Lend Me A Tenor (The SOB Review) - Music Box Theatre, New York City, New York
***1/2 (out of ****)Thank goodness for some well-timed levity in this lackluster Broadway season.
In the case of
Stanley Tucci's brilliant revival of
Ken Ludwig's
Lend Me A Tenor, when one door closes, another one opens -- and it's a golden opportunity to laugh yourself silly.
Now, I'll readily admit that farce has never really been my thing. But when you mix a skillful director with an exceptional cast in possession of perfect timing, the result is nonstop hilarity.
With whipsaw precision, Tucci has almost flawlessly turned a middling script into the most laugh-out-loud funny show on Broadway or anywhere else I've been this past year. It's downright hysterical.
Tucci's entire cast absolutely sparkles.
The superb
Tony Shalhoub portrays Saunders, a manic impresario who has brought world-renowned tenor Tito Merelli (
Anthony LaPaglia in a suitably over the top performance) to Cleveland for a sold-out concert appearance. Saunders places Merelli and his love-starved wife Maria (an exquisite
Jan Maxwell in her second role of the year that's completely deserving of a Tony nod) in the care of his beleaguered assistant Max (
Justin Bartha making an auspicious Broadway debut).
As with many a farce, doors slam and identies are mistaken. But rarely are the proceedings carried out with such aplomb as this. And the curtain call has to be seen to be believed. It's genius.
If you're in desperate need of a good belly laugh, go see
Lend Me A Tenor. While your seat may be on loan for a couple blissful hours, the fun is yours to keep.
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: Anthony LaPaglia, Jan Maxwell, Justin Bartha, Ken Ludwig, Lend Me A Tenor, Play, Revival, Stanley Tucci, Tony Shalhoub
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
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
Answering The Critical Question Of To Be Or Not To BeLast evening,
To Be Or Not To Be --
Nick Whitby's adaptation of
Ernst Lubitsch's satirical
1942 film -- opened at the
Manhattan Theatre Club's
Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (formerly the
Biltmore). Helmed by
Casey Nicholaw, the comedy stars
David Rasche, and
Jan Maxwell, along with
Peter Benson,
Robert Dorfman,
Steve Kazee,
Peter Maloney,
Michael McCarty,
Kristine Nielsen,
Brandon Perler,
Rocco Sisto,
Jimmy Smagula and
Marina Squerciati.
When answering the titular question, critics were largely saying, "No!"
Deadpanning that it's a "walking corpse of a comedy,"
The New York Times'
Ben Brantley sniffs: "Chalk it up as the latest confirmation of the principle that a classic movie does not a classic play make.... Like many of its screen-to-stage predecessors, this one feels like a faint, blotchy carbon of its prototype. And while I’m all for shows that give performers as talented as Ms. Maxwell and Mr. Rasche gainful employment, it hurts to see them squeezing themselves into shoes originally worn with devil-may-care comfort by
Carole Lombard and
Jack Benny."
Concluding that "we have endured far too many herring and hambone jokes to be manipulated,"
Newsday's
Linda Winer offers a bit of a mixed assessment: "Nick Whitby's new play ... has neither the macabre courage of the original nor the singular
Mel-ness of the
redo. What Casey Nicholaw's production does have is a cast, headed by Jan Maxwell and David Rasche, forced to work way too hard to find a twinkle of charm, much less hilarity and heartache, in this return to this odd trifle-within-a-tragedy."
Regretting this as a "nice idea, but at least in this clumsy attempt, it's not to be,"
Variety's
David Rooney laments: "Whitby's inert reworking of
Edwin Justus Mayer's screenplay for the Lubitsch movie simply slaps it onstage, with embellishments that add nothing and supposed expedients that slow things down. Part of the blame has to go to director Casey Nicholaw's poor feel for pacing, flow and transitions, resulting in a production with the lumpy sluggishness of a fatigued road show. But the writing is so pedestrian it's hard to gauge whether more confident handling might have made a difference."
Noting that "most of the laughs seem lost in translation in the adaptation,"
Joe Dziemianowicz of New York's
Daily News awards just two out of five stars: "The ingredients for comedy are in place -- a self-loving leading man, a flirty leading lady, backstage antics, espionage and impersonations. The show is hobbled by too many off-target jokes and off-putting pacing. The play should gallop, but the staging by Casey Nicholaw moves in sluggish fits and starts.... Rasche ... makes a suitably egotistical Josef, a ham down to the bone.... Maxwell, in Lombard tresses and clingy dresses, performs with signature panache."
New York Post's
Clive Barnes is back with a vengeancem, along with a one-half star rating: "
To Be or Not To Be is a shabby little play. It bears the marks of most bad comedies - it's not funny, and it's incomprehensible.... David Rasche as Tura and, especially, Jan Maxwell as his wife are both good, but certainly no patch on Benny, with his double-takes, or Lombard, with her voluptuousness. Most of the supporting cast -- including Michael McCarty, Kristine Nielsen, Peter Maloney and Rocco Sisto -- do their best to lighten the Stygian gloom cast on everything by Casey Nicholaw's ditch-water dull direction."
I'll be taking in this limited run over the next few days and will weigh in shortly thereafter. But for the time being, it sounds like this production was not meant to be.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Casey Nicholaw, Critics' Capsule, David Rasche, Film, Jan Maxwell, Manhattan Theatre Club, Nick Whitby, Play, To Be Or Not To Be
MTC Opening: Consider It "To Be"
MTC Opening: Consider It "To Be"This evening, the
Manhattan Theatre Club's first play of the 2008-09 Theatrical Season opens at the newly renamed
Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (formerly the
Biltmore).
Based on
Ernst Lubitsch's satirical
1942 film of the same name,
To Be Or Not To Be is adapted for the stage by
Nick Whitby and directed by
Casey Nicholaw. The limited run of
To Be Or Not To Be is scheduled through November 23.
Originally,
Craig Bierko was to star, but he has since been replaced by
David Rasche, who is perhaps best known for his mid-1980s television show "
Sledge Hammer!" Rasche will be joined by
Jan Maxwell, along with
Peter Benson,
Robert Dorfman,
Steve Kazee,
Peter Maloney,
Michael McCarty,
Kristine Nielsen,
Brandon Perler,
Rocco Sisto,
Jimmy Smagula and
Marina Squerciati.
Whether critics think this is a show that should be or shouldn't be, that is now the question. Find out what they say in my critics' capsule tomorrow.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Broadway, Casey Nicholaw, David Rasche, Film, Jan Maxwell, Manhattan Theatre Club, Nick Whitby, Opening Night, Play, To Be Or Not To Be
Broadway Preview: To Be Or Not To BeOn Monday, the
Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) announced principal casting for its upcoming world premiere Broadway production of
Nick Whitby's
To Be Or Not To Be.
The show will be headlined by
Craig Bierko (most recently seen on the Great White Way in the short-lived 2001-02 musical
Thou Shalt Not) opposite
Jan Maxwell (last seen on a Main Stem stage in 2007's short-lived
Coram Boy).
Based on
Ernst Lubitsch's satirical
1942 film that took aim squarely at the Nazis, this
Casey Nicholaw-helmed dark comedy will begin its limited run at MTC's
Biltmore Theatre on September 11, with opening night set for October 2. The play is scheduled to run through December 7.
Considering this play is a send-up of a film that was used to ridicule one of the United States' worst enemies, I find it an interesting coincidence that two of the key dates associated with this production's debut and end (
September 11 and
December 7, respectively) are dates that will forever live in infamy among Americans. The original flick premiered less than one year after the United States entered World War II (thanks to the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941), and it famously starred
Carole Lombard opposite
Jack Benny, along with a very young
Robert Stack.
MTC's Web site describes the play as follows:
At the Polski Theatre in 1939 Warsaw, Joseph and Maria Tura are about to open yet another smash with their theatrical troupe. As the German invasion gets underway, the theatre is closed by the censors, forcing the troupe to face desperate times. But when a handsome young bomber pilot enlists their help to catch a spy, what is a group of actors to do? This hilarious black comedy is an ingenious commentary on the World War II era and an inspired tribute to the timeless joys of the theatre.
With some of the excellent works MTC has produced over the few years, this could be one heck of a production worth seeing.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories: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)
Labels: Broadway, Casey Nicholaw, Craig Bierko, Film, First Word On New Show, Jan Maxwell, Manhattan Theatre Club, Nick Whitby, Play, To Be Or Not To Be, World Premiere
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
Cry-Baby To Move Forward Without Schuck
Steve On Broadway has learned that the musical version of
John Waters'
Cry-Baby, which was to begin a four-week New York City workshop last month, will move forward without
Conrad John Schuck.
The actor perhaps best known for his role alongside
Rock Hudson and
Susan St. James on television's "
McMillan & Wife" has more recently become known to legions of youthful fans as Daddy Warbucks in the last Broadway revival of
Annie, as well as in the subsequent touring production.
Jan Maxwell is the other major acting name to be associated with the upcoming Broadway-bound tuner that will enjoy its world premiere this November at La Jolla Playhouse in California.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Broadway, Casting Changes, Conrad John Schuck, Cry-Baby, Film, First Word On New Show, Jan Maxwell, John Waters, Musical
