SOB's Favorite Shows Of The Noughties: #3 - Assassins (2004, Studio 54, Roundabout Theatre Company, 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. If nothing else,
Assassins proved to be definitely ahead of its time. This
Joe Mantello-helmed
Stephen Sondheim revival was nearly sidelined indefinitely as a result of 9/11.
Thankfully, this tour-de-force morality musical on America’s real and would-be assassins really hit the mark, with excellent performances all around. Standouts included Tony-winner
Michael Cerveris (John Wilkes Booth),
Denis O'Hare (Charles J. Guiteau) and
Jeffrey Kuhn (Giuseppe Zangara).
But
Neil Patrick Harris’ harrowing transformation from Balladeer to Lee Harvey Oswald was especially chilling. It's a pity it came and went so quickly. But thankfully, the tuner was recorded for posterity, and my CD is nearly worn out from so much play.
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 this performance.Labels: Assassins, Broadway, Denis O'Hare, Jeffrey Kuhn, Joe Mantello, Michael Cerveris, Musical, Neil Patrick Harris, Revival, SOB's Favorite Shows Of The Noughties, Stephen Sondheim
Demon Barbour?Broadway actor
James Barbour, who has been convicted of a mis-demeanor for "endan-gering the welfare of a minor,"
was sentenced yesterday to 60 days in jail and three years on probation.
Barbour, of course, once played the Beast in the Disney smash
Beauty And The Beast. But I've seen him perform in both Broadway's 2004 "revival" of
Assassins and in the touring production of
Camelot.
After initially denying the charges that he sexually molested a 15 year old girl back in 2001, the actor eventually pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of fondling her after
allegations of impropriety with an even younger girl were leveled against him.
If you're going to do the crime, you've got to do the time. There is some justice here.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:Barbour Affair: A Minor Trifle?(January 9, 2008)
Camelot (The SOB Review) (March 15, 2007)
Labels: Assassins, Beauty And The Beast, Broadway, Camelot, Crime, James Barbour
Barbour Affair: A Minor Trifle?I remember sitting in the audience for the recent touring production of
Camelot, thumbing through my Playbill and realizing that
James Barbour would be in the production.
It wasn't his terrific portrayal from
Assassins as President
William McKinley's killer
Leon Czolgosz that sparked my recognition. No, it was something even more sinister.
Although I'm a big believer in innocent until proven guilty, I couldn't help but think of the
indictment against him throughout the course of the performance and how bizarre it seemed that someone with those charges against him would be free to traverse the country.
Now, he's pleaded guilty to
two lesser misdemeanor charges of sexually fondling a then-15 year old girl. But according to
New York Post's
Michael Riedel, that includes engaging her
a la Bill Clinton. As part of the plea bargain, he won't be subject to sex offender laws, which means he can travel the country without any type of notification
and he can work with minors.
Riedel points out that Barbour will still be moving forward with his lead role in the upcoming Broadway-bound
Tale Of Two Cities musical:
On Feb. 29, Barbour, who was also in Beauty And the Beast" and Assassins, will be sentenced to two months in jail and three years' probation for endangering the welfare of a minor.
His stint in the clinker (with good behavior, he'll be out in 38 days) shouldn't interfere with the production schedule of A Tale Of Two Cities.
Mothers, no doubt, might have a dickens of a time allowing their young daughters to see this show unescorted.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).Labels: A Tale Of Two Cities, Assassins, Broadway, Camelot, James Barbour, Michael Riedel, Musical
Ever Had A Front Row Seat?Last week's
discussion on where you prefer to sit when taking in live theatre got me to reminiscing about all the shows I've seen from a front row vantage point.
Among the Broadway shows:
Spring Awakening (
Lilli Cooper practically sang to me),
Our Town (
Paul Newman as the narrator towered directly over me for a significant portion of the show),
The Boy From Oz,
Rent,
Xanadu (I could have reached out and touched
Kerry Butler and
Cheyenne Jackson as they were perched on the edge of the stage) and
Long Day's Journey Into Night (
Robert Sean Leonard's off-stage gaze seemed to be staring straight through me) .
Topping them all was when I took in the excellent 2004 revival of
Assassins. My front row center seat at
Studio 54 literally placed me face to face with
Neil Patrick Harris, who looked straight into my eyes as he sang part of one of the show's tunes. Talk about riveting.
While I'm sure there's more, those are the ones that sprang to mind. My positioning certainly made a difference in how I viewed each show literally and figuratively.
How about for you?
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:Where's Your Best Seat In The House? (September 26, 2007)
Xanadu (The SOB Review) (July 11, 2007)
Spring Awakening (The SOB Review) (March 3, 2007)
Flashback: Best of 2002-03 (May 25, 2006)
Flashback: Best of 2003-04 (May 25, 2006)
Labels: Assassins, Broadway, Front Row Seats, Long Day's Journey Into Night, Neil Patrick Harris, Our Town, Paul Newman, Rent, Robert Sean Leonard, Special Messages, Spring Awakening, The Boy From Oz, Xanadu
Kuhn Keen on Taking His Own WifeIn 2004, I was genuinely awed by the stunningly electrifying performance delivered by Jeffrey Kuhn in
Assassins, the Tony Award-winning Best Revival of a Musical that year. The gifted Canadian actor portrayed Giuseppe Zangara (who in his pre-Inaugural assassination attempt on Franklin D. Roosevelt ended up mistakenly killing Chicago Mayor Anton Cermack instead). Ultimately, Zangara was executed in the electric chair -- chillingly captured on stage by Kuhn. As much as I thoroughly enjoyed the entire ensemble of
Assassins, in my humble opinion, Kuhn actually deserved the Tony Award over cast mate Michael Cerveris, who played John Wilkes Booth.
More recently, I caught Kuhn’s take on the Munchkin character Boq in Broadway’s current biggest hit,
Wicked. Now, in perhaps his biggest test to date, Kuhn is slated to take on nearly three dozen roles in the new Stageworks/Hudson (NY) production of Doug Wright’s critically-acclaimed
I Am My Own Wife.
While the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play ended its Broadway run just over a year ago, several regional theatre companies are currently producing their own versions of the life story of East German transvestite Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, who astonishingly lived through Nazi and Communist rule. This particular incarnation of the drama performs now through July 23 at Hudson’s Max and Lillian Katzman Theater.
Having already demonstrated such amazing versatility, Kuhn’s presence in this staging of
I Am My Own Wife could make it well worth the effort to see.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.
Related Stories:Flashback: Best of 2003-04 (May 25, 2006)
Labels: Assassins, I Am My Own Wife, New York State, Play
Assassins Loose in Washington for Another WeekDespite its typically oppressive summer heat and humidity, Washington DC is looking like the cool place to be over the next few months for great theatre. I've already reported on the impending opening for
Mame with Christine Baranski and the
transfer of Steppenwolf's Loves-Lies-Bleeding, both at the Kennedy Center.
But apparently another one of DC's hottest tickets is
Assassins, the Stephen Sondheim musical that already sold out its initial run at the area's Signature Theatre despite only having begun previews last night. But fear not -- do to the extraordinary buzz, the theatre just announced that it is adding one more week of performances in July.
If you read my
Flashback: Best of 2003-04, you'll know that the one and only Broadway incarnation of this amazing musical was my favorite show of that theatrical season. As dark as the subject matter is, the production also emanates a great deal of hope that despite some misguided individuals, the sum of our parts as a country is more than enough to prevail. If you missed this show on Broadway, now's your opportunity to see what promises to be a first class production with Joe Calarco at the helm -- but better act quickly to purchase tickets!
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Mame Slightly Bruised, Not Maimed, by Critics (June 2, 2006)
Mame with Christine Baranski Begins Saturday at Kennedy Center (May 26, 2006)
DeLillo's Love-Lies-Bleeding Transfers to Kennedy Center (May 25, 2006)
Flashback: Best of 2003-04 (May 25, 2006)
Labels: Assassins, Christine Baranski, Joe Calarco, Mame, Musical, SOB Best of 2003-04, Stephen Sondheim, Steppenwolf, Washington DC
