The night belongs to...
revival, but it has its own glories.
Laura Benanti is the most
affecting Louise I’ve seen, and
her transformation from gawky
wallflower to the charming erotic
force that was Gypsy Rose Lee is
both magical and heartbreaking.
The trio of strippers bring down
August: Osage County, a powerful account of epic familial
the house with their salute to
dysfunction, was the dramatic event of the year.
their chosen art-form; Leigh
Great White Way with deconstructed panache.
Ann Larkin has a most original take on Dainty
Rupert Goold’s funhouse-abattoir production was
June, and Boyd Gaines is a heartfelt Herbie. And
perhaps a bit overhyped (had none of the New
then there is Patti. What can one say—she is a
York critics seen any Shakespeare in London
force of nature, a schizophrenic presence veering
in the past two decades?) but it was a terribly
wildly from Lucille Ball slapstick to the guttural
entertaining romp through the play with some
power of a tragic diva. And when it comes time
striking images that really worked (the Red Cross
for the amazing climax of “Rose’s Turn”—surely
nurse witches, the double-played banquet scene
the greatest musical soliloquy ever written—she
from two viewpoints, the reeking kitchen-in-hell
holds nothing back in a torrential outpouring of
atmosphere complete with industrial sink and hot
pent-up sorrow, passion and pain that is simply a
and cold running blood taps) and some that didn’t
horrific wonder to behold. .
(all that Stalinist Russian imagery and anthems
Perhaps the most exciting theatrical work to
and musicales that made little sense). Stewart’s
be seen in the past two years isn’t in a theater at
account of the murderous king had lots of clever
all but at Metropolitan Opera House, which is in
moments but little continuity or cohesiveness—
the midst of a creative renaissance because of the
rather it was Kate Fleetwood’s icy depiction of resurgence of energy bestowed upon it by savvy
Lady Mac as a murderous Martha Stewart in haute
new general manager Peter Gelb. The Met is
couture and Michael Feast’s revelatory Macduff surging with excitement lately as it plays host to
that gave the evening its real dramatic thrills.
a dazzling roster of marvelous young singer-actors
Things were much less interesting in the
and a host of thrilling new productions, starting
magic realm of the Broadway musical this season.
with last year’s exquisite Madama Butterfly (by
The two biggest shows of the season—Disney’s
the late film director Anthony Minghella) and
The Little Mermaid and Mel Brooks’ sophomore
going through this season’s haunting Lucia di
effort,
Young
Frankenstein— were
critically lambasted and shunned by
Tony voters. I didn’t bother with the
Disney show—after suffering through
the horrific Mary Poppins, I just
couldn’t bring myself to go under the
sea on 46th Street. The Brooks show
suffers from bombast, miscasting and a
general sense of ennui. Thankfully, the
two stellar supporting performances
from Christopher Fitzgerald (as the
guy with a hump) and Andrea Martin
(as Frau-“neiggghhh”-Blucher) got
deserved Tony nods.
The New Century wove in some touching moments of
The big musical news were the
real feeling among Paul Rudnick's fabulous one-liners.
wonderful In the Heights and the
Lammermoor (directed by theater wizard Mary
revival of the powerful classic Gypsy starring
Zimmerman) and Richard Jones’ quirky, perverse
Patti LuPone as the indestructible Mama Rose.
and moving rethinking of Hansel and Gretel. Not
In the Heights garnered a well-deserved 13 Tony
everything has worked—Adrian Noble’s confused
nominations for its impassioned cast and creators.
and often incoherent modem-dress account of
Conceived and written by Lin-Manual Miranda
Verdi’s Macbeth this fall was a rare misstep.
from his own life and experiences through two
This spring the hottest ticket in town was
years of workshops and an off-Broadway run,
Laurent Pelly’s delicious new production of
Heights is a totally traditional Broadway book
Donizetti’s soufflé La Fille du Regiment starring
musical but told in a fresh, heartfelt way. Its cast
the incandescent duo of Natalie Dessay and Juan
of mostly unknown powerhouse talents ignites
the theater with the force and irresistible joy of Diego Florez—two dazzling talents who combine
incomparably gorgeous voices with the style and
its work. Filled with the raw sound of rap, hip
comic genius of commedia clowns. It was a magical
hop and salsa, the score is truly groundbreaking
evening and, kxiking at the multitude of delights
in its use of contemporary idioms to tell a classic
Gelb is promising us for upcoming seasons, one of
Broadway story. There is no denying the clichés that
many, many more to come. ©
abound—they just don’t matter given the love and
electricity that fill the stage.
The 62nd annual T ony A wards , including a special
Arthur Laurents has directed his third revival
of Gypsy (at the qge of 90!) and has managed to ' lifetime achievement recognition for gay composer
Stephen Sondheim, airs 8 p.m. June 15 on CBS.
find a multitude of new things to say about this
classic work. The production lacks the powerful
continuity and gut-wrenching sadness of the J on K retzu is associate artistic director of Artists
Repertory Theatre in Portland.
recent Sam Mendes/Bernedette Peters Broadway
*
bioadwav s most haunting love story
. ...
AUGUST 13 - SEPTEMBER 7
AUDITORIUM
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