Overall, Broadway
plays were better than musicals this calendar year. Performing a quick IBDB search, the
following 23 plays opened on Broadway between January 1st and today.
I was bored
watching this Tom Stoppard play and am bored now having to write a few words
about this play. With that said, check out critic reviews of Arcadia
here.
Rightfully,
Rajiv Joseph’s relevant and well-done Bengal
Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo was cited as most underrated
on New York Magazine’s 2011 Best of Theater list. Check out my stage door
post here
and critic reviews of Bengal Tiger at the
Baghdad Zoo here.
Broadway
audiences were thankful when Nina Arianda claimed the Billie Dawn baton from Judy
Holliday in this year’s revival of Garson Kanin’s play. Check out my post about
Nina Arianda’s impeccable performance here
and critic reviews of Born Yesterday here.
I recall once
standing in a train terminal in Tokyo
alone and in utter confusion. A gentleman, kind but abrupt, tried to assist me
but since I speak no Japanese, this was not very helpful. Eventually I began to
figure things out similar to the American businessman trying to navigate and
conduct business in China
in David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish. While
I felt the chemistry between Jennifer Lim’s Xi Yan and Gary Wilmes’ Daniel Cavanaugh was lacking,
I liked the freshness of this play and how it reminded me of a girl from
Brooklyn determined to figure out Tokyo.
Check out critic reviews of Chinglish
here.
I have
always been a fan of Colombian American actor John Lequizamo and I like his
solo acts. At age 47, he remains youthful, energetic and entertaining. Check
out my post about John Leguizamo’s solo act here
and critic reviews of Ghetto Klown here.
Out of all
the plays that I saw in 2011, I ruminated on David Lindsay-Abaire’a Good People the most. Check out my post here
and critic reviews of Good People here.
While I liked this
Matthew Lombardo play about a foul-mouthed nun, no one else did.
A quick search on the Broadway League’s website shows that this play grossed only
$450K while on Broadway. Check out how High sank before it had a chance here
and critic reviews of High here.
Rightfully, Jez Butterworth's Jerusalem is hitting most 2011 Best of Theater lists. Check out
my post about Mark Rylance’s amazing performance in this play here
and critic reviews of Jerusalem here.
Financial scandals will never go away. What is it this week? MF Global. Many thanks to the Roundabout for blowing the dust off Terence Rattigan’s 1963 play and giving us Frank Langella as psychopath businessman Gregor Antonescu. Check out my post here
and critic reviews of Man and Boy here
The more I think about this Terrence McNally play about opera singer Maria Callas, the more I like it. Months later, I am still playing a Maria Callas CD. Check out
my Master Class post here
critic reviews of Master Class here.
Family dramas will always be a hot topic for playwrights. Jon Robin Baitz's crisp family drama, Other Desert Cities - is the best to hit the New York City stage all year. Check out my
stage door post of the stellar cast here
and critic reviews of Other Desert Cities
here.
A divorced
couple rekindles their relationship while honeymooning in the same resort with their
new spouses. I wish that someone would explain to me why this Noel Coward comedy is so popular. It is not very funny. None of the superficial characters
are very likable. Paul Gross’ Elyot is obnoxious. The best thing about this Broadway
version was the wonderful set and crazy fish tank in the second half of the
show. If interested, check out critic reviews of Private Lives here.
After not
reading one positive review about this three one-act show, I have little
interest in paying to see Relatively
Speaking. Check out critic reviews of Relatively
Speaking here.
Surprisingly,
I have not seen this Theresa Rebeck play yet but hopefully this will change in the new year. While in the theater district though, I stumbled
upon Alan Rickman right in the middle of the sidewalk signing playbills. Check
out my Stage Door posting here
and critic reviews of Seminar here.
One of the
trends I notice on the New York City
stage these days is how simple the playwriting is for some newer works. This
simple writing feels very television or sitcom-ish. If this continues, the
natural question is why pay to see live theater when you can easily affordably
and comfortably stay at home and watch television. In some ways, this is how I
felt while watching Stick Fly; for me
the writing did not begin to show some depth until very late in the play. While
it was refreshing to see a play about wealthy, educated African Americas on
Broadway and one of the themes around fatherhood resonated with me (see post here),
this is a good but not great play. If interested, check out critic reviews of Stick Fly here.
That Championship
Season
When I
think of Broadway plays I disliked this year, this Pulitzer prize winning play by
Jason Miller immediately comes to mind. Check out my post here
and critic reviews of That Champion
Season here.
Another play that I was not blown away by is John Guare The House of Blue Leaves marking Ben Stiller's return to Broadway. Check out my post
here, mentally ill women on the stage here
and critic reviews of The House of Blue
Leaves here.
Here is one formula for wonderful theater - combine the wit of Oscar Wilde, design a beautiful set and throw in the acting of the impeccable Brian Bedford. Check out my Brian Bedford post here
and critic reviews of The Importance of
Being Earnest here.
Perhaps I
was at a disadvantage for seeing this overly foul and high octane play by Stephen Adly Guirgis on the first night of previews.
While engaging at times, this was not a very good evening of theater for me. However, the critics disagreed
for the most part. I am shocked to see it appear on a few 2011 Best of Theater lists. Check out my stage door post here
and critic reviews of The Mother_______
with the Hat here
Many
critics did not like this play. However, I liked Katori Hall’s interesting
journey to Broadway. No one wanted to produce the play here in America until it was successful in Europe, where they just don’t have the same racial
baggage that Americans seem to have. The Mountaintop shows that we are all human, including our
leaders. It is original in how it imagines what this great leader might have
been going through on the night before his death. It speaks about different
approaches to civil rights – not just a non violent approach. Finally, it
provides a good summary of the state of civil rights in America since MLK
was murdered in 1968. Check out my post about finally getting to The Mountaintop here
and critic reviews of The Mountaintop
here.
In the documentary Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work,
there is a scene where Joan Rivers, who annually delivers meals for the charity,
God’s Love We Deliver, jokes about seeing the same people year after year.
While inroads have been made with increasing the life expectancy of those diagnosed
with HIV, Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart
reminded us that this was not the case in the early 1980s. Deservedly, this play
shows up on Time Magazine’s and Adam
Feldman’s 2011 Best of Theater lists. Check out my post about how this play
left me unsettled here
and critic reviews of The Normal Heart here
David Ives’ Venus in Fur
probably worked better at the intimate semi-circular Classic Stage Company than it does on Broadway. However, no matter where it plays, it is worth seeing Nina Arianda in this sexy conversational piece between a playwright and an actress. There are
various interpretations about who Vanda really based on the end of the play. I
touched on my take on this character in my post about mysterious women here.
Check out critic reviews of Venus in Fur
here. For
those who missed Venus in Fur on Broadway, no worries; it returns in February
2012 - this time at the Lyceum Theatre.
On December
25th, Steven Spielberg is releasing the film War Horse in
movie theaters. While I tend to prefer live theater, now millions will get to
see this wonderful WWI story about a boy and his horse. Check out how this play adapted
from Michael Morpurgo's novel made me shed a tear here
and critic reviews of War Horse here
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