Theater Digest - December 5, 2021
Hello theater lovers!
I’m back in the world! Seeing theater! Slowly but surely. As you can probably tell from this landing in your inbox, I saw some shows recently! And I have thoughts about them! While the world is in a hybrid place, this newsletter will remain so as well, including both in-person and digital theater, to meet you at your comfort level. I will also do my best to include the covid protocol for in-person shows, but things change rapidly, so if you decide to see something, please double check what the protocol are before you arrive at the theater!
As a rule, I won't be talking about any Disney/Fox/Hulu shows. Since this newsletter is geared towards people in the entertainment industry, there's a good chance I won't like a show that you or someone you know was involved in. I'm sure that you/your friend put a lot of effort into your/their work! I've been in a few shows, I know how much work goes into putting on a show. But just as you're entitled to dislike TV shows your friends worked on, I'm allowed to dislike theater you/your friends may have worked on. I try not to be vindictive, but I also do make it clear when I don't think a show is worth the price of a ticket or the time spent watching it.
I won't be writing much/any synopsis in these blurbs, but feel free to check out other reviews for synopses! Or just check out other reviews in general! Keep theater journalism alive & well!
Each week, I'll remove everything that’s closed, and put ** next to anything that’s new!
Worth Seeing:
Poor Clare at Echo Theatre Company [LA]. This is such a fascinating, thought-provoking play. I went into it knowing nothing about it, just that it seemed to be set in the past, and I quite enjoyed the production, which is a world premiere. Set in the early 1200s C.E., it is the origin story of Saint Clare of Assisi, a young woman born into wealth, but intrigued by the ideas of one of her peers, Francis (yes, that Francis of Assisi). Though the costumes and sets are mostly evocative of the 13th century, everything else about the play is very of this moment, which holds Clare’s journey up as a mirror the audience, challenging our complacency. Playwright Chiara Atik’s dialogue is sharp and the characters are compelling. Alana Dietze’s direction is astute as always, though the transitions out of scenes can feel awkward and stilted.
Closes December 13 in LA.
Covid protocol: Indoor venue. Proof of vaccination required (no patrons younger than 12 allowed). Masks required at all times.
Company on Broadway [NY] (reviewed in London in 2018). I’ve studied Company, Sondheim’s seminal 70s musical about a 35 year-old man who can’t/won’t find love, and I’ve never really enjoyed it, mostly because I never really cared for the main character, Bobby. But this production, which gender-swaps about half the characters (Bobby becomes Bobbie; Amy, who sings “Not Getting Married Today,” becomes Jamie, half of a same-sex couple; and the three girls Bobby dates are now three guys) really spoke to me. All the critiques of why Bobby hasn’t settled down yet, which feel facile when Bobby’s a straight man, suddenly gain new depth when they’re launched at Bobbie, given the age-old debate about whether women can really “have it all.” Not everything translates seamlessly when gender-swapped, but I really appreciated the nuance and complexity the director (Marianne Elliot, whose War Horse, Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, or Angels in America you may have seen—all were on Broadway, and the first two came to the Ahmanson) brought to this new take. Elliot primarily works in plays, rather than musicals, and some of the staging choices did feel like generic musical theater blocking, but those are small quibbles, given how radically she transformed the text. And of course, Patti LuPone is a delight as Joanne, who sings “The Ladies Who Lunch.”
Open-ended run in NY.
Covid protocol: Indoor venue. Proof of vaccination required for patrons 12 and up. Masks required at all times.
Slave Play on Broadway [NY] (reviewed in 2019). This play was very controversial when it debuted off-Broadway in 2018, but now the conversation seems to have shifted to how good this play is. It is provocative, yes, and certainly not the kind of show that all audiences are ready for (there’s pretty explicit sexual content and the play frankly addresses how white supremacy effects white and black people today). If you are the type of person who is open and receptive to hearing about those topics, then I’d say it’s definitely necessary viewing, but if you’re the kind of white person who would react negatively to the play’s message (like this person), perhaps stay away. I can’t speak to what the experience of seeing the show would be like for a person of color, especially for a black person, but I did find this article to be a good read: NY Times: What It’s Like to See Slave Play as a Black Person
Closes Jan 23 in NY.
Covid protocol: Indoor venue. Proof of full vaccination required for patrons 12 and up (proof of at least one dose, at least 14 days prior, required for patrons under 12). Masks required at all times.
Good Grief on Audible. Full disclosure, this is a recording of a play and while I have not listened to the recording, it’s a recording of the Vineyard Theatre production of the show, which I saw two years ago in New York. This is one of my all-time favorite plays, and it was a fantastic production, so I definitely recommend checking it out if you’re an audiobook type of person! It is sad (as one would expect from the title), and while I don’t usually like sad stories, the playwright, Ngozi Anyanwu, writes so beautifully and balances tone so well that I don’t mind.
Download here.
Magic Mike Live in Las Vegas and London [Vegas/London]. Both of these shows are quite fun, and the show’s writers (none officially credited, but they seem to be Channing Tatum & Lyndsay Hailey) have done a great job of creating a non-sleazy environment and a relatable guide in the emcee. The choreography (by Alison Faulk, Teresa Espinosa, and Luke Broadlick) is also astounding. There are some differences between the Vegas and London stagings, with each being tailored to both the different performance spaces and the casts, and I have to admit, I didn’t love the emcee I saw in London (and the British audience was also pretty rude, talking throughout the show), but all in all, it’s an entertaining and empowering night.
Open-ended run in Vegas and London.
Vegas Covid protocol: Indoor venue with close proximity to (unmasked, vaccinated) performers. Proof of vaccination or recent (within 72 hours) negative test required. Masks required at all times.
London Covid protocol: Indoor venue with close proximity to (unmasked) performers. Unclear if proof of vaccination or negative test is required. Masks required at all times.
Freestyle Love Supreme on Broadway [NY]. This was so fun! It’s a fully improvised rap show, with a rotating cast of three rappers, a beatboxer, and two people on keys/other instruments. There’s also a special guest at every show, and at the show I attended, the special guest was Lin-Manuel Miranda, so that was very fun! I had the hugest grin on my face the entire show—it was just so entertaining and joyful! The cast is so talented, it’s a delight.
Closes Jan 2 in NY.
Covid protocol: Indoor venue. Proof of vaccination required for patrons 12 and up. Masks required at all times.
A Mixed Bag:
**The Band’s Visit at the Dolby [LA]. This is perhaps an issue of personal taste/preference, as this show is acclaimed, but I didn’t care for it. I like shows where things happen, where there’s plot and character development. This show doesn’t really have either of those things, it’s more of a slice of life. There are some quite talented singers in the cast, especially Joe Joseph, who plays Haled, and Joshua Grosso, who plays Telephone Guy, but aside from that, I didn’t love the show.
Closes Dec 19 in LA, continues on tour through July 2022.
Covid protocol: Indoor venue. Proof of vaccination required for patrons. Masks required at all times.
Come From Away on the West End & Broadway [London/NY]. My expectations going into this were pretty low, and the show exceeded them, but it didn’t win me over. The story is good, but because 9/11 plays such an important role in it, it’s at odds with the musical form. Also, the songs weren’t that good. The music was passable, but the lyrics were poor, over-relying on rhyming couplets, and, failing that, leaving lone lines to land with a thud. The book (the scenes between songs) was charming enough, and the whole thing was well-directed and -acted, but I couldn’t get into it. The book, music, and lyrics are all credited to the same two writers, so it’s hard to separate out individual elements.
This is set up at eOne, and a filmed version is available to stream on Apple TV+.
Open-ended run in London, reopening imminently in NY, coming back to LA summer 2022
London Covid protocol: Indoor venue. Vaccination, recent (within 48 hours) negative test, or proof of recent recovery required. Masks not required.
NY Covid protocol: Indoor venue. Proof of vaccination required for patrons 12 and up. Masks required at all times.
American Utopia on Broadway and HBO/HBO Max. I’ll be honest, I didn’t care for this one at all, I’m definitely not the target demographic for a David Byrne concert/spoken word show, but some of the musical performances are fun, and I’m sure this is a blast for Talking Heads fans. Spike Lee did a great job of capturing the energy of a live performance, and I found myself missing feeling safe enough to walk into a theater with a bunch of strangers and watch something that I didn’t ~get~ and then discuss all the oddities of the show with a friend on the way home. The barrier to entry for this one is pretty low for HBO subscribers, so why not check it out and see if you dig it?
Included with HBO/HBO Max subscriptions. Find it through your TV or their streaming app. Closes Mar 6 in NY.
NY Covid protocol: Indoor venue. Proof of vaccination required for patrons 12 and up. Masks required at all times.
Ain’t Too Proud on Broadway [NY] (reviewed at the Ahmanson in August 2018). I wanted to like this. I mean, it’s a musical based on the Temptations! Great songs. And the musical performances are realllllly good! But the show as a whole is uneven, thanks to a lackluster book. The director, Des McAnuff, who also directed Jersey Boys and Jesus Christ Superstar on Broadway, seems to be falling into a visual shtick, but it didn’t bother me too much here.
Note: this may have undergone development between the LA and New York runs, but I still wouldn't be inclined to see it a second time.
Open-ended run in NY; coming back to LA this season
My full review: http://stageraw.com/2018/08/28/aint-too-proud-theater-review/
Covid protocol: Indoor venue. Proof of vaccination required for patrons 12 and up. Masks required at all times.
Not worth it:
Head Over Heels at the Pasadena Playhouse [LA]. I really wanted to like this show! The original production only ran briefly on Broadway, but by chance, I happened to see it, and thought it was charming, if slight. This is a heavily revised production that is unfortunately, somewhat charmless. The cast is, for the most part, great (George Salazar’s voice is as impeccable as ever, and Alaska 5000 all but steals the show), but the plot is so streamlined that the story is impossible to follow. My friend and I had both seen the longer version in New York, so we had an inkling of what was going on, but we agreed that we’d be totally lost had we not seen that (a familiarity with The Arcadia, a rarely-produced play from 1593 that provides the plot for this would be helpful in lieu of that, I suppose). The modern and cheap-looking costume and set design, paired with flat sound design that causes any words that aren’t over-enunciated to be lost into oblivion are further detractions. Alarmingly, despite a brand-new HVAC system at the 97 year-old theater, the air conditioning won’t be working for a few works, so the theater was uncomfortably warm, a problem I imagine is only worse on the GA floor, where attendees are standing and dancing for most of the show (there are also normal theater seats, which is where we were). Jenny Koons and Sam Pinkleton, who are credited as directors, choreographers, and concept originators, had some cool ideas on how to explore gender in a fun, poppy way for an audience who might not know many out trans and non-binary people, but unfortunately, the overall production is confused and underwhelming.
Closes Dec 12 in LA.
Covid protocol: Indoor venue. Proof of vaccination required (no patrons younger than 12 allowed). Masks required at all times. Patrons on the GA floor will likely be in close proximity to unmasked, vaccinated performers.
Hadestown on Broadway [NY]. I know! It won the Tony for Best Musical! But I didn’t like it! Ultimately, I didn’t like the score, and since the show is pretty much entirely sung-through, it made it quite difficult for me to like the show as a whole. It seemed like the composer, Anaïs Mitchell, has difficulty writing for a male voice, because it didn’t sound like any of the three leads had a vocal part that sat in a comfortable part of their range, and Reeve Carney, who plays Orpheus, really seemed to be straining vocally when I saw it (I also didn’t care for any of his acting choices). Musically, the score was interesting, though not too hummable, and I found the lyrics to be clumsy, which is a problem as they provide the main/only storytelling mechanism.
Open-ended run in NY, coming to LA in April 2022.
Covid protocol: Indoor venue. Proof of vaccination required for patrons 12 and up. Masks required at all times.
On my radar:
Six on Broadway & the West End
The Music Man on Broadway (upcoming)
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