Life Is A Cabaret

You don't need to pack a suitcase or wait in a long security line to enjoy the pleasures of travel at Simon Green: Traveling Light, playing at 59E59 as part of Brits Off Broadway through January 3.

Green and piano player/arranger David Shrubsole expertly intersperse well-known songs like "How Deep is the Ocean" (Berlin) and obscurities like an amusing 1915 ditty "Some Little Bug" (Burt, Atwell, and Hein) with quotes and poetry by Mark Twain, A.A. Gill, and Walt Whitman. Each number has been carefully chosen and arranged--take the way "So Pretty," (Comden and Green/Bernstein) a song about a child questioning war, segues into "Children Will Listen" (Sondheim) or the way Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory's "Pure Imagination" (Bricusse) leads into "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" (Lennon/McCartney).

To tell the truth, I hadn't heard of West End actor Simon Green, but as an Anglophile was attracted to the show based on its billing as "cabaret with British flair." Green has a soothing voice and stage presence, making the audience feel welcome and willing to take the journey with him.

The next night, I concluded my season of festive concert going with The Holiday Guys --Marc Kudisch and Jeffry Denman--at Gotham Comedy Club. That show (now closed) played off of their different personalities with Kudisch in comfy jammies (holiday wear) and Denman in a dapper suit. The Jewish Kudisch sang some Channukah numbers while explaining to Denman about the way Jews feel about Christmas. One of my favorite moments was in the middle of a duet of "Christmas Time Is Here," musical director Dan Lipton interrupted to recite Linus's monologue from A Charlie Brown Christmas. Denman asked how he knew the monologue to which he replied "I'm Jewish." Kudisch explained that Jews are jealous of Christmas, so "Nobody does Christmas like the Jews."

Photo credit: Tim Schultheis
The stage (complete with a fake fire and decorations) was fairly small, but it didn't keep Denman from displaying his superb dancing in a dream sequence (complete with Kudisch sporting a rat nose and sword a la The Nutcracker).

My only complaint is the location of Gotham Comedy Club. The way the tables are arranged means that some sightlines are much better than others, plus they have a two drink minimum for their overpriced drinks. I do hope that Denman and Kudisch make this a holiday tradition, but maybe they can find a better venue next time.

Note: I was invited to see Simon Green: Traveling Light for free and paid for my ticket to The Holiday Guys.

A Classy Holiday Concert

There have been many concerts I've wanted to attend at Feinstein's at Loews Regency, but I've always been put-off by the $40 drink minimums on top of the high ticket prices. I know this is a high-end establishment, so I don't begrudge the prices, they're just out of my range. Imagine my excitement to receive an invitation to attend the Michael Feinstein and David Hyde Pierce Holiday Show for free. I would finally get to check out the venue and see a holiday concert (my favorite pastime at this time of year). I was also curious to to see Feinstein perform for the first time (Hyde Pierce, here making his nightclub debut, had already won me over in Spamalot and Curtains).

The word that immediately came to mind as I took my seat at Feinstein's was "swankified," a made-up work from Wicked that seems most fitting here. It's fancy and attracts an older, well-dressed crowd. It's also a very intimate venue--my table was literally up against the piano.

Accompanied by a skilled quintet, led by musical director John Oddo, the duo mixed standards with obscure numbers by well-known composers. The concert is only a holiday show because it's December, but most of the songs were not of the holiday variety, though Feinstein sang a heartfelt "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" accompanying himself on the piano. Later in the evening, Hyde Pierce mentioned that Feinstein got to sing all the Christmas songs and that he (a self-described WASP) wanted to sing a Channukah song. Since there aren't any good Channukah songs, he settled on "You Can't Succeed On Broadway" from Spamalot. Even without an assortment of Christmas tunes, the concert captured the spirit of the holidays, both the love and joy and the depression. One of my favorite jokes was when Hyde Pierce mistook the set list "holiday rundown" for the theme and said, "I thought we were doing a show on seasonal affective disorder."

The two have been friends for a long time, and this was illustrated in duets like "You're The Top." Other highlights included Feinstein's rousing rendition of "A Lot of Livin' To Do" which could teach the current cast of Bye Bye Birdie a thing or two and Hyde Pierce's moving "Your Face," an song written by John Kander for his partner.

The Michael Feinstein and David Hyde Pierce Holiday Show is playing through Dec. 30.

Note: This is slightly related, Feinstein wrote this op-ed for The New York Times. As a Jew who looks forward to secular Christmas music and movies every year, I can relate.

Charmed By Brief Encounter

If these reviews haven't convinced you to see Noel Coward's Brief Encounter, here are 5 of the many reasons to go, in no particular order:

1) It's an excuse to visit both St. Ann's Warehouse, quickly becoming one of my favorite theaters, and DUMBO in Brooklyn.

2) There is live music by the talented musicians (dressed adorably as 1930s ushers) before and after (when they break away from the period numbers), so you really get a play and a concert for your money.

3) The stunningly choreographed movement representing the emotions of the characters allows you to view Noel Coward in a new light.

4) The first-rate performances, from the comic relief (Dorothy Atkinson and Stuart McLoughlin) to the central lovers (Hannah Yelland and Tristan Sturrock).

5) They serve free mini cucumber and butter sandwiches after the show (a little taste of Britain).

Back to the Altar

I saw the off-Broadway musical Altar Boyz around the time it first opened in 2005. I loved the show, set up like a Christian boy band concert, but I hadn't been back since. It was recently announced that the show will close on January 10, so I revisited it last Wednesday, curious how it's held up over the years.

Shortly before the show began, I looked around at the not even half-full Stage 4 at New World Stages and I realized why Altar Boyz is closing. It's had a long and successful run for an off-Broadway show, but perhaps it has since gotten lost in the shuffle of newer shows and can no longer fill enough seats to justify staying open.

As in any boy band, each Altar Boy has a defining characteristic. There is Matthew (Michael Kadin Craig) the attractive one, Mark (Travis Nesbitt) the closeted gay one, Luke (Lee Markham) the bad boy, Juan (Mauricio Perez) the Latin one, and Abraham (Ravi Roth) the Jewish one. There is a paper-thin plot about how the band needs to save the souls of everyone in the audience before the end of the concert (there is a Soul Sensor DX-12 to check what number they are at). The enjoyment comes from Gary Adler and Michael Patrick Walker's catchy pop songs that, except for the Christian-themed lyrics, easily sound like they could have been recorded by 'N Sync or the Backstreet Boys, and Christopher Gattelli's choreography that perfectly captures the ridiculous over-the-top dance moves made popular by boy bands.

So the question is: has it stood the test of time? Yes and no. The boy band trend was already past its heyday by 2005, but the show didn't seem dated then at it still doesn't. However, seeing a show in a full house really makes a big difference. The audience didn't seem as engaged and many of the jokes fell flat (I remember the laughs being non-stop the first time I attended). Again, I think the show is still funny, but laughter is infectious and the bigger the audience, the bigger the laughs, in my experience. Let me say that the cast played as if the theater was at capacity. They never let their energy falter. Unfortunately, even giving it their all, they didn't have the dynamic presence of the original cast. The acting as a whole was stronger than the singing, and for this reason, they were funnier in the book scenes.

This show is still a lot of fun. If you haven't seen Altar Boyz, you should really catch it before it closes, and I'm guessing with the holidays coming, the houses will start to fill. As an off-Broadway staple that can appeal to both out-of-towners and New Yorkers, it will be missed, but on the upside, it will only make room for more shows that will hopefully be just as clever and entertaining as this one.

Note: I was invited to see the show for free.

All A'Twitter At Fuerza Bruta

In the past, I've had a negative attitude about shows encouraging tweeting at the theater. Even if it is expected that tweeting will only occur before, after, or at intermission, I think this only increases the likelihood that a phone will be left on (some say that having the phone out already reminds people to turn it off). On Thursday night I attended Fuerza Bruta's Twitter Night, and the environment at that show lent itself perfectly to such an event.

In Fuerza Bruta, the action takes place above and all around you. There is no dialogue--the aerialists perform to a techno-beat. The audience stands up and is directed to move throughout the show. Non-flash photography is allowed, so there are already phones and cameras out, but they aren't distracting, probably because there are so many other flashing lights. The club-like atmosphere draws a young crowd who, not to generalize, are likely to have a Twitter account.

As for the show itself, I don't enjoy being that close to people in an enclosed environment, but I found myself oohing and aahing along with everyone else at the gravity-defying stunts. Though I was self-conscious at first, I even found myself dancing and jumping at the end. As for the tweeting, I do have a Twitter now, but my non-iPhone doesn't allow me to tweet, so I had to wait until I got home. I expected to be able to pick out which audience members were participating, but I didn't even notice if others were tweeting or not. I read some of the tweets, and it seems like the evening was a success. Maybe this could be a regular thing for Fuerza Bruta, like their Boys Night, but I still can't think of any other shows I'd like to see follow suit.

Note: I was invited to see this play for free.

A Satisfying Vibrator Play

Photo Credit: Joan Marcus

What is it with the Lyceum Theatre? The past few shows I've loved there--reasons to be pretty, [title of show], and Is He Dead?--haven't done very well financially and had fairly short runs. I can now add Sarah Ruhl's In the Next Room or the vibrator play to that list. Grosses haven't been particularly strong. As a limited Lincoln Center run, it's only scheduled to run through January, but I hope its able to find an audience.

The play takes place in the late 1800s. Dr. Givings (Michael Cerveris) uses vibrator therapy to treat his patients (both male and female) for hysteria. His wife, the childlike Mrs. Givings (a delightful Laura Benanti) is suffering because she cannot nurse her baby and they hire a wet nurse, Elizabeth (Quincy Tyler Bernstine). I went in expecting to laugh a lot, and I did--the comedy stemming from Dr. Givings ignorance about the pleasures of vibrator therapy is very funny--but I wasn't expecting so many tender moments as the love story between Dr. Givings and his wife takes front and center. Director Les Waters seamlessly balances the different tones as does the cast.

In a play subtitled the vibrator play, it is fitting that the ending is perfectly satisfying. Annie Smart's sets are stripped away, leaving the actors in a snow-covered garden, in a moment of unexpected beauty.

Note: I was invited to see this play for free.

Fela! Is All About The Music, But Where's The Book?

I missed Fela! when it played at 37 Arts last year. It was always sold out when I tried to get tickets. I had heard great things about it, so I was excited about finally seeing it when it transferred to Broadway. Perhaps my expectations were too high, but I was disappointed. I almost felt bad for feeling this way--was I missing something? Is this musical just too original for me? Perhaps, but I think a show needs to have somewhat of a coherent book, even an unconventional one, to work, and that was missing here, though everything else was as fantastic as promised.

Fela! essentially started when we entered the theater, transformed by Marina Draghici to look like the Shrine nightclub in Lagos. The band Antibalas was already onstage, not warming up, but playing as people found their seats. If this sounds more like Fela Kuti concert than a musical, that's exactly what the show is meant to recreate.

Photo Credit: Monique Carboni

Fela Kuti was a Nigerian musician credited with founding Afrobeat music and known for his political activism. The show takes place on an evening after the death of his mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti (Lillias White). In between numbers, Fela (played by Sahr Ngaujah on the evening I attended) reveals bits of historical information. It is here that the show loses its footing. It's hard to place the biographical sections in context as there is little background for when they occurred. Sandra Isadore (Saycon Sengbloh) appears as an American lover of Fela's who turns him on to the black-power movement, but her presence is so short it's hard to understand the significance.

The evening is mostly about the music, and it was a joy to be immersed in the sounds of Afrobeat, especially by such talented musicians. Ngaujah becomes Fela Kuti, which means the lyrics are hard to understand, but they are helpfully shown on a screen. If you can take your eyes off Ngaujah, the dancers are just as electric, performing Bill T. Jones' hip-swiveling choreography in Draghici's vibrant costumes. (For those weary of audience participation, be warned, you will be asked to dance along.)

After the curtain call on the night we attended, we were treated to a bonus--Bill T. Jones joined Ngaujah onstage for a dance. I left the theater feeling energized and knowing more about Fela Kuti than I had before, but wishing I had learned just a little bit more.

Note: So I don't get in trouble with the FTC, I will start noting when I was invited to a show, as was the case here.