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

This Is Government

At the start of This Is Government, written by Nina Kissinger and directed by Sarah Norris, three young adults sit in a drab congressional office (nicely realized by Daniel Allen). Against the back wall are a dozen or so file cabinets, some piled horizontally on others. Kaz, the badly paid staff assistant, is busy working; the other two, Emi and Tip, even worse paid interns, are pretty much farting around. 

In front: Vann Dukes, Kleo Mitrokostas, Charles Hsu.
In back: Susan Lynskey.
Photo: Burdette Parks

While Kaz (the excellent Vann Dukes) tries to convince the interns to demonstrate even a hint of professionalism, Emi and Tip remain focused on why the supposedly decent congressman they work for seems to be turning his back on an important health bill (Kaz says it's just political maneuvering). They also talk a lot about Stevie, a frequent caller desperate for a few minutes with the congressman. She also wants to chat, and Tip enjoys their conversations. Stevie has only good things to say about "the phone people."

This beginning of the play is reasonably interesting but generic. The banter is only occasionally amusing, and the uneven acting doesn't add much. 

Then a lockdown is announced in response to a threat to the Capitol. Kaz, Emi, and Tip are stuck in their small office for hours with little in the way of food or comfort. Even after the Capitol is evacuated of congresspeople, the people in the other buildings--the nobodies, like this threesome--remain locked in. 

To their astonishment, it turns out that Stevie is the source of the threat. Until now the audience has only heard about Stevie, but now we get to meet her--and now the show really starts. Playwright Kissinger does her best writing for Stevie, making her real in a way the others just aren't. In addition, Susan Lynskey's performance as Stevie is extraordinary, full of humanity, subtle, and perfectly pitched. Just watching Lynskey do her stuff is by far the highlight of the evening.

This Is Government is reasonably good--there's some funny stuff, nice moments, and entertaining direction, with an underlying desire to say real, important, things about  politics. But the show would be far more powerful, I think, if the interns were more fully developed and the opening section were cut in half. 

Wendy Caster