Even though I've never aspired to become anything more than just your average audience member, I realize that by writing a theatre blog, as well as the sheer number of shows I see in any given year, I'm anything but average.
Average looking? Sure. Average thinking? Check.
But average theatregoer. Hardly.
Because of my fascination and passion for all things emanating from the stage, I've long since learned that not every play or musical you hear about comes to fruition. I've written about countless shows that have yet to see the light of day. It's enough to lose your faith, even when some seem to gestate for what seems like eternity.
On that latter point, when Steve On Broadway was still less than a month old, I wrote about one musical that had all the trappings of a potential blockbuster. I wrote in part:
Finally, this fall, Leap Of Faith will enjoy its world premiere engagement at Center Theatre Group's Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, beginning September 11 through October 24. However, those putting their trust in Hackford to direct Jackman in the role of fake faith healer Jonas Nightingale might find themselves disappointed to know that neither is attached to the current production.
That is, until they learn about how it has since been cast. Personally, I couldn't be more delighted, especially as one of Broadway's brightest male leads has assumed the role of Jonas: Raúl Esparza.
Before Esparza ever performed on Broadway, I was fortunate to witness his breathtaking portrayal of Che in a touring revival of Evita over ten years ago. His performance was so assured and charismatic that I was thrilled when he began appearing on the Great White Way. I've watched his remarkable ascent ever since as he's earned four Tony nominations, three Drama Desk Awards and a special place in our heart for enduring the Piven fish fiasco early last year.
Should Leap Of Faith prove a winner, perhaps Esparza will finally earn that long-deserved Tony that's eluded him so far.
Ahmanson Theatre describesLeap Of Faith as follows:
You’ll be dancing in the aisles when con man Jonas Nightingale brings his gospel-charged tent revival to rain-starved Kansas. Four-time Tony Award-nominee Raúl Esparza and Golden Globe Award-nominee Brooke Shields will star in this world premiere Broadway-bound new musical.
Based on the movie with Steve Martin, Leap Of Faith boasts a brand new score from 8-time Oscar winner Alan Menken ("The Little Mermaid," "Beauty And The Beast") and directed and choreographed by Tony Award-winner Rob Ashford, helmer of the recent Taper favorite, Parade.
When his traveling ministry breaks down in a small Kansas town, part-time reverend and full-time con artist (Esparza) quickly pitches a tent and invites the locals to a revival. The sheriff is determined to stop Jonas from separating the townspeople from their money, but Jonas’ real challenge arises when he meets a pretty waitress (Shields) and her son, whose love forces an ultimate cynic to take a real leap of faith.
Here is the Leap Of Faith promo trailer:
For me, the most exciting part of the Ahmanson's description was to read that Leap Of Faith is "Broadway-bound." Whether or not it will find a Broadway berth yet this year is another matter. But with Come Fly Awayflying the coop in September, perhaps the Marquis just might make the perfect home in time for the holidays?
Perhaps all we just need is a little faith.
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: #22 - Twelfth Night (2009, Delacorte Theatre, Central Park, 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.
Was it any wonder that rain or shine, this was a formidable mounting with which to be reckoned and revered? Add to that mix film actress Anne Hathaway’s mesmerizing turn as Viola, and those lucky enough to get tickets witnessed a wondrous new theatre queen being born. I walked out of Central Park both enthralled and enchanted.
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 this performance.
It may not have been the playwright who coined that enduring mantra of the stage, “The show must go on.” But just try telling that to the extraordinary ensemble in the current Public Theatre Shakespeare in the Park production of Twelfth Night. The night I saw the show, they demonstrated a level of magnificent moxie even the Bard would surely have appreciated.
Early this decade, I experienced what many William Shakespeare purists believe was the quintessential modern-day mounting of Twelfth Night. In it, one of the great playwright’s most beloved works known for its gender-bending ways was gender-bending itself with recent Tony winner Mark Rylance and fellow (literally) Royal Shakespearean actors portraying all the characters, male and female alike. Purists would say that this was not unlike how the play about mistaken identity and love would have been mounted long before women were ever allowed to take to legitimate stages.
So while I fully expect that some may sniff that Daniel Sullivan’s truly lovely and gorgeous revival breaks virtually no new dramatic turf, I say, who really cares? With its bawdy charms, call this Twelfth Night an impure delight filled with unmitigated thrills.
When you’re blessed to have some of the most revered theatrical royalty of our times on full display, including Raúl Esparza as Orsino, Audra MacDonald as Olivia, Julie White as her attendant, Michael Cumpsty as Malvolio and contemporary theatre’s greatest scene-stealer David Pittu as Feste, is it any wonder that rain or shine, this is a formidable revival with which to be reckoned and revered?
Add to that mix film actress Anne Hathaway’s wondrously mesmerizing turn as Viola, and you’re witnessing a new theatre queen being born. Hathaway doesn’t just acquit herself superbly, she more than proves her Shakespeare mettle with natural grace, and like Esparza and Pittu, she sings divinely as well. Someone needs to figure out how to bring her to a Broadway stage where she belongs.
During my particularly wet performance, I was struck by how unfazed Sullivan’s excellent ensemble seemed to be by the downpour. Indeed, immediately after the first scene of the second act, a rain hold was called. While the showers continued even after the hold was lifted one half hour later, the cast brought home such determined joy, that it was hard not to feel a symbiotic affinity with them for having braved the storm together with you.
Whether skies are clear or cloudy, don’t be deterred from seeing this Twelfth Night. Either way, you’re not likely to come away anything but enthralled and enchanted.
Roaring that "this new Speed-The-Plow is a must-see," in his four-star review, New York Post's Clive Barnes is rhapsodic: "[T]he beautifully played revival that opened last night establishes the play as a modern classic.... [I]t's Neil Pepe's smooth-as-silk direction and the play itself that hold the stage.... Piven ... finds the burnt-out hollows beneath an overpromoted hack executive, while the always amazing Esparza is the pushy underdog, all rapid-fire action and virtuosic language. Finally, there's the elegant Moss ... slithering through the play's undergrowth like a grass snake."
Proclaiming Mamet's observations "as fresh as last night's rushes," Variety's David Rooney mostly praises: "Speed-The-Plow remains on-target in its sardonic skewering of an industry run by self-confessed whores and driven by the public's appetite for mindless escapism. Despite a weak midsection, Neil Pepe's taut Broadway revival keeps the verbal sniper fire swift and scathing, while the three accomplished actors make the air between them crackle with tension.... Piven's tightly wound physicality and easy command of rapid-fire, hectoring dialogue make him a natural fit for Mamet.... The play is not top-tier Mamet.... But the comedy is pithy, smart and performed with prickly energy."
Asking rhertorically if "cynicism (is) supposed to be this energizing?" The New York Times' Ben Brantley seems euphoric from the ride: "What makes Speed-The-Plow so exciting is its power to define and destroy an entire self-contained world through the tools and weapons of spoken words, expertly wielded by a very live cast... Both satirical and sentimental about who and what they are, they turn conversation into a ritualistic art. Under Mr. Pepe’s juggernaut direction, Mr. Piven and Mr. Esparza invest that art with the souped-up, self-inflating rhythms of cokeheads... Mr. Piven has the pivotal role, and he executes it with uncanny grace and intelligence... Mr. Esparza finds many shades and textures -- of pride, humiliation, anger and resentment -- within that primal instinct."
Offering a "Harrumph for Hollywood," Joe Dziemianowicz of New York's Daily News gives the production three out of five stars: "[I]f this compact, 85-minute comedy isn't Mamet at his deepest, Neil Pepe's fine-tuned revival makes for an entertaining ride.... As Mamet thumbs his nose at Hollywood, he manages to make a case for each side of the debate in his witty script, even if passages from the book sound like the makings of a laughably dreary film.... Esparza ... a Broadway star who slips effortlessly between musicals and plays, gives a supercharged performance.... Piven is an excellent foil."
Noting that "the decent impulse is not rewarded here," Newsday's Linda Winer offers a mixed review: "Despite a cast that looks wonderful on paper, director Neil Pepe's production is small, tight and more angry than fabulously, shamelessly, joyously rude. Piven, perhaps trying not to duplicate his sleaze-triumphant agent, Ari Gold, from 'Entourage, plays Bobby Gould -- new production head of a studio -- with a soft underbelly that works against the surprise of his potential conversion to art movies.... Esparza delivers Mamet's motormouth, poetic scatology with a scowling intensity that overshadows the joy of Mamet's third-generation Jewish punch lines."
The limited run of Speed-The-Plow is currently slated to run through February 22, 2009.
Directed by Neil Pepe, the production stars Jeremy Piven as Bobby Gould opposite Raúl Esparza as Charlie Fox, with Elisabeth Moss taking on the role of Karen. This marks the Broadway debuts for both Piven and Moss.
The revival comes 20 years after the original mounting, with included Joe Mantegna, Ron Silver and Madonna in the aforementioned roles. Silver took home a Tony for his portrayal of Charlie Fox.
Will there be awards in this revival's future? Will critics by rushing to provide accolades? I'll answer the latter question tomorrow in my critics' capsule.
The limited run is currently scheduled through February 22, 2009.
This was the very production that earned last year's Tony for Best Revival of a Musical shortly before closing. I have to say that I enjoyed reliving the experience I had last year -- additionally, I was a bit surprised in re-reading my three-star SOB Review from almost exactly one year ago to see that I still completely agree with my initial assessment.
Watching the televised performance was an opportunity to see the show from all angles, including the back of the stage. While Doyle's production is good, it isn't quite great. It's rather uneven, and that's exemplified in the disparity between the unqualified thrill offered by Raúl Esparza's smoldering Bobby and the overly flat performance by Barbara Walsh as Joanne.
One plucky delight whom I had not previously mentioned is Angel Desai as Marta. Seeing her shine once again has me hoping this spitfire will be treading Broadway's boards sometime soon.
If you caught the performance on television, please let me know what you thought.
The Homecoming (The SOB Review) - Cort Theatre, New York, NY
**1/2 (out of ****)
Oh, the inhumanity.
That it has taken me nearly two weeks to write this review should tell you something.
As I noted at the top of last week, as I walked away from Broadway's Cort Theatre after seeing Harold Pinter's "classic" The Homecoming for my very first time a week ago Sunday, I felt absolutely dazed leaving the theatre.
I mean, here I had just seen a revival that The New York Times' Ben Brantley had raved about ("It really is that good."). Yet I left with this unsettled, agitated pit in the bottom of my stomach, as if a sucker punch had just landed in my lower abdominals. It has refused to relinquish its position, instead metastasizing into my subconscious, consuming it.
Is that the work of great theatre? Perhaps.
But as Pinter is rightly celebrated for his exceptional use of ambiguity, punctuated by his adroit use of pauses, his inherent nihilism says plenty about his jaundiced ennui with the world. There's a discernable contempt for humankind, as if given the opportunity, we'd all succumb to the most debauched instincts.
While some like Brantley see a mirror being held up to what he perceives as our own lurid, debased vanity ("It insists that some shadowy part of you is part of it....Mr. Pinter, you see, knows where you live."), my vantage point is not quite so devoid of hope, and frankly, I resent being told I'm something I'm not. I'm infinitely more optimistic about human instincts and good triumphing over evil. Call it my "rose-colored myopia," but if I really believed that my fellow men (and women) were so intrisically bad, I think I'd slit my wrists.
That this revival cut me to the quick anyway with its dim view of the world has left me unable to think about anything else. That this revival is exceptionally directed (Daniel Sullivan) and acted with each nuanced pause, gesture and glare conveying volumes more than the spoken word only adds to my lingering consternation.
The title The Homecoming refers to the return home to England for Teddy (James Frain), a philosophy professor, and his wife Ruth (Eve Best). Teddy's been teaching in the United States for years, leaving behind his miserable butcher of a father Max (Ian McShane), his good-hearted chauffeur of an Uncle Sam (Michael McKean) and his two brothers -- the viper pimp Lenny (Raúl Esparza) and the dim pugilist Joey (Gareth Saxe).
It's clear that this is a toxic household before the first word is uttered. As Eugene Lee's decrepit set design underscores, care -- let alone love -- has long since left the building. Max, Sam, Lenny and Joey don't enjoy so much a peaceful existence alongside one another as they parry one derisive invective after another, each malevolently hurled with precision.
Why Teddy would even bother to return, even after a protracted period, is one of many mysteries. He seems to have built a solid, good life for himself and Ruth, along with their three children. They're safe from the vile turpitude that's to be found once they walk inside the front door of Teddy's family home. And yet they come home anyway.
Immediately, an uneasy look sweeps across Ruth's face. It's almost as if she knows this house and knows what to expect and knows what she'll ultimately confront. We really know nothing about her past, but there are hints, especially during her first encounter with Lenny, that this supposedly respectable woman may discern the home's seedy undertow from previous personal experience.
Once she's been introduced to the entire clan, the brinksmanship among the players intensifies with Teddy ready for an early retreat. With bags packed, Teddy summons Ruth to depart, but Lenny seduces her, first asking for a little dance and then getting much more.
From that point on, I felt as though I were caught up in a miasma of mysogyny mixed with Ruth's vexing hubris. As unequivocally vile as this was, it was like car accident -- impossible to look away. For that, I credit Eve Best for a remarkably subtle, layered performance. She says more with her eyes -- and legs, for that matter -- than many actors are capable of conveying with words. Pitted against Esparza's slithery snake of a pimp, who creeped me out plain and simple, Best scores bigtime.
But in a play where evil triumphs over evil, and where the only good falls down and dies without any regard, all I have been able to think about is how the human condition has come to this. What people do any of us know who would really do this to each other? What's more, this is entertainment?
SOB's 7 Singular Sensations Of '07 - #5: Raúl Esparza
Introduction: While others use the end of the year to provide their lists of the top shows of the past year, here at Steve On Broadway (SOB), I wait until the conclusion of the entire Theatrical Season to provide my official tally.
Instead, I'm once again devoting the waning days of the calendar year to celebrate SOB's Singular Sensations -- those magical live performances that have stayed with me throughout the year. During 2007, I have enjoyed, been wowed and ultimately inspired by a dazzling display of excellent performances from some of the theatre world's best actors, singers and dancers of our time.
With all due and considerable respect to the talented David Hyde Pierce (recognized with an "Honorable Mention" among my SOB Singular Sensations of 2006), Raúl Esparza’s breathtaking performance of “Being Alive” alone should have been enough for him to win the Tony for making Company's audiences hyperventilate.
I was struck by the inventive and symbolic ways (director John Doyle) isolates Bobby, played by a breathtakingly real Raúl Esparza, who sings angelically.
In my "Best of 2007" round-up of the Best Musical Revivals, in which his talents helped the show capture the fourth spot, I said:
In Company, Esparza soars to spine-tingling new musical heights. In the climax when finally taking a seat at the piano, his Bobby is ready to join the human race in a way he's never before experienced. Ultimately, Esparza's finely calibrated performance melted his way into my heart. I can't think of any actor I've seen on the Broadway stage this past year who is more deserving of a Tony Award than he -- this is one performance no serious musical theatre lover can afford to miss.
The first time I ever caught Esparza was in 1999. He was absolutely magnificent portraying Che in a wonderful touring revival of Evita. And while I have not yet had the opportunity to see the revival of The Homecomingthat feaures Esparza's dramatic debut, I take heart from Ben Brantley's review that his truly is a "benchmark performance."
Perhaps Raúl Esparza will be a repeat in next year's round-up. In the meantime, here's toasting this superb singing singular sensation.
Daniel Sullivan helms the 40th anniversary incarnation, which stars Raúl Esparza, Michael McKean, Ian McShane, Eve Best, James Frain and Gareth Saxe. Critics largely praised the production, reserving some of their most favorable accolades for Best; however, they were across the board on Esparza's first non-musical Rialto performance.
Commencing his review simply by stating "First of all, it really is that good," The New York Times' Ben Brantley positively raves: "[T]he first-rate revival that opened Sunday night at the Cort Theater makes electrifyingly clear, The Homecoming is every bit as big as its reputation....It insists that some shadowy part of you is part of it. It burrows under you skin and festers....And the fine cast assembled for Daniel Sullivan's new production -- including Eve Best and Raúl Esparza in benchmark performances -- grasps the power of holding back in making a fathoms-deep impression."
Proclaiming this a "diamond-edged revival," David Rooney of Variety similarly marvels: "The director's lucid, unblinking work is matched by a riveting ensemble, their vileness inching under the skin in ways as psychologically disturbing as they are theatrically bracing....[E]ven while withholding a full understanding of what drives the characters' actions, the play confronts its audience with the uncomfortable truth that there's a little of their base, animalistic cunning in all of us."
Labeling the revival an "admirable production," Michael Kuchwara of the Associated Press says the show "...reconfirms its status as a contemporary classic....Eve Best was a sensational Josie Hogan last season in a revival of Eugene O'Neill's A Moon for the Misbegotten. As Ruth, she's a different kind of earth mother, more erotically charged, yet distant and forbidding. In this battle of the sexes, she definitely has the upper hand. And gets to display a great pair of legs. James Frain turns in a fine, deceptively understated performance as her acquiescent husband, and Gareth Saxe personifies dumb brute strength as the would-be prize fighter."
Deeming this a "lucid production," Joe Dziemianowicz of New York's Daily News also offers his welcome to this Homecoming: "There's plenty to chew on about power, sex, morality, misogyny and family, which Pinter, a 2005 Nobel Prize winner, serves up with signature intelligence, mystery and ambiguity. Daniel Sullivan's astute direction captures the distinct rhythms of Pinter's dialogue, as the production casts a strange spell that grips you tight. McKean gives Sam poignancy, while Frain's reserve feels right for the intellectual Teddy. The robust Saxe is well cast as the tongue-tied Joey, an amateur boxer who, unlike his dad, never mastered 'how to defend and to attack.' Best follows her Broadway debut in A Moon for the Misbegotten with more fine work. In a beat, Ruth's cool detachment turns icy; you sense she is always acutely aware of the physical power she possesses."
Concluding that you "follow (Pinter) at your own risk," John Simon of Bloomberg neatly summarizes his thoughts in the first paragraph of his review: "The Homecoming has been lovingly revived on Broadway with good direction, a fine cast and convincing production design. Though every prospect pleases, only the play is vile. It is widely considered the Nobel laureate's masterpiece; rather than as a drawback, its making no sense is perceived as a challenge."
Calling it a "fascinating and entertaining piece," New York Post'sClive Barnes uses his three-star review to lament: "[T]he play, 40 years on, has not worn as well as I would have expected. Once Pinter was generally regarded as a possible successor to Samuel Beckett in nihilistic existentialism. Now he seems a markedly lesser talent. Yet it's difficult to imagine an all-over better cast or a more persuasive reading; led by McShane's ugly and embittered patriarch, Esparza's smoothly confident Lenny, Frain's shiftily ambivalent Teddy and the wonderful Best, whose smugly conspiratorial smile, caps the play's ending."
Eric Grode of the New York Sun also offers a primarily solid endorsement: "This shabby all-male North London home may reek of sweat and cigar smoke, but Mr. Sullivan's forceful mounting, led by Ian McShane and Eve Best as the two primary combatants, breathes vivifying air into several of the play's mustier corners.Somewhat surprisingly, Mr. Sullivan's reputation as an exacting but empathic actors' director...is burnished, not offset, by Mr. Pinter's deterministic worldview....Ms. Best's mastery of Ruth's icy allure is as complete as her command of romantic anxiety and impulsiveness was in last season's A Moon for the Misbegotten....In contrast to Mr. McShane's two-packs-a-day croak, Mr. Esparza employs a wheedling, almost adolescent speaking voice — very similar to one he used to campy effect in Taboo. In fact, he grabs quick laughs on several occasions, severely limiting the potency of his later scenes."
Chalk up yet another solid December opening. This limited run is slated to perform through April 13, 2008.
Forty years after The Homecoming won four major Tony Awards, including for Best Play of 1967, Harold Pinter's acclaimed play about lust, seduction and deception is set for yet another opening night on the Great White Way.
This is the second Broadway revival -- the first only played a total of 49 performances back in 1991. The limited run is slated to perform through April 13, 2008 at the Cort Theatre.
It's been sixteen years since Harold Pinter's The Homecoming was last staged on the Great White Way. That 1991 production lasted a mere 49 performances. But now, with plenty of star power to propel it forward, a second rival is headed for Broadway.
Not letting any moss grow under his feet, Raúl Esparza -- whom many were shocked did not win the 2007 Tony for Best Actor in a Musical for his brilliant work in Company -- will join Ian McShane and Michael McKean in Daniel Sullivan's production.
While this will be McShane's first Rialto outing in 40 years (he last appeared in The Promisewith a young Ian McKellen and Eileen Atkins), it also marks Esparza's first non-musical role on Broadway. If he can bring even a fraction of the intensity he brought to his role as Bobby, this show may become unmissable.
When The Homecoming made its Broadway debut back in 1967, it earned four Tony Awards, including for Best Play. The show ran for a remarkable 324 performances at the Music Box Theatre.
Will all the high wattage from the second revival turn it into a similar success? I'm mulling over the possibilities.
The Homecoming will open on December 4 at the Cort Theatre.
Well, I finally saw your production, which, by the way, has some of my favorite Sondheim tunes, and I can tell you I was mesmerized. Your show deserves a much larger audience than it's currently attracting.
Bobby, of course, is Company's pivotal player -- literally and figuratively -- in a series of vignettes with the people in his life. Some of the chapters focus on his inability to commit to any one of his trio of girlfriends. Others center on Bobby's coupled friends, each of whom is either married, about to be married or soon to be divorced. While everyone expresses their desire for Bobby to settle down, George Furth's book explores how true emotions for Bobby actually range from envy by the men to personal lust from the women.
I was struck by the inventive and symbolic ways you isolate Bobby, played by a breathtakingly realRaúl Esparza, who sings angelically. Even the elegant simplicity of David Gallo's set design with its ingenious ice cube boxes underscores the cold reality of Bobby's isolation. Nowhere is the irony of that isolation emphasized better than in the "Side By Side By Side" number where you strike up your merry band of actor/musicians as they sing "What Would We Do Without You?" even though the beautiful music about Bobby specifically excludes him.
While many of your actors are accomplished musicians first, as evidenced via Mary Mitchell Campbell's plucky orchestrations, they create an astonishingly cohesive ensemble. Unfortunately, the one sour note comes from an unlikely source: Barbara Walsh, who in her failed effort to channel Elaine Stritch's landmark performance as Joanne, ends up just sounding flat. We know she's capable of more, but in this case, less is simply less.
Fortunately, before she can bring down the entire production, Esparza's Bobby comes to a cathartic realization empowering him to soar to spine-tingling new musical heights. While finally taking a seat at the piano, he's ready to join the human race in a way he's never before experienced. Ultimately, Esparza's finely calibrated performance helps melt his way into my heart.
What has lingered in the aftermath of seeing Company is the gnawing question of whether we can ever really measure up in the relationship department. But even more importantly, how can we possibly know if we don't ever allow ourselves the chance to be loved in the first place.
So thank you, John Doyle. And here's to you, your Company and the ladies who lunch -- I just hope that they at least take in a matinee of your show.
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!
You've Got To Have Faith
