Every Brilliant Thing - Broadway

I am a big Daniel Radcliffe fan, which goes a long way when assessing Every Brilliant Thing.  He stars in a very short (70 minute), one-man show where he plays a character confronting suicide and depression of a parent. One way of handling the family dynamics is creating a list of brilliant things. This is an audience participation show. Beforehand, he and/or the production staff have tagged members of the audience throughout the theater to shout out “the thing” when he yells out their number. For example, Radcliffe would yell out the number 237 and from the balcony a voice booms out “the thing,” which could be anything such as ice cream, a walk in the park, etc.  There is on-stage seating for the production, and the actor also chooses people to play parts with him – a university teacher, his father, his lover.  I was quite impressed with the caliber these “guest” performers brought to the show. 

 

 

The show, written by Duncan MacMillan with Jonny Donahue, is fast-clipped and provides an interesting premise, but it is a slim work with no new ground covered.  The Directors – Jeremy Herrin and MacMillan – keep the pacing sharp and swift.  Radcliffe, at times, is all over the theater, including the mezzanine (I even got a high-five when he ran up the aisle.) 

 

 Every Brilliant Thing works because of Radcliffe, with his earnest charm and boundless energy.  You want to cheer as he riffs with members of the audience; you want him to succeed as he recounts his family’s troubled life and the sad, but predictable conclusion. 

 

 

An entertaining piece of theater, but mostly for die-hard fans of the actor, whose run ends on May 24.

Bigfoot - the Musical - Off-Broadway

I am a big fan of a quirky, comedic Off-Broadway musical.  Shows that come to mind are Murder for Two, The Other Josh Cohen, The Toxic Avenger, and the granddaddy of them all, Little Shop of Horrors.  Now, I can add Bigfoot – the Musical. 

The show, perfectly directed and choreographed by Danny Mefford, who also helmed the lively revival of this season’s The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, has a very funny book by Amber Ruffin and Kevin Scirette.  The jokes comes fast and furious.  I haven’t laughed this much in a show for a long time.   

Grey Henson and Crystal Lucas-Perry in Bigfoot!  Photo by Marc J. Franklin.

Bigfoot, outfitted in a plush, bear-like outfit by Costume Designer Ricky Reynoso, is played by Grey Henson, who delivers another exuberant performance on a New York stage (Mean Girls, Shucked, Elf).  He’s a cross between Chewbacca and a Care Bear.  The score by Amber Ruffin and David Schmoll is the weakest link of the production.  Still, within the confines of the show, the songs are workmanlike, and somewhat catchy.

Set within Scenic Designer Tim Mackabee’s brightly colored, cartoonish backdrops, the plot has Bigfoot living alone in the woods outside Muddirt, a town trying to survive between a chemical dump and a nuclear power plant.  Bigfoot’s mother, Francine (played by the very funny Crystal Lucas-Perry, who displays impressive vocal chops), seeks to protect him from the small-minded townsfolks.  Jade Jones, showing comic grit, plays multiple roles in the musical, along with other members of the acting troupe.  Mama’s ally in protecting her eight-foot biped is the decent, virtuous town doctor (flawlessly portrayed by Jason Tam).  Adding to the troubles of our hairy hero is the crooked mayor of Muddirt (a hilarious, over-the-top performance by SNL alum Alex Moffat) who, when not drunk, is scheming to profit by transforming the town to a large-scale water park.  The only problem – Bigfoot.  He hires a hyper aggressive huntress (played with manic glee by Katerina McCrimmon) to rid him of the problem.  Will she succeed?  Will Muddirt by saved?  What about mama’s chronic illness and constant near-death episodes?  Spoiler alert – there is a cuddly happy ending.

The cast of Bigfoot - the Musical.  Photo by Mark J. Franklin.  

Bigfoot – the Musical, 90 minutes of gleeful entertainment, playing through April 26 Off-Broadway at New York City Center Stage.

Cats: The Jellicle Ball - Broadway

I was not a fan of the original Broadway production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Cats.  The premise was silly, the plot (what little there was) was hard to follow, and the choreography, for me, was just a series of jazzercise gyrations.  However, the score is first-rate, and is a staple on my Broadway radio station, SoundsofBroadway.com. 

 

The cast of Cats: The Jellicle Ball.  Photo by Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

Fast forward to Cats:  The Jellicle Ball, a reconceptualization of the long running musical that opened this week at the Broadhurst Theater.  The show, which had a successful production downtown last year, has emerged as a high-energy, homage to the culture of vogueing and Ballroom that Betty Buckley (the original Grizabella) describes as a “fantastically costumed, ritualistic form of pageantry…[celebrated] by the Black and Latino LGBTQ communities.”  Directors Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch working with choreographers Omari Wiles & Arturo Lyons’ dynamic and thrilling dance numbers have, effectively, rewritten an iconic, more traditional, musical and transformed it into a hip, contemporary theatrical tour de force.  While forging into the present, the creative teams also honors the past as with the inclusion of Junior Labeija (Gus, an elderly theater cat), a pioneer within the Ballroom culture.

Sydney Jame Harcourt in Cats: The Jellicle Ball.  Photo by Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.
 

The show, for individuals not familiar with the musical, it is based on T. S. Eliot’s 1939 poetry collection Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats.  The poet is credited with lyrics and book and was posthumously awarded two Tony Awards.  The plot, as stated in Wikipedia, tells the story of a tribe of cats called the Jellicles and the night they make the "Jellicle choice" by deciding which cat will ascend to the Heaviside Layer and come back to a new life.  In the original production, cats would be introduced, sing a song, preen, and perform high-energy production numbers amidst a performance space cluttered with garbage.  In Cats: The Jellicle Ball, the vibe is of a drag show.  Scenic Designer Rachel Hauck’s flashy nightclub setting, with on-stage seating and runway, provide the space for actors/actresses to strut their stuff and engage in dance-off competitions.  Adam Honoré’s pulsating disco-era Lighting Design, and Kai Harada’s throbbing Sound Design, complete this reimagined work.

 

Leiomy, Kya Azeen and Dava Huesca in Cats: The Jellicle Ball.  Photo by Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

The Andrew Lloyd Webber songs, with updated rhythms and beats by Trevor Shaun Holder and Music Director William Waldrop, maintain their tuneful nature and reflect a number genres such as rock, opera, and music hall.  The catchy melodies are a perfect fit for Eliot’s whimsical lyrics.   The main issue with the vocals of the mostly sung-through show is, too often than not, the lyrics are hard to understand.

Andre de Shields in Cats: The Jellicle Ball.  Photo by Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.
 

The diverse cast is led by the lively, 80-year-old Andre de Shields as Old Deuteronomy.  Decked out in fashionable garb, with a wild, flowing grey mane, he is the beloved overseer of the pageantry.  The other cast members, spirited and enthusiastic, with muscular and athletic dance moves, keep the show going at a feverish pitch.

Cats: The Jellice Ball, playing at the Broadhurst Theater on Broadway.

I'm Connecticut - Ivoryton Playhouse

I’m Connecticut, playing at the Ivoryton Playhouse through April 19, has a lot of laughs.  And I did laugh, but I’m someone who is always in stitches at the bean-eating sequence in Blazing Saddles and thinks the Three Stooges are comedic heaven.  In I’m Connecticut, the humor is decidedly of the lowbrow, sophomoric, and scatological variety, but what would you expect from a writer for The Simpsons?

The show is a classic take on boy meets girl, boy loses girl, and finally wins her hand.  The plot centers on Marc, a lonely, lovelorn neuroscientist from the boring state of Connecticut, who begins dating an attractive receptionist, Diane, from a speed-dating business.  The relationship goes smoothly until a lie he used comes back to haunt him.  As he attempts to win her back, Marc is pelted with advice from several people, including his overweight colleague, Kyle, and even Mark Twain.  However, with help from his forgetful grandfather (Alzheimer’s)  and Diane’s shoot-from-the-hip southern mom, Polly, Marc reunites with his true love.  And maybe granddad and Polly do too.

 

Playwright Mike Reiss takes no prisoners in his writing, using the Holocaust as a significant storyline, and mocking, teasing, and taunting Jews, Canadians, Southerners, the elderly, and the genitalia of various states of the Union (it is actually a funny bit).  The characters in the show are more two-dimensional than fully developed.  The play’s structure comes off as a series of connected sketches rather than a fully realized comedic work.  The show, broken up into a 60-minute Act I and a 25-minute Act II, could have easily been condensed into a full one-act, especially when trimmed of some superfluous material.

 

Director Jacqui Hubbard keeps the pacing quick and ensures the set-up for the laughs is secure.  Cultivating well-defined characters is not the mission, but to keep the play thumping forward.  Some of the routines work better than others, such as the aforementioned battle of the states, but others, such as a Connecticut history lesson and the audience participation moments, fall flat.  John Horzen’s colorful projections along the edges of the proscenium stage are playfully reminiscent of the 1960’s TV show The Dating Game, and are satisfyingly incorporated into Scenic Designer Starlet Jacobs’ sliding sets.

 

The affable cast is led by Quinn Corcoran as the ever-hopeful young man from Simsbury. Marc.  The actor comes across as likably bland, which is exactly what is called for in the role.  Deanna Scott brings a cheery disposition to Diane and does manage to inject some depth into her performance.  The featured members of the show provide ample support – John C. Baker as a befuddled Mark Twain; Michael Barra as Marc’s hefty friend, Kyle; Bonnie Black as a feisty wife and the wise-cracking Polly; R. Bruce Connelly as the sometimes bewildered grandpa; and Kenneth Robert Marlo as the tough-talking manager of the speed-dating service.

 

I’m Connecticut, playing at the Ivoryton Playhouse through April 19.  Click here for dates, times, and ticket information.

Death of a Salesman - Hartford Stage

The Hartford Stage production of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman is the reason you go to live theater.  The Pulitzer Prize winning play is exceptionally powerful and emotionally devastating.  The cast, led by Peter Jacobson as Willy Loman, is superb.  Director Melia Bensussen stages the production with heartbreak and sadness.  She brings a skillful spiritedness to the scenes focusing on the intimate, sobering family dynamics.  Ms. Bensussen also effectively expands the spatial relationships within the show as the characters drift afar from the front of Scenic Designer Sara Brown’s steel skeletal set, adding a dreamlike element to the production.  This makes sense since Miller’s original title for the play was The Inside of His Head, where past memories, mix with present day illusions.  Matthew Richard’s pinpoint Lighting Design, many times bathing characters in harsh, white light, and Darron L West’s recognizable soundscape coupled with a dissonant piano backdrop, heighten the drama within the work.

Samuel H. Levine, Max Katz, and Peter Jacobson in Death of a Salesman.  Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

Death of a Salesman first appeared on Broadway over 75 years ago, but the themes that pulsate throughout the play – pursuit of the American Dream, conflicts between father and sons, denial, among others – are just as current today.

Adrianne Krstansky and Peter Jacobson in Death of a Salesman.  Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

The plot focuses on Willy Loman, a traveling salesman who has seen better days, both on the road, and with his wife and two sons.  Slipping between reality and vivid hallucinations of his past, he believes ultimate success is just around the corner, all long supported by his loyal and protective wife, Linda.  His two adult sons, mirror their father’s failures and disillusionments.  Biff, in his youth, a charismatic, high school football star, is now adrift with no direction or life goals.  Happy is a womanizer whose expectations of the real world are as unrealistic as those of his father.

Samuel H. Levine, Peter Jacobson, and Max Katz in Death of a Salesman.  Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

As the play progresses, and Willy’s delusions and volatile behavior become more prevalent, his family life and professional career crumble, resulting in a harsh and blistering denouement. 

Peter Jacobson's Willy Loman, exudes an intensity and cynicism that is heartbreaking to behold.  He satisfyingly brings the audience along in his whirlwind of competing emotions and actions.  As Linda Loman, Adriene Krstansky’s is solid as Willy’s unyielding wife.  She adeptly portrays the many sides of the character - unflinchingly supportive and protective, fierce guardian of her husband, a meek and passive observer, but, in respect to her sons, an unbridled critic.

Peter Jacobson, Adrianne Krstansky, Max Katz, and Samuel H. Levine in Death of a Salesman.  Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

Samuel H. Levine’s portrayal of Biff is an adroit display of squandered dreams and self-loathing affectations.  Max Katz finely imbues the character of Happy with the self-deluding demeanor and restlessness of his father.

The remainder of the featured cast is equally compelling in their roles.  Michael Cullen is suitably unworldly as Willy’s ghostly brother Ben.  Stephan Cefalu, Jr., morphs convincingly from a nerdy boyhood friend of Biff to a mature, self-confident family man and lawyer.  Paul Michael Valley provides fine support as Charley, Willy’s only true friend.  Nora Eschenheimer’s “Woman,” initially a flighty figure, provides a more shaded and darker brashness during the play’s penultimate moment.

Peter Jacobson in Death of a Salesman.  Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

Death of a Salesman, playing at Hartford Stage through March 29.  Click here for dates, times, and ticket information.

The Irish… And How They Got That Way - Music Theatre of CT

The Irish… And How They Got That Way, a musical revue that combines snippets of Irish history with an assortment of Irish-centered songs, is receiving a high-spirited production at the Music Theatre of Connecticut (MTC).  The show is performed by a multi-talented cast of five.  They play a variety of instruments – guitar, mandolin, piano, violin, and cello for songs that include folksongs, ballads, comedic numbers, and tunes written by Broadway legend George M. Cohan.  Interspersed between the musical interludes are recitations, stories, facts and figures about the Irish – the good, the bad, and the ugly.  The show, written by the Pulitzer Prize winning author, Frank McCourt, delves into the bitterness, joy, anger, and sadness of the Irish experience, both at home and abroad.

The cast of The Irish… And How They Got That Way.  Photo by Alex Mongillo.

The production at MTC has shaved about 30 minutes from a previous staging of the show I attended, which was 2 ½ hours.  The current length is perfect for this type of show.  Director Kevin O’Connor keeps the performers constantly on the move, pausing every so often for the occasional ballad – did anyone say “Danny Boy?”  He has molded an ensemble that works well together and clearly enjoys each other’s company.  O’Connor has astutely played to the actor’s strengths.  For example, Hillary Ekwall is a classical celloist, which she shows off to fine fashion.  Erin Margaret Williams grew up as a competitive Irish Step Dancer.  She adds intermittent high-stepping, crowd-pleasing flourishes to the revue.  The other cast members, who also sing and play with gusto – Zachary Anderson, Jeff Raab, and Joseph Torello – are all superb with their vitality and outward enjoyment of the material.

Jeff Raab and Erin Margaret Williams in The Irish… And How They Got That Way.  Photo by Alex Mongillo.

Some of the stories and historical facts are associated with the 1840 potato famine.  This period of shortages and deprivations are eye-opening, as well as appalling, bringing a somber tone to the production.  However, O’Connor doesn’t allow the mood inside the small performance space to become overly somber. 

Hillary Ekwall in The Irish… And How They Got That Way.  Photo by Alex Mongillo.

The pocket-size stage is another strength of the show, allowing the vibrancy, energy, and camaraderie of the actors to be in full focus of the audience.  Scenic Designer Sean Sanford has transformed the space into a highly detailed Irish pub, which contributes greatly to the ambiance of the show.  Longtime MTC Costume Designer Diane Vanderkroef has fashioned a variety of late 19^th and early 20^th century garb appropriate for the Irish at home and abroad.  Jon Damst’s Sound Design is beautifully rendered, allowing vocals to float above the musical numbers.

 

The cast of The Irish… And How They Got That Way.  Photo by Alex Mongillo.

The Irish… And How They Got That Way, playing at the Music Theatre of Connecticut in Norwalk through March 22.  Click here for dates, times, and ticket information.

The Mountaintop - Playhouse on Park

The Mountaintop, receiving a superb production at Playhouse on Park, is a fictional work by playwright Katori Hall that takes place on the eve of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination.  Set in Room 306 of the Lorraine Hotel, this two-person show is a captivating and affective piece of theater.

 

The production opens in a small, disheveled, ordinary looking hotel room.  King (Torrey Linder) is ruminating about the weighty undertakings he needs to address while in Memphis to support the sanitation worker’s strike.  Seeking a cup of coffee, he calls for room service and soon a young, attractive maid, Camae (Jasmine Shanise) arrives. The two quickly develop a very comfortable rapport.  The conversations between the sassy, care-free hotel worker and the revered civil rights leader range from portentous themes to more run-of-the-mill topics.  They become friendly and playful until a surprise twist adds a more otherworldly and meditative end.

Torrey Linder and Jasmine Shanise in The Mountaintop.  Photo by Meredith Longo.

Playwright Katori Hall took inspiration for the play from King’s “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech, delivered the night before his assassination.  In that address he declared, "We've got to give ourselves to this struggle until the end.”  An eerie premonition the night before his death.  Hall has crafted the show to allow the characters to discuss and debate numerous highly charged issues of the day, including race, the civil rights movement, and political turbulence.  King also confides to Camae about his misgivings, fears and even death. 

 

Hall took a lot of push back for humanizing the spiritual leader - showing “warts and all” - but the portrayal, in a fictional manner, allows for a fuller picture of King the human being. Some of the character monologues approach preachiness, but the overall impact is engrossing and powerful.

 

Torrey Linder in The Mountaintop.  Photo by Meredith Longo.

Torrey Linder is a natural to play Martin Luther King, Jr.  He has handsome features, and a booming voice finely enriches his oratorical remarks and flourishes.  However, the strength in his performance is the manner he presents the clergyman as an ordinary man who changed a nation.  The actor convincingly conveys the multiple layers to King’s persona as he struggles with the weighty issues of the day.  He is both confident in his on-going work but, at times, questioning his resolve and actions.

 

Jasmine Shanise brings spunk and a street-smart toughness to the role of Camae.  She is nobody’s fool and quickly develops a well-rounded portrayal of her character.  Her patter can occasionally be too quick, but once she settles into the role, the easy going, yet fitful rapport she has with the civil rights giant becomes more natural. She demonstrates her acting range as the frisky, soul-searching banter in the beginning of the play turns more solemn and supernatural.

Jasmine Shanise in The Mountaintop.  Photo by Meredith Longo.

Working within the premise of playwright Katori Hall’s fictional scenario, Director Jamil A.C. Mangan deftly creates an interaction between the two protagonists that is believable and organic.  He effectively incorporates enough busyness and creative machinations to keep the momentum of the two-person show flowing without going stale.  He skillfully directs a seamless transition between the two segments of the show, beautifully and artfully sequencing to the transcendental conclusion.

 

Patti Panyakaew’s set design has a claustrophobic and disheveled authenticity.  Matthew Weisgable’s lighting and Carter Mangan Jr.’s sound design, especially with the lightning and thunderstorm raging outside the hotel room - almost Biblical in its rage - is extremely effective.   Christian Killada’s projection array at the show’s conclusion is compelling and haunting.

 

The Mountaintop, playing at Playhouse on Park through March 22.  Click here for dates, times, and ticket information.