ALPHABET
SOUP (3)
It's that time again to shake up things, draw a letter from
my blue London coffee mug and pick the first five shows from that letter's pile
of programs.
Without further ado, drum roll, please…. Today's letter is….
U
Ready? Set? Go!
August, 2002. At the 2002 Tony Awards, Urinetown won three Tonys: Best Book of a Musical (Greg Kotis),
Best Original Musical Score (Music by Mark Hollmann, Lyrics by Mark Hollmann
and Greg Kotis) and Best Direction of a Musical (John Rando). Curiously, in
spite of those three major wins, which are,
for all intents and purposes, the three most important creative
components of a musical (designers, orchestrators, musical directors,
choreographers and all you other important folk, you know I love you as
well…xoxo), the Best Musical Tony went to the enormously entertaining and very
traditional Thoroughly Modern Millie.
At the time, the general consensus was that the Tony voters wanted to return to
safer, more familiar ground after the sweep of the previous year's Tony Awards
by The Producers. But winning book,
score and directing Tonys isn't exactly chopped liver and Urinetown would enjoy a long and profitable run. This tart and
tasty political satire about corporate and political corruption and greed,
using the premise that people had to pay for the privilege to pee, as the song
goes, was exquisitely written by Messrs. Kotis and Hollmann and directed to
satiric perfection by Mr. Lando and produced at The Henry Miller, as it was
called, as the final production before the theatre closed to make way for an
office building. (The interior would be demolished and a gorgeous new theatre
rebuilt. It reopened as the Henry Miller, but in 2010 was rechristened the
Stephen Sondheim Theatre.) In 2002, The Henry Miller was a bit, well, dowdy. It
had obviously seen better days and looked very rough around the edges. It was
the perfect theatre for designers Scott Pask, Gregory Dale, Jonathan Bixby and
Brian MacDevitt to work their magic and to set the stage for this wonderfully
off-kilter show. Leading actors John Cullum and Nancy Opel were both out at the
matinee we attended, but were skillfully covered by Don Richard and Rachel
Coloff, respectively. Jeff McCarthy and Spencer Kayden were hysterical as
Officer Comstock and Little Sally. Jennifer Laura Thompson was both luminous
and clueless as Hope Cladwell and the really, really talented Hunter Foster was
a terrific hero and stopped the show with the raise-the-roof "Run Freedom
Run." For my money, though, the best song in the show is the devilishly
evil "Don't Be the Bunny." Satire is hard to do. It can easily go
south and just be unbearable. Really good satire is rare. Urinetown is really good satire. Think Threepenny Opera without the tiresome Brecht and Weill stuff. (No,
I'm not a fan. Shoot me.) Bob and I laughed and laughed and laughed. It was
truly an unexpected delight. - at The Henry Miller, New York
(Sidebar: a 2006
local sit-down production of Urinetown
at Chicago's Mercury Theatre was embroiled in a copyright dispute with the
creatives of Urinetown who accused
the Chicago creatives of plagiarizing the work of the original director
and designers. The Chicago production team vehemently denied the charges. The
dispute caused the show to close suddenly and at a complete financial loss. The
case was settled in federal court and the Chicago production team was ordered
to pay the original Broadway team an undisclosed sum of money.)
A snapshot of what was going on in August, 2002. How did we miss Dance of the Vampires?
July, 2003. The marvelous American Conservatory Theater
(A.C.T.) in San Francisco mounted this raucous reproduction of the Broadway
original at its home base at the gorgeous Geary Theatre. The exceptionally
strong cast was headed by Ron Holgate as Caldwell B. Cladwell, who seemed to
absolutely relish his every moment on stage, Charlie Pollack as a handsome
hero, the radiant Christiane Noll (one of the few good things in Jekyll and Hyde and who would dazzle us
a few years later in the revival of Ragtime)
as Hope Cladwell, Jim Corti as Hot Blades Harry, Beth McVey as Penelope
Pennywise, Meghan Strange as Little Sally and the reliable Tom Hewitt as
Officer Lockstock. Hewitt is a consistently fine actor and a favorite of mine.
We went with Bob's brother Andy and his husband and sat in practically the last
row of the Geary's second balcony. Once again we laughed lots. And take my word
for it, the second balcony at the Geary Theater is very high and very
steep. Not for the faint of heart. - at the Geary Theatre (A.C.T.), San
Francisco
Oops! "U" had only one show, so let's draw
again….drum roll……. And we have….
H
April, 2011. Matthew Lombardo's play about a recovering
alcoholic therapist nun, a 19-year-old homeless gay drug addict and a priest
with control issues was at times very, very funny, at times very, very dramatic
and at times very, very melodramatic. The play starred the divine Kathleen
Turner as the recovering alcoholic therapist nun, and, yes, it took me a moment or two to
wrap my brain around that bit of casting. Kathleen Turner as a nun? No matter. She was a marvel. That
inimitable voice combined with her commanding stage presence made her a force
to be reckoned with. Evan Jonigkeit played the homeless gay drug addict in a
powerful and sympathetic performance with an added dose of full frontal nudity
for good measure. Stephen Kunken was fine as the priest and did what he could
with the role, but his part was the weakest and easily overwhelmed by the
showier roles of the nun and drug addict. I thought it was a powerful, if
flawed, play with an accomplished cast, fine production values and good
direction. Bob and I liked it; our friends were less than enthused. We saw a
preview performance. Good thing, too, since, despite mostly positive notices
from tryout productions in Hartford, Cincinnati and St. Louis, the play was
soundly spanked by the New York critics and closed at the end of its first week
of performances. I suspect it will have a profitable afterlife in regional,
educational and amateur theatre. - at the Booth Theatre, New York
February, 2008. There is a scene in this chilling revival of Harold Pinter's The Homecoming where Raul Esparza, as Lenny, confronts his new sister-in-law, Ruth, played by Eve Best. (Yep, Nurse Jackie's Eve Best.) The scene was so quiet, so sexually charged, so dangerous, and in its way, so evil that it literally took my breath away. Rarely have I seen such understated and such powerful acting. Those few minutes alone were reason enough to see this masterful revival of one of Pinter's most highly-regarded plays. Raul Esparza was so robbed of the Tony that year. (Actually, so was this production. Best Revival of a Play Tony went to the slight, if extremely well-done, Boeing, Boeing.) This is not a happy play. It's filled with loathsome characters engaging in despicable behavior and you wonder if anyone among them has any normal interactions in society. The only moderately sympathetic character in the bunch, Teddy, played by James Frain, eventually yields to his monstrous family. Ian McShane played the head of the household and he was a nasty piece of work. (He was a delightfully over-the-top Devil in The Witches of Eastwick in London.) The always excellent Michael McGrath play McShane's brother and Gareth Saxe played brother Joey. They were all superb, but for me the acting honors went to Esparza and Best. I usually find Pinter on the obtuse side. Not this time. This was truly exciting theatre. - at the Cort Theatre, New York
(Note: in the National Tour of the original Broadway production, Carolyn Jones played Ruth. Yes, Morticia from The Addams Family was more than just smoldering looks and finger snaps. She was a well-regarded actress. I so wanted to see that production, I was still in high school when the tour played Chicago and I couldn't manage a matinee. I probably wouldn't have understood it anyhow at that age.)
July, 2011. Part The
Boys in the Band, part My Night with
Reg, part Love! Valour! Compassion!
with a hint of Company thrown in,
with none of the qualities of any of the originals, this so-called
"epic" play had lots of zingy one-liners, but not a lot of heart and
not a lot of characterization. An unlikeable leading character, though
well-enough acted, didn't help, nor did the political/sociological riffs that
didn't advance the plot. With one glaring exception, the acting was good, and
two performances, Elizabeth Ledo and Stephen Cone, were outstanding. At times I felt like I was at a production of
"Party;" it had that camp-for-camp's sake mentality. At about 2:15, it's at least 15 minutes too
long and could probably be a very good play at a snappy, intermission-less 90
minutes. To be fair, it was liked by the
critics and the audience ate it up. It
wasn't bad; it wasn't good, and it does have some promise, but it won't become
the next great gay play, even though that was clearly what the author intended
this to be. - at About Face Theatre, Chicago
This talented quartet...don't they all look so young!...would continue to shine in show business.
September, 1995. At the risk of being tut-tuted, I must
confess that I am not much of a Frank Loesser fan. I don't care for Where's Charley? at all, though that could just be a reaction to a bad audition for a local production a century ago down in
Bloomington, but I think it's simply because I don't like the show. The
supposed charms of The Most Happy Fella
escape me. I don't think Guys and Dolls
is one of the greatest musicals ever. And although on the cast recording, much
of Greenwillow is actually quite
beautiful, there are, sadly, more than a handful of real clunkers (e.g.
"Clang Dang the Bell" and "Could've Been a Ring") Having
said that, however, I'm wild about his zippy satire on big business, How to Succeed in Business Without Really
Trying. The book is funny and pointed, as good satire should be, and the
score is one great tune after another. By 1995, this show had long been a
staple of community theatre groups and high schools, so the opportunity to see
Broadway pros in a Tony-winning production directed by Des McAnuff and
choregraphed by Wayne Cilento was not to be missed. Matthew Broderick won his
second Tony for his portrayal of J Pierrepont Finch. Broderick has the charming
hangdog thing down to an art and it worked to his advantage in this role. Pre-Will and Grace Megan Mullally was a
total delight as Rosemary, free from Karen-isms and showing off impressive
vocal chops. And look who played Smitty…Victoria Clark! Lillias White was a
full-throated and funny Miss Jones, Jeff Blumenkrantz whined and kowtowed with
vigor as Frump, Ronn Carroll was an appropriately pompous J.B. Biggley and
Pamela Gold did a fine job subbing as Hedy. In the chorus were Jeffry Denman
and Martin Moran! Enormously entertaining. - at the Richard Rodgers Theatre,
New York
June, 1996. All-grown up at 33, the Karate Kid, Ralph Macchio, gave a solid, entertaining performance in the First National Company of the 1995 Broadway revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Duplicating the look and feel of the Broadway version, this was a high-quality tour with a troupe of seasoned actors including Shauna Hicks as Rosemary, Richard Thomsen as J.B. Biggley, Susann Fletcher as Smitty, who admirably gave a program nod as sharing her home and heart to her female partner and this was in 1996!, a big-voiced Tina Fabrique as Miss Jones, Roger Bart as Frump a few years before he skyrocketed to fame in The Producers, and as a special treat Pamela Blair (the original "Tits and Ass" girl) as Hedy. Professional and enjoyable. - at the Shubert Theatre, Chicago
August, 2011. The 1995 revival was pure pleasure, but the
sparkling 2011 revival was an infectious, joyous romp, in no small measure
thanks to the ridiculously wonderful performance by its leading man,
is-there-anything-he-can't-do?, Daniel Radcliffe. When he was only 17,
Radcliffe made an impressive West End debut that won him critical acclaim in
the award-winning Equus. Critics were
not only impressed by his considerable range as an actor, but also by the fact
that he fearlessly shattered his Harry Potter persona by performing the famed
nude scene with class and dignity. He repeated his Equus assignment on Broadway two years later in his Broadway debut
and once again received acclaim from the critics. For only his second
appearance on Broadway, Radcliffe chose to portray one of the most difficult
young leading man parts in musical history, that of Finch in How to Succeed. This part requires the
actor to not only be charming and impish and adorable, but also show cunning
and ambition, yet that cunning and ambition can never be overpowering or
threatening. Radcliffe carried the part with great élan not only due to his
considerable talent, but also due to the fact that he worked tirelessly to make
sure everyone in the audience had a terrific time. While he may not have
carried off the singing and dancing chores with the same slick professionalism
that a more seasoned musical performer would have, he more than compensated for
it by sheer energy and a smile that made us feel like he was having the time
of his life. And I suspect he was. The fact that he wasn't even nominated for a Tony Award
still has me shaking my head in disbelief. Mr. Radcliffe wasn't alone in this
endeavor, however. He was surrounded by an sensational group of fellow actors
who added immeasurably to the fun. John Larroquette, in his Tony-winning role,
was just so good as J.B. Biggley and the visual of the 6'4" Larroquette
opposite the 5'5" Radcliffe was priceless. Rose Hemingway was excellent as
Rosemary, Christopher J. Hanke pouted to perfection as Frump, Tammy Blanchard
was a comic sexy Hedy, Mary Faber, Patty Goble and Rob Bartlett were great as
Smitty, Miss Jones and Twimble, respectively. Brightly designed, directed and
choreographed with crisp efficiency and played by a superb pit band, this was
just pure joy. I was grinning from ear-to-ear when we left the Hirschfeld. - at
the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, New York
That's it for today. More later....Ta!
© 2013 Jeffrey Geddes
