Trip around the world – part one

When a friend was talking to me recently in New York about various  aspects of Broadway history in the last decade or so, it made me realise how any of the shows he spoke of, that I had seen. I am almost embarassed that I  have spent so much time in Manhattan since the mid nineties, mostly for  business and working with clients, but, along the way I have seen a lot of  shows spoken about.

When a friend was talking to me recently in New York about various  aspects of Broadway history in the last decade or so, it made me realise how any of the shows he spoke of, that I had seen. I am almost embarrassed that I have spent so much time in Manhattan since the mid nineties, mostly for  business and working with clients, but, along the way I have seen a lot of shows spoken about.

If you asked me to name five favourites I would really have to think. Despite some great nights, what has become increasingly obvious in the last 10 years is that New York has been taken over by the tourists and  (as the locals call them) the “bridge and tunnel crowd”. Ie, People who come  from the outer suburbs and beyond to see “light escapist entertainment” on the  big white way. Consequently this has dictated the shows we have seen passed  down to us. Mamma Mia, Rock of Ages, strangely Wicked (which has a much  darker edge than the average fluff, but most people only see the songs and the  green girl and its appeal to girly underdogs), also Priscilla which will fit  perfectly into this mix even if it is mauled by the critics. 

Meaningful musicals such as Scottsboro Boys and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson just  couldn’t cut it in a big theatre against the light weights. Look what’s coming: How to Succeed, Anything Goes, Priscilla (of course) and the list goes  on. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind a bit of lightweight, but would like some  meat and potatoes with the dish at times. This has become less and less in the  last ten years.

So what did New York offer me this time? Not much! My best nights in theatre in this most recent trip were spent outside New York (more on them later). This was exacerbated by a dreaded flu I contracted that left me locked up for five of the nights I was in town (note: flu shots in future please). But I must admit I didn’t feel I missed anything I really wanted to see. What did I see was a very under par A Little Night Music in its last week of   fairly long run. The show has been pumped up by the addition of  Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch in the senior  leading female roles.  I never saw the Zeta Jones/Lansbury combination, but I am guessing they may  have pleased me more. This is a pretty dull reading of the show, lacking the  life, romance and vibrancy of many other productions. In fact the whole  thing is set in front of some shuttering sliding doors. Appeal to the eye?  Zero. Both Ms Peters and Ms Stritch were playing to the gallery on the  performance I saw. Everything was aimed to get a quick laugh which I found  highly insulting to the piece itself. I think Elaine Stritch could read the  telephone book and one couldn’t help but like her, but here, at times she was  almost reading something that didn’t seem to be very much in the script at all.  An odd and rather empty evening.

I saw Other Desert Cities, new at the Lincoln Centre, which Ben Brantley from NY Times has lauded with extraordinary praise (when that man likes something, he really likes it). This is the new play by Jon Robin Baitz, whose much earlier work met with praise before he went to Hollywood to create  that rather painful night time soap Brothers and Sisters. Baitz has escaped Sally Field’s overacting and this is his big return to Broadway directed by  Joe Mantello.  It’s a fine enough and engaging play peopled with  excellent actors; Stockard Channing, Linda Lavin and Stacy Keach lead a company of five which also includes the wonderful new York actor Elizabeth Marvel (you probably may have seen her recently in True Grit, she plays the  little girl grown up). Here she plays a troubled suicidal daughter returning  to the family home to announce the book she has written about her brother who  died under mysterious circumstances. The set is amazing, everyone has a moment  of high angst, there are plenty of acidic laughs along the way,  the  reveal is faulty and throws up more questions than it answers, but it is a solid enough piece of commercial theatre. I could see the Sydney or Melbourne  Theatre Companies having fun with it.

Another play Gruesome Playground Injuries is best left alone. A flawed piece of writing with an unnecessary elaborate set, it’s most notable for bringing Dexter star Jennifer Carpenter back to New York. A two hander about  thirty years in the life of two people who take pleasure in pain (shall we  say). The pain it inflicted on the audience was enough for me.

After the flu eased off, I had time for only one more show, La Cage Aux Folles. I saw this revival in London a few years ago and its full of fun and  economic staging. Word is that there is interest in bringing the show to Australia as well there should be. It is a tougher, less elaborate and more  believable version of the original show. Douglas Hodge is brilliant as Albin (he recently won the Tony for it) when he is playing for laughs, but he doesn’t  get the depth of the character so the Act One finish had none of the power and  pain  it needed. But for most of the night Hodge is a delicious  revelation and he is well accompanied by Kelsey Grammer, having a ball as Georges. Get it to Oz, guys, it will work here I am sure. (NB book writer Harvey Feinstein is about to take over Albin, that i would love to see).

Still in America, the two shows that ticked a lot of my boxes were very definitely ‘out of town’. In Philadelphia I caught the touring newly revised version of Les Miserables. What a treat. This reworked, re-orchestrated and revised version has to be seen to be believed. It is radiant. The sets and  backdrops (many taken directly from Victor Hugo’s paintings) are incredible. 

The three dimensional effects that modern technology has allowed now takes us  even deeper into the story, setting scenes in specific places that make the  story clearer and even more emotional. I was particularly thrilled by the  special effects used in ‘One Day More’ (which makes us feel the students are marching directly at us in the audience) and Javert’s death, which was never satisfactorily staged before.

Now he jumps from the bridge and is suspended in mid-air as the whirlpool behind seems to suck he and the audience into it. It would be a crime if Australia did not see this wonderful new interpretation. I was not sure about all the cast, but this touring show has a fine Marius, Jean Valjean, Javert, Eponine and Thernadiers. It was an extraordinary afternoon  and the local audience in Philadelphia reacted with such enthusiasm and excitement it made this experience (even in a bitter snow storm) a definite highlight.

Finally in America, a few words about Pittsburgh Public Theatre’s  production of Camelot. I admit I am on biased ground here as this production was the centre piece of my visit, to see client Hayden Tee play King Arthur in this revival of Lerner and Lowe’s charming classic. Pittsburgh Public is one  of the most admired theatre companies in America and two of their productions have transferred to Broadway.

This production directed by Ted Pappas could well transfer anywhere to great acclaim. An elaborate single set used effectively in a beautifully designed  theatre, a powerful and passionate  and surprisingly intimate reading of the play. A fine cast lead by Hayden, a young actor whose career has had an enormous boost since moving to America and being offered roles that would never have come his way in Australia. I leave the last words on him to the Pittsburgh press:- “Hayden Tee gives a tremendously moving performance as the King. From young and  idealistic to betrayed and broken (but not defeated), Tee sweeps the audience up in Arthur’s journey.”

Next time: As far as theatre goes, there is nowhere like it.