You Can’t Take It With You @ The Longacre Theatre

You Can’t Take It With You, the classic Hart and Kaufman play, returns to Broadway this season after a 31-year hiatus with a bang, literally.  This timeless tale of love and happiness delights as it dazzles, with no shortage of imaginative personalities to entertain.  The fireworks onstage match the performances in brilliance.

The story centers around one family in New York City circa June 1936, whose way of enjoying their life pushes the boundaries of what others would consider normal.  As outsiders begin to encroach on the idiosyncrasies the family enjoys, conflicts inevitably ensue.  The first and last come in the form of government intervention into their way or being; while the central conflict focuses on the love between Alice and Tony.  Alice (Rose Byrne) is the “normal” member of the eccentric family where Tony (Fran Kranz) is the son of a Wall Street business man.  As the lovers try to force their two families together, their love is put to the test.  As they must, the lovers triumph in the end with the help of their families.  Grandpa, played by James Earl Jones, finishes his dinner prayer and the show with the epitaph that the show wishes to give: “We’ve all got our health and as far as anything else is concerned, we’ll leave it up to You.”

Scott Ellis delivers a free flowing chaos on stage that is as varied as the personalities that Hart and Kaufman provided.  The comfort that the family has in their house puts the audience at ease immediately, allowing the endearment of the family in all their quirky glory.  This comfort is aided in no small part by the beautifully intricate set design of David Rockwell, as well as the lighting by Donald Holder.

As an ensemble, the cast is a force.  Annaleigh Ashford as Essie steals the show over and over again.  Ashford’s caricature of Essie is hilarious and endearing.  Kristine Nielsen, playing Penelope Sycamore, delivers unerring comedic timing with every facial expression and line.  Reg Rogers as Boris Kolenkhov takes the wonderfully ridiculous to new heights of hilarity.  Supporting the action are Johanna Day, Julie Halston and Elizabeth Ashley as Mrs Kirby, Gay Wellington and Olga respectively.  Each brings a character full of verve and laughter, easily demanding the audience’s attention.

All in all, this is a performance by the entire ensemble that will leave you laughing all the way home; a great show that more than lives up to its great script.

Review By: Paul Morin
Photos By: Sara Krulwich
CrediSara Krulwich

The Killer @ The Polonsky Shakespeare Center @ The Theatre for New Audience

Confusion, murder, disorder and farce create a mysterious world where you never know what’s waiting just around the corner. The Killer is an enigmatic production led by Oscar-nominated Michael Shannon and guided by director Darko Tresnjak.

The Killer writted by Eugène Ionesco, with a translation by Michael Feingold, tells the story of Berenger (Shannon), an everyman who encounters a “Radiant City” which seems too good to be true. It is – there is a serial murderer wandering the streets, and the city officials have given up on actually apprehending him. But Berenger’s quest to stop the murderer leads him down some interesting paths.

Oscar nominated Michael Shannon stars in this production and is an incredible grounding element in a story full of strange and shadowy elements. He deftly weaves in and out of varying moods and physical shifts, skipping around and turning cartwheels one minute and morosely slumped over the next. He keeps the production from going completely over the top.

Other acting stand-outs were Kristine Nielson as the Concierge/Ma Piper and Robert Stanton as The Architect. Nielson brought a sharp burst of humor into the second and third acts that deftly sharpened the tone of humor. Her antics were written as over the top, but Nielson skillfully grounded her characters in a way that most of the cast didn’t accomplish. Stanton was wonderful in the first act as The Architect, a salesperson like bureaucrat whose easy-going charm entices both Berenger and the audience to the delights of the Radiant City. I was saddened to have him benched offstage after the first act.

The Killer was carefully directed by Darko Tresnjak. As he noted in the program, the script was “smothered in instructions.” And there was a lot in the script – light directions, sound directions, turn tables, entrances from all angles and so much more. I particularly loved the slight 4th wall breakings that would happen from time to time – ideally suited for the space which has the audience on three sides of the stage. To find the focus in that is an amazing feat, especially in a show that clocks in at a little over three hours. And the script doesn’t let the time pass quickly, particularly in the last act, with a 15-20 minute speech by Berenger that Tresnjak moved along a bit with clever shifts of staging. The sound and lighting design by Jane Shaw and Matthew Richards, respectfully, was wonderfully integrated into the telling of the story.

In such a purposefully cacophonous production, some elements didn’t have the chance to really come together. Some of the acting was a bit stiff and absurd without proper motivation or reasoning which lead to emotional disconnect. The thing that most stuck out to me was the makeup job on Edward (Paul Sparks). In a production full of lovely subtle production design, why Edward’s makeup featured white foundation and heavy eyeshadow that made him look like a poor man’s Penguin is beyond me.

All in all, The Killer is a mysterious show that makes for an interesting night out at the theatre. Michael Shannon and director Darko Tresnjak are pulling out all the stops and for that, The Killer makes its mark.

The Killer will be running through June 29th at the Theatre for a New Audience at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center on 262 Ashland Place in Brooklyn.

Review By: Chrissy Cody
Photos By: Gerry Goodstien