If you're among the thousands of theatregoers who have been to Broadway over the past month or so, you'll likely have heard an appeal from onstage to support Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS with a donation, no matter how large or small.
Please view the video, learn how Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS supports over 400 local agencies across the country, and then please consider joining me in supporting this vital organization. Every little bit helps. To donate, please go here.
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Mrs. Warren's Profession (The SOB Review) - American Airlines Theatre, Roundabout Theatre Company, New York City, New York
**1/2 (out of ****)
Call the cops!
For a play that was raided and shut down by the New York Police when first mounted on Broadway over 100 years ago, Mrs. Warren's Profession isn't just the oldest in the world, it may have been among the boldest as drawn by playwright George Bernard Shaw through Doug Hughes' revisionist direction.
As delivered in a bravura performance by the impeccable Cherry Jones, Mrs. Kitty Warren has rationalized her vocation to a degree that it's almost impossible not to give credence to her forceful if flawed logic. For Kitty Warren never seems to doubt that she's vanquished over the drudgery of working class labor, turning the tables on all who've second guessed just who's being exploited.
Indeed, the proud Kitty Warren is supremely confident that hers is a truly noble profession. She is particularly proud of its provision of the very best for her beloved, if rarely seen, daughter Vivie (a hardboiled yet shrill Sally Hawkins in her Broadway debut).
Kitty has been running a string of bordellos on the European continent. But ironically, Vivie has become accustomed to a proper upper class English lifestyle and has taken on an affected air of arrogance.and moral superiority all while Kitty has been plying her natural-born wares to ensure her daughter's very comfort and education.
However, Vivie's most volatile lesson is yet to come. She is about to learn that everything in her haughty existence has been made possible by her mother's very profession. And just when she's willing to forgive what she perceives as Kitty's past transgressions, she learns that the brothels still feature her mother as the star attraction.
As a harsh critic of capitalism's underbelly, Shaw offers Mrs. Warren's Profession as one of his most potent polemics against the clash of classes in Victorian society. As Hughes' interpretation here makes it appear that Shaw has overlooked the inherent exploitation of selling one's body, if not one's very soul, his reasoning is saved by the extraordinary talents of Cherry Jones.
It's to Jones' enormous credit that she imbues her Mrs. Warren with such warmth, passion, style and grace in making Shaw's arguments, that our hearts break for her as she faces potential rejection from her own daughter. But as Vivie, Hawkins offers a brittle performance as she rethinks her own moral code.
With ladies like these to fill your evenings, Mrs. Warren's Profession may turn tricks with everything you've ever thought about the demimonde.
In keeping with the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations 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.
It's A Profession: Cherry Jones To Make Broadway Return
Those rose-colored "glasses" being worn in the poster for the upcoming Broadway revival of Mrs. Warren's Profession not only work in terms of how the title character's daughter initially views her mother, but also how I'm at least momentarily viewing Roundabout Theatre Company.
Not only are they bringing my personal favoriteshow I saw anywhere last year to Broadway, but they're also responsible for enticing Cherry Jones back to the Great White Way.
As the titular character in Mrs. Warren's Profession, Jones finally makes her overdue return to Broadway in Doug Hughes' revival of the George Bernard Shaw work. The play centers on the lengths one mother goes toward keep her daughter comfortable, including one well-kept secret. Roundabout describes the play as follows:
Tony Award winner Cherry Jones returns to Broadway in George Bernard Shaw’s scorching tour de force! Mrs. Warren’s Profession tells the story of Kitty Warren, a mother who makes a terrible sacrifice for her daughter Vivie’s independence. The clash of these two strong-willed but culturally constrained women is the spark that ignites the ironic wit of one of Shaw's greatest plays.
Hughes' revival marks the sixth time Mrs. Warren's Profession has been mounted on Broadway.
Written in 1893, it wasn't until 1905 that the play was first produced on the Great White Way. Due to its highly controversial subject matter (at the time), it was essentially shut down after just one performance when the cast and crew were arrested by the police. The play was revived in 1907 for 25 performances, then again briefly in 1918 and once more for another 25 performances in 1922. Actress Mary Shaw starred as Kitty Warren for each of those four earliest incarnations.
Then, the play lay dormant, at least on the Great White Way, for over fifty more years before it was revived at Lincoln Center in 1976. Gerald Freedman directed a stellar cast, including Ruth Gordon as Kitty, Lynn Redgrave as Vivie, Edward Herrmann as Frank, Philip Bosco as George and Milo O'Shea as the Reverend. While the revival would only play 55 regular performances, it earned Tony nominations for both Herrmann and Redgrave (Herrmann would win for Best Featured Actor).
My only previous experience with this work was back in 2003 at the Guthrie in Minneapolis. Fortunately, I was well-armed with their excellent study guide, which I strongly recommend reading only after you see the performance. It certainly increased my understanding of and overall enjoyment for what was once a truly groundbreaking work.
Previews for Mrs. Warren's Profession begin at the American Airlines Theatre on September 3, with opening night slated for one month later on October 3. The brief run is slated to conclude on November 28, 2010.
In keeping with the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations 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.
SOB's Favorite Shows Of The Noughties: #4 - Doubt (2005, Walter Kerr 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.
Was there ever any Doubt that John Patrick Shanley's extraordinary morality play would appear on my favorites list for the last decade?
Brían F. O'Byrne and Tony-winner Cherry Jones sparred sensationally as Father Flynn and Sister Aloysius in this compelling drama that left us debating, “Did he or didn’t he?” long after our departure from the theatre. Heather Goldenhersh and Adriane Lenox, who won a Tony for her ethically-challenged mother, rounded out this excellent cast.
Superbly constructed by Shanley and directed with exacting precision by Doug Hughes, it wasn’t hard to understand why Doubt received the 2005 Tony Award for Best Play along with a Pulitzer Prize.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
In keeping with the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations 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.
When I saw John Patrick Shanley's Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning Doubtin March 2005, I was in complete awe of this completely compelling drama. With the redoubtable Brían F. O'Byrne as Father Flynn sparring with Tony-winner Cherry Jones as Sister Aloysius, we were left debating, “Did he or didn’t he?” long after our departure from the theatre.
But upon entering the movie theatre a week ago, I have to confess that I had my doubts as to whether Shanley's personally directed screenplay could match that live theatrical experience audiences had found so riveting just a few short years ago.
With Philip Seymour Hoffman and Meryl Streep now in the leads, I should have known better. Their extraordinary performances were both enthralling and pitch perfect.
My larger concern was whether the silver screen incarnation would give too much away. After all, Shanley's small play only included four principal actors. A film version would by its very nature demand greater context and additional characters, including those who had only been mentioned in the play. Again, my fears were allayed. Yes, the stage version of Doubt forced its audience to rely entirely on hearsay, but I believe the key visuals in the movie were so expertly crafted by Shanley, that precious little is given away.
Just as the stage version offered excellent turns by Heather Goldenhersh as Sister James and Tony Award winner Adriane Lenox as the conflicted Mrs. Muller, the screen version offers no less compelling performances by Amy Adams and Viola Davis. Both are superb.
Best of all, just as with Doubt on stage, we were still discussing whether or not he did it. Bravo to John Patrick Shanley and cast.
While I've just begun my annual holiday filmgoing spree, I can tell you that to date, "Doubt" is the best movie I've seen all year.
UPDATE (12.21.08, 8:10 p.m. EST): Scratch that last item. I just came back from "Slumdog Millionaire" -- a movie unlike any other. Yes, I love "Doubt," but "Slumdog Millionaire" is in a class unto itself. My advice? Go see them both!
As previously reported, Tony-winning actress Cherry Jones -- who is currently treading the boards in Broadway's revival of Faith Healer -- will reprise her acclaimed role as Sister Aloysius in the touring production of John Patrick Shanley's Doubt. It has now been announced that Adriane Lenox, who won a Tony for her portrayal of Doubt's conflicted mother Mrs. Muller, will be joining Jones for the first three legs of that tour (Los Angeles' Ahmanson Theatre, September 22-October 29; San Diego's Civic Theatre, October 31-November 5; and San Francisco's Orpheum Theatre, November 7-December 3).
Additionally, Chris McGarry and Lisa Joyce will tour as Father Flynn and Sister James, respectively. McGarry is finally getting his chance in the spotlight, having served as Brían F. O'Byrne's understudy during Doubt's Broadway run. Joyce was recently seen in Adam Rapp's Off-Broadway/Steppenwolf production of Red Light Winter.
Faith Healer (The SOB Review) – Booth Theatre, New York, NY
***1/2 (our of ****)
Not all great theatre is necessarily easy to sit through. But it certainly helps tremendously when you have three of the most gifted actors from either side of the Atlantic to convey the story. Such is the case with the retelling – literally – of Brian Friel’s Faith Healer, which opened last week on Broadway. I took in the show on Saturday evening.
I confess that I don’t know the reasons for Faith Healer’s all-too-short life span when it first appeared at the Great White Way’s Longacre Theatre 27 years ago with the late, great James Mason in the lead role of Frank Hardy, whose initials F.H. segue nicely with the vocation of Faith Healer. But it would appear that this play was a couple decades ahead of its time, complete with its individual soliloquies that supposedly share the same story over and over, yet reveal gaping holes through each successive telling.
The superb Ralph Fiennes was fine, and Cherry Jones was electrifying, albeit with an accent that didn’t quite fit the character. Indeed, what I had originally anticipated would be the most exciting aspects of the casting -- previous Tony winners Fiennes and Jones -- were revealed to be merely precursors to an incomparable performance by Ian McDiarmid (pictured above), who single-handed breathed lasting life into the production through his very human portrayal of Frank Hardy’s “all-business” manager, Teddy. McDiarmid, who is best known to American audiences for his role in five of the six "Star Wars" movies, succeeded in stealing the show right from under the two Tony winners by adding an essential touch of humor and heart. McDiarmid is sure to be nominated for a Tony Award in his own right for inhabiting this role so effectively.
As I noted earlier, this is not an easy production to sit through, but it is one that you’ll later revel in having seen true acting genii perform on the same stage, even if not at the same moment in time.
With the clock ticking on the last moments of the 2005-06 Broadway theatrical season, I noted last week that most of the expected critical praise would likely be heaped upon the final entrants. Faith Healer is the latest show to open to critical acclaim, and certainly appears to have made true believers out of even the toughest of critics.
Case in point is The New York Times' Ben Brantley, who seemed downright mesmerized. His review mostly consisted of praise for the production and singled out Ralph Fiennes: "This shrewd channeling of his glamorously peevish star shine may finally get Faith Healer, a production from the Gate Theater of Dublin, directed with poetic starkness by Jonathan Kent, the New York audience it deserves...Faith Healer (is) a major work of art."
Elysa Gardner of USA Today awarded Faith Healer ***1/2 stars, noting: "In the title role, Ralph Fiennes, returning to Broadway for the first time since his Tony Award-winning turn 11 years ago in Hamlet (also directed by Kent, originally for the UK's Almeida Theatre), again delivers the nuanced intensity that makes him one of our most compelling stage and screen actors."
New York Post's Clive Barnes' review -- aptly titled "Fiennes & Co. Renew Faith in Theatre" -- raved: "Faith Healer is, to use one of its key words, a 'fantastic' theatrical experience, outdistancing the current Broadway pack by a country mile, with three performances to be treasured in memory, and reinforcing Friel's position as one of the three or four finest living English-speaking playwrights."
Broadway.com's Ron Kendt agreed: "Acting this good can be healing. In Brian Friel's Faith Healer, the simplest and most hypnotic show on Broadway, audiences find themselves in the capable and tender care of three very different, indeed vividly distinct, pros." Linda Winer of Newsday proclaimed Faith Healer "...a peculiar but mesmerizing evening," and New York Daily News' Howard Kissel agrees stating the play provides an "...extraordinary, unforgettable evening..."
For a show that first opened 27 years ago, only to survive 20 regular performances, this newfound praise is sweet vindication for playwright Brian Friel. I'm looking forward to being in the audience tomorrow evening and will have my own review shortly thereafter.
Another hotly anticipated Broadway opening occurs tonight when Ralph Fiennes and Cherry Jones -- both Tony Award winners for their immediate past performances on the Great White Way in Hamlet and Doubt, respectively -- return to the stage in Brian Fiel's Faith Healer. The play is comprised of a series of monologues by Fiennes, Jones and Ian McDiarmid, none of whom appear together on the stage until the closing curtain. Fiennes is the titular Faith Healer, whose dubious character traveling between Scotland and Wales will have the audience wondering whether he is simply a charlatan or a true believer.
The Booth Theatre serves as the venue for this 15-week engagement. While I'll certainly be reporting on tomorrow's reviews, I'll be providing my own after taking in the show during this upcoming weekend. We'll see whether the critical praise for Fiennes and Jones continues as expected.
As May begins, thus ends the 2005-06 season on Broadway. But before it fades into history, a few more shows are set to open, including the only truly original Broadway musical of the season, The Drowsy Chaperone -- which has so much advance buzz that it is likely the frontrunner for Best Musical at this year's Tonys; the Ralph Fiennes/Cherry Jones vehicle Faith Healer; Martin McDonough's latest The Lieutenant of Inishmore, -- which could give The History Boys a run for the Best Play Tony; Shining City with Brían F. O’Byrne, Oliver Platt and Martha Plimpton; and Disney's latest spectacle that's already SRO, Tarzan.
It's probably a safe bet that many of this year's Tony Award winners will come from these last offerings of the season. Personally, I'm most looking forward to catching Cherry Jones and Ralph Fiennes. We'll see if the Tony Awards agree.
Rain: A Tribute To The Beatles Limited run extended through May 31, 2011 (Show will go on hiatus starting January 15 and reopen at Brooks Atkinson Theatre on February 8)
Rock Of Ages - Open-ended run (Show will go on hiatus starting January 9 and reopen at Helen Hayes Theatre in March)
As someone who has been involved in both politics and public relations, it's no wonder I love watching theatre. Good or bad, it's the raw energy of seeing a live performance that gets my adrenaline pumping. From the moment I saw my very first Broadway show ("Annie" in London in 1979), I was hooked. Now I see as many as 70 shows each year ranging from soaring musicals to two-hander plays. And these eyes just may be in an audience near you!
