I wanted to post a report of a special event I worked on at The Times Center last month. It was a staged reading of a new play, "The Idealist," produced and written by Jennifer Strome. The reading was also streamed live over the Internet to be viewed by people across the world in addition to being broadcast over Gatewave, a radio station for the visually impaired.
There were great performances in the cast, especially from Alison Pill as two central roles in the play, the French-accented Tereska Torres and a modern-day businesswoman. Martin Vidnovic gave a wonderful performance in the central role of Meyer Levin, filled with righteous anger and indignation at a society that was pushing him towards the edge into obscurity and irrelevance despite his illustrious writing career and his legal standing with regard to his dramatization of The Diary of Anne Frank. He commanded the stage as a man trying to understand what went wrong. Tony Roberts was also very influential in a relatively small but pivotal role as Otto Frank, trying to navigate unfamiliar waters of American business and entertainment. Samantha Soule was also great as a 1950's ambitious book editor and as a theater director in 2009 who is trying to resurrect the story of what happened fifty years ago and find out what the real issues are. This part actually anchors a large portion of the show. There was also a four-person Greek chorus filling in the holes and playing the peripheral characters around the four leads.
I would definitely like to see a fully-staged production of the show because I think it provides a valuable history lesson and could have a wonderfully meaningful emotional impact. For more information about the play, please visit http://www.theidealistonstage.com.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying- Al Hirschfeld Theatre, Broadway
Welcome back! I haven't written as many blog posts lately, and I am going to try and fix that and do more posts over the next few weeks to catch up on all the topics I wanted to talk about.
The first post is a review of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, now in previews at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on Broadway. Incidentally, this is the Broadway theater where I have attended the most performances, having previously four other shows at the venue.
I enjoyed this show and this production quite a bit. I wasn't sure what to think, as the show curtain looked a little tacky and I was thinking this production would be similar to Promises, Promises, in that it would be good but not spectacular and would be a little too slick and commercial, getting away from the show's heart. I was pleasantly surprised in that this show was much better than I expected, even with a dated book. Seeing Daniel Radcliffe sing and dance in white shirt and teal bow-tie as J. Pierpont Finch was pretty wonderful. He really carried the show from his first entrance, rising from the orchestra pit on his window-washing scaffold. It's fun to watch him weasel his way to the top through a mixture of lies, half-truths, and carefully placed words. He still reads a bit young for the part though, as if he was an over-zealous and ingratiating summer intern who refuses to leave. And when you look at the secretarial pool, you wouldn't want to leave either.
His love interest is Rose Hemingway as the earnest and idealistic Rosemary, who is quite fantastic in her Broadway debut. She is throughly likable as the sweet and wholesome ingénue who falls in love with Finch at first sight and dreams of their life together in New Rochelle where she keeps his dinner warm as he works his way up the corporate ladder, and doesn't give up when Finch doesn't always pay much attention to her. She aided in her schemes by Mary Faber as Smitty, who is saddled with a pair of ugly white glasses which nevertheless helps indicate the 1960's time period.
I also really enjoyed Tammy Blanchard as the boss's mistress and all-around office sexpot Hedy LaRue, who almost stole the show for me. She played the role as a cross between Judy Garland and Marilyn Monroe with a great figure but poor comprehension, dazed and oblivious to most of her surroundings. She does have some ambition and a fairly correct moral compass though. Ellen Harvey is underused as the boss' droll secretary Miss Jones.
John Larroquette was servicable as the big boss himself, J.B. Biggley. He was amiable and likable enough and believable in the role, but I think he needs to settle into the character and get comfortable a little bit more. His stand-out number was "Old Ivy" with Daniel Radcliffe and the male ensemble. Rob Bartlett also had a great number with those same two co-stars in "Company Way," with some comedic stage business for the principals and some inventive and highly entertaining choreography for the mail-room attendants. The perfect epitome of an office functioning in musical-comedy style. The rest of the principals include Michael Park as Mr. Bratt, the personnel manager and Christopher Hanke as Bud Frump, the bratty and effeminate nephew of J.B. Biggley and the "villain" of the show.
Which brings us to the ensemble, who were truly fantastic. Special mention goes to Cameron Adams, Cleve Asbury, Marty Lawson, Ryan Watkinson, and Charlie Williams. That list is skewed in favor of the men because they had a lot more to do in this show. Rob Ashford gave them great, spectacular, and athletic choreography to perform, particularly in "Company Way", "Brotherhood of Men" and "Old Ivy," although the last one was a bit long and started to stretch the limits of believability, even for this show. Both genders of the ensemble were great in "A Secretary is Not A Toy and especially "Coffee Break." The opening number was reminiscent of Ashford's choreography for Promises, Promises and also featured some wonderful partnering. The female ensemble got a chance to shine in "Cinderella Darling" and to a lesser extent in "Paris Original" which was another highlight of the show.
I enjoyed this production very much and urge you to see it as well. I admit that the show is dated at times and has sexist overtones, but is still an enjoyable experience. If only succeeding in business really was this simple...
The first post is a review of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, now in previews at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on Broadway. Incidentally, this is the Broadway theater where I have attended the most performances, having previously four other shows at the venue.
I enjoyed this show and this production quite a bit. I wasn't sure what to think, as the show curtain looked a little tacky and I was thinking this production would be similar to Promises, Promises, in that it would be good but not spectacular and would be a little too slick and commercial, getting away from the show's heart. I was pleasantly surprised in that this show was much better than I expected, even with a dated book. Seeing Daniel Radcliffe sing and dance in white shirt and teal bow-tie as J. Pierpont Finch was pretty wonderful. He really carried the show from his first entrance, rising from the orchestra pit on his window-washing scaffold. It's fun to watch him weasel his way to the top through a mixture of lies, half-truths, and carefully placed words. He still reads a bit young for the part though, as if he was an over-zealous and ingratiating summer intern who refuses to leave. And when you look at the secretarial pool, you wouldn't want to leave either.
His love interest is Rose Hemingway as the earnest and idealistic Rosemary, who is quite fantastic in her Broadway debut. She is throughly likable as the sweet and wholesome ingénue who falls in love with Finch at first sight and dreams of their life together in New Rochelle where she keeps his dinner warm as he works his way up the corporate ladder, and doesn't give up when Finch doesn't always pay much attention to her. She aided in her schemes by Mary Faber as Smitty, who is saddled with a pair of ugly white glasses which nevertheless helps indicate the 1960's time period.
I also really enjoyed Tammy Blanchard as the boss's mistress and all-around office sexpot Hedy LaRue, who almost stole the show for me. She played the role as a cross between Judy Garland and Marilyn Monroe with a great figure but poor comprehension, dazed and oblivious to most of her surroundings. She does have some ambition and a fairly correct moral compass though. Ellen Harvey is underused as the boss' droll secretary Miss Jones.
John Larroquette was servicable as the big boss himself, J.B. Biggley. He was amiable and likable enough and believable in the role, but I think he needs to settle into the character and get comfortable a little bit more. His stand-out number was "Old Ivy" with Daniel Radcliffe and the male ensemble. Rob Bartlett also had a great number with those same two co-stars in "Company Way," with some comedic stage business for the principals and some inventive and highly entertaining choreography for the mail-room attendants. The perfect epitome of an office functioning in musical-comedy style. The rest of the principals include Michael Park as Mr. Bratt, the personnel manager and Christopher Hanke as Bud Frump, the bratty and effeminate nephew of J.B. Biggley and the "villain" of the show.
Which brings us to the ensemble, who were truly fantastic. Special mention goes to Cameron Adams, Cleve Asbury, Marty Lawson, Ryan Watkinson, and Charlie Williams. That list is skewed in favor of the men because they had a lot more to do in this show. Rob Ashford gave them great, spectacular, and athletic choreography to perform, particularly in "Company Way", "Brotherhood of Men" and "Old Ivy," although the last one was a bit long and started to stretch the limits of believability, even for this show. Both genders of the ensemble were great in "A Secretary is Not A Toy and especially "Coffee Break." The opening number was reminiscent of Ashford's choreography for Promises, Promises and also featured some wonderful partnering. The female ensemble got a chance to shine in "Cinderella Darling" and to a lesser extent in "Paris Original" which was another highlight of the show.
I enjoyed this production very much and urge you to see it as well. I admit that the show is dated at times and has sexist overtones, but is still an enjoyable experience. If only succeeding in business really was this simple...
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