BLOG JACK: Brantley on the Empty Stage

Today, I read September 8th's Theater Talkback by The New York Times' Ben Brantley with some interest.  It is called "When a Bare Stage Fills the Theatre."  I was particularly drawn to this article because, as any of my theatre-going friends will tell you, my mantra for theatre is "Always remember that the Greeks did it on a stone slab with a mask, the sun and a toga!"

I say this very thing when we can't agree on the quality of a new show.  Would this show ultimately be as good if it were stripped down to the actors on the stage and nothing else?  Are the words and performances enough to engage the audience and entertain them? 

• This discussion happened several times this past Broadway season.  Needless to say, it was shows like Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, both of which I saw early in previews, and before the ensuing onslaught of press for both shows.  And we agreed that as it was, The Scottsboro Boys - devoid of fancy costumes and scenery, but full of theatrical ingenuity - proved my point exactly.

I say this when we wonder if the show is a triumph of staging and spectacle over story.  Does too much of the meaning rely on the visual created by the designers, the choreographer and the director?  Or has the director and choreographer done enough, that if stripped of lights, scenery and costumes, and only the script to rely on, to still give us a full show?

• My mantra reared its sage head once again when we discussed Wonderland - the answer? No.  In fact, it was so over produced that it all but obscured the story and characters.  And again with The Book of Mormon - the answer? Absolutely.  That show would still be as funny, poignant and entertaining if the Eugene O'Neill Theatre had a blackout and all the costumes and scenery were stolen.

• I recall the oddest experience of my theatre-going life.  In 2002, the Box Office Union was on strike at a theater that hosts national tours.  I don't remember the exact politics of it, but it boiled down to this:  an agreement was struck, but too late for everything to be loaded into the theatre for that week's first show.  Actors Equity allowed the performers to go on, while the ITASE unions told its workers to do as much as they could to help, but and not unload the sets, lights or costumes until that evening.  The show was 42nd Street, a show that definitely relies on the visual spectacle of lavish sets, lights and costumes.  Dying to see how it would play out, and with nothing to lose (I could not exchange my tickets for another performance that week), I stayed and watched the show on the very bare stage, on/off lights and street clothes of the performers that my mantra speaks of.  Imagine the opening number or "We're In the Money" without tap shoes, or "The Shadow Waltz" without shadows!  And yet, watching the whole thing play out was absolutely mesmerizing.  And the story, now the focus, was actually much more interesting than I had ever remembered it being.  It is also the only show I have ever attended where the act one finale got a full audience standing ovation, and, until Patti LuPone's "Rose's Turn," the only time a mid-show number got a standing ovation, which happened after the title number.  It was exciting and an event I will never forget it.  And it was nice to have my saying validated. 

And I say this to friends who attend local, necessarily low budget, and lift their noses in their as they go in, expecting the least.  I always take great pleasure in their shock and awe when such a show is success.  Clearly, a silk purse has been made from a sow's ear.

Ben Brantley discusses several shows that benefit and thrive from a bare stage in his blog - Our Town, all of the original Globe Theatre productions of William Shakespeare's plays among them.  And he brings up Chicago's current staging by Walter Bobbie and Ann Reinking.  Boy, is he ever right!  Less is so much more in this case.  And it brought immediately to my mind the other great American musical in the long-run gallery, A Chorus Line, a show that, except for the last 3 or 4 minutes, not only thrives on a bare stage, but requires it.  For all of their spectacle and excess, would the three longest-running shows - Les Miserables, Cats and The Phantom of the Opera really have been as successful without "stuff"?  Brantley and I agree: probably not.  But it would be interesting to see Cats under the same circumstances as when I saw 42nd Street.

I disagree with Mr. Brantley more often than I agree.  But he and I see eye to eye on this point:  good acting and thoughtful staging coupled with a good script can be as magical as a stage full of scenery and actors flying right over our heads.



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Jeff
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What Happened on Broadway This Week (8/23 - 8/29)

With the exception of one record-breaking show, this was one sloooow week in the history of Broadway!  Still, it is interesting to take a look back at bygone eras and to remind us of the not too distant past.

August 23:  Maybe the slowest day of the whole year!  Not a single Broadway show has opened on this date in 1935, when Smile at Me opened at the Fulton Theatre on 46th Street.  This musical only lasted 27 performances.  Perhaps what is most interesting about this is that the theatre was re-named the Helen Hayes Theatre, and it, in turn was torn down to make room for the Marriott Marquis.  It was located next to what is now the Richard Rodgers Theatre, and the box office was pretty close to where the new Marquis Theatre box office is.  The lobby of the old theatre is now where the breezeway of the hotel is located.

The Fulton Theatre...

...later re-named The Helen Hayes

This week's Oldest Opening: Uncle Tom's Cabin  opened on August 23, 1852 at Purdy's New National Theatre.

August 24:  A revival of one of Broadway's longest plays opened in 1986 at the Broadhurst Theatre.  The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby was performed in two parts.  This revival ran for 29 performances of both parts.

This week's Most Interesting Title: My Wife's Husbands opened on August 24, 1903 at Hoyt's Theatre on 24th Street near Madison Square.  This is the first theatre to feature gas lights, folding seats and a primitive form of air conditioning.  It was torn down in 1908 for an office building.

August 25:  The biggest opening in the history of Broadway during this week happened on this date in 1980 at the Winter Garden Theatre.  There, 42nd Street  opened and caused a nostalgic sensation.  The opening was marred by the death, earlier that day, of the show's director/choreographer, Gower Champion.  The show went on to win the Tony for Best Musical 1981.  Three theatres and 3,486 performances later, the show closed in 1989.

Tony-winning legend Jerry Orbach and

Tony-winning star Karen Ziemba in 42nd Street

August 26:  The newest musical to open this week was on this date in 1992, when Anna Karenina opened at the Circle-in-the-Square Theatre.  It starred Gregg Edelman and was the debut of Melissa Errico, who to this date is still looking to be in a hit Broadway show.  The show closed after 46 performances.

The Cover Art for the Concept Recording

August 27:  The newest play to open this week was on this date in 1998.  A one-man show, Colin Quinn: An Irish Wake opened at the Helen Hayes and limped through 22 performances.

Literally nothing else significant opened during this week in August.