Bandstand

C

The deliberately drab set by David Korins that greets the audience at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre does not exactly portend an evening of frivolity. Nor does a list of the main characters — six veterans of WWII, damaged either physically or emotionally by their war experience, and a young war widow, all trying without much success to return to normality. Donny Novitski (Cory Cott), a young piano prodigy/composer when the war began, can’t find regular work. Nor can he summon the courage to pay a promised visit to his best friend’s widow, Julia Trojan (Laura Osnes). When a nationwide contest is announced to choose a new swing band for a part in a Hollywood movie, Donny recruits five vets played by James Nathan Hopkins, Brandon J. Ellis, Alex Bender, Geoff Packard and Joe Carroll, to be in the band. All six men not only act, sing and dance, but really play their instruments. Julia, who turns out to be not only a fine singer but a talented poet, becomes their vocalist. Unfortunately there is too little time for the book by Rob Taylor and Richard Oberacker to do more than briefly sketch the characters. Will this motley Cleveland crew win the Ohio contest and go on, despite many obstacles, to the finals in New York? Will they get there riding the Cleveland Limited in first class and stay at the Astor? What starts as a rather dark, unusual, nuanced story loses its edge and morphs unconvincingly into an upbeat, rather conventional crowdpleaser. The music by Richard Oberacker sounds jazzier than swing at times. With one powerful exception, the quiet numbers are better than the showy ones. Beth Leavel, as Julia’’s mother, has one lovely song. The dance numbers are not as enjoyable as I would have expected from the choreographer of Hamilton, Andy Blankenbuehler, who also directed. The costume design by Paloma Young seemed to have no consistent approach. There are enough satisfying moments that one wishes there were more. I really wanted to like it, but left disappointed. Running time: two hours 35 minutes including intermission.

Off the Main Road -- at Williamstown Theatre Festival ***

For her first production, Williamstown Theatre Festival’s new artistic director Mindy Greenfield has made an interesting choice — presenting the world premiere of a William Inge play written in the 1960’s but never staged. It is hard to believe now that Inge was once mentioned in the same breath as Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams as one of our top playwrights. His reputation fell far and fast. Although conventional wisdom has it that most lost plays have been lost for good reason, WTF was smart to bring this deeply flawed but rarely dull play to the stage. It presents both Inge’s strengths — astute observation of Midwesterners and vivid portraits of female characters — and his weaknesses — unconvincing male characters and a penchant for melodrama. Kyra Sedgwick plays Faye Garrit. While still in her teens, she was forced by her overbearing mother (played by Estelle Parsons, amazing at 87) to marry a wealthy older man. Upon his death, to her mother’s horror, she met and married a popular baseball player Manny Garrit (Jeremy Davidson). Now, 10 years later, Manny is no longer a player and sometimes becomes abusive when he drinks. As the play opens, after getting a black eye from Manny, she has fled to a resort cabin not far from the city with Julia (an excellent Mary Wiseman), her daughter from her first marriage, who is attending a convent school. Sparks fly between Julia and Vic Burns (a fine Daniel Sharman), son of the landlady (Becky Ann Baker, virtually wasted here). Faye often spends time with a gay art dealer Jimmy Woodford (Howard W. Overshown), a friend since childhood. Faye’s impulsive fling with an oversexed taxi driver, Gino (Aaron Costa Ganis), has unanticipated consequences. Kyra Sedgwick has too strong a personality to easily play an aimless, indecisive woman, but she does her best. The play has some humorous moments, some of which were probably unintentional. The idea that a domineering mother would produce a daughter who becomes a neglectful mother whose own daughter develops a deep hunger for certainty in her life seemed psychologically convincing. I wish the play hadn’t descended into overwrought melodrama, but that’s Inge for you. The set design by Takeshi Kata and costumes by Paloma Young are fine. Evan Cabnet’s direction is assured. Running time 2 hours 10 minutes including intermission. (Closed)

Preludes ***

The creative team that brought us Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 — author/composer Dave Malloy, director Rachel Chavkin, set designer Mimi Lien, costume designer Paloma Young, lighting designer Bradley King, sound designer Matt Hubbs and music director Or Matias — have reunited at LCT3's Claire Tow Theater for another production based on Russian history. In 1900 the 27-year-old composer Sergei Rachmaninoff consulted a Moscow hypnotherapist, Nikolai Dahl, for a cure to the three-year writer’s block that followed the poor reception of his first symphony. Their daily sessions were successful and Rachmaninoff returned to composition in a blaze of glory with his Second Piano Concerto. Malloy and Chavkin have taken this incident as the basis of their new musical. There are interesting embellishments. The character of the composer has been divided between two actors, Rach (the wonderful Gabriel Ebert) and Rachmaninoff the pianist (Or Matias). Dahl, with a change of gender that opens more musical possibilities, is charmingly portrayed by Eisa Davis. The composer’s fiancee Natalya is played by Nikki M. James, whose voice is glorious. The play’s conceit that opera star Chaliapin (well played and sung by Joseph Keckler) is the composer’s close friend adds a sonorous Russian bass to the mix. We also meet Chekhov, Tchaikovsky, Tolstoy, Glazunov and Tsar Nicholas II, all played with élan by Chris Sarandon. The music includes pure Rachmaninoff, adaptations by Malloy, original songs by Malloy, and a dash of Bach, Beethoven and Mussorgsky. Deliberate anachronisms punctuate the dialogue. The wonderfully cluttered set includes a modern refrigerator filled with pop-top cans of beverage. A character drinks from a Zabar’s mug. The men wear period costumes, the women are mainly in modern dress. If you go expecting another Natasha… , you will be disappointed. The broad scope of Tolstoy’s novel and that play’s nightclub setting lent themselves to a theatricality that is not inherent in the story of a composer’s writer’s block. Also, the play takes a long time to build up steam and is quite uneven. More time in workshops might have produced a better result. Nevertheless, there is lots to admire including the fine cast. I give the creative team credit for their ambitious efforts. Running time: 2 hours, 5 minutes including a short break midway.

Permission **

Can lightning strike twice in the same place? Not if the place is the Lucille Lortel Theatre and the bolt is aimed by playwright Robert Askins. His “Hand to God” was so successful there that it ended up on Broadway. I don’t see that future for this messy satire which deals with two thirtyish couples in Waco, Texas who are trying to make marriage work. Zach (Lucas Near-Verbrugghe) and Michelle (Nicole Lowrance) are practitioners of Christian Domestic Discipline — an actual movement — whereby the husband is clearly the wife’s boss and disciplinarian. When the wife misbehaves, it’s time for a spanking. Zach encourages his old friend Eric (a wonderful Justin Bartha), who’s a bit of a milquetoast, to follow their example. Since his wife Cynthia (a hilarious Elizabeth Reaser) spends her days lying around, drinking wine and watching “Matlock” reruns instead of working on her novel and cleaning house, Eric decides to give it a try. In the short run it works out well for him and Cynthia, but it can’t overcome serious problems in the other couple’s marriage. Using his new-found confidence, Eric foolishly gives encouragement to his adoring student secretary Jeanie (Talene Monahon). A get-together in Act Two turns into a near orgy for all five characters. While the play ends up spinning its wheels and not taking us to a clear destination, the ride is often hilarious. There are some very funny scenes and the fine cast wrings every drop of humor from them. The audience reaction was enthusiastic. I enjoyed it more than I admired it. I suspect that more time in workshop might have ironed out some of the rough spots. I would have left out the secretary subplot. David Korins’s set design cleverly transforms into several locations. Paloma Young’s costumes suit their characters well. Director Alex Timbers handles the physical humor admirably but can’t lend a sense of direction where it’s not present on the page. Running time: 1 hour 45 minutes including intermission.

Verité **

I envied the people around me who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves at a preview performance of Nick Jones’s new play at LCT3. From the get-go, I did not buy into the play’s premise — that a mysterious publishing house whose catalog cannot be found on the “normal” internet would offer a $50,000 advance to Jo Darum (Anna Camp), a stay-at-home suburban mom, whose only work is a fantasy novel that took her over a decade to complete, to write a memoir for them. The stipulations are that she make “interesting choices” in her life and write only about things that actually happened. Jo lives with her blue-collar husband Josh (Danny Wolohan) and young son Lincoln (Oliver Hollmann) in the attic apartment of Josh’s sister Liz’s (Jeanine Serralles) home. The comic/creepy publishers Sven (Robert Sella) and Andreas (Matt McGrath) have broad accents that somehow simultaneously combine elements from Scandinavia and South Asia. When the handsome Winston (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) appears, claiming to be a former high school classmate who has long had a crush on her, Jo assumes that he is a ringer, sent by the publishers to help her make some interesting choices. She refuses to join her family for a trip to Myrtle Beach and instead runs off with Winston. Complications ensue. I won’t give away more except to say there is an amusing surprise ending. The tone varies from satire to farce to melodrama. The characters seemed one-dimensional and the theme of illustrating the lengths people will go to achieve recognition seemed a bit tired. Although there were flashes of wit along the way, the play did not involve me sufficiently to care much about the outcome. Andrew Boyce has devised a rotating modular set that works efficiently. (I am still trying to figure out how he managed to change the contents of an onstage refrigerator.) Paloma Young’s costumes are amusingly apt, especially Sven and Andreas’s footwear. Director Moritz von Stuelpnagel’s (Hand of God) direction is uncluttered. Running time: one hour, 40 minutes; no intermission.

The Patron Saint of Sea Monsters *

(Please click on the title to see the complete review.)
The lifelike stuffed animals surrounding the set were the first sign of trouble. The inclusion on the list of characters of "Animals, both real and imagined" was the next. The opening scene of the play that revealed who the play was about was, for me, strike three. Readers of this blog will know by now that I am not drawn to plays about people who live in trailers. Call me a snob if you like, but that's just how it is. And so I knew I was in for a rough evening getting through Marlane Meyer's ambitious new work now in previews at Playwrights Horizons. Her script throws together obsessive love, faith, the veneration of saints, animism, broad satire, social commentary and fantasy. Will the love of a good woman (Laura Heisler) redeem a sinful man (Rob Campbell) or will he drag her down to his level? About 10% of the audience will never know, because they fled at intermission. Lucky them. On the plus side, the versatile cast does wonders playing multiple roles, especially Candy Buckley and Danny Wolohan. There are some entertaining moments along the way, but not enough to hold my interest. Rachel Hauck did the set and Paloma Young created the amusing costumes. Lisa Peterson directed. Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes including intermission.

Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 ****

For a unique evening of musical entertainment and Russian cuisine, head to Kazino, the ersatz Russian nightclub in a tent under the High Line in the Meatpacking District. When you enter, you are greeted with a vodka drink and carnival entertainment while you wait to be seated. The nightclub is stunning -- the red velvet walls are covered with period paintings, the ceiling is studded with chandeliers reminiscent of those at the Met, and the long rectangular space is filled with small tables and cafe chairs, set on three different levels. Musicians playing both traditional and electronic instruments are scattered around the room. By the time you have finished your meal (crudites, black bread, borscht, chicken, salmon, couscous and pierogi) and any optional drinks you have ordered, you may have forgotten that you were there to see a musical! And then comes the main event, Dave Malloy's clever pop opera adapted from the section of War and Peace that describes Natasha's arrival in Moscow, her introduction to society at the opera, her disastrous meeting with the father and sister of her fiance Andrey who is away at war, her seduction and attempted abduction by the unscrupulous Anatole, her ensuing misery, and the spark of sympathy for her that ignites Pierre. With one dramatic exception near the end, the piece is entirely sung. The eclectic score has touches of folk, pop, rock and club music. The staging is, to put it mildly, fluid: the performers run up and down the central aisle and along platforms that encircle the room and even sit down amid the audience occasionally. Both the acting and vocal skills of the cast are strong. Phillipa Soo as Natasha, Lucas Steele as Anatole, Brittain Ashford as Natasha's cousin Sonya and playwright/composer Malloy as Pierre stand out. Rachel Chavkin's direction, Mimi Lien's scenic design, Paloma Young's costumes, Bradley King's lighting and Sam Pinkleton's choreography are all first-rate. It all added up to a very enjoyable evening. Running time: two hours, 35 minutes including intermission. However, dinner is served an hour before it begins and the play started late, so it added up to almost four hours. Note that you may be seated at a table with strangers and that the wooden seats are not cushioned.

The North Pool ***

(Please click on the title to see the complete review.)
When Dr. Danielson (Stephen Barker Turner), the vice-principal of a large public high school, summons Khadim Asmaan (Babak Tafti), a Middle-Eastern-born transfer student, to his office at the end of classes on the final day before Spring Break, Khadim has no idea why. For the next 85 minutes, they engage in an escalating verbal duel. Danielson is not the one-note bureaucrat he first appears to be and Khadim is not just a cocky student he is badgering. Joseph effectively holds the audience is his grip as he springs a series of surprises that keep changing our perception of the two characters. The play almost never heads in a predictable direction. The story has too many subplots for its own good and some of them are less than plausible. Nevertheless, the play is well worth seeing for the gripping performances of Turner and Tafti. Donyale Werle's set is the perfect recreation of a high school office and Paloma Young's costumes are just right. Director Giovanna Sardelli certainly knows how to build and maintain tension.

Peter and the Starcatcher **

(Please click the title to see the full review.)
I wish that I could join the chorus of praise for Rick Elice's Peter Pan prequel, which moved to Broadway from the New York Theatre Workshop. Unfortunately, despite inventive stagecraft, committed performances (especially by the three leads -- Christian Borle, Celia Keenan-Bolger and Adam Chanler-Berat), a wonderful scenic design by Donyale Werle, fine costumes by Paloma Young, pleasant music by Wayne Barker, terrific lighting by Jeff Croiter and assured direction by Roger Rees and Alex Timbers, the play did not captivate me. The first fart joke should have been a warning signal. The frenzied action, sophomoric humor and stratospheric twee quotient merely wore me down. All the cleverness did not compensate for the play's basic hollowness. Since everyone around me, especially the children, seemed to be having a wonderful time, I felt that the fault must surely be mine. It was an alienating experience. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes including intermission.