The Scottsboro Boys (The SOB Review) - McGuire Proscenium Stage, Guthrie, Minneapolis, Minnesota***1/2 (out of ****)Last evening,
The Scottsboro Boys' pre-
Broadway trial run at Minneapolis'
Guthrie opened, and I was there to witness it.
With no defense necessary, my verdict was easily reached.
The Scottsboro Boys is sensational in virtually every way.
What makes this
Susan Stroman-helmed tuner particularly noteworthy is its very production marks the final yet ultimately sanguine collaboration between one of the most durable duos in musical theatre history:
John Kander and the late
Fred Ebb, who passed away nearly six years ago. Through the culmination of
The Scottsboro Boys, Kander and Ebb's prolific, unmistakable scores now stretch nearly 50 years.
Their magnificent musical is based on an
actual cause célèbre surrounding the outrageous injustices endured by nine African-Americans, who were falsely accused of gang-raping two white women in a deeply prejudiced Alabama during the Great Depression. As guilty verdict after guilty verdict was thrown out by the U.S. Supreme Court, the nine remained behind bars for years continuing to profess their innocence.
Proving once and for all that
fact is far stranger and usually much more compelling than fiction, librettist
David Thompson wisely hews his book quite close to what actually transpired, giving a plausible air of verisimilitude to the story. The liberties he does take serve to move the story along.
Additionally, Thompson -- along with Kander and Ebb's ingeniously sly score -- beats those lingering racist underpinnings left within our society at its own game by cleverly employing
minstrel show devices to frame the story. In the hands of any less skilled director than Stroman, the effect could easily fall flat.
Stroman exceptionally executes this production frequently employing her creative choreography to brilliantly underscore the proceedings. Witness how she's creatively conceived "Electric Chair," using jolting humor to make a point. To say the least, it's one of many electrifying passages in the show's progression.
The thoroughly excellent cast prosecutes their roles with a spine-tingling sense of mischievous daring and danger. Without exception, they are in a word superb.
In an ironic about-face, the equally phenomenal
Colman Domingo and
Forrest McClendon each effectively put on a white face to portray a dizzying array of characters ranging from sheriff and deputy to lawyers and guards. As the lone white actor in the production, a fine
David Anthony Brinkley presides as the Interlocutor, as well as judge and Alabama governor (Brinkley will be replaced on Broadway by
John Collum, who originated those roles earlier this year at New York's
Vineyard Theatre).
Each of the nine Scottsboro Boys is expertly prosecuted by
Sean Bradford as Ozie Powell,
Josh Breckenridge as Olen Montgomery,
Derrick Cobey as Andy Wright,
Jeremy Gumbs as Eugene Williams,
Joshua Henry as Haywood Patterson,
Rodney Hicks as Clarence Norris,
Kendrick Jones as Willie Roberson,
Julius Thomas III as Roy Wright, and
Christian Dante White as Charles Weems. All have individual personality to spare -- and in the case of Bradford and White, quite literally, as they portray accusors Ruby and Victoria with aplomb.
When the nine first bound onto the stage in saltation through the rousing "Minstrel March" (which seamlessly segues into the devilishly deceptive "Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey!"), they're imbuing their characters with all the dashed hopes and dreams they describe shortly after in the gorgeous, Gospel-tinged "Commencing In Chattanooga." But from their crowded cell, when Thompson's libretto astutely gives way to the stark reality inherent in Alabama's rat-infested jails and prisons, each actor comes into his own.
Ultimately it's Joshua Henry's extraordinary turn as the illiterate, truth-telling
Haywood Patterson that thrills. Henry astonishes in the minstrelsy "Nothin'" as he flawlessly maneuvers back and forth between a genuinely-delivered sulking, seething animosity toward being unjustly accused and a crafty caricature of the shameful
blackface personna that's long since been discredited. His soaring, yet heartbreaking "You Can't Do Me" vanquishes over adversity, even if he's left to rot in jail.
Adroitly and satisfyingly concluding with a poignant depiction of a much more prominent historical event, nimbly offered by
Sharon Washington as The Lady, the overall result is spellbinding.
I can testify that as gutwrenching, outrageous and absolutely beautiful as this musical is,
The Scottsboro Boys is nothing short of an ironic triumph over evil. It will surely become a must-see on Broadway, and to that I'll confidently swear.
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: Colman Domingo, David Thompson, Forrest McClendon, Fred Ebb, Guthrie, John Kander, Joshua Henry, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Musical, Susan Stroman, The Scottsboro Boys, The SOB Review
Scottsboro Boys Night Out In Minneapolis(Click here for The SOB Review of The Scottsboro Boys)This evening,
The Scottsboro Boys opens at Minneapolis' prestigious
Guthrie for its pre-Broadway tryout. The tuner is billed as "the thrilling final collaboration between by musical theater giants
John Kander and
Fred Ebb," with the latter having died on September 11, 2004.
As
noted here over three years ago, the musical was initially conceived as
The Minstrel Show and was to be presented in
blackface. The musical provides a
minstrel-style depiction of racial inequalities in the deep south during the Great Depression that Kander
describes as "vicious."
The Guthrie
offers this set-up:
Based on the notorious "Scottsboro" case in the 1930s (in which nine African-American men were unjustly accused of a terrible crime) this daring and wildly entertaining musical explores a fascinating chapter in American history with brilliant originality. This critically-acclaimed production, directed by five-time Tony Award winner Susan Stroman (The Producers) and featuring a book by David Thompson (who adapted the script for Chicago's record-breaking revival), comes to the Guthrie following a sold-out run Off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre.
It should be noted that not every cast member from
The Scottsboro Boys that's opening tonight is necessarily making his way to Broadway.
John Collum, who created the role of the Interlocutor at the Vineyard and who will reprise that turn on the Great White Way, has been replaced in Minneapolis by
David Anthony Brinkley.
Jeremy Gumbs, who will portray Scottsboro Boy Eugene Williams in Minneapolis, is not yet
listed among the players who will make their way to New York.
The rest of the cast performing in Minneapolis are set for the Broadway berth at the
Lyceum Theatre, where the open-ended run is set to begin previews on October 7 and open October 31. The cast includes
Colman Domingo as Mr. Bones,
Forrest McClendon as Mr. Tambo,
Sharon Washington as the Lady, and the Scottsboro Boys will be portrayed by
Sean Bradford (Ozie Powell),
Josh Breckenridge (Olen Montgomery),
Derrick Cobey (Andy Wright),
Joshua Henry (Haywood Patterson),
Rodney Hicks (Clarence Norris),
Kendrick Jones (Willie Roberson),
Julius Thomas III (Roy Wright) and
Christian Dante White (Charles Weems).
Since Guthrie Director
Joe Dowling has stated, "The production that people will see here is very much the production they'll see on Broadway," I'll be in the audience for tonight's opening. Expect to see my SOB Review shortly after.
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: Broadway, Colman Domingo, David Thompson, Fred Ebb, Guthrie, John Collum, John Kander, Kander And Ebb, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Musical, Susan Stroman, The Scottsboro Boys, Tryout
Caroline, Or Change (The SOB Review) - Wurtele Thrust Stage, Guthrie, Minneapolis, Minnesota*** (out of ****)Finally! Change we can believe in.
Perhaps my biggest personal disappointment during the entire 2003-04 Theatrical Season was missing out on
Tony Kushner and
Jeanine Tesori's
Caroline, Or Change both in its early Public Theater incarnation, as well as its subsequent
transfer to Broadway.
But thanks to the ongoing
Kushner Celebration at Minneapolis'
Guthrie, I've finally had the good fortune to take in this intensely profound, mystical musical as directed and choreographed by Marcela Lorca.
Caroline, Or Change transfixes, even as it transports.
Set in Louisiana at the close of 1963,
Caroline, Or Change is the story of an abandoned African American mother of three who provides for her children by working tirelessly as the maid for the Gellman family. Previously widowed patriarch Stuart Gellman (
Bradley Greenwald) remarries Rose (
Julie Reiber), a progressive-thinking New Yorker, and brings her to her new life in Louisiana where the march of time has yet to catch up with the change up North.
Kushner ingeniously uses the coins Caroline Thibodeaux continually finds while washing the pants of young Noah Gellman as a transcendent metaphor for all the sweeping change surrounding her, including the emerging civil rights movement, the swelling Vietnam War and the assassination of John F. Kennedy. That Rose urges Caroline to keep the change, not only to provide Noah with a valuable ongoing lesson, but also to supplement her wages is small consolation to Caroline, whose strength and pride is shaken.
Greta Oglesby's brave turn as Caroline alone is worth the price of admission. She wrings every last drop of pathos out of her performance, making her Caroline infinitely sympathetic. In delivering "Lot's Wife," we witness a tremendously powerful, yet sobering performance of a woman who feels shame for wanting more, even as she seems to fear the overwhelming degree of change may have already left her behind. As Oglesby transforms, she breaks your heart.
While most of the cast admirably rises close to the same league as Oglesby, there are a couple regrettable shortcomings, particularly one screechingly horrendous performance (when I saw it) by one of the young actors, who significantly detracts from the production.
Nevertheless, seeing
Caroline, Or Change was definitely worth the wait. Given how much I enjoyed it, I only wish I hadn't missed it the first time around.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Caroline Or Change, Greta Oglesby, Guthrie, Jeanine Tesori, Musical, Tony Kushner
A Midsummer Night's Dream (The SOB Review) - Wurtele Thrust Stage, Guthrie, Minne-apolis, MN** (out of ****)Nearly every evening over the past few years, my nightly dreams have become extraordinarily crazy, yet incredibly vivid. Almost every single one is typically nonsensical, brimming with one non-sequitur sequence after another.
Why, just last week, I endured a doozy. One moment, there were Cirque du Soleileque aerial artists swinging on ropes in form-fitting, fluorescent-colored spandex, swinging on ropes.
The next moment, the daughter of a modern military-minded king was pleading with her father against the would-be union he had arranged for her.
That gave way to a
bon vivant bunch of vaudevillians practicing their latest act.
Then there was this freaky earthen ball, which opened with a phantasmagorically lusty goddess, ready to reel in her latest prey.
My dream nearly turned into a nightmare as all these elements came swirling together at once, with a dash of disco music and other strangely incongruent intersecting musical pieces.
And on top of all that, I could swear I dreamt a little something sounding a bit like William Shakespeare’s brand of Olde English being spoken well beyond its freshness date. Like every similarly interminable dream I have had like it (and I have way too many), I couldn’t help thinking to myself, is this really a dream? As I was dreaming, I was hoping beyond hope I’d simply wake up.
Oh wait! That wasn't a dream?
Well, not in the literal sense. It was the new unfortunately unfantastic fantasy revival of
A Midsummer Night's Dream directed by Guthrie’s ever innovative Artistic Director Joe Dowling.
The pieces meant to dazzle -- especially John Stead and Joel F. Harris’ cirque-lite wire activity that’s only intermittently thrown in, and rarely to any captivating effect -- just prolong the ability to effectively tell this already convoluted tale in less than three-plus hours. It doesn’t help that designs, including Frank Hallinan Flood’s set and Paul Tazewell’s costumes have a cheap look to them. Think small-time Indian casinos trying to ape their more vibrant Vegas contemporaries.
It’s almost as if Dowling has determined in advance that the rickety plot points can’t sustain our interest on their own. So he has instead manufactured a mini-spectacle for today’s ADD generation, obfuscating the weakest links, including
A Midsummer Night’s Dream’s younger cast members. The glaring exception is William Sturdivant as Lysander, who stands alone among the young lovers in comfortably conversing in Shakespeare-speak.
Fortunately, that merry band of vaudevillians mentioned above -- primarily comprised of Guthrie veterans Stephen Pelinski (Nick Bottom), Jim Lichtscheidl (Peter Quince), Stephen Yoakam (Snug) and Sally Wingert (Robin Starveling), along with relative newbie Randy Reyes (Francis Flute) (other Guthrie vet Richard S. Iglewski was out during my performance) -- upstages the primary story line and ultimately lifts the spectacle into some semblance of what one would likely hope for when taking in this revival.
Dowling deserves enormous credit for his ever-evolving vision. After all, trying to breathe new life into an old Bard classic isn’t easy. I also applaud him for dreaming up new ways to attract a new generation of theatergoers to Shakespeare.
But don’t lose any sleep over missing this
Dream.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Guthrie, Joe Dowling, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Play, Revival, The SOB Review, William Shakespeare
Peer Gynt (The SOB Review) - Wurtele Thrust Stage, Guthrie, Minneapo-lis, MN
* (out of ****)Ever seen a show where the actors are clearly having much more fun than their audience?
From the moment you step foot inside the
Guthrie's largest theatre for this Minnesodaptation of Norwegian playwright
Henrik Ibsen's
Peer Gynt -- with a surprise 50th birthday celebration already in high gear -- it's clear that the actors are enjoying themselves a little more than they should.
And that they sustain their own personal fun for the next three hours -- as the script meanders from a wedding where a bride runs off with the title character to a troll kingdom to the coast of Morocco to an insane asylum in Cairo to a place not unlike what I’d envision a place like purgatory would be -- certainly says something for
Peer Gynt's large ensemble. Sadly, they rarely achieve a similar response in return from the audience.
In her
analysis of the playwright,
M.C. Bradbrook wrote that "Ibsen’s use of the troll is more than the invocation of a piece of folklore, it is a poetic mode of stating what could not otherwise be stated except at tedious length, thereby losing its force and becoming another thing."
Try telling that to poet
Robert Bly and renowned Shakespearean director
Tim Carroll who have teamed up to painstakingly stage Ibsen’s rhythmic “dramatic” poem that was initially intended only to be read.
It’s obvious to me that this adaptation, which Bly poetically translated to a fault is not quite what Bradbrook -- or Ibsen for that matter -- had in mind. Sure it's ambitious, but the sprawling mess is unmistakably dull.
Bly's translation is not a mere straight-forward retelling of
Peer Gynt. Instead, he turns Ibsen's fairy tale into an ill-conceived, freakishly wild nightmare dreamt by Peter (master Shakespearean actor and current Olivier nominee
Mark Rylance, ironically sounding a bit like
Bobby Anderson in "
It's A Wonderful Life"), a modern-day Minnesotan who's on the receiving end of the aforementioned half century mark surprise party. Carroll takes this theatre of the absurd to a preposterous level, seeing to it that tedium rises with it to unparalleled heights.
Curiously enough, when the stage floor boards come undone via Laura Hopkins' mesmerizing undulating set design,
Peer Gynt's lack of cohesion is unintentionally underscored. It's the play's one true spectacular moment.
But in a show that ostensibly asks its title character whether being yourself is good enough, it’s my sad duty to report that this
Peer Gynt is not.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Labels: Guthrie, Henrik Ibsen, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Peer Gynt, Play, Revival, The SOB Review
Notions I Subscribe ToThis past Friday evening, I was about to start eating dinner when the phone rang.
I don't ordinarily answer my phone during meals -- heck, ask anyone if I answer the telephone at all, and they're bound to tell you I don't -- but when I checked the caller ID, I found an unknown 212 area code number ending in a zero pop up on the screen. I don't know what possessed me to answer, but I did.
Twenty minutes later, I found myself as a new subscriber to the
Manhattan Theatre Company. To be honest, it wasn't really a very hard sell. I've enjoyed quite a few outstanding, and usually always riveting productions -- mostly at their restored
Biltmore Theatre on Broadway, but also a couple over at
New York City Center Stage I.
Of course, this is no ordinary subscription where I'm merely paying for tickets (in this case a grand total of 14 for seven productions over the coming year). The lion's share of what I agreed to is a charitable donation for this rarest of rare commodities on the Great White Way: a not-for-profit theatre company.
As you may recall from my nonstop coverage of the recent Broadway stagehands strike, the Manhattan Theatre Club is one of only three non-profit Rialto theatre companies. The other two are
Lincoln Center and
Roundabout Theatre Company -- both renowned for their range of musical and straight play offerings.
Quite frankly, I love to give. Period.
If you ask me what I would most like to be when I "grow up," I'd probably tell you I wish I could be a philanthropist. While there's nothing quite as admirable as volunteer work, my long work hours just don't enable me to physically offer my helping hand as often as I'd like.
So instead, I try to give as much as I possibly can to the
501(c)(3) organizations that I believe can make a difference, whether it's in helping feed those less fortunate or in providing medical care, or in finding a cure for any number of diseases. Or, naturally, the one where I hope others can be challenged and enlightened, as well as entertained: live theatre.
This is the second not-for-profit theatre company to which I currently subscribe and donate. For the past three years, I've proudly supported Chicago's
Steppenwolf -- a worthy investment in the arts if ever there was one. I've never doubted for one moment that every penny I've donated has been worth it. If ever I had second thoughts, they were dashed when I saw how involved Steppenwolf is with its local community, particularly through its outreach to Chicagoland's middle and high schools via its
Subscriber School Program.
My only other subscription ever was with Minneapolis'
Guthrie. But that was years before they moved into their incredible new facility. Yet I know the vital role this institution has taken on in the Twin Cities, and their own incredible profile of community involvement only continues to grow.
So what was it about the Manhattan Theatre Club that inspired me to give? They asked me.
Which leads me to ask you, have you ever subscribed and/or donated to a nonprofit theatre? I'd love to know which ones and why you subscribed.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Broadway, Charitable Organizations, Chicago, Guthrie, Manhattan Theatre Club, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Special Messages, Steppenwolf, Subscriptions
Guthrie Commissions KushnerAll in all, it's been a pretty good month for Minneapolis'
Guthrie.
First, it played host to
Sir Ian McKellen and sold-out crowds for the
Royal Shakespeare Company's touring productions of
King Lear and
The Seagull in repertory -- one of just three North American venues.
Then it received major buzz from
Chris Jones of the Chicago Tribune for all it does to be a cultural destination beyond just theatre. (Hat tip to
The Playgoer.)
Now, lest anyone think that Artistic Director
Joe Dowling is some stodgy fool stuck in the past, he announced today that the theatre has commissioned
Tony Kushner's new play,
The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide To Capitalism And Socialism With A Key To The Scriptures, which will premiere within the Guthrie's gloriously red McGuire Proscenium Theatre in the spring of 2009.
“Tony is one of the great playwrights in the contemporary theater,” Dowling said. “His powerful dramatic voice has identified our times in a unique and dramatic way, so it is a thrill and honor for the Guthrie to premiere his latest piece.”
While still tentatively titled -- and it is a bit lengthy, isn't it?! -- the addition of Kushner to its repertoire demonstrates a very bold and forward-thinking Guthrie. It should further cement its place, and Minneapolis' (a city that boasts more theatre seats per capita than any other American city save New York), as a destination city for great theatre.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Commission, First Word On New Show, Guthrie, Ian McKellen, Joe Dowling, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Play, The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide To Capitalism And Socialism, Tony Kushner
The Home Place (The SOB Review) - McGuire Proscenium, Guthrie, Minneapolis, MN
**1/2 (out of ****)
Home may be where the heart is. Yet in
Brian Friel’s meandering, albeit sometimes poignant new play
The Home Place, the old adage that you can never go home again also rings true.
Arguably one of Ireland's foremost living playwrights, Friel has teamed up with fellow Irishman
Joe Dowling, who directs the American premiere of this often stagnant period piece that is, if nothing else, visually stunning.
Frank Hallinan Flood's set design, which features a cross-section of an upper-crust Big House alongside a lush thicket, is so gorgeous that it upstages the action or lack thereof on the stage. In fact, when the curtain rises, it receives more sustained applause than the play itself.
That may be because what looks great on paper -- and armed with both a cursory knowledge of 19th Century Ireland and Friel's frequently poetic script, I found that it does
read very well -- does not necessarily translate well to an American stage despite the fine performances by its ensemble.
Problematic is the static nature of the first half of the opening act. While Friel informs so much of the rest of
The Home Place during this set-up, it’s a tedious slog under Dowling’s direction. Too many of the critical clues Friel sprinkles into it are lost.
Friel's story centers on Anglo-Irishman Christopher Gore (
Simon Jones), who lords over a Victorian era Irish estate and Big House. Margaret (
Sarah Agnew), the local Irish chatelaine who has worked for Christopher since her youth, sees her life in the Big House as a way to escape her inherited hardships.
Margaret’s embarrassed by the hard-drinking stereotype her father (
Charles Keating) has become, yet she remains captivated by the familiar strains of her father’s choir singing a
Thomas Moore hymn in the distance. Margaret can only enjoy the song from the sanctuary of her chosen adopted world.
Because of his ancestry, Christopher is a man without a country. For better or worse, Christopher's English roots threaten to betray him at a time when Irish tenants are asserting themselves. Margaret on the other hand has long since eschewed, if not betrayed, her roots. By falling in love with Christopher's son David, she aspires to become the lady of the Big House -- aware that Christopher has deep-rooted feelings for her, yet unaware of the impending sea change that history would not be on her side.
Quickening that change is a murder of another, more malevolent English landlord. It's spurring fears that there’s a list of other potential targets of Anglo lineage. Even though he himself is painted sympathetically, compounding Christopher’s fears is his brother Richard’s dubious, racist research on breeding.
Evocative of “
Minority Report,” Richard (
Richard S. Iglewski) expounds on how his research will lead to an exact science to help determine motives -- including those more sinister -- based on race. When he commences his research on some of the locals, a firestorm erupts that threatens Christopher and Margaret's notions of home.
While I have little doubt that Irish audiences were sufficiently moved by
The Home Place, it only marginally connects on this side of pond. But when it does, particularly on the important points regarding where the heart is on the subject of "home," it does so profoundly.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Labels: Brian Friel, Guthrie, Joe Dowling, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Play, The Home Place
The Pillowman (The SOB Review) - Dowling Studio, Guthrie, Minneapolis, MN***1/2 (out of ****)The tagline for Minneapolis' fledgling
Frank Theatre is "Reflecting the world we live in."
One shudders to think of the implications given the company's current production of
The Pillowman -- currently playing in the
Guthrie's more experimental space. It's one inference smacking of a detemined political nature: that our world is one overridden with torture and an overarching, ham-fisted threat thereof.
Still, under the direction of
Wendy Knox and
Joel Sass' deceptively simple chrome stage design offset by sliding doors that whir (courtesy of Michael Croswell's sound design), the slightly futuristic world inhabited by the
The Pillowman's characters is a bleak totalitarian state where police employ nefarious scare tactics to wedge their way inside the minds of criminals.
Compared to the
decent production I saw one year ago at Chicago's Steppenwolf, Knox offers a more incisively wide-eyed clarity to
Martin McDonagh's long, yet riveting play about a young writer named Katurian Katurian (an excellent, exhausting spot-on turn by
Jim Lichtscheidl) who comes under scrutiny by good cop Tupolski (brilliantly funny
Luverne Seifert) and bad cop Ariel (a deliciously inscrutable
Chris Carlson) when a series of murders too closely mirror his unpublished stories.
If there's one misstep, it's in
Grant Richey's misguided channeling of
Dustin Hoffman in "
Rain Man" as Katurian's mentally challenged brother Michal, who comes across as much too all-knowing rather than an innocent incapable of understanding the carnage he has wrought.
Still, there's only empathy here for Katurian as he dispenses with his brother in a display of poetic justice so that his stories may outlive both of them. And thanks to the sheer enormity of angst Lichtscheidl brings to Katurian's tortured soul, there's more than sufficient pathos to leave us pondering what we'd do in the same situation.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:The Pillowman (The SOB Review) - Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago, IL (September 25, 2006)
Labels: Frank Theatre, Guthrie, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Play, The Pillowman
Private Lives (The SOB Review) - McGuire Proscenium Stage, Guthrie, Minneapolis, MN
*** (out of ****) One thing you could never accuse
Nöel Coward of is an innate fear of being ahead of his time.
The wickedly witty genius -- who easily shifted from writing to directing to composing to performing and producing -- could do it all with enormous style and panache throughout his 73 years. Nothing exemplifies his gloriously devilish sophistication quite like the effervescent
Private Lives, which is currently being revived with class to spare at Minneapolis'
Guthrie.
So vital and ahead of its time is this Coward work that it's been revived on Broadway six times since it first debuted in 1931 -- Coward not only directed that initial production, but starred in it alongside his longtime friend
Gertrude Lawrence, as well as
Laurence Olivier.
Thankfully, Guthrie selected precisely the right go-to director for the suitable dollop of verve and sauciness necessary to make this retelling a complete delight:
Peter Rothstein.
I've previously written about Rothstein being one of the Twin Cities' best and most inventive directors -- indeed,
my very first post on Steve On Broadway was a review of one his productions.
Rothstein is making a name for himself by frequently taking on difficult at best material and breathing new life into it. Yet, he's primarily done so in secondary or tertiary venues. Until now.
Apparently, the Guthrie has also taken appropriate notice of his immense talent and has lifted him to the big leagues. And rightly so. But this time around, he's taken a smart classic and made it sing.
It doesn't hurt that he has a completely game cast that includes
Veanne Cox (Amanda),
Tracey Maloney (Sibyl),
Kris L. Nelson (Victor),
Stephen Pelinski (
Elyot) and
Sally Wingert (Louise, a maid). Nor does it hurt that he's amassed top drawer creative talent, with Guthrie veterans
John Arnone providing an exquisitely opulent set design (including a nice nod to Paris'
Montmartre), Marcus
Dilliard supplying a visually stunning lighting design (ranging from said
Montmartre to the simple elegance of a moving elevator) and Reid
Rejsa offering an outstanding sound design (from an unseen band playing to the amplified sound of a
victrola to crickets chirping).
But all this window dressing alone would matter little if the direction doesn't flow. Like a fine
brut popped just right, I'm pleased to report that
Rothstein sets the right tone on a story that could easily be overplayed. Instead,
Rothstein supplies a deft touch to an oh-so-elegant script.
While sometimes evocative of a quirky cross between a madcap episode of "
I Love Lucy" and the legendary real-life love-hate-love affair of
Elizabeth Taylor and
Richard Burton,
Private Lives centers on two exes, Amanda and
Elyot, who happen to meet again while on honeymoons for their second marriages. After their chance meeting, they discover that their visceral love -- or is it loathing? -- still smolders. With just the slightest blow, their flame comes back alive.
Cox and
Pelinski are perfectly paired as the
tempestuous, impetuous couple, who do the unthinkable in ditching their recently betrothed by heading for Paris. They pledge that if they ever begin to quarrel, one of them would offer a safe word so they'd both stop. Inevitably, they come to blows as no safe word can contain them.
With a simple roll of her eyes, Cox communicates more than many actors say with a spoken word.
Pelinski offers the epitome of debonair charm, reminiscent of
David Niven.
Maloney, who last gave her Laura
Wingfield a haunting luminescence in the Guthrie's
The Glass Menagerie shines anew with a comic turn as
Elyot's spurned wife Sibyl. As Amanda's new husband Victor, Nelson is earnest and sweet, yet surprisingly funny. And as the deadpan
French-speaking maid,
Wingert -- a Guthrie fave -- nearly steals the show as each little movement and sly, subtle look earns approving roars from the audience.
Here's to
Rothstein & Company for uncorking a
Private Lives that's as bubbly and light as a glass of champagne. I'll drink to that!
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Susannah (The SOB Review) (March 5, 2007)
The Glass Menagerie (The SOB Review) (February 16, 2007)
Carousel (The SOB Review) (February 9, 2007)
Gypsy (The SOB Review) (October 13, 2007)
Floyd Collins (The SOB Review) (April 24, 2006)
Labels: Guthrie, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Noel Coward, Play, Private Lives, Revival, Sally Wingert, Tracey Maloney, Veanne Cox
A Chilling Vantage PointOne week ago this evening -- almost at this exact moment -- right in the middle of rush hour, Minneapolis suffered from a tremendous tragedy when a span of Interstate 35W crossing the Misssissippi River suddenly came crashing down. Sadly, at least five individuals lost their lives and another eight are missing and presumed dead.
While the disaster could easily have been much more lethal considering that over 100,000 commuters used the 40 year old bridge daily, the emotional toll that the bridge collapse has had on the Twin Cities is palpable.
Monday morning, I flew into my hometown and was surprised when my flight into the city made an arch over downtown Minneapolis. I found myself with a view straight into the hell down below. From where I sat, it looked as though the bridge had been made out of a deck of cards, only to have fallen down. Of course, it was difficult from that height to see the human side, but a chill went down my spine nevertheless.
Fast forward to last evening, when I attended a performance of
Private Lives at the stunning new Minneapolis home of the
Guthrie (above, photo by Roland Halbe). The remarkable thing about the Guthrie is that it sits directly above the Mighty Mississippi and features a 173-foot long cantilever blade (on the right hand side of the photo) that gives the illusion of jutting out over the river. It offers visitors a beautiful panorama of the burgeoning life along the Mississippi, including where the bridge had been.
In the days following the collapse, local authorites have limited access to last week's tragic scene to gawkers, and in fact
have even arrested those who have had the audacity to cross police lines. Yet, if last night was any indication, thousands of local men and women are making pilgrimages to the site of the tragedy, hoping perhaps to make sense out of what occurred while also becoming witnesses to the carnage. Apparently, most are visiting the city's
Stone Arch Bridge -- a former railroad trestle that's now used as a pedestrian crossing traversing the Mississippi.
Having been to the Guthrie many times since it opened last year, it dawned on me as I entered the building for the show that it's proximity to the collapse may make it an unwitting host to hordes of gawkers -- after all, it did have that cantilever. While the traffic inside the Guthrie was extremely busy, it seemed about right given that the theatre has two concurrent productions running at the same time: the aforementioned
Private Lives and a revival of
1776.
Naturally, I could not but help look at the view. I felt goosebumps as I went into the fifth floor McGuire Proscenium Stage to see my show. The foyer for that particular theatre is encased in windows. There, down below was a largely unobstructed view of the bridge collapse. It was horrific.
Then I found myself overcome with curiosity. It occurred to me that the theatre's Dowling Studio was located on the ninth floor (the yellow windows in the photo above), and since I had ample time before my play began, I took the elevator to the studio and found myself absolutely shocked by the devastation down below.
I could readily see most of the bridge, as well as some of those images that have become ingrained in my mind -- the
van belonging to the paraplegic whose quick thinking to steer his vehicle into the median most certainly saved his life, the
school bus that contained more than 50 children who miraculously escaped with only eight needing vital medical attention; and the
train that was literally stopped in its tracks when the falling bridge crushed a car.
My heart practically stopped as I viewed the catastrophe from the safe vantage point the Guthrie offered. Not since seeing the carnage wrought in lower Manhattan in the aftermath of 9/11 have I seen something that so utterly shocked me and brought tears to my eyes. Of course, nothing can compare to the loss of life that day in New York nearly six years ago.
But part of those tears I had last night were tears of relief that so many more lives that could have been lost are with us today to share their experiences that hopefully will lead to our government becoming more serious about repairing our infrastructure before countless others perish.
My thoughts and prayers are with those who lost loved ones last week, as well as with the families and friends who hold vigil for those still missing.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Bridge Collapse, Guthrie, In Memoriam, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Special Messages
1776 (The SOB Review) - Wurtele Thrust Stage, Guthrie, Minneapolis, MN***1/2 (out of ****)We call them the Founding Fathers, in tribute, but tend to see them as distant and a bit unreal, like figures in a costume pageant. Yet very real they were, real as all that stirred their "hearts and minds,' and it has meaning in our time as never before.
- David McCullough, author of "John Adams"
Last evening, before the fireworks began outdoors, the fireworks were alighting within Minneapolis' Guthrie from a marvelous display thanks to the theatre's brilliant revival of
Sherman Edwards'
1776. Under director
John Miller-Stephany's abundantly loving care, the cerebral, yet witty book by
Peter Stone was brought to life every bit as wondrously as were the legendary men who risked everything to become our Founding Fathers.
All too often, we get the sense that our political system is beyond repair and that the rancor among those elected to "represent" us couldn't get much worse. In other words, it's easy to simply give up hope. But the underlying effulgence of
1776 -- which
originally debuted in the midst of the Vietnam War -- is the intrinsic hope that America can coalesce in a bond stronger than its individual parts for a cause simply known as freedom.
To its credit, little is sugarcoated, including the deep schism already developing between the North and South on the issue of slavery, as well as the expedient decision to forego a dialogue on the divisive issue in favor of forging a union that could stand up to the tyranny of the English crown.
Against all odds, they not only chose unanimity in their decision to declare independence, but also unmistakably had the courage of their convictions with the full realization that if their gambit lost, they most certainly would have the hanging convictions for that courage.
With allegories not inconsequential to present times,
1776 also showcases the outsized egos battling for the heart and soul of the divided country. Not only does
1776 pit the brash and seemingly obnoxious agitator and future president John Adams (
Michael Thomas Holmes) of Massachusetts against, well, just about
everyone -- including the South's leading voice Edward Rutledge (
Bradley Greenwald), -- but the battle of wills extends to those of similar sentiment, including Thomas Jefferson (
Tyson Forbes) and the ever-wise Benjamin Franklin (
Peter Michael Goetz).
It's the latter's admonition of fellow Pennsylvanian and Tory John Dickinson (
Lee Mark Nelson) that reverberated the most with the audience: "Those who give up some of their liberty in order to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." Just as those words surely must have seemed prescient for audiences nearly 40 years ago, they underscore many a concern about America today.
It's really hard to find much fault with this production.
The cast of 27 was largely in sync, with outstanding heartfelt performances by Holmes (who avoids turning his Adams into an over-the-top caricature kept in check in part due to his verbalized letters to wife Abigail, beautifully played by the luminescent
Norah Long), Forbes (who dazzles as the charming, immensely talented writer of the Declaration of Independence) and Goetz (whose understated way with whimsical wisdom underscores Franklin's diplomatic skills). Greenwald, whom
I've previously criticized merits special mention for his mesmerizing, if not difficult, turn as the excoriating, but ultimately patriotic Rutledge. Philip Callen offers a measured, low-key portrayal as the pivotal Dr. Lyman Hall of Georgia.
James Youmans' sliding set design perfectly captures the look and feel of
Independence Hall's Assembly Room, where the Second Continental Congress seemed destined to the mundane until its destiny was fully realized in July of 1776. Matthew LeFebvre's costume design completely evokes the not-quite-ready-for-prime-time-revolutionaries. And
James Sewell, better known to Minneapolis audiences for his revolutionary balletic choreography, gets high marks for enabling modest movements even among the eldest patriots.
In an era when some may find it increasingly difficult to take pride in being American, this is one production that positively enthralls its audiences with an appreciation for why our ancestors had reason to be proud. Now, if only we could harken back to those principles yet again. At least this
1776 gives us hope that the divisions among us can be overcome for the better, if only our leaders have the will.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:"Those Who Give Up Some Of Their Liberty In Order To Obtain A Little Temporary Safety Deserve Neither Liberty Nor Safety" (July 4, 2007)
Labels: 1776, Guthrie, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Musical, Revival, The SOB Review
"Those Who Give Up Some Of Their Liberty In Order To Obtain A Little Temporary Safety Deserve Neither Liberty Nor Safety"- Benjamin Franklin, 1776Words to remember and live by on this Independence Day.
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Click here for 1776 tickets (Guthrie, Minneapolis)Related Stories:230 Years: In Observance of our Freedoms (July 3, 2007)
Labels: 1776, Freedom Of Speech, Guthrie, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Musical, Revival, Special Messages
Major Barbara (The SOB Review) - McGuire Proscenium Stage, Guthrie, Minneapolis, MN
** (out of ****)
Oh, to be a critic at the New York Post, where I surely would have blared in my headline: "Major Bore-bara."
I realize it's completely unfashionable to dislike or disregard an esteemed work such as
George Bernard Shaw's
Major Barbara. But to be frank, I found the current Guthrie revival directed by
Lisa Peterson tedious and frustrating.
Three hours is a long slog to endure with all its moralizing and pontificating -- although note to Guthrie management: it did not help that all that hot air from the stage made the theatre itself unbearably suffocating. In a play where wealth is portrayed as god, can't you afford a little A/C?
Yes, Shaw points out the underlying hypocrisy that is inherent in many religions, and his points regarding poverty being society's biggest crime are well-taken. The manner in which he depicts how easily and willingly some men sell their souls for wealth is breathtaking and plays well even today when seemingly everyone wants his or her 15 minutes of fame and the fortune that goes along with that.
But his message that wealth is to be revered as the world's real savior is, in my humble estimation, both specious and overly cynical. Additionally, anyone seeking to draw allegories from this work to today's military industrial complex would be overanalyzing the play, which works best when Shaw's exceptional humor shines through.
Fortunately for anyone seeing the show, the cast is strong, led by a luminous
Sarah Agnew in the title role of the Salvation Army soldier with aristocratic roots. She's supported very credibly by
Paul O'Brien as her father Andrew Undershaft -- a man whose religion is his cannon factory.
Sandra Shipley is smart as the delusional Lady Britomart Undershaft, while Jonas Goslow amply provides desperately needed comic relief as the dim-witted Charles Lomax.
Neil Patel's set design -- particularly his visually arresting retro-futuristic munitions factory -- will certainly divert your attention. But just as Peterson's staging of factory workers rolling huge cannon balls up a giant incline turned from stunning to taxing, I was beginning to feel as though I was counting sheep -- all of which left me wishing I were already in bed.
Major Barbara plays through June 17.
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Labels: George Bernard Shaw, Guthrie, Major Barbara, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Play, Revival, The SOB Review
The Merchant Of Venice (The SOB Review) - Wurtele Thrust Stage, Guthrie, Minneapolis, MN*** (out of ****)Talk about setting the stage.
Director
Joe Dowling is certainly a maestro. His vision in crafting
The Merchant Of Venice revival now playing Minneapolis' Guthrie is quite an exquisite feast for the eyes, even if the threatened pound of flesh itself remains anything but kosher.
As Guthrie's artistic director, Dowling has clearly taken great pains in advance to forcefully address the inherent anti-Semitism that makes this Shakespeare comedy an often difficult pill to swallow.
From the extensive notes in the program --
Rabbi Joseph Telushkin is quoted: "The damage inflicted on the Jews by
The Merchant Of Venice has been far greater than a pound of flesh..."-- to the scheduling of a special April 16 discussion between Dowling and University of Minnesota's Dean
Steven J. Rosenstone on the play's "issues and controversies," the director is not only setting the stage for contemplative dialogue around its second presentation on a Guthrie stage, but he also appears to be seeking some political cover.
Putting aside for the moment the more repugnant aspects of Shakespeare's work -- and I'll come back to that shortly since it looms so large -- my biggest difficulty in approaching
any Shakespeare play is fine-tuning my admittedly failing hearing to the cadence of the spoken word. Spoken English from the 17th Century is, of course, foreign to the ears of most Americans. And at the Guthrie, which eschews miked actors, it means paying extraordinarily close attention just to follow.
Fortunately, the huge superb cast handles the often challenging diction as if it were second nature and never sounds forced. Three performances are especially noteworthy. As Portia, the ravishing, riveting
Michelle O'Neill offers a galvanizing cogency to the entire proceedings.
Robert Dorfman offers a surprisingly sympathetic Shylock, the redoubtable Jewish moneylender, particularly via his impassioned soliloquy asking, "If you prick us, do we not bleed?" And as Antonio, the titular merchant, Richard S. Iglewski -- arguably one of Minneapolis' best character actors -- displays a moving, resigned imperturbability toward his would-be fate for his incapacity to repay Shylock.
This is also a dazzling production to behold in terms of its luxuriant design.
Riccardo Hernández has succeeded in trumping his own breathtaking set design from
Edgardo Mine with a glorious stage, which teamed with Matthew Reinert's elegant richly-hued lighting design (that also features a series of chandeliers) and
Paul Tazewell's opulent costume design, beautifully evokes a prosperous Venice.
But for all the top-tier efforts in gilding this lily, it's worth recalling that even Shakespeare once used his beloved character named Juliet to say, "[A] rose by any other name would smell as sweet." At the polar opposite would be this case of
The Merchant Of Venice. No matter how dressed up Dowling has made this production, and no matter how cartoonish he reinterprets those characters who express the most contemptible notions regarding Jews, the vile stench from their demonization still hangs in the air long after Shylock withdraws from the stage.
Having said that, I'll give one of the last words to the late great
Tyrone Guthrie, namesake for this theatre, who said back in 1955:
It is indeed true that many Jewish boys at school have, through generations, been taunted and execrated as "Shylock." This is to the shame of all humanity. But the remedy is not, I sincerely believe, to boycott Shakespeare's play, and pretend it does not exist, but to interpret it so that it becomes, as its author intended, a fantasia on the twin themes of mercy and justice, in which none of the characters fully exemplify either, in which none of the characters is either wholly good or wholly evil.
With that, I find myself recommending this show, even if its subject matter gives me tremendous pause.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets. Labels: Guthrie, Joe Dowling, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Play, Revival, The Merchant Of Venice, The SOB Review, William Shakespeare
After the
David Leveaux-helmed
version opened on Broadway nearly two years ago,
Ben Brantley of
The New York Times had this to say about Lange's portrayal of Amanda Wingfield:
Folks drown in this treacherous element. Unfortunately, that includes the show's luminous but misdirected and miscast stars (including) the two-time Oscar winner Jessica Lange, who brings a sleepy, neurotic sensuality to the role of the vital and domineering Amanda Wingfield.
Within its first 15 minutes, you feel the entire production sinking into a watery grave.
Ms. Lange could certainly be a model in such a magazine. Smooth-faced and compactly curvaceous, she portrays Amanda, a character modeled on Williams's mother, as a woman lost in erotic contemplation of the charming, sexy husband who abandoned her years before. Undulating by herself to the distant strains of dance hall music, or mistily recalling her glory days as the beau-besieged belle of her girlhood, Ms. Lange is less the image of Amanda than of another great Williams character.
That's Blanche DuBois, the illusion-addled heroine of A Streetcar Named Desire, a role Ms. Lange played in her last appearance on Broadway in 1992. Though she received mixed reviews, with some critics complaining that she was inaudible, she now seems fully prepared, technically and spiritually, to take on Blanche again.
Though I missed Ms. Lange's highly praised portrait in Long Day's Journey Into Night in London several years ago, I can see from her Amanda how she might have been splendid as O'Neill's Mary Tyrone. But hazy lyricism and remoteness, which would have been perfect for Mary, don't suit Amanda, who for all her obsession with the past is a vivacious, determined go-getter. Ms. Lange captures Amanda's injured quality. But she summons the combination of heroic vitality and bitterness that Williams describes in the script only in the play's final moments.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Broadway, Guthrie, Jessica Lange, London, Opening Night, Play, Revival, The Glass Menagerie
Harriet Harris To Headline Guthrie's Glass MenagerieAnyone who has had the pleasure of seeing Tony-winning actress
Harriet Harris knows what a gem she is.
Whether it was portraying Mrs. Meers in Broadway's 2002 Best Musical
Thoroughly Modern Millie or Vera Charles in the Kennedy Center's delightful revival of
Mame earlier this year, I've seen first-hand how this versatile actress more than holds her own opposite other great actors. However, it's a safe bet that most audiences are most familiar with her recurring television work as Bebe Glazer on "Frasier" and as Felicia Tilman on "Desperate Housewives."
Now, Harris is slated to tackle the fomidably dramatic role of Amanda Wingfield in the upcoming Guthrie production of
Tennessee Williams'
The Glass Menagerie, helmed by
Joe Dowling. Other cast members include Jonas Goslow,
Randy Harrison ("Queer As Folk"), Tracey Maloney and Bill McCallum. This revival enables Harris to return to her roots: She was a member of the Guthrie company during the 1980s appearing in such productions as
A Midsummer Night's Dream and
Tartuffe.
Winning Tennessee Williams his first major acclaim as a playwright -- including being named the Best American Play of 1945 by the New York Drama Critics' Circle --
The Glass Menagerie begins performances at the Guthrie's McGuire Proscenium Stage in Minneapolis on January 20 with its opening set for January 26.
I'll be taking in the production and providing you with my own assessment of the production.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Mame (The SOB Review) - The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Eisenhower Theatre, Washington, DC (June 18, 2006)
Labels: Guthrie, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Play, Revival, The Glass Menagerie
Edgardo Mine (The SOB Review) - McGuire Proscenium Stage, Guthrie, Minneapolis, MN***1/2 (out of ****)Ever since 9/11, the news media has devoted an overwhelming amount of coverage to the rift between the Judeo-Christian West and the Muslim world. Countless stories have often centered on each side's demonization of the other.
While Jews and Christians in the West have largely been successful at putting aside historic differences for a peaceful co-existence and integration of cultures, we still have a long road to traverse before we achieve similar success with the Muslim world.
Yet, historically speaking, it wasn't that long ago that Jewish people were demonized, particularly in Europe. Even before the horrific rise of the Nazis, Jews were effectively subjugated under the absolute rule of the Catholic Church from the Holy Roman Empire through the days of the Papal States (arguably nothing was more absolute than the fervent belief among Christians and Jews that the other could not inherit the kingdom of heaven).
It's against that repressive backdrop in 19th Century Italy that
Alfred Uhry's riveting and vitally important play
Edgardo Mine is set (
Edgardo Mine opened over the weekend at Minneapolis'
Guthrie). Under the expert direction of
Mark Lamos,
Edgardo Mine had me seriously struggling to determine where love and devotion end and evil and demonization begin
.As the play begins, the Mortara family has just moved to Bologna, Italy with their baby boy Edgardo. After years of weathering life in Jewish ghettos, matriarch Marianna Mortara jubilantly proclaims with a sense of relief, "We can live like everyone else."
But such would not be the case. As an infant, Edgardo nearly died, and fearful that his death would mean his certain damnation, his Christian nurse secretly baptizes him. Shortly thereafter, Edgardo makes a "miraculous" recovery.
Papal law forbade Christian children from being raised by "infidels." When word of Edgardo's "miracle" finally reaches Pope Pius IX, an abduction of the now six year old boy is ordered. Police sweep into the Mortara home and carry young Edgardo away to live in the House of Catechumens in Rome. There, Edgardo is raised as a Christian under the direct oversight of the Pope, despite the attempts of the Mortara family to rescue him and return him to their home.
Yes, there are shades of the
Elian Gonzalez story that captivated Americans more than six ago. But ostensibly,
Edgardo Mine is a moving examination of the conviction of Jew and Christian alike to do what they deeply believe to be right. In this case, the conviction displayed by both the Mortaras and the Pope is ultimately to be good parents to the young child.
Of course, it seems completely unfathomable today that any child could be forcefully taken away from parents unless they had actually harmed the child. Yet 146 years ago, with the belief that this baptized Christian boy's spiritual health would be irreparably harmed if left to live with his natural parents, Pope Pius IX believed he had no choice but to remove Edgardo from his home. Indeed, upon his abduction, the Pontiff triumphantly states, "Another imprisoned soul has been set free."
In addition to the outstanding performances delivered in
Edgardo Mine along with a divinely glorious colonnade set design by
Riccardo Hernandez, what gives this production particular heft is Uhry's conscious decision not to prejudice the audience. In fact, at last week's Guthrie-sponsored discussion, he stated, "The function of a playwright is not to take sides and not provide answers to the questions I raise. I tried not to say who was right and who was wrong."
To accomplish that feat, Uhry skillfully imbues both sides -- the parents and the Pope -- with loving, nurturing traits that make absolutes feel all the more uncertain. Undeniable is the benevolence inherent in
Brian Murray's impeccable and surprisingly moving performance as Pope Pius IX, or "Nono" as he is adoringly called by Edgardo. But just as indubitable is the forceful and spirited conviction
Jennifer Regan breathes into her portrayal of Marianna.
When two souls both lay claim to the moral high ground, who wins? When does righteous action in the name of a fundamental belief actually do more harm than good? And is that evil?
Certainly, the conclusion most in the audience will draw is that the Papacy erred in taking Edgardo from his parents; considering that the Pope's infallibility remains official Catholic Church dogma to this day, such an inference may very well be deemed heresy among Catholicism's true believers. But thanks to the subtlety of Uhry's triumph in telling Edgardo Mortara's little known story, we're allowed to make up our own minds about what's right and wrong, as well as good and evil.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Driving Alfred Uhry (November 6, 2006)
Labels: Guthrie, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Play, The SOB Review
Driving Alfred UhryIn the second in a terrific series of conversations with renowned playwrights during the inaugural season at its new facility, Minneapolis'
Guthrie Theater hosted
Alfred Uhry this evening.
If his name doesn't quickly register, surely his award-winning productions would:
Driving Miss Daisy (the stage version won him a Pulitzer in 1987 while the Best Picture incarnation landed him with an Oscar 1990),
The Last Night Of Ballyhoo (which won him a Tony for Best Play in 1997) and
Parade (which won him both a Tony and Drama Desk Award for Best Book of a Musical in 1999).
Uhry is at the Guthrie in conjunction with the "debut" of his reworked
Edgardo Mine, which opens later this week. While most of the conversation focused squarely on that production -- based on the true story of a young Jewish boy in 19th Century Italy whose Christian baptism resulted in a battle between the his parents and the Catholic Church -- there were several opportunities for this distinguished gentleman to talk candidly about his own experiences not only as a Jewish father, but also as an award-winning writer.
On the latter point, when asked what advice he had for a budding playwright, he implored the questioner to pray. "There are a lot of lean years," Urhy said, dryly. "You do pray. If you love it, keep at it, and if you're lucky, you'll find something else."
On a question of why his Pulitzer Prize-winning
Driving Miss Daisy never landed on the Great White Way, Uhry noted, "It was Off-Broadway for three years and you don't move a hit. I don't really care (that it never played Broadway)."
On theatre itself, Uhry waxed poetic: "A play's only words. You need actors to act them....A play is to be seen, not to be read. There's something about a play that's electric....It's absolutely magic."
Amen!
I've always been impressed with Uhry's deft touch on each of his shows I've seen. After listening to his take on
Edgardo Mine, I'm looking forward to seeing his play, which by the sound of it has been written with an immense degree of deliberation and thought. Although he ultimately noted that "It's not a philosophical discussion -- it's a play," Alfred Uhry appears to be striving for much more as evidenced by his acknowledgement that "if we could sit here in 150 years and have Muslims sitting with us saying, 'Look how far we've come,' that would be wonderful."
As an interesting postscript, when Uhry was introduced, it was also mentioned that he's written the book for a musical called
Love Musik that's about to enjoy a "premiere on Broadway in early 2007." I'll do some investigating on this point since it's the first I've heard of any additional musical likely for the current season.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for Edgardo Mine tickets.Related Stories:A Great Game Of Simon Says (October 9, 2006)
Labels: Alfred Uhry, Driving Miss Daisy, Edgardo Mine, Guthrie, Love Musik, Minneapolis/St. Paul
A Great Game Of Simon SaysIn celebrating its first season in its new home, Minneapolis'
Guthrie Theater is conducting an engaging series of conversations with renowned playwrights, kicking off with the prolific
Neil Simon yesterday.
Simon's award-winning
Lost In Yonkers is currently performing at the Guthrie. During yesterday's "Conversation with Neil Simon," the great playwright told Guthrie Artistic Director
Joe Dowling that he had enjoyed a performance on Saturday and praised the ensemble.
Simon said that he still uses a good old-fashioned typewriter to bring his stories to life after writing first drafts longhand. Much of what he writes is based in part on his own experiences or of those he knows (
The Odd Couple was based in part on his brother and his roommate). He had high praise for venerable director
Mike Nichols, saying he himself never had any desire to direct. And while he still sees virtually every show that plays on Broadway, today's writers seem to write from a different place ("a place of anger") than what he has. But the 79 year old writer also revealed that he's busy working on a new script for a play called, "Where's My Papa," based on a sojourn to Long Island during his youth when he was taken to watch for his own father coming out of a home where he had supposedly been having a tryst.
The packed house was highly appreciative of every nugget Simon offered. After all, he is arguably America's greatest living playwright with an amazing career spanning more than fifty years, starting in the early 50s with television's "
Your Show Of Shows."
Simon's Broadway entrée came 51 years ago with a musical revue show called
Catch A Star for which he and his brother Danny wrote the sketches. After writing a sketch called "Madame Interpreter" for
New Faces Of 1956, it was another five years before Simon struck real gold on the Great White Way. But what a gilded treat it was in
Come Blow Your Horn, which played 677 performances at the
Brooks Atkinson Theatre.
Since 1961, Simon has written 24 more Broadway plays along with the libretto for five musicals. Along the way, he has earned 17 Tony nominations, winning 3 times -- for The Odd Couple
(1965),
Biloxi Blues (1985) and
Lost In Yonkers (1991), for which he also won the Pulitzer Prize.
This coming Sunday, Simon's enormous contributions to the
American conversation will earn him the ninth annual
Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center. It will mark the second time for the estimable playwright to be honored there -- he also was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors in 1995. In announcing Simon's selection, Kennedy Center Chairman Steven A. Schwarzman said, "Neil Simon, like Mark Twain, has a unique way of exposing the American spirit by drawing on experiences in his own life and creating insightful and touching portraits of the world around him."
With an opportunity to celebrate the gift of word that Simon has given American audiences, I was thrilled to be in his presence yesterday. Congratulations on your latest, well-deserved honor, Mr. Simon!
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for Lost In Yonkers tickets.Click here for Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize tickets.Related Stories:Lost In Yonkers (The SOB Review) - Wurtele Thrust Stage, Guthrie, Minneapolis, MN (October 5, 2006)
Guthrie's Lost In Yonkers Opens Tonight (September 29, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Guthrie, Lost In Yonkers, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Neil Simon, Theatre Discussions
