NY Trip--The Best of the Best

We didn't bring a computer to NYC last week, so I'm going to try to get caught up while Ann is in Florida for yet another vacation!

Best of the Best: A Little Night Music and A View From the Bridge

Ann and I LOVED the new production of Sondheim's A Little Night Music starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury. From the opening scene of a beautifully choreographed waltz, it was clear this was going to be one of those amazing nights in the theater. Zeta-Jones is absolutely beautiful in her gorgeous Edwardian gowns, and she captures the earthy sensuality and humor of her character, aging actress Desiree Arnfeldt, at a time when the glamor of her life on the road is beginning to wear thin. She is very natural on stage and also has a lovely voice. When she sang "Send in the Clowns" you could hear a pin drop in the theater, and I have to admit I had to reach for a Kleenex. . . Angela Lansbury is perfect in the role of Desiree's mother, and the whole ensemble is very strong, especially Alexander Hanson in the role of Desiree's former lover, Frederick. The only weak point, to me at least, was the performance of the two young leads--Ramona Mallory as Frederick's eighteen year old bride, and Hunter Ryan Herdlicka as Frederick's son--but overall, this was a wonderful production!

The other outstanding play we saw was a production of Arthur Miller's A View From the Bridge which opens later this month. Liev Schreiber plays Eddie Carbone, a Brooklyn longshoreman who has made a good life for himself and his wife and niece in 1950's Brooklyn. As a former immigrant himself, Eddie is happy to house and protect his wife's Italian cousins who arrive illegally in pursuit of the 'American Dream'. When his niece, played by Scarlett Johansson, falls in love with one of these immigrants, however, Eddie’s jealousy begins to consume him. We knew Schreiber (who we saw in his Tony-nominated role in Talk Radio) would be terrific, and he was. The surprise was how good Johansson is in her Broadway debut--she is a real natural and her performance in this rather difficult role is pitch perfect. We are keeping our fingers crossed for excellent reviews from the NY critics.

NY Trip--The Best of the Rest

Finian's Rainbow:
We go off the bus at the Port Authority and made our way to the St. James Theater for the matinee of Finian's Rainbow and a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon. The book of this musical sounds nutty--the story is set in a mythical southern state called Missitucky and includes a charming Irish dreamer, his headstrong daughter, a bigoted southern Senator who suddenly becomes black, a leprechaun who is slowly turning human, and a pot of gold. Somehow it all comes together with beautiful music, a charming love story (or two), humor, and surprisingly relevant messages about racial harmony, justice, social equality and living beyond one’s means . . . More than anything else, this is a good old-fashioned musical--Jim Norton was perfect as the adorable Irish father, Kate Baldwin (who we enjoyed so much in the Boston Huntington Theater's production of She Loves Me that we went back to see it twice) was born to play the role of Sharron, and Cheyenne Jackson is always fun to watch on stage.

Brief Encounter: On Saturday afternoon we went to St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn to see Brief Encounter,an adaptation of the 1946 film and of Still Life, a Noël Coward one-act play. The experimental theater group, Kneehigh, has created a unique experience that combines live theater and remade film footage to take the audience back to the 1940's. The whole 90 minutes is just so damn clever--characters jump in and out of film screens, a couple floats in mid-air, silly music-hall antics make you laugh, and live music punctuates every scene. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and were in awe of the talented cast of seven who play multiple roles at the drop of a hat.

Circle, Mirror, Transformation: Sunday afternoon we saw this small Off-Broadway play after a yummy brunch with Casey and Ben (a.k.a. The Boyz) and before getting on the bus to

go home. We had read great reviews--including an endorsement from Dustin Hoffman--and we were really happy that we gave it a try. The play centers on four rather lost souls who enroll in a community center drama class where they are lead through one acting exercise"after another by their new-age teacher, Marty. As the class progresses from Week One to Week Six, each of the characters is slowly revealed, relationships are formed and broken, and lives are changed. The five actors are really strong, and the play works as both a humorous jab at such acting workshops and as a moving exploration of the raw emotions and revelations that can come out in such situations. It was fun to see this in a small theater with lots of acting students in the audience who could clearly relate!

And The Not So Great . . .

On Thursday night, we saw Fela!--a new musical that uses Afrobeat music (a mixture of jazz, funk, and African rhythm and harmonies) to tell the story of Fela Kuti's controversial life as a Nigerian artist, political activist, and revolutionary musician. It was certainly an experience for all the senses. The Eugene O'Neill Theater has been transformed by colorful banners, African artwork, and multi-media screens. The on-stage band provides driving music for the exceptionally talented cast of brightly-clad dancers who never seem to stop moving. The actor playing Fela tells his story with energy and emotion. Somehow, it just didn't add up for me, though. The attempts to engage the audience fell flat in such a large, crowded theater--how can you be expected to move and dance when the seats are squished into such a small space? After the first hour, I started to get bored with the repetitive choreography and the preachy, loud music, and all the multi-media effects were starting to wear thin. In fact, for only the second time ever, I actually left at intermission. Ann opted to stay, and she felt that it picked up a little in the second act, but not that much. This play has gotten great reviews and there is a lot of buzz surrounding it (Jay Z. and Will Smith are producers), but the CB's didn't enjoy it very much.