THIS DAY FORWARD @ The Vineyard Theater

The Vineyard Theatre’s newest installation, This Day Forward, is one show that certainly makes you think. Written by Nicky Silver (Pterodactyls, The Lyons) it is not your typical love story; in fact, it is the lack of love that really is the star of this show.

Set in both 1958 and 2004, the story centers around Irene’s (Holley Fain) love life. The play begins in 1958, in a swank hotel (with trimmings that seriously make me consider hiring scenic designer, Allen Moyer, to re-do my place), on Irene and Martin’s (Michael Crane) wedding night.  We immediately are drawn in by Fain’s excellent portrayal of a nervous, fidgety and distressed newlywed.  After skirting around for awhile, she finally admits to Martin that she is not in love with him, but instead, is in love with Emil (Joe Tippett), a loud-mouth, brash, gas station attendant she has been forbidden from dating by her mother.  Martin, in obvious disbelief, begins to question her about the relationship and why she decided to wait until AFTER their wedding to share this information.  Irene explains how the two became acquainted, their subsequent break-up and how Emil was on his way over to pick up Irene after she had seen him earlier that morning.  Emil arrives and the three hash it out in the hotel room. The men decide to fight for the right for Irene.  While they “take it outside,” Irene is given love advice from Melka (June Gable), the polish immigrant hotel maid, who was in a similar situation.  She cautions her from following her heart, as it did not work out in her favor, and urges her to stay with a man who can take care of her and give her the material things she desires.  Martin finally returns and with her mind made up, Irene chooses to forgo Melka’s advice and go with love over material wealth and leaves to meet up with Emil.

The second act begins in a totally redesigned space (and again, Moyer’s design of a chic New York apartment makes me question if I could pull that off in suburbia).  Major kudos to the run crew who successfully took apart an entire stage in the time it took to check my Facebook.  The story begins with Crane, now playing Noah, with his boyfriend, Leo (Andrew Burnap) in a beautiful NYC apartment in 2004.  Leo is stressed out because his estranged mother is coming after being picked up by the police at JFK Airport after seemingly having an Alzheimer’s episode.  We then meet Noah’s sister, Sheila (Francesca Faridany) who explains just how bad it is living with her mother.  When their mother arrives, we realize it is Irene (now played by June Gable), many years later.  We learn that even though we saw her exit to follow her heart to be with Emil in Act I, she still wound up with Martin, lived a miserable life with all of the amenities a 20th-century woman could want.  This misery trickled down into her children, who both have sabotaged relationships, unstable lives and an affinity for feeling like they were generally unwanted.  The play closes with Irene seemingly talking to a ghostly Emil, in which we learn he never met with her that night.  Feeling like he was unable to provide her the life she wanted, he decided it was best to let her stay with Martin.  

It is in the final moments that this play really shines.  Taking on the concept of how failed love shapes people is not something many have done before.  Silver does a phenomenal job of making you think about following your heart without being cheesy.  Personally experiencing this show with someone who has been divorced was an added treat, as for her, it gave her some closure in her decisions.  You can never know what the future holds for you, but this play truly shows you that by playing it safe and not trusting your heart, you may be able to survive, but the life you lead will be riddled with misery, melancholy and general unhappiness that is felt by EVERYONE around you.  This will then affect the choices they make for the rest of their lives, causing this cycle to never end.  

Playing now through Dec. 18th, this is one show you do not want to miss.  Besides the kudos given above, a sincere salute to those cast members that played dual roles. Taking on the challenge of playing two completely different characters and making it believable can be difficult, but the cast makes it appear effortless.  For tickets and information, please visit www.vineyardtheatre.org and be sure to check out the lower lobby for added touches that make the play come alive.

Review By: Renee Demaio
Photos By: Julieta Cervantes 

CrediJulieta Cervantes

God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater @ The New York City Center

What happens when a mutli-millionaire starts giving away his money for relatively no reason at all?  People start to question his sanity of course!  That is exactly the case when it comes to Michael Mayer’s God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater.

Originally produced in 1979, Encores! Off-Center at New York City Center’s reprise of Kurt Vonnegut’s funny little play, tells the story of eccentric millionaire, Eliot Rosewater (Santino Fontana), who is the president of the Rosewater Foundation.  The Rosewater Foundation has received notoriety by funding the local artists and business ventures from poetry to science.  It is run by the youngest generation of Rosewaters and its presidency follows suit.  We learn that as president Eliot gives freely and openly to all who request, much to the bane of his father, but also suffers from many breakdowns and bouts of alcoholism.  Eliot grows weary of this life and leaves to find himself, adventuring from volunteer fire brigade to volunteer fire brigade (yes, you read that correctly).  During one drunken evening, Eliot realizes that the way he can find himself is by going back to the town that shares his namesake.  While there, he changes the lives of all of the townsfolk for the better, which of course, catches the attention of newbie lawyer, Norman Mushari (Skylar Astin).  Norman has found a clause in the Foundation’s bylaws that states if Eliot is proven insane, his millions would transfer over to his next of kin.  Mushari, sensing a hefty fee, makes it his personal business to find the other Rosewaters and prove Eliot a basketcase.

Rosewater is presented as a concert performance for just three nights only, and while their scripts were in hand, the cast does a phenomenal job of bringing this play to life.  With music by Alan Menken, you cannot laugh to such hits such as, “Thank God for the Volunteer Fire Brigade”, “Cheese Nips”, and “Rhode Island Tango”.  While the subplots are a bit hard to follow and can sometimes be distracting, the overall storyline of a ridiculously wealthy, World War II veteran with PTSD, who gives up his relationships, his dignity and his character to do everything he can to help out a town everyone forgot make this something worth seeing.  Major kudos goes to the technical team as the subtle touches, such as dimly lighting the “postcard” of the town they were in during a particular scene, really helped round out this performance.

Should you miss this installment, the amount of effort put forth in this Encores! Off-Center show makes me want to come back for more.  This reviewer truly appreciated all of the hard work of those involved.  God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater is playing July 28-30th at the New York City Center.

Review By: Renee Demaio

Photos By: Joan Marcus

Eclipsed @ The Golden Theater

An eye-opening event, Eclipsed is something that will leave a lasting impression on you. Set in 2003, it tells the story of five different women’s survivals during the Second Liberian Civil War.  

Each woman’s experience is different, but at the same time, the core value of persistence and preservation thrives.

You enter the Golden Theater to be met with a minimalistic set that looks like a broken down hut.  The show begins and you are instantly transported to war.  We meet Wife #1 and Wife #3 who show fear and strength when the unseen Commanding Officer comes to select who will be joining him that night. We are then surprised when out from an unsuspecting set piece, comes Lupita Nyong'o, playing The Girl.  

The story continues and you learn that these women have been abducted and collected as the “wives” of the CO who he uses for his pleasure when he pleases.  The wives try to keep The Girl from being seen, but she is found and soon becomes Wife #4. Here, we see one of the ways women survived this brutal war.  Next, we meet Rita, who is a peace officer (with her own motives) who goes from camp to camp urging the COs to end this conflict.  She befriends Wife #1 and urges her to abandon her CO and become a peace officer, learn to read and have a chance of survival on her own terms.  Finally we meet Wife #3, who has left her place as wife and rapee, to become a solider.  She tries to sway The Girl to join her and take control of her destiny, putting a machine gun in her hand and promising her that anything she wants can be hers for the taking.  The Girl must choose between life of protection but no control of her body, or taking a place in the army and leading other girls to the same fate.  

A play about women, by women and starring all women, Eclipsed truly shines.  While the dialect and accents are can be hard to follow, you eventually settle in and have no trouble following along, empathizing and yearning for resolution.  While Lupita Nyong'o does well in the role, it was Pascale Armand, playing the wise-cracking, but all truthful, pregnant Wife #2 who really stole the show.  With her own battle of survival based around her unwanted pregnancy, her feelings about the CO and her eventual unwavering mother’s love toward her child, you cannot help but want the best for her.

Overall, Eclipsed gives a wonderful insight to a war that many, including myself, were completely unaware about.  You empathize with the women, even if you do not agree with their choices.  You are transported to their land, their homes and their turmoils through the skillful use of lighting (Jen Schriever) and the powerful sound design (Broken Chord).  You are exposed to a world that is unlike your own.  Kudos to Danai Gurira for her writing and to Liesl Tommy for her direction on a play that is unlike anything you have seen before.  Eclipsed is running on strictly limited engagement through June 19th.

Review By: Renee Demaio
Photos By: Sara Krulwich

Lost Girls @ The Lucille Lortel Theater

One of the greatest things about NYC is how culturally diverse it is at any given moment.  The tourists, the many who have migrated here and those who were born and raised here, give NYC a feel like no other that often makes us forget there is any other place in the world.  However, we are starkly reminded that a world exists outside our stomping grounds in director, Jo Bonney’s hit, Lost Girls.

While some of the details were further from reality (like some of the accents), almost everything else transports you instantly to Manchester, NH.  Richard Hoover does an excellent job with the turntable set, complete with such subtle authentic touches like the framed picture of Tom Brady on the wall.  The vernacular used, while some may find offensive, was truthful with raw honesty.  John Pollono’s writing is modern, conversational and effortless; it is as if you are a fly on the wall in this New England home.

Lost Girls tells the story of Maggie (Piper Perabo), the single mom who lives with her mother, Linda (Tasha Lawrence) who is struggling to make ends meet and Lou (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), her recovering alcoholic ex-husband, and their search for their missing daughter during a winter snowstorm.  Maggie awakes to go to work and finds that her car has been stolen.  She calls the police to report the car stolen and Lou, who is a police-officer, comes by to take down the police report.  He brings his all forgiving, very devout, almost annoyingly perfect new wife, Penny (Meghann Fahy).  This quartet proves to be a great source of laughs, as you witness the completely uncomfortable situation of the four of them trying to make the best of this incredible awkwardness.  Ms. Lawrence has some great crass moments, and when combined with Ms. Fahy’s holier than thou responses, you cannot stop snickering.  When the group realizes that Maggie and Lou’s daughter has actually taken the car, the tone becomes more serious.  As the group struggles to figure out the whereabouts of their (grand) daughter, we learn about Maggie and Lou’s rocky past and how they are dealing with the difficulties of co-parenting with a new step-mom in the picture.  

The story turns as you meet the young girl (Lizzy DeClement) (who you suspect is the daughter of Maggie and Lou) and boy (Josh Green) who have runaway from their homes.  The unnamed duo have run away in an attempt to get the girl down to Florida to meet her significantly older boyfriend (who turns out to be her mom’s ex).  They get into some trouble when the boy stands up to a local guy who tries to get too handsy with the girl at a local bar.  They hurriedly return to their hotel room where while they are hiding from this tough guy,  the boy professes his long time love for the girl.  The girl decides to be with the boy and they have sex.  They

These two storylines are intermingled together as the set literally revolves to show each story as it unfolds.  You learn about Lou’s troubled past, including rough nights on the job and how they translated to his personal life and contributed to his failed marriage.  The story unfolds so naturally, with the actors doing a spectacular job of being totally present in the moment, you forget they are just acting.  While some of the bigger names might bring you in the door, there was spectacular performances throughout the cast; most notably through Mr. Green’s and Ms. DeClement’s candid performances playing angsty, irrational teenagers who make lifelong decisions about love, even going so far as creating a blood oath.  Ms. Fahy and Ms. Lawrence are spectacular as polar opposites that really shine when they come together.  And Ms. Perabo and Mr. Moss-Bachrach play excellent parents who are dealing with the fact that they are still in love with one another after all this time.  This is definitely one not to miss, so catch it at the MCC Theater at The Lucille Lortel Theater now playing through Nov. 29!

Review By: Renee Demaio

Photos By: Joan Marcus

That Bachelorette Show @ The Copacabana

That Bachelorette Show is a highly entertaining 90 minute experience that takes you back to your glory days as you dance the night away with your girlfriends. Although, it is much more of an excuse to dress up, have some drinks, dance in a circle (in shoes that hurt after 10 minutes) and see some good looking men vying for your vote than it is is a piece of theater.

While you dance the night away at the famous Copacabana, you meet our bachelorette, Adriana Orlando, your typical gum smacking stereotype from Long Island, who has just broken up with her boyfriend, Giovanni Giovanni.  They have been together for 23 years, having apparently met on the playground. When their most recent anniversary ended in Giovanni going to “AC with the boyz”, Adriana finally called it off.  She decides to be a contestant on the show in order to find her forever husband with the help of the 200 plus women in the audience.  We learn all of this in the first 10 minutes and that is about as much talking as the show has throughout the night.

During the pre-show the guys are already out on the dance floor, chatting up the ladies. Once it begins, we are introduced to the 10 contestants.  They are a mix of race, wealth, intelligence and even, gender. Each are a very clear-cut archetype of what women apparently think are the ideal man. You meet the dumb but sexy surfer dude, the successful hedge fund banker, an Indian prince, a cardiologist, an English rocker, the awkward nerd (complete with fanny pack) and so on.

You are instructed to use your cell phones to vote by logging onto their live site and choosing your favorite so that can make it to the next round. The music begins and the cast heads out into the crowd trying to win your vote by chatting you up, dancing with you and in the case of the highly inebriated  (and desperate) lady, grind up on you to the point where I'm surprised there isn't a weekly medical exam for the actors. After about 10 minutes or so, the guys are called back up on stage and the results are tallied.  This happens about 3 times until there are only 2 contestants left.  

Although, the technology they use for the live voting is actually really impressive, the problem I had was that you didn’t get to learn anything about these guys unless you sought them out.  It really then became a competition of looks or what quality the women deemed was the most important when looking for a husband.  While most audience members weren’t looking for a full on spectacle, I was hoping to learn more about these characters through scripted events throughout the night.  The possibility was there, as Giovanni makes an attempt to woo Adriana by signing up as one of the contestants, but the conflict never came.  There was no attempt made by any of the guys to woo Adriana, instead they were sent out on the dance floor to woo you.  Kudos goes to the gentlemen however, as they spend the entire night holding conversations as their characters with women who can hardly string two words together.  

Overall, the show is a great excuse to have a great time.  Even if you have no interest in the actual show, the DJs, Andrew Andrew, keep you pumped to classic 80s, 90s and 00s hits.  It is highly recommended for the precursor to your bachelorette party and you can easily head upstairs to the dance floor when it is done to continue dancing until your heart’s content (admission is included in your ticket).  That Bachelorette Show is currently running open-ended on Saturday nights only.

Review By: Renee Demaio
Photos By: Jeremy Daniel

Boogie Stomp @ The Electra Theater

Boogie Stomp claims it is a two hour musical adventure of past and present piano masters who shaped the music of today.  Written by John Campana, this show promises an exciting, “get-up-and-dance” experience, while taking an historical and academic tour of American music.  While it is certainly exciting and dance-worthy, the show fails to deliver any sort of lasting knowledge and instead feels more like a college course fused with an episode of VH1’s Behind The Music.

The show begins with the highly talented pianists, Bob Baldori and Arthur Migliazza, taking the stage at the Elektra Theater in front of their grand pianos with their backs to the audience.  We are immediately entertained with their incredibly advanced musical skills and the promise of a good time begins to glint on the horizon until, they stop playing.   The show becomes a weird mix of their long list of (albeit, impressive) musical venues they’ve sold out at or the stars they have played with during their careers and what sounds like a poorly planned final thesis presentation.  We are told we are going to learn about how boogie, jazz and the blues paved the way for music today and are even given three points in which it all breaks down into; however, this lesson doesn’t occur.  The attempt is made to infuse education into the show by use of projections and informational monologues, but is blended with anecdotes of Mr. Baldori’s experience with Chuck Berry and the weird sexual tension that comes from Mr. Migliazza’s attempt to woo the cougars in the audience by asking them for rent money and sharing his Tinder profile.

Overall, there is certainly no shortage of talent with these gentlemen.  You definitely want to get up and dance with a lot of their music.  You want to participate, hoot, holler and bark (yes, bark) but sitting in the dark in the back of the house you are immediately removed from their set.  You want to be at a pub table with a drink in hand and lowered inhibitions; unfortunately, the seating at the Elektra Theater just does not lend itself to this.  

If you are looking for exciting piano players and impressive harmonica skills, come out to the show; on the other hand, you can probably find a little hole in the wall bar on the L.E.S. with talented pianists and use the money you saved on tickets prices to buy another round of drinks.

Review By: Renee Demaio

Perfect Arrangement @ The Duke on 42nd Street

 Perfection is the only word that can describe Primary Stages’ Perfect Arrangement.  Somehow, a show set in the 1950s is fun, contemporary and completely relevant to today.  Topher Payne’s script engages, makes you laugh, and also cry, as you follow the lives of Bob and Norma and their seemingly perfect marriages.

Robert Eli (Bob) and Julia Coffey (Norma) play two U.S. State Department officials during the Red Scare, who are tasked with removing anyone from their ranks who is considered a “threat” to the U.S. government, ie: anyone practicing lewd behavior, sluts and homosexuals.  The catch? Bob and Norma are both gay who are living next door to one another in sham marriages.  During times when guests visit, it appears that Bob and his wife, Mikaela Feely-Lehmann (Millie), and Norma and her husband, Christopher J. Hanke (Jim), have ideal marriages, when in reality the couples are Millie and Norma and Jim and Bob who cross back and forth between the two houses seamlessly through a secret door hidden in their closet.  This provides a lot of room for hilarity as they constantly have to think quickly when someone asks about their supposed spouses’ whereabouts. 

The watershed moment comes when we meet the sexually adventurous, U.S. State Department translator, Barbara Grant, (Kelly McAndrew), and learn she is someone from Millie's past who knows about her all too well.  We see the families blackmailed; the worry of Bob and Norma’s boss, Mr. Sunderson (Kevin O’Rouke), who’s main argument for starting this crusade now coming to a sharp reality.  The lines get drawn once again as we see the dynamic between the societal advantages of men and women during the 50s come into focus.  The two couples come up with separate plans to stifle this blackmailer which only leads to more trouble and eventual destruction of everything they worked so hard to achieve.  

This show keeps you laughing until suddenly, you’re crying.  You start to scream silently in your head as their “perfect arrangement” becomes unraveled and the only thing you can do is stand by and watch.  The entire cast does a wonderful job of pulling you in and making themselves a part of your lives.  You leave, forever changed, viewing the world today just a bit differently than you did before.  

The Duke on 42^nd Street is an intimate black-box theater that has been transformed by Neil Patel into a beautiful stereotypical 1950’s home that reminds you just a bit too well of the room in your grandmother’s house where you couldn’t touch anything.  The hair and wig design by J. Jared Janas and costumes, by Jennifer Caprio, add the touch of authenticity this play calls for.  Kudos to the entire company and crew for a show that is nothing short of excellence.  Perfect Arrangement runs for a limited engagement through November 6^th so get your tickets today before it’s too late. 

Review By: Renee Demaio

Photo By: James Leynse

Cloud Nine @ The Linda Gross Theater @ Atlantic Theater Company

At its core, theater lifts one out of their own life and allows them to be immersed in a new world.  It inspires questions, dialogue and discussion relating to how it this piece of work relates to one’s own life and experiences.  Unfortunately, for  Atlantic Theater Company’s revival of Caryl Churchill’s Cloud Nine, the questions that we were left with had nothing to do with our lives, but instead, were about the subject matter, the direction, the casting and the writing itself.

Staged in the round, Cloud Nine tells the story of sexuality; coming to terms with it, acting out on it and what “roles” we must play in relationship to the time period.  Set in two different time periods, the play’s first act takes place in colonial Africa.  We subsequently meet the family, one by one, and realize that most actors are playing the opposite sex.  The story continues, very soap opera-esque, in which most of the characters are love someone that time period believes they “shouldn’t”.  From the neighbor, to the husband’s best friend, to the little boy (yes, statutory rape), the characters go through an exploration of their sexual desires finally arriving at their sense of honor, duty and what society deems is “right”.  Most is presented with a comedic tone, with the action happening so fast you forget to stop and think about what you are watching.  In other points, the play drags on and has such verbal diarrhea you have to stop and think about what you are watching, essentially missing the next point, since you are too busy figuring out the last.  

According to the script, the second act brings the play forward in time 25 years for the characters, however it is set almost 100 years later in physical time.  We see the characters have grown up and now the children are going through their own sexual exploration; what is means to be gay and sexual freedom in the 1970s.  While the same set of actors play the characters in the second act, they are now played by different people, which causes some confusion. The writing has the first set of characters visiting the characters of this time period near the end of the second act in an ethereal echo to the past.  This proves for some nice moments in which we see the connection to the past and how the present characters have become the person they are because of that connection.  

While there were some nice chances for the character’s connections to the past to be solidified through the casting, director James Macdonald missed the mark with most of them.  We were often left wondering “who is this person and what is their purpose?”  However, the stand out performance goes to Brooke Bloom.  As Edward, we see her as the young boy struggling with what it means to be a man in colonial times, his sexuality and his place in the world.  As Betty, we see her after she has left her husband, struggling what it means to be a woman without a man.  We watch her go from dutiful wife in the first act to the present character who is free to make her own money, do as she chooses and masturbate as many times as she would like without feeling guilt.  The echoes from the past really knock it out of the park with this character as she is visited by her mother, who gives her guilt and the final moment visited by her younger self in which nothing is said, but with just a look, you understood it all.  

Cloud Nine is currently playing through Nov. 1^st at the Atlantic Theater Company, Linda Gross Theater.  The stadium seating built to support the show in the round, although cushioned, can get quite uncomfortable for this lengthy play.  The seating is also a bit short, so anyone over 5’4” is cautioned to buy an aisle seat. Note that there is no late seating or re-entry.  It is also suggested to wear a light layer as the 100+ lighting package really heats up the intimate space.

Review By: Renee Demaio

Photos By: Doug Hamilton