Spring Season 2006 - What I'm Looking Forward To

Lydia Here - This might be a bit late but here's what I'm looking forward to in the Spring:

Broadway:
Threepenny Opera - oh, Alan Cumming
Three Days of Rain - who isn't looking forward to this show? Julia Roberts, what!
History Boys - if an actor from HP is in it, I'm there!
Ring of Fire - kind of have a small thing for the Man in Black lately
Faith Healer - Cherry Jones, Ralph Fiennes? does it get much better?

Off-Broadway:
Lt. Of Inishmore - McDonagh, author of The Pillowman, God's gift to theatre..
Grey Gardens - so the documentary was a bit weird - but i have high hopes - Doug Wright's on this...
House of Bernarda Alba - Michael John LaChiusa yes yes..

Christine Jorgensen Reveals/The Seven

It's Lydia here. This weekend was packed (!) with theatre. Three shows in three days. Kevin just gave his thoughts on Jersey Boys, so it's my turn to report on the other two.

On Saturday, I saw a show at Dodger Stages called Christine Jorgensen Reveals. So first you should know that Christine Jorgensen was one of the first people in the world to have a sex change operation - male to female. She apparently got tons of press when this happened - both good and bad. The show is an interview with Christine Jorgensen in its entirety. One actor is portrayed on stage (one is the reporter in a recorded video) and he lip-synchs the entire interview, posing as Christine. It's really quite a concept - but to be quite honest, the concept is a bit better than the execution.Most of the things that Christine has to say are really very interesting, and she's intensely well-spoken and often very witty. The theatre space is really appropriate for this show- small and intimate, giving the audience the feeling of being in the room while the interview is being performed.

Another show that Kevin and I saw on Sunday is called The Seven, at New York Theatre Workshop (I heart this theatre!!). To borrow from their description: "The Seven is a hip-hop adaptation of Aeschylus's Seven Against Thebes, which follows the struggles of Eteocles and Polynices, the two sons of the cursed King Oedipus, as they fight for the throne of Thebes. " So as you can imagine, this show is high-energy from the minute you walk into the theatre. It feels like a dance club, and the first person to speak on stage is the DJ, the tune-spinning narrator of the show. The show has tons of great choreography by Bill T. Jones, and the direction is pretty solid as well. Having a tiny bit of lighting experience in the past, I really appreciated the targeted lighting - emphasizing the movements of all of the actors.

One downfall for myself (and Kevin) were the two lead actors playing Eteocles and Polynices, the two sons. Their voices were certainly not up to par and their acting felt a bit forced. I did appreciate the Yoga moves that happen during the forest scene, however. The people of Thebes also play the Seven and every single one of them is really great - but they are best as a whole. Well - the piece seems to try to hit at something for a new generation - and as much as I would like for it to get there - it seems to fall just a bit short. But go see it, give it a chance, and if nothing more you'll have seen a unique theatre experience.

Jersey Boys - Kevin's Thoughts

I guess Jersey Boys is my show for first comment. I know - it's been out for a while, but we just got around to seeing it. The show - pretty great. However, if you're doing the student rush thing, beware the even number Row A seats. We sat behind a honkin' staircase and really missed a bit of action. Quite disheartening and frustrating. However, the show was still quite enjoyable.

Jersey Boys has a solid cast, doing some great renditions of The Four Seasons' and Frankie Valli's songs (and all those other combinations of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons and whatever other names they had that you learn from watching the show). It's really rather impressive watching the leads, especially John Lloyd Young as Frankie Valli, crank out this music (and the songs were in pretty rapid succession) while acting and dancing (sort of), etc. It's kind of like, whoa.

So truth be told, when I first heard about the show, I was like, "Um, Jersey Boys? Dumb. Another Jukebox musical? Please." But really, it's not your typical jukebox musical. Instead of weaving a really stupid plot around a bunch of songs (like making characters named Rhonda so you can sing "Help Me, Rhonda" to them... someone please gouge my eyes out with a spoon), the show tells the story of The Four Seasons, using the songs in actual performances to the audience rather than plot builders (with a few well-done exceptions). There's still a little cheese, and there are some moments of silly melodrama, but given that it's pretty much their story, it's forgivable.

It's a pretty interesting story, very Jersey, and told quite well, shifting narration and perspectives among the four leads. It's got a nice solid conclusion with some satisfying closure and feel-good warm and fuzziness. And of course, the music pretty much rocks, even if it's way before your time. Even at my age (23, for those of you who were wondering), I knew most of the songs, even though I didn't know The Four Seasons sang some of them before going into the show. Big fan of Christian Hoff as Tommy DeVito. All in all, I'd say see it if you're looking for a good time.

Pajama Game - Lydia's Thoughts

Right. So we've started this blog to put out our thoughts on shows we've seen. Kevin and I see lots and lots and lots of theatre - some of it good, some of it great, and some of it not so fantastic at all.

This past Saturday we saw the fourth preview performance of The Pajama Game - Roundabout's new revival - playing at the American Airlines Theatre. Of course the audience was packed for the sold-out show, and not surprisingly, it was an audience with a lot of families, somewhat touristy as well.

Enough of that - and on to the show itself: it starts out with a big number focusing in on the Factory Workers at Sleep Tite Pajama Factory. Harry Connick Jr.'s first number comes up next, and I was surprised to hear how formulaic his voice sounded. Not to say that the man can't sing, but perhaps he's been trained too long on his particular sound, and it seemed as if he was scared to break out of his comfort zone. Kelli O'Hara makes her debut a bit later - and she's drastically different from her performance in Light in the Piazza (big fan of this show). This role is much older for her, and the music very low - quite different from the notes she hit in Piazza.

Nonetheless, there are several really great numbers in the show - watch out for Hernando's Hideaway, with Megan Lawrence (from this summer's Two Gentlemen of Verona). The jazz interlude by HC Jr. is also pretty entertaining - but it will be interesting to see if this number gets cut if he ever leaves the show.

All in all, I think Pajama Game has a chance to run for a while - it appeals to tourists and has star-power, what's a better combination for a long-run? In terms of truly great impactful theatre, there are better options.

First Post

This is Kevin blogging right now. My friend Lydia and I have decided that we watch a whole lot of theater in New York, and that it might be nice to start sharing our opinion of some of it. We've started this blog to be a running commentary for all the theater we see, so people in New York, or visiting New York, or whatever, can read about shows and stuff from two people who we like to think are neither pretentious nor Ben Brantley. And of course, everyone can share their opinions as well, and then we can hear about good stuff to see.
Bam!