Final FourJust as America’s annual national obsession with college basketball is about to conclude, so will four performances on Broadway this evening.
The Great White Way will bid adieu to two plays, one musical and one singular, breathtaking performance in a musical. They include:
The critically-acclaimed
Manhattan Theatre Club revival of
Brian Friel’s
Translations, which after 53 regular performances sadly leaves on a bitter note with the abrupt firing of actor
Michael Fitzgerald for rough handling of a castmate.
Jeremy Bobb replaced him for the final performances.
David Hare’s
The Vertical Hour, with
Bill Nighy and
Julianne Moore. Critics were mixed on this play, although all sang Nighy’s praises. Moore’s starpower wasn’t enough to keep the production from closing two weeks earlier than planned. Still, with 117 regular performances, the production achieved that rarest of feats for Broadway plays: it leaves having already turned a profit.
The Roundabout Theatre Company’s revival of
The Apple Tree with
Kristin Chenoweth,
Brian d’Arcy James and until recently,
Marc Kudisch, who jumped ship for
The Pirates Of Penzance. Although the cast received decent to rapturous notices, few critics (including yours truly) were excited about this dated concept musical. The limited run enjoyed 99 regular performances.
Bob Martin (pictured), a/k/a Man In Chair, in the ongoing, Tony-winning Broadway production of
The Drowsy Chaperone. Martin, of course, is one of the genii behind this vastly entertaining musical from before its inception as a 1999 Toronto Fringe Festival favorite. But fortunately for West End audiences, Martin will be returning to the comfort of an English version of his favorite settee later this year. Still, it will be hard to imagine anyone else on the Great White Way as this one-of-a-kind character, who inserts himself into the action of a 1920s-style tuner.
Each of these departures is deserving of a fond farewell, and expect to see some well-deserved Tony nominations announced for performances in the outgoing productions. And perhaps there’s a future Olivier in the cards for Martin, who rightly received a Tony nod last year.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for The Drowsy Chaperone tickets.Labels: Bob Martin, Broadway, Closings, Kristin Chenoweth, Musical, Play, Revival, The Apple Tree, The Drowsy Chaperone, The Vertical Hour, Translations
Final Hours Drawing Nighy
Although it was already billed as a "strictly twenty week engagement,"
The Vertical Hour will now close three weeks earlier than originally planned. Closing notices were posted yesterday for March 11.
Of course, the bitter winter temperatures have not helped the show's office -- last week,
David Hare's play was fifth from the bottom in terms of overall capacity attracting just 54.7% of its potential audience.
But the root cause might very well have been the show's somewhat tepid reviews, particularly for
Julianne Moore. Despite her star power and that of
Billy Nighy (who received favorable reviews), its weekly take of just $292,010 must not seem enough and certainly doesn't bode well for advance ticket sales.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
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Labels: Box Office, Broadway, Closing Notices, Play, The Vertical Hour
Did Critics Enjoy New Horizons Offered By Vertical Hour?Last evening,
The Vertical Hour became the first
David Hare play to ever premiere on Broadway. But his work was not the only Great White Way debut --
Julianne Moore and
Bill Nighy also trod the boards there for the first time, so obviously most of the critical focus is on their performances. The reviews themselves are mixed.
Proclaiming this "one of the best plays Broadway has seen in years,"
New York Post's
Clive Barnes provides a three and a half star review: "Hare is at his most subtle in annotating the fever chart of mundane sexual tension, especially one tensed up by a generational gap -- and the sparks flashing here between the quietly conniving Nighy and the oddly aroused Moore are something to be observed....Nighy steals everything on the stage that hasn't actually been nailed down by the script....He is, of course, wonderful."
Praising the play as "thoughtful, often exhilarating and beautifully staged,"
Joe Dziemianowicz of New York's
Daily News "Moore gets off to a tentative start, but goes on to give a richly layered, heartfelt and feisty performance. On stage, as in films, she excels at turning herself inside out to expose the rawness within. Helping her achieve all this is a fantastic cast. English actor Nighy...is fascinating from start to finish. He plays the cynical and caustic Oliver with so many body-language quirks, so much intelligence and sly humor that it's almost impossible to tear your gaze from him. But it is (
Andrew) Scott, an Irish import, as Philip, who is the find here."
Stating that
The Vertical Hour is "probably a few drafts away from being a satisfying work,"
David Rooney of
Variety says that the show is "never dull but ultimately feels as messy and unresolved...Then there's the belated Broadway debut of Julianne Moore. But that underwhelming element turns out to be among the frustrating production's chief disappointments."
Agreeing with that assessment in her two and a half star review is
USA Today's
Elysa Gardner: "The problem with this production, directed with a light, sure hand by
Sam Mendes, is that the actors cast as Nadia and Oliver are not equals. Julianne Moore, the luminous leading lady...isn't a stranger to the stage. But in this Broadway debut, she can seem strained and self-conscious. In contrast, Bill Nighy's Oliver is thoroughly convincing and deliciously idiosyncratic."
Calling much of Hare's script "a musty throwback,"
The New York Times'
Ben Brantley also takes aim at the acting pair: "Mr. Nighy, to put it bluntly, mops the floor with Ms. Moore. You could even say that with his irresistibly mannered performance, he mops the floor with Mr. Hare’s play. Under the circumstances this can only be counted as a blessing....Ms. Moore, alas, is miscast....Ms. Moore often seems sheathed in an air of apology and uneasy introspection."
As noted here yesterday, the box office for previews was very strong, thanks in no small part to the high wattage star power on stage. Indeed, virtually every seat has been sold for performances to date. But whether that can be sustained through its limited run (the play is slated to close April 1, 2007) -- especially after some of the disappointing notices -- remains to be seen.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Vertical Hour's Clock Starts Ticking Tonight On Broadway (November 30, 2006)
Polls Close (But Another Opens) (November 10, 2006)
The Vertical Hour to Provide First Broadway Moments for Moore and Nighy (September 1, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Critics' Capsule, Play, The Vertical Hour
Vertical Hour's Clock Starts Ticking Tonight On BroadwayThis evening,
David Hare's latest work,
The Vertical Hour, opens at the
Music Box Theatre. Directed by
Sam Mendes, the play features two exceptionally gifted actors who are making their Broadway debuts:
Julianne Moore and
Bill Nighy.
Already a crowd favorite -- the show has enjoyed near-capacity audiences since previews began earlier this month -- the
timely drama centers on the post-9/11 world and perceptions abroad of Americans.
The Vertical Hour's limited engagement is set to run through April 1 and could become a very difficult ticket should critics, as expected, heap praise upon the show.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Polls Close (But Another Opens) (November 10, 2006)
The Vertical Hour to Provide First Broadway Moments for Moore and Nighy (September 1, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Opening Night, Play, The Vertical Hour
The Vertical Hour to Provide First Broadway Moments for Moore and NighyTwo actors known primarily for their superb work on film are set to make their Broadway debuts in the world premiere of
David Hare's new play,
The Vertical Hour.
Julianne Moore -- a four-time Academy Award nominee ("
Boogie Nights" "
The End of the Affair," "
The Hours" and "
Far From Heaven") -- will be joined by versatile British actor
Bill Nighy, celebrated in his own right for his incredible range -- everything from aging pop star Billy Mack in "
Love Actually" to the corrupt Sir Bernard Pellegrin in last year's "
The Constant Gardner."
The Vertical Hour will be helmed by
Sam Mendes, whose last Broadway venture was the 2003 revival of
Gypsy with
Bernadette Peters.
Playwright Hare has been Tony-nominated three times for 1983's
Plenty, 1996's
Racing Demon and 1997's
Skylight. More recently, he's written the wonderful 2002 West End production of
The Breath of Life with
Dames Maggie Smith and
Judi Dench (which
I've previously discussed) and the acclaimed
Stuff Happens, which will be staged once again by the
Public Theater, this time as a free reading at Central Park's
Delacorte Theatre later this month.
The Vertical Hour begins previews at the
Music Box Theatre on November 9 and officially open on November 30.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Broadway, First Word On New Show, Play, The Vertical Hour
