FAREWELL TO THE TONYS: NOW WHAT?

With the airing of the Tony Awards, the 2016-2017 Broadway theater season officially came to an end. So, let's take a look at some of the shows that are scheduled to open in the coming months.

1984

I've seen this one already, and I will have more to say about it after it officially opens on June 22.  For now, here are two things to think about:  (1) It pays to be very familiar with George Orwell's remarkably prescient book on which this production is based, and (2) The production is raw, rough, and edgy.  Look at Point 1 and think hard about the significance of "Room 101."  Not for the faint of heart.

Marvin's Room

Now in previews and opening on June 29, this is a revival by the Roundabout Theatre Company of Scott McPherson's 1990 play about estranged sisters who come together at the home of their elderly and bedridden father. One of this sisters, Bessie, has served as his primary caregiver, while the other one, Lee, has stayed far away. Bessie has been diagnosed with leukemia, so the ball is now in Lee's court. A well-received 1997 film version starred Diane Keaton as Bessie and Meryl Streep as Lee.  In this production, Lili Taylor (known primarily for her work in films at television) appears as Bessie, and Janeane Garofalo (a standup comic who has also done films and television) is the wisecracking and unstable Lee.  

The Terms of My Surrender

Provocative political filmmaker Michael Moore's one-man show begins previews on July 28.  It is scripted (by Mr. Moore) and has a well-established director in Michael Mayer (Tony winner for the 2007 production of Spring Awakening). Few will wander into the theater unaware that Mr. Moore is no fan of the current President of the United States, who is likely to be mentioned with some frequency and in less than glowing terms over the course of the evening.  

Prince of Broadway

Begins previews on August 3. This is the long-awaited production highlighting the career of producer/director Hal Prince, the winner of 21 Tony Awards. It is a revue of songs by Stephen Sondheim, Kander & Ebb, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and many others with whom the impresario has been associated over the years.  If they don't stint on talent, including (please) a decent-sized orchestra, it could be quite entertaining. The cast includes well-known Broadway stalwarts Chuck Cooper, Emily Skinner, Tony Yazbeck, Karen Ziemba, and others of that ilk. Mr. Prince co-directs with Susan Stroman, herself a five-time Tony winner.  

Time and the Conways

Don't expect a Downton Abbey look-alike with this revival of J. B. Priestley's pre-World War II play that follows an upper class British family from 1919  to 1937.  The most exciting thing about the production is that it will be directed by Rebecca Taichman, who did a marvelously creative job helming Indecent this past season, earning a well-deserved Tony for her efforts.  Previews begin September 14. 

Junk

Playwright Ayad Akhtar, who gave us the excellent high-tension drama Disgraced and (to my mind) the even better The Invisible Hand, is back with this play about the financial mess brought about by the banking/investment industry in the 1980s. Not the first play to tackle this topic (Caryl Churchill's Serious Money from 1987, and Lucy Prebble's Enron from 2010 are two that come to mind), but Akhtar is a master at writing thrillingly about serious conflicts.  I do expect this one to be a strong entry, under Doug Hughes's direction. Previews begin September 14. 

M. Butterfly

This revival of David Henry Hwang's best known play, a Tony winner from 1988, marks a first return to Broadway for director Julie Taymor since the debacle that was Spiderman. Date for first preview is not yet set, but will probably be late September.  

The Band's Visit

As long as Katrina Lenk arrives with this Off Broadway-to-Broadway transfer, the musical (book by Itamar Moses and a terrific score by Yazbek) that won much acclaim with its debut at the Atlantic Theater Company ought to be a winner.  David Cromer once again directs. Previews begin October 7. 

Spongbob Squarepants

Ya never know -- not with music by the likes of Steven Tyler, Cyndi Lauper, Sara Bareilles, John Legend, David Bowie and others of that caliber. Could be a real hoot.  Previews begin November 6. 

Once On This Island

Revival of Lynn Ahrens/Stephen Flaherty musical fantasy from 1990 begins previews on November 9. Directed by Michael Arden, who did the honors for the recent and highly touted revival of Spring Awakening.

The Children

British playwright Lucy Kirkwood's well-received, if disturbing drama about a post-apolocyptic world is coming to New York, with a first preview on November 28.  

Farinelli and the King

Mark Rylance stars.  Need I say more?  OK.  Here's more. Written by Claire van Kampen (who is married to Mr. Rylance), the play is about the power of music to heal the mind of Spain's depressed King Philip V. The celebrated castrato singer, Farinelli, provides the cure. Rylance plays Philip, in case you were wondering. Previews begin December 5. 

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. 

ProfMiller's Top 10 of 2012

As I begin writing this, we are 90 minutes shy of saying farewell to 2012 and another year of theatergoing, my fifty-third as a devoted audience member. 

I thought this might be a good time to review the year and highlight the plays and musicals I have enjoyed the most in the past twelve months, both on and off Broadway. 

If my handy-dandy pocket calendar is to be believed, I‘ve seen 70 productions, starting with Look Back In Anger on January 15 and rounding out the year with Cat On A Hot Tin Roof on December 21. 

The first thing I noticed when going through the calendar is that, frankly, there were not a lot of shows that got my heart pounding. There was much solid work, to be sure, and an occasional astonishing performance (e. g. Tracie Bennett’s explosive turn as Judy Garland in the otherwise insipid End of the Rainbow), but few truly compelling evenings of theater. 

The next thing I noticed is that all ten on my “best of the year” list were revivals, eight plays and two musicals.  I do not know what this might mean, if anything, but I do long for something new that I can get excited about. There are many very good young playwrights producing excellent work, but nothing that I saw during 2012 was able to push its way past the revivals.

Lastly, only two on the list were presented in Broadway houses. This does not surprise me. Broadway is not much for risk-taking or ground-breaking plays these days, and movie star-powered productions abound—not always to the greatest advantage, except financially.  Don’t get me wrong; as Charley Kringas would say, “I like money a lot.”  But still…

Anyway, here’s the list, offered in alphabetical rather than preferential order:

PLAYS

Athol Fugard season at Signature Theatre, featuring Blood Knot; My Children! My Africa!; and The Train Driver.  Signature Theatre, currently in its second year at its new home, the Pershing Square Signature Center on 42^nd Street, is not entirely clear as to its revised mission or how to put its three theater spaces to best use.  But its inaugural year allowed it to do what it has always done best—lovingly showcase a selection of works by a single playwright.  Each of these productions was a riveting powerhouse about the devastating toll of South African apartheid laws and their aftermath, and all make it to this list on both their individual and collective merits. I was fortunate enough to have met the playwright outside of the theater one afternoon, so that I was able to express my appreciation for his amazing body of work.  

Lost In Yonkers. This Neil Simon Pulitzer Prize winner was given a loving and thoroughly engaging revival by the Actors Company Theatre (TACT).  A pleasure from start to finish.

Serious Money.  I wasn’t sure what to expect from this revival of Caryl Churchill’s over-the-top satirical play about the shenanigans of Britain’s financial industry—written in rhyming couplets no less—yet  it knocked my socks off and erased all memory of that smoke-and-mirrors snoozefest, Enron, that covered much of the same ground on Broadway a couple of years back.  Kudos to the Potomac Theater Project that always brings interesting works to New York during the dog days of summer.

The Best Man.  Another happy surprise, thanks to top-notch directing (Michael Wilson) and a strong ensemble cast.  This was a fitting bow for Gore Vidal, the playwright, who passed away during the run.  I attended the moving and entertaining tribute by some of his friends and colleagues (among them Dick Cavett, Elaine May, Alan Cumming, Anjelica Huston, and Michael Moore) that was held on the set towards the end of the run and concluded with a short scene from the play performed by the production’s stars James Earl Jones and John Larroquette. 

The Lady From Dubuque.  Another hit for Signature Theatre Company.  Often dismissed as second-rate fare from the pen of Edward Albee, this production found the play’s deeply personal and emotional center and made it a revelation. 

The Piano Lesson.  This is a masterwork by August Wilson, and it couldn't be in finer hands than those of director Ruben Santiago-Hudson and its stellar cast.  And, yes, yet another triumph for Signature Theatre Company.  Closes all too soon on January 13.   

MUSICALS

The Most Happy Fella.  The Dicapo Opera Theater’s production of this glorious Frank Loesser gem, with a brilliant performance by Michael Corvino in the title role, was the musical theater highlight of the year. I look forward to the company's presentation of Kismet, coming in the spring. 

The Mystery of Edwin Drood. The cast is having a blast, and, I daresay, so will you. You’ve got until March 10 to catch it at Roundabout’s Studio 54.

And so we move into 2013 with great hopes and expectations.  

Have a safe, healthy, and happy new year!

Feel free to tell your friends about this blog, and to share your own theater stories by posting a comment.

The 2012 Tonys and the Business Side of Broadway

It’s all Irving Berlins’ fault.

Berlin penned the quintessential tribute to the theater world when he wrote “There’s no business like SHOW business” for Annie Get Your Gun—emphasizing, as he did, the creative and artistic side of the industry. 

It’s a rousing tune, an ode to all of those wonderful theater folks who wouldn’t trade even a moment of their onstage lives for a sack of gold. 

Yet perhaps what Berlin should have written is, “There’s no BUSINESS like show BUSINESS,” with an emphasis that would be more appropriate to the economics of Broadway. 

This was, after all, the year of the official opening of Spider-Man:  Turn Off The Dark, with its $75 million tab; the year of premium ticket prices closing in on $500 (The Book of Mormon); and the two-character, 90-minute Venus in Fur happily selling regular tickets at $176.50 a pop in order to cash in on Nina Arianda’s Tony Award. 

I don’t mean to harp on these examples, and, frankly, I’m not sure I begrudge any of this.  There are, after all, bills to be paid, and the money has to come from somewhere.  To quote Stephen Sondheim from Merrily We Roll Along:

                        Did I say money?

     No, I like money a lot

     I mean it’s better than not

What I want to talk about is the 2012 Tony Awards Show, which, in my view, crossed the line separating entertainment (or even entertainment with an eye toward attracting audiences to Broadway theater) from unadulterated commercialism.

As entertainment, it began promisingly enough, with host Neil Patrick Harris singing the charming opening number (written by David Javerbaum and David Schlesinger):

                        If life were more like theater,

                        Life wouldn’t suck so much

What ardent theatergoer could fail to embrace that sentiment?

After that, though, the commercialism became more and more obvious, and ate up an awful lot of air time that could have been used to highlight the nominees. 

Most egregious was the nearly four-minute infomercial for Royal Caribbean, featuring Harvey Fierstein in the embarrassing role of pitchman. That bit of mammonism was more off-putting than Audra McDonald’s rape joke or the oddity of featuring a number from Evita, and giving its star and title character half a line to sing (all the better to feature Ricky Martin). 

There were other questionable moments that could be viewed as being tied more to money than to art.  For instance, was it really necessary to feature a song from The Book of Mormon, last year’s big winner and a show that is still fighting back the crowds happy to plunk down $954 for a pair of premium tickets?   

And was the show officially titled The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess truly the best revival of a musical, or did the potential for touring and future licensing fees influence the decision to select it over the now-closed and too-expensive-to-tour production of Follies? 

But, really, these are quibbles next to allowing Royal Caribbean, a major sponsor of the show, to promote their at-sea production of Hairspray as part of the evening’s entertainment. Couldn’t they have been given a commercial slot instead? 

I’m still rolling my eyes…but what do I know?

In any event, theater is not just about Broadway.  There are dozens of wonderful not-for-profit Off-Broadway and Off Off-Broadway companies that do an amazing job of presenting top-notch, professional plays and musicals on a shoestring budget and offering them at very affordable prices to audiences for revivals and original works by some of the best and brightest playwrights around. 

One of these companies is Playwrights Horizons, where its latest production, Gina Gionfriddo’s Rapture, Blister, Burn is drawing very positive reviews and word-of-mouth.  (I reviewed it on May 27 in this blog, if you are interested.)

Playwrights Horizons is in the midst of a fund-raising venture, which you can support without laying out a dime by “LIKING” them on Facebook by June 30.  Ten thousand “likes” will earn them a donation of $10,000—chump change within the moneyed world of Broadway, but a healthy infusion of cash in the not-for-profit world.  

To sweeten the deal, while you are taking the time to “LIKE” them,  you can enter to win a $250 gift certificate from The Apple Store. Why not do it now?  Here’s the link:  http://www.facebook.com/PlaywrightsHorizons.

Feel free to tell your friends about this blog, and to share your own theater stories by posting a comment.  And if you can't get enough of ProfMiller, check out his column, ProfMiller@The Theater, at BroadwayShowBiz.com.

A Little Night Music: Don't You Love Farce?

Little Night Music
Buzz Buzz Buzz
Who can do Armfeldt
Like Angie does?
Let’s go with Stritchie
Cuz Cuz Cuz
She’ll help us get through summer’s slump


With CZJ’s leaving
Bye bye bye
No one was grieving
Why why why
With Bernadette Peters
Standing by
We can get through summer’s slump

I cannot recall so much chatter around a production of a Broadway musical as has occurred with the current revival of A Little Night Music, with book by Hugh Wheeler and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.

First there was the brouhaha about the production itself, yet another minimalist gift from London’s Menier Chocolate Factory (single drab set and minuscule orchestra). Then there was the noise about the celebrity casting of yet another movie star in a Broadway show, in this case Catherine Zeta-Jones in the lead role of Desirée Armfeldt, an actress longing to escape the “glamorous life” of her career and to settle down with the man who is the love of her life, not to mention the father of her daughter.

Anyway, the show opened in December of 2009 to mixed reviews, with the only unabashed kudos reserved for Angela Lansbury in the role of Madame Armfeldt, Desirée’s mother and a former highly successful courtesan who despairs at her daughter’s lack of skill in using men, as she herself had done, to assure her financial security.

At the 2010 Tony Awards, Ms. Zeta-Jones walked off with the prize for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical, and it appeared that the show would come to a halt at the end of the two stars’ contracts in June of this year.

But then something most unusual happened, and the buzzing revved up again. Maybe the producers could find replacements with enough star power to keep the show running.

The rumor mill and wish lists churned out dozens of names, but two started showing up with greater frequency: Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch, both true stars of Broadway, and both with histories of performing in Sondheim shows (Peters in Sunday in the Park With George and Into the Woods; Stritch in Company).

The choice of Bernadette Peters was a no-brainer, pretty much on everyone’s short list for the role of Desirée. But brassy, raspy, tough-as-nails Elaine Stritch, in the role of the sophisticated, worldly Madame Armfeldt? Singing that most difficult of Sondheim’s numbers, Liaisons? Would she dare? Could she pull it off? Would she crash and burn?

Daily reports on A Little Night Music began to pour in when it reopened in July with the new stars. And yes, Ms. Peters immediately won everyone’s hearts. And, yes, it did seem that Ms. Stritch was showing signs of both crashing and burning—forgetting her lines, struggling with defining her character, driving some of her long-time fans to publicly call for her to step down or to use an assistive device (like the earpiece Ms. Lansbury used so that forgotten lines could be whispered as needed by someone backstage).

I did not see A Little Night Music with Ms. Zeta-Jones and Ms. Lansbury, nor had I been particularly interested. I saw the legendary original production back in 1973, with Glynis Johns as Desirée and Hermione Gingold in the role of Madame Armfeldt, and a later first-rate production in 1994 at Chicago’s Goodman Theater.

While I like the show, I felt that twice was enough; it would take something pretty special to get me to return for a third viewing.

And then they went and did do something special.

And so I went, waiting a couple of weeks for the new stars to settle in.

Here is my report:

Bernadette Peters is perfectly cast, lives up to all the high expectations, and gives a wonderful performance.

Elaine Stritch has made the role of Madame Armfeldt her own, and she has such a command of the stage that even her eccentricities, including her talk-through of Liaisons, work. I noticed one hesitation and a few scrambling of words the day I saw it, but neither interfered with the performance or pulled me out of the moment.

The rest of the cast is fine, if not extraordinary, and I can live with the minimalist set. I am glad that, with the exception of Henrik’s cello, we don’t have to see the actors double up as the musicians.

My one quibble has to do with Trevor Nunn’s directing. A Little Night Music, like a Chekhov play, deals with the follies of the young, the middle aged, and the elderly. These follies are fully expressed when the city folks head out for a weekend in the country. There is a lot of letting loose contained within the script, but the humor is, in my view, best performed in a manner that is arch and urbane.

Nunn, however, has opted for an exaggerated air of silliness, as if he had honed in on the line from Send In The Clowns: “don’t you love farce?” For my taste, there is way too much shtick and mugging and running around that threaten to undermine the production toward the end. Send in the clowns, indeed!

Still there is much to enjoy, and Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch help turn this revival of A Little Night Music into a truly memorable occasion. If, like me, you hesitated to see it in its Hollywood-Comes-To-Broadway version, now is your chance to see a couple of terrific veteran Broadway stars giving it their all. I wouldn't advise missing it.

Feel free to tell your friends about this blog, and to share your own theater stories by posting a comment.