Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Posted: July 10, 2014 Filed under: Broadway, Musical, Revival | Tags: broadway, hedwig, hedwigandtheangryinch, johncameronmitchell, lenahall, michaelmayer, neilpatrickharris, nph, review, yitzhak Leave a comment
Matt put it best as we exited the theatre: “What a marathon.” For anyone who takes on the role of Hedwig, that show is a beast. Thirteen songs, basically one ongoing monologue, quick on-your-feet improvisation, physically challenging and exhausting…the works. And as you might expect, Neil Patrick Harris pulls it off. He didn’t win a Tony for nothing. The guy is unstoppable. No matter what is thrown at him, he doesn’t bat an eye(lash). Audience members shout things, and he shouts right back, adlibbing right and left, so much that you don’t know what was already scripted. Although when someone yelled out, and he shot back, “Get outta here, Shia LaBeouf,” you know that’s Neil.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch premiered Off-Broadway in 1998 and won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical. Last month, it won a Tony for Best Revival. They made a movie in 2001 starring book writer John Cameron Mitchell. And even if you think you don’t know Hedwig, you very well might know the chorus from Wig in a Box or Wicked Little Town. Sadly, due to the absurd Tony rules, since the show is considered well-known enough in the theatre repertoire, it landed in the revival category even though it’s never been on Broadway. This is mainly an issue because it means the creators cannot be nominated for Best Book, Best Score, and Best Musical.
Nonetheless, we can still celebrate Mitchell and Stephen Trask and what they created: this intensely funny, sexual, pushing-the-envelope, crazy rock musical about a transgender German rock and roll singer, Hedwig. It’s a one-night-only rock concert in which Hedwig tells her story, supported by her band, Tits of Clay, and Yitzhak, an ex-drag queen and Hedwig’s husband. The band is great. Lena Hall (who also won the Tony) made me wish Yitzhak had more to do (but that might be the point). She gives a subtle, striking performance, and you relish the moments she gets to sing. The costumes and wigs are fabulous, as is the set and Tony-winning lighting.
A couple disclaimers. If you don’t do well with loud shows, this might not be for you. It’s very much like a rock concert at times, and there is one song with extreme strobe lighting. Also, it might be good to study up on the lyrics in advance. Combined with the accents and volume, I had trouble understanding several parts (luckily there was open captioning that night).
But if you want to see NPH at his best, I’d see if there are still tickets before he leaves August 17th. Not to say the show is not worth seeing without Neil. I would certainly be curious to see another Hedwig; I imagine it would change the entire show. I am positive Andrew Rannells, who steps in next, will be wonderful. He’ll make it his own for sure. Any Hedwig would.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Book by John Cameron Mitchell, Music and Lyrics by Stephen Trask, Directed by Michael Mayer
Belasco Theatre, on sale through October 12th
Photo Credit: Joan Marcus
Pictured: Neil Patrick Harris
IF/THEN
Posted: July 8, 2014 Filed under: Becca Doodle - Meh, Broadway, Musical | Tags: anthonyrapp, brianyorkey, broadway, idinamenzel, if/then, lachanze, michaelgreif, nexttonormal, originalmusical, rent, review, slidingdoors, tomkitt 2 Comments
So any excitement I initially had for If/Then had mostly been diminished by the time I got to the show due to the mixed reviews and word of mouth saying it was confusing and hard to follow. But what can I say? I enjoyed myself regardless (check out the highlight reel here). The new musical is certainly not perfect. It’s a little all over the place. I could have done without the choreography. Characters are underwritten. There are a few too many moving parts if you will, but it does have a lot going for it.
Idina Menzel is a powerhouse. Say what you will about her TV performances; she belongs on that stage and subsequently brings the house down. She’s famous, folks. The rest of the cast is amazing, talented, and sadly under-used. LaChanze gets her chance to shine as does Anthony Rapp (who, I must say, has never sounded better), but Jenn Colella’s character doesn’t get the chance to develop. Same with Jerry Dixon, Jason Tam, or even the male lead James Snyder. It’s Menzel’s story through and through. The rest of the characters tend to just circle around her.
So If/Then is about Elizabeth. She’s nearing 40 and having just gone through a divorce out in Arizona, is moving back to New York City to start her life over. What’s holding her back is her tendency to overanalyze all her decisions – playing out all the possible results of every possible action – therefore making her hesitate over every little thing, from huge life decisions to how to spend her afternoon. The big convention of this musical is that one of these smaller decisions ends up splitting her life in two, and we get to see how the two sides of the coin play out, prompting the question: how can one seemingly unimportant decision potentially affect the rest of our lives?
As a result of this setup, many people have said the plot is difficult to follow, or they didn’t realize that two different stories were being told. I honestly didn’t think it was that challenging. True, I went in knowing it was going to happen, but even so, I think it’s spelled out quite clearly in the first number. And then they set up blatant clues as to which “timeline” you’re in – it’s either Liz wearing glasses or Beth without. It’s “Sliding Doors” the musical, as Laura Benanti says. Side note: I’ve also been calling it “RENT 2: Mortgage.” It’s fun to see Anthony and Idina together again. There’s a scene where they talk about how the term “squatting” is dated, and that gets quite the laugh from RENT fans in the house.
The score is the thing. I’ve had the cast recording on repeat on Spotify for weeks. If you don’t know Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, they won the Tony for Next to Normal. These guys know how to write a score. Here are a few sample songs of theirs: Some Other Me, Superboy and the Invisible Girl, and the Next to Normal Tony performance of “You Don’t Know” / “I Am the One.” A couple weeks ago the If/Then cast recording debuted at No. 19 on the Billboard charts. A Broadway show hasn’t done that since 1996. You may have heard of it; it was a little show called RENT.
I won’t talk about how the storylines play out or what ends up happening. I will say that I think the show deserved a little more acknowledgement than it received. Although it’s flawed, and I honestly would recommend seeing other shows first, the fact that it’s a brand new musical should be supported and recognized.
IF/THEN
Music by Tom Kitt, Book and Lyrics by Brian Yorkey, Directed by Michael Greif
Richard Rodgers Theatre, Open-Ended
Photo Credit: Sara Krulwich
Pictured: Idina Menzel and the cast of If/Then
tick, tick…BOOM!
Posted: July 2, 2014 Filed under: Musical, Off-Broadway | Tags: encores, jonathanlarson, karenolivo, leslieodomjr, linmanuelmiranda, rent, renthead, review, sundayintheparkwithgeorge, ticktickboom Leave a comment
“In one week I’ll be thirty.”
That’s one of the opening lines of tick, tick…BOOM! as the storyteller (and writer), Jonathan Larson, introduces himself to the audience. I have always been one of the many who felt that Larson’s songs and words were meant for me. But this line rang especially true this past Saturday because I could have literally said the same thing. My 30th birthday is this Saturday, July 5th, and what a unique opportunity to be able to revisit one of my favorite musicals at the age up for discussion in the show.
Some background first. tick, tick…BOOM! is a 90-minute rock musical written by Jonathan Larson. Before he went on to write the monster hit RENT, he created this auto-biographical one-man show. After he tragically died of an aortic aneurysm at the age of 35 (and right before RENT’s first preview Off-Broadway at New York Theatre Workshop), this piece was reworked by David Auburn into a three-person show (the character of Jon himself, his best friend Michael, and his girlfriend Susan). The story is about Jon, a “promising young composer,” as he nears his 30th birthday in the year 1990 and battles with the decision of whether he should continue pushing forward along the artist’s path or finally throw in the towel. It’s a beautiful show, for artists in particular, but really it’s for anyone who can relate to the struggle of sticking to one’s dream. Plus it has a fantastic score and a smart, funny book.
The show originally premiered Off-Broadway at the now closed Jane Street Theatre in 2001. I was 17 and an enormous Renthead, so of course, I was all over that sh*t. I went four times and fell in love with Raúl Esparza, Jerry Dixon, and Amy Spanger. I freaked out a year later when I saw Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George for the first time and realized the brilliance of Larson’s song “Sunday” (it’s one big shout-out to the Act 1 finale of George). I wanted to play hooky my senior year of high school and go to the city for the demo CD signing which ended up being on September 11, 2001. I wore out the cast recording in college and would go to the practice rooms at 1am with Brigitte to play piano and sing through the music.
Sooo basically this show and I have a history, and to see it again was very emotional. I was coming in with an entirely different perspective, and it felt all the more personal. All of a sudden I find myself at the age Jonathan is singing about and asking similar questions: what does it mean, what happens next, what choices should I be making, what path should I be following? Do I continue to choose this crazy path of theatre despite the challenges? Or just throw myself fully into a day job? Do I talk about these questions over and over or do I just…act?
Unfortunately I cannot recommend this specific production to you because it was part of the Encores! Off-Center program, running only for five performances after a very brief rehearsal process. Due to the limited rehearsals (sneak peek here), the actors still use their scripts for many of the scenes. There are music stands for some songs, and not every scene is fully staged or realized. But what director Oliver Butler and these three actors managed to do in such a short time was incredibly effective. Fingers crossed it gets to move on like Violet did after its run last summer, because I think there’s more to be discovered.
Lin-Manuel Miranda, the Tony-winning composer of In the Heights, is a wonderful Jon. Although his vocals don’t match Raúl’s, his emotional presence is fully felt, and his performance resonates even more since he can so directly relate to the path of a struggling composer trying to change the face of Broadway. Here’s a lovely article written by Miranda as he talks about his journey with Larson’s work. Leslie Odom Jr. is excellent as Michael, and Karen Olivo (Tony winner for West Side Story and returning from her break from show business) knocks the big 11 o’clock number “Come to Your Senses” out of the park. I mean, holy crap. Not to mention that the song is in a higher key! Here’s a bootleg that does not do her justice but will give you a little taste.
I hope the show has more life. I want more people to see it. To hear the music. To hear Jonathan’s story. The ending to his actual story makes it all the more important to remember to embrace the time we have and move forward and hopefully continue to choose to do what we love day in and day out.
I’ll leave you with these miraculous videos of Jonathan Larson himself performing songs from tick, tick…BOOM!:
30/90
Johnny Can’t Decide
Sunday
Why (audio only)
tick, tick…BOOM!
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Jonathan Larson, Directed by Oliver Butler
New York City Center, Closed July 28th
Photo Credit: Joan Marcus
Pictured: Leslie Odom Jr., Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Karen Olivo
The Cripple of Inishmaan
Posted: June 26, 2014 Filed under: Broadway, Comedy, Drama, Play, Revival | Tags: broadway, cripplebilly, danielradcliffe, harrypotter, inishmaan, inishmore, ireland, irish, martinmcdonagh, michaelgrandage, review, sarahgreene, severussnape, thecrippleofinishmaan, voldemort Leave a comment
I must say, I enjoy seeing theatre at the end of the season because it tends to be one good production after another. I’m finally getting around to seeing the shows I’ve heard wonderful things about for months. The Cripple of Inishmaan is one of them.
After being a huge hit in London, the production has made its way over to Broadway, garnering several Tony Award nominations (Best Revival, Best Director, and Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role). You might already be familiar with Martin McDonagh’s work – plays like The Pillowman or films like In Bruges. This play is a wonderful mix of dark themes and biting comedy where you’ll laugh in spite of yourself. It takes place in Inishmaan off the coast of Ireland in the 1930s. A Hollywood director comes to the Aran Islands to cast a film, and the young people of the town dream of getting their chance – primarily Billy, a physically handicapped boy who is desperate to get away from the cruel jeers and rumors he’s been surrounded by all his life.
As my roomie and I approached the theatre, I began commenting on the poster artwork, how it has absolutely nothing to do with the play aside from advertising its star. It’s basically three model shots of Daniel Radcliffe looking damn good. The marketing campaign is selling fame, pure and simple. But you know what? If Harry Potter gets people in the seats to see one of the best playwrights out there, then so be it.
Mr. Radcliffe has turned into quite the actor. It’s his third time on the Broadway (although still no recognition from the Tony committee). Unfortunately I missed (all of) him in Equus, but I did get to see him sing and dance (impressively so) in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying a few years ago. And now he’s back in another physically challenging role as “Cripple” Billy. He’s very good, but even though this review and many others are dedicating extra time to talk about the boy wizard, I do want to stress that this is indeed an ensemble piece. The aunties (played brilliantly by Ingrid Craigie and Gillian Hanna) practically steal the show. They’re spot on. And Sarah Greene as Helen is absolutely wonderful. No wonder she got a Tony nod for her performance. It’s a difficult task to play such a mean-spirited girl and remain likeable. We have to like Helen if we’re rooting for Billy to win her over. We need to believe she would do kind things for someone even though for the majority of the two and a half hours she’s treating everyone like dirt, particularly her poor brother Bartley (played excellently by Conor MacNeill). That’s the case with many of the characters, in fact. These people are cruel to one another, but we still care about them because we know that they, deep down, care about each other.
Oh, and if you’ve avoided the play because you’re afraid of the accents, you’ll catch on quickly. There are some Irish terms that might pass you by, but your ear will adjust. The story is full of twist and turns, truths and lies, and kindness and cruelty, and you’ll eagerly await what each character says next. If you’re able to get to the Cort Theatre before July 20th, I do recommend checking out The Cripple of Inishmaan. And not just because Harry Potter is in it.
The Cripple of Inishmaan
Written by Martin McDonagh, Directed by Michael Grandage
Cort Theatre, Closing July 20th
Photo Credit: Marc Brenner
Pictured: Daniel Radcliffe and Sarah Greene
The Understudy
Posted: June 19, 2014 Filed under: Between Two Boroughs | Tags: brianbyus, courtneyromano, craighanson, jennhaltman, review, theresarebeck, thesecrettheatre, theunderstudy, wordsinprogress 1 Comment
Check it out! It’s my first guest blogger! Allow me to be a little self-indulgent for a moment and share a review of The Understudy, courtesy of my dear friend, Courtney Romano. True, it’s not exactly what you’d call an unbiased opinion; nonetheless, I thought it would be nice to share. And be sure to visit Courtney’s blog for some amazingly inspiring and articulate thoughts about life, wellness, and creativity. Now I pass you off to Court…
Two disclaimers first: I personally adore every person who worked on this show, and I don’t write reviews. So why should you even keep reading? Well, that’s a good question; I can’t answer that. But why should you have seen The Understudy at The Secret Theatre this past May? Those answers I got.
This team of artistic comrades poured themselves entirely through this play. Not into it. They passed through. Theresa Rebeck wrote this funny, accurate, heartbreaking, soulful, discouraging, uplifting piece of theatre. She distilled this daily battle we call “trying to be an actor” and crafted a living organism for the stage. Now, it could have been very easy to stage the simple ideas, the easy laughs, and the common sense relationships in a piece that’s already full. They could have capped off her words nicely with a kind performance. A polite, engaging, sincere performance.
Or they could meet it with their own fullness. And that’s what they did.
Actors Becca Schneider, Brian Byus, and Craig Hanson met the play with both sophisticated containment and fantastical carbonation. They took a painfully accurate portrayal of modern show business and allowed the structure of Rebeck’s words to be their edges. Their borders. Their landmarks. But then they lived. They allowed the truthiness of her words to inflict them. They opened their real world wounds and let the pretend world seep so deep.
Now listen, I know I’m biased. I told you earlier – I love everyone involved, and I don’t write reviews (I leave that to the pros). But I know what it’s like to be transformed from sitting in a dark room and watching people tell a story. From every angle – direction, design, crew, and company – everyone’s hearts were wrapped up in these words. Does loving the work that much always make good theatre? Not a chance. But when you pair that love with indisputably smart artists, you watch a transformation. They passed through the play, letting it marinate in their bones. They stepped into and out of Rebeck’s words, letting us get close enough to the play’s damage and relief so we felt like we were right next to them the whole time. They loved through the play, and so for a little under two hours, we too felt a whole lot of love.
I don’t know much about much, but this I know – The Understudy at The Secret Theatre told a story worth telling in a way worth telling it.
The Understudy
Written by Theresa Rebeck, Directed by Jenn Haltman
The Secret Theatre
Photo Credit: Jeff Schneider Photography
Pictured: Craig Hanson
Becca on Broadway 