Follies

The pastiche numbers all score (wow!) and the thirty piece orchestra sounds absolutely lush (yes, by all means, go!) yet I can't give this production of Follies the unqualified rave that others have. The dynamics between the four main characters - crucial in any production of this musical if it's going to amount to more than a string of brilliant songs - simply don't come off. Victoria Clark sings well (although not distinctively) but her Sally lacks vulnerablity and puts too little at stake; she communicates a vaguely put out "oh darnit" disappointment where crushing heartache ought to be. She has no chemistry with Michael McGrath, who simply disappears on stage as Buddy even when he's front and center, and she has no chemistry with Victor Garber, whose Ben leans so far to the sour side that we have to take claims of his desirability on faith. (It doesn't help that Garber's wobbly vibrato makes him sound like a goat yodeling through its nose). The saving grace in the main quartet is that as Phyllis, Donna Murphy is spectacular - her cool line readings turn ice into fire, and her "Could I Leave You" has so much poison bitterness it's almost like watching a snake coiling around its prey and hissing through fangs.

Follies

*****
Encores

THIS WAS GAY CHRISTMAS! AHHHHH!!!!....(lemmie catch my breath for a moment...) Okay. I drool over this legendary Sondheim score (well, except for "The Right Girl" which hurts my ears) and this production was almost perfect exactly as it should be. Is there another musical out there that so revels in its imperfections than this congregation of old showfolk looking back one last time? The futile struggle to reach those high notes and high kicks was valiant and heartbreaking and beautiful to behold. I could not take my eyes off of the gorgeous, hysterical Christine Baranski who knocked it out of the park with "I'm Still Here". Donna Murphy is a LEGEND. VICTORIA CLARK WAS BORN TO PLAY SALLY DURANT PLUMMER. OH MY GAY GOD! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

The Fever

I didn't realize how much Wallace Shawn's words had sunk under my skin until I left the theater. I was expecting a more immediate play, but the subtle and studious language was just a wonderful luxury to find at the theater. Some of the segments didn't work for me, or I was too tired to fully appreciate them, but more often than not, I was actively engaged--and this from a short, raspy man who spends the majority of the play on a tiny sliver of stage, in a small armchair, covered mostly by darkness. I found the topic very relevant, but Shawn's right when he says that a play will not fix the problems of the poor. It takes the playgoers to do that.

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The Secret of Mme. Bonnard's Bath

Not Horovitz's best work, and I feel he certainly over-directed it, but The Secret of Mme. Bonnard's Bath is interesting enough to keep me at the theater. I don't like that the two actors supporting John Shea's turn as Bonnard are forced to narrate the piece too: the metadrama is as out of place as much of the comedy, if if the metadrama is justified by Bonnard's beliefs about art (that the artist must remain visible, that the piece of art must be seen as a piece of art) and if the comedy wins points on the merits of it being genuinely funny (as many of Horovitz's works tend to be). But it's unbalanced, and still too much like a rough sketch. The technical aspects haven't been smoothed out, particularly with the transitioning light gels, and the use of music highlights the weaknesses of the dramatic scenes. Also, the performances aren't likely to win any awards: they get the job done more often than not, but there's a measure of flatness to the play as is right now. Like Bonnard, revising his work twenty-five years later, Horovitz might want to consider a few more touch-ups on this play.

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A Very Common Procedure

I went as a guest; it wouldn't be cool to critique the performance I saw of this new play (currently at the Lucille Lortel) by Courtney Baron. I want to say though that a) Lynn Collins digs in deep and grabs the attention, as a mother who responds to the death of her newborn on the operating table by pursuing the surgeon, b) Amir Arison (who plays the surgeon) sounds my Hot Guy Alert bell and c) no one scribbles in a notebook as intently as director Michael Greif.

The Last Word...

**1/2

Two playwrights from two different generations debate their extremely different viewpoints on writing, theater, life, etc in this kinda interesting one act. Was the young playwright character based on this play's author, Oren Safdie? Playwrights' self-characters often come off with a diet personality and are armed with very intelligent mouths that make lots of points. Check. The young playwright announced that he was trying to get into Columbia, a school Oren attended. Check. To his credit he does not masturbate by making his character a Pulitzer Prize winner or allow his character to win every argument, but I still got the sense that the older blind playwright (played with a winning chuzpah by Daniel J Travanti) was doomed in terms of who is righter. There were a few notable moments but not a whole lot happened.