Review of "The Hound of the Baskervilles" at Playhouse on Park, West Hartford, CT

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Shows with just a few characters playing a variety of roles need to be concerned about timing, pacing, and inventiveness.  The gold standard is the original 1984 production of The Mystery of Irma Vep with creator Charles Ludlam and Everett Quinton.  More recently, there has been the Hitchcock send-up, The 39 Steps, and currently, Off-Broadway, the hilarious, Murder for Two.  Locally, Playhouse on Park has undertaken the three-person retelling of the Sherlock Holmes mystery, The Hounds of the Baskervilles.  While there are some humorous and creative moments the production suffers from a sluggish tempo and slapdash characterizations.

The Arthur Conan Doyle story, one of the best known in the Holmes canon, concerns a spectral hound that has, supposedly, roamed the Scottish moors for generations, targeting the Baskerville clan.  When the last surviving family member, Sir Henry, arrives from Canada to claim his family’s property Holmes and Watson are on the case to protect the new squire and solve the perplexing puzzle.

The three actors in the show are very good in their primary roles.  Rich Hollman is slightly bland, but not as pompous or grating as other portrayers of the world’s greatest detective or, as stated in the show, the second best sleuth.   Sean Harris is more a bumbling, confused Nigel Bruce type in his depiction of Dr. Watson.  Brennan Caldwell has a deft comic touch as Henry Baskerville.  All the actors are game for the physicality called upon for the show.  However, the other characters they inhabit show little imagination.  Witness Jeff Blumenkrantz in Off-Broadway’s Murder for Two who morphs into over a half dozen characters by simply altering his voice or facial expressions.  That sort of dexterity would have been more captivating then throwing scraggly on a black beard or white dress, as done in this production.

Scenes in The Hound of the Baskervilles seemed to languish much too often.  The overall tone needed more of a madcap flavor.  Director Tom Ridgely should have had the actors gone more over-the-top as displayed in the first part of Act II.  The show was not fast-paced enough to keep it from becoming wearisome instead of what could have been an outrageous, off-the-wall affair.

Thought should also have been given to trim the two hour running time (including intermission).  The show would have been more robust and entertaining at a compact 90 minutes of straight lunacy.

The Hound of the Baskervilles, playing through December 22^nd.

Review of "A Christmas Carol" - Hartford Stage

Hartford Stage’s annual production of A Christmas Carol, is a wholly satisfying, slightly busy, celebration.  The holiday tradition is a feast of sight and sound with wondrous special effects, flying and dancing ghosts, sumptuous costumes and, of course, a heart-warming tale of atonement and rebirth. 

The large cast, augmented by undergraduates from The Hartt School as well as a gaggle of young children, provides a wondrous and magical spectacle that can be enjoyed by all ages.  One reason the show is so rewarding is how in sync the creative team is in fostering a totally connected vision.  Scenic Designer, Tony Straiges; Lighting Designer, Robert Wierzel; and Sound Designer, John Gromada (who also provides original incidental music) have fabricated a unique pageant with the sum greater then each part, allowing each component to build upon the other.  Each of their contributions would be diminished without the other.

The cast is uniformly first-rate led by an irascible Bill Raymond as Ebenezer Scrooge.  Raymond knows the role well as he has played it hundreds of times.  As well-versed as he is, occasionally he becomes somewhat cloying when he should remain more Bah! Humbug! -ish.  Robert Hannon Davis is a nice counterbalance as the humble and dignified Bob Cratchit.  Noble Shropshire almost steals the show as both Scrooge’s housekeeper, Mrs. Dilber, and the ghostly Jacob Marley.

Director Maxwell Williams delivers the frights as well as setting an atmospheric tone of Victorian England.  There are many flourishes he incorporates into the production that heighten the show’s dramatic and comedic sweep.  He is equally adept at staging scenes with the sizeable cast or when there are just a few actors on stage.  Sometimes the production felt rather cluttered and too bustling.  The more poignant, less embellished parts of the show, such as the Cratchit family at home, truly grasped the essence of what A Christmas Carol is all about.

A Christmas Carol, a seasonal stalwart, updated and joyous, playing at Hartford Stage through December 28^th.

Review of "Christmas on the Rocks" - Theaterworks, Hartford, CT

My first reaction upon leaving Theaterworks’ highly entertaining world premiere production, Christmas on the Rocks, was why hadn’t someone thought of this idea before now?  Director Rob Ruggiero asked seven playwrights—John Cariani, Jeffrey Hatcher, Jacques Lamarre, Matthew Lombardo, Theresa Rebeck, Edwin Sanchez, and Jonathan Tolin--to take iconic Christmas characters from holiday themed movies and television classics and reimagine them as older, more disenchanted and indifferent individuals.  The result—seven very short playlets (no more then 12 minutes each) that are at times funny, poignant, joyful, and touching. 

Each scene takes place in a seedy bar overseen by an aged bartender, played with a convincing worldweariness by Ronn Carroll.  The other two cast members, the talented Harry Bouvy and Christine Pedi, portraying a variety of characters, rotate scenes until they unite in the finale.  Which portions of the linked plays did I like the most?  What about those I found only mildly amusing?  I’d rather not say, leaving the decision to each audience member.  Each of the seven had their own charm and wit.  Some I preferred might not have registered with other theater-goers and vice versa.  The plots?  Again, mum’s the word.  Half of the fun of Christmas on the Rocks is discovering who the character is when they walk through the bar’s front door.  However, be forewarned--brush up on your holiday films and TV shows before attending a performance.  This will maximize your viewing pleasure and understanding of the inside jokes.

All three actors were marvelous, displaying subtle, humorous or over-the-top portrayals, depending on the their particular scene.  With a different wig and change of clothing both Bouvy and Pedi were able to become a multitude of completely different, totally convincing characters.  Bravo.

Michael Schweikardt’s set design of the run-down pub was so authentic looking.  His attention to detail was superb.  Look for Kris Kringle’s cane and Tiny Tim’s walking stick to the side of the bar and the dollar bills taped to the mirror.  A lit chihuahua’s head at the top of the liquor cabinet was an offbeat touch.

Director Rob Ruggiero effortlessly connects each of the seven plays to form a seamless whole. He skillfully guides each performer to bring out the essence of their role whether it is the comic, the inspirational, or the nuttiness or all three.  Ruggiero perfectly paces each scene to elicit just the right blend of emotion and entertainment.

Christmas on the Rocks, hopefully a new holiday tradition in the Hartford area, playing now through December 22nd.

Review of "Murder for Two" - Off-Broadway

My favorite theater genres are:

1.    Musicals

2.    Comedies

3.    Murder Mysteries

Happily, all three are embodied in the very funny, ingeniously written, and energetically performed two person show, Murder for Two, playing Off-Broadway at New World Stages.

All the action takes place on a small stage with the only accoutrements being a baby grand piano, a few props, and one’s imagination.  As with many whodunits the story begins in a large, hilltop mansion where the wife of author Arthur Whitney is throwing him a surprise birthday party.  Unfortunately for the book writer when he arrives inside the darkened structure a gun is fired, fatally killing him.  Who fired the fateful shot?  There is a house full of suspects—each one nimbly and uproariously portrayed by Jeff Blumenkrantz—everyone one of them with solid motives.  Enter would-be detective Marcus Moscowicz, played with equal comic dexterity by Brett Ryback, who methodically, or maybe more accidentally, happens upon the multitude of clues and red herrings to eventually solve the case. 

The two actors have a finely honed chemistry that translates into unbridled zaniness and semi-controlled madness.  Jeff Blumenkrantz sometimes seems possessed as he ricochets from one character to another making each one as believable as the next.  Brett Ryback has only one character to focus on but, nonetheless, needs all his comedic acting prowess to stay in sync with his tall, lanky partner.  

The score, by Joe Kinosian, who also wrote the amusing and clever book of the show, and Kellen Blair, is quick-witted and tuneful.  It would be interesting to hear fully orchestrated versions of each tune.  All the songs are performed by Blumenkrantz and Ryback, who also demonstrate their considerable musicianship by accompanying each other on the on-stage piano.

Director Scott Schwartz expertly guides the two thespians through the fast-paced production, coming up with enough schtick and side-splitting shenanigans for two shows.

Murder for Two, knocking ‘em dead eight performances a week.

Review of "A Gentlemen's Guide to Love and Murder" on Broadway

This review is adapted from my critique during the show’s premiere at Hartford Stage in October 2012.

Pity the D’Ysquith family.  One by one they are being, unceremoniously, knocked off during the thoroughly enjoyable new musical, A Gentlemen’s Guide to Love and Murder.  Transferring to Broadway after its world premiere engagement at the Hartford Stage last year, the musical is smart, funny, and entertaining.  There are many aspects of the production to praise with primary honors going to the tour de force performance of actor Jefferson Mays.  He inhabits all eight members of the D’Ysquith family who are creatively and precipitously disposed of throughout the show.

The production itself, housed in what could be viewed as an elegant Victorian dollhouse of a set, lovingly designed by Alexander Dodge, is not the big razzmatazz musical typically inhabiting the Broadway stage.  A Gentlemen’s Guide to Love and Murder is more understated, smaller in scale, but nonetheless wholly satisfying.

The plot of the musical is based on a 1907 book by Roy Horniman and was the source material for the 1949 British black comedy, Kind Hearts and Coronets, where Alec Guinness famously played eight members of the D’Ascoyne family.  In A Gentlemen’s Guide the story unfolds as we are introduced to Monty Navarro, a handsomely charming young man awaiting a verdict in his sensational murder trial.  How did he end up in such a predicament?  We begin to find out why as the action adeptly switches to the beginning of Navarro’s tale. 

Slightly downtrodden and impoverished, he discovers his recently deceased mother was a disinherited member of the D’Ysquith family.  Joyful, yet reserved, he contacts his newfound relatives about his current familial status seeking acceptance, but finding nothing but rejection.  Learning, off-handedly, that he is now eighth in line to become the head of the family Navarro, quite innocently at first, begins to ingeniously find ways to bump off the relationships in front of him for succession.  Driving him onward is his need for retribution, greed, and the desire to impress the love of his life Sibella who, while loving the beguiling Navarro, desires someone more monied to settle down with. 

Enter Jeffrey Mays in the guise of all the soon-to-be fallen D’Ysquith members.   He is variously pompous, arrogant, highfaluting, overbearing, and self-centered in his various portrayals.  All of them are very funny.  When he is onstage, A Gentlemen’s Guide shines and bubbles over with merriment.  This is the one slight problem I have with the show.  Mays is so masterful in his performances that in Act II, when almost all the D’Ysquith clan had by then met their untimely demise, the production focuses mostly on the loves of Navarro’s life, a slight letdown from the over-the-top shenanigans of Act I.  But this is a small complaint of the book by Robert L. Freedman and doesn’t detract from the overall enjoyment of the musical.

In addition to Jeffrey Mays, Bryce Pinkham is wonderful as Monty Navarro.  At first soft-spoken and unassuming he slowly blossoms into a determined and devious gentleman of the world perfectly complementing Mays’ more over-the-top characterizations.  Lisa O’Hare, as Sibella Hallward, is sexy, alluring, and more than a bit of a tease as the love of Navarro’s life.  She, along with the two male leads, provide a rollicking good time throughout A Gentlemen’s Guide.

The score by Freedman and Steven Lutvak actually provide tuneful, witty songs, which seems such a rarity these days with new musicals.  The well-crafted ballads are beautifully sung and the comic numbers perfectly executed.  Jeffrey Mays, while not the keenest vocalist as his co-stars, nonetheless, knows how to deliver a song with aplomb as he does with the comic numbers “I Don’t Understand the Poor” and “Better With a Man.”

Having directed the show in Hartford, Director Darko Tresnjak, in his first Broadway outing, assuredly guides the musical through its paces.   He knows the musical well, adding a number of creative flourishes throughout the production, primarily surrounding the deaths of the D’Ysquith family (which I won’t spoil).   Tresnjak keeps the show lighthearted and sprightly.

A Gentlemen’s Guide to Love and Murder, delivering hilarity and mayhem at the Walter Kerr Theatre.

Review "Fix Me, Jesus" - Off-Broadway

A Neiman Marcus department store dressing room is an unusual spot to set the action for a play, but that is the locale for Fix Me, Jesus, playwright Helen Sneed’s  rambling, yet appealing, self-examination by a young woman seeking her path in life. 

Annabell Armstrong (Polly Lee) is an up-and-coming Democratic Party stalwart in Texas, following in the footsteps of her politically powerful father.  Unfortunately, this is the Reagan era and her liberal leanings find little affinity among voters.  That is just one problem in her life, which is one big mess.  The trials and tribulations—in her personal and professional life--spew forth as she searches for just the right dress for a wedding that very night, a potentially very special wedding.  The longtime clerk, Mrs. Craig (Lee Roy Rogers), helping her in the quest as she has done for many years, listens, offers sagely advice, and acts as a sounding board to the excitable woman.  In addition, throughout the production, the small dressing area becomes alive with visitors from her past and present, including her younger, reticent self (Kate Froemmling); her overbearing mother (Lori Gardner); her boorish and rough hewn grandmother (Lisa McMillan), and present-day psychiatrist (Mitch Tebo).  All these characters provide a back story, which centers on her self-emancipation from her parents and the pains and adversity this causes her.

Ms. Sneed has sought to exam and chronicle the central character through her past and present, mostly familial, associations.   She is partially successful.  The show would have been more robust if scenes and characters were expanded, giving the audience a better framework for Annabell’s later years. Still, having the action take place within the confines of a Nieman Marcus dressing room, with characters popping in and out, keeps the audience engaged.

Polly Lee as the present-day Annabell Armstrong can come across as self-assured and directed, but for a successful woman she often appears too manic, indecisive, and fragile.  Maybe as a male I can’t totally appreciate her situation in life.  The rest of the cast is uniformily good even though some of the characters are rather one-dimensional.  Lori Gardner as Annabell’s mother would have been stronger if her character was inbued with more shading to present a better developed persona.  The same could be said with Lee Roy Rogers as the harried store clerk, Mrs. Craig.  She gives a solid performance as she tries to keep her charge grounded and focused, but there is resentment and a yearning boiling underneath, which could have been more fully exploited by the playwright.  Mitch Tebo is rather bland as a disaffected New York City psychiatrist.

Lisa McMillan as Annabell’s grandmother is opinionated, prejudiced, and sure of her convictions.  The actress, with a full-throttled delivery, makes the most of her time on the small stage.  Likewise, newcomer Kate Froemmling, as the adolescent Annabell, is enchanting and able to instill a certain level of intelligence and precociousness to her role.

Director Sam Pinkleton is at his best when shuttling characters in and out of the dress-laden changing room.  Scenes in the dressing room between the actresses Polly Lee and Lee Roy Rogers are more straightforward.

Fix Me, Jesus, a mostly entertaining show, at the Abington Theatre Company through November 24^th.

Review of "The Jacksonian" - Off-Broadway

A slow, painful and tragic descent into hell takes place at The Jacksonian, Beth Henley’s wholly satisfying new work playing at The Acorn Theatre Off-Broadway on Theatre Row.   The show is a meditation on the seedy side of a small southern town, Jackson, Mississippi circa 1964, where racism and the Klan still prevail.

We are introduced to five characters, who inhabit the hotel of the play’s title—Bill Perch (Ed Harris), a local dentist taking refuge in the tattered establishment after beating his possibly unbalanced wife, Susan (Amy Madigan).  Though estranged, she visits, along with their daughter, Rosy (Juliet Brett), as he holds out hope for reconciliation.  Within the hotel is a ditzy waitress, Eva White (Glenne Headly), who just wants a man to marry and Fred Weber (Bill Pullman) a repulsive and menacing bartender.

As the action progresses, a murder investigation unfolds in the background adding an ominous ambience to the production.  Gradually the family dynamics spiral downward, secrets are revealed, and lives are forever changed.

Henley’s tale, full of color and detail, grows slowly until the cataclysmic end.  While the story keeps our interest, the strength of the play are the characters she has created and the dynamic performances, primarily by three of the lead actors.  Bill Pullman is almost unrecognizable coiffed in an exaggerated pompadour.  With deliberate movements and tight-lipped speech he exudes a subdued, but frightening and disturbing sleaze.  Glenne Headly is as alluring as she is off-putting in her embodiment of Ms. White—an attractive, calculating, and obtuse woman stuck in a town with no escape and no future.  Ed Harris’ depiction of the strait-laced dentist, Bill Perch, who eventually loses everything he holds near and dear is a sight to behold.  No one does controlled craziness better then Harris and his performance here is nothing short of brilliant.

Director Robert Falls does a superb job of pacing the show as the production builds to its crescendo.  He works so well with the actors, helping them shape their parts into characters we believe in, are repulsed by, and pray for.  In lesser hands the roles could have become more cartoonish or southern caricatures.

The Jacksonian, filled with unforgettable performances, playing through November 30^th.