PRINCE OF BROADWAY: Channel Surfing for Musical Theater Buffs

There is a deep engulfing sinkhole at the heart of Prince of Broadway, an evening of excerpts from 16 musicals that have been produced or directed by Hal Prince - recipient of 21 Tony Awards, a Kennedy Center Honor, and a National Medal of the Arts - in the course of a stellar career that is now in its seventh decade. 

Unfortunately, and rather significantly, the chasm at the core of the proceedings bears the name of the great Mr. Prince himself, who, despite the fact that he has co-directed this production, appears to be missing in action.  

For all its good intentions, the lumpish Prince of Broadway that opened last week at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre is the equivalent of channel surfing for Broadway musical theater buffs. It is all randomness and disconnect as it caroms from one brief encounter to the next, touching down lightly on far too many of the shows in which Mr. Prince had a hand between 1954 (The Pajama Game) and 1998 (Parade).  

Let's begin where most musicals start, with the overture. Composer Jason Robert Brown, whose own show, Parade, has its brief moment in the spotlight, serves as the production's arranger, orchestrator, and music supervisor. Talk about channel surfing, this overture spews forth bits and pieces of 17 different songs within a couple of minutes. That's fine if you're up to the challenge of a rapid-fire round of Name That Tune; otherwise, not so much. Conveniently, in the program, there is a cheat sheet identifying all of the numbers that are spat out in the overture, which even references a couple from shows that are never again referred to in the production itself (Flora the Red Menace, On the Twentieth Century, and Zorba).  

OK.  So that's just the overture.  But the same approach pretty much defines the overall production, in which a game but decidedly overwhelmed cast is hauled out to perform number after number after number -  37 of them from shows that Mr. Prince was involved with, plus another that Mr. Brown wrote for this production. Mind you, these are not grouped chronologically nor thematically, and there is only the barest of attempts to provide any sort of context. 

As Tevye sings in "If I Were A Rich Man" from the Prince-produced Fiddler on the Roof - performed here by Chuck Cooper - this poses problems that would cross a rabbi's eyes. You might just as well put your iPod on "shuffle" mode and let 'er rip. 

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So, what works?

• Tony Yazbeck does an exceptionally fine dance routine as part of his rock-solid performance of "The Right Girl" from Follies. This is truly the highlight of the show, a breathtaking feat (literally; how on earth can he manage to sing and tear up the stage with that amazing dancing, without an oxygen tank at hand?). Choreography credit to Susan Stroman, who serves as the production's co-director.   

• Janet Dacal and Michael Xavier exude charm by the bucketful in what is the best overall self-contained set piece, "You've Got Possibilities"  from It's A Bird...It's A Plane...It's Superman.  Here is one place where the singing, choreography (Ms. Stroman again), costumes by William Ivey Long, and the brightly colored comic book of a scenic design by Beowolf Boritt come together with just the right mix to give a sense of what the actual show itself would look like. 

•  I also liked the segment from Company, which is suggestive of he look of the original production and includes an explosive performance of "Ladies Who Lunch" by Emily Skinner.

• Also successful is the relatively lengthy segment from Cabaret, which includes four separate numbers. Brandon Uranowitz as the Emcee and, especially, Karen Ziemba as Freulein Schneider, do particularly well with their songs by effectively inhabiting their respective characters.

  













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The bottom line:  

a. Prince of Broadway is ambitiously filled with an avalanche of ideas that rarely come to life. There's too much material. Pick and choose, people; pick and choose. And use your production dollars on the best costumes, scenic design, and whatever else it would take to give us a real sense of what it must have been like to be in the audience when these shows made their debuts - preferably highlighting more of those that haven't been revived over the years. It's been done successfully before with other compilation shows, most notably Jerome Robbins' Broadway from 1989. I can still recall brilliant performances from West Side Story and On The Town that brought these shows fully to life through carefully designed excerpts. That production, by the way, was directed by the man whose work was being featured.   

b.  Add some serious narration that will give us a sense of Hal Prince as a producer and/or director: "Here's what I was trying to do with Cabaret." "Here's how I collaborated with Stephen Sondheim on Follies." "Here's what a producer does." I'm not looking for a series of lengthy lectures, just some context for each of the shows that are being highlighted. Here is one case where the theatrical truism of "show, don't tell" has been overplayed.  

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THE BUBBLY BLACK GIRL SHEDS HER CHAMELEON SKIN: This Perfect Fit For Encores! Off-Center's Mission Deserves A Longer Run

It's easy to imagine that, in the hands of the right director, Kirsten Childs' lightly satirical musical The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin might shed its own chameleon skin and embrace a sharper tone that could serve as an edgy commentary on the state of race relations in the U. S. today.  

As it stands, however, it still is a worthy model for the kind of programming well suited to the mission of New York City Center's Encores! Off-Center, the summertime younger sibling to the well-established Encores! series of productions of (usually) seldom-seen older Broadway shows that takes place during the winter and spring. In a similar vein, Encores! Off Center tackles Off Broadway shows.  

Now in its fourth season, Encores! Off Center has not yet fully found its footing. Some of its productions, for instance, have been little more than straight-up concerts, while others have been done (generally more successfully) in the style of the regular Encores! series, as semi-staged versions. This is how The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin has been developed, under Robert O'Hara's surprisingly tame direction (surprising, because as a playwright, Mr. O'Hara has shown himself to be quite at home with the raw and raucous with such works as Bootycandy).   


The show itself, which was last seen at Playwright's Horizons in 2000, is a semi-autobiographical tale of one young black woman's journey to self-discovery. It is divided into two acts. The first takes place in Los Angeles during the turbulent 1960s, where we meet up with young Viveca Stanton (aka "Bubbly"), portrayed by a delightful Nikki M. James whom you might remember from her Tony Award-winning role as the naive Nabulungi who longs to journey to the promised land of Salt Lake City in The Book of Mormon.  

When we first see Bubbly, she is a young child who has already developed a sense that being black puts her on a lower rung, possibly a dangerous one. Early on, she learns of the 1963 Birmingham, Alabama church bombing in which four young black girls were killed. That story finds its way into her nightmares, and she wonders if she might be in jeopardy herself.  

And so she starts to identify with her seemingly more desirable white peers. She spends a lot of time engaged in serious conversations with her favorite white doll, Chitty Chatty ("I've decided I'm going to be white, just like you!"), and only plays with her black doll when she thinks her mother is looking. She has also absorbed her father's life lesson to "Smile, Smile" at the world and to always present an upbeat positive image of herself.  

It takes a long time, and an Act II move to New York City, for Bubbly to learn that presenting herself always in this way is neither honest nor healthy. It is not until the very end of the show that the people-pleasing "Bubbly" makes way for the realistically tougher and more self-assured "Viveca."  Before that occurs, however, we will have spent a lot of time with Bubbly as she experiences the pains and tribulations of elementary, middle, and high school, where she is frequently bullied and rejected by her peers as a misfit and turncoat "Oreo"; she only briefly finds respite in her beloved dance class and during the "colorblind" hippie era with her white boyfriend Cosmic Rainbow (a very funny Josh Davis, who later takes on the role of a not-so-funny policeman).   

For a New York audience, at least, Act II is the more sharply written, and the tone is amped up with some bite. Even the costumes - all pastels in the California sequences - have become New York black. When Bubbly arrives and greets the city with enthusiasm, it is with the certitude that she will make it as a professional dancer in short order. But her " 'Scuse me, pardon me, have a nice day" is met with a chorus of "Get the fuck out of the way!"  

Production photos by Joan Marcus

Undaunted, Bubbly continues to take dance classes, and she winds up auditioning for "Director Bob" (another role well-played by Mr. Davis and presumably modeled on Bob Fosse), who is casting for a Broadway show.  In a very funny and snappy sequence, Director Bob asks Bubbly to read some lines. She does, but he wants her to try again, and this time, "don't go white on me." Taken somewhat aback, Bubbly pulls off the only thing she can think of, an excessively exaggerated Southern black reading based on the stylings of the Warner Brothers cartoon character Foghorn Leghorn. 

This is the kind of thing the show could use more of; it is original, funny, and disturbing all at the same time (especially since it effectively lands her the role she has been trying out for). There are lots of other opportunities throughout the show to build on this kind of dark humor: a potentially explosive encounter with the police, some ugly moments in dance class, the unpleasant experience of working in the secretarial pool at "Glass Ceiling Corporation." All of these moments fly by with little regard as to their significance.  I'd love to see this show in the hands of a director like Lileana Blain-Cruz, who brilliantly helmed Suzan-Lori Parks' The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World AKA the Negro Book of the Dead at the Signature Theatre last year.  

The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin is, of course, a musical, and Kirsten Childs has created a nice compilation of rhythm and blues, traditional show-tunes, gospel, and even jazz-infused numbers that keep things moving forward - although there are a couple of songs in Act II that, while excellent in and of themselves, are outliers that serve mostly to highlight the raise-the-roof performances by, respectively, Julius Thomas III as Bubbly's short-lived boyfriend, and by Kenita R. Miller, as his advice-giving grandmother.  

The cast as a whole is quite excellent, as is the onstage band under Anastasia Victory's fine musical direction. And even though the show lacks the kind of bite that would ratchet up its relevance, it is well worth seeing.  Unfortunately, this production is only scheduled for two performances (regular Encores! productions generally run for five, including three on the weekends). So, if you happen to read this before, say, 5 p.m., you will have but a couple of hours to catch the second and last show at 7:30. 

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NEW YORK INNOVATIVE THEATRE AWARD NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED

Some of the best work in New York theater takes place in the world of Off-Off Broadway, with productions finding homes in various tucked-away corners of the city. Exciting!  Creative!  Imaginative!  Innovative!

Congratulations to the nominees for the 2017 New York Innovative Theatre Awards:

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE

Matt Harrington, Suzy Jane Hunt, Chelsea Melone, Susan Neuffer, Jacob Perkins, Rob Karma Robinson

In the Room, Kelli Giddish with Slant Theatre Project, in association with Wheelhouse Theater Company

Michael Broadhurst, Curzon Dobell, Ken Forman, Benim Foster, Allen McCullough

Men of Tortuga, Living Room theatre

Brittany Allen, Vinie Burrows, Ugo Chukwu, Constance Cooper, Milo Cramer, Fernando Gonzalez, Jonathan Gordon, David Greenspan, Tommy Heleringer, Chris Henry, Veronica Hunsinger-Loe, Hannah Mitchell, Caitlin Morris, Craig Mungavin, Jeanna Phillips, Madeline Wise

Minor Character: Six Translations of Uncle Vanya at the Same Time, New Saloon Theater Co. in association with Emily Kaplan & Immediate Medium

Maia Bedford, Aaron Casey, Shabazz Green, Chris Gwynn, Marcie Henderson, Greg Horton, Brandi Knox, Billy Lowrimore, Ebony Marshall-Oliver, Sarita Amani Nash, Warren Nolan, Jr., Chinua B. Payne, Tony Perry, Joi Danielle Price, Vanessa Robinson, Alicia Thomas, Cartreze Tucker

Raisin, Astoria Performing Arts Center

Adam Baritot, Jefferson Behan, Amber Dewey, Samuel Floyd, David Fuller, John Jeffords, Zack Krajnyak, Samantha Kronenfeld, Lorinne Lampert, Tom McDonough, James Neufeld, Chrysten Peddie, Catherine Purcell, Mary Thorne, Tyler Whitaker

Sweeney Todd, Theater 2020

Raquel Chavez, Shannon Condon, Kate Eastman, Shaun Bennet Fauntleroy, John Hardin, Patrick Harvey, Brian Demar Jones, Joe Jung, Peter Molesworth, Catherine Mullins, Andrew L. Ricci, Sam Richardson, Nora Rickey, Kate Ross, Will Sarratt, Caroline Smith, JT Stocks, Corey Whelihan

The Tempest, Smith Street Stage

OUTSTANDING SOLO PERFORMANCE

Dandy Darkly  

Dandy Darkly's Myth Mouth!, Dandy Darkly

William DeMeritt  

Origin Story, Old Sound Room

Mariah MacCarthy

Baby Mama: One Woman's Quest to Give Her Child to Gay People, Caps Lock Theatre

Christine Renee Miller  

Such Nice Shoes, FrokieCo.

Andrew W. Smith  

The Gun Show (part of the Women in Theatre Festival), Project Y Theatre Company

Liz Stanton

The Woman Who Was Me, Convergences Theatre Collective

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A FEATURED ROLE

Christopher Borg  

And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little, Retro Productions

Zachary Clark  

King Lear, The Secret Theatre

Griffin Hennelly  

Koalas are Dicks, Randomly Specific

Zack Krajnyak

Sweeney Todd, Theater 2020

Jacob Perkins  

In the Room, Kelli Giddish with Slant Theatre Project, in association with Wheelhouse Theater Company

Jason Pintar

The Underpants Godot, The Secret Theatre

Matthew Trumbull  

Marian, Or The True Tale of Robin Hood, Flux Theatre Ensemble

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A FEATURED ROLE

Ivanna Cullinan

Three Sisters, Obvious Volcano in association with Maggie Cino

Sharvari Deshpande  

The Queen, Aman Soni  in association with Juggernaut Theatre Co. and Theater for the New City

MarieLouise Guinier

Evensong, Astoria Performing Arts Center

Hannah Mitchell  

Minor Character: Six Translations of Uncle Vanya at the Same Time, New Saloon Theater Co. in association with Emily Kaplan & Immediate Medium

Samantha Schiffman  

You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, The Gallery Players

Kara Young

In the Event of My Death, Stable Cable Lab Co. in association with IRT Theater

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A LEAD ROLE

Jack Horton Gilbert  

Marian, Or The True Tale of Robin Hood, Flux Theatre Ensemble

Nico Grelli

The Jamb, Hard Sparks

Michael Kingsbaker  

The Red Room, The Shelter

Warren Nolan Jr.  

Raisin, Astoria Performing Arts Center

Jeremy Tardy  

Dark Night Bright Stars, Yara Arts Group in association with La MaMa ETC

R. Scott Williams  

Boys of a Certain Age, Willow Theatricals

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A LEAD ROLE

Carla Briscoe

Wine and Spirits, Red Shark Productions

Arlene Chico-Lugo

Evensong, Astoria Performing Arts Center

Ashley Griffin

Hamlet, A.N.O.N. Productions

Meghan E. Jones

The Red Room, The Shelter

Sarah K. Lippmann  

Three Sisters, Obvious Volcano in association with Maggie Cino

Moira Stone  

Three Sisters, Obvious Volcano in association with Maggie Cino

OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY / MOVEMENT

Hettie Barnhill

The Cabaret At The End Of The World, Hard Sparks

Tamrin Goldberg  

Raisin, Astoria Performing Arts Center

Lucia Knell  

For Annie, The Hearth

Rocio Mendez  

Marian, Or The True Tale of Robin Hood, Flux Theatre Ensemble

Sarah Sutliff  

Old Turtle and the Broken Truth, Rebel Playhouse

Jeremy Williams  

The Woman Who Was Me, Convergences Theatre Collective

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR

Dev Bondarin  

Raisin, Astoria Performing Arts Center

David Drake  

The Jamb, Hard Sparks

Morgan Green  

Minor Character: Six Translations of Uncle Vanya at the Same Time, New Saloon Theater Co. in association with Emily Kaplan & Immediate Medium

Ashley Griffin  

Hamlet, A.N.O.N. Productions

Adam Knight  

In the Room, Kelli Giddish with Slant Theatre Project, in association with Wheelhouse Theater Company

Emma Miller  

For Annie, The Hearth

Jeremy Williams  

The Woman Who Was Me, Convergences Theatre Collective

OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN

Russ Bockemhuel & Luther Frank

Titus, New York Deaf Theatre

Joe Cantalupo  

The Red Room, The Shelter

Catherine Clark  

Koalas are Dicks, Randomly Specific

Scot Gianelli  

#liberated, The Living Room

Kate Jaworski  

The Woman Who Was Me, Convergences Theatre Collective

Marika Kent  

Now is the Time, Little Lord in association with Abrons Arts Center

OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN

Joseph Blaha  

The Queen, Aman Soni  in association with Juggernaut Theatre Co. and Theater for the New City

Karen Boyer  

Now is the Time, Little Lord in association with Abrons Arts Center

Izzy Fields

Anais Nin Goes to Hell, Manhattan Theatre Works (MTWorks) in association with Goode Productions

Jason E Frey  

Hedda (Gabler), Wandering Bark Theatre Co.

Emily Oliveira  

Minor Character: Six Translations of Uncle Vanya at the Same Time,

New Saloon Theater Co. in association with Emily Kaplan & Immediate Medium

Jeannipher Pacheco  

Raisin, Astoria Performing Arts Center

Emily Rose Parman  

Much Ado About Nothing, Hudson Warehouse

OUTSTANDING SET DESIGN

Christopher Bowser

The Red Room, The Shelter

Jack and Rebecca Cunningham  

And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little, Retro Productions

Meg McGuigan  

Koalas are Dicks, Randomly Specific

Lawrence E. Moten III  

Raisin, Astoria Performing Arts Center

Frank Oliva  

#liberated, The Living Room

Reid Thompson  

Empathitrax, Colt Coeur

OUTSTANDING SOUND DESIGN

Aidan Meyer  

The Red Room, The Shelter

Matt Otto

Empathitrax, Colt Coeur

John Salutz  

The Cabaret At The End Of The World, Hard Sparks

Daniel Steffey  

Titus, New York Deaf Theatre

Jeanne Travis  

The City that Cried Wolf, State of Play Productions Inc

Emma Wilk  

Raisin, Astoria Performing Arts Center

OUTSTANDING INNOVATIVE DESIGN

Lianne Arnold  

for Projection Design

Such Nice Shoes, FrokieCo.

David Bengali, John Erickson, Reid Farrington, Jorge Garcia-Spitz, David Mauro, Dan Monceaux, Leegrid Stevens

for Video Design & Animation

The Dudleys!, Loading Dock Theatre Company

Samantha Blain, Kristopher Dean, Claron Hayden, Casey Scott Leach,  Carli Rhoades, Mikayla Stanley

for Puppets

Whales, Hit The Lights! Theatre Co.

Russ Bockemhuel & Luther Frank

for Video Design

Titus, New York Deaf Theatre

Karen Boyer  

for Puppets

Now is the Time, Little Lord in association with Abrons Arts Center

Sara Slagle

for properties

And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little, Retro Productions

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL MUSIC

Melody Bates & Rebecca Hart  

The Cabaret At The End Of The World, Hard Sparks

Samantha Blain, Kristopher Dean, Claron Hayden, Casey Scott Leach,  Carli Rhoades, Mikayla Stanley

Whales, Hit The Lights! Theatre Co.

Rachel Blumberg, Dandy Darkly, Bryce Edwards & Adam Tendler  

Dandy Darkly's Myth Mouth!, Dandy Darkly

Deepali Gupta  

Minor Character: Six Translations of Uncle Vanya at the Same Time, New Saloon Theater Co. in association with Emily Kaplan & Immediate Medium

Julian Kytasty  

Dark Night Bright Stars, Yara Arts Group in association with La MaMa ETC

Daniel Steffey  

Titus, New York Deaf Theatre

Clara Strauch

The Tempest, Smith Street Stage

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SHORT SCRIPT

Ryan King  

Antares Returning a part of The Spring Fling: Rebound, F*It Club

Dan Moyer

All Is Bright a part of The Spring Fling: Rebound, F*It Club

Charlie O'Leary

Precious Body a part of Landmarks & TRANSformations, Project Y Theatre Company

Junshin Soga  

One Fine Day, Junshin Soga

Christopher G. Ulloth  

Bi-Cycle a part of Landmarks & TRANSformations, Project Y Theatre Company

Kathleen Warnock  

How to Get Married in 5 Steps Over 17 Years a part of

Landmarks & TRANSformations, Project Y Theatre Company

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL FULL-LENGTH SCRIPT

Melody Bates  

The Cabaret At The End Of The World, Hard Sparks

William DeMeritt  & Elia Monte-Brown  

Origin Story, Old Sound Room

Lawrence Dial

In the Room, Kelli Giddish with Slant Theatre Project, in association with Wheelhouse Theater Company

Mariah MacCarthy

Baby Mama: One Woman's Quest to Give Her Child to Gay People, Caps Lock Theatre

Morgan McGuire  

The Red Room, The Shelter

Aditya Rawal

The Queen, Aman Soni  in association with Juggernaut Theatre Co. and Theater for the New City

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE ART PRODUCTION

 

Dandy Darkly's Myth Mouth!

Dandy Darkly  

The Infinite Wrench

New York Neo-Futurists

Kevin!!!!

Recent Cutbacks

Landmarks & TRANSformations

Project Y Theatre Company

Now is the Time

Little Lord in association with Abrons Arts Center 

Rules

The New Stage Theatre Company

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A MUSICAL

 

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

The Secret Theatre

The Astonishing Times of Timothy Cratchit

The Workshop Theater

Old Turtle and the Broken Truth

Rebel Playhouse

Ragtime

The Gallery Players

Raisin

Astoria Performing Arts Center

You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown

The Gallery Players

OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A PLAY

 

Hamlet

A.N.O.N. Productions

King Lear

The Secret Theatre

And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little

Retro Productions

Much Ado About Nothing

Hudson Warehouse

The Tempest

Smith Street Stage

Three Sisters

Obvious Volcano in association with Maggie Cino

 

 

OUTSTANDING PREMIERE PRODUCTION OF A PLAY

 

In the Room

Kelli Giddish with Slant Theatre Project, in association with Wheelhouse Theater Company

Minor Character: Six Translations of Uncle Vanya at the Same Time

New Saloon Theater Co. in association with Emily Kaplan & Immediate Medium

The Red Room

The Shelter

The Underpants Godot

The Secret Theatre

The Woman Who Was Me

Convergences Theatre Collective

Whales

Hit The Lights! Theatre Co.

Winners will be announced at the 13th annual NYIT Awards ceremony on September 25.

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Feel free to share this blog with your friends, and to offer up your own theater stories by posting a comment. I also invite you to check out the website Show-Score.Com, where you will find capsule reviews of current plays from Yours Truly and many other New York critics.