May 2013: NYC

This year's Spring NYC trip may have been the best yet in terms of the shows alone (with one clear exception). And, not only did they beckoned me, but also my bf David, who ended up seeing every show that I did (like I told him, "Those museums aren't going anywhere!"). In order of attendance, here's the breakdown:

Cirque du Soleil's Totem

Cirque continues to impress with this relatively new touring tent show. The theme this time is Nature-ish with the costumes ranging from amphibious to primitive human to modern beachy (showing off the best beefcake Cirque has ever strutted across stage) to polar and solar. The acts continue to impress with lots of innovation to be found, so much so that many are hard to name in terms of traditional circus vernacular. Included among those are a unicycle-bowl-on-foot-kick-it-to-your-head-or-your-partners'-heads juggling quartet and a man-juggling-lighted-balls-in-a-huge-glass-funnel visual spectacle. Others highlights include carpet jugglers, a gymnast ring aerial act, a roller skating spinning duo, and board jumpers. The show is a visual stunner even without the acts, with the best use of projections of I've ever seen. The reason they're so great is because they are simple and limited, but totally transformative. Seriously, other designers should take note. Bravo once again, Cirque du Soleil!

The Nance

This comedic drama by Douglas Carter Beane (The Little Dog Laughed, libretto for Xanadu) is a lot better than I was led to believe. Of course, the main reasons to see it are Nathan Lane, again showing how great his serious side is after his excellent Hickey in last year's The Iceman Cometh, and the recreation of burlesque circa New York 1937 with whole, authentic numbers interspersed throughout the "book" scenes. It's a sad story about a gay nance (burlesque's stereotypical gay character), most of whom weren't gay. It's a fascinating glimpse of an old, more fearful gay society, but there are plenty of correlates to modern times in terms of the second-class citizen status homosexuals are still given. The feelings and acts of worthlessness that Nathan Lane so brilliantly portrays are common even today. The set design is elaborate on the scale of a musical, but fitting given the locales the action covers. If not the greatest play, definitely worth seeing!

Aaron Tveit at 54 Below

Aaron Tveit is far too large a star now to play this tiny room as evident by him instantly selling out 6, mostly late-night dates scattered throughout the month of May. Miraculously we were able to get in to the very first show, thanks to a single ticket popping up on the official web outlet 2 days prior and a good deal of buttering up the maitre d' several hours before showtime to squeeze us into a second seat (all of the small cancellation line was eventually accommodated though some had to stand). I have a love-hate relationship with Tveit in that I love his voice, but find him somewhat of a personality-free robot on stage (and hate the fact that the Next To Normal playbill I sent him with the remaining original cast's signatures already on it has never been returned. Seriously, did he just throw it away? And, why was he the only one not to sign at the stage door that night? Can you say douche bag?). Anyway, this cabaret show of mostly highlights from his career did make me view him as less of a robot, especially given his hilarious rendition of Taylor Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" and his actually flubbing a song...twice! (not sure how that will be pieced back together on the recording they made of this first show for CD release). Can't deny though that this boy has a great set of pipes!!!

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike

I'm not a big fan of Christopher Durang, but I've often suspected that this was more because I've never seen a production that best showed off his material (I feel exactly the same way about Charles Busch and should similarly seek out a NYC production actually featuring Mr./Mrs. Busch). That said, this new play is hilarious (a plus for anyone), but definitely less absurd (a BIG plus for me) than the Durang I've been exposed to in the past. As the title suggests, the play references Uncle Vanya in terms of both character, setting, and action; however, it completely works on its own. The lead trio of siblings (the V, S, and M) make an aside of the fact that their actor parents' named them after classic Chekhov characters, but no knowledge of his plays is otherwise required. Those three leads (David Hyde Pierce, Kristine Nielson, and Sigourney Weaver, respectively) are spot on as a pair of do-nothing siblings visited upon by their vain movie star sister (Weaver), but some of the supporting players get to have even more fun, especially Shalita Grant as the sassy, psychic housekeeper and Billy Magnussen (completely unrecognizable from this season's Boardwalk Empire), who is on fire as Masha's obnoxious boy toy, Spike. I would definitely spend more time with this Vanya instead of the other one!

Here Lies Love

This is the show that I was most looking forward to and, boy, was I so not disappointed!!! It sounded like a winner on paper, with a score by David Byrne (of Talking Heads) and Fatboy Slim ("Right Here, Right Now"), and being directed by Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson director/librettist Alex Timbers, and the 2010 concept recording was highly enjoyable. But, the production itself is absolutely thrilling!!! It would be easy to draw comparisons to Evita, given that Here Lies Love is a biographical musical about Imelda Marcos, the First Lady of the Philippines from 1965-1986. Yes, the one with the penchant for shoes! However, there really is no comparison, given that Here Lies Love features one of the most original and immersive stagings I've ever seen for a mostly traditional, if sung-through, musical. 

The Philippines was the birthplace of karaoke and the initial setting is a nightclub in Manila, fitting since Imelda loved both, and in many ways this feels like a karaoke musical, complete with handheld mics and one big audience sing-(and-dance)-a-long moment. The audience mostly stands in the center of an elevated, rectangular stage rimming an elongated black box space (there are a few seats in the "balcony" for the handicap or those less adventurous). A center platform rotates and connects up with the outer stage, allowing for countless and ever-changing stage setups with "ushers" moving (more like dancing) the audience out of the way ala Fuerza Bruta. The music is so infectious it's hard not to tap your feet or even outright dance, especially being surrounded by video screens, which further the nightclub atmosphere and provide most of the other set details.

The story is much more interesting then just the rise and fall of one political couple, with the additional players including Estrella, Imelda's childhood friend from the poor area she would later deny she ever lived in, and her first love, Ninoy Aquino, a senator who would later become an outspoken opponent of the Marcoses and be exiled from the country only to return years later with tragic consequences. The songs are so invigorating that one moment you are cheering on Ferdinand Marcos winning the presidency only to moments later be similarly moved by and rooting for the opposition. There is plenty of conflict to go around and the show is so dazzling AND intelligent that Imelda's shoe collection thankfully doesn't bother a mention (I shudder to think of the shoe kick line that could have resulted if this material was in the hands of more commercially oriented artists). While the show would work in a more traditional theater, its current charm is greatly enhanced by the imaginative staging on view in the Public Theater's small upstairs space. Whereas off-Broadway's Murder Ballad was my favorite new score of 2012, Here Lies Love is definitely the front-runner for 2013. Can't wait for the just-announced original cast recording!!!

 

Matilda

This is Broadway's newest blockbuster musical and it won't be going anywhere anytime soon! Having never been exposed to Roald Dahl's book or its movie adaption, I didn't know exactly what to expect, especially since the London cast recording isn't the most transparent. The show is actually wonderful and the only negative thing I can say, I can only say because of my unfamiliarity with the material. I didn't see how the two seemingly unrelated stories related until the big reveal towards the end. That negativity though completely evaporated into delight once I was "in the know," much like the rest of the audience, who completely ate the show up from beginning to end. While seemingly elaborate judged by the monstrous unit set composed of children's building blocks (see pic above), the show is actually simply staged except for a couple of moments (one involving the swings seen above and another dummy-drop switcharoo stunt only seen from a seat in the orchestra, which is definitely the place to see this show given all of the entrances and exits made via that section's aisles). That simplicity doesn't mean it isn't creatively staged, it is in spades, but rather that there aren't any faults to hide: the book is strong and the score is not extraneous, if only every new musical could boast as much! Bertie Carvel, a man, makes the most of his role as the mean school headmistress ("There are no small parts...") and our Matilda (Bailey Ryon, one of four young actresses rotating in the role) was the perfect precocious tot with a dark side. Delightful from start to finish! And, I defy you not to hum "When I Grow Up" on your way out of the theater!

Sleep No More...again!

The third time was a charm, but also frustrating as I tried to track down things I knew were going to happen (for David's benefit) instead of exploring spontaneously as I had before. Still, it seemed like I experienced a completely different show yet again, which is the reason the "McKittrick Hotel" draws so many repeat customers. David proved to be especially popular with the actors, being pulled into two private rooms for one-on-one experiences (one of which sounded like cheating to me, but whatevs!) and having a David Lynch-ish chanteuse expertly and eerily lip-sync "Is That All There Is?" directly to him. I myself was pulled into the "outdoor" cabin by the nurse for tea, but was unceremoniously kicked our after she clearly didn't like what she read in my palm, even though she wouldn't tell me what she saw. I think I'm finally done with this show, but I will definitely keep my eye on what Punchdrunk does in the future!

Pippin

I didn't know if I was even going to see this acclaimed revival from Cambridge's American Repertory Theater, that's how much I dislike Pippin! In fact, I bought a cheaper mezzanine seat (actually fortuitous given the aerial stunts on display) since I didn't want to waste my money on a show that I don't care for, which was based on repeated viewings of the severely truncated, commercially released taping of the original Bob Fosse staging and at least one (maybe two) other lackluster regional productions. Boy, am I glad that I bought that ticket (and later one for David), because this production is one of the best things I've ever seen in my life!!! Wow, I can't believe I'm actually saying that! I've completely changed my mind about this show, thanks to the absolutely incredible staging by director Diane Paulus (of the brilliant Hair and Porgy and Bess revivals)! The circus setting fits like a glove and the scattered stunts are never extraneous, with the one clear exception being the opening of the second act, which not only gives the audience time to get back to their seats, but also revs them up. We didn't get to see Patina Miller (the best thing about Sister Act) since she was under the weather, but Broadway vet Stephanie Pope was on fire as the Leading Player (I've since learned that Patina does many circus stunts herself in the role, which Stephanie did not).

Enough cannot be said about Andrea Martin as Pippin's grandmother!!! She not only knocks her one number out of the "tent" (with a little help from her trapeze partner), she also elicits a rare mid-show standing ovation in the MIDDLE of the first act! It's a wow along the lines of "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going" from Dreamgirls, but we stand up for that because it's a far more rousing, dramatic song and it comes at the END of the first act and we want to go to the bathroom.

The biggest change for me though is one of attitude. I've always thought of Pippin as a bit of a downer, especially the ending. In this version, however, Pippin and Catherine (super daffy here) are happy, ecstatic even, to be kicked out of the circus to go live their "ordinary lives." It's what they want, laughing at the Leading Player as they go. Paulus provides a coda though that isn't in the script, but does gives the Leading Player more satisfaction. SPOILER ALERT! Catherine's son straggles back on stage at the end, curious about the circus paraphernalia scattered about the empty stage. When he sits down on a trapeze, it slowly lifts and the circus performers led by the Leading Player come back on stage, excited they have someone new for the role of Pippin. Fucking brilliant!!!

Chicago...16 years later

My sister, her now-husband, and I camped out for $20 front-row seats back when this revival was about to lose its original cast when we were in NYC to celebrate my mom's 60th birthday. Back then, I said this production (my very first exposure to Chicago!) was "one of the best things I've ever seen in my life!" I still stand by that statement because that cast (including Bebe Neuwirth, Ann Reinking, Joel Grey, James Naughton, and Marsha Lewis) was magnificent! The same cannot be said of this production now or its current cast. In addition, the audience of mostly foreign tourists, more obnoxious than kids, also reminded me of why you should always see a Broadway show within its first 6 months. What's obvious now after the excellent movie adaptation is just how trimmed down this "concert" version feels, even though I've never seen a production of the original script for comparison. Most glaring though is how little attention of being paid to detail in terms of the Fosse moves (and Fosse was all about detail!). David can now check off seeing Chicago on stage (our reason for going), but as a huge fan of the movie, he was clearly disappointed. Thankfully, I still have wonderful memories of this production from 16 years ago.

Until next time, NYC!