Steve On Broadway (SOB)

And I'm Telling You I'm Going...

2009-11-22T13:14:00.005-05:00

And I'm Telling You I'm Going...

Nearly 28 long years after Henry Krieger and Tom Eyen's Dreamgirls first took Broadway by storm, a new revival is opening tonight a few miles to the north at Harlem's estimable entertainment shrine, the Apollo Theatre. Seems especially appropriate and exciting given that Dreamgirls begins with an off-stage announcer intoning, "Ladies and gentlemen, the Apollo Theatre continues its legendary talent contest..."

Directed and choreographed by Robert Longbottom, this Dreamgirls stars Moya Angela in the coveted role of Effie Melody White, Syesha Mercado as Deana Jones, Adrienne Warren as Lorrell Robinson, Chaz Lamar Shepherd as Curtis Taylor, Trevon Davis as C.C. White and Chester Gregory as James "Thunder" Early.

If you're a regular reader of Steve On Broadway, you know that this ranks among my all-time favorite musicals, which I first saw almost a quarter century ago when a touring production visited Washington DC's National Theatre.

That 1986 incarnation of Dreamgirls starred Sharon Brown as Effie (she would ultimately replace Lillias White in the brief 1987 Broadway revival), Deborah Burrell as Deena Jones (she had originally portrayed Michelle Morris on Broadway and ultimately replaced Sheryl Lee Ralph as Deena Jones), Lawrence Clayton as C.C. White (Clayton had served as a replacement to the original C.C. Obba Babatundé), Herbert L. Rawlings as James Thunder Early (Rawlings would revisit the role in the 1987 revival), Weyman Thompson as Curtis Taylor, Jr. (Thompson had various roles in the original Dreamgirls and replaced that production's first Curtis Ben Harney; he later originated the role of Curtis in the 1987 revival) and Arnetia Walker as Lorrell Robinson (a role she would reprise in the '87 Broadway revival).

As I've previously noted, when I first saw Dreamgirls, there was something so vital and raw that took hold within me. The story about Effie Melody White was so overpowering that it became a standard by which I judged other musicals. I was completely awed by its intense emotional honesty and gorgeous, rich score.

By the time I had actually seen Dreamgirls in 1986, the original show had already opened and closed on Broadway. The musical first opened at the Imperial Theatre on December 20, 1981 and closed on August 15, 1985 after 1,521 regular performances. But I had the opportunity to see Jennifer Holliday perform what would become her signature tune "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going" at the 1982 Tony Awards. I was simply blown away by her heartfelt performance as she recreated her heartthumping visceral rendition, which you can see here.

Since 1986, I've enjoyed two enormously entertaining opportunities -- both in Atlanta -- to witness the great Jennifer Holliday perform on stage as Effie Melody White. But now the torch has been passed to a new generation with the start of a national tour, officially kicking off with its November 22 opening at the venerable Apollo Theatre, the landmark that has given rise to so many legendary performers throughout its storied history. Reports indicate that the show will not only tour internationally, but that there's even a chance it may return the New York City for a possible Broadway berth.

I'm hoping and praying that director Longbottom does not disappoint (as he unfortunately did with the current Broadway revival of Bye Bye Birdie). I'm happy to report that the advance buzz I'm hearing from an array of voices I trust is that this could very well be a dream come true.

And I'm telling you, I'm going to be at the Apollo soon with a full report on my own experience.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

In The Next Room or the vibrator play (The SOB Review)

2009-11-20T00:01:00.004-05:00

In The Next Room or the vibrator play (The SOB Review) - Lincoln Center Theatre, Lyceum Theatre, New York, New York

** (out of ****)

In Sarah Ruhl's provocative yet surpringly limp In The Next Room or the vibrator play that opened last evening, the playwright apparently wants to have it both ways.

Try as Ruhl might to suggest that the climax isn't the most important thing, she dares to make hers exactly that. Her conclusion's message on the delicate balance between intimacy and, er, paroxysms isn't so much heavy-handed as it is a few delicate digits milking things for all its worth making the rest of the work seem too clever by half.

Euphemisms and word play abound in supplementing the handheld variety in this work about the introduction of the vibrator in the Victorian era. As demonstrated by Dr. Givings (an unusually earnest Michael Cerveris), the device's earliest use was purely clinical in treating (primarily) women for "hysteria" by releasing paroxysms.

While he's helping his patients feel, um, better, his own wife (an unfortunately out-of-her-element Laura Benanti) is feeling low from post-partum neglect that we'll just call a no-coital connection with Dr. Givings. Exacerbating her melancholy are the squeals emanating from her husband's office, immediately adjacent to their home's living parlor. She's hearing an array of pleasured patients including the blooming sapphist Mrs. Daldry (portrayed with dizzying delight by Maria Dizzia) and caddish artist Leo Irving (Chandler Williams).

Try as she might to rouse her husband, including by actively engaging both Leo and Mrs. Daldry's own spouse (Thomas Jay Ryan), if only to elicit a response from Dr. Givings, Mrs. Givings is largely left to her own devices. That is, until Mrs. Daldry introduces her to the one Dr. Givings has been using in treatment.

Ruhl certainly tries to titillate by mining laughs at the expense of the period's intense degree of innocence and prudishness. And it is often quite funny. But even with an eleventh hour epiphany by Dr. Givings that enables him to view his wife in a new light (furnished here by Russell H. Champa), the real stimulation comes too late to be completely satisfying. It's enough to leave you feeling as if someone has been faking it all along just to be done with it.

Post script: On a side note, one aspect of this production that was particularly infuriating for me were the extremely poor sight-lines from my left orchestra seat. Not only could I not see much of the action, but for a play that yearns to be about intimacy, I felt as though I was in the theatre next door, trying to get my own peek inside. For this, I not only fault director Les Waters' blocking of his actors, but also Annie Smart's less than ingenious scenic design that separated the two time appropriate rooms from each other.

Would I have enjoyed the play more had I been able to see everything? It's possible. Word to the wise: If you're going to see this In The Next Room, be sure to get center seating to enjoy an unobstructed view.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Because "Great White Way" Shouldn't Be Taken Literally

2009-11-19T10:23:00.007-05:00

Because "Great White Way" Shouldn't Be Taken Literally

Take a good look at the faces to the left.

Each is a considerable talent in his or her own right to be sure. But do you notice anything missing? Or more precisely, anyone missing?

Aside from the background hues behind many of these performers, the only real color I'm seeing is red. It's as if the brains behind BroadwaySpace.com took "Great White Way" just a little too literally when coming up with its "30 under 30" list of Broadway's hottest young actors.

Yes, there's a slight Latino nod with Lin-Manuel Miranda, Krysta Rodriguez and David Alvarez. Yet as Broadway & Me points out, where's Daniel Breaker or Jon Michael Hill?

Surely, with shows like Fela!, Finian's Rainbow, Hair, In The Heights, Memphis, Ragtime, Shrek The Musical, Superior Donuts, The Lion King and Wicked among Broadway's current offerings that currently star or feature a wider (not whiter) spectrum of color, BroadwaySpace.com could have easily found very deserving candidates to fill out its list of 30 comers.

If only it had bothered to look.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Bringing Closure To Oleanna

2009-11-18T19:51:00.006-05:00

Bringing Closure To Oleanna

If Doug Hughes' Broadway mounting of David Mamet’s Oleanna succeeded in dividing audiences, it wasn't necessarily always along the gender lines the production had sought to foment. If anything, the revival seemed to split its audiences on whether the 75-minute play was good to begin with.

Perhaps stung by mixed reviews (including a pan from The New York Times Ben Brantley that left me wondering if we had seen the same show) and an illusion of declining fortunes at the box office (the show took in $241,999 last week, its second week in a row with an increase), it was announced yesterday that Oleanna would close January 3, immediately prior to the long cold winter months that typically take their toll on Broadway.

If you read Steve On Broadway regularly, you know that I came down on the side of the production and gave both Bill Pullman and Julia Stiles high marks for their efforts. The play has managed to stick with me, more than one month after taking it in.

Of course, part of the appeal, but by no means my reason for providing the show with a generous 3 1/2 stars, was the talk back session employed immediately after my preview. It's often been said that audiences vote with their feet. In the case of my fellow theatregoers the day I saw Oleanna, they were clearly engaged as virtually everyone stayed for the talk back session.

Some detractors could say that they merely stayed to get their full money's worth since the thinking is that a one hour and 15 minutes performance doesn't justify paying upwards of $100 for a ticket. But I believe this is one of those plays that leaves an audience grappling for answers, hoping to validate their opinions with others and verifying if others saw the same thing.

When given the opportunity, I stay for talk back sessions after shows offering them as personal elucidation -- my way of filling in the blanks left behind. Oleanna was the perfect kind of play to provide these sessions to round-out the communal aspect that is the theatrical experience. I was not only pleased to participate, but I was proud that fellow blogger and friend Leonard Jacobs of The Clyde Fitch Report was tapped as moderator for one of them.

Unfortunately for this production of Oleanna, its playwright apparently was none too pleased with the novelty of the talk back session and they ceased immediately after the show opened. According to one of the talk back moderators, New York Post columnist Michael Riedel:

Alas, Mamet hated them. He never attended one, but he's against them on principle, believing that his play should stand on its own and not be picked apart by "experts" on the law, feminism and campus sexual harassment policies.

"The talk-backs added a lot to the show," an investor says, "but we were told by David's agent right after we opened that he didn't like them."

Mamet couldn't stop them. Writers control only the script, not what happens onstage after the final bow. But he had a trump card to play. When the show opened to mixed reviews, the producers had to cut expenses and asked Mamet to waive his royalties.

His price? No more talk-backs.

I don't know that I would go so far as one wag Riedel quoted who essentially said Mamet was giving his audience the finger, but I do wonder if Mamet hasn't grasped how the mindset of today's theatregoers has evolved along with their expecting more from each experience.

It's my firm belief that in order to broaden the appeal of this great experiment called live theatre, particularly during a time when its pricing seems so out of whack with reality, you need to give audiences a bone to go with their meat. Producers have to engage their audiences in new ways, incorporate talk back sessions where they make sense, use social networking to connect and yes, reach out to theatre bloggers who can help create a viral buzz that in this age of splintered media becomes ever more important.

If there is a plus, it's that the producers of Mamet's newest work Race seem to get the importance of active outreach, including with the blogging community. Let's just hope Mamet doesn't stop them.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Superior Acting

2009-11-17T18:28:00.009-05:00

Superior Acting

If you've been a longtime reader of Steve On Broadway, the name Jon Michael Hill is not new to you. In fact, I first wrote about this gifted young actor in this space on July 10, 2006 when he was performing in the excellent Bruce Norris play, The Unmentionables.

My first words about Hill were as follows:

Even as the booming off-stage voice instructs the audience to silence their cell phones, a menacing, cocky young man named Etienne (Jon Hill) saunters down the aisle looking as if he might not belong before finally calling out to the audience that they should not bother staying for this show. Of course, it's all a ruse, but it's clearly designed to set the stage for the play and challenge some preconceived notions about race and appearance even before the performance begins.

More recently, I provided many of you with your more recent introduction to his talents when I wrote this past July 16:

Take a close look at the smiling face to the left. Examine it very carefully. Because this is the exciting face of tomorrow's Broadway.

Ever since Hill made his impressive Broadway debut in the superb Superior Donuts that opened October 1, he's been the subject of a lot of good buzz that amounts to so much more than just a sugar rush. Flush with great reviews and even some well-deserved Tony talk, Hill is making a name for himself on the Great White Way.

It may be a month overdue, but The New York Times is finally sitting up and taking notice. In a terrific story by Patrick Healy, Hill is profiled and assessed by his peers, including director Tina Landau, who states:

“Jon was one reason I said, ‘Count me in,’ ” said Tina Landau, a Steppenwolf ensemble member who directed the play in Chicago and New York. “He’s completely mercurial. He can do everything and its opposite. That’s so exciting to see in a young actor.”

Like I've said before, keep your eye on this exciting young actor. By swinging by the Music Box Theatre and seeing him perform this fall, I have no doubt that you'll have bragging rights in someday saying -- when he's a major star -- that you saw him when.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

98 Reasons Of Love

2009-11-16T00:01:00.004-05:00

98 Reasons Of Love

Ninety-eight years ago today in tiny Tipton, Indiana, a middle-aged farmer’s wife named Mary Frances Loucks gave birth to a bouncing baby boy. She and her husband Charles Sherman Loucks would call the infant Charles Francis Loucks. Charles Loucks became be the youngest of many children this sizeable farm family would welcome into the world.

Charles, or Charley as his friends call him, would migrate to Minnesota shortly after high school. Not too long after he arrived, he would meet and then marry Iowan Marian Lucille Plummer. Together, they would have two children, Barbara and Donald Dean, who in turn provided their parents with five grandchildren, including yours truly.

Now, as all of us -- including his 14 great grandchildren and 7 great-great grandchildren -- proudly celebrate our beloved Gramps’ 98th birthday, I’m using the occasion to pay tribute to this wonderful man by expressing 98 of the countless reasons why we love and adore him so very much.

And yes, we’re very blessed to still have this exceptional man in our lives.

So, in no particular order, I give you my 98 reasons:

1. He loves dogs and currently has an adorable Chihuahua named Lady as his very faithful companion.

2. He remains open to learning new tricks.

3. He once emulated magicians by pulling a table cloth out from under a table full of glasses without moving a one. He decided not to try and tempt fate twice.

4. Over the past ten years, he taught himself how to operate his own personal computer, which he continues to use in e-mailing family and friends.

5. He continues to volunteer at his local cable access television station in Bella Vista, Arkansas, and has even operated its camera from time to time over the last dozen years.

6. He has mastered his church’s sound mixing board and engineered it as recently as yesterday.
7. He is a man of immense faith.

8. He still believes he can drive a car, and yes, he continues to possess a valid license.

9. But he will acquiesce when we insist on taking the wheel.

10. He’s traveled to all 50 states, and driven in 49 of them.

11. He used to enjoy getting our adrenaline pumping by driving us across Minnesota’s frozen lakes during the wintertime.

12. He continues to purchase a new automobile each year, whether he needs one or not.

13. He just renewed his passport, so he’ll be good to go for the next ten years.

14. In 2006, he ventured to China for his first time in just over 60 years.

15. Shortly after the close of World War II, he was part of a detail that swept mines from the Yangtze River in Shanghai.

16. He served his nation proudly during World War II, enlisting in the U.S. Navy even though he could have avoided service altogether since he was already aged 32, had a wife and two children, and was already serving his community as a St. Paul firefighter.

17. He would be honorably discharged after having been promoted to the rank of Carpenter - Second Class.

18. He would serve in many theatres during World War II, including the waters around Europe, Africa and Asia.

19. He and his shipmates onboard the destroyer U.S.S. Baldwin proudly escorted President Franklin D. Roosevelt to Yalta; he even caught a glimpse of Winston Churchill once there.

20. He is the epitome of a true patriot and exemplifies the best in America.

21. While the navy was on a six week hiatus in New York City during the war, he took in countless performances of the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall.

22. He is an exceptional storyteller and is always pleased to regale me with highlights from his life.

23. Knowing how much I love his stories, he once sat down in front of a video camera and chronicled much of his life for posterity (and me).

24. He’s always been drama-free, which has been a good thing given the drama his descendants have indulged in.

25. When he was just 17 years old and a senior in an Indianapolis high school, he performed alongside other minors as orphans in a play headlined by Ethel Barrymore.

26. He also performed in a high school production of The Pirates Of Penzance.

27. He has personally met Frank Sinatra, even though he admits that he wasn’t particularly a fan.

28. He’s also met Milton Berle, who made him laugh.

29. He once told me he wanted to meet Anne Murray, so I arranged a backstage meeting with the Canadian singer after a concert stop in Tulsa. Gramps was stunned.

30. He can be a bit shy.

31. He was supposed to personally meet and greet President Harry S. Truman, but was so overcome when observing the president’s uncanny resemblance to his deceased father that he retrenched into a corner of the reception room.

32. He learned how to pilot a plane after World War II, but because he was $12 short of the final payment necessary to enable him to fly solo, he never received his license -- and he never told my grandmother that he had even been practicing.

33. He has only ever been married to one woman, my grandmother, in a union that lasted 63 years until her death in 1995.

34. He met my grandmother on a blind date.

35. His pen “slipped” as he was signing his marriage license. Back in those days, the minimum legal age to get hitched without parental approval was 21. But he feared his parents would not approve, even though he was just shy of 21 years. When he signed the marriage license, his pen “slipped” so it appeared that he was born in 1910 rather than 1911.

36. He spent half of the money he had on his honeymoon -- an exorbitant $15 on a trip to Brainerd, Minnesota. It was exactly half of all the money he had to his name.

37. He was so in love with my grandmother that he was clearly heartbroken when she died. He still tears up when he talks about her.

38. After her passing, he uprooted himself by moving to a remote part of Arkansas where he owned some land. He built a new home for himself – at age 85.

39. From 1939 through 1975, he served with distinction as a proud St. Paul firefighter.

40. Out of hundreds of applicants to become a St. Paul fireman during the Depression, he would earn the third highest scores on the civil service examination.

41. By the time he was forced to retire, due to mandatory retirement at age 65, he had been promoted to the position of Fire Chief in St. Paul.

42. He once loaned his trumpet to his nephew George Myers, who would not only go on to become one the military’s most revered players, but he would also play taps at funerals for many dignitaries.

43. He has always been a great instructor.

44. He helped teach me how to water-ski.

45. He was patient with me even when I tried learning how to play golf.

46. He continues to actively play golf to this day.

47. He regularly shoots a golf score under his age (and typically beats his younger golfing buddies).

48. He scored his first hole-in-one back in 1935.

49. He scored his last hole-in-one as recently as 2004 – at age 92.

50. All totaled, he has scored five holes-in-one; although he nearly scored a sixth, the ball bounced back out of the cup landing just a foot-long putt away.

51. One of his earliest memories is smoking a cigar at the age of 8 at his eldest brother’s wedding reception (his brother Noel was a World War I veteran). He ended up rolling down a hill in a tire and was briefly knocked out, coming to after the reception had ended.

52. As children, he and another brother were thrown from their family horse because they were a little overeager in trying out the spurs they received as a gift; the duo wanted to be cowboys.

53. He can be a bit of a daredevil.

54. He went parasailing in Mexico at age 79.

55. He became an expert ski jumper back in the 1930s.

56. After he went home from his first planned attempt at ski-jumping, he couldn’t help but kick himself for not trying. When he went back for a second attempt, he saw teenagers skiing off the jump with ease and thought, “If they can do it, so can I.” While his first jump proved dangerous (he landed on his head), he dusted himself off and went right back up to the top and tried again. Successfully.

57. He is a model of perseverance.

58. He succeeded in learning how to build houses when moonlighting from the Fire Department.

59. He helped my father build the very first home I ever lived in.

60. He and my grandmother purchased their first residence back in the 1930s for a whopping $2,500. (When I was just a child, I liked knowing that they were just blocks up the street from us.)

61. He sold that same house during the 1970s for over $75,000.

62. He built his own lake home, which was one of our family’s favorite gathering places for special occasions, including a couple of mine.

63. He and my grandmother made every attempt to attend virtually all major milestone events in our family -- everything from graduations and confirmations to performances in musicals and concerts to weddings -- even after we moved to Milwaukee.

64. He is tremendously fit for his age.

65. In addition to playing golf, he stays in shape by clearing brush from the woods adjacent to his home.

66. He’s routinely mistaken for someone 20 years younger.

67. He makes more money now through his pension than he ever did via his regular paycheck; proving that living long is the best revenge.

68. When his own mother died, he received an “inheritance” totaling $15. He always jokes that the longer he lives, the less inheritance there will be for us. But we all implore him to spend it.

69. Nonetheless, he is a very frugal man.

70. Yet, he is exceedingly generous.

71. He likes to pick up the check at restaurants.

72. He became an expert woodworker before he was a firefighter.

73. His work from over 70 years ago can still be found in both the Ramsay County Courthouse (St. Paul) and the city’s First National Bank Building.

74. He also designed the single most beautiful inlaid wooden table I’ve ever seen.

75. He likes Peanut M & Ms.

76. He likes his ice cream, something his son and this particular grandson seemed to have inherited.

77. He is still very spry.

78. He is exceedingly lucid.

79. He cries every time we say goodbye.

80. He possesses a spark in his voice whenever we talk on the phone, beginning with his boisterous, “Hello, there!”

81. He maintains a terrific sense of humor.

82. He continues to be admired by the ladies.

83. He was quite mischievous growing up.

84. He can still recall when everyone had a horse and buggy, as well as when his father bought their first car.

85. When gas prices hit $4 per gallon last year, he recalled how a tank of gas was costing more than his very first automobile, a used Ford Model T, which he purchased in the 1920s for a mere $40.

86. He also remembers gasoline-free Sundays, when autos were only used on Sundays in case of emergencies.

87. He remembers how awkward it was to use party-line phones with everyone knowing his family’s business; but by the same token, they knew everything about their neighbors, too.

88. He grew up without electricity, but they heated everything with coal.

89. He understands the virtues of sacrifice.

90. He recognizes just how far he’s come.

91. He’s honest.

92. He has immense integrity.

93. Although he’s consistently voted for Democrats in presidential races beginning in 1940 right through 2008, he voted Republican during his first time at the polls because his farm family was strictly Indiana GOP.

94. He loves his family unconditionally, no matter who votes Republican.

95. He’s tremendously proud of his offspring, and just as the average face of America is changing with more color, so is the burgeoning rainbow hue in his family.

96. He looks forward to turning 100 years of age.

97. He loves us.

98. He gives us countless reasons to love him right back.

Happy birthday, Gramps!

With love, sincere appreciation and best wishes for your 99th year,

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Great White Christmas Way - Redux

2009-11-12T13:30:00.010-05:00

Great White Christmas Way - Redux

Tomorrow, the return Marquis Theatre engagement for Irving Berlin's White Christmas begins previews after an absence of only eleven and a half months.

Last year's Great White Way mounting grossed over $9.1 million and played to an enviably large, nearly sold-out audience of over 92,000. With an average ticket price topping $100, it's not too difficult to understand why its producers are bringing it back in hopes of a truly green Christmas.

White Christmas is once again directed by Walter Bobbie and features the brilliant, Tony-nominated choreography by Randy Skinner. But this recreation of the classic 1954 film has Irving Berlin's beloved score as its main attraction.

While last year's critical response was tepid at best, I can't help but think part of that had to do with some of the cast, particularly its male leads who were identical to those whom I saw when the show toured St. Paul in 2006.

What a difference a year makes. James Clow takes over the role of Bob Wallace from Stephen Bogardus, Tony Yazbeck assumes the role of Phil Davis from Jeffry Denman, Melissa Errico takes on Betty Haynes from Kerry O'Malley and Mara Davi will portray Judy Haynes, first played by Meredith Patterson. It's Yazbeck's casting that has me thinking this show could actually improve over last year.

Will audiences make like a tree and flock to this White Christmas once again? Certainly, that's what its producers are dreaming of to make their holiday season merry and bright.

The limited holiday season run of White Christmas opens November 22 and is scheduled to close January 3, 2010.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

This story was corrected on November 13, 2009.

My Five Cents On American Buffalo

2009-11-11T17:47:00.009-05:00

My Five Cents On American Buffalo

Yesterday, I took note of the regularity with which David Mamet plays have been mounted on Broadway over the past five years. Add to that his upcoming Race and you have a total of six shows, old and new, that will have been staged on the Main Stem during that time.

Easily the least successful of the first five was the 2008 revival of American Buffalo, which closed last November 24 after only eight regular performances. And it wasn't for lack of star power, either. With Robert Falls at the helm, that "deflated" incarnation featured John Leguizamo, Cedric the Entertainer and Haley Joel Osment. Unfortunately for the production, reviews ran from mixed to complete pans.

Without looking backwards, Chicago's Steppenwolf is seeking to salvage this play's reputation by returning it to the Windy City where it was first produced 34 years ago by the venerable Goodman Theatre.

Proving that she's really running things now is estimable actress, director and Steppenwolf Ensemble member Amy Morton. While New York audiences may only know her for her dramatic chops, she's a force at the helm as well, as she demonstrated again just a year ago in directing Steppenwolf's acclaimed production of Conor McPherson's Dublin Carol.

Equally impressive is her cast, which includes Tracy Letts and Francis Guinan, along with an accomplished young actor named Patrick Andrews.

This marks Tracy Letts' return to the boards after a two and a half year absence during which a little show called August: Osage County rocked the theatre establishment and cemented his reputation as a powerful playwright. I would argue that to fully appreciate Letts, you must witness his astounding talent on-stage as well as off. He's that good.

Then there's Fran Guinan, who is without a doubt, one of the most gifted contemporary actors in Chicago or anywhere else. While Broadway audiences will fondly recall his Charlie Aiken as the only August: Osage County character displaying any real heart, Chicago audiences have come to revere him for his breathtaking versatility in playing everyone from Colonel Sanders to Johnny Walker to Arthur Conan Doyle.

The enormous range and capabilities of the Morton/Letts/Guinan triumvirate are making this American Buffalo the one show of the year I've been waiting for most. Something tells me that it will definitely be well worth the coin.

American Buffalo begins previews at Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theatre on December 3 and opens December 13. I'll be there for its opening and will have a full report shortly thereafter.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Race To The Start

2009-11-10T17:47:00.005-05:00

Race To The Start

There's no disputing that with five of his plays having trod Broadway's boards over as many recent years, playwright, screenwriter and provocateur David Mamet is back with a vengeance.

Now, the world premiere for his latest work Race is set to begin previews November 16 at Rialto's Ethel Barrymore Theatre, the same venue that gave birth to the Broadway premieres of Mamet's American Buffalo (1977) and November (2008), as well as the acclaimed revival of Speed-The-Plow (2008-09). Marking Mamet's directorial debut on the Great White Way, Race will open December 6 for an open-ended engagement.

While the contents of Race are highly secretive, there's no doubt it's another super-charged, combustible work. Indeed, the play's advertising campaign succinctly describes Race:

From Pulitzer Prize winner David Mamet, comes his most explosive four-letter word yet. Race.

And they're not talking about a sporting event in which humans, horses or cars circle around a track. With David Alan Grier, James Spader, Richard Thomas and Kerry Washington on deck, it's safe to say that this show revolves, at least in part, around the color of one's skin.

While not tipping his hat regarding the plot, Thomas has been quoted by blogger Jon Sobel saying Race is:

so complex, so many perspectives -- to talk about the plot would be reductive. A quick summation would make it seem much simpler than it is. It's about things that no one says. It's strong stuff. Provocative, but not shocking for the sake of being shocking.

As Mamet enjoys a renaissance with a decidedly less liberal voice, my curiosity is once again piqued. I loved Speed-The-Plow and was quite blown away by the current Broadway revival of Oleanna, but I wasn't quite as enthused by Mamet's last new work November.

Still, as one of America's foremost playwrights, Mamet is likely to challenge your mind in a Race to the finish.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Joan Rivers (The SOB Review)

2009-11-09T19:30:00.008-05:00

Joan Rivers (The SOB Review) - Pantages Theatre, Minneapolis, Minnesota

*** (out of ****)

Joan Rivers. Can she talk?

Oh, puhleeze! If you mean can Joan Rivers dish a blue streak with the best of them, then absolutely.

Although she's just a few months shy of the same age as my very own mother (who incidentally, Joan, if you are reading, she is not the "B" in the SOB on this site), they may as well have been born in different generations given the tireless entertainer's incredibly filthy, obscene and hilarious mouth.

In her performance at Minneapolis' Pantage Theatre last Wednesday evening, Joan Rivers delivered perhaps the single most politically incorrect comedy piece I've ever witnessed. And I loved practically every minute of it.

With Rivers, there are no sacred cows, largely because she's slaying and skewering virtually every one imagineable and even things you hold dear right before your eyes. As she boldly grabs the cajones of countless celebrities, no one is safe from her expert carving. Not Michael Jackson. Not Tom Cruise. Not Whitney Houston. Not anyone, although just to hedge her bets a smidge, she often quickly adds that the star she's just mercilessly ridiculed is a good or close friend.

As an equal opportunity offender, Rivers is also quick to turn her own personal foibles and tragedies into comic fodder, whether joking about her humiliating failure as a light night talk host or even the truly devastating death of her beloved husband Edgar.

Thankfully, with all the sacred cows slaughtered so masterfully by this comedic icon, there's no bull s*** for the audience to wade through, only genuine laughs.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

The Play That Changed My Life

2009-11-05T11:18:00.016-05:00

The Play That Changed My Life

Over the past week, the theatre blogosphere has been buzzing as members of the Independent Theatre Bloggers Association (to which I belong) have been sharing fascinating stories from an array of theatre world luminaries on the plays that forever changed their lives.

Today, I'm proud to add to the ongoing discussion in sharing stories from two of this year's Tony-nominated actors, Gregory Jbara (who went on to win a Tony) and Gavin Creel. I've had the good fortune to meet both of these extraordinary actors, so it's a thrill for me to provide their anecdotes exclusively on Steve On Broadway (SOB). Additionally, I'll also tell you a little bit about the inspiration behind these stories and an associated contest, along with the play that indeed changed my life.

First, about that inspiration. Proving yet again that it is so much more to the international theatrical community than simply "the Tony Award organization," The American Theatre Wing is celebrating the December 1 launch of its new book, The Play That Changed My Life. In it, 19 of the foremost American playwrights talk about the works that first captured their imaginations and inspired them in their careers and thus transformed their lives.

So what were the impetuses that propelled Jbara and Creel to Broadway's boards? Here are their stories.

Gregory Jbara

As one of Broadway's most beloved contemporary actors, Gregory Jbara has seven Main Stem shows among his stage and screen credits, including Serious Money, Born Yesterday, Damn Yankees, Victor/Victoria, Chicago and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Jbara can still be seen in his first Tony-winning role as Dad in Billy Elliot - The Musical.

This Michigan native first came to my attention as Mr. Bernstein in Victor/Victoria, and he's even graciously provided yours truly with a backstage tour of his current show.

When asked to name the play that changed his life, Jbara said:

I don’t know that there was any one specific play that I had that experience.
I’d have to say it was being an altar boy in church. It was High Mass, which is, you know, a lot of theatre. In third grade, that was my experience in front of people that I really think gave me the bug for speaking in front of large groups.

Crazy, crazy as it is, I have to attribute the Catholic Church for me being an actor. It was either that or a nun. So I’m glad it was being an actor.

Gavin Creel

As one of today's fastest-rising stars, Gavin Creel not only has three Broadway shows among his credits, including Thoroughly Modern Millie, La Cage aux Folles and the current revival of Hair, but he's already been nominated for two Tony Awards.

I've had the pleasure of seeing this Ohio native in all three Rialto productions, as well as in the Chicago incarnation of the Stephen Sondheim musical known as Bounce. I had the pleasure of catching up with Creel at this year's Drama League Awards and was surprised a couple days later at a performance of Hair when this gifted actor tried something new out on me in my second row seat.

When asked to name the play that changed his life, Creel said:

Mine was The Most Happy Fella.

I saw a musical production of it at the University of Michigan that the university put on there and I thought I was watching a movie on stage. I thought it was the most beautiful thing, the music was stunning, the performances were incredible.

Totally The Most Happy Fella.

Edited by Ben Hodges, The American Theatre Wing's new book features an introduction from Paula Vogel. The Play That Changed My Life features distinguished contributors, who have a combined total of some 40 Tony Awards, Pulitzer Prizes and Obies. They include Edward Albee, David Auburn, Jon Robin Baitz, Nilo Cruz, Christopher Durang, Charles Fuller, A.R. Gurney, Beth Henley, David Henry Hwang, Tina Howe, David Ives, Donald Margulies, Lynn Nottage, Suzan-Lori Parks, Sarah Ruhl, John Patrick Shanley, Diana Son, Regina Taylor and Doug Wright.

In further celebrating the launch of the original book, The American Theatre Wing has also kicked-off an online essay contest. Here is your official invitation to participate:

[W]hether you work in theatre, hope to make your life in the theatre or just enjoy being in the audience, surely you’ve had that same experience: a single play (or musical) that you saw at some point in your life that had a profound effect on you, be it a childhood production of Cinderella in a school auditorium featuring an older sibling, a parent’s appearance at the local community theatre, a Broadway spectacle like Les Misérables or The Phantom of the Opera, a journey to a small out-of-the-way theatre that told its story with a minimum of technical tools.

Frankly, it could be any production, and that’s what ATW wants to hear about: what show had the greatest impact upon you, when you saw it in the course of your life, and most importantly why it meant so much to you. Entries (limited to 350 words) will be judged based on their creativity, their clarity and perhaps most importantly, for how they convey your passion for the theatre.

So tell ATW about the play that changed your life – those few hours in the theatre, at any age, in any theatre, that had the greatest impact on your life and your perception of theatre — and have the opportunity to share your story with the thousands of visitors to americantheatrewing.org while getting the chance to win an autographed copy of The Play That Changed My Life and other theatrical books from Applause Publishing. Enter by clicking here.

The contest entry period runs through Sunday, November 29. The final expert panel judging the contest includes ATW Board of Directors Chairman and President of the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, Ted Chapin; Applause Books’ Editorial Director Carol Flannery; award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang; and former Time Magazine arts editor and Broadway & Me blogger (as well as dear SOB friend) Janice Simpson. Additional prizes will be given based on voting by the general public, which will continue through December 11.

As for the play that changed my life? Regular readers will recall that earlier this year, I waxed nostalgic regarding the thirty years that have passed since I first took in a Broadway show, albeit on the London stage. That show was the British mounting of Annie.

In that post, I mused:

[M]y view of the world and all its possibilities was forever and inalterably changed.

Little did I know upon entering London's Victoria Palace Theatre (current home to Billy Elliot - The Musical) how swept away I could become by just one show. From my front row center mezzanine seat, I witnessed nothing short of pure magic.

I was absolutely riveted by the legendary Stratford Johns as Daddy Warbucks and the glorious Sheila Hancock as Miss Hannigan -- she simply blew me away with a sublime performance I can still vividly recall even today.

I marveled at Charnin's ingenious direction, Peter Gennaro's breathtaking choreography and Theoni V. Aldredge's dazzling costume design. But it was David Mitchell's sliding set designs that completely floored me as they transported Annie's array of characters across the stage without them even having to take a step.

To say it transported me as well would be a major understatement. I was wowed. Big time. [T]he exhilaration I felt in seeing Annie was a life-changer of a different order.

With a strange new tingling sensation down my spine, I was replete with goosebumps from head to toe. This live performance would forever change my expectations of entertainment. I now saw just how brilliant stagecraft could be. Entertainment became art. And I was forever hooked on live theatre.

For those of you who may quibble that a musical doesn't count as a play, you may be interested in knowing that later in 1979 when I was a freshman in college -- with memories of Annie still dancing in my head -- I decided to take in a Broadway tour during its Milwaukee swing at the Pabst Theatre.

That play was The Belle of Amherst starring none other than the legendary, 5-time Tony winner Julie Harris, who also was honored with a Tony for this show.

Seeing Harris was like striking theatrical gold. Directed by Charles Nelson Reilly, Harris completely mesmerized in this solo performance with her brilliant portrayals of poet Emily Dickinson and her contemporaries, including Charles Wadsworth. I had no idea that an actor could take on so many diverse roles and make each and every one of them seem so believable and immensely credible.

In learning how potent the power of the spoken word could be when delivered so passionately by Harris that one evening 30 years ago, I was spellbound. Thus, The Belle Of Amherst truly was the play that changed my life.

What play changed yours?

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Hamlet (The SOB Review)

2009-11-04T14:21:00.007-05:00

Hamlet (The SOB Review) - Broadhurst Theatre, New York, New York

*** (out of ****)

One of my life's little tragedies is that my ears have rarely been in sync with the Bard's old English.

Typically, I'm faced with either foregoing revivals or bucking up and trying my best to decipher what's being spoken on stage. Yet as a true theatre aficionado, how can I not take the latter path?

As it turns out, my fears in taking in Michael Grandage's revival of Hamlet were completely allayed and in retrospect unfounded. Given Grandage's expert and imaginative direction I've witnessed throughout every one of his productions from dark Russian drama to classic musicals, I shouldn't have been surprised that he could pull off another miracle.

Fortunately for audiences sharing my apprehension over seeing works by William Shakespeare because they're more often than not delivered on this side of the pond in a rather stultifying manner, this import from London's Donmar Warehouse is anything but. Thanks to Grandage, this play's the thing wherein I've finally caught the conscience of the king and then some!

High praise must be paid to the innovative Jude Law for making his Hamlet come alive. Rather than delivering Shakespeare's words as if they were part of some lost language, Law excels in cracking the code. He finds the depth and nuance redounding in every single word. Each syllable dances off his tongue sounding fresh and vibrant.

That's in part because Hamlet here is not so much the brooding Danish prince as he is a particularly circumspect one replete with boyish verve and playful vigor. It's a testament to Law's mastery that his impassioned soliloquy immediately prior to the oft-quoted one containing "To be or not to be" becomes the stand-out passage within this play.

While the brave choices he and Grandage have made may raise the eyebrows of purists, this revival sings, even if not everyone else in the cast can hold their notes quite as well or as long. No wonder shortly after I departed the Broadhurst, I tweeted half in jest that Jude Law stole the show.

But with Law's towering performance casting a long shadow over my quibbles with his Hamlet, this is one accessible production of Shakespeare's work that all are meant to see.

This is Steve Broadway (SOB).

Memphis (The SOB Review)

2009-11-03T09:55:00.002-05:00

Memphis (The SOB Review) - Shubert Theatre, New York, New York

*** (out of ****)

If you like seeing all your money up on the stage, run, don't walk, to see Joe DiPietro and David Bryan's rhythmically-infused Memphis. With a whole heck of a lot of hockadoo, it's almost impossible to contain.

With slick, fast-paced direction from Christopher Ashley, rousing and impeccable cast, tuneful score, sizzling choreography (Sergio Trujillo) and a visually stunning scenic design (David Gallo) that's augmented with equally astonishing projections (Gallo and Shawn Sagady), Memphis is a dazzling destination worth the trip.

This original musical recounts the story of an outlandish white deejay Huey Calhoun (Chad Kimball) who attempts to mainstream Beale Street's rhythm and blues and in the process falls in love with one of its top singing denizens Felicia Ferrell (Montego Glover), who happens to be black. Set against the segregated fifties, that makes Huey both a musical pioneer and a trailblazer in flouting the era's ridiculous laws against what was shamefully referred to as miscegenation.

DiPietro brilliantly captures the inherent danger of this time in Tennessee all too well. The risk of two individuals of different colors kissing, let alone even holding hands, could result in tremendous injury or worse. And given the world headlines one neanderthal justice of the peace in Louisiana recently garnered for refusing to marry one such couple, not to mention the ongoing debate over another type of marriage, Memphis resonates on so many levels.

If the second act doesn't exactly measure up to the thoroughly captivating first, it's because it becomes confoundingly incongruous, particularly via a conclusion that defies credulity. And while the story may have you thinking Dreamgirls for its depiction of the rise of R&B and Hairspray for its forthright bridging of our nation's racial divide, Memphis is, if not entirely fresh, a solid crowd pleaser that will have you cheering nevertheless.

Two principal reasons are Kimball and Glover. When I last saw Kimball, he was portraying Milky White -- a cow, no less -- in the wonderful 2002 revival of Into the Woods. Although he's had two other Broadway roles since, Memphis enables him to truly prove his mettle and then some. With a folksy swagger that's a bit reminiscent of Christian Slater, Kimball's Huey is a great ball of fire who can't be extinguished. Then there's Glover's Felicia in which we witness an amazing ascent both for a captivating character and an immensely impassioned new Broadway star. Glover took my breath away.

It's been said that at the very heart of the genre known as rock and roll, you'll find soul. Fortunately, the boundless soul within Memphis has the power to rock your heart.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Random Thoughts & Tweets: Social Media And Criticism

2009-11-02T12:38:00.007-05:00

Random Thoughts & Tweets: Social Media And Criticism

Yesterday, theatre blogger Joseph Anthony Gomez of I Can't I Have Rehearsal posed the following question to me via Twitter (@josephgomez):

@SteveOnBroadway What do U consider pros/cons 4 writing theater reviews 4 blogging format/social media as opposed 2 other media like print?

My response:

@josephgomez Perhaps I'll need to write a long-form answer on my SOB blog since 140 characters won't do!

Joseph responded:

@SteveOnBroadway it took me 20 minutes just to reword the question so it would fit in 140 characters or less! haha!

Joseph and I subsequently communicated via that outmoded tool -- e-mail -- and he added some depth to his questions.

Which is kind of a funny coincidence given a column on the other side of the Atlantic in today's The Independent. Nicholas Lezard doesn't seem to comprehend that more often than not people are using Twitter to communicate news with one another. Ironically, I learned about Lezard's column from, you guessed it, Twitter (via @ShentonStage)!

In his rant, Lezard says:

The name tells us straightaway: it's inconsequential, background noise, a waste of time and space. Actually, the name does a disservice to the sounds birds make, which are, for the birds, significant, and for humans, soothing and, if you're Messiaen, inspirational. But Twitter? Inspirational?

No – it's inspiration's opposite. The online phenomenon is about humanity disappearing up its own fundament, or the air leaking out of the whole Enlightenment project. In short, I feel about Twitter the way some people feel about nuclear weapons: it's wrong. It makes blogging look like literature. It's anti-literature, the new opium of the masses.

Since I'm writing what you're currently reading via, um, what Lezard describes as "literature," here's my two cents. Twitter is a great and essential tool for aggregating information as never before. While it may have previously been microblogging at its worst, it is evolving every day. In my humble opinion, the best tweets come from those who are sharing ideas and information (along with their TinyURLs and Bit.lys) to move people to read comprehensive stories in, oh, say newspapers, as well as blogs.

Now, as for answering Joseph's more thorough off-line questions, here's what I shared via that old-fashioned and oft-overlooked tool called e-mail:

It's kind of funny. In the earliest days of writing reviews on SOB, I took to doing them longform where I would write exhaustively about every aspect of a show.

But putting myself in the audience members' shoes, I came to realize that reading a review online can be tedious if it's too long, so I started to shorten them significantly and that usually came at the expense of critiquing some of the design elements and providing extended comments about plot lines. Online audiences want something shorter, more concise and easier to read, and it's more akin to radio/television reviews as opposed to the longform variety that you'll see in newspapers and magazines like the New Yorker.

As to the format I use? I've been across the board. I try to vary my style rather than writing the same thing over and over again. It takes some imagination. I usually try to think of the beginning and conclusion first and then build each review from there. It can be a challenge, but then it's nothing compared to producing a show, right?

Regardless of the new FTC rules governing blogs, which by the way I think are foolhardy, I think freebies will continue to exist for some of the reasons I outlined on the show, including the sheer cost per (theatre) ticket. Even though I pay for each and every ticket for shows I see and review, I'm the exception to the rule. I think what you'll see are bloggers simply noting at the bottom of each review that they were comped, and chances are you might even see more negative reviews as a way to tell their audiences that no free ticket can sway their opinion.

As social media continues to grow at the very same time mainstream media is cutting back (and print media is dying altogether), I believe blogs will be sought out even more, especially as mainstream critics gravitate online. Of course, anyone can have a blog or an opinion (it's true in some respects, now more than ever, that "everyone's a critic"), but it takes resolve and drive to keep blogging on a regular basis. And just like any other critic from other media, you build an audience who knows and respects your point of view or on the flipside can say, "well if he likes it, that means I'll hate it."

Blogs are here for the long haul. It's just a matter of finding those you value and trust.

How's that for 140 characters?!

Mr. Lezard, I would readily admit that I poo-pooed Twitter before I actually took the time to understand it and grasp its potential. But remember, without it, I would never have known about your opinion, however misinformed.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Brighton Beach: Too Soon To Fade To Memories

2009-10-31T10:05:00.008-05:00

Brighton Beach: Too Soon To Fade To Memories

The new Broadway revival of Brighton Beach Memoirs that just opened at the top of this week will close Sunday.

Over the past 15 hours, there has been a flurry of slightly varying news items about the future of the show, along with word that the planned production of Broadway Bound originally scheduled to run in repertory with Brighton Beach Memoirs beginning in November would be scuttled.

Last evening at 8:11 p.m. The New York Times' Pat Healy posted the initial scoop noting the production's weak ticket sales:

The production had failed to build a strong advance sale and grossed only about $124,000 for eight performances last week.

A little later last evening, in taking note of Healy's story, Playbill's Kenneth Jones quoted a statement indicating only a "provisional" closing notice had been issued:

The notice can be taken down at any time and no final decision on closing will be made until Monday, Nov. 2, when a statement will be issued.

However, this morning, the fate of Brighton Beach Memoirs appeared to be sealed as noted by The New York Times' Healy in a story posted at 10:08 a.m. Healy quotes producers Emanuel Azenberg and Ira Pittelman from a statement released earlier today:

A lot of nice people on stage and off will be out of work and a lot of good partners and investors will have lost a great deal of money. They all deserve better. It makes us sad.

It would be hard for anyone to say with a straight face that they didn't see this coming. As noted above, ticket sales have been extremely weak. Over the past couple weeks, Brighton Beach Memoirs had been the single lowest-grossing Broadway production by a mile, as well as the one with the lowest average ticket price. For the week ending October 25, the play's average ticket price was a steal at just $21.32.

Personally, having easily scored a front-row seat without paying a premium just a week prior to attending the show, I was hardly shocked by the news. On my Saturday at the Nederlander Theatre, I was surprised by how few people were in the audience.

While I can't say I had not anticipated the closing notice, I am extraordinarily disappointed. I love what David Cromer and his excellent cast have done with Neil Simon's heartfelt material. It is a beautifully executed production deserving to be seen. While most reviews were largely favorable (my own SOB Review was a rave), the one that I concede matters most was mixed with a dash of withering.

While I'm thankful I had an opportunity to see Brighton Beach Memoirs for myself, I'm a little sad that my hopes for seeing what Cromer et al had in store for us with Broadway Bound have been dashed. So excuse me for feeling a little melancholy today.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Finian's Rainbow (The SOB Review)

2009-10-30T00:01:00.003-05:00

Finian's Rainbow (The SOB Review) - St. James Theatre, New York, New York

**1/2 (out of ****)

You have to hand it to Warren Carlyle for taking that inspirational tune "Look to the Rainbow" to heart. He's practically pulled out every conceivable stop for his enjoyable and entertaining Broadway revival of the Burton Lane-E.Y. Harburg musical Finian's Rainbow in the hunt for his very own pot of gold.

To say Carlyle comes up with a silver instead is not to denigrate his Herculean efforts that includes his mesmerizing choreography. It's just that silver is a tad bit tarnished with verdigris.

The good news is that on Broadway, his Finian's Rainbow is much more vibrant than the concert version he mounted earlier this year as part of New York City Center's Encores! series.

It doesn't hurt that Finian's Rainbow consistently hits the jackpot with one of musical theatre's most divine scores. Apart from "Look to the Rainbow," it's nearly impossible to shake from your mind Lane and Yarburg's highly hummable "Necessity," "How Are Things in Glocca Morra" and the spellbinding "Old Devil Moon." It's easy to imagine that Robert Russell Bennett and Don Walker's full and lush original orchestrations (in the pit, no less) have never sounded better. Each gem is delivered with a flawless verve by the show's top-drawer cast.

In fact, if the luminescent Kate Baldwin could shine any brighter, her Sharon McLonergan would never be able to see that devil moon. Radiating warmth and grace, Baldwin possesses an exquisite voice perfectly suited to the magical score.

As her love interest Woody Mahoney, Cheyenne Jackson beguiles through silky-smooth vocals of his own. With guitar slung over his shoulders throughout, Jackson refreshingly imbues his Woody with a requisite innocence.

In the role of the transformed Bill Rawkins, a bigoted white southern senator who's become black by virtue of Sharon's ill-timed wish, Chuck Cooper soulfully finds the depths of the Deep South via his ironic tune "The Begat."

The impish Christopher Fitzgerald improves on the role of the leprechaun Og, which he's taken over since City Center and in the process manages to charm his ever-shrinking pants off the audience. With his commanding presence, particularly his hilarious rendition of "When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love," it's a wonder Fitzgerald still hasn't lucked out with a leading Rialto role of his own.

Then there's the awe-inspiring Terri White. Blessed with a booming, yet beautiful voice, White makes a most triumphant return to the stage out of pure necessity, literally and figuratively. While her backstory is enough to have you cheering, it's White's ability to effortlessly hit this one so far out of the park that she comes close to stopping the show. Irish eyes are smiling on her as she follows an amazing personal arc of a genuine rainbow and realizes her own dreams in the process.

Special praise certainly must be reserved for the wondrous Jim Norton. This Tony-winning actor not only grounds the entire proceedings, but he does so with magnetic charm and easy humor. With rascally eyes twinkling throughout, you'd be forgiven for thinking him a leprechaun himself. You can't help but wish him good fortune for his contributions.

The same goes for Warren Carlyle, too. As I noted above, he's pulled out nearly every stop in making this Finian's Rainbow as good as a revival as this dated show can possibly get. Well, almost. John Lee Beatty's two-dimensional scenic design may be verdant as kelly-colored grass, but it's as if Carlyle spent all of his green on everything but the cheap-looking set.

Sad to say, there's also the book. The problematic, silly book. As magnificent as the score, cast and choreography make this Finian's Rainbow soar, the libretto originally written by Harburg and Fred Saidy that's been adapted by Arthur Perlman (the original adaptation for New York City Center Encores! was written by David Ives) remains as creaky as ever. By cramming in far too many disparate themes -- including a noble one on race that was once way ahead of its time -- the book remains quaint at best. It's so clunky that it threatens to fall under its own weight.

Thus it's a tribute to Carlyle and company that the overall production manages to stand, even if tilting a bit precariously. In their quest for gold, Carlyle and his cast's yeomen efforts have still managed to find something truly precious at the end Finian's Rainbow.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

A Steady Rain (The SOB Review)

2009-10-29T16:05:00.006-05:00

A Steady Rain (The SOB Review) - Schoenfeld Theatre, New York, New York

**1/2 (out of ****)

There are star vehicles, and then there are superstar vehicles. A Steady Rain easily offers the most revved-up four-on-the-floor to hit the Great White Way this season.

With a couple of the silver screen's biggest names, Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman, taking turns at the wheel of this full-throttled two-hander, it's no wonder Keith Huff's 90-minute play has already been breaking Broadway box office records.

In his Main Stem debut, Craig is nothing short of a revelation. Here, the mustachioed British thespian completely loses himself, accent and all, in the role of Joey, a flawed, yet dutiful Chicago cop desperately trying to stay within the lines. Craig's excellence suggests that despite the dapper duds he's become accustomed to as 007, he's at heart a character actor of the first order.

Craig's Joey is a recovering alcoholic. His newfound sobriety opens his eyes to the damage his lifelong police buddy Denny (Jackman) is inflicting upon himself, his family and even his community. As murky and outside the lines as Denny's self-destructive path becomes, Joey remains loyal to a fault, even putting his own career on the line.

As much as I forgot I was watching "Daniel Craig, movie star," I wish I could say the same for Hugh Jackman. While the latter turns in a completely riveting performance, he simply can't doff his star persona quite the way he did when he triumphed as Peter Allen in The Boy From Oz. Yes, he is good and he's deeply intense as the drug-addled, infidelity-proned Denny, but perhaps because of John Crowley's direction, I still saw Hugh Jackman, and that became a distraction, albeit a pleasant one.

As for the play itself, Huff's writing is cliché-driven and lacking in originality. He even borrows a key plotline out of a real cop drama that played out over a 13 year period just 90 miles to the north of the Windy City. To say we saw where he was hauling us from a mile away would be an understatement.

Fortunately, with Craig in the driver's seat, A Steady Rain steers into arresting play anyway.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Liev And Let Scarlett: Live On Broadway

2009-10-28T16:41:00.008-05:00

Liev And Let Scarlett: Live On Broadway

In perhaps the most exciting Broadway casting news since last summer when it was announced that Daniel Craig would be opposite Hugh Jackman in A Steady Rain, came word yesterday that movie starlet Scarlett Johansson would make her long-awaited Great White Way debut alongside Liev Schreiber in the third Rialto revival of Arthur Miller's A View From the Bridge.

Directed by Gregory Mosher, A View From The Bridge will begin previews at the Cort Theatre on December 28, 2009 and open January 24, 2010.

Internet Broadway Database (IBDB) offers this succinct description of Miller's play: "In the apartment and environment of Eddie Carbone, all in Red Hook, on the Bay seaward from Brooklyn Bridge."

A View From The Bridge was first produced on Broadway at the Coronet Theatre in 1955. But it was a combination of two of Miller's one act plays, A Memory Of Two Mondays and A View From The Bridge. Helmed by Martin Ritt, both plays starred such headliners as Eileen Heckart, Van Heflin and Jack Warden. Earning two Tony nominations, the production would enjoy a 149 performance run until February 1956.

The first revival (of the second play only) wouldn't come for nearly 30 years, but it would also run for 149 performances, this time at the Ambassador Theatre where it opened February 3, 1983. Directed by Arvin Brown, this View From The Bridge would also earn two 1983 Tony Award nominations, including one for Best Reproduction (a precursor to the Revival honors now bestowed) and the other for Tony Lo Bianco's portrayal of Eddie. The cast also included Rose Gregorio as Beatrice and Alan Feinstein as Marco.

The last and arguably most successful mountingl to date came just 12 years ago. The 1998 Tony-winning Best Revival of a Play first opened at the non-profit Criterion Center Stage Right where it ran from December 14, 1997 through February 22, 1998, before transferring to a commercial run at the Neil Simon Theatre, where it reopened April 3, 1998 and ran through August 30 of the same year. Michael Mayer directed a cast that included Allison Janney as Beatrice, Anthony LaPaglia as Eddie and Adam Trese as Marco. While Mayer, Janney and LaPaglia would each receive Tony nominations for their efforts, only LaPaglia would win.

So is it too soon for yet another revival of Miller's classic? Well, in my humble opinion, any work that can bring Schreiber back to Broadway's boards is fine with me. He's only been absent since earning a Tony nod for Talk Radio two years ago, but there are few finer living American stage actors.

And as for Miss Scarlett? Who wouldn't want to see her make her Broadway debut?

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

After Miss Julie (The SOB Review)

2009-10-26T16:22:00.012-05:00

After Miss Julie (The SOB Review) - American Airlines Theatre, Roundabout Theatre Company, New York, New York

*1/2 (out of ****)

On paper, it must have seemed like a complete no-brainer.

Cast the fetching Sienna Miller in the title role of Patrick Marber's After Miss Julie as a sexy, sultry seductress. It doesn't seem like much of a stretch. After all, Ms. Miller's acting prowess has been largely obscured by her more notorious one in both tempting men and her way right into tabloid fodder.

While it's often said that playwrights should write what they know, Ms. Miller should act what she understands. Instead, as the woman of privilege who seduces her father's valet John (Johnny Lee Miller, who deserves a better Broadway debut than this), she comes up all thumbs, resulting in my own opposable ones appropriately pointing in a decidedly downward direction.

In this clash of power -- class vs. sexual -- you'd think Ms. Miller would be at ease with both. But in a display that is far too shrill, it's really unfathomable that John, who has watched this Julie from an early age, could possibly feel anything for her. He already knows what a screwy coquette she can be, so the sparks between the unrelated Millers seem manufactured.

Making matters worse is that as directed by Mark Brokaw, Marber's adaptation of August Strindberg 19th century work transposes the "action" to the kitchen of a large country estate outside of London on the evening of July 26, 1945. I use the term "action" loosely as virtually all of the action really occurs off stage in rooms unseen.

That includes a reception room where a party is taking place the very night the Labour Party wins its first independent majority over Winston Churchill's Conservatives. It's also where Julie demands John dance with her, twice, much to his embarrassment and chagrin.

Also unseen is a bedroom where Julie and John ultimately consummate their lust for one another, only to be found by his intended fiancée and household cook Christine (Marin Ireland, who acquits herself as well as can be expected).

All this inaction in Allen Moyer's beautifully appointed kitchen -- with hoots and hollering coming from Julie's party dancing display and Christine's tearful discovery coming from the door of the bedroom, not to mention the unseen crowds offering their derision from outside the kitchen window -- makes for one of the most interminable 90 minutes I've yet to spend in a theatre.

Simply put, I couldn't wait until after After Miss Julie.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Brighton Beach Memoirs (The SOB Review)

2009-10-26T00:01:00.005-05:00

Brighton Beach Memoirs (The SOB Review) - Nederlander Theatre, New York, New York

**** (out of ****)

Prepare to be astonished.

Back in the eighties when I was just beginning to enjoy Neil Simon's seminal comedies on film, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright was already reinventing himself on the Great White Way with heartfelt plays that have consistently been ranked among the very best in his entire oeuvre.

So a generation later, I've finally started catching up on those works. And are they ever mighty.

Three years ago, I caught a tremendous production of his 1991 hit Lost In Yonkers that was found in Minneapolis. It demonstrated Simon's introspective genius. Despite being a nod to his own youth, the play was so vital, real and relevant.

But not even that mounting could have prepared me for the earnest and devastating charms found in Simon's superb Brighton Beach Memoirs. The play is so well-written, it's no wonder it ran on Broadway for a solid three years. Set in the 1930s, this semi-autobiographical period piece is currently receiving an excellent revival, flawlessly executed by director David Cromer.

Through Brighton Beach Memoirs, Cromer further cements his reputation, burnishing his credentials as a brilliant, visionary master at breathing vigorous new life into classic material. But unlike his mind-blowing, stripped-down revival of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town -- still playing New York's Barrow Street Theatre -- the director stages Brighton Beach Memoirs with all the bells and whistles you'd expect from a Broadway show, which is Cromer's first.

John Lee Beatty's design of the Jerome Family home is evocative of the type of Depression-era residence where you'd expect to find an extended family forced to live together out of sheer necessity. And those bells and whistles, and other sound effects? Well, they're compliments of Joshua Schmidt and Fitz Patton (the former wrote the score to the revered musical Adding Machine, which was also helmed by Cromer).

An exuberant Noah Robbins makes his impressive Broadway debut as Eugene Jerome, Simon's young alter-ego. His dream may be to become a great baseball player, but by living in a cramped Brooklyn household his parents have opened to his widowed aunt and her two daughters, Eugene discovers that he not only possesses the ability to discern major milestones under that roof, but also has a knack for writing about them, too.

With winsome appeal, Robbins captivates and enthralls, whether serving as de facto narrator or when engaging in often spirited dialogue with the revival's fine ensemble that includes the extraordinary Laurie Metcalf (as his mother Kate), the magnificent Dennis Boutsikaris (as his father Jack) and the sublime Santino Fontana (as his brother Stanley), along with Jessica Hecht (as his Aunt Blanche) and Alexandra Socha and Gracie Bea Lawrence (as his cousins Nora and Laurie, respectively). Make no mistake, this show has been perfectly cast throughout. There's not one false note to be found.

As outstanding as Cromer's ensemble is, Laurie Metcalf is an unmitigated and complete triumph as Kate. Without ever overshadowing the rest of the cast, Metcalf delivers one of the year's most withering, nuanced performances. Her omniscient Kate may have eyes in the back of her head, as the young Eugene knows all too well when sneaking a cookie, but it's the subtlety within Metcalf's eyes and facial expressions that lend sumptuous layer after layer to the enormous depth of her portrayal. Simply put, Metcalf is amazing.

No wonder this Brighton Beach Memoirs left me utterly gobsmacked and misty-eyed. Cromer and his cast have delivered yet another outstanding revival that is unmistakably unmissable and will have you yearning for more.

Fortunately, that wish will come true soon enough via the Broadway-bound Broadway Bound.

UPDATE - 10.31.2009: Brighton Beach Memoirs will close just one week after opening due to weak box office demand, thus scuttling the planned revival of Broadway Bound.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Street Lights (The SOB Overview)

2009-10-24T09:37:00.004-04:00

Street Lights (The SOB Overview) – American Theatre of Actors (Chernuchin Theatre), New York, New York

How’s this for a hot new musical?

A hip-hop show all about hope that itself is brimming with promise. That’s the effusive charm of Joe Drymala’s Street Lights.

Overflowing with more substantive radio-ready tunes per show than any recent musical in memory, his infectious score is beyond exciting. With a potent mix of pop, R&B, hip-hop and rap, each song is like tapping into a forbidden power source with most providing an unexpected surge of electrifying empowerment. It doesn’t matter that I can’t get the tunes out of my head -- I don’t want to.

For the sake of the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF), Drymala has clearly focused maximum energy on developing a megawatt score, and it shows. That attention comes at the expense of his book, which still needs some work in order to flow seamlessly. Nevertheless, the themes -- centering on Harlem high school students, including two gifted young siblings with the requisite faith they need to make something of their lives -- radiate enormous potential for the future life of this show.

More than realizing her potential is the self-assured Carla Duren, delivering a heart-shattering performance as Monique Willis. As a vocal powerhouse, Duren is remarkably believable as an immensely talented young singer yearning to be the next Alicia Keys.

Same goes for the magnetic Kevin Curtis as her brother Rocky, a high school senior who has his eyes on becoming the next Thurgood Marshall. His ebullient joy upon learning he’s been accepted into Georgetown is about as close as this show comes to a true show-stopping hit. Curtis’ “yes we can” enthusiasm is downright contagious.

But hope as Monique and Rocky might, their dreams risk being jeopardized by their individual associations with a charismatic drug dealer named Damon Cruz, portrayed by the mesmerizing Miguel Jarquin-Moreland. Monique and Rocky learn just how dangerous it can be to play with fire.

Street Lights unabashedly and unapologetically wears its progressive politics transparently on its sleeve -- so much so that it often veers close to becoming overly preachy and even heavy-handed. You can chalk Drymala’s wild-eyed yet earnest passion for activism up to his experience as primary speechwriter for former Democrat National Committee Chairman Howard Dean’s presidential campaign. That explains the few gratuitous digs at the former president. Regardless of one’s politics, there’s an admirable, if slightly naïve, call to action to overcome any obstacle, no matter how formidable.

While the Ryan J. Davis-helmed Street Lights has already concluded its brief NYMF run, these lights won’t dim completely. With San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre already picking up the show for a Left Coast production, I expect to hear eventual raves on how a much further developed and tightened Street Lights is shining brighter than ever and keeping hope alive for a return engagement in New York.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

The Full Monty (The SOB Review)

2009-10-23T14:00:00.003-04:00

The Full Monty (The SOB Review) - McKnight Theatre, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, St. Paul, Minnesota

**** (out of ****)

If you live in the Twin Cities, I have just two words for you:

"Drop everything."

Sure, go ahead and drop trou and all, but do what you must to see The Full Monty now playing at St. Paul's Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. In one of those rarest of rarities, Theater Latté Da's excellent and thoroughly enjoyable production is actually much better than the Broadway original.

Sure there was a relatively mild recession going on when I first saw The Full Monty on Broadway nine years ago. With the ravages much more isolated to hard-hit rust-belt cities like Buffalo, the show lacked a certain relevance. It didn't help that Jack O'Brien's direction lacked a desperately needed edge, exacerbated by the incongruity in Howell Binkley's full-tilt, lit-up "Full Monty" sign at the close of the show.

Fast forward nearly nine years and the economic pain is all around us (with the possible exception of Broadway itself). The truth is, we all now know people like those depicted in The Full Monty. How depressing, right?

As the worst recession since the Great Depression has too many of us worrying about whether we're next, you wouldn't think a show about desperately unemployed factory workers daring to take it all off just to earn a quick $50,000 would resonate or thrill. Yet under Peter Rothstein's exceptional, confident direction, Terrence McNally's book and David Yazbek's underrated score become even more salient, all the more gripping and certainly more entertaining today.

Rothstein's direction is a marvel unto itself. In what is his best production yet, he strips The Full Monty down to its grittiest, barest essentials and dresses it up with one of the best ensembles I've seen anywhere this year. Led by Joshua James Campbell, who's perfect as the down-and-out father Jerry Lukowski, the stellar cast shines just fine on its own, thank you, without any fancy, unnecessary lighting.

Veteran Twin Cities actress Wendy Lehr is a veritable laugh machine unto herself as the wisecracking Jeanette Burmeister, who assists the unlikely stripping quintet find its legs. Clearly having the time of her life, Lehr practically steals every scene she's in.

Additionally, Reggie Phoenix scores big as Noah "Horse" Simmons, Zach Curtis is a big ol' fat delight as Dave Bukatinsky, and as Malcolm MacGregor, Randy Schmeling once again delivers a virtuoso performance you'd expect to see on a Broadway stage (in fact, this entire production is worthy of the Great White Way). Schmeling's heartfelt, nuanced turn will leave a lump in your throat and tear in your eye.

So again, if you're in Minneapolis, St. Paul or environs, shake your money-maker over the Ordway and catch this sexy, fun and uplifting Full Monty before it takes off for good on November 8.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Ragtime's Syncopated Trip Back To Broadway

2009-10-23T10:26:00.011-04:00

Ragtime Syncopated Trip Back To Broadway

Just under 10 years have passed since the musical Ragtime was last seen on the Great White Way. But thanks to the transfer of an acclaimed run earlier this year at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, it's officially back for its second time.

Previews start at Broadway's Neil Simon Theatre this evening for the musical based on E.L. Doctorow's epic novel that's a slice right out of American history. The musical is told from three distinct vantage points spanning 1900 through the dawn of World War I. With score from Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, Ragtime features a book by Terrence McNally. The new production is helmed and choreographed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge in her Main Stem directorial debut.

Before the turn of the last century, a very lavish Ragtime first opened on January 18, 1998 at what was then the brand spanking new Ford Center for the Performing Arts (now the Hilton Theatre). Quite apropos given that Henry Ford was among various historical figures (Harry Houdini, Booker T. Washington and Emma Goldman) interspersed within the show. With Frank Galati at the helm, that production starred Peter Friedman as Tateh, Marin Mazzie as Mother, Brian Stokes Mitchell as Coalhouse Walker Jr., Audra McDonald as Sarah, Mark Jacoby as Father, and a very young Lea Michele.

Nominated for a whopping 13 Tony Awards, Ragtime would only win four, including for McDonald's supporting role, Flaherty and Ahrens' score, McNally's book and William David Brohn's orchestrations. The production played the Ford Center almost exactly two years, closing on January 16, 2000 after 834 performances. While you might think two years on the boards would translate to success, the show was anything but critically or financially.

The review from Ben Brantley of The New York Times was withering:

Blessed with beauty, ambition, a smashing wardrobe and a social conscience, Ragtime would seem to be the kind of musical that brings Broadway audiences to their knees in adoration. Then why does this $10 million show, which opened last night at the new Ford Center for the Performing Arts, feel so utterly resistible?

[T]he production has a correspondingly commemorative quality. A panoramic look at the beginning of this century from the perspective of its end, it often has the feeling of an instructional diorama in a pavilion at a world's fair.

No wonder Ragtime's biggest drama occurred off-stage. Notoriety ensued shortly after it opened when Livent, its production company, filed for bankruptcy. Foreshadowing things to come, Canadian producer Garth Drabinsky was indicted for fraud. Those charges are still pending.

This time around, there's hope that things will be dramatically better in every respect. After all, the show is a transfer from the Kennedy Center, where it received rave reviews. Ragtime's gargantuan cast of 40 is led by Christiane Noll as Mother, Robert Petkoff as Tateh, Quentin Earl Darrington as Coalhouse Walker Jr., Stephanie Umoh as Sarah and Ron Bohmer as Father.

Coming full circle, I never saw Ragtime on Broadway, but I did manage to see the show during its first national tour stop at Washington's National Theatre in 1998. I remember being dazzled by both the production quality and the performances, but was less than wowed by the show itself.

Given the accolades the revival has received in my former hometown a little more than ten years later, I'm excited to see whether Dodge can make this Ragtime swing. Ragtime opens November 15.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

The Buzz Over In The Next Room

2009-10-22T09:47:00.011-04:00

The Buzz Over In The Next Room

Tonight marks the Broadway debut for a work by acclaimed playwright Sarah Ruhl, who was a 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist for The Clean House. Her In The Next Room or the vibrator play, which begins previews this evening at Rialto's Lyceum Theatre, is also her very first work to be staged on the Great White Way.

Produced by Lincoln Center and directed by Les Waters, this Victorian-era dramatic comedy stars Tony winners Laura Benanti and Michael Cerveris as a married couple coming to terms with a certain electric device. The cast also includes Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Maria Dizzia, Thomas Jay Ryan, Wendy Rich Stetson and Chandler Williams.

Since Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theatre is already occupied by Bartlett Sher's Tony-winning revival of South Pacific, the non-profit is once again mounting part of its subscriber season in a for-profit Broadway house. In The Next Room is scheduled to open November 19 and run through January 10, 2010.

Ruhl's provocative title, of course, hints at its potentially stimulating subject matter. Lincoln Center describes the work as follows:

What exactly were doctors thinking back in the 1880s at the dawn of the age of electricity, when they utilized vibrator therapies on their female patients in the name of medical treatment? And what did the women think was happening to them when doctors allayed their so-called "hysteria" with a very personal newfangled machine? That's what Sarah Ruhl wondered when she set out to write In The Next Room or the vibrator play. Hysteria was a real diagnosis, and a quite common one given to women in the Victorian age. Just as common was medical treatment with electrical stimulating machines, the vibrators of the day, to ease their condition!
In The Next Room or the vibrator play is a provocative, funny, touching and marvelously entertaining story about a young doctor and his wife. Dr. Givings (Michael Cerveris) is obsessed with the marvels of technology and what they can do for his patients. His wife, Catherine, (Laura Benanti) is only a bystander in her husband's world -- listening at the door from the next room as he treats his female patients. Dr. Givings is not sure exactly how the vibrators help the women he treats -- but they do keep coming back. The only woman whose problem is not helped by the doctor is his own wife who longs to connect with him -- but not electrically.

Les Waters also directed the world premiere of In The Next Room or the vibrator play earlier this year at Berkeley Rep, which had commissioned the work. The play received decent reviews there.

Time will tell whether Ruhl's work generates the same kind of buzz on Broadway by appropriately titillating audiences.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Love, Loss, And What I Wore (The SOB Review)

2009-10-21T17:08:00.016-04:00

Love, Loss, And What I Wore (The SOB Review) - The Westside Theatre, New York, New York

*** (out of ****)

I'll readily admit that I'm most certainly not in the target audience for Love, Loss, And What I Wore.

You don't even have to enter Off-Broadway's Westside Theatre to grasp that this is an intimate evening aimed first and foremost at females of all ages.

But like every guy, I have a mother. I even grew up with an older sister. And fortunately for me, I'm blessed with a host of very special relationships with some exceptional women. So while Love, Loss, And What I Wore is made for women, it's certainly strong enough for men with tale after familiar tale that will recall everything we know and love about the better sex. Male or female, we can all relate.

Blessed with a rotating cast of five, Love, Loss, And What I Wore is a much more accessible Vagina Monologues for the 21st Century. Please don't misunderstand. I found Eve Ensler's groundbreaking selections of staged readings from the last decade to be potent, brave and empowering. But let's face it, the title alone translated to my being one of relatively few men in its audience. In fact, I felt every bit as conspicuous there as I did the time I took in an "Oprah" taping.

While there were more masculine faces in the Westside Theatre, it's really deserving of significantly more. That's because regardless of our gender, most of us should be able to identify with this dramatic, funny and often poignant reading of "an intimate collection of stories" from the mother/daughter team of Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron.

Even though it's not afraid to wear its outsized heart on its beautifully crafted sleeve, Love, Loss, And What I Wore stitches its myriad swatches of vignettes ranging from marriage, infidelity and divorce to breast cancer with a common thread: essentially how profound passages from disparate women's lives are accessorized by memorable apparel. But rather than serving as window dressing, the attire constitutes quintessential landmarks for remembering the milestones in these ladies' lives.

When I caught this past Sunday's show, it not only featured Tyne Daly, who continues with Love, Loss, And What I Wore through November 15, but also Samantha Bee, Katie Finneran, Natasha Lyonne and Rosie O'Donnell. Even though this is staged as a reading, it became apparent very quickly that each of the actresses had taken their assigned sketches to heart, rarely glancing at the music stands in front of them as if only to turn the page.

With a graceful maturity, Daly grounds the production throughout. The Tony-winning Finneran handled most of the heaviest lifting of the show's particuarly weighty topics, but she did so with a calming ease, almost as if she was merely putting on a lightweight coat. Lyonne offered a no-nonsense approach, while Bee added a delightful dose of humor, especially as a German shrink. Yet is was the warmhearted O'Donnell who surprised the most in mining the most laughs, but in a most reverential fashion.

Clocking in at a mere 85 minutes, director Karen Carpenter paces Love, Loss, And What I Wore with style and care. With topics that will touch the hearts of both sexes, what would I tell any guy asking if the show is worth seeing?

Womanly yes, but I liked it, too.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).