The Architecture of Becoming @ The New York City Center Stage II

A jaunt through history is a piece of cake for The Architecture of Becoming, a delightfully woven story that tells the tale of the New York City Center through the artists’ eyes of those looking in from the outside, longing to be a part of something more.  The story is an ode to those seeking inspiration and who, through fate or determination, have found their way to New York City to find it.  We watch each of these tales, written in turn by five playwrights, as they pass the baton of history from one to another with perfect precision.  The romance of New York is tarnished in the eyes of each of the characters by the difficult decisions that each is faced with.  This struggle demonstrates the respect the show has for the true artists of the city.  The show’s target audience demographic seems a bit narrow but the flowing timelessness that it presents allows a connection to a broader base of people.

The cast delivers a delightfully, ever changing performance.  Stand out performances by all five of them can be seen throughout the show.  Vanessa Kai’s stoic Tomomi Nakamura drags at the heart strings while later roles throw the chains of “Gaman” away and reveal a new side of Kai.  Christopher Livingston hands us the keys to his soul as a graffiti artist who longs to set the music free.  Jon Norman Schneider’s tragic Loco-Loco and Shun Nakamura are like looking into the eyes of our friends and loved ones in pain, while we are simply helpless bystanders.  Danielle Skraastad, as the Grande Dame is precisely what her name implies – larger than life.  Add to that her romantic roles and she puppeteers the audience for the evening.  Claudia Acosta’s out of town innocence lends itself to new arrivals of the city.  Her seemingly genuine disorientation allows the audience to join the ride.

The playwrights, Kara Lee Corthron, Sarah Gancher, Virginia Grise, Dipika Guha and Lauren Yee, deliver a beautifully intertwined series of stories told through an abstract, inner viewing lens.  The lighting and sound (Justin Townsend and Elisheba Ittoop respectively) act as the glue that ties these stories into one.  

A thoughtful and genuine piece, the Architecture of Becoming will possibly leave you inspired to tackle your own obstacles.  At the least, it should allow you to appreciate the trials of those who give to their calling each day.

Review By: Paul Morin
Photos By: Carol Rosegg

The Bridges of Madison County @ The Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre

Kelli O’Hara and Steven Pasquale enrapture the audience in The Bridges of Madison County.

The Bridges of Madison County tells the story of photographer Robert Kincaid (Steven Pasquale) and his life-changing, four-day love affair with Iowa farm wife Francesca Johnson (Kelli O’Hara). For those that are familiar with the novel or film versions of Bridges of Madison County, it may be a shock to see two people as young as Kelli’O Hara and Steven Pasquale in the roles of Francesca and Robert. This typical coming of "middle” age story is now given a new life and new depth with its younger leads. They are old enough to have experienced life but not yet passed their prime; giving a vibrant sensual energy to this piece.

Kelli O’Hara (The Light in the Piazza) steals hearts as the discontented housewife Francesca. Her sweeping vocals could rival those of angels and immediately engross the audience into Francesca’s soul. You care about her, her dreams, her past and her future. With every movement down to the smallest gesture O’Hara makes, she is Francesca. Her flawless performance is equally matched by Steven Pasquale. Pasquale decorates Robert with a rugged yet sincere charm delivered with swoon worthy vocals. Hunter Foster also gives a note-worthy performance as Francesca’s husband, Bud. Foster finds a delicate balance of arrogance, ignorance and love,giving Bud an inner complexity many actors might err to demonstrate.

Bartlett Sher’s direction for the ensemble is unique. They not only support the story as characters of the small Iowa town, but they remain the prying, peering community as they openly move sets and props. The ensemble is also seated on the side of the stage for the majority of the show. These elements allow the audience to empathize

with Francesca, feeling the fishbowl effect of 1960’s Iowa life.

Jason Robert Brown’s score lends an eclectic blend of music to Bridges. The styles range from songs with a true 1950’s quality, to a Joni Mitchell sound, to a Bluegrass Blues-like number and of course the contemporary Broadway style show stoppers. There are some majestic moments and highlights of this piece are arguably his best work, including “Falling Into You”, “One Second and a Million Miles” and “It All Fades Away”. However, there are also moments where the music or lyrics shackle the momentum of the storyline.

The Bridges of Madison County will make you fall in love with the love of Francesca and Robert and leave your heart aching for more. A must see for any hopeless romantic!

Review By: Staci Morin
Photos By: Joan Marcus

Antony and Cleopatra @ The Public Theater's Anspacher Theater

Tarell Alvin McCraney reimagines Shakespeare’s classic in The Public Theatre’s production of Antony and Cleopatra.

The play tells of the scandalous love affair between the Roman general Mark Antony and the Egyptian queen Cleopatra and how their blind passion leads to their ultimate downfall and deaths. Mark Antony, Octavius Caesar and Lepidus are the joint rulers of the known world. Anthony, however, is captivated by Cleopatra and neglects his duties to spend time with her in Alexandria. This scandal creates a rift between Antony and young Octavius Caesar.

McCraney calls this piece “a hybrid, being both a tragedy and a history”. However, the audience may consider McCraney’s Antony and Cleopatra a hybrid for different reasons. The story revolves around a Roman general and an Egyptian queen, yet McCraney has chosen to transform Anthony into a French soldier and Cleopatra into a Haitian princess. The French speak with British accents while the Haitians speak in American creole. The setting is very ethereal with a blend of Calypso music filling the air amid the white draped fabric, Roman columns and pools of water. Haitian dancing, voodoo and some haunting vocals are also thrown into the mix. These choices present a lot of blurred lines, some of which meld brilliantly to captivate the audience and some with the dissonance of oil and water creating confusion for the average theatre goer.

Michael Thurber’s music under the direction of Akintayo Akinbode is a driving force in transporting the audience. It sets the scene, conjures panic, soothes and lifts spirits. Chivas Michael’s angelic vocals add great texture to stark scenes.  Gelan Lambert’s choreography is intriguing and appropriate for the setting of the story, though it has some peculiar moments.

Joaquina Kalukango is perfect as Cleopatra. She bewitches not only Mark Antony but the entire audience as well. Kalukango gives Cleopatra the perfect blend of charm, insanity and seductiveness.  Jonathan Cake’s performance of Mark Antony was strong though he induced some awkward chuckles from the audience during vulnerable moments. Samuel Collings gives a breathtaking performance as Octavius Caesar. Collings evokes a true depth behind every glance and is fascinating to watch even in the scenes where he is not the center focus. Most of the other company members portray 2-3 different roles throughout the show and each delivers their characters with newly defined complexity.

While McCraney’s Antony and Cleopatra may leave the audience with mixed reviews it certainly breathes a welcome freshness into this 407 year old classic.

Review By: Staci Morin
Photos By: Joan Marcus

Stage Kiss @ The Playwrights Horizons/Mainstage Theater

 Ever wondered at the chemistry onstage between scene partners? How two people who, perhaps, had never met, or were old lovers, or even interested in different genders than their characters are, could make an audience believe in the power of love through a kiss? Aptly named, Stage Kiss, the new play from Sarah Ruhl, brings the audience behind the scenes in this touching, life comedy of an actress thrust, literally, into the arms of an old lover when they are unknowingly cast in the 1930s melodrama and the consequences of their "showmance."

   She(Jessica Hecht) is an actress come out of retirement. Hecht, who was nominated for a Tony for her performance in A View From Here, continues to deliver. Equal parts narcissistic and compassionate, naive and wise, flighty and yet grounded, she pulls the audience in immediately with her nervous ticks and ethereal speech patterns. He(Nurse Jackie's Dominic Fumusa) is a "still struggling" actor and the ex lover of twenty years. Domineering and passionate, Fumusa is the perfect sensitive bad boy until you realize, he's just an overgrown child, a seamless transition that was effortless to experience. Their chemistry is so real, you find yourself drawn in to their romance even as you are left gasping for breath at the dialogue they are being forced to perform in the awful play they were cast in. 

   Helping them along is an ensemble full of rich, comedic characters that fill out the storyline. The amount of talent on the Mainstage Theatre stage was breathtaking. Featuring the talents of Todd Almond, Clea Alsip, Michael Cyril Creighton, Dominic Fumusa, Emma Galvin, Daniel Jenkins,
Patrick Kerr. Todd Almond's original score accompanies the well written script creating a perfectly molded theatric experience. 

 Superbly directed by Rachel Taichman, crew includes Scenic Design  by Neil Patel, Costume Design  Susan Hilferty, Lighting Design  Peter Kaczorowski, Sound Design  Matt Hubbs, Hair & Wig Design  Tom Watson, Choreography  Sam Pinkleton, Production Stage Manager  Cole P. Bonenberger. 

   Stage Kiss is running through March 23rd. Buy your tickets immediately!

Review By: Aziza Seven
Photos By: Joan Marcus

Intimacy @ The Acorn Theatre @ Theatre Row

   

Thomas Bradshaw's new play, Intimacy, directed by Scott Elliott, is a rocket ship of emotion. Both titillating, shocking, and thought provoking, Intimacy explores the hypocrisy concealed within a wealthy suburb and consequently the American middle class. 

Three families, inter-connected, are forced into absurd clashes as each family becomes aware of the other's sexual perversions, so to speak. The absurdly wealthy, albeit stingy, James (Daniel Gerroll) has found God after his wife's death. Despite his constant chastisement and prayer, he still struggls with an addiction to masturbation - an addiction that leads him to find his neighbor's daughter, Janet (Ella Dershowitz) in a porn magazine. Meanwhile, his son, Matthew (Austin Cauldwell) sees no problem with gratuitous masturbation and even spies on Janet while also fooling around with Sarah (Dea Julien), their contractor's daughter. Sarah's father, Fred (David Anzuelo) will preach hard work and support his wife's decision to work at Wal-Mart on 16 hour shifts and then turn around and masturbate to gay porn. Ever supportive and sexually liberated Pat (Laura Esterman), finds her daughter's career choice admirable, while Jerry (Keith Randolph Smith), struggles with the growing fact that his daughter is working in an industry he previously supported, but now can't imagine his little girl participating in. 

   While the script certainly sets up for a thought provoking piece of theatre, the grotesque theatrics, including needless nudity, bodily fluids flying across stage, and graphic sex, make the show less than what it could be. Kudos to Bradshaw and Elliott who sought to expand the minds of their audience with blatant disregard of social norms, but it lacks credibility and takes away from the truth in the script. 

  Special mention to Gerroll, Smith, and Esterman. Their performances make the show. Gerroll completely sells the over-wrought, crazy, middle aged, Christian finatic obsessed with finding inner peace while destroying everyone else's. Smith's drunken monologue is brilliant. And Esterman's dead pan humor, compassion, and bubbliness make her the most interesting person onstage.

  Intimacy includes set design by Derek McLane, costume design by Scott Elliott, lighting design by Russell H. Champa, sound design by Shane Rettig and video design by Olivia Sebesky. The associate costume designer is Kristine Koury.

  Intimacy will be at the Acorn Theatre through March 8th.  

Review By Aziza Seven
Photos provided by broadwayworld.com

Photo by Monique Carboni