I feel like it's been a long time since I've posted an update. Not for any particular lack of theatregoing, though.
THE TEMPEST. The annual Brian Kulick-helmed Shakespeare productions at Classic Stage Company seem to get worse every year. I had some glimmer of hope that this year's production would be an improvement since Michael Cumpsty wasn't in the cast. Except instead of Michael Cumpsty starring, we get someone who turns out to be even worse - Mandy Patinkin. I'm not really sure who thought Mandy Patinkin as Prospero in "The Tempest" was a good idea, other than Patinkin himself. His performance here is just about as over-the-top hammy as you'd expect. Last night I went to see "To Be Or Not To Be" where David Rasche plays a Polish actor who is a brilliant Hamlet only in his own head, though to everyone else he's just a big joke. Let's just say that if Patinkin had any sense of humor, it would have been quite the coup to get his to play that role. If you ever wanted to see an actor, past his prime, who has become a caricature of himself, this is surely the production to witness it. In the final speech of the play, he stands there, eyes closed, reciting the lines as intensely as he can possibly muster (and ooh boy, is that a lot), and it just comes across as so self indulgent. This is not to say that he ruins the production. At least he's amusing to watch. The rest of the cast is just dull. With the possible exception of Stark Sands and Elizabeth Waterston (as Ferdinand and Miranda) who are quite charming to watch and have lovely chemistry, the rest of the cast is fairly dull. Usually these lousy Kulick productions can at least be counted on for some intriguing staging, but I guess most of his budget must have gone to pay dear ol' Mandy, because the design is all very cheap looking. This is overall, a huge disappointment.
TO BE OR NOT TO BE. In what I guess was Manhattan Theatre Club's attempt to recreate the success the Roundabout had with their imported production of "The 39 Steps," they have opened their Biltmore... I mean Friedman Theatre season with a stage adaptation of a dusty old movie. Except this one has quite a few more than four actors. There was some hubub during rehearsals, with two actors dropping out, then some cancelled previews and a delayed opening night - none of which are good signs for a production. I don't know if everything has quite settled down yet backstage, but what is currently being presented is not really what I would call "good." There are a couple of chuckles every now and then, but it's certainly not what I would call hilarious. I've never seen the original film, but I think the stage script must be sticking fairly close to the screenplay, because there are an awful lot of very short scenes. One would think they could have had the good sense to combine some of the scenes, so the audience didn't have to watch the scene change curtain move across the stage every 10 seconds or so. It made the evening feel really very choppy. Oh, and while most of the play is (in theory) a comedy, bizarrely in the final few scenes, it suddenly turns totally serious. The play is about an acting troupe in Poland, around the time of the Nazi occupation. So while most of the play is silly stuff about running around and avoiding being killed, there are these random sections of dialogue about actors being rounded up and shipped to concentration camps, and a kid delivering a speech from "The Merchant of Venice," and an extremely bizarre song sung in Polish that has the cast huddling together hoping for a better tomorrow. I guess this is supposed to be a comedy with some sort of social conscience, but when so much of the play is fluff, is comes across as really jarring and out of place. As far as the acting goes, the cast is fine, though I wasn't really thrilled with anyone. I'm the sort who will see Jan Maxwell or Kristine Nielsen do anything (and I have the mental wounds from Maxwell's last few awful plays to prove it), but I can't say either of them really give their best performances here. Maxwell came across as perhaps too intelligent in the role of the actress cheating on her actor husband, and Nielsen is really just plain wasted in the role of, what I guess is best described as a maid. Overall, the show isn't horrible, but I would definitely wait a bit before venturing to see it. I already have plans to see it again in November, so maybe things will be more in sync by then.
SALOME. I still get chills thinking about Karita Mattila's brilliant Salome at the Met back in 2004(?). So when it was announced it was finally returning, even though I already had tickets to see it tomorrow night, I decided to grab a standing room ticket to the first night on Tuesday as well. Okay, maybe it's not as mind blowingly fantastic this time around. But even if I was squirming a bit more this time, by the time Salome finally gets her claws on on Jochanaan's severed head, and through to the end, ooh boy there were chills up my spine. Even if her performance did veer slightly toward the over-the-top at times, and even if the Dance of the Seven Veils was more amusing that erotic, this remains a jaw dropping performance, and definitely should not be missed. So what if it's merely fantastic instead of fan-friggin-tastic? It's still a spine tingling thrill, and I think I may even throw in a third viewing this time around, assuming I can get my schedule in order.
I think I'll stop there. I have chocolate honey (cup)cakes in the oven that are going to be done soon, and others that need icing, and midnight is approaching.
