Broadway Reviews

FENCES--Denzel Washington and Viola Davis. Photo by Joan Marcus.

"Fences" in 2010
What happens when the victim becomes the victimizer? When a man's spirit is so thwarted that he turns hard in his soul and becomes so self-centered that he can't love or care for anyone else? It's the message of August Wilson's tough 1983 play set in the late fifties that attempts to explain the dysfunctional working class black men who were being studied to death. By Lucy Komisar.

A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC--Catherine Zeta-Jones as Desirée, Photo by Joan Marcus.

"A Little Night Music"
This almost tongue-in-cheek celebration of sex would imply that passion begets foolishness, especially among men. As we watch the absurdly shifting liaisons and desires among the mostly upper class protagonists, we understand the genesis of the play's famous song performed by the actress Desirée (Catherine Zeta-Jones), "Quick, send in the clowns. Don't bother, they're here." By Lucy Komisar.

"EQUIVOCATION" -- (L-R) David Pittu as 'Nate,'Remy Auberjonois as 'Armin/Edward Coke' and David Furr as 'Sharpe.' Photo by Joan Marcus.

"Equivocation"
In "Equivocation," Cain imagines what might have happened if King James I had asked Shakespeare to write a play about the failed attempt to blow up parliament known as the Gunpowder Plot. By Paulanne Simmons.

"A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE" -- Scarlett Johansson and Morgan Spector. Photo by Joan Marcus.

"A View From the Bridge"
Arthur Miller's story of the betrayal that tears apart a longshore family in Brooklyn was a metaphor for the treachery of the people who "named names" in the anti-communist witch hunts of the 1950s. Miller was particularly angry at director Elia Kazan, with whom he had worked. In 1956, Miller was subpoenaed by the House Un-American Activities Committee and cited for contempt of Congress for refusing to identify writers he had met at one of two communist writers' meetings he had attended years before. That same year, "A View From the Bridge" opened on Broadway. By Lucy Komisar.

"TIME STANDS STILL" -- Eric Bogosian and Alicia Silverstone. Photo by Joan Marcus.

"Time Stands Still."
Donald Margulies's powerful and moving play dissects the professional and psychological passion of a photographer who covers the horrors of wars, famine, and genocide. "Time stands still" represents the moment when she presses the shutter button and sees the world only through the view finder. Time stops, sound cuts out; her experience is just what is taking place in the rectangle. There is an objectifying and separation from reality. And for Sarah Goodwin (Laura Linney) it's the only moment in life that counts. By Lucy Komisar.

"WEST SIDE STORY" -- The Sharks girls. Photo by Joan Marcus.

"West Side Story"
The free-floating anger exuded by the "Jets" and "Sharks" as they clash under and leap onto fire escapes is combustible. Any reason for the gangs' free-floating hostility? Well, when Officer Krupke (Lee Sellars) arrives in the neighborhood, along the Hudson River on the Upper West Side of New York City, he slams one kid in the stomach with a Billy club. Lt. Schrank (Steve Bassett) comes into a local drugstore and insults the Puerto Ricans as migrant scum. The sociological stage is set. There's nothing dated about Arthur Laurents' revival of his own "West Side Story." This American theater classic is another proof that the best, most enduring musicals (and plays) combine personal stories with political ones. By Lucy Komisar.

"HAIR" -- Byrce Ryness and cast pulling up their hair. Photo by Michal Daniel.

"Hair" is simplistic politics but a joyous celebration of the 60s counterculture
My guest at "Hair" was an old friend who had been a leader of the 1968 protest movement in Germany. As we left the theater, he shook his head. He said, "We were much more political." That said, and history corrected, Diane Paulus's revival of the 1968 musical now on Broadway captures the mood of part of a generation of young people (a minority of their contemporaries) that helped change the culture. By Lucy Komisar.

"FINIAN'S RAINBOW" -- Terri White, Guy Davis & Ensemble. Photo by Joan Marcus.

"Finian's Rainbow."
This charmingly radical musical by Yip Harburg and Fred Saidy – given a smart, lively, delicious staging by Warren Carlyle -- was a shot across the bow of conservative America when it opened on Broadway in 1947. It showed black and white sharecroppers in solidarity against the tax foreclosure sale of a farm. It depicted the corruption and racism of a white politician who is buying up local real estate so he can block cheap public electric power. And it satirized capitalism by declaring that digging up some gold buried in the ground would remove an incentive and wreck free enterprise. Even the famous "If this isn't love" has the pointed line, "If this isn't love, it's red propaganda!" By Lucy Komisar.

"WISHFUL DRINKING" -- Carrie Fisher and Leia from Star Wars. Photo by Joan Marcus.

"Wishful Drinking" is Carrie Fisher’s autobiography, a stage version of bad tell-all late night TV
"Wishful Drinking" is Carrie Fisher's self-referential one-woman staged pop autobiography is based largely on the famous people she interacted with through her life, starting with her parents, Eddie Fisher and what's her name? Oh, Debbie Reynolds. It's been so long. The play is rather like bad tell-all late night TV. By Lucy Komisar

"BURN THE FLOOR"Trent Whiddon, Patrick Helm, Damian Whitewood, Robin Windsor, Sasha Farber, Peta Murgatroyd, Henry Byalkov. Photo by Joan Marcus.

"Burn the Floor" presents exciting competitive ballroom dancing with a contemporary edge
"Burn the Floor" is an exciting review of ballroom dancing through the decades, from Latin and Afro-Brazilian rhythms to modern jazzy idioms. Through you never saw any of this in a real ballroom. The numbers, the wild fast movements, come out of the competitive dancing that these couples have done all over the world. By Lucy Komisar.

"RAGTIME" -- Robert Petkoff as Tateh, Sarah Rosenthal as his daughter, and other immigrants. Photo by Joan Marcus.

"Ragtime"
"Ragtime" is a cinematic, visionary, heart-stopping view of America of the early 1900s. The power and sweep of the bittersweet mix of true history and invention take your breath away. The characters are meant to be symbols, as the play mixes real people with invented ones, true events with imaginary ones. Fictional people come from three families—upper-middle class, white Anglo-Saxon Protestant, socialist immigrant Jewish from Latvia, and Harlem black – who represent American dreams and the tragedies that ensued during the struggle for justice. They play also shows the transformative power of the new 20th century. By Lucy Komisar.

"MEMPHIS" -- Montego Glover & Chad Kimball as Felicia & Huey. Photo by Joan Marcus.

"Memphis" is a vibrant back story of the Rhythm & Blues on Beale Street in the 50s.
"Memphis," book by Joe DiPietro, music by David Bryan, and lyrics by both, is a vibrant sometimes hokey but visually exciting story musical with terrific sounds that range from rhythm and blues to gospel. It's a social and political back story of Rhythm & Blues. It's 1951 on Beale Street. And Huey (Chad Kimball) wanders into a hot music joint He's found the music of his soul. The only problem is that he's in the black part of town and he's white. By Lucy Komisar.

"SHREK THE MUSICAL" -- Sutton Foster as Princess Fiona and dancers. Photo by Joan Marcus.

"Shrek the Musical"
"Shrek the Musical" is a kids musical with clever jokes & lyrics for adults. There's a genre of musicals that is supposed to be for kids, but is just as much for adults. I include "The Lion King" and "Wicked" and now "Shrek the Musical." I loved them all. What they have in common is strong moral politics. The characters in the first play fight oppression, the second combat racism and Shrek does a bit of both. Like the others, it proves that shows about ideas are more interesting and fun than empty-headed fluff. By Lucy Komisar.

"A SteadyRain" Hugh Jackman & Daniel Craig. Photo by Joan Marcus.

"A Steady Rain"
"A Steady Rain" is a thriller about two beat cops, partners, friends from childhood, that would seem to belong on TV. On the other hand, some of the events they describe are so bloody, that I'd rather see them described in the two interlocking monologues that make up the play rather than watch them in full color. By Lucy Komisar.

'After Miss Julie,' Jonny Lee Miller and Marin Ireland. Photo by Joan Marcus.

"After Miss Julie"
"After Miss Julie" a psychological thriller, a rich drama has three characters enmeshed in a web of conflicts that shift the upper hand from one to the other, depending on whether the field of battle is class or sex. It is a riveting play where the power of class and gender fight for primacy. By Lucy Komisar

Broke-ology, Francois Battiste, Wendell Pierce, Alano Miller. Photo by T Charles Erickson.

"Broke-ology"
"Broke-ology" is a sometimes appealing, sometimes corny look at the dynamics of being loyal to your family and also loyal to yourself. It also examines the science of being a family. By Lucy Komisar.

"Hamlet" -- Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Jude Law. Photo by Johan Persson.

"Hamlet"
Jude Law brings a pulsating animal energy to Shakespeare's tragedy, not the tentative or tormented like the Hamlets we are used to. This "Hamlet" is a thriller and Hamlet the vengeful detective. The excitement is palpable. By Lucy Komisar.

"Burn the Floor" -- photo by Kevin Berne

Burn the Floor
Our Ed Rubin writes that, having been an exhibition dancer during histeens and an Arthur Murray ballroom dancing instructor while at college (they were desperate for young men to move fat ladies across the floor, he says), "Burn the Floor" had him sitting both ecstatically and nostalgically on the edge of my seat for nearly two hours. By Edward Rubin.

"Mary Stuart"
Political history aside, the play while historically misleading gives two actors, Jane Mcteer and Harriet Walte,r an opportunity to act up a storm. And they do. Each has a big scene, and each dominates the stage in her own way. By Margaret Croyden.

Guys and Dolls Company. Photo by Carol Rosegg.

"Guys and Dolls"
"Guys and Dolls" proves the score's the king in classic Broadway musicals. This revival of the 1950 musical comedy about a Salvation Army missionary who reforms a couple of hard-boiled but appealing gamblers shows why the show was a smash. By Lucy Komisar.

Trent Kowalik as Billy Elliot and Ballet Girls. Photo by Alastair Muir.

Billy Elliot The Musical
"Billy Elliot, The Musical" is an appeal for solidarity and freedom. This Lee Hall-Elton John musical is a lively, moving, exhilarating production that recounts the impact of the British miners' strike of the mid-80s . It also asserts the right of an individual to express himself, his dreams and his art. By Lucy Komisar.

"Shrek The Musical"
After one children's picture book (by the prolific William Steig) and three movies, one would think the Shrek franchise was near its end. Then along comes "Shrek the Musical," and we find out it has a healthy future. By Paulanne Simmons.

Stockard Channing and Matthew Risch in "Pal Joey" at Studio 54, through February 15, 2009. Photo by Joan Marcus.

"Pal Joey," a cynical musical about a womanizing con man, rings true today.
Con men make good anti-heroes. At a time when the country is focused on a spectacular one that cheated people of billions, it's instructive to take a look at the genre. "Pal Joey," the Richard Rodgers-Lorenz Hart 1940 musical given a moody revival by director Joe Mantello at the Roundabout Theatre, is about a sleazy character on the make for money and success. By Lucy Komisar.

Richard Griffiths and Daniel Radcliffe in "Equus" at Broadhurst Theatre, through February 8, 2009 . Photo by Carol Rosegg.

"Equus" is a powerful mystery of a youth caught in a conflict of religion and sex
"Equus" by Peter Shaffer (1973) is vividly directed by Thea Sharrock in its current revival. A troubled 17-year-old youth, Alan Strang (Daniel Radcliffe) is brought by a judge (Kate Mulgew) to the office of an overworked psychiatrist in a provincial hospital in southern England. He has blinded a stable of six horses. Slowly, through importuning, bribes of small gifts and even hypnotism, the psychiatrist, Martin Dysart (Richard Griffiths) gets him to see through his nightmares and tell what brought him to commit this horror. By Lucy Komisar.

"Speed the Plow"-- L to R: Raul Esparza, Jeremy Piven, Elisabeth Moss. Photo by Brigitte Lancombe.

Mamet's inside story of why Hollywood produces junk
At a time in the U.S. when most films seem made for retarded 13-year-olds, this revival of David Mamet's 1988 "Speed the Plow" is right on target. It's a satire on Hollywood moguls on the make for money and success, which they see strewn along the paths of titillating sex and violence. Hey, how else to get a lunch table at the town's favored watering hole? Who will win the battle for movieland? The young producer who dreams of dollar signs in his future hyperventilates: "If they can't put it in TV Guide, you can't make the film." By Lucy Komisar.

"All My Sons" --Kate Holmes and Patrick Wilson. Photo by Joan Marcus.

"All My Sons"
Arthur Miller's play about corporate corruption never goes out of fashion. As a theater device, he focused on a small factory owned by one man, but you can take this as a representation of what went on and what goes on when anything goes in business. Profits trump morals. The victims are all of us, which is what the title means. Simon McBurney's production is smooth and riveting. By Lucy Komisar.

Kristin Chenoweth, Idina Menzel, "Wicked," photo Joan Marcus

"Wicked"
This behind the scenes revisionist view of "The Wizard of Oz" is a political allegory about racism and discrimination. It's fascinating as a literary work and stunning as theater. Based on the novel by Winnie Holzman, it's an updated Animal Farm. It's a play that exists on two levels, one for the kids and another for adults, who will find it intellectually stimulating. It's Oz before Dorothy got there. By Lucy Komisar.

Alfred Hitchcock's "The 39 Steps," Adapted by Patrick Barlow
Be prepared to be amused by the delightful production of "The 39 Steps." If you are old enough to remember Alfred Hitchcock's fabulous script, its intricate design, its suspense, and amusing chase between the hero and the spy masters, then you will certainly appreciate this spoof of Hitchcock. Adapted from a book by John Buchan, and directed by the brilliant and innovative Maria Aitken, the play runs a mere two hours and flies by as though twenty minutes. Imagine three man and a single woman playing all the roles that encompasses the entire movie from the beginning to the end. And this they do so brilliantly that it is impossible to tell that the actors are playing multiple characters. By Margaret Croyden.

"Gypsy" -- photo by Paul Kolnik.

"Gypsy" is back
As the quintessential stage mother who launched Gypsy Rose Lee on her career, Patti LuPone is brassy and vulnerable, calm and frenetic, distracted and intense. Her voice fills the theater and her heart takes over the stage. From the moment she steps onto the stage at the St. James Theatre, it's obvious she's going to make this role totally her own. Who could ask for more? By Paulanne Simmons.

"Avenue Q" is sexed-up Sesame Street
"Avenue Q" has been hailed as the first big hit of the season, a season that has started in the middle of the summer, when it is very hard to have a hit. "Avenue Q " is a lively musical comedy about the hip-hop generation and all that this entails. A group of young people live on Avenue Q, and each is a type with a story to tell. And unto the bargain that story is sung and dramatized by characters manipulating their puppets right out in the open. No shadow play here. The puppets are hand held and strings are pulled right in front of us.

"Jersey Boys"
Believe it or Not, but Glenn Loney had no idea who Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons were before he saw this dynamic show. Nor was he looking forward to it: Would it be as disappointing as Lennon? As bad as Good Vibrations and the Beach Boys? Not at all: It is a super-charged show, with an ingenious book by the witty Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. None of this "And then he wrote, and then he wrote…" It is very effectively staged by Des McAnuff, who premiered it at his La Jolla Playhouse.

"Mamma Mia!"
With the fabulous costumes and constantly moving set-props of Mark Thompson, it could have been quite as good as a Giant Choreographed Concert in Costumes. Given high-octane energy, of course, by a dynamic cast, led by Louise Pitre. By Glenn Loney.

Laura Linney and Ben Daniels in "Les Liasons Dangereuses." Photo by Joan Marcus.

Les Liaisons dangereuses
Christopher Hampton's "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" is based on the epistolary novel by the Frenchman, Choderlos de Laclos who wrote the book in 1782. Hampton's adaptation was first produced in l987, followed by the movie, 1988. The film achieved a good deal of attention and was a huge success, particularly for the work of Glen Close and John Malkovich in the leads. In this current production both Laura Linney and Ben Daniels as the two unscrupulous schemers are miscast. Which leaves the play an empty shell. By Margaret Croyden.

Mark Rylance and Kathryn Hahn in "Boeing-Boeing" by Matthew Camoletti. Photo by Joan Marcus.

Boeing-Boeing
A few minutes into the play, buoyantly directed by Matthew Warchus, the plot is revealed. Bernard (Bradley Whitford), an attractive, self-assured bachelor, has three girlfriends. "Less than three would be monotonous; more than three is way too tiring." All are airline hostesses, and all think he's going to marry them. "Boeing-Boeing" is filled with double entendres, misunderstandings, near misses and high jinx. It takes a while for "Boeing-Boeing" to get off the ground, but once it takes off, the show is non-stop hilarity. By Paulanne Simmons.

The cast of "Cry Baby" by Mark Brokaw. Photo by Joan Marcus.

Cry-Baby
Broadway's exuberant new musical, "Cry-Baby" opens at an anti-Polio picnic in Baltimore. It's 1954, and Mrs. Vernon-Williams (the always magnificent Harriet Harris) presides over a group of wholesome, all-American teenagers, the girls wearing flared skirts, the boys wearing identical sweaters. They sing an innocent 50s number about the joys of inoculation. By Paulanne Simmons.

"Kiss Me Kate", Paper Mill Playhouse, Photo by Gerry Goodstein, Left to Right, Liz Kimball, Elliott Bradley, Gary Lynch (Pops), Stephen Carrasco (Hortensio), Wes Hart (Gremio), Katie Hagen, Kyle Vaughn and Desirée Davar

Kiss Me Kate
"Kiss Me Kate" is the ultimate backstage musical in that it integrates the show-within-the show better than anybody had done before or has done since. Based on Shakespeare's comedy, "The Taming of the Shrew," the musical shows how the hero, Fred Graham (Mike McGowan) manages to tame his woman, his former wife, Lilli Vanessi (Michele Ragusa), both onstage when she plays Kate, the shrew, and offstage as the temperamental diva. By Paulanne Simmons.

Sunday In the Park With George, the musical
By now everyone knows the story of this famous Stephen Sondheim's musical ( for this its third revival) that deals with Georges Seurat's remarkable pointillist painting of "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte." Using the painting as a background (actually the main subject), Sondheim ingeniously attempts to dissect Seurat's egomaniacal obsession with his art, an obsession that leads to the painter's neglect of mother, lover, child, friend--anyone who may distract him from his all consuming, passionate commitment to painting. The most inventive aspect of this production is not so much its story (although that is fascinating too) but the director's (Sam Buntrock) use of modern technology: computerized images, digital projections, clever animations that show the painting coming to life, its beginning, its progress and its glorious end.

IN THE HEIGHTS -- Lin-Manuel Miranda (center). Photo by Joan Marcus.

Hip-Hop "In the Heights"
Set in Washington Heights, "In the Heights" celebrates in hip-hop and Latin music the ethnic diversity of a neighborhood that has seen radical changes in the past few decades. Now on Broadway. By Paulanne Simmons.

"The Color Purple" -- Victor Dixon, Felicia Fields. Photo by Paul Kolnik.

Color Me Purple
"The Color Purple" is a woman's musical cry of rage. It's a poignant, brassy, bluesy, R&B & gospel melodrama, an operetta-style protest in the tradition of "Porgy and Bess." By Lucy Komisar.

"Monty Python's Spamalot." (l-r) Michael McGrath, Tim Curry. Photo by Joan Marcus.

"Monty Python's Spamalot"
There's nothing like an outrageous political satire written by left-wing Brits! John Patrick Shanley, who won this year's Pulitzer Prize for "Doubt," wondered at a Drama Desk panel on theater and politics, which I moderated last year, why most plays were written by people on the left. The puzzle wasn't solved, but 'Monty Python's Spamalot' proves how lucky we are that it's true. And that Brits still have a vital leftist culture. By Lucy Komisar.

FOR MORE BROADWAY COVERAGE
See Loney's Show Notes and Croyden's Corner in our Lobby and Columnists sections.

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