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She Loves Me Live: What Worked, What Didn’t, and Where to Go From Here

She Loves Me debuted live on the televisions, mobile screens, and hearts of aspiring theatergoers everywhere last week. And despite a few initial technical difficulties, we stalwart viewers trudged on, stuck on our couches in pajamas, with cartons of vanilla ice cream on hand for Act 2, because we really had nothing better to do on a Thursday night than see Laura Benanti hit that high B.

But as interest in live-streamed theater expands from the few pioneering theater companies in England to the Broadway stage, and as major television networks keep adding live musicals to their annual lineup, it’s important to discuss how a successful live performance translates to a successful film, and what that says about each medium’s ability to create engaging narratives. I’ve been working on this question for over a year now, and it would take a couple of subsequent posts to give the topic its due exploration. So for now, let’s talk about She Loves Me Live specifically, what worked and what didn’t, and what the BroadwayHD experiment can show us about the theater experience.

What Worked: The Ballads and Solos

Close-ups were made for moments like Amalia’s somber ballad “Will He Like Me?,” a song which didn’t move me much when I saw it on stage but gained power with a camera framing Laura Benanti’s hopeful, yet troubled expressions. It’s the first solo in the show sung by a character alone, and an intensely personal moment for Amalia, whose fantasies about her dear friend are starting to become real. Film can be the best medium for this: bringing out nuances of emotion, making the imaginative become real.

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Same goes for Amalia’s other solo reflections on her love life, “Dear Friend” and “Vanilla Ice Cream,” and Ilona’s “I Resolve.” The camera served to intensify the soul-searching power of these songs and make these women’s journey’s feel so much more intimate

What Didn’t: The Ensemble Pieces and Dances

Large ensemble songs and dances serve a different storytelling purpose. Rather than closing in on intimate character-centric moments, they tend to broaden the brush of the plot with spectacle, environment, relationships, and sometimes pure silliness. The only way for a camera to capture the hugeness of these moments is to cut to different angles of the stage. A wide shot of the entire stage just doesn’t work on film: it’s almost too overwhelming, too theatrical. Thus dance-heavy songs like “Romantic Atmosphere” and even Kodaly’s “Ilona” lose their punch (even if “Romantic Atmosphere” didn’t quite have much punch to begin with) in sacrifice to quick camera changes and ineffective angling. Somehow the human eye works differently watching a live performance in person than the camera’s eye. In person, we resist direction and close-ups, absorbing the entirety of the scene even if it’s a little at a time.

What Worked: The Realistic Performances

Laura Benanti and Zachary Levi are no strangers to television, and it certainly showed by how friendly the camera was to their performances. Benanti’s delivery always struck me as realistic and natural, which is really the preferred modus operandi for great film acting (you could argue that it’s also great for stage acting, but more on that later). Levi’s performance is more animated, but no less perfect for the camera. I’m sure you could find at least ten gif-able Zachary Levi expressions; he’s mastered the art of the manically uncomfortable smile.

Another performance that translated well to camera was Tom McGowan’s understated everyman Cipos. McGowan is a veteran television actor, and his lovable oafish just-trying-to-make-a-buck character feels like a the kind of small gem that needs the close-up framing of a tv screen to help him not be overshadowed by the larger personalities on stage.

What Didn’t: The Unrealistic Performances

Just to clarify: I don’t mean to separate the show’s performers into good or bad actors. Everyone in this cast does a fine job to be honest. But I think more theatrical styles of performance are better for the stage as opposed to film. Take Peter Bartlett’s hilarious turn as the Maître D’. Bartlett uses a lot of clown-like mannerisms and delivers his lines in exaggerated, breathy fashion. It’s fun to watch his meltdown on stage as he dramatically staggers across the stage in anxious anger and scowls for several seconds before recovering his volatile composure. But this extreme theatricality requires a suspension of disbelief, which is never something that translates well on camera.

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The same, I’d say, goes for Jane Krakowski as Ilona. Even though her performance isn’t as exaggerated as Bartlett, her deadpan delivery has a vaudevillian streak to it that emphasizes presence and charm over nuance of character. On stage, it’s thrilling. On camera, boring.

What Worked: Set Changes

David Rockwell won a Tony for Maraczek’s Faberge-egg of a set, and the video recording did a great job of framing each set change with the high-definition detail and beauty it deserves.

What Didn’t: Seasons Change

That cute bit where the passing of time is indicated by a stagehand throwing autumn leaves (and then winter snow) on the audience? Seemed sort of lame on television. Again, theatrics don’t translate well.

What Worked: It’s LIVE, People!

I loved seeing the shadows of the back of people’s heads as they watched the performance. It was a great reminder that this whole show was performed live in real time, interrupting the visual determination a camera can produce. It’s also a bit like the moments when cast members on Saturday Night Live slip up during a skit. We love those bits so much because they reveal a bit the reality behind the show. Seeing behind the process of how something is created helps us appreciate the craft that goes into it.

Speaking of slip ups, Laura Benanti dropping ice cream on her bed sheets should be instituted into every performance of the show from now on.

What Didn’t: Misuse of Pre-show, Post-show, and Intermission

Before the show, we got a nice, little interview with Jane Krakowski and the significance of the show on her career and family life. It was worth a soundbite or two. But really? We had a whole 15-minute intermission that could have been spent with more artist interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, discussion on the history of the show, maybe even a special guest or two. Instead we got Justin Guarini counting down the ways Broadway HD is better than seeing the real show. First off, I disagreed with nearly every single point. Second, for an organization who claims to supplement live theater attendance and not replace it, that was definitely not the way to express it. Let’s get a bit more creative with the way we use this precious, precious time, BroadwayHD. I can interview Laura Benanti for you if you want.

What Worked: People all around the country got to see a great work of theater. Broadway became accessible. A stunning show was preserved through technology. And I got to write about this stage-to-screen trend. Let’s do this again sometime, eh? Vanilla ice cream for all!

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A Heartfelt Family Drama in ‘the goodbye room’

The death of a family member, particularly that of a parent, is an experience full of difficult transitions. Suddenly, a person with whom you have spent your entire life is gone. How do we best honor their lives?  Could we have treated them better? Could we have anticipated their illness or unhappiness with more selfless intuition? How do we healthily move on with such a loss at our core? These are the questions that can either break a family or unite them. Happy Few Theatre Company‘s new production the goodbye room, written and directed by Eric Gilde, aims to uncover what unites us in times of grief, guilt, and uncertainty, and how family bonds are so essential to our identities.

In addition to the loss of their mother Carolyn, sisters Bex and Maggie are experiencing major life transitions of their own. Bex (Ellen Adair) is an accountant living in Chicago whose marriage is on the rocks. Maggie (Sarah Killough) lives closer to her Midwestern family home and is anxious about her demanding work schedule and her static love life. Their relationship is at the center of this quiet, genuine story. When Bex first arrives for her mother’s funeral, she finds her sister’s belongings scattered across her old bed. She reacts angrily, already stressed from her flight and from the circumstances bringing her home, but the stuff on her bed is more than just an annoyance. It’s representative of Bex’s absence in the house and Maggie’s added presence, of Maggie’s resentment and Bex’s guilt, and of their strained adult relationship.

Sarah Killough & Ellen Adair are sisters in _the goodbye room_ - Photo by Colin Shepherd
Sarah Killough and Ellen Adair in the goodbye room. Photo by Colin Shepherd

Their father Edgar (Michael Selkirk) has a far calmer disposition and lets his true feelings go largely understated. He masks his grief with dry humor and demands little from those around him.This steady demeanor, however, is tested when the sisters’ easygoing childhood friend,  Sebastian (Craig Wesley Divino), tries to help the family settle back into normalcy and reveals a crucial detail about Carolyn’s death.

The goodbye room provides a genuine portrayal of a family dynamic. Each character is deeply sympathetic– I could see my own parents and siblings in their complex needs and conflicting responses to grief. While at times a bit heavy-handed (some scenes go a bit too long, and there’s a supernatural suggestion that this essentially family-centered drama could have done without) Gilde’s script provides insight in what is said as much as in what remains unsaid. The play also moves deftly between sadness, confusion, and joy.  It allows for the audience to observe the characters in awkward, silent confrontations as well as in boozy, late-night silliness. The company’s superb acting sets a natural, well-paced tone, as does the excellent sound and set design with an attention to detail (oily pizza plates, a frog-faced mug, a crumb-filled rug)  that invests us in this family space.

The goodbye room plays at The Bridge Theatre at Shetler Studios through March 19. Tickets here.

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Mobile Shakespeare Unit Presents “The Comedy of Errors” with Substance and Style

Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors is an odd gem of a play. As one of his earlier comedies, it’s rife with MacGuffins, mistaken identities, and slapstick comedy. It also has far too many rhyming couplets and a set up so complex and over-the-top that it resulted in the longest monologue Shakespeare had ever written. Still, The Comedy of Errors is one of my favorite of Shakespeare’s plays, and I’ve seen more productions of it than any other play.

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… And I may have done it in college. Sue me.

The Comedy of Errors is the latest of Shakespeare’s offerings that is now playing at the Public Theater, courtesy of its Mobile Unit program. After spending three weeks touring correctional facilities, shelters, and community organizations all over the five boroughs, the Mobile Unit finishes its run with a residency at the Public. It’s important to keep in mind the Mobile Unit’s mission, as it’s inherent in every part of the production. A cast of seven actors change hats—literally—to play more than double the amount of characters. Props and costumes are vibrant and detailed, but still minimal and portable enough to change from scene to scene… and performance to performance. (In some cases, certain items, like wigs or a tube of lipstick, don’t even make it past prison security for those stops on the Mobile Unit’s tour.) The cast itself is diverse, with performers of different sizes and shades, resembling a typical New York City street more than, say, that all-white Wars of the Roses revival that just finished playing in London. Though all of these elements are tweaked and trimmed to fit the nature of Mobile Unit’s production, Shakespeare’s narrative still shines through.

Twinning. ( ◀ ▶ X Lucas Caleb Rooney and Bernardo Cubría Photo Credit: Joan Marcus. Matthew Citron, Bernardo Cubria, Flor De Liz Perez, Christina Pumariega, Lucas Caleb Rooney, David Ryan Smith and Zuzanna Szadkowski. - See more at: http://www.playbill.com/news/article/casting-announced-for-the-publics-comedy-of-errors-set-to-tour-five-boroughs-361776#sthash.25dpJXBK.dpuf
Twinning. (Lucas Caleb Rooney as Dromio of Syracuse and Bernardo Cubría as Antipholus of Syracuse. Photo Credit: Joan Marcus.)

The Comedy of Errors follows two sets of twins as they are separated at sea. Each Antipholus (Bernardo Cubría), accompanied by his servant Dromio (Lucas Caleb Rooney) end up in different citites; one in Ephesus, and one in Syracuse. When Antipholus and Dromio of Syracuse enter Ephesus, they are mistaken for their Ephesian counterparts, causing all kinds of confusion for Adriana (Christina Pumariega), Antipholus of Ephesus’ wife, and Luciana (Flor De Liz Perez), Adriana’s sister. The Antiphol-i and Dromio’s are not exempt from the resulting chaos, encountering a scheming courtesan (Zuzanna Swadkowski), a strange abbess (also Zuzanna Swadkowski), and a debt-collecting goldsmith (David Ryan Smith) before they finally discover their brothers—and a happy ending, of course.

(Photo Credit: Joan Marcus)
But first: mistaken husbands. (Photo Credit: Joan Marcus)

Like I mentioned earlier, The Comedy of Errors isn’t a perfect play. But it’s a delightful one, and director Kwame Kwei-Armah taps into that fun in this production. Ephesus and Syracuse are now border towns not unlike the southwestern cities along the United States/Mexican border. Leather belts and denim work shirts are staples for the Antiphol-i and Dromio’s, while Adriana and Luciana are visions in turquoise. I was especially amused by Adriana’s Real Housewife-esque styling, complete with a bright orange dress, a bouffant wig, and a bedazzled wine glass. The border town placement is not just a fun design element, though. As the Duchess of Ephesus delivers her ruling on an errant border-crosser, she does so wearing a baseball cap that coyly reads, “Make Ephesus Great Again” and waving a fan that has Donald Trump’s face on it. I don’t think the intent was to make a huge statement on a political issue, but I found it to be a clever way to contextualize the Ephesus/Syracuse conflict with a knowing wink to the audience.

Comedy of Errors Public Mobile Unit Matthew Citron, Bernardo Cubria, Flor De Liz Perez, Christina Pumariega, Lucas Caleb Rooney, David Ryan Smith and Zuzanna Szadkowski. - See more at: http://www.playbill.com/news/article/casting-announced-for-the-publics-comedy-of-errors-set-to-tour-five-boroughs-361776#sthash.25dpJXBK.dpuf
Border Patrol. (David Ryan Smith, Christina Pumariega, Zuzanna Swadkowski, and Flor De Liz Perez. Photo Credit: Joan Marcus)

The performances are also top-notch. Bernardo Cubría as the Antiphol-i has a constant charisma coursing through his characters, along with a constant state of wide-eyed befuddlement. Christina Pumariega’s Adriana is one of the best I’ve ever seen, combining the reality-show worthy hysterics we typically see in her character with a grounded sense of self that was refreshing to see. Zuzanna Swadkowski is the MVP of playing more than one character, giving every role an amusing specificity.

If these aren’t enough reasons for you to check out The Comedy of Errors (though they should), it’s worth a visit just to hear Shakespearean verse done in a Southern accent. Now that’s an odd gem in of itself.

The Comedy of Errors is now playing through November 22nd. For more information, click here.
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‘Foolerie’ Tries to Balance Truth and Comedy at NYMF

Theater’s greatest fools are more than just comic relief or a madcap vehicle for dirty jokes. Fools occupy a unique status in cultural society and artistic thought. They perform for kings, leaders, and nobility, but don’t hold the class status themselves. Their comedic intent allows greater permissibility; fools can straddle subjects otherwise thought obscene or offensive in the name of comedy. They can use their outsider status to present topics to a listening audience, and expose some of life’s harshest contradictions. Think of some of today’s most provocative comedians—Amy Schumer, Key & Peele, Hannibal Buress—and see how their comedy is not just entertaining or obscene, but also truthful and exposing (sometimes aggressively so).

Foolerie’s troupe of performers struggle with a difficult artistic question. Should their comedy be only entertaining—a happy escape from the world—or should it confront the inevitable sad truths of daily existence. Clowne (Ian Knauer) is the leader of the troupe, and he issues a comedy death-match to any audience member claiming to be funnier than him. One takes up the challenge and joins the theatrics under the title of Knave (Ryan Breslin). However, Knave incorporates ‘truth’ into the troupe’s show, a loosely-structured account of young William Shakespeare’s adventures based on his many works. Soon enough the performers start to long for a deeper and richer sort of storytelling.

Olivia Polci, Patrick Ridgewood, Chandler Reeves, Patrick Massey, Geoff Belliston, Ian Fairlee, Ian Knauer - Credit Lance Brown
Olivia Polci, Patrick Ridgewood, Chandler Reeves, Patrick Massey, Geoff Belliston, Ian Fairlee, Ian Knauer – Credit Lance Brown

It’s a grand task for a show to be both funny and deeply complex. Writer Santino DeAngelo asks some enormously important questions, but they are difficult enough to answer without having to simultaneously juggle Shakespearean-style plot and characters. It is clear that DeAngelo has thorough scholarly experience in theatre; his writing incorporates an exciting blend of theatre theory and history. Unfortunately, as Foolerie’s structure begins to complicate, so does its comprehensibility. I felt firmly confident in the show’s meta-capability through the first few musical numbers, but by intermission I felt alienated from both the plot and its artistic discussion. And by the story’s messy final twist, I was simply confused. Foolerie just couldn’t synthesize its already intricate play-within-a-play with its highly abstract ambitions. Foolerie should continue to explore these questions, but do so with a little more of a guided, user-friendly path.

There are plenty of other reasons to see Foolerie besides a desire to construct your own theory of comedy. There are plenty of show-stopping numbers brimming with hilarious lyrics and energetic music. The ambitiously mischievous Malvolio (Patrick Massey) and the lecherous Hospital John (Patrick Richwood) sing some of the musical’s most surprisingly uproarious numbers. Hospital John particularly enjoys the license to thrill with witty and shocking obscenity—Richwood gets to fearlessly play a racist Jewish stereotype and an eager pedophile. And though we could’ve done without the handful of jokes where rape was literally the punchline, the rest of DeAngelo’s humor was pitch-perfect.

Foolerie premiered at the New York Musical Theatre Festival 2015. The last performance is Monday, July 27.

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PTP/NYC Presents “Scenes from an Execution” @ Atlantic Stage 2

In Scenes from an Execution, now playing as part of Potomac Theatre Project’s summer residency at Atlantic Stage 2, the idea of an artist “selling out” is not a new one. Playwright Howard Barker eschews contemporary artists and their struggle with commodification, focusing his dramatic lens on a Renaissance-era painter–and a middle-aged female one, at that.

Jan Maxwell as Galactia. Photo by Stan Barouh.
The Artist. (Jan Maxwell as Galactia. Photo by Stan Barouh.)

Scenes from an Execution follows Galactia (Jan Maxwell) as she receives a commission from Urgentino, The Doge of Venice (Alex Draper), to depict a recent battle that Venice has won. Urgentino recognizes Galactia’s great talent, but he is concerned that she will be unable to defer to the requirements of the Admiral (Bill Army) or the Cardinal (Steven Dykes). While her lover, fellow painter Carpeta (David Barlow), and her daughter Supporta (Lana Meyer) warn Galactia to adhere to the Doge’s wishes, Galactia remains adamant. She wants to convey the violence and horror of war in her painting, and not even the threat of execution will stop her from realizing her vision.

Lovers. Painters. (L-R: David Barlow as Carpeta, Jan Maxwell as Galactia. Photo by Stan Barouh)
Lovers. Painters. (L-R: David Barlow as Carpeta, Jan Maxwell as Galactia. Photo by Stan Barouh.)

Out of all of Barker’s plays that I have seen so far, Scenes from an Execution has been the most approachable. While there are no clear winners, there is an unexpected transfer of sympathies in the play. At first, Galactia’s relentless defense of her artistic integrity appears to be noble, while Venice and the Church seem to be unimaginative tyrants. As the play progresses, however, we see that Galactia’s stubbornness would make Ayn Rand proud… and I don’t mean that as a compliment. Galactia, no matter how noble her ideals are, has been hired to create something that edifies Venice. Moreover, when her loved ones, fellow colleagues, and employers inform Galactia of this repeatedly, she ignores them all for her sole mission. While Galactia’s creative desires should be expressed, they can be shown in another painting–a painting not made on the state’s dime.

Church and State. (L-R: Bill Army as The Admiral, Alex Draper as the Doge. Photo by Stan Barouh)
Church and State. (L-R: Bill Army as The Admiral, Alex Draper as the Doge. Photo by Stan Barouh.)

At one point during the play, Galactia says, “I haven’t time to listen to your motives, and who cares about them anyway? If we all had to understand one another’s motives!” Still, I wish there was a point in the play where the audience could listen to her motivations. It is clear that Galactia thrives on creating works containing anger and violence, but there is little else that explains her connection to her art and why she wants to convey these dark messages. As a result, her willingness to become a martyr for her art devolves into shallow petulance. While Barker appears to understand the appeal of selling out, he leaves the artist’s quest for true expression a mystery.

For more information on Scenes from an Execution, click here.
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Why Obama’s ‘Hamilton’ Visit Was A Huge Fricking Deal

As Barack Obama enters the last year-and-a-half of his presidency, his visit to Broadway’s Hamilton reminds us of a couple of fascinating, if not encouraging, facts about the revolutionary nature of the arts and Obama’s unique relationship to it.

First off, the Obamas are a theatre-going bunch. Michelle Obama and her daughters have seen about eight shows, including last week’s Kinky Boots. Barack Obama has seen two previously: A Raisin In the Sun and Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, both works by African-American playwrights. What president has seen this many Broadway shows while still serving in office? Certainly not Clinton, Bush, or Bush Dos. And I’m trying to recall if  Mad Men‘s Pete Campbell ever smugly mentioned a president catching the matinee of A Funny Thing Happened… but my memory fails, and so does Google (link below if you know of any). But one presidential family seeing eleven shows in six years? And the president himself seeing three? Do most presidents ever see any theater besides whatever sanitized routine the Kennedy Center Honors team has set up?

Of course, presidents can’t just go around brushing up on this or next year’s Tony nominees, even if they really do want to see Sydney Lucas perform “Ring of Keys” live. This isn’t some comedian’s garage. This involves sitting in the middle of more than 1,000 other people, any of whom might want to re-enact John Wilkes Booth’s legacy. It also involves taking about three hours from a very busy schedule and like, I dunno, turn his cell phone off. If you thought it was hard for you, well… Besides, what to see? As a public figure, (and as someone whose name begins with ‘O’ and ends with ‘bama,’) our president’s every choice is analyzed as carrying symbolic or political significance. His prior choices were revivals of works by noted African-American playwrights. Now he’s at a new musical by a Puerto-Rican. Whether this analysis should or shouldn’t be going on, what I mean to say is that the decision by a president to see a Broadway show has to be a deliberate, important, and calculated one.

Cast of Hamilton. Photo by Joan Marcus.

I won’t spend too much time discussing the merits and socially-charged ambitions of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton (we already did that for you here). The focus of much of the discussion surrounding it has been the casting of black and Hispanic/Latino actors and the use of hip-hop, rap, R&B, and pop music to represent the life of Alexander Hamilton, a Founding Father and an immigrant himself. It re-positions the American narrative into the hands and voices of the people who owned it all along: the oppressed, the refugees, the free-thinkers, the marginalized. It is also a huge move for race representation on Broadway, where it’s often difficult to find a non-white actor playing a supporting, let alone lead, role. The musical comes at a fraught time (although, to be honest, when isn’t it?) for race relations in America. It opened Off-Broadway at the Public amid the birth of the Black Lives Matter movement in retaliation against police brutality. It began Broadway previews just last week, with the Charleston massacre and the removal of the Confederate flag from the state house.

It also comes at a unique time for President Obama. With no re-election to lose, it seems like Obama has become more interesting in abandoning silent bipartisanship as an approach on issues of race and trading his normal, often frustrating, diplomatic manner for stronger stances and action. His eulogy for Rev. Clementa Pinckney ended with the president singing “Amazing Grace,” a gesture that helps remind us that the struggle for racial equality has far-reaching history and no single speech will mend its wounds. He has spoken with unprecedented candidness on his black identity and the dissociated state of blackness in America. Just a few days ago, he became the first sitting president to visit a federal prison and told drug-offenders that he might have been in their place without luck and resources. He granted 46 low-level drug offenders their freedom.

The arts have always had a unique relationship to the state. In The Republic, Plato states that in the ideal society, poets should be banished, citing them as a threat to the “well-ordered State.” About two thousand years later, Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote, “Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world,” underscoring the essential role that the arts has in developing the public consciousness. The best art, in fact, challenges the status quo and introduces a new narrative, a new perspective, or new challenge into the way we imagine society. Hamilton is challenging the status quo in style and in content, on Broadway and in American History textbooks. The repercussions of it and of stories like it that have come before and will certainly come after shall hopefully be felt on the stage, in the arts, in the public, and hopefully one day in the state. But that will take years. It may happen in our lifetime.  The fact that Barack Obama is paying attention RIGHT NOW? Now as he dedicates the remainder of his presidency to mending race relations in small yet significant ways?  That’s not a coincidence.

No, YOU get a Standing O, Mr. President.
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‘210 Amlent Ave’ Has Charm But Little Drama

A young poet uncovers huge family secrets in the melodramatic, often predictable 210 Amlent Avenue. Written by Beck Goldberg (book) and Karl Hinze (music and lyrics) and directed by Samantha Saltzman, this new musical begins with the melancholy number “Here in This House,” in which we begin to unravel the characters’ unique relationships to the titular Hamptons property. For starters, Judah (Zal Owen), has returned to this house shortly after the death of his parents on a mission to learn more about his parents’ relationship to its owners, the Jordan family. Mrs. Jordan (Robin Skye), a well-known actress plotting a return to the stage as a writer, has just been widowed. Judah spent his summers vacationing there, and looks at the house with nostalgia and open-hearted possibility. On the other hand, Mrs. Jordan views it with the resentment of a prisoner. The supporting characters likewise have unique  relationships to the house. Leslie is a mousy, Cinderella-like nanny hoping to break free and finish her education degree. Sarah is Judah’s girlfriend, looking to score an audition with Mrs. Jordan. And neighbors Murphy and Claire have dreams of owning the place themselves.

With more nuance and a deeper exploration of these characters backgrounds and relationships, this musical could succeed as an enticing, character-driven show. As is, there is a lot left unclear. For example, we hardly get a clear picture of why Judah is so obsessed with his parents’ past, or why Leslie feels such an obligation towards Mrs. Jordan. When Judah finally discovers Mrs. Jordan’s secret (you can probably guess it now) and gets in the way of her financial and emotional freedom as a widow, she dangles his girlfriend’s acting career as collateral. However, by this point, Judah has already fought with Sarah and warmed up to Leslie, so we’re not left with much of a balancing act here. And the drastic measures taken by Mrs. Jordan and Leslie in the final scenes are even more outlandish and contrived, leaving us cold to their struggles.

The cast of 210 Amlent Avenue. Photo by Michael Kushner

210 Amlent Avenue succeeds most during character-centric, light-hearted numbers, with much proof to Hinze’s musical ability. Some standout numbers include “Making Sense,” in which Judah and Leslie share their love for clarifying literature, and “How We Stay Together,” when Claire and Murphy blithely celebrate their strong, affectionate marriage. Murphy and Claire are themselves highlights, due in part to Steven Hauck’s amd Nikki Van Cassele’s charismatic ease, as well as the character’s natural optimism. The musical could also easily be developed as a vehicle for the actress playing Mrs. Jordan; Robin Skye does an excellent portrayal here as a vulnerable, hopeful, yet authoritative and cold matriarch. Mrs. Jordan past earns further probing; perhaps time shifts throughout the show can energize the otherwise languid, banal Hamptons drama.

210 Amlent Avenue played at the 2015 New York Musical Theater Festival and ran from July 9-14.

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NYMF 2015: “Acapella” Removes the Instruments but Keeps the Heart

The New York Musical Theatre Festival has taken over the city once more with its program of full productions, workshops, and concerts of new and up-and-coming musicals. Acapella, which is now playing at PTC Performance Space, is one of the shows that kicked off the festival on Wednesday. Acappella NYMF logo

Like its namesake, Acapella is a musical with no instruments, as the singers use their voices to provide the instrumentation. Using the music of Christian vocal group The Acappella Company, Acapella follows Jeremiah (Tyler Hardwick) from his start as a gospel singer to superstardom in a boy band. When he returns home to his southern small town, Jeremiah remembers his love for gospel music and a more normal life. But the people Jeremiah left behind, best friend Simon (Anthony Chatmon II) and former sweetheart Sarah (Darilyn Castillo) aren’t ready to welcome Jeremiah with open arms.

Top: Sarah (Darilyn Castillo) and Jeremiah (). Bottom: Simon () and Jeremiah (). Photo by John Keon.
Top: Sarah (Darilyn Castillo) and Jeremiah (Tyler Hardwick). Bottom: Simon (Anthony Chatmon II) and Jeremiah (Tyler Hardwick). Photo by John Keon.

Acapella bills itself as a musical about “finding your own voice,” and in some ways, it already has. The musical’s winning features are its rich catalog of music and insanely talented cast. The Acapella Company’s songs have both complexity and spirit as they course through the production. And the ensemble creates an acapella team so dynamic that it will impress Pitch Perfect fans. Some highlights include Katrina Rose Dideriksen’s insanely powerful belt, Rachel Gavaletz’s smoky alto, Garett Turner’s smooth bass, and Janelle McDermoth’s sickeningly good beat-boxing. The result is so good I had to stop myself from dancing in my seat.

Photo by John Keon.
Photo by John Keon.

Like many jukebox musicals though, Acapella‘s book could use more development. While the love triangle between Jeremiah, Sarah, and Simon is clear to see, I wish there was more to the characters’ relationships. I am also curious to know how acapella gospel music has become such a staple to their small town that multiple groups (including a hilarious subplot with Jeremiah’s aunt and her old singing quartet) are participating in the local concert. If Acapella dug a little more deeper into its setting and characters, then it could have a story that matches its music.

Acapella runs through July 14th. For more information, click here.

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Podcast- Gloria: Stage Violence and Martinis Edition

In this episode: 1) Sara and Norma discuss the news of Deaf West’s Spring Awakening revival (4:45), 2) rank the Hedwig promo photos and celebrate Taye Diggs’ arrival (12:00), and 3) discuss stage violence, realism, and how Gloria and Punk Rock scared the sh*t out of us (17:30).

There are a TON of spoilers in here, so don’t listen if you’re not down for that.

Links to articles/shows mentioned in the podcast:

Theatermania interview with Michael Arden on his vision for Deaf West‘s Spring Awakening.

Gloria at The Vineyard Theatre

Punk Rock at MCC

Howlround article on Violence and Ancient Greek Theater

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