Matt Morillo's
Angry Young Women in Low Rise Jeans with High Class Issues
January 4, 2007 - February 11, 2007
Theater for the New City (Cino Theater)

Reviewed by Corey Ann Haydu

Angry Young Women is a fearless look at modern womanhood told through a series of comedic vignettes that left the audience both laughing and appalled. Watching this play would be a great outlet for angry young women every where; it embraces all that is crazy, neurotic, hypocritical and vulnerable in our lives. The lovely actresses unleash intense emotional whirlwinds throughout the entire eighty-five minute performance, somehow managing to continually keep the drama humorous.

The highlight of the show is the vignette titled “Unprotected Sex”. The scene explores the mania of women on the birth control pill and manages to both magnify the crazed emotions and sympathize with the hormonal realities. The scene is both hyperbolic and compassionate, capturing both genders in moments of conflict and love. Rachel Nau (the powerhouse actress of the show) is loveable, infuriating and frightening - all at the same time. She allows herself to ride out the highs and lows of the script with fearless abandon and we all reap the benefits of her courage. This powerful and hilarious vignette is all that is right about Angry Young Women. At its best, this is a show that teases without criticizing, challenges without preaching and looks at gender difference without determining a winner in the gender wars.

At times, the script was under-edited and a few scenes repeated dialogue to the point of exhaustion. Though the premises of each scene was fresh and inventive, the dialogue was at times cliché and repetitive. However, the energy of the actors was so impressive that the audience stayed with the show and all was ultimately forgiven. Each actor was thoroughly dedicated to the quirky moments and raunchy outbursts of the play and it was a pleasure simply watching their energy explode onstage.

Matt Morillo has written and directed a show that entertains men and women alike. Somehow he has managed to capture private female thoughts and intimate moments with such accuracy that you have to wonder if he had a personal peephole into the ladies room at his local bar. The audience of both men and women laughed with the seven young brazen actors for the majority of the show. The pace, momentum and vigor were unfailing and it was a sexy and shocking night at the theatre - something we could all probably use.

Ticket info: Th-Sat's $20, Sundays "pay what you can"
www.kadm.com

Theater for the New City (Cino Theater) |155 1st Ave. Ny, NY

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Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s
Company
Tuesday 7:00pm
Wednesday 2:00PM & 8:00PM
Thursday 8:00PM
Friday 8:00PM
Saturday 2:00PM & 8:00PM
Sunday 3:00PM
Barrymore Theatre

Reviewed by Frank J. Avella

On April 26, 1970, one of the most significant and groundbreaking musicals of the modern era opened to rather divisive notices. A year later, Follies would receive similarly polarizing reviews. Yet these two musicals and the creative artists involved in them, would go on to dominate and define the decade.

Thirty-seven years later, Company proves to be as timely as ever and the new production, brilliantly directed by John Doyle, at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre is, by far, the most intelligent and thought-provoking musical now running on Broadway. (A decade ago a rather disappointing revival had a brief Broadway run.)

In a career that boasts some of the greatest stage musicals of all time including, Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods and Sunday in the Park With George (my choice for the best of the best), there is no question that Stephen Sondheim is one of the few true geniuses of the musical theatre. What is remarkable is just how strong and lasting his work truly is. One would think that Company, so grounded in the late sixties/early seventies milieu, would prove impossibly dated today. And even a great revival would be nothing more than a fun evening of nostalgia. But Company is as vital and relevant today as it was back in 1970, it actually feels even more urgent in 2007.

Raul Esparza plays Bobby, the seemingly happy bachelor surrounded by a slew of married couples who appear, on the surface, to be content. But deeper therein lies the rub.

As Bobby embarks on a searing psychological journey of self-discovery, spearheaded by his 35th birthday celebration, the audience become privy to the exploration of the complex lives of his friends. And that is part of what makes Company so unique. It actually delves into the characters thoughts and hopes and wishes and failures with such honesty, that the viewer sometimes feel like voyeurs.

The deft and dramatic book by George Furth is complimented by Sondheim’s demanding and dynamic score.

Raul Esparza is the key to the show’s success. Here is a Bobby who is able to convey the pain and confusion of being single, married with the delirious freedom and excitement that is also par for the bachelor course. Esparza has an adorability and sexual-ness that makes one want to rush up onstage and hug and/or lick him! He never overplays the part and is always fascinating to watch.

Bobby’s Act One tour de force, “Marry Me a Little” (amazingly cut from the original production) is a heartbreaking moment for him.

Doyle used the ‘gimmick’ of having all the actors play musical instruments last year in his much celebrated production of Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd. It is repeated here to greater effect, especially since Bobby is the only performer who does not take part. The metaphor is not lost on the audience and once he does finally take to the piano on the spectacular, “Being Alive,” we have been anticipating the moment with great desire. It is our needed climactic catharsis.

Doyle expertly stages the couples (book) scenes, never allowing the bickering to get on our nerves. And the musical numbers are handled with equal expertise.

Early in Act One, three of Bobby’s girlfriends group together to sweetly attack him in the song, "You Could Drive a Person Crazy." All three gals sing as they play sax, making the instruments a part of the commentary. It’s a fantastic moment.

In the hilarious number “Getting Married Today,” Heather Laws plays a neurotic bride who needs to decide whether to take the plunge or not. What ensues is giddy and inspired madness.

Barbara Walsh kicks musical ass performing the classic (Elaine Stritch signature) “The Ladies Who Lunch”. Walsh is one of Broadway’s hidden treasures and her Joanne is destined to be Tony nominated.

The exquisite “Barcelona” feels like a short film and is one of the best songs ever about a fleeting sexual encounter. Elizabeth Stanley is the delightfully ditzy flight attendant April and the end of the song hits way too close to home for anyone who has ever been in that...predicament.

Arguably the best number in the show and a song that masterfully personifies the New York experience is “Another Hundred People” It is given a rousing and just rendition by Angel Desai.

David Gallo’s symmetrical set impresses and Thomas C. Hase’s lighting is also to be commended.

The entire production is an astounding success and the irony is that the show satirizes the precise group of people that often patronize the theatre: bored, upper class Manhattanites who are looking for meaning in their mundane lives. If only they had Sondheim around each morning to poke a little fun at them, perhaps they would like themselves more...

Ultimately, Company is about the anxiety, ambivalence and angst that comes with being 35, living in New York and not being coupled...the entire cast and crew should be congratulated for a perfect production. And Raul Esparza should now easily enter the pantheon of Broadway stars!

Tickets $36.25-$111.25 www.telecharge.com

Barrymore Theatre| 243 W. 47th Street

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Ronnie Koenig's
Dirty Girl
Thursday–Saturday @ 8:00PM
Through Jan 27
The Kraine Theater

Reviewed by Sharyn Jackson

It's every young writer's dream: land a fat-titled editorial job at a national magazine with only a little experience and a line like, "I'm a strong writer, a fast learner, and I know that I will both meet and exceed your expectations." Well, that, and a quickly generated list of a hundred euphemisms for penis. That's all Dori Richter needed to do to get herself a cubicle in the offices of Loverboy, and assumedly it's not far off from playwright Ronnie Koenig's own experience as a former editor of Playgirl magazine.

In less than one year, this "nice Jewish girl from Long Island" moves all the way up to editor in chief but the road to success at the top of a "women's entertainment magazine" is not without it's bumps. Dori's desperate search for one female reader of Loverboy threatens to knock her off her rocker as her hopes to make a difference empowering women by providing them with glossy pages of exposed male members fizzles out and the reality hits hard: Dori is running a gay magazine. At least she gets free sex toys and "finally has great party conversation."

Dori's obsession with proving the validity of her job to herself reveals Dirty Girl's core: it's no exposé on the adult magazine industry as one might hope—rather, it's the memoir of an ambitious kid's sexploitation along the way to conquering her dreams. Didn't anyone ever explain to Dori that you take the jobs you have to in order to survive in New York?

This production of Dirty Girl has expanded from its original one-woman format. Monologue-heavy, this may not have been the best choice. The supporting cast members, however, do a fine job disappearing into dozens of characters. Koenig, in the lead role, gives a sing-songy recitation, but her character's and her play's mousy innocence is still endearing.

Written by Ronnie Koenig; Directed by Robert W. McMaster; Starring Ronnie Koenig, Corrie Beula, Bridget Harvey, Michael Littner and Jesse Teeters.

Tickets $18.00 at www.smarttix.com and 212-868-4444.

The Kraine Theater | 85 E 4th St

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Gutenberg! The Musical!
Thursday–Friday @ 8PM
Saturday @ 7 & 10PM
Sunday @ 3 & 7PM
Through March 25
Actors' Playhouse

Reviewed by Sharyn Jackson

The show-within-a-show genre is nothing new, especially these days with The Drowsy Chaperone sustaining on Broadway, A Chorus Line making its comeback and [title of show] recently completing a successful off-Broadway run. Like it or not, there's no doubt that theatre-people love making theatre about theatre. Gutenberg! The Musical! is the newest show to adhere to this time-honored tradition. The good news? It's the most hilarious one yet.

Two wide-eyed writers have one dream: get their musical about—you guessed it—the inventor of the printing press onto the Great White Way. They present a reading of Gutenberg! to an audience full of producers, and luckily, we get to sit in. Doug (book/lyrics) and Bud (music/lyrics) play all of their characters—and there are many—through the creative use of labeled baseball hats.

Each scene plays out between enthusiastic prefaces comparable to something out of perfectly twisted educational theater. Gutenberg! is historical fiction, they say in one such intro. What's that? "It's fiction…that's true." (And that's a stretch for this show!) But these interludes, wholly inappropriate for the audience Bud and Doug are trying to woo, are where the real writers' love-hate-love relationship with musical theater comes out. They jab at ticket prices, over-the-top special effects, vampire musicals ("They do not work!"), and the employment of serious issues to lend shows importance. Combined with the fake writers' completely inaccurate story about Johann Gutenberg, their outlandishly brilliant songs, and imaginative staging, Gutenberg! The Musical! as a whole is a hysterically entertaining parody of Broadway—with heart. Behind all the jabs, there's an optimism that the writers—both fictional and real—share: a belief in the magical power of Broadway dreams. That, and the belief that everyone deserves to learn how to read.

Written by Scott Brown and Anthony King; Directed by Alex Timbers; Starring Christopher Fitzgerald (Bud) and Jeremy Shamos (Doug) with Ryan Karels; T.O. Sterrett (piano).

Tickets $50.00 at www.telecharge.com and 212-239-6200. For more information: www.gutenbergthemusical.com

Actors' Playhouse | 200 7th Ave S

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Julie White and Tom Everett Scott

Douglas Carter Beane’s
The Little Dog Laughed
Closes February 18, 2007
Cort Theater

Starring: Tom Everett Scott; Julie White; Johnny Galecki; and Ari Graynor.

Reviewed by Wendy R. Williams

Douglas Carter Beane has created a charming, fun, fast-paced comedy of manners with The Little Dog Laughed. The play tells the story a “love that dare not speaks its name” and may be loosely based on the life of a certain celebrity you have heard a lot about lately, but of whom we certainly dare not speak.

The play is advertised with this tag line:
A movie star on the rise
An agent on the phone
A hustler on the prowl
Welcome to Hollywood, baby!

Tom Everett Scott plays Mitchell, a Hollywood movie star in New York City for an awards show who finds he has some time on his hands, an empty hotel room and a well-stocked mini bar. First he investigates the bar and then decides to let his fingers do some walking-on-the-wild-side and dial up a rent-a-boy, Alex (played by Johnny Galecki), for a bit of in-room service. Both Mitchell and Alex earnestly tell the audience, each other and themselves that they are not actually gay. For Alex, it’s a job; when not working, he is happily involved in a relationship with down-town-party-chic Ellen (played by Ari Graynor). For Mitchell, it’s just something that happens when he drinks too much.

So the die is cast; two nice boys have met and love is in the air …..But wait; Mitchell has an agent, Diane (played by Julie White). Diane is a whirling dervish of a Hollywood power-broker who has many plans for Mitchell, none of which involve having Mitchell acquire a gay lover. They are in New York for a day or two and while they are there, they are going to make good use of their multi-tasking time and purchase a gay play which they will then transform from a boy-loves-boy play to a boy-loves-girl screenplay, squashing the protesting playwright like a half-chewed pretzel on a sidewalk grate. But complications ensue (don’t they always) and Diane has a chance to show her incredible negotiation skills when she deftly creates an arrangement that would make Cole Porter proud.

I saw this play right after it opened on Broadway (it had a successful Off Brodway run earlier this year) and I absolutely loved it. Little has a sophisticated and worldly script, filled with rapier sharp repartee. Scott Ellis’ direction is skillful and fast paced; he was probably running to keep up with Miss White who attacks her role like she was the Road Runner. And the rest of the cast does a capable and talented job of portraying their roles. But Miss White is so mega talented and she so totally steals the show every time she explodes onto the stage, the rest of the cast spends their stage time trying manfully and “femalefully” to not get left in her dust. But like I said, this is a very talented cast and they are bravely suiting up eight times a week to duel with a master. So by the time you can get tickets, the game will be on.

Ticket Prices $26.25-$96.25 www.telecharge.com 212-239-6200 or 800-432-7250. For more information: www.thelittledoglaughedonbroadway.com

Cort Theater 138 West 48th Street New York, NY 10036

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That Time of the Year
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday @ 8PM
Saturdays @ 2:30 & 8PM
Sundays @ 2:30PM & 7PM.
November 29th - December 24th.
York Theatre Company Theatre

Starring: Bridget Beirne; Kerri Jill Garbis; Erin Maguire; Jonathan Rayson; and Nick Verina. Directed and choreographed by Annette Jolles.

Reviewed by Wendy R. Williams

The York Theater’s new holiday production That Time of Year is a toe-tapping piece of original musical theater that’s as sweet as Christmas divinity. From the moment you enter the theater and see the white piano on a bonbon of a taupe and white stage until the final chorus of the show’s theme song “That Time of Year,” the show never fails to enchant.

Here is a quote from the press release: “That Time of the Year celebrates both Christmas and Hanukkah with warmth, humor and an eclectic musical style. Music runs the gamut from show tunes to rock, blues and jazz and the songs range from upbeat group numbers, which convey the angst and stress associated with the season, to touching ballads about family and the meaning behind the festivals.”

The entire cast was talented, witty and blessed with great voices. And the musical numbers all FIT, which is a holiday miracle because even thought the lyrics were created by the team of Laurence Holzman and Felicia Needleman, the music was composed by a diverse group of musical composers: Sanford Marc Cohen; Nicholas Levin; Donald Oliver; Kyle Rosen; Brad Ross; Mark Wherry; and Wendy Wilf. The musical numbers ranged from offerings like the witty “Rock ‘n’ Roll Hanukkah,” “Husband Blue” and “Holiday Lament (The Fruitcake Song)" to the poignant “Candles in the Window.”

The concept and direction were impeccable. The show also had a great lighting design (Chris Robinson); the taupe and white stage changing colors throughout the show, like one of those old white artificial trees. The creative team also includes Annie Pasqua as orchestrator/musical director, James Morgan as set designer and Terese Wadden as costume designer.

This show is fun!

Tickets for all performances are $49, with Student tickets for only $20 with ID at the box office. For information visit www.yorktheatre.org or call 212-935-5820.

Theatre at St. Peters |54th Street Just East of Lexington Avenue.

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Steve Sater & Duncan Sheik’s
Spring Awakening
Monday 8:00pm
Wednesday 8:00pm
Thursday 8:00pm
Friday 8:00pm
Saturday 2:00pm & 8:00pm
Sunday 2:00pm & 7:00pm
Eugene O'Neill Theatre

Reviewed by Frank J. Avella

When I first heard that Spring Awakening was moving to Broadway, I was a bit concerned. Would such an intimate show lose all potency and urgency in a big Broadway house?

Well the answer, thank the theatre gods, is a resounding no!

I am elated to report that this exciting, enthralling and oddly-enchanting production thrives at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre. And it’s improved greatly from the version I saw this past summer.

It’s still audacious and ambitious but it now has a wonderful sense of humor as well. The original production took itself a wee too seriously. But the gifted director Michael Mayer has found the perfect blend of comedy and pathos here. And it doesn’t hurt to have the extraordinary Christine Estabrook on board.

Based on Frank Wedekind’s highly controversial 1891 play The Awakening of Spring (not produced until 1906), and adapted by Steven Sater (book & lyrics) and rock star Duncan Sheik (music), the ‘play with songs’ (quoted by Sheik) focuses on adolescent schoolboys and girls at the age of sexual and spiritual awakening. The central figures being the good looking, wave-making Melchior (Jonathan Groff), his sweet, naive girlfriend Wendla (Lea Michele) and his troubled, oddball friend Moritz (John Gallagher, Jr.) as well as a slew of other angst-ridden, sexually-stirred, hormonally-bonkers characters.

Spring Awakening is mesmerizing to the eye--and ears. It’s a deliberately hard-edged visual and aural cacophony of the evils of repression--religious and societal (usually one begets the other).

The richly-rewarding anachronistic nature of the work adds to its originality and freshness. Although the piece is set at the turn of the last century, the actors whip out mikes and perform raw, intensely-modern rock songs. The device achieves a Brechtian break in the ‘period’ action. It’s as if the audience has warp-sped a century to a modern day rock concert. But the songs are the inner monologues and emotional mind states of Everykid. And that is why it works so well.

Sheik’s music is extraordinary, whether it be a heart-wrenching ballad (”The Song of Purple Summer”) or an angry rant (the fantastically fun “Totally Fucked”) and are matched by Sater’s intelligent lyrics and by the extraordinary ensemble’s vitality and conviction in song as well as performance. These guys were great last summer. They’re even better and seem more assured now.

“The Bitch of Living”, in particular, raises the levels through the rafters!

Melchior is that perfect blend of youth: a walking sack of sexual energy mixed with smarts and savvy and Jonathan Groff brilliantly brings him to life...and to despair as is necessary. Groff has a command now that is dazzling to behold.

Moritz is a tad more difficult since, as written he goes from frustration and confusion to doom very quickly, yet Gallagher, Jr. transcends the trappings and let’s us inside the loopy/scared mind of this tragic hero (especially in Act Two’s “Don’t Do Sadness”).

Michele’s Wendla still feels too tentative as Wendla but she conveys naiveté much better and has an amazing voice. Lauren Pritchard’s Ilse still brims with sex appeal and evoked the perfect combo of tumult and rebellion. And king of smarm and charm, Jonathan B. Wright nails his role down perfectly as the gay survivor about to feast on his prey. His self-pleasure moment is a riotous combo of delight and embarrassment. Special mention to Gideon Glick as the adorable Ernst.

Newly added cast members Stephen Spinella, and especially, Christine Estabrook give the show a great lift as well.

Beyond the masterful score, near-perfect performances and deft direction, I had a problem last time with feeling emotionally caught up in the lives of the characters. This, too, has changed. I DID feel passionately drawn into their worlds and I did care about their fates.

Spring Awakening is a triumph that should be seen by anyone who cares about the future of musical theatre.

Tickets $66.25-$111.25 at www.telecharge.com

Eugene O'Neill Theatre | 230 West 49th Street | New York, NY 10036

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Eric Bogosian’s
subUrbia
Second Stage Theatre, Off-Broadway
The Run is Over

Reviewed by Caroline Smith

Eric Bogosian’s subUrbia, set in a 7 Eleven parking lot, was littered with more than ‘ifs,’ ‘ands,’ or (cigarette) ‘butts.’ This is loitering in a place where loitering is prohibited because in the minds of the young characters, “There’s no place else to go.”

The well-maintained convenience store is run by two Pakistani immigrants, Norman and Pakeesa (Manu Narayan and Diksha Basu). The glass windows of the store are no shield to the scrutiny and racial remarks from the hangers-on outside who strew empty beer bottles and Chinese food containers across the front of the store like trash graffiti. It’s the twenty-somethings-hangers way of rejecting a culture too big for their tiny suburb of Burnfield.

Tim (Peter Scanavino) has returned from Iraq and his liquor-soaked tongue slurs a boatload of resentment. He guzzles his past down with six packs of beer, occasionally escaping to the store’s rooftop in an effort to raise himself up off the curb. Jeff (Daniel Eric Gold) is upset about more than his failing relationship with girlfriend Sooze. His analytical outlook on the world hinders his potential for action. The audience sees the play’s humanity in Jeff. Jeff dreams of asserting himself, but he lacks the will.

When Pony, the classmate who “made it” (played by Michael Esper), enters the scene, Jeff and Tim can’t help but point out dents in Pony’s success. Because it’s far easier to find the flaws in Pony than to acknowledge his courage in getting out of the neighborhood. Pony’s return shakes them all and Sooze, played by Gabby Hoffman, is inspired by more than just his singing talent. She seeks Pony’s support to go to New York and pursue her own art - the kind of support she doesn’t get from Jeff.

The stage was caffeinated by Kieran Culkin’s performance. Ironically, his pot-smoking-apathetic-character Buff brought the most energy to the show. Within this group of friends, Buff may have had the least direction and concern for his future; but his character brought more than comic relief to the story. His antics stood as a reminder that the pains of ‘growing up’ don’t have to exclude some joy.

In short, subUrbia is an angsty tale about a generation that can’t see past themselves because they simply haven’t lived long enough. They search for answers to questions beyond the red lights and yellow veined roads of their small suburban town. But despite all the liquor and drugs they consume, they can’t quell their fears for the future. Quiet character Bee (Halley Feiffer), finds her own way of silencing these fears and this leads a sad and unexpected ending of the play.
Although Bogosian updated his 1994 play to suit today’s iPod and cellular world, I’m uncertain how it will age. The re-telling of it didn’t seem to add any extra fizz; this convenience store tale of ‘growing up’ just felt flat.

subUrbia was skillfully directed by Jo Bonney.

Second Stage Theatre |307 West 43rd Street