SAN DIEGO THEATRE SCENE
"CURTAIN CALLS"
By Pat Launer
05/18/04
New Yorkers -- direct, abrupt,
non-phonies,
Are fun on Broadway in this time
pre-Tonys!
A time for musicals, and memories to
keep
Kushner's shallow and the Puppets are
deep?!!
And "Assassins," with its San
Diego connections
Is one of Broadway's richest
confections.
THREE FOR ME IN NYC
#1 - A KILLER
I'm always willing to accept any excuse to be in New
York and see some theater. Last weekend, the unlikely reason was my summer camp
reunion-- 100 people I haven't seen in 40 years! An amazing event -- many lost
and renewed connections -- AND a great opportunity to take in a few plays. They
were all musicals this time -- and all groundbreakers to boot.
The oldest of the three will probably win the Tony for
Best Revival. And it should. (It already snagged the Drama Desk and Outer
Critics Circle Awards).
"Assassins" was written by John Weidman (Book) and Stephen Sondheim (Music and
Lyrics) in 1990. Surprisingly, it made its San Diego --and West coast -- debut
at SDSU in 1992. I hated the show then (to quote myself: "Some
compassionate soul should pull the trigger on this one") and I loved it
now. What's changed -- the show, the country or me? All three, I think. The
Broadway revival was scheduled for 2001. But after 9/11, a dark musical about
successful and wannabe presidential killers seemed ill-timed. With all the
disaffection of the present political climate, the show seems just right. And
there are lots of local connections.
The jaw-dropping production at Studio 54 was designed by
Robert Brill, UCSD alum and co-founder of Sledgehammer Theatre. Playing
Lynnette "Squeaky" Fromme is another UCSD grad -- pert, perky Mary
Catherine Garrison, who has already amassed other Broadway and Off-Broadway
credits.
Other high-profile performers in the piece have graced
local stages: adorable Neil Patrick Harris ("Rent" and "Luck,
Pluck and Virtue" at La Jolla Playhouse and Romeo at the Globe);
golden-voiced James Barbour (Rochester in "Jane Eyre" at la Jolla
Playhouse and on Broadway); and Michael Cerveris (the original
"Tommy" at LJP and on Broadway).
It's a spectacular ensemble, magnificently and
inventively directed by Tony-nominated Joe Mantello, who'll be in San Diego
next winter to direct his Tony Award-winning "Take Me Out" at the
Globe.
Though the show seems especially dark in theme, it's
surprisingly funny. And it's not just about a bunch of losers. It really
concerns how we marginalize outsiders, rewrite and sanitize our collective
history and pursue the ever-elusive American Dream.
The humor comes in the scenes including Becky Ann Baker
as Sara Jane Moore. She's played as a ditsy middle-aged housewife who can't
find her gun in her massive Mom's purse, and barely knows how to use it. Her
scenes with Garrison's cute/scary/funny Manson-lover, "Squeaky"
Fromme, are inspired.
Most fascinating in the play is what motivated this
pack of nine misfits to do what they did (rarely was it politics!), and the
hair-raising conceit that it was John Wilkes Booth (Cerveris) and the rest of
the outcast assassins who appeared to lee Harvey Oswald (Harris) in the Texas
Book Depository that November 1963 day and convinced him to make history
instead of just offing himself (which, according to this version, was his
initial intention). This, goes the lyric, is "the real conspiracy."
Chilling and thrilling.
Only Sondheim could pen such beautiful songs on such
unsettling subjects. The score features some of his more lyrical melodies, and
with its chiaroscuro shadow and light, humor and despair, it may be right up
there with "Sweeney Todd." Michale Starobin's orchestrations are
breathtaking (he just won the Drama Desk Award for same) and the orchestra and
singing are superb. Brill's shooting gallery set, with its drop-down, brightly
lit sign, "Shoot a President! Win a Prize!" is dazzling -- and so is
the lighting design of Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer (also a Drama Desk
winner). The show is, deservedly, a sure shot for a Musical Revival Tony.
#2 PUPPETRY OF THE PEOPLE
Here's
one show that may not be coming to town on tour any time soon. Talk about
star-driven vehicles. "Avenue Q" is populated by puppets and
its stars are former Muppeteers and current Tony nominees: gifted Stephanie
D'Abruzzo (11 seasons with "Sesame Street") and the irresistible and
multi-talented John Tartaglia (8 seasons with "Sesame Street) – both Tony
nominees. The show was written by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx (music, lyrics and
original concept) and Jeff Whitty (book). All three are also up for Tonys. The musical
won the 2003 Lucille Lortel Award for Best Musical (Off Broadway) and is up for
a Best Musical Tony. Director Jason Moore is also in the Tony running.
Amazing
acclaim for something that seems like it might be just.. silly. But it isn't.
some might call it an X-rated 'Sesame Street,' and there are certainly
uproarious riffs on the familiar characters: the Oscar-like grouch is homeless;
one of the Bert/Ernie-type roommates is gay; and the Trekkie Monster (played by
Rick Lyon, another master puppeteer and "Sesame" vet) has an
insatiable craving for Internet porn.
There
is, as advertised, "Full Puppet Nudity" and also some fairly raunchy
puppet sex. But the themes are far-reaching: feeling inadequate ("It Sucks
to Be Me"), coming out ("If You Were Gay"), prejudice
("Everyone's a Little Bit Racist"), the burden of grown-up
responsibility ("I Wish I Could Go Back To College") and ultimately,
doing good for others, which does you good.
For
some, the show requires a bit of an adjustment at first. Do you watch the
lithe, black-clad, expressive puppeteer -- or do you focus on the puppet? Or
both? (Yes, to all). As in "Sesame Street," there are also regular
human characters: Brian, the Jewish, unemployed comedian (Jordan Gelber); his
Japanese fiancée, Christmas Eve (Ann Harada) and an inexplicable, ever-smiling
Gary Coleman (Jasmin Walker).
Everything
about the show is sheer delight; it's hysterically funny, poignant and
thought-provoking. It manages to say things everyone thinks or feels but rarely
has the guts to articulate. In the lobby, CD and T-shirt sales (especially
"It sucks to be me") were brisk. Folks not only came out smiling;
they were talking about the content, and planning to bring some friend or loved
one back to see it. I wouldn't mind catching it again myself.
#3 NEED FOR SOME CHANGE
The big surprise of my NY sojourn was "Caroline,
or Change." I'd go just about anywhere to see a Tony Kushner
play. So, although I knew this was a small piece, and his first musical, I
expected something full and rich and deep, like all his other work. Kushner
wrote the book and lyrics (the Book is up for a Tony); Jeanine Tesori (last
represented in San Diego with her score for "Thoroughly Modern
Millie," for which she received 2002 Tony and Drama Desk nominations) is
up for a Tony, too. The direction was by the much-lauded George C. Wolfe
(recently named a "Living Landmark"). But all this brain-trust and
talent, and some incredibly powerful vocal performances, just don't add up to a
satisfying evening of theater.
Frankly autobiographical, the plot is
minimal -- about a Jewish family in Lake Charles, Louisiana, in the fall-winter
of 1963. Kushner always writes against a potent political backdrop; here, it's the Kennedy assassination
and the spiraling Civil Rights movement. Caroline Thibodeaux (Tonya Pinkins), a
single mother of three, has been working for the Gelman family for decades; she
earns $30 a week and seems to do more laundry than six households could
generate. She spends her time in the basement, smoking, washing and ironing,
and is frequently visited by 9 year-old Noah ( Harrison Chad) who lights her
smokes and tries to cozy up to her, since he's recently lost his mother. She
isn't very warm (to anyone) but he keeps coming back -- mainly to escape his
new stepmother. His father, a distracted musician, is also distant.
Caroline is spoken to (or, more
accurately, sung to) by the Radio, the Dryer, the Washing machine and the Moon.
Interesting, but not for long. The story also takes a long time to get
going -- most of the first act, in fact. It's all buildup and back-story; the
only action occurs in Act 2, and it really isn't all that much. The whole
business is sung-through; there's no dialogue -- and what with the
Supremes-like Radio (Tracy Nicole Chapman, Marva Hicks and Ramona Keller) and
the annoyingly re-appearing Moon (Aisha de Haas), it do drag on.
The theme is acceptance -- and
prejudice. Little Noah has an extremely goyish New York-Jewish family. Caroline
has a smart/savvy/rebellious daughter (Anika Noni Rose) and a grounded,
no-nonsense friend (Chandra Wilson). The "change" of the title refers
to social (r)evolution as well as loose coins. Noah's disenchanted stepmother,
trying to teach him responsibility, lays down a rule that from now on, whatever
money he leaves in his pockets is Caroline's to keep. That's fine for all
concerned when it's just a quarter here or there. But when the forgotten cash
is a $20 bill (Noah's Hanukkah gelt), all hell breaks loose, and
irrevocable, racist things are said.
It feels like Kushner is still guilty
about this little episode in his past, and he seems to be hoping to tap into
(especially Jewish) collective guilt in theatergoing liberals (if that isn't
redundant, judging from NY audiences). The way I saw it, he'd be better off
having his dynamite cast sing "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist" (from
"Avenue Q") and let 'em go home.
Tesori's music is a pleasant mix of
R&R, R&B, gospel, musical theater and a few other genres, but it isn't
memorable, and Kushner's lyrics are capable but not luminous. This is no
"Angels." Even as social commentary, it's shallow and somewhat
hollow. Not much of his signature humor here, and there's insufficient depth
and heart. But the singing is stellar all around, and Tonya Pinkins' voice is a
wonder of supple versatility. Her 11 o'clock, "Rose's Turn"-type
number, is a knockout.
Maybe the piece would work better in a
smaller venue, the way it began Off Broadway. But I really don't think that's
the problem. Though Kushner is experimenting with the musical form, his
innovations -- like talking moons and machines -- become repetitive and
irritating after awhile, and they interfere with the forward movement of the
story. The musical accompaniment is outstanding, as are the 9, 10 and 11-year
old performers. But great singing and cute kids ("Annie"
notwithstanding) can't carry a show. I
love ya, Tony, but better luck next time.
FORTY MORE MILES…
The
reprise performance of the Patté Award-winning McDonald Best New Play of 2003,
Brandon Alter's "Forty Miles from Tel Aviv," was
another triumph. The Neurosciences Center was just about full, and the audience
was blown away. The post-show discussion, with playwright, director, cast, and
two Middle Easterners, was electric. The provocative play, which gets inside
the head -- and family -- of a Palestinian suicide bomber, was once again
performed by Diep Huynh and Anahid Shahrik, terrific as the hopeless husband
and the unsuspecting wife. Beautiful connection between the two, under Delicia
Turner Sonnenberg's precisely choreographed direction. The piece has already
been produced elsewhere, and 'scouts' were there from the Globe and Playhouse.
The play deserves a very wide audience. Keep your fingers crossed. Brandon will
be interning at the Globe on "Lucky Duck" this summer, and he
starts at USC in the fall. You're gonna
be hearing from him again soon…..
FROM THE DRAMA DESK….
San Diego is on the national theater
map again… The Globe's Jack O'Brien just won the prestigious Drama Desk Award
for Outstanding Direction of "Henry IV," which also won for
Outstanding Revival. The La Jolla Playhouse's inaugural Page to Stage
Production, "I am My Own Wife," which has already won the Pulitzer
Prize this year, snagged the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play and its
star, the spectacular UCSD alum, Jefferson Mays, got Best Solo Performance. The
Drama Desk, fyi, is an organization of theater critics, editors and reporters.
EMMYs and other things..
Just before I left for NYC, I found out
that The Patté Awards 2002 were nominated for an Emmy -- Yippee!
And I also was asked to perform in "Mendel,
Inc.," part of the 11th annual Lipinsky Family San Diego
Jewish Arts Festival. Todd Salovey directs, and David Ellenstein heads a large
cast (I play his wife) in this comic Broadway hit from 1929. Check it out --
one night only! WED. JUNE 2 at 7pm at North Coast Repertory Theatre
(888-776-NCRT; www.northcoastrep.org).
And
now, for THIS WEEK'S 'DON'T MISS' LIST
"A Life in the Theater" -- outstanding duet by Jonathan McMurtry and Fran Gercke; they
play actors who play off each other beautifully; at North Coast Rep, through
June 6.
"La Traviata" -- gorgeous sets and costumes and the glorious, mellifluous voice
of Anja Harteros make this well worth your while, no matter how many times
you've seen/heard it. Harteros is definitely someone to watch; at the Civic
through May 19.
"The Road to Mecca" -- Priscilla Allen and Jessica John in Athol Fugard's
thought-provoking play about the power of
art; off-nights at 6th @ Penn, through June 2.
"Shirley Valentine" -- virtuoso performance by Rosina Reynolds in a warm, funny,
touching play. At 6th @ Penn Theatre, through June 6, and at North
Coast Repertory Theatre from June 10-13.
"Fully Committed" -- return, command performance of David McBean's hilarious
tour de force. Don't miss it this time! Cygnet Theatre, through May 16.
Have a great, theater-filled week,
©2004
Patté Productions Inc.