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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 2005)
October 21.2005 C 2004 JOAN but this isn’-t one of them. An amalgamation of overbaked histrionics, tedious exposition and limp wit, Dedication would be utterly forgettable if it wasn’t for the incandescent tour de force of theatrical grande dame Marion Seldes, who kept this excuse for a play alive through sheer guts and crystalline technique as an acidic Queen Bitch. There were also two so-so productions of cool new scripts. Hank Azaria (right, with Christian Borle) is initiated into gay Martin McDonagh’s London hit life as a butchly swish Lancelot in Spamalot. The Pillowman was a disturbing, blackly funny sick joke of a play, butchly swish Lancelot and, in a class of her and it got a fine staging here that was lacking own, Sara Ramirez’s crackerjack timing and in a true sense of dread—mostly because of the jaw-dropping voice in her justifiably Tony- cast’s earnest yet somehow safe performances. winning turn as the Lady (or should we say Austin Pendleton’s Orson’s Shadow —an affec Diva) of the Lake. By the time we reached the tionate and poignant comedy about theatrical sing-along bows and the confetti cannons, the legends Orson Welles, Laurence Olivier, Ken audience had reached a unique state of musical neth Tynan and Vivien Leigh—got a prosaic comedy delirium—how wonderful to see such staging in its off-Broadway premiere, lacking happiness in a theater. the theatricality and complexity the script Brief mention should also be made of the demands, despite the fine work of some of its London import Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, not cast. because of its saccharine score and simplistic Thankfully, there was John Patrick Shan kiddie antics, but because of the show’s two star ley’s Tony- and Pulitzer-winning Doubt to make performances: that stylish, gleaming and up for all this half-baked drama on this season’s smtxrthly operating flying car and the hilarious stages. Here was a masterful script dealing with comic depravity of Jan Maxwell’s Marlene powerful issues (a church abuse scandal that Dietrich-on-crack Baroness. may or may not have happened) in highly cre On the Broadway musical revival scene, the ative, thought-provoking ways. Beautifully bizarre David Leveaux staging of Fiddler on the directed by Doug Hughes and featuring a peer Roof is still playing, and while it remains a less quartet of great actors, the emotional roller deconstructivist nightmare of a production, it coaster of Doubt was almost reason enough to has gained some well-needed chutzpah with its make the trip to New York this year. new stars—Harvey Fierstein and Rosie O’Don Two other events made the trip worthwhile nell. Fierstein chews every piece of scenery this season. For 23 years, Gerald Alessandri has available and manages to be both grotesque been skewering the Great White Way in his and lovable, often simultaneously, while viciously funny revue, Forbidden Broadway. O’Donnell makes a touching, funny and utterly This season’s version was as merciless as ever believable Goldie. There was also the un and a hysterical pleasure. And over at the inti deniable heartwarming charge to be had from mate Café Carlyle, Broadway legend Elaine seeing these two gay icons playing husband and Stritch proved, at the age of 80, to be as funny, wife in one of the most family-oriented musical inspiring and devastating as ever in a new 90- comedies of all time. minute one-woman cabaret follow-up to her Finally, off-Broadway played host to two i already legendary one-woman show At laberty. recent new musical hits whose charms totally Watching Stritch work a rcxim with her sly, escaped me. The Christian boy band show martini-dry wit and dig into a set of powerful Altar Boyz was a one-joke premise stretched to songs with gut-wrenching power is to bear wit communion-wafer thinness. Despite the ness to why we keep going to the theater in earnest, occasionally funny gyrations of an first place. JH energetically cute cast, after a few minutes the requisite NSYNC power moves choreography, J on K retzu is associate artistic director of Artists bubblelicious pop songs and tired jokes wear Repertory Theatre in Portland. out their welcome. The less said about The Musical of Musicals the better. This somehow hit show was possibly one of the worst things I’ve ever seen in New York. Performed by a relentlessly untalented cast, this witless set of panxlies of famous Broadway composers (Rodgers and Hammer- stein, Sondheim, Jerry Herman, etc. etc.) looked and sounded like the work of gay junior high musical comedy queens in training. » just OUt 43 IT'S HALLOWEEN! SELL US YOUR CRAZY SHIT! n the realm of straight plays, things weren’t much better. A mostly dull, loud revival of I - Edward Albee’s Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf! starring a low-voltage Kathleen Turner was somewhat brightened by the quirky, odd ball histrionics of co-star Bill Irwin. A hideous revival of The Glass Menagerie, another Ameri can masterpiece destroyed by David Leveaux (can’t someone take away his work visa?), fea tured the wonderful Jessica Lange giving a stunning account of Blanche DuBois, unfortu nately while playing Amanda Wingfield, along with the unwatchable Christian Slater. The most disappointing of the new pl?ys was Terrence McNally’s hopeless muddle of a script, Dedication or The Stuff of Dreams. McNally has given us many wonderful plays, SW 1 1 TH & STARK C Brian F. O’Byme and Cherry Jones cast Doubt on a church abuse scandal that may or may not have happened. »THING EXCHANGE SE 36th < HAWTHORNE
