The Father @ The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre

The Father makes it’s American premier at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre with three-time Tony award winner Frank Langella returning to the stage—and he stole the show.

Directed by Doug Hughes, The Father takes a look into the mind of a man suffering from Alzheimer’s/memory loss. A popular theme this year, The Father took a unique approach to this brand of play. Hughes and scenic designer Scott Pask chronicled our main character, André’s, loss of memory with at first subtle changes to the stage—a missing book, a shifted chair; and then more dramatic—missing set pieces, rooms and whole shelves bare. Lighting designer Donald Holder also expressed the juxtaposition of André’s perception of time with angle changes of sunlight and street lamps.

The play begins with an exchange between Anne (Kathryn Erbe) and André (Frank Langella) in which we are introduced to André’s consistent repetition of sentences and loss of his watch and Anne’s exasperation and undying love for her father. André’s refusal to accept that he may be incorrect while his more lucid and caring daughter, Anne has had it right the whole time is a common theme throughout the play.

The rest of the production spans different timeframes in André’s life and by the audience’s account, in no uncertain order. We are left just as confused as André by the end and the journey itself is an interesting one. André is constantly afraid that his daughter will leave him alone in Paris to pursue her love interest in London, or did she already leave?

Langella interprets and expresses André’s character with the precision of an actor of his stature. Always taking up the whole stage, Langella brings into his performance a depth that infects other cast members. Easily the beacon of the show, he brings anger, confusion and the fear of being unable to properly perceive reality to the audience.

You are left to interpret whether or not Anne (Kathryn Erbe) quickly came to the end of her patience with her father—who has scared away countless nurses and refuses to allow her to enjoy her life while pining away at her long lost sister, or if she endured as long as we were left to perceive. Erbe captures this inner tumult easily, becoming a relatable character during Langella’s frustration-laden outbursts.

Anne’s husband, Pierre (or was it Antione?) is played by Brian Avers. At a loss for his second-class seat in his marriage with Anne, Avers takes us on the journey leading to the end of his love and rise of his hatred toward André’s condition. Avers’ anger is measured, consistent and believable.

André’s favored nurse, Laura (Hannah Cabell) had great chemistry with Langella. Reminding him of his lost daughter, Elise, Cabell brings a charming air out of Langella that spans the stage. Although she could also be Kathleen McNenny, yet another nurse of André’s while his doctor (Charles Borland) could easily be Pierre, or Antione.

The Father brings to light the recent popularity of discussing mental illness. Dark and at times humorous, the play was a long 90 minutes. While a great mental exercise to follow, Langella’s journey out of his flat and into a hospital was not perfectly riveting. However, seeing Langella light up the stage was well worth the journey.

Review By: Alex Lipari
Photos By: Joan Marcus

Fool for Love @ The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre

Most Broadway shows run about two and a half hours. This time lets people escape from their lives into a well plotted story. But then there are shows that don’t just let you escape-they pull you into a crazy world and shove you back out again in half that time and leave you blinking. With 75 minutes of beautifully orchestrated tension, Fool for Love does just that.

Fool for Love, written by Sam Shepard is a simple concept – two people in a hotel room talking to each other. But that simple concept becomes so much more when those two people are Eddie (Sam Rockwell) and May (Nina Arianda) locked in a mess of emotional, sexual, and romantic texture that simmers under every word. Watching the scene unfold is The Old Man (Gordon Joseph Weiss), who has a secret connection to Eddie and May and is removed from the action (mostly) by time and space, and Martin (Tom Pelphrey) who just wants to take May on a date and has no idea what mess he is walking into.

Both Nina Arianda and Sam Rockwell are forces to be reckoned with. They weave in and out of the frenzy of emotions onstage with amazing specificity and total control. Their interpretations of the characters are very complementary to each other. Rockwell has Eddie live mostly in stillness and slow movements, but with a violent streak that bursts out like dynamite in a flurry of movement. Nina’s May is the complete opposite – May is almost constantly a whirlwind of movement and emotion, which makes her moments of stopping unbelievably powerful. It almost goes without saying that the chemistry between these two characters and actors is off the charts – if there wasn’t, there would be no play.

Gordon Joseph Weiss is almost all stillness in his role as a narrator and storyteller of the past. It would be easy to just sit back and watch, but Weiss is always raptly paying attention to the story unfolding with great focus. Tom Pelphrey injects a delightful mix of awkward, funny tension to the stew onstage, with his slightly dorky confusion at just what is up with these two other people.

Fool for Love’s pot of tension and drama is wonderfully guided and controlled by the direction of Daniel Aukin. The play is supposed to be relentless – and it is – but Aukin still is able to find moments of pause that let the audience breathe for just a second, before diving right back in. The scenic design by Dane Laffrey, lighting by Justin Townsend and sound by Ryan Rummery all work seamlessly together to create a tense, almost claustrophobic environment. Costume design by Anita Yavich is simple and yet speaks volumes about every character.

Fool for Love is a fast paced, high tension roller coaster of emotions that is immensely captivating. Do not miss this amazing production produced by the Manhattan Theatre Club at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre at 261 W. 47th Street.

Review By: Chrissy Cody
Photos By: Joan Marcus

Airline Highway @ The Samuel Friedman Theater

The Hummingbird Motel is the church where retired burlesque club owner and prophet to those with “bad luck, bad tempers” who suffer “no bullshit, no pretending” conducts one last sermon to her congregation of duckies in “Airline Highway by Lisa D’Amour and directed by Joe Mantello. Miss Ruby is about to meet her Maker so her flock is going to give her a send-off complete with booze, music and tortilla chips-be-damned in the place where they “don’t bury all [their] dirty stuff under the sidewalk.”

With young Zoe, guest of former resident bad boy, as the witness to the event, her query for high school sociology paper on subcultures spotlights the “messy and honest and real” lives of these morally questionable misfits. The characters, as colorful as the streamers and a New Orleans funeral procession have mostly reconciled the ghosts of their past, integrating them into their lives. And where they haven’t, there is inconsolable grief and heartache. Miss Ruby scolds all for letting the world make them feel small and disposable. Her greatest encouragement is to revel in the mystery of our sexual selves.

Thoroughly entertaining, the cast delivers an authentic presentation of these down-and-out, has- beens, wannabes, and parental disappointments in such a way to endear them to us. We are at once grateful to not be in their situation while also envious of their loyalty and dedication to each other. For them, there is no greener grass; reflecting upon what might have been is a luxury they cannot afford. And in that place, they find freedom where there is “no magic fucking fairy dust” to give them any delusions about who they are and their place in the world.

As I left the Samuel Friedman, I saw several of the cast mates out chatting with the matinee crowd. Maybe that it was the first warm, sunny day in the City for months had something to do with it, but it seemed more likely that these people truly enjoyed what they created and presented to us and were happy to bask and reminisce.

Opening night is April 23 and I say “Go!” And then maybe make your way down to New Orleans for some beignets at Café du Monde where you can sit and watch people, much like the Hummingbird Motel residents, headed home in the wee hours, who will ask nothing of you other than to live your life the best you can and to not forget them.

Review By: Michele Seven
Photos By:Sara Krulwich

The Country House @ The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre

In the midst of tragedy and heartache, we can find ourselves focused inward in a way, which to the outside observer, seems ridiculously narcissistic, but in fact, is a survival mechanism- some things are just too painful to feel. Blythe Danner (Butterflies Are Free) as Anna Patterson, joins her family at the anniversary of her daughter’s death of cancer in The Country House by Donald Margulies. Ms. Danner elegantly walked that fine line of self-respect with vulnerability and self-centered, emotional detachment, demonstrating a sublime womanness.

Playing her funny and sassy, college-age grand-daughter, Susie, is Sarah Steele (Slowgirl). There was a fun and authentic play between the senior and junior actors. She will be a fun one to watch. Her deceased mother’s brother, Uncle Elliot, is played by Eric Lange (“Weeds”). He courageously dove right off the cliff and into the abyss of self-loathing, taking us with him and everyone else too, including his brother-in-law Walter Keegan, played by David Rasche (Lunch Hour), blockbuster movie maker who has “sold out” and ended up with the money and the girl. The girl just so happens to be the one Elliot has always wanted, Nell McNally. Katie Jennings Grant (The Lyons) had a difficult task. It cannot be easy to be “the replacement” to a woman who had been loved and adored by all but she utilizes grace and humility to do so with aplomb. And in the midst of this family chaos is the dashing Michael Astor played by Daniel Sunjata (Cyrano de Bergerac) who was loved by three generations of women in this family and envied by the men. You walk away knowing he and Walter will of course be the happiest in life as they are the ones who merely skim the surface and can always be found on top.

Daniel Sullivan (The Snow Geese) took us on a difficult journey, peppering it with laughter and joy. And isn’t that life anyway- an attempt to find meaning and joy amidst the confusion and disappointments? John Lee Beatty (Knock Knock) did scenic design; lighting was done by Peter Kaczorowski (Tales From Red Vienna); a fantastic costumer, Rita Ryack (Casa Valentina) and sound designer Obadiah Eaves (The Assembled Parties).The original music was done by Peter Golub (The Hieress). Fight director…yes there is a fight was Thomas Schall (This Is Our Youth) and the stage manager was Danny Maly (Casa Valentina).

Put on by Manhattan Theatre Club, one of the leading nonprofit producers of contemporary theatre, Opening Night was October 2nd at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre and will be playing through November 23rd.

Review By: Michele Seven
Photos By: Joan Marcus

Casa Valentina @ The Samuel J Friedman Theatre

    How does one create a riveting story about discrimination in the gender fluid world while still creating an empathetic audience? By telling the truth of course. Casa Valentina explores this world in its infancy, taking the audience on an incredibly insightful journey fill with laughter and poignancy. 

In 1962, there was a resort where men could gather together and don the feminine identity in privacy and acceptance. When sorority leader Charlotte, asks the ladies to sign away their anonymity in order to register with the government and become legalized members of society, able to live freely as cross-dressing men, the ladies balk unwilling to give up their privacy or sign the affidavit claiming they are not “disgusting homosexuals.” Her presence creates a storm that no one could see coming, forcing the ladies to explore themselves and in Valentina/George’s case, his/her perfectly not-normal relationship with his/her supportive wife and fellow resort owner, Rita. 

   Mare Winningham(Rita) does a stellar job. As one of only two affectionately called GG’s(genuine girls) onstage, Mare delivers a poignant role as the wife of a transvestite. Delivering one liner quips with ease, she caused as much laughter as she did sighs of sympathy during her more serious moments thinking of the life she had walked into “eyes open.” Patrick Page(George/Valentina) is alternately gentlemanly and ladylike, his dual personalities as separate as they are cohesive. His legs alone were enough to make the ladies in the theatre jealous! Tom McGowan(Bessie) was the comedic relief. With enough personality to match his name, Tom creates a larger than life role not to be dismissed but rather savored. Larry Pine(The Judge/Rita) probably had the most heartbreaking scene in the entire play. Without saying a word, he conveyed more feeling than a monologue could ever. There was not a single person in the audience who didn’t feel as if their heart wouldn’t break during his performance. 

Nick Westrate(Gloria) was feminine, haughty, and sexy. His compassionate speeches were as real as he was. Gabriel Ebert(Jonathan/Miranda) was the epitome of innocence. Girlish as Miranda, hopelessly foolish and sweet as Jonathan, he created the blossoming debutante role effortlessly. John Cullum(Terry) was the voice of reason in the play. His insight provided the looking glass for Valentina to observe her hypocrisy. Lisa Emery(Eleanor) was only onstage for a moment but she was the catalyst in the second act. The daughter of Amy/The Judge, she confronted the seemingly perfect couple Rita and George on all the questions they had smoothed over, forcing them to see things they perhaps had been ignoring in their relationship. And last, but certainly not least Reed Birney(Charlotte) was riveting. His performance was spot on, from the way he held his hands, to how he stood, his speech, all reminded me achingly of my grandmother. Desperate for recognition by the society that shunned her, Charlotte was perhaps the perfect villain zealot, preaching discrimination against homosexuals in order to gain acceptance as a straight male transvestite. 

    Written by Harvey Firstien and directed by Joe Mantello, Casa Valentina explores the ideology of American society and the ease in which it discriminates against every type of individual. Promoting acceptance of gender fluidity and uniqueness in all its forms without shoving it down your throat, you cannot help but leave the theatre better informed and more empathetic to all types. 

Casa Valentina opened at The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre opened April 2014 and runs through June 15th. Get your tickets here!

Review By: Aziza Seven
Photos By: Sara Krulwich

Master Class @ Samuel J. Friedman Theatre

Maria Callas – the name alone brings chills to every opera fan, not to mention the voice that took the world by storm.  Callas has once again found her way back to the Broadway stage in Manhattan Theatre Club’s revival of Master Class.  Written by famed playwright Terrence McNally this stunning piece mixes facts with fiction while telling the incredible story of Maria Callas – this time played by the larger than life Tyne Daly.  This revival is funny, smart, elegant, passionate, and loaded with talent that will leave you speechless.

The famous Maria Callas had a very fast rise to fame and an even faster fall with a career that only lasted about ten years.  Master Class takes a look at what might have happened in the later years of Callas’ life as she was known to hold open master classes to pass down her knowledge of performance and vocal technique.  Along the way however, Callas cannot help but be sucked into her past where she lets the audience in on past events of her life – the struggles with being overweight, the divorce of her first husband Battista Meneghini, the wonders of her new love Aristotle Onassis, the abortion that ended the relationship, the loss of voice that ended the career, and the heart break of ending up alone.  Playwright Terrence McNally takes the audience on a journey that not only lets all who attend see the genius behind her voice but also her life’s journey on how she got to where she is.

Tyne Daly proves why she is considered one of the best actresses of this decade.  Known for both her work in film (Zoot Suit), television (Judging Amy), and stage (Rabbit Hole), Daly brings a whole new meaning to the word “diva” when taking on the role of Callas.  Daly commands the stage with every line she speaks and movement she makes – the audience cannot help but want to listen to every line that she says.  Virtually unrecognizable under the make-up and wig, Daly transforms into the opera superstar.  In a role that wings from humor to drama, she tackles it all with ease and sophistication.  One cannot help but feel like the other actors on stage with her are receiving a master class within Master Class – it is hard to imagine not learning from a woman who has mastered her craft in a way that so few others have been able to do.  These fellow players are Alexandra Silber (West End’s The Woman in White), Sierra Boggess (Disney’s The Little Mermaid), and Garrett Sorenson (national opera performer making his Broadway debut).  Silber gives a lovely performance as Sophie De Palma – a young performer intent on learning from one of the world’s best.  Silber has a lightness to her that is wonderful to watch.  She is so passionate and heartfelt that the audience has no choice but to fall in love with her character.  Boggess pulls out all of the stops with gorgeous opera and acting chops.  Playing Sharon Graham – a strong singer with a weak heart, Boggess portrays the exact opposite of what Callas would consider a “performer.”  Her work with Daly leaves the audience speechless as they battle what it truly means to be a world renowned performer.  The last of the three students is Anthony Candolino, played by Sorenson.  While only in the piece for a short time, Sorenson sends chills through the audience as he performs a piece that could turn opera-haters into opera-lovers.  This piece, driven by Daly, mixes music, drama, and comedy into one extremely compelling night at the theatre.

Behind all great successes stands the creative team – or “those that I seem to always forget about” as Callas might think.  Making his Broadway debut, director Stephen Wadsworth does a remarkable job giving life to this classic piece.  Wadsworth tackles long monologues and scenes with grace and perfect movement – never letting the piece drag along.  Creating wonderful images of Callas and her students, this is definitely a successful run for a Broadway newcomer.  Thomas Lynch (Tony nominee for Contact) brings his scenic design talents to the project creating a simple, yet detailed set.  With the simple interior of a rehearsal room, Lynch uses natural woods to create a back drop that is accented by golden stage lights hanging directly above the actors – thus creating one of the most elegant class rooms fit for an opera superstar.  Illuminating this design is the work of David Lander (Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo). While the piece tended to be a little too dark in some sections, the lighting overall was well done and done in a creative way – always having Callas lit just a little bit brighter than everyone else on stage.  These details in direction and design gave this piece even more power – making it the perfect summer revival.

“Never miss an opportunity to theatricalize” – these words spoken by Callas in Master Class sum up the entire production perfectly.  With grace and classiness, this wonderful play has come back to Broadway is a way that is hard to resist.  Now playing throughout the entire summer, one has no excuse not to go see Tyne Daly and the rest of this spellbinding cast.  It is the perfect master class on how real theatre should be!