Triple the Flashback, Triple the Fun!

Who knew February 19 was such a fantabulous day in my theatergoing life!  I was looking at old reviews, and three shows I enjoyed enormously came up.  I've been enjoying my lunch break reliving these happy memories.  I hope you enjoy them, too. 

And to provide au courant context to two of the reviews:  I was right about the critical reception to The Story of My Life, darn it, though I'm happy it's had a life in theaters outside of NY.  Plus, the cast album is first-rate.  And reading about The Divine Sister makes me even more excited (if that's possible) that I'll be seeing Charles' new show, Cleopatra, in a little over a month!  Happy Birthday to Me!

2/19/08:  Well, I was a sodden soggy sobbing mess last night!  I must’ve cried through a good two-thirds of the show I saw, Roundabout's revival of Sunday in the Park with George.  My seat neighbors were quite distracted by me, seeing that they were bored and texted their other friends throughout the evening.  Though at least I gave them something to look at other than their phones.  Is there any way we can do a speed dating sort of thing with theater seat neighbors?  I’ve been so out of synch with mine lately!  

Anyway, I really loved this production, though I don’t think it’s perfect.  I did check out mentally a couple of times when the actors’ intensities seemed to flag between songs (which I found odd, since I believe last night was a press preview).  But on the whole, it’s a gorgeous representation on art and the artist.

At times, I found it difficult to get Mandy and Bernadette out of my head, but Jenna Russell and Daniel Evans were strong, if perhaps a little vocally tired.  Jenna especially was sounding strained in the belting portions of her music.  She’s not quite the physical embodiment of an artists’ ideal the way Bernadette Peters was, but in a way, that strengthens the notion that there is beauty and art in everything.  I found Daniel Evans to be fine in act one (“We Do Not Belong Together” was quite lovely), but really strong in act two.  I liked his near-nervous breakdown approach to contemporary George.  It made the second act darker, yet richer with his acknowledgement of his lineage.  I was sobbing audibly from the middle of “Lesson #8” on.

photo credit: Joan Marcus

LOVED Michael Cumpsty’s take on Jules, thought Alex Gemignani was not quite right as the Boatman but liked him as Dennis, and missed Robert Westenberg as the solider, though this boy had a lovely singing voice.  I heard stuff in the text that I don’t remember hearing before—I don’t really remember being hit over the head quite so much with Dot’s pregnancy, but the hints are there from scene one.  I guess maybe I just never noticed them before.  And Louise in this production seemed to have a diminished role.  It could just be that this young actress didn’t make the impact of a young Danielle Ferland, I guess.

As for the projections, most of the time, I found them lovely and ingenious.  The opening image is quite striking.  I have to admit I didn’t love the dog and the monkey in the painting tableau, though.  I thought they were clever when George was singing with them in “The Day Off,” but then found them distracting.  Also, the soldier’s friend didn’t quite work for me, and neither did the projections of George in “Putting it Together.”  The way they forced all of the action to spread to the side stages was vaguely troubling to me.  And I have to say I missed seeing the huge chromolume in the middle of the stage.  The light show was interesting enough, but seemed somehow lacking, to me.  Preconceived notions getting in the way, perhaps.

But these are really set quibbles.  All in all, I say go.  I actually want to go again and try to sit closer.  I liked my mezzanine seat well enough—I could see and hear everything perfectly, but I’d like to be closer to see up-close how everything moves.  To feel like I’m in the middle of all that color and light.  :)  Maybe I’ll start to butter up my Tony voter friends right about now…

2/19/09:  I went last night to see the new musical, The Story of My Life, written by a talented young man I know through work, Neil Bartram, and his partner, Brian Hill.  The show opens tomorrow and I honestly don’t know how it’s going to be received. 

I was so moved throughout most of the piece.  The lyrics are so right and get to the heart of so many feelings.  And the performances by Malcolm Gets and Will Chase are truthful and beautiful.  I think the show has a lot to say about things that are so ephemeral:  friendship, life, art.  It captures a lot of the ephemera beautifully. 

Neil’s lyrics are exquisite, and maybe the tiniest bit better than his music.  There is some meandering, here and there, musically.  There’s also a little directorial meandering, especially in the middle of the piece.  But these are quibbles, as far as I’m concerned.  The stories told are very honest and moving and recognizable. 

photo credit: Aaron Epstein

There are several songs I just adored, including “Mrs. Remington,” which I think you can hear on the show’s website.  It’s so truthful and captures a moment in time beautifully.  A song that Malcolm Gets does, “Independence Day,” is performed with such joy, and has glorious lyrics, until a moment that literally made many in the audience gasp, including me.  I also really loved the song, “The Butterfly.”  There are a few songs that sound a bit alike, though the orchestrations may be just as much to blame as the composition.  The orchestrations are very small, which I completely understand, though there were times I longed for a fuller sound to really up the emotional ante. 

I just don’t know, though.  The reviews could kill it.  It’s a small piece, no matter how heartfelt I found it.  But I can certainly understand how it wouldn’t speak to everyone — it’s very personal and intimate, which is not what some people are looking for in a Broadway musical.  But I was very moved and very impressed.  Again, maybe because I know and like Neil so much, my opinion is colored in a more positive way.  Doesn’t matter.  I had a moving theatrical experience and I highly recommend the show, with the caveat that it isn’t for everyone.  I’m tearing up right now thinking of “Independence Day” (no, not the movie with Will Smith, though that’s sad for completely different reasons…;))

2/19/10:  So…went to see the new Charles Busch play last night—The Divine Sister, playing at the Theater for the New City downtown.  OMG. I was seriously crying and nearly peeing my pants, I was laughing so hard.  It’s just a fun fun piece.

photo credit: David Rodgers

Apparently, Charles has always had a fondness for ‘nun movies,’ so this piece is a light-hearted romp satirizing Hollywood and its version of nuns and religion.  You have references to Bells of St Mary’s, The Trouble with Angels, Song of Bernadette, The Singing Nun, Black Narcissus, Agnes of God, Doubt, and I’m sure a lot of other nun movies.  Oh, and there is a HILARIOUS send-up of The Front Page, since Charles is basically playing the Mother Superior as inspired by Rosalind Russell.  She’s quite a dame, this Mother Superior, who says the most outrageously un-PC things.  SOOOOO funny.  One example:  she’s written a book about the good old days:  “The Middle Ages:  So Bad?”    Hee.  Plus, there’s a riotous musical number!!!  And who doesn’t dig obscure Anastasia references?!?!

The whole cast is terrific, though, seriously, there is one scene between Charles and Julie Halston where I literally had to cover my mouth, I was laughing and crying so hard.  I’m starting to crack up just thinking about it.  I haven’t laughed that hard in the theater in forever.  Julie Halston ROCKS as the nun/wrestling coach who is keeping quite a few secrets of her own.  Alison Fraser is beyond funny as the perhaps sinister German nun.  They’re all really great.

The play does maybe drag a bit towards the end—Charles can tend to throw in so many funny references and exposition that it becomes a bit like overkill.  The play is running about 100 minutes right now, so I think it could be trimmed a bit.  I mean, they’re having to hold for monumental laughs, so keep the play moving, right?!  Though, now that I think about it, who really cares if it goes on too long when it's SO MUCH FUN?!  

They say the run is completely sold out, but there were two empty seats in my row last night (one right next to me!).  You can check on the theater company’s website for their standby procedure.  Maybe if you have a free night, you could try to get in.  It would be totally worth it.  I laughed my patootie off.

After the play was over and we had whooped and hollered our appreciation during curtain call, Charles stepped forward and thanked us, which I thought was lovely.  He said he hadn’t written a show for awhile that was just about having fun.  But he seemed genuinely moved by our response. 

A fun post-show tidbit:  when I was walking to the R train at 8th Street, I passed a food truck that had a huge line in front of it.  As I got closer, I saw they were selling Belgian waffles!  Oh my!  I had to stop and get me a Belgian waffle with Belgian chocolate and (most likely American) bananas!!!  Yum yum yummy.  If you ever run into this truck, I highly recommend you partake of the deliciousness…