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Lawrence Harbison<\/strong>, the Playfixer, brings you up to date with what\u2019s hot and what\u2019s not in New York. In this column, Larry reports on Network, American Son, Clueless, The Lifespan of a Fact <\/em><\/strong>and King Kong<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n Happy New Year!<\/p>\n If you think our country is going to hell in a handbasket and you\u2019re mad as hell and aren\u2019t going to take it anymore then Network<\/em>, Lee Hall\u2019s adaptation of the Paddy Chayefski screenplay from 1977 which garnered several awards, including one for Best Original Screenplay for Chayefski, you don\u2019t want to miss the stage version at the Belasco Theatre. Directed by Ivo Van Hove and featuring a phenomenal performance by Bryan Cranston as Howard Beale, the deranged anchorman on a nightly news show who becomes a Jeremiah-like prophet, Network<\/em> is one of the best things you\u2019ll see this season.<\/p>\n Van Hove and his designers, most notably Jan Versweyveld (set and lighting) and Tal Yarden (video), have come up with a concept that almost makes the audience feel as if they are on the newsroom set, a perfect realization of Chayefski\u2019s cogent demonstration of how people come to see what\u2019s on TV as reality. Eager beaver and totally unscrupulous producer Diana Christensen sees that allowing Howard to rant on camera is a ratings gold mine \u2013 until, that is, Howard goes completely off the rails. Tatiana Maslany is terrific as Diana, though not as terrific as Faye Dunaway (who won an Oscar) was in the film. Tony Goldwyn is just OK as Max Schumacher, a jaded producer, which, if memory serves, was William Holden\u2019s last appearance on film.<\/p>\n But the stars of the show are Cranston and Van Hove.<\/p>\n American Son<\/em> by Christopher Demos-Brown, at the Booth Theatre is a powerful, gut-churning parable about the thorny, insolvable dilemma regarding race. It begins with a \u00a0black woman, Kendra, waiting late at night at a police station, to which she came when her son Jamal, didn\u2019t come home. She is stymied by a young white police officer who is unable to provide her with information as to Jamal\u2019s whereabouts. She has called her estranged husband, and when he arrives we are surprised, along with the policeman, that he is white. Eventually, the police are able to ascertain what has happened to Jamal, and it\u2019s a tragic ending to this brilliant, strident new play.<\/p>\n Kerry Washington and Stephen Pasquale are very strong as Jamal\u2019s parents, as are Jeremy Jordan as the police officer, and Eugene Lee as an older policeman, and Kenny Leon has directed the play with a steady, unobtrusive hand.<\/p>\n Like Network, American Son<\/em> is a don\u2019t-miss. I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if it wins this year\u2019s Pulitzer Prize.<\/p>\n Clueless<\/em>, at the Signature Center, is a musical-ization by Amy Heckerling of her cult film of the 90s about a group of Beverly Hills teenagers. Heckerling has chosen popular songs of the era but given them new lyrics, a device which I found very clever. Kristin Hanggi has done a fine job of staging the show and Kelly Devine\u2019s choreography is sprightly and witty, and Dove Cameron is charming as the\u00a0 central character, Cher. Yes, folks, this is another Cher show.<\/p>\n The reviews for Clueless<\/em> have not been all that hot. Several critics took it to task for Not Being The Movie. Well, I never saw the movie, so I responded to this musical version with fresh eyes and ears, which may be why I enjoyed it so much.<\/p>\n The Lifespan of a Fact<\/em>, at Studio 54, is a fine new play by Jeremy Kareken, David Murrell and Gordon Ferrell. Cherry Jones plays the editor of a prestigious literary magazine who has contracted to publish an essay by a prominent writer about the suicide of a young man. She gives an intern the job of fact-checking the essay, and little did she know the ramifications of this decision, as he turns out to be an obsessive-compulsive young fellow who takes the job very<\/em> seriously, to the point of coming up with 137 pages of notes which put into question the veracity of just about everything in the essay.<\/p>\n Daniel Radcliffe as Jim the fact-checker here adds another wonderful performance to his stage resume and Cherry Jones is also terrific as the editor, Emily, who has to decide whether to go with Jim\u2019s version Truth or the essayist John\u2019s defense of bending the facts in the name of poetic justice. As for Bobby Cannavalle as John, I am a big fan of this terrific actor who was sensational in The Motherfucker with the Hat<\/em>, but I had difficulty buying him as a brilliant writer. Director Leigh Silverman has done a fine job with the other two actors, but couldn\u2019t make Cannavalle credible.<\/p>\n Still, this is a very entertaining cerebral comedy and well worth seeing.<\/p>\n Finally, we come to the musical version of King Kong<\/em>, at the Broadway Theatre. You know the story so there is no use summarizing the preposterous plot, because this show is all about the special effects, mainly the enormous puppet that is Kong, who makes Joey, the horse from Warhorse<\/em>, look like a sock puppet.<\/p>\n Make no mistake Kong, manipulated by several people, is the star of the show. One of the things that amazed me the most was how his designer, Sonny Tilderss has made his face able to show emotion, from tenderness to rage.<\/p>\n The score by Marius de Vries is unmemorable, as are the performances. But Kong is amazing.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n NETWORK. Belasco Theatre, 111 W. 44th St.<\/p>\n Tickets: www.telecharge.com<\/a>, 212-239-6200 or 800-447-7400<\/p>\n AMERICAN SON. Booth Theatre, 222 W. 45th St.<\/p>\n Tickets: www.telecharge.com<\/a>, 212-239-6200 or 800-447-7400<\/p>\n CLUELESS. Signature Center, 480 W. 42nd St.<\/p>\n Tickets: www.ticketcentral.com<\/a> or 212-279-4200<\/p>\n THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT. Studio 54. 254 W. 54th St.<\/p>\n