{"id":240,"date":"2011-02-15T18:05:56","date_gmt":"2011-02-15T22:05:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/playfixer.com\/wordpress\/?p=240"},"modified":"2011-02-15T18:05:56","modified_gmt":"2011-02-15T22:05:57","slug":"on-the-aisle-with-larry-15-february-2011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/playfixer.com\/wordpress\/?p=240","title":{"rendered":"“On the Aisle with Larry” 15 February 2011"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lawrence Harbison<\/em><\/strong>, The Playfixer, brings you up to date with what\u2019s hot and what\u2019s not in New York. This week, Larry tells you about BLACK TIE, WHAT THE PUBLIC WANTS, THE WITCH OF EDMONTON, APPLE COVE, NEWSICAL, THE MAN WHO ATE MICHAEL ROCKEFELLER <\/strong>and THE WHIPPING MAN. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

A. R. Gurney made his reputation with his satiric depictions of the mores of WASP America, in plays such as The Dining Room<\/em>. In his latest, Black Tie<\/em><\/strong> at Primary Stages, Gurney has returned to these roots. We are in a rather tacky hotel in the Adirondacks, where a middle-aged man named Curtis is preparing for his son\u2019s wedding. Curtis gets a lot of advice about how to stage a proper wedding from his father, a dapper man in a tuxedo who, it turns out, is a ghost.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s nothing earth-shaking in this play \u2013 it\u2019s \u201cmerely\u201d a genial and very witty comedy poking fun at the old ways vs. the new. Mark Lamos\u2019 direction is pitch-perfect, as are all the performances \u2013 particularly, those of Gregg Edelman as Curtis, Carolyn McCormick as his frazzled wife Mimi, and Daniel Davis as the ghostly Dear Old Dad.<\/p>\n

I hear the play is sold out for its originally-announced run but that Primary Stages has extended one week \u2013 so there may be tickets. Go \u2013 you\u2019ll have a great time.<\/p>\n

The Mint Theatre has another fine production of a forgotten play on their boards, Arnold Bennett\u2019s What the Public Wants<\/em><\/strong>, a comedy about a forerunner of Rupert Murdoch who runs a string of what would now be considered \u201ctabloid\u201d newspapers. This may be what the dumbed-down public wants \u2013 but is it journalism?<\/p>\n

I wouldn\u2019t say that the Mint\u2019s production makes a case for this play as a Lost Classic; but it is undeniably relevant to our own dumbed-down times, is well-constructed and engaging, and features a slew of fine performances under Matthew Arbour\u2019s fine direction. My faves were Rob Breckenridge as the media mogul and Mark Vietor as his quizzical, skeptical brother; but all the performances are, as is usual at the Mint, Mighty Fine.<\/p>\n

Like the Mint, Red Bull Theatre specializes in productions of forgotten old plays. Whereas the Mint\u2019s plays largely come from the early years of the 20th<\/sup> Century, though, Red Bull\u2019s come from the early years of the 17th<\/sup>. Red Bull has been around for a while, but I had never seen any of their productions until I went over to St. Clement\u2019s to see The Witch of Edmonton<\/em><\/strong>, a collaboration, it is believed, between Thomas Dekker, John Ford and William Rowley originally produced in 1621.<\/p>\n

The plays tells the dual stories of the persecution for witchcraft of an old woman, and of a young man who is forced to marry a woman for economic reasons, though he loves another. Both come to a bad end, and both stories are dark and disturbing, about the darker side of human nature, which was common in plays of that era. One of the fascinating aspects of the play is the presence onstage of the Devil, in the shape of a dog, who manipulates both stories with evil intent.<\/p>\n

The production, directed by Red Bull\u2019s Artistic Director Jesse Berger, is astounding, and features a large cast of wonderful actors, most of whom are classically-trained. My faves were Charlayne Woodard as the old witch lady and Derek Smith as the Devil Dog.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll say this: I do not plan to miss another Red Bull production. Don\u2019t miss this one.<\/p>\n

The Women\u2019s Project has finally gotten their season going with a wild satire by Lynn Rosen called Apple Cove<\/em><\/strong>, at the Julia Miles Theatre, which lampoons the new comformity of people who live in \u201cgated\u201d communities. Giovanna Sardelli\u2019s production starts broad and gets broader, but the actors go with it and make it enjoyable even though the play is I think rather silly. If you\u2019re in the mood for silly, though, this one\u2019s for you.<\/p>\n

Newsical<\/em><\/strong>, at the Kirk Theatre is also pretty silly. It\u2019s a musical review which riffs on current events. It\u2019s kinda like the Capital Steps, though not quite as inventive or funny; but the performers are great fun to watch and the singing is terrific. Rick Crom\u2019s book, music and lyrics are fun, and Mark Waldrop\u2019s direction witty and wild.<\/p>\n

Jeff Cohen\u2019s The Man Who Ate Michael Rockefeller<\/em><\/strong>, at ArcLight, definitely falls into the category of Not The Same Old Thing. It imagines what might have happened to the young son of Governor Nelson Rockefeller, who disappeared without a trace in Papua New Guinea. Cohen dramatizes the story from the natives\u2019 point of view. His central character, Designing Man, is the tribe\u2019s resident artist, who accepts a commission from Rockefeller is create wood carvings which the young anthropologist plans to bring back to New York to display in a museum he is building.<\/p>\n

Cohen handles the dialogue between the various members of the Asmat tribe in a wonderfully anachronistic, contemporary-slangy way, and all the actors are amazing, absolutely convincing as these primitive people. Alfred Preisser\u2019s direction is amazing, too.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re in the mood for Something Completely Different, check this one out.<\/p>\n

I also loved Matthew Lopez\u2019 gripping The Whipping Man<\/em><\/strong> at Manhattan Theatre Club. In fact, I would go so far as to say that it is one of the best plays of the season.<\/p>\n

It takes place in a burnt-out house near Richmond, just at the end of the Civil War. An injured soldier named Caleb staggers in, and we find that he is the son of the owner of the house. Everyone\u2019s gone except for a slave named Simon, who quickly ascertains that Caleb\u2019s leg is gangrenous and needs to be amputated, which he does with the help of another former slave named John who shows up out of the blue.<\/p>\n

This is not your usual southern family. Since the whites are Jewish, the slaves are too, and one of the high points of the play is at the end, when Simon officiates at a makeshift seder.<\/p>\n

There are big surprises in the play, which Lopez handles brilliantly, and which pack quite a whallop. Doug Hughes, the director, is at the top of his game and the three actors, Andr\u00e9 Braugher (Simon), Jay Wilkison (Caleb) and Andr\u00e9 Holland (John) are all excellent.<\/p>\n

This one\u2019s a don\u2019t-miss.<\/p>\n

BLACK TIE. Primary Stage, 59 E. 59th<\/sup> St.<\/p>\n

TICKETS: www.ticketcentral.com<\/a> or 212-279-4200<\/p>\n

WHAT THE PUBLIC WANTS. Mint Theatre Co., 311 W. 43rd<\/sup> St.<\/p>\n

TICKETS: 212-315-0231<\/p>\n

THE WITCH OF EDMONTON. Theatre at St. Clement\u2019s, 423 W. 46th<\/sup> St.<\/p>\n

TICKETS: 212-352-3101<\/p>\n

APPLE COVE. Women\u2019s Project @ Julia Miles Theatre, 424 W. 55th<\/sup> St.<\/p>\n

TICKETS: www.telecharge.com<\/a> or 212-239-6200<\/p>\n

NEWSICAL. Kirk Theatre, 416 W. 42nd<\/sup> St.<\/p>\n

TICKETS: www.telecharge.com<\/a> or 212-239-6200<\/p>\n

THE MAN WHO ATE MICHAEL ROCKEFELLER. ArcLight Theatre, 152 W.\u00a0 71st<\/sup> St.<\/p>\n

TICKETS: www.smarttix.com<\/a> or 212-868-4444<\/p>\n

THE WHIPPING MAN. Manhattan Theatre Club, 131 W. 55th<\/sup> St.<\/p>\n

TICKETS: 212-581-1212 <\/strong><\/p>\n

“It requires a certain largeness of spirit to give generous appreciation to large achievements. A society with\u00a0a crabbed spirit\u00a0and a\u00a0cynical urge to discount and devalue will find that one day, when it needs to draw upon the reservoirs of excellence, the reservoirs have run dry.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

—– George F. Will<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lawrence Harbison, The Playfixer, brings you up to date with what\u2019s hot and what\u2019s not in New York. This week, Larry tells you about BLACK TIE, WHAT THE PUBLIC WANTS, THE WITCH OF EDMONTON, APPLE COVE, NEWSICAL, THE MAN WHO ATE MICHAEL ROCKEFELLER and THE WHIPPING MAN. A. R. Gurney made his reputation with his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/playfixer.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/playfixer.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/playfixer.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/playfixer.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/playfixer.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=240"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/playfixer.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":241,"href":"http:\/\/playfixer.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240\/revisions\/241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/playfixer.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/playfixer.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/playfixer.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}