Tarzan

Okay, okay. I did it. I decided to go and see Tarzan. Now I have been conspicuously absent from the blog for the month of July, but I've been in Japan for a few weeks (and the only theater I saw there was a pretty cool Kabuki play, and ads for musicals with all Japanese casts. Like a Japanese Simba in the Lion King [or rather, the Rion King], and Asian Mark and Roger. It was weird). Now I'm back, and I'm writing about Tarzan, which I saw before I left.

Before I go on about this much anticipated post, I must tell you that I am moving from New York next week, which is very sad. But, I do plan on coming back to watch some theater, so you'll still hear from me I'm sure. And I can give you some feedback on Philly Theater too...

So here goes. Tarzan. Okay, I'm not going to say it was good, because that would just be ridiculous. But, I thought it was going to be REALLY BAD, and it was kind of fun. Okay, it was a little ridiculous. But let me discuss.

The opening: Really awesome. Shipwreck scene was cool. Definitely the best part of the show, and probably worth a $20 front row ticket.

The rest, less awesome. A bunch of people swinging in really awful costumes. These costumes can best be described as, um, fringey? Yeah, they were just ripped up colored fringe on people being monkeys. They did swing a lot. And go into this big green background. Which was kind of cool for the first few minutes.

The music. "You'll be in my heart" is still catchy, but it sounds funny on Broadway. Phil Collins songs are not showtunes.

Josh Strickland - flaming and manorexic. You'd think Tarzan'd have some meat on him. Yeah, no. But it's funny. Especially his monkey slapping things. And his curtain call. whewf! Pretty good voice though. And quite a set of pearly whites for an ape-man.

The first act - long and not real exciting.

Kind of racy for a kids show. Like, um, monkey, stop playing with Jane's chest. Thanks.

Really glitzy and expensive, not great, but really, not like drop dead awful as I was expecting. There were a couple fun scenes, and at some point you kind of even get into it. But I'm not going to tell you to spend $60-100 to go see it.

School of the Americas

I love the Public Theatre - I really can say that I have never been truly and absolutely disappointed with any of their productions. Each season they have such a great selection of shows and I'm bound to get excited about more than one of them. This season, the first show that popped into my head when I saw the list was School of the Americas - how exciting - a play written by the screenwriter of The Motorcycle Diaries, one of my all-time favorite films. I also love the lead actor, John Ortiz, who I admire so much for his role as Jesus in The Last Days of Judas Iscariot a few seasons ago at The Public (see, they can do no wrong). Needless to say, I'd been looking forward to this show for months.

And then the time came to finally go see it. I saw it about a week after it had opened - and inevitably saw and read some of the reviews - which I really need to stop doing. They were mediocre at best - and set my spirits a little lower for the show than I had hoped.

Anyway, the premise is about Che Guevara (a man I really admire - and no, not in the I want to buy a t-shirt with his face on it kind of way) in his last days in Bolivia - right before he reaches the end of his life. He's being held by CIA-operatives in a small run-down schoolhouse in a rural town in Boliva. We are introduced to a schoolteacher there, Julia, who we realize is obsessed with the idea of Che and will do everything she can to meet and talk to him while he is being held in her school. She convinces the soldiers to let her have a few minutes alone with Che - during which most of the play takes place. Their conversations focus on his life and his idea that he is a failed man, unable to help the world anymore. He still has a fighting spirit, and a hell of a lot of pride - but that doesn't stop us from seeing that he is really beaten down and has lost a lot of his spirit. They talk a great deal about idealogy and the way the world should be - all nice sentiments. But we know what happens. We know that Julia is in love with Che - she can't have him - but she can provide him some final solice while he is being held captive. In the end, he's taken down and murdered by the CIA operatives, right there in Bolivia. Julia seems completely devasated, all at once unable to go on. But then we see the fighting spirit come back alive in her - she talks of re-building her school and her town, making it better for her beloved neighbors and countrymen. That's what I love about the story of Che - no matter that we're seeing him in his last days, he still gives everyone he meets, or everyone who hears his story a little bit of the revolutionary spirit. The play was a bit disappointing - but even sitting here writing this I'm starting to realize that we're supposed to take a little bit of Che with us - and that's the whole point of re-telling his story.

It's worth going to see the show - John Ortiz is great as Che and if you are an Arrested Development fan, get this, Patricia Velasquez, who plays Marta on the show, stars as Julia - her first stage appearance. If you can't see the show - watch the Motorcyle Diaries - or just go to wikipedia or something and learn a little more about Che Guevera - he really is an inspiration, especially in our political world today.

No Child...

I have this bad habit of getting excited for shows and then being really let down (i.e. Shining City, Three Days of Rain, Rabbit Hole...I could go on and on). Lately, I've tried to set my expectations a bit lower in the hopes that they will get met. With No Child, my expectations were met and surpassed to the highest degree. I have not been this pleasantly surprised by a show in as long as I can remember. I also ended up giving the show a standing ovation - which I hardly ever do, except for some of my all time favorites.

Well the show is performed solely by Nilaja Sun - who plays about 10 different characters. I'm sure you can guess that by it being called "no child" the show probably has something to do with the "no child left behind" program. Yup, you're right. The show is centered around Ms Sun's experience teaching at Malcolm X high school in one of the poorest neighborhoods of the Bronx. The school is given a grant by the city to hold a special summer theatre program, and Ms Sun is brought on to teach this. She's an in-and-out of work actress who takes on this teaching role to pay her rent - but didn't really imagine what she was getting herself into. So the show begins with Ms Sun acting as the narrator - the school custodian. We then get to meet the entire class as she acts out scenes as about 10 different students - amazing! This woman can turn on a dime from playing a tough African American young boy to a scared Hispanic girl - it was really incredible, her technique. So she takes us through the ups and downs of teaching these kids. They study an older play about Australian inmates and try to find parallels with their lives. In addition to studying the play, each of the kids takes a part and plays it in the class production put on at the end of the program. Near the end of the story, we learn that the janitor dies and the play is dedicated to him, the lead of the play's brother gets shot days before the play is to be performed, and lastly that one of the girls is pregnant. But with all these sort of cliche moments, Ms Sun really brings to life her characters and the story - it was really remarkable and highly recommended.

Shakespeare in the Park - Macbeth

Who doesn't love Macbeth? It really is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays - I suppose that's because most high school english programs make you study it inside and out - and my high school was no different. But it's even better when this show is performed outdoors at the Delacorte theater for the Public's Shakespeare in the Park.

I'm a little late in posting, and the show has already closed - but it was a nice production. Liev Schreiber starred as Macbeth and features Jennifer Ehle (from A&E's Pride and Prejudice) as Lady Macbeth. I thought the two had great chemistry - not to mention great costumes. The three weird sisters were delightful - a nice new take on some of the imagining of the sisters that I have seen before. Some of the staging could have used a little work - and more elaborate sets would have been appreciated. However, some of the last scenes, especially as Macbeth is about to die were really powerful - the director, Milos Forman, gets credit for that - but if only we had seen some of that same imagining towards the beginning of the show. Suffice to say, this was a well done production of a great play and a beautiful night in the Park.

Up next in the park, Mother Courage with Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline (who just recently replaced Christopher Walken) - the buzz is that people are expected to camp out overnight (what??!!) for the free tickets the Public hands out....we will see!

A House In Town

When will Richard Greenberg write a play that actually captivates me? I'm starting to think the answer to that question is never! This season of Greenberg started with Naked Girl on the Appian Way and the uber-disappointing Three Days of Rain (with Julia Roberts). This last play of his busy season, A House in Town recently opened at Lincoln Center. I haven't ever seen Take Me Out performed, but I have a feeling this is the only one of his plays that I would like the least bit.

For a play that's only 90 minutes long, I expect to stay wide awake and engaged the entire time - I mean really, 90 minutes is a pretty small period of time. Well, let's just say for this one, it was really tough, and I do mean excruciatingly tough to keep my eyes open - and I wasn't the only one, everyone around me was doing the same thing. I think the problem is that Greenberg writes his plays focusing so much on his dialogue, and very little on action. Sometimes this works, in my experience with his plays, it usually doesn't.

Alright, onto the plot. The play is set in the 1920s in Chelsea - on "millionaire's row." The main characters are a couple - Amy (Jessica Hecht) and Sam (Mark Harelik) and their two friends + a young man named Christopher, who lives in the neighborhood. Well, we learn that things aren't as great as they may seem in the roaring 20s. Amy and Sam have been trying unsuccessfully to have a child, having given up a few years ago. Amy thinks that she may be pregnant, goes to the doctor (her good friend) and is told she has nothing to worry about. It turns out that she has only a few months to live, but everyone has been keeping this from her. In the last few days of her life, she and Sam have a huge argument, and she makes him confess that he once had a mistress and their young neighbor, Christopher, is his son. Hmm...tough break on Amy's part. Well, she throws him out, and lights down we see the play come to a close. So you might have read this and said, "OK, interesting plot, I can see myself liking this show." Well, think again. In the 90 minutes in which the show develops, most of the plot points come out in the last 10 minutes - so the majority is slow and dragging. I've heard a lot of people say how much they like Jessica Hecht as an actress - I, for one, think she always looks weak - as if a light breeze could come across the stage and just blow her over, but that's just me.

Well - let's see what develops next from Mr. Greenberg...I agree with Isherwood of the NYT that he may be one of the most over-hyped playwrights of the moment.