Are You Effable?If you're among those who read Steve On Broadway (SOB) on a regular basis, you know that I'm not one to let the F-Bombs drop on this site. So perhaps you've wondered whether I was intentionally trying to titillate with that title.
While "effable" is no longer commonly used in Americanized English, the word actually means "Capable of being uttered or explained; utterable."
There's an organization straddling Manhattan and Brooklyn that seeks to capitalize on theatrical expressibility called
Effable Arts. They've just announced their premiere production
Stop, Collaborate & Listen: 20Nothings. With a nod and a wink to what you
may have thought effable meant, they're promising, "A cherry-popping weekend of twentysomethings and celebrity 'survivors.'" With a title inadvertently inspired by
William H. Macy, the production will play in two parts on September 5 and 6 at The Producer’s Club Grand Theater at 358 West 44th Street in New York.
Stop, Collaborate & Listen: 20Nothings is billed as "a collection of original one-acts, monologues, dance, music and art depicting the hilarity and horrors of twentysomething-ness in 2009. Presented in two parts by artists age 23-27, this collaborative production throws a spotlight on mid-twenties purgatory with riotous, touching and insightful results."
According to the release I received, the Effable Arts production "also features an exclusive exhibition of advice for twentysomethings from 'Survivors' of their own transitional twenties, including not only the aforementioned Macy, but also Tony Award winners
Rondi Reed (
August: Osage County,
Wicked),
Laura Benanti (
Gypsy, Broadway’s upcoming
In the Next Room) and
Gregory Jbara (
Billy Elliot,
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels);
Will Swenson (
Hair);
Will Chase (
Billy Elliot,
Rent); and
Seth Rudetsky (
The Ritz ); along with the requisite "many, many more."
Part One on September 5 will begin at 8 p.m. EDT. "Audiences discover the true meaning of the term
20Nothings through a vibrant cast of characters, including a writer who must choose between his art or
Snakes on a Plane: The Musical!, an urban warrior trapped on the losing end of a battle with vermin, a young woman racing the hourglass of chronic illness, a pair of foul-mouthed sisters smacked in the face by formal 'adulthood,' two singles attempting to mate in the Facebook era and a set of friends who may have accidentally crossed from twentysomething purgatory right into Hell."
Part Two on September 6 begins at 7 p.m. EDT; it "explores the deeper side of Generation Y, showcasing the hope, fear, hurt and pride of an age-group just beginning to recognize its power. Through dance and song, artists remember the historic Stonewall Riots while emphasizing the fight is not yet over, examine the unstable nature of young relationships, use Dante’s famed Inferno as a metaphor for life’s daily struggles and remind everyone that even the bleakest of days can be cured with peanut butter and a little hope."
Both performances will feature letters and advice from the successful artists outlined above who also reflect on their own "youthful missteps."
Tickets for
Stop, Collaborate & Listen: 20Nothings are $15 each or $25 for a two-night pass. Please call the Effable Arts box office at 917.576.4149 to reserve seats; note that tickets must be paid in cash only at the door.
Since Effable Arts is a non-profit organization, they'll gladly accept your tax-deductible donations when you click
here like I just did. And you know what? For the first time in my life, I'm feeling a little effable.
This is Steve On Broadway.
Labels: Effable Arts, Gregory Jbara, Laura Benanti, Off-Broadway, Play, Rondi Reed, Seth Rudetsky, Stop Collaborate and Listen: 20Nothings, Will Chase, Will Swenson, William H. Macy
Did Critics This This Story Deserving Of Long Broadway Life?
Last night,
Neil Bartram and
Brian Hill's
The Story Of My Life opened at Broadway's
Booth Theatre. Directed by
Richard Maltby, Jr., the tuner stars
Will Chase and
Malcolm Gets.
With one exception I could find, most critics' reviews panned. (Links will be provided later.)
As the exception, the Associated Press' Michael Kuchwara calls this "a heartfelt little musical that has the courage of its sweet-tempered, low-key convictions.... In a Broadway world of big musicals determined to sell themselves, this gentle new show celebrates softly but with an emotional pull that slowly wins you over."
Calling the show "utterly conventional," Ben Brantley of
The New York Times is largely dismissive: "In addition to jettisoning the usual excesses of tourist-trapping extravaganzas, they have tossed away such niceties as originality, credibility, tension and excitement. I don’t think it’s spoiling anything to tell you that Mr. Gets’s character is dead when the show begins. So, for all practical purposes, is
The Story of My Life.... The problem is that when a show sticks as closely as this one does to the bare bones of a sentimental formula, it needs to adorn those old bones with fresh flesh.
The Story of My Life doesn’t try to disguise its clichés."
Deeming the tuner "generic," David Rooney of
Variety is also critical: "This flavorless new musical is not exactly terrible, but it's not terribly interesting, either, which makes you wonder why its producers thought it belonged on Broadway. Whatever the reason, it's unlikely to be staying long.... Even in its most touching moments, this dull, drippy show never makes you care much.Matching the story and characters, the songs don't leave any lasting impression. They are pretty, melodic, interchangeable and more than a little derivative."
Sniping that the musical "will probably require (a eulogy) soon for itself," Frank Scheck of
New York Post awards just one and a half stars: "Director Richard Maltby Jr. fails to leaven the overall tedium. The actors are similarly adrift. While Gets at least provides some intensity to his turn as the neurotic Alvin, Chase fails to bring any life to his blandly repressed character, signaling emotions mainly by putting on or removing his jacket."
Joe Dziemianowicz of New York's
Daily News also slams with his two out of five star review: "Gets and Chase are likable actors stuck playing stick figures.... Besides being formulaic -- whenever Tom gets stuck while writing the eulogy, it's time for another crumpled piece of paper and a flashback -- the creators frustratingly dangle plot points."
Blasting the show as "banal, improbable and unrelentingly derivative. And boring? Please,"
Newsday's Linda Winer whines: "After all the flashbacks, guilt trips and ancient sexual hang-ups, we never do believe that Alvin, with his curiosity and creativity, would have been so stunted. The snow angels, however, are very pretty."
With poor reviews like these, can closing notices be far behind?
UPDATE (2.21.09, 6:50 p.m. EST): Alas, The Story Of My Life will in fact close on Sunday, February 22. This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Brian Hill, Broadway, Critics' Capsule, Malcolm Gets, Musical, Neil Bartram, Richard Maltby Jr., The Story Of My Life, Will Chase
The Story Of My Life (The SOB Review) – Booth Theatre, New York, New York
** (out of ****)
Little did I know upon my arrival at Broadway’s
Booth Theatre that my all-time favorite film, “
It’s A Wonderful Life,” would have a starring role alongside
Will Chase and
Malcolm Gets in this sentimental and spare musical.
A musical so spare, I might point out, that the non-existent second act is the one you're supposed to discuss on your way home, according to its creators
Neil Bartram (score) and
Brian Hill (book).
But there it is, as
The Story Of My Life’s score and book unrepentantly and continually raise the specter of George Bailey and Clarence throughout. At times, the parallels are brilliant. Yet at others, it's so haunting that it becomes borderline creepy. In
The Story Of My Life, two lifelong friends influence each other’s ultimate path. It’s their seemingly inconsequential, shared experiences that reverberate through their lives with all the
effect of a butterfly on the weather.
One, Alvin Kelby (Gets), stays behind in their small hometown to help run the Writer’s Block bookshop owned by his ailing father, while the other, Thomas Weaver (Chase), is not only inspired to write, but goes on to great success, that is until he suffers from -- you guessed it -- his own writer’s block.
While the
Frank Capra classic receives prominent mention, it’s another movie, “
Groundhog Day,” that I couldn’t help but think of each time the musical’s moment of truth appeared to be at hand. Over and over during the course of this 90 minute show,
The Story Of My Life’s assured actors repeat one defining moment of their friendship. While each successive pass gets them further and further, they never truly break through to the truth Weaver seeks, but they certainly manage to arrive at a somewhat satisfying conclusion from Kelby’s perspective.
The Story Of My Life is one of those quaint little feel good musicals that would surely feel more at home on an Off-Broadway stage. While far from a big Broadway blockbuster, it's sweetness is hard to resist.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Brian Hill, Broadway, Frank Capra, Groundhog Day, It's A Wonderful Life, Malcolm Gets, Musical, Neil Bartram, Richard Maltby Jr., The SOB Review, The Story Of My Life, Will Chase
New Story Given Life On BroadwayThis evening,
The Story Of My Life -- a new two-hander musical with
Will Chase and
Malcolm Gets as lifelong friends -- will open at Broadway’s
Booth Theatre.
Directed by
Richard Maltby, Jr.,
The Story Of My Life features a score by
Neil Bartram and book from
Brian Hill, a couple of real-life friends who first met during a shared gig in a Toronto production of
Forever Plaid. It was in that same Canadian city where this new tuner got its start before moving on to Connecticut’s
Goodspeed Opera House on its journey to the Great White Way.
Will critics think this is a story deserving of a long Great White Way life?
Find out tomorrow as I not only share my critics’ capsule, but I’ll also provide my own SOB Review.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Brian Hill, Broadway, Malcolm Gets, Musical, Neil Bartram, Opening Night, Richard Maltby Jr., The Story Of My Life, Will Chase
