Last weekend I saw Roundabout Theatre Company's production of Anything Goes for the second time. You can read my review from the the first time around here. "What was the difference this second time around?," skeptical or budget-conscious readers might ask. And the answer to that question is that there were two understudies on in supporting roles: Linda Mugleston was playing Mrs. Evangeline Harcourt, and Josh Franklin was playing Billy Crocker. I enjoyed the chance to see different takes on the roles, having already seen the original cast perform. Also having already seen these two performers in other shows, I was looking forward to seeing them take on principal roles in this production.
The star and central focus of the show is still Sutton Foster as Reno Sweeney, who has nearly all the familiar songs in the show's score. Personally, I believe that her best number is "Blow, Gabriel, Blow" in Act II, which really rouses the house. The performance of the title number is also very spirited, with the full cast tapping along.
Joel Grey is amusing as Moonface Martin, in a semi-constant state of befuddlement with occasional bright ideas for scams and solutions. I don't have another actor's portrayal to compare, but I would be interested in seeing different takes on the role.
I thought Josh Franklin did a wonderful job as Billy Crocker. He seemed to have a bit more personality and charisma than Colin Donnell, and did a better job at selling his numbers. He stood out from the chorus in a way Mr. Donnell couldn't quite manage.
Linda Mugleston does the best she can with the archetypal role of a patrician matron, marrying her daughter to the highest bidder to regain the family fortune lost in the 1928 stock market crash. It was great to see her in a larger role again, as I really enjoyed her performance as Ruth Sherwood in Wonderful Town back in 2005. I hope that she gets the chance to play more leading roles on Broadway.
Still strong in support are John McMartin, Jessica Stone, Walter Charles, and Robert Creighon, all of whom are quite funny and mostly underused. In the ensemble, Joyce Chittick stands out as "Virtue," Reno's low-voiced Angel with her eye on Moonface Martin. Ms. Chittick is also a former cast member of Wonderful Town, which was also directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall, who repeats her duties here.
The show is helped by a great physical production: Derek McLane's sets wonderfully convey the deck of a luxury ocean liner and various staterooms as well. I am especially impressed by the moving elements. There are a few room cutaways which move on and off, but parts of the deck move inward and outward as well. Peter Kaczorowski's lighting adds to the mood as well, with many windows which light in different colors over the course of the show, usually in shades of pink or blue. Martin Pakledinaz provides the many gowns Sutton Foster and her Angels wear over the course of the show.
The show is currently selling out with an average ticket price in the $100 range, so tickets are fairly hard to come by, but if you do get a chance to see this production, I would highly recommend it, as it is quite fun and hearing a Cole Porter score with a fairly large orchestra is always a must for any theater fan.
Showing posts with label theatre. Show all posts
Showing posts with label theatre. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Monday, July 4, 2011
Angels in America- Part 1: Millennium Approaches and Part 2: Perestroika
I am working through my backlog of reviews, so I might as well start at the beginning with the oldest and then move towards the more recent ones. Back in February, I had the chance to see the second cast of the off-Broadway revival of Angels in America at Signature Theatre Company perform both parts of Tony Kushner's epic play. I had previously seen the first cast perform Part II back in December, and that review can be found on this blog for comparison. I think Part II is my favorite part, as I feel that Part I is mostly the exposition to set up the events which actually occur in the second part, beginning with the entrance of the angel at the end of Part I.
Thankfully, some of the cast members from the first cast were still there, namely Frank Wood as Roy Cohn, Bill Heck as Joe Pitt, and Billy Porter as Belize. Frank Wood's portrayal of Mr. Cohn is quite a wonder to behold, as he plays the real-life lawyer as a slimy, unlikable self-hating Jewish man who spends most of this play attempting to carry out underhanded deals to keep himself afloat as he faces a potential disbarment hearing. He is in denial that he has contracted HIV from unprotected sex with men on business trips because of the stigma that comes with being labed homosexual. He is afraid of losing his position of political influence in Reagan-era America. As the plays progress, his symptoms worsen and he is eventually committed to a hospital where he lies slowly dying with his tongue hanging out and an odd orange complexion.
Billy Porter is still marvelous as Belize, the homosexual black nurse who tends to Roy Cohn and also helps his friend Prior Walter cope with the same disease. He often provides a voice of reason and hope to the other characters, the opposite of Louis. Adam Driver inhabits Louis with a nervous energy but gives a very solid believable performance as a gay man struggling with his life situation, and his personal and religious identity. His partner has contracted HIV and he doesn't know how to deal with it, so he leaves and begins dating the Mormon and newly gay Joe Pitt. Mr. Driver does a good job at conveying the neurotic qualities in this complex character struggling with his emotions. Bill Heck provides a grounded center as Joe, struggling with his homosexual feelings, his career choices offered to him by Roy Cohn, and his marriage to the pill-popping and agoraphobic Harper Pitt.
Out of the new cast members, I was most excited to see Michael Urie take on Prior Walter since I enjoyed seeing him as Marc St. James on Ugly Betty over the past few years. Some of his vocal inflections and character mannerisms were the same, which made it feel like I was watching the same character at times. I did enjoy his performance though, as it felt fairly realistic.
Sofia Jean Gomez did a wonderful job in her roles as a hospital nurse the titular angel descended from on high to speak to the would-be prophet Prior. Keira Keeley also did a great job as Harper Pitt, inheriting the role from the immensely talented Zoe Kazan. She communicated the anxiety and insecurity of a wife who is losing her husband but not fully in control of her own life decisions until the end of the play. Lynne McCollough did not leave a lasting impression as Joe's mother Hannah Pitt as well as the ghost of Ethel Rosenberg.
I am glad that I had the opportunity to see both parts of the play together with the same cast in a short timeframe. Some scenes were edited, presumably for time, but the staging in the small Peter Norton Space worked very well, as the audience was close to the action and the projections and set changes really set the stage in terms of locations. I was amazed at how much was achieved simply by rotating a set piece, and the appearance of the angel was well-conceived. I look forward to seeing more productions produced by Signature Theatre Company in the coming years, although I have not seen their production of The Illusion yet as I have been unable to get a ticket. Next season will be devoted to Athol Fugard, and since I am not familiar with most of his work, I look forward to those productions.
Thankfully, some of the cast members from the first cast were still there, namely Frank Wood as Roy Cohn, Bill Heck as Joe Pitt, and Billy Porter as Belize. Frank Wood's portrayal of Mr. Cohn is quite a wonder to behold, as he plays the real-life lawyer as a slimy, unlikable self-hating Jewish man who spends most of this play attempting to carry out underhanded deals to keep himself afloat as he faces a potential disbarment hearing. He is in denial that he has contracted HIV from unprotected sex with men on business trips because of the stigma that comes with being labed homosexual. He is afraid of losing his position of political influence in Reagan-era America. As the plays progress, his symptoms worsen and he is eventually committed to a hospital where he lies slowly dying with his tongue hanging out and an odd orange complexion.
Billy Porter is still marvelous as Belize, the homosexual black nurse who tends to Roy Cohn and also helps his friend Prior Walter cope with the same disease. He often provides a voice of reason and hope to the other characters, the opposite of Louis. Adam Driver inhabits Louis with a nervous energy but gives a very solid believable performance as a gay man struggling with his life situation, and his personal and religious identity. His partner has contracted HIV and he doesn't know how to deal with it, so he leaves and begins dating the Mormon and newly gay Joe Pitt. Mr. Driver does a good job at conveying the neurotic qualities in this complex character struggling with his emotions. Bill Heck provides a grounded center as Joe, struggling with his homosexual feelings, his career choices offered to him by Roy Cohn, and his marriage to the pill-popping and agoraphobic Harper Pitt.
Out of the new cast members, I was most excited to see Michael Urie take on Prior Walter since I enjoyed seeing him as Marc St. James on Ugly Betty over the past few years. Some of his vocal inflections and character mannerisms were the same, which made it feel like I was watching the same character at times. I did enjoy his performance though, as it felt fairly realistic.
Sofia Jean Gomez did a wonderful job in her roles as a hospital nurse the titular angel descended from on high to speak to the would-be prophet Prior. Keira Keeley also did a great job as Harper Pitt, inheriting the role from the immensely talented Zoe Kazan. She communicated the anxiety and insecurity of a wife who is losing her husband but not fully in control of her own life decisions until the end of the play. Lynne McCollough did not leave a lasting impression as Joe's mother Hannah Pitt as well as the ghost of Ethel Rosenberg.
I am glad that I had the opportunity to see both parts of the play together with the same cast in a short timeframe. Some scenes were edited, presumably for time, but the staging in the small Peter Norton Space worked very well, as the audience was close to the action and the projections and set changes really set the stage in terms of locations. I was amazed at how much was achieved simply by rotating a set piece, and the appearance of the angel was well-conceived. I look forward to seeing more productions produced by Signature Theatre Company in the coming years, although I have not seen their production of The Illusion yet as I have been unable to get a ticket. Next season will be devoted to Athol Fugard, and since I am not familiar with most of his work, I look forward to those productions.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Angels in America, Part II- Signature Theatre Company
The first thing I have to say is I haven't seen Part 1 live yet, I might accomplish that this week and I might have to wait until February when the cast changes. Unfortunately for me, the only times Part 1 is being performed this week are times when I have other plans, which is annoying. I have read the play and I have seen the HBO miniseries as well, so this post is about how the actors brought the text to life for me. Now for the actual review:
First I give the actors a lot of credit for being able to perform this seven hour two-part epic politcal/social opus. It's quite an amazing piece of theater with many fluid scene transitions and simultaneous scenes, so I would imagine the memorization would be quite difficult because there would be the tendency to get confused about which lines/scenes go where.
I think my favorite actor in the cast would have been Billy Porter as Belize/Mr. Lies. Jeffrey Wright's performance in the role is still vivid in my mind as he was my first, and until now, only actor to have seen play the role. (This reminds me to look into A Free Man of Color at Lincoln Center. I keep wondering if it's worth trying to get a student ticket to see it. It probably is as long as my seat is decent.) (P.S. If you don't like parentheticals, you are going to have a hard time reading this blog.) I've been a fan of Billy Porter's from hearing/seeing video footage of him in Grease! and I saw him voice Audrey II in Little Shop of Horrors down in Florida, so this was really my first time seeing him live onstage. (Side note: I forgot he was in Songs for a New World off-Broadway. Why is Ty Taylor on the recording instead of him? Was it not recorded during the run?) I thought he was spectacularly amusing and funny as Belize, the right combination of tough, rational and effeminate qualities needed to showcase Belize's facets. He had more flourishes than I remember Jeffrey Wright having, who seemed a bit more subdued from what I remember. Billy's Belize showed more emotion and expression in being the qualified nurse who didn't back down from disagreements and arguing with people.
Christian Borle is probably the actor in the cast I was most familiar with, despite having not actually seen him perform live either, but being familiar with his performances. Some reviews I had read said that he was campy as Prior Walter, but I didn't really see that quality in him. His Prior was scared out of his mind by the vision of the angel and the idea of being a prophet and then slowly begins to embrace it and to love and embrace life, as terrible and imperfect as it can be and often is. He is terminally ill and dying but by the Epilogue he enjoys being alive and looks forward to new occasions. I thought he did a wonderful job as the play may be an ensemble piece, but the play seems to revolve around Prior. I was surprised when he was cast in a non-musical dramatic role, and I think he did an amazing job.
I'm debating if I should continue reviewing each cast member individually (two down, six to go) and I think I will just keep writing that way until I run out of steam. The play is an ensemble piece with most actors playing multiple roles, but they still seem to stand out individually to me rather than as a cohesive unit. I see them as eight distinct people sharing scenes and moving the plot forward. The play focuses on so many human issues: physical, theoretical, and emotional and some ideas fly by so fast that I am glad I already was familiar with the play. The play takes place in a certain time period, the second term of Ronald Reagan and an Epilogue set in 1990, but it doesn't really feel dated although at times it is a history lesson/reminder, which is something I like.
Zoe Kazan is a talented actress but I still think she seems too young for Harper. I suppose that it is plausible for her and Joe to have gotten married young and moved east, but I keep thinking of Mary-Louise Parker's loopy portrayal or Marcia Gay Harden. Zoe comes across as a very intense teenager. I look forward to seeing her future performances though. Robin Bartlett does a great job as Hannah Pitt/Ethel Rosenberg with her different wigs and accents. I like Hannah's transformation from a stereotype into a vibrant human being functioning among others. Zachary Quinto is quite amazing as Louis, who is possibly my favorite character in the play with all his jokes and one-liners. He is the most flawed character to me, and Mr. Quinto brought a lot of depth to the role. Frank Wood was also solid as Roy Cohn, but it was hard to have a lot of sympathy for him. Bill Heck was also solid as Joe, seems to connect everyone together in the relationship spider web. He's mostly a passive character where a lot happens around him and he can't always make up his mind about what he wants to do. Although the few moments he does try to lead are startling, Which brings us to the angel herself, Robin Weigert, who was quite spectacular as the mysterious Angel haunting Prior as well as his hospital nurse. She showed the humanity inside an otherworldly, luminous, and often authoritative being and her entrance/exits were quite amazing as well, as I had been wondering how those moments would be staged. She had the right amount of authority and gravitas while floating in mid-air, giant wings flapping (Kudos to my friend Laurie who built them). She excelled at all her roles of dispensing advice to misguided souls.
Angels in America is quite an opus which needs to be seen and/or read more than once for all the ideas and themes to really sink in. It's still powerful and resonant now and I look forward to February when I will be seeing the show again with some new cast members. Performances continue at the Signature Theatre through March 27.
First I give the actors a lot of credit for being able to perform this seven hour two-part epic politcal/social opus. It's quite an amazing piece of theater with many fluid scene transitions and simultaneous scenes, so I would imagine the memorization would be quite difficult because there would be the tendency to get confused about which lines/scenes go where.
I think my favorite actor in the cast would have been Billy Porter as Belize/Mr. Lies. Jeffrey Wright's performance in the role is still vivid in my mind as he was my first, and until now, only actor to have seen play the role. (This reminds me to look into A Free Man of Color at Lincoln Center. I keep wondering if it's worth trying to get a student ticket to see it. It probably is as long as my seat is decent.) (P.S. If you don't like parentheticals, you are going to have a hard time reading this blog.) I've been a fan of Billy Porter's from hearing/seeing video footage of him in Grease! and I saw him voice Audrey II in Little Shop of Horrors down in Florida, so this was really my first time seeing him live onstage. (Side note: I forgot he was in Songs for a New World off-Broadway. Why is Ty Taylor on the recording instead of him? Was it not recorded during the run?) I thought he was spectacularly amusing and funny as Belize, the right combination of tough, rational and effeminate qualities needed to showcase Belize's facets. He had more flourishes than I remember Jeffrey Wright having, who seemed a bit more subdued from what I remember. Billy's Belize showed more emotion and expression in being the qualified nurse who didn't back down from disagreements and arguing with people.
Christian Borle is probably the actor in the cast I was most familiar with, despite having not actually seen him perform live either, but being familiar with his performances. Some reviews I had read said that he was campy as Prior Walter, but I didn't really see that quality in him. His Prior was scared out of his mind by the vision of the angel and the idea of being a prophet and then slowly begins to embrace it and to love and embrace life, as terrible and imperfect as it can be and often is. He is terminally ill and dying but by the Epilogue he enjoys being alive and looks forward to new occasions. I thought he did a wonderful job as the play may be an ensemble piece, but the play seems to revolve around Prior. I was surprised when he was cast in a non-musical dramatic role, and I think he did an amazing job.
I'm debating if I should continue reviewing each cast member individually (two down, six to go) and I think I will just keep writing that way until I run out of steam. The play is an ensemble piece with most actors playing multiple roles, but they still seem to stand out individually to me rather than as a cohesive unit. I see them as eight distinct people sharing scenes and moving the plot forward. The play focuses on so many human issues: physical, theoretical, and emotional and some ideas fly by so fast that I am glad I already was familiar with the play. The play takes place in a certain time period, the second term of Ronald Reagan and an Epilogue set in 1990, but it doesn't really feel dated although at times it is a history lesson/reminder, which is something I like.
Zoe Kazan is a talented actress but I still think she seems too young for Harper. I suppose that it is plausible for her and Joe to have gotten married young and moved east, but I keep thinking of Mary-Louise Parker's loopy portrayal or Marcia Gay Harden. Zoe comes across as a very intense teenager. I look forward to seeing her future performances though. Robin Bartlett does a great job as Hannah Pitt/Ethel Rosenberg with her different wigs and accents. I like Hannah's transformation from a stereotype into a vibrant human being functioning among others. Zachary Quinto is quite amazing as Louis, who is possibly my favorite character in the play with all his jokes and one-liners. He is the most flawed character to me, and Mr. Quinto brought a lot of depth to the role. Frank Wood was also solid as Roy Cohn, but it was hard to have a lot of sympathy for him. Bill Heck was also solid as Joe, seems to connect everyone together in the relationship spider web. He's mostly a passive character where a lot happens around him and he can't always make up his mind about what he wants to do. Although the few moments he does try to lead are startling, Which brings us to the angel herself, Robin Weigert, who was quite spectacular as the mysterious Angel haunting Prior as well as his hospital nurse. She showed the humanity inside an otherworldly, luminous, and often authoritative being and her entrance/exits were quite amazing as well, as I had been wondering how those moments would be staged. She had the right amount of authority and gravitas while floating in mid-air, giant wings flapping (Kudos to my friend Laurie who built them). She excelled at all her roles of dispensing advice to misguided souls.
Angels in America is quite an opus which needs to be seen and/or read more than once for all the ideas and themes to really sink in. It's still powerful and resonant now and I look forward to February when I will be seeing the show again with some new cast members. Performances continue at the Signature Theatre through March 27.
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