Category Archives: Theater

‘Sunset Boulevard’ is returning to Broadway this spring, with the same magnificent woman who originated the role of Norma Desmond in its American inception: Glenn Close. Twenty years ago, my Mom and I sat in the last row of the Minskoff Theatre and watched Ms. Close bring the mansion down in splendid fashion, and now we are set to return to the house on Sunset in the next year. (I’ve been holding off on posting anything, as the tickets were a surprise Christmas gift. We shall pair them with ‘War Paint’ on our annual Broadway trip in the spring.)

It is a fitting moment for a ‘Sunset’ post, as I usually put up a ‘Perfect Year’ homage for New Year’s Eve.  That scene remains my favorite in the musical version, for reasons already explained here. Yes, it’s the scene that keeps on giving, and I’ll always be touched by it. Even as my cynicism grows, and fewer and fewer people seem to get it, my heart still believes in that moment, in the moment of hopeful, wistful love. My head now knows better, but my heart still doesn’t. And I will never be sorry for that folly.

I’m a bit late arriving at the ‘Sleep No More’ party, but since they stay up a little later, it worked out. For years, friends have been nudging me to see this ‘show’ – which is less a traditional piece of theater and more of a completely immersive experience – a chance to travel into a different time and universe, one that is spun of spooky, nightmarish, and at times gorgeous stuff. I finally took the plunge and my friend Chris joined me for a few enchanting, and deliciously disturbing, hours of sinister mayhem and intriguing debauchery at The McKittrick Hotel.

All six floors are decked out in stunning detail and elaborate design. Such layered intricacies make this production a thing of wonder, and from the moment you enter the Manderley Bar and receive your playing card and mask, the world you thought you knew disappears into the future as you are plunged into a timeless past.

There are no words, only images and emotions conveyed in dance and visual drama, fleeting and ephemeral, and though style is highly-favored and impeccably-produced over substance, the cumulative effect is one of magic and sorcery that takes you into other realms. You are given two and a half hours to peruse the sprawling space, and you’re welcome, and encouraged, to follow any of the performers as they travel briskly through the rooms enacting various scenes to the loose MacBeth narrative. As such, you never quite get to see everything that goes on, which explains the repeat visits; there is always something new to see and explore.

Though you will often be in groups, there is an overriding sense of compelling isolation as you act as voyeur and part-participant throughout the evening. Everyone has to take their own journey, and no one experiences the same thing. That’s a challenge for anyone accustomed to sharing in the theatrical voyage safely beside a partner. For others, like Chris and myself, it’s the perfect adventure with the promise of meeting up after it’s all over.

Stomping its high heels through Rehoboth Beach in fabulous fashion, and leaving a trail of glitter and feathers in its glorious wake, Priscilla Queen of the Desert: The Musical is the perfect piece of theatrical summer fare, one that manages to both entertain and enlighten with its musical pastiche of pop songs and some pristinely-crafted performances.  As put on by the Clear Space Theatre Company in Rehoboth Beach, it’s a thrilling component of that company’s trifecta this season (which also includes ‘Chicago’ and ‘Shrek’).

The source movie from 1994 is a piece of gay history, and the musical is rightly reverential. Anyone who loved the movie is certain to love the musical (and if you’re looking for a dose of the original motion picture soundtrack, show up early to soak it all in). Essentially a road trip movie (one of the most difficult to transition into musical form), Priscilla somehow defies the odds and succeeds, largely due to its ingenious bus construct and the possibilities such construction affords. Far more than that, however, is the collection of impressive talent on hand to deliver the music and the message.

Awkwardly and endearingly leading the drag queen charge is Jeff Kringer as Tick/Mitzi. Bearing the burden of the centerpiece impetus of the whole show, he must maintain a steadfast steadiness, and still bring home the heart of the winding tale. He manages to do both in a role that Hugo Weaving made so indelible. A tough act to follow, but Mr. Kringer manages to do so with winning and earnest charm.

Bringing a fiery foil to the evening in a fiercely flamboyant turn as Felicia/Adam, Connor Cook struts some serious attitude and gives some lovely vocal prowess to a scene-stealing role. He also manages to suss out some subtle levels of depth and vulnerability to the character, even if seems to be all about those gams.

Simultaneously grounding and elevating the work is the spellbinding performance of Christopher Peterson as Bernadette. In a role that veers from supreme pathos to gut-busting hilarity, Mr. Peterson lends it the sophisticated gravitas and skill to make the over-the-top character wholly relatable and touching. There is a dignity and nobility to Peterson’s expert work here as well, something that is essential to making the entire evening work.

The main trio shines thanks in large part to the ensemble of powerhouse performers, who turn this performance of Priscilla into a thing of exuberance, grace, excitement, and virtuosity. They even manage to fit in a spectacular aerialist bit that drops a breathtaking bit of Cirque de Soleil through the ceiling of the theater (courtesy of the lithe and limber Troy Lingelbach). Somehow it all works, and the patchwork of pop tunes eventually coalesces into a message of love and acceptance, of overcoming self-doubt, and of trusting in friendships new and old. That’s a story that never gets old, and it transcends the mesmerizing power of a man in a frock.

{Priscilla: Queen of the Desert runs through September 3, 2016 at the Circle Space Theatre.}

Stephen Sondheim’s ‘Into the Woods’ may be one of the most meaningful musicals in my life, so when a new production trundles along, I’m always interested in how it will be executed. I first saw a touring production right after it debuted on Broadway in the late 80’s. I was not much more than a kid then; it spoke to me on a superficial level, but even at that young age I knew there were darker themes and deeper meanings to this traipse through the forest.

As a typically-tortured angst-ridden teenager, I wore the cassette tape of the Broadway recording down to nothing, playing it over and over and intoning the wit and wisdom of Sondheim, each lyric revealing something more with every listen. My family felt distant at the time, not knowing how to come to terms with a gay son, and I had my own difficulty coming to terms with who I was too. Those themes were felt in the musical. I longed for the sad comfort of ‘No One Is Alone’ and wept bitterly at the warning (then unheeded) of ‘Children Will Listen.’ One day, I thought, the world would hear my cries.

A couple of decades later, the Broadway revival with Vanessa Williams found me at a different place in life, and in a post 9/11 world the ‘Giants in the Sky’ were very real, and very scary. Suzie and I saw the show in New York (she had been along the first time I’d seen it in the 80’s too) and as we veered into middle-age it seemed to mean a little more, and a little less. Though the movie version was adequate enough, there’s some sort of magic that occurs in a Sondheim musical that can only be conveyed on stage. That magic is evident in the Mac-Haydn Theatre’s production of ‘Into the Woods’ running through August 7. Grab your basket (I’m not afraid to ask it) and rush to get tickets to this production – it’s that good. Adhering faithfully to the original version (with the additional Witch and Rapunzel duet from the 2002 revival) the remarkable direction and choreography of John Saunders makes the most of the theater-in-the-round set-up, immersing characters and audience in the midst of a forest that can go from enchanting to terrifying in a few cunningly chromatic notes.

Anchored by the narrator, the intertwining of fairy tales turned on their head was relatively novel when the musical premiered almost thirty years ago, but it remains a vital reimagining of the stories we thought we knew. More profound re the broader metaphors Sondheim aimed for – and reached – particularly in today’s world, where giants still go to battle, children are still alone and abandoned, and adults are as lost as ever.

Though this is an ensemble piece, each cast member gets to shine – not always the case in such extensively plotted and populated stories. Every character is fully fleshed out, and no one is purely good or evil. A girl in a red riding hood (Bridget Elise Yingling, in a sardonically perky and perfect turn) packs a basket of sweets, but ends up expertly wielding a very sharp knife. A carnally lascivious wolf (Gabe Belyeu, all howling menace and hilarity) wears his desire on the outside with a studded codpiece before his bloody comeuppance. A pair of epaulet-framed semi-clueless princes (Pat Moran in unwavering arrogant excellence and Conor Robert Fallon giving classically handsome Disney face) are as dashing as they are comically dim-witted. A waif of the cinders (Amy Laviolette, in gorgeous lilting voice whether in rags or riches) transforms into a princess but hangs onto her heart. A Baker and his Wife (Paul Wyatt and Libby Bruno in convincing and conflicted form) ground the goings-on with their heart wrenching quest for a child. A narrator ties it all together (Jamie Grayson, doing double duty as the mysterious old man, and indelibly marking his stamp on each) before getting unceremoniously tossed from the proceedings in dramatic Act Two fashion. Finally, a witch (Julia Mosby in commanding, scene-stealing beauty-and-the-beast-in-one-fabuous-diva mode) does more than witches usually do in a much maligned but mostly misunderstood journey of her own.

When this disparate group comes together in song and story, and the fairy tale forest reveals itself to be as dark and scary as the real world, the musical soars in brilliant Sondheim fashion. Wishes are granted, only to turn on their wisher in ways both unexpected and devastating. Children and parents alike are challenged and lost. Love is celebrated, betrayed, mended, and dissolved. It’s an evening fraught with enchantment and tension, fairy tale freedom and very human bonds, and brought to thrilling life with that unmistakable Mac-Haydn magic.

{‘Into the Woods’ is playing at the Mac-Haydn Theatre through August 7, 2016.)

By this point in human history the whole star-crossed-lovers thing can get kind of old. Yet the very reasons that make it so trite are those that make it so timelessly true. Leonard Bernstein, Arthur Laurents and Stephen Sondheim knew this when re-telling the classic Romeo and Juliet story. Set in the Bronx of the 1950’s it tells the tragic tale of Tony and Maria, who find themselves in love amid a world that only wants to keep them apart. As cultures clash, and society struggles to deal with the quickly-changing face of New York, rival gangs circle in a battle to the death.

While remaining faithful to the original is often frowned-upon in these days of revival fatigue, there’s something profoundly smart in holding onto the very essence of what makes a show good, and in this case giving the audience what they want. That’s going on now at the Mac-Haydn Theatre. (It’s reportedly the most requested musical that the Mac-Haydn produced this year, and is set to run for three weeks accordingly.)

This production hits the stage running, literally. Full-throttle, thrillingly-choreographed action opens the evening – an indication that the most powerful portions of the evening will be told through music and dance. As expertly directed by James Kinney (who keeps the inventive work of Jerome Robbins alive and kicking), movement plays as integral a role to the proceedings as music, though Bernstein’s genius may beg to differ. Moving, majestic and overtly romantic passages of balletic beauty are balanced and punctuated by jarring punches of dissonant chords and foot-stomping fights.

The heart of the show belongs, for better or worse, to the leads – and many a ‘West Side Story’ has skidded off the tracks based on the castings of Tony or Maria. Luckily, Jarrett Jay Yoder and Mia Pinero are more than equipped at conveying the emotional core of their doomed love affair. Yoder’s voice is a veritable force-of-nature, and he’s at his most impressive when belting out emotion in a song, subtly drawing forth the raw ache of the heart in an arresting falsetto. Pinero matches his talent in delicacy and gorgeousness, and her transformation from winsome innocent to world-weary almost-widow is the evening’s most delicious, and rewarding, surprise.

The rest of the cast is far more than supporting, particularly the fiery performances of Veronica Fiaoni as Anita (absolutely stealing every scene she’s in) and the impassioned rendering by William Raff, bringing a palpable intensity to his Bernardo. In fact, it’s the intricate ensemble work and the way the cast works as a whole that fuels this ‘Story’ and sets it soaring. Witness the ‘Tonight’ Quintet – widely considered to be one of the greatest scenes in musical theater history.  It’s a highlight of this production, with Kinney making the most of the Mac-Haydn’s in-the-round stage construction as a prelude to the Act I finale.

‘West Side Story’ is a reminder that love is never wasted, love is never lost, even if it’s just for a night. When two people come together like that, it’s not something that circumstance or cultural differences can ever truly kill. You may stop a heart from beating, but you can’t stop it from loving. Love will always endure.

{“West Side Story” runs until August 9, 2015. Call 518-392-9292 for information and reservations, or order on-line at www.machaydntheatre.org at any time. Featured photos by the Mac-Haydn staff.}

With a 1992 Disney movie musical as its source material (in which a young Christian Bale made one of his first splashes), the touring stage version of ‘Newsies’ recently launched its revolution in Schenectady, and its stop at Proctor’s was a high-kicking night of exhilarating dance and Alan Menken-penned music.

While it retains its traditional Disney-esque whitewashing, this version is led by a troop so infectiously engaging and energetic, they manage to inject new life into a drab background. The storyline is a prettified telling of the rough and tumble newspaper-sellers in New York City, circa 1899, who fight and temporarily win better wages and terms for the boys and their system of selling papers.

Originated on Broadway by Jeremy Jordan, lead character Jack Kelly is here played by the charismatic Dan DeLuca, who more than makes the role his own. Kelly must be able to charm and take charge, and DeLuca proves up to the task, conveying angst and amazement at the events that unfold, with a fine voice and the sly earnestness the role requires.

‘Newsies’ is somewhat sorely lacking in female roles, but Stephanie Styles as Katherine and Angela Grovey as Medda Larkin make up for it with show-stopping turns. Chaz Wolcott (of ‘Cats’ fame) is a stand-out hoofer, and all the boys put their best dancing feet forward. In fact, it’s the company’s rousing ‘Seize the Day’ dance sequence that is the centerpiece of the production. Zachary Sayle as Crutchie tugs convincingly, if predictably, at the heartstrings, but the real emotion is elicited from the earnest belief of the ensemble in the material and their talent. Taken as a whole, the troupe becomes a character in and of itself – a moving, inspiring, singing and dancing entity that stirs and shouts and sells itself like its title characters. Does the world really need another musical with singing street urchins? ‘Newsies’ is proof-in-print that it just might.