I saw a wide variety of new theater during several recent trips to New York City this fall. For ease of reference, I will classify them as the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
First, the GOOD:
The fall has yielded two solid new musical productions, one a new work and the other a revival.
Memphis at the Shubert Theatre is an exciting new musical that portrays the emergence of African American music in 1950's Memphis as the backdrop for a story of a partially fictional white DJ who introduced this new style of music to a general audience. Parts of the show may seem derivative of other shows and the book isn't deep or groundbreaking, but the score, cast and production are enormously entertaining. While the entire cast is great, leads Chad Kimball and Montego Glover give Tony-worthy performances. I have not had as much fun as an audience member at any new musical since "Hairspray." Unquestionably, this is a real crowd-pleaser, but one that I can wholeheartedly recommend.
The Broadway revival of Ragtime is far superior to the original Broadway production of this fine musical in almost every way. This beautifully sung and staged production expertly presents the show's themes, and (unlike the original Broadway production) does not shy away from acknowledging the darker themes of the underlying book and the show itself. While it is true that Quentin Earl Darrington as Colehouse and Stephanie Umoh as Sarah do not have the vocal or acting chops of their roles' originators (Brain Stokes Mitchell and Audra McDonald), they are nevertheless quite good. In addition, Bobby Steggart as "the younger brother" gives a mesmerizing performance that turns a relatively minor role into a key one. The orchestra and group numbers are simply sublime. I cannot image any other revival this year coming even close to the quality of this production.
As for dramas, I highly recommend the Public's The Brother/Sister Plays, a trilogy of related plays set in New Orleans by the exciting young playwright Terell Alvin McCraney. While I preferred Part 2 to Part 1, both Parts are ambitious and exciting theater presented by an outstanding cast. Together with last year's "Wig Out," McCraney is proving to be a major new voice in American theater.
Also in the outstanding acting category is the force-of-nature performance given by Jude Law in the Donmar Warehouse production of Hamlet at Broadhurst. His supporting cast is spotty in terms of quality (only Ron Cook as Polonius comes close to Law's performance), but no matter. This show is all about Hamlet, and Law gives the finest live performance of that role that I have seen. This production only runs through early December; see it soon if you are in NY.
In addition to The Brother/Sister Plays, off-Broadway has several more fine new plays in Broke-ology at Lincoln Center's Newhouse Theater and Let Me Down Easy, Anna Deavere Smith's touching new healthcare focused show at Second Stage. Both are limited runs through early December, so time is running out to see these expertly produced shows.
Now for the BAD:
Sorry folks, but who had the bright idea that Finian's Rainbow was ripe for a revival? Certainly not the creators of the current revival at the St. James Theatre, as this production is dated, dull and flat. Notwithstanding a fine performance by the amazing Jim Norton, there just seems to be no good reason to revive this show. Similar problems of feeling dated befell the now closed production of Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs. I sat in the audience of this one thinking - why? Apparently, I was not the only one given the show's quick shuttering. Although not dated in the same way, Sarah Ruhl's new play In The Next Room or the vibrator play, also left me wondering - why? It was a pointless exercise that tries but fails at farce or any meaningful social commentary. The only thing interesting about this show is its title.
And finally, the UGLY:
Off Broadway's Circle Mirror Transformation and Fela! at Broadway's O'Neill Theatre were both very painful sits for me. The former was annoying and trite, and Fela! did nothing to earn the exclamation point in its title, failing to provide any coherent narrative while trying to force way too much pointless audience participation. IMHO, you would do well to skip both, despite the fact that some critics will undoubtedly sing the praises of both works for reasons that escape my comprehension.
