Oh good “Lord”

From the Boston Herald, May 17, 2009

‘Lord of the Dance’ steps out of Ireland, into Vegas

“Lord of the Dance” really likes to toot its own horn. An announcement before the curtain proclaims it to be “the world’s greatest dance show,” and its website describes the show as “the most critically acclaimed tour of all time.”

Wow. Who knew?

Michael Flatley and his step-dancing minions are all about hyperbole. The music is really loud! The cast is really big! The glitter is really glittery! Forget Ireland – “Lord of the Dance” is 100 percent Vegas from its shiny skin to its artificial heart.

You won’t see Flatley in this touring production, stopping this weekend at the Opera House. The original Lord, Mr. 35 Steps Per Second himself, left the stage years ago. But the line of succession has continued to Ciaran Connolly, the latest floppy-haired, chisel-chinned, lightning-footed hero in a dance belt. You can tell he’s the Lord of the Dance, because he wears a big belt that says so in shiny gold lettering.

Why do you hate us, David Mamet?

From the Boston Herald, May 16, 2009

Jury’s out on ‘Romance’

David Mamet seems to have grown bored with himself.

With his 2005 play “Romance,” the famously potty-mouthed playwright strips the muscle and bone from his work and leaves only the skin – a thin layer of cheap jokes and absurd gags. It’s a courtroom comedy without a real case to crack. Without its functional innards, Mamet’s monster never gets far.

The American Repertory Theatre does what it can with this season-closer, but it can’t do much to pull “Romance” out of the swamp. Scott Zigler’s production does have one powerful comedic force on its side: the unremittingly hilarious Will LeBow, whose character is the addled center of this addled play.

The Candy Man can

From the Weekly Dig, May 13, 2009

WILLIE WANKER AND THE HERSHEY HIGHWAY
The Candy Man can … lead you into a giant butt

Who doesn’t love seeing cherished childhood films turned into smutty drag shows? No, I’m serious. It’s awesome.

No one’s better at adapting the hell out of a thing than Ryan Landry, the ringleader of local legends the Gold Dust Orphans. This time around, the Orphans have turned their pens and strap-ons upon “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” the 1971 kiddie classic that has us all spending the rest of our lives in search of a Golden Ticket.

For this (musical!) extravaganza, the Orphans have pulled out all the stops. Co-directors Larry Coen and James P. Byrne deploy a cast so large you might be shocked they can all fit on Machine’s tiny stage, and more set pieces than a show at the Huntington. And I’m not even counting the Barbie doll portion of the ensemble.

Plum and Snee talk marriage, Shakespeare

From the Boston Herald, May 13, 2009

Hub theater couple deserves ‘Much Ado’

If Boston had Barrymores, Paula Plum and Richard Snee would be them.

Our city’s own theatrical power couple, Plum and Snee have been lighting up city stages since the 1980s. But in all that time, they’ve rarely played opposite each other. They get their chance this month in Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s production of Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing.”

Plum and Snee play Beatrice and Benedick, two of theater’s most articulate and witty lovers. We caught up with the couple during a rehearsal break at Roxbury’s Hibernian Hall.

Herald: You two have been married for 30 years. How did you first meet?

Snee: We met at the Omni Parker House Hotel. I was the night manager and Paula was the concierge.

Plum: He used to call himself “Lord of the Darkness.”

Snee: Well, I was. (Laughs) It was the ’70s. We were young. Paula went home and told her mother that she met the guy she was going to marry.

Plum: The first day I met him, I knew.

Snee: It was sort of creepy.

Trying to get my mansions green

From the Boston Herald, May 12, 2009

‘Gardens’ overrun by uneven structure

The idea of musicalizing “Grey Gardens,” the classic 1975 movie documentary about Jackie Onassis’ eccentric relatives, is a brilliant one.

For “Big” and “Little” Edie Beale, daily life was infused with song and dance. Plus, their story has left a cult following hungry for more, as evidenced by subsequent documentaries, a recent HBO film starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange, and a 2006 Broadway musical by Doug Wright, Scott Frankel and Michael Korie, which now comes to Boston via a production by the Lyric Stage Company.

Like the crumbling estate that gives the musical its name, “Grey Gardens” suffers from a lack of structural integrity. Act one, set in the 1940s, is a stridently unoriginal piece of fluff. But it’s worth sitting through to get to act two – a strange, funny and moving portrait of the Beale women in the 1970s in all their squalid glory.

Vintage menace

From the Boston Herald, May 11, 2009

Double-murder scheme on track in “Train”

It’s a shame we don’t take trains that much anymore in America. I don’t mean subway trains, but real long-distance trains, with dining cars, where strangers can shoot the breeze. Trains are the perfect place for a drama – look at “Murder on the Orient Express” or “Brief Encounter.” Juicy stuff.

And of course, “Strangers on a Train,” that vintage thriller about the seductive appeal of parallel murder. Originally a novel by Patricia Highsmith, “Strangers” is best known from Alfred Hitchcock’s 1951 film adaptation.

But Hitchcock’s version severely whitewashed the story. For a faithful treatment, head to the Stoneham Theatre for Craig Warner’s play. As directed by Weylin Symes, “Strangers” is tight, compelling and satisfyingly old-timey. You can’t go wrong with a great cast, a solid script and a pulsing noir elan.

“Better Off Dead”: old news

From the Boston Herald, May 10, 2009

Tired genre deserves no encore

If you’ve seen one play about “the industry,” you’ve seen ’em all. It doesn’t matter whether it’s about film or theater – the ingredients are the same. Start with one cup put-upon writer, add two parts opportunistic producer, five tablespoons self-important director and garnish with a sprig of overzealous leading lady. Aren’t egos hilarious?

Shawn Sturnick’s “Better Off Dead” may be a brand-new play, but it’s certainly nothing new. The inaugural Boston production from the Groton-based Village Theatre Project, “Better Off Dead” isn’t a bad play, per se; it’s just old news.

The plot rests on the concept that an artist’s career peaks only after he’s died. This time it’s David (Shelley Bolman), an untried playwright contemplating suicide on the eve of his Broadway opening. His script (oh-so-ironically titled “Good to Be Alive!”) has hacked by a pair of slimy producers, and he’s ashamed of the product.

What you’re doing this summer

From the Boston Herald, May 8, 2009

Summer play-grounds for theatergoers

The stages of Boston have been bubbling this spring. Before they boil over, let’s take a look at the summer forecast. There’s plenty of new-play festivals, Shakespeare and old favorites to take in before September.

Most of the regular companies round out their 2008-’09 seasons this month. The Lyric Stage Company brings the New England premiere of “Grey Gardens,” a recent Broadway musical about an eccentric offshoot of the Kennedy clan (May 8 to June 6). The Huntington Theatre Company spoofs classic operetta with “Pirates! (Or, Gilbert and Sullivan Plunder’d)” (May 15 to June 14).

The Nora Theatre Company mounts “On the Verge (or the Geography of Yearning),” a patchwork play about three female Victorian explorers, directed by expressionist extraordinaire Wesley Savick (May 28 to June 21 at Central Square Theater). At Stoneham Theatre, versatile Kathy St. George does her best Judy in “Dear Miss Garland” (June 4 to 28).

“Springer” goes classical

From the Boston Herald, May 5, 2009

‘Springer’ rude, crude, lots of fun

Put two unlikely bedfellows together and you get all manner of sparks. That’s the unifying principle behind the real “Jerry Springer Show,” which lets rednecks hash it out with their pre-op transvestite lovers, and midget stripper pansexuals grapple with their evangelist mothers.

It’s also the key to “Jerry Springer: The Opera,” which combines low art (daytime talk show) with high (classical opera) and revels in the mashup. From this weird combo, we get heartfelt arias about pooping one’s pants, and duets composed entirely of dirty words.

Since opening at London’s National Theatre in 2003, Stewart Lee and Richard Thomas’ musical has been sowing controversy. It’s getting its New England premiere from the SpeakEasy Stage Company, a troupe that’s no stranger to hot-potato material.

Paul Daigneault’s production is a little too big for its britches, its scope and ambition sometimes spiraling out of control. But it comes with a lot of fantastic moments and a committed ensemble.

“Spring Awakening”: still kickass

From the Boston Herald, May 1, 2009

Take a ‘Spring’ break
No doubt about it – “Spring Awakening” is a game changer. Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik’s Tony award-winning musical is far from perfect, but that’s part of its appeal. With its young cast, exposed staging and pounding earnestness, “Spring Awakening” feels like a wave of fresh air rushing through Broadway’s thousand musty stages. Maybe that’s why it got so many Tonys. When I first saw it in New York a few years ago, I left with chills.

Much has been made of the show’s unorthodox conceit – a rock musical based on an 1891 German play that was censored for decades. Frank Wedekind’s original play (now at the Boston Center for the Arts) is a scathing social commentary on turn-of-the-century morality. It also features enough underage rape, suicide, masturbation and sadomasochism to frighten away many a producer.