No sooner do I post my SOB Review for the outrageously funny La Bête than the revival announces an early closing for January 9, 2011 -- five weeks earlier than originally planned.
By the time the comedy closes, it will have played 101 regular performances -- 76 more than the original production that bombed back in 1991. The current production wasn't even attracting 60% capacity at the box office last week. Unbelievable given all the talent involved.
Personally, I'm downright disappointed that this play didn't do better. It was incredibly well-crafted by director Matthew Warchus and brilliantly acted, particularly by Mark Rylance, who deserves a Tony nomination for his virtuoso work.
If there is a saving grace, it's that Rylance has indicated that he's set to begin rehearsals for a Broadway incarnation of Jerusalem, a play that blew away virtually everyone who had a chance to see it in London earlier this year. Rylance would reprise his Olivier Award-winning turn as Johnny "Rooster" Byron, and quite possibly do it at the very same theatre where he's currently treading the boards for La Bête.
To get a taste of what else to expect from Rylance, here's the trailer from the London production of Jerusalem:
After seeing Rylance in La Bête, I'm already salivating for his next star turn. If you haven't already seen La Bête, do yourself a favor and get to the Music Box Theatre before it closes in January. You can thank me later.
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.
Fortunately, today I get to write about just the opposite -- a revived comedy that could easily be sad if it just wasn’t so hysterically funny.
Rarely has the term “laugh riot” been more befitting than for the new Rialto revival of American playwright David Hirson’s previously underappreciated 1992 comedy, La Bête -- set in 18th Century France and written to ape the style of Molière. In fact, as if taking a cue from the title (French for “the beast”), I was howling with delight.
While the play is written in rhyming couplets, Hirson’s prose never sounds the least bit forced or unnatural. Enormous credit for that achievement goes to Matthew Warchus, who’s mercifully steering this extraordinary revival. Warchus’ ear for the appropriate cadence lifts the entire production to an astonishing loftiness, as in equaling Mark Thompson's impressive, towering book case, as opposed to being haughty.
Indeed, part of La Bête’s subversive charm is that it pretends to pander to the lowest common denominator, even as its subliminal moralizing is much more high-minded, intelligent and thought-provoking, and ultimately heartbreaking.
Centering on a troupe of serious French actors, led by Elomire (David Hyde Pierce), La Bête appeals to a populist voice as they’re called upon by an unlikely source to join forces with the dubious talents of the beast in question. The beast is actually an ass -- a street performer named Valere (Mark Rylance). That the insisting voice is none other than their primary patron, the Princess (Joanna Lumley), illustrates just how low that common denominator can go in a quest for popular entertainment over substance.
The remarkable Rylance is nothing short of an acting genius. Quite effortlessly, he once again demonstrates why he is -- hands-down -- one of our greatest living stage treasures. Rylance seems to chew just about everything except for the scenery, particularly via his hilarious, non-stop 30-plus minute monologue that must be seen to be believed. It’s the kind of singular, virtuoso performance that audiences will be talking about for years to come.
His delusional, American-accented Valere is so incredibly full of himself -- a true legend in his own mind, if you will -- that he serves as a perfect archetype for all the bloviating excess that much of the rest of the world seems to view in the United States. Valere is the type of narcissistic name-dropping dullard who simply remains clueless to the disdain others around him feel.
With great irony, Rylance is practically holding up a mirror to his American audiences, daring us to laugh at what we have collectively become. And the amazing thing is that we do. We’re in on the joke, even if we're doubled over with this kind of laughter can makes us a wee bit uncomfortable.
As Elomire, Hyde Pierce plays the perfect straight man to Rylance. While he rarely gets a word in edgewise, Hyde Pierce remains nothing if not a master in expressionism, reacting to each and every boast from Valere with requisite double-takes of a man thoroughly frustrated. He’s the yin to Rylance’s yang.
Which is what appeals to the Princess in trying to blend their polar-opposite talents together. In her Broadway debut, Lumley imbues her Princess with unpretentious grace. It’s as if there was a people’s princess long before Diana, even if there’s a brooding, petulant child lurking underneath the regal exterior. And after witnessing Lumley's performance, it's hard to even imagine that the role was written as a Prince.
What is most astonishing about La Bête is that while it easily plays to all audiences, its most deceptive allure is that at its very core is a beating heart, exposing the pandering for what it is and hoping beyond hope for something more stimulating and intelligent. And for those who can see past the play's façade of folly, they’ll find that and more. But laugh too hard, and is just might escape you.
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.
After a solid run in London that concluded earlier this month, the revival began previews at Broadway's Music Box Theatre just last week (September 23) and opens October 14 for a limited run through February 13, 2011.
Since I've already provided a snapshot of the play here, I'll simply leave you with the brand, spanking new trailer above, appropriately attached in part to a London taxi cab.
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.
In what appears to be a growing -- and in my opinion, welcome -- trend among London shows, the West End revival of La Bête is offering a promotional trailer (see below).
While La Bête (or "The Beast") is set to play its final performance at the West End's Comedy Theatre this coming Saturday, the entire production will cross the pond in time for Broadway previews to begin September 23. The transfer will open at the Music Box Theatre on October 14, 2010.
As the official ticket vendor for the production, Telecharge touts La Bête as follows:
Every Broadway season, there is one ticket that you simply have to get. This season, that ticket is La Bête. Coming direct from a sold-out run in London, La Bête is already being hailed as an absolute must-see, with a once-in-a-lifetime cast giving performances to die for. Don’t miss this comic tour de force that boldly sinks its teeth into the debate over high art versus popular entertainment, and asks the age-old question, "For a play to sell out, does it have to be 'a sell-out?'"
Can Warchus' magic strike twice in turning a less than successful play into a true must-see? With Rylance once again serving as Warchus' ace-in-the-hole, all bets suggests he can.
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.
As regular readers of Steve On Broadway (SOB) know, while others use the end of the year to provide their lists of the top shows of the past year, I wait until the conclusion of the entire Theatrical Season to provide my official tally.
Instead, I'm once again devoting the end of the calendar year to celebrate SOB's Singular Sensations -- those magical live performances that have stayed with me throughout the year. While it's easy to bid "good riddance" to a year that has been fraught with economic, man-made and natural catastrophes, I took refuge in once again being truly wowed and ultimately inspired by an extraordinary display of excellent performances from some of the theatre world's best actors, singers and dancers of our time.
Before I launch into my mini-countdown, I'd like to offer a few personal observations on my own year. Without a doubt, one continuing highlight has been the enormously gratifying opportunity to meet a wide cross-section of fellow theatre bloggers.
To all my blog friends, let me say I am proud to know you and count you among my friends.
Now, dear readers, I give you SOB's 8 Singular Sensations of 2008:
#8 - Francis Guinan - While most of the rest of the August: Osage County ensemble headed off to London this fall to reprise their celebrated performances, one notable principal from Steppenwolf's Chicago and Broadway casts did not make the journey: Fran Guinan.
The actor who singlehandedly delivered the tenderest performance and arguably the most heart in this year's Tony Award-winning Best Play as Charlie Aiken had a couple other projects and a whole host of characters to handle back in Chicago. Guinan enjoyed some delicious scene-stealing roles as Colonel Sanders and Johnny Walker in Steppenwolf's Kafka On The Shore, but it was his extraordinarily touching take as Sharky in Steppenwolf's just-extended production of The Seafarer that completely blew me away.
It's because he seems to effortlessly imbue each and every one of his wide-ranging characters with limitless shadings and nuance, I'm looking forward to seeing this sensational actor next in Steppenwolf's early 2009 mounting of Art.
#7 - Martha Plimpton - Is there nothingMartha Plimpton cannot do? First, as the wine-swilling pontifica-ting, pompous Pope Joan and then as an English teen, both as part of Caryl Churchill's Top Girls, she was simply mindblowing.
But as Gladys Bumps in the current Broadway revival of Pal Joey, Plimpton proves nothing short of a complete revelation. We already knew this Tony-nominated actress had the dramatic chops, but who knew she also possesses such an sensational singing voice? Her "Zip" alone is worth the price of admission. Along with her sly moves, it truly does appear that there's nothing Plimpton can't do.
Look for another Tony nod in the New Year for this sensational actress.
#6 - Lois Smith - Shame on me for missing Horton Foote's The Trip To Bountiful during its celebrated Signature Theatre Company run a couple years back. Fortunately, for me (and countless others), Chicago's Goodman Theatre chose to honor the works of the great nonagenarian with a festival that enabled the incandescent Lois Smith to reprise her lauded Off-Broadway turn as Carrie Watts.
Smith's astonishing luminescence burned brighter and brighter throughout her performance as she brilliantly captured Carrie's yearning to return home, one last time, to a place called Bountiful. Smith's impeccably drawn portrayal proved one transformative power.
The always sensational Lois Smith was nothing short of excellent.
#5 - Daniel Breaker - I have yet to see what he can do in Shrek The Musical.
But Daniel BreakerThe Actor is one exception-ally gifted talent worth watching, thanks to his truly astonishing breakthrough role as Youth in my favorite new musical of the past year: Passing Strange. Breaker has the ability to convey so much more with a simple roll of his eyes than many actors have with their entire portayals. He possesses a natural presence found far too infrequently on the stage.
His sensational Tony-nominated performance made Passing Strange come alive, and it will be the reason I go see Shrek.
#4 - Jim Norton - Actors from two different productions of the same outstanding play land on my list.
Back at #8 was Fran Guinan as Sharky from Steppenwolf's current run of The Seafarer. The acting genius who originated the role of Sharky's brother Richard in London and reprised his performance again on Broadway lands at #4. The breathtaking Jim Norton earned very well-deserved Olivier and Tony Awards for his incredible work. His superb portrayal more than convinced me he had literally drunk himself blind. I really thought, "this man truly is without sight." Of course, only at the curtain call did I realize he could see.
#3 - Mark Rylance - For a British actor, Mark Rylance sure has the Midwestern accents down pat (perhaps it's because, like me, he lived in Mequon - Thiensville, Wisconsin, during part of his formative years).
Shortly before making his Broadway debut, this master Shakespearean actor returned to a Guthrie stage in Minneapolis in the title role of Peer Gynt. This retelling of Henrik Ibsen's play began with Rylance portraying a modern-day Minnesotan on the receiving end of a surprise party for his 50th birthday.
Soon thereafter, Rylance took Broadway by storm with his Tony-winning farcical turn as a Wisconsinite named Robert in the revival of Boeing-Boeing. He's still keeping them laughing through Sunday at the Longacre via his absolutely masterful turn.
Given his wide range, there's no telling where the sensational Rylance will land next.
#2 - Elena Roger - As the only artist from last year's SOB Singular Sensations lists to make a return, the marvelous Elena Roger is a major force to be reckoned with. Her bravura performance as Eva Peron in the recent London revival of Evitawas more than enough to land her at #4 one year ago. In the current West End production of Piaf, this abundantly assured and captivating actress dazzles once again. Roger proves a true sensation.
Succeeding in eerily channeling Edith Piaf, Roger soars to make for one of the year's most extraordinary and magical performances, almost in spite of the ill-conceived production around her.
I for one can't wait to see what this sensational talent does next and can only hope that Broadway is finally paying attention.
Easily. Laurents' current Broadway mounting of Gypsyis no ordinary revival. Just when I thought LuPone couldn't get any better, she manages to eclipse her own jawdropping performance with a Rose who is at once sympathetic, conniving, sexy, funny, tragic and repulsive all at the same time. Brava, Patti! Brava!
I was so mesmerized by LuPone's sensational performance of a lifetime that I'll be there to cheer her on once more before Gypsy closes on January 11.
This afternoon, the producers of the 2008 Tony Award Best Revival of a Play Boeing-Boeing announced that the show that's been pressurized for laughter will close its cabin doors for good. The show will close at Broadway's Longacre Theatre on January 4, 2009.
Personally, I found this show to be one of those rare, laugh-out-loud absurdly funny shows. Making it a joy to see was British actor and onetime Wisconsin resident Mark Rylance, who earned a very well-deserved Tony Award for his hilarious portrayal of befuddled Wisconsinite Robert. But it was Rylance who ultimately befuddled Tony viewers with what was surely one of the most unusual acceptance speeches in years.
In recent weeks, Boeing-Boeing's box office has been in a holding pattern around the 60% capacity level. But with economy crashing and burning, and having recouped their initial investment, the producers are closing out the very successful revival on a high note, and plans are aloft for a 45-week national tour. When Boeing-Boeing finally closes, it will have played 280 performances.
As noted a couple days ago, I had the enormous pleasure of taking in the American Theatre Wing's 62nd Annual Tony Awards hosted by Whoopi Goldberg on Sunday evening. And may I just state for the record that I thought Whoopi made an excellent host.
I learned so much, not only about all the behind-the-scenes work that goes into this production, but also just how much more fun actually being there can be. It's not just seeing the nominees and presenters in person, but the chance to see those amazing performances live one more time. It's also the nonstop buzz you feel from the moment you step onto the red carpet right up until you receive your Tony swag bag upon departure from the Gala.
But there are other things I learned along the way, either from personal experience or overheard from others...
...Tonys weigh more than I thought they would ... Don't bother asking Harry Potter-cum-Broadway star Daniel Radcliffe for an autograph ... It's perfectly fine to congratulate S. Epatha Merkerson on her Tony nod (she was beaming as she escorted her mother around), just please don't even think about approaching her in the ladies' room (and please don't approach me in the men's room, either) ... John Waters was really just kidding last year when he suggested he was working on a script called "Last Stall To The Left" about Senator Larry Craig ... The restrooms are "the great equalizers" at the Tonys (as I learned from my new friends Daniel and Donna from Lexington, Kentucky)...
...Not only does Gypsydirector Arthur Laurents know a thing or two about pacing a show, he's pretty fast on his feet for a man of 90 years ...The orchestra is nowhere to be seen during the Tonys, prompting the justifiable wrath of Patti LuPone during the dress rehearsals when she could not hear the music as she tried singing "Everything's Coming Up Roses" ... Speaking of dress rehearsals, only a few of the presenters were no-shows, including Alec Baldwin, Harry Connick, Jr., Laurence Fishburne and Marisa Tomei ... Could be that last star's no-show that prompted Lily Tomlin to mimic her actual appearance ... The morning rehearsals were just a tad too early for Stew, who made his feelings known as the Passing Strange troupe concluded rehearsing "Keys"...
...The ever gracious David Pittu has written a show he's getting ready to premiere at the Atlantic ... across the Atlantic, August: Osage County will make its West End debut this fall ... English actor Mark Rylance lived in my hometown of Mequon - Thiensville, Wisconsin during his formative years (since we're about the same age, I can't help but wonder if we ever met way back when) ... speaking of formative years, Keith Carradine is very proud of his progeny Martha Plimpton (he served as her Tony Awards escort, appropriate given it was Father's Day)...
...The technical Tonys were skillfully hosted by the witty, dynamic duo of Julie White and Michael Cerveris ... even Tony winning stars like White can get excited about the chance to see other stars like Connick ... thanks to Cerveris, I finally learned how to properly pronounce Les Liaisons Dangereuses... Laura Linney was gracious when at least one person told her they thought she was terrific in that play they can't pronounce ... "Project Runway" winner Christian Siriano's name was on the lips of countless young fans who were thrilled to meet him, while big stars like Glenn Close walked right on by unbothered...
...Awards do occasionally get bent, just ask Catherine Zuber ... As this year's winner for Best Costume Design for a Musical, Zuber was overheard telling someone complimenting her on her apparel choices (or lack thereof) for Matthew Morrison, "I'm no dummy" ... In person, In The Heights' Olga Merediz looks to be about half the age of Abuela Claudia, the role for which she earned her Tony nod for Best Featured Actress in a Musical ... Speaking of In The Heights, creator and lead actor Lin-Manuel Miranda looks substantially younger without his trademark ivy style cap, and he was practically floating through the Gala crowd while on Cloud 9 all evening.
Here's toasting all the nominees and winners. I'd like to thank them for a truly spectacular year on Broadway. It's one that I'll never forget.
With less than two weeks to go before the American Theatre Wing’s 62nd annual Tony Awards ceremonies honor the best of Broadway's 2007-08 Theatrical Season, I'm in the midst of offering my own prognostications on whom I believe should win.
Yesterday, I provided my picks for best shows, as well as for musical book and score. Today, I tackle the acting categories.
As previously mentioned, this is the first year in which I've seen every nominated work and performance. So while I'm no theatre professional, I profess to having an opinion on every last category. Let me know if you agree on whom you believe should win (vs. those you think actually will).
Here are the nominees and my picks:
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play Ben Daniels - Les Liaisons Dangereuses Laurence Fishburne - Thurgood Mark Rylance - Boeing-Boeing Rufus Sewell - Rock ‘N’ Roll Patrick Stewart - Macbeth
Sure, another actor has received lots of acclaim for his performance in a Shakespeare revival, but it's the comic, farcical turn by one of the greatest living interpreters of Shakespeare who is keeping them laughing at the Longacre -- in his long overdue Broadway debut, no less -- who is far more worthy of this award. Mark Rylance is absolutely brilliant.
If there's a close race, it should be between Rylance and Rufus Sewell, who was by far the best thing going for the tedious Rock 'N' Roll. As a master of slapstick comedy, Rylance deserves the last laugh.
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play Eve Best - The Homecoming Deanna Dunagan - August: Osage County Kate Fleetwood - Macbeth S. Epatha Merkerson - Come Back, Little Sheba Amy Morton - August: Osage County
A very competitive category with Eve Best living up to her name, S. Epatha Merkerson turning in a surprisingly tender performance and the excellent Amy Morton going toe to toe with Deanna Dunagan in the year's best play.
Ultimately, it's Dunagan's breathtaking performance as the drug-addled matriarch Violet who should win the day. As I noted at the end of the last year, she gave one sensational, bravura performance for the ages.
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical Daniel Evans - Sunday In The Park With George Lin-Manuel Miranda - In The Heights Stew - Passing Strange Paulo Szot - Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific Tom Wopat - A Catered Affair
Should Win: Paulo Szot - Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific
As wondrous a Broadway debut as Daniel Evans offered and as nuanced a performance as Tom Wopat gave, it was South Pacific's Paulo Szot who singlehandedly delivered one enchanted evening, bringing on the tears through his rendition of "This Nearly Was Mine."
As the consummate leading man, Szot also has proven once and for all that the world of opera isn't quite so far away from that of theatre. Let's hope he makes it a habit.
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical Kerry Butler - Xanadu Patti LuPone - Gypsy Kelli O’Hara - Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific Faith Prince - A Catered Affair Jenna Russell - Sunday In The Park With George
What is it about the ladies, anyway?! And I mean that with the utmost respect.
By far the most competitive category with powerhouse performances through and through, all are deserving of the Tony. But this is no ordinary year, and since Gypsy is no ordinary musical, one performance managed to eclipse the rest: Patti LuPone as a Rose who was at once sympathetic, conniving, sexy, funny, tragic and repulsive all at the same time. Brava, Patti! Brava!
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play Bobby Cannavale - Mauritius Raúl Esparza - The Homecoming Conleth Hill - The Seafarer Jim Norton - The Seafarer David Pittu - Is He Dead?
I realize that there may be a sympathy vote out there for Raúl Esparza, whom many (including me) feel got gypped out of a Tony last year. Indeed, as great as his slithery performance in The Homecoming was, if Tony voters are serious about awarding the best performance of this year, they really need to choose between Conleth Hill and Jim Norton of The Seafarer.
My pick is the breathtaking Jim Norton, who more than convinced me he had literally drunk himself blind. There's a reason why his performance was earlier awarded with an Olivier. It was superb.
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play Sinead Cusack - Rock ‘N’ Roll Mary McCormack - Boeing-Boeing Laurie Metcalf - November Martha Plimpton - Top Girls Rondi Reed - August: Osage County
In yet another competitive category for actresses, it's easy to think that if Rondi Reed wins, it'll be because of the strong pull of the tide from the August: Osage County juggernaut.
But her Mattie Fae is so deliciously complex and real and flat-out funny thanks to Reed's outstanding performance that you'd be forgiven for thinking of her as your favorite crazy aunt. Reed offers one of the year's best performances.
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical Daniel Breaker - Passing Strange Danny Burstein - Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific Robin De Jesús - In The Heights Christopher Fitzgerald - Young Frankenstein Boyd Gaines - Gypsy
Among the men, this should be the most competitive category -- I certainly enjoyed each of the outstanding performances offered by the actors above.
But one actor breaking away from the rest of the pack is Passing Strange's Daniel Breaker, whose astonishing breakthrough role of Youth blew me away. Breaker conveys volumes with a simple roll of his eyes and displays a natural presence found far too infrequently on the stage. He made Passing Strange come alive.
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical de’Adre Aziza - Passing Strange Laura Benanti - Gypsy Andrea Martin - The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein Olga Merediz - In The Heights Loretta Ables Sayre - Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific
Hands down, this award belongs to Laura Benanti in her best, most poignant performance yet.
As Louise, Benanti begins as a doe-eyed innocent, always eager to please, never fathoming her hidden talents or beauty. To watch her transition to the world's most famous stripper is to witness a major star claiming her rightful place in the spotlight.
Next up: my picks for the creative design awards.
Whoopi Goldberg hosts the 2008 Tony Awards on Sunday, June 15. The CBS broadcast begins at 8 p.m. EDT.
Boeing-Boeing (The SOB Review) - Longacre Theatre, New York, NY
*** (out of ****)
Looking for the funniest, laugh-out-loud comedy currently on the Great White Runway?
Look no further than Broadway's Longacre Theatre where almost in spite of itself, Boeing-Boeinghas touched down for what looks to be a lengthy layover. It's a mostly fantastic, high-flying farce.
In a season already filled with plenty of this genre, from the frivolous (The Ritz) to the fraught (November) to the fanciful (Is He Dead?), one would be forgiven for thinking audiences would have had enough of the fare. And to be frank, I wondered how New Yorkers would respond to a revival of such a dated show, which originally closed on Broadway almost as quickly as it opened back in February 1965.
But with Claire van Kampen's groovy selection of sixties tunes setting the mood, supplemented by Rob Howell's ingenious red, yellow and blue set and costume designs that are artfully augmented by Hugh Vanstone's complementary lighting, it's clear from take-off that this is going to be a first-class flight.
Written by Marc Camoletti (translated by Beverley Cross and Francis Evans), Boeing-Boeing has a fairly simple, silly plot. Bernard (Bradley Whitford) is a swinging American bachelor living in Paris who's simultaneously balancing three stewardess, er, flight attendant fiancées -- Kathryn Hahn as TWA's Gloria, Gina Gershon as Alitalia's Gabriella and Mary McCormack as Lufthansa's Gretchen -- all with the help of a good old-fashioned OAG (yes, they still print them). Bernard relies on the OAG's schedules to help him keep track of when his ladies would be in and out of his love nest.
Fortunately for Bernard, he has a cunningly complicit French maid Berthe (Christine Baranski). In a delightful shellgame, whenever it's time for a shift change, Berthe wheels out a special cart with three color-coded boxes to ensure that there's no trace of the last female companion left for the next one to find.
Of course, as one would expect of any farce, all these best intentions come perilously close to crashlanding. Soon after Bernard's friend Robert (Mark Rylance) unexpectedly comes calling from Wisconsin, the women in Bernard's life, quite predictably, all end up back at the Paris apartment at the same time. Not even a schedule manifest can predict turned-around and canceled flights.
As absurd as the storyline is, Matthew Warchus portentously propels this Boeing-Boeing to a new altitude with a turbocharged cruising speed that left me breathless from laughing. Much of the marvelous mirth comes from watching Rylance do his best to create diversions for his buddy Bernard's girlfriends, finding himself mirroring his friend's lust for life just a little too closely. It's hard to believe that this Shakespearean actor could be so capable of slapstick comedy, but in his Broadway debut, he's proving to be a worthy master. This is truly his show.
Nearly as wonderful is Baranski's wickedly funny take as Berthe. In her first Broadway outing since 1991's short-lived Nick & Nora, this talented actress demonstrates a propensity for broad comic relief, whether it's with an exaggerated roll of her eyes or via her deadpan, droll response.
Regrettably, I can't say the same for Whitford. As a man wrestling to maintain his harem, he certainly gets all of the agitated nerves down pat. Yet they come along just a bit too soon, almost as if he's never flown before. And if you're going to have the testicular fortitude to balance three fiancées at once, you'd better have more than a bag full of nuts and nerves of steel before ever taxiing down the runway.
Among the array of assembled space waitresses, McCormack plays her Gretchen so over the top, I half expected oxygen masks to drop. As shockingly funny as she often is, I just wasn't buying her as a bona fide love interest for Bernard. Hahn's gumsmacking American is played much more credibly, but it's Gershon who wins the day with her glorious Gabriella -- this is the best I've ever seen her and it's hard not to fall for her.
Despite the wildly mixed performances, Boeing-Boeing is about the wildest ride on Broadway. Fasten your seatbelts!
Most critics were flying high in their praise of the show.
Offering that the revival "soars right out of its time zone and into some unpolluted stratosphere of classic physical comedy," The New York Times' Ben Brantley is first in line for take-off: "Boeing Boeing, it turns out, has great bones.... It allows the cast members to cut loose like preschoolers on the playground of their dreams. And like fond parents, we can enjoy their shenanigans while knowing that the slides and swing sets are too well-made for anyone to get seriously hurt. Their performances are among the most one-dimensional and stereotyped that have ever shown up on a Broadway stage -- and that’s a large part of their roaring success.... At the performance I saw, the ensemble began a tad shakily, and I wondered if I had been a fool to enjoy the play as much as I did when I saw it in London last year. But as the show progressed, everyone shed self-consciousness and found a shared rhythm. The second act was unconditional bliss."
Concluding that "nothing sullies the enjoyment of Warchus' sprightly production or of the play's unexpected ingenuity," Variety's David Rooney also soars in his review: "It could have been a tired dollop of '60s camp in the wrong hands, but director Matthew Warchus and his sparkling cast fine-tune this fluffy French farce with clockwork precision, and the result is a riot.... [W]hile it usually requires more verbal complexity than physical dexterity to sustain this kind of featherweight comedy, Warchus and the ensemble do a remarkable job of keeping things at cruise speed for 2½ hours with no discernable lags.... [W]hile none of the women are slouches, the master of physical comedy here is Rylance, the one holdover from the production's London cast.... With inexhaustible inventiveness, Rylance gives shape to Robert's sly blossoming from a meek, unsophisticated bystander into a man eager to remedy his romantic inexperience and not shy about partaking of his friend's female smorgasbord."
Lauding that "it's nothing but blue skies and mile-high hilarity," Joe Dziemianowicz of New York's Daily News gives this ticket four out of five stars: "At certain points, the comedy becomes very broad, almost ridiculous. But it's such a blast, you don't care. Credit goes to director Matthew Warchus, whose jet-propelled production is filled with fantastic performances. Chief among them is one by Mark Rylance, who played the frazzled and lovable Robert in London. In his Broadway debut, he creates one of the funniest characters in memory.... Bradley Whitford makes a dashing and dexterous playboy who seems to have taken the "American in Paris" thing to heart.... As the exasperated maid, seasoned joker Christine Baranski lays on the French accent thicker than a sauce Béarnaise -- and it works."
Gushing that "gold is gold, and if slogging through the likes of Boeing-Boeing" is what it takes to mine it, so be it," Eric Grode of The New York Sun offers a review that's positivey upright and in a locked position: "Matthew Warchus and his rubber-limbed sextet of actors have somehow wrenched Marc Camoletti's musty effort out from its own 747-size languors. And once again, the salvage operation is led by a superb comic performance. This time it's Mark Rylance, taking a decided step away from his renowned Shakespearean diet ... and creating a staggeringly funny portrait of lust-deranged masculinity.... The usually dependable Ms. Baranski trips up repeatedly on her impenetrable French accent but handles Berthe's silent passages neatly, with a deceptively casual face-off between her and Robert serving as a giddy respite amid the slamming doors and flying bodies. Mr. Whitford, by comparison, starts out uncomfortably broad and has nowhere to go as the tension builds."
Fessing up that "I hate to be a buzz kill.... [A]nd I don't have a clue to explain the genuine mirth around me," Newsday's Linda Winer sounds as if the show lost her luggage: "Why the reception appears to be different now, I don't dare to analyze. Despite a dreamy hoot of a performance by Mark Rylance ... the director's comic philosophy is rooted in the bellowing, jumping around, hitting-with-a-beanbag-chair school of humor.... Please don't get me wrong. My problems is not prissy feminism, a modern distortion of feminism's joy and strength. Sure, women are plugged into the mechanics of the plot as if they were widgets in gumball-colored, miniskirted airline uniforms. But the women ... are at at least unpredictable. Warchus ... lets the women be sexual thugs-blowup dolls who are also action figures. The physical businesses -- the phony trembling fits, the floor rolling and the big leggy strides across the stage -- culminate, if that's the verb, with special 'curtain-call choreography' by Kathleen Marshall. Big strides for the theater, perhaps, are for another day."
Declaring that Boeing-Boeing "crash landed," New York Post' s Clive Barnes sounds as if he boarded the wrong flight in his one-star review: "When I saw this revival, staged by Matthew Warchus and designed by Rob Howell, in London last summer, I thought it was terrible, but Rylance had already left the cast, and I was assured by some that he had made a terrific difference. He does make a terrific difference. And it's still terrible -- as repetitious and as tedious as a flea circus.... But the whole cast, particularly the agile Whitford and a beautifully acidulated Baranski, as the game but aging French maid, prove to be accomplished farceurs."
With plenty of raves all around, this Boeing-Boeing looks like it can settle in for a reasonably long, comfortable flight on the Great White Way. I'll be taking in a performance this week and will provide my own SOB Review shortly thereafter.
This week marks the final homestretch for Broadway's 2007-08 Theatrical Season. The lastthreeshows open before this year's Tony Award derby shifts into high gear with its nominees being announced May 13.
Now directed by Matthew Warchus, this Boeing-Boeing is taking off on the Great White Way with a stellar cast, including Christine Baranski (in her first regular Main Stem outing since 1991's Nick & Nora), Bradley Whitford in his first Broadway turn since serving as a replacement in 1989-91's A Few Good Men), Gina Gershon and Mark Rylance, who is not only reprising his Olivier-nominated role as Robert, but is finally making his Broadway debut.
I'm hearing that this version of Boeing-Boeing is played much more broadly than the acclaimed West End mounting. Will the second time be the charm for this play on the Great White Way? Find out tomorrow as I provide my critics' capsule.
Will the second time be the charm? And more importantly, will any of the London revival's starry cast fly over the Atlantic to reprise their roles? Personally, I'd love to see both Frances de la Tour and Mark Rylance again. But I'd be more than happy to have another go with Elena Roger as well.
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!
