Posted on: Friday, May 11, 2012 @ 07:15 PM Posted by: Michael Dale

"Laughter is much more important than applause.  Applause is almost a duty.  Laughter is a reward."

-- Carol Channing

The grosses are out for the week ending 5/6/2012 and we've got them all right here in BroadwayWorld.com's grosses section.

Up for the week was: ONCE (9.5%), PETER AND THE STARCATCHER (4.5%), CLYBOURNE PARK (1.6%), EVITA (1.5%), NEWSIES (1.2%), THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (0.7%), JERSEY BOYS (0.6%), THE LION KING (0.6%), JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR (0.2%), DEATH OF A SALESMAN(0.1%),

Down for the week was: GORE VIDAL'S THE BEST MAN (-24.1%), GHOST (-16.9%), DON'T DRESS FOR DINNER (-16.0%), GODSPELL (-14.8%), MAGIC/BIRD (-13.4%), THE LYONS (-13.3%), LEAP OF FAITH (-12.4%), THE COLUMNIST (-11.1%), HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING (-10.3%), ANYTHING GOES (-9.6%), SISTER ACT (-8.8%), CHICAGO (-8.5%), OTHER DESERT CITIES (-6.9%), PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT (-5.5%), ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS (-5.3%), MARY POPPINS (-5.2%), PORGY AND BESS (-4.6%), WAR HORSE (-4.4%), VENUS IN FUR (-4.1%), MAMMA MIA! (-3.5%), SPIDER-MAN TURN OFF THE DARK (-2.7%), MEMPHIS (-2.7%), WICKED (-1.9%), NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT (-1.8%), ROCK OF AGES (-1.5%), END OF THE RAINBOW (-1.1%), A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (-0.3%), SEMINAR (-0.2%),

Posted on: Monday, May 07, 2012 @ 03:40 PM Posted by: Michael Dale

When we first meet Rita Lyons, she's sitting in a hospital room casually thumbing through a furniture catalogue, asking her husband, Ben, who lies in bed, dying of cancer, to help her come up with ideas for redecorating the living room after he's gone.

"You could feign interest to be polite," she insists, reacting to his weakly growled, profanity-laced responses.

Don't look for the affection that lies beneath the anger.  Whatever may have once been there is now buried under decades of spite and disappointment.  But the pitch-perfect performances of Linda Lavin and Dick Latessa help make the evening fly. Lavin's meticulously subtle way with Silver's most hurtful remarks give the impression that Rita believes herself to be administering tough-love nurturing. When her husband expresses disappointment in the way his life turned out, she matter-of-factly explains to their daughter, "He's a very half-glass-empty kind of person, but by most people's standards he's had a very full life."

While Ben could easily come off as little more than a funny curmudgeon, Latessa shows the empathetic sadness of a man whose dreams never came true, even as he's bidding a deathbed farewell to his son, Curtis, with sentiments like, "My life is one long parade of disappointments. And you're the grand-fucking marshal."

Curtis, played with proper balance of smugness and creepiness by Michael Esper, eventually becomes the focus of the piece, beginning with an encounter with a handsome and charming actor/real estate agent (Gregory Wooddell) and ending with tensions between him and a no-nonsense nurse (Brenda Pressley). Kate Jennings Grant, whose lengthy second-act opening monologue is the most extensive cut from the previous run, makes the most sympathetic impression as their divorced, recovering alcoholic daughter, Lisa.

While the play may not go deeper than giving a glimpse at how bitter, self-involved parents begat bitter, self-involved children (but with an optimistic finish), the clever dialogue, director Mark Brokaw's crisp production and a terrific cast make the surface especially shiny.

Posted on: Monday, May 07, 2012 @ 01:53 AM Posted by: Michael Dale

Posted on: Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 03:08 AM Posted by: Michael Dale

"Don't live down to expectations. Go out there and do something remarkable."

-- Wendy Wasserstein

The grosses are out for the week ending 4/29/2012 and we've got them all right here in BroadwayWorld.com's grosses section.

Up for the week was: VENUS IN FUR (9.7%), CHICAGO (6.9%), OTHER DESERT CITIES (6.5%), MAMMA MIA! (5.8%), SEMINAR (5.5%), THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (5.4%), SISTER ACT (5.3%), NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT (4.0%), PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT (3.9%), ROCK OF AGES (3.6%), ANYTHING GOES (3.6%), GORE VIDAL'S THE BEST MAN (3.5%), THE COLUMNIST (2.7%), PORGY AND BESS (2.1%), EVITA (0.4%), HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING(0.2%),

Down for the week was: A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (-17.6%), THE LYONS (-11.5%), LEAP OF FAITH (-8.6%), MEMPHIS (-8.3%), WAR HORSE (-6.2%), ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS (-5.8%), END OF THE RAINBOW (-5.2%), PETER AND THE STARCATCHER (-4.9%), GODSPELL (-4.2%), SPIDER-MAN TURN OFF THE DARK (-4.1%), CLYBOURNE PARK (-3.9%), JERSEY BOYS (-3.3%), WICKED (-2.7%), MAGIC/BIRD (-2.6%), MARY POPPINS (-2.5%), JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR (-2.5%), NEWSIES (-1.6%), GHOST (-1.5%), DON'T DRESS FOR DINNER (-1.4%), ONCE (-0.8%), THE LION KING (-0.4%), DEATH OF A SALESMAN (-0.1%),

Posted on: Monday, April 30, 2012 @ 04:13 PM Posted by: Michael Dale

Borrowing slightly from A Raisin in the Sun, Norris opens his play in 1959 in a cozy suburban home that those familiar with Lorraine Hansberry's classic will eventually recognize as the place the Younger family will soon call home. As explained in the original, it's in a white neighborhood and for some reason or another (which Norris expands on) it was being offered at a bargain price.

The couple on the way out is Bev and Russ (a gruff Frank Wood and a distressfully perky Christina Kirk, both outstanding) who get paid a visit by Karl Lindner (Jeremy Shamos), the Raisin character who tried to buyout the Youngers in order to keep his community racially segregated. Unsuccessful at that attempt, he now tries to guilt Russ into going back on his deal by complaining about what it would do to property values and, in one of the play's funnier moments, even tries to use Russ and Bev's maid and her husband (Crystal A. Dickinson and Damon Gupton) as examples of how black people just wouldn't be happy in their community.

The second act takes us to the year 2009 and it seems the Youngers were suburban pioneers, at the head of a surge that turned Clybourne Park into a thriving black community. But the neighborhood has seen better days and this time the bargain hunters are a white couple (Shamos and Annie Parisse) coming in as part of a gentrification movement. Their rebuilding plans are a cause of concern to a black couple (Dickinson and Gupton), particularly the wife, who says the buildings of the community are symbols of an important time in the area's racial history, meant to be preserved as is.

Both acts begin innocuously enough, but MacKinnon and the playwright build scenes to inescapable tones of verbal violence, presenting moments that are simultaneously hilarious and cringe-worthy, while clearly marking shades of difference between black/white communication divided by half a century. The changing dynamics between the characters played by Shamos, Dickinson and Gupton are especially telling and are played with intriguing subtlety and precision.

Clybourne Park packs a wallop to both the gut and the funny bone and is clearly one of the best and most enjoyable new plays New York has seen in several seasons.

Photos by Nathan Johnson: Top: Christina Kirk and Frank Wood; Bottom: Damon Gupton, Annie Parisse, Crystal A. Dickinson and Jeremy Shamos.

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I always feel sorry for the guy who plays Rolf in any production of The Sound of Music.  He sings a perfectly charming duet about adolescent affection in the first act and in the second act his character commits a brave act of compassion that saves the day, but at curtain call he usually gets no more than friendly applause because, no matter how cute the seventeen going on eighteen year old may be, the musical theatre fangirls just ain’t gonna squeal for a young Nazi.  So let me begin with an appreciative pat on the back for Nick Spandler.

In fact, back pats all around for the fine company behind Carnegie Hall’s benefit concert performance of The Sound of Music, directed by Gary Griffin.  Rob Fisher conducted the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, playing those glorious Robert Russell Bennett orchestrations for one of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s most beloved scores.

Using David Ives’ concert adaptation of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse’s book, room was made for “I Have Confidence” and “Something Good,” both penned for the film version with Rodgers supplying lyrics for his own melodies.  The latter replaced the stage version’s “An Ordinary Couple,” a song that make more sense for the characters but frequently finds itself ousted for the movie’s ballad.  (“Something Good” is a lovely song, but its references to Maria’s “wicked childhood” and “miserable youth” contradict what the character had been saying up until that point.)  The concert also added an overture to the evening, using the film’s opening medley of classics.

Laura Osnes, who has played Nellie Forbush on Broadway, recently starred in the Encores! concert of Pipe Dream and was just announced to play the title role in a Broadway bound Cinderella, adds another R&H heroine to her resume.  Her very youthful Maria, seeming just a tad older than the eldest of the von Trapp children, was delightfully bursting with optimistic vigor, singing with a beautiful sweetness that never went too sugary.  Her counterpart, Tony Goldwyn, is not a particularly expressive singer, which took some of the heart out of his “Edelweiss,” but his Captain von Trapp made a nice transition from a deeply lonely man to one who can learn to love again.

Those who only know The Sound of Music from the film version might be surprised to see what a sympathetic character Elsa Schraeder is on stage.  Though Brooke Shields may lack the soprano necessary to ace the character’s songs, she did an excellent job at playing her unusual conflict; as a woman who has risen to the level of corporate president in the 1930s, her achievements are to be admired, but despite her love for the captain and her real affection for his children, the political differences between the two in regards to dealing with the Nazis is what breaks up their engagement.

Patrick Page proved a perfect match for the comical role of Austrian bureaucrat Max, who prompts the von Trapp children to form a singing ensemble for his own benefit, and mezzo Stephanie Blythe was warm and majestic as the Mother Abbess who inspires Maria with “Climb Every Mountain.”

The musical highlight of the evening was sung by the women of the Mansfield University Concert Choir.  As the chorus of nuns, they were staged in several corners and levels within the Carnegie Hall seating areas for their opening “Preludium.”  The beautiful a capella sounds coming at the ear from various heights and distances was thrilling to hear.

Posted on: Monday, April 30, 2012 @ 01:37 AM Posted by: Michael Dale

Posted on: Wednesday, April 25, 2012 @ 06:20 PM Posted by: Michael Dale

The grosses are out for the week ending 4/22/2012 and we've got them all right here in BroadwayWorld.com's grosses section.

Up for the week was: DON'T DRESS FOR DINNER (20.6%), A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (11.3%), LEAP OF FAITH (8.2%), THE COLUMNIST (7.6%), OTHER DESERT CITIES (3.8%), CLYBOURNE PARK(3.1%),

Down for the week was: HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING (-35.0%), PETER AND THE STARCATCHER (-22.1%), MAMMA MIA! (-21.0%), ANYTHING GOES (-20.0%), SISTER ACT (-19.7%), JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR (-18.1%), MARY POPPINS (-15.8%), ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS (-12.2%), THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (-11.5%), ONCE (-11.2%), GODSPELL (-10.3%), WAR HORSE (-10.1%), MEMPHIS (-10.1%), MAGIC/BIRD (-9.8%), JERSEY BOYS (-8.4%), ROCK OF AGES (-7.0%), PORGY AND BESS (-6.2%), SEMINAR (-6.0%), THE LYONS (-6.0%), PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT (-5.2%), CHICAGO (-4.6%), EVITA (-3.9%), SPIDER-MAN TURN OFF THE DARK (-3.5%), WICKED (-3.0%), GHOST (-1.9%), NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT (-1.7%), END OF THE RAINBOW (-1.5%), VENUS IN FUR (-1.5%), NEWSIES (-1.4%), GORE VIDAL'S THE BEST MAN (-1.0%), THE LION KING (-0.5%), DEATH OF A SALESMAN (-0.2%),

Posted on: Monday, April 23, 2012 @ 03:42 PM Posted by: Michael Dale

As much as we demand transparency and honesty in government, Americans still can’t resist the theatre of juicy political scandals and reports of back room bargaining.  Gore Vidal’s 1960 drama, The Best Man, permits us a peek at the seedier side of presidential politics before giving us some hope that decency may stand a chance.  As the old saying goes, things haven’t changed much and every so often a line flies out of director Michael Wilson‘s gripping, starry production that if you didn’t know better you’d swear must have been added to give the play a contemporary jolt.

John Larroquette gives a stately and sardonic portrayal of William Russell, a liberal candidate who heads into his unnamed party’s convention leading the race over conservative adversary Senator Joseph Cantwell (a slick and charismatic Eric McCormack).  Russell could win on the first ballot unless ex-President Arthur Hockstader (a robust and commanding James Earl Jones, looking like he’s having a splendid time) decides to throw his support in Cantwell’s direction.  And while an unseen third candidate stands little chance of victory, his delegates, if released, could also become a deciding factor.

Both Russell and Cantwell have skeletons in the closet; issues that would be more acceptable to many Americans today, but would certainly keep a candidate out office fifty years ago.  When one candidate threatens to release evidence against his opponent, the other must consider if he should counter with newly discovered knowledge about a long-ago event – a real doozy for 1960 – that could sink the man’s entire career.

Meanwhile, the wives of the candidates are trying their best to impress the party’s grand dame, played by Angela Lansbury with a delicious mixture of elegance and shrewd cunning.  Kerry Butler’s game-playing Mrs. Cantwell sports a sexy drawl and a clingy wardrobe while Candice Bergen’s socially awkward Mrs. Russell – playing the supportive wife despite difficulties in her marriage – blurts out honest observations that are sure to draw applause from audiences.

Solid supporting turns are contributed by Michael McKean as Russell’s capable campaign manager and Jefferson Mays as a nervous citizen whose word could affect the entire election.  There’s even an appearance by New York City’s former first lady Donna Hanover, playing a reporter.

While designer Derek McLane’s versatile set smoothly gliding from festive convention locations to hotel suites, Wilson’s edgy mounting smoothly glides from sharp satirical moments to frustratingly realistic ones.  This one’s a landslide victory.

Photos by Joan Marcus: Top: James Earl Jones and John Larroquette; Bottom: Kerry Butler, Eric McCormack and Angela Lansbury.

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Perhaps there are funnier shows than Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado, and perhaps there are shows with more beautiful music.  But it’s my conviction that you’re not going to find a funnier theatre piece with such beautiful music, nor a lovelier score matched with such a hilarious text.

The Collegiate Chorale’s concert performance of the 1885 classic, in collaboration with the American Symphony Orchestra and under Ted Sperling’s baton, certainly stressed the enchanting choral qualities of selections like “Miya Sama” and “Braid The Raven Hair” and, with limited space to work with, a terrific cast of Broadway favorites managed to fit a feast of humor onto the lip of Carnegie Hall’s stage.

Christopher Fitzgerald, a superior musical comedy clown who, in another era, might have taken a few jobs away from Eddie Cantor, was an impish delight as Ko-Ko, the humble tailor of a long-ago Japanese village who, by the plot’s twisted politics, winds up being appointed Lord High Executioner.  His rendition of “I’ve Got A Little List,” a comic patter naming the people Ko-Ko would like to see upon the chopping block, which is traditionally updated to include topical references, contained expected mentions of the Kardashians and Facebook fanatics, but ended cleverly with a criticism of comics who milk their bits, testing the conductor’s patience.

Victoria Clark’s eccentric Katisha was played out like a madwoman, with the actress seeming to improvise funny bits with her wildly-teased out hair.  It’s remarkable how Jason Danieley and Kelli O’Hara could both sing so gloriously with their tongues held so firmly in their cheeks as lovers Nanki-Poo and Yum-Yum, though O’Hara played it straight for a sterling performance of “The Moon and I.”  In the title role, Chuck Cooper matched his hearty vocals with mischievous giggles.

With fine support by Jonathan Freeman as a snobby Pooh-Bah and Lauren Worsham as a snarky Pitti-Sing, the only negative about this concert of The Mikado is that it wasn’t a fully mounted production playing on Broadway.

Photo of Christopher Fitzgerald, Jason Danieley and Kelli O'Hara by Erin Baiano.

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Posted on: Thursday, April 19, 2012 @ 01:59 AM Posted by: Michael Dale

-- Joel Grey

The grosses are out for the week ending 4/15/2012 and we've got them all right here in BroadwayWorld.com's grosses section.

Up for the week was: THE LYONS (24.3%), GORE VIDAL'S THE BEST MAN (14.9%), PORGY AND BESS (14.2%), NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT (12.5%), ANYTHING GOES (12.2%), GODSPELL (11.8%), MEMPHIS (10.7%), MAGIC/BIRD (8.2%), THE COLUMNIST (7.7%), ONCE (7.2%), JERSEY BOYS (7.2%), MAMMA MIA! (6.0%), SPIDER-MAN TURN OFF THE DARK (5.4%), END OF THE RAINBOW (5.4%), ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS (5.1%), PETER AND THE STARCATCHER (5.0%), GHOST (4.9%), CLYBOURNE PARK (4.4%), PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT (4.3%), OTHER DESERT CITIES (2.0%), HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING (2.0%), JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR (1.8%), ROCK OF AGES (1.5%), SISTER ACT (0.9%), WAR HORSE (0.7%), NEWSIES(0.1%),

Down for the week was: LEAP OF FAITH (-5.0%), SEMINAR (-4.8%), CHICAGO (-3.8%), THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (-3.7%), DON'T DRESS FOR DINNER (-3.5%), EVITA (-2.1%), A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (-2.0%), MARY POPPINS (-0.8%), VENUS IN FUR (-0.2%),

Posted on: Monday, April 16, 2012 @ 08:51 PM Posted by: Michael Dale

Rick Elice's text, based on the same-named novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson – a prequel to J. M. Barrie's tale of Peter Pan – is just as good a comedy as War Horse is a drama, but helping to make the genial silliness palatable (there are corny puns aplenty and a couple of bodily function bits) is the brilliantly fun staging by co-directors Roger Rees and Alex Timbers, that tells a spectacular fairy tale story though wonderfully clever low-budget theatrics.

13-year-old Molly (a very proper Celia Keenan-Bolger), the daughter of "starcatcher," Lord Aster (Rick Holmes), while on board the good ship Neverland, attempts to rescue a young orphan who will eventually be named Peter (scrappy Adam Chanler-Berat) from being sold into slavery, while keeping close guard of a large trunk that contains, as her father says, "the greatest treasure on earth." (In order to keep her mission secret, the two of them communicate in the language of the dodo bird.)

But there is piracy afoot, particulary in the show-stealing antics of Christian Borle, who sports a thick, black soup-strainer as the villainous Black Stache.  His maniacally hammy performance, reminiscent of Groucho Marx in his side-splitting wise-cracking and mock-balletic physicality, frequently threatens to pack the rest of the production in a valise so he can carry it home with him. (At one point he charges onto the stage upon hearing that a crocodile has been seen chewing the scenery:  “Not during my scenes!.”)

Set designer Donyale Werle frames the stage in a beautifully golden, classically Victorian proscenium arch, but underneath, the play’s many locales are achieved impressionistically, with the help of Jeff Croiter's distinctive lighting. In some instances, a long rope held just right is all that's needed to create an assortment of places.

Act II opens with Borle leading the almost entirely male company, dressed in Paloma Young’s makeshift mermaid outfits highlighted by shiny vegetable steamers that add sparkle to their breasts, in a nutty music hall number that suggests the lunacy yet to come.

When the story resumes, the shipwrecked characters are now on an island where the inhabitants' leader (Teddy Bergman) barks out orders that sound like the specials at an Italian bistro.  This half reveals the secrets behind why Peter never grows up, where Tinkerbelle came from, how Captain Hook lost his hand and other details of Barrie's classic characters. It all makes perfect sense and is really quite touching, particularly in the performances of Bolger and Chanler-Berat, who compete for leadership while escaping danger, but who also grow to admire and respect each other while feeling the first tingles of adolescent affection.

Peter and the Starcatcher makes for an excellent piece of family entertainment. The youngsters will enjoy the physical comedy and there's a strong central female character. And there's verbal wit a-plenty for the adults. While set in the early 20^th Century, there are scattered modern references used as punch lines (Stache describes Molly's trunk as, "Elusive as the melody in a Philip Glass opera."), but the wackiness of the evening embraces such anachronisms just as naturally as audiences will be embracing Peter and the Starcatcher.

Photos provided by O&M Co.:  Top: Adam Chanler-Berat and Celia Keenan-Bolger; Bottom: Matt D'Amico, Rick Holmes, Isaiah Johnson, Adam Chanler-Berat and Christian Borle.

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Posted on: Monday, April 16, 2012 @ 02:40 AM Posted by: Michael Dale

Larry Bird didn’t join the Boston Celtics to prove that white guys can compete with the overwhelmingly black majority of NBA players, but in the racially divisive climate of 1980’s Boston, the team’s largely white fan base and reputation for preferring to seek out white talent over black definitely stood out.

Likewise, Earvin “Magic” Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers didn’t expect to become the straight face of AIDS, but the 1991 discovery of his being HIV positive – a star athlete and family man who claimed no history of homosexual activity  –  shocked, depressed and, hopefully, educated those who disregarded the epidemic as a “gay disease.”

These two issues continually linger in the background of Eric Simonson’s solidly meat and potatoes sports drama, Magic/Bird.  Teaming up again with director Thomas Kail, who did such an excellent job with Simonson’s Lombardi, the playwright effectively contrasts the public, professional and private lives of the two men whose dominating play and heated rivalry fueled a newly passionate interest in the National Basketball Association that has been credited with keeping the league from going bankrupt.

The gregarious, media-friendly Johnson and the introverted, enigmatic Bird only faced each other once in college ball, but media coverage of the two prospects made each fully aware of the other’s challenge to his claim of being the best young player in the game.  Joining the NBA in the same season, Johnson was named Most Valuable Player of the playoffs while Bird won Rookie of the Year.  They spent the next decade competing for honors and championships, until Johnson’s career ended with his HIV diagnosis (players were reluctant to play with him for fear of contracting the virus) and Bird’s back problems closed out his playing days.  They were breifly united as teammates, representing the United States when the Olympic Games opened their basketball competition to professonals.

Simonson’s play, which cleverly opens with the six-member ensemble cast introduced individually like players are before a game, is a loosely-structured duo portrait; a collage of scenes chronicling the hesitant friendship between the two that, because of their profession, could only be fully realized once their careers were over.  Kevin Daniels may not exude the magnetic charisma of Magic Johnson, but his grounded performance shows us a young man doing his best to adjust to instant celebrity.  Tug Coker’s quiet, thoughtful Larry Bird is the more interesting presence, as the athlete uses cold indifference to avoid controversy and keep himself focused on the game.

The play’s best scene has the two men, at the peak of their rivalry, brought together to film a sneaker commercial near Bird’s Indiana home.  When the Celtic invites the Laker to spend a lunch break with him and his mom (warm and funny Deirdre O’Connell) the two, left alone, tentatively bond over their common experiences.

Another terrific scene involves the play’s four other ensemble members.  In this one O’Connell tends bar at a Boston pub where a white Celtics fan (Peter Scolari) loudly praises his team for challenging what he perceives as the NBA’s prejudice against white players.  His remarks are answered back by a black Lakers fan (Francois Battiste); a resident of Cambridge who won’t support the home team because of their reluctance to look past skin color.

Battiste gets a lot of laughs from sports-loving audience members for his high-pitched impersonation of Bryant Gumbel and Scolari scores with his portrayals of crusty Boston coach Red Auerbach and slick L.A. coach Pat Riley.

Kail’s fluid production smartly employs game footage to avoid some of the awkwardness that inevitably occurs when theatre and athletics try to mix.  At the performance I attended, Coker hit all the easy layups he was required to make, but most depictions of actual game-playing involve Howell Binkley’s lighting helping the live action smoothly blend in and out of Jeff Sugg’s media design.

Perhaps Magic/Bird would have been a more interesting play if the issues of racism and HIV were pushed more to the forefront, but as it stands, Simonson offers an appealing duo-character portrait and Kail keeps the drama entertaining until the final buzzer.

Photos by Joan Marcus:  Top: Tug Coker and Kevin Daniels; Bottom: Peter Scolari.

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Posted on: Saturday, April 14, 2012 @ 07:10 PM Posted by: Michael Dale

Ten years from now, after Disney has extended the show’s limited Broadway run for the 37^th time, Newsies will no doubt be regarded as the plucky little musical that went against the odds and proved the naysayers wrong; an erroneous point because I can’t think of anyone who would have ever doubted that Newsies would be a huge hit.  After all, it has all the ingredients needed for musical theatre success in the 21^st Century; attractive young men belting pop anthems and leaping across the stage performing athletic spins and flips.

But underneath the flashy performances of its title ensemble, Newsies is a slow-moving, workmanlike musical that takes an interesting, historic episode in the American labor movement and presents it as the kind of spunky entertainment that takes formulaic aim at the heart without earning any emotional payback through well-crafted storytelling.

As in the 1992 film (a financial flop that has gained a cult following through the years), the score is the work of composer Alan Menken and lyricist Jack Feldman, though new songs have been added and some lyrics have been revised.  (If you were of a cynical nature, you might say that just enough revisions were made to claim the score is at least 51% new, qualifying it for Tony Award consideration.)  A change from the Paper Mill production has new cast member, the engaging Capathia Jenkins as the helpful Bowery music hall star, given a new song that makes the same non-impression as the character’s previous number.

Bookwriter Harvey Fierstein has made some major changes in the story as originally presented in Bob Tzudiker and Noni White's screenplay, giving the leads more definition, but the show suffers from having too many characters with unnecessary musical moments, taking time away from the main pair and making their love story appear pasted in.

Set in 1899 New York, the plot concerns the thousands of underpaid boys, usually homeless or orphaned, who hawked newspapers on the street.  The system set up by publisher Joseph Pulitzer (John Dossett) required them to buy a daily supply in the morning and they would not be refunded for unsold papers.  Jack Kelly (Jeremy Jordan) is a newsie who sings of his dream for a better life in Santa Fe; a choice of location that seems oddly random.

New to the profession are David (Ben Fankhauser) and his little brother Les (Lewis Grosso and Matthew Schechter alternate in fulfilling the show's "cute moppet who says adorably funny things" requirement.), who have been sent to work because of their father's job-related injury.  Without a union, he's been unemployed without compensation.  They arrive around the time when Pulitzer institutes an increase in the distribution cost the newsies must pay.  Inspired by the recent headlines of a trolley strike, Jack and David begin organizing a strike of their own, encouraging newsies from all papers throughout New York to join them.  (Historically, this strike would lead to a movement to support the rights of all child laborers.)

Helping their cause with a headline story is reporter Katharine (Kara Lindsay), herself fighting against the gender-related restrictions of the day.  Her affection for Jack is fueled by her admiration for his achievements as a self-taught artist (a new aspect to the plot and Fierstein's best addition) and his emerging talent as an influential editorial cartoonist.

The serviceable score alternates styles between period-flavored ragtime and vaudeville and a more contemporary Broadway pop sound that seems jarring in the period setting.  (Another jarringly out of period moment occurs when Fierstein has Governor Roosevelt say of Pulitzer, "He doesn't do happiness.")  There's a very good musical scene for Katherine, where she tries writing an article about the strike with her mind continually wandering to romantic thoughts of Jack.  More character-driven writing like that is severely needed.

Also severely needed it a reason for the musical's many extended dance moments to exist.  As in the film, choreographer Christopher Gattelli has the boys breaking into parades of gymnastic leaps and flips but the book never incorporates dance into the story and, despite the impressive athleticism, it grows redundant and tiresome.  There's a fine moment where the boys express their unity and anger with Irish folk steps, but the occasional ballet turns seem out of character for this rowdy, uneducated bunch and when the second act opens with a lively tap dance routine, the company starts resembling the kind of poor, immigrant children you'd find on a 1930s MGM soundstage.

While director Jeff Calhoun's company doesn't contain a weak link, the material doesn't provide much opportunity for standing out, either.  The company goes through the evening with sufficient skills and charm but Newsies is just too bland to excite.  This is one of those cases where a group of talented professionals who have done much better work in the past have simply not hit their marks well.  There's a good story in Newsies but perhaps instead of tinkering with improving the source material they might have achieved better results by starting from scratch.

Photos by Deen van Meer: Top: Jeremy Jordan (center) and Company; Bottom: Aaron J. Albano and Jess LeProtto.

Posted on: Wednesday, April 11, 2012 @ 02:59 AM Posted by: Michael Dale

-- Lynn Fontanne

The grosses are out for the week ending 4/8/2012 and we've got them all right here in BroadwayWorld.com's grosses section.

Up for the week was: MARY POPPINS (17.9%), HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING (14.5%), MAMMA MIA! (12.5%), MAGIC/BIRD (10.8%), WAR HORSE (8.3%), SISTER ACT (7.3%), THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (5.6%), EVITA (3.9%), PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT (3.7%), WICKED (3.2%), CHICAGO (3.1%), GHOST (2.4%), JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR (2.1%), ROCK OF AGES (1.8%), ANYTHING GOES (0.9%), NEWSIES (0.4%),

Down for the week was: SEMINAR (-27.0%), VENUS IN FUR (-17.6%), PORGY AND BESS (-15.1%), END OF THE RAINBOW (-15.1%), GORE VIDAL'S THE BEST MAN (-9.9%), NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT (-9.5%), GODSPELL (-6.8%), DON'T DRESS FOR DINNER (-5.9%), SPIDER-MAN TURN OFF THE DARK (-5.8%), CLYBOURNE PARK (-2.8%), MEMPHIS (-2.7%), JERSEY BOYS (-2.0%), ONCE (-1.7%), OTHER DESERT CITIES (-0.9%), PETER AND THE STARCATCHER (-0.9%), DEATH OF A SALESMAN (-0.2%),

Posted on: Monday, April 09, 2012 @ 03:57 PM Posted by: Michael Dale

The set-up was that conservative Archie Bunker gets arrested while trying to save his son-in-law Mike at an anti-war rally that had turned violent and he's now sharing a jail cell with a group of hippies listening to Jesus Christ Superstar on their transistor radios.

"You mean you don't dig Jesus Christ Superstar?," asks a cellmate after a furious Archie demands that they turn the music off.

"I dug Jesus way back before you weirdoes turned Him into a superstar," he barks back.

"You condemn this music?  This music has brought many young people to Christ."

"Listen here, buddy, Jesus wants you to come to Him on your knees, not wiggling and jiggling until your parts fall off!"

It was a quick exchange played for comedy, but it did address a real issue that was angering more and more as Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's creation made its way from concept album to Broadway show.  The mere use of rock music in telling the story of Jesus, no matter what the intention, was seen by many vocal religious leaders and their faithful as a disrespectful outrage.  And those who looked past Webber's music, certainly the most hard-driving rock score of his career, were frequently unhappy with Rice's libretto, which treats the last days of Christ as an unstoppable climax to a political movement where a sympathetic Judas fears that his beloved friend has placed himself above the message he set out to convey.

Of course, it only takes a few decades for subversive art to be accepted as family friendly, and Jesus Christ Superstar, like rock music itself, is now widely accepted as suitable entertainment for the masses.  Which is a bit of a shame, because the audacity of its very existence is what gave the show much of its original dramatic strength.  Without the threat of being offensive, or at least revolutionary, the blurry storytelling of Rice's text - which seems to play under the presumption that the audience already knows the plot coming in - and the lack of variety in Webber's score (that second act vaudeville number is such a relief) rises to the forefront.  And while the piece can give the customers a swell time just by playing up its potential for rock concert pageantry, a bit more character work is needed to make it do anything more than merely rock hard.

Des McAnuff, whose new mounting hits town after stints at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival and La Jolla, is a director whose New York productions have generally succeeded more when stressing rock concert pageantry (Tommy, Jersey Boys) than with character work (How to Succeed..., Guys and Dolls).  His knack for kinetic energy is in full force, but the material is frequently overwhelmed by flashy ideas (Jesus being thrust over the audience on a platform with the blazing lights of a cross shining like a Broadway marquee.) and the dazzle of Paul Tazewell's costumes, which range from Vegasy to fetishy.

It's a very well-sung production, though the individual actors achieve mixed results in elevating the evening beyond a loosely-plotted concert.  Josh Young rises above, maintaining a high level of charisma while giving weight to Judas' conflicted soul.  Paul Nolan seems to be underplaying Jesus a bit too much, saving his emotions for the realization of the inevitability of his fate.  It's admirable that Chilina Kennedy's Mary Magdalene is not made to sing "I Don't Know How To Love Him" as "the hit song" but her aimless rendition carries no impact at all.

The dependable Tom Hewitt makes a memorably sturdy impression as the thoughtful Pilate and Bruce Dow's Herod exudes the requisite campiness for his comical number.

Those looking for a bit of harmless Broadway fun should enjoy themselves at this new revival, but Jesus Christ Superstar is really a lot more fun when it doesn't seem so harmless.

Photos by Joan Marcus: Top: Paul Nolan, Josh Young and Company; Bottom: Tom Hewitt.

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You might say Erica Morini's life began as a fantasy and ended as a mystery.  As a young violinist she made her debut with the Berlin Philharmonic in 1916 at the age of twelve.  During her sixty-year career as an acclaimed musician, she played a Stradivarius made in 1727.  As she lay in her hospital bed, dying from heart disease at age 91, the exceedingly valuable instrument was stolen from her Fifth Avenue apartment, along with other items, in a crime that remains unsolved.

Playwright Willy Holtzman uses this storied instrument as the connection between his characters in The Morini Strad, a (mostly) two-character play that follows the familiar pattern of intergenerational two-character plays (the colorful and/or crusty older character with a wealth of stories and/or observations finds an excuse to share many of them with a less-interesting younger character), but nevertheless provides sufficient charms for a pleasant interlude.

Mary Beth Peil plays the sharp-tongued and prickly Morini at the point of her life when she's retired from the concert stage, no longer able to perform at the elite level she was known for, and finds little joy in being regulated to teaching lesser talents privately and in master classes.

She intends to sell her trusty Strad, valued at many millions, in order to support her lifestyle for whatever time is left, but a slight imperfection - the result of furious demonstration of proper technique for an uninspiring student - threatens to decrease the instrument's value, so she turns to Brian (Michael Laurence), a luthier whose expertise and discretion in repairing such imperfections is a well-kept secret in her inner circle.

There's not a great deal of initial warmth between the artisan whose job is to replicate a consistent perfection and the artist who uses the result of his work to consistently create a varying perfection.  Erica made sacrifices in her life to achieve artistic success while Brian set aside his dreams of being a great craftsman of stringed instruments to support his wife and children with more immediate opportunities making repairs.  But, as expected, their professional dependence on one another leads to mutual affection and understanding.

While the play offers little in the way of drama, director Casey Child's company lifts the evening into being a softly played chamber piece.  Peil's balances Morini's acidic remarks with the loneliness the woman feels at having outlived both her contemporaries and, in her mind, her reason to be alive.  Laurence's Brian is quietly eloquent and prideful for his underappreciated role in bringing great music into the world.  Young violinist Hanah Stuart rounds out the cast as an image of the prodigy Erica, playing bits of pieces throughout the play; a reminder of the joy that once was.

Photos by James Leynse:  Top: Mary Beth Peil and Michael Laurence; Bottom: Hanah Stuart.

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Posted on: Monday, April 09, 2012 @ 12:04 PM Posted by: Michael Dale

Commencing in late 1968 London, in set designer William Dudley's overwhelmingly opulent or garish (your choice) luxury suite at the Ritz, the play has a financially struggling Garland arriving for a five-week gig at The Talk of The Town. It's just six months before the troubled entertainer's death became a factor in sparking the gay rights movement and she is newly engaged to musician Mickey Deans (Tom Pelphrey), 12 years her junior (a significant gap in those days), who is determined to keep her away from pills and booze so that she get back to work and start paying her debts. It's hardly a fair fight.

There's great dramatic potential in the relationship between the star and her new playmate, particularly because Deans' treatment of her appears close to abusive at times, though his actions are attempts to keep her from self-destruction. Unfortunately there is no sexual or romantic chemistry between Bennett and Pelphrey and Deans' quick fits of anger carry no sense of danger.

Garland's glib remarks, temper tantrums, vulgar jokes, comments about her ex-husbands (though never any mention of her children) and attempts to charm her way to hidden stashes of pills and liquor are to be expected (though her impersonation of a cocker spaniel was, indeed, a surprise) but the playwright rarely gives us a reason to sympathize with his subject, perhaps assuming we'd walk in with enough love for her to spare him the need.

Thus, on the occasions when the back wall of the room lifts up and we're suddenly treated to music director Jeffrey Saver's six piece ensemble accompanying the star with Chris Eagan's brassy arrangements of classics like "The Trolley Song," "The Man That Got Away" and "Come Rain Or Come Shine," there's little emotional foundation to lift these moments above being more than a novelty act. Bennett is obviously working extremely hard to nail the singing voice and the elaborate physical gestures and to pump as much desperate energy as possible into these showcase moments, but even when we see the star crumbling in front of her British fans mid-performance there is nothing to commit to emotionally.

The only one who manages to generate any legitimate pathos is the fine stage actor Michael Cumpsty, playing Anthony, the music director who is working with Garland for the first time in five years. In the first act, Cumpsty is regulated to being the peripheral gay man who cuts in every so often with a clever remark, but in the second act he's handed the two best-written (and perhaps the only well-written) scenes in the play; intimate moments between Anthony and Garland where he expresses non-sexual love for her, though it seems grounded by the memory of her film images, and the willingness to take care of her for rest of their days. Bennett's reactions nicely convey confusion regarding her character's feelings about the way she's seen by gay men.

If only the rest of End Of The Rainbow had that much heart.

Photos by Carol Rosegg: Top: Tracie Bennett and Tom Pelphrey; Bottom: Michael Cumpsty and Tracie Bennett.

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Posted on: Tuesday, April 03, 2012 @ 11:10 AM Posted by: Michael Dale

-- Oscar Hammerstein II

The grosses are out for the week ending 4/1/2012 and we've got them all right here in BroadwayWorld.com's grosses section.

Up for the week was: SISTER ACT (14.1%), MAMMA MIA! (7.5%), SEMINAR (7.1%), EVITA (3.6%), GORE VIDAL'S THE BEST MAN (2.4%), END OF THE RAINBOW (2.0%), MARY POPPINS (1.9%), THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1.4%), GODSPELL (0.9%), NEWSIES (0.5%), DEATH OF A SALESMAN (0.1%),

Down for the week was: JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR (-17.7%), OTHER DESERT CITIES (-5.7%), PORGY AND BESS (-5.5%), ONCE (-5.0%), PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT (-4.6%), WAR HORSE (-4.3%), HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING (-3.6%), ANYTHING GOES (-3.1%), GHOST (-3.0%), VENUS IN FUR (-3.0%), JERSEY BOYS (-2.2%), MAGIC/BIRD (-2.1%), MEMPHIS (-1.6%), ROCK OF AGES (-1.5%), CHICAGO (-0.7%), WICKED (-0.4%), SPIDER-MAN TURN OFF THE DARK (-0.1%),

Posted on: Monday, April 02, 2012 @ 05:15 PM Posted by: Michael Dale

The frequency with which Off-Broadway musicals have been moving to Times Square means we're often pondering the question of what "belongs" on Broadway.  The answer we'd like to hear is, "The best theatre the country has to offer," but all too often the quality of the material seems of lesser importance than the size of the production, the subject matter and whether or not there are names involved that would excite ticket-buyers outside of the theatre community.  (These issues don't seem to matter as much when it comes to straight plays.)  Rent, Urinetown and Spring Awakening successfully made the leap, but in the past several seasons we've been left wondering if [title of show], The Scottsboro Boys, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson and Lysistrata Jones would have been better off trying for a commercial run in an Off-Broadway house.  (Of course, even for a quickly closing musical, the prestige of having been on Broadway increases the property's value for tours and regional productions.)

So the new arrival on 45^th Street is a small, one simple set musical based on a modestly popular film, utilizing everyday contemporary costumes and starring two actors whose talents are well-respected within the theatre community but have no recognition factor to the general public.  Those braving the unknown will find a lovely, emotionally rich production that has made a very smooth transition to a much larger theatre.

In fact, the only bit of awkwardness comes before the show proper actually begins.  As audience members enter they are invited to assemble on stage inside designer Bob Crowley's cozy Dublin pub, where they may purchase a libation from the bar and enjoy watching members of the ensemble of thirteen, all of whom play musical instruments, strumming and bowing traditional folk songs, dancing a bit and singing their hearts out. The festive mood resembles the kind of improvised jam session you might luckily stumble upon some night and never want to leave.  The smaller crowds at the New York Theatre Workshop fit nicely onto the space, but it's a bit of a tight squeeze in the Broadway house.

Though patrons are gently scooted back to their seats near showtime, the causal off-the-cuffness continues for a bit but before we realize it's happening, director John Tiffany and lighting designer Natasha Katz have seamlessly brought us into the storytelling aspect of the play without ever letting go of the atmosphere of that friendly neighborhood bar.

I say "play" purposefully. Though Once will be considered a musical when award season comes around (Enda Walsh's beautifully written adaptation of John Carney's 2006 screenplay is credited as the book), it's really a play that happens to use a lot of songs as a realistic part of the plot.  The simple, bittersweet love story has a guitar-playing singer, simply referred to as "Guy" (Steve Kazee) ready to give up on music after a bad break-up, until he meets a somewhat intriguing Czech pianist called "Girl" (Cristin Milioti) who encourages him to not only keep playing, but to take out a loan, get a band together and make a studio demo recording. Though the two grow attracted to each other, each has baggage that would have to be dealt with before a relationship could be considered.

The score by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova (who starred in the film) is an attractive collection of Irish folk/rock selections (including Oscar-winner, "Falling Slowly") that, in context, were written by the characters who sing them and the tricky part of having them presented is that, although some may be inspired by events in the story, they're never specific enough to keep the plot moving.  This creates a few slow spots in act one, but Walsh and Tiffany generally do a fine job of making sure every musical moment is about something, even if it's not fully expressed in the lyrics.  By the second act, Walsh's outstanding scene work has fully become the emotional guts of the piece, so much so that many of the numbers are completed without applause buttons because the characters' reactions to the songs become more important than the audience's.  If you do insist on calling Once a musical, it's a rare musical where the spoken moments are the most memorable; particularly at a point late in the story where a climactic scene is played in its entirety for startling effect with just one sentence.

But when the music does take over, it's given a ravishing treatment. Players not involved with scenes remain on stage with their instruments, joining in at points to give the impression that the pre-show party has never ended. Music supervisor Martin Lowe keeps their collection of mandolins, fiddles, guitars and the like conveying the feel of an impromptu jam. If someone is inspired to dance, choreographer Steven Hoggett's movements are done with the same sense of improvised realism. It comes off so naturally that an isolated moment where the cast moves in unison rings false.

Milioti, who has been doing some excellent work in non-musical Off-Broadway plays, may be giving her breakout performance here; revealing Girl as an emotionally fragile young woman who can be forceful and comically direct with others but painfully timid about herself. She worries about having a cold exterior when she bottles up the love she's fearful of expressing. Kazee gives Guy a sturdy exterior to protect a wounded soul; the kind of man who can only share the many textures of his heart through his music.  Though they spend most of the story hesitant to plunge beyond a safe emotional distance from each other, the yearning chemistry between them is thick.

They're surrounded by a colorful ensemble that makes up a warm and nurturing community, particularly David Patrick Kelly as Guy's gracious and loving father and Paul Whitty as Girl's burley and eccentrically poetic would-be suitor, who remains protective and supportive while accepting her romantic disinterest.

The power of Once is in its ability to gently draw you into its story with exceptional writing, staging and acting; all of which combine to create a world far fuller than any outlandishly expensive spectacle could hope to realize.

Photos by Joan Marcus: Top: Steve Kazee and Cristin Milioti; Bottom: Steve Kazee and Company.

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The freedom to pursue the Great American Dream to success is a right that, at least on paper, is guaranteed to every citizen of this country.  But as the ruthless Broadway producer David Merrick would say, in order for one to succeed, others must fail.

Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman may not celebrate failure, but it recognizes the simple truth of its inevitability, even in the most fervent of dreamers.  His protagonist, Willy Loman, has become an iconic symbol for the regular guy who can't catch a lucky break and lacks the talent and insight to make one for himself.

Director Mike Nichols makes the unusual choice of mounting his sturdy, heart-on-its-sleeve production in a replica of Jo Mielziner's original set for the play's 1949 Elia Kazan-directed premiere.  Its skeletal service of the play's shifts from reality to memory to hallucination is performed seamlessly, supported by Alex North's elegant scoring, also from the original.

Philip Seymour Hoffman appears somewhat young and robust for Willy, the aging salesman who tries to secure a position in town, no longer able to handle exhausting road trips.  But the gregarious, innocent optimism he brings to the role, a mask for the man's misery, is an effective choice.  This is a man desperate to be liked, and that desperation can be easily sniffed by higher-ups such as his inappreciative boss (Remy Auberjonois).

Andrew Garfield also appears too young for Biff, Willy's oldest son; a man in his mid-30s no longer able to sail on his youthful promise.  But whereas Hoffman allows you to suspend disbelief, Garfield, despite a fine presence, rarely conveys the sense of defeat inside a man who sees himself on the same unimpressive path as his father.

Finn Wittrock makes a solid impression as Happy, the attention-hungry, eager to please younger brother who grows into a shallow womanizer, and Linda Emond solidly anchors the production as Willy's nurturing, protective wife who lovingly supports his unrealistic dreams.

This is very much an ensemble production, as evidence by a strong supporting cast that includes Bill Camp as the sympathetic neighbor, Charley, and John Glover as Willy's idealized vision of his successful deceased older brother.

By design, this is not an inventive production of what many consider the great American play, but an uncomplicated one that attempts to connect contemporary viewers with the way post-war audiences were introduced to the drama.  With its publicity stills in classic black and white and the words "Made in America" affixed to its logo, this Nichols production is proudly meat and potatoes.

Photo of Philip Seymour Hoffman by Brigitte Lacombe.

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Posted on: Monday, April 02, 2012 @ 02:45 AM Posted by: Michael Dale

Perhaps if Rodgers and Hammerstein's Pipe Dream were written today, the authors could have been a little freer with their musical version of John Steinbeck's Sweet Thursday - the story of an introverted marine biologist and his hesitant romance with a homeless woman taking up residency in the brothel next door - although Billy Rose may have nailed it when he noted that Oscar Hammerstein was the wrong person to write a musical about a whorehouse because he'd never been to one.

Despite a huge advance sale, Pipe Dream was tepidly received and lasted only seven months on Broadway, the shortest run of any original Rodgers and Hammerstein production.  But it is, nevertheless, a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical with some gorgeous melodies and sincere, well-crafted lyrics to prove it.  And the opportunity to hear this rarely performed score sung by an excellent company of musical theatre artists backed by Rob Berman's 30-piece orchestra playing Robert Russell Bennett's oh-so-flavorful orchestrations make this weekend's Encores! concert production a well worthwhile diversion.  Pipe Dream ain't no Carousel - heck, it's barely a Me and Juliet - but director Marc Bruni and choreographer Kelli Barclay lather on the polish in a peppy and pleasurable mounting.  And I dare any showtune lover not to leave the theatre humming along to the playout chorus of "Sweet Thursday."

Will Chase, normally pigeonholed as a rocker on Broadway, plays his second straight traditional leading man role for Encores!.  After a terrific turn as the dashing playboy of Bells Are Ringing, Chase exudes geeky charm as Doc, the Cannery Row researcher who's never happier than when gathering information on the marine life that's revealed at low tide.  Laura Osnes is the tough-talking vagrant, Suzy, who busts her hand trying to steal a donut from a shop window and is sent to Doc for some bandaging.  Fauna (Leslie Uggams), owns the Bear Flag Café, an establishment where the entirely female staff (waitresses?) wears skimpy lingerie work uniforms.  Thinking Suzy might be a good romantic match for Doc, she invites her to live at the café.

And this is where the story gets a little vague.  Is Suzy staying at Fauna's as an employee or as charity?  Has Suzy already been surviving by prostituting herself?  Though Doc has only one thing on his mind - the tide pool - he does eventually invite Suzy out for a romantic dinner, but she comes home all upset because he didn't make a pass at her.  She's convinced that he looks down on her but she never says exactly why.

Eventually "I love you"s are exchanged but first Suzy tries to earn Doc's respect by moving out of the Bear Flag and setting up a rent-free home in an abandoned boiler pipe.

But none of that seems important when Chase and Osnes are sinking their talented teeth into the score's tastiest morsels like "Everybody's Got A Home But Me," "All At Once You Love Her" and "The Man I Used To Be."  Uggams sparkles with panache and humor in another variation of the traditional Rodgers and Hammerstein earth mother role.

The always enjoyable Tom Wopat adds to the merriment as one of Doc's buddies, a collection of flophouse residents who tend to speak in malaprops.  Especially impressive among them is Stephen Wallem, who brings out the humor in his slow-thinking character without ever disrespecting him.

Photos by Ari Mintz: Top: Laura Osnes and Will Chase; Bottom: Leslie Uggams and Laura Osnes.

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Though I admired its rise from festival obscurity to Tony-nominated cult favorite, I wasn't a fan of Jeff Bowen and Hunter Bell's [title of show].  Mostly because I found its obscure musical title-dropping style of humor to be - to borrow a phrase from their new show - fake funny.

"Fake funny," as Bell explains in Now. Here. This., "is when something sounds like a joke and smells like a joke, but it's not really a joke."

Now. Here. This., a sort of musical therapy revue quartet, is real funny.  It's also real clever, real interesting, and real fun.

Composer/lyricist/performer Bowen and bookwriter/performer Bell are once again joined by the rest of [title of show]'s core creative team: performers Susan Blackwell (who co-authors the book this go-round) and Heidi Blickenstaff, director/choreographer Michael Berresse and music director Larry Pressgrove.  (The show is billed as being based on collaboration from all six.)

After a bit of confusion as to whether the evening's entertainment deals with cosmology or cosmetology, we're told that the show's inspiration comes from the philosophy of writer, social activist and Trappist monk, Thomas Merton, who believed the human experience can be intensified by focusing on the "now," "here" and "this."

The set-up is that the gang is finally using their Groupon for the American Museum of Natural History/Hayden Planetarium (nicely realized by Richard DiBella's projections) and every display triggers off a memory of something that made them what they are today.

The wry, low-key Bowen tells of using the technique "dazzle camouflage" throughout his school years, deflecting suspicions of his being gay by having people notice him as a class clown, a Joe Cool or a ladies' man.  ("The hours I spend holding hands with girls is equaled only by the hours I spend in my bedroom making my super hero action figures go at it.")

Broadway belter Blickenstaff sings of her childhood passion for getting attention though performing, faking injury or misbehaving and downtown funkster Blackwell recalls being horrified at the thought of the cool kids in school discovering she had a weird hoarder family.  The cheery, horny, easily distracted Bell can't seem to settle on just one thing to sing about.

Interludes regarding begging parents to buy them the clothes the popular kids are wearing, fixating on the things you think are wrong about you and never hearing the words "I love you" from a loved one are all part of the grab-bag of subjects neatly handled with enough sincerity for dramatic weight and enough quips and nutty non sequiturs to keep the introspectiveness from weighing down the proceedings.

Bowen's jaunty score has attractive theatre-rock melodies, but where he really excels are in his clear, conversational story-telling lyrics.  Normally I'd wince at a moment when the accent of a melody doesn't match the accent of a lyric, but Bowen does it with such frequency - and only in comic situations - that it becomes an amusing style.

Of course, the obvious question is whether or not this sextet will be indulging in a third theatrical venture.  Ponder away if you like, but as for me, I'm pretty satisfied focusing on Now. Here. This.

Photos by Carol Rosegg:  Top: Hunter Bell, Jeff Bowen, Susan Blackwell and Heidi Blickenstaff; Bottom: Hunter Bell, Heidi Blickenstaff, Susan Blackwell and Jeff Bowen.

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Posted on: Friday, March 30, 2012 @ 03:23 AM Posted by: Michael Dale

-- Cole Porter

The grosses are out for the week ending 3/25/2012 and we've got them all right here in BroadwayWorld.com's grosses section.

Up for the week was: JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR (14.6%), PORGY AND BESS (11.7%), PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT (4.7%), GHOST (2.1%), MEMPHIS (1.5%), THE LION KING (1.3%), GORE VIDAL'S THE BEST MAN (1.1%), JERSEY BOYS (0.8%),

Down for the week was: WICKED (-100.0%), WAR HORSE (-96.3%), VENUS IN FUR (-63.8%), HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING (-13.0%), ANYTHING GOES (-9.3%), EVITA (-7.1%), OTHER DESERT CITIES (-7.0%), SPIDER-MAN TURN OFF THE DARK (-4.4%), THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (-4.4%), MARY POPPINS (-2.6%), MAMMA MIA! (-2.6%), SISTER ACT (-2.4%), CHICAGO (-1.8%), ROCK OF AGES (-1.7%), ONCE (-1.6%), GODSPELL (-1.1%), SEMINAR (-0.8%), DEATH OF A SALESMAN (-0.1%),

Posted on: Monday, March 26, 2012 @ 08:32 PM Posted by: Michael Dale