MUSINGS FROM THE 2019 NYC AMERICAN THEATRE CRITICS ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE

I’ve noticed a trend lately in our ever-changing theatre scene that states in the playbill/programs that “This production will be performed without an intermission.”  It appears to be a sign of the times  indicating that budgetary issues are definitely impacting not only the subject matter of stories being written by playwrights, but also the size of the casts employed by producers as a result.

Is it a harbinger and sign of the times?  It certainly looks like it.  The fate of the three and two acts play structures over the last 75 years, (unless one was watching a Shakespearean play that told its story in 5 acts back in its day) is likely to be as relevant in today’s theatre productions as a buggy whip.

It’s difficult to actually pinpoint when producers introduced the “90 minute” production concept; ranging in cast size from the “two-hander” to casts up to six characters, but it’s been at least ten years by my count.

Today’s American society in general have short attention spans.  We are an instant gratification-driven society.  We want everything and we want it now!  “Immediate seating, no waiting” is music to our ears, be it entertainment or dinning choices. Alas, it’s no wonder we’re constantly stressed out much to the delight of the pharmaceutical industry.  I believe our playwrights and theatre professionals deserve much better than this.

The American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA) usually holds its New York City Broadway visit event in late October/ early November to coincide with its member conference and plays availability from Broadway producers.  This year’s conference was short and sweet.  It ran from November 1st thru November 3rd.  Not much time for the average person to see many plays, however, theatre critics thrive on overdosing and binge reviewing as many plays as possible within that short window of opportunity.

To wit:  I saw three productions in that time span and each one as it turned out was performed without an intermission; running approximately 85 to 90 minutes.  A perfect time frame for the current state of today’s theatre-going audience demographic choices.  And I still had time to attend an all-day session of panels and discussion groups.  How do we do it you wonder?  Ah, that’s the mystery and the magic of the theatre.

In order of the productions seen and reviewed, “Betrayal”, by Sir Harold Pinter is a must see show for Pinter fans.   Its devilishly written dialogue and non-linear plot is deftly performed by a terrific cast of actors led   by British leading man Tom Hiddleston as writer Robert, husband of Emma, a sultry Zamwe Ashton, and Charlie Cox as Jerry, Robert’s agent and best friend and the other man in this love triangle production.  Eddie Arnold, lends solid support as the Waiter and performs other yeoman duties as well.

Harold Pinter, in a moment of complete candor said he based this play on his own marriage woes involving infidelity and betrayal as the key components.  The powerful production, exquisitely directed by Jaime Lloyd, features strong emotional content mixed with achingly poignant moments of truth and boldness as it explores the rush that sex and infidelity sometimes, for some, can inject into a marriage.

The stark, minimal set design by Soutra Gilmour matches and achieves director Lloyd’s vision on how best to capture Pinter’s edgy and all-so-civilized-sophisticated drama.  The characters are playing with dynamite which almost always leads to one or all in the triangle being forever scarred and even destroyed.

The timing and pacing may appear glacial at times, but this non-linear play is so compellingly well-acted by this cast that it keeps one engaged and on our toes until the payoff moment that is so Pinter-esque. The sex triangle characters are fully formed adults who know what they’re buying into when the play begins, but we the audience, must wait to find out how it all sorts out.  And it’s all accomplished in less than 90 minutes.

The second play reviewed was the Irish Repertory Theatre production of Conor McPherson’s self-loathing melodrama “Dublin Carol”.  The Irish Rep Company has a fabulous reputation of bringing the light and dark side of Celtic heritage to its productions that celebrates the many styles of story-telling yarns for which the Irish are famous.

“Dublin Carol” is a penetrating portrait of Irish culture with a leitmotif of alcohol addiction, guilt, remorse, and redemption running rampant throughout its 89 minutes of the stage performance.  Needless to say, it’s not an O’Casey-like comedy.  But, it is an ever so brilliant tour de force performance by Jeffrey Bean, as Dublin funeral parlor employee John Plunket who is constantly warring with his demons that will not stop coming out of the Jamieson whiskey bottles he keeps in his cupboard.

The play set in Dublin on Christmas Eve in 1999, centers around John’s relationship with his estranged daughter Carol (Sarah Street) who has not spoken to her father in eleven years who now suddenly shows up on his doorstep to inform him that her mother is dying of cancer.    Carol has a love/hate relationship with her father.  She wants to have a closer family relationship, but she can’t bring herself to forgive him for his “abandoning” of the family years ago.

Guilt is the powerful enabler and the enemy of remorse and redemption.   No character feels that pang more acutely than John.  The nephew of John’s friend is a young Dublin lad of twenty named Mark – who has recently joined the family funeral business – is nicely played by Cillian Hegarty. His purpose is to help flesh out the deeply held emotions and insecurities of John as sort of a sympathetic ear and shoulder for John to lean on when the “urge” to enjoy the comfort of those Jamieson whiskey bottles become too strong to resist.

The Irish aren’t considered as having the “gift of the gab” for nothing. “Dublin Carol” is a talky play.  The beauty of the production, however, lies on the performance of Jeffrey Bean as John.  It’s a tribute to Bean’s talent, experience and stamina if nothing else.  He’s on that stage for about 80 of its total 89 minutes.   It’s an astonishing performance.

The last production reviewed in this three- mini review piece is “The Height of the Storm”, written by French playwright Florian Zeller, with an English translation by Tony and Oscar award-winning author/playwright Christopher Hampton.

The 2018 Olivier Award-winning play stars British theatre legends Eileen Atkins and Jonathan Pryce in two riveting star-turn performances as an aging couple of some 50 plus years of marriage who find themselves needing one another more than ever as the medical term of “dementia” begins to rear its ugly head.

Playwright Zeller is a huge fan of playwriting Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter, which accounts for the echoes of Pinter-like plotting, the opaqueness of structure, the content, and the style so associated with Pinter plays.

For example, the audience, at the beginning, isn’t quite sure whether the characters of Andre (Jonathan Pryce) and Madeleine (Eileen Atkins) are even alive as characters. They are seen interacting with their two daughters Anne (Amanda Drew) and Elise (Lisa O’Hare).  But they too may even be ghosts or perhaps, figures of the imaginations of the other on-stage family members, as well as two non-family visitors: The Woman (Lucy Cohu) a woman who claims to be from Andre’s past whom he doesn’t recognize or knows, along with The Man (James Hillier) the boyfriend of Elise; all of whom meet and interact with one another. Confusing?  You bet.

One thing we know for sure is that either Andre or Madeleine must be deceased.  Which one passed first is revealed at the end.  Everyone else appears to be caught in a dream, and/or in denial.  Frankly, even for me, a Pinter fan, Zeller has tossed in too many red herrings into his French onion soup that lacks clarity and cohesion.  I’m not sure if the play’s clarity problems lies in the original French version or in Hampton’s English translation.

Regardless of clarity concerns of the story directed by Jonathan Kent, one cannot deny the power and precision of the performances of Jonathan Pryce and Eileen Atkins. These two stars possess the talent and acting chops to still knock your socks off, along with solid support from this impressive ensemble cast.

EARLY HOLIDAY GIFT ARRIVES AT NORTH COAST REP THEATRE WITH NEIL SIMON'S "THE SUNSHINE BOYS"

Lenny Wolpe and James Sutorius star as "The
Sunshine Boys" at North Coast Repertory Theatre.
All photos by Aaron Rumley.

Most theatre audiences acknowledge that playwright Neil Simon was the true and anointed “King of Comedy” not only in America but worldwide.  They also realize they’re not likely to see his stripe and genius for comedy that the ‘common folk’ have embraced for 42 years.

Most of his plays were New York centric-written.  His sharply observant eye, and knack of capturing the situations and dialogue of New Yorkers, made them maddeningly eccentric but lovable at the same time, winning the hearts of all urban Americans.  Who can forget the antics of “The Odd Couple”?   Or the zaniest of situations where the toilet flushed upward and “black salads” were unappetizing restaurant first courses that one didn’t just dig into in, “Barefoot in the Park”.  And the list of Simon ‘zingers', as they came to be called, was his hallmark.

His comedy dialogue was sublime and actors couldn’t wait to perform it. He was a true son of New York whose legacy of being the most successful American comedy playwright ever merited the laurels heaped upon him.  He passed in 2018 at the age of 91. The King of Comedy is dead.  Long live the future playwright kings and/or queens of comedy who follow. Simon was one of a kind and will be greatly missed...and the beat goes on.

North Coast Repertory Theatre of Solana Beach, CA has enjoyed much success with Simon’s plays over the years.  Their recent “Laughter on the 23rd Floor” is among five or six memorable Simon productions that are still vivid in NCRT audience memories and this audience of one as well.

“The Sunshine Boys”, currently on stage at NCRT, is another hilarious crowd pleaser.  Wonderfully directed by Jeffrey B. Moss, it stars James Sutorius and Lenny Wolpe as Al Lewis and Willie Clark respectfully, as the ‘Sunshine Boys’ with a winning performance from Bryan Banville as Ben Silverman, Willie’s nephew, lawyer, and agent; plus a fine supporting cast of Portia Gregory as the Registered Nurse; Samantha Roper as the TV show skit Nurse; Phillip Korth as Eddie, and John Tessmer as the Patient in the comedy skit.

“The Sunshine Boys” is a smartly observed comedy with edges of poignancy creeping out from its core center that is insightfully culled from Simon’s exploration of growing old and grappling with the actor’s bane – that of not being able to get cast in a show because of one’s age. And it’s still an issue in 2019.

The story, in short, is set in the 1970s in New York City, and revolves around two long- time partners/actor performers who have ‘retired’ their Burlesque act of 43 years.  Al Lewis (James Sutorius) decided to retire without consulting his actor partner Willie Clark (Lenny Wolpe) after 43 years of performing their famous “Doctor” skit.  The “retiring of their act” by Al was a one person decision, according to Willie. It’s a betrayal in Willie’s eyes; as a result, the two men have not spoken to each in eleven years.

Bryan Banville and Lenny Wolpe in
"The Sunshine Boys"

Ben, Willie’s agent and nephew, has finally arranged for Willie to perform in a huge CBS TV Special honoring America’s greatest comedy performers of the past fifty years. Willie is excited by the idea of working again.  For Willie, his life IS performing. The idea of performing is what has kept him going since the split with Al.  There’s just one hitch: CBS wants the ”old act”.

They want “Lewis and Clark” together as in days of yore.  "Look, I’m not doing the show if Al Lewis is involved. Period!” Willie roars at Ben, who then gently explains to Willie that there is no Al Lewis, no hefty CBS TV money contract for doing the old act just one more time.

The beauty of this comedy gem for actors of a certain age lies not only the experience and talent they bring, but also in the  vision of director Moss who seamlessly and intelligently stages Simon’s play, orchestrating the “master class” performances of Wolpe and Sutorius, two pros whose exquisite comedy timing is flat-out mesmerizing to watch.

Lenny Wolpe, Samantha Roper and
James Sutorius in "The Sunshine Boys"

Wolpe shines as the wise-cracking kvetch Willie. Sutorius delivers a finely judged, nuanced turn as the cool but cautious Al, not knowing what to expect from Willie after eleven years of not speaking to him.  It’s classic Neil Simon. There are echoes of Oscar and Felix from “The Odd Couple” all over again but with a twist.

If truth be known, both are unsure of the meeting and the outcome but both characters secretly still enjoy needling one another. In reality, they’re two grumpy old men who are in need of the negotiating skills that Bryan Banville supplies as lawyer Silverman. That’s it. No spoiler alerts here; to learn how this splendid production turns out, one has to see the production for one’s self.  How these characters resolve the issues that kept them from reconnecting is the stuff that made Neil Simon world famous. His skill as a comedy playwright was nonpareil.

The technical credits at NCRT are always first rate and this production is no exception. The creative team, led by director Moss, features a colorful, wonderful Set Design by Marty Burnett that is eye appealing and functional.  Lighting Director Matt Novotny works his magic allowing for the costumes of Elisa Benzoni to be seen and appreciated for their spot-on 1970s period.

The Sound Design by Aaron Rumley is top drawer and nicely executed, especially in Wolpe’s scenes in his apartment as he putters around in his pajamas and bathrobe forgetting where things are located, and his inability to open the front door when visitors arrive is priceless.  As the kids say these days, ‘growing old sucks’. The Props design is by Phillip Korth, and Hair & Wig design by Peter Herman, complete the creative team.  The Stage Manager is Danielle Stephens.

“The Sunshine Boys” is a fun and enjoyable evening in the theatre without one f-bomb being hurled from the stage, so it’s okay to bring grandma and the kids.  The play running at North Coast Repertory Theatre, has been extended to November 24, 2019.  It’s a Must See!

-- Jack Lyons

OSCAR-WINNING-COSTUME DESIGNER ORRY-KELLY'S JOURNEY FROM DOWN UNDER TO HOLLYWOOD BROUGHT TO LIFE AT THE LEE STRASBERG THEATRE IN HOLLYWOOD

Nick Hardcastle stars as Academy Award-winning costume designer Orry-Kelly
in his one manshow "Orry" at West Hollywood's Lee Strasberg Theatre.
Photo by Tony Duran.

Australia's Orry-Kelly was born in a small town in New South Wales called Kiawa, famed for its blowhole. The only child of an alcoholic tailor father and a proper British housewife, Kelly longed for a more artistic path in life. He brought his wit, wiles and 'wicked' ways to America in the 1920s, first as an aspiring vaudevillian, then a Prohibition-era bootleg gin supplier, and finally ascending the Hollywood ladder as a top costume designer to the talented leading ladies of the time including Ava Gardner, Mae West, Fanny Brice (a lifelong friend) and Bette Davis, among others. Kelly was on the A list of designers, earning three Academy Awards - for An American in Paris, Les Girls and Some Like It Hot. But beneath the shimmering facade of his glamorous life, Kelly had a not-so-well-kept secret - he was a gay man with a drinking problem nursing a broken heart from a years long affair with debonair actor Cary Grant.

Orry-Kelly fitting Ava Gardner's
toga in "One Touch of Venus"

Some 51 years after his death in 1964, a handwritten memoir of his rise and fall was discovered tucked away in a pillowcase in suburban Sydney. "Women I Undressed" was never sent to a publisher, but when it was finally published in 2015, its sensational secrets were catnip to hungry-for-gossip movie fans.

When writer/performer Nick Hardcastle, himself an Aussie and native of New South Wales, saw a documentary about Kelly from Oscar-winning director Gillian Armstrong, he was enthralled and determined to share the story of this talented yet complicated man to the world at large. The result is "Orry", a one man show best described as a theatrical distillation of the memoir combining song and dance, archival footage, puppetry and even one or two of Orry-Kelly's original designs.

Nick Hardcastle as Orry-Kelly in "Orry"
Photo by Tony Duran

Opening with a re-imagining of Kelly's funeral at Forest Lawn, complete with eulogy by Jack Warner, we meet the impish title character who leaps from his all-white coffin to address the audience and introduces us to his early life - including his invisible friend "Bijou" and his lonely life as "different" from his schoolmates. 

Hardcastle is a handsome and ingratiating performer who quickly makes the audience fall for this Down Under devil. His singing voice, while not powerful, is elegant and well-suited to the demands of the role. The Soubrette played by lovely lyric soprano Danielle Heaton portrays Bijou, Fanny Brice, and a variety of other colorful characters from Kelly's life and does so with effortless charm. 

The set by Emmy award-winning scenic designer John Iacovelli is simple, functional and understated with the coffin center stage, a sewing machine stage right and piano stage left. 

Musical director Anthony Zediker accompanies Hardcastle as he weaves popular songs of the era throughout the performance as a commentary on the action. Lighting by Jared A. Sayeg is subtle and the costumes by Kate Bergh are spot on. Director and dramaturg Wayne Harrison (the former artistic director of Sydney Theatre Company) keeps it simple, playing most scenes front and center, letting his leading man control the pacing of the approximately 100 minute one-act with great success.

We don't discover much about Kelly's life in the 50s and 60s - Kelly apparently was discreet and never mentioned names of his lovers other than Grant and a rascally con man in Sydney known as "Gentleman George" - but the amazing designs and artwork he produced spoke volumes about his view of life and the legacy he left behind which comprised an astonishing 300 films between 1932 and 1963.

For a titillating and swellegant evening, I encourage you to visit the Lee Strasberg Theatre, located at 7936 Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood. ORRY is playing for a limited run closing November 11, so get your tickets soon by calling 855-326-9945 or visiting Gentleman-George.com.

-- Lisa Lyons