Overview of 2011 theater season

A 2011 to 2012 overview: — a look back and forward by Curtainup's  critic and editor in chief.

New pre-holiday musicals: 2 thumbs up, 2 thumbs down

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  4 Pre-Holiday Musicals: 2 thumbs up, 2 thumbs down


Of  our 2 recent visits  to  new musical productions,   our off-Broadway trips  were by far the most fun and satisfying.  Schlemiel the First  is  a  rarely seen but well worth  weeing revival--  Once  is something of a master class on  how  to  adapt a  movie for the stage -- keeping its char but creating a new art form.  If you don't get a chance to see it at NYTheatre Workshop   in the East Village--  it  is moving to  the Bernard Jacobs Theater  and ore likely  to  transfer successfully  than  the  misguided revised revival of  On a Clear Day You Can See Forever  or  the  silly  Lysistrata Jones which    overreached by  transferring its  downtown run to the Great White Way.


Shlemiel the First- Besides being imbued with Klezmer this offers many lessons. And you don't have to be Jewish to appreciate them and enjoy the show . . .

Once - a rare screen-to-stage adaptation that retains the charms of their source but as a work of art in its own right .

Lysistrata Jones - the move uptown is a case of overreaching. It's still light-hearted and purposefully silly fun, but it's just too slight and limited in broad audience appeal . .

On a Clear Day You Can See Forever - if anyone can bring out the very best in a show and make a half-full cup of entertainment filled to the brim, Mayer's the man. At least I thought he was . . .

Once - a rare screen-to-stage adaptation that retains the charms of their source but as a work of art in its own right .

Off Broadway News:  The high profile  War Horse, gets a low-budget-low-key   sequel. For XMas fun, consider   a kvetchy Jewish Scrooge   and  nostalgic Dylan Thomas Christmas concert
Farm Boy- a far more low-keyed but cleverly conceived sequel Michael Morpurgo’s 1997 novel than War Horse, the play or the soon to be released movie. . . .

Jackie Hoffman

A Chanukah Charol- Who better to give Dickens' famous holiday story a Jewish twist than Hoffman, the queen of side-splitting stand-up kvetch? Who indeed! After all, Hoffman's kvetching is a way of saying "Bah! Humbug." . . .

A Child's Christmas in Wales-Howard McGillin leads the five-member cast in Dylan Thomas's concertize d story that's as good as a striped and colored peppermint stick . . .

Recent NJTheater Reviews@curtanup.com

Bakersfield Mist- an out-of-the-ordinary, almost out-of-the-blue —, but more importantly, outstanding— two-hander . . .

Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol - this is definitely unlike any other version you have seen before. . . .

The Nutcracker and I- Despite its occasional treats, this needs a more amusing book if it wants to qualify as a traditional holiday entertainment. . .

Jill Paice &Meredith Patterson in White Christmas

Irving Berlin’s White Christmas- a better than ever dose of nostalgia awaiting

Recent London Theater Reviews@curtainup.com

The Comedy of Errors- this traditional comoedia from the Greco-Roman tradition, and rests on the enjoyment of farce, slapstick and caricature and director Dominic Cooke wastes no time in getting into the action. . .

Cinderella- Over recent years, Hackney Empire has established itself as home to arguably the best pantomime in London, and this year’s offering only strengthens its reputation.. . .

Bertie Carvel as Miss Trunchbull and Lauren Ward as Miss Honey in Matilda the Musical

Matilda the Musical- Matthew Warchus's delightful production for all ages about the precocious little girl who loves books and is born into a family of book hating telly addicts . . .

Collaborators- Simon Russell Beale gives an affectionate, quizzical and jokey portrait of Joseph Stalin in John Hodge's play. . .

Reasons to be Pretty- The last of Neil LaBute trilogy about how we look and relationships opens in London where it all started. . .

 Judgement Day- Ibsen’s last play has a reputation for impenetrable symbolism, but in this new adaptation by Mike Poulton, the language takes on a hypnotic rhythm worthy of his earlier verse dramas.. . .

The Lion in Winter- Trevor Nunn’s production of James Goldman's play sadly fails to satisfy even as a historical pastiche comedy because it isn’t outrageous enough for 21st century humour. . . .

Juno and the Paycock- The National Theatre and The Abbey Theatre (Ireland's National Theatre) have come together for the first time with a co-production that must have taken great consideration to ensure that neither side of the Irish Sea felt excluded. . . .

Salt, Root and Roe- Tim Price’s enthralling second play, . . .

EX - This new ‘play with songs’ by Rob Young and Ross Lorraine seems something of a strange choice for the Soho Theatre with it's usually challenging and thought-provoking, political and cutting-edge. . . .

This fast-paced Cherry Orchard really is a comedy--

John Turtorro  and  Juliet Rylance in The Cherry Orchard
The Cherry Orchard- The Classic Stage production has ratcheted up the comedy of Chekhov's last play more than any I've seen; it's also the trimmest

London gets a delightful new musical. . . and more

London Theater:  A delightful new family musical,   a new play about Stalin,  a new look at Ibsen's last play,  and   American playwright Neal LaBute   . . .

 

Bertie Carvel as Miss Trunchbull and Lauren Ward as Miss Honey in Matilda the Musical

Matilda the Musical- Matthew Warchus's delightful production for all ages about the precocious little girl who loves books and is born into a family of book hating telly addicts . . .

Collaborators- Simon Russell Beale gives an affectionate, quizzical and jokey portrait of Joseph Stalin in John Hodge's play. . .

Reasons to be Pretty- The last of Neil LaBute trilogy about how we look and relationships opens in London where it all started. . .

 Judgement Day- Ibsen’s last play has a reputation for impenetrable symbolism, but in this new adaptation by Mike Poulton, the language takes on a hypnotic rhythm worthy of his earlier verse dramas.. . .

Live Theater for $20 --Really!

Suicide, Incorporated- Andrew Hinderakers’s modestly macabre but also humorously tender play is also an ironically good fit for the Underground series as it deals with the decision by people to end their unhappy lives above ground . . .

Tweet reviews of new London productions

Collaborator- Simon Russell Beale gives an affectionate, quizzical and jokey portrait of Joseph Stalin in John Hodge's play. . .

Reasons to be Pretty- The last of Neil LaBute trilogy about how we look and relationships opens in London where it all started. . .

 Judgement Day- Ibsen’s last play has a reputation for impenetrable symbolism, but in this new adaptation by Mike Poulton, the language takes on a hypnotic rhythm worthy of his earlier verse dramas.. . .

The Lion in Winter- Trevor Nunn’s production of James Goldman's play sadly fails to satisfy even as a historical pastiche comedy because it isn’t outrageous enough for 21st century humour. . . .

4-new curtainup reviews

Sean McNall and Jolly Abraham

Richard II- the Pearl Theatre has deftly handled Shakespeare’s difficult (and long), history play, . . .

Wild Animals You Should Know- There's probably a good play in here somewhere. But it's been given a ready for prime time production somewhat prematurely. The producers would have been wise to followthe Boy Scout motto: "Be Prepared.". . .

Seminar- With copy editing jobs disappearing with other publishing jobs, writers wanting a sharp eye cast on their fledgling literary efforts may well need an expensive private teacher like the one in Theresa Rebeck's new comedy . . .

She Kills Monsters- Whether or not you ever played a heroic paladin or wise wizard, if you know true devotion when you see it, this is fun and worth seeing . . .

Something old, (Private Lives), something new (Horsedreams)

Private Lives — Paul Gross, Kim Cattrai new Elyot is tall, dark and handsome, the sort of debonair leading man born to wear tuxedos and silk dressing gowns and he foxtrots divinely
Horse Dreams - Dael Orlandersmith's brutally frank play about a family decimated by drug addiction, written in a beautifully composed, essentially lyrical, narrative -driven style

on&off-Broadway curtainup reviews

We were burning for Thomas Bradshaw's  semi-pornographic Burning to end. . .but we succumbed to High Jackman's charm.  .and found   much to like (if not love)  in  the new  concert-stand show about  Gay Marriage.  We were also  pleased to see the Prospect Theatre Group's  funy musical  Iron Curtain get a second life.  Our  Shakespeare  maven Deirdre Donovan  sounded off on  the  film Anonymous  about  the Bard's identity.

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Burning -Thomas Bradshaw's new play overloads the play with two many ideas that don't work and sex scenes that more excessive and boring than titillating . . .

Hugh Jackman Back on Broadway- he's the current King of Broadway. For him, it’s home. For us, it’s a treat. . . .

Standing On Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays- A bunch of A-list authors and actors explore the joys and pitfalls of same sex nuptials . . .

Aonymous — Our Review of the film that challenges Shakespeare's authorship. . .

Iron Curtain - The Prospect Theater's delightful musical gets a welcome second life . . .

A not-to-be-missed off-Broadway show

Jenn Gambatese with company members in Iron Curtaon

Iron Curtain - The Prospect Theater's delightful musical gets a welcome second life . . .

well acted and staged Inner City tragedy

 

Tonya Pinkins and Angela Lewis 

Milk Like Sugar- Kirsten Greenidge's slice of inner city life in which three teenagers make a pact that's sure to derail their already slim chances for escaping lives brightened only by short-term gratification . . .

A brisk well-cast Shakespeare play for the price of a movie!

Reg E. Cathey as Don Armado in Love's Labor's Lost

Love's Labor's Lost- Karin Coonrod has chosen n a mode that embraces both the past and the present which works as well as any pseudo-historical time in the Public's wonderfully affordable LAB production. .

3 new reviews for London theatergoers

Death of a Maiden- BAFTA award winning actress Thandie Newton makes her stage debut inthe newly named Harold Pinter Theatre's revival of Ariel Dorfman's play. . .

The Last of the Duches- Nicholas Wright's excellent play set in 1980 about the last years of the Duchess of Windsor in Paris. . .

Britannicus- This accessible modern dress Natural Perspective production of Racine starts slowly but builds up a compelling momentum.. . .

Actor Jesse Eisenberg turns playwrght

Asuncion- The chance for Jesse Eisenberg groupies to see him up close and personal in his first playwriting effort is likely to flll every seat at the Cherry Lane Theater

Groundbreaking musical at Godspeed Opera House

Burke Moses (top) and D.B. Bonds in City of Angels

City of Angels- The Tony-Award winning musical beautfully revved at Godspeed Opera House

Curtainup's news from London

Ths week's reviews from our London critic-- along with her take on the Evening Standard Drama Awards. . .

Evening Standard Drama Awards 2011 — Lizzie Loveridge comments on the long list. . .

Inadmissible Evidence- Douglas Hodge is quite simply superb in this revival of John Osborne's very personal play . . .

Jumpy- Tamsin Greig lends star power to this light social comedy. . .

66 Books- A monumental multi-author enterprise at the Bush. . .

Bang Bang Bang -Stella Feehily’s play is based on meticulous research with the workers of various NGOs and charities who are employed in Africa to monitor the situation and to provide economic or medical aid.. . .

An old-fashioned laugh fest by 3 comic writers

Danny Hoch makes a welcome return in Relatively Speaking's curtain raiser

 
Relatively Speaking: Talking Cure by Ethan Coen; George is Dead by Elaine May, Honeymoon Motel by Woody Allen- The bookend pieces are strictly for laughs, the middle piece is as sad as it is funny. Taken together, the three pieces are a bit like having three desserts instead of a really substantial meal

A not to be missed new play from a fresh new voice

Sons of the Prophet- This comedy about grief and pain will l indeed have you laughing often but it's also deeply touching and filled to the brim with serious issues.. . .

Mike Daisey's cautionary tale for Apple acolytes

The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs- Mike Daisey takes off his rose-colored glasses to tell his version of the Jobs story . .

Could this NJ premiere be Broadway bound?

Jim Shankman, Kathleen Goldpaugh, Carol Todd 

 

It Shoulda Been You- Brian Hargrove & Barbara Anselmi have put a Jewish mother with all her lovable flaws in the center of a delightfully ebullient, often hilarious, new musical comedy . . .

London Stages: Something old & something new

On London Stages:  Edward Bond's  once again timely  Saved, a nother  class for the Pitman Painters  and   a new play by Conor McPherson
 
Saved - Lyric Hammersmith director Sean Holmes and his actors give us a fresh production of Edward Bond's groundbreaking play. . .

The Veil- Conor McPherson's gothic story receives a big production directed by the playwright himself. . . .

The Pitmen Painters- Lee Hall's unusual painting class resumes at the Duchess Theatre . . .

The Mountaintop- Samuel L. Jackson makes an impressive Broadway debut Katori Hall's faction about Martin Luther King's last night on earth.

What do Linda Lavin and Times columnis Gail Collins have in Common?

The Lyons- You wouldn't want a monster wife at your bedside, but you won't want to miss Linda Lavin's irresistibly funny and moving portrayal of her . . .

Actress Zoe Kazan dons playwritiing hat

Amy Irving and Jeremy Shamos  in We Live Here

We Live Here- Actress Zoe Kazan's first major Off-Broadway play is an imperfect pleasure. . .

Rattigan play: fine actor, not to fine play

Man and Boy- A timely but flawed Rattigan play, given the grand manner treatment by Frank Langella

Motherhood: A topic as universal as it can get

The  actors who bring  motherhood  in all  its permutation  to entertaining  life  at Primary stages . . .
Motherhood Out Loud- 4 actors, and a baker's dozen of playwrights contemplate motherhood in our "brave new world" .

Grunge specialist Rapp does a fancy dinner party. ..

Dreams of Flying Dreams of Falling- Review of Adam Rapp's Albee haunted dinner party, plus a wrapup of Rapp's trajectory from downtown cult favorite to high profile by-line . . .

London does Synge classic & rock musical

an early 20th play excitingly revived and  a late in the century Broadway musical crosses the pond

The Playboy of the Western World- John Crowley’s exciting production of JM Synge’s 1907 classic has a modern feel. . . .

Rock of Ages- This American jukebox musical featuring the glam metal rock bands of the late 1980s comes to London recast with an English cast. . .

A beautifully staged revival of Lanford Wilson's early play

Lemon Sky - The Keen Company revival of Lanford Wilson's early play . . .

An entertaining if not always comfortable to watch new play

The Submission - a young playwrights submission of his play under a more attention getting by-line turns into a case of "oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive" .

A Disney flop now a musical hit in NJ

Jeremy Jordan (center) and company membersin Newsies

Newsies- There is nothing quite like the excitement that accompanies the world premiere of a new musical, especially one that, like this Papermill Playhouse premiere, is the result of work by some of the most creative and lauded talents in the theater.

a fun take on a nce hot ticket melodrama. . .

From Rags to Riches- Under Alex Roe’s intelligent direction, this old melodrama about economic stagnation is right on the money. . . .

The Invested: good theater for a small investment

The Invested- the actors and the smart script make this behind the financial headlines play fun to watch. And at $18 a ticket, affordable even if your portfolio has taken a beating.. . .

Stagestruck filmmaker strikes out as playwright

The Wood- Dan Klores's docu-drama about the late journalist Mike McAlary is too jumpy and maudlin . .

No folly to see this Follies at the Marquis

Follies- To paraphrase Samuel Johnson, "When you're tired of Stephen Sondheim's Follies, you're tired of musical theater" .
It's got Bernadette Peters and Ron Raines  and that  slinky blonde at the right none other than  the  very proper  mother-in-law from hell in the Good Wife Mary Beth Peil 

Ralph Fieenes is a riveting Prospero

Ralph Fiennes as Prospero

The Tempest- Ralph Fiennes draws the audience into Prospero’s world and we are almost complicit in his wizardry . . .

The inventive Elevetar Repair grou tackles Hemingway

The Select (The Sun Also Rises)- Less time consuming than Elevator Repair Service's Gatz, but still a hefty theatrical meal but its one that's nourishing and enjoyably brings Hemingway's novel to life. . . . . .

A financial thriller touching on the entire zeitgeist

Other People's Money - theater buffs will love this terrific and timely comedy of manners that's all about a London bank scandal -- but also a backwater town's dying newspaper and local theater producer and playwright. .

Audra McDonald is a Bess for tee ages

The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess - no matter what Stephen Sondheim may say this Porgy and Bess is most timely when it isn’t as worried about the running time, the times, or The Times. .

Another hit for the invaluable Mint Theater

Temporal Powers - The Mint's production of Teresa Deevy's long ignored play is certainly a cure for those in search of a good yarn . . .

south pacific not quite the big thrill in London

South Pacific- a largely British cast needs extra concentration to maintain the American accents, in song as well as voice. . .

Bluebird - Simon Stephen's beautifully written, tenderly sad play has finally crossed the Atlantic. Too bad that audiences here have been given such a short time to see it, especially since it stars the lauded actor Simon Russell Beale . . .

It's sold out  but there's a standby line 

Book of Mormon tix = hot auction item

Tickets  for  The Book of  Mormon  are fetching astronomical    prices  and  savvy fundraisers  have  not overlooked  the  hotter than hot  show's  potential  for  raising  big bucks.  
 www.curtainup.com/bookofmormon.html


Debrorah  Graussman,     recently put together one  of  the  best    fund raising  galas  I've  ever  attended  to  raise  money  for   the Lenox, Mass  based   Shakespeare & Company's    widely  respected  education  program.    The enterprising  and talented Graussman   arranged  to  bus  a  bunch  of   Broadway  babies   to  spend  their   "off"  Monday  night  performing  (pro bono)   at  the  company's  filled to the brim   Founders Theater. 

To  add  to the $50,000  already  collected  from  ticket  sales,  Graussman   joined  host  Chip Zien  on  stage and  launched an auction  for 2  prime   Book  of  Mormon  tickets  for a  Saturday  matinee.  The   bidding was  brisk  and   the  winner  ended up shelling out $1900.  

Broadway in the Berkshires was so smartly organized, deliciously entertaining and indeed as close to a night on the Great White Way as you could get. Chip Zien was a delightful host who not only delivered lots of laughs  and  also performed, as did Graussman.

 It was an evening of non-stop highlights such as Brian Charles Rooney's hilarious multi-persona (female as well as male) medley of Broadway hits, and a thrilling dance solo by young Peter Mazurowski, one of the three young actors currently starring as Billy in Billy Elliot.

The  way  this evening was  organized could serve as a master class in ow to run a benefit that truly delivers  what it promised. With a trio of musicians that included the Boston Symphony Orchestra's chef cellist, Owen Young, who could ask for anything more? 

Bio of the Wendy Wasserstein we THINK we knew--

Wendy and the Lost Boys- Julie Salamon's "can't put it down" biography of Wendy Wasserstein. . .

Charles Bush's zinger-filled serio-comedy

Olive and the Bitter Herbs - A superb cast has been entrusted with the difficult burden of speaking a lot of funny lines while also behaving either irresponsibly or reprehensibly in Charles Bush's new play

A bad day for pit musicians in this new musical. . .

Jessica Tyler Wright, Malcolm Gets, Lauren Molina in Ten Cents A Dance

Ten Cents a Dance— John Doyle's actor-musician take on Rodger and Hart's songbook in its American premiere at Williamstown

Ret is back

Rent- the iconic musical's original director Michael Greif has attended to the show's needs with marked discipline as well as with some newly motivated impressions. . . .

Beautiful Cate Blanchett in beautiful Uncle Vanya

Cate Blanchett and Richard Roxburgh in Uncle Vanya

Uncle Vanya- the Sydney Theatre Company's very special production of Chekhov's play at the Kennedy Center

an ultra-intimate theater experience

Sarah Lemp in HotelMotel

HotelMotel-two plays in site specific setting for 20 viewers at a time only . . .

An Early less hopelessly sad Glass Menagery

The Pretty Trap- there is the prospect of a happy ending in this early one-act version of The Glass Menagerie.

To be or not to be in a lower east side parking lot. . .

Hamlet In The Park(ing) Lot- an urban setting with unanticipated noises, but it's free.

A terrific world premiere in the Berkshires.

Aisha Hinds and John Bedford Lloyd

The Best of Enemies - a moving new drama by Mark St. Germain another winner for Barrington Stage Company

recently reviewed off-Broadway shows

All New People- Put four people with major issues in a room and see what happens when they are fueled by alcohol, an assortment of drugs including cocaine and a script that is neither credible nor makes much sense. . . .

Romeo and Juliet- Theater 2020 bring Shakespeare's young lovers to Brooklyn. And for FREE! . .

The Patsy- An old play and a new monologue have been created as performance pieces, each allowing the wonderfully talented Greenspan to be ingratiating and impressive in different ways. . . .

TheShoemaker - this three-character play features a sequence of metaphors and symbols that too often get in the way of the inherent dramatic opportunities. . .

No Child-Nilaja Sun's acclaimed solo piece back briefly at its first hom . . .

If you're visiting the Berkshires. . .

The Hound of the Baskervilles- A superbly executed spoof of Sherlock Holmes' novella. . .

Dutch Masters world premiere at Berkshire Theater Group's Unicorn Theater

Lily Rabe with Zinab Jab in a scene from A Doll's House

A Doll's House- Lily Rabe makes Sam Gold's production at Willimastown's Nikos Stageworth seeing even without a slam-bang ending

Hair' Roadcompan is Broadway Summer Feast

Hair - the touring Tribe rocks again on Broadway. . .

Terrific Oklahoma back in DC for tthe summer

Oklahoma!— Curtainup revisits this return engagement. and finds it better than ever .

A. R. Gurney's doggie romance still gets laughs. . .

David Adkins and Rachel Bay Jones

Sylvia- A.R. Gurney's popular doggie romance at Berkshire Theatre Festival. . .

Kevin Spacey is a not-to-be-missed Richad III

Kevin Spacey as King Richard III

Richard III- It is a role made for Kevin Spacey who surely would surely have been made a knight of the theatre if foreign nationals were eligible for the award of the royal "sword on shoulder" honour. . .

The evil Dr. Lecter sings in off-Broadway musical

Silence the Musical- cheeky musical based on the famous film about Hannibal Lecter . . .

Still timely Robin Baitz play with Steven Weber

Steven Weber in Three Hotels

Three Hotels- Jon Robin Baitz's 1993 two-hander at Williamstown