SOB's Best Of 2007-08: Best New PlaysIf you're a fan of new plays over musicals, this was truly your year. The 2007-08 Theatrical Season marked a resurgence in exceptional plays.
Personally, I was fortunate to see 18 new plays, not only coast-to-coast across America, but also in London. And guess what? I actually
enjoyed most of them, making my picks for the "Top 5" the most difficult category to select.
However, reigning supreme at the number one spot is a show I instantly fell in love with the first time I saw it last summer at a regional theatre (and for regular readers, you'll allow that I was way ahead of the curve on this one). Now that it's on Broadway, I'm preparing to take it in for second time there and third time overall. As the best play I've seen this year, let alone the past decade, it has set a new standard by which I've begun judging all other productions.
Here is my personal "5 Best" list for the past twelve months:
5 - 100 Saints You Should Know (Mainstage Theatre, Playwrights Horizons, New York, NY)
At the intersection where faith and disbelief collide,
Kate Fodor’s arresting and provocative new play
100 Saints You Should Know provided a frequently humorous, yet ultimately circumspect morality play about a woman finding herself on a spiritual quest. What still resonates and lingers with me is the purity in which Fodor wrote this compelling piece, seemingly without any agenda or ax to grind about faith or religion. To that end, she succeeded brilliantly without being heavy-handed or preachy. It didn't hurt that her script was aided tremendously by the world premiere's uniformly exceptional Off-Broadway cast, including the graceful dignity offered by
Lois Smith, the sassy adolescent insolence of
Zoe Kazan, or the tender awkwardness that comes with burgeoning teen sexuality as portrayed by
Will Rogers.
Regardless of your religious beliefs or lack thereof,
100 Saints You Should Know was well worth seeing and knowing.
4 - Mauritius (Biltmore Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, New York, NY)
Some plays just don't get the respect they deserve.
Theresa Rebeck’s surprisingly thrilling and highly entertaining
Mauritius was among them. Thanks to
Doug Hughes’ taut direction, Mauritius provided one of those exceptionally riveting, edge-of-your-seat theatrical experiences -- a veritable roller coaster ride of delicious deception that literally pulled no punches. In fact, the play about two half-sisters arguing over the rightful ownership of a potentially invaluable stamp collection left behind by their now deceased mother packed quite a wallop that is typically as rare in theatre as the collection’s two 19th Century stamps from Mauritius.
With a superb ensemble collection, Rebeck spun a diabolically delicious yarn.
Alison Pill scored with a truly extraordinary, breathtaking performance by inhabiting the darkest recesses of someone willing to sell her very soul for a shot at money. To say she delivered a nuanced portrayal would be an understatement. While the Tonys inexplicably passed over her performance, Pill further cemented her reputation as Broadway's top young actress.
Mauritius met with my stamp of approval on virtually every level.
3 - From Up Here (New York City Center, Manhattan Theatre Club, New York, NY)
Liz Flahive's poignant, yet darkly funny
From Up Here provided an auspicious debut for this budding playwright, particularly as she instilled her fully realized characters with compassion, along with a heaping healthy dose of what troubled teens need more than anything else: hope. Flahive ably underscored how hope requires elevating the teenage human spirit to a loftier place where they can see that life doesn't begin and end in the place perhaps mistakenly called "high" school.
In one of the year's most profoundly moving male performances,
Tobias Segal deftly exhibited all the knotty tableau of emotions ranging from utter dejection to glimmers of hope his tortured soul endures. Mark my words, this is one hot young actor whose name you'll want to remember.
Julie White gave a tightly wound, measured performance laced with an appropriate blend of humor and anxiety for a mother who's at the end of her rope. She was truly brilliant. In a very honest, straightforward manner,
Will Rogers once again nailed the coming to wits angst inherently found both among those growing up and those who must deal with fragile youth.
What really struck a chord with me is that for all the awkwardess that most youth must go through,
From Up Here gave immense direction by pointing the way out via a revelatory, resonating route that made live theatre suddenly relevant again.
2 - The Seafarer (Booth Theatre, New York, NY)
Conor McPherson's chilling new play
The Seafarer was so damned good, it's practically enough to put the fear of God in you. In his mesmerizing new and often funny morality play set on Christmas Eve, McPherson proved he's all aces. Both writing and directing this cautionary tale, he magnificently constructed a harrowing, on the edge of your seat nailbiter that was as much about giving the devil his due as it is about the potential for redemption for two card-playing good-for-nearly-nothing drunks for brothers.
As one of those brothers, the astounding
Jim Norton appeared to have literally drunk himself blind. His performance was matched by an utterly unrecognizable
Conleth Hill as one of the brothers' card-playing mates.
All in all, this was one helluva great play.
1 - August: Osage County (
Downstairs Theatre, Steppenwolf, Chicago, IL/
Imperial Theatre, New York, NY)
Was there any doubt?
Since first being blown away by this now Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece by
Tracy Letts way back last August in the Windy City, I've devoted considerable space to the best-written, best-acted play I've
ever seen at Chicago's
Steppenwolf, and that's no small feat. In
August: Osage County, Letts has constructed an absolutely brilliant, riotous script that provides for one stellar performance after another by its excellent ensemble.
Now six months into its acclaimed Broadway run, the play runs even deeper, packing a more lethal, visceral punch than what I saw in Chicago, hitting even harder with greater precision that I would not have even thought possible. Credit
Anna D. Shapiro for sharpening this play into a razor-sharp, whip-smart American classic. And it's even funnier, too.
Deanna Dunagan (Violet) single-handedly delivers a bravura performance for the ages as the matriarch of the Weston clan. But she's matched by an equally stunning ensemble, with
Amy Morton giving as good as she gets, and even better, as Violet's daughter Barbara;
Rondi Reed's Mattie Fae is likely to remind you of your favorite, if she wasn't so crazy, aunt; and
Francis Guinan as Mattie Fae's long-suffering husband Charlie offers a sweet dignity to the proceedings, especially when considered against one of the play's many revelations exposing the startling truth about his own son.
Since first seeing the show last summer in Chicago, I've known that I've witnessed something very, very special in the world of live theatre. Upon considerable reflection, I can attest that this is
the best new stage play I've seen over the last five years.
What were the best new plays
you saw over the past year? I invite you to join the conversation by sharing your theatre experiences with me.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:SOB's Best Of 2007-08: Best New Musicals (May 29, 2008)
SOB's Best Of 2007-08: Best Revivals Of Musicals (May 28, 2008)
SOB's Best Of 2007-08: Best Revivals Of Plays (May 27, 2008)
SOB's Best Of 2007-08: Best Special Theatrical Events (May 24, 2008)
The SOB Five "Worst" Of 2007-08 (May 23, 2008)
SOB's Best & Worst Of 2007-08 Theatre Season (May 22, 2008)
SOB's Best Of 2006-07: Top Ten Of The Year (June 4, 2007)
SOB's Best Of 2006-07: Best New Musicals (May 22, 2007)
SOB's Best Of 2006-07: Best New Plays (May 21, 2007)
SOB's Best Of 2006-07: Best Revivals Of Musicals (May 18, 2007)
SOB's Best Of 2006-07: Best Revivals Of Plays (May 16, 2007)
The SOB Five "Worst" Of 2006-07 (May 14, 2007)
SOB's Best & Worst Of 2006-07 Theatre Season (May 14, 2007)
SOB's Best of 2005-06: #1 - Theater Of The New Ear (May 30, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #2 – Guys And Dolls (May 26, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #3 – Hedda Gabler (May 25, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #4 – A Blameless Life (May 24, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #5 – Reeling (May 23, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #6 – “MASTER HAROLD”…And The Boys (May 21, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #7 – Love Song (May 19, 2006)
SOB's Best of 2005-06: #8 - Billy Elliot The Musical (May 18, 2006)
SOB's Best of 2005-06: #9 - The Well-Appointed Room (May 17, 2006)
SOB's Best of 2005-06: #10 - Sweeney Todd (May 15, 2006)
SOB's Best and Worst of 2005-06 Theatre Season (May 12, 2006)
Flashback: Best of 2004-05 (May 26, 2006)
Flashback: Best of 2003-04 (May 25, 2006)
Flashback: Best of 2002-03 (May 25, 2006)
Flashback: Best of 2001-02 (May 24, 2006)
Flashback: Best of 2000-01 (May 23, 2006)
Labels: 100 Saints You Should Know, August Osage County, Best New Plays, From Up Here, Mauritius, Play, SOB's Best of 2007-08, The Seafarer, Tracy Letts
Mauritius (The SOB Review) - Biltmore Theatre, New York, NY
***1/2 (out of ****)Years ago -- about the time I was in the third grade and just having my appetite whetted for my lifelong interest in history -- I began collecting stamps.
Nothing serious, mind you. In fact, I’m quite confident if I dug up whatever it was I actually placed meticulously into my book, I’d surely find virtually nothing of value. That’s because like many passing fancies in our adolescence, I moved on to the next big thing.
If only I had known then what I know now.
Thanks to
Theresa Rebeck’s surprisingly thrilling and highly entertaining
Mauritius, I enjoyed a crash course in
philately.
Thanks to
Doug Hughes’ taut direction,
Mauritius provides one of those exceptionally riveting, edge-of-your-seat theatrical experiences -- a veritable roller coaster ride of delicious deception that literally pulls no punches.
In fact, the play -- about two half-sisters arguing over the rightful ownership of a potentially invaluable stamp collection left behind by their now deceased mother -- packs quite a wallop that’s as rare in theatre as the collection’s two 19th Century stamps from
Mauritius.
With a superb ensemble collection, Rebeck spins a diabolically delicious yarn -- aided by
John Lee Beatty’s evolving set design -- about who lays authentic claim to the collection: Jackie (
Alison Pill), who claims to have been given the stamps directly by her dying mother, or Mary (
Katie Finneran), whose grandfather once owned the collection and shared his secrets and interest with his granddaughter until his death.
As desperately destitute Jackie, Pill scores with a truly extraordinary, breathtaking performance by inhabiting the darkest recesses of someone willing to sell her very soul for a shot at money. To say she delivers a nuanced portrayal would be an understatement. Pill only cements her reputation as Broadway's top young actress.
As Mary, a measured Finneran more than ably goes toe to toe with Pill. But the action extends to a trio of men whose lust for the holy grail of stamp collecting means that they’ll stop at virtually nothing to ensure they profit.
First, there’s Dennis (a charming, cunning
Bobby Cannavale), whose dubious knowledge about authenticity never stands in his way of triangulating his alliances. Then there’s Sterling (a thoroughly menacing and maniacal
F. Murray Abraham), who claims ownership of the stamps before any money has even been exchanged. And no one can lick the wimpy stamp authority (a sly
Dylan Baker), who’s only to be underestimated at tremendous cost.
Mauritius scores on virtually every level and is one production that deserves to collect more than a few Tony nods. See it while you can.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.
Related Stories:Did Mauritius Merit Stamps Of Approval? (October 5, 2007)
Theresa Rebeck Collects First Broadway Opening Night With Mauritius (October 4, 2007)
From Manhattan To Mauritius (June 28, 2007)
Well, Well, Well, If It Isn't Boston... (June 9, 2006)
Labels: Alison Pill, Broadway, Doug Hughes, F. Murray Abraham, Katie Finneran, Mauritius, Play, The SOB Review, Theresa Rebeck
Did Mauritius Merit Stamps Of Approval?Last evening,
Theresa Rebeck's
Mauritius opened at Broadway's
Biltmore Theatre. The critics have weighed in with mostly lukewarm reviews, and more than one has compared Rebeck's efforts to those of
David Mamet.
Praising
Mauritius as a "ripping good play,"
Joe Dziemianowicz of New York's
Daily News offers perhaps the most laudatory review of all: "
Doug Hughes (
Doubt) directs, and his mint-condition production made me gulp twice. First, 10 minutes into Act I, when
John Lee Beatty's wondrous set shape-shifts and gooses the play to life. Second, 10 minutes before intermission, when Jackie screams about sprouting 'bug wings, the kind that move really fast' and shows how disturbed she is. I can't recall being so eager for intermission to end. In (Rebeck's) Broadway debut, she keeps things lean and mean, while exploring a provocative parallel."
Labeling the work an "entertaining play,"
New York Post's
Clive Barnes offers a two-and-a-half star review: "The play's conceits -- that any dealer would be trusted to vouch for a stamp's authenticity just from looking at it, and that any collector, however rich, however nutty, would accept such judgment without any details of provenance -- is ridiculous. So it all depends on the writing -- and Rebeck is nifty in catching the criss and cross of convincing dialogue -- the staging, and even more on the acting. Doug Hughes' direction, little helped by John Lee Beatty's bland settings, is as expert as ever, applying a certain needed crisis control to a play often threatening to spiral into bombast."
Deeming it a "deftly formulaic play,"
The New York Times'
Ben Brantley is rather tepid: "[T]he production mostly has the ersatz air of an expertly drawn blueprint on tracing paper. Directed by Doug Hughes,
Mauritius is neatly structured, fleetly paced, handsomely mounted and engagingly acted....Ms. Rebeck knows that teasing ambiguity is the key to holding an audience’s interest in a play like
Mauritius....But Ms. Rebeck never really makes good on the promises of her atmospheric dialogue, with its talk of the nature of obsession and how it is the errors that make people, like stamps, of interest."
Allowing that the show is an "intermittently diverting mash-up of con game and domestic drama,"
Eric Grode of
The New York Sun laments: "The labyrinthine plot hinges on the musty world of rare postage stamps, where mistakes (upside-down airplanes and the like) do indeed boost the value, and the inference is that Ms. Rebeck's quintet of schemers similarly benefit from their imperfections. But Ms. Rebeck, a prolific playwright making her Broadway debut, hammers this metaphor with a doggedness that draws unwelcome attention to her own plotting gaffes and ungainly speeches. In the process, she and director Doug Hughes squander a strong cast and allow the play's twists and turns to spin a promising narrative into a series of credulity-straining confrontations."
Calling
Mauritius "slick, unconvincing,"
Michael Kuchwara of the Associated Press finds at least one point of praise: "Nobody can do menace quite like
F. Murray Abraham, a man born to inhabit sinister. The actor expertly demonstrates how in
Mauritius....Abraham isn't even the main character, but his formidable presence dominates the evening's convoluted action....Rebeck's style is more diffuse (than her other works), diluted by the uncertainty of the play itself. Its unwieldy plot veers from a David Mamet-like caper (complete with a flurry of four-letter words) involving a rare stamp collection to a soggy tale of two quarreling siblings to the intriguing interaction between two of the play's more off-kilter characters. And director Doug Hughes has a hard time corralling all three parts into a credible whole."
I'll be offering my own SOB Review over the next few days. Tickets are on sale for this limited run through November 25.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Theresa Rebeck Collects First Broadway Opening Night With Mauritius (October 4, 2007)
From Manhattan To Mauritius (June 28, 2007)
Well, Well, Well, If It Isn't Boston... (June 9, 2006)
Labels: Alison Pill, Broadway, Critics' Capsule, Doug Hughes, F. Murray Abraham, Katie Finneran, Manhattan Theatre Club, Mauritius, Play, Theresa Rebeck
Theresa Rebeck Collects First Broadway Opening Night With MauritiusThis evening marks American playwright
Theresa Rebeck's Broadway debut with
Mauritius, a play about half sisters and their deceased mother's stamp collection. Opening at the
Biltmore Theatre,
Mauritius is the
Manhattan Theatre Club's first Broadway production this theatrical season.
Helmed by
Doug Hughes (
Doubt, Inherit The Wind),
Mauritius' impressive cast includes
Dylan Baker,
Bobby Cannavale,
Katie Finneran (whom I last saw in her well-deserved Tony-winning romp in
Noises Off in 2001),
Alison Pill, and a return to the Great White Way by Academy Award-winning actor
F. Murray Abraham, who's been absent from Broadway since 1997's
Triumph Of Love. (I haven't seen him since he appeared as Roy Cohn in
Angels In America: Millennium Approaches back in the mid-90s)
Will all these credentials add up to a collection the critics believe is worth seeing? Find out tomorrow as I provide a critics' capsule.
Tickets for this limited run show are on sale through November 25.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.
Related Stories:
From Manhattan To Mauritius (June 28, 2007)
Well, Well, Well, If It Isn't Boston... (June 9, 2006)
Labels: Alison Pill, Broadway, Doug Hughes, F. Murray Abraham, Katie Finneran, Manhattan Theatre Club, Mauritius, Noises Off, Opening Night, Play, Theresa Rebeck
Before The Holidays Strike?As
previously noted, a potential strike on Broadway looms as
Local One of the stagehands union (or International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees) is renegotiating its contract -- that expired in July -- with the
League of American Theatres and Producers.
Despite the relatively collegial nature of the actual discussions
described as "businesslike and civil," there's an underlying threat that is likely causing incredible tension: the League has indicated that if they don't reach an agreement by the end of September, they will force a lockout in early October. What does that mean for theatre fans?
It could force
most of the Great White Way to go dark as early as October -- a time period when Broadway business is traditionally slower. That way, the League controls the timing as opposed to Local One, which could opt to strike during the very busy Holiday season that begins in earnest immediately prior to Thanksgiving.
Why most? Since
Roundabout Theatre Company,
Manhattan Theatre Company (MTC) and
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts are all not-for-profit organizations, their stagehands operate under different contracts.
Considering that the first two have the next three shows to open on Broadway --
Mauritius (October 4 at MTC's
Biltmore Theatre),
The Ritz (October 11 at Roundabout's
Studio 54) and
Pygmalion (October 18 at the Roundabout-leased
American Airlines Theatre) -- if you're looking for safe bets when buying theatre tickets, these would be the shows to see. Whether or not they're any good has yet to be determined.
Update (9/28/2007): The New York Times reports that Young Frankenstein, which will operate in a non-union theatre, and Mary Poppins will not be affected by any lockout or strike.As a loyal patron on Broadway and theatre in general, I don't have a dog in this fight. But since I'm holding tickets for several shows over the next few months, I'm hoping beyond hope that it doesn't come down to a lockout, which I'm fundamentally against.
Given the fact that the IATSE already has a contingency plan geared toward finding its members union work in television or film during any work stoppage, the only real loser in this fight will be the audience.
The audience is hardly an insignificant group, yet their interests aren't being represented by either side in this battle. The audience is not only paying higher ticket prices at the box office, but in many cases, especially around the Holidays, a substantial number are also incurring non-refundable airfares and exorbitant hotel rates (one of my regular readers told me that's she's paying over $500 per night just for a room in November).
And for what? The chance that they might come to the Big Apple only to learn that their show isn't even playing?!
Let's hope the two sides don't reach an impasse. If they do, they risk turning off the loyal theatregoing public that both sides need.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:Thanks, Mel! (July 6, 2007)
Labels: Holiday, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, League of American Theatres and Producers, Local One, Mauritius, Pygmalion, Strike, The Ritz, Ticket Prices
From Manhattan To MauritiusThe melting pot known as
Mauritius has long been the vacation destination of choice for the well-heeled in Africa and southwest Asia, thanks in part to the gorgeous scenery and pristine beaches the island nation offers.
Now,
Theresa Rebeck's version of
Mauritius will come to life for the first time on the New York stage, thanks to the
Manhattan Theatre Club's fall production scheduled to open at the
Biltmore Theatre on October 4.
With
Doug Hughes at the helm, the "sinister comedy" will feature a phenomenal cast, including the effervescent Tony-winning actress
Katie Finneran (
Noises Off) -- who's finally returning to the Great White Way after a five year absence -- and the hot, young Tony-nominated actress
Alison Pill (
The Lieutenant Of Inishmore) as half-sisters grappling with their mother's death and bequest. Rounding out the cast will be
F. Murray Abraham (in his first return to Broadway since 1997's
Triumph Of Love),
Dylan Baker and
Bobby Cannavale.
The casting alone certainly might make this
Mauritius worth the trip.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Alison Pill, Broadway, F. Murray Abraham, First Word On New Show, Katie Finneran, Mauritius, Play, Theresa Rebeck
