All Elling Set To Break Loose On Broadway
Beginning November 2, playwright
Simon Bent's
Elling starts previews on Broadway. The comedy is based on the
Ingvar Ambjørnsen novel and Academy Award-nominated Norwegian
film from 2001.
The play itself was originally mounted at London's
Bush Theatre in 2007. Now on Broadway,
Doug Hughes will helm a new
Elling starring Tony-winning actor
Denis O'Hare in the title role. O'Hare will be joined by
Brendan Fraser in his Broadway debut as Kjell,
Jennifer Coolidge as Reidun,
Richard Easton as Alfons and
Jeremy Shamos as Frank.
Elling appears to be purposely be marketing itself as enigmatic. Witness the puzzle pieces on its
website,
Facebook and
Twitter pages. It's such a puzzle, that each are surprisingly bereft of any real information regarding the show. To find a description, you must turn to
Telecharge, the official ticketbroker for the play, which describes the comedy as follows:
Set in the current day, Elling is a comedy about a wildly mismatched pair of roommates trying to embrace life, love, friendship, pizza, poetry and women. Denis O’Hare plays obsessive/compulsive Elling. Brendan Fraser, plays the wildly enthusiastic gentle giant Kjell. Jennifer Coolidge plays Reidun, the object of Kjell’s considerable affection, and Richard Easton plays Alfons, Elling’s unlikely poet mentor.
When produced in London a few years back, the
West End Whingers hailed the show as "A feel good story of the first degree. It's also utterly charming and very funny."
Broadway.com described the London incarnation of
Elling as follows:
Mummy's boy Elling and his roommate, the uncouth, reluctant virgin Kjell Bjarne, are the Odd Couple of Oslo: a pair of confused souls taking their first steps in the outside world after years of an isolated and institutional life. Given a flat in the city by social services, their mission is to either re-assimilate themselves into society or be forcibly returned to the asylum. All they have to do is convince their social worker that they really are "normal" -- even if it does feel safer sleeping in a wardrobe.
O'Hare and Coolidge alone were enough to compel me to get my tickets early. Those two were responsible for some truly
memorable theatrical experiences, but I'm also thrilled that Easton will be back on Broadway and can attest to Shamos' stage work. The wild card certainly is Fraser, who appears to be the producers' movie star insurance card for selling tickets. Starting Tuesday, we'll see whether he has the mettle.
The limited run of
Elling opens at Broadway's
Ethel Barrymore Theatre on November 21 and is scheduled through March 20, 2011.
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.Labels: Brendan Fraser, Broadway, Denis O'Hare, Doug Hughes, Elling, Jennifer Coolidge, Jeremy Shamos, Play, Richard Easton, Simon Bent
It's A Profession: Cherry Jones To Make Broadway ReturnThose 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 favorite show 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.
Jones will be joined by
Sally Hawkins as her daughter Vivie,
Edward Hibbert as Mr. Praed,
Adam Driver as Frank Gardner,
Mark Harelik as Sir George Crofts and
Michael Siberry as the Reverend Samuel Gardner.
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.
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.Labels: Cherry Jones, Doug Hughes, First Word On New Show, George Bernard Shaw, Mrs. Warren's Profession, Play, Revival, Roundabout Theatre, Sally Hawkins
What The Elling?UPDATED (September 2, 2010) - Variety is reporting that Elling will be produced at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. Previews to start on November 2 and open November 21.Earlier today,
New York Post theatre columnist Michael Riedel
broke the news that
Simon Bent's
Elling, based on the
Ingvar Ambjørnsen novel and Academy Award-nominated Norwegian
film from 2001, may be Broadway-bound this fall.
Originally mounted at London's Bush Theatre in 2007,
Elling will star acclaimed stage actor and "
True Blood" star
Denis O'Hare in the title role, according to Riedel. O'Hare has been a personal favorite of mine ever since his Tony-winning turn as Mason Marzac in
Take Me Out (2003). His nominated performance as Charles J. Guiteau in
Assassins (2004) was every bit as extraordinary.
Riedel says O'Hare will be joined by the wickedly funny
Jennifer Coolidge, whose only previous Broadway credit was a brilliant, comic one -- the actress portrayed the chain-smoking, pregnant Edith in
The Women (2001-02). Coolidge was so incredibly memorable in that role that the mere thought of her back on the boards has brought a welcome smile to my face.
According to Riedel, O'Hare and Coolidge will be joined in this buddy comedy by
Brendan Fraser. While the film actor has never performed on Broadway before, he starred in the 2001 West End revival of
Cat On A Hot Tin Roof as Brick and generated some very
glowing reviews.
Broadway.com described the London incarnation of
Elling as follows:
Mummy's boy Elling and his roommate, the uncouth, reluctant virgin Kjell Bjarne, are the Odd Couple of Oslo: a pair of confused souls taking their first steps in the outside world after years of an isolated and institutional life. Given a flat in the city by social services, their mission is to either re-assimilate themselves into society or be forcibly returned to the asylum. All they have to do is convince their social worker that they really are "normal" -- even if it does feel safer sleeping in a wardrobe.
The venerable
West End Whingers called the show, "Utterly charming and very funny."
According to Riedel,
Elling will be directed by
Doug Hughes. Riedel says the show will begin performances this fall at the
Ethel Barrymore Theatre.
Since there's been no confirmation for this show yet, nor have actual dates been announced, I'll simply add this play to my "
definitely maybe" list. But O'Hare and Coolidge alone will definitely have me lining up for tickets.
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.Labels: Brendan Fraser, Broadway, Denis O'Hare, Doug Hughes, Elling, First Word On New Show, Jennifer Coolidge, Michael Riedel, Play
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 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: Adriane Lenox, Brian F. O'Byrne, Broadway, Cherry Jones, Doubt, Doug Hughes, Heather Goldenhersch, John Patrick Shanley, Play, SOB's Favorite Shows Of The Noughties
Bringing Closure To OleannaIf
Doug Hughes' Broadway mounting of
David Mamet’s
Oleanna succeeded in dividing audiences, it wasn't necessarily always along the gender lines the production had sought to foment. If anything, the revival seemed to split its audiences on whether the 75-minute play was good to begin with.
Perhaps stung by
mixed reviews (including
a pan from
The New York Times Ben Brantley that left me wondering if we had seen the same show) and an illusion of declining fortunes at the box office (the show took in $241,999 last week, its second week in a row with an
increase),
it was announced yesterday that
Oleanna would close January 3, immediately prior to the long cold winter months that typically take their toll on Broadway.
UPDATE (12.1.09): Today it was announced that Oleanna would accelerate its closing to Sunday, December 6.If you read Steve On Broadway regularly, you know that
I came down on the side of the production and gave both
Bill Pullman and
Julia Stiles high marks for their efforts. The play has managed to stick with me, more than one month after taking it in.
Of course, part of the appeal, but by no means my reason for providing the show with a generous 3 1/2 stars, was the talk back session employed immediately after my preview. It's often been said that audiences vote with their feet. In the case of my fellow theatregoers the day I saw
Oleanna, they were clearly engaged as virtually everyone stayed for the talk back session.
Some detractors could say that they merely stayed to get their full money's worth since the thinking is that a one hour and 15 minutes performance doesn't justify paying upwards of $100 for a ticket. But I believe this is one of those plays that leaves an audience grappling for answers, hoping to validate their opinions with others and verifying if others saw the same thing.
When given the opportunity, I stay for talk back sessions after shows offering them as personal elucidation -- my way of filling in the blanks left behind.
Oleanna was the perfect kind of play to provide these sessions to round-out the communal aspect that is the theatrical experience. I was not only pleased to participate, but I was proud that fellow blogger and friend Leonard Jacobs of
The Clyde Fitch Report was tapped as moderator for one of them.
Unfortunately for this production of
Oleanna, its playwright apparently was none too pleased with the novelty of the talk back session and they ceased immediately after the show opened.
According to one of the talk back moderators,
New York Post columnist Michael Riedel:
Alas, Mamet hated them. He never attended one, but he's against them on principle, believing that his play should stand on its own and not be picked apart by "experts" on the law, feminism and campus sexual harassment policies.
"The talk-backs added a lot to the show," an investor says, "but we were told by David's agent right after we opened that he didn't like them."
Mamet couldn't stop them. Writers control only the script, not what happens onstage after the final bow. But he had a trump card to play. When the show opened to mixed reviews, the producers had to cut expenses and asked Mamet to waive his royalties.
His price? No more talk-backs.
I don't know that I would go so far as one wag Riedel quoted who essentially said Mamet was giving his audience the finger, but I do wonder if Mamet hasn't grasped how the mindset of today's theatregoers has evolved along with their expecting more from each experience.
It's my firm belief that in order to broaden the appeal of this great experiment called live theatre, particularly during a time when its pricing seems so out of whack with reality, you need to give audiences a bone to go with their meat. Producers have to engage their audiences in new ways, incorporate talk back sessions where they make sense, use social networking to connect and yes, reach out to theatre bloggers who can help create a viral buzz that in this age of splintered media becomes ever more important.
If there is a plus, it's that the producers of Mamet's newest work
Race seem to get the importance of active outreach, including with the blogging community. Let's just hope Mamet doesn't stop them.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Bill Pullman, Closing Notices, David Mamet, Doug Hughes, Julia Stiles, Oleanna
Oleanna (The SOB Review) – John Golden Theatre, New York, New York
***1/2 (out of ****)
Temperature flares. Blood boils. High-voltage emotions not easily overcome. Whew!
And that’s just ...
me.
After taking in the outstanding current Broadway revival of
David Mamet’s
Oleanna (“revival” is a bit of a misnomer given that this is the first time the playwright’s explosively-charged drama about sexual exploitation has physically graced a Great White Way stage), I was
thankful and
relieved for the talkback session immediately following my preview performance of this impressively spent powder keg.
Thankful because after witnessing the tightly-wound precision in which
Doug Hughes exactingly directs
Bill Pullman and
Julia Stiles in this 75-minute two-hander, I couldn't help but think, “Certainly the prism through which I'm viewing this ‘he said-she said’ case in such a clear-cut manner just has to have been shared by every other audience member
regardless of gender.”
In
Oleanna, the powerful Pullman portrays John, a married college professor on the cusp of attaining tenure. He's confronted in the second act by his somewhat dim, yet prepossessing student Carol (Stiles, in an initially stilted, yet ultimately chilling Broadway debut). She's claiming sexual harassment after the first act's discussion between the two over a poor grade he gave her -- a private discussion that transpired behind closed doors.
As for being
relieved, well that's just because during my particular talkback, virtually everyone providing their opinions, female and male alike, seemed to be on exactly same page as I. There was no equivocation on anything -- except, perhaps, for the viewpoints on what is motivating
Oleanna's vividly drawn individuals to do what they do.
Far be it from me to give anything else away here. So instead, let's just say I found myself so incredibly infuriated and outraged with one of the
Oleanna’s two characters, from my front-row center seat no less, that I was finding myself suppressing something I never felt before in all my years of theatregoing: a most unusual and downright primal urge to bound the stage and take down the parasitical character directly in front of me. That in and of itself makes this
Oleanna a triumph. But it's also quite a surprise this production doesn’t employ bouncers to guard against less stable audience members!
In the days since seeing the play, I have found myself replaying all of Mamet’s words over and over again in my mind, parsing the potentially incendiary statements from both John and Carol long after I left the Golden Theatre. Can it really be that these very same lines, if delivered even the slightest bit differently in nuance or intonation, could easily be construed another way? The answer is absolutely yes.
Given opposing points of view I've heard from other performances, I have to wonder whether Hughes
et al are indeed changing it up each night so as to keep future audiences guessing or mulling over or -- much more probable -- arguing over the same questions.
What is truly remarkable about
Oleanna is that Mamet has taken a highly flammable topic such a sexual harassment and turned it on its head. Surely, most among us can agree without hesitation that such acts are vile and reprehensible.
Through
Oleanna, Mamet practically demands you to rethink what you already feel is right and just-- the question is whether you'll second guess yourself during the show or after. And that Mamet commands this kind of sway is all the more remarkable given that he originally mounted this work in the heady wake of the infamous
confirmation hearings for
Supreme Court Justice
Clarence Thomas in which
Anita Hill’s devastating testimony nearly served as the modern-day lynchpin in defeating his appointment.
Be forewarned, while parallels can easily be drawn with that notorious episode in our history, your conclusions may be turned inside out after sitting through
Oleanna. And that's the payback you may have been waiting for. Or maybe not.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Bill Pullman, Broadway, David Mamet, Doug Hughes, Julia Stiles, Oleanna, Play, Revival, The SOB Review
The Royal Family (The SOB Review) - Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, New York, New York
*** (out of ****)
It's not every Broadway show that receives entrance applause for its set design.
Yet when the velvety red curtain goes up on the
Manhattan Theatre Club’s majestic new revival of
George S. Kaufman and
Edna Ferber's classic
The Royal Family, how can anyone help but cheer. Sure
Doug Hughes' direction is a bit lopsided toward his second and third acts at the expense of a slow start, but he more than makes up for it with an overall production that's lavishly grand in virtually every way, including
John Lee Beatty's gorgeous scenic design fit for a queen.
That monarch, by the way, would be the play's reigning royalty of theatre, Fanny Cavendish, portrayed by the regally iridescent
Rosemary Harris. Fanny's entire brood -- including daughter Julie (an exquisite
Jan Maxwell), son Tony (a royally randy
Reg Rogers), granddaughter Gwen (a sparkling
Kelli Barrett), brother Herbert (a brilliantly funny
John Glover) and sister-in-law Kitty (an over-the-top
Ana Gasteyer) -- might not possess a single drop of blue blood, but they all have show business coursing through their veins
à la the
Barrymores.
Having already earned a Tony nomination when portraying Julie in the
1975-76 revival, Harris adds supreme depth as an acclaimed actress who would sooner die on stage than abdicate her leading role there. With gravitas to spare, Harris enjoys a career-crowning achievement.
With this theatrical legend presiding over
The Royal Family of actors, following in Harris' footsteps as Julie might be a little intimidating, causing lesser actresses to bow to the pressure. Fortunately, Maxwell not only ascends to the throne in a role perfectly suited to her immense dramatic and comedic range, but she makes this Julie all her own. Maxwell creates a lasting impression deserving to be heralded come Tony time.
Hughes' largely sterling ensemble, which also includes
Tony Roberts,
Larry Pine and
Freddy Arsenault, is also to be hailed. Rather than making this period piece creaky, the cast brings a fresh exuberance that establishes this
Royal Family as eminently enjoyable and entertaining.
Ultimately, they're all subjects to the realm of Harris and Maxwell, who succeed in transforming this family jewel of a show into a profoundly moving experience.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Ana Gasteyer, Broadway, Doug Hughes, Edna Ferber, George S. Kaufman, Jan Maxwell, Manhattan Theatre Club, Play, Reg Rogers, Revival, Rosemary Harris, The Royal Family, The SOB Review
Oleanna: You’ve Come A Long Way Baby
Seventeen years after first premiering at
David Mamet’s
Back Bay Theatre Company (Cambridge, MA), the playwright’s short-use drama
Oleanna is making its debut on Broadway.
Short? Its running time is among the briefest of plays, clocking in at mere 75 minutes. Fuse?
Oleanna has been described as akin to a powder keg being ignited. And that's just in the audience.
In
Oleanna, Mamet weaves a two-hander tale of a haughty college professor named John, who sexually harasses Carol, one of his female students. Or has he?
That is the long-burning argument audiences have been debating over this highly controversial work ever since
Oleanna first premiered with frequent Mamet collaborator
William H. Macy facing off with
Rebecca Pidgeon, initially in Cambridge and then Off-Broadway in 1992. It’s no accident that the play first appeared in the wake of the incendiary
confirmation hearings for
Supreme Court Justice
Clarence Thomas in which
Anita Hill’s explosive testimony nearly ended his high court aspirations.
If you’re wondering about the unusual name of the play,
Oleanna is
the name of a Norwegian folk song about a 19th Century couple --
Ole Bull and Anna (thus,
Oleanna) -- who set out to create a utopian community, but whose dream had not counted on rocky and infertile soil.
Doug Hughes helms this first Broadway production of
Oleanna with
Bill Pullman as John and
Julia Stiles as Carol. While both are reprising their roles from Los Angeles’
Mark Taper Forum, Stiles has the longer history with the piece, having appeared in an earlier 2004 West End production in which she co-starred with
Aaron Eckhart under
Lindsay Posner’s direction.
Oleanna begins previews tonight at Broadway’s
John Golden Theatre and opens there October 11. I'll wade into the fray with my own SOB Review shortly thereafter.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Bill Pullman, Broadway, David Mamet, Doug Hughes, Julia Stiles, Oleanna, Play, Revival
More Broadway Bows For Royal FamilyWhen I first learned that theatrical royalty
Rosemary Harris would take part in
Doug Hughes’ Great White Way revival of
The Royal Family this season, I felt more than just a little twinge of excitement. In fact, a tidal wave of thrills cascaded over me.
It wasn’t just because Harris’ casting heralded her long overdue return to Broadway after ten long years (and with it, my first time to see this stage legend tread the boards). It was also in knowing that I’d see Harris performing -- for the second time in her lengthy Broadway career -- as a member of the fictional, first family of theatre created by
George S. Kaufman and
Edna Ferber in 1927, and thus, creating a little added stage history in the process.
The English-born Harris first appeared in a Rialto production all the way back in 1952's
The Climate of Eden and has since appeared in 23 other productions. Nominated for eight Tony Awards through the years, Harris earned her one and only honor portraying Eleanor in
The Lion in Winter (1966).
The latest incarnation of
The Royal Family being staged, this time at the
Manhattan Theatre Club’s
Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, marks the fourth Main Stem outing for the Cavendish clan. What’s truly remarkable about Harris’ participation is that she now lays claim to being in two of those four productions, having earned a Tony nomination for Best Actress in
the last revival produced at the
Helen Hayes Theatre during the final hours of 1975 and first seven months of 1976.
Then, under former husband
Ellis Rabb’s Tony-winning direction, Harris took on the role of Julie Cavendish, daughter of Fanny as portrayed by
Eva Le Gallienne. Julie’s brother Tony, Aunt Kitty and Uncle Herbert were played by, respectively, the late great
George Grizzard,
Mary Louise Wilson and
Joseph Maher. Rabb’s revival lasted 233 performances.
Now, in the 2009 revival, Harris takes on the play’s matriarch Fanny to
Jan Maxwell’s Julie,
Reg Rogers’ Tony,
Ana Gasteyer’s Kitty and
John Glover’s Herbert.
Tony Roberts,
Larry Pine and
Freddy Arsenault are also in the cast.
The
initial revival for
The Royal Family clocked in at 15 performances at the
City Center in January 1951. Its cast included
Ruth Hussey as Julie,
Ethel Griffies as Fanny,
John Emery as Tony,
Olive Blakeney as Kitty,
Bernard Nadell as Herbert and even a younger
Ossie Davis as Jo.
As noted above,
The Royal Family was originally mounted on the Great White Way back in 1927 -- the same year motion pictures became “talkies” – opening at Broadway’s
Selwyn Theatre on December 28, 1927. Under
David Burton’s direction, the thee act play starred
Ann Andrews as Julie,
Haidee Wright as Fanny,
Otto Kruger as Tony,
Catherine Calhoun Doucet as Kitty and
Orlando Daly as Herbert. The play was such a tremendous success that it ran for 345 performances through October 1928.
Could it be that this latest revival will be a
Royal flush with success? With Harris leading a superb ensemble, as well as reportedly lavish scenic and costume designs from
John Lee Beatty and
Catherine Zuber, respectively, perhaps it’s no wonder the initial buzz I’m hearing from previews is already extraordinarily favorable.
The limited run for
The Royal Family opens October 8, and I’ll provide my SOB Review shortly thereafter.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Ana Gasteyer, Best New Plays, Broadway, Doug Hughes, Edna Ferber, George S. Kaufman, Jan Maxwell, John Glover, Reg Rogers, Revival, Rosemary Harris, The Royal Family, Tony Roberts
Did Critics Offer Saintly Reviews for All Of "Man"?
Last evening, the
Doug Hughes-helmed revival
Robert Bolt's
A Man For All Seasons opened at the
Roundabout Theatre Company's
American Airlines Theatre.
Frank Langella stars as
Sir Thomas More in the moral face-off with
Patrick Page's King Henry VIII. This marked the first Broadway revival of the work since the
1961 original.
Critics' response -- particularly from Ben Brantley, Linda Winer and Joe Dziemianowicz -- indicates that something has been lost, quite literally, since the premiere mounting.
While ceding that it's "not always the most compelling drama,"
USA Today's
Elysa Gardner strikes a positive note via her three out of four star review: "Luckily, this production — like the screen adaptation, which starred
Paul Scofield -- is anchored by an indelible, irresistible performance. As More, Frank Langella ... tackles a very different historical figure with similar grace and depth.... Langella has a worthy sparring partner in
Zach Grenier, who brings bracing menace to the role of Thomas Cromwell, the rival statesman who slavishly and ruthlessly serves the interests of the king."
Concluding that "it's less the production and more its star that best deserves the title of
A Man for All Seasons,"
Frank Scheck provides the
New York Post's three-out-of-four star review that somehow mixes up who's directing (where
is Clive???): "While its theme of individual conscience clashing with the demands of the state remains all too relevant, the drama is a somewhat static, talky affair that is only intermittently compelling. Fortunately, Langella is so mesmerizing in the lead role that he single-handedly overcomes the evening's more tedious passages.... [H]e's deeply moving in the final scenes, when Sir Thomas becomes despairingly aware that his cause is lost. The acting in director
Daniel Sullivan's production for the Roundabout Theatre Company -- which wisely eschews the Common Man character which originally served as the play's narrator -- is otherwise less impressive.
Noting how "the play is a star vehicle disguised as ensemble drama,"
Variety's
David Rooney is nevertheless largely laudatory:
"The 1961 drama ... is not without windy preachiness. But the Roundabout staging becomes more gripping as it proceeds, driven by a performance from Frank Langella as measured and naturalistic as it is majestic.... By denying the man more than a flicker of doubt or remorse over the consequences of his actions, and by drawing adversaries that outwit him with cunning but never with intellect, the playwright robs the drama of texture.... Langella's performance, however, is sufficiently commanding to overcome the role's limited dimension. The actor's effortless authority is softened by a playful sense of irony that makes it seem only natural he would toss off a cutting remark even while being sentenced to die."
Pondering whether it's "heresy to whisper that the sainted Thomas More is a bit of a bore,"
The New York Times'
Ben Brantley Mr. Langella says that this
Man isn't suited for the current season: "Mr. Langella haloes himself with such incandescence that you may wish you had brought along a pair of polarized glasses. But starlight needs to flicker and sputter if a complex character is to emerge from all that radiance. And Mr. Bolt’s script ... neglects to include several essential ingredients for a compelling dramatic hero. Like conflict, doubt, vacillation and change.... But it is evident as well why there had been no Broadway revival of the play for four decades."
While revering Langella's big stature, but lamenting, "It's the plays that got small,"
Newsday's Nora Desmond, er,
Linda Winer echoes Brantley: "The texture of Robert Bolt's 16th century English-chronicle drama has been flattened by director Doug Hughes' decision (with permission from the estate) to cut the role of the Common Man. He is missed.... On the other hand, the disappearance of the Common Man does offer an uncluttered view of Langella. His More, for all his self-destructive conscience, is excellent company, just the sort of elegantly intelligent force who believes that 'God made man to serve him wittily.' By wit, he means alertness, not humor, and Langella -- in court favor and as a doomed prisoner -- suggests the plush yet wary presence of someone stroking a cat."
Lamenting how the "parched Roundabout revival all too seldom ignites,"
Joe Dziemianowicz of New York's
Daily News provides just two-and-a-half stars out of five: "Doug Hughes seems at a loss for fresh ways to make Bolt's wordy warhorse feel urgent as it plays out over 2 1/2 hours on
Santo Loquasto's skeletal set of Tudor-style timbers and shifting panels. In one noteworthy move, Hughes has deleted the Common Man, a character who comments on the action.... Langella gives a characteristically intelligent and sensitive performance, but while we see More's plight, we don't feel it -- largely a result of Bolt's script."
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: A Man For All Seasons, Broadway, Critics' Capsule, Doug Hughes, Frank Langella, Play, Revival, Roundabout Theatre
A Man For Broadway's 2008-09 Season Opens TonightThis evening, the very first Broadway revival of
Robert Bolt's
A Man For All Seasons opens at the
Roundabout Theatre Company's
American Airlines Theatre.
Helmed by
Doug Hughes, the revival stars three-time Tony Award winner
Frank Langella as
Sir Thomas More. Langella faces
Patrick Page as King Henry VIII.
The late, great
Paul Scofield not only earned a Tony Award for his portrayal of More in the original
1961 Broadway play, but he also won an Academy Award in the
Best Picture of 1966.
Will critics see this as a play for all ages (epochal periods, that is)? Find out tomorrow as I provide my critics' capsule.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: A Man For All Seasons, Doug Hughes, Frank Langella, Patrick Page, Paul Scofield, Play, Revival, Roundabout Theatre
Broadway Preview: A Man For All SeasonsLess than a half year after the
passing of
Paul Scofield -- the actor's actor will long be remembered for his Tony and Academy Award-winning portrayals of
Sir Thomas More in the
1961 Broadway stage and
1966 film productions, respectively, of
A Man For All Seasons -- a new
Doug Hughes-helmed Main Stem
revival is slated to begin preview performances at the
Roundabout Theatre Company's
American Airlines Theatre on September 12.
Opening night is scheduled for October 7. The limited engagement will run through November 30.
This first revival of
Robert Bolt's
A Man For All Seasons will be headlined by three-time Tony Award winner
Frank Langella as the
English Chancellor who famously defied
King Henry VIII by standing up for his beliefs. This will be Langella's first Great White Way turn since his Tony-winning performance last year as another historical figure,
Richard Nixon, in
Frost/Nixon.
The original Rialto production opened on November 21, 1961, and was honored with four Tony Awards, including Best Play, Best Actor (Scofield) and Best Direction (
Noel Willman). That mounting of
A Man For All Seasons enjoyed a run of 637 performances before closing June 1, 1963.
Given Langella's propensity for earning critical accolades and theatre honors, expect
A Man For All Seasons to be a hot ticket. Tickets go on sale for American Express cardholders on July 16; for everyone else, August 1.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:Broadway Preview: To Be Or Not To Be (July 2, 2008)
Broadway Preview: The Seagull (July 1, 2008)
Broadway Preview: Equus (June 30, 2008)
Broadway Preview: A Tale Of Two Cities (June 28, 2008)
Broadway Preview: for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf (June 25, 2008)
Broadway Preview: [title of show] (June 24, 2008)
Broadway: What's Next (June 20, 2008)
Paul Scofield - RIP (March 20, 2008)
Labels: A Man For All Seasons, Doug Hughes, First Word On New Show, Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon, Paul Scofield, Play, Revival, Roundabout Theatre
Mauritius (The SOB Review) - Biltmore Theatre, New York, NY
***1/2 (out of ****)Years ago -- about the time I was in the third grade and just having my appetite whetted for my lifelong interest in history -- I began collecting stamps.
Nothing serious, mind you. In fact, I’m quite confident if I dug up whatever it was I actually placed meticulously into my book, I’d surely find virtually nothing of value. That’s because like many passing fancies in our adolescence, I moved on to the next big thing.
If only I had known then what I know now.
Thanks to
Theresa Rebeck’s surprisingly thrilling and highly entertaining
Mauritius, I enjoyed a crash course in
philately.
Thanks to
Doug Hughes’ taut direction,
Mauritius provides one of those exceptionally riveting, edge-of-your-seat theatrical experiences -- a veritable roller coaster ride of delicious deception that literally pulls no punches.
In fact, the play -- about two half-sisters arguing over the rightful ownership of a potentially invaluable stamp collection left behind by their now deceased mother -- packs quite a wallop that’s as rare in theatre as the collection’s two 19th Century stamps from
Mauritius.
With a superb ensemble collection, Rebeck spins a diabolically delicious yarn -- aided by
John Lee Beatty’s evolving set design -- about who lays authentic claim to the collection: Jackie (
Alison Pill), who claims to have been given the stamps directly by her dying mother, or Mary (
Katie Finneran), whose grandfather once owned the collection and shared his secrets and interest with his granddaughter until his death.
As desperately destitute Jackie, Pill scores with a truly extraordinary, breathtaking performance by inhabiting the darkest recesses of someone willing to sell her very soul for a shot at money. To say she delivers a nuanced portrayal would be an understatement. Pill only cements her reputation as Broadway's top young actress.
As Mary, a measured Finneran more than ably goes toe to toe with Pill. But the action extends to a trio of men whose lust for the holy grail of stamp collecting means that they’ll stop at virtually nothing to ensure they profit.
First, there’s Dennis (a charming, cunning
Bobby Cannavale), whose dubious knowledge about authenticity never stands in his way of triangulating his alliances. Then there’s Sterling (a thoroughly menacing and maniacal
F. Murray Abraham), who claims ownership of the stamps before any money has even been exchanged. And no one can lick the wimpy stamp authority (a sly
Dylan Baker), who’s only to be underestimated at tremendous cost.
Mauritius scores on virtually every level and is one production that deserves to collect more than a few Tony nods. See it while you can.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.
Related Stories:Did Mauritius Merit Stamps Of Approval? (October 5, 2007)
Theresa Rebeck Collects First Broadway Opening Night With Mauritius (October 4, 2007)
From Manhattan To Mauritius (June 28, 2007)
Well, Well, Well, If It Isn't Boston... (June 9, 2006)
Labels: Alison Pill, Broadway, Doug Hughes, F. Murray Abraham, Katie Finneran, Mauritius, Play, The SOB Review, Theresa Rebeck
Did Mauritius Merit Stamps Of Approval?Last evening,
Theresa Rebeck's
Mauritius opened at Broadway's
Biltmore Theatre. The critics have weighed in with mostly lukewarm reviews, and more than one has compared Rebeck's efforts to those of
David Mamet.
Praising
Mauritius as a "ripping good play,"
Joe Dziemianowicz of New York's
Daily News offers perhaps the most laudatory review of all: "
Doug Hughes (
Doubt) directs, and his mint-condition production made me gulp twice. First, 10 minutes into Act I, when
John Lee Beatty's wondrous set shape-shifts and gooses the play to life. Second, 10 minutes before intermission, when Jackie screams about sprouting 'bug wings, the kind that move really fast' and shows how disturbed she is. I can't recall being so eager for intermission to end. In (Rebeck's) Broadway debut, she keeps things lean and mean, while exploring a provocative parallel."
Labeling the work an "entertaining play,"
New York Post's
Clive Barnes offers a two-and-a-half star review: "The play's conceits -- that any dealer would be trusted to vouch for a stamp's authenticity just from looking at it, and that any collector, however rich, however nutty, would accept such judgment without any details of provenance -- is ridiculous. So it all depends on the writing -- and Rebeck is nifty in catching the criss and cross of convincing dialogue -- the staging, and even more on the acting. Doug Hughes' direction, little helped by John Lee Beatty's bland settings, is as expert as ever, applying a certain needed crisis control to a play often threatening to spiral into bombast."
Deeming it a "deftly formulaic play,"
The New York Times'
Ben Brantley is rather tepid: "[T]he production mostly has the ersatz air of an expertly drawn blueprint on tracing paper. Directed by Doug Hughes,
Mauritius is neatly structured, fleetly paced, handsomely mounted and engagingly acted....Ms. Rebeck knows that teasing ambiguity is the key to holding an audience’s interest in a play like
Mauritius....But Ms. Rebeck never really makes good on the promises of her atmospheric dialogue, with its talk of the nature of obsession and how it is the errors that make people, like stamps, of interest."
Allowing that the show is an "intermittently diverting mash-up of con game and domestic drama,"
Eric Grode of
The New York Sun laments: "The labyrinthine plot hinges on the musty world of rare postage stamps, where mistakes (upside-down airplanes and the like) do indeed boost the value, and the inference is that Ms. Rebeck's quintet of schemers similarly benefit from their imperfections. But Ms. Rebeck, a prolific playwright making her Broadway debut, hammers this metaphor with a doggedness that draws unwelcome attention to her own plotting gaffes and ungainly speeches. In the process, she and director Doug Hughes squander a strong cast and allow the play's twists and turns to spin a promising narrative into a series of credulity-straining confrontations."
Calling
Mauritius "slick, unconvincing,"
Michael Kuchwara of the Associated Press finds at least one point of praise: "Nobody can do menace quite like
F. Murray Abraham, a man born to inhabit sinister. The actor expertly demonstrates how in
Mauritius....Abraham isn't even the main character, but his formidable presence dominates the evening's convoluted action....Rebeck's style is more diffuse (than her other works), diluted by the uncertainty of the play itself. Its unwieldy plot veers from a David Mamet-like caper (complete with a flurry of four-letter words) involving a rare stamp collection to a soggy tale of two quarreling siblings to the intriguing interaction between two of the play's more off-kilter characters. And director Doug Hughes has a hard time corralling all three parts into a credible whole."
I'll be offering my own SOB Review over the next few days. Tickets are on sale for this limited run through November 25.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Theresa Rebeck Collects First Broadway Opening Night With Mauritius (October 4, 2007)
From Manhattan To Mauritius (June 28, 2007)
Well, Well, Well, If It Isn't Boston... (June 9, 2006)
Labels: Alison Pill, Broadway, Critics' Capsule, Doug Hughes, F. Murray Abraham, Katie Finneran, Manhattan Theatre Club, Mauritius, Play, Theresa Rebeck
Theresa Rebeck Collects First Broadway Opening Night With MauritiusThis evening marks American playwright
Theresa Rebeck's Broadway debut with
Mauritius, a play about half sisters and their deceased mother's stamp collection. Opening at the
Biltmore Theatre,
Mauritius is the
Manhattan Theatre Club's first Broadway production this theatrical season.
Helmed by
Doug Hughes (
Doubt, Inherit The Wind),
Mauritius' impressive cast includes
Dylan Baker,
Bobby Cannavale,
Katie Finneran (whom I last saw in her well-deserved Tony-winning romp in
Noises Off in 2001),
Alison Pill, and a return to the Great White Way by Academy Award-winning actor
F. Murray Abraham, who's been absent from Broadway since 1997's
Triumph Of Love. (I haven't seen him since he appeared as Roy Cohn in
Angels In America: Millennium Approaches back in the mid-90s)
Will all these credentials add up to a collection the critics believe is worth seeing? Find out tomorrow as I provide a critics' capsule.
Tickets for this limited run show are on sale through November 25.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.
Related Stories:
From Manhattan To Mauritius (June 28, 2007)
Well, Well, Well, If It Isn't Boston... (June 9, 2006)
Labels: Alison Pill, Broadway, Doug Hughes, F. Murray Abraham, Katie Finneran, Manhattan Theatre Club, Mauritius, Noises Off, Opening Night, Play, Theresa Rebeck
Ever After Happily Begins With ReadingA little known secret about me that I'm divulging publicly for the first time today is that I'm a hopeless romantic.
Hopeless, I tell you.
Now, this isn't just some souped-up fantasy of what life or love
should be from some guy who's forever unlucky in love. No, I'm blessed to have long since found the love of my life.
What I
am saying is that whether it's my own personal, ongoing affair of the heart (which has included everything from surprise flowers to jetting off to London for a long weekend) or my embrace of all things love elsewhere (via stage, film or even song), nothing gets my sentimental side more than a good dose of romance.
Back in 1998, I was thrilled to see a movie for which I had low expectations. The little flick was called "
Ever After" and starred
Drew Barrymore as a real-life interpretation of the fairy-tale Cinderella. To say I was mesmerized would be a gross understatement. I adored this film.
Just when I thought all my excitement over film-turned-stage musicals was over,
along comes news that an invitation-only reading of
Ever After is taking place next week in Manhattan. The tuner being produced by
Adam Epstein (
Hairspray and
The Wedding Singer) has its sights trained on the Great White Way for sometime in 2009. Estimable director of plays
Doug Hughes is currently at the helm.
Zina Goldrich is scoring the music, while
Marcy Heisler provides the libretto and lyrics. The wildly talented and ubiquitous
Rob Ashford is choreographing the musical.
According to
Playbill, the cast for the reading includes
Elena Shaddow as Danielle, the Cinderella-style heroine,
Max von Essen as the Prince and
Jan Maxwell as the evil Baroness Rodmilla.
I'm wistfully intrigued.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Broadway, Doug Hughes, Elena Shaddow, Ever After, Film, First Word On New Show, Jan Maxwell, Max von Essen, Musical, Rob Ashford
