The Lion King on Broadway, A Review
“The Lion King” tells the tale of a murdered king, his feckless son, and a usurping uncle. Shades of Shakespeare! But this is a Disney production and the real source is a Disney animated film of the same name and anyone who says Disney stole the plot from a Japanese animated film is itchin’ for a fight. But that’s all beside the point. The wafer-thin and perfectly harmless story is just an excuse for a very enjoyable production.
Superior Donuts On Broadway, A Review
Arthur Przybyszewski (his unpronounceable name is a running gag) is an aging and lonely child of the sixties running his fading family donut shop in an iffy neighborhood of Chicago. Via rather awkward, to-the-audience, interior monologues, we learn he carries a burden of guilt over long ago decisions and his dead father’s disdain.
“Wit” Off-Broadway, A Review
Actually, I was one of the few dissenting voices on the original production. I felt that the central character’s empty personal life was never dealt with dramatically and left a hollow space where the play’s heart should have been. On top of that, the key roles were played too much on one note for my taste, emphasizing the intellectual rigor of the piece but sacrificing the human connection that would make us care for the people on stage.
Boeing Boeing On Broadway, A Review
Rylance, making his Broadway debut, is a study in actorly technique. The shy, hestitant milquetoast he creates here is a wonderment of tics, pauses, hesitations, stammers, and schtick and a comic masterpiece. His portrayal of the play’s central figure is totally over the top, totally unbelievable and yet you buy every minute of it. He is the main, I might almost say only reason, a trip to the Longacre Theatre is warranted.
Souvenir On Broadway, A Review
Souvenir is not so much about Jenkins herself as it is about the bond that developed between her and her long time accompanist, the improbably named Cosme McMoon. The play’s subtitle, “A Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins,” suggests that Temperley has taken liberties with historical fact, but no matter, the tale he tells speaks volumes about trust, friendship, and believing in oneself.
Doubt On Broadway, A Review
Father Flynn (Brian O’Byrne) is straight out of an old Bing Crosby/Barry Fitzgerald movie, the kind of young, idealistic priest that everyone adores. He’s a terrific homilist, too. He gives two in the course of the play, delivered straight to the audience-as-congregation and I think if I could be guaranteed sermons like that I might become a regular churchgoer. He also seems to have a way with kids, as evidenced in another terrific vignette in which we become the members of the basketball team he coaches.
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels On Broadway, A Review
Based on the hit movie of the same name, “Scoundrels” tells the tale of Lawrence Jameson, a suave, vaguely English con man (John Lithgow) who, with the aid of a corrupt chief of police (Gregory Jbara), has had an illustrious career bilking rich women like Muriel Eubanks (Joanna Gleason) out of their money on the French Riviera. His idyllic life is thrown into disarray with the appearance of Freddy Benson (Norbert Leo Butz), a distinctly down-market but nonetheless successful American version of Lawrence.
Take Me Out On Broadway, A Review
At first glance, the play seems to be about baseball’s (and therefore society’s) ambivalent attitudes towards homosexuality. When Darren Lemming, the studly African-American superstar of the Empires, a team that looks a lot like the Yankees, announces, for no particular reason, that he is gay, the revelation produces a fairly standard array of responses. Most people are accepting, in the currently politically correct manner, but more atavistic feelings seem to lurk just beneath the surface.
The Crucible On Broadway, A Review
One sure hallmark of a classic is its ability to speak to succeeding generations. By that measure, Arthur Miller’s searing parable of intolerance, vengence, and mass hysteria, “The Crucible,” is destined to resonate for centuries to come. Certainly, there are moments in the play that hit today’s Broadway audience with the force of a breaking news bulletin. And this is an age in which Miller’s sobering tale needs retelling.
Proof On Broadway, A Review
“Proof” is not without its merits. Auburn writes well and has created believable characters and some nicely turned dialog. Director Daniel Sullivan (ably assisted by John Lee Beatty’s smashing set) has turned a quartet of able performers into a finely tuned ensemble. Best of all, to my taste, is Ben Shenkman as the nerdy-suitor. Mary-Louise Parker seems to have been raised in the San Fernando Valley section of Chicago and she is perhaps a bit too drop-dead gorgeous for the role, but she manages the tricky task of being a believable focus for the play’s mock momentousness.