Talk Radio

photo: Joan Marcus

I was never all that wild about Eric Bogosian's peek at a shock jock behind his microphone: it seems to me a shallow character study that says the main character, an abrasive radio talk show host, spews abuse at his listeners because, surprise, he hates himself and has a God complex. Busy with a lot of dramatic business that now feels dated in a more media-saturated and more shockproof culture that has mainstreamed talk radio, this Broadway revival lacks the original's illusion of socio-political urgency. However, it does have Liev Schreiber, and if you're going to have someone star in a character study you'd have a hard time doing better than that. Schreiber plays a good deal of the sadness just below the surface in the volatile, edgy shockjock, and he peels back layers as he gets deeper into the performance. By his final monologue, he makes you believe you've seen a man almost eat himself alive with disgust. See this for that.

Talk Radio

I finally got to see Liev Schriber in a production. It is pure sloth with a dash of poverty that has kept me from the many opportunities I have had in the past and I should be punished. As the alcoholic shock-jock Liev begins with a subtle intensity that evolves into reckless drunkenness during this 90 minute character study. I cannot think of another name in the current scene who could quite pull of what Liev does (perhaps Ethan but he's busy). This is a recommender.

The Dance: The History Of American Minstrelsy

photo: Tatiana Elkhouri

***1/2
Richmond Shepard Theater

I haven't seen black-face in New York since Mandy Patinkin in The Wild Party. Billed as "educational theater for social change", this highly theatrical history lesson featured two African-American gentlemen diving headfirst into this banished and buried "art-form" with hilarious and harrowing effect. I might have questioned the relevance of this show as we all today acknowledge that black-face is wrong and bad, but this production, presenting racial stereotypes in their most severe and extreme and then the hurt and shame that they inflict, couldn't be any more relevant in our everyone's-a-little-bit-racist society. Actor Aaron White in black-face deftly lip syncing to Al Jolson's "Mammy" is an image I will not soon forget.

The Girl Detective

Every inch of The Girl Detective screams out "passion project." To adapt such a textual short story (by Kelly Link, based on ideas from Grimm's Fairy Tales and the Greek Underworld) for the stage . . . Bridgette Dunlap has clearly been touched. But passion doesn't always translate to the stage, and Dunlap is lacking either the budget or the experience to bring this story to life. Neither illusory enough to fit the narrative nor dramatic enough to make for good theater, the show flutters in an intellectual limbo. Even the thought-free fits of dancing aren't enough to transport me (they're also still a bit sloppy); I spent more time trying to detect the plot than I did enjoying the detective.

[Read on]

Prelude To A Kiss

photo: Joan Marcus

If you saw the original Broadway production of this sweet little comedy in 1990 as I did, with sensitive Timothy Hutton and quirky-loveable Mary Louise Parker ideally cast as the romantic leads, it's a good bet you'll be stunned at the charmlessness of the first act of this revival. Alan Tudyk and Anne Parisse aren't asked to bring much more than toothpaste smiles and personality-free earnestness to the roles now, and without a convincingly tender romance for the audience to invest in, the first act is a bland snooze. It isn't only their fault - the usually top-notch Daniel Sullivan has directed with a pronounced lack of imagination, letting crickets chirp where laughs used to be. Even Santo Loquasto's set looks second-rate, like someone built it based on a description over the phone. It isn't until the final scene of the first act, when John Mahoney shows up as the mysterious stranger at the couple's wedding with the magical kiss that sets up the more sentimental second act, that this revival has any spark. Mahoney's performance is touching without being maudlin, and along with the good work from the supporting cast, it's enough for this production to (barely) get by. Second acters, take note.

Also blogged by: [David] [Christopher]

Prelude To A Kiss

**
Roundabout

The TBA slot in Roundabout's season (left vacant by a proposed revival of Les Liasons Dangereuses?) was announced to be Prelude To A Kiss on Playbill.com less than three months ago. And though I am not a fly on the wall of the American Airlines theater (just a bartender, don't forget), I sense that perhaps there was a little too much of a rush to get this drab, uninspired production mounted. I should note that I saw this production early in previews. I hope that before opening night the young leads stop being so miscast and the scenery stops being so dark grey, blocky, and non-descript.

Also blogged by: [Patrick] [Christopher]