Steve On Broadway (SOB)

Merchant Sells Hot Broadway Ticket

The Internet Broadway Database (IBDB) lists a total of 49 previous New York City productions stetching all the way back to 1768 for what is arguably The Bard's most controversial play. It's particularly provocative due to its depiction of the eponymous character and the ongoing debate over whether that characterization is anti-Semitic. (The play certainly gave me pause when I saw it for my first time a few years ago.)

It's been seven years since Pacino was last on Broadway's boards in another Jewish role as Harod in Salome, one I thought bordered on vile stereotypes. Pacino will be joined in The Merchant Of Venice by a large cast including Lily Rabe as Portia, Byron Jennings as Antonio, Jesse L. Martin as Gratiano, Christopher Fitzgerald as Launcelot and Charles Kimbrough as the Prince of Aragon.

The official Merchant Of Venice website describes the show as follows:

The Merchant Of Venice is one of Shakespeare’s most thrilling and controversial plays, rich with love and betrayal, forgiveness and revenge. The Jewish moneylender Shylock makes a loan to Antonio, a Christian merchant. Their loan contract, steeped in prejudice and centered on the play's infamous “pound of flesh,” sweeps the two men and everyone in their worlds into chaos. Only the insightful Portia can imagine a way forward, but for her and those she loves, even “the quality of mercy” has its limits.

Despite the lingering controversy over the work, just try getting a decent seat. And with only 78 performances scheduled, you may as well forget about any discounts for the production.

The Merchant Of Venice opens on November 7 and runs through January 9, 2011. (I'll be seeing the show not long after it opens.)

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.

Labels: Al Pacino, Broadway, Byron Jennings, Charles Kimbrough, Christopher Fitzgerald, Daniel Sullivan, Jesse L. Martin, Lily Rabe, Play, Revival, The Merchant Of Venice, Transfer, William Shakespeare

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Saturday, October 16, 2010 0 comments

The Public To Transfer Merchant

The Public To Transfer Merchant


If you're among the throngs of disappointed theatregoers who has been unable to get free tickets to see The Merchant Of Venice in Central Park this summer, you can breathe a little easier.

While it won't necessarily cost you a pound of flesh, these tickets certainly won't be free. After weeks of speculation, the Public Theater just announced it's transferring William Shakespeare's The Merchant Of Venice to Broadway this fall. Directed by Daniel Sullivan, this production famously stars Al Pacino as Shylock.

The Internet Broadway Database (IBDB) lists a total of 49 previous New York City productions stetching all the way back to 1768 for what is arguably The Bard's most controversial play. It's particularly provocative due to its depiction of the eponymous character and the ongoing debate over whether that characterization is anti-Semitic. (The play certainly gave me pause when I saw it for my first time a few years ago.)

Perhaps that's why it's been nearly 20 years since the last Broadway revival of The Merchant Of Venice. That Tony-nominated revival opened on December 19, 1989, at the 46th Street Theatre (now Richard Rodgers Theatre) and played 84 regular performances. Directed by Peter Hall, starred Dustin Hoffman as Shylock and Geraldine James as Portia. Hall, Hoffman and James would each earn Tony nods for their work.

The Public will produce this transfer at Broadway's Broadhurst Theatre, a considerably smaller space than Central Park's Delacorte Theatre. The limited run's performances will commence October 19 and conclude January 9, 2011.

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.

Labels: Al Pacino, Daniel Sullivan, First Word On New Show, Play, Public Theater, Revival, The Merchant Of Venice, William Shakespeare

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Monday, July 26, 2010 0 comments

SOB's Favorite Shows Of The Noughties: #22 - Twelfth Night

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.

Love was in the air, and that breeze blowing straight through Central Park was William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.

Daniel Sullivan’s truly lovely and gorgeous revival was brimming with bawdy charms and an extraordinary ensemble, 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.

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.

Labels: Anne Hathaway, Audra McDonald, David Pittu, Julie White, Off-Broadway, Play, Raul Esparza, Revival, SOB's Favorite Shows Of The Noughties, Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Friday, December 04, 2009 0 comments

Hamlet (The SOB Review)

Hamlet (The SOB Review) - Broadhurst Theatre, New York, New York

*** (out of ****)

One of my life's little tragedies is that my ears have rarely been in sync with the Bard's old English.

Typically, I'm faced with either foregoing revivals or bucking up and trying my best to decipher what's being spoken on stage. Yet as a true theatre aficionado, how can I not take the latter path?

As it turns out, my fears in taking in Michael Grandage's revival of Hamlet were completely allayed and in retrospect unfounded. Given Grandage's expert and imaginative direction I've witnessed throughout every one of his productions from dark Russian drama to classic musicals, I shouldn't have been surprised that he could pull off another miracle.

Fortunately for audiences sharing my apprehension over seeing works by William Shakespeare because they're more often than not delivered on this side of the pond in a rather stultifying manner, this import from London's Donmar Warehouse is anything but. Thanks to Grandage, this play's the thing wherein I've finally caught the conscience of the king and then some!

High praise must be paid to the innovative Jude Law for making his Hamlet come alive. Rather than delivering Shakespeare's words as if they were part of some lost language, Law excels in cracking the code. He finds the depth and nuance redounding in every single word. Each syllable dances off his tongue sounding fresh and vibrant.

That's in part because Hamlet here is not so much the brooding Danish prince as he is a particularly circumspect one replete with boyish verve and playful vigor. It's a testament to Law's mastery that his impassioned soliloquy immediately prior to the oft-quoted one containing "To be or not to be" becomes the stand-out passage within this play.

While the brave choices he and Grandage have made may raise the eyebrows of purists, this revival sings, even if not everyone else in the cast can hold their notes quite as well or as long. No wonder shortly after I departed the Broadhurst, I tweeted half in jest that Jude Law stole the show.

But with Law's towering performance casting a long shadow over my quibbles with his Hamlet, this is one accessible production of Shakespeare's work that all are meant to see.

This is Steve Broadway (SOB).

Labels: Hamlet, Jude Law, Michael Grandage, Play, Revival, William Shakespeare

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Wednesday, November 04, 2009 0 comments

Hamlet: 66 And Counting

Hamlet: 66 And Counting

There are precious few plays that have graced a Broadway stage as many times as William Shakespeare's Hamlet.

While it's not known precisely when Shakespeare wrote Hamlet, historians believe The Bard wrote this play circa 1601, and it's known that the work was mounted in New York City as early as the following century.

According to the Internet Broadway Database (IBDB), my go-to source for all things Rialto-related, this tragedy has been previously presented in New York City at least 65 times. IBDB's earliest recorded performance took place back in November 1761 with Lewis Hallam as the Danish prince. That Hamlet was mounted at the Chapel Street Theatre, which stood on the corner of what is now Beekman and Nassau Streets in lower Manhattan.

Most of the other recorded 65 revivals have been staged in Broadway theatres. The last, performed at the Belasco Theatre as recently as 1995, earned a Tony nomination for Best Revival. Its Hamlet, Ralph Fiennes, took home a Tony for Best Actor in a Play.

Other noteworthy Broadway Hamlets through the years have included Stephen Lang (1992), Sam Waterston (1975-76), Tony-nominated Richard Burton (1964), Raymond Massey (1931), Leslie Howard (1936) and John Gielgud (1936-37). Many actors have portrayed Hamlet on more than one occasion, including Maurice Evans (1938-39, 1939-40, 1945-46, 1946), the legendary John Barrymore (1922-23, 1923), and of course, the premier American actor of the 19th Century, Edwin Booth (1864-65, 1870 and 1891).

Hamlet has been so popular through the years, that there have been several instances when competing revivals were produced on Broadway at the same time, including the aforementioned ones with Howard and Gielgud, as well as the 1931 Broadhurst Theatre revival with Massey competing directly with the 1931 Royale Theatre mounting produced by the Chicago Civic Shakespeare Society.

Much more recently, two separate Main Stem productions narrowly missed being staged at the exact same time. The 1969 Lyceum Theatre revival with Ellis Rabb as Hamlet ended April 26, a mere five days before the 1969 Lunt-Fontanne Theatre production starring Nicol Williamson opened.

Now, for at least the 66th time, Hamlet is being revived in Manhattan. Once again, Shakespeare's tragedy is being staged at the Broadhurst Theatre, this time via the transfer of a highly acclaimed production from the formidible Donmar Warehouse in London. Directed by the estimable Michael Grandage, this revival stars Jude Law as the eponymous prince who exacts revenge for his murdered father.

Personally, I've only seen Hamlet performed once on stage, and tedium set in quite quickly. Same went for my experience in watching the Academy Award-winning Best Picture of 1948, even with the late, great Laurence Olivier as the prince. So while I am sincerely looking forward to seeing Grandage's interpretation of this work, I'll go in with just a little trepidation as I normally do whenever I see Shakespeare.

Whether audiences share my apprehension remains to be seen. Or not to be seen.

This limited run of Hamlet opens October 6 and is currently slated to close December 6.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Labels: Broadway, Edwin Booth, Hamlet, John Barrymore, Jude Law, Laurence Olivier, Maurice Evans, Michael Grandage, Play, Revival, Transfer, William Shakespeare

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Thursday, September 24, 2009 4 comments

Twelfth Night (The SOB Review)

Twelfth Night (The SOB Review) – Delacorte Theatre, Central Park, New York, New York

**** (out of ****)

Love is in the air, and its breeze that's blowing straight through Central Park is William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.

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.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Labels: Anne Hathaway, Audra McDonald, Daniel Sullivan, David Pittu, Julie White, Play, Raul Esparza, Revival, The SOB Review, Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Friday, June 26, 2009 2 comments

A Midsummer Night's Dream (The SOB Review)

A Midsummer Night's Dream (The SOB Review) - Wurtele Thrust Stage, Guthrie, Minne-apolis, MN

** (out of ****)

Nearly every evening over the past few years, my nightly dreams have become extraordinarily crazy, yet incredibly vivid. Almost every single one is typically nonsensical, brimming with one non-sequitur sequence after another.

Why, just last week, I endured a doozy. One moment, there were Cirque du Soleileque aerial artists swinging on ropes in form-fitting, fluorescent-colored spandex, swinging on ropes.

The next moment, the daughter of a modern military-minded king was pleading with her father against the would-be union he had arranged for her.

That gave way to a bon vivant bunch of vaudevillians practicing their latest act.

Then there was this freaky earthen ball, which opened with a phantasmagorically lusty goddess, ready to reel in her latest prey.

My dream nearly turned into a nightmare as all these elements came swirling together at once, with a dash of disco music and other strangely incongruent intersecting musical pieces.

And on top of all that, I could swear I dreamt a little something sounding a bit like William Shakespeare’s brand of Olde English being spoken well beyond its freshness date. Like every similarly interminable dream I have had like it (and I have way too many), I couldn’t help thinking to myself, is this really a dream? As I was dreaming, I was hoping beyond hope I’d simply wake up.

Oh wait! That wasn't a dream?

Well, not in the literal sense. It was the new unfortunately unfantastic fantasy revival of A Midsummer Night's Dream directed by Guthrie’s ever innovative Artistic Director Joe Dowling.

The pieces meant to dazzle -- especially John Stead and Joel F. Harris’ cirque-lite wire activity that’s only intermittently thrown in, and rarely to any captivating effect -- just prolong the ability to effectively tell this already convoluted tale in less than three-plus hours. It doesn’t help that designs, including Frank Hallinan Flood’s set and Paul Tazewell’s costumes have a cheap look to them. Think small-time Indian casinos trying to ape their more vibrant Vegas contemporaries.

It’s almost as if Dowling has determined in advance that the rickety plot points can’t sustain our interest on their own. So he has instead manufactured a mini-spectacle for today’s ADD generation, obfuscating the weakest links, including A Midsummer Night’s Dream’s younger cast members. The glaring exception is William Sturdivant as Lysander, who stands alone among the young lovers in comfortably conversing in Shakespeare-speak.

Fortunately, that merry band of vaudevillians mentioned above -- primarily comprised of Guthrie veterans Stephen Pelinski (Nick Bottom), Jim Lichtscheidl (Peter Quince), Stephen Yoakam (Snug) and Sally Wingert (Robin Starveling), along with relative newbie Randy Reyes (Francis Flute) (other Guthrie vet Richard S. Iglewski was out during my performance) -- upstages the primary story line and ultimately lifts the spectacle into some semblance of what one would likely hope for when taking in this revival.

Dowling deserves enormous credit for his ever-evolving vision. After all, trying to breathe new life into an old Bard classic isn’t easy. I also applaud him for dreaming up new ways to attract a new generation of theatergoers to Shakespeare.

But don’t lose any sleep over missing this Dream.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Labels: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Guthrie, Joe Dowling, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Play, Revival, The SOB Review, William Shakespeare

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Wednesday, June 25, 2008 3 comments

Macbeth (The SOB Review)

Macbeth (The SOB Review) - Lyceum Theatre, New York, NY

** (out of ****)

Forget, just for a moment, all the stylishly subversive and ultimately superfluous Stalinist influences infused by director Rupert Goold into this maddeningly uneven, noisy revival of William Shakespeare's bloody classic.

Essentially, what Goold has created is the world's first hiphop Macbeth, complete with its trio of rapping witches, er, weeatches, baby. You have to give him credit for being inventive.

With plenty of piss and vinegar, Goold throws in everything, including the proverbial kitchen sink. Heck, he even goes so far as to provide a gratuitously perverse peeing in the kitchen sink from Christopher Patrick Nolan's appropriately named Seyton, footsoldier to Macbeth. Suffice to say, at times Goold's pretentious production often borders on the obscene when it isn't reaching for parody.

Fortunately, this crass rendition of Shakespeare's bloodcurdling warrior-cum-king and his manipulative wife (a seductively chilling Kate Fleetwood) rises whenever a superb follicularly-challenged, classicly-trained English actor takes to the stage. No, I'm not talking about Patrick Stewart as the eponymous traitor, although this gifted thespian does offer up a fairly competent take that like much of this bombastic production is all too often muted by Adam Cork's overblown sound design.

No, it was the brilliantly nuanced portrayal of Macduff by the aptly named Michael Feast, who provides a veritably bold Bard banquet as the nobleman agonizing over the death of his family. His gritty determination to avenge their murders is amplified, ironically enough, because Cork's sound is specifically turned down.

Thankfully, Goold has also enlisted Broadway's ubiquitous Byron Jennings with all-to-brief, but welcome appearances both as King Duncan of Scotland (who meets with his bloody end at the hands of Macbeth fairly early) and a Scottish doctor. Blessedly, Jennings has also mastered the art of enunciating his words so they may be understood and savored by the audience.

Never mind, however, that this is, indeed, the Scottish play. Evoking the Soviet's most ruthless dictator, Lorna Heavey's frequently repetitious yet equally enthralling projection design and Howard Harrison's eerie lighting add tremendous texture to Anthony Ward's deceptively simple set, making for a visually stunning set design.

But all this overblown pomposity, amped up a few decibles too many, needlessly overtakes Macbeth's often obsolete Old English language that's spoken with largely indecipherable accents. In the end, it only serves to obscure what is arguably Shakespeare's greatest tragedy.

And that's the biggest tragedy, if you ask me.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Labels: Broadway, Kate Fleetwood, Macbeth, Michael Feast, Patrick Stewart, Play, Revival, Rupert Goold, The SOB Review, Transfer, William Shakespeare

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Monday, May 12, 2008 9 comments

Did Critics Think Macbeth Revival Foul Or Fair?

Did Critics Think Macbeth Revival Foul Or Fair?

Last evening, Director Rupert Goold's acclaimed London production of William Shakespeare's Macbeth starring Patrick Stewart opened at the Great White Way's Lyceum Theatre.

On the other side of the pond, Goold was honored just last month with an Olivier Award for turning the Bard's work into a more contemporary tale by borrowing heavily from Joseph Stalin’s Great Terror. The play transferred from London to Broadway by way of the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) where it played earlier this year; many critics are allowing their earlier critiques to stand.

Heralding this "a Macbeth you'll never be able to forget," Clive Barnes of New York Post awards the production four stars: "Goold's brilliance is not in time or place but method - dissecting the play's pathological madness better than I've ever seen. His radical production choices, so wholeheartedly embraced by his cast, offers a Clouzot-like film noir environment (backed up with cool, black and dazzling efficiency by his designer, Anthony Ward) which runs from field hospital to abatoir to kitchen, from shabby banquet table to darkling wood.... The 67-year-old Stewart ... has reinvented himself from an admirable character actor to one of the stars of the English-speaking theater."

While taking note of "an admittedly kitchen-sink aspect to the proceedings" that "threaten to overwhelm," Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter is nevertheless largely positive: "Stewart delivers a fascinatingly complex performance in the title role, cannily hinting at the character's initial hesitancy and vulnerability before adopting a more fearsome demeanor.... He's well matched by Kate Fleetwood's particularly sultry Lady Macbeth -- that she's so much younger than her co-star only adds to Macbeth's motivation -- and Michael Feast's subtly anguished Macduff."

Deeming the revival "overstated but fascinating," USA Today's Elysa Gardner offers three out of four stars: "[F]lashy features, plus high-pitched performances by Michael Feast as Macduff and Christopher Patrick Nolan as the demonic porter, are miraculously put in context by Stewart's witty, nuanced work, which reveals Macbeth as an intelligent, rational person driven to madness by outside forces and his own violent transgressions."

In his February review of the BAM incarnation, The New York Times' Ben Brantley took particular note of Stewart's performance: "[A]ll (the show's) sound and fury would signify, if not nothing, then yet another politically minded evening of Shakespeare in period drag were it not for the brilliant performance at its center. What makes this one a must-see is Mr. Stewart’s thrilling recognition that his character is as close kin to the fatally introspective Hamlet as he is to power-wielding men of ill will like Richard III. His performance is the first I have seen to realize completely what the scholar Harold Bloom means when he calls this play 'a tragedy of the imagination.' Small wonder that Lady Macbeth (Kate Fleetwood, excellent and original) -- willful, canny and hard-wired for success -- sees danger signs whenever her husband’s gaze goes hazy."

Concluding that Stewart offers a "commanding, meticulously shaded performance in a production generally far less subtle, but unstinting in high-style inventiveness," Variety's David Rooney also reviewed the earlier BAM staging: "Exactly how well Stewart is served by the blood-soaked flamboyance of Rupert Goold's overburdened production will be a matter of taste, but the rising-star Brit director's Macbeth is as cinematic as it is boldly theatrical. It may not always elucidate the plot or characters to best advantage but it sure keeps you glued.... Goold's take on one of Shakespeare's most violent plays is to make it even more horrific, freely mixing bone-chilling supernatural shivers with vicious warmongering, Machiavellian politics, psychological unease and technological intrusions."

Calling "this occasionally overstuffed form," in his earlier BAM review, Eric Grode of The New York Sun offers a mixed review: "The milk of human kindness, always a rare commodity in Shakespeare's spare but unsparing Macbeth, is nowhere to be found in the scorched-earth production on grisly display at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Set amid the depravity of Stalinist Russia and firmly anchored by a wrathful Patrick Stewart, director Rupert Goold's daring and diabolical mounting turns all of Scotland into a virtual abattoir, peopled with little more than a pile of corpses that an ever-dwindling coterie of survivors must climb over on the way to a gore-slicked crown."

This very limited engagement is due to close on May 24, several weeks before the revival is expected to be in contention for the Tonys. Having missed the BAM staging, I'll be taking in a production early next month on Broadway and provide my own SOB Review soon thereafter.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Click here for tickets.
Related Stories:
Lucky #45? Macbeth Opens On Broadway (April 8, 2008)
Hairspray Gels With Olivier Voters (March 10, 2008)
No Exaggeration: Dead To Depart Broadway (February 26, 2008)
2008 Laurence Olivier Award Nominations Announced (February 6, 2008)

Labels: Broadway, Critics' Capsule, Macbeth, Patrick Stewart, Play, Revival, Rupert Goold, Transfer, William Shakespeare

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Wednesday, April 09, 2008 0 comments

Lucky #45? Macbeth Opens On Broadway

Lucky #45? Macbeth Opens On Broadway

This evening, the celebrated Rupert Goold-helmed revival of William Shakespeare's Macbeth opens for a very limited engagement at Broadway's Lyceum Theatre.

Starring Patrick Stewart as the eponymous Scottish general, this is a play that instills so much legendary fear among theatregoers (correction: casts and crews - my apologies)theatregoers that the name Macbeth is rarely uttered inside the theatre. Instead, just call it "The Scottish Play."

With previous New York performances dating all the way back to the 1700s, this London transfer is the 45th incarnation of the notorious work.

Will critics swoon? Find out tomorrow when I provide my critics' capsule.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Click here for tickets.

Labels: Best New Plays, Broadway, London, Macbeth, Opening Night, Patrick Stewart, Revival, Rupert Goold, Transfer, William Shakespeare

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Tuesday, April 08, 2008 6 comments

Hairspray Gels With Olivier Voters

Hairspray Gels With Olivier Voters

While Hairspray was this year's most celebrated product on London's West End -- earning three of the Laurence Olivier honors for acting, along with the top musical prize -- two classics (Macbeth and Saint Joan) and a new War Horse were among the big winners at last night's "glamorous ceremony" at London's Grosvenor House Hotel.

Named for the iconic actor who was arguably the greatest actor of the 20th Century, the Oliviers rank as the most prestigious award bestowed on London's theatre community, as well as for dance and opera.

William Shakespeare's Macbeth revival was feted for Rupert Goold's bloody-good direction and Howard Harrison's lighting design, yet it lost out to Saint Joan for Best Revival honors. The latter also won for the sound design by Paul Arditti and Jocelyn Pook.

Additionally, the Indian-themed Rafta Rafta earned the Olivier for Best New Comedy, while Simon McBurney's A Disappearing Number took home a Larry for Best New Play.

Meanwhile, War Horse trotted off with awards for Toby Sedgewick's choreography and the set design by Rae Smith and Handspring Puppet Company.

The full list of nominees are below with winners highlighted in red:

Best Actress
Anne-Marie Duff, Saint Joan
Kelly Reilly, Othello
Kristin Scott Thomas, The Seagull
Fiona Shaw, Happy Days
Penelope Wilton, John Gabriel Borkman

Best Actor
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Othello
Ian McKellen, King Lear
Mark Rylance, Boeing-Boeing
John Simm, Elling
Patrick Stewart, Macbeth

Best Performance In A Supporting Role
Michelle Fairley, Othello
Pam Ferris, The Entertainer
Conleth Hill, The Philistines
Rory Kinnear, The Man Of Ode

Best Newcomer In A Play*
David Dawson, The Life And Adventures Of Nicholas Nickleby
Tom Hiddleston, Cymbeline
Tom Hiddleston, Othello
Stephen Wight, Dealer's Choice

Best New Play
Simon McBurney, A Disappearing Number
Nicholas Wright, The Reporter
DBC Pierre (Adaptation by Tanya Ronder), Vernon God Little
Michael Morpurgo (Adaptation by Nick Stafford), War Horse

Best New Comedy
Michael Frayn, Absurdia: The Crimson Hotel
Axel Hellstenius' stage adaptation in collaboration with Peter Næss, translated by Nicholas Norris, adapted by Simon Bent (based on a novel by Ingvar Ambjørnsen), Elling
Ayub Khan-Din (based on "All In Good Time" by Bill Naughton), Rafta Rafta
Steve Thompson, Whipping It Up

Best Revival
Marc Camoletti, translated by Beverley Cross, Boeing-Boeing
Patrick Marber, Dealer's Choice
William Shakespeare, Macbeth
Bernard Shaw, Saint Joan
Anton Chekhov, in a version by Christopher Hampton, The Seagull

Best New Musical
Music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar, The Drowsy Chaperone
Music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, Hairspray
Music by AR Rahman, Värttinä with Christopher Nightingale, book and lyrics by Shauna McKenna and Matthew Warchus, The Lord Of The Rings
Music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown, book by Alfred Uhry, co-conceived by Harold Prince, Parade

Best Musical Revival
Music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, book by Joseph Stein, Fiddler On THe Roof
Music by Alan Menken, book and lyrics by Howard Ashman, Little Shop Of Horrors
Music and words by Mandisi Dyantyis, Mbali Kgosidintsi, Pauline Malefane and Nolufefe Mtshabe, adapted from Mozart by Mark Dornford-May, The Magic Flute - Impempe Yomlingo

Best Actress In A Musical
Leanne Jones, Hairspray
Lara Pulver, Parade
Sheridan Smith, Little Shop Of Horrors
Summer Strallen, The Drowsy Chaperone

Best Actor In A Musical
Michael Ball, Hairspray
Bertie Carvel, Parade
Henry Goodman, Fiddler On The Roof
Bob Martin, The Drowsy Chaperone

Best Performance In A Supporting Role In A Musical
Tracie Bennett, Hairspray
Elinor Collett, Hairspray
Shaun Escoffery, Parade
Alistair McGowan, Little Shop Of Horrors

Best Director
Rob Ashford, Parade
Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris, War Horse
Rupert Goold, MacBeth
Jack O’Brien, Hairspray

Best Theatre Choreographer
Rob Ashford, Parade
Jerry Mitchell, Hairspray
Casey Nicholaw, The Drowsy Chaperone
Toby Sedgwick, War Horse

Best Lighting Design
Kenneth Posner, Hairspray
Paul Pyant, The Lord Of The Rings
Howard Harrison, Macbeth
Paule Constable, War Horse

Best Set Design
David Rockwell, Hairspray
Rob Howell, The Lord Of The Rings
Anthony Ward and Lorna Heavey, MacBeth
Rae Smith and Handspring Puppet Company, War Horse

Best Costume Design
Gregg Barnes, The Drowsy Chaperone
William Ivey Long, Hairspray
Rob Howell, The Lord Of The Rings
Vicki Mortimer, The Man Of Mode

Best Sound Design
Steve C. Kennedy, Hairspray
Simon Baker, The Lord Of The Rings
Terry Jardine and Nick Lidster for Autograph, Parade
Paul Arditti with music by Jocelyn Pook, Saint Joan
Christopher Shutt with music by Adrian Sutton and John Tams, War Horse

Outstanding Achievement In An Affiliate Theatre
The Brothers Size at the Maria, Young Vic
Cinderella at Theatre Royal, Stratford East
Gone Too Far at the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs at the Royal Court
The cast of That Face at the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs at the Royal Court

Best New Opera Production
English National Opera’s Agrippina at the London Coliseum
The Royal Opera’s La Fille Du Regiment at the Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera’s Pelléas et Mélisande at the Royal Opera House
English National Opera’s Turn Of The Screw at the London Coliseum

Outstanding Achievement In Opera
Natalie Dessay (performance), La Fille Du Regiment
Gerald Finley (performance), Pelleas Et Melisande
Angelika Kirchschlager (performance), Pelleas Et Melisande
David McVicar (direction), Turn Of The Screw and Agrippina

Best New Dance Production
Fabulous Beast Dance’s The Bull at the Barbican
The Royal Ballet’s Jewels at the Royal Opera House
Mark Morris Dance Group’s Mozart Dances at the Barbican
Northern Ballet Theatre’s The Three Musketeers at Sadler’s Wells

Outstanding Achievement In Dance
Savion Glover (performance), Live In London
Jonathan Goddard (performances) with the Richard Alston Dance Company
The Royal Ballet Company (performances), Jewels
Wendy Whelan (performance), The Christopher Wheeldon Company’s Fool's Paradise

While the acclaimed, Olivier Award-winning Macbeth has already been announced for a strictly limited 63 performance Broadway transfer beginning later this month, look for New York producers to mine the success of currently little-known shows like A Disappearing Number, Rafta Rafta and War Horse for possible stateside berths.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Related Stories:
2008 Laurence Olivier Award Nominations Announced (February 6, 2008)
Sunday At The Grosvenor House With Laurence (February 19, 2007)
Laurence Olivier Award Nominations Announced (January 18, 2007)

Labels: A Disappearing Number, Hairspray, Laurence Olivier, London, Olivier Award Nominations, Olivier Awards, Rafta Rafta, Saint Joan, War Horse, William Shakespeare

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Monday, March 10, 2008 2 comments

2008 Laurence Olivier Award Nominations Announced

2008 Laurence Olivier Award Nominations Announced

While its trans-Atlantic journey seemed to take forever, Hairspray was clearly worth the wait as London's West End incarnation of the Broadway hit earned a record 11 Laurence Olivier Award nominations.

Named for the iconic actor who was arguably the greatest thespian of the 20th Century bar none, the Oliviers rank as the most prestigious award bestowed on London's theatre community, as well as for dance and opera. The nominations for the 2008 Laurence Olivier Awards were announced today and winners will be announced at a March 9 "glamorous ceremony" at the Grosvenor House Hotel.

While the big story is Hairspray, the other noteworthy news is just how well the Bard has fared on the boards of London over the past year. With revivals of his Othello, King Lear, Macbeth and Cymbeline together earning a whopping 11 nominations, William Shakespeare still rules supreme over British theatre.

The other news is that unlike last year, an Olivier Award will be provided in the category of "Best Newcomer In A Play," and what had been billed last year as the "Outstanding Musical Production" becomes "Best Revival of a Musical" this year.

Nominees include:

Best Actress
Anne-Marie Duff, Saint Joan
Kelly Reilly, Othello
Kristin Scott Thomas, The Seagull
Fiona Shaw, Happy Days
Penelope Wilton, John Gabriel Borkman

Best Actor
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Othello
Ian McKellen, King Lear
Mark Rylance, Boeing-Boeing
John Simm, Elling
Patrick Stewart, Macbeth

Best Performance In A Supporting Role
Michelle Fairley, Othello
Pam Ferris, The Entertainer
Conleth Hill, The Philistines
Rory Kinnear, The Man Of Ode

Best Newcomer In A Play*
David Dawson, The Life And Adventures Of Nicholas Nickleby
Tom Hiddleston, Cymbeline
Tom Hiddleston, Othello
Stephen Wight, Dealer's Choice

Best New Play
Simon McBurney, A Disappearing Number
Nicholas Wright, The Reporter
DBC Pierre (Adaptation by Tanya Ronder), Vernon God Little
Michael Morpurgo (Adaptation by Nick Stafford), War Horse

Best New Comedy
Michael Frayn, Absurdia: The Crimson Hotel
Axel Hellstenius' stage adaptation in collaboration with Peter Næss, translated by Nicholas Norris, adapted by Simon Bent (based on a novel by Ingvar Ambjørnsen), Elling
Ayub Khan-Din (based on "All In Good Time" by Bill Naughton), Rafta Rafta
Steve Thompson, Whipping It Up

Best Revival
Marc Camoletti, translated by Beverley Cross, Boeing-Boeing
Patrick Marber, Dealer's Choice
William Shakespeare, Macbeth
Bernard Shaw, Saint Joan
Anton Chekhov, in a version by Christopher Hampton, The Seagull

Best New Musical
Music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar, The Drowsy Chaperone
Music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, Hairspray
Music by AR Rahman, Värttinä with Christopher Nightingale, book and lyrics by Shauna McKenna and Matthew Warchus, The Lord Of The Rings
Music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown, book by Alfred Uhry, co-conceived by Harold Prince, Parade

Best Musical Revival
Music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, book by Joseph Stein, Fiddler On THe Roof
Music by Alan Menken, book and lyrics by Howard Ashman, Little Shop Of Horrors
Music and words by Mandisi Dyantyis, Mbali Kgosidintsi, Pauline Malefane and Nolufefe Mtshabe, adapted from Mozart by Mark Dornford-May, The Magic Flute - Impempe Yomlingo

Best Actress In A Musical
Leanne Jones, Hairspray
Lara Pulver, Parade
Sheridan Smith, Little Shop Of Horrors
Summer Strallen, The Drowsy Chaperone

Best Actor In A Musical
Michael Ball, Hairspray
Bertie Carvel, Parade
Henry Goodman, Fiddler On The Roof
Bob Martin, The Drowsy Chaperone

Best Performance In A Supporting Role In A Musical
Tracie Bennett, Hairspray
Elinor Collett, Hairspray
Shaun Escoffery, Parade
Alistair McGowan, Little Shop Of Horrors

Best Director
Rob Ashford, Parade
Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris, War Horse
Rupert Goold, MacBeth
Jack O’Brien, Hairspray

Best Theatre Choreographer
Rob Ashford, Parade
Jerry Mitchell, Hairspray
Casey Nicholaw, The Drowsy Chaperone
Toby Sedgwick, War Horse

Best Lighting Design
Kenneth Posner, Hairspray
Paul Pyant, The Lord Of The Rings
Howard Harrison, Macbeth
Paule Constable, War Horse

Best Set Design
David Rockwell, Hairspray
Rob Howell, The Lord Of The Rings
Anthony Ward and Lorna Heavey, MacBeth
Rae Smith and Handspring Puppet Company, War Horse

Best Costume Design
Gregg Barnes, The Drowsy Chaperone
William Ivey Long, Hairspray
Rob Howell, The Lord Of The Rings
Vicki Mortimer, The Man Of Mode

Best Sound Design
Steve C. Kennedy, Hairspray
Simon Baker, The Lord Of The Rings
Terry Jardine and Nick Lidster for Autograph, Parade
Paul Arditti with music by Jocelyn Pook, Saint Joan
Christopher Shutt with music by Adrian Sutton and John Tams, War Horse

Outstanding Achievement In An Affiliate Theatre
The Brothers Size at the Maria, Young Vic
Cinderella at Theatre Royal, Stratford East
Gone Too Far at the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs at the Royal Court
The cast of That Face at the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs at the Royal Court

Best New Opera Production
English National Opera’s Agrippina at the London Coliseum
The Royal Opera’s La Fille Du Regiment at the Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera’s Pelleas Et Melisande at the Royal Opera House
English National Opera’s Turn Of The Screw at the London Coliseum

Outstanding Achievement In Opera
Natalie Dessay (performance), La Fille Du Regiment
Gerald Finley (performance), Pelleas Et Melisande
Angelika Kirchschlager (performance), Pelleas Et Melisande
David McVicar (direction), Turn Of The Screw and Agrippina

Best New Dance Production
Fabulous Beast Dance’s The Bull at the Barbican
The Royal Ballet’s Jewels at the Royal Opera House
Mark Morris Dance Group’s Mozart Dances at the Barbican
Northern Ballet Theatre’s The Three Musketeers at Sadler’s Wells

Outstanding Achievement In Dance
Savion Glover (performance), Live In London
Jonathan Goddard (performances) with the Richard Alston Dance Company
The Royal Ballet Company (performances), Jewels
Wendy Whelan (performance), The Christopher Wheeldon Company’s Fool's Paradise

Stay tuned one month from now for the full list of winners.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Related Stories:
Sunday At The Grosvenor House With Laurence (February 19, 2007)
Laurence Olivier Award Nominations Announced (January 18, 2007)

Labels: Hairspray, Laurence Olivier, London, Olivier Award Nominations, Olivier Awards, William Shakespeare

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Wednesday, February 06, 2008 4 comments

Did Cymbeline Receive Posthumus Critical Acclaim?

Did Cymbeline Receive Posthumus Critical Acclaim?

Yesterday, the first William Shakespeare play to receive a Broadway revival in two years opened at Lincoln Center Theater at the Vivian Beaumont. The Mark Lamos-helmed Cymbeline includes quite the starry cast: Jonathan Cake, Michael Cerveris, John Cullum, John Pankow, Martha Plimpton and Phylicia Rashad, among others.

Critics were all across the board on this one.

Rejoicing is John Simon of Bloomberg, who raves: "Lincoln Center Theatre gives Cymbeline,' an imperfect play, a production as perfect as humanly possible. Impeccable direction, stylish acting, and enough lavish spectacle to carry the eye and ear past any demurral of the finickiest brain....All honor to Martha Plimpton for mastering the difficult role of Imogen....This Imogen transcends symbolic young womanhood into flesh-and-blood embraceableness....Most amazing, perhaps, is the Cymbeline of John Cullum, whose advanced age nowise impedes his commanding presence, youthful sprightliness and syllable-perfect diction relatively uncommon among non-British actors."

Calling the play both "emotionally charged" and "entrancing," New York Post's Clive Barnes celebrates with a three-and-a-half star review: "Cymbeline has traditionally had a reputation ranging from bad to difficult. It's not. It's a fairy tale for adults who have suffered enough to believe in fairies and heavenly providence. Perhaps the prime virtues of Lamos' elegant, eloquent staging (and the man is among the finest Shakespearean directors in the world) are its grace, speed and total intelligibility. More than any of the many productions of Cymbeline I've seen, it has an immediacy that grips, grasps and tenaciously holds."

Proclaiming this work as "ever accessible," Joe Dziemianowicz of New York's Daily News is similarly positive: "Director Mark Lamos' command at balancing light, dark and magical elements makes the chockablock tale cohesive....For Cymbeline to resonate, it helps to care about Imogen. Plimpton, who has fully shed her gawky "Goonies" tomboy past, makes a likable and plucky heroine who reeks intelligence, even when she's disguised as a man wearing a hat that looks like a small ottoman. Cerveris brings the right mix of heartbreak and rage, while beefy Cake layers on the villainy and sexiness."

Noting that "this is a work not easily tamed," David Rooney of Variety recommends the play by lavishing praise on Martha Plimpton: "Her Imogen in Lincoln Center's sumptuous Cymbeline is more complex and more complete -- the intensity of her love and pain, her exaltation and sorrow anchored by a clear-eyed intelligence that makes her nobody's fool. If not everything in Mark Lamos' production quite matches the exquisite depth and scope of Plimpton's characterization, the fault lies more in this late problem play than in the work of the director or his generally accomplished cast. Unswerving in her fidelity, Imogen may be Shakespeare's most mature heroine, but she's been given an unsteady showcase."

Offering a so-so review is Charles Isherwood of The New York Times: "Lincoln Center Theater’s stately production of Cymbeline, Shakespeare’s late romance, or tragicomedy, or whatnot, is remarkable for its lucidity. In imposing a formal elegance on one of Shakespeare’s most wayward plays, the director, Mark Lamos, keeps confusion firmly at bay, smoothing its kinked story line into a well-drilled parade of avowals and betrayals, plots and counterplots, deaths and resurrections. The clarity and restrained opulence of the production are more satisfying, unfortunately, than the caliber of the performances, which tend toward blandness or overstatement. The singular exception is an outstanding turn from Michael Cerveris, who provides the play with a wrenching emotional center as a husband who believes himself to be grossly betrayed, and who betrays his own nobler self in seeking to avenge this wrong."

Lamenting this as "a work that is endearingly broken," Eric Grode of The New York Sun is largely negative: "Mark Lamos gets through Cymbeline without painting himself into any corners. If only he had. Instead, with the help of a top-notch design team and a somewhat baffled cast, the dependably picturesque director has planted himself in the middle of the room, far from the weird angles and vertiginous gaps that make Cymbeline such an odd and potentially spellbinding play....Establishing a throughline that can prop up these wildly discordant threads is the challenge, one Mr. Lamos only halfheartedly addresses. Perhaps this stems from his recent efforts directing opera, with its implicit strata of recitatives that exist largely to prop up the arias. Or perhaps the relative unfamiliarity of the play's soliloquies, particularly those for the beguiling Imogen, resulted in a disproportionate amount of rehearsal devoted to these set pieces."

Despite calling the production "handsome," Newsday's Linda Winer offers the one flat-out pan: "What we don't know is why the ambitious Lincoln Center Theater chose to run this one by us again. Perhaps director Mark Lamos believes he found a key into mature profundities in this very silly play. One of the four late romances, which peak in the fantastical wisdom of The Tempest, Cymbeline remains a mishmash of incompatible styles and improbable plot lines. The language is not especially beautiful or witty. And despite modern scholarly protestations, the final message of reconciliation does not merely tie up the laughable number of loose ends. It wraps them in nonsensical ribbons and finishes them off with plenty of bows."

Regardless of the reviews (including my own enthusiastic SOB Review), this incarnation of Cymbeline is, alas, to be very short-lived with a run only scheduled through January 6.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Click here for tickets.
Related Stories:
Cymbeline (The SOB Review) (December 3, 2007)
Cymbeline Opens Tonight (December 2, 2007)
I've Got A Secret (August 15, 2007)

Labels: Broadway, Critics' Capsule, Cymbeline, John Cullum, Lincoln Center, Mark Lamos, Martha Plimpton, Phylicia Rashad, Play, Revival, William Shakespeare

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Monday, December 03, 2007 0 comments

Cymbeline (The SOB Review)

Cymbeline (The SOB Review) - Lincoln Center Theater at the Vivian Beaumont, New York, NY

**** (out of ****)

A funny thing happened on my way from the forum known as Lincoln Center. I left with a complete sense of wonder and downright amazement that I had finally -- and so thoroughly -- enjoyed a production of a William Shakespeare play.

As I've previously admitted in this space, the word-for-word retellings of the esteemed playwright's works tend to leave me decidedly cold. Yet the only shiver I felt upon leaving Cymbeline was the definable chill of delight shooting down my spine. I found myself utterly thrilled.

While Cymbeline became one of the Bard's most popular plays during the 18th and 19th Centuries -- the first known known production of Cymbeline occurred sometime between 1609 and 1611 -- somehow this enchanting blend of tragedy, comedy and romance managed to lose its luster at the onset of the 20th Century. In fact, the play had so fallen out of favor that director Mark Lamos' exquisite production is the first Broadway revival since the brief 1923 revival that consisted of a mere 15 performances.

Critics of Cymbeline may complain that the story is predictable, or worse, that it borrows too heavily on themes developed in Shakespeare's other earlier and more celebrated works. To be sure, there's a hint of Romeo And Juliet here and a taste King Lear there, but I beg to differ with anyone who claims that this is a predictable story. It's anything but. After all, if that were the case -- particularly if you pause to consider all of the Bard's greatest tragedies -- wouldn't the climax yield a far different conclusion in spite of the carnage and death?

It's to Lamos credit that the luster is back with a vengeance in this brilliant, sparkling revival. He empowers his cast not only to maneuver through the Byzantine layers of plot unscathed, but also to navigate through the cadences of Shakespeare's often difficult language with such natural precision, grace and gusto, that they never feel unnatural or forced. Thanks to Lamos and his cast, Shakespeare sounds unusually crisp, never mind how verbose it sometimes can be.

Chief among his players are the extraordinary stellar performances by Martha Plimpton as Princess Imogen, John Cullum as her father King Cymbeline and Paul O'Brien as the exiled lord Belarius.

The luminous Plimpton skillfully moves from dazzled lover of Posthumus (Michael Cerveris, whose performance among anyone in this cast flirts dangerously close to overreaching) to forlorn royalty in hiding with impeccable ease. Cullum aptly commands the stage as the King who's undermined by his deceitful Queen (deliciously played by Phylicia Rashad). And then there's O'Brien whose heartfelt, heroic performance as the man who unwittingly takes in each of the king's three children is both touching and exhilarating.

Other standouts in this large cast include Jonathan Cake as the ruggedly handsome Iachimo, a charming rapscallion who wagers with Posthumus that he can deflower Imogen; John Pankow as Pisanio, Posthumus' loyal servant -- it takes a strong actor to deliver such a humble performance; and Adam Dannheisser as the Queen's son Lord Cloten, who singlehandedly offers the play's best comic relief, while making the often wooden Shakespearean dialect sound vibrant.

Michael Yeargan and Jess Goldstein, respectively, offer alternately sumptuous and spare scenic and costume designs that vividly evoke the proceedings' regal grandeur, as well as the Roman baths and the harsh battle scenes, the latter of which are accentuated by the haunting lighting design offered by Brian MacDevitt.

If you are like me and have been holding out for the right time to see Shakespeare on Broadway, this is the production to see. It's one of those rare treats that I'd even consider going back to enjoy a second time. But you'd better hurry -- the limited run revival will close on January 6, 2008.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Click here for tickets.
Related Stories:
Cymbeline Opens Tonight (December 2, 2007)
I've Got A Secret (August 15, 2007)

Labels: Broadway, Cymbeline, John Cullum, Lincoln Center, Mark Lamos, Martha Plimpton, Phylicia Rashad, Play, Revival, The SOB Review, William Shakespeare

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Monday, December 03, 2007 1 comments

Cymbeline Opens Tonight

Cymbeline Opens Tonight

This evening marks the first of many Broadway openings during a very crowded week, thanks to all the reshuffling done to accommodate shows shuttered during the recent stagehands strike.

But the show opening tonight is one of a small handful that thankfully was open for business throughout due to its being staged at the not-for-profit Lincoln Center. And the opening did not need to be rescheduled.

A revival of William Shakespeare's Cymbeline, which was last produced on the Great White Way more than 84 years ago, formally opens this evening with a star-studded cast including Jonathan Cake, Michael Cerveris, John Cullum, Martha Plimpton and Phylicia Rashad. Helmed by Mark Lamos, the limited run revival only performs through January 6 at the Vivian Beaumont.

I took in a performance during the final week of the strike and will provide my SOB Review tomorrow along with my regular critics' capsule. We'll see how much I agreed with the critics on this rarely mounted play.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Click here for tickets.
Related Stories:
I've Got A Secret (August 15, 2007)

Labels: Broadway, Cymbeline, John Collum, Lincoln Center, Martha Plimpton, Michael Cerveris, Opening Night, Phylicia Rashad, Revival, William Shakespeare

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Sunday, December 02, 2007 0 comments

Brutus Forcimus?

Brutus Forcimus?

Giving a new edge to method acting, this just in from Aspen's Hudson Reed Ensemble presentation of scenes from William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.

After accidentally injuring himself, the company's namesake founder/actor/director reportedly excused himself saying, "I seem to have stabbed myself." Reed received stitches and the show will go on.

And all this time, I thought all prop knives were dull.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Labels: Aspen, Colorado, props, Scenes From Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Friday, August 31, 2007 2 comments

Lithgow Avoids Being Tasered By "Anti-American Stun Gun"

Lithgow Avoids Being Tasered By "Anti-American Stun Gun"

Yesterday's entertainment and arts section of London's venerable Sunday Times included a fascinating story on five-time Tony nominee and two-time winner John Lithgow, entitled "The Accidental American."

In it, Jasper Rees rightly applauds the thespian's far-reaching credentials, but snidely sniffs: "Following the example of almost every big theatre in London, the RSC has the star of a popular American sitcom leading the cast of its latest Twelfth Night," a show that will be presented in repertory at the Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon beginning on August 30.

Yes, Mr. Rees, having had several opportunities to see Mr. Lithgow perform, I quite agree that he is an exceptionally gifted stage actor. But thanks to the magic of a little entity called the Internet, even those of us on the other side of the pond are quite capable of reading your anti-American-tinged bilge.

Here's to John Lithgow and a successful run.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Click here for tickets.

Labels: John Lithgow, Play, Revival, Royal Shakespeare Company, Twelfth Night, United Kingdom, William Shakespeare

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Monday, August 20, 2007 2 comments

I've Got A Secret

I've Got A Secret

You're about to learn one of my deepest, darkest secrets. I've never shared it in this space before because I know what I'm about to say is considered heresy by most of my peers who enjoy theatre. But here goes...

Labels: Broadway, Cymbeline, First Word On New Show, John Collum, Lincoln Center, Martha Plimpton, Michael Cerveris, Phylicia Rashad, Revival, William Shakespeare

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Wednesday, August 15, 2007 8 comments

The Merchant Of Venice (The SOB Review)

Labels: Guthrie, Joe Dowling, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Play, Revival, The Merchant Of Venice, The SOB Review, William Shakespeare

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Saturday, April 07, 2007 4 comments