SOB's Favorite Shows Of The Noughties: #2 - The Norman Conquests (2004, Circle in the Square Theatre, New York City, NY)
Introduction: Hard as it is to comprehend that we're already 119 months into this "new" millennium, we are fast approaching the end of its first decade. While we have yet to agree on what exactly we should call the '00s, I'll take a cue from the fine folks at The Times of London and the BBC and henceforth refer to them at the Noughties. With that small introduction, I'm pleased to present my list of plays and musicals that wowed me the most during that time. Out of the hundreds and hundreds of shows I've seen over the last ten years, I give you my countdown of my 25 personal favorite shows of the Noughties. Alan Ayckbourn's uproariously hilarious
The Norman Conquests cut with remarkable, exacting precision, but it also sliced and diced its six fully-rounded characters in this jujitsu of love.
Just when you thought you had the first portion of this trilogy figured out, one intriguing layer after another was carefully stripped away to reveal more of Ayckbourn's intricately woven story. Each character's motives were eventually cut to the core. And they weren't necessarily what they seemed.
Matthew Warchus' brilliant direction of each installment --
Table Manners,
Living Together and
Round And Round The Garden -- made each story accessible and comprehensible in its own right. Yet it's only after seeing all three marathon-style that all the complex pieces truly came together as an unequivocal masterpiece.
Rising to the challenge of Ayckbourn's pure genius, Warchus helmed an excellent cast offering a breathtaking master class in nuanced ensemble acting. Each actor so fully inhabits his or her character that their exceptional use of body language was amplified just as effortlessly as their voices, which was critically important given that this show was in the round.
Not only did I find myself on the edge of my seat, but miraculously, I found myself never wanting it to end. Every bit bit as funny as it was sublime,
The Norman Conquests was the best revival I've seen on Broadway or anywhere else over the last decade.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
In keeping with the new that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post. I paid my own way for the three performances that comprise The Norman Conquests.Labels: Alan Ayckbourn, Matthew Warchus, Play, Revival, SOB's Favorite Shows Of The Noughties, The Norman Conquests
The Norman Conquests (The SOB Review) - The Circle in the Square Theatre, New York, New York**** (out of ****)If
Alan Ayckbourn's uproariously hilarious
The Norman Conquests were a consumer product, how could it really be anything but the versatile
Ginsu knife?
Not only does it cut with remarkable, exacting precision, but it slices, it dices and it makes julian fries out of its six fully-rounded characters in this jujitsu of love. Just when you think you have the first portion of this trilogy figured out, it's as if the Ginsu announcer is ready to step in and proclaim, "But wait! There's
more!"
There is so much more and getting there is half the fun.
Intriguing layer after intriguing layer is carefully stripped away to reveal more of Ayckbourn's intricately woven story (which, by the way, has nothing to do with
the Norman Conquest of England, but has everything to do with a lothario named Norman and his lust for love from all comers). Each character's motives are eventually cut to the core. And they aren't necessarily what they seem.
Fortunately,
Matthew Warchus' brilliant direction of each installment --
Table Manners,
Living Together and
Round And Round The Garden -- makes each story accessible and comprehensible in its own right. Yet it's only after seeing all three that all the complex pieces truly come together as an unequivocal masterpiece. That it's almost as if all a film's crucial deleted scenes have been fully restored is Ayckbourn's pure genius.
Warchus helms an excellent cast, all transferred from the original
Old Vic production in London. They include
Amelia Bullmore as the vain and nearsighted Ruth,
Jessica Hynes as her sister Annie,
Stephen Mangan as Ruth's straying husband Norman,
Ben Miles as Annie's dim veterinarian neighbor Tom,
Paul Ritter as Ruth and Ann's brother Reg, and
Amanda Root as Reg's prudish wife Sarah.
The Norman Conquests is a breathtaking master class in nuanced ensemble acting, almost in spite of being presented in the round. Each actor so fully inhabits his or her character that it matters little if they're facing away from you -- their exceptional use of body language is amplified just as effortlessly as their voices.
I couldn't help but marvel at Ayckbourn's amazing creation after sitting through the marathon of all three last Saturday. While I don't typically go in for long shows, not only did I find myself on the edge of my seat, but miraculously, I found myself not wanting it ever to end. It's every bit as funny as it is sublime.
The Norman Conquests is the best show on Broadway I've seen over the last year. Thanks to earlier reviews and great word-of-mouth, tickets are understandably getting harder to come by. Mark my words, when this ebullient work invariably wins the Tony for Best Revival of a Play, it will become even tougher.
So take my advice and do yourself the favor of booking all three.
Today.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Alan Ayckbourn, Amanda Root, Amelia Bullmore, Ben Miles, Broadway, Jessica Hynes, Matthew Warchus, Old Vic Theatre, Paul Ritter, Play, Stephen Mangan, The Norman Conquests, The SOB Review, Transfer
Cyrano On Broadway: In-Klined To Garner Success?According to
Michael Riedel of the New York Post,
Kevin Kline appears to be inclined to take on one of the greatest romantic comedy roles of all time:
Cyrano de Bergerac.
Riedel reports that
David Leveaux would helm the 12th Broadway revival of
Edmond Rostand's classic play about the guy with the unusually large nose.
Perhaps most noteworthy in Riedel's report is that Mrs.
Ben Affleck (
Jennifer Garner) might "return" to the Great White Way as Roxanne -- she previously served as an understudy to
Patricia T. A. Ageheim in 1995's
A Month In The Country.
Perhaps
this is what
Alan Ayckbourn meant? And if she's ready to tread the boards, can her hubby be far behind?
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
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Labels: Alan Ayckbourn, Ben Affleck, Broadway, Cyrano de Bergerac, First Word On New Show, Jennifer Garner, Kevin Kline, Michael Riedel, Play, Revival
The Empire Strikes Back!In a most stinging of rebukes, acclaimed British playwright and two-time Tony nominee
Sir Alan Ayckbourn has lashed out at all those supposedly glorious Hollywood stars desperately hoping to prove they have the necessary chops for live theatre.
Flat-out declaring that they're "ruining the theatre,"
Ayckbourn takes no prisoners in an interview reported in today's issue of London's venerable
The Times.
Bitterly complaining that many of these glitterati could barely be heard beyond the third row (
Kevin Spacey was singled out as
the notable exception), Ayckbourn believes that the West End producers are single-handedly turning off potential audiences:
What is happening is that the theatre is being stuffed with the stars’ fans. What they experience in the theatre is a poor performance, and they go out profoundly disappointed and disenchanted. That is another blow for the theatre. You’ve emptied the theatre for a whole load of people who will never go again....We have tremendous talent in this country. Young actors have never been better, but they are fed up with seeing their jobs whipped away by people who’ve chanced by a TV camera or stood in a field taking off their clothes.
So who are the worst offenders? According to Times arts correspondent Dalya Alberge, they include:
The remaining "misses" identified ironically
included the aforementioned Spacey (although he
was dual listed on the "hit" list for his role in 1998's
The Iceman Cometh), along with
Jerry Hall (sure, she regularly slept with
Mick Jagger once upon a time, but big
Hollywood star???),
Glenn Close ("about 25 years too old to be playing Blanche DuBois"),
Gillian Anderson (aside from landing a role in "
The Last King Of Scotland," has anyone really seen her since "
The X-Files" was canceled??) and
Stephen Gately (since when is this Irish boy-band member of
Boyzone a
Hollywood name???).
To be fair, neither Spacey or Close really belong on a list of "Hollywood" types ruining theatre. Both of them are clearly accomplished on the stage and have been lauded for their remarkable contributions to it. For some unknown reason, the online version of
The Times story carries a photo of Spacey from his
acclaimed turn in
The Iceman Cometh -- hardly seems apropos given the story.
And while I've done plenty of thumping about the ongoing unfortunate use of stunt-casting to keep formerly great shows alive that were nearly dead -- I haven't even mentioned the ridiculous things
they're saying about
Don Johnson in London's
Guys And Dolls or
Tony Danza in Broadway's
The Producers -- I'm left with a "Is that all there is?" feeling when reading through
The Times' list of offenders.
Sure, the spectacle outside the theatre each night after
Julia Roberts performed on Broadway had to be seen to be believed, even if many thought her performance
inside the theatre left something to be desired.
I, for one, actually enjoyed Three Days Of Rain.
Sure, the performance of
Sean Combs or Puff Daddy or P. Diddy or whatever he's calling himself was largely considered to be underwhelming, but look at how many fans he single-handedly brought into the theatre to see acting at its best by his Tony-winning
Raisin In The Sun co-stars
Audra McDonald and
Phylicia Rashad.
Sure, television star
Christina Applegate was a novice to the Great White Way before pluckily showing yeoman's determination and sheer grit in keeping the 2005 revival of
Sweet Charity alive, even after it had been pronounced dead. Heck, she even nabbed a Tony nod as her reward.
Thankfully, as this morning's positive reviews of
Translations demonstrated, a great piece of theatre need not have a well-known cast in order to captivate critics. Just look at the success of no-name shows like
Avenue Q and
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
So while on the surface, Sir Alan's comments make for great copy, I just don't buy that the relatively
few Hollywood names surfacing on Broadway or in London are going to be the end of great theatre as we know it.
I'll be very interested in hearing what you think.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Alan Ayckbourn, Broadway, Kevin Spacey, London, Madonna, Musical, Play, Stunt Casting
