NY Report- March 2009

Notwithstanding the difficult economic times, theater is alive and thriving in New York. There are more openings of new shows on Broadway, most notably new plays, than in any year of recent memory. My trip this month to New York focused primarily on off Broadway shows, but upcoming trips to the city in April and May will focus on new Broadway productions.

There are a number of outstanding shows playing (or which recently closed) off-Broadway, as evidenced by three excellent shows I attended. Perhaps most notable is the outstanding new production of "Our Town" conceived and directed by Chicago's David Cromer, who also stars as the Stage Manager. Cromer gets to the essence of Thorton Wilder's conceit and provides a focused and unique production that is shorn of the typical warmth and sentimentality that usually accompanies productions of this work. To those familiar with this show, that may seem counter to the essence of Wilder's work, but the brilliance of this production is that Cromer makes you understand why his stripped down Brechtian approach is much more faithful to Wilder's works than any other production of this show that you may have experienced. This is a show that will leave you thinking and rethinking about it for weeks. If you love theater, you owe it to yourself to see this "Our Town" at the Barrow Street Theater in the Village.

Having seen, and been disappointed by, a Los Angeles production of Martin McDonagh's "The Cripple of Inishmaan" nearly ten years ago at the Geffen Playhouse, I could not imagine the great reviews and sold-out status that accompanied Ireland's Druid Theater Company production of this show at the Atlantic Theater. Call me insufficiently imaginative, because this now closed show was pure theatrical heaven on stage. In the hands of what is perhaps the finest ensemble cast I have seen on stage, this work by the master McDonagh was laugh out loud funny, witty and incredibly moving. There are rumors of a possible Broadway run of this show in the fall, although the intimacy of the Atlantic stage could never be recreated on Broadway. Still, US theatergoers deserve to see more of this show. If it is revived on Broadway, don't miss it. It is not one of McDonagh's weaker works (a conclusion I reached after the woeful Geffen production), rather, it may be his best.

Lynn Nottage's "Ruined" at the Manhattan Theater Club's City Center Stage is without much doubt, the best new American play of the year. This co-production with Chicago's Goodman Theater where the show first premiered, is expertly acted and directed, but the work itself is the rare play which expertly melds political themes with strong, dramatic personal storylines. This depiction of life in a "house of ill repute" in war torn Congo is, at the same time, paradoxically both off-putting (with respect to the indignities suffered by the women characters) and yet incredibly engaging. The cast is outstanding across the board, but special mention is due Saidah Arrika Ekulona as the Mother Courage stand-in Mama Nadi, and the amazing Broadway debut performance of Condola Rashad. Ms. Rashad provides a graceful and genuine performance of a type that is rarely found in an actor of her age. I would be very surprised if this play does not win the Pulitzer in April, and further surprised if it does not transfer to Broadway, where it rightfully belongs.

That is the good news out of my recent New York visit. As for the bad, I felt unhappy and trapped and the inaptly named "Happiness," a world premiere small scale musical at Lincoln Center's Mitzi Newhouse Theater. Despite the many great talents involved (Susan Stroman as director-choreographer, John Weidman on book, and Hunter Foster and Joanna Gleason in the cast), this show is an unengaging turkey.

Although not a disaster of "Happiness" dimensions, I was significantly less than thrilled with the Broadway revival of "Hair" at Broadway's Al Hirschfeld Theater. Watching this show, I could not help but be struck by the nagging feeling that there is simply no good reason to revive this show. Perhaps a great director with a unique vision for this show could provide such a reason, but the uninteresting (except for a precious few moments) direction by Diane Paulus provides no such vision. The critics largely liked this past summer's Central Park staging of this production, and perhaps they will provide similar accolades when this show opens tomorrow. And I would be remiss if I failed to mention that the audience with which I saw this show seemed to be loving every moment. I did not hate it- I just did not particularly like it. At least in this incarnation, the show seems to have lost whatever meaning it once had.

I will continue my New York reports after my April and May visits to the city.

As for Los Angeles theatergoing, not much new since my last report, except to recommend the new drama "Goldfish" now playing at South Coast Rep in Costa Mesa. It is expertly written and acted, and is the best show I have seen thus far this year in the Los Angeles area. I expect this relatively inexpensive to stage show will have a healthy life beyond SCR in regional theaters across the country; it also deserves a successful off-Broadway run, and MTC, Second Stage or Roundabout would be wise to pick this up for one of their off-Broadway stages.

Early March Update

Over two months into 2009, and not much worthwhile to report on the theater scene, which thus far in '09 has been limited to Los Angeles for me. The most recent play I have seen - "A Skull in Connemara" at Theatre Tribe in NoHo was well done, but weakened by sub-par acting in a few lesser characters.

Although not without some serious flaws, on first viewing I enjoyed most of Deaf West's "Pippin" at the Taper, which had a few brilliant scenes. Then I saw this production a second time, and nearly everything clicked. While still not as good as Deaf West's "Big River," I thoroughly enjoyed this very creative take that updates an otherwise dated show.

The direction and acting of "Time Stands Still" at the Geffen is top-notch, but the play itself is one of the weaker efforts by a very good playwright (Donald Margulies). I thought "Battle Hymn" [insde] the Ford was creative, unique and well produced, but had a few cringe-inducing scenes that need to be excised if this play wants to find a life elsewhere.

The supposedly Broadway-bound "Minsky's" at the Ahmanson was not horrible, but simply mediocre. "Fata Morgana" at the Pacific Resident Theater did not work for me, and suffered from some very bad acting. Two shows that I would put on my "painful sit" list were "Taking Over" at the Taper and "Stormy Weather" at the Pasadena Playhouse.

Hopefully things will improve on my first trip of the year to New York next weekend. I hope I have some good things to report from that trip; I suspect I will. Until then....