IF THE SHOE FITS…
(The Shoebox Files)
Part 4
Tucked away in the bedroom closet was an ECCO shoe box
filled with programs. Another random mixture of plays and musicals. What's on
for today?
May, 2017. When Hair
premiered in 1968, it revolutionized a somewhat moribund musical theatre scene.
It was angry; it was sexy; it had a message; it had full-frontal nudity
(!!!!!), albeit dimly lit; it had a sensational score that throbbed with a rock
beat while, at the same time, being a traditional Broadway score. When I saw the
sit-down in Chicago a year later, at the tender age of nineteen, I was
enthralled. Twenty years later, original producer Michael Butler produced a
local 20th anniversary production at Chicago's Vic Theatre that, while
enjoyable, and let's face it, nothing can dim that score, came off as somewhat
of a dusty museum piece. Jump ahead twenty-one years later, and once again Hair lit up Broadway in an exciting,
sexy, angry revival by Diane Paulus. Looking more relevant than ever, it was
hard to believe that Hair, at that
time, was forty-one years old! And then along came Metropolis' production of Hair. (Metropolis is a well-funded
performing arts center in suburban Chicago with a score of corporate sponsors.)
Sigh. Where do I begin? The director, clearly out of her element, basically
made short shrift of the anti-war anger and theme, and instead made the show
pretty much just about sex. The choreography was unfocused and messy. The cast
had talented young men and women in it, but they never really seemed connected
to the material. (A notable exception was Alex Levy's charismatic Berger.) The
low point in the evening came when the actor playing Sheila took the iconic
"Easy to Be Hard" and turned it into a screeching vocal horror. Truly
painful. Remember when I said earlier that nothing can dim that score? Well, I
was wrong. This production managed to do the impossible. Argh. – at the
Metropolis Performing Arts Center, Arlington Heights, IL
April, 2017. Mamma
Mia! is one of my great guilty pleasures. The plot...woman screws three different
men and doesn't know which of the three fathered her daughter. And who hasn't
done that? All show up at said daughter's wedding. Chaos and ABBA ensues. Wholesome family
entertainment. Well, actually, it is. The plot line above might be a little
risqué for the wee ones, but how can anyone hate a show with all those great
ABBA tunes? This was one of the best shows I've seen at Marriott, and I've seen
some really good ones over the decades. Directed with flair by Rachel Rockwell,
who would tragically die a year later at 49 due to ovarian cancer, the show
featured knockout performances by its trio of leading ladies, Meghan Murphy,
Danni Smith, and Cassie Slater, terrific work by the hard-working ensemble,
spot-on vocal work, and high-energy choreography by Ericka Mac, who would make
a complete hash of the charming Bright
Star two years later. (See later post.) I loved this production from start
to finish. This show just makes me happy. – at the Marriott Theatre,
Lincolnshire, IL.
Critical Firestorm: In an otherwise favorable review of this
production, the Chicago Sun-Times'
long-time theatre critic Hedy Weiss made this comment when discussing the
costumes: "Theresa
Ham’s character-defining costumes make the most of the many “real women”
figures on stage, just as the gold and silver spandex outfits outline the
perfect bodies of the terrific chorus dancers." And, bam!, the
internet lit up with cries of body shaming. A review of another show a few
months later brought complaints about racial insensitivity. Weiss became
persona non grata in Chicago's theatre community, even though many theatre
companies continued to provide her and/or her publication with free tickets
because, frankly, they wanted the review from Chicago's second major paper, the
first arguably being the Chicago Tribune.
In February, 2018, the Sun-Times
dropped her, fired her, dismissed her, whatever you wish to call it, ending a
30+-year career at the paper. Cries of joy erupted on local social media. But guess
what? Local PBS station WTTW quietly hired Weiss to review for them, and she's
still on reviewer lists throughout the Chicago area.
But this isn't about
Hedy Weiss and whether or not you agree with the complaints about her.
Personally, I've not been a fan of hers for a very long time. I often
questioned not only her judgment, but also her basic critical acuity. For my
money, the best Sun-Times theatre
critic was the late, great Glenna Syse. My question is this…Since Weiss'
comments obviously hit a raw nerve in today's theatrical environment, how in
the hell would these folks have survived back in the days when critics were
actually critics, men and women who could discuss the merits of a show from the
writing, to the physical design, to the direction, to the acting, and pretty
much everything else in the production, and where, frankly, they didn't care much about creative egos, being politically correct, or current sensitivities . Their reviews could be valentines; they
could be total slams; they could be anywhere in-between, but you knew where
they stood, and you could judge with a fair amount of confidence if the show
involved was any good. In New York,
there still is a critical community with folks who write critical notices,
perhaps with a bit more sensitivity and political correctness than in the
past, but critical nonetheless. In Chicago, however, we've become a community
of, for lack of a better term, blogger summarizers, who spend 90% of their "review"
on regurgitating the plot, followed by brief comments on everything else. If
the summarizer doesn't like something, it's usually framed in words whose
subtext is "That's okay, you did your best. Good job!" Sorry, if I
want a summary, I'll read the Cliff's Notes. Actual press critics are few in
number and actual critical reviews are equally few in number. Instead, it's largely bloggers, and they rarely say anything
really negative about any show, and I'm convinced that's because they're afraid
of losing their free tickets. So, if that's the case, what's the purpose of
reviews today? Do they really serve a purpose if nobody is actually looking at a production with knowledgeable and critical eyes? Or are they
around only to provide quotes for the shows' press folks?
NOTES FROM THE FIELD
– Second Stage Theatre (Tony Kiser Theatre), New York
November, 2016. The story goes like this... We got two seats
for what passes for a balcony (upper level far stage right side of theatre) for
$60. A steal. But since the tickets indicated something called "B
Stool," Bob checked them out before the show. Turns out they're narrow bar
stools BEHIND a row of regular theatre seats. They sold them as partial view,
and we knew that, but Bob said the view was more obstructed than partial, so he
went to the box office to see is they could do anything, and those lovely folks
said we can change them for you and gave Bob two returned premium seats in the
4th row...no extra charge. Thank you, 2st box office!!
We waited over one hour while the folks at Second Stage
figured out a wonky fire alarm, but the wait was so worth it! Discussing
issues surrounding race, class and America's school-to-prison pipeline, Notes from the Field used interviews
from over two hundred students, parents, teachers, and administrators to tell
its story of a generation of American youth, most from poorer communities, who
don't catch a break in our broken educational system. It was freaking awesome!
Anna Deavere Smith, Notes' star and
author, was even more freaking awesome. She had the audience in the palm of her
hand. Powerful, sincere, and acted from the heart with compassion and integrity, Notes from the Field was a master class
in the power of the theatre. – at Second Stage Theatre, New York
SWEET CHARITY
– The Pershing Square Signature Theatre, New York
November, 2016. Rather than the rather upbeat ending that
has, frankly, haunted Sweet Charity
since its 1966 premiere, the show ended with the poignant and despairing
"Where Am I Going?" And that new ending was simply smashing. Sutton
Foster took Gwen Verdon's iconic role and made it her own. Funny, vulnerable,
yet worldly, with just the right amount of optimism blended with cold reality,
she captivated our hearts. The crowning jewel in the show, however, remains the
Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields score, full of brass and sass. The entire cast worked
their collective asses off in, often, multiple roles, and this pared-down
version was intimate and personal. Special props to Shuler Hensley's Oscar,
Asmeret Ghebremichael's Nickie, and Emily Padgett's Helene. Leigh Silveerman's direction
kept everything on point and moving along. Joshua Bergasse's choreography, for
the most part, captured the essence of the show. I missed the ennui in
"Rich Man's Frug," however, and "Rhythm of Life" was a
miss, but that song's garbage anyhow and the one misfire in an otherwise
wonderful score. Yes, Foster's costume was beyond hideous, but she, and her
show, were just so good, you didn't care. – at the Perishing Square Signature
Theatre, New York
– Marriott Theatre, Lincolnshire, IL
"Dance hall hostesses." Yeah...right.
September,
2018. I find it hard to believe that, with Chicago's large and talented
community of Equity actors, the folks at Marriott could not have found three
Chicago-based actors to play Charity, Helene, and Nickie in Sweet Charity. Also find it hard to
believe that the colorless Anne Horak was the best of the lot for the title
role. Sure, she sang the notes, said the lines, and danced the steps, but it
was all bland and unexciting. There was absolutely no camaraderie among
Charity, Helene, and Nickie. Having said that, the ensemble was terrific, and
the show lifted whenever they had a number. Terrific, perhaps, is too tame.
They were simply astonishing. As in "WOW!" The "Rich Man's
Frug" number was sensational, best thing in the show. Props go to Alex
Goodrich, reliable and excellent as always, and Adam Jacobs, Broadway's
original Aladdin, who sang the crap out of "Too Many Tomorrows" in
the smallish role of Vittorio Vidal. Sitting in section 1, we saw lots of back
and overall felt cheated. The usually excellent orchestra sounded thin at
times, and the entire show, with the exceptions noted above, never really
soared. Better than Writers' production from a few years back, but miles from
the Sutton Foster production we saw recently in New York. Not a total miss, but
not one of Marriott's better efforts. - at the Marriott Theatre, Lincolnshire,
IL.
Casting:
In
the not-so-distant past, most of Chicago's Equity first-tier, non-touring
houses cast locally, using Chicago's large and diverse Equity community of
actors. Over the last few years, that's been changing, and a perfect example is
the casting of Sweet Charity at
Marriott, where the three major female roles were all cast with non-Chicago-based Equity actors. Why? Certainly there must have been at least three Chicago-based
actors who could do the roles justice. Now I could understand it if Marriott
had cast actual stars, folks who would bring some added oomph to the box
office, give the show a little extra pizzazz, but the three ladies cast weren't
box office names and certainly brought no extra pizzazz with their lackluster
performances. And this is not a rare exception. Marriott does it. So does
Paramount, Drury Lane, Chicago Shakespeare, Goodman, etc. They all do it now.
So why doesn't Chicago's Equity office say anything? Well, I suspect, Equity's
view on it, and probably rightly so, is an Equity actor is an Equity actor
is an Equity actor. So the onus, really, is on the theatres themselves. And I
rather doubt their casting policies will change. It's a shame that Chicago
actors now often get the short end of the stick when it comes to star casting.
Sigh.
NORTHANGER ABBEY – Lifeline Theatre, Chicago
August,
2016. Final performance. There was a character in Northanger Abbey called Mrs. Allen. The actress playing her reminded me a lot of Cloris Leachman as Phyllis in the old Mary Tyler Moore show. She
was very funny. She was in a different show than the rest of the cast, mind
you, but very funny, and the best thing in the show. And the wonderful Jeanine
Tesori should get royalty payments since one of the songs sounded very much
like This Is Our Story from
Shrek. The Tesori song is better. The critics fainted over this. It
wasn't awful, and I didn't hate it, but faint? Nah, don't think so. – at Lifeline Theatre, Chicago
BRIGHT STAR
– Cort Theatre, New York
A gorgeous night view of the marquee and the front of the Cort.
June,
2016. In a Hamilton-obsessed season,
this lovely, unflashy musical didn't have a chance. A pity, too, because I fell in
love with this show minutes into it. Full of laughter,life, and love with a
gorgeous country/bluegrass score, Bright
Star dared to be unapologetically sentimental, perhaps at times even
corny, dared to tell its story without bells and whistles, but instead with
honesty and emotion, and dared its audiences to feel and connect. Loaded with a
cast of talented pros, including Paul Alexander Nolan, Michael Mulheren, A.J.
Shively, Hannah Elless, Stephen Bogardus, Dee Hoty, Stephen Lee Anderson, Emily
Padgett, and Jeff Blumenkrantz, Bright
Star was blessed with a kick-ass Broadway debut by leading lady Carmen
Cusack as Alice Murphy. Sensitively and creatively directed by Walter Bobbie,
with choreography by Josh Rhode, and beautifully designed and lit, it's
possible that the commercial juggernaut that is Broadway theatre wasn't an
ideal home for this soft-spoken musical, and an off-Broadway venue could have
been a better fit. No matter. We cheered and applauded like mad at the show's
end, and stayed until the band, a terrific group of musicians one and all,
played the last note of the exit music. The bright star that is Bright Star had a short life on
Broadway, but it's memory shines bright, indeed. – at the Cort Theatre, New
York
Sidebar:
In a
Facebook post I noted that Bright Star
would have a long life on the regional circuit and wondered which Chicago
theatre would produce it first, hoping that it would not be Porchlight Theatre.
Well, it wasn't, but….(see below)
Sadly, this poster was more interesting and better designed than the show itself.
Greenhouse really needs to get its act together re: opening houses, seating, etc. It was an inexcusable scrum.
April,
2019. Oh. My. Well, at least the band was good! And dinner was delicious! (Rickshaw
Republic. Highly recommended.) – at BoHo Theatre at the Greenhouse Theater
Center, Chicago
COME FROM AWAY
– Schoenfeld Theatre, New York
Don't be deceived. This set did lots and lots of VERY cool things!
March,
2017. Opening night was two days earlier. Quite possibly the best new musical I'd
seen in a very long time. On a snowy, miserable day in New York, the talented
actors and musicians of this remarkable show touched our hearts with their
stories of hope, sadness, joy, compassion, and just plain kindness. Beautifully
performed, played, and sung, with inventive staging, and a brilliant production
design, there was not a single sloppy or ineffective moment and not a single
weak performance. I simply cannot recommend it enough.This
lovely show, like Bright Star the
previous season, was caught in the hoopla surrounding the year's big
flavor-of-the-season, the overrated, in my opinion, Dear Evan Hansen, and frankly was robbed at that year's Tony Awards.
Unlike Bright Star, however, Come From Away found and continues to
find its audiences, and remains at this writing (April, 2019), a sell-out, and
profitable, hit. – at the Schoenfeld Theatre, New York
– Schoenfeld Theatre,
New York
September,
2018. Welcome to the Rock! With many of the original cast still in the show, including
the awesome Jenn Colella, this was, once again, a remarkable evening of
theatre. This should have won the Tony for Best Musical instead of that show
across the street that glorifies a liar. Essential viewing for anyone who cares
about musical theatre. Well done, all! – at the Schoenfeld Theatre, New York
********************
And on that note, I'll stop for today. An American Tribal Love-Rock icon, ABBA tunes, an evening with a master storyteller and documentarian, dance hall hostesses, a musicalization of a Jane Austen novel, bluegrass music and a Southern story, and the true story of bravery and kindness in the wake of a world tragedy. That's quite a wide-ranging group of shows! Until later, and remember, if the show fits….
