Broadway Served As Detour On Road To Detroit From Chicago
While I don't ordinarily write much about television, I'll be tuning in this evening to ABC as it premieres its gritty new cop drama "Detroit 1-8-7."
Regular readers of Steve On Broadway (SOB) probably already know my overriding reason for watching. It's because the new series stars Jon Michael Hill, a Steppenwolf ensemble member and Tony nominee earlier this year for his incredible performance in Superior Donuts. Among the many things I said in advance of his Broadway debut last fall, I advised:
Now, with the transfer of Superior Donuts, New Yorkers will get to know one of the Windy City's formerly best kept secrets. Now that the word is out that Jon Michael Hill is coming to Broadway, do yourself a favor and see him early to get those bragging rights for you'll be seeing a true star of tomorrow shine today.
Of course, by tuning in to "Detroit 1-8-7" tonight, you'll have further bragging rights for seeing this "true star of tomorrow" in his ascent, now before a national audience. Hill will be portraying Lt. Damon Washington, described by ABC as follows:
Change is coming for Damon Washington. This homegrown kid is making a career change by becoming a homicide detective and he'll be making diaper changes as a brand new daddy. He has a solid track record on the beat and brings his enthusiasm to prove his keep in homicide. Washington anxiously awaits the "baby call" during his first day chasing down killers. His spirit and eagerness serve as a nice compliment to his resourcefulness and smarts.
Washington has to quickly adapt the art of balancing his personal and professional lives. His struggles growing up in Detroit will hopefully prep him for the growing pains he'll get on the job and in his marriage.
We're confident he'll learn and mature with a little guidance. We're just wondering if that'll come from his new partner, Louis Fitch. Time will tell if Washington has what it takes to earn Fitch's respect. We'll also get to see if his positive spirit rubs off on his hardened partner.
Personally, there's no doubt in my mind that in making his auspicious television debut in such a vital, promising role, Jon Michael Hill's name is on the precipice of household status. And deservedly so.
Just remember, for many of you, you first read his name here, just over four years ago.
"Detroit 1-8-7" airs on ABC at 10 p.m./9 p.m. Central.
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.
This Sunday, the American Theatre Wing’s 64th annual Tony Awards ceremonies will honor the best of Broadway's 2009-10 Theatrical Season. As we count down the days to the Tonys, it's time for me to place my wagers on those nominees I believe will actually win, as well as tell you whom I think should win.
As noted on Monday, I've been extraordinarily fortunate to see every single show, eligible and otherwise, that opened on Broadway over the past year. So unlike last year, I'll be able to at least make informed decisions. Whether I'm right or not remains to be seen.
There is plenty of momentum behind Red, La Cage Aux Folles and Fences, and it doesn't hurt that they all remain open to Tony voters and that they're pulling in respectable audiences. In the case of Fences, it's become box office titanium.
Given the dearth of truly new musicals this season, Tony voters are going to reward Memphisfor being one of the lone tuners with original score and an actual book, plus it stands the best chance of being a hit on tour. The exception for Memphis will come (but shouldn't) in Tony voters' starstruck decision for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical.
Something also tells me that given the lack of nominations -- except for one key nod -- for one of the season's earlier critical hits, Superior Donuts, along with the love shown already this awards season for its talented nominee that you shouldn't be surprised when they call his name. Similarly, with a certain Ragtimeactor becoming a bona fide darling of the stage, don't be surprised if he pulls off an upset as well as Tony voters recognize the future star they have a chance to honor now.
Here are my picks:
Best Play In The Next Room (Or The Vibrator Play) - Author: Sarah Ruhl Next Fall - Author: Geoffrey Nauffts Red - Author: John Logan Will Win/Should Win Time Stands Still - Author: Donald Margulies
Best Musical American Idiot Fela!Should Win Memphis Will Win Million Dollar Quartet
Best Book of a Musical Everyday Rapture - Dick Scanlan and Sherie Rene Scott Should Win Fela! - Jim Lewis & Bill T. Jones Memphis- Joe DiPietro Will Win Million Dollar Quartet - Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre The Addams Family - Music & Lyrics: Andrew Lippa Enron - Music: Adam Cork Lyrics: Lucy Prebble Fences - Music: Branford Marsalis Memphis - Music: David Bryan, Lyrics: Joe DiPietro, David Bryan Should Win/Will Win
Best Revival of a Play Fences Should Win/Will Win Lend Me A Tenor The Royal Family A View From The Bridge
Best Revival of a Musical Finian's Rainbow La Cage Aux Folles Should Win/Will Win A Little Night Music Ragtime
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play Jude Law - Hamlet Alfred Molina - RedShould Win Liev Schreiber - A View From The Bridge Christopher Walken - A Behanding In Spokane Denzel Washington - FencesWill Win
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play Viola Davis - Fences Should Win/Will Win Valerie Harper - Looped Linda Lavin - Collected Stories Laura Linney - Time Stands Still Jan Maxwell - The Royal Family
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical Kelsey Grammer - La Cage Aux Folles Sean Hayes - Promises, Promises Douglas Hodge - La Cage Aux Folles Will Win Chad Kimball - Memphis Sahr Ngaujah - Fela!Should Win
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical Kate Baldwin - Finian's Rainbow Sherie Rene Scott - Everyday Rapture Montego Glover - MemphisShould Win Christiane Noll - Ragtime Catherine Zeta-Jones - A Little Night MusicWill Win
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play David Alan Grier - Race Stephen McKinley Henderson - Fences Jon Michael Hill - Superior Donuts Should Win/Will Win Stephen Kunken - Enron Eddie Redmayne - Red
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play Maria Dizzia - In the Next Room (Or The Vibrator Play) Rosemary Harris - The Royal Family Jessica Hecht - A View From The Bridge Scarlett Johansson - A View From The Bridge Jan Maxwell - Lend Me A Tenor Should Win/Will Win
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical Kevin Chamberlin - The Addams FamilyShould Win Robin De Jesús - La Cage Aux Folles Christopher Fitzgerald - Finian's Rainbow Levi Kreis - Million Dollar Quartet Bobby Steggert - RagtimeWill Win
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical Barbara Cook - Sondheim On Sondheim Katie Finneran - Promises, Promises Should Win/Will Win Angela Lansbury - A Little Night Music Karine Plantadit - Come Fly Away Lillias White - Fela!
Best Direction of a Play Michael Grandage - RedShould Win/Will Win Sheryl Kaller - Next Fall Kenny Leon - Fences Gregory Mosher - A View from the Bridge
Best Direction of a Musical Christopher Ashley - Memphis Marcia Milgrom Dodge - Ragtime Terry Johnson - La Cage Aux Folles Will Win Bill T. Jones - Fela!Should Win
Best Choreography Rob Ashford - Promises, Promises Bill T. Jones - Fela! Should Win Lynne Page - La Cage Aux Folles Twyla Tharp - Come Fly Away Will Win
Best Orchestrations Jason Carr - La Cage Aux Folles Will Win Aaron Johnson - Fela! Should Win Jonathan Tunick - Promises, Promises Daryl Waters & David Bryan - Memphis
Best Scenic Design of a Play John Lee Beatty - The Royal Family Should Win Alexander Dodge - Present Laughter Santo Loquasto - Fences Christopher Oram - RedWill Win
Best Scenic Design of a Musical Marina Draghici - Fela! Christine Jones - American Idiot Should Win/Will Win Derek McLane - Ragtime Tim Shortall - La Cage aux Folles
Best Costume Design of a Play Martin Pakledinaz - Lend Me a Tenor Constanza Romero - Fences David Zinn - In The Next Room (Or The Vibrator Play) Catherine Zuber - The Royal Family Should Win/Will Win
Best Costume Design of a Musical Marina Draghici - Fela!Should Win Paul Tazewell - Memphis Matthew Wright - La Cage Aux Folles Will Win
Best Lighting Design of a Play Neil Austin - Hamlet Neil Austin - RedWill Win Mark Henderson - Enron Should Win Brian MacDevitt - Fences
Best Lighting Design of a Musical Kevin Adams - American Idiot Should Win Donald Holder - Ragtime Nick Richings - La Cage Aux FollesWill Win Robert Wierzel - Fela!
Best Sound Design of a Play Acme Sound Partners - Fences Adam Cork - Enron Should Win/Will Win Adam Cork - Red Scott Lehrer - A View from the Bridge
Best Sound Design of a Musical Jonathan Deans - La Cage Aux Folles Will Win Robert Kaplowitz - Fela!Should Win Dan Moses Schreier and Gareth Owen - A Little Night Music Dan Moses Schreier - Sondheim On Sondheim
Do my picks for this year's Tony Awards match yours? Let me know.
Tune in to CBS this Sunday, June 13, when Sean Hayes hosts the three-hour live broadcast.
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.
SOB's Favorite Shows Of The Noughties: #24 - Superior Donuts (2008, Downstairs Theatre, Chicago, Illinois/2009, Music Box Theatre, New York, New York)
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.
Tracy Letts' profoundly moving Superior Donuts intelligently combats some urban myths about race. Thanks in large measure to Tina Landau's loving direction and outstanding, memorable performances from a superb ensemble led by Michael McKean and Jon Michael Hill, Superior Donuts feels genuine, gritty and real, right down to its climactic brawl.
Losing himself in a most unglamorous role, McKean anchored both the premiere production and its subsequent Great White Way outing with amazing humility. Hill provided one of the most memorable Broadway debuts in recent memory. With plenty of humanity and heart to be found deep inside of this thoughtful and entertaining play, I dare anyone not to be touched.
If you still haven't seen this show that closes January 3, 2010, it really is time to make the Donuts.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
In keeping with the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post. I paid my own way for each performance.
So it was with a heavy heart that I first reported via Twitter on Wednesday that the show would be closing on January 3.
Earlier, tickets had been selling through March 28, but in recent weeks, this particular show wasn't exactly selling like hot cakes. Over the last two reported weeks, Superior Donuts had been playing to less than 50% capacity. Like Brighton Beach Memoirs, this is one excellent show deserving of a much larger audience than it was able to attract.
While critics liked the show, many Broadway watchers say it suffered from not being the "must-see" even that playwright Letts' August: Osage Countyhad been just two years ago. "They" also say that in a season where star turns seem to make the difference (including the arguably inferiorone just across the street), Superior Donuts had simply been overlooked.
If you haven't already had an opportunity to see it, do everything you can to get to the Music Box Theatre before Superior Donuts closes. You will thank me.
Because "Great White Way" Shouldn't Be Taken Literally
Take a good look at the faces to the left.
Each is a considerable talent in his or her own right to be sure. But do you notice anything missing? Or more precisely, anyone missing?
Aside from the background hues behind many of these performers, the only real color I'm seeing is red. It's as if the brains behind BroadwaySpace.com took "Great White Way" just a little too literally when coming up with its "30 under 30" list of Broadway's hottest young actors.
If you've been a longtime reader of Steve On Broadway, the name Jon Michael Hill is not new to you. In fact, I first wrote about this gifted young actor in this space on July 10, 2006 when he was performing in the excellent Bruce Norris play, The Unmentionables.
Even as the booming off-stage voice instructs the audience to silence their cell phones, a menacing, cocky young man named Etienne (Jon Hill) saunters down the aisle looking as if he might not belong before finally calling out to the audience that they should not bother staying for this show. Of course, it's all a ruse, but it's clearly designed to set the stage for the play and challenge some preconceived notions about race and appearance even before the performance begins.
More recently, I provided many of you with your more recent introduction to his talents when I wrote this past July 16:
Take a close look at the smiling face to the left. Examine it very carefully. Because this is the exciting face of tomorrow's Broadway.
Ever since Hill made his impressive Broadway debut in the superb Superior Donutsthat opened October 1, he's been the subject of a lot of good buzz that amounts to so much more than just a sugar rush. Flush with great reviews and even some well-deserved Tony talk, Hill is making a name for himself on the Great White Way.
It may be a month overdue, but The New York Times is finally sitting up and taking notice. In a terrific story by Patrick Healy, Hill is profiled and assessed by his peers, including director Tina Landau, who states:
“Jon was one reason I said, ‘Count me in,’ ” said Tina Landau, a Steppenwolf ensemble member who directed the play in Chicago and New York. “He’s completely mercurial. He can do everything and its opposite. That’s so exciting to see in a young actor.”
Like I've said before, keep your eye on this exciting young actor. By swinging by the Music Box Theatre and seeing him perform this fall, I have no doubt that you'll have bragging rights in someday saying -- when he's a major star -- that you saw him when.
Superior Donuts (The SOB Review)– Music Box Theatre, New York, New York
**** (out of ****)
With nary an empty calorie in sight, Tracy Letts' tasty and satisfying Superior Donuts possesses a filling center that is at once enthralling and profoundly moving. Its shop sits precisely where the American dream -- and all its endless possibilities -- intersects with fears of America lost.
Despite a bit of a makeover from the initial Chicago premiere last year (which I reviewed), including new set design from James Schuette, the essential ingredients Letts has baked into this dramatic comedy are as sweet and savory as ever.
If anything, Tina Landau's sharpened direction enables each of Letts' wide assortment of characters -- each of whom defy any tidy stereotype -- to rise to perfection. As you'd expect from Letts, none of them are wafer-thin, whether it's the sage bag Lady Boyle (Jane Alderman), the rough-edged flirt in Officer Randy Osteen (Kate Buddeke), the seriously serious beam-me-up-fetishist Officer James Hailey (James Vincent Meredith) or the budding Russian tycoon with a soft spot Max Tarasov (Yasen Peyankov). Each of these secondary roles, not to mention the leads, is multi-layered, adding exquisite depth to Letts' overarching effort.
Now make no mistake, if you’re going into Broadway’s Music Box Theatre intent on seeing another August: Osage County, you’re in the wrong place. No one backs Letts into a corner. That doesn't mean he's lost his penchant for fully realized characters. Sure, Superior Donuts has plenty of his trademark ribald barbs, including a sly yet stinging commentary on the status of today’s America that is becoming his signature. Yes, Letts once again explores familial fissures that lead to a breaking point -- a point so bleak that once again one of his principals escapes via self-medication.
Yet in many more ways, Superior Donuts is the antithesis of August: Osage County. His latest work ostensibly leaves its audience with hope rather than despair, a challenge to wake up to the world around us rather than to shut it out. To give a damn and take a stand.
Set amidst an oxymoronically named doughnut and coffee shop in Chicago's timeworn Uptown neighborhood, Letts caffeinates his latest play with an abundance of jolts, literally and figuratively.
On the literal side, you’ll no doubt hear more than you’ll want to know about the show’s pivotal fight scene. Mind you, the contenders are both well past their prime.
In one corner is the nearly sixty year old Arthur Przybyszewski (a breathtaking, brilliant Michael McKean), who has ducked from battles his entire life, whether dodging the Vietnam draft or his own late father who labeled him a coward because he went AWOL. There’s no reason to assume he’d even know how to throw a decent punch. Yet, the young, aspiring writer Franco Wicks (Jon Michael Hill in one of the most astonishing Broadway debuts I've ever seen) has not only helped bring the doughnut shop back to life, but he's also awakened Arthur's soul enough to rejoin the human race and, consequently, to finally take a stand.
In the other corner is Luther Flynn (the aptly named Robert Maffia), a middle-aged hood afflicted by a painful ulcer. As menacing as he'd like to be, he's almost as likely to ask for a drink of milk as he is to ask his minion to do his bidding. It’s no wonder he initially laughs off Arthur’s challenge to fight, perhaps thinking that if even one punch landed in his stomach, he’d be down for the count.
There’s an enormous ineptitude about this fight. It’s not at all in the way that it's staged, but very much in the gritty reality of what you’d expect from two such men. I posit that real fights don’t happen the way they do in movies. Genuine brawls look an awful lot like the clumsy one in Superior Donuts.
As for the figurative jolts, they are liberally scattered throughout. They're not so much like the tiny, inconsequential sprinkles that merely decorate a doughnut top, but more they're a much more richly satisfying food for thought, as well as for the soul.
Having evaded the draft 40 years earlier, Arthur has inadvertently been waging another, longer battle in both his mind and his heart. He wrestles the demons of never having had the opportunity to make peace with his now deceased father. Once he returned to the United States from Canada, Arthur essentially checked out, losing himself in his pot, even as he checked back into the business his father created. He doesn't even seem to notice or care when his shop has been broken into.
But he receives a major jolt when Franco Wicks walks into Superior Donuts. Heavy on dreams and loaded with his foot-thick "Great American Novel," Franco triggers something in Arthur's heart and soul. With remarkable finesse, due in large part to the charming Hill's nuanced performance, Franco challenges him as few have, reawakening his spirit and making him care.
To witness Jon Michael Hill spar with Michael McKean is a theatrical joy to behold -- a pleasure that comes along on the stage all too infrequently. Of course, Letts' superb gift for delivering the goods via perfect-pitched dialogue comes through yet again, and fortunately, Hill and McKean powerfully imbue their roles with emotional honesty. There's nothing treacly about them or Superior Donuts.
As I've said before, there's plenty of humanity and heart to be found deep inside of this intelligent and entertaining play. I absolutely love this courageous show and the fact it truly lives up to its name.
Less than two years after Tracy Letts earned extraordinary praise for his first Broadway play August: Osage County, along with just about every major honor he could possibly win, including the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award, the playwright/actor's latest play opens tonight at the Main Stem's Music Box Theatre.
Superior Donutsfollows a similar path as Letts' earlier effort, having originally premiered at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre. Directed by Tina Landau, Superior Donuts stars Broadway veteran Michael McKean opposite Jon Michael Hill. As I've noted before, while Hill may be new to Broadway audiences, he already lays claim to a distinguished array of credits as Steppenwolf's youngest ensemble member.
Unlike August: Osage County, which included the same scenic design on Broadway as it did at Steppenwolf, Superior Donuts receives a "fresh" look -- a term I use with tongue firmly planted in cheek -- from James Schuette.
Whether or not Superior Donuts follows in the rest of its precursor's footsteps remains to be seen. While I certainly want to see it savored by the critics and public alike, it already has found a special place in my heart, as well as in the annals my very own theatregoing history.
One of the reasons why I'm such an ardent Steppenwolf supporter and fan is because they regularly produce exceptional plays that resonate with me, challenge me and make me think. Yes, there are the occasional shows that leave me a little cold, but the vast majority are incredibly well-crafted and almost all universally are exceptionally well-acted.
Superior Donuts is, in my humble opinion, one of the best of their best, as I noted in my SOB Review after seeing it open in Chicago a year ago last summer. It's why I'm personally looking forward to attending its opening night this evening on Broadway -- a first for me. I'm hoping for a truly Superior Broadway experience in every way.
Take a close look at the smiling face to the left. Examine it very carefully. Because this is the exciting face of tomorrow's Broadway.
Actor Jon Michael Hill has been a Steppenwolf ensemble member for a mere three years, but as one of the estimable troupe's youngest actors, he's quickly become one of its most awe-inspiring contemporary stars. And now, Jon Michael Hill is heading to the Music Box Theatre for his Broadway debut. Watch out!
Earlier this afternoon, the full casting for Steppenwolf's Broadway transfer of Tracy Letts' Superior Donuts was announced. The best part of the announcement was that the entire Chicago cast, including Hill, will be reassembled under Tina Landau's brilliant direction.
Even as the booming off-stage voice instructs the audience to silence their cell phones, a menacing, cocky young man named Etienne (Hill) saunters down the aisle looking as if he might not belong before finally calling out to the audience that they should not bother staying for this show. Of course, it's all a ruse, but it's clearly designed to set the stage for the play and challenge some pre-conceived notions about race and appearance even before the performance begins.
Nobody knew who this guy was as he toyed with the audience on his way to the stage. Hill ended up with them in the palm of his hand. No wonder that right around the same time, Steppenwolf announced that this gifted young actor was becoming part of its increasingly eclectic ensemble and summarily infused it with no-holds-barred excitement.
McKean has clearly lost himself in this most unglamorous of roles, but the audience wins as a result. Equally excellent is Hill's Franco, whose tremendous zest for living is infectious, and whose woes make us actually give a damn.
Since last summer, Steppenwolf fans have had two additional opportunities to see Hill further burnish his credentials with seemingly little effort in Kafka on the Shore (2008) and earlier this year as he more than held his own alongside Frank Galati and Lois Smith in The Tempest, another Landau-helmed triumph.
Now, with the transfer of Superior Donuts, New Yorkers will get to know one of the Windy City's formerly best kept secrets. Now that the word is out that Jon Michael Hill is coming to Broadway, do yourself a favor and see him early to get those bragging rights for you'll be seeing a true star of tomorrow shine today.
My dear friend Kevin Daly at Theatre Aficianado At Large was there for the closing performance, which had its own surprise before it even began. Kevin looked at the board next to the ticket counter and saw that Rondi Reed was back for the final performance. It wasn't long before he was tweeting about it to let the whole world know.
Meanwhile, back at Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theatre last evening, Bridget Carpenter's Up was enjoying its opening night. This is the latest play to be helmed by Shapiro and it features her husband Ian Barford (the original Little Charles from August: Osage County) in the lead. Other noteworthy alums from August: Osage County were on hand, including Tony winner Deanna Dunagan (the original Violet Weston) and Francis Guinan (the original Charlie Aiken). Both were clearly thrilled to hear that Reed had returned for that final performance. Guinan will return to the Steppenwolf stage in Fakebeginning in September.
While dignitaries like Illinois Governor Pat Quinn were on hand to witness the troupe's latest treasure, the symmetry of Steppenwolf's sweet serendipitous Sunday in New York and Chicago rounded out with actor Jon Michael Hill of Lett's Superior Donuts being in the Windy City house. While I can't say whether he'll be part of the transfer to Broadway this fall, I expect great things from this incredible young talent and believe Great White Way audiences will celebrate his name sometime soon.
And once again thanks to Steppenwolf, I'll have bragging rights not unlike those when I was among the first to see August: Osage County nearly two years ago.
Great news for theatre fans eagerly awaiting Tracy Letts' follow-up to August: Osage County, the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning Best Play from 2008.
Critics' sentiments were nearly unanimous in citing Superior Donuts' "sentimental" streak, with most calling it funny and entertaining while predictably drawing inevitable comparisons with August: Osage County.
Crediting Landau for making this an "ideal production," Variety's Steven Oxman provides the most praise: "This is most definitely Letts in a mild, even slightly sentimental mode, although he has such a penchant for dark edges that even his comic work comes with physical and emotional injury. Small in scale and certainly fully accessible, Superior Donuts also shows Letts wading more forcefully into social themes.... But this is also the first play by Letts that's probably best when nothing at all is happening, because while the dialogue is always zesty, the plotting itself is extremely transparent and oddly anti-climactic, never shaking off that sense of being manufactured out of formula.... That said, there are pleasures aplenty. McKean invests Arthur with enough quiet soulfulness to make us care about him, particularly when the character steps forward to deliver his backstory in monologues interspersed between the scenes. And Hill is without question a talent to watch, in a part tailor-made for him."
Advising readers to "Relax. Have a good time," after pointedly noting this is not going to be the next August: Osage County, Chris Jones of The Chicago Tribune waxes largely enthusiastic: "Landau’s humanely and unpretentiously staged premiere enhances a witty, seductive, live-wire and greatly entertaining dark comedy that you just don’t want to end and you just don’t want to miss. The one thing it most assuredly has in common with its illustrious predecessor is that it lands with an audience. A Chicago audience.... It is a meditation on Chicago’s old soul from a writer clearly entranced with the place but disinclined, by temperament, to be sentimental. Letts can write cliches ... But he’s smart enough to undermine and subvert them when they start to bother you.... Thus his newest work is at once a challenge, a comfort and an insouciant pleasure."
While criticizing Superior Donuts for serving "up an admittedly more pedestrian vision" of America than Letts' last effort, Chicago Sun-Times' Hedy Weiss still serves up a "somewhat recommended" rating: "The whole thing has an undeniable zest, but also feels far from seamless as it lurches from behavioral comedy to urban tragedy to social critique. And its characters -- the young genius undone by his not-so-streetwise escapades, the Maalox-gobbling thug, the female cop with hidden baking skills -- all feel like they've been pressed from pre-existing molds.... Letts is a writer who rarely repeats himself, though Superior Donuts, directed by Tina Landau, contains many of his trademarks: a sharply funny offhandedness; a playful social commentary rooted in stereotype, but heightened by a certain mix of braininess and raw earthiness; a slightly off-kilter realism; and a turn-on-a-dime ability to switch moods. And Arthur, one of Letts' most intriguing, deftly drawn characters -- gentle but full of suppressed rage -- is given a marvelously natural and believable performance by McKean."
Calling the show "an intimate, sentimental little comedy," Jeremy Gerard of Bloomberg weighs in with a mixed assessment: "The result is predictable and silly but, as with August: Osage County, extremely entertaining, not to mention a full hour shorter.... Much of the show's charm owes to warm performances elicited by director Tina Landau from the Steppenwolf ensemble. At the top of that list would be Michael McKean, pony-tailed, pot-bellied and hirsute as Arthur, and Jon Michael Hill, who, as ants-in-his-pants Franco defies credulousness.... Sitcom jokes and soul-baring rarely co-exist comfortably in the same script. Letts is ambitious, however, and writes terrific characters. Give him time, not prizes."
Deeming the work as "insubstantial and sweet, with virtually no nutritional value," Charles Isherwood of The New York Times nevertheless admits: "minor though this comedy is, it is also hard to dislike.... The best news about Superior Donuts is probably its unlikeness to any of Mr. Letts’s previous plays.... Superior Donuts is a funny play. It certainly glides by comfortably. But much of the comedy feels tame, safe and solicitous, lacking in the spontaneous acid truth of the flaying insults in August.... Superior Donuts is not a significant play, but Mr. Letts’s willingness to explore new forms, to confound expectations, has its heartening aspects."
Having taken in last evening's premiere of Superior Donuts myself, I'll be providing my own SOB Review shortly.
Superior Donuts (The SOB Review) - Downstairs Theatre, Steppenwolf, Chicago, IL
**** (out of ****)
How is a hero distinguished from a coward?
In Tracy Letts' profoundly moving new play Superior Donuts, it all comes down to choosing one's battles. Wisely.
Last night, Steppenwolf staged the world premiere production of Letts' first play to be set in his adopted hometown of Chicago. And he does so by placing the action in a most unsentimental place: the city's timeworn Uptown neighborhood, a section of Chicago that's been fighting gentrification for years, yet has somehow remained one of the few true microcosms for the city's cultural diversity and divide alike.
Marking yet another stunning departure from his previous efforts, Letts' Superior Donuts feels so right, including being right up to the minute, replete with local references including that of a stray cougar alongside iconic lore. But Letts is at his best when he's intelligently combatting some urban myths about race.
Which brings me back to the capability for choosing one's battles.
You see, Superior Donuts proprietor Arthur Prysbyszewski (an astonishing and nearly unrecognizable Michael McKean) may have evaded the Vietnam draft forty years ago by heading north to Canada (we learn Arthur's essential backstory via his poignant soliloquies interspersed throughout Superior Donuts), but when his brilliant young employee and promising literary genius Franco Wicks (a wonderfully cocksure Jon Michael Hill) needs a lifeline, something both vital and raw sparks inside Arthur.
So bleak and dreary has Arthur's life become that he hardly seems to notice or care when his dingy little baked goods shop is broken into. Near the beginning of Superior Donuts, Arthur arrives to find two police officers Randy Osteen (Kate Buddeke displaying a heart of gold) and James Hailey (James Vincent Meredith in one of his funniest performances yet) surveying the damage. The duo is taking the statement of Max Tarasov (a delightfully scabrous Yasen Peyankov), the Russian-born electronic shopkeeper from next door, who would stop at nothing to buy-out Arthur's space to enlarge his own store and give Best Buy a run for its money.
With no coffee to offer his lone patron, a street person affectionately referred to simply as Lady (Jane Alderman), Arthur requisitions some java from the other relentlessly encroaching neighborhood pariah. It's as if Arthur has permanently thrown in the towel, resigned to defeat.
That is, until Franco walks into his donut shop to apply for an open position. Before long, it's Arthur who's being interviewed, and recognizing that this is not just another kid from the hood, Arthur hires Franco, a drop-out from a local college who lugs around a foot-thick stack of diaries and papers comprising his great American novel. Franco and Arthur hit it off so well that the budding author lets his boss read the material in exchange for advice on how to snare Randy, all while considering the possibilities that life with a published book and upgraded donut shop could offer.
Despite Franco's book smarts, he's also learned plenty from the streets, including the perils associated with gambling. Seems he's run up a hefty debt that's so large that his newly found minimum wage job could never get him out of it. But there's that beloved book. Franco's great American novel becomes central to the plot as the mob comes looking for their money, sparking Arthur's resolve to finally stand up and redeem himself for something so right.
Thanks in large measure to Tina Landau's loving direction, Superior Donuts feels genuine, gritty and real, right down to its climactic brawl that forever underscores just how clumsy and inept actual fist fights can be. Loy Arcenas adds to the remarkable authenticity with a set design in various stages of disrepair, accentuated further by Chris Akerlind's moody lighting.
But best of all, matching Letts' extraordinarily affecting script is Superior Donuts' exceptional ensemble. Chief among them is the yeoman service of McKean as Arthur who anchors the production in all his humility, however ordinary it may seem. McKean has clearly lost himself in this most unglamorous of roles, but the audience wins as a result. Equally excellent is Hill's Franco, whose tremendous zest for living is infectious, and whose woes make us actually give a damn.
There's a lot more to chew on in Superior Donuts than what's on its surface. In fact, instead of finding a sugary goo, or worse, nothing at all, there's plenty of humanity and heart to be found deep inside of this intelligent and entertaining play.
I absolutely loved this courageous show that truly lives up to its name.
Rain: A Tribute To The Beatles Limited run extended through May 31, 2011 (Show will go on hiatus starting January 15 and reopen at Brooks Atkinson Theatre on February 8)
Rock Of Ages - Open-ended run (Show will go on hiatus starting January 9 and reopen at Helen Hayes Theatre in March)
As someone who has been involved in both politics and public relations, it's no wonder I love watching theatre. Good or bad, it's the raw energy of seeing a live performance that gets my adrenaline pumping. From the moment I saw my very first Broadway show ("Annie" in London in 1979), I was hooked. Now I see as many as 70 shows each year ranging from soaring musicals to two-hander plays. And these eyes just may be in an audience near you!
Personally, there's no doubt in my mind that in making his auspicious television debut in such a vital, promising role, Jon Michael Hill's name is on the precipice of household status. And deservedly so.
