This review of Bound To Rise at Medicine Show Theatre (also known as The Barbara Vann & James Barbosa Theatre) was written by Dr. Thomas Robert Stevens and published in Volume X, Issue 7 (2017) of the online edition of Applause! Applause!
Bound To Rise
A Musical Based on the writings of Horatio Alger Jr. & Jacob Riis
Original Production invented & shaped by Barbara Vann
Book & Lyrics by Stephen Policoff
Score by Robert Dennis
Directed by Oliver Conant (with Paul Murphy & Regan Batuello)
Music Direction by Gregory Nissen & Jonathan Matthews
Costumes by Derek Lockwood
Choreography by Theresa Duhon
Lighting Design by Daniel Schreckengost
Medicine Show Theatre
a/k/a The Barbara Vann & James Barbosa Theatre
549 West 52nd Street, 3rd Floor
New York, New York 10019
Reviewed 1/29/17
Bound To Rise is a two-and-half hour Anti-American and Anti-Capitalist diatribe that perverts the "rags to respectability" message in Horatio Alger Jr.'s stories and uses the writings of Jacob Riis to reinforce its blatant, radical, anarchist political message that only violence against the United States Government and the rich who run it can provide any hope for the downtrodden or a diminishment in income inequality ("dynamite is needed to oppose economic oppression"). The musical intertwines four Horatio Alger Jr. stories, the most prominent of which is Ragged Dick; or, Street Life In New York With The Boot Blacks starring the very charismatic and talented actor Jonathan Emerson as Dick Hunter (allegedly a 14-year old boot black who is hard working, honest and anxious to "turn over a new leaf to grow up 'spectable'"). The play is set in the 1890s during the Gilded Age ("Behold The Robber Baron's Greed") but the disparity in wealth that is depicted was used when this musical was first staged in 1985 to make political points against "Saint Ronald Reagan" and his "trickle down economics & sugary Morning In America speeches" now revived by terrorists-in-training with a pro-violence message to protest the election of "con man" Donald Trump who has provided us with "a great deal of hot air" filled with "lies." Linking the two Presidents, Christopher Hirschmann Brandt, Medicine Show Theatre Manager (who is actually a fine actor and did a good job in this production portraying Joseph Root, a crusading journalist for The New York Sun) wrote the following in the program: "As Einstein said, doing the same thing over and over when we are confronted with the same problem is a mark of insanity. But maybe we're not insane, maybe we didn't buy the man who promised us lies, empty slogans, billions of dollars in debt, and a spoken language so inadequate that he had to repeat everything he said at least twice. Maybe he bought us. After all, that's what a confidence man does - he "buys" our confidence with his promises, and when we discover those promises are utterly devoid of content or value, he is long gone, along with our hopes, our dreams, and our money."
Horatio Alger Jr. (January 13, 1832 - July 18, 1899) was a prolific 19th-century American writer, best known for his many young adult novels about impoverished boys and their rise from humble backgrounds to lives of middle-class security and comfort through hard work, determination, courage, and honesty. Alger was an inspiration for many young boys and his books were quite popular. Several elements of his "Strive & Succeed" philosophy included: Hard Work, Study (informal rather than formal), Loyalty to Supervisors & Subordinates, Abstaining from Alcohol & Gambling, Frugal Living, Importance of Dress & Personal Grooming, Personal Integrity, Speaking & Writing Effectively, Avoidance of Violence & Revenge, Speaking The Whole Truth, The Brotherhood of Males, Obligation to Help & Protect The Weak & Unfortunate, Duty to Mother (or Sisters), Courtesy To All, Accepting The Success of Others, Accepting the Assistance of Benefactors, and an Expectation of One's Own Success. His stories depicted the efforts of New York City's underclass in the 19th century to cope with extreme poverty, misfortune, and other obstacles to social mobility but they always had an optimistic tone to them (glass is half full perspective) whereas the book for this musical reflects the opinion that there might be one drop of water left in the glass we call "The American Dream" and that if you believe in it, you are either an idiot, delusional, or deranged. A combination of Good Morals and Good Fortune led to the success of many of the boys written about in Horatio Alger's novels. That message has been turned on its head in Bound To Rise, making you long to race home to take a shower to wash off the slime and unrealistic portrayal of all rich people, shown here as selfish, insensitive, immoral, deliberately cruel elitists, who are driven only by greed. Even Mr. Stone of The New York Central Railroad ("I don't know enough about ethics to apply them to business"), Dick Hunter's benefactor, is explicitly depicted as a "pedophile" who "makes small deposits" into his "bank account from time to time" in return for being given access to Dick Hunter's back door whenever he feels the urge to walk down that path.
Bound To Rise features three other stories, each which are wrapped up in a fancy bow with a false "happy ending" leaving you depressed with little reason for hope or optimism. Paolo Solis is excellent as Walter Sherwood, whose Guardian takes him out of Yale, lies to him about his inheritance having become greatly diminished, and sends him off to New York City to make it on his own. John Cencio Burgos was eventually able to shine as Mark Manton, a pyromaniacal "match boy" from Philadelphia, and Justyna Kostek, was uninspiring as Helen Lord ("from the less industrious branch of the family from Connecticut"). In the order of appearance during the curtain call, Ms. Kostek was the lead actress in this production followed by Mr. Burgos and Mr. Emerson. This is a true miscarriage of justice. The lead actor in this musical is Jonathan Emerson and he deserves recognition for his extraordinary performance. The only other actor in the cast I found worthy of note was Mark J. Dempsey, who played Mr. Davenport and Leo the Magnificent, a magician. There were major problems with the choreography and the musical direction. I have no idea whether this is because the cast did not have a sufficient number of rehearsals or whether it reflects a lack of vocal talent. There were a few memorable songs in this musical but none of them were listed in the program. I particularly liked one number about the importance of women wearing corsets ("A Woman Must Bind") and the main number "Bound To Rise" was quite tuneful but had hackneyed lyrics such as "And Just Like The Sun, I'm Bound To Rise" and "Fill This World With Hope, It's Bound To Rise." Newspapers are also criticized for not addressing real issues and for printing lies, rumors and gossip to distract us from the real problems we face in our lives. Yet, on the other hand, Joseph Root, a crusading journalist for The New York Sun, is observed telling Mark Manton, the match boy living in a box, not to smile when his photo is being taken in order to emphasize the unhappiness of his supposedly miserable life as a "Street Arab."
Oliver Conant directs the play with a sledge hammer and has the cast freeze on stage for 30 seconds of silence when a line is uttered which he wants the audience to reflect upon. One such line was "Why do some people have so much and others so little?" and the second was, "I can hardly stand. How can I move on?". A third line spoken by Mark Manton might as well have been the third. After Dick Hunter saved his life, the ungrateful "Match Box Manton" (who earlier tried to set Dick Hunter on fire) said "One Little Life - What's The Value Please?" before saying, "What I'd give not to live in a world so cold!" Well, this is the world you live in Mark and your mommy is no longer around to hold your hand and to protect you from all the evil people in the world. Wake up and be a man! When Mark was finally found by his grandmother and taken back to Milwaukee where he will become a wealthy man, I loved Dick Hunter's line, "Good thing he's going to be rich because he sure was a failure at being poor."
Just as Christopher Hirschmann Brandt, Manager of Medicine Company Theatre, opined about "con man" Trump, I can also say that Bound To Rise is similarly "utterly devoid of content or value" (with the exception of the performances of a few actors, especially that of Jonathan Emerson who played the aspiring Richard Hunter Esq. http://www.jonathanemerson.info) and we, too, were conned finding out after having attended, that the money we spent for a ticket is long gone as are the three hours of our life we shall never get back, along with the hopes and dreams we had of seeing a good show. Bound To Rise will be disappointing audiences through February 26, 2017. Tickets are $30.00 ($23.00 for students & seniors) and are available by phone at 1-800-838-3006 or online at www.medicineshowtheatre.org
Sunday, January 29, 2017
Thursday, January 26, 2017
Applause! Applause! Review of The Full Monty at The John W. Engeman Theater at Northport by Dr. Thomas Robert Stevens
This review of The Full Monty at The John W. Engeman Theater at Northport was written by Dr. Thomas Robert Stevens and published in Volume X, Issue 7 (2017) of the online edition of Applause! Applause!
The Full Monty
Based on the Motion Picture released by Fox Searchlight Pictures
Book by Terrence McNally
Music & Lyrics by David Yazbek
Directed by Keith Andrews
Choreography by Antoinette DiPietropolo
Musically Directed by Andrew Haile Austin
Scenic Design by DT Willis
Costume Design by Tristan Raines
Lighting Design by Doug Harry
Sound Design by Laura Shubert
Wig & Hair Design by Emilia Martin
Props Design by ToniAnne DiFilippo
The John W. Engeman Theater at Northport
250 Main Street
Northport, New York 11768
Reviewed 1/22/17
The Full Monty had its world premiere at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego from June 1 through July 9, 2000. The Broadway production opened at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on October 26, 2000 and closed on September 1, 2002, after 770 performances and 35 previews. In this Americanized musical stage version adapted from the 1997 British film of the same name, six unemployed Buffalo steelworkers with imperfect bodies decide to put on a "one-night only" strip act at Tony Giordano's, a local club, after seeing their wives' enthusiasm for a touring company of Chippendale's. Their promotional hook is that they are not only offering women the opportunity to see "real men" strip (as opposed to "fairies") but also that they intend to go "the full monty" by taking off all their clothes. Two of the six "real men" are Jerry Lukowski, the man with the plan, who has gotten divorced in the 18 months since he was laid off and is now at risk of losing joint custody of his son for not having met his child support obligations. Jerry sleeps with Estelle Genovese, the local slut, even on weekends when his son visits, smokes marijuana and watches pornography. He refuses to take available jobs as a security guard, a waiter, or even a packer because he feels those jobs are beneath his dignity. Dave Bukatinsky, Jerry's best friend, is in a similar position. He is still married but hasn't slept with his wife in some time. He is depressed, drinks, and handles household chores while allowing his wife to carry the entire financial burden of paying their bills. He complains, "I want to feel like the husband - not the wife!" Jerry and Dave hold auditions to find the right men for the job and hope to take a share of the $50,000.00 they intend to make, which will pay off some of their debts and allow Jerry to catch up on his child support payments.
The first man added to Hot Metal, a name for the troupe Jerry's son Nathan came up with, is Malcolm MacGregor, a nerd who lives with his mother and was kept on as a security guard at the factory (which will come in handy when they later look for rehearsal space). Jerry and Dave come upon Malcolm while he is in the process of committing suicide. They save his life, offer to be his friend, and suggest that he join them. The three of them sing "Big-Ass Rock," a hilarious song with lyrics suggesting more effective ways a friend could help another friend commit suicide. Dave also offers Malcolm a cigarette after having saved him but in a very funny line, he says, "No thanks. I'm trying to quit." When checking out the local dance studio for tips, they come across Harold Nichols, their former supervisor, who has not yet told his wife he is unemployed. In return for their silence, Harold agrees to give them pointers and help choreograph their act. Harold's wife Vicki does a fine rendition of "Life With Harold" and Dave and Harold sing "You Rule My World" with an equally moving reprise of the song performed in the second act by their wives, Georgie and Vicki. During auditions, they hire Noah "Horse" T. Simmons, an elderly African-American who knows how to move, dance and sing, and Ethan Girard, a white man with absolutely no talent. When asked, "You don't sing. You don't dance. Why do you think we should hire you?", he responded, "I thought maybe this!" as he dropped his pants revealing a gargantuan Godzilla-sized penis. So with the group in place and with the knowledge that Buffalo had already given the world Buffalo wings, they were now prepared to give it Buffalo wieners!
Jeanette Burmeister shows up with a piano to help with the auditions and the show. Her character is the glue that keeps everyone together, despite her pessimistic observations during "Jeanette's Showbiz Number." She turns to Malcolm at one point and says, "It's like a Putz Museum." She also opines that "a dead agent" is definitely an oxymoron. The gang is busted by the cops for indecent exposure during an un-dress rehearsal before an audience of nursing home residents. Malcolm and Ethan escape the police and for some reason, crawl through a window at Malcolm's home. They connected previously by discovering they were both fans of The Sound Of Music, but the second they had a tender moment and Ethan held Malcolm's hand in anticipation of their first kiss, the morality code kicked in demanding they be immediately punished for their deviance. At that second, in the darkness, Malcolm senses that something is wrong and discovers his mother has passed away. At the funeral, Malcolm and Ethan sing "You Walk With Me," a very moving song that brought me to tears. Dave pointed out to Jerry that Malcolm and Ethan were holding hands. Jerry's response was "Good for them. Good for them," which was quite unexpected since he earlier tried to hit Buddy "Keno" Walsh, a gay Chippendale's dancer who called him "honey."
As we move into the big night, some of the guys are having second thoughts about appearing naked on stage, except for Ethan, of course, who has no insecurity regarding his endowment. Jerry's ex-wife Pam is in the audience, with her new boyfriend, Teddy Slaughter, who brought binoculars (clearly meant as a burn to her ex-husband). Noah "Horse" T. Simmons is terrified because his minister and his mom have come to see the show. Dave's wife Georgie is front and center urging him on and they are all a little uncomfortable because half the audience is male. Still, the line is around the block and the show is sold out. They may even need to add a second show. I have never appreciated the fact that when it comes to showing the audience The Full Monty in the final number of the musical, "Let It Go," that many directors move the guys to the back of the stage and then deny the audience the money shot by blinding them with high-intensity light. It's a cheat which never sat well with me. On the other hand, in light of the dose of morality injected into the script, the lack of a payoff at the end of the play is something you could have anticipated.
There isn't a weak link in the entire cast. All are extremely talented and professional actors. The Hot Metal dancers - Brent Michael DiRoma (Jerry Lukowski), Ryan G. Dunkin (Dave Bukatinsky), Spencer Glass (Malcolm MacGregor), Milton Craig Nealy (Noah "Horse" T. Simmons), Noah Bridgestock (Ethan Girard), and Peter Simon Hilton (Harold Nichols) - each shine with their own unique light. Making their presence and perspectives known are the main female actors - Kate Marshall (Pam Lukowski), Nicole Hale (Georgie Bukatinsky), Gaelen Gilliland (Vicki Nichols), Lexi Lyric (Estelle Genovese), and Diane Findlay (Jeanette Burmeister). Also worthy of note was the performance of Kyle Wolf as Nathan Lukowski, and Wayne Shuker as Teddy Slaughter. The music, sets, costumes and direction are all top-notch but for a play supposed to be set in "The Present" there were many cultural references to sports and music figures who were active and more well-known in the late 1990s. The anachronistic references do not detract from your ability to enjoy the show, but your anger at out-of-work men who refuse to "man-up" and take a job to help their wives out while "waiting for the right situation" reflects a gender role rigidity and super-male ego I would have hoped had been left behind in the 20th Century, along with physical attacks on gay men who look at you the wrong way or say something you don't like.
This is an extraordinary production of The Full Monty. You will thoroughly enjoy the songs, the sets, the scenes, and the situations. The message of this play, in my opinion, is that if life throws you a curve ball, you should take a swing and hit it out of the park, even it means moving outside your comfort zone. Speak to your wife and significant others. Communicate with your mother and your friends. You are not alone and help awaits if only you get over your pride and ask for it. If you need to go "the full monty" to sell $50.00 tickets to your strip show (even if it's illegal), maybe you should "go for it" because "you only live once." Of course, you may not want to live out your life with a criminal record so I would use some discretion when making life decisions. One decision that is safe to make is committing to see The Full Monty, which runs at The John W. Engeman Theater at Northport through March 5, 2017. The performance schedule is as follows: Thursdays at 8:00 p.m., Fridays at 8:00 p.m., Saturdays at 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. (Some Wednesdays and Sunday evenings are available). Tickets are $76.00 on Saturday evenings, $71.00 all other performances and may be purchased by calling 631-261-2900, going online at www.EngemanTheater.com or by visiting the Engeman Theater Box Office at 250 Main Street in Northport (Long Island).
The Full Monty
Based on the Motion Picture released by Fox Searchlight Pictures
Book by Terrence McNally
Music & Lyrics by David Yazbek
Directed by Keith Andrews
Choreography by Antoinette DiPietropolo
Musically Directed by Andrew Haile Austin
Scenic Design by DT Willis
Costume Design by Tristan Raines
Lighting Design by Doug Harry
Sound Design by Laura Shubert
Wig & Hair Design by Emilia Martin
Props Design by ToniAnne DiFilippo
The John W. Engeman Theater at Northport
250 Main Street
Northport, New York 11768
Reviewed 1/22/17
The Full Monty had its world premiere at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego from June 1 through July 9, 2000. The Broadway production opened at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on October 26, 2000 and closed on September 1, 2002, after 770 performances and 35 previews. In this Americanized musical stage version adapted from the 1997 British film of the same name, six unemployed Buffalo steelworkers with imperfect bodies decide to put on a "one-night only" strip act at Tony Giordano's, a local club, after seeing their wives' enthusiasm for a touring company of Chippendale's. Their promotional hook is that they are not only offering women the opportunity to see "real men" strip (as opposed to "fairies") but also that they intend to go "the full monty" by taking off all their clothes. Two of the six "real men" are Jerry Lukowski, the man with the plan, who has gotten divorced in the 18 months since he was laid off and is now at risk of losing joint custody of his son for not having met his child support obligations. Jerry sleeps with Estelle Genovese, the local slut, even on weekends when his son visits, smokes marijuana and watches pornography. He refuses to take available jobs as a security guard, a waiter, or even a packer because he feels those jobs are beneath his dignity. Dave Bukatinsky, Jerry's best friend, is in a similar position. He is still married but hasn't slept with his wife in some time. He is depressed, drinks, and handles household chores while allowing his wife to carry the entire financial burden of paying their bills. He complains, "I want to feel like the husband - not the wife!" Jerry and Dave hold auditions to find the right men for the job and hope to take a share of the $50,000.00 they intend to make, which will pay off some of their debts and allow Jerry to catch up on his child support payments.
The first man added to Hot Metal, a name for the troupe Jerry's son Nathan came up with, is Malcolm MacGregor, a nerd who lives with his mother and was kept on as a security guard at the factory (which will come in handy when they later look for rehearsal space). Jerry and Dave come upon Malcolm while he is in the process of committing suicide. They save his life, offer to be his friend, and suggest that he join them. The three of them sing "Big-Ass Rock," a hilarious song with lyrics suggesting more effective ways a friend could help another friend commit suicide. Dave also offers Malcolm a cigarette after having saved him but in a very funny line, he says, "No thanks. I'm trying to quit." When checking out the local dance studio for tips, they come across Harold Nichols, their former supervisor, who has not yet told his wife he is unemployed. In return for their silence, Harold agrees to give them pointers and help choreograph their act. Harold's wife Vicki does a fine rendition of "Life With Harold" and Dave and Harold sing "You Rule My World" with an equally moving reprise of the song performed in the second act by their wives, Georgie and Vicki. During auditions, they hire Noah "Horse" T. Simmons, an elderly African-American who knows how to move, dance and sing, and Ethan Girard, a white man with absolutely no talent. When asked, "You don't sing. You don't dance. Why do you think we should hire you?", he responded, "I thought maybe this!" as he dropped his pants revealing a gargantuan Godzilla-sized penis. So with the group in place and with the knowledge that Buffalo had already given the world Buffalo wings, they were now prepared to give it Buffalo wieners!
Jeanette Burmeister shows up with a piano to help with the auditions and the show. Her character is the glue that keeps everyone together, despite her pessimistic observations during "Jeanette's Showbiz Number." She turns to Malcolm at one point and says, "It's like a Putz Museum." She also opines that "a dead agent" is definitely an oxymoron. The gang is busted by the cops for indecent exposure during an un-dress rehearsal before an audience of nursing home residents. Malcolm and Ethan escape the police and for some reason, crawl through a window at Malcolm's home. They connected previously by discovering they were both fans of The Sound Of Music, but the second they had a tender moment and Ethan held Malcolm's hand in anticipation of their first kiss, the morality code kicked in demanding they be immediately punished for their deviance. At that second, in the darkness, Malcolm senses that something is wrong and discovers his mother has passed away. At the funeral, Malcolm and Ethan sing "You Walk With Me," a very moving song that brought me to tears. Dave pointed out to Jerry that Malcolm and Ethan were holding hands. Jerry's response was "Good for them. Good for them," which was quite unexpected since he earlier tried to hit Buddy "Keno" Walsh, a gay Chippendale's dancer who called him "honey."
As we move into the big night, some of the guys are having second thoughts about appearing naked on stage, except for Ethan, of course, who has no insecurity regarding his endowment. Jerry's ex-wife Pam is in the audience, with her new boyfriend, Teddy Slaughter, who brought binoculars (clearly meant as a burn to her ex-husband). Noah "Horse" T. Simmons is terrified because his minister and his mom have come to see the show. Dave's wife Georgie is front and center urging him on and they are all a little uncomfortable because half the audience is male. Still, the line is around the block and the show is sold out. They may even need to add a second show. I have never appreciated the fact that when it comes to showing the audience The Full Monty in the final number of the musical, "Let It Go," that many directors move the guys to the back of the stage and then deny the audience the money shot by blinding them with high-intensity light. It's a cheat which never sat well with me. On the other hand, in light of the dose of morality injected into the script, the lack of a payoff at the end of the play is something you could have anticipated.
There isn't a weak link in the entire cast. All are extremely talented and professional actors. The Hot Metal dancers - Brent Michael DiRoma (Jerry Lukowski), Ryan G. Dunkin (Dave Bukatinsky), Spencer Glass (Malcolm MacGregor), Milton Craig Nealy (Noah "Horse" T. Simmons), Noah Bridgestock (Ethan Girard), and Peter Simon Hilton (Harold Nichols) - each shine with their own unique light. Making their presence and perspectives known are the main female actors - Kate Marshall (Pam Lukowski), Nicole Hale (Georgie Bukatinsky), Gaelen Gilliland (Vicki Nichols), Lexi Lyric (Estelle Genovese), and Diane Findlay (Jeanette Burmeister). Also worthy of note was the performance of Kyle Wolf as Nathan Lukowski, and Wayne Shuker as Teddy Slaughter. The music, sets, costumes and direction are all top-notch but for a play supposed to be set in "The Present" there were many cultural references to sports and music figures who were active and more well-known in the late 1990s. The anachronistic references do not detract from your ability to enjoy the show, but your anger at out-of-work men who refuse to "man-up" and take a job to help their wives out while "waiting for the right situation" reflects a gender role rigidity and super-male ego I would have hoped had been left behind in the 20th Century, along with physical attacks on gay men who look at you the wrong way or say something you don't like.
This is an extraordinary production of The Full Monty. You will thoroughly enjoy the songs, the sets, the scenes, and the situations. The message of this play, in my opinion, is that if life throws you a curve ball, you should take a swing and hit it out of the park, even it means moving outside your comfort zone. Speak to your wife and significant others. Communicate with your mother and your friends. You are not alone and help awaits if only you get over your pride and ask for it. If you need to go "the full monty" to sell $50.00 tickets to your strip show (even if it's illegal), maybe you should "go for it" because "you only live once." Of course, you may not want to live out your life with a criminal record so I would use some discretion when making life decisions. One decision that is safe to make is committing to see The Full Monty, which runs at The John W. Engeman Theater at Northport through March 5, 2017. The performance schedule is as follows: Thursdays at 8:00 p.m., Fridays at 8:00 p.m., Saturdays at 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. (Some Wednesdays and Sunday evenings are available). Tickets are $76.00 on Saturday evenings, $71.00 all other performances and may be purchased by calling 631-261-2900, going online at www.EngemanTheater.com or by visiting the Engeman Theater Box Office at 250 Main Street in Northport (Long Island).
Monday, January 23, 2017
Applause! Applause! Review of Paul Calderon's Fringe Of Humanity at Access Theater by Dr. Thomas Robert Stevens
This review of Paul Calderon's Fringe Of Humanity at Access Theater was written by Dr. Thomas Robert Stevens and published in Volume X, Issue 7 (2017) of the online edition of Applause! Applause!
Fringe Of Humanity
Written & Directed by Paul Calderon
Access Theater
380 Broadway, 4th Floor
New York, New York 10013
Reviewed 1/19/17
It is suggested Fringe Of Humanity is set in Guatemala City, Guatemala where a motley crew of filmmakers has gathered to put the finishing touches on a script scheduled to start principal photography in a few days. The plot of the fictitious film involves an American Latino Ex-Navy Seal who travels to Central America to rescue his daughter, who has been sold into prostitution. There is a risk that one of the actors or crew members might get abducted and held for ransom. It is also possible gunfire might break out in the lobby or courtyard of their hotel at any moment but "the bowels of a lawless Third World country" is not what stands out to me as being the "fringe of humanity" the title of this play references. The underbelly and rejects of humanity in this play are, in my opinion, the loathsome characters portrayed who are willing to go to great lengths to get what they want. Their use, abuse, and betrayal of partners, friends, and co-workers also reflect their lack of morality or of any ethical standards suggestive of civilization. If you are in the business ("that sucks you in like a Black Hole") or have experienced "Tinseltown Terrorism," you may recognize and/or identify with a number of the people portrayed in this play. However, you may find it hard to pay attention to what's going because incessant, non-stop, background music is constantly being played to the annoyance of all. Even William Rothlein, who plays Ken "Patch" Kelly, the Location Scout, at one point says "This fucking music - it never ends!!! The result was laughter and thunderous applause from the audience.
Paul Calderon, the writer and director of this play, also acts in the role of Nick Valdez, the washed-up director recovering from heroin addiction ("I'm not a Latino Director. I am a Director. Period!"). David Zayas is Ross Gausmann, the cocaine-snorting, abusive, violence prone, Executive Producer of the one-million dollar budgeted film who recently married Liz, a 43-year-old actress who has decided to retire from show business to have a child or two ("The minute our tits start sagging, our careers do too."). Liz, who once slept with the lead actor, Pierce (Luke Edward Smith), on the set of the Davy Crockett movie, has accepted her husband's infidelity but his extreme jealousy, ego, and possessiveness do not allow her the same courtesy. When Pierce is later abducted and held for a half-million dollar ransom, Ross not only refuses to pay it but intends "to use the publicity of the abduction to make the movie an international hit." ("News of it is already out on Twitter.") Without any concern that the abductors have promised to chop off Pierce's fingers, hands, toes, and feet, Ross has already contacted a replacement actor, who he has offered 10% of gross. When Nick Valdez quits as Director in protest, Ross simply promotes Steve O'Hara (Jakob Von Eichel), an actor playing a pimp's henchman ("I'll be waiting for sloppy seconds.") to the role of Director. After all, Nick often told Steve to take over for him as the Director of prior films and has a better rapport with the actors.
Ken "Patch" Kelly (William Rothlein), the PTSD-addled, homophobic, cinematographer is obsessed with leaving The Pink Flamingo Hotel as soon as possible to scout out locations for shooting. When Pierce demands to learn some Spanish words to sound more authentic, Patch tells him, "Hacks like you try to stop their careers from going to 'almost was' to 'never was'." When Nick, the Director, asks him to read so the two female "prostitutes" can practice their lines, Patch says, "I don't want to sound like some sissy ass actor." He eventually does read but soon discovers that the two actresses, Crissy (Feliz Ramirez) and Vicky (Jessica Damouni) have serious issues of their own. They start arguing about whether the door should be locked or unlocked when Patch says "come in, the door is open" and they claim they are hungry and were promised lunch. The final actor in this production is Alex Emanuel, who plays Ryan. His character is prone to having panic attacks and has moved into another hotel because he felt the water in the pool at The Pink Flamingo has bacteria in it. Ryan had originally been scheduled to play the lead. Needing the money, he stayed with the production when he was downgraded to play the part of lead Pimp. After the abduction and shake-up, Ryan was further demoted to a henchman. He decided to stay on the project even though Ross wanted him to appear on film with "the tattoo of a dick or a vagina on his forehead."
There is a point where the string of failures they have had are being discussed with the fear that the current project will also be a flop that will never get into movie theaters or art houses. Instead of viewing this as a negative, they discussed the fact that they didn't want the film to risk a bad review - that there was more money to be made "with people screening it, downloading it, and posting it online in many 'new media' outlets." Fringe Of Humanity does not have that option. Its world premiere at Access Theater is currently being reviewed and I am sorry to have to report that, in my opinion, it is an epic fail on many levels. All of the talented actors do a fine job in their respective roles although some of them overact and over emote. William Rothlein as Ken "Patch" Kelly is the clear audience favorite as is Rebecca Nyahay as Liz Gausmann prior to her having her post-abduction breakdown. While it is obvious that Luke Edward Smith (Pierce), Jakob Von Eichel (Steve), and Alex Emanuel (Ryan) are all fine actors, their respective parts in this play did not enable them to exhibit the broad range of their talents. The truth is that the writing itself often lacks substance and the directing is very uneven. The violence and intensity definitely need to be toned down and the background music has to stop at some point so the audience can pay attention to the performances of the actors.
The bottom line question is whether I would recommend this play to a friend. Unfortunately, the answer is a definitive "no." There is not enough here for you to waste an evening seeing it and there are so many unanswered questions, such as "who exactly is shooting people in the courtyard" at the end of the play. If you choose to venture out to experience this play anyway, perhaps because you know someone in it, Fringe Of Humanity runs through January 28, 2017 at Access Theater located at 380 Broadway (@ White Street) in TriBeCa. Tickets are $15.00 to $18.00 and can be purchased at www.accesstheater.com. The play runs for 100 minutes without intermission and an elevator is available to take you to the 4th floor but you must follow the instructions on the sign on the front door. Michael Aguirre, the Producing Director for Access Theater, will probably be there to greet and welcome you. He is a very friendly fellow who strives to make your experience there as pleasant as possible. If you don't come out for this show, I recommend you check out future productions at this theater.
Fringe Of Humanity
Written & Directed by Paul Calderon
Access Theater
380 Broadway, 4th Floor
New York, New York 10013
Reviewed 1/19/17
It is suggested Fringe Of Humanity is set in Guatemala City, Guatemala where a motley crew of filmmakers has gathered to put the finishing touches on a script scheduled to start principal photography in a few days. The plot of the fictitious film involves an American Latino Ex-Navy Seal who travels to Central America to rescue his daughter, who has been sold into prostitution. There is a risk that one of the actors or crew members might get abducted and held for ransom. It is also possible gunfire might break out in the lobby or courtyard of their hotel at any moment but "the bowels of a lawless Third World country" is not what stands out to me as being the "fringe of humanity" the title of this play references. The underbelly and rejects of humanity in this play are, in my opinion, the loathsome characters portrayed who are willing to go to great lengths to get what they want. Their use, abuse, and betrayal of partners, friends, and co-workers also reflect their lack of morality or of any ethical standards suggestive of civilization. If you are in the business ("that sucks you in like a Black Hole") or have experienced "Tinseltown Terrorism," you may recognize and/or identify with a number of the people portrayed in this play. However, you may find it hard to pay attention to what's going because incessant, non-stop, background music is constantly being played to the annoyance of all. Even William Rothlein, who plays Ken "Patch" Kelly, the Location Scout, at one point says "This fucking music - it never ends!!! The result was laughter and thunderous applause from the audience.
Paul Calderon, the writer and director of this play, also acts in the role of Nick Valdez, the washed-up director recovering from heroin addiction ("I'm not a Latino Director. I am a Director. Period!"). David Zayas is Ross Gausmann, the cocaine-snorting, abusive, violence prone, Executive Producer of the one-million dollar budgeted film who recently married Liz, a 43-year-old actress who has decided to retire from show business to have a child or two ("The minute our tits start sagging, our careers do too."). Liz, who once slept with the lead actor, Pierce (Luke Edward Smith), on the set of the Davy Crockett movie, has accepted her husband's infidelity but his extreme jealousy, ego, and possessiveness do not allow her the same courtesy. When Pierce is later abducted and held for a half-million dollar ransom, Ross not only refuses to pay it but intends "to use the publicity of the abduction to make the movie an international hit." ("News of it is already out on Twitter.") Without any concern that the abductors have promised to chop off Pierce's fingers, hands, toes, and feet, Ross has already contacted a replacement actor, who he has offered 10% of gross. When Nick Valdez quits as Director in protest, Ross simply promotes Steve O'Hara (Jakob Von Eichel), an actor playing a pimp's henchman ("I'll be waiting for sloppy seconds.") to the role of Director. After all, Nick often told Steve to take over for him as the Director of prior films and has a better rapport with the actors.
Ken "Patch" Kelly (William Rothlein), the PTSD-addled, homophobic, cinematographer is obsessed with leaving The Pink Flamingo Hotel as soon as possible to scout out locations for shooting. When Pierce demands to learn some Spanish words to sound more authentic, Patch tells him, "Hacks like you try to stop their careers from going to 'almost was' to 'never was'." When Nick, the Director, asks him to read so the two female "prostitutes" can practice their lines, Patch says, "I don't want to sound like some sissy ass actor." He eventually does read but soon discovers that the two actresses, Crissy (Feliz Ramirez) and Vicky (Jessica Damouni) have serious issues of their own. They start arguing about whether the door should be locked or unlocked when Patch says "come in, the door is open" and they claim they are hungry and were promised lunch. The final actor in this production is Alex Emanuel, who plays Ryan. His character is prone to having panic attacks and has moved into another hotel because he felt the water in the pool at The Pink Flamingo has bacteria in it. Ryan had originally been scheduled to play the lead. Needing the money, he stayed with the production when he was downgraded to play the part of lead Pimp. After the abduction and shake-up, Ryan was further demoted to a henchman. He decided to stay on the project even though Ross wanted him to appear on film with "the tattoo of a dick or a vagina on his forehead."
There is a point where the string of failures they have had are being discussed with the fear that the current project will also be a flop that will never get into movie theaters or art houses. Instead of viewing this as a negative, they discussed the fact that they didn't want the film to risk a bad review - that there was more money to be made "with people screening it, downloading it, and posting it online in many 'new media' outlets." Fringe Of Humanity does not have that option. Its world premiere at Access Theater is currently being reviewed and I am sorry to have to report that, in my opinion, it is an epic fail on many levels. All of the talented actors do a fine job in their respective roles although some of them overact and over emote. William Rothlein as Ken "Patch" Kelly is the clear audience favorite as is Rebecca Nyahay as Liz Gausmann prior to her having her post-abduction breakdown. While it is obvious that Luke Edward Smith (Pierce), Jakob Von Eichel (Steve), and Alex Emanuel (Ryan) are all fine actors, their respective parts in this play did not enable them to exhibit the broad range of their talents. The truth is that the writing itself often lacks substance and the directing is very uneven. The violence and intensity definitely need to be toned down and the background music has to stop at some point so the audience can pay attention to the performances of the actors.
The bottom line question is whether I would recommend this play to a friend. Unfortunately, the answer is a definitive "no." There is not enough here for you to waste an evening seeing it and there are so many unanswered questions, such as "who exactly is shooting people in the courtyard" at the end of the play. If you choose to venture out to experience this play anyway, perhaps because you know someone in it, Fringe Of Humanity runs through January 28, 2017 at Access Theater located at 380 Broadway (@ White Street) in TriBeCa. Tickets are $15.00 to $18.00 and can be purchased at www.accesstheater.com. The play runs for 100 minutes without intermission and an elevator is available to take you to the 4th floor but you must follow the instructions on the sign on the front door. Michael Aguirre, the Producing Director for Access Theater, will probably be there to greet and welcome you. He is a very friendly fellow who strives to make your experience there as pleasant as possible. If you don't come out for this show, I recommend you check out future productions at this theater.
Saturday, January 21, 2017
Applause! Applause! Review of Richard Greenberg's Our Mother's Brief Affair at Studio Theatre Long Island by Dr. Thomas Robert Stevens
This review of Richard Greenberg's Our Mother's Brief Affair at Studio Theatre Long Island was written by Dr. Thomas Robert Stevens and published in Volume X, Issue 7 (2017) of the online edition of Applause! Applause!
Our Mother's Brief Affair
Written by Richard Greenberg
Directed by David Dubin
Studio Theatre Long Island
141 South Wellwood Avenue
Lindenhurst, New York 11757
Reviewed 1/15/17
Our Mother's Brief Affair premiered at the South Coast Repertory Theatre in April 2009. It opened on Broadway at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (produced by the Manhattan Theatre Club) on December 28, 2015 (previews) and officially on January 20, 2016, closing on March 6, 2016. Anna, the lead character, decides to confess to Seth, her son (an obituary writer) that she had a brief affair when he was a teenager taking lessons at Julliard in New York City. In fact, Anna may not have allowed Seth to quit since it allowed her an excuse to travel into Manhattan to sleep with Phil, her secret lover. Anna, a liberal, Jewish mother from Long Island fond of wearing a beige Burberry Jacket with a stylish scarf (one of the few gifts her husband Abe gave her that she liked) has never been in line to win "an Ethics Medal from Benito Mussolini." When a young girl, she used to sit on a fire escape and swing her legs open so the soldiers below could get a free show. When her younger sister Mary was dying of Lupus, she sometimes ignored her and would not even get her a drink of water. Then, just because she had twins, she felt there was something wrong with her that caused that outcome. And then you have her adultery and her maintaining a Post Office Box in East Meadow (she lived in Merrick) so she could secretly get letters from her lovers (who knows how many there were). This revelation is a surprise to Seth but his twin sister Abby found out about the affair and the letters from their father in the late 1990s. Anna's deathbed observation with respect to these moral and ethical lapses is that "some things you do, show you who you are for all times."
Despite her liberal attitude, Anna still has problems with the fact that both her children are either in a relationship with a same-sex partner or seeking such a match. She criticizes her daughter Abby for "starting up with girls in her late 30s" and abandons nudging Seth to find a nice boy simply because he is gay. Had he been straight, she would have bugged him day and night to find a nice girl. Anna's lover Phil may or may not have been David Greenglass, the kid brother of Ethel Rosenberg, who testified against Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, who spied for the Soviet Union and were tried, convicted and executed for conspiracy to commit espionage. They were instrumental in the transmission of information about top-secret military technology and prototypes of mechanisms related to the atomic bomb and also provided top-secret radar, sonar, and jet propulsion engines to the Soviet Union. David Greenglass, who served nine and a half years in prison, worked at the Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico and was also an atomic spy for the Soviet Union. He claims to have stolen documents because the Soviets were our friends and the whole "balance of power" thing, but in the end, he testified against his sister Ethel because he wanted to live. Even though there is no longer any doubt that Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were guilty, Seth, the radical liberal, can't seem to forgive his mother for sleeping with "swine." Anna's defense regarding why she didn't walk away was that he "looked like a little boy" and that they "had already paid for the room." Anna may be confusing fantasy with reality or she may believe her affair is worthy of inclusion in her obituary. As she describes it, "I'm a woman who had a moment and if that moment was with David Greenglass - so be it!"
Despite the lack of substance or resolution, I thought the play was well-written and very engaging. We learn about the respective characters and their history over time and there are many interesting secrets that are revealed. The audience is taken on a journey and introduced to people who don't have everything figured out, and in some cases, need to forgive themselves before they can move on. The entire cast is outstanding but Frances McGarry, who plays Anna, is the star of the show. She is a strong and talented actress playing a part that is quite psychologically complex. She shines and so does this production. Edward Cress does a fine job portraying Seth, and Lauren Duffy doesn't let us down as Abby. The relationship between the twins is realistic and believable. David Rifkind plays both Phil/David and Anna's husband Abe. He hits the mark in all his roles and clearly distinguishes them. David Dubin does a great job directing this production and the set is quite impressive.
I think you will very much enjoy seeing Richard Greenberg's Our Mother's Brief Affair, which runs at Studio Theatre Long Island through January 29, 2016. Tickets cost $25.00 and can be purchased at www.StudioTheatreLI.com. For more information, call 631-226-8400.
Our Mother's Brief Affair
Written by Richard Greenberg
Directed by David Dubin
Studio Theatre Long Island
141 South Wellwood Avenue
Lindenhurst, New York 11757
Reviewed 1/15/17
Our Mother's Brief Affair premiered at the South Coast Repertory Theatre in April 2009. It opened on Broadway at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (produced by the Manhattan Theatre Club) on December 28, 2015 (previews) and officially on January 20, 2016, closing on March 6, 2016. Anna, the lead character, decides to confess to Seth, her son (an obituary writer) that she had a brief affair when he was a teenager taking lessons at Julliard in New York City. In fact, Anna may not have allowed Seth to quit since it allowed her an excuse to travel into Manhattan to sleep with Phil, her secret lover. Anna, a liberal, Jewish mother from Long Island fond of wearing a beige Burberry Jacket with a stylish scarf (one of the few gifts her husband Abe gave her that she liked) has never been in line to win "an Ethics Medal from Benito Mussolini." When a young girl, she used to sit on a fire escape and swing her legs open so the soldiers below could get a free show. When her younger sister Mary was dying of Lupus, she sometimes ignored her and would not even get her a drink of water. Then, just because she had twins, she felt there was something wrong with her that caused that outcome. And then you have her adultery and her maintaining a Post Office Box in East Meadow (she lived in Merrick) so she could secretly get letters from her lovers (who knows how many there were). This revelation is a surprise to Seth but his twin sister Abby found out about the affair and the letters from their father in the late 1990s. Anna's deathbed observation with respect to these moral and ethical lapses is that "some things you do, show you who you are for all times."
Despite her liberal attitude, Anna still has problems with the fact that both her children are either in a relationship with a same-sex partner or seeking such a match. She criticizes her daughter Abby for "starting up with girls in her late 30s" and abandons nudging Seth to find a nice boy simply because he is gay. Had he been straight, she would have bugged him day and night to find a nice girl. Anna's lover Phil may or may not have been David Greenglass, the kid brother of Ethel Rosenberg, who testified against Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, who spied for the Soviet Union and were tried, convicted and executed for conspiracy to commit espionage. They were instrumental in the transmission of information about top-secret military technology and prototypes of mechanisms related to the atomic bomb and also provided top-secret radar, sonar, and jet propulsion engines to the Soviet Union. David Greenglass, who served nine and a half years in prison, worked at the Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico and was also an atomic spy for the Soviet Union. He claims to have stolen documents because the Soviets were our friends and the whole "balance of power" thing, but in the end, he testified against his sister Ethel because he wanted to live. Even though there is no longer any doubt that Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were guilty, Seth, the radical liberal, can't seem to forgive his mother for sleeping with "swine." Anna's defense regarding why she didn't walk away was that he "looked like a little boy" and that they "had already paid for the room." Anna may be confusing fantasy with reality or she may believe her affair is worthy of inclusion in her obituary. As she describes it, "I'm a woman who had a moment and if that moment was with David Greenglass - so be it!"
Despite the lack of substance or resolution, I thought the play was well-written and very engaging. We learn about the respective characters and their history over time and there are many interesting secrets that are revealed. The audience is taken on a journey and introduced to people who don't have everything figured out, and in some cases, need to forgive themselves before they can move on. The entire cast is outstanding but Frances McGarry, who plays Anna, is the star of the show. She is a strong and talented actress playing a part that is quite psychologically complex. She shines and so does this production. Edward Cress does a fine job portraying Seth, and Lauren Duffy doesn't let us down as Abby. The relationship between the twins is realistic and believable. David Rifkind plays both Phil/David and Anna's husband Abe. He hits the mark in all his roles and clearly distinguishes them. David Dubin does a great job directing this production and the set is quite impressive.
I think you will very much enjoy seeing Richard Greenberg's Our Mother's Brief Affair, which runs at Studio Theatre Long Island through January 29, 2016. Tickets cost $25.00 and can be purchased at www.StudioTheatreLI.com. For more information, call 631-226-8400.
Monday, January 16, 2017
Applause! Applause! Review of Peter And The Starcatcher at the Smithtown Center For The Performing Arts by Dr. Thomas Robert Stevens
This review of Peter And The Starcatcher at the Smithtown Center For The Performing Arts was written by Dr. Thomas Robert Stevens and published in Volume X, Issue 7 (2017) of the online edition of Applause! Applause!
Peter And The Starcatcher
Based on the Novel by Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson
Adapted for the Stage by Rick Elice
Music by Wayne Barker
Directed by Kenneth J. Washington
Smithtown Center For The Performing Arts
2 East Main Street
Smithtown, New York 11787
Reviewed 1/14/17
Peter And The Starcatcher is an outrageous, fantastical, anachronistic play based on a novel of the same name written by Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson, which provides a slightly altered version of the back story of Peter Pan than is set forth in J.M. Barrie's Peter & Wendy and The Little White Bird. The book was adapted for the stage by Rick Elice and what little music there is was written by Wayne Barker. The show premiered on February 13, 2009 at the La Jolla Playhouse (a not-for-profit, professional theater on the campus of the University of California, San Diego) and ran through March 8, 2009. The play opened Off-Broadway at New York Theatre Workshop beginning performances on February 18, 2011 and closing on April 24, 2011. Peter And The Starcatcher officially opened on Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on April 15, 2012, closing on January 20, 2013 after 18 previews and 319 regular performances. It then re-opened Off-Broadway at New World Stages beginning on March 18, 2013 and closing on January 12, 2014. The Broadway production won five Tony Awards for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play (Christian Borle), Best Sound Design of a Play (Darron L. West), Best Lighting Design of a Play (Jeff Croiter), Best Costume Design of a Play (Paloma Young), and Best Scenic Design of a Play (Donyale Werle).
Although the play is set in 1885, there are references to the composer Philip Glass ("as elusive as a melody in a Philip Glass opera") and to Ayn Rand, the Founder of Objectivism ("people intent on world domination, like Ayn Rand"). Both Glass and Rand had not yet been born in 1885 and the characterization of Ayn Rand's philosophy has absolutely no basis in reality. But then again, neither do many of the other things portrayed in this show such as fish turning into mermaids when exposed to starstuff that falls to Earth from the stars in the sky, amulets that act like walkie-talkies, or superstitions such as the belief that the presence of a cat on a ship is "a lucky sign." Apparently, starstuff changes people in different ways depending on their aspirations and ambitions. Starcatchers, such as Lord Leonard Aster (there are only 6 1/2 Starcatchers on the planet), are responsible for keeping starstuff out of the hands of people who will use it for no good. Lord Aster is on a secret mission for Queen Victoria to destroy a trunk full of starstuff (traveling aboard the WASP) by throwing it into Mount Jalapeno, the largest active volcano on Earth located on Mollusk Island in the Kingdom of Rundoon. For security reasons, Lord Aster speaks to his daughter Molly in Dodo (they also speak porpoise) and Norse Code (an ancient Viking signalizing system).
Molly Aster is the only female character in the cast. She is played by Emma Geer, a talented and charismatic actor who is a shining star in this production. Molly twice repeats the famous line that "to have faith is to have wings." As an Apprentice Starcatcher, it is her obligation to save the world but at one point she ignores her father's orders and chooses instead to save Peter's life. Reflecting on the choice she would make again, Molly says, "Saving the world is so abstract. Putting a human face on it helps." When Alf, a salty and flatulent sailor, says he tries to keep in shape, Molly responds by saying, "Round is a shape." And finally, referring to Queen Victoria, she tells the orphan boys, "Victoria doesn't need starstuff to rule the world - she's British!" (Molly means "Squid Poo" in the native language of Rundoon).
For no apparent reason other than for shits and giggles, Mrs. Betty Bumbrake, Molly's widowed Nanny, is played by Eugene Dailey in drag (with a few barnacles on his bottom). She is romantically pursued by Alf and uses her large, red bloomers as a sail. My favorite Betty Bumbrake line was when she said, "Moo Shu goes through me like the winter wind in Wessex." Eugene Dailey also appears as the Mermaid Teacher in the Grotto. Ryan Nolin plays Black Stash, the lead villain, as an extremely effeminate, gay-acting Pirate Captain nicknamed "Nancy" by his crew. Black Stash, soon to become Captain Hook, was an orphan himself having been left by his mother at a tattoo parlor. Stash is in search of a worthy rival, a genuine hero, to oppose so he can become a great villain. He eventually finds that rival in Peter Pan. Black Stash is famous for misspeaking (saying "splitting rabbits" instead of "splitting hairs"; saying "no man is an archipelago" instead of "no man is an island"; and saying "merge a forger" instead of "forge a merger"). Dismissing Molly's feminine charms in the style of Frank N. Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Black Stash said, "I bet your milkshakes brings all the boys to the yard, but I'm not interested" (He was far more interested in a partnership with 13-year old Peter). He also demanded his crew get things "as clean as the sheets in a convent" and tried to get the show moving faster by saying, " We don't have time for that. People have paid for nannies and parking!" Both Eugene Dailey and Ryan Nolin were audience favorites commanding their attention and taking them on a journey of the absurd.
I was particularly impressed with the performances of Matt Paredi as Prentiss (an exceptional actor who asserted that "the oldest must be the leader" and that "the leader must be a boy"), Louis Brady as Ted (a talented actor who spent most of Act II figuring out how to open a pineapple), David Gow (the quiet boy without a name neglected to the point of having never seen the sun, who emerged into Peter Pan, a fearless and selfless leader), David Reyes (quite distinguished and believable as Captain Robert Falcon Scott), Jordan Hue as King Zarboff/Fighting Prawn (the hilarious, island leader/former kitchen slave who hated the English, killed his former Master with poison pasta, and spoke with an Italian accent) and Michael Newman as Lord Leonard Aster (a dutiful and devoted father on a mission for Queen Victoria - "God Save The Queen!"). Each of these actors and others portrayed multiple characters and all deserve credit for maximizing the potential of each of their respective roles.
Rick Grossman appeared as Smee, Black Stash's "right-hand man" and, in light of the trunk accident, he will need him. Smee dressed as a female, native island siren in an image you will not soon forget. Bob Kaplan played Alf as a well-weathered Seaman, and Andrew Murano was perfectly unlikeable as Captain Bill Slank, who was delivering the three orphans to King Zarboff of Rundoon to be used as snake food. Molly and Peter had an instant attraction to each other. When facing possible death after being thrown into the cage of Mr. Grin, the man-eating crocodile, Molly kissed Peter on the lips but when he asked her about it later, she brushed him off saying she had no time for "sentimentality." Peter got his first name due to a recommendation made by Black Stash and Pan, his "family" name, from the Mermaid Teacher he met in the Grotto. The Teacher explained that one meaning of the word "Pan" is "Fun, Frolic, Anarchy & Mystery" - all things a boy likes! Molly explained to him that the second meaning of the word "Pan" meant "all" as in that all the birds, the Pirates, and the boys on the island (which Peter considered renaming Neverland after the ship he arrived on) were his family and constituted his "home." Peter often stated how much he hated grown-ups and just wanted to be a boy for a while since he now experienced "Space, Light & Air" and was finally free. Due to the exposure to starstuff, Lord Leonard Aster said "a while" might be quite some time so he took the remaining starstuff in his amulet to turn an island bird into a protector to keep him company and to advise him (the origins of Tinker Bell). Even though he knew he would remain a teenager, he asked Molly to stay on the island as his friend but she refused by saying that in one year, their friendship would be "hard," in five years it would be "silly," and that in twenty years, it would be "sad." In penance for abandoning Peter, Molly allows Peter to take her daughter Wendy to the island to keep him company and suspects that Wendy will allow Peter to do the same with her daughter.
Peter And The Starcatcher evoke highly diverse reactions from audience members. You may find the play to be confusing and uninteresting. In the alternative, you may find it charming and a complete delight. However, If you come in expecting a musical, you will be disappointed. If you arrive expecting an intelligently written play with elaborate sets, you will find the show lacking. If you are looking for a children's show, the gay, cross-dressing and downright evil characters in this play who beat the orphans, throw men overboard, and feed "the pigs" live worms, you will leave confused and possibly angry you were not warned in advance that this show may not be appropriate for young children. A bad sailor is viciously tortured, hazed, and branded. Mr. Grin, now an enormous man-eating crocodile, is on the loose, and King Zarboff is threatening to kill all the English who have come to his island. On the other hand, there is a story to be told and with the expert direction of Ken Washington, it is relayed in an interesting and imaginative manner. Many people love this play. Others don't. I would say it is a mediocre play with an excellent cast staged at the Smithtown Center For The Performing Arts in the best possible light. In that regard, this production is a success and I recommend you see it while you can. It plays through February 25, 2017. Tickets are $35.00 for adults; $32.00 for seniors; and $20.00 for students with a valid identification. You can purchase tickets by visiting the Smithtown Center For The Performing Arts website at www.smithtownpac.org. For more information, call 631-724-3700.
Peter And The Starcatcher
Based on the Novel by Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson
Adapted for the Stage by Rick Elice
Music by Wayne Barker
Directed by Kenneth J. Washington
Smithtown Center For The Performing Arts
2 East Main Street
Smithtown, New York 11787
Reviewed 1/14/17
Peter And The Starcatcher is an outrageous, fantastical, anachronistic play based on a novel of the same name written by Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson, which provides a slightly altered version of the back story of Peter Pan than is set forth in J.M. Barrie's Peter & Wendy and The Little White Bird. The book was adapted for the stage by Rick Elice and what little music there is was written by Wayne Barker. The show premiered on February 13, 2009 at the La Jolla Playhouse (a not-for-profit, professional theater on the campus of the University of California, San Diego) and ran through March 8, 2009. The play opened Off-Broadway at New York Theatre Workshop beginning performances on February 18, 2011 and closing on April 24, 2011. Peter And The Starcatcher officially opened on Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on April 15, 2012, closing on January 20, 2013 after 18 previews and 319 regular performances. It then re-opened Off-Broadway at New World Stages beginning on March 18, 2013 and closing on January 12, 2014. The Broadway production won five Tony Awards for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play (Christian Borle), Best Sound Design of a Play (Darron L. West), Best Lighting Design of a Play (Jeff Croiter), Best Costume Design of a Play (Paloma Young), and Best Scenic Design of a Play (Donyale Werle).
Although the play is set in 1885, there are references to the composer Philip Glass ("as elusive as a melody in a Philip Glass opera") and to Ayn Rand, the Founder of Objectivism ("people intent on world domination, like Ayn Rand"). Both Glass and Rand had not yet been born in 1885 and the characterization of Ayn Rand's philosophy has absolutely no basis in reality. But then again, neither do many of the other things portrayed in this show such as fish turning into mermaids when exposed to starstuff that falls to Earth from the stars in the sky, amulets that act like walkie-talkies, or superstitions such as the belief that the presence of a cat on a ship is "a lucky sign." Apparently, starstuff changes people in different ways depending on their aspirations and ambitions. Starcatchers, such as Lord Leonard Aster (there are only 6 1/2 Starcatchers on the planet), are responsible for keeping starstuff out of the hands of people who will use it for no good. Lord Aster is on a secret mission for Queen Victoria to destroy a trunk full of starstuff (traveling aboard the WASP) by throwing it into Mount Jalapeno, the largest active volcano on Earth located on Mollusk Island in the Kingdom of Rundoon. For security reasons, Lord Aster speaks to his daughter Molly in Dodo (they also speak porpoise) and Norse Code (an ancient Viking signalizing system).
Molly Aster is the only female character in the cast. She is played by Emma Geer, a talented and charismatic actor who is a shining star in this production. Molly twice repeats the famous line that "to have faith is to have wings." As an Apprentice Starcatcher, it is her obligation to save the world but at one point she ignores her father's orders and chooses instead to save Peter's life. Reflecting on the choice she would make again, Molly says, "Saving the world is so abstract. Putting a human face on it helps." When Alf, a salty and flatulent sailor, says he tries to keep in shape, Molly responds by saying, "Round is a shape." And finally, referring to Queen Victoria, she tells the orphan boys, "Victoria doesn't need starstuff to rule the world - she's British!" (Molly means "Squid Poo" in the native language of Rundoon).
For no apparent reason other than for shits and giggles, Mrs. Betty Bumbrake, Molly's widowed Nanny, is played by Eugene Dailey in drag (with a few barnacles on his bottom). She is romantically pursued by Alf and uses her large, red bloomers as a sail. My favorite Betty Bumbrake line was when she said, "Moo Shu goes through me like the winter wind in Wessex." Eugene Dailey also appears as the Mermaid Teacher in the Grotto. Ryan Nolin plays Black Stash, the lead villain, as an extremely effeminate, gay-acting Pirate Captain nicknamed "Nancy" by his crew. Black Stash, soon to become Captain Hook, was an orphan himself having been left by his mother at a tattoo parlor. Stash is in search of a worthy rival, a genuine hero, to oppose so he can become a great villain. He eventually finds that rival in Peter Pan. Black Stash is famous for misspeaking (saying "splitting rabbits" instead of "splitting hairs"; saying "no man is an archipelago" instead of "no man is an island"; and saying "merge a forger" instead of "forge a merger"). Dismissing Molly's feminine charms in the style of Frank N. Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Black Stash said, "I bet your milkshakes brings all the boys to the yard, but I'm not interested" (He was far more interested in a partnership with 13-year old Peter). He also demanded his crew get things "as clean as the sheets in a convent" and tried to get the show moving faster by saying, " We don't have time for that. People have paid for nannies and parking!" Both Eugene Dailey and Ryan Nolin were audience favorites commanding their attention and taking them on a journey of the absurd.
I was particularly impressed with the performances of Matt Paredi as Prentiss (an exceptional actor who asserted that "the oldest must be the leader" and that "the leader must be a boy"), Louis Brady as Ted (a talented actor who spent most of Act II figuring out how to open a pineapple), David Gow (the quiet boy without a name neglected to the point of having never seen the sun, who emerged into Peter Pan, a fearless and selfless leader), David Reyes (quite distinguished and believable as Captain Robert Falcon Scott), Jordan Hue as King Zarboff/Fighting Prawn (the hilarious, island leader/former kitchen slave who hated the English, killed his former Master with poison pasta, and spoke with an Italian accent) and Michael Newman as Lord Leonard Aster (a dutiful and devoted father on a mission for Queen Victoria - "God Save The Queen!"). Each of these actors and others portrayed multiple characters and all deserve credit for maximizing the potential of each of their respective roles.
Rick Grossman appeared as Smee, Black Stash's "right-hand man" and, in light of the trunk accident, he will need him. Smee dressed as a female, native island siren in an image you will not soon forget. Bob Kaplan played Alf as a well-weathered Seaman, and Andrew Murano was perfectly unlikeable as Captain Bill Slank, who was delivering the three orphans to King Zarboff of Rundoon to be used as snake food. Molly and Peter had an instant attraction to each other. When facing possible death after being thrown into the cage of Mr. Grin, the man-eating crocodile, Molly kissed Peter on the lips but when he asked her about it later, she brushed him off saying she had no time for "sentimentality." Peter got his first name due to a recommendation made by Black Stash and Pan, his "family" name, from the Mermaid Teacher he met in the Grotto. The Teacher explained that one meaning of the word "Pan" is "Fun, Frolic, Anarchy & Mystery" - all things a boy likes! Molly explained to him that the second meaning of the word "Pan" meant "all" as in that all the birds, the Pirates, and the boys on the island (which Peter considered renaming Neverland after the ship he arrived on) were his family and constituted his "home." Peter often stated how much he hated grown-ups and just wanted to be a boy for a while since he now experienced "Space, Light & Air" and was finally free. Due to the exposure to starstuff, Lord Leonard Aster said "a while" might be quite some time so he took the remaining starstuff in his amulet to turn an island bird into a protector to keep him company and to advise him (the origins of Tinker Bell). Even though he knew he would remain a teenager, he asked Molly to stay on the island as his friend but she refused by saying that in one year, their friendship would be "hard," in five years it would be "silly," and that in twenty years, it would be "sad." In penance for abandoning Peter, Molly allows Peter to take her daughter Wendy to the island to keep him company and suspects that Wendy will allow Peter to do the same with her daughter.
Peter And The Starcatcher evoke highly diverse reactions from audience members. You may find the play to be confusing and uninteresting. In the alternative, you may find it charming and a complete delight. However, If you come in expecting a musical, you will be disappointed. If you arrive expecting an intelligently written play with elaborate sets, you will find the show lacking. If you are looking for a children's show, the gay, cross-dressing and downright evil characters in this play who beat the orphans, throw men overboard, and feed "the pigs" live worms, you will leave confused and possibly angry you were not warned in advance that this show may not be appropriate for young children. A bad sailor is viciously tortured, hazed, and branded. Mr. Grin, now an enormous man-eating crocodile, is on the loose, and King Zarboff is threatening to kill all the English who have come to his island. On the other hand, there is a story to be told and with the expert direction of Ken Washington, it is relayed in an interesting and imaginative manner. Many people love this play. Others don't. I would say it is a mediocre play with an excellent cast staged at the Smithtown Center For The Performing Arts in the best possible light. In that regard, this production is a success and I recommend you see it while you can. It plays through February 25, 2017. Tickets are $35.00 for adults; $32.00 for seniors; and $20.00 for students with a valid identification. You can purchase tickets by visiting the Smithtown Center For The Performing Arts website at www.smithtownpac.org. For more information, call 631-724-3700.
Thursday, December 29, 2016
Applause! Applause! Review of Jackie Beat: The Ghost Of Christmas Trash at The Laurie Beechman Theatre by Dr. Thomas Robert Stevens
This review of Jackie Beat: The Ghost Of Christmas Trash at The Laurie Beechman Theatre was written by Dr. Thomas Robert Stevens and published in Volume X, Issue 6 (2016) of the online edition of Applause! Applause!
Jackie Beat: The Ghost Of Christmas Trash
Written & Performed by Kent Fuher
The Laurie Beechman Theatre
407 West 42nd Street
New York, New York 10036
Reviewed 12/16/16
Jackie Beat has been coming to town with her outrageous Christmas shows for the past 19 years. A self-described "bitter clown" who is "self-centered" and "full of herself," Jackie welcomes all the "sodomites, fag hags, and carpet munchers" who came to see her show. She even welcomed Middle Eastern "friends" who were in the audience, defining "friends" as "people who are faking it until they blow something up." She acknowledged the "people of color" who were present but bitched that if you "switch the words and call them 'colored people' - you'll never hear the end of it." Jackie asked if there were any Jews in the audience and upon hearing a minor audible response, she told them, "We're in a basement, not an attic; you can make some noise!" She also recognized that "not everyone celebrates Christmas & Jesus" acknowledging that "there were people who killed him; maybe they celebrate that." After hearing some boos, she reminded everyone that the theater should be "a safe place" for artistic expression. However, she did apologize saying she "forgot how seriously people take Jesus Christ - a fictional character - like Jackie Beat."
Jackie Beat: The Ghost Of Christmas Trash was almost named Jackie Beat: Green Legs & Ham because she wore green leotards and looked like a Christmas Ham all wrapped up in a Christmas Tree Dress. With increasing competition from newly minted Drag Queens (coming to us courtesy of Ru Paul's Drag Race), Jackie needs to work harder to maintain her edge. She needs to change her gown halfway through the show and get off-book. Her comments and parody songs about Trump and Melania weren't smart, witty, or entertaining. She also identified people in the audience who voted for Trump and called them "stupid" to their face. She appeared nasty, angry and insulting as if she were suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome. There are many ways to make fun of someone so everyone laughs. In Paige Turner's Holiday Show, she and the girls were taking Trump World Airlines for the holidays only to find out that all flights to tropical and gay-friendly destinations had been indefinitely suspended. That is intelligent entertainment! Calling Melania a tramp and a whore is not funny! She did a little better blasting Vice-President-elect Mike Pence by saying he once believed in Gay Conversion Therapy. Jackie brought a gay audience member on stage and placed an Electric Shock Therapy contraption on his head telling him, "We're going to shock you off that cock tonight." When it didn't work and his favorite movie remained Mame, she told him "sometimes it takes more than one session."
Jackie described a number of sexual acts in one of her parody songs and then told the audience, "No matter who you voted for, I'll do any of those things for money. I'm a whore at Christmas. You can cum on me. Turning tricks on Christmas so I can pay the bills and get a few cheap thrills. I'll lick your balls for just one dollar in a wig and a dog collar. I'll even let you put that thing in my ass. But wash it first. I've got class." Jackie Beat described her Holiday Treat as a Broadway show without any talented people in it. Her "rules of entertainment" are "1) get the money up front; and 2) if something goes wrong, always blame the audience." She also expressed her belief that "drugs and alcohol work: you're no fun if you're not drinking."
Many of Jackie's parody Christmas songs were performed all to the delight of the appreciative, sold-out audience, who will no doubt be back next year to catch her 20th Anniversary Holiday Show. Politically incorrect to the max, she told her audience that "without stereotypes, there's no fucking show!" Jackie Beat performed "Bossa Nova Christmas In Outer Space" which contained the following lyrics: "Loosen your Van Allen belt and shove some fruitcake in your face. The food on Jupiter blows. That's why everyone knows the best place for a party is Uranus. Shoot your rocket in my crater. Let's cut to the chase. Put it in my asteroid and then blast off on my face. Cause it's a Bossa Nova Christmas here in Outer Space." With the information I have provided, you now know whether you are committed to never seeing Jackie Beat perform live or whether you intend to visit her website www.MissJackieBeat.com to buy her CDs and make reservations for her next show.
Jackie Beat: The Ghost Of Christmas Trash
Written & Performed by Kent Fuher
The Laurie Beechman Theatre
407 West 42nd Street
New York, New York 10036
Reviewed 12/16/16
Jackie Beat has been coming to town with her outrageous Christmas shows for the past 19 years. A self-described "bitter clown" who is "self-centered" and "full of herself," Jackie welcomes all the "sodomites, fag hags, and carpet munchers" who came to see her show. She even welcomed Middle Eastern "friends" who were in the audience, defining "friends" as "people who are faking it until they blow something up." She acknowledged the "people of color" who were present but bitched that if you "switch the words and call them 'colored people' - you'll never hear the end of it." Jackie asked if there were any Jews in the audience and upon hearing a minor audible response, she told them, "We're in a basement, not an attic; you can make some noise!" She also recognized that "not everyone celebrates Christmas & Jesus" acknowledging that "there were people who killed him; maybe they celebrate that." After hearing some boos, she reminded everyone that the theater should be "a safe place" for artistic expression. However, she did apologize saying she "forgot how seriously people take Jesus Christ - a fictional character - like Jackie Beat."
Jackie Beat: The Ghost Of Christmas Trash was almost named Jackie Beat: Green Legs & Ham because she wore green leotards and looked like a Christmas Ham all wrapped up in a Christmas Tree Dress. With increasing competition from newly minted Drag Queens (coming to us courtesy of Ru Paul's Drag Race), Jackie needs to work harder to maintain her edge. She needs to change her gown halfway through the show and get off-book. Her comments and parody songs about Trump and Melania weren't smart, witty, or entertaining. She also identified people in the audience who voted for Trump and called them "stupid" to their face. She appeared nasty, angry and insulting as if she were suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome. There are many ways to make fun of someone so everyone laughs. In Paige Turner's Holiday Show, she and the girls were taking Trump World Airlines for the holidays only to find out that all flights to tropical and gay-friendly destinations had been indefinitely suspended. That is intelligent entertainment! Calling Melania a tramp and a whore is not funny! She did a little better blasting Vice-President-elect Mike Pence by saying he once believed in Gay Conversion Therapy. Jackie brought a gay audience member on stage and placed an Electric Shock Therapy contraption on his head telling him, "We're going to shock you off that cock tonight." When it didn't work and his favorite movie remained Mame, she told him "sometimes it takes more than one session."
Jackie described a number of sexual acts in one of her parody songs and then told the audience, "No matter who you voted for, I'll do any of those things for money. I'm a whore at Christmas. You can cum on me. Turning tricks on Christmas so I can pay the bills and get a few cheap thrills. I'll lick your balls for just one dollar in a wig and a dog collar. I'll even let you put that thing in my ass. But wash it first. I've got class." Jackie Beat described her Holiday Treat as a Broadway show without any talented people in it. Her "rules of entertainment" are "1) get the money up front; and 2) if something goes wrong, always blame the audience." She also expressed her belief that "drugs and alcohol work: you're no fun if you're not drinking."
Many of Jackie's parody Christmas songs were performed all to the delight of the appreciative, sold-out audience, who will no doubt be back next year to catch her 20th Anniversary Holiday Show. Politically incorrect to the max, she told her audience that "without stereotypes, there's no fucking show!" Jackie Beat performed "Bossa Nova Christmas In Outer Space" which contained the following lyrics: "Loosen your Van Allen belt and shove some fruitcake in your face. The food on Jupiter blows. That's why everyone knows the best place for a party is Uranus. Shoot your rocket in my crater. Let's cut to the chase. Put it in my asteroid and then blast off on my face. Cause it's a Bossa Nova Christmas here in Outer Space." With the information I have provided, you now know whether you are committed to never seeing Jackie Beat perform live or whether you intend to visit her website www.MissJackieBeat.com to buy her CDs and make reservations for her next show.
Wednesday, December 28, 2016
Applause! Applause! Review of Jinkx Monsoon & Major Scales: Christmas Mourning at The Laurie Beechman Theatre by Dr. Thomas Robert Stevens
This review of Jinkx Monsoon & Major Scales: Christmas Mourning at The Laurie Beechman Theatre was written by Dr. Thomas Robert Stevens and published in Volume X, Issue 6 (2016) of the online edition of Applause! Applause!
Jinkx Monsoon & Major Scales: Christmas Mourning
Starring Jinkx Monsoon (Jerick Hoffer)
& Major Scales (Richard Andriessen)
Musical Director: Major Scales
The Laurie Beechman Theatre
407 West 42nd Street
New York, New York 10036
Reviewed 12/16/16
Jinkx Monsoon made it very clear she doesn't like Christmas, Santa Claus, Christmas songs, or Christmas presents. Hence the name of her holiday show with Major Scales entitled Christmas Mourning. Part of the reason is because she's Jewish and the Christians have claimed Santa Claus as theirs even though Santa has as much to do with Jesus as does Scooby Doo. She believes there should be a Jewish alternative version of Santa maintaining "naughty" and "nice" lists. She believes if she could talk to Jesus, he would say, "Give the Jewish children toys. After all, they're used to being on lists (e.g. Schindler)." Another problem was that due to Jinkx's Gender Fluidity, she always received gender neutral gifts such as having a star named after her or a tree planted in her honor in Nicaragua (which she can't even visit). Caitlyn Jenner's potential new lipstick line called Manslaughter sounds promising. Jinkx said the bottom line is, "That while there are many things I enjoy having shoved down my throat, Christmas traditions are not one of them." Not to say she likes Jewish Holiday Traditions either. She reports that in her home during Hanukkah "we get drunk and tell each other why we're a disappointment." Jinkx even questioned why she was doing this Holiday Show. She asked Major Scales, "Why do I do this? What's in it for me?" to which he reminded her the answer was "a paycheck."
Christmas gives people permission to overeat and get drunk. Jinkx Monsoon needs no such permission. She reports she's been in the Holiday Spirit for 14 years. She also encouraged the audience to drink. She said, "That way, no matter how bad the show is, all you will remember is my last song." She sang "Santa Baby" and reported that being a drag queen, liking that song made famous by Eartha Kitt was in her contract. She showed a video of the moon circling the earth and explained they had blown their entire special effects budget making it so we shouldn't expect anything more. A good amount of money was spent on the beautiful purple gown and red wig Jinkx wore. After a delightful, witty solo of Major Scales singing "Let's Have A Passive-Aggressive Christmas," Jinkx returned wearing a stunning white gown. Jinkx Monsoon was named "America's Next Drag Superstar" in Season 5 of Ru Paul's Drag Race.
Jinkx Monsoon and Major Scales are both very talented. The show could have been better written and a bit more organized but, overall, everyone seemed to have a good time. On an inspirational note, Jinkx Monsoon told the audience the holidays are a time to be with your Chosen Family - "those who share our beliefs and values so much that we invite them to be part of our family." On a depressing note, in her closing message, she shared her view that "each and every person here is going to die someday - senile and decrepit - thus completing the Circle of Life. Happy Holidays!" For more information on Jinkx Monsoon, visit her website at http://www.JinkxMonsoon.com
Jinkx Monsoon & Major Scales: Christmas Mourning
Starring Jinkx Monsoon (Jerick Hoffer)
& Major Scales (Richard Andriessen)
Musical Director: Major Scales
The Laurie Beechman Theatre
407 West 42nd Street
New York, New York 10036
Reviewed 12/16/16
Jinkx Monsoon made it very clear she doesn't like Christmas, Santa Claus, Christmas songs, or Christmas presents. Hence the name of her holiday show with Major Scales entitled Christmas Mourning. Part of the reason is because she's Jewish and the Christians have claimed Santa Claus as theirs even though Santa has as much to do with Jesus as does Scooby Doo. She believes there should be a Jewish alternative version of Santa maintaining "naughty" and "nice" lists. She believes if she could talk to Jesus, he would say, "Give the Jewish children toys. After all, they're used to being on lists (e.g. Schindler)." Another problem was that due to Jinkx's Gender Fluidity, she always received gender neutral gifts such as having a star named after her or a tree planted in her honor in Nicaragua (which she can't even visit). Caitlyn Jenner's potential new lipstick line called Manslaughter sounds promising. Jinkx said the bottom line is, "That while there are many things I enjoy having shoved down my throat, Christmas traditions are not one of them." Not to say she likes Jewish Holiday Traditions either. She reports that in her home during Hanukkah "we get drunk and tell each other why we're a disappointment." Jinkx even questioned why she was doing this Holiday Show. She asked Major Scales, "Why do I do this? What's in it for me?" to which he reminded her the answer was "a paycheck."
Christmas gives people permission to overeat and get drunk. Jinkx Monsoon needs no such permission. She reports she's been in the Holiday Spirit for 14 years. She also encouraged the audience to drink. She said, "That way, no matter how bad the show is, all you will remember is my last song." She sang "Santa Baby" and reported that being a drag queen, liking that song made famous by Eartha Kitt was in her contract. She showed a video of the moon circling the earth and explained they had blown their entire special effects budget making it so we shouldn't expect anything more. A good amount of money was spent on the beautiful purple gown and red wig Jinkx wore. After a delightful, witty solo of Major Scales singing "Let's Have A Passive-Aggressive Christmas," Jinkx returned wearing a stunning white gown. Jinkx Monsoon was named "America's Next Drag Superstar" in Season 5 of Ru Paul's Drag Race.
Jinkx Monsoon and Major Scales are both very talented. The show could have been better written and a bit more organized but, overall, everyone seemed to have a good time. On an inspirational note, Jinkx Monsoon told the audience the holidays are a time to be with your Chosen Family - "those who share our beliefs and values so much that we invite them to be part of our family." On a depressing note, in her closing message, she shared her view that "each and every person here is going to die someday - senile and decrepit - thus completing the Circle of Life. Happy Holidays!" For more information on Jinkx Monsoon, visit her website at http://www.JinkxMonsoon.com
Applause! Applause! Review of Latrice Royale: Why It Gotta Be White Christmas? at The Laurie Beechman Theatre by Dr. Thomas Robert Stevens
This review of Latrice Royale: Why It Gotta Be White Christmas? at The Laurie Beechman Theatre was written by Dr. Thomas Robert Stevens and published in Volume X, Issue 6 (2016) of the online edition of Applause! Applause!
Latrice Royale: Why It Gotta Be White Christmas?
Written & Performed by Latrice Royale (Timothy K. Wilcots)
Musical Director: Christopher Hamblin
Special Guest: Kennedy Davenport
The Laurie Beechman Theatre
407 West 42nd Street
New York, New York 10036
Reviewed 12/9/16
Latrice Royale's fame and fan base are a result of her winning Miss Congeniality in Season 4 of Ru Paul's Drag Race. She was invited back to participate as a contestant in Ru Paul's Drag Race All-Stars and as a Professor in Ru Paul's Drag U. Big, Black, Bold & Beautiful, Latrice Royale hails from Compton, California where in her community, socks and underwear (practical gifts) were usually what was wrapped under the Christmas tree. The dearth of expensive presents was made up for by the volume of food prepared and served at the home of her aunt, who would "cook the house down." She says her family would "Eat, Nap, Eat & Eat Some More." Latrice Royale, an African-American brought up in a poor family headed by a single mom, said she has been accustomed to celebrating Black Christmases (she never saw snow until she moved to Wisconsin). However, she observed, "I grew up in Compton but looking at this audience, I can see I'm going to have a White Christmas this year!" Taking the stage wearing a stunning, shimmering Chocolate Sparkled Gown, Latrice Royale made the usual announcement regarding the taking of pictures during her show. She said, "You can take as many pictures as you like. I didn't get all dressed up for nothing!"
Explaining the importance of families we are born into and those we create, Latrice Royale shares her love, warmth, and unconditional acceptance of all who are in her life. After Wisconsin, she moved to South Florida "to be around people who accept your individuality and respect you for who you are - a true family who looks out for each other." She credited her Special Guest Star, Kennedy Davenport ("the epitome of never give up and never give in") for raising money for her when she got out of prison. Ms. Davenport finished in 4th Place in Season 7 of Ru Paul's Drag Race. She was absolutely hilarious playing the character of Sister Merlene Watkins (The Church Lady who wore white athletic socks and Crocs and kept the tags on her clothing so she can return the items after wearing them). Besides singing "Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire," Sister Merlene reported, "I had to lay hands on someone in the bathroom. As a Christian lady, my work is never done." I was very impressed with her talent and comedic abilities.
I think the show could have used a few more Christmas songs, a better script, and a little less background music, which incessantly played whenever Latrice Royale spoke. Nevertheless, Latrice Royale: Why It Gotta Be White Christmas was entertaining and enjoyable. Instead of trashing Trump, I would have liked to have seen Latrice express her love for the President-elect and offer to perform her show for him and his family. That would have been more in tune with her message of unconditional love. At the end of the show, Latrice Royale tells the audience, "Go home and do whatever the hell you like. Because this is your life!" She expressed her belief in a higher power and said, "Don't be discouraged. It's going to be alright." She closed her show with her signature line, "Remember that I love you and there ain't nothing you can do about it!"
Latrice Royale: Why It Gotta Be White Christmas?
Written & Performed by Latrice Royale (Timothy K. Wilcots)
Musical Director: Christopher Hamblin
Special Guest: Kennedy Davenport
The Laurie Beechman Theatre
407 West 42nd Street
New York, New York 10036
Reviewed 12/9/16
Latrice Royale's fame and fan base are a result of her winning Miss Congeniality in Season 4 of Ru Paul's Drag Race. She was invited back to participate as a contestant in Ru Paul's Drag Race All-Stars and as a Professor in Ru Paul's Drag U. Big, Black, Bold & Beautiful, Latrice Royale hails from Compton, California where in her community, socks and underwear (practical gifts) were usually what was wrapped under the Christmas tree. The dearth of expensive presents was made up for by the volume of food prepared and served at the home of her aunt, who would "cook the house down." She says her family would "Eat, Nap, Eat & Eat Some More." Latrice Royale, an African-American brought up in a poor family headed by a single mom, said she has been accustomed to celebrating Black Christmases (she never saw snow until she moved to Wisconsin). However, she observed, "I grew up in Compton but looking at this audience, I can see I'm going to have a White Christmas this year!" Taking the stage wearing a stunning, shimmering Chocolate Sparkled Gown, Latrice Royale made the usual announcement regarding the taking of pictures during her show. She said, "You can take as many pictures as you like. I didn't get all dressed up for nothing!"
Explaining the importance of families we are born into and those we create, Latrice Royale shares her love, warmth, and unconditional acceptance of all who are in her life. After Wisconsin, she moved to South Florida "to be around people who accept your individuality and respect you for who you are - a true family who looks out for each other." She credited her Special Guest Star, Kennedy Davenport ("the epitome of never give up and never give in") for raising money for her when she got out of prison. Ms. Davenport finished in 4th Place in Season 7 of Ru Paul's Drag Race. She was absolutely hilarious playing the character of Sister Merlene Watkins (The Church Lady who wore white athletic socks and Crocs and kept the tags on her clothing so she can return the items after wearing them). Besides singing "Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire," Sister Merlene reported, "I had to lay hands on someone in the bathroom. As a Christian lady, my work is never done." I was very impressed with her talent and comedic abilities.
I think the show could have used a few more Christmas songs, a better script, and a little less background music, which incessantly played whenever Latrice Royale spoke. Nevertheless, Latrice Royale: Why It Gotta Be White Christmas was entertaining and enjoyable. Instead of trashing Trump, I would have liked to have seen Latrice express her love for the President-elect and offer to perform her show for him and his family. That would have been more in tune with her message of unconditional love. At the end of the show, Latrice Royale tells the audience, "Go home and do whatever the hell you like. Because this is your life!" She expressed her belief in a higher power and said, "Don't be discouraged. It's going to be alright." She closed her show with her signature line, "Remember that I love you and there ain't nothing you can do about it!"
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
Applause! Applause! Review of Paige Turner: She Came Upon A Midnight Clear at The Laurie Beechman Theatre by Dr. Thomas Robert Stevens
This review of Paige Turner: She Came Upon A Midnight Clear at The Laurie Beechman Theatre was written by Dr. Thomas Robert Stevens and published in Volume X, Issue 6 (2016) of the online edition of Applause! Applause!
Paige Turner: She Came Upon A Midnight Clear
Written & Directed by Paige Turner (Daniel Frank Kelley)
Starring Paige Turner
Special Guests: Sutton Lee Seymour (Prescott Seymour),
Jackie Cox & James Mills as Carol Channing
The Laurie Beechman Theatre
407 West 42nd Street
New York, New York 10036
Reviewed 12/9/16
Paige Turner, the Showbiz Spitfire and the best new thing to come into the Drag Scene in quite a few years, is back with a high-energy, upbeat, funny, entertaining Holiday Show with talented special guest stars, impressive costumes, crisp choreography, and witty political commentary. Finished for the season, The Three Queens intend to take off from Newark Liberty International Airport for a vacation: Paige is heading to Palm Springs while her two misfit sidekicks, Sutton Lee and Jackie, plan to spend their vacation in Honolulu so they can hang out with Don Ho (good luck with that!). They were able to purchase very inexpensive airline tickets on TWA (Trump World Airlines) ("They were practically giving them away!") but due to inclement weather, the airline has indefinitely suspended all flights to anywhere tropical, or gay-friendly. One of the ladies observed, "You could hardly tell a storms-a-coming." While stuck at the airport, they meet Carol Channing (impersonated by James Mills), who is still quite upset about the upcoming revival of Hello, Dolly! starring Bette Midler. They try to pass the time while waiting for the storm to pass. TWA Flight 666 to Honolulu doesn't appear ready to fly anytime soon. TWA Flight 1313 (Mockingbird Lane) seems to offer more promise.
An eclectic mix of Christmas songs are performed including Step Into Christmas, California Winter, Mele Kalikimaka, Never Fall In Love (With An Elf), Hard Candy Christmas, My Favorite Things, The Little Drummer Boy, We're A Couple Of Misfits, Momma Who Bore Me, All I Want For Christmas Is You, and It Came Upon A Midnight Clear. Shopping for her Elf, Paige discovered there was a Junior Department at Hudson News. Sutton Lee Seymour sang parody lyrics for a number of songs and Jackie Cox explained why she doesn't like Trump. She's opposed to building a wall because she's done without a 4th wall for years, and she's opposed to a Muslim ban because she is concerned about where she will be able to get her Halal Meat. Sutton Lee and Jackie are looking forward to getting laid in Hawaii. Sutton Lee is considering "paying someone to make him mine" while Paige uses an app to hook up with someone at the airport. As reported, "she came upon a Midnight Clear in the lower-level bathroom."
Paige Turner: She Came Upon A Midnight Clear is a fast-paced, enjoyable musical sleigh ride with hilarious parodies and relevant, funny videos. The gowns that were worn were particularly impressive and color-coordinated. It's a tight, well-constructed show guaranteed to entertain you. While the Divas of the Night didn't all end up where they intended to go, at least the audience appreciated the fact that on this cold winter's night, they were where they should be. Tickets cost $22.00 (with a $20.00 per person food/drink minimum at all performances). For reservations, call 212-352-3101 or visit www.SpinCycleNYC.com
Paige Turner: She Came Upon A Midnight Clear
Written & Directed by Paige Turner (Daniel Frank Kelley)
Starring Paige Turner
Special Guests: Sutton Lee Seymour (Prescott Seymour),
Jackie Cox & James Mills as Carol Channing
The Laurie Beechman Theatre
407 West 42nd Street
New York, New York 10036
Reviewed 12/9/16
Paige Turner, the Showbiz Spitfire and the best new thing to come into the Drag Scene in quite a few years, is back with a high-energy, upbeat, funny, entertaining Holiday Show with talented special guest stars, impressive costumes, crisp choreography, and witty political commentary. Finished for the season, The Three Queens intend to take off from Newark Liberty International Airport for a vacation: Paige is heading to Palm Springs while her two misfit sidekicks, Sutton Lee and Jackie, plan to spend their vacation in Honolulu so they can hang out with Don Ho (good luck with that!). They were able to purchase very inexpensive airline tickets on TWA (Trump World Airlines) ("They were practically giving them away!") but due to inclement weather, the airline has indefinitely suspended all flights to anywhere tropical, or gay-friendly. One of the ladies observed, "You could hardly tell a storms-a-coming." While stuck at the airport, they meet Carol Channing (impersonated by James Mills), who is still quite upset about the upcoming revival of Hello, Dolly! starring Bette Midler. They try to pass the time while waiting for the storm to pass. TWA Flight 666 to Honolulu doesn't appear ready to fly anytime soon. TWA Flight 1313 (Mockingbird Lane) seems to offer more promise.
An eclectic mix of Christmas songs are performed including Step Into Christmas, California Winter, Mele Kalikimaka, Never Fall In Love (With An Elf), Hard Candy Christmas, My Favorite Things, The Little Drummer Boy, We're A Couple Of Misfits, Momma Who Bore Me, All I Want For Christmas Is You, and It Came Upon A Midnight Clear. Shopping for her Elf, Paige discovered there was a Junior Department at Hudson News. Sutton Lee Seymour sang parody lyrics for a number of songs and Jackie Cox explained why she doesn't like Trump. She's opposed to building a wall because she's done without a 4th wall for years, and she's opposed to a Muslim ban because she is concerned about where she will be able to get her Halal Meat. Sutton Lee and Jackie are looking forward to getting laid in Hawaii. Sutton Lee is considering "paying someone to make him mine" while Paige uses an app to hook up with someone at the airport. As reported, "she came upon a Midnight Clear in the lower-level bathroom."
Paige Turner: She Came Upon A Midnight Clear is a fast-paced, enjoyable musical sleigh ride with hilarious parodies and relevant, funny videos. The gowns that were worn were particularly impressive and color-coordinated. It's a tight, well-constructed show guaranteed to entertain you. While the Divas of the Night didn't all end up where they intended to go, at least the audience appreciated the fact that on this cold winter's night, they were where they should be. Tickets cost $22.00 (with a $20.00 per person food/drink minimum at all performances). For reservations, call 212-352-3101 or visit www.SpinCycleNYC.com
Applause! Applause! Review of Three Pints Shy: A Very Merry Holiday Celebration at Under St. Mark's Theater by Dr. Thomas Robert Stevens
This review of Three Pints Shy: A Very Merry Holiday Celebration at Under St. Mark's Theater was written by Dr. Thomas Robert Stevens and published in Volume X, Issue 6 (2016) of the online edition of Applause! Applause!
Three Pints Shy: A Very Merry Holiday Celebration
With David Anthony Wayne Anderson,
David Mikofsky & Jonathan Siregar
Under St. Mark's Theater
94 St. Mark's Place
New York, New York 10009
Reviewed 12/4/16
If you are interested in celebrating the holidays with Pickle Fights (the abbreviated version of a sword fight), Pint Glass Prophets ("Give him 15 pints of lager or ale and he becomes a wise old sage."), Beggarmen ("I've got the sky. The world is my home."), Galway Girls ("Hair was black. Eyes were blue. I lost my heart to a Galway Girl.") and a new perspective on how God punishes Naughty Children ("When you're being naughty, the least of your problems is Santa Claus."), this show might be the one you want to see this holiday season. Three Pints Shy, an upbeat, talented Irish pub band, even includes Sevivon Sov Sov Sov (Spinning Top) sung in Hebrew for those observing Hanukkah. Using an expanded text of "The Night Before Christmas" as a loose storyline to introduce us to the various characters that will inhabit the stage, we meet Grandpa ("Give Grandpa more of his sleeping juice." "Yeah! Grandpa is fun again.") and poor Paddy Murphy, who is now deceased (memorialized in the song The Night That Paddy Murphy Died).
You can't attend a performance of a Celtic Band without alcohol being a main topic of discussion. Audience members are encouraged to purchase drinks from the bar, but every bottle was outrageously expensive (at least, in my opinion). My hard cider cost me $7.00. Three Pints Shy performs a Traditional Irish Drinking Song containing the lyric, "We have no head or hands but we continue to drink," as well as Raise A Glass and One Last Drink. We are told that when you drink, there are Irish wherever you go! There was a hilarious parody of Music Of The Night (from "Phantom Of The Opera") written by Chant Macleod entitled The Things I Drank Last Night ("I can feel the vomit ascending like a comet. I blame it on the things I drank last night"). Another Chant Macleod parody was sung to the tune of Silver Bells entitled Meat and Cheese (where you can get "Dairy from a Fairy"). During All The Best Irish Songs (an improv song written by the band), audience members were asked which countries all the best Irish songs come from and then the band took off creating lyrics for the country selected (Albania, Guatemala & Equestria - from My Little Pony where everything is made of rainbows and hugs- on the evening I attended). The band also performed Rocky Road To Dublin, Hal-an-Tow, Christmas In Killarney, Pint Glass Prophet (written by Jonathan Siregar), and God & The Little Children (written by David Anthony Wayne Anderson), which is a true story drawn directly from the Bible!
Only three of the four main band members were available to make this gig (Jonathan Siregar playing the Bodhran, David Mikofsky on Mandolin & Guitar; David Anthony Wayne Anderson on Penny Whistle & Guitar - Robbie Taylor was absent). However, they were more than able to proficiently perform the various song arrangements. In addition, with three people on stage, they were able to add the joke, "I love it when you're between him and me." to which the response goes, "That's what she said." An important takeaway line is "May We Never Get What We Deserve!" The show ended with a surprise warning. We were told, "Remember, if your parents don't come up with the ransom money, you're all dead by tomorrow morning." I snuck out of the theater before dawn but I am pleased to report that the band members hung out after the show speaking to the audience and that everyone was offered prizes and cookies! If this Irish band continues to gain in popularity, Christmas may one day be renamed Three Pints Day but even if it is not, you should at least buy a few of the band's CDs and drink three pints in celebration of the good times you have had listening to their music. For more information, visit http://www.threepintsshy.com
Three Pints Shy: A Very Merry Holiday Celebration
With David Anthony Wayne Anderson,
David Mikofsky & Jonathan Siregar
Under St. Mark's Theater
94 St. Mark's Place
New York, New York 10009
Reviewed 12/4/16
If you are interested in celebrating the holidays with Pickle Fights (the abbreviated version of a sword fight), Pint Glass Prophets ("Give him 15 pints of lager or ale and he becomes a wise old sage."), Beggarmen ("I've got the sky. The world is my home."), Galway Girls ("Hair was black. Eyes were blue. I lost my heart to a Galway Girl.") and a new perspective on how God punishes Naughty Children ("When you're being naughty, the least of your problems is Santa Claus."), this show might be the one you want to see this holiday season. Three Pints Shy, an upbeat, talented Irish pub band, even includes Sevivon Sov Sov Sov (Spinning Top) sung in Hebrew for those observing Hanukkah. Using an expanded text of "The Night Before Christmas" as a loose storyline to introduce us to the various characters that will inhabit the stage, we meet Grandpa ("Give Grandpa more of his sleeping juice." "Yeah! Grandpa is fun again.") and poor Paddy Murphy, who is now deceased (memorialized in the song The Night That Paddy Murphy Died).
You can't attend a performance of a Celtic Band without alcohol being a main topic of discussion. Audience members are encouraged to purchase drinks from the bar, but every bottle was outrageously expensive (at least, in my opinion). My hard cider cost me $7.00. Three Pints Shy performs a Traditional Irish Drinking Song containing the lyric, "We have no head or hands but we continue to drink," as well as Raise A Glass and One Last Drink. We are told that when you drink, there are Irish wherever you go! There was a hilarious parody of Music Of The Night (from "Phantom Of The Opera") written by Chant Macleod entitled The Things I Drank Last Night ("I can feel the vomit ascending like a comet. I blame it on the things I drank last night"). Another Chant Macleod parody was sung to the tune of Silver Bells entitled Meat and Cheese (where you can get "Dairy from a Fairy"). During All The Best Irish Songs (an improv song written by the band), audience members were asked which countries all the best Irish songs come from and then the band took off creating lyrics for the country selected (Albania, Guatemala & Equestria - from My Little Pony where everything is made of rainbows and hugs- on the evening I attended). The band also performed Rocky Road To Dublin, Hal-an-Tow, Christmas In Killarney, Pint Glass Prophet (written by Jonathan Siregar), and God & The Little Children (written by David Anthony Wayne Anderson), which is a true story drawn directly from the Bible!
Only three of the four main band members were available to make this gig (Jonathan Siregar playing the Bodhran, David Mikofsky on Mandolin & Guitar; David Anthony Wayne Anderson on Penny Whistle & Guitar - Robbie Taylor was absent). However, they were more than able to proficiently perform the various song arrangements. In addition, with three people on stage, they were able to add the joke, "I love it when you're between him and me." to which the response goes, "That's what she said." An important takeaway line is "May We Never Get What We Deserve!" The show ended with a surprise warning. We were told, "Remember, if your parents don't come up with the ransom money, you're all dead by tomorrow morning." I snuck out of the theater before dawn but I am pleased to report that the band members hung out after the show speaking to the audience and that everyone was offered prizes and cookies! If this Irish band continues to gain in popularity, Christmas may one day be renamed Three Pints Day but even if it is not, you should at least buy a few of the band's CDs and drink three pints in celebration of the good times you have had listening to their music. For more information, visit http://www.threepintsshy.com
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