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.
The Music Man On Broadway, A Review
Meredith Willson’s endearing fable of the con man who comes to River City in search of easy money and finds redemption in the love of a local lass has been given riotous new life by protean director-choreographer Susan Strohman. Strohman’s other Broadway offering this year, “Contact,” won her the Tony, but “The Music Man,” for which she was also nominated, is the sentimental favorite.
Aida On Broadway, A Review
At its best, Aida is so deliriously ghastly it is great fun to watch. At its worst it is embarrassing. Much of the time it is merely boring. Mr. John, who can write a catchy tune now and then, has risen to his level of incompetence to produce a sort of Mc-rock score and Mr. Rice follows suit with gratingly banal lyrics — although it must be said in his defense that Mr. John’s truncated musical lines didn’t give him much to work with. The book often manages bathos when it strives for drama and its humor is on a par with the best of today’s sitcoms (which is to say it’s pretty dreadful).
Wrong Mountain On Broadway, A Review
“Wrong Mountain” is, in fact, a delightfully bilious play of ideas about art, intellectual snobbery, the meaning of success, and the ability of theater to transform the lives of those on both sides of the curtain. It is also, not incidentally, very, very funny.
Dame Edna: The Royal Tour On Broadway, A Review
For those who don’t know, Dame Edna is the alter ego of Australian-born, London-based comedian Barry Humphries. Over the years he has elevated Edna from typical Australian housewife (Say “average” with an Australian accent) to a bespangled mega-star who hobnobs with royalty and dispenses wisdom and insight to her adoring fans