DISCOVERING THE END OF THE ALPHABET – Part 2
(a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alphabet Soup)
Part 2…more end of the alphabet adventures. To start things
off, let's begin with a magnificent revival of an intense, disturbing Arthur
Miller play.
January, 2016. There are some productions that are so unique
in design, so superb in concept and direction, so dazzling in performance, that
typical words of praise fail to do it justice. This justifiably critically-acclaimed
revival of Arthur Miller's A View from
the Bridge was one of them. Arthur Miller, one of our truly great
playwrights, will never be accused of writing cheery, optimistic plays. Nor
will he ever be accused of writing simple plays. His plays, both the
masterpieces and the less-thans, almost demand our attention, our
concentration, and when the plays are good, and, trust me, A View from the Bridge is one of the best, we willingly surrender
to his words. The soaring artistic vision of director Ivo van Hove,
immeasurably aided by designers Jan Versweyveld (scenic and lighting design),
whose physical environment, a boxing ring-like square with benches on two sides
and a door upstage, and Tom Gibbons (sound design), whose music was ominously
playing softly in the background throughout the performance, never actually
intruding on the action unless for a dramatic reason, but always there, adding
a unnerving element to the proceedings, gave the play, set in a 1950s Italian
Brooklyn neighborhood, a Greek tragedy feel. Stripped of kitchen-sink realism
and the accoutrements of a traditional scenic design, van Hove focused on
Miller's text, and the themes of denial, sex, and family blazed forth with the intensity of a laser. The
superb cast (Mark Strong, Nicola Walker, Phoebe Fox, Russell Tovey, Michael
Zegen, Michael Gould, and Richard Hansell), all veterans of London's Young Vic
production, commanded our attention. The final tableau, a true coup de théâtre,
of a blood-soaked stage as the top of the set slowly, very slowly, descended to
enclose the playing area, stunned the audience into an almost reverential
silence, the likes of which I have rarely experienced in the theatre. The New York Times' Ben Brantley put it this
way: "This must be what Greek tragedy once felt like, when people went to
the theater in search of catharsis. Ivo van Hove’s magnificent reconception of
Arthur Miller’s A View From the Bridge, which opened on Thursday night at
the Lyceum Theatre, takes you into extreme emotional territory that you
seldom dare visit in daily life. At the end of its uninterrupted two hours, you
are wrung out, scooped out and so exhausted that you’re wide awake. You also
feel ridiculously blessed to have been a witness to the terrible events you
just saw." Well said, Mr. Brantley. Breathtaking theatre. – at the Lyceum
Theatre, New York
How many of these songs are in your audition book?
April, 1970. First there was Hair, which had musical theatre purists wringing their hands in
despair that rock music would take over Broadway and the traditional musical
would die. They needn't have worried. By the early 70s, the craze had more or
less ended, no doubt fueled by mega-bombs like Dude and Via Galactica. 1968's
Your Own Thing, suggested by
Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, but set
in present day, i.e. the late 60s, was a huge off-Broadway success, spawning
touring and resident companies, and launching the careers of many young,
talented performers. One of these tours, a bus-and-truck job, made its way to
Illinois State University's Capen Auditorium for two nights under the auspices
of ISU's Entertainment Board. Back in the day, these were Equity tours, often
with the same production credits as the originals, modified to accommodate one
and two-night stands. As a result, even in the hinterlands, audiences often got
a product that was first-rate and as close production-wise to the New York
original as possible. Then, as now, I wasn't a big rock person, and,
truthfully, I don't remember anything about the show, except that I found it
entertaining enough and totally forgettable. Casting tidbit: Roger Rathburn,
who played Orson, would make his Broadway debut the following year as the
juvenile in the smash revival of No, No,
Nanette. The local paper, The
Pantagraph, gave Your Own Thing a
positive review. – at Capen Auditorium, Normal, IL
THE VAMPIRES – Immediate Theatre Company, Chicago
March, 1988. Steve knew one of the actors, I forget who, so
off we went to the far north side to a somewhat tatty storefront theatre on
West Pratt. According to the director's notes, The Vampires is about career changes, mid-life crises, and the
choices we make when we are at the end of the proverbial rope. Pretty much
everything au courant in the 80s got a nod here, including drugs, meditation,
gurus, and even vampirism. The Chicago
Tribune's critic, Richard Christiansen, praised the show, and between the
review and the director's notes, I wish I had better recall of the evening,
but, alas, I don't. What I do remember, however, is having a couple of pre-show
beers at a bar around the corner on Sheridan, where I think we may have been
the first gay folks ever to walk into
the place. It was actually quite fun. Of the play, no clue. – at the Immediate
Theatre Company, Chicago
Immediate Sidebar: The original Immediate Theatre Company was an
ensemble formed in the early 1980s and was disbanded in the early 1990s. According to broadwayworld.com, "the
company was known for its tight ensemble work and truthful acting,"
whatever that means. (I suspect it's
actor psychobabble.) Their production of The
Vampires consisted of a largely Equity cast, impressive for store front
operations.
October, 2007. Tim Acito and Alexander Dinelaris' Zanna, Don't! is the musical equivalent
of a puppy with sad brown eyes and a furiously wagging tale that is begging you
to "love me, love me, love me." And I tried. I really did, but,
despite the earnestness of the cast and the message that the world would be a
better place if we all just loved each other more, I never really warmed to the
piece. Set in a high school in an alternate, parallel universe where homosexuality
is the norm and heterosexuality is the exception, Zanna's cast work tirelessly to put across the unexceptional
material. Worked too hard, in fact, under Elisa Woodruff's trying-too-hard
direction. I didn't hate it, but nothing stood out as special. The music was
pleasantly bland and the characters sweet, but one-dimensional. At 57, perhaps
I was simply too old for it. I'd lived through my generation being decimated by
AIDS, experiencing first-hand the toll of the plague, and it's possible that Zanna's cheerfully optimistic message
struck me as naïve and clueless about the harshness of the real world. Kerry Reid,
of the Chicago Tribune, gave the show
a nod. A modest show, modestly produced and modestly performed. – at Bailiwick
Theatre, Chicago
YANK! – York Theatre Company (The Theatre at Saint Peter's Church), New
York
March, 2010. A lovely, low-key, unassuming musical about
love during World War II, Yank! (subtitled
"A WWII Love Story) was fresh, original, and loaded with talent. Focusing
more on story, and less on polemic preaching, Yank!'s tale of a gay young man, out of place and lonely, trying to
navigate the dual land mines of his sexuality in a, let's face it, not friendly
environment, the U.S. Army, and the terrifying reality of a war, received a
loving production at York Theatre's intimate Theatre at Saint Peter's Church,
seemingly in the bowels of the earth, based on the long elevator ride. If the
production values were a bit, well, storefront, the performances sizzled,
especially those of Jeffry Denman as the brash, unapologetically gay
photographer for an Army weekly magazine, Ivan Hernandez as the hunky love
interest, the remarkable Nancy Anderson, who played all of the women in the
story, and Bobby Steggert, absolutely indispensible as Stu, the lonely, out of
place lad. An homage of sorts to 1940s musicals, clichés abounded, and
deliberately so, with book and score by brothers Joseph and David Zellnik. It
didn't all work, but we and the rest of the audience left the theatre happy. Yank! won't ever change the world or
redefine musical theatre, but as an evening of charm, it's first-rate. – at the
York Theatre Company (The Theatre at St. Peter's), New York
About Mr. Steggert: We've been fans of the talented Bobby Steggert
since we saw him in the Audra McDonald 110
in the Shade. Ragtime, Yank!, Big Fish, and Mothers and Sons followed. There was
always honesty and humanity in Steggert's performances, and I truly believe he
was poised for major stardom. But then, in 2016 or so, Steggert left the
business, got his master's in social work, and now practices as a
psychotherapist. Well done, sir. Theatre's loss is definitely mental health's
gain.
XANADU – Helen Hayes
Theatre, New York
There were a lot of slips in that afternoon's Playbill. All of them excellent, by the way.
July, 2007. James Carpinello was still being billed as
"Sonny," but never returned to the show following his rehearsal
(preview?) injury. Even though Cheyenne
Jackson opened the show two weeks earlier, he had not yet permanently joined
the cast, so Curtis Holbrook was playing Sonny that afternoon. We went to this
as an "it could be fun" Saturday matinee and had a blast! OMG!
The songs and book were both campy and fun, the performances deliciously
over the top, yet sincere, and that's rather a neat trick, and a master class
in scenery-chewing technique was effortlessly taught by the divine Jackie
Hoffman and Mary Testa, who have no shame whatsoever! None. I loved them. Kerry Butler, in the role played by Olivia
Newton-John in the unfortunate film, was casting genius. Channeling her best
Olivia N-J, she was truly a skating goddess. Curtis Holbrook was a delightful,
clueless Sonny. Even Tony Roberts, whom I've never been a fan of, was quite
wonderful and seemed to be having a terrific time. (Casting nugget…Patti Murin,
currently playing Anna in Frozen at
the St. James, performed the roles usually played by Holbrook.) Love, love, love this show. Mindless, happy, and a guilty pleasure. – at
the Helen Hayes Theatre, New York
The Little Show That Could: Xanadu
surprised the nay-sayers by receiving positive reviews, including a couple
of out-and-out raves. The critics loved its campiness, it's cheerful spoofiness
of all things Broadway, and it's almost puppy-dog desire to entertain. In a
year that included In the Heights, Young
Frankenstein, and critical darling Passing
Strange, it scored four Tony nominations, including a Best Musical nod, but
won none, losing the big award to In the
Heights, that year's flavor of the month. (Sorry, not a fan of Heights. Sue me.) Quite an
accomplishment for an unassuming little show playing at Broadway's smallest
house. During that year's Tony season, Xanadu
pulled one of the best, funniest PR-promotional campaigns I've ever seen. Go to
YouTube and type in "Cubby Bernstein Xanadu" and enjoy. You can thank
me later.
February, 2008. Just as delicious and campy good fun the
second time around. Annie Golden subbed
for Mary Testa and proved she could shred scenery with the best of them. Jackie
Hoffman was still criminally funny and the two of them took no prisoners. Kerry
Butler and Tony Roberts seemed to have comfortably settled into their roles,
and Cheyenne Jackson, now permanently in the cast as Sonny, was adorable and
VERY tall. It's curious that for all the good press and positive reviews, Xanadu never was terribly successful on
the road. Too campy? Too gay? Too New York? Today, it's a popular property with
MTI and even, scarily, has a Xanadu, Jr.
version. A proposed tour starring RuPaul Drag Race stars Ginger Minj and Jinkx
Monsoon was cancelled due to poor ticket sales two weeks before opening earlier
in September, 2019. A great show? No. But, dear lord, is it fun! – at the Helen
Hayes Theatre, New York
YOUR ARMS TOO SHORT
TO BOX WITH GOD – Shubert Theatre, Chicago
April, 1983. When is a venerable, old Chicago playhouse no
longer a theatre, but instead a hand-clapping, Yes, Lording, amening gospel
tabernacle? Short answer: when Patti LaBelle takes up residency on that
venerable, old Chicago playhouse's stage. I don't think I'm far off when I say
that I believed most of the people who crowded into the Shubert on that April
Saturday night weren't there to see Vinnette Carroll's take on the Biblical
Book of St. Matthew. After all, Box with
God had been kicking around since 1976, had already been revived twice on
Broadway, and had played Chicago three times before this engagement. Besides, if
one wanted to see a musical based on St. Matt, there was always the insipid Godspell to quell any pseudo-Bible
appetites. No, the reason the Shubert was hand-clapping, Yes-Lording, and
amening was because this particular production had Ms. LaBelle heading up the
thing, and with all due respect to the creative talents of Ms. Carroll, Alex
Bradford, and Micki Grant (music and lyrics) and the abundantly talented folks
sharing the stage with LaBelle, I don't remember anything about the evening
except Patti LaBelle, all glorious voice, dynamic stage presence, and
contagious joy. Could she act? Did anyone care one way or the other? I know I
didn't. There's a reason why Patti LaBelle is a living legend. All anyone had to do was to attend a
performance at the Shubert in April, 1983 to find out why. – at the Shubert
Theatre, Chicago
That's it for now… Until next time!
© 2019 Jeffrey Geddes
