Steve On Broadway (SOB)

SOB's Best Of 2007-08: Best Revivals Of Plays

SOB's Best Of 2007-08: Best Revivals Of Plays

Over the past year, I've had an opportunity to see 22 revivals of plays throughout the United States. Many tested the limits of my imagination, while others simply tested my nerves, but overall, there were many fine productions to be seen.

Here's my personal "5 Best" list of the revivals I'm thankful I had a chance to see:

5 - Boeing-Boeing (Longacre Theatre, New York, NY)

Looking for the funniest, laugh-out-loud comedy now on the Great White Runway? Look no further than the current Broadway revival of Boeing-Boeing. It's a mostly fantastic, high-flying farce. As absurd as the storyline is, Matthew Warchus portentously propels this first class flight to a new altitude with a turbocharged cruising speed that left me breathless from laughing. Much of the marvelous mirth comes from watching Mark Rylance, who proves even a great Shakespearean actor can be a worthy master of slapstick comedy. Nearly as wonderful is Christine Baranski's wickedly funny propensity for broad comic relief, whether it's with an exaggerated roll of her eyes or via her deadpan, droll response.

Boeing-Boeing is about the wildest ride on Broadway. Fasten your seatbelts!


4 - A Bronx Tale (Walter Kerr Theatre, New York, NY)

Chazz Palminteri's enthralling solo show A Bronx Tale arrived to well-deserved audience cheers from The Bronx and beyond when it was revived this season on Broadway. Palminteri vibrantly brought to life 18 different characters in an astonishing first-person account of his coming of age on some of New York City's toughest streets. A master storyteller, Palminteri succeeded in weaving a captivating ninety minute tale that built to a climax that can only be characterized as indisputably gripping theatre. I was in the palm of his hand.

Told from his heart, Palminteri's message was so powerful and breathtaking that it deserves to be heard far beyond The Bronx when the production begins its national tour this fall.


3 - The Trip To Bountiful (The Albert, Goodman Theatre, Chicago, IL)

A theatrical experience that plainly stated exactly what it was, right up front, in its title, Horton Foote's The Trip To Bountiful was just that and so much more in the wonderful revival playing Chicago's Goodman Theatre earlier this year. The playwright's brilliance was more than proficiently realized by director Harris Yulin through the incandescence of its performances. As the aptly named Carrie Watts, Lois Smith provided an astonishing luminescence, burning brighter as her yearning to return home to a place called Bountiful, one last time, became a transformative power. Never mind that she was trying to get there against the will of her control freak daughter-in-law Jessie Mae, magnificently and haughtily portrayed by the playwright's daughter Hallie Foote. Both actresses were nothing short of excellent.

With acting beyond bountiful, this was one show that was definitely worth making the trip to see.

2 - Pygmalion (American Airlines Theatre, Roundabout Theatre Company, New York, NY)

Sure, some audiences may have been expecting My Fair Lady only to be disappointed by the lack of a score. But David Grindley's splendid five act revival of George Bernard Shaw's classic Pygmalion was practically pitch perfect nonetheless, thanks in part to a flawlessly superb performance by Jefferson Mays as Professor Henry Higgins and an equally compelling Boyd Gaines as the genteel Colonel Pickering. With aplomb and grace, Claire Daines proved a revelation as Eliza Doolittle. I adored this show and its genuine blissful humanity that echoed in the music of its lyrical spoken word.

Pygmalion is one period piece that remains timeless, and thanks to the Roundabout Theatre Company, audiences had another opportunity to revel again in the story that launched the famous musical.


1 - Cymbeline (Vivian Beaumont Theatre, Lincoln Center, New York, NY)

Forget Macbeth. Broadway's far superior William Shakespeare revival of the year was Lincoln Center's underappreciated Cymbeline. Sending an unexpected, yet definable chill of delight shooting down my spine, I found myself utterly thrilled. Director Mark Lamos restored the work's long lost luster via his brilliant, sparkling vision, empowering his cast to maneuver through the Byzantine layers of plot unscathed, as well as to navigate through the cadences of Shakespeare's often difficult language with such natural precision, grace and gusto, that they never felt unnatural or forced. In fact, Shakespeare never sounded so crisp. She may have received a Tony nod for her amazing work in Top Girls for playing two very different roles, but in Cymbeline, the luminous Martha Plimpton moved every bit as skillfully from dazzled lover to forlorn royalty in hiding with unimpeachable ease that was equally moving.

Unquestionably, this was singularly the best production of one of the Bard's works I have ever seen.


So what were the best revivals of plays you saw over the past year? I invite you to join the conversation by sharing your own theatre experiences with me.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Related Stories:
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: A Bronx Tale, Boeing-Boeing, Chazz Palminteri, Cymbeline, Lois Smith, Martha Plimpton, Play, Pygmalion, Revival, SOB's Best of 2007-08, The Trip To Bountiful

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Tuesday, May 27, 2008 3 comments

The Trip To Bountiful (The SOB Review)

The Trip To Bountiful (The SOB Review) - The Albert, Goodman Theatre, Chicago IL

***1/2 (out of ****)

Finally, some truth in advertising.

That's right, a theatrical experience that plainly states exactly what it is, right up front, in its title.

Horton Foote's The Trip To Bountiful is just that and so much more in the current revival now playing at Chicago's Goodman Theatre. The playwright's brilliance is more than proficiently realized by director Harris Yulin through the incandescence of its performances.

Ironically, the play cleverly ensues with John McKernon's dimly lit stage, the only hint coming from a lonely window where an aging Texan is quietly rocking in her chair. The light glows around Carrie Watts, aptly named thanks to the astonishing luminescence of Lois Smith, and burns brighter as her yearning to return home to a place called Bountiful, one last time, becomes a transformative power.

Never mind that she's tried to get back there before. For 20 years, she's been cooped up in the same Houston flat with her passive dullard of a son Ludie (Devon Abner) and his control freak wife Jessie Mae (Hallie Foote, the playwright's daughter), who feigns being inconvenienced by anything that takes the spotlight off her. From time to time, Carrie tries her best to sneak off, but fails to get very far.

But that little light that's shining brightly within her very soul can't easily be extinguished. And when it burns hot enough, with each multiple henpeck and scolding from Jessie Mae, Carrie is set into motion yet again. This time, however, she gains just enough traction with an assist from the kindness of a stranger named Thelma (Meghan Andrews), a fellow bus passenger who shares the ride with Carrie to a town near Bountiful.

That she gets so close is only half the story, but that she must also endure life alongside Ludie and Jessie Mae is most certainly the other in a classic example of children treating a parent as the child.

Abner's Ludie is so submissive, so fearful in his relationship with his wife that you just want to shake him, admonishing him to be a man. Jessie Mae, on the other hand, is so vainly narcissistic that she disparages Carrie, taking all her marital hostility out on the poor beleaguered mother-in-law. The acting was so convincing that just as I wanted to tell Ludie to snap out of it, I wanted to reach out and wring Jessie Mae's neck.

Allow me to pause here to salute Foote's magnificently haughty portrayal, serving as the perfect foil to Smith's impeccably drawn Carrie. Both actresses are nothing short of excellent.

After missing the Signature Theatre Company's celebrated revival of Foote's gentle, yet powerful work about the indignities of aging, I couldn't stop kicking myself. Not only did the play receive accolade after accolade when it played Off-Broadway, but it also reaped award after award.

How absolutely fortunate for all of us who missed Signature's run that Chicago's Goodman Theatre chose to honor the works of the great nonagenarian with a festival. And that great fortune extends to transferring Harris Yulin and most of the exceptional Signature cast, as well as design team (including E. David Cosier's marvelous sets), to Chicago.

This is one show that's definitely worth making the trip. I'm glad I finally did.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Click here for tickets.

Labels: Chicago, Devon Abner, Goodman Theatre, Hallie Foote, Harris Yulin, Lois Smith, Off-Broadway, The Trip To Bountiful, Transfer

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Saturday, March 22, 2008 5 comments

Were Tony's Greatest Would-Be Contenders Off-Broadway?

Were Tony's Greatest Would-Be Contenders Off-Broadway?

In a thoughtful, yet provocative story in this morning's The New York Times, Ben Brantley and Charles Isherwood opine that some of the best of New York's theatre during the 2005-06 season were found Off-Broadway -- firmly out of the technical grasp of the Tony Awards. Together, they cite such productions as Horton Foote's The Trip to Bountiful and the musical Grey Gardens (which will see a Broadway mounting during the next year) as prime examples of shows that would have merited multiple Tony nods if only the American Theatre Wing's rules allowed for theatres with smaller capacities to be included for consideration.

Brantley and Isherwood also sang the praises of such outstanding plays as Abigail's Party, All's Well That Ends Well, Defiance, In The Continuum, Landscape of the Body, Private Fears In Public Places, Red Light Winter, Stuff Happens, The Little Dog Laughed and Third; while taking note of the musical "[title of show]". Naturally, many of the shows simply don't transfer to the larger Broadway stage because of the almighty dollar and fears over lack of wider commercial success. Sadly, these productions often have some of the best talent, both on-stage and off.

Frankly, I agree with their assessment. This was a less than satisfying Broadway season. All but one of my 10 "SOB Best of 2005-06 Theatrical Season" selections were produced outside the confines of Broadway (Sweeney Todd was my only Broadway choice to make my top ten). Eight of my picks were outside of New York altogether.

Will the tide turn? It's not likely anytime soon, and that's why I usually try to balance my trips to Broadway with sidetrips Off-Broadways. Hopefully, if you love good theatre, so do you.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Click here for Tony Awards tickets.
Related Stories:
The Tonys: If I Could Vote....for Best Revival of a Play (June 5, 2006)
The Tonys: If I Could Vote....for Best Revival of a Musical (June 4, 2006)
The Tonys: If I Could Vote....for Best Play (June 3, 2006)
The Tonys: If I Could Vote...for Best Musical (May 31, 2006)
SOB's Best of 2005-06: #1 - Theater Of The New Ear (Royce Hall, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA) (May 30, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #2 – Guys And Dolls (Piccadilly Theatre, London, UK) (May 26, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #3 – Hedda Gabler (Brooklyn Academy of Music – Harvey Theatre, New York, NY) (May 25, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #4 – A Blameless Life (Steppenwolf Garage, Chicago, IL) (May 24, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #5 – Reeling (The Children’s Theatre Company, Minneapolis, MN) (May 23, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #6 – “MASTER HAROLD”…And The Boys (Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago, IL) (May 21, 2006)
SOB’s Best of 2005-06: #7 – Love Song (Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago, IL) (May 19, 2006)
SOB's Best of 2005-06: #8 - Billy Elliot The Musical (Victoria Palace Theatre, London, UK) (May 18, 2006)
SOB's Best of 2005-06: #9 - The Well-Appointed Room (Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago, IL) (May 17, 2006)
Tony Award Nominations Announced (May 16, 2006)
SOB's Best of 2005-06: #10 - Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Eugene O'Neill Theatre, New York, NY) (May 15, 2006)
The SOB Five "Worst" of 2005-06 (May 12, 2006)
SOB's Best and Worst of 2005-06 Theatre Season (May 12, 2006)

Labels: [title of show], Ben Brantley, Broadway, Charles Isherwood, Grey Gardens, Off-Broadway, Stuff Happens, Sweeney Todd, The Little Dog Laughed, The Trip To Bountiful, Tony Nominations

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Sunday, June 04, 2006 0 comments