Summer Friday Fun!

The return of Summer Fridays is so joyful!  Knowing that every week there's an opportunity to get out and about in this amazing city makes me so happy.  For the first Summer Friday of 2017, I wandered around town quite a bit.

I had to go to Lincoln Center to exchange an upcoming ballet ticket, so I slowly wandered uptown to take care of that.  After I finished at the Met box office, I remembered that a beautiful gal pal had talked about an excellent exhibit at the Performing Arts Library, so I decided to check it out.  "Curtain Up: Celebrating the Last 40 Years of Theatre in New York and London" is quite a treat.  When I walked into the library, the gallery looked dark, and I was afraid it was closed, but I went around to the other entrance and saw a guard inside. Inside I went.  I had the place all to myself for quite a while, which was lovely.

"Curtain Up" is a terrific exhibit, filled with costumes, set models, renderings, and video recordings.  It was thrilling to be able to see original costumes from The Audience, Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake, Mary Poppins, The Producers (the Roger deBris 'Chrysler Bldg' costume), and Phantom of the Opera.  I was especially excited to see masks and costumes from The Lion King up close, and got rather giddy at seeing a costume Rudolf Nureyev once wore in a London production of Romeo and Juliet.  Costumes are always fun.  Oh, and it was amazing to see a letter from Hal Prince to Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice with notes about their new musical, Evita!  So fun!  As were the budget numbers; my, how theater budgets have ballooned over the years.

The costume renderings and set models were also fascinating, but I was maybe most excited to be able to watch videos from productions I didn't see.  I adored seeing the first scene from Amadeus, with the genius that is Ian McKellen; a scene from the original production of Children of a Lesser God was quite moving; it was also fun to see An Inspector Calls and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, along with a scene from the original NY production of Arcadia (I was stunned to see Paul Giamatti play a role - remind me to tell you my Paul Giamatti story someday).  I also loved seeing (again) the closing number of In the Heights. What a wonderful memory.

But I think my favorite part of the exhibit was the room dedicated to A Chorus Line. There were top hats there, from the final scene, along with scrawled lyric notes on a program, yellow pads with other scribblings, placards detailing all of the awards and honors the show has won over the years, and the piece that made my eyes well up - a video recording, spliced from the original production at the Public, and the most recent Broadway revival, of the casts doing "One," and taking their bows.  The video was in the corner of the room, and on the other side was a large mirror, so it seemed as if the whole room was filled with dancers.  It was simply glorious. I highly recommend checking out "Curtain Up" at the NYPL. I may go back - there were videos I missed because I was so hungry for lunch.

I ran over to Le Pain Quotidien for the perfect Summer Friday lunch (at least in my opinion):  avocado toast and lemonade iced tea.  It was so good, so refreshing, and the restaurant was pretty empty, so it was nice and quiet.  They have free WiFi there, which was also quite nice.  After lunch, I wandered along Central Park South, then decided I needed gelato.  I mean, hello. Summer Friday, gelato, yes. So I stopped at Grom, just off Columbus Circle, and had delicious gelato.  I may have to do that every Friday.

After gelato, I hopped on a downtown bus, because I was meeting a friend to see Gina Gionfriddo's new show at the Vineyard, Can You Forgive Her?.  This was my first play by Gionfriddo - I have some friends who don't enjoy her work, but I wanted to see this one because (a) she's a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, (b) I've wanted to see one of her plays for a long time, and (c) Frank Wood is in this one.  I do so love Frank Wood.  

Can You Forgive Her? takes place on Halloween night, in a rather shabby house, filled with boxes.  We first meet a young woman, Tanya, who has just been proposed to by her boyfriend of six months, Graham.  Tanya is unsure she wants to marry Graham, because he's become inert since the death of his mother - the boxes in the house belonged to his mother and he believes his mother wanted him to go through them all.  But he can't bring himself to start.  He's just floating along, and Tanya does not want to become attached to a floater.  She's read a self-help book and wants to make something of herself - she's a young, single mother, and doesn't want her daughter to struggle.  She has very touching speech about the type of preschool she can afford vs the fancy school she wishes her daughter could attend.  It's very timely, realistic and true.

photo credit: Carol Rosegg

As the show progresses, we meet three other characters: Miranda, a drunk young woman whose life was threatened at the bar where Tanya works, so Graham brought her home for her protection, and David, Miranda's sugar daddy (the third is a bit of a surprise, so I'll leave that for you to find out). How the four characters intertwine, influence each other, learn from each other, destroy each other, or remain completely unchanged, are all part of the enjoyment of Can You Forgive Her?.  I found the dialogue very funny in places (the word 'livelihood' becomes a riot by the end), very poignant in others. If there wasn't as much plot as I might've liked, that's ok.  I found these four quirky, needy people very interesting, their situations compelling and they were well-worth spending time with.  The acting is terrific, most especially by my favorite, Frank Wood, and Amber Tamblyn as the troubled Miranda.

I gather from the articles I've read about Gionfriddo that she is particularly interested in writing about women - women and class struggles, women taking responsibility for their lives, women with money issues, and other topics generally labeled 'feminist.'  I found it very interesting when looking at the reviews after I saw the show that most of the reviews written by men were negative, and most of the reviews written by women were positive. Not across the board, but enough to make me think 'hmmm.'  Can you only enjoy this play if you're a woman?  I don't think so, but it is my wheelhouse.  It also emphasizes the need for a more diverse group of writers of arts criticism.  At least it does to me.  But I had a good time at Can You Forgive Her? and look forward to seeing more of Gionfriddo's work in the future. And I look forward to a thrilling summer of Fridays...

ABT 2017 - Don Quixote

Last Friday was my first ballet of the season!  Oh, happy day of days!  My regular subscription day is Monday, but I had a work thing last Monday.  I wasn't disappointed to exchange my ticket, though, because Friday featured one of my favorite gents, Herman Cornejo, in Don Quixote!  I'm so glad I got to see him dance Basilio, because he has flair and verve and Latin wonderfulness to the nth degree.  Unfortunately, I also saw the sad side of being a ballet dancer...

This is the third or fourth time I've seen Don Quixote - it's a pretty silly ballet, really, with lots of group pantomiming and an extremely minimal plot, but it has tons of gorgeous dancing in it.  Solos, pas de deux, and charming ensemble dancing.  I always have a grand time watching the ballet, though it's not one of the story evenings that engages me the most.  I do look forward to seeing Kitri do the crazy jete in the first act, and then seeing the wedding pas deux in the final act.  Even though I had a great time, I didn't get to see either of the things I most looked forward to, due to...I don't know. Dancer fate.

this is the leap I was waiting for (this is another ABT dancer)

Maria Kochetkova was dancing Kitri and she was mainly lovely.  Maybe not spirited enough in the beginning, but her footwork was lovely and her spins strong and secure. She didn't do the crazy jete, though.  I have to admit I was disappointed.  I guess it's a choice of the ballerina whether or not to do it? I don't know.  But I did miss it.  The photo at right is from the internet and it was what I was looking for.  Oh well. Herman Cornejo was on fire, though, from the very moment he appeared on stage. So virile, with exquisite jumps and turns.  The audience gasped several times at his virtuosity, which never seems showy, but always in tune with the character he's playing.  His miming was fun as well, and he got quite a few laughs throughout the evening.  

Sarah Lane and Luciana Paris were delightful as the flower girls, and Devon Teuscher and Blaine Hoven were terrific as Mercedes and Espada (the matador), though I did find Hoven to be a little extreme in his backbends, which made some of his poses look less like "Spanish" dancing and more like gymnastics.  But that's a quibble.  Zhiyao Zhang was fantastic as the lead gypsy dancer (but, seriously, ABT has to get rid of those Van Halen music video wigs and crop tops on the male gypsy dancers, they're ridiculous).

Devon Teuscher was also lovely as the Queen of the Dryads and made those really difficult Italian fouettes look easy and light.  Skylar Brandt sparkled AGAIN as Amour.  I tell you, that girl can SPARKLE!  She's just a delight.  The dancing was really first-rate throughout the evening (the toreadors were terrific!), though there was one gal who must've had family in the audience, because she did everything just a little bit bigger than everyone and she kept getting just a little bit closer to the lead dancers.  I will admit she distracted me a couple of times.  And then there was the end of the ballet.



The third act is the wedding, so usually Kitri and Basilio dance their very famous pas de deux and coda, which is just thrilling.  Well, the first part of the their pas de deux went well, though the first one-armed lift was a bit wobbly.  The second lift was much more secure. Maria and Herman finished this first part of the dance seemingly in fine shape, though I did notice that Herman left the stage slowly. After they danced, Sarah Lane as one of the flower girls came out and did a lovely solo.  After she exited the stage...nothing.  No music, no dancer, nothing.  Everyone kind of looked around, waiting to see what would happen, then Maria (as Kitri) peeked out of the wings with her fan and waved at the conductor.  The conductor then instructed the orchestra to skip ahead, and Maria came out to do her fan solo.  It was quite nice, with beautiful turns, but she did seem a bit rattled.  After she accepted her very nice applause, she left the stage and Luciana Paris came out as the second flower girl to do her solo.  Then, Maria came back out to finish the show, but not with Herman.  Blaine Hoven (still in his Espada the matador costume) came out and gallantly finished the pas de deux with her.  It was now obvious that Herman had injured himself somehow and couldn't finish the ballet.  A bit of Maria's spark was gone, but they did finish with as much flourish as they could muster.

The curtain call was a little subdued, and Herman didn't even come out for that.  Maria took her bows with Hoven, which was nice of him, but I think you can see from my picture above that she was very serious during curtain call.  I'm thinking she was worried about Herman, because he's her regular partner, I believe.  I spent much of the weekend looking online to see if I could find out what happened to him.  I finally saw that he injured his calf, but he doesn't think it's serious.  I hope not!  I have tickets to see him later this season!  Oh, and I felt so sorry for the little girls sitting behind me!  When the ballet was over, they asked their mom, I thought the girl loved the guy in white!  Why did she end up with the matador?!  Poor little things.  Anyway, hurray for ballet season!  Boo for injured dancers!  Hurray for more ballet coming up soon! Let's hope Herman gets well soon! :)

Thoughts on Building the Wall

I generally use my theater and ballet excursions to help take my mind off my troubles, either at work, in life, or due to the madness in the world, which is even more mad than ever at the moment.  I do wonder, at times, what it must've been like to see agitprop works done in their time, or even seeing Larry Kramer's cry of pain, The Normal Heart, at the height of the AIDS crisis.  I never thought, though, I'd be seeing a play that deals with the turmoil of the current political situation, and administration, so soon.  So my trip to see Robert Schenkkan's Building the Wall Monday night was maybe a first.

I'm a big fan of Schenkkan's work - I first read The Kentucky Cycle in college, via a Fireside Theatre edition, and I loved it.  I still hope to see it staged someday.  I've read All the Way, his celebrated play about LBJ, but haven't seen it performed live.  I'm hoping to catch the HBO version, at least.  What I like about his plays are their thoroughness, and the attention to detail, while still making all the characters totally human.  If you know anything about Building the Wall, you'll know that Robert wrote it in six days, in a furied response to the campaign and the election.  He's been adding details and editing the play, currently in production around the country, ever since.  If you haven't heard anything about the play, I urge you to read up on it - the genesis of the play is just as interesting as the play, in my opinion.  Here's a good NY Times article, though if you've used up your free articles for this month, I guess you'll have to wait to read it:  NYT article on Building the Wall.  Since I saw only the fifth preview of the Off-Broadway production, I'll just throw out a few thoughts.

photo credit (from LA production): Ed Krieger

A two-person play, Building the Wall takes place in a prison in the year 2019.  A writer/historian has come to interview an inmate; maybe for a book, maybe just to try to comprehend what Rick, the prisoner, did.  So we basically have a 90-minute conversation/interview between the two of them, and yet the play is much more than that.  Schenkkan has constructed the play terrifically well, with lots of peaks and valleys, tension and humor, with revelations coming at opportune spots, and then there's a devastating conclusion, all based on what America might be like during a Trump administration. You think you know what Building the Wall will be, and it is basically what you think it will be, but it also turns what you assume upside down.  At least it did for me.

There was a bit of a tech mishap at the start of the show, so it did put a hiccup in getting engaged, and the actors were still reaching for lines at times, but that's to be expected with so much dialogue.  I think they're on their way to really good performances, especially James Badge Dale as Rick.  He presents a very realistic version of a Trump supporter who understands, but still doesn't understand, how he got here.  And his situation is so real, it's sort of terrifying to imagine that what happens could happen. Which it could.  (Sorry to be vague, I just don't to give everything away.)  Interestingly, at the talkback after the performance, one woman made sure to mention that it was the first time she had ever felt sympathy for someone who identified as a Trump supporter.  I don't know that I would go so far as to say I had sympathy, but I did have maybe more comprehension. Or not.  I still struggle with the understanding, as my therapist can attest. But in fact, I was reminded of the play Good, where a 'good' person devolves into a Nazi, just by making one seemingly reasonable decision after another, but all that reason adds up to something entirely different.

Obviously, the play comes from a liberal perspective, but I did think it was fairly even-handed in the treatment of the characters, if not the subject matter.  So I give Schenkkan huge props for that.  I was really on the edge of my seat throughout, feeling tension and fear, and I wasn't disappointed in where we ended up.  I guess it's unavoidable that every now and then, the dialogue seemed more like directional commentary as opposed to dialogue, but that happened very few times, at least for me.  Overall, I found Building the Wall to be stimulating, thought-provoking, and well-worth your time, especially if you're looking for ways to cope during this turbulent time.   

Thoughts on Hamlet, Present Laughter and Pacific Overtures

That's a pretty wide range of titles in that headline, right?  I've been out and about lately, catching on a few things during this busy theater season.  I have a few more shows coming up, thanks to generous Tony-voter friends, and, hello, BALLET SEASON STARTS NEXT WEEK. I can feel my will to live slowly returning...

I am a big fan of Arian Moayed, I thought he was magnificent in Bengal Tiger, superb in King Lear, and I was devastated to miss him in The Humans.  When I saw that he would be doing a production of Hamlet downtown, I immediately pounced.  I was supposed to see the show last Thursday, but work beckoned.  The theater was nice enough to exchange my ticket for Saturday's matinee.  As it was only the third or fourth preview, I'll only offer a few thoughts.

This particular version is set in Persia, using Shakespeare's story to throw a light on all societies torn apart.  I thought the use of the Farsi language, in certain circumstances, was excellent.  The show is brilliantly staged - the space is very tiny, but it is used beautifully.  The designs are excellent, except for, god help me, the shoes.  I don't know why the shoes struck me so hard, but they did.  Ew.  The acting ranges from the very good to the not so very good, but I will consider that something that can be worked through during previews.  It seemed to me that some actors have an idea where their character will finish the play, and are still working through their journey.  That's ok.  Everyone mainly told the story quite well and I enjoyed myself.  I'd be happy to go back and see how things have grown over the run.  The theater only seats about 50, so I'd suggest you get your reservations set now, to make sure you can get into the theater.

photo credit: Joan Marcus

I recently returned to Present Laughter, starring the irresistible Kevin Kline.  You may recall I lucked into a ticket to the first preview and enjoyed myself, while noting that the pacing of the show was a tad slow, and the dialogue was maybe a little hard to hear. Well, last week's performance was on fire!  They were making me laugh at a great clip, and it was the perfect show to see to raise the spirits during a long long week.  Kline is so expert at physical comedy, but he also captures the ruefulness that hides under the always-onstage-veneer. His line readings are a riot, his double takes sublime and the tender moments, few though they are, are completely touching.  I found him absolutely charming, as did all of the other characters in the play.  Really, everyone just seemed to be having a grand time up there, so we in the audience did, too. I was a tad surprised that everyone has been miked, but I recall that during the preview process, a lot of people complained they were having trouble hearing (I had some issues myself).  I was also a tad surprised that our seats, originally intended to be in the last row of the mezzanine, were moved to closer to the front of the mezzanine.  I'm sorry the show isn't selling - it IS a rather long play, but they've done their level best to keep things moving, without making it seem like they all have planes to catch afterwards.  All I know is I had a grand time and I hope Kevin Kline wins all the awards.

I also caught the final preview of Pacific Overtures at Classic Stage Company.  If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know that I love the entire Sondheim/Weidman oeuvre, and I especially love Pacific Overtures.  I saw the Roundabout revival several times and I've been known to binge watch the old YouTube videos of the original production.  I think it's a gorgeous show and I will see it anytime, anywhere.  I will admit that I had some trepidation about this production, because of its director.  I've also been on record on not really enjoying this particular director's aesthetic.  All I'll say is that I again didn't enjoy several aspects of the director's vision, but I loved being in the room with those wonderful performers and the performance of "Someone in a Tree" was simply sublime; it brought tears to my eyes and made the night worthwhile.  Although...

I have an annoying seat neighbor story to share.  It was so annoying that it may have affected my perception of the performance:  I've been to CSC before and I know their seats are very close together and there isn't much legroom.  Therefore, I reserved an aisle seat the day the tickets went on sale.  When I got to the theater, my seat was NOT on the aisle.  There was a chair next to my row/seat.  I asked the usher if that was my seat, and she said no, my seat number was correct on the chair next to the aisle seat.  Hmm.  I thought perhaps that actors would be using that seat, or something, so I didn't really complain. When it was close to curtain, a gentleman came up to my row and saw that his seat was in the middle of the row and asked the usher if he could have that empty seat on the aisle (the one that should've been mine, next to me).  The usher said no, it was reserved.  So he climbed over me and everyone else in the row and sat in his seat.  Then he got back up and said he needed to sit in the aisle seat, he was done being nice about it.  The usher went over to the (maybe) house manager and got the okay for the man to change seats. To MY aisle seat.  So he climbed back over all of us again and sat next to me, in my aisle seat.  THEN HE CALLED HIS WIFE OVER TO SIT NEXT TO HIM, which meant he expected me to get up out of my seat and move over.  I glared at him, the house lights started to go down, and I moved.  Not only did he think his male privilege entitled him to sit where he wanted, not where he reserved, but he also had the right to make everyone else in the row move for him.  As you can imagine, I was crabby beyond belief.  Partly my own fault, I admit, for not making the aisle seat thing known before it got so close to showtime, but still.  The nerve of some people.  Of course it took me a while to get into the performance. 

After all that, I'm happy to say that I did register a complaint with the theater and they very graciously sided with me and offered me a ticket to another performance.  I gratefully took them up on their offer, so I'll be seeing a performance the last week of the run.  I'm a big fan of good customer service, so thumbs up to CSC for responding to me with kindness.  I'll report more about the show then...

Review - Indecent

I have to admit to you that I've been struggling over this post all day.  When I saw Paula Vogel's Indecent last year, I was just stunned by it, yet I could still articulate why it stunned me.  Even though I didn't want to go into too much detail then, since I saw a preview, I think I still did a pretty good job in expressing myself about the show (remind yourself of the review HERE). For some reason, I was so moved by seeing the show for a second time, especially in that beautiful Broadway house, I'm a little tongue-tied. Speechless, even. I've lived with my love for that experience for a year, and all my expectations of the Broadway transfer were completely exceeded.  When I start to think about the parts of the play that especially moved me, I start to cry again. I've actually been pretty weepy all day.  I think this is what it is to be so profoundly touched by something that your life has shifted in some way. There's 'before' and there's 'after.' Which, I guess in a way, is what Indecent is all about.  Among other things.  So maybe I should just start there.  I guess spoilers are coming, so maybe tread lightly...

photo credit: Carol Rosegg

Indecent is just so gloriously, so lovingly put together.  It appears seamless - the script, the staging, the music, the acting, the designs.  It's all of one captivating piece, that builds in sympathy and warmth throughout into such a transcendent moment of beauty and tragedy and hope, I couldn't speak.  But even in the builds, we see the circles of life and scenes turn back into themselves. We're taken on such a journey - the tailor who so falls in love with a play, his life changes.  He spends his life as that play's champion, sharing his wonderment with audiences around the world.  And when society, and the play's author, abandon him, the pain and betrayal are so enormous, I couldn't help but be devastated along with him; the actresses who rejoice in being able to actually portray their love on stage.  This play is just so full and rich, and it shows the richness of another, nearly forgotten play as well, Sholem Asch's God of Vengeance.

photo credit: Sara Krulwich

The acting in Indecent is simply spectacular.  I am terribly disappointed that Richard Topol wasn't nominated for a Tony Award.  His portrayal of the tailor turned stage manager is so filled with meaning - so gentle and wondrous, then so wounded.  Oh, he's just wonderful. But really, everyone is.  Most of the actors play five or six different characters apiece and they're terrific at differentiating between each one.  The onstage musicians are also fantastic, and beautifully play silent characters on the periphery of the action when they're not playing their music.

Just thinking of the gorgeous images makes me long to see the show again right away. The differences in situation when the characters are standing in lines; the tableaux when finishing or beginning a new chapter in the life cycle of God of Vengeance; the subtle projections that let us know time and place, plus they give us a 'stitch in time' pause, where we can all breathe and expand and process what's happening.  And also thinking of how the horrors in this play can easily become horrors again now terrified me.  I don't know.  I really just did have a very visceral response to the piece.  I guess you never know how something is going to affect you.  I did worry, before the show started, that the play wouldn't seem as magical on a second viewing.  I was so wrong.  There were times my heart pounded in anticipation, because I knew what was coming, but I was still astounded at how the pieces fit together so movingly.  There were gasps in the audience when the pieces fell together for them, which was also moving to me.  And the thought that there was once a play that changed people's lives, that comforted people during their most traumatic and horrifying times of life, is life-affirming.  And full-circle, too, I guess.  If not now, in these times of rage and horror, then when else can theater save us?  Maybe I'm going overboard with my love for Indecent, but it's all true.  It's all there.  And even though I've rattled on, I still feel as if I can't really talk about the depths of how it affected me.  But I can't wait to get back there to see if I can find a way to share the feelings.  Please, you go, too. Help me figure it out.

Review - The Antipodes

Two of my very favorite recent(ish) theater experiences have been Annie Baker plays - John and The Flick.  So when Signature Theatre announced they would be doing Annie's latest play, The Antipodes, I pounced.  But I didn't pounce fast enough.  The only ticket I could get during the regular $30 run was for a Wednesday matinee.  My boss okayed my skipping out (on my own, this time) and off I went.

A few pre-show thoughts:  I saw one of the actors smoking outside the building before the show.  I have to admit my teeth gnash a bit when I see that.  Smoking just turns me off. Moving on.  I also had a pre-show chuckle when leaving the ladies room.  As I was drying my hands, the door opened and two ladies of a certain age walked in.  One exclaimed, "You're right, this IS nice!  This is like Bloomingdale's!'  So there you have it. Bloomingdale's is the Olympus of ladies rooms.  I would actually say that Saks has the best ladies room, but I digress.

My seat was in the balcony and the very nice usher seemed a little unsure of the seat numbers, but since I arrive at the theater so early, there was no rush to sit.  My row, however, stayed empty until very close to curtain.  I thought it was strange, since I had purchased the only ticket left for the performance.  Finally, at seconds before curtain, a group of four people climb over me to take their seats.  Four people for whom English was not their first language.  I don't know, call me silly, but I'm thinking that an Annie Baker play wouldn't be the first choice for non-English speakers. They never seemed to engage at all.  And, unfortunately, the gentleman directly next to me has perhaps never laundered the sweatshirt he was wearing.  You know the aroma I mean. Thankfully, I had worn a decorative scarf to the theater, and I had to wrap it around my head (and nose) to make it through the performance.  This wasn't easy, considering it was sweltering in the theater.

ANYWAY, after all that, may I say I enjoyed The Antipodes very much, though I admit that I didn't love it as much as I loved John (reminder of that review HERE) and The Flick (reminder of that review HERE).  With those plays, both of which were much longer in runtime, I could've stayed an additional three hours because I loved the worlds created so much.  With this play, which runs about two hours with no intermission, I enjoyed myself immensely and again appreciated the world and characters created, but I was ready for the play to be over when it ended, and I didn't feel the same impulse to wish the play were longer.  I don't think that's necessarily a criticism, just a comment on the difference in my response to this play.

photo credit: Sara Krulwich

The Antipodes takes place in a nondescript conference room and we rather quickly discover that this is some kind of writers room, either for tv or film or something.  The showrunner/head writer begins a seemingly artsy fartsy speech about about making something new and original, that encourages empathy and changes the world.  But then he ends his speech with, "...and we can make a shitload of money."  You laugh and you realize that you're probably going to be continually off-balance, that there are probably going to be two sides to every story, lots of truthtelling, lots of lies, and lots of ideas about what storytelling really is, should be, and maybe isn't. The play, as it unfolds, is a series of brainstorming sessions, where the writers are telling stories about their real lives (or are they?) in order to be inspired to write their next project.

As I've repeated a copious number of times, I'm endlessly fascinated by plays that deal with art/artists/writers, and The Antipodes is no exception.  There was so much truth and humor in the interaction between the writers - the jockeying for position, the latent (or not so latent) misogyny and racism, the egotism.  I have to say I had one of the biggest belly laughs of the season at one line about writers, it was just so unexpected, true and funny.  But there was also a tangible sense of unease in the air, as the show started to get ever more abstract and strange.  Ideas weren't coming, the showrunner kept disappearing, the stories kept getting more surreal and possibly even primal.  It was all fascinating to me.  

What are the responsibilities of the storytellers in times of turmoil?  The play never mentions current events, but of course the idea of this unsettled time needing storytellers even more is pervasive.  The stories the characters tell are truthful, quirky, sometimes a little TMI, and more than once, surprisingly devastating.  The character's story about his biggest regret, and his explanation afterward, was truly touching, as was the aftermath.

The physical production is terrific - the set is completely authentic, and put together in such a way that everyone was visible to the audience all around them throughout the performance.  The lights and sound were good, and there were some directorial touches, or maybe even special effects, that I just cannot figure out.  The play takes place over several months, and occasionally take out cartons of food would just appear.  And, without spoilers, let's just say the knitting has a spectacular conclusion.

photo credit: Joan Marcus

The cast was also spectacular, working as a unit, yet each taking their moment in the spotlight and running with it. Annie is so expert at creating realistic people with just a few brush strokes, and these actors build on those brush strokes beautifully.  I always enjoy Josh Hamilton's work, and his character was especially enigmatic to me, and he added a lot of layers.  I also enjoy Danny Mastrogiorgio and one of his personal stories was really perfectly performed.  Each actor and character contributed to the whole and created an atmosphere of humor (I laughed a lot during the show) and an atmosphere of desperation, which a lot of conference rooms, whether filled with writers or not, is built on.

I did notice that one cast member was getting a little flummoxed by two particularly crazy audience members though - there was one gal who kept dropping her metal water bottle onto the concrete floor.  I'm not sure if she was clumsy, or bored, but it was annoying.  This one cast member would swivel his head her way whenever it dropped.  On the other side of the theater was a woman who talked throughout the performance in her outdoor voice.  It was always about the play, which was good, I guess, but it was rather annoying.  No one shushed her (maybe we all had it in the back of our minds that she could be part of the play?), and she just laughed and carried on about whatever struck her fancy onstage.  This behavior also got a head-swivel by a particular cast member.  It's the first time, in a long time, that I noticed an actor getting a little rattled by outside forces. I know we're pretty close to the stage, but still.  I'm relatively sure the head swivels aren't part of his performance.  But I hope he wasn't bothered too much - I liked the play enough that I was annoyed, but not distracted by the crazy people.  Or Mr. Smelly next to me, who also did not enjoy himself at all.

I highly recommend The Antipodes and I really applaud Annie Baker for trying new things, but also knowing what she does best and sticking to it.  Those are admirable qualities.  I can't wait for her third piece at Signature and the worlds she creates next...

Happy Day Before Tony Nomination Day!

Sorry for the renewed radio silence.  I'm not scheduling myself very well lately.  I did have some terrific dinners with friends recently, and I saw two shows, one of which I didn't like as much as I wanted to, and I couldn't really find anything to say about it except that I was jealous that everyone on stage got to kiss a particular actor and I wished I could, too, which isn't a very insightful review.  The other show was the one-night only concert staged reading of Charles Busch's Red Scare on Sunset and it was SUBLIME. It brought me so much happiness, I could hardly contain myself.  As Charles always does, so I didn't want to repeat myself.  But I do think he should revive the play in a full production - if not now, when?!  I do have quite a few more shows coming up, as is ballet season, so you will probably be hearing from me more in the coming days.  I hope that's a good thing.  Moving on to today's post...

Yikes - award season madness has begun!  And tomorrow is the big daddy madness of them all, the day the Tony nominations are announced. The older I get, the quicker this time of year comes around. Every year I try to tell myself to remain calm, awards don't matter, the world will keep spinning.  But!  But! What if people I know don't get nominated?! What if shows close that should still be open?!  It's so dumb to get all worked up, but...I do.  I can only hope that all the good work that's out there is recognized, but if it isn't, I hope the creators realize that the good work has had an effect on people (namely me), which is worth more than awards.  Sort of.  

So many musicals opened this season, maybe because they waited for the Hamilton juggernaut to die down. There's no way that one show will dominate the awards the way Hamilton did.  At least I don't think there's a way.  I guess Hello, Dolly (which I haven't seen yet) could get a ton of noms, but I don't think it's quite the cultural game-changer. And it probably won't get the Best Book and Best Score Tonys onto the actual broadcast (which will definitely tick me off, of course).  Anyway, here are my completely unscientific, and wholeheartedly biased thoughts/hopes for names I hope I hear tomorrow morning:


PLAY

A Doll's House, Part 2 - by Lucas Hnath
Indecent - by Paula Vogel
Oslo - by J.T. Rogers
Sweat - by Lynn Nottage

OK, for once, I've actually seen all of these plays that I think should be nominated!  Woo hoo!  And I loved ALL OF THEM.  All would be worthy winners - they're smart and well-crafted and about important topics.  But I could be rooting ever so slightly more for one of the plays over the others.  I leave it to you to suss out which play I mean.  :)

MUSICAL

Amelie
Dear Evan Hansen
War Paint

There are ten other new musicals that opened this season (I saw one of them, but I didn't review it and I can't put it on my list - don't make me tell you which one), but these three musicals (that I did see) seem worthy nominees to me.  I hope to maybe see Anastasia, Great Comet or Groundhog Day (three possible nominees) eventually, but actually, I'm already on Team Dear Evan Hansen all the way.  We all know how much I loved that show.


REVIVAL OF A PLAY

Jitney
Present Laughter
Six Degrees of Separation

I wish I could see The Price, but it's too costly for me.  I also want to see Little Foxes, but that probably won't happen, either.  I did see Glass Menagerie, but I didn't enjoy it all that much as a production (you'll see I mention parts of the production later in my nominees hopes), so I can't include it on my Revival list.  I'm seeing Six Degrees next week, but I can't imagine a circumstance where it wouldn't be one of my top choices - it's one of my very favorite contemporary plays and I love the cast.  Oh, I also saw Les Liaisons Dangereuses. Just. No.


REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL

I didn't see any of them.  Oops.  Obviously, if Sunday in the Park with George had made itself eligible, it would've been my choice, regardless if I'd seen anything else.

ACTRESS IN A PLAY

Jennifer Ehle, Oslo
Allison Janney, Six Degrees of Separation
Laurie Metcalf, A Doll's House, Part 2

I haven't actually seen Janney yet (see above), but I think she's wonderful in everything, so I went ahead and included her.  I actually think this award is Metcalf's to lose, though I hear Laura Linney is wonderful in Little Foxes.  





ACTOR IN A PLAY

Chris Cooper, A Doll's House, Part 2
Gideon Glick, Significant Other
Kevin Kline, Present Laughter
Joe Mantello, The Glass Menagerie
Jefferson Mays, Oslo

It looks like Kevin Kline is getting a lot of love for his delightful performance in Present Laughter, and I would be totally fine with his winning.  I've loved him for many many many years.  But I did think that Gideon Glick was superb in Significant Other, even if I didn't completely love the play itself.  I know I'm in the minority putting Joe Mantello here, but sue me, I liked what he did as Tom.  And Jefferson Mays is always first-rate.  I can see Mark Ruffalo making this list, maybe instead of Cooper, but I feel pretty good about my five gents.


FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY

Jayne Howdyshell, A Doll's House, Part 2
Madison Ferris, The Glass Menagerie
Katrina Lenk, Indecent
Kristine Nielsen, Present Laughter
Condola Rashad, A Doll's House, Part 2
Michelle Wilson, Sweat

SO many wonderful choices, I could probably double this list without problem.  I know most nomination lists have Johanna Day from Sweat instead of Michelle Wilson, but my preference would be Wilson.  My inclusion of Madison Ferris is a big f*ck you to Rex Reed (plus I thought she was terrific).  Have you read his review of Glass Menagerie?  It's an affront to humanity.  Moving on.  After all that, I do think Jayne Howdyshell will again be the one to beat...



FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY

Richard Topol, Indecent
Khris Davis, Sweat
Michael Aranov, Oslo
Anthony Azizi, Oslo
John Douglas Thompson, Jitney

Another category that could be filled easily with another slate of five.  I mean, the entire cast of Jitney could fill the category themselves!  Or the entire ensemble of Oslo!  But these are the ones I like best.  If I had seen Little Foxes, I'm sure I would've put Richard Thomas on this list - I love him.


ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL

Christine Ebersole, War Paint
Patti LuPone, War Paint
Philippa Soo, Amelie

I'm sure this is Bette Midler's category all the way, but I haven't seen Hello, Dolly, and I loved these performances, so they get my nod.


ACTOR IN A MUSICAL

Ben Platt, Dear Evan Hansen

That's it.  He's the only name I'm writing down.  I loved him, end stop.


FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL

Rachel Bay Jones, Dear Evan Hansen

Same here.  She is amazing.  "So Big/So Small" makes me cry just thinking about it, let alone hearing it...


FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL

Mike Faist, Dear Evan Hansen
Tony Sheldon, Amelie
Douglas Sills, War Paint

I adore Douglas Sills, so I will always put him on any 'best' list, though I admit his role in War Paint could do him a little more justice.  I also adore Tony Sheldon, so...ditto.  Not many people are mentioning Mike Faist, but I think the wrong (or not good) actor in the pivotal role of Connor in Dear Evan Hansen could practically sink the show.  And he's terrific.


BEST SCORE

Lynn Ahrens & Stephen Flaherty, Anastasia
Kristin Anderson Lopez, James Allen Ford, Russ Kaplan & Sara Wordsworth, In Transit
Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, Dear Evan Hansen

Ohhhhhhhhh, these are the names I hope for most.  Please please please.  It's totally personal, I love these people and their work.  Though I did mention above I'm totally on the Dear Evan Hansen bandwagon, right??


BEST BOOK

Steven Levenson, Dear Evan Hansen
Craig Lucas, Amelie
Terrence McNally, Anastasia
Doug Wright, War Paint

These are four of my very favorite storytellers, so I hope they're all on the list.


OTHER MISC AWARD THOUGHTS

I'm not really good with picking directing or design nominees, but I will say I hope that we hear lots of names of women tomorrow, especially in the directing categories:  Rachel Chavkin, Kate MacKinnon, Rebecca Taichman, Kate Whoriskey.  And for the love of all that's holy, could Jane Greenwood finally WIN ONE OF THESE THINGS?!  I think she's been nominated 452 times and still hasn't won.  Come on!  There's so much I wish I had seen, but I have seen and enjoyed a lot of exciting work this season (especially in the new play category), so there's reason for a little optimism!  Maybe.  I'm not quite sure how I feel about Kevin Spacey hosting the show, but he's a smart guy.  He'll probably make it work. I just fervently hope that the writers' awards won't be presented off-camera again, now that the zeitgeist of Hamilton is behind us, and I fervently hope they come up with a way to feature and promote the extraordinary playwriting currently represented on Broadway. I'm probably going to be disappointed, aren't I...