Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Mini Retrospectives on the Boards this Fall

• By drediman
• October 28, 2014
• No Comments

I’ve often thought that the best way to appreciate an artist’s output is within the context of the their larger body of work. Fans of Shakespeare and classical music composers, particularly opera composers like Puccini, are lucky in this regard. Their numerous popular works are produced annually without fail. Indeed, I’ve seen five high profile productions of “King Lear” alone in 2014; and the year isn’t even over yet.  This is less true of contemporary playwrights. Theatergoers often have to wait years, often more than a decade, before they are treated to full productions of plays they have only enjoyed in text, let alone any sort of retrospective, planned or coincidental. In New York this fall, audiences have the very rare opportunity to catch the works of very different contemporary theater artists with two plays running simultaneously on the boards. This is a great time for theater fans to appreciate the depth and breadth of the skill and vision of some of our very finest artists working in the theater. I urge you to take advantage.

A. R. GURNEY: “The Wayside Motor Inn” / “Love Letters”

New Yorkers are lucky to have two top-notch A. R. Gurney plays accessible to them. “The Wayside Motor Inn” was revived Off-Broadway earlier in the fall by the Signature Theatre to great acclaim. It was a wonderful chance to see this less-performed early Gurney play in an exquisitely directed and acted production. Similarly fine is the current revival of the popular and deceptively simple two-hander “Love Letters”, featuring a starry rotating cast. The performance I attended starred a solid Brian Dennehy against an emotionally fragile and heartbreaking Mia Farrow.

TOM STOPPARD: “Indian Ink” / “The Real Thing”

New Yorkers love their Tom Stoppard, and the Roundabout Theatre Company is only happy to oblige this fall by mounting two extremely different Stoppard plays: the Off-Broadway premier of the overstuffed yet fascinating “Indian Ink” and the Broadway revival of the masterful “The Real Thing”. Even if “Indian Ink” is lesser Stoppard, Roundabout’s fragrant, well-acted staging (featuring a breakout performance by Romola Garai) still managed to engage me like few other productions could this fall. As far as the current revival of “The Real Thing”, which is ably led by Ewan McGregor, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Cynthia Nixon, I’m happy to maintain that the play is Stoppard’s masterpiece, along with “Arcadia”. Both are supreme examples of Stoppard’s unique ability to move an audience through intellectual rigor.

SIMON STEPHENS: “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” / “Punk Rock”

One of the new darlings of the London theatre scene, Simon Stephens is finally having a go at success with New York theatre (although he did provide the translation for the exciting production of “A Doll’s House” last season at BAM). He does so in a big way with two hotly anticipated productions. On Broadway, he’s currently the toast of the town with the triumphant transfer of the West End smash “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time”. Better cast and less mechanical on Broadway, it’s even better here than across the pond. I’ve yet catch and am very much looking forward to MCC’s Off-Broadway production of his 2009 play, “Punk Rock” in a few weeks.

TERRENCE MCNALLY: “IT’S ONLY A PLAY” / “LIPS TOGETHER, TEETH APART”

Terrence McNally is one of the last of a breed of playwrights whose plays still feel like an accessible full-course meal (think Morton’s Steakhouse). This quality has made him a favorite of profit-driven Broadway producers, not an easy task for playwrights these days. His plays are always very funny, and often times he brings a moving sense of gravity to his characters. If you had only caught the updated, star-studded revival of “It’s Only a Play”, you would have missed this latter aspect. “It’s Only a Play” is all froth, with an unfortunate black hole of a performance by Matthew Broderick at its center. Nevertheless, it’s been box office gold. I have much higher hopes for his meaty “Lips Together, Teeth Apart” at Second Stage later this fall.

AYAD AKHTAR: “DISGRACED” / “THE INVISIBLE HAND”

When “Disgraced” premiered at the American Theater Company in Chicago, playwright Ayad Akhtar burst onto the theater scene as the bold, inquisitive theatrical voice of Muslim America. Since its auspicious Chicago premiere, the play has enjoyed a sold out run Off-Broadway, captured the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and is now taking on Broadway. Although “Disgraced” has lost some of its power to shock due to the larger venue and some less-than-ideal casting on Broadway, it still makes for a provocative night at the theater and engages audiences in a world rarely explored on the Great White Way. Akhatar’s latest piece, “The Invisible Hand”, opens at the New York Theatre Workshop in late November. As with “Disgraced”, I’m expecting to leave that experience with my blood pumping.

JEROME ROBBINS / LEONARD BERNSTEIN: “FANCY FREE” / “ON THE TOWN”

This fall, dance and musical theater enthusiasts have the unique only-in-New York opportunity to catch both a splashy new revival of the classic “On the Town” and the ballet that served as its inspiration, “Fancy Free” (both plots animate three sailors’ adventures during their short leave in the city). Jerome Robbins’ “Fancy Free” is being performed by the excellent American Ballet Theatre using a full orchestra to play Bernstein’s score and Oliver Smith’s original designs. Coming from Barrington Stage this fall is a colorful new revival of “On the Town”. Although the John Rando-directed revival has been re-choreographed by Joshua Bergasse, it has been done so in the unmistakable character-driven style of original choreographer Jerome Robbins. The revival stars New York City Ballet principal Megan Fairchild and reliable Broadway hoofer Tony Yazbeck. It will also be a thrill to hear Leonard Bernstein’s optimistic score in all its glory (it’s my understanding that the original Broadway orchestrations will be used).

IVO VAN HOVE (DIRECTOR): “SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE” / “ANGELS IN AMERICA”

I’ve already gushed about Belgian director Ivo van Hove in my previous posts. I’ll do it again here. Although he’s not a playwright, the shows that he directs have the unmistakable van Hove stamp on them. His productions are visceral and emotionally naked, making them a thrill to watch. Although he directs in New York approximately every other year, this is the fist time that I can think of when two of his productions ran simultaneously on our shores (alas, both shows closed last weekend). Firstly, his “Scenes from a Marriage” (adapted from the Bergman film) for New York Theatre Workshop was shattering, largely due to van Hove’s dizzying prismatic staging. Secondly, his work on Kushner’s “Angels in America”, courtesy of BAM’s Next Wave Festival, was a revelation: stripped down, sped up, and slightly abridged, it brought harder-edged existentialism and choreographed excitement that I had not seen in the landmark play before.