Laowang

The title Laowang: A Chinatown King Lear (written by Alex Lin; directed by Joshua Kahan Brody) is immediately intriguing. Unfortunately, the play does not live up to the title. Yes, there is a family head (in this case, a matriarch). Yes, she is deciding what to do with her fortune and property (a Chinese restaurant and its valuable building). And, yes, there are ungrateful progeny (two granddaughters and one grandson). 

Wai Ching Ho, Cindy Cheung,
Jon Norman Schneider, Amy Keum
Photo: James Leynse

Unfortunately, there are also scenes of manipulative seduction, as if from a different play, that are totally cringe. There are many generic tropes, including tight-ass lawyer, effeminate gay man, belittling grandmother, and predictable inter-sibling arguments. There are thin characters with about a trait and a half each. 

What isn't there is tragedy. That the matriarch is losing her hold on reality evokes little sorrow because we barely know her. Her hallucinations come across as carefully placed exposition dumps. In terms of plot, what should be deeply meaningful comes across as trivial.

Some cast members are effective, some aren't. Some of the direction is interesting. Some of the writing is good. But the negatives far overshadow the positives, and the 90 minutes feel much, much longer. The biggest disappointment is the waste of a fascinating concept.

Wendy Caster

Quick Takes

Some quick thoughts on shows I didn't review:

Gruesome Playground Injuries: Known theatrical truism: If you get a chance to see Kara Young, see Kara Young.

Gruesome Playground Injuries
Nicholas Braun, Kara Young
Photo: Emilio Madrid

Caroline: Estranged daughter in her mid-20s goes home with her own daughter, Caroline, seeking money, a place to stay, and maybe even some support and affection. After many years with no contact, the mother/grandmother isn't exactly thrilled to see them. This elegantly written three-hander is subtle and moving, with no villains and no heroes. Amy Landecker as the grandmother, Chloë Grace Moretz as the mother, and River Lipe-Smith as the daughter were all excellent. Written by Preston Max Allen and directed by David Cromer. (Closed.)

Caroline
Chloë Grace Moretz, River Lipe-Smith
Photo: Emilio Madrid

Let's Love: This fun series of short plays about sex by Ethan Coen featured Aubrey Plaza (raising emotional meanness to an art form), Nellie McKay (bringing her unique ineffable fabulousness), and other wonderful performers. Fluff, but really good fluff. (Closed.)

Let's Love
From Second Stage Website

The Long Christmas Dinner: For Thornton Wilder, life and death aren't two sides of the same coin; they're mixed together in the very atoms of the coin. The Long Christmas Dinner is an odd, charming one-act that takes place over the course of 90 years, with characters dying left and right. Done as a one-night reading at Symphony Space, it featured a fascinating array of performers including actors Becky Ann Baker, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Jim Parsons, and Roslyn Ruff; award–winning playwrights James Ijames and Sarah Ruhl; writer and poet Jacqueline Woodson; commentator Chris Hayes; and Wilder’s nephew Tappan Wilder, who had some fascinating insights in the discussion after the reading.

Rodeo: Rodeo, choreographed by Agnes DeMille, is a pure delight (if you can ignore some sexual assumptions that are, uh, "of their time.") It's full-out theatre, with a beginning, a middle, and an end and character arcs and such. At a recent performance at ABT, it was well-acted and beautifully danced, with great colorful costumes. It's just so satisfying. 

Queen of Versailles: A waste of time, money, and Kristin Chenoweth. 

Queen of Versailles
Kristin Chenoweth, F. Murray Abraham
Photo: Emilio Madrid

A New Brain: A New Brain has never quite worked for me. I end up seeing it every few years, and I tend to go through the same experience. In the first hour or so, I think, what is my problem with this show? It's excellent, with beautiful music, unique rhymes, interesting characters, a strong story. And then it goes on. And on. And on. Unimportant characters get solos, and it's hard to care. By the end, parts are actually boring, which I hate to say about a Finn work. The St. Bart's Players did a nice job all and all, with Jordan Cooke terrific as Schwinn. (Closed)

Triplicity: This lovely play with music focuses on three New Yorkers, with glimpses into their lives and hearts. It's quirky and warm and witty and very much its own thing. Written and composed by Ellen Maddow, directed by Paul Zimet, and starring El Beh, Amara Granderson, Lizzie Olesker, and Steven Rattazzi. Presented by Talking Band in association with Mabou Mines. Choreography by Sean Donovan and Brandon Washington; Set Design by Anna Kiraly; Lighting Design by Mary Ellen Stebbins; Costume Design by Olivera Gajic. (Closed.)

Meet the Cartozians: I don't know what other people saw in this well-received play. It's described on the website as follows: 

Talene Monahon’s Meet the Cartozians pulls back the curtain on a startling chapter of American history you may never have heard. This ... new play follows two sets of Armenian Americans: one man fighting for legal recognition in the 1920s, while a century later, his descendant fights for followers and a competent glam team. ... Meet the Cartozians asks who gets to belong — and at what cost?

The Times calls it "captivating, wildly funny, pure entertainment." Word of mouth is positive. 

For me, the show wobbles between exposition and essay without ever quite achieving theatre. It tries to be Stoppardian; it isn't. (Through December 14.)

Wendy Caster

Gotta Dance!

The immensely entertaining Gotta Dance!, a creation of American Dance Machine presented by the York Theatre, includes some 17 dance numbers from such classic musicals as A Chorus Line, Sweet Charity, Pippin, West Side Story, Singin' in the Rain, and An American in Paris. With evocative and attractive projections (designed by Brian C. Station); costumes reflecting or recreating the originals (Marlene Olson Hamm); and a seven-person band, the show is handsome and well presented.

But of course it is the dances and the dancers that matter most. They array of dances is wonderful. Gotta Dance! uses original choreography staged for this production by a variety of people, many of whom were in the original shows. For example, Donna McKenchnie stages "The Music and the Mirror and  Baayork Lee stages "One," both from A Chorus Line, and Pamela Sousa stages the "Manson Trio" from Pippin. What a treat it is to see these wonderful numbers again, one after the other after the other. 

Photo: Shawn Salley

The dancers range from solid to excellent. What they lack in star power they make up for with enthusiasm, energy, and charm. They are Brandon Burks, Anthony Cannarella, Barton Cowperthwaite, Deanna Doyle, Paloma Garcia-Lee, Jessica Lee Goldyn, Afra Hines, Jess Leprotto, Kendall Leshanti, Drew Minard, Georgina Pazcoguin, Samantha Siegel, Taylor Stanley, and Blake Zelesnikar.

It is rare that you get to see a show that is all highlights; Gotta Dance! is one of them.

Wendy Caster

Sweet Smell of Success

In a world where the vicious cynics of Succession kept a chunk of the world enthralled for years, you might think that the vicious cynics of the musical Sweet Smell of Success could also get some love. Certainly the original movie has deeply loyal adherents. (Full disclosure: I deeply dislike the original movie.) And the creators of the musical have impeccable credentials. Marvin Hamlish, winner of dozens of awards for his music, including a Tony for  A Chorus Line and Oscars for The Way They Were, provided an attractive score. Craig Carnelia has had shows on and off Broadway and has been nominated for many awards; his lyrics are solid, meshing well with the characters' personalities and Hamlish's music. John Guare, author of the amazing plays Six Degrees of Separation and Lydie Breeze, as well as the book of Two Gentlemen of Verona and the script for the movie Atlantic City, deepens the characterizations and clarifies the plot. (Here's a link to the Wikipedia page if you'd like a synopsis of the story.)

Photo: Toby Tenenbaum

In other words, the musical of Sweet Smell of Success has everything going for it. Yet it flopped. Why doesn't it work? For me, the problem is twofold. First, the main characters are icky. I'm not someone who requires sympathetic characters; however, while evilness can be enticing, ickiness is, well, icky. Second, no one develops. If Sydney Falco started out even a little innocent or starry-eyed, that would have given the show some tension and some growth. Instead, his journey is from amateur icky to professional icky.

Ted Sperling
Photo: Toby Tenenbaum

Nevertheless, the recent MasterVoices presentation of Sweet Smell of Success was largely fabulous. With the strong orchestra, wonderful chorus, and overall enthusiasm, MasterVoices presentations are pretty much always fabulous. Musical director Ted Sperling is a gift to New York and to musical theatre.

Wendy Caster

Richard II

While Richard III has been done 21 times on Broadway, Richard II has been done only seven, most recently in 1957. (Source: ibdb.com) It is certainly less interesting. Richard III is a grand villain, smart, full of anger, violent, and terribly sorry for himself--yet able to scrounge up a bit of charm when it suits his needs. Richard II, while more poetic in language, is bland, self-involved, and petulant. Both men believe in the divine right of kings because, hey, they're the kings. While Richard III is arguably evil, Richard II is stupid, which is considerably less interesting. His downfall is triggered by shallow self-interest. 

Michael Urie
Photo: Carol Rosegg

As with all of the history plays (and many of the Greek and Roman tragedies as well), the stories are supposed to possess gravitas because the main characters are royal. But, really, does being born into a particular family at a particular time make the characters more significant? Nah. And using the word hubris instead of the phrase blind, selfish stupidity doesn't ultimately disguise the fact that Richard II, Oedipus, King Lear, etc al, display, well, blind selfish stupidity.

Here's a way to reveal the actual pathetic humanness of these characters: picture Donald Trump instead. He was born into a particular family; he and his followers believe he was chosen by a god; and he has more power that Oedipus, Lear, and both Richards put together. But his story is not tragedy; it's the saddest and most horrifying of farces. 

Photo: Carol Rosegg

The Red Bull production of Richard II was adapted and directed by Craig Baldwin and stars Michael Urie. I am a fan of Red Bull and have enjoyed/been impressed by many of their "rethinkings" of classics. The excellent all-female Mac Beth in particular comes to mind. Richard II, however, is considerably less successful.

Moving the show to the 1980s adds little other than an excuse to use the song "Sweet Dreams" and some cool costumes by Rodrigo Muñoz. Richard's overt bisexuality-leaning-toward-gayness is fine, but the frequency of sexualized scenes diminishes whatever gravitas the character might have. Parts of the show almost read as anti-gay: look at the shallow, trivial gay guy who prefers the affairs of the body to the affairs of state. 

According to some theories, the end of Richard II gives Richard the chance to redeem himself by showing dignity as he is stripped of his crown. That isn't the case in this production. I kept waiting for one of the other characters to slap him and say, get over your damn self.

By moving the story to the 1980s, by sexualizing the character so much, by removing the period trappings, Baldwin has taken away any grandeur Richard might have had. Sort of like replacing King Lear with Donald Trump.

Much of the staging is attractive; much of the acting is top-notch; the depiction of a duel as a contemporary boxing match, complete with hyperenthusiastic emcee, works perfectly. But the adaptation and direction undercut the play's strengths and emphasize its weaknesses. 

Wendy Caster

Crooked Cross

In the early 1930s, Sally Carson, an English writer and dancing teacher, spent time in Germany. She then wrote Crooked Cross, which focuses on the insidious growth of Nazism, first as a novel and then as a play. The invaluable Mint Theater Company recently produced the play, slightly edited.

Photo: Todd Cerveris

The story of Lexa, a young woman in love with a Jewish man, Crooked Cross focuses on how her life changes as much of Germany, including her two brothers, join the Nazi party. Her boyfriend, a successful doctor, is fired from his hospital. Lexa's brothers pressure her to break up with him, and she lets them believe that she has, while still meeting him in secret.

It is fascinating to watch a play written in the early 1930s that sees clearly what is unfolding in Germany. Carson covers both what Nazism offers to disaffected, unemployed young men and how deadly dangerous it is. 

Photo: Todd Cerveris

Crooked Cross is not as interesting a play as it is a historic document. The characters are thinly drawn and the dialogue leans toward the pedantic. And the Mint's production is one of the company's rare misfires, coming across as flat and uninvolving. (In light of the many positive reviews that Crooked Cross has received, it's possible that I saw it on a bad night.)

As usual with the Mint, the design elements are strong and effective. The sound design for Crooked Cross, by Sean Hagerty, is particularly impressive. Through neighborhood noises, the sounds of a party, and other effects, he broadens the play, giving it considerably more dimension that it might have had in lesser hands.

For its next production, the Mint is going in a different direction with Zack, which has been reviewed as a "preposterous happy-ever-after tale, but one that should melt the most the most cynical heart." The Mint can be reached at minttheater.org. (Info on Zack has not yet been posted.)

Wendy Caster

Punch

Punch completely blew me away, as it did the people I saw it with. A wild, disaffected young man, Jacob, punches another young man, James, for no particular reason. That one punch kills James. James's parents, particularly his mother, become interested in Jacob, who he is, why he did what he did, and who he might become. Astonishingly enough, this is based on a true story.

Sam Robards, Victoria Clark, 
Camila Canó-Flaviá, Will Harrison
Photo: Matthew Murphy

At first, the play, written by James Graham and directed by Adam Penford, practically explodes on stage as Jacob and his friends wreak havoc as a lifestyle. The production is tremendously physical (movement by Leanne Pinder), and Jacob's lostness and stupidity seize the audience. The presentation is so vivid that it's hard not to feel part of all that happens.

Will Harrison
Photo: Michael Murphy

The superb play is supported brilliantly by an excellent cast, led by Will Harrison as Jacob. Harrison is both large and subtle, full of energy and quieted by pain, with an English accent so convincing that many people (myself included) assume that he's from the original cast in London. (The dialect coaches are Ben Furey and Charlotte Fleck.) It is a truly great performance.

The rest of the cast includes Victoria Clark and Sam Robards, both deeply real, as Jacob's parents. The other performers are Camila Canó-Flaviá, Cody Kostro, Piter Marek, and Lucy Taylor, all solid in multiple parts. 

To my surprise, a number of reviewers were lukewarm about Punch, comparing it to an afterschool special. I  think they missed the forest for the trees.

Wendy Caster

Torera

Torera vividly depicts the life of Elena, the daughter of the housekeeper in the house of a great torero, who desperately wants to be a bullfighter. The son of the torero is Elena's best friend, and he has access to all of the training and equipment that Elena craves.  

Jacqueline Guillen and the Company of Torera
 Photo: Joan Marcus

With its intriguing concept, excellent acting, imaginative direction, beautiful scenery and costumes, strong writing, and alluring dance, the show has much to offer. The whole, unfortunately, is a bit smaller than the sum of the parts, as the production occasionally drags, the plot is predictable, and the bullfighting scenes fail to evoke a sense of danger. Also, there is a hole in the entire premise, which would be a spoiler to share, but it definitely lessens the impact of the show. However, because of its very real strengths, I'm glad I saw it.

Wendy Caster

• Playwright: Monet Hurst-Mendoza 
• Direction and choreography: Tatiana Pandiani 
• Cast: Jorge Cordova, Christian Jesús Galvis, Jacqueline Guillén, Elena Hurst Pastora, Jared Machado, Andrea Soto
• Set design: Emmie Finckel
• Costume design: Rodrigo Muñoz
• Lighting design: Yuki Nakase Link
• Sound design and composition: G Clausen
• Movement and intimacy coordinators: Carter Gill, Skye Bronfenbrenner
• Bullfighting consultant: Rodrigo Ortiz

The Essentialisn’t

Roughly a third of the way through The Essentialisn't (great title), writer-director-performer Elisa Davis quotes Wikipedia:

“Essentialism is the view that every entity has a set of attributes that are necessary to its identity and function."

To a large extent essentialism is a more formal way of saying stereotyping. While both are based on shallow, inaccurate ideas, both are frequently embraced (not always consciously) by many people. Many, many people. The practical result of essentialism is that someone may feel that they know a person who they have never met, assuming that the person indeed possesses those preconceived attributes. Essentialism is a foundation of racism, sexism, and homophobia, and it also informs the thinking of many (many, many) good-hearted, non-hateful people. Like me, and very possibly you.

Photo: Daniel J. Vasquez

Davis pairs her dissection and dismissal of essentialism with a simple, powerful question, "Can you be Black and not perform?" Her answer is also simple and powerful: "No."

And there is a third aspect to the show: Black women's hair. It's discussed and used as costumes, and its images run through the show. 

Photo: Daniel J. Vasquez

This might suggest that The Essentialisn't is dry or preachy, but it is anything but. Davis has written a series of songs and performance sketches (for want of a better term), some straightforward, some allusive, some heartbreaking, many funny. From bobbing in a large glass box of water, roughly the size of a standalone shower; to fighting the stereotype that all black women can sing by dissecting/destroying "And I am telling you, I'm not going"; to providing an insight of what freedom might mean to someone long enslaved; to a three-way tug of war over a long braid of hair, Davis offers emotions and humor and humanity, and challenges our view of the world--and her own.

Davis's electronic soul score is effective and often beautiful, as is her voice. Her performance skills are excellent. Her bravery underlies all she does, as she takes us on an often painful journey.

The physical presentation is evocative and engaging: soundscape and sound design by Rucyl Mills, lighting design by Cha See, video design by Skye Mahaffie, and scenic and costume consultation by Peter Born.

Photo: Daniel J. Vasquez

There is much to admire here--in fact, I suspect that pretty much everything here is worth admiring. But here's the catch: the speed of the presentation and the quality of the sound design made much of the show unintelligible. I needed to read the script afterward to totally get what I had seen.

In general I think suggestions to artists from outsiders are tacky, so I instead have a request for Davis et al: would you consider adding words to the projections? Not closed captioning per se, but, rather, enough words to clarify what is being said. It would help the audience follow what is going on, and, really, we don't want to miss anything.

Wendy Caster

Twelfth Night, or What You Will

It's easier to enjoy Twelfth Night, or What You Will, the inaugural production at the newly redone Delacorte, if you accept that it's not exactly Twelfth Night. The show is lively, funny, a fabulous night at the theatre, but it mostly lacks emotional resonance and meaning. Twelfth Night Lite, if you will.

I have two opposing, completely honest reviews. Review one is how I felt sitting in the theatre. I was happy, laughing, loving the cool faux-autumn air, and feeling so grateful to watch such a starry cast. (Peter Dinklage! Sandra Oh! Daphne Rubin-Vega! Jesse Tyler Ferguson! Et cetera!) Review two is how I felt when I was telling my sister about the show the next day. Although I said a lot of positive things, she said, "I feel a but coming on." And the but was this: on reflection, the production felt like nothing. It's definitely a problem when the curtain call is one of the best parts of the show.

[spoiler]

The one moment that lands as fully developed and true-to-the-play is the reunion of the twins, each of whom thought the other was dead. Played by actual siblings Lupita Nyong'o and Junior Nyong'o, the twins are dressed and coifed identically, underlining their strong resemblance. They're both fine actors, and the scene would have worked with less resemblance, but the similarity adds an extra level of truth. 

What really makes this scene so strong, however, is that the reunion is spoken entirely in Swahili. They're not just finding each other; they're finding themselves, their language, their home. It is deeply moving, particularly in the context of the shallowness of the rest of the production. 

[end of spoiler]

It feels churlish to complain about a solid, star-filled, laugh-filled evening at the Delacorte. I truly had fun. But I was hoping to see Twelfth Night, not Twelfth Night Lite.

Wendy Caster

The Third Gilmore Girl: A Memoir (book review)

Kelly Bishop writing a memoir--doesn't that sound exciting? The stories she must have! The gossip! The attitude!

Nah. The Third Gilmore Girl is a short, polite, mildly interesting  book. She covers A Chorus Line and The Gilmore Girls fairly comprehensively, but that's really all she focuses on workwise. She spends barely a page on Bunheads! Many gigs go by with barely a mention.

Here are my takeaways: More of A Chorus Line is based on Bishop's life than I realized. She loved being on The Gilmore Girls and was terribly sad when Edward Herrman died. She's very close with Priscilla Lopez. Throughout her life she has had a fiery desire to work, and she only wants money she earns herself. Her husband was ill for much of their marriage and they were often separated due to her work, but they were very happy together. 

I love autobiographies that provide a 3D sense of the writer. I love feeling that you've almost hung out together. (See, for example, Chita Rivera's autobiography.) To the teeny tiny extent that The Third Girlmore Girl gives a sense of hanging out with Bishop, it is clear that she'd rather be somewhere else.

Wendy Caster

MISS MAY DOES NOT EXIST: The Life and Work of Elaine May, Hollywood’s Hidden Genius (book review)

While the subtitle of this book calls Elaine May "Hollywood's Hidden Genius," it also gives full attention to May's theatrical career, which has included writing, acting, and directing.

May first came to prominence doing comedy evenings with Mike Nichols. They practiced a form of comedy that was satirical, pointed, compassionate, and ground-breaking. They achieved a great deal of acclaim and made connections that would help them through their careers for the next many decades. 

Author Carrie Courogen discusses May's work in great detail and she shares fascinating stories and quotations from existing interviews. May herself clearly had nothing to do with the book, which is in keeping with her lifelong desire to maintain extremely private privacy.

Courogen deals with the absence of May's point of view by guessing what it might be. Too many sentences begin with "Perhaps" and similar conditionals. Did May quit job A because she didn't like her boss or didn't feel well or thought the work wasn't good enough or or or? Courogen doesn't know the answers, but that doesn't stop her from guessing.

Courogen also make the sort of mistakes that can make one wonder how accurate any of the book is. For example, she writes

What she's actually referring to is not a 50-point word but a 50-point bonus, which you get for using all seven of your tiles in a move. This is not only not "near-impossible," it is actually pretty common. Many Scrabble players, not only the best of the best, get this bonus regularly. Tournament players get these bonuses multiple times a game.

This mistake is not a huge deal in and of itself, but it is only one of many. So how careful and accurate is Courogen with May's life?

I ended up finding this book worth reading/skimming, but with a big ole' grain of salt.

Wendy Caster

Tony Predictions: How'd We Do?

It could have been worse. It could have been better. Sandra got a very respectable 18 correct. Liz and I tied with 13. It was a fun Tonys ceremony. Happy New Season!

(BTW, the √s are supposed to be checkmarks. Not sure what Blogger did to them.)

	Liz	Sandra	Wendy
New Musical: Maybe Happy Ending (MHE)	√	√	√
New Play: Purpose	Oh, Mary!	Oh, Mary!	John Proctor is the Villain
Lead Actress, Musical: Nicole Scherzinger, Sunset Blvd	√	√	Audra
Lead Actor, Darren Criss, MHE	√	√	√
Lead Actress, Play: Sarah Snook, Dorian Gray	√	√	LaTanya Richard-son Jackson
Lead Actor, Play: Cole Escola, Oh, Mary!	√	√	√
Featured Actor, Play: Francis Jue, Yellow Face	Conrad Rica-mora	√	√
Featured Actor, Musical: Jak Malone, Operation Mincemeat	√	Danny Burstein	Danny Burstein
Featured Actress, Play: Kara Young, Purpose	Marjan Neshat	Jessica Hecht	Jessica Hecht
Featured Actress, Musical: Natalie Venetia Belcon, Buena Vista Social Club (BVSC)	Joy Woods	Justina Machado	Justina Machado
Revival, Musical: Sunset Blvd	Gypsy	√	√
Revival, Play: Eureka Day	Yellow Face	Romeo + Juliet	√
Direction, Play: Sam Pinkleton, Oh, Mary!	Kip Williams	√	√
Direction, Musical: Michael Arden, MHE	√	Jamie Lloyd	√
Choreography: Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck, BVSC	Smash	√	√
Book: Will Aronson and Hue Park, MHE	Dead Outlaw	Dead Outlaw	Operation Mince-meat
Score: Will Aronson and Hue Park, MHE	√	√	√
Scenic Design, Play: Miriam Buether and 59, Stranger Things	√	√	Hills of Calif-ornia
Scenic Design, Musical: Dane Laffrey and George Reeve, MHE	√	√	√
Costume Design, a Play: Marg Horwell, Dorian Gray	Oh, Mary!	√	Oh, Mary!
Costume Design, Musical: Paul Tazewell, Death Becomes Her	√	√	√
Lighting Design, Play: Jon Clark, Stranger Things	Dorian Gray	√	Dorian Gray
Lighting Design, Musical: Jack Knowles, Sunset Blvd	√	√	√
Sound Design, Musical: Jonathan Deans, BVSC	MHE	√	Floyd Collins
Sound Design, Play: Paul Arditti, Stranger Things	√	√	Good Night, and Good Luck
Orchestrations: Margo Paguia, BVSC	Floyd Collins	Floyd Collins	Just in Time