REVIEW: Follies

At the Marquis Theatre on Broadway, New York City. 2 hours, 40 minutes, with an intermission. Starring Bernadette Peters, Jan Maxwell, Ron Raines, Danny Burstein, Elaine Paige, Jane Houdyshell, Terri White, Mary Beth Piel, Rosalind Elias, Susan Watson, Don Correia, and Laura Lee Gayer, Kirsten Scott, Nick Verina, Christian Delcroix and Leah Horowitz. Musical direction by James Moore. Choreography by Warren Carlyle. Directed by Eric Schaeffer.

Grade: A+

I came to this Follies as one needing to be wooed, not as a fan already. I had never seen a production of the show and had only the original Broadway cast recording, such as it is, to go by. A self-proclaimed Sondheim fan, I have often counted Follies as second only to Pacific Overtures as my least favorite Sondheim show. But many a friend has counseled me, “this is one of those shows you have to see to fully appreciate the score and the book.”

Happily, all who have told me that were so right, and I am so grateful that this revival production has been my gateway into what is now in the top three of my favorite Sondheim shows, and probably among my top ten most amazing theatrical experiences. Ever.

I can, in all honesty, say that I went into the Marquis Theatre with as open a mind toward the show as possible. In fact, my biggest concern wasn’t even really about the show, but about Bernadette Peters: would she win me back after her so-so performance earlier this year in A Little Night Music? (She did, and then some.) Yes, walking to the theatre, I was fully prepared to just let it happen. And it had me from the second I walked through the doors.

Ensconced with tattered grey material on every wall, and hanging overhead, too, the house immediately plunges you into the world of a decaying, make that dead, theatre. Its once glorious countenance signaled only by a mere sliver of proscenium still in pristine shape while the rest of the stage frame lies crumpled on the floor or hanging precariously as if to collapse at any second. A sense of sadness, imminent danger, and of past glory clinging to life just before it is no longer even a memory pervading the air. And then there is the background noise - a cacophony of groaning, settling metal, creaking floors, and the echo of debris falling somewhere unseen - which surrounds you in every way that the intense visual doesn’t. And then there are the distant sounds of tap dancing and the occasional girlish giggle that seem to bubble up and can be heard over the ominous din. This is a haunted house, and it is both scary and profoundly sad.

"Beautiful Girls"

The same can be said for the show itself, the story of a reunion of follies girls at the very theatre where they became legends. The theatre, set for demolition the next day, creaks and groans, but stays together for one last follies. As each of the ladies performs her signature number, and the occasional production number is recreated, we find that their lives have gone in a variety of directions, some successful some not, and most mundane. And so they have come back to relive their highpoint of glory and to assess the damage others have suffered as their lives together as showgirls diverged and are now reunited for one night only. The central story concerns the marriages of two of the follies girls who were best friends, but are now miles (figuratively and, on the surface, literally) apart.

From the very moment the show starts, there is, to be blunt, a devastating mind-fuck going on here. Everything your eyes and ears are picking up suggests two or three things at once. And no matter what, you cannot escape the last breaths of the very building you are in. (This is no small irony, considering that the Marquis Theatre exists at the expense of several theaters that had to be demolished so that a hotel could be put up in Times Square.) The ladies are still so vibrant and full of life that they sell you immediately on the idea that this will be a fun, glamorous look back at a time that no longer exists. Some of these gals are old and they still have it; even the younger ones who are beginning to show their age manage to “bring it” when they see the elder gals going all out. Nowhere is this more evident than the opening number, “Beautiful Girls,” as they parade down the grand staircase and go through the motions of poses and arm figures that they once did in their glory days. The number ends and the audience cheers in kind. Good for them, right? But there is also a nagging feeling behind it all, that we’ve moved on and they haven’t. That they peaked in life when they still had so much of it to get through.



"Who's That Woman?"
Terri White (center)

 Then there is the “Who’s That Woman?” production number, led by the remarkable Terri White, a look at what was a huge number, now reduced to a memory, with instructions being yelled out, “remember to look in your mirrors, ladies, not at me!” Joining them are the younger versions of themselves, dazzling in their bejeweled costumes and glittery shoes and hats, each with perfect extension, timing and clarity of movement. At once we can see what was and what it is, and once again we cheer. And then the lights go out for a split second, and come up on the stage filled only with the gals “now.” The specter of their past glory gone in an instant, and somehow the applause amps up. Are we that thrilled that these older ladies can still get through the number? Are we honoring their age? I clapped my hands off just like everyone else, until I literally had to stop in order to wipe away the tears that were now rolling down both cheeks. And it occurred to me then that I was not crying tears of joy at the glorious number just performed, but at just how unbearably sad the entire enterprise is.

Getting one shot at reliving our greatest life moments - who wouldn’t leap at the chance? But then it would be over. And then the regret of things left undone, the anger at the way things didn’t go as planned, the mourning of a life beyond the folly of youth sets in. And there are the could-a, would-a, should-as that set in. I am certain that even ten years ago, at the last revival of Follies, the effect would not have been as personally profound, for now I am middle aged and still have a lot ahead of me, but can recognize a past of misspent youth, of opportunities not taken. And it hit me.  Hard. There is something decidedly cruel about all of the meanings of the show’s title when you get to a certain age, isn’t there? I suppose that it is this very duality that has, and will forever, divide audiences. Those of us who revel in the entertainment value of a stunning performance that also makes you examine your own life will always be balanced by those in the audience who leave only mildly sated by the “Loveland” sequence that ends the show, offering the evening's only real glamour, color and literal follies show.

Bernadette Peters and Jan Maxwell

With a cast of 41 and a full orchestra in the pit, one imagines that this very well could be the last Follies Broadway will ever see of this caliber. And the production values are as stunning as the sheer number of those involved. The scenic, costume and lighting designs by Derek McLane, Gregg Barnes and Natasha Katz, respectively, represent each of these artists at the top of their game. Designing an environment that is both death and decay and life and larger than life simultaneously is no easy task. McLane’s work stretches throughout the theatre, but the simplicity of the bare bones stage itself (all four stories of it) allows for all possibilities, while the magnitude of it speaks volumes on behalf of the larger themes of the story. The setting amazes for both its simplicity and the incredible attention to detail. Similarly, Barnes’ costumes give you nearly everything you need to know about each character even at first glance, while the detail and complexity of each follies costume is evocative of a past glamour and glory that today, as we creep ever so further from that bygone era, we can still appreciate the work. And perhaps most revelatory is the completely unobtrusive lighting by Ms. Katz, who has never done better work. Until the “Loveland” sequence, there is never an over-theatricality about the lighting. Indeed, the best lighting, they say, is the kind you never consciously notice. And like the ghosts of the past that haunt the theatre, her lighting comes and goes unnoticed, ethereal and otherworldly.

"Loveland"

Buddy's Folly

Sally's Folly

Ben's Folly

Phyllis' Folly

Warren Carlyle’s choreography is spot on - thrilling where it needs to be, and sad when it needs to be. He, like everyone else, has managed to find the perfect balance of past glory and present reality of aging. As I said above, the dance numbers beg you to applaud, and you give it generously, all while wiping away the tears. One can only imagine the research that went into creating early 20th century style dances, vaudevillian tap routines, and even showcase jazz numbers. Each and every one brilliantly conceived and executed. And then there is Eric Schaeffer’s direction, which in the past I have taken to task and nitpicked out of frustration. I have always felt that his work has had potential, but is always maddeningly underdone. Not anymore. I could quibble and say that every scene probably should not start down stage center, which it does. And I could really nitpick and say that his use of the second level upstage is inconsistent, which it is. But even those two minor things are barely noticeable compared to the subtle, ingenious strokes he has painted this canvas with. That he has consistently mined the script for both the surface reality and the deeply melancholy subtext is remarkable. The big touches - every time a new follies girl is presented you know immediately what she was to any given year’s show - are deepened and detailed by the minute gestures, pauses and shared glances that undermine any and all attempts to cover up the passing of time or any number of psychological goings on. The gesture, or lack of one, often tells us more than any five pages of dialogue could or should. The details of each performance wordlessly tell us about relationships and lives spent wondering, “what if?” I look forward to Mr. Schaeffer’s next efforts.



Elaine Paige

 Of course, much of the brilliance of Follies lays at the feet of Stephen Sondheim’s glorious score (whoever allowed the OBCR to be released should be arrested for crimes against art) and the subtle book by James Goldman (this version is his paring down of the original). But as other revivals, and even certain parts of the original production I’m told, revealed that all of the brilliance of the script, songs, direction and design are for naught without a great cast of actors who also happen to sing, dance, and be “of a certain age.” I can’t imagine a more perfectly cast production than this one. I have one partial quibble here, though. And that is the casting of Elaine Paige as Carlotta. She is the only person onstage whose present day veneer never seems to give way enough to let us see any of the trials and tribulations she has undergone. Even when confronted with the possibility of a one evening affair, she rebukes it with a musical comedy style delivery of joke. It is a small quibble, though, as it all can be justified by saying that Carlotta is the only one at the reunion that is there to show off what she has become, a celebrated screen star. She did not peak at the follies, she got out and got bigger. Still, no one gets through life or climbs the ladder of success without a few scars. It would have been nice to see a few in Ms. Paige’s performance. (Still, what thrill to see one of musical theatre’s greatest artists performing at all!)

Before I go any further, I must commend the ensemble boys and girls for superb, high quality work. By necessity, they must be razor sharp and youthfully vital at all times, and they are just exceptional in every way. But special kudos must be given to the ladies who are regaled in gorgeous and huge follies costumes, who appear and disappear on all levels of the set. Their ghostly presence both mesmerizes and terrifies me as they walk through the theatre alternately touching the walls, railings and foundation of the building, as if knowing the end is near, and ever so slowly doing their intricate dance steps and arm choreography as they slowly move through the dark shadows and misty pools of light. Until the very final moment of the show, they haunt the entire production in a way that is both seductive and depressing. Brava, ladies!

Don Correia, Susan Watson,
Jane Houdyshell and Mary Beth Piel

The rest of the cast is impeccable, each skillfully recapturing their past and revealing their present. Susan Watson and Don Correia manage in one brief song, “Rain on the Roof,” to vividly display the great heritage of vaudeville hoofers. Ms. Watson, who gets more stage time, also represents the decay of memory that aging brings, and she does so with a heartbreaking smile that never leaves her face. Then there is the sinewy sexiness of Mary Beth Piel, who slithers and rolls her way through “Ah, Paris!” This gal still has it ALL. And the show-stopping antics of Jane Houdyshell’s “Broadway Baby” are an exercise in timing and minimalism. She gets belly laughs with a sideways glance. And then there is the palpable exuberance of Terri White’s “Who’s That Woman?” whose real life baggage likely informs the strength and undercurrent of pain in her character. Whenever she is on the stage, she brightens up the room. And finally, there is the bravura performance by real life opera great Rosalind Elias, who is making her Broadway debut at 82. Her coloratura in “One More Kiss” cries out brilliance and a life well-lived, and is balanced by the youthful clarity of the gorgeous voice of Leah Horowitz, herself an already accomplished Broadway actress, who, with this performance, seems on the cusp of real stardom.

Rosalind Elias and Leah Horowitz

The four younger versions of the four main characters are an excellent pairing to their current day counterparts, each clearly having spent much time studying the physical and vocal ways of their corresponding actor. These young triple threats (Nick Verina, Christian Delcroix, Kirsten Scott and Lora Lee Gayer) are stars in the making for sure. They are each as captivating as the people they are emulating. Their part of the Loveland sequence - “You’re Gonna Love Tomorrow” is a small tour de force.

"You're Gonna Love Tomorrow"

I think it speaks to the power of his stoic and aggravatingly rigid performance that I frequently felt the urge to rush the stage and pummel Ron Raines in the face, so convincing is his cruel performance as Ben Stone. He is rude, arrogant and verbally abusive to any and all women, particularly his desperate housewife, Phyllis and his fling from the past, Sally. Raines possesses the perfect stage presence - he dominates by even being there - and a superb voice, with just the right imperfections to show us what he once was and now is. It is only at the end of the show that he finally breaks, and his true nature comes shining through in what is possibly the only glimmer of optimism at the end of the show.

As Ben’s best friend in the past, Danny Burstein embodies that great guy we all know - charming, adorable, and inevitably in the shadow of those around him. He will always be the sidekick.  He is the nice guy who finishes last personified. And because he is so likeable, it is easier to feel for him, and even empathize with him when he reveals that he has another woman that he keeps house with when he goes away for business. Like all of his work, Mr. Burstein is incredibly detailed and warmly broad, making him easy to connect with immediately and infinitely interesting as you study his performance.

Ron Raines and Danny Burstein

Jan Maxwell, I am beginning to think, is incapable of a less than masterful performance. This leggy, curvy goddess (especially when done up in sequined gowns or fiery dance dresses) still manages to let you see the real woman - caring, suffering, broken woman - beneath the façade of glamour and almost maniacal self-assuredness that her Phyllis portrays to the world. Nothing will hurt her, and yet everything does. Gorgeous to look at, you can still see that life has taken its toll on this one time follies girl. Instead of letting it beat her, though, she has fought to make every let-down and disappointment make her stronger. Probably too strong. This role showcases all of Ms. Maxwell’s talents - drama, comedy, song and dance. Could this be the role that earns her that elusive Tony Award?

If anyone will give her a run for the money in that department, it will be Bernadette Peters, who should be all but guaranteed a Tony nod (if not a third Tony) for her incredible and heartbreaking performance as Sally. From the moment she bounds on stage full of enthusiasm and hope, you also have no doubt that Sally will leave this reunion even more disillusioned than when she arrived. Ms. Peters uses her squeaky, nasally little girlish voice to supreme advantage, easily manipulating us to her side, no matter how much we find out about this lost soul. Her Sally is so neurotic and out of this world that you mourn for her and what she always dreamed of and all that will never be. There is no doubt by the time it is all over that this version of Sally is indeed a hot mess of craziness, one that engenders our sympathy not only for her, but for the friendship it has cost her with Phyllis and for the bad marriage that she has with Buddy. I don’t think Ms. Peters has given such a nuanced, detailed or riveting performance since Song and Dance. And let anyone who doubts her status as one of the greatest interpreters of Sondheim just witness the master class that is her delivery of “Losing My Mind.” It rates right up there with LuPone’s “Don‘t Cry For Me Argentina,” Buckley’s “Memory,” or Lansbury’s “If He Walked Into My Life.”

Jan Maxwell and Bernadette Peters

There is a song that is sometimes done in the show in place of “The Story of Lucy and Jessie,” called “Ah, But Underneath.” It is the “underneath” that makes this show go from interesting to brilliant. For those who miss that, I can see why Follies is a bit of a letdown. The title, after all, promises the glitz and glamour of Broadway. But that promise goes largely unfulfilled. Instead, as this production beautifully realizes, the real treasures lie in what is not being said or sung. The window card for this production quotes Ben Brantley as saying that it is “one of the greatest musicals ever written.” This Follies certainly lives up to that statement. And to think, three days ago, I hated it.



(Photos by Joan Marcus, Bonneau/Bryan-Brown and Sara Kulrich of The New York Times)

Rate this blog below, and leave your comments here, by email at jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com or Tweet me!
Jeff
3.028

Musical Words of Wisdom: The Sondheim Musicals

Just over a month ago, I posted a blog of words of wisdom and witty, creatively stated ideas from the musicals of Andrew Lloyd Webber.  Today, here are just some of the many you have sent in (along with a few of my favorites) from the musicals of Stephen Sondheim.

There were so many, it really was hard to choose, so below are the ones I think are the most clever, most meaningful; but most of all, these are the ones that most of you repeated.  Clearly, some of these quotes mean a lot to many of us.

Here is a quote, sometimes two, from each of his Broadway shows. Some are my contributions, others are singular submissions from one person, and others are quotes sent in from several of you. In the interest of fairness, I will attribute the quotes to no one, except the lyricists themselves. I think they are all kind of catchy and all of them at least clever and thought-provoking.

I have included more than a couple from the most quoted of his shows, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Into the Woods.  Not surprising, really.  What does surprise me is how many I got from Merrily We Roll Along!

And I am still collecting your quotes from the musicals of Kander and Ebb!

Anyone Can Whistle

• "Crazy business, this, this life we live in - Can't complain about the time we're given - With so little to be sure of in this world." 

Assassins

• "Everybody's got the right to their dreams."

Company

• "Everybody rise!  Rise!  Rise!  Rise!  Rise! Rise!  Rise!"


• "But alone is alone, not alive."



• "And that's what it's all about isn't it? Company!  Lots of company!  Life is company!  Love is company!  Company!"

Follies

• "The things that I want, I don't seem to get, The things that I get...well, you know what I mean?"


• "Sometimes when all the wrappings fall there's nothing underneath at all."

Gypsy

• "Some people sit on their butts. Got the dream, yeah, but not the guts!”

Into the Woods

• "Opportunity is not a lengthy visitor."


• "I was taught to be charming not sincere."


• "We disappoint. We Disappear. We die, but we don't."


• "Isn't it nice to know a lot? And a little bit not."


• "Someone is on your side, Someone else is not. While we're seeing our side maybe we forgot: they are not alone. No one is alone."


• "Careful the tale you tell. That is the spell. Children will listen."

A Little Night Music

• "I frequently laugh myself to sleep contemplating my own future."


• "Isn't it rich? Are we a pair?"

Merrily We Roll Along

• "Dreams don't die so keep an eye on your dreams."


• "And a friendship's like a garden: you have to water it, and tend it, and care for it. And I want it back."


• "Okay, so now you know, life is crummy."


• "Some rides are rough and leave you jumpy, why make it tough by getting grumpy?"


• "Success is like failure - It's how you perceive it, It's what you do with it, Not how you achieve it"


• "You need a tune you can hum."

Passion

• "Why is love so easy to give, and so hard to receive?"


• "They hear drums. We hear music. Be my friend..."


• "Just another love story, that's what they would claim. Another simple love story. Aren't all of them the same?"

Sunday in the Park with George

• "The choice may have been mistaken, the choosing was not. You have to move on."



• "We do not belong together, and we should have belonged together. What made it so right together is what made it all wrong."



• "There are only two worthwhile things to leave behind when we depart this world of ours: children and art."

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

• "Don't you know, silly man, half the fun is to plan the plan?  All good things come to those who can...wait."


• "We'll not discriminate great from small.  No, we'll serve anyone - meaning anyone - and to anyone at all!"


• "Eat them slow, 'cos that's the lot and now we've sold it!  Come again tomorrow!  Hold it! ("More hot pies!") Bless my eyes! ("Right this way, Sir!") Fresh supplies!"


• "Being close and being clever ain't like being true."


• "No one can help, nothing can hide you -- isn't that Sweeney there beside you?"

Rate this blog below, and leave your comments here, by email at jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com or Tweet me!

Jeff

3.025

Fantasy Musical: Book, Music and Lyrics By???

Over the past year, two books have made the rounds in my office: The Help and No Rest for the Dead.  I'm sure you've probably heard of the former, it being a made into a hit film and all.  The latter is novel written by twenty-six (you read that right) different writers.  It is a suspense/mystery novel written by the most popular writers of that genre.  With the help of one editor, each chapter is woven together into one coherent story, but each chapter bears the unmistakable style of each author.

Well, you know me.  I'm always thinking "theater, theater, theatre."  And I got to wondering: Could Broadway's greatest composers, lyricists and book writers come together and create one scene each and make a coherent, interesting musical?

Well, of course, Broadway is full of writing teams like Rodgers and Hammerstein and Kander and Ebb, and "soloists" like Sondheim and Herman, who many times go it alone.  So that wouldn't be any fun to think about, right?  So the only "rule" of this fantasy musical is that no existing teams or soloists can go it alone.

Today, I briefly posed this question on Twitter: "If you could pair any Broadway composer with any Broadway lyricist, living or dead, to write a song, who would you pick?  Who would write the scene?"

I got some interesting responses right away, plus I added my own:

• kdogg: "Stephen Sondehim - lyrics; Andrew Lloyd Webber - music.  It would be through-composed!"
• mrtylermartins had two: "Stephen Sondheim - music; Sheldon Harnick - lyrics; James Goldman - book"; "Burton Lane - music; Stephen Sondheim - lyrics"
• itsdlevy: "Jule Styne - music; Dorothy Fields - lyrics; Wendy Wasserstein - book"
• Elder_Greene: "George Gershwin - music; Alan Jay Lerner - lyricist; J.M. Barrie - book"
• And I was thinking: "Michael John LaChuisa - music; Jerry Herman - lyrics; Douglas Carter Beane - book"

(And I am pretty sure I'd like the Gershwins and Leonard Bernstein to do the overture, with Arthur Laurents as director - if anyone could pull a hodgepodge together it would be him!)

And so, I leave it to you!  Write in with your ideas - 1 composer, 1 lyricist, 1 book writer! 

I'll post them all in a new blog in a week or so!


Leave your suggestions her, email them to jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com, or Tweet me!
3.015
Jeff

CASTING: Follies

Last week, the full Broadway company of the revival of  Follies was announced just as the cast went into rehearsals.  The Sondheim musical, last revived in 2001, is scheduled to begin previews at the Marquis Theatre on August 7, with opening night set for September 12.  Currently, the show is a limited engagement through December 30, 2011.  The revival comes from the Kennedy Center, whose last Broadway outing, Ragtime, was acclaimed, but short-lived.

Two-time Tony Award winner Bernadette Peters (Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods) stars as Sally Durant Plummer, along with four-time Tony nominee Jan Maxwell (Lend Me a Tenor, The Royal Family, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) as Phyllis Rogers Stone, two-time Tony nominee Danny Burstein (South Pacific, Women on the Verge...) as Buddy Plummer and three-time Emmy Award nominee Ron Raines (Chicago, Teddy and Alice) as Benjamin Stone.

Don Correia (Singin' in the Rain, My One and Only), who was a stand-by in the 2001 Broadway revival of Follies, will play song-and-dance man Theodore Whitman opposite previously announced Tony Award nominee Susan Watson (the original Broadway Kim McAfee in Bye Bye Birdie) as Emily Whitman.

Bernadette Peters

Rounding out the Follies cast of showgirls and their stage door Johnnys are Olivier Award winner Elaine Paige (Sunset Boulevard) as Carlotta Campion, Rosalind Elias (Broadway debut!) as Heidi Schiller, Colleen Fitzpatrick (Passion, Sunday in the Park with George - revival) as Dee Dee West, Michael Hayes (A Midsummer Night's Dream) as Roscoe, Tony nominee Jayne Houdyshell (Wicked, Well, The Importance of Being Earnest) as Hattie Walker, Florence Lacey (Hello, Dolly! -78 and 95, Evita) as Sandra Crane, Tony nominee Mary Beth Peil (The King and I, Women on the Verge...) as Solange LaFitte, David Sabin (The Yearling, Celebration) as Dimitri Weismann, Frederick Strother (Broadway debut!) as Max Deems, Terri White (Chicago, Finian's Rainbow, Barnum) as Stella Deems, Christian Delcroix (South Pacific) as Young Buddy, Nick Verina (Broadway debut!) as Young Ben, Lora Lee Gayer (Broadway debut!) as Young Sally, Kirsten Scott (Broadway debut!) as Young Phyllis and Leah Horowitz (White Christmas, Les Miserables - revival) as Young Heidi.

The ensemble includes Lawrence Alexander (Broadway debut), Brandon Bieber (Mary Poppins), John Carroll (Women on the Verge), Mathew deGuzman (Broadway debut), Sara Edwards (White Christmas), Leslie Donna Flesner (Finian's Rainbow), Jenifer Foote (Rock of Ages, A Chorus Line), Suzanne Hylenski (Mary Poppins), Danielle Jordan (Broadway debut!), Joseph Kolinski (Titanic, Les Miserables - original production) Amanda Kloots-Larsen (Broadway debut!), Brittany Marcin (Curtains), Erin N. Moore (Broadway debut), Pamela Otterson (West Side Story), Clifton Samuels (Broadway debut!), Kiira Schmidt (White Christmas), Brian Shepard (Young Frankenstein, Spamalot), Jessica Sheridan (Broadway debut!), Amos Wolff (Broadway debut) and Ashley Yeater (The Producers).

Danny Burstein (center)

Considering the generational themes of the show, isn't it interesting that generations of Broadway talent are represented in this 41 member cast?  13 cast members are making their Broadway debuts with this production, while several more have only a few recent shows to their credit. 

Broadway debutantes Lora Lee Gayer and Nick Verina

Then there are those cast members with decades of experience likt Terri White, who starred in the original company of Barnum.  Or Susan Watson, who originated the role of Kim in the original 1961 production of Bye Bye Birdie. Or London theatre legend Elaine Paige, the very first Eva Peron, Grizabella, and one of Broadway's Norma Desmonds.  And of course, there is leading lady Bernadette Peters' storied career, filled with originating roles in Sondheim shows, and working with all the great composers including Sondheim, Webber, Herman and Hamlisch.  She made her Broadway debut in a revival of The Most Happy Fella in 1959.  But nothing compares to Michael Hayes, who made his debut in A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1954!  And get this - he hasn't been back until now.  57 years between Broadway openings!  Welcome back, Mr. Hayes!

(Photos of the Kennedy Center production by Joan Marcus.)

REMINDER:  Be sure to check this blog on Monday, August 1 for details on my latest contest!  The prize?  TICKETS TO FOLLIES ON BROADWAY!


Rate this blog below, and leave your comments here, by email at jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com, or Tweet me!
Jeff
2.332

REVIEW: Company (NY Philharmonic Film)

Review of the filmed version of Stephen Sondheim's Company at the Avery Fischer Hall in New York City. Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes. Starring Neil Patrick Harris, Patti LuPone, Katie Finneran, Anika Noni Rose, Martha Plimpton, Jill Paice, Christina Hendricks, Jennifer Laura Thompson, Chryssie Whitehead, Jon Cryer, Stephen Colbert, Jim Walton, Craig Bierko and Aaron Lazar. With Alexa Green, Fred Inkley, Rob Lorey and Jessica Vosk,  Callie Carter, Ariana DeBose, Sean Ewing, Ashley Fitzgerald, Lorin Latarro and Lee Wilkins.  The New York Philharmonic under the baton of Paul Gemignani. Choreography by Josh Rhodes and direction by Lonny Price.

Grade: A+

Including last night's filmed version of the NY Philharmonic production of Stephen Sondheim's Company, I've have the great fortune of seeing 4 professional productions of this classic musical.  Company is probably my second favorite Sondheim score (Sweeney Todd being the first), and so I looked forward to this particular production since the second it was announced, figuring that at least a live recording would be made.  Then, miracles of miracles, it was announced as a film that would play theatres across the country!  Of course, the reason to look forward to this particular production was that it featured one of the world's most celebrated orchestras under the baton of the truest musical director of Sondheim musicals, Paul Gemignani, and using the glorious original orchestrations of Jonathan Tunick.  The wait was worth it, and I was not disappointed.

Hearing that score, the underscoring and "the vocal minority" background choral accompaniment through a crystal clear sound system gave me wave after wave of goose-bumps and smiles.  It was a true thrill to hear it the way it was meant to be and not pared down due to budget restraints or directorial concept.

Of course, Company is a book musical, not through-composed, so attention must be paid to that as well.  And I am happy to report that director Lonny Price and his terrific cast have not only nailed the pathos and darker undercurrents of the show, but they have also brought the sense of humor - cynical and "New Yawk" as it is - back to a piece that has, in more recent productions, become mired down in the long-running quest to demystify the Sondheim influence.  As with Sweeney Todd, and all of his musicals, really, Sondheim's darker side is much deeper and more interesting when coupled with the sense of wonder and humor that his shows have.  That couldn't be more true than with this particular production of Company.  Joanne's cynical bitchiness is much more interesting when you get to see the way she uses humor like putty that holds her cracked veneer of harshness precariously in place.  Amy's terror at taking the plunge is always played for laughs, but when the actress playing the role is allowed moments of soul-searching seriousness, it makes her ultimate decision that much more clear and understandable.  And, of course, showing a delight and love and sense of humor for all of his relationships makes each and every one of Bobby's couple-specific mood swings and life-changing realizations much more "everyman-relatable" than when he is played as a one-note self-loathing/self-absorbed/self-questioning bore (in other productions, it has been a take your pick of any of the three - at least here, Bobby is a mix).

The Company Company

Price's direction is complex in its emotional depth, but it and the choreography, by Josh Rhodes, have a light, breezy air about them.  Set on the large stage with several love seat size set pieces (i.e. big enough for a couple, but a third party is squeezed in - get it?) that are moved into various configurations, the show is in constant motion, even, at one point, with the couple moving across the screen not unlike a roller coaster.  Similarly, Rhodes' choreography seamlessly slides in and out of the action.  Particularly terrific in this production is the inclusion of "Tick Tock" featuring leggy dance dynamo (and down to earth Kathy) Chryssie Whitehead in an homage to role-creator Donna McKechnie, along with other equally lithe chorus girls who gyrate in silhouette behind silky slips of material. As quickly as they appear, they vanish, just as a night of passion ends when he rolls over and she dreams of being cuddled.  "Side By Side," prominently featured at the Tony Awards, was a much grander affair in the film - longer and better executed - especially the hilarious and astonishing lifting done by Stephen Colbert, Martha Plimpton and Neil Patrick Harris.

The cast is, not too surprisingly, uniformly good, with each individual's strengths being played up and their weaknesses covered well.  Vocally, it is probably no surprise that Broadway regulars Craig Bierko and Aaron Lazar sound the most robust of the males, and they add much to the male-centered numbers.  Their roles are small, but both do wonders with what they have to work with, particularly Bierko, who plays the penultimate "homosexual" scene with a clever and sexy off-handedness.  (That scene has some extra laughs and weight with the very open knowledge of Harris' sexual orientation.)  It took me some time to warm to Jim Walton's Larry, with the actor visibly swinging to the orchestra's playing several times, as if he were attending the performance instead of being in it.  But it became clear during the scenes that surround "The Ladies Who Lunch," with his actions more a defense/response to Joanne's coldness.  And his willingness to be "out there" even at the risk of his wife's disdain makes his command of her when they exit both poignant and believable.  Jon Cryer and Stephen Colbert both have thinner vocal instruments than the rest of the cast, but neither sound horrendous and both make superb use of their finely tuned comedic talents - no short order considering the forces of nature their "wives" are.  Cryer's dry delivery during the pot smoking scene is a smart and riotously funny counterpart to the silliness around him, while Colbert's wide-eyed look only makes his character's sharp observations all the more funny.  Both also have a natural ease with physical humor, which is used to excellent effect here.

Neil Patrick Harris, Jon Cryer and Jennifer Laura Thompson

The much advertised inclusion of TV star Christina Hendricks was definitely worth all of the ink it got.  The girl delivers!  This curvaceous babe is a delicious mix of air head, self-aware sexiness and an underlying shrewdness.  Her April may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but she has learned from her experiences with men, and one senses that she is toying with and manipulating them even more than they think they are manipulating her.  She has a character appropriate singing voice to go along with that vapid stare and breathy speaking voice.  In short, get this gal to Broadway and fast!  As Bobby's other two girlfriends, Kathy and Marta, Chryssie Whitehead and Anika Noni Rose are a sensational contrast to each other, which adds to the colorful fabric of the show.  Whitehead manages to make sensible and kind interesting, while one can completely believe that at any second Rose's Marta will go off like a firecracker.  As mentioned, Ms. Whitehead does a superb dance solo, while Rose's assured delivery of "Another Hundred People" is a highlight of the entire production. 

Broadway regulars Jennifer Laura Thompson and Martha Plimpton are truly a joy every single second they are on screen.  Both mine laughs with every line, look and pause, and they both have considerable physical comedy skills.  One could easily see them in a musical about I Love Lucy with Thompson as Lucy and Plimpton as Ethel.  They also work so well with their "husbands" it felt like watching two very real, very flawed marriages unfold before us.  Jill Paice is all sweet Southern charm as Susan, and coyly allows us to see that there is some venom in that sugar.  She also does a nice solo in "Not Getting Married."

Martha Plimpton, Neil Patrick Harris and Stephen Colbert

If you ever had any doubt why Patti LuPone and Katie Finneran are beloved and multi-award winning stage stars, this production should clear that up for you.  Finneran's signature laugh and vocal ups and downs are played to hilarious effect throughout the show, but it is her ability to turn serious at the bat of her pretty eyelashes that makes this Amy not just hysterical, but very human.  It goes without saying that her performance of "Not Getting Married" is a solid show stopper.  Meanwhile, Ms. LuPone adds her high voltage presence along with a knack for blending in, too.  And I have no doubt she was as superb as ever live.  But it is her performance as captured on screen that makes me so glad to have seen this version.  I doubt seriously that anyone past maybe the first three rows at the cavernous Avery Fisher Hall could see the best part of her brilliant performance as Joanne.  Sure, her loud, overbearing, boozy qualities probably rang to the rafters.  But the up close shots of her face - with lightning fast betrayals of her breaking strength, and also her almost ravenous taking in of Bobby before her bold proposal - really allowed us to see a vulnerability and years of hiding it that would be missed by most in attendance.  The result is probably the most well-rounded Joanne I've ever seen (though Barbara Walsh in the revival was smashing).  And LuPone's delivery of "The Ladies Who Lunch" gives me shivers even as I write this.  Patti LuPone is one of America's greatest treasures, period.

"Everybody Rise!": Patti LuPone as Joanne

Still, every production of Company hinges on its Bobby, and with the boy wonder of Broadway, Neil Patrick Harris in the role, the show goes to glorious heights.  Like Ms. LuPone, his performance benefits greatly in this medium.  You can see every nuance of emotion every time the camera hones in on his face.  Just look at his eyes, and you can see the truth in this Bobby, even if the rest of his physicality suggests other feelings.  It helps that he is seriously handsome, boyish, but manly, and has a charming ease about him.  Gone is the brooding, moody Bobby of Companys past.  Here we have a Bobby that gives as much as he gets; as demonstrative as he is observational; as close as he is distant.  His Bobby is likable and so easily adaptive, one can understand immediately why these couples of a wide age range are drawn to him equally.  Harris' ease and charm translate well to his dancing and singing.  He may not have the vocal strength of Raul Esparza  or other previous Bobbys, but he is no slouch, either.  His rendition of "Mary Me a Little" may be close to definitive, and his "Being Alive" is as honest as you'll ever see.

Neil Patrick Harris

Perhaps it is Harris' natural charm and real-life baggage that makes us love him so, but it is his charisma and dedication to all things Broadway that is making him a true stage star.  All of that probably influences the audience to adore his Bobby that much more easily.  But it is his considerable skill that makes it truly understandable why his friends are so crushed when he doesn't come to their party, effectively moving on without them.  And we also understand and applaud this Bobby's final relieved smile as he sits alone on a two person love seat.

Comments?  Leave one here, email me at jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com or Tweet me!
Jeff
2.293

Finishing the Hat: Volume 1

Stephen Sondheim's Finishing the Hat is essentially a collection of his lyrics from the shows he's worked on from West Side Story in 1954, to Merrily We Roll Along in 1984, with additional comments on the shows, some of the songs and essays on other lyricists.

For me, this book was sort of like a musical theatre Bible; Sondheim is viewed as (and in my opinion is) one of the best musical writers around, and he is one of the greatest influences on newer original composers today, including the late Jonathan Larson who wrote Rent and Jason Robert Brown who created The Last Five Years. Getting to read exactly the type of process that Sondheim follows when creating his shows, and also getting insights into the behind the scenes goings-on of shows like Gypsy and the flop Anyone Can Whistle was really interesting to me.

Unlike other memoir-type books, Sondheim does not critique anyone who is living, and perhaps his harshest words are reserved for a Robert Brustein, the manager of Yale Rep in the 1970s, who pushed for a performance of a work named The Frogs. Otherwise, Sondheim is remarkably polite about everyone; he suggests that Nathan Lane & Arthur Laurents may have ego problems (not really a suprise) and that occasionally directors & producers make choices that negatively impact shows, but he is clearly keen not to offend anyone. His is perhaps most harsh on himself, especially when discussing his lyrics to West Side Story, a show that many people adore, but he views as unrealistic; arguing that songs like 'I Feel Pretty' contain words that a young Puerto Rican immigrant would not know.

I would say that Finishing the Hat and it's to-be-released follow-up Look I Made A Hat are probably not for people who have no experience with Sondheim musicals; it is generally assumed that you have at least heard the cast recordings, and it is certain that I didn't get as much out of the chapters about say, Pacific Overtures or Saturday Night as I did out of the chapters about Company and Sweeney Todd, because I am unfamiliar with those particular shows. All in all, however, if you are interested in Sondheim or musical theatre writing, then this book is a must-have.

Back in Time: 2002: Into the Woods (Revival), Part II: The Creative Team

In the first part of this blog series, I started to make a case for examining the impact of the revival  of Into the Woods, rather than the original production.  I think that looking at the creative team behind the production will further justify this choice.

Stephen Sondheim (Music and Lyrics):  Despite winning the Tony Award for Best Score for the original production, Sondheim continued to tinker.  For the London production, he added a duet for the Witch and Rapunzel, "Our Little World," which is now a part of the licensed production, and was included in this revival.  This revival also featured several lyric changes, including tweaks to each of the Witch's numbers, most notably, "Last Midnight," which incorporates a verse from a previous incarnation, "Boom! Crunch!"  He also added lyrics for Jack and Little Red at the end of Cinderella's "On the Steps of the Palace," which neatly tie the three stories together thematically, and set us up for this trio of characters working together in Act Two.

James Lapine (Book and Direction):  Lapine probably had the biggest overall impact on this production.  He pretty much let go of all of his original directorial decisions from the original production.  Book-wise, he added (along with Sondheim) ways to more succinctly tie together elements of the story, creating parallels both obvious - "Hello, Little Girl" now features two wolves, one after Little Red and the other after the Three Little Pigs, which more neatly parallels the "wolfish" traits of both Prince Charmings later in the story.  He also make more human and accessible the central character of Milky White. Sure talking and singing aren't necessary, but making the character be played by a human that moves and reacts is both in keeping with the fairy tale genre and in reminding us that when we go after what we want, all creatures are at stake.  Is a cow's life, central to creating new life, any less valuable than a human life?

Directorially, he has created a major shift in tone with this production.  Some accused him of "Disney-fying" the production because this version is brighter, dancier, and special effects laden.  I say that, in fact, Lapine "Americanized" it.  The original embraced the European mores and underlying culture in the original; he kept to the traditional stylings of the tales of  the Brothers Grimm.  By making the first act, at least, a brighter, more comic version - the characters are still grounded, but they have a more contemporary feel - including all out dance numbers, versus skipping around the May Pole, Lapine offers that ideal which is both fantastical and unattainable.  But Americans just love the illusion of happiness and lives together - throw on a coat of new paint, rearrange the furniture, and Wham! all the troubles and issues are hidden.  And if not hidden, the part of someone else's story.  Add to it a more contemporary self-awareness (The Producers and Urinetown have both happened since the original production and definitely influenced this newer version) and that ever popular "smile-through-cynicism" attitude that has pervaded society and allowed us distance from each other without physical distance, and you have fairy tale characters that more like us than the ideal us.  Sure, every girl can become Cinderella, the princess, but she can also celebrate the woman that got her there - Cinderella, the down-trodden.  Even the central story, completely made up by the authors, The Baker and His Wife, has a more contemporary edge, given the relative youth of the actors playing the roles.  In fact, all of the characters are played by more age appropriate actors.  It is a trade off, though.  The bone-weary desperation of the original maybe rang a little truer than the youthful "we can't get pregnant" angst.  Take away the fairy tale and the younger Baker's Wife might be an IVF candidate.  Perhaps today's reality has taken some of the edge off.  And the bigger specters of life and death imposed on the original - is the Giant really AIDS?  Nuclear Holocaust? - seem a little out of whack.  This production seems bent on the idea that we are our own worst ememies - is the Giant a self-destructing society on the brink of economic and political disaster?  Is it homegrown terrorism?  Or is it the unseen, unexpected enemy that you can reason with.  Yes, fresh from 9/11, like it or not, we bring entirely new and even scarier baggage with us to this production.

No matter what you thought of Lapine and Sondheim's changes - I like most of them, actually, and can live with the others - the revival of Into the Woods shows us the depth of the whole piece, viable even after modernizing and thematic tweaking.  It also shows us two of theatre's finest minds willing and able to re-examine a wildly popular piece, in an effort to make it even stronger.  (Since then: Lapine and Sondheim have collaborated on Sondheim on Sondheim, and various revivals of their works, both on Broadway and in London)

John Carrafa (Choreography):  Even though the original production had a movement/staging credit for Lar Lubovitch, one has to look much harder at the original to justify that the piece even had choreography, let alone earned a Tony nod for the same.  Carrafa, hot at the time after his inspired work on Urinetown, certainly added more of a dance element throughout the revival.  Parts of the opening number are an all out dance routine, which is then paralleled in later reprises of the tune.  Act one has a more traditional finale with stylized dance and movement.  Into the Woods will never be a dance show, but one imagines that this revival took every available opportunity to get on its feet and move. (Since then: director/choreographer of Good Vibrations; choreographer Dance of the Vampires)

Douglas Schmidt (Scenic Design):  Schmidt was clearly on board with Lapine's vision.  He created very clever story books for each of the three main stories, which opened to reveal the characters in their setting.  Bright and colorful, the books and later the woods, were simultaneously deceptive in their cheeriness and thus more sinister.  How fitting then that the Witch, who "created" the story of Rapunzel, must climb the spine of the Rapunzel book to reach the the love of her life.  And what is scarier than being duped by something that seems safe?  Also cool, is the completeness of the design - the show opens with books opening and characters coming out; the show ends with the characters disappearing into a closing book.  The implication is both of finality and of a cycle.  What will happen the next time the book is opened? (Since then: Sight Unseen at Manhattan Theatre Club)

Susan Hilferty (Costume Design):  Hilferty, of course, was just warming up here, one can see in retrospect.  Her fairy tale characters are at once recognizable, but all with a contemporary edge - the Witch, in particular.  How fitting that just a year or so later, she created a new clothing language for the people of Oz in a a little show about two other witches, Wicked!  (Since then:3 Tony Nominations; Tony Winner for Wicked, plus Spring Awakening, Assassins, Lestat, and the upcoming Wonderland)

Brian MacDevitt (Lighting Design):  The lighting design for this show earned McDevitt a Tony Award.  He used his lights and colors like so much paint on a brush.  It is rare to praise a lighting design for being almost a character in the show, so overt was his work.  Normally, you want lighting to create mood and such, but without the audience really noticing it.  Here, though, the lighting plays an integral part in shifting time, space and mood in just the same obvious way fairy tales do.  Both the tales and the lighting of this show are obvious in all the right ways, adding to the immediacy of what the audience and the actors are experiencing.  (Since then: 37 Broadway productions and 4 Tony Awards.  This season alone: Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, The Book of Mormon and The House of Blue Leaves)

Dan Moses Schreier (Sound Design):  One only needs to have heard the frightening voice of Dame Judy Dench as it "moved and boomed" around the theatre, just as the Giantess she was playing was supposedly moving about the woods, to truly understand the importance of Schreier's work on this show.  There are many necessary sound effects in Into the Woods which add to the feel and the mood and the "reality" of the show.  And I can recall sitting in the Broadhurst Theatre thinking that the sound was fantastic.  Voices were clear, the music sounded like it was coming through my own headphones, and the special effects sounds were spot on and felt like they were right where they were supposed to be. In short, he really did his job.  Exceptionally.  And let's not forget that in the 15 years between opening nights, huge advances in sound have been made.  One can only imagine what te next revival will sound like.  (Since then: 26 Broadway Productions, 4 Tony nominations (all for Sondheim shows!).  This season: The Merchant of Venice and The People in the Picture)

Speciality Design:  There are Playbill credits for Projections, Special Effects, Illusion Design in this production, and each played a huge part in this technically updated production - from levitating the witch, to illuminating her sceptre, to the effects on the wolves' costumes, to the puppetry styling of Milky White.  The production took the "maybe they're really magic" line to heart, as things zoomed in, came up through the floor and disappeared as quickly with a smooth rapidity heretofore unseen.  But the one effect that REALLY stood out for me was the tree at Cinderella's mother's grave, which morphed before our very eyes to reveal her mother's face in the leaves and bark of the tree.  Truly remarkable!  And even more chilling when she returns to the destroyed tree and nothing moves.  Sad, abrupt, lonely, and sad.  It made the original's effect, live woman behind a scrim hole in a tree seem downright old school.

I think that the biggest reason the revival of Into the Woods has such an impact on its place in Broadway history is because it embodies all of the shifts in public taste, behavior, and the advances in theatre technology all at once in one production.  The differences in the original and the revival are many - some work exceptionally well, others not so much - but perhaps because they were so relatively close together in time, this new production also serves as a reminder of how fast things change, even in the age old art form of theatre.

Comments?  Leave one here, email me at jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com, or Tweet me!
Jeff
2.146