with the help of friends she makes along the way, and ends up at the London Royal Academy of Music.

Mona Golabek speaks mostly as Lisa Jura and narrates in other voices, as well as,  in telling Lisa's story. Golabek deftly plays the piano pieces that weaves the backdrop to Lisa's life.  "The Pianist of Willesden Lane" is a charming, moving and inspiring tale, beautifully-wrought and elegantly presented, based on Mona Golabek's memoir, written with Lee Cohen, and adapted for the stage by Hershey Felder, who also directs. The staging, with scenic design by Trevor Hay and Hershey Felder, is very affecting as well. The production originated at Los Angeles' Geffen Playhouse, and is the first play staged as part of 59E59's new Series 5A.

To learn more about  "The Pianist of Willesden Lane," please visit www.59e59.org.  

It's that sweet time: Summer Shorts is here again

I love the short-form play. Like condensed milk, it's made a little richer and sweeter for the concentration.

Its flavor is similar to but different from the original, of course, but  more potent and easier to whip into a frenzy of thoughts and ideas.

The challenge for the playwrights is, as always, to make their point fresh and cogent in a brief time. These are mini one acts!

The schedule for this year's Summer Shorts is:

Series A-- The Sky and the Limit by Roger Hedden, directed by Billy Hopkins

Much to the amusement of his best friend, a young man dives into one of America's mesa strewn deserts in search of the perfect site for a wedding.

Riverbed by Eric Lane, directed by Matthew Rauch

A lyrical drama about a married couple that experiences an intense loss and their struggle to find their way back to each other.

Sec. 310, Row D, Seats 5 and 6 by Warren Leight, director TBA

Three guys share two season tickets as they watch the Knicks, and their lives, pass before their eyes.

Series B--Doubtless by Albert Innaurato, directed by Jack Hofsiss

With such formidable opponents as hypocrisy, government, hysteria, neurosis, family, religion and pop culture – can we ever really know and accept who we are?  Well, these two brave nuns are going to give it a go!   

The Mulberry Bush by Neil Labute, directed by Maria Mileaf

Two men meet up on a bench in the park. One of them is meant to be there. The other is not. What follows is a domestic thriller played out in the harsh sunlight of a weekday afternoon.

Napoleon in Exile by Daniel Reitz, directed by Paul Schnee 

Corey is 25, living at home, can’t hold a job, and is obsessed with Minecraft. His mother has other ideas for him.

Catch them at 59E59 Theaters now. And come back to this space for our commentary.

Thank you, Boston Ballet for Visiting

The Boston Ballet brought their 50th year party to Lincoln Center's David H. Koch Theater with two alternating programs of varied masterworks. The oldest choreography was from the Vaslav Nijinsky oeuvre, and the newest from José Martinez which had its world premiere at their home in February of this year.

The Boston Ballet's rendering of George Balanchine's "Symphony in Three Movements" is as perky and fresh of face as the expert youngsters in the company. The dancers are skilled; their presentation is precise and fluid. In a beautifully executed version of the Balanchine classic, John Lam is a standout.
Also commendable are the orchestra, under the leadership of conductor Jonathan McPhee, whose vigorous performance of the Igor Stravinsky score contributed to a magnificent production.

The wildly theatrical Nijinsky "Afternoon of a Faun" is brought to life by Altan Dugaraa's marvellous titular beast. The costumes and sets by Leon Bakst hearken to the lavish original. 

Resident choreographer, Jorma Elo fashioned "Plan to B" for the Boston Ballet in 2004 (a year before he took up his residency.) It is a powerful and exciting work set to the music of Heinrich von Biber.

"The Second Detail," set to the electronic pulses of Thom Willems, has a rehearsal atmosphere at once casual and formalistic. The troupe, as always, gives a superb performance of the complicated movements.

José Martinez contributes a very classic and classy piece, set to Liszt and played by solo pianos (Alex Foaksman and Frieda Locker) with the music coming from both sides of the stage. "Resonance" is simply gorgeous to hear and watch.

In Boston? Visit the Boston Ballet website, http://www.bostonballet.org/  for tickets. For more about the history of the company, see their Wikipedia listing. 

The Mistaken Country

There is something about the lure of the unknown that will turn men into adventurers.

James Riordan in "Donogoo" by Jules Romains. Directed
by Gus Kaikkonen
at The Mint. Photo: Richard Termine

"Donogoo," at the Mint Theater through July 27th, is a tale of greed, mistaken geography, and the triumph of the imagination. Jules Romains' delightful play originally opened in 1930 to great acclaim, saving the floundering Théâtre Pigalle from dissolution. 

Land speculation, gold fever, all roads lead to Donogoo Tonka, an error that turns into a scam. Benin (the superb Mitch Greenberg) plucks a suicidal Lamendin (James Riordan, who is fantastic) back to life. At the direction of the quack psychologist Miguel Rufesque (George Morfogen) to whom Benin sends him, Lamendin seeks out a stranger,  Le Trouhadec (the ever versatile Morfogen again), a disgraced geographer, to assist.




Le Trouhadec's discovery, the lost city of Donogoo Tonka  may not exist. Lamendin sees an opportunity.With the help of a questionably honest banker, Margajat (Ross Bickell in top form), Lamendin forms a stock company to develop the mineral-rich city and its environs. Shareholders (Megan Robinson, playing all the women in the play, and Kraig Swartz, among them) begin to question the existence of Donogoo, but prospectors have already begun to turn the fiction into a reality.Le Trouhadec is vindicated.

The translation by Gus Kaikkonen, who also directs with a deft delicacy, is impeccable and elegant. The applause the sets, by Roger Hanna, and special effects, by Hanna with Price Johnston, elicit are well-merited. The exceptional ensemble are all in perfect step, doing justice to the material's subtle and satiric humor. Among these standouts, Scott Thomas as Joseph, the sensible pioneer, catches the eye.

"Donogoo" is seriously funny, with a sharp and sincere wit. And this production is terrific.
The Mint Theater doesn't just "find lost plays," it uncovers their relevance.

For tickets and to learn more about "Donogoo," visit The Mint's website.

What does June 16th mean to you?

There are just 198 days that follow to the end of the year. 

Thorsten Pohl Thpohl - Own work

But, the significance of June 16th to the lit. crowd is that in 1924 James Joyce declared it to be Bloomsday. June 16, 1904 is the date of the events in his very long novel "Ulysses" and the day is named for its protagonist Leopold Bloom. 

June 16, 2014 Origin's First Bloom at Bloom's Taven of course.
Photo by Jimmy Higgins.

Bloomsday, or for the Irish purists, Lá Bloom, is most often commemmorated with readings from the novel. In the interest of full disclosure and total honesty, I will admit that what I know of the work is from NPR's presentation of the annual Symphony Space event. 

Origin Theatre Company, a New York City "gateway for European playwrights," hosted its first ever Lá Bloom at the new midtown tavern aptly named Bloom's. The bar provided an excellent full Irish breakfast and 7:30am mimosas served by a friendly staff; costumed actors greeted arrivals with flowers and flower petals. 

Malachy McCourt, gracious and charming, was on hand to kick off the readings. He chose a passage about Hell from Joyce's "The Governors" but tweaking tradition is a lovely thing to do.  Ireland's soon to be ex-Consul General, Noel Kilkenny told of his role in interpreting "Ulysses" for a Chinese translation long ago. Actors including Conor MacNeill (currently on Broadway in the “The Cripple of Inishmaan”), Sean Mahon (who starred on Broadway in “The Seafarer” and “The 39 Steps” and is featured in the film "Philomena"), Jo Kinsella (“For Love,” and the Irish Rep’s “Dancing at Lughnasa”) performed their Joycean catechisms with the joy befitting the day.

Here's to the second annual Origin Bloomsday! A resounding chorus of what was dubbed "Origin's First Bloom, at Bloom's Tavern, of course" rang out at the festivities.


Learn more about the Origin Theatre Company by going to their website, http://origintheatre.org/. Bloom's Tavern is located at 208 East 58th Street, and on the web at www.bloomsnyc.com.

Under a starry sky

Patti Murin and Bryce Ryness
as Joey Storms in "Fly By
Night." Photo by Joan Marcus

Henry Stram and Allison Case as
Miriam in a scene from "Fly By
Night," at Playwrights Horizons.
Photo by Joan Marcus.

Adam Chanler-Berat as Harold,
Patti Murin as Daphne in
"Fly By Night." Photo by
Joan Marcus.

Patti Murin and Allison Case
in a scene from "Fly By Night."
Photo by Joan Marcus

Like the stars in big city skies, things are sometmes lost when the bright lights are found or turned on.

In "Fly By Night," a musical at Playwrights Horizons through June 29th, two sisters from South Dakota find themselves under the bright lights of New York City.

It's almost always better to be shown than told, so the early appearance of the Narrator (Henry Stram) in "Fly By Night" was cause for pause. No need to have worried. "Fly By Night" is for the most part a touchingly funny and lovely musical play. The ending (partial spoiler alert) is however a downer.

Miriam (Allison Case) reluctantly accompanies her sister Daphne (Patti Murin) in her quest for stardom. In New York City, Daphne meets Harold (Adam Chanler-Berat,) a sandwich maker with a guitar. Daphne also meets Joey Storms (Bryce Ryness,) a playwright determined to make her his muse. The triangle is squared off when Miriam meets Harold.

The story, conceived by Kim Rosenstock,who wrote it in collaboration with Will Connolly and Michael Mitnick, is part boy meets grils, and part "My Sister Eileen." 

"Fly By Night" treads delicately over serious even sad themes. These include ambition, or the lack of it, achievement, and acceptance.

Oddly since this is a musical, the music goes unbilled  "Fly By Night." We note that co-author Will Connolly is a musician and make the leap that he should be creditied with the music. The musical director, conductor and on-stage keyboardist is Vadim Feichtner, who leads Foe Destroyer (the band) with Chris McQueen on electric guitar, Daniel Garcia on bass guitar and keyboard, and Cade Sadler on drums and acoustic guitar.

Adam Chanler-Berat's goofy charm makes his feckless Harold alluring. As Miriam, Allison Case is perfectly fidgety and uncertain, while her voice soars. Standing out is tough when the whole cast shines as it does here, but Bryce Ryness is wonderful as Joey Storms, the writer with too much to say. The veteran Michael McCormick, playing Harold's boss Crabbie, gets a chance to strut his stuff in "Fly By Night" as well. There are a few too many eleven o'clock numbers, but thankfully Mr. McClam (Peter Friedman) gets his in and it's a doozy.

So often, too many authors spoil the plot, but here three seems a good balance. "Fly By Night" is a musical about fate and the stars that, like its stars, is very appealing.

Visit Playwrights Horizons to learn more about "Fly By Night," and to check for tickets.

Give yourself a BEST for a great Tony Ceremony

(L-R) Jefferson Mays as Henry D'Ysquith, Jennifer Smith, and Bryce Pinkham as Monty Navarro in a scene from 2014's Tony winning Best Musical "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder" at the Walter Kerr Theater.
Photo credit: Joan Marcus.

The 2014 Tony Awards show walks away with a BIG Best! Imaginative, creative, entertaining--this was a Tony telecast that reflects the best of the theater it is honoring.

The June 8th broadcast of the 68th Tony Award presentation showcased future Broadway, and shows not in contention like "Cabaret" and a song from the 10th anniversary of "Wicked."

Hugh Jackman's skills and charm were so effervescently on display at the ceremonies. He sings, he dances, he patters, he flirts, he raps, Hugh Jackman is really a superhero. We are grateful that while he kicks butt as Wolverine, his heart belongs to Broadway, and on June 8th, he gave it full-out.

The deserving Jessie Mueller won as Best Actress in a musical for her portrayal of Carole King in "Beuatiful..." and had a chance to sing with King at the Tonys! I did not see this award coming, not because Jessie Mueller is not terrific, but because I was self-bamboozled into believing that "If/Then" would not be left out to dry. My prediction for a win for Idina Menzel did not come to pass, and I was also wrong about "Act One" getting the Best Play win.

"If/Then," despite Menzel's fans, will probably not survive their complete lack of Tony cred. "Act One" has announced it's final week closing on June 15th, despite the set designer Beowulf Boritt's 2014 Tony Award for Best Scenic Design of a Play.

During the broadcast, "Bullets Over Broadway," which also had no wins, and was not nominated in the Best Musical category, and "Rocky" (ditto) each had their shining moments showing off their best stuff on the big Radio City Music Hall stage. "If/Then" depended on a solo from Idina Menzel to pitch their show, and I'm afraid that wasn't compelling enough to give it the oomph it needs to keep on chugging on the Great White Way, though they are still selling through October 12th.

"A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder"-- no surprise there with 10 nominations-- got the big prize: It is officially the Best Musical of 2014 with "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" getting Best for Revival of a Musical.
Neil Patrick Harris, amazing as always, won as Best Actor in a Musical.

Also unsurprising was Bryan Cranston's win for Best Actor in a Play for his performance as LBJ in Robert Schenkkan's "All The Way," which edged out the aforementioned "Act One" as Best Play of 2014.

Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie" still has not won a Tony, and the Best Play Revival went to "A Raisin in the Sun." Sophie Okonedo, playing Ruth Younger in the revival, won as Best Featured Actress in a play, an award that Audra McDonald got in the 2004 revival.  McDonald won her 6th Tony on June 8th for embodying Billie Holliday in "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill."