Lucky's Spring Theater Choices

[+ Lucky]

Red

 

Thanks for the feedback, I do appreciate it. For your reward, I will give you the first impressions of the new play, RED, which held its first preview tonight.

Alfred Molina plays the abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko, and Eddie Redmayne plays Ken, his assistant. The play takes place at a time when Rothko is painting murals for the new Four Seasons Restaurant in New York, and you can guess that such commercialism is at the heart of the play.

Red (the color) is a topic of much discussion- its meaning, its nuances, etc. etc. etc.

I am no student of art, but I was mesmerized by this show. The performances are brilliant, the writing is brilliant, and the staging is brilliant. There are so many ideas discussed that I cannot give them any real discussion here. I left the theater feeling that every brain cell had been engaged. I went into the hubbub of Times Square feeling that it was just an extension of the hubbub I felt in the theater. In short, I felt very much alive, and it was good! (I might point out that the guy next to me slept through the last 15 minutes. I had to nudge him when he started snoring.)

 

One thing not on stage is any sexual energy. But in my mind it was rampant, as Eddie Redmayne is just gorgeous. Think Kevin Bacon, Ricky Nelson, and James Dean to get my drift. His face is adorable, and his expressions bring life throughout the play. I am sure he will be much talked about in the gay theater crowd.

http://www.13am.net/journal/eddiered.jpg

Eddie

[+ Lucky]

Next Fall is reviewed in the Times today, as a comedy: http://theater.nytimes.com/2010/03/12/theater/reviews/12next.html?hpw

 

And, I remembered a line from the Fitch show that demonstrates the level of humor it has: Lithgow says "my nipple is as hard as long division."

If you find that funny, well, do I have a show for you!

[skynyc]

Going for Red tix today

 

Based on your review. Thank you. I had been holding out since I wanted to hear from anyone who had seen it. And I am thrilled to hear Glass Menagerie is so good. I see it in three weeks.

 

Last night I went to Seth Rudetsky's Broadway Chatterbox at Don't Tell Mama. Lucky, if you are here for a Thursday night on your next visit, I would recommend this. Seth is a riot. You can hear him on Cirius Satellite Radio as a dj on the Broadway station. And he has done many performance "deconstructions" on Youtube. Thursday nights at 6, (early because usually his guest is performing in something at eight) he interviews Broadway folk, and last night his guest was Andrew Lippa. The two of them were a great pair. And it was interesting to hear Lippa discuss his Musical Theater roots. Not much was said about Addams Family, since it is in early previews, but there was a lot about people he worked with in the past...the cast of Wild Party, and New Philosophy/Ms. Chenoweth in Charlie Brown.

Next time you're here I'll meet you there.

 

I thought Looped a much better than average one-person show. Sure the writing is a little contrived, but Harper is terrific...surely a Tony nomination coming, and it was interesting to hear the Bankhead-isms in some kind of context.

I see Temperamentals this week...somehow I missed it last summer. And The Duchess of Malfi next week...never seen it, just read it in college. Oh, and Shaw's Candida at Irish Rep.

 

Hoping Come Fly Away isn't as bad as EdJames says...I have tickets in early April.

Have a great rest of a visit.

[+ sf westcoaster]

Lucky, many thanks for all the postings about the current shows on Broadway. I will be going to NY in May for a week of theatre and your comments are providing valuable insight as to which shows I should see. Aside from some of the slighly negative comments from reviwers I still intend to see "Next Fall". Also on the definite list are "Red" and "The Glass Menagerie". I was hoping that "The Pride" would be extended, but so far it has not happened. Will include a musical or two, but the pickings seem a bit slim in that category.

[+ Lucky]

Come Fly Away

 

Growing up I had no exposure to dance as art. In my freshman year of college, our all-male class had to attend a guest lecture on dance. The speaker stood off stage and announced "Danth...ith moo-oov-ment" Whereupon he slithered across the stage and ended up in a split. We all burst out laughing.

But, after seeing so much good dancing in Broadway shows, I went to see West Side Story Suites at the New York City ballet, and realized not only how much I liked it, but how sexy the men are. Then I discovered Ethan Steifel at the ABT, and I was hooked, now going to dance performances at the Joyce and other venues.

All this is to say that even though I am not a student of dance, I know good dancing when I see it, and the Twyla Tharp show Come Fly Away is a stellar dance show. I had a house seat off of Playbill, so could see the sweat and tears up close.

The set was beautiful, with the orchestra on stage towards the back. The first act was a nightclub setting. The second act the dancers shed some clothes and did more contemporary movements. The sound system was excellent. Vocals of Sinatra were augmented by a live singer, who was very good, as was the band.

John Selya, who was Tony-nominated for Moving Out, is a hunk of man who is a great dancer. The female lead, Karine Plantadi was incredibly good, sexy as all get out- you couldn't take your eyes off of her.

When she performed to "That's Life" the audience howled.

The final number was, of course, My Way, which was just beautifully done. The encore was New York, New York, and it was a surprise that the dancers had any energy left, but they went all out leaving everyone save Ed* enthralled.

For the record, act one had 45 minutes of dance, and act 2 had 41 minutes. I don't think anyone left feeling shortchanged.

Now I can go to bed, only worried that foxy will not agree with my review of RED, which he saw tonight, getting better seats than I had, and cheaper, at TKTS.

 

*Each show is an individual performance, and we all have different opinions...!

[foxy]

I just got home from seeing "Red'.

 

Years ago I went to visit a friend who lived in Houston. No one in their right mind goes to Houston in July but that's what I did. Going from freezing air conditioning to a steam bath outside was pretty draining. My friend wanted to go visit the Rothko Chapel which was pretty new at the time. I had never heard of Rothko. The building seemed severely drab but it was very cool inside and I was glad to be out of the heat. Now I have a BFA and was an art major so I know a little about art. I looked around at all these black paintings and thought they were a bunch of crap. My friend drifted off and I just sat down and figured we'd leave in about 15 minutes. Looking around at all these black canvases I was sort of bored. Then things started to happen. They started to move and shift. Colors emerged and receded. I was transfixed. My friend joined me on one of the benches. Occasionally we'd get up and walk around and then sit again. We stayed for 5 hours and I had to be dragged out of the place. Ever since Mark Rothko has been one of my favorite painters.

 

If you are ever in Houston and miss the Rothko Chapel you will have missed one of the most spiritual and transcendent places on earth.

 

I loved the play "Red". You don't have to know a lot about art to appreciate it but it wouldn't hurt to head over to MoMA and go look at a real Rothko.

 

I thought Alfred Molina and Eddie Redmayne both superb.

 

I thought the Lighting Design was incredible and made you realize what looking at a Rothko painting is like. You'll know what I mean if you see the play. I want to see it again. I think it's going to be a major hit. I loved it.

[+ Lucky]

Although I tease Ed James about our different opinions on Come Fly Away, I do thank him for his contributions here. Had he not recommended Boys in the Band, I would have skipped it- to my loss. It was presented in a warehouse loft, and the intimacy of that setting offered a rare opportunity to be almost a "part" of the play.

All of the seats were good, but mine was in the first row, and I couldn't have been closer to the performers. It sure gave me a different perspective on the show. All in all, I liked it, remembering all the time that I had not liked the film versions that I saw years ago. Gays shouldn't behave like, I thought back then. But I came away appreciating the show as never before, and recommend it to you, especially if you are a younger guy who has not seen the show. My only fault was with the way that the character Harold was played, but since I cannot remember the movie that well, perhaps his performance as true to the character.

 

I finished with The Pride, which closed yesterday, CORRECTION: THE PRIDE WAS EXTENDED TO MARCH 28th- so go see it! so criticism is not helpful at this point. I did think that the actor Ben Wishaw showed great talent and is a figure to be watched.

 

Both Boys and the Pride had a theme where characters who had left their wives were having trouble with their new gay partners being promiscuous. Ironic, isn't it? We can cheat on someone, in this case the wife, but our partner can only do that at his peril.

 

New York on Saturday was in the midst of a monsoon, so if you think that my opinions are all wet, you were close to the mark then.

 

I am now safely home, the only member of the audience of Come Fly Away taking a drive today on Frank Sinatra Drive!

[+ Cash4Trash]

Really glad you got to see "Boys In The Band". It's a truly remarkable production of that play.

[+ Lucky]

I am getting the DVD from Netflix tomorrow. I want to see how Harold was played in the movie...

[edjames]

I am glad to read you had an enjoyable theater trip to NYC.

 

I have just returned from SOBE and am too exhausted to continue the thread, so I'll just add that it was good to read your observations.

 

I'm off to see The Scotsboro Boy's this evening at the Vineyard.

 

Take care. Alas, it's too bad you aren't in NYC this weekend. It's 72 today and headed to 75 tomorrow. At last some long awaited sunshine!

 

ED

[+ Lucky]

Ed, I would like to be in Ne York right now. it's Black Party weekend, among other things. Instead, I go to LA tomorrow to see The Subject Was Roses at the Mark Taper Forum, starring Martin Sheen.

 

I did rent Boys in the Band, and fell asleep half way through. The play is so much more potent, and being in the setting that it is makes it even more so. I liked the Harold in the movie better than the Harold I saw though. Now I need someone who saw the original play, the movie, and the new play to tell me how Harold is best played!

[edjames]

Alas, I won't be at the Black Party and I am taking a few days off to relax after my Florida/SOBE trip.

Last night "The Scottsboro Boys" did not disappoint. A truly terrific musical with only one flaw...no intermission. It runs almost 2 hours straight through. The music was very good. A few numbers slightly reminiscent of Chicago, and a cast of 13 that take on many roles. Great dancing and a highly charged topic of 9 young black men accused of rape in Alabama in 1931 and the travesties of injustice that befall them after they are falsely accused. The run is sold out, so if my sources are correct, it may be transitioning to Broadway.

BITB. Yes, the original play, original movie, and the latest revival of BITB, however, a major off-Broadway revival was launched in 1996 and got great reviews and some awards. David Greenspan played Harold in that production and I was privileged enough to see him reprise his Harold role in the recent reading of the sequel The Men From The Boys. He was very good. (In the sequel, 30 years later, Harold shows up late, of course, for Hank’s funeral and just before he leaves he and Michael have another one-on-one. Harold finally reveals to Michael that he was not in St. Barts on vacation as everyone had thought but spent 3 weeks in St. Vincent’s (Hospital) being treated for AIDS-related pneumonia. The play ends with Harold exiting and Michael telling him that he will be there for him to help him through his illness.)

I have confirmed tickets for War Horse and the Habit of Art in London during my next trip; however I was disappointed that London Assurance is unavailable. I hope to get a ticket to see Felicity Kendall in Mrs. Warren’s Profession. War Horse is coming to Lincoln Center next season.

Up next for me on Broadway, All About Me (I know, I know…Dame Edna, but what the heck? I know some folks who saw it and liked it. I am told there have been a few tough performances and audience members were walking out.), and Sondheim On Sondheim. I’m planning on a box office visit this week to get tickets for Looped (the reviews weren’t as bad as I feared). Red, the Encores! version of Anyone Can Whistle, and perhaps Enron.

Anyway, happy spring! The weather in NYC is glorious.

ED

[body2body]

I'm planning a trip to New York in May for a long weekend. I'm meeting a friend and we already have tickets for " Promises, Promises", "Sondheim on Sondheim", and "La Cage aux Folles". My friend is a composer/arranger so the focus is on musicals, but I would like to see at least one play, and I am considering "Next Fall" and "Red". One consideration may be running time. The current practice of starting weekend matinees at 3PM and evening performances at 7PM has me vexed. New York City Ballet is doing "Agon", for me, the great masterpiece of the collaboration of Balanchine and Stravinsky, but I'm not sure I can make a 3PM matinee perfomance at NYCB and have time to eat something before a 7PM performance of Sondheim on Sondheim. I hate to go to the Theater with my stomach growling. Anyone have any suggestions if doing a matinee performance of either play, or City Ballet will be possible if I am going to a 7PM curtain that night?

[+ sf westcoaster]

"Red" is 90 minutes without an intermission - gives more than enough time for a meal before a 7:00 pm curtain at another venue.

[Lankypeters]

"Lend Me a Tenor".....

 

......is shaping up as a solid hit.

[+ Lucky]

The Subject Was Roses, at the Mark Taper Forum in LA, is dreadful. I drove from Palm Springs to LA, and suffered horrible traffic upon the return for nothing. The play is a small piece to start with, but the actors do nothing much with it.

The comfort is that I stopped at a casino on the way to LA and won enough to pay for the trip and the ticket, so it was all free, except for my time!

[edjames]

One consideration may be running time. The current practice of starting weekend matinees at 3PM and evening performances at 7PM has me vexed. New York City Ballet is doing "Agon", for me, the great masterpiece of the collaboration of Balanchine and Stravinsky, but I'm not sure I can make a 3PM matinee perfomance at NYCB and have time to eat something before a 7PM performance of Sondheim on Sondheim. I hate to go to the Theater with my stomach growling. Anyone have any suggestions if doing a matinee performance of either play, or City Ballet will be possible if I am going to a 7PM curtain that night?

 

Well, first of all, I'd suggest a big lunch to hold you through the day. Second, check your ticket times, 7PM on a Sondheim on Sondheim on a Saturday night (the don't do Sunday night)? Curtain times on Saturday evening are 8PM. Don't know of any Broadway shows doing a 7PM or even NYCB.

 

Sounds like a fun trip and some interesting choices. Enjoy.

 

ED

[body2body]

ED, after your post I checked the tickets, and the time for the performance on Saturday May 22nd is 7PM not 8PM (Roundabout even circled it in red on the tickets). This was the first time I had ever seen a 7Pm curtain for a musical on a Saturday night. I hope this doesn't catch on. We, from the Provinces, have to make the most of our time in New York, and if this is a trend, it will make planning a theater weekend in New York more difficult.

 

It has long been the practice to start Opera performances at 7PM. When you are looking at 4 hours of Strauss, or Wagner, I can understand. Why a 7PM curtain on a Saturday night is a mystery to me.

 

After all my bitching, and fretting, I have pretty much decided that "Red" is the play I want to see and will fit the schedule even with a 7 PM cutain. NYCB will have to wait for another trip. I've seen them dance 'Agon" 4 or 5 times during the last 25 years, and I'm sure they will be dancing it for 25 more.

 

Thanks for the advise Gentlemen, you are always helpful.

[foxy]

I saw "Time Stands Still" today and thought it was wonderful. I love Laura Linney and thought the whole cast was first rate in a terrific play. There are only 8 performances left so if you you are able to grab a seat I'd highly recommend it.

[+ Lucky]

body2body, I hope that you like Red as much as foxy and I did. I will look forward to your comments.

[MscleLovr]

RED, an opposing view

 

Thanks for the feedback, I do appreciate it. For your reward, I will give you the first impressions of the new play, RED, which held its first preview tonight.

Alfred Molina plays the abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko, and Eddie Redmayne plays Ken, his assistant. The play takes place at a time when Rothko is painting murals for the new Four Seasons Restaurant in New York, and you can guess that such commercialism is at the heart of the play.

Red (the color) is a topic of much discussion- its meaning, its nuances, etc. etc. etc.

I am no student of art, but I was mesmerized by this show. The performances are brilliant, the writing is brilliant, and the staging is brilliant. There are so many ideas discussed that I cannot give them any real discussion here. I left the theater feeling that every brain cell had been engaged. I went into the hubbub of Times Square feeling that it was just an extension of the hubbub I felt in the theater. In short, I felt very much alive, and it was good! (I might point out that the guy next to me slept through the last 15 minutes. I had to nudge him when he started snoring.)

 

One thing not on stage is any sexual energy. But in my mind it was rampant, as Eddie Redmayne is just gorgeous. Think Kevin Bacon, Ricky Nelson, and James Dean to get my drift. His face is adorable, and his expressions bring life throughout the play. I am sure he will be much talked about in the gay theater crowd.

http://www.13am.net/journal/eddiered.jpg

Eddie

 

- I just saw this interesting thread, and wanted to add another view of "Red".

 

I saw this play (same production and actors) in London in December 2009 and was utterly disappointed. So was the friend I went with. I should add that we went to one of the first performances and so had little in the way of expectation.

 

I felt it was an extremely thinly written play. To me, it seemed to cover the same ground as "Art" by Yasmin Reza, but less elegantly. FWIW the London critics agreed with me and the play only had a short run here.

 

- And our tastes in men differ. I thought he looked plain and thoroughly ordinary, little different from dozens of young men in London.

[+ Lucky]

For what it is worth, the LA Times yesterday in an article on Alfred Molina, spoke of the difference between performing the show in the 250 seat Donmar and performing it in a larger Broadway house. The Times article says:

The play and its actors fared well with London critics and audiences and, following the path of earlier transfers of the Grandage-directed "Frost/Nixon" and "Hamlet" with Jude Law, opens on Broadway April 1.

 

"The spirit is larger because we're now in an 800-seat theater [the Donmar has 250 seats], and I hasten to add that Alfred Molina is even better on Broadway, because he's been unleashed," says Logan, screenwriter of "Sweeney Todd," "The Aviator" and "Gladiator." "He has a greater animal freedom, and he is now absolutely ferocious."

 

As has been pointed out by Ed James, each individual experiences a show differently, and this may make no difference in your enjoyment of Red. But with several of us raving about the show on Broadway, you might give it another chance.

Here's the La Times article:

 

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-ca-alfred-molina21-2010mar21,0,3872494.story

[+ Lucky]

For my April trip, I already have tickets to Enron, La Cage aux Folles, and Looking for Billy Haines, the latter being a real gamble by me.

 

I would like to add Lips Together, Teeth Apart, and Fences. There would only be one opening after that, as this is a shorter trip.

 

Unless some kind soul decides to share his apartment with me, my New York trips will fewer as my wallet tightens.

[edjames]

You are indeed correct. A 7PM Saturday evening curtain. Not too sure I can explain except to say that it is not unusual. During the school season some theaters have Tuesday night curtains at 7PM, but this is a first for seeing 7PM on a Saturday night. Well, look at it this way, you'll be able to enjoy a leisurely late night dinner. Enjoy the show and your trip to NYC. I'm seeing "Sondheim on Sondheim" on April 1 and I checked my ticket to make sure it was an 8PM! LOL

I'll be seeing "Red" soon. I have a number of freinds who have seen it and liked it although they said, and I quote, "It was very wordy."

 

ED

[+ Lucky]

Well, it is wordy. And that's part of the amazement, not only that the actors could memorize all of these lines, but deliver them with the passion that they do. It's a huge task and they lived up to all my expectations.