this week in theater

BAD JEWS

Cousins fight over a family heirloom and more in Joshua Harmon’s powerful BAD JEWS, which has moved upstairs to the Roundabout’s Laura Pels Theatre (photo by Joan Marcus)

Laura Pels Theatre
Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre
111 West 46th St. between Sixth & Seventh Aves.
Tuesday – Sunday through December 22, $89
212-719-1300
www.roundabouttheatre.org

Joshua Harmon’s Bad Jews has made a relatively smooth transition from the Roundabout’s small Black Box Theatre, where it played to sold-out crowds last year, to the significantly larger upstairs Laura Pels, going from 62 to 424 seats nightly. The dark comedy has lost a bit of its intimacy — in the Black Box, the audience felt like it was practically part of the family, waiting for breakout star Tracee Chimo to pounce on them the way she pounced on just about everything and everyone else in sight — but Harmon’s sharp, incisive dialogue is given more room to breathe in the new environs. In an apartment on Riverside Dr. and Eighty-Fourth St., Daphna Feygenbaum (Chimo) and her cousin Jonah Haber (Philip Ettinger) are awaiting the arrival of Jonah’s older brother, Liam (Michael Zegen), who was skiing in Colorado and missed their beloved grandfather Poppy’s funeral. When Liam shows up, along with his shiksa girlfriend, Melody (Molly Ranson), he and Daphna immediately start going at it, verbally sparring over every little detail, from who was closer to Poppy to who is more Jewish to who deserves to have Poppy’s prized chai, which is loaded with historical and sentimental value. With Jonah trying to stay out of the fray, Daphna has plenty of vitriol for Melody as well. A flurry of things are said (and shouted and screamed) that can never be taken back, leading to a powerful, emotional climax.

Returning director Daniel Aukin (4000 Miles, The Bad and the Better) once again centers the action on Daphna, as Chimo, despite appearing to be fighting a cold the night we attended, stomps all over the stage, her physicality matching her spoken massacre in an awe-inspiring, unforgettable performance. Zegen has upped the ante as Liam, more than holding his own against his brutally honest and often thoughtless cousin. Ranson, the only actual Jewish member of the cast, handles her role with great care, while Ettinger is again excellent as the tentative, ever-jittery younger brother. Ultimately, Bad Jews is about a lot more than how Jewish one is or who should get Poppy’s chai; it’s also about family, responsibility, class, dignity, culture, faith, and respect while focusing on a pair of selfish, self-righteous characters who might not be as far apart as they imagine.

ALL FOR ONE THEATER FESTIVAL

Kelly Carlin talks about growing up with her famous comedian father in solo show

Cherry Lane Studio Theater
38 Commerce St.
October 11 – November 9, $15-$25 (festival pass $150)
www.afofest.org

“You are not alone!” declares All for One Theater Festival executive director Michael Wolk on the AFO website. “Yes, solo performance can be lonely, for creators and for theatergoers who fear stepping into a self-therapizing soliloquy. But the All for One Theater Festival is here to take away the sting and stigma of solo performance by building community and nurturing work that inspires, informs, moves, and matters.” The third annual AFO features ten shows taking place October 11 – November 9 at the Cherry Lane Studio Theater, including Aaron Mark’s Another Medea, starring Tony nominee Tom Hewitt (The Rocky Horror Show, Jesus Christ Superstar); Kelly Carlin’s A Carlin Home Companion: Growing Up with George, in which George Carlin’s daughter discusses life with the famed comic, directed by Paul Provenza; Sylvia Milo’s The Other Mozart, about Wolfgang’s sister, Nanneri, featuring a dazzling costume; René Marie’s Slut Energy Theory, with Marie playing an elderly woman sharing her life experiences; and David Harrell’s The Boy Who Would Be Captain Hook, which is geared toward younger audiences. There are also workshops taught by Marie, Carlin, Gretchen Cryer (I’m Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road), and others, along with such workshops as “Know Thyself: The Autobiographical Solo Show,” “Her(untold)story,” and “Something Wicked: Writing and Performing Dangerous Characters.”

TICKET GIVEAWAY: DISASTER!

DISASTER! A 70s DISASTER MOVIE . . . MUSICAL!
St. Luke’s Theater
308 West 46th St.
October 14 – December 31 (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday), $39.50 – $79.50
www.disastermusical.com
www.stlukestheatre.com

Ah, those beautiful disaster flicks of the 1970s. With the country emerging from Vietnam and getting ready for Reaganism, Hollywood turned to star-studded epics loaded with death and destruction, on ground, sea, and air, with such classic fare as The Poseidon Adventure (Gene Hackman, Shelley Winters, Ernest Borgnine), Airport 1975 (Charlton Heston, Linda Blair, George Kennedy, Karen Black, Helen Reddy), The Towering Inferno (Steve McQeen, Paul Newman, William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Fred Astaire, O. J. Simpson), and Earthquake (Heston, Kennedy, Victoria Principal, Lorne Greene, Ava Gardner, Richard Roundtree, in Sensurround!), among a slew of other minor league efforts. With the country going down the tubes, the time is right to revisit those halcyon days, and Disaster! A 70s Disaster Movie…Musical! does just that, riffing on those popular movies along with period songs, including such unforgettable 1970s hits as Donna Summer’s “Hot Stuff,” Reddy’s “I Am Woman,” Gilbert O’Sullivan’s “Alone Again (Naturally),” Amii Stewart’s “Knock on Wood,” and ELO’s “Don’t Bring Me Down.” Written by Seth Rudetsky and Jack Plotnick, directed by Plotnick, and choreographed by Denis Jones, Disaster! originally ran at the Triad in early 2012 and is now back for an encore engagement at St. Luke’s Theatre, with a cool cast that features the ubiquitous Mary Testa, Tom Riis Farrell, Michele Ragusa, Jennifer Simard, and Rudetsky.

TICKET GIVEAWAY: Disaster! begins previews October 14 prior to a November 4 opening, and twi-ny has four pairs of tickets to give away for free. Just send your name, daytime phone number, and all-time-favorite disaster movie to contest@twi-ny.com by Friday, October 11, at 3:00 to be eligible. All entrants must be twenty-one years of age or older; four winners will be selected at random.

ROMEO AND JULIET

Orlando Bloom and Condola Rashad star as ill-fated young lovers in new Broadway version of ROMEO AND JULIET (photo by Carol Rosegg)

Richard Rodgers Theatre
226 West 46th St. between Seventh & Eighth Aves.
Tuesday – Sunday through December 8, $87-$142
877-250-2929
www.romeoandjulietbroadway.com

The first Broadway production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet in more than a quarter century might have fire, but it lacks sizzle. On Jesse Poleshuck’s relatively stark stage, which includes a large bell (hanging through the entire show), sand on either side, and a three-piece fresco that serves as a climbing wall, an artistic backdrop, and a doorway, the slick Romeo Montague (Orlando Bloom, in his Broadway debut) arrives on a motorcycle, making it clear from the start that this will not necessarily be a traditional version of the play. It’s love at first sight when he comes upon Juliet Capulet (Condola Rashad) at a party, but their families are sort of like the Hatfields and the McCoys, with a long history of not exactly getting along with each other. A fight ensues between the white Montagues and the black Capulets involving switchblades and chains, more West Side Story than Shakespeare, leaving several dead and Romeo in a heap of trouble. Meanwhile, Juliet flies high on a swing and later declares her love for Romeo on a balcony that juts out from the right like a deus ex machina. In addition, two horizontal poles occasionally show up, spitting out flames.

Benvolio (Conrad Kemp) offers advice to Romeo (Orlando Bloom) (photo by Carol Rosegg)

Benvolio (Conrad Kemp) offers advice to Romeo (Orlando Bloom) as rope for bell hangs down ominously (photo by Carol Rosegg)

Directed by David Leveaux, who specializes in Broadway revivals (Nine, The Real Thing, Fiddler on the Roof), this version of Romeo and Juliet ends up falling flat, with only flashes of excitement, even if it does include one of the longest kisses in Broadway history. Rashad, who was nominated for Tonys for her first two performances on the Great White Way, in Stick Fly and The Trip to Bountiful, is too innocent and wide-eyed as Juliet, and the chemistry between her and Bloom, who is fine if not exceptional, never quite ignites. The always reliable Jayne Houdyshell is a powerhouse as Juliet’s nurse, Brent Carver makes for a caring Friar Laurence, and Christian Camargo has a blast as the wisecracking Mercutio, dry-humping everything in sight. The cast also includes Corey Hawkins as Tybalt, Conrad Kemp as Benvolio, Chuck Cooper as Lord Capulet, Roslyn Ruff as Lady Capulet, Michael Rudko as Lord Montague, and Tracy Sallows as Lady Montague. Leveaux wisely avoids turning this into a story about race, even casting Justin Guarini, the son of an African American father and an Italian American mother, as Paris, Romeo’s rival for Juliet’s hand in marriage. (The previous Broadway production of Romeo and Juliet in 1986 had a multicultural cast led by Rene Moreno and Regina Taylor as the star-crossed lovers.) But the inconsistent and often confusing staging, along with little or no spark from the leads, leaves this Romeo and Juliet sadly lacking.

REVENGE AND GUILT

Cal (Peter Buck Dettmann) and Gina (Emily Russell) have it in for Marvin “Major” Cohen (Tom Vaught) in REVENGE AND GUILT (photo by Bryan Smith)

Kraine Theater
85 East Fourth St. between Bowery & Second Ave.
Thursday – Saturday through October 19, $!8, 8:00
www.facebook.com/RevengeandGuilt

Three lonely losers, each one haunted by a single episode from their past that has defined their miserable lives, come together in Marc Spitz’s latest play, Revenge and Guilt. As the show opens, the nervous, jittery Cal (Peter Buck Dettmann) arrives in the ratty Long Island home of onetime local guitar hero Marvin “Major” Cohen (Tom Vaught). Just as Major seems to recognize Cal, Gina (Emily Russell) enters and cracks Major in the head with a liquor bottle, knocking him out. The story then shifts back in time to a dive bar where Cal and Gina, both broke, argue over whether they just had sex as well as debating the value of Cal’s prized watch. While Cal is tentative and unsure of himself, Gina is strong-willed and angry, ready to do whatever it takes to get out of her terrible situation. As they seemingly grow more comfortable with each other, they share the secrets that have been tearing them apart inside, and Gina comes up with a plan to rid Cal of his inner demon, involving going back to the scene of the “crime,” Major’s house, to finally right a wrong. Longtime music journalist Spitz, who has written such books as We Got the Neutron Bomb: The Untold Story of L.A. Punk, Poseur: A Memoir of Downtown New York City in the ’90s, and How Soon Is Never? and such plays as The Rise and Fall of the Farewell Drugs, The Hobo Got Too High, and Your Face Is a Mess, makes his directorial debut with Revenge and Guilt, a well-written and solidly paced black comedy filled with musical references (the Clash, Gene Loves Jezebel, Thin Lizzy, Nirvana, Morrissey, Steely Dan). The title comes from a quote by Elvis Costello, who early in his career said, “The only two things that motivate me and that matter to me are revenge and guilt.” Both of those things figure prominently in the 105-minute play (with intermission), as all three characters blame a past event for their current failure. Vaught outshines his competent costars, giving a thoroughly convincing and entertaining performance as Major, a fading relic of a time gone by. Revenge and Guilt, which contains more than a few elements of Lyle Kessler’s Orphans, is a thought-provoking work that just might make you look back into your own past and finally try to get over that one thing that has been stuck in your gut for years, because you definitely don’t want to wind up like Cal, Gina, or Major. (To read our twi-ny talk with Spitz from earlier this year, go here.)

BAM NEXT WAVE FESTIVAL: ANNA NICOLE

Sarah Joy Miller is front and center in glamorous production of ANNA NICOLE at BAM (photo by Stephanie Berger)

BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
Through September 28, $25-$235
718-636-4100
www.bam.org
www.roh.org.uk

If Anna Nicole ends up being New York City Opera’s final presentation, then the organization (founded in 1943 and dubbed the People’s Opera by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia) is certainly going out with quite a, well, bang. Commissioned by London’s Royal Opera House and originally performed at Covent Garden, Anna Nicole is a playfully entertaining pop operetta based on the life of celebrity diva Anna Nicole Smith, following her life from her early years as Vickie Lynn Hogan in Mexia, Texas, through her apprenticeship as a stripper in Houston and then her success as a model in print ads and as Playboy Playmate of the Year. Composer Mark-Anthony Turnage, librettist Richard Thomas, and director Richard Jones tell the tale chronologically as Anna Nicole (Sarah Joy Miller) argues with her mother (Susan Bickley), marries and divorces her first husband, Billy Boy (Ben Davis), visits Doctor Yes (Richard Troxell) to get a huge pair of golden Winnebagos, meets and marries billionaire octogenarian J. Howard Marshall II (Robert Brubaker), and becomes a tabloid regular and reality TV superstar. It’s all bright lights and flashy colors on Miriam Buether’s wonderfully cheesy sets and Nicky Gillibrand’s riotous costumes while the cast, which includes sixty-six members of the New York City Opera, belt out self-referential, tongue-in-cheek lyrics that contain the kind of language not usually heard at opera houses around the world, highlighted by F-bombs galore and a host of naughty nicknames for breasts. The story skips around in often confusing ways, too much time is spent on some relatively insignificant sections just for shock effect (for example, the stripper scene), and Thomas, who cowrote Jerry Springer: The Opera, never really gets inside Anna Nicole’s head, which keeps the audience at a distance. In addition, Miller doesn’t quite embody Anna Nicole, and it is occasionally hard to interpret what she’s singing, forcing the audience to read the surtitles, which is not necessary for all the vocalists. The standout performers are Bickley and tenor Brubaker, who is a hoot, especially in his glam outfit. This coproduction with BAM continues at the Howard Gilman Opera House through September 28; it would indeed be a shame if this were New York City Opera’s swan song, as they are willing to take on challenges that other companies wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot (stripper?) pole. (You can contribute to keep their 2013-14 season alive here.)

THE OLD FRIENDS

Sybil (Hallie Foote), Gertrude (Betty Buckley), and Howard (Cotter Smith) desperately try to find happiness in Horton Foote’s THE OLD FRIENDS (photo by Joan Marcus)

The Pershing Square Signature Center
The Irene Diamond Stage
480 West 42nd St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves.
Through October 13, $75
212-244-7529
www.signaturetheatre.org

The world premiere of The Old Friends at the Signature Theatre gathers together some old friends indeed. The play was written by Horton Foote, stars his daughter Hallie Foote, and is directed by longtime Foote collaborator Michael Wilson (The Trip to Bountiful, Talley’s Folly). In addition, the play, which began life as The Dispossessed in the mid-1960s, had a staged reading at the Signature in 2002. After that long gestation, it finally is having its first full-scale production, which has been extended at the Signature’s Irene Diamond Stage through October 13. Set in 1965 in Harrison, Texas, The Old Friends is a stark tale of greed, disloyalty, selfishness, envy, drunkenness, and infidelity that is part Tennessee Williams, part Dallas. Lois Smith stars as family matriarch Mamie Borden, who lives with her bon vivant daughter, Julia Price (Veanne Cox), and her oversized, very wealthy husband, Albert (Adam LeFevre). They are joined by the brash, blustery, and extremely rich Gertrude Hayhurst Sylvester Ratliff (Betty Buckley) and her companion, the gentle Howard Ratliff (Cotter Smith), as they await the arrival of prodigal daughter Sybil (Hallie Foote), who has spent the last decade with her husband, Hugo, in Venezuela. Sybil shows up alone, setting into motion jealousy, flirtations, lies, deception, gunshots, and lots and lots of drinking while they all battle over the family farm and other matters, mostly involving love and money.

Gertrude (Betty Buckley), Albert (Adam LeFevre), and Julia Price (Veanne Cox) don’t exactly see eye-to-eye in dysfunctional family drama (photo by Joan Marcus)

Buckley beautifully chews up the scenery as Gertrude, a deeply unhappy, lonely woman who uses her power and money to get what she wants, which includes Howard, her former brother-in-law, and young stud Tom Underwood (Sean Lyons), whom she fights over with her former sister-in-law, the pseudo-elegant Julia. Smith (The Trip to Bountiful onstage, East of Eden on film) has a weak first act as Mamie, but she gets much stronger in the far superior second act, as long-held secrets emerge and relationships get even more explosive. At the center of it all is Foote’s solid portrayal of the complex Sybil, a quiet woman who is disappointed in how her life has turned out and tries her best to avoid getting caught up in the others’ nonsense, but she has a plan of her own as well. Wilson, who helmed Horton Foote’s epic Orphans’ Home Cycle with Hallie Foote at Signature in 2009, never lets things slow down as the characters make their way through a trio of lovely sets by Jeff Cowie, leading to a powerful ending that changes everyone’s lives. In this poignant Signature production, The Old Friends feels like, well, an old friend.