SOB's Best Of 2007-08: Best Revivals Of PlaysOver the past year, I've had an opportunity to see 22 revivals of plays throughout the United States. Many tested the limits of my imagination, while others simply tested my nerves, but overall, there were many fine productions to be seen.
Here's my personal "5 Best" list of the revivals I'm thankful I had a chance to see:
5 - Boeing-Boeing (Longacre Theatre, New York, NY)
Looking for the funniest, laugh-out-loud comedy now on the Great White Runway? Look no further than the current Broadway revival of
Boeing-Boeing. It's a mostly fantastic, high-flying farce. As absurd as the storyline is,
Matthew Warchus portentously propels this first class flight to a new altitude with a turbocharged cruising speed that left me breathless from laughing. Much of the marvelous mirth comes from watching
Mark Rylance, who proves even a great Shakespearean actor can be a worthy master of slapstick comedy. Nearly as wonderful is
Christine Baranski's wickedly funny propensity for broad comic relief, whether it's with an exaggerated roll of her eyes or via her deadpan, droll response.
Boeing-Boeing is about the wildest ride on Broadway. Fasten your seatbelts!
4 - A Bronx Tale (Walter Kerr Theatre, New York, NY)
Chazz Palminteri's enthralling solo show
A Bronx Tale arrived to well-deserved audience cheers from The Bronx and beyond when it was revived this season on Broadway. Palminteri vibrantly brought to life 18 different characters in an astonishing first-person account of his coming of age on some of New York City's toughest streets. A master storyteller, Palminteri succeeded in weaving a captivating ninety minute tale that built to a climax that can only be characterized as indisputably gripping theatre. I was in the palm of his hand.
Told from his heart, Palminteri's message was so powerful and breathtaking that it deserves to be heard far beyond The Bronx when the production begins its
national tour this fall.
3 - The Trip To Bountiful (The Albert, Goodman Theatre, Chicago, IL)
A theatrical experience that plainly stated exactly what it was, right up front, in its title,
Horton Foote's
The Trip To Bountiful was just that and so much more in the wonderful revival playing Chicago's Goodman Theatre earlier this year. The playwright's brilliance was more than proficiently realized by director
Harris Yulin through the incandescence of its performances. As the aptly named Carrie Watts,
Lois Smith provided an astonishing luminescence, burning brighter as her yearning to return home to a place called Bountiful, one last time, became a transformative power. Never mind that she was trying to get there against the will of her control freak daughter-in-law Jessie Mae, magnificently and haughtily portrayed by the playwright's daughter
Hallie Foote. Both actresses were nothing short of excellent.
With acting beyond bountiful, this was one show that was definitely worth making the trip to see.
2 - Pygmalion (American Airlines Theatre, Roundabout Theatre Company, New York, NY)
Sure, some audiences may have been expecting
My Fair Lady only to be disappointed by the lack of a score. But
David Grindley's splendid five act revival of
George Bernard Shaw's classic
Pygmalion was practically pitch perfect nonetheless, thanks in part to a flawlessly superb performance by
Jefferson Mays as Professor Henry Higgins and an equally compelling
Boyd Gaines as the genteel Colonel Pickering. With aplomb and grace,
Claire Daines proved a revelation as Eliza Doolittle. I adored this show and its genuine blissful humanity that echoed in the music of its lyrical spoken word.
Pygmalion is one period piece that remains timeless, and thanks to the
Roundabout Theatre Company, audiences had another opportunity to revel again in the story that launched the famous musical.
1 - Cymbeline (Vivian Beaumont Theatre, Lincoln Center, New York, NY)
Forget
Macbeth. Broadway's far superior
William Shakespeare revival of the year was
Lincoln Center's underappreciated
Cymbeline. Sending an unexpected, yet definable chill of delight shooting down my spine, I found myself utterly thrilled. Director
Mark Lamos restored the work's long lost luster via his brilliant, sparkling vision, empowering his cast to maneuver through the Byzantine layers of plot unscathed, as well as to navigate through the cadences of Shakespeare's often difficult language with such natural precision, grace and gusto, that they never felt unnatural or forced. In fact, Shakespeare never sounded so crisp. She may have received a Tony nod for her amazing work in
Top Girls for playing two very different roles, but in
Cymbeline, the luminous
Martha Plimpton moved every bit as skillfully from dazzled lover to forlorn royalty in hiding with unimpeachable ease that was equally moving.
Unquestionably, this was singularly the best production of one of the Bard's works I have ever seen.
So what were the best revivals of plays
you saw over the past year? I invite you to join the conversation by sharing your own theatre experiences with me.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:SOB's Best Of 2007-08: Best Special Theatrical Events (May 24, 2008)
The SOB Five "Worst" Of 2007-08 (May 23, 2008)
SOB's Best & Worst Of 2007-08 Theatre Season (May 22, 2008)
SOB's Best Of 2006-07: Top Ten Of The Year (June 4, 2007)
SOB's Best Of 2006-07: Best New Musicals (May 22, 2007)
SOB's Best Of 2006-07: Best New Plays (May 21, 2007)
SOB's Best Of 2006-07: Best Revivals Of Musicals (May 18, 2007)
SOB's Best Of 2006-07: Best Revivals Of Plays (May 16, 2007)
The SOB Five "Worst" Of 2006-07 (May 14, 2007)
SOB's Best & Worst Of 2006-07 Theatre Season (May 14, 2007)
SOB's Best of 2005-06: #1 - Theater Of The New Ear (May 30, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #2 – Guys And Dolls (May 26, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #3 – Hedda Gabler (May 25, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #4 – A Blameless Life (May 24, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #5 – Reeling (May 23, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #6 – “MASTER HAROLD”…And The Boys (May 21, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #7 – Love Song (May 19, 2006)
SOB's Best of 2005-06: #8 - Billy Elliot The Musical (May 18, 2006)
SOB's Best of 2005-06: #9 - The Well-Appointed Room (May 17, 2006)
SOB's Best of 2005-06: #10 - Sweeney Todd (May 15, 2006)
SOB's Best and Worst of 2005-06 Theatre Season (May 12, 2006)
Flashback: Best of 2004-05 (May 26, 2006)
Flashback: Best of 2003-04 (May 25, 2006)
Flashback: Best of 2002-03 (May 25, 2006)
Flashback: Best of 2001-02 (May 24, 2006)
Flashback: Best of 2000-01 (May 23, 2006)
Labels: A Bronx Tale, Boeing-Boeing, Chazz Palminteri, Cymbeline, Lois Smith, Martha Plimpton, Play, Pygmalion, Revival, SOB's Best of 2007-08, The Trip To Bountiful
Palminteri To Tell Bronx Tale A Little LongerRegular readers will recall
how wowed I was by the riveting storytelling ability of
Chazz Palminteri in his breathtaking one-man show
A Bronx Tale -- currently playing at Broadway's
Walter Kerr Theatre.
Now it's been announced that the show will extend its run by two weeks until February 24 "due to ticket demand,"
according to Playbill. Additionally, Sunday evening performances have also been added for the month of December.
While the show's capacity dropped to just 55.2% last week, apparently there's still plenty of mojo left in the production directed by
Jerry Zaks that enables Palminteri to tell his story of growing up in the Bronx. I know he succeeded in completely sucking me into it.
Last month, during the Broadway stagehands strike that shut down his show,
Palminteri graciously addressed 900 New York City students from 13 of the Big Apple's public high schools; they had originally been scheduled to see him perform on November 14 in conjunction with the Theatre Development Fund’s Stage Doors Program. Instead, they had an opportunity for a conversational question and answer session.
If you haven't seen the show already, consider putting it on your list. It's
that good.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:A Bronx Tale (The SOB Review) (October 26, 2007)
Bronx Boy Takes Bite Out Of Big Apple Tonight (October 25, 2007)
Bronx Tale Set To Begin Anew In Manhattan (August 8, 2007)
Labels: A Bronx Tale, Broadway, Chazz Palminteri, Extension, One Man Show, Play, Revival
Were Critics Cheering Bronx Tale?Last evening, the 2007-08 Theatrical Season's first solo show opened at Broadway's
Walter Kerr Theatre. Directed by
Jerry Zaks,
A Bronx Tale is told by
Chazz Palminteri as he recalls his youth. Critics were lukewarm to positive.
Proclaiming it "enormously entertaining,"
Michael Kuchwara of the Associated Press is pretty enthusiastic: "Theater these days is awash in one-person shows, but what makes this one particularly effective is its ability to conjure up a specific time and place, not to mention a parade of appealing characters, even if some are a little less than reputable....The craggy Palminteri, nattily dressed in gray slacks and a blue shirt, has a disarmingly simple way of bringing these people to life."
Despite what he characterizes as a "highly melodramatic climax,"
Joe Dziemianowicz of New York's
Daily News offers a mostly upbeat review: "There's a familiar mean-streets morality tale here. But Palminteri writes with vivid detail that makes the past come alive. Under Jerry Zaks' smooth direction (except for some maudlin music designed to pull heartstrings), Palminteri acts with gusto and bravado."
"A warm-hearted memoir" is how
Charles Isherwood of
The New York Times describes the tale: "As he strides across the stage with a lively gait, nimbly sliding from one role to another, he exudes a moment-to-moment engagement that suggests that this revival is not a lazy ego trip but a rejuvenating act of faith in the complementary powers of acting and storytelling....
A Bronx Tale may not possess the emotional breadth or sophistication of “The Sopranos.” But, appealingly, it lacks that show’s brutality too."
Downplaying this as "a harmless 90 minutes,"
Linda Winer of Newsday damns with faint praise: "A Bronx Tale," which opened last night at the Walter Kerr Theatre, is a walk down memory lane of what was already a walk down memory lane. Palminteri is a fine mimic and re-creates all the people who shaped his life with the confidence and affection of the man who lived it."
While noting that it's "mildly entertaining and impressively acted,"
David Rooney of
Variety offers a mixed assessment: "Charming or chilling, the recollections in
A Bronx Tale are touched by affection, sentimentality and the poignant distance of time. If the solo show is not exactly robust theater, it nonetheless gets by on the writer-actor's strong personal connection to the semi-autobiographical material."
In his two-star review,
New York Post's
Clive Barnes was hardly moved: "Palminteri is more a journeyman actor who has painted himself into a virtuoso corner. After a rather stilted start, he warms to the task, though some of his characters still seem more credible than others. Just how autobiographical and unadorned his tale is, I'm not sure - certainly, the long arm of coincidence is pulled like elastic, and the bile of life is much sweetened by the sugar of sentimentality."
A Bronx Tale performs at the Walter Kerr Theatre through February 10.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for ticket information.Related Stories:A Bronx Tale (The SOB Review) (October26, 2007)
Bronx Boy Takes Bite Out Of Big Apple Tonight (October 25, 2007)
Bronx Tale Set To Begin Anew In Manhattan (August 8, 2007)
Labels: A Bronx Tale, Broadway, Chazz Palminteri, Critics' Capsule, Jerry Zaks, Play, Revival, Special Theatrical Event
A Bronx Tale (The SOB Review) - Walter Kerr Theatre, New York, NY***1/2 (out of ****)Move over
Jersey Boys, there's a new kid in town. At last,
Chazz Palminteri's enthralling solo show
A Bronx Tale has arrived to cheers on Broadway.
Not since
Jersey Boys burst onto the Broadway scene two years ago has the Great White Way so enthusiastically embraced a long dormant Broadway demographic: the
bridge and tunnel Baby Boomer goombah.*
And I mean that with
all due respect and admiration. I swear! I realize not every Rialto show these days caters to this long neglected group. But with
A Bronx Tale, audiences of every type can appreciate its universal message.
Just like
Jersey Boys, this real-life story centers on growing up Italian in some of the mean streets circling Manhattan. While
Jersey Boys includes a young tough character who grows up to be a big-time actor (
Joe Pesci), its musical plot revolves around the popular singing group,
The Four Seasons. Contrast that with
A Bronx Tale, which in first person voice tells how a young tough grows up to be a big-time actor (Palminteri) while referencing a popular singing group,
Dion and the Belmonts, who inhabit the same slice of Bronx.
In Palminteri's
Bronx Tale, the actor/writer brings to vibrant life 18 different characters from his coming of age, including himself as a mere boy of 9 named Calogero. At that tender young age, he witnesses the exacting revenge offered by Sonny, the neighborhood's
capo di tutti capi, and ends up in his tutelage and becomes known as "C."
While young C finds what he perceives as newfound cachet mistaking it for respect, the boy also learns from his hardworking father what it really means to be tough, along with a mantra that has held Palminteri to this day: "The saddest thing in the world is wasted talent."
There is no wasted talent on this stage. Palminteri's ability to tell his captivating story in so many varying voices is grounded in fact, even if some of the historical details aren't -- his tale begins in 1960, which he describes as a time when
John F. Kennedy was in the White House (while Kennedy was elected in November 1960, he didn't take office until 1961).
Nevertheless, Palminteri ultimately succeeds in this ninety minute tale, beginning with a moderately amusing foundation and then building and building to a climax that is indisputably gripping theatre. Most astounding was his use of slow motion effect to relay some of the production's most riveting moments.
Make no mistake, Palminteri is a master story teller, from his hilarious lessons on how to know whether a woman is wife material to his heartfelt disclosure on his attraction to a beautiful young African-American woman amidst a sea of racial bigotry.
Told from the heart, it remains to be seen what this
Bronx Tale's next chapter will be, whether it's a Tony nod for Best Special Theatrical Event or Best Revival of a Play. But it's ultimate message is so powerful and breathtaking that it deserves recognition long after its limited run comes to a close on February 10.
* Defined as "a close friend or associate -- used especially among Italian-American men" (Webster)This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for ticket information.Related Stories:Bronx Boy Takes Bite Out Of Big Apple Tonight (October 25, 2007)
Bronx Tale Set To Begin Anew In Manhattan (August 8, 2007)
Labels: A Bronx Tale, Broadway, Chazz Palminteri, One Man Show, Play, Revival, The SOB Review
Bronx Boy Takes Bite Out Of Big Apple TonightNobody ever said it was a straight path from the Bronx to Manhattan. Just ask
Chazz Palminteri.
Eighteen long years after his Off-Broadway sensation
A Bronx Tale first appeared before making a 2700 mile westward trajectory to Los Angeles -- and another 14 years after his one man show was turned into a
feature film by
Robert DeNiro -- Palminteri's coming of age story finally arrives on the Great White Way.
Opening tonight at the
Walter Kerr Theatre under the direction of
Jerry Zaks, Palminteri will single-handedly bring 18 characters from his youth to life.
Will the critics deliver a Bronx cheer? Find out tomorrow as I provide a critics' capsule along with my own SOB Review.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for ticket information.Related Stories:Bronx Tale Set To Begin Anew In Manhattan (August 8, 2007)
Labels: A Bronx Tale, Chazz Palminteri, Film, One Man Show, Opening Night, Play, Revival, Special Theatrical Event
Bronx Tale Set To Begin Anew In ManhattanAccording to Variety,
Chazz Palminteri is set to make his Broadway debut this fall when he resurrects his 1989 one-man show
A Bronx Tale under the direction of
Jerry Zaks. The limited run engagement is set to play the
Walter Kerr Theatre (recently vacated by a
surprisingly stormy Grey Gardens)
for 18 weeks beginning this October.
A silver screen version of "
A Bronx Tale" was brought to life by
Robert DeNiro in 1993.
Despite his well-deserved Academy Award nomination thirteen years ago for "
Bullets Over Broadway" and fine work in other films like "
The Usual Suspects," audiences have seen precious little of Palminteri recently. In fact, it's been five years since I caught him in
The Resistible Rise Of Arturo Ui -- staged by the late
Tony Randall's
National Actors Theater -- his last stage appearance in New York.
So I'll be interested in seeing whether this new version of Palminteri's old tale can put him back on the map. I'm hoping it does.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: A Bronx Tale, Chazz Palminteri, Film, First Word On New Show, Grey Gardens, Jerry Zaks, One Man Show, Play, Revival, Robert DeNiro, The Resistible Rise Of Arturo Ui, Tony Randall
