Papermoon's Theatrical Diary

Reflections of a Playgoer

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MISS MARGARIDA’S WAY

February 13, 1990

MISS MARGARIDA'S WAY is a satirical play written by Brazil's Roberto Athayde. The play is set in what looks like a school classroom. The cast typically consists of only two people: Miss Margarida, a school teacher, and a male student, who often sits among the audience members, whom Miss Margarida addresses and treats as if they were real school children.  The student does not speak. Athayde intended Miss Margarida to represent power: the power of government, the power of church, the power of family, the power of peers, raw power in all its forms.

The play premiered in Cordoba, Argentina, in November 1972 after being banned in Athayde's native Brazil.  Its Brazilian premiere was in 1973 in Rio de Janeiro.  The play's English language premiere was in Toronto in 1976.  Its American premiere was in San Francisco in 1977 and that same year was seen on off-Broadway produced by the New York Public Theatre and starring Estelle Parsons. This production moved to Broadway where she was nominated for a Tony Award. The play won a 1978 Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience.  Parsons returned to the role for a limited run on Broadway in 1990 (see below).  

MISS MARGARIDA'S WAY began performances at Broadway's Helen Hayes Theatre on February 6 and played until February 25, 1990.  It was directed by the author with lighting by Jason Sturm and costumes by Santo Loquasto, who had designed the original production.  It starred Estelle Parsons, with Koji Okamura as the Student and the audience as the rest of her students.  

Although I hadn't yet seen it live, I was fairly obsessed by this play for much of the 1980s.  I remember creating scene nights for our local community theatre in which my friend Jeanette played Miss Margarida.  In 1999 I saw a summer theatre production starring singer and “Gong Show” panelist Jaye P. Morgan. So, when Broadway's original Miss Margarida returned to the role in 1990, I had to see it.  I had already seen Parsons in a two-evening one-woman collection of plays outrageously titled Orgasmo Adulto Escapes from the Zoo at the Public in 1983, so I knew I was in for a treat.  Parsons is a brilliantly quirky performer and it was thrilling to be in her “classroom.”  I didn't know then that she would come to Paper Mill in 2005 for Harold and Maude the Musical. Which reminds me of the first time I saw Parsons live, as Ruth in Broadway's The Pirates of Penzance. She is alternately wacky, fierce, and endearing – a versatile and always watchable performer.

MISS MARGARIDA’S WAY rates 4 Paper Moons out of 5

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CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS, THE MUSICAL

February 12, 1999

CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS, THE MUSICAL was written by Frederick Freyer and book and lyrics by Patrick Cook.  The show is based on the 1897 novel by Rudyard Kipling which follows the adventures of fifteen-year-old Harvey Cheyne Jr., the spoiled son of a railroad tycoon, after he is saved from drowning by a fisherman in the north Atlantic. The title comes from the ballad "Mary Ambree", which starts "When captains courageous, whom death could not daunt."  The musical is also based on a 1937 movie of the same name which was re-made for television in 1977 and 1996.  The story also inspired the 1951 Western Cattle Drive.

The musical premiered at the National Alliance for Musical Theatre’s Festival of New Musicals in 1990.  It was then produced by Ford’s Theatre, Washington, DC, in 1992 and subsequently at Goodspeed Opera House, East Haddam, Connecticut.  It was presented off-Broadway in 1999 (see below).

CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS was presented by Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) at New York City Center (Stage 1) from January 12 to April 4, 1999.  It was directed by Lynne Meadow (MTC's Artistic Director) with musical staging by Jerry Mitchell, music direction by Robert Gustafson, sets by Derek McLane, costumes by Catherine Zuber, and lighting by Brian MacDevitt.  It starred Brandon Espinoza (Harvey) and Treat Williams (Manuel) with Erick Buckley, Dick Decareau, Michael DeVries, J. Lee Flynn, Pete Herber, George Kmeck, Norm Lewis, Michael X. Martin, Michael Mulheren, Gary Schwartz, Dan Sharkey, Daniel Siford, Jim Stanek, and Erik Stein.  The production was nominated for a 1999 Outer Critics Circle Award.  

I'm afraid I have nothing good to say about CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS, THE MUSICAL.  Despite the talent on board (Norm Lewis!), this was a sinking ship. Even eye-candy Treat Williams couldn't save this dull outing. In addition to finding the show pretty bad, I also had a fight with the friend I had brought to see it.  We didn't speak for the rest of the night – and for several years thereafter.  Not a happy memory for the penultimate entry in this blog, but that's life. Be courageous, captains!

CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS, THE MUSICAL rates 1 Paper Moon out of 5

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MY GENE

February 11, 1987

MY GENE is a one person play by Barbara Gelb about Carlotta Monterey, third wife of playwright Eugene O'Neill from 1929 until his death in 1953.  Along with her husband Arthur, Gelb also penned a three volume biography about O'Neill. MY GENE takes place in 1968, 15 years after the death of O'Neill, in St. Luke's Hospital in New York City. The play was produced off-Broadway in 1987 (see below).

MY GENE was produced off-Broadway by the New York Public Theatre at their Martinson Hall from January 29 to March 22, 1987.  It was directed by Andre Ernotte with scenery designed by William Barclay, costumes by Muriel Stockdale, and lighting by Phil Monat.  It starred Colleen Dewhurst as Carlotta Monterey O'Neill.  The production transferred to the John F. Kennedy Center's Theatre Lab.  

In 1983 I had gone to the Public Theatre to see another one-woman show called Orgasmo Adulto Escapes from the Zoo starring the remarkable Estelle Parsons. I was hoping that this would be as wonderful.  While the play wasn't as compelling, seeing Colleen Dewhurst playing O'Neill's widow was.

Above: Colleen Dewhurst with the Gelbs celebrating O’Neill’s birthday

Colleen Dewhurst (1924-1991) was the preeminent interpreter of O'Neill's work. Her Broadway debut was in O'Neill's Desire Under the Elms in 1953 as one of the Neighbors. Ten years later she did an off-Broadway production of the play, but this time as the lead.  Her next Broadway O'Neill in 1972, Morning Becomes Electra, earned her a Tony nomination.  Although she didn't win for Electra, she did win for her landmark role, Josie in A Moon for the Misbegotten the very next year. In 1988 she starred with Jason Robards in The O'Neill Plays, a rep of Long Day's Journey Into Night and Ah! Wilderness. Sadly, I never saw Dewhurst in any of these.  Previous to MY GENE, I had, however, seen Dewhurst as the Grand Duchess Olga in You Can't Take It With You at Paper Mill Playhouse.  Olga is basically a walk-on role that she played in grandly in equally grand company.  The production moved to Broadway in 1983 and was also seen on PBS – all with Dewhurst making her blintzes.  

Even though I never saw Dewhurst do O'Neill live, I actually did because in MY GENE, Carlotta slips in dialogue from some of O'Neill's best known plays including Long Day's Journey Into Night, Strange Interlude and A Moon for the Misbegotten. I had seen Strange Interlude on Broadway, but starring Glenda Jackson.  The only other O'Neill play I have seen on Broadway was a 1998 production of Ah! Wilderness by Lincoln Center Theatre.  While not a big fan of the playwright, I can happily say I saw the great Colleen Dewhurst play O'Neill.

MY GENE rates 3 Paper Moons out of 5

PS: After writing this, but before publishing it, I discovered that Barbara Gelb had died, less than 24 hours before I chose MY GENE as the subject for today's blog.  The spirit of Gene is indeed working in mysterious ways.  

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THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE

February 10, 2011

THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE is a one-act musical by William Finn with a book by Rachel Sheinkin and additional material by Jay Reiss based on an idea by Rebecca Feldman. The show centers on a fictional spelling bee set at Putnam Valley Middle School. Six quirky adolescents compete in the Bee, run by three grown-ups. Audience members are recruited to play the other spellers.

The musical was based upon C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E, an improvisational play created by Feldman and performed by The Farm, a New-York-based improvisational comedy troupe. Finn brought Sheinkin on board, and they worked with Feldman to transform it into a scripted full-length musical. In 2004 SPELLING BEE was workshopped at Barrington Stage in Massachusetts. The musical moved Off-Broadway to Second Stage Theatre in early 2005 and opened on Broadway in April.  It has since been a favorite with regional (see below), community and school venues.  

THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE was produced at New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse from January 19 to February 13, 2011.  The show was directed by Marc Bruni with choreography by Wendy Seyb, scenic design by Anna Louizos, costume design by Alejo Vietti, and lighting design by David Lander. The cast comprised Will Blum (Barfee), Olivia Oguma (Marcy), Ephie Aardema (Logainne), Brandon Yanez (Chip), Ali Stroker (Olive), and Lyle Mackston (Leaf). With ‘adults’ Marla Mindelle (Rona), David Volin (Panch), and Jerold E. Solomon (Mitch) - not pictured. 

I had seen the original Broadway production in 2006 at Circle in the Square, a thrust stage.  I was looking forward to seeing how the show would play at Paper Mill, a large proscenium arch stage.  I was a bit worried how our blue haired ladies would react to a song like “My Unfortunate Erection.”  Luckily, I was more involved with our adopted students, who loved the show.  Some of our teachers even got called up as 'spellers'!   With a lot more scenery than in New York, Anna Louizos and David Landor managed to do some really wonderful things to transport the audience into the fantastic world of the spellers, neatly separating the real-time bee from their memories and fantasies.  

After this BEE, Marla Mindelle was cast as the little nun with the big voice in Broadway's Sister Act.  I followed Lyle Mackston on social media for a bit, but have lost track of him. The shining star of the cast was, of course, Ali Stroker, a Jersey girl who had been in the Paper Mill Conservatory.  In fact, I remember her audition day.  Ali was recently seen on Broadway in the Deaf West revival of Spring Awakening.  As a wheelchair user, she is a staunch advocate for performers with disabilities.  Her brilliant performance helped us continue our commitment to cultural arts access.  

THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE rates 4 Paper Moons out of 5

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HAVING OUR SAY

February 9, 1995

HAVING OUR SAY (subtitled THE DELANY SISTERS' FIRST 100 YEARS) is a three-act play adapted by Emily Mann from the biographical book of the same name by Sarah L. Delany, A. Elizabeth Delany, and Amy Hill Hearth. It takes place in the living room, dining room and kitchen of the Delany home in Mount Vernon, New York in February 1993. The only two characters are two African American sisters, Bessie (age 102), and Sadie (age 104).  

The play premiered at New Jersey's McCarter Theatre (see below) in 1995 and was seen on Broadway later that year.  A tour followed.  It has since been produced in regional theatre nationwide.  

In 1999, Emily Mann adapted the play for television starring Ruby Dee as Bessie and Diahann Carroll as Sadie. The film first aired just three months after Sadie died.

In 1994 the sisters and Hearth, wrote The Delany Sisters' Book of Everyday Wisdom, which offered recipes as well as photos of the sisters doing yoga.  After Bessie's death in 1995, Sadie and Hearth wrote a third book called On My Own At 107: Reflections on Life Without Bessie. In 2003, Hearth wrote The Delany Sisters Reach High, an illustrated children's biography of the Delany sisters, focusing on their childhood.

HAVING OUR SAY had its world premiere at New Jersey's McCarter Theatre (Princeton) on February 7, 1995. The play was directed by Emily Mann with sets by Thomas Lynch, costumes by Judy Dearing, lighting by Allen Lee Hughes, and projections by Wendell Harrington.  Incidental music was by Bakida Carroll.  The play starred Gloria Foster (Sadie) and Mary Alice (Bessie), who repeated the roles on Broadway. McCarter revived the play in 2009 in their Berlind auditorium.  

Long before I started audio-describing plays at McCarter Theatre, I went there to see shows that got positive buzz in the theatre community. HAVING OUR SAY was such a play.  It went directly to Broadway after its McCarter run.  It seems like a play where two women in old age make-up sit around and talk about the past might be dull, but as the evening wore on, the stories became more compelling as the Delany sisters became more endearing.  Although McCarter revived the show in 2009, it feels like the time might be right for another staging.  Frankly, I don't think there's a wrong time for a revival of HAVING OUR SAY.  There's much to be learned from 100 years of wisdom.

HAVING OUR SAY rates 4 Paper Moons out of 5

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THE TALE OF THE ALLERGIST’S WIFE

February 8, 2004

THE TALE OF THE ALLERGIST'S WIFE is a play by Charles Busch in which he explores the Upper West Side life of aspiring intellectual Marjorie Taub, a middle-aged upper class woman who lives comfortably with her doctor husband Ira and spends her days and evenings pursuing culture. Following an emotional outburst in a Disney Store, Marjorie wallows in a mid-life crisis. Unexpectedly invading her depression is flamboyant childhood friend Lee who becomes a seemingly permanent house guest, not only drawing Marjorie out of her dark mood, but affecting her marriage as well.

The play premiered off-Broadway at Manhattan Theatre Club in February 2000 before transferring to Broadway, opening in November 2000 starring Linda Lavin (Marjorie), Tony Roberts (Ira), and Michele Lee (Lee). Later in the run, Lavin was replaced by Valerie Harper and Rhea Perlman.  The play was subsequently produced in regional (see below) and community venues.

THE TALE OF THE ALLERGIST'S WIFE ran at New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse (Millburn) from January 7 to February 8, 2004.  The production was directed by Carl Andress, with settings by Michael Anania, costumes by Miguel Angel Huidor. The cast was Robin Strasser (Marjorie), Lenny Wolpe (Ira), Meg Foster (Lee), Shirl Bernheim (Frieda) and Ariel Shafir (Mohammed).  The production was shared with Florida's (now defunct) Coconut Grove and Royal Poinciana Playhouses.  

When I heard that Paper Mill was to produce a Charles Busch play, I was thrilled.  I had followed Busch's work ever since Vampire Lesbians of Sodom and was a bona fide fan.  This was his most mainstream play to date and would appeal to our Short Hills matrons, many of them had a lot in common with Marjorie.  As the coordinator of our “Breakfast at Paper Mill” series (for local seniors), I presented an introduction to Busch's work complete with live monologues from his plays performed by staff members.  It was a great deal of fun.  

Adding to the attraction was that the play was directed by frequent Busch collaborator Carl Andress and starred Shirl Bernheim as the mother. Bernheim was one of a kind, and we were lucky to have her repeat her role.  She was joined by Mill regulars Lenny Wolpe (The Baker's Wife), and Meg Foster (The Dinner Party).  Marjorie was played by soap star Robin Strasser, Emmy winner for playing Dorian Lord on “One Life to Live.” The swanky Manhattan apartment was designed by Michael Anania and made a great “touch tour” for our blind and visually impaired audiences.  I'm still reminded of this show every day because I own a ceramic shopping bag souvenir that I use as a pencil holder!  

THE TALE OF THE ALLERGIST’S WIFE rates 3 Paper Moons out of 5

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JERKER

February 7, 1987

JERKER (subtitled “The Helping Hand: A Pornographic Elegy with Redeeming Social Value and a Hymn to the Queer Men of San Francisco in Twenty Telephone Calls, Many of Them Dirty”) is a one-act play by Robert Chesley. The two-character play traces the relationship that develops between a disabled Vietnam veteran, J. R., and a businessman, Bert, two gay men in San Francisco at the beginning of the AIDS epidemic. Although they meet only through a series of telephone calls, they grow from being phone sex buddies to caring friends.  The title can be seen as referring to masturbation and/or to a "tear jerker."  

The play premiered at the Celebration Theatre, West Hollywood, California, in October 1986 starring David Stebbins and Joe Fraser. Around the same time, recorded excerpts were also broadcast on KPFK, a Los Angeles radio station. A twentieth anniversary production was staged in Los Angeles in 2006. 

The play was filmed in 1991 starring Joseph Stachura and Tom Wagner, a year after the playwright's death from AIDS.  

JERKER ran for seven and a half months off-off-Broadway at the Sanford Meisner Theater during 1987. It was directed by Nicholas Deutsch with lighting by John Wright Stevens.  It starred Jay Corcoran (J.R.), John Finch (Bert), and Jay Berkow (Another Man / understudy).

During the first few years of the AIDS epidemic theatre began to respond long before the mainstream media.  Despite its provocative title, JERKER was not porn, although there was full frontal nudity. Before the advent of the internet the phone sex industry was a thriving business.  While dealing with the threat of a deadly infection, phone sex often became a substitute for actual interactions. JERKER examined what happens when anonymity slips away and becomes an emotionally dependent relationship.  In the play one of the participants suddenly stops answering the phone, and the fear of death and loneliness becomes omnipresent.

Although this play was off the beaten track, it was reviewed by the New York Times and was hailed as one of the first theatrical works to tackle the subject matter.  But not for long.  Also in 1987 Harvey Fierestein's play Safe Sex appeared on Broadway.  It lasted a mere 9 performances, where the far more controversial JERKER ran for nearly eight months.  Throughout the 1980s I sought out LGBT off-off-Broadway fare, and while much of it was forgettable, this play was not only thought-provoking, but emotionally jarring.  Yes, I would call it a tear JERKER.  

JERKER rates 3 Paper Moons out of 5

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THE DINNER PARTY

February 6, 2002

THE DINNER PARTY is a one-act comedy by Neil Simon, his 31st play. Six unknowing guests have RSVP'd to a dinner at a private dining room in a first-rate restaurant in Paris. They eventually realize they are three divorced couples. After the shock wears off, the characters inevitably begin to analyze and emotionally process their past marriages, and the play ends on a hopeful note.

Simon later said that he was trying to write a play very different from anything he had done before, and that he had the concept of creating a farce up to a certain point, and then instead of continuing the farce, to make a turn to where it becomes quite serious.

The play had its world premiere in Los Angeles in December 1999 and then ran at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC in the summer of 2000.  It opened on Broadway in October 2000 and closed after 364 performances and 20 previews. It was directed by John Rando with sets by John Lee Beatty. It has since been produced in regional (see below) and community venues.

THE DINNER PARTY ran at New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse from January 9 through February 10, 2002.  As on Broadway, it was directed by John Rando with scenery by John Lee Beatty.  It starred Michael Mastro, Meg Foster, Steve Vinovich, Greg Mullavey, Elizabeth Heflin, and Catherine Lloyd Burns.  The show was a co-production with the (now defunct) Coconut Grove Playhouse in Florida.  

At one time, Neil Simon plays were popular “filler” at Paper Mill, providing the mid-winter slot with some levity.  Especially when not producing farces.  THE DINNER PARTY is part farce and since the Mill had already produced Rumors, Simon's one true farce, this was a logical choice. It was also a smart choice for other reasons.  The play had just closed on Broadway and the director and scenery  were available to recreate the show in Millburn for those who hadn't gotten across the river to see it (me included).  They shared the production with Coconut Grove, which was always a good cost-cutting measure.  

The play is set in a beautiful Parisian private dining room which featured a classical mural which took up the entire back wall of the set.  Luckily, it was saved from the incinerator after the show closed on Broadway by merely making one slit down the center.  As on Broadway, director Rando stacked the cast with A list TV stars.  While Broadway had the Fonz (Henry Winkler) and Jack Tripper (John Ritter), we got Mary Hartman's husband (Greg Mullavey) and the first Cagney (Meg Foster) – B listers, at best.  

I found the combination of farce and drama awkward and not completely successful.  I prefer the sentimental Simon, as with his Brighton Beach plays and Lost in Yonkers, all of which were produced by the Mill. The best part about THE DINNER PARTY was that it was only 90-minutes long.  

THE DINNER PARTY rates 2 Paper Moons out of 5

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FOREVER PLAID

February 5, 1995

FOREVER PLAID (originally titled "Butchwax") is a juke-box style musical revue written by Stuart Ross.  It presents four wholesome young men singing close-harmony standards from the American song-book such as "Three Coins in the Fountain", "Moments to Remember", "Sixteen Tons", "Chain Gang", "Perfidia", "Heart and Soul"; "Lady of Spain", and "Love is a Many-Splendored Thing". The fictional quartet met in their high school's audio-visual club. In early 1964, just as they were about to establish themselves professionally, they were killed in a collision with a bus full of teen-age Beatlemaniacs. Their posthumous appearance is attributed to a warp in the astral plane combined with a hole in the ozone layer.

The show premiered in a New York City supper club in 1989 after previous engagements in regional theatres and cabarets.  The full production moved off-Broadway in 1990.  It has been extensively produced in regional (see below), community, and educational theatres worldwide. A film version was released in 2009 and is available on DVD.  A holiday sequel called Plaid Tidings appeared in 2006.  

FOREVER PLAID was produced at New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse (Millburn) from January 4 to February 5, 1995.  It was directed and choreographed by Stuart Ross with musical direction by David Gursky, scenery by Neil Peter Jampolis, lighting by Jane Reisman and costumes by Debra Stein. It starred Jonathan Brody, Roy Chicas, David Engel, and Robert Lambert.  

Sometime in the late 1980s, long before I joined the staff of Paper Mill, I went to New York City to see a friend perform in a new cabaret act called “The Four Plaids.”  Little did I know then it would become a mega-hit and a worldwide theatrical franchise.  It is interesting that FOREVER PLAID had an early version that played in Teaneck, New Jersey and here it was coming to the State Theatre of New Jersey, Paper Mill Playhouse, a venue more suited for golden age musicals than four-person cabaret acts.  But this was the Mill's mid-winter slot, so a small-cast play or musical was the usual fare.  It was fine enough, if a bit lost on the big Paper Mill stage.  The show originally contained some funny double entendres, most of which fell flat in Millburn.  Most memorably, there was a scene in which our head usher (who had also had cameo roles in a few shows), came down the aisle to present the Plaids with a big gift-wrapped package.  One of the Plaids accepts the package then turns to the audience and says “Nice box.”  Had our head usher been a sexy young lady instead of a grandmother, the joke might have gotten a smile.  It is reminiscent of Nunsense, a show which lost much of its double-entendre when it left the night club stage for world domination.  Oddly, Mother Superior still sniffs Rush.

Of the Paper Mill's FOREVER PLAID, the Catholic League later issued a report which cited the lines which refer to a bus filled with young Catholics girls that hits a car, killing the Plaids: 

"This incident triggered a barrage of insults aimed at the Catholic teenagers, such as 'What a way to die--being slammed by a bus of parochial virgins.’"  

Oh, well.  You can't please everyone.  Especially the Catholics. 

FOREVER PLAID rates 3 Paper Moons out of 5

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ART

February 4, 2000

ART is a play by Jasmina Reza, originally written in French. It premiered in October 1994 at Comédie des Champs-Élysées in Paris. The English-language adaptation, translated by Christopher Hampton (Les Liaisons Dangerouses), opened in London's West End in October 1996 running for eight years. The play (with slight Americanizations) premiered on Broadway in 1998, running 600 performances and winning the 1998 Tony Award for Best Play.  The play has been extensively performed in regional (see below) and community venues worldwide.

Set in Paris in the present, the story revolves around three upper middle class friends—Serge, Marc and Yvan—who find their 15-year friendship put to the test when Serge buys an expensive painting. The canvas is white, with a few white lines.  Serge holds it in high esteem, while Marc argues that the painting is of little value. Yvan is apathetic and willing to agree with both for the sake of the friendship.  

ART was produced by New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse (Millburn) from January 3 to February 4, 2000.  It was directed by Judd Hirsch, who also starred as Serge.  The cast also included Jack Willis (Yvan) and Cotter Smith (Marc).  Hirsch had starred in the play on Broadway as well as a U.S. national tour.  He then directed a production at Ogunquit Playhouse. The set was designed by Ani Blackburn, and the lighting designed by Cletus Karamon. This was a co-production with the Florida’s (now defunct) Coconut Grove Playhouse.  

What I remember most about this play was its simplicity.  With this play Paper Mill's associate producer Roy Miller developed a relationship with Judd Hirsch (“Taxi”) that resulted in a 2002 revival of I'm Not Rappaport that transferred to Broadway.  As coordinator of the show's access services, my main quandary was the sensory seminar, an opportunity for blind patrons to touch costumes and props.  There was only one “prop” (the painting) which wasn't able to be touched and the cast wore street clothes.  The seminar ended up being all talk, no touch.  As for the production, Hirsch's familiarity with the piece showed and although not standard Paper Mill fare, it proved an enjoyable, thought-proving ninety minutes.  

In 2002 I was cast as Yvan in a community theatre production.  Yvan has a ten-minute rambling monologue that I spent an entire summer memorizing. My performance was heavily influenced by the Mill's Yvan, Jack Willis.  Although I usually prefer small roles, I found acting in this play tremendously satisfying.  I don't think I could do it now.  It was emotionally and physically demanding.  

I saw ART again at another New Jersey regional theatre, but it wasn't half as good.  The script was still thought provoking and entertaining, but the chemistry was lacking.  And good ART is all about chemistry.  

ART rates 4 Paper Moons out of 5

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FAR EAST

February 3, 1999

FAR EAST is a play by A.R. Gurney. It was first produced at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, Massachusetts, in July 1998.  It was produced off-Broadway the following year. It has since been produced in regional theatres in Washington, DC and Laguna, California.

The play's story draws on events from Gurney's own life, which were first hinted at in a scene from his popular 1989 play, Love Letters. At one point in that show, a young American Navy lieutenant is stationed at a base near Tokyo during the Korean War and falls in love with a Japanese woman, despite his parents' objections. Gurney turned that brief episode into this full-length work which invokes the style of traditional Japanese theater.     

FAR EAST was produced off-Broadway by Lincoln Center Theatre (LCT) at their Mitzi E. Newhouse auditorium from January 10 to June 6, 1999.  The director was Daniel Sullivan, with scenery by Thomas Lynch, costumes by Jess Goldstein and lighting by Rui Rita.  The cast featured Michael Hayden (Sparky Watts), Sonnie Brown (Reader), Lisa Emery (Julia), Bill Smitrovich (James Anderson), and Connor Trinner (Bob Munger).  This production was adapted for the PBS series "Stage on Screen" in 2001.  

I'm a fan of Gurney, having seen quite a few of his plays. Despite their cold, Waspy pretentions, some are very engaging. This one, not so much.  Set in the 1950s, the Madame Butterfly-type story seemed overly familiar, even if one hadn't seen the opera, or even the film From Here To Eternity. The gimmick here (Gurney often employs one) is that the play is staged using Japanese theatre traditions: the reader, the visible stagehands in blacks, etc.  Still, it felt flat and familiar.  The cast couldn't be faulted.  Michael Hayden was a familiar face at Lincoln Center, having made an impression as Billy Bigelow in their Carousel as well as with Kevin Kline in their Henry IV. I also saw him on Broadway in Enchanted April, in which he made less of an impact, but that may be due to the nature of the female-centric script.  I later saw the teleplay of FAR EAST and my opinion did not change.  FAR from intriguing.

FAR EAST rates 2 Paper Moons out of 5

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A DAY IN THE DEATH OF JOE EGG

February 2, 1985

A DAY IN THE DEATH OF JOE EGG (aka JOE EGG) is a 1967 play by Peter Nichols, which was first staged in Glasgow, Scotland, before transferring to London's West End.  The production then transferred to Broadway the following year.  An off-Broadway production produced by Roundabout Theatre Company in 1985 (see below) transferred directly to Broadway that same year.  A 2001 London revival transferred to Broadway in 2003, also staged by Roundabout. In 2011, the Scottish production company that produced the 1967 premiere, revived the play.   An off-off-Broadway production was seen in 2013.  Nichols adapted the play for a film version released in 1972.  The 2001 / 2003 revival was adapted by Nichols for television.

The play centers on a British couple who are struggling to save their marriage while trying to raise their only child, a girl with cerebral palsy who uses a wheelchair and is unable to communicate. Caring for her has taken a heavy toll on their marriage.  

A DAY IN THE DEATH OF JOE EGG was produced by Roundabout Theatre Company off-Broadway at the Haft Theatre (at the Fashion Institute of Technology) running from January 6 to February 3, 1985.  It was directed by Arvin Brown, with scenery by Marjorie Bradley Kellogg, costumes by Bill Walker, and lighting by Ronald Wallace.  The cast was Stockard Channing (Sheila), Jim Dale (Bri), Joanna Gleason (Pam), Margaret Hilton (Grace), Gary Waldhorn (Freddie), and Tenney Walsh (Joe).  It won the 1985 Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best Revival.  The production transferred to Broadway with John Tillinger replacing Gary Waldhorn.  The play won Tony Awards for Channing and for Best Reproduction [Revival].

This black comedy dealt with many topics that would touch on my future career working with people with disabilities.  I remember just how uncomfortable it was to laugh while a child with CP was being portrayed on stage.  The play beautifully faced the realities of being a full-time carer for a person with disabilities, while trying to maintain individuality and adult relationships.  

I had just seen Stockard Channing in The Golden Age and The Rink (taking over for Liza) and would see her again in such wonderful plays as The House of Blue Leaves, Woman in Mind, and Six Degrees of Separation. She is one of my all-time favorite performers.  I had missed Jim Dale in Barnum, but after JOE EGG I saw him at Roundabout again in Privates on Parade. This was also the first time I saw the wonderful Johanna Gleason.  I loved her in Into the Woods as well as the flop musical Nick & Nora.

A DAY IN THE DEATH OF JOE EGG rates 3 Paper Moons out of 5

[papermoonstheatricaldiary]

ONE OF YOUR BIGGEST FANS

February 1, 2014

ONE OF YOUR BIGGEST FANS is a play by Paul Dooley and Winnie Holzman, who are husband and wife. The writers first started working on the play as newlyweds around 1984, but it remained unfinished until it premiered in Los Angeles under the title Assisted Living in 2013.  The play features four characters, played by two actors.  The plot revolves around Frank, an aging actor famous for his role in a struggling network soap.  He lives with his girlfriend Emily, a former studio make-up artist, who watches over his diet and encourages him to answer his fan mail.  One letter leads to the introduction to the other two characters, disheveled Heather and her depressed dad, who lives in an assisted living home.

ONE OF YOUR BIGGEST FANS was produced by New Jersey's George Street Playhouse (New Brunswick) from January 28 to February 23, 2014.  It was directed by Larry Biederman with scenic design by James Youmans, costume design by Esther Arroyo, and lighting design by David Lander.  It starred the authors, Winnie Holzman and Paul Dooley.  

ONE OF YOUR BIGGEST FANS was written and acted by Holzman and Dooley. The play had an intriguing tagline: “4 characters, 3 scenes, 2 actors, 1 play.”   How the first 2 characters intersect with the second 2 was the 90-minute play's main plot discovery.  While neither of Dooley's two characters were a ray of sunshine, their grumblings were in expert hands. Dooley easily managed to wring humor from the play's frequently funny turns of phrase. Holzman, who skillfully translated Gregory Maguire's densely plotted Wicked from page to stage, has some acting credits but wasn't quite at the level of her more experienced husband.  Her quirky, halting style didn't always jive with Dooley's more relaxed, natural approach. Most of the play's laughs were earned by Dooley, and earned early on – perhaps indicative of the quarter century hiatus in the writing process.  The play's first half had the optimism of youth while the second half the jaded melancholy of age.  The writing attempted to parallel the two couples but it is mainly the one liners and familiar jabs at soap operas that worked best here.  Two of the three scenes were played out in an aggressively beige apartment.  The walls were decorated with empty picture frames.  I suppose these were a metaphor for the characters' empty lives, but they more obviously represented the play itself; a framework in search of some real people.  

[Opinion adapted from my online review]

ONE OF YOUR BIGGEST FANS rates 2 Paper Moons out of 5

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AS YOU LIKE IT

January 31, 2015

AS YOU LIKE IT  is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, although 1603 has been suggested as a possibility.  The story follows Rosalind as she flees persecution in her uncle's court, accompanied by her cousin Celia, to find safety and, eventually, love, in the Forest of Arden. In the forest, they encounter a variety of characters, notably the melancholy traveler Jaques, who disputes the hardships of life in the country.

On Broadway, AS YOU LIKE IT has had 23 productions between 1786 and 1986.  There have been 9 productions off-Broadway, 6 of which were staged by the New York Shakespeare Festival.  In England, notable productions include the 1936 Old Vic Theatre production starring Edith Evans and a 1961 production starring Vanessa Redgrave. Aside from 2 silent film versions, there were 2 notable films of AS YOU LIKE IT: in 1936 starring Laurence Olivier as Orlando, and in 2014 directed by Kenneth Branagh.  It has also been seen many times on television on both sides of the Atlantic.  

AS YOU LIKE IT was produced at New Jersey's Two River Theatre Company (Red Bank) from January 25 to February 16, 2015.  It was directed by Michael Sexton with scenery by Brent Banakis, costumes by Tilly Grimes, and lighting by Seth Reiser.  Original music was by Ben Toth. The cast featured Matt Bitner (Lord / Silvius), Leighton Bryan (Le Beau / Phoebe), Ben Diskant (Oliver / William), Jacob Fishel (Orlando), Philip Goodwin (Duke Frederick / Duke Senior), Miriam A. Hymen (Rosalind), Jeffrey Owens (Jaques), Myra Lucretia Taylor (Adam / Audrey), Brendan Titley (Touchstone), Sara Topham (Celia / Sir Oliver), and J.D. Webster (Charles / Amiens / Corin / Hymen).

“All the world's a stage!”  

Director Michael Sexton's production featured a talented cast of eleven, with race and gender blending seamlessly as they doubled and sometimes tripled their way through the Forest of Arden.  The theme of Sexton's AS YOU LIKE was transformation, not just of location but also of character.  

This modern-dress production opened in the court of the Duke, beautifully designed by Brett J. Banakis.  Despite the stuffy interior, the Forest of Arden was ever-present in an evocative painting above the fireplace, hinting at the adventures ahead.  The scenic transformation from stately drawing room to the snowy birches of Arden was nothing less than breathtaking.  Although the remainder of the play is set out-of-doors, remnants of the court remained to remind us that the two worlds are not so very different.  The characters also transformed, with the smartly attired court becoming the colorfully clad cast-offs.  In lieu of off-stage costume changes, Sexton often had the actors transform in front of the audience, embracing the play's theatricality in this and other nuanced touches that subtly reinforce the theme.  

Ben Toth's original music was somewhat problematic.  Not that it wasn't excellent; it was.  That's was the trouble.  When the cast sang his four original songs, I wished I was watching a musical version of AS YOU LIKE IT.  Sexton's smartest decision was the casting of Miriam A. Hyman as Rosalind.  If we didn't know that her gender transformation was dictated by plot and not economy, she would be totally believable as a street-smart youth navigating the wild wood as well as her wayward heart.  When Shakespeare's scenes bring Hyman and Fishel together the results were electric, even late in the two hour and forty minute production.  Hyman's Rosalind was  modern without ever compromising Shakespeare's antique verbiage. Her skilled  performance made the play amazingly accessible to young people, with Fishel's movie star good looks rounding out the youth appeal.  The entire ensemble was delightful, with Myra Lucretia Taylor a standout in her transformation from world-weary servant Adam to lusty shepherdess Phebe.  To quote the play, 

“I like this place.  And willingly could waste my time in it.”  

[Opinion adapted from my online review.]

AS YOU LIKE IT rates 5 Paper Moons out of 5

[papermoonstheatricaldiary]

THE SEAGULL

January 30, 1999

THE SEAGULL is a five act play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 and first produced in 1896. It is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. THE SEA GULL dramatizes the romantic and artistic conflicts between four characters: the famous middlebrow story writer Boris Trigorin, the ingenue Nina, the fading actress Irina Arkadina, and her son the symbolist playwright Konstantin Tréplev.

Between 1916 and 2008 there were eight productions of the play on Broadway, while there were ten productions off-Broadway between 1954 and 2013. The play has been seen numerous times in London’s West End in various translations. It is also extensively produced in regional and college theatre (see below).  

THE SEAGULL (in a new translation by Paul Schmidt) played New Jersey's George Street Playhouse (New Brunswick) from January 20 to February 14, 1999. It was directed by Mark Nelson, with settings by Karen TenEyck, costumes by Michael Krass, and lighting by Kirk Bookman. The play starred Pamela Payton-Wright (Madame Arkadina), James Waterston (Konstantin), David Chandler (Trigorin), Peter Maloney (Sorin), Melinda Hamilton (Nina), Julia Gibson (Masha), Edmond Genest (Dorn), Aliz Elias (Paulina), Todd Weeks (Medvedenko) and Brad Bellamy (Shamrayev). Also in the cast were James Cleveland, David Villalobos and Jo Anne Faucera.

I think that THE SEAGULL may be Chekhov's most accessible play.  For a while, I was seeing any production of it I could – I liked it that much.  I had first seen the play produced at the now defunct Whole Theatre in Montclair NJ starring Olympia Dukakis.  In 1985 I saw Vanessa Redgrave and her daughter Natasha Richardson in a London production.  That proved a high water mark for my SEAGULL viewing. As much as I admire Mark Nelson as an actor, this George Street production was pretty forgettable.  

THE SEAGULL rates 2 Paper Moons out of 5

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THE MASK OF MORIARTY

January 29, 1998

THE MASK  OF MORIARTY is a comic play by Irish playwright Hugh Leonard that includes the characters created by Arthur Conan Doyle created for his Sherlock Holmes books, including Holmes, Watson, Inspector Lestrade and Professor Moriarty.  The renowned detective is enlisted to prove the innocence of a young man accused of murder on the Waterloo Bridge. The trail of clues and red herrings leads him to his arch rival, Professor James Moriarty.

The play's premiere was in October 1985 at the Gate Theatre in Dublin starring Tom Baker (”Dr. Who”) as Sherlock Holmes. The play had its American premiere at the Williamstown Theater Festival in 1994 directed by John Tillinger starring Paxton Whitehead as Sherlock Holmes. Although never produced on Broadway, the play has had a healthy run in regional theatres (see below), many starring Whitehead.  It has also become a favorite of community theatres.  

THE MASK OF MORIARTY ran at Paper Mill Playhouse (Millburn NJ) from January 7 to February 15, 1998.  The production was shared with the Old Globe Theater in San Diego and Stamford Center for the Arts in Connecticut. Scenic design was by James Joy, costumes by Michael Krass, and lighting by Jeff Davis.  The production was directed by Nicholas Martin and starred Paxton Whitehead, who first starred as Holmes in Crucifer of Blood on Broadway in 1978. Tom Lacy played Dr. Watson, with Elizabeth Roby (Alice / Mary), John Patrick Walker (Bunny), Susan Knight (Gwen), David Pittu (Lestrade), John Seidman (Lord Melmoth), Paul Fitzgerald (Herring), Julian Gamble (Travesty / Landlord), Henny Russell (Lily), and Amelia White (August Personage).  

While I'm not a big Sherlock Holmes fan, I am a big fan of Paxton Whitehead. He seems to me the ideal Holmes.  I later saw him in a string of Ayckbourn plays at Westport Country Playhouse, as well as on Broadway in Ayckbourn's Absurd Person Singular.  This production was a lot of fun and had its share of twists and turns – and even some drag!  

During this production the Paper Mill Education Department staged a free symposium about mystery writers which featured local TV personality Amber Edwards and Priscilla Ridgeway (The Mystery Writers of America) interviewing Carol Higgins Clark and Justin Scott. To supplement the interviews, I was asked to write a mini-murder mystery to kick things off!  Not only had I been moonlighting performing in murder mystery dinner theatre, I had also written a few as fund-raising events for local organizations.  I was thrilled to be asked.  It would take place on the set of THE MASK OF MORIARTY and I managed to get Paxton Whitehead himself to record the solving of the mystery (under the conceit of the detective reading a letter from Holmes). So it was that my playlette “The Strange Case of the Victoria Diamond” was written and directed by me on the Paper Mill stage starring Tony nominee Paxton Whitehead!  Oh, it also starred Gil Brady as the detective, who is now doing similar chores off-Broadway in SHEAR MADNESS.  For many years I had a cassette tape of Paxton reading my lines, but time and travails have made it a mystery to me where it went.  I'd look for it, but I am no Sherlock Holmes.  

THE MASK OF MORIARTY rates 3 Paper Moons out of 5

[papermoonstheatricaldiary]

DEATH OF A SALESMAN

January 28, 1999

DEATH OF A SALESMAN is a play written by Arthur Miller. It was the recipient of the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play tells of the life and decline of salesman Willy Loman, his wife Linda, and his two adult sons, Happy and Biff. The play incorporates flashbacks and ghost characters.  

The play premiered on Broadway in February 1949, running for 742 performances, and winning a Tony Award for Best Play. It has been revived on Broadway four times: 

1975 starring George C. Scott 

1984 starring Dustin Hoffman 

1999 starring Brian Dennehy (see below) 

2012 starring Philip Seymour Hoffman  

It also premiered in London in 1949 starring Paul Muni.  There was a London revival in 1979 starring Warren Mitchell, and another revival in 1996 starring Alun Armstrong.  

In 1951 a film version was nominated for several Oscars. The play was adapted for television in: 

1957 (UK TV) starring Albert Dekker 

1958 (Canadian TV) starring Albert Dekker 

1966 starring Lee J. Cobb 

1966 (UK TV) starring Rod Steiger 

1985 starring Dustin Hoffman, based on a Broadway revival 

1996 starring Warren Mitchell 

2000 starring Brian Dennehy, based on a Broadway revival  

The play is in constant production by educational, regional, and community venues worldwide.  It is considered to be one of the greatest plays of the 20th century.  

After a run at Chicago's Goodman Theatre, DEATH OF A SALESMAN began performances at Broadway's Eugene O'Neill Theatre on January 22, 1999 and ran for a total of 274 regular performances and 22 previews.  It was directed by Robert Falls, and starred Robert Dennehy (Willy), Elizabeth Franz (Linda), Kevin Anderson (Biff), Ted Koch (Happy), Richard Thompson (Bernard), Howard Witt (Charley), Allen Hamilton (Uncle Ben), Steve Pickering (Howard), Ken Klineman (Stanley), Stephanie March (Miss Forsythe), Chelsea Altman (Letta), Kate Buddeke (Woman), and Barbara Eda-Young (Secretary).  The production won four 1999 Tony Awards for Best Revival of a Play, Falls' direction and acting honors for Dennehy and Franz.  The play, Dennehy and Kevin Anderson also won 1999 Drama Desk Awards.

I have to concur that DEATH OF A SALESMAN is one of the greatest plays of the 20th century.  I would venture to see THE greatest American play ever.  It was certainly the pinnacle of Miller's career.  While I respect this work immensely, I can't say I really enjoy it – or ever look forward to seeing it. Except, that is, when it starred one of my personal favorite actors, Elizabeth Franz.  As Willy's put upon wife Linda, Franz was amazing.  “Attention must be paid!” she says as she keens at her husband's grave.  And attention was duly paid when Franz won the 1999 Tony for her work. Although I haven't seen or heard much from her lately, she remains an all-time favorite actor.  

The year before this revival came to Broadway from the Windy City, Paper Mill had also produced SALESMAN, starring John Waite (“The Waltons”).  It was a workman-like production, but sturdy enough for a regional staging.  It didn't hold a candle, however, to the powerhouse of Falls' production.  A few years later, Kevin Anderson came to the Mill to star as Dr. John in Summer and Smoke, by Tennessee Williams, another of America's greatest playwrights. Although Paper Mill excelled in musical theatre, once in a while we dabbled in the classics and I (for one) am better for it.  

DEATH OF A SALESMAN rates 4 Paper Moons out of 5