The indomitable Purlie Victorious Judson (Leslie Odom, Jr.) returns to the plantation where he and his family once were the slaves of Ol' Cap'n Cotchipee (Jay O. Sanders), and where his brother and sister-in-law (Billy Eugene Jones and Heather Alicia Simms) still live under his shadow, endlessly indebted to him. Purlie hopes to purchase Big Bethel and begin a life of preaching to the community. He has hatched a plan to claim inheritance money owed to his cousin Bee, who has passed away. In her place Purlie has brought along Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins (Kara Young), who he hopes Cotchipee will believe is Bee so they can claim the money.
For me, Lutiebelle steals the show as she tries to follow Purlie's instructions to appear as cousin Bee - especially in contrast to the last role we saw her in (Jess in The Cost of Living), Young's physicality, comedic timing, and delivery is almost unmatched on the stage. But of course Odom keeps up, delivering vigorous monologues throughout, and really so does the rest of the incredible cast. The play is outrageously funny, but also has some very dark moments. And we very clearly see why this revival is still so important in our time, why it retains the setting of "the recent past." Music Box Theatre A new musical about the life of Graciela Daniele - though ask me about her life after seeing this show and I have next to nothing to tell you. We learn that she was brought up by a supportive trio of women: Mami (Eden Espinosa), Granmama (Mary Testa, giving Jewish Brooklyn for some reason), and Tia (Andréa Burns). Older Anuncia (Priscilla Lopez) wanders around a garden telling us stories about growing up and at times interacting with her younger self (Kalyn West). There is magical realism and the best part of the show is Tally Sessions playing a deer. But the show drags on and on and gives embarrassingly little information about Anuncia's actual achievements (Daniele is a renowned Broadway choreographer) despite the set up that she is expected at a lifetime achievement award ceremony.
Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, Lincoln Center Jena Friedman, working on a new hour of material, tells us that she was hoping to finally do a show that is not political - Friedman's mom died right before she gave birth to her first child and much of the material is about her mother, pregnancy, birth, being a new mom, and grappling with loss. But towards the end of the hour, Friedman pivots to the Israel/Hamas war (this is only weeks after the Oct 7 attack). Bold move. Friedman takes pride in tackling the difficult "not funny" topics in her comedy, and as a Jewish performer she feels compelled to find ways to talk about the conflict. She even opened up the floor for comments/discussion at some point which felt very risky - even in a small basement theater in Brooklyn. One line that I appreciated was her metaphor to try and explain why she feels using the term "anti-Zionist" is inherently anti-Semitic - it went something like, "Saying you're not anti-Semitic, but don't think Israel should exist is like saying you're not homophobic but don't think they should have anal sex." And yes, she got some laughs! The material does need more work, but I have no doubt Friedman will get there - she is whip-smart, articulate, and not afraid.
Union Hall Dianne Wiest as Meryl is a marvel to watch in this play about a woman striving to live her best life, even as an older woman in her 70s. Meryl's husband has died recently - providing relief from an unhappy, abusive marriage - and Meryl is free to pursue her dream of becoming an actor. Specifically, Meryl is confident that she will be a famous movie star in short order. She moves to LA and immediately finds an acting class where she is discovered and subsequently cast to play herself in a movie about her life. And if that all seems very improbable, that's because it is and Meryl is an unreliable narrator. Is she really living this dream? Or is it all a delusion of her progressing dementia?
Vineyard Theatre A feel-good production based on the true story of a group of autistic teenagers preparing for a dance together. The characters, played by autistic performers making their Broadway debuts, grapple with the normal anxieties of teenagers, but they find facing the world and social situations more challenging, their anxieties heightened. Whether it's asking someone to the dance, dealing with an unforgiving manager at work, or handling the high expectations of parents, these kids struggle with the same things as any other teenagers - only they need a little extra support to thrive and succeed. We attended on the first night of previews and the energy was palpable, with lots of friends and family in the audience.
The main conflict in the plot feels overly engineered - the group's counselor, Dr. Emilio Amigo (Caesar Samayoa), agrees to speak with reporters about the dance and one publishes an offensive and condescending story earlier than agreed (dashing both trust in Amigo and confidence to attend the dance). In fact, everything to do with the Amigos - his misguided flirtation with another reporter, his daughter's (Cristina Sastre) decision to stop dancing, and her friendship with Mel (Imani Russell) - feels half-baked. The main focus is on the budding romance between Drew (Liam Pearce) and Marideth (Madison Kopec). So for all of the inclusivity the show preaches, the characters that get the most attention are the cisgender, white, heterosexual couple, providing much less depth for the transgender BIPOC characters - none of whom have a romance (or even a hint of one). But the songs are catchy, the performers are great, and overall the show is enjoyable. Belasco Theatre One of the funniest and cleverest plays we've seen recently and centered on a topic that does not often get enough attention: female pleasure.
New York Theatre Workshop A gala presentation of this classic musical that underwhelmed in multiple ways... and at almost 3 hours it was too much (literally - we left at intermission). A large part of this subpar experience had to do with an inordinate amount of noise in our area of the audience (incessant rustling, zipping/unzipping a bag, etc). But an almost equally large part had to do with the production itself.
The plot setup was too fast and confusing, especially because the entire show was infused with an added layer of racial complexity - albeit without the necessary time or thought to deal with that complexity. The choreography was overly ambitious for a show that is only running for 7 performances and as a result the dancing was chaotic and felt under-rehearsed. The musical arrangements were overwrought and there were overall issues with the sound. New York City Center Hannah Einbinder is very funny and puts on a good show. We've seen her before, and a few of her bits were almost the same but it was fun to see how she is honing them to perfection. My only qualm is that the opener, while she had her moments, was not good and dragged on and on. She lost us early on and therefore didn't serve the purpose of warming up the audience for the headliner.
Chelsea Music Hall |
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