Wendy R. Williams' Theatre Column

Greetings Theater Lovers,

This month I only saw one play, Doug Stones’ Sealed for Freshness (sealedforfreshness.com). Freshness was playing at the wonderful New World Stages, a venue that all theater lovers should know.

But first Sealed for Freshness. Here is a quote from their press release: “The play tells the story of five mid-western women who believe in being good wives, good mothers and good neighbors. They were raised to trade their dreams, hopes and desires for social norms . . . and now they want them back. These hermetically sealed, airtight lives unravel during a sidesplitting Tupperware party gone awry. The women of Sealed for Freshness are struggling with lost youth, missed opportunities, and deviled egg containers. In other words, they're the original "Desperate Housewives."

Sealed has been pretty much pilloried by critics for its stereotypical characters and its bathroom humor (flatulence, impotence, etc. etc). And the play did sport some pretty juvenile jokes. But the audience was filled with women who were laughing hysterically; they were having a lot of fun and stereotypical or not, the story resonated with them. And I bet most of them own some Tupperware. So if you study theater and see a lot of theater, sometimes you just know too much and end up with a true “forest for the trees problem” and say a show is bad just because you did not like it yourself.

Now back to New World Stages (newworldstages.com - 340 West 50th Street). If you have not attended a play there, you definitely should. It is a huge cavernous space (it used to be a movie multiplex) with a futuristic feel. The owners have filled it with pieces of pop art and many of the shows have a pop art feel. There is also a very hip lobby bar (with a new partition to make it more intimate). New World Stages should be on everyone’s list of fun places to take their out-of-town company. And they have their act down; you can preorder your intermission drinks from one of two lobby bars and as you walk out for intermission, "cigarette girls" greet you holding trays filled with bottled water, ice cream and candy.

Bill W. and Dr. Bob

Also playing at New York Stages are Bill W. and Dr. Bob, the story of the (according to the press release) “relationship between Bill Wilson, a failed stockbroker, and Dr. Bob Smith, a surgeon, during the early days of Alcoholics Anonymous. (billwanddrbob.com). Now that is a show that has a built-in audience.

And The Gazillion Bubble Show (according to the press release), “Take the journey of a lifetime and step into the "unbubblelievable" magical kingdom of Fan Yang in The Gazillion Bubble Show! The first and only, interactive stage production of its kind, complete with fantastic light effects, lasers, and jaw-dropping masterpieces of bubble artistry, this unforgettable extravaganza is not to be missed.” http://www.bubbleart.com/GBS-1.htm

And Altar Boyz, (according to the press release), “A new musical comedy and critically-acclaimed hit of the New York Musical Theatre Festival, is the hilarious account of a struggling Christian boy-band (with one nice Jewish boy) looking for their big break in the Big Apple.” altarboyz.com

And Naked Boys Singing (also according to their press release), “The Off-Broadway hit sensation, Naked Boys Singing features eight gentlemen displaying more than their considerable talent in this musical revue. An original score of 16 songs is performed by an attractive cast of "costume-free" men.” nakedboyssinging.com

Tickets to all New World Stages shows are available at telecharge.com
Order Tickets By Phone: 212-239-6200 & 800-432-7250