Thoughts on Encores! Off-Center

I know, I know, they've been closed for a while, but I just wanted to express my pleasure at the whole idea of City Center's Encores! Off-Center.  Founded in 2013, the Encores! Off-Center presents Off-Broadway musicals that pushed creative boundaries when they were first produced but technically never made it to Broadway.  They've been fudging with that description almost from the beginning, but I don't mind.  I've greatly enjoyed all of the productions I've seen in the series (and I've only seen about half) - their productions of I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road, Tick, Tick...Boom, Assassins, The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin and Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope have been some of my favorite productions of the last few years.

When they announced the 2019 summer season, I thought that the only show I needed to see was Promenade, the rarely-produced musical by Al Carmines and the sublime Maria Irene Fornes - I was fortunate to get a discount offer after I saw the recent documentary about Irene, so after I bought a ticket for Promenade, I figured I was done.  I'd already seen the other two, multiple times, so I figured I could save a buck or two.

photo credit: Joan Marcus

Ha ha, silly me.  Of course, being me, I suddenly realized that I couldn't miss a production of Working - I love that show.  I've seen several productions and I'm moved every time.  You don't often see working class people depicted positively on stage, and since I grew up in a blue-collar home, I enjoy seeing people I know.  Plus, my father was a mason and Working has a beautiful song by Craig Carnelia called "The Mason."  It always makes me weep.  Of course I had to pick up a ticket and I'm very glad I did.  

Since I hadn't planned to see the production, I didn't realize it was being done to celebrate City Center's 75th anniversary, so they added some material highlighting some longtime members of the City Center staff.  I thought the monologues were very nice, but there were perhaps too many of them.  The show was done in the format introduced a few years ago, with a smaller cast of actors performing the piece.  It was done well, moved nicely, "The Mason" was a particular standout, as was "Joe," beautifully detailed by David Garrison, and "A Very Good Day," one of the new songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and movingly performed by Andrea Burns and Javier Munoz.  If I perhaps didn't enjoy one of the other performers all that much, I got past it.  I enjoyed myself quite a bit and I'm glad I went.   

photo credit: Joan Marcus

The second production of the season was Promenade.  I've been hearing about this experimental, absurd musical for years, but I have never listened to it and obviously have never seen it.  It's really unlike anything I've ever seen before - it was a rather episodic, odd, off-kilter, utterly fascinating musical about the haves and have nots.  Sort of.  The cast was beyond fabulous and it was so exciting to hear this unsung work beautifully...sung.  There were patter songs, and songs that were thrillingly operatic.  There were comic songs and songs of enormous pathos.  After the show ended, I immediately downloaded the original cast album and listened again.  The piece is so dense, like most of Fornes' text, that it commands many listens.  On occasion, I wake up in the morning with the opening theme running through my brain, and then the gorgeous image of the cast strutting across the stage to introduce themselves to the audience, all while that delightful theme played - so fun.  The costumes were to die for, as was the cast.  It's a shame such a quirky and edgy show was relegated to only two performances, but the audience the night I was there was enthralled and enthusiastic throughout.  I hope this production makes people think about producing the show for real; its humanity, fun, and pointed social commentary are well-worth exploring right now.

photo credit: Joan Marcus

The final show of the Off-Center season was Road Show, by Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman.  I love that pair more than anything, but I wasn't thrilled by the production I saw at the Public a while back.  But, after I thought about things, I remembered I don't enjoy the director of the Public production all that much, and hello, I can't miss a Sondheim/Weidman revival.  I'm physically incapable of it.  So of course I bought a ticket.  And I had a delightful time, mainly thanks to Brandon Uranowitz. 

I am a huge fan of Raul Esparza's, from way back, and he did not disappoint at all.  Charismatic and dissipated, he captured the appeal and the nastiness of the ne'er-do-well brother beautifully.  But Brandon Uranowitz brought a beautifully poignant center to the musical that I don't remember being there before.  He was the touchstone around which everything swirled and he was utterly compelling and so moving.  I just loved him and marveled yet again about how monstrously talented he is.  Speaking of monstrously talented, I also loved Jin Ha as Uranowitz's love interest - you just can't take your eyes off him when he's on stage.  I adored him in the revival of M Butterfly and I adored him here.  I hope to see all three of these gentlemen on stage, all the time, from now on.  They should just play every role, thank you very much.  But really, the whole cast was fantastic.

For me, I think the production of Road Show best exemplified the Off-Center mission: it showed me things I didn't realize were even in a musical I thought I knew.  Bravo for that, and for bringing Promenade to the stage.  I had three grand and glorious evenings and look forward to even more as this series continues.