NEW YORK »God, Shakespeare, Peter Pan and local luminaries are on the Broadway theater marquees presently, oozing effervescence like bubbly Champagne. The hits include a ‘swonderful and savvy Rodgers and Hammerstein revival dotted with local talent. And if you go, look around and you just might find a Tony Award winner and other celebs catching a show with you.
SOMETHING SPECIAL
Undeniably, "Something Rotten," at the St. James Theatre, is the season’s hottest ticket, about brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom (Brian d’Arcy James and John Cariani), who want to one-up The Bard (Christian Borle, in a rock-star turn as Shakespeare)with the first-ever Elizabethanmusical, dubbed "Omelet."
The bros consult Nostradamus(Brad Oscar), whose advice is to do a musical, and that’s eggs-actly what unfolds: nonstop sight gags, puns, double-entendres and skewers on nearly everything Broadway, past and present ("Annie," "Les Miserables," "The Lion King," "Chicago," "A Chorus Line," "West Side Story," Bob Fosse, Disney and more). It’s got the giddiness and sass of "The Producers," the insanity and manic drive of "The Book of Mormon" and the formulaic parody template of "Forbidden Broadway." The show I attended earned two generous standing ovations, one in each act. As soon as it was over, I wanted to see it again. And again. It’s something revolutionary.
DIVINE ACTION
Godliness also reigns on Broadway, first with Jim Parsons (in white robes over jeans and red sneakers) as the Almighty in David Javerbaum’s "An Act of God," at Studio 54, who believes the Book of Job is a book of jokes. So God has two angel sidekicks who help reinterpret the Ten Commandments in what essentially is a one-man tour de force — or Parson’s big-bang thesis of divine intervention and invention. God name-drops (from the Kardashians to Sarah Palin to Kanye West), swears, explains how those fig leaves came to be and essentially demonstrates he’s more down-to-earth human than imaginable. It’s Jim-dandy and divine.
Then there’s "Hand to God," a new American play by Robert Askins at the Booth. This modest black comedy boasts blood, profanity and a menacing hand puppet named Tyrone amazingly manipulated "Avenue Q" style by Jason (Steven Boyer). The action is set in a church basement where God supposedly oversees puppeteers in training for a Christian performance. Morality and sexual issues unfold as Jason’s mom Margery (Geneva Carr) leads a session with two other misfits in a comedic horror escapade in the spirit of "Little Shop of Horrors," but with more bite and bizarreness.
KUDOS FOR HAWAII
In "The King & I," at the Vivian Beaumont at Lincoln Center, local Asians are earning hurrahs. Top of the list: Tony winner Ruthie Ann Miles, playing Lady Thiang opposite Ken Watanabe’s King in the majestic and exotic Rodgers and Hammerstein reboot. Hawaii’s Cole Horibe turns in an uncredited cameo as the angel in "The Small House of Uncle Thomas" ballet in Act 2. This Tony-winning best musical revival is perfection on all fronts: costumes, dancing, sets, direction (by Bartlett Sher). Kelli O’Hara (schoolteacher Anna), finally a Tony victor, arrives on a mammoth boat from England that looks like it’ll soar into the audience. And Miles’ emotional ballad nicely capsulizes the evening: "Something Wonderful."
IMMERSIVE ‘INCIDENT’
The best way to enjoy the season’s best play, "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time," at the Barrymore, is to let it envelop you. An autistic lad, Christopher, is accused of killing a neighbor’s dog. He proceeds to dissect the crime to find the guilty dude amid quirky behavior (he hates to be touched but is a math genius). The role is shared by Tony winner Alex Sharp and Taylor Trensch (whom I saw), and it’s a rigorous, rousing journey for the eyes, the ears and the soul, complemented by a grid of scintillating images and formulas kinetically projected on three walls of the stage as well as the floor. Precision is the name of the game here, in this play by Simon Stephens based on a Mark Haddon book.
BACK TO NEVERLAND
Just when you think the theater has run out of Peter Pan plays, there’s "Finding Neverland," at the Lunt-Fontanne, about author J.M. Barrie (Matthew Morrison), who created the boy who never ages. While the New York critics uniformly panned this one, the show has shown resilience and audience support, overriding the naysayers with impressive sellouts, even with Kelsey Grammer’s absence from the dual roles of Captain Hook and Charles Frohman.Peter Pan and Tinker Bell (via fluttering light) appear briefly, and yes, you have the opportunity to clap if you believe.
‘HOME’ OVERRATED
Perhaps it was because "Fun Home," at Circle in the Square, won the best-musical Tony this year, creating high expectations, I found this endeavor overrated. Featuring a book and lyrics by Lisa Kron, with music by Jeanine Tesori, it’s based on a graphic memoir by Alison Bechdel. Its en vogue theme explores Bechdel’s relationship with her gay father, Bruce (Michael Cerveris, a Tony winner), a teacher and mortician who committed suicide. Beth Malone, Emily Skeggs and Sydney Lucas play the author, who came out as a lesbian while in college, at various stages in her life. Not your grandmother’s kind of musical.
LOVE AND DANCE
The fare also includes two vintage dance attractions, "An American in Paris," at the Palace, and "On the Town," at the Lyric.The former fares better, with Robert Fairchild as Jerry Mulligan (the Gene Kelly role in the 1949 movie) on the hunt for amour in gay Paree. Fairchild shows off his New York City Ballet aura as he encounters Leonne Cope as Lise Dassin (the Leslie Caron part), who likewise demonstrates her Royal Ballet Company leaps. They have the tunes of George and Ira Gershwin to dance to, shaped by choreographer Christopher Wheeldon.
In "Town," set amid a candy-hued New York, sailors on leave — Chip (Jay Armstrong Johnson), Gabey (Tony Yazbeck) and Ozzie (Clyde Alves) — go nightclubbing in search of love, too. The flashy, splashy, tap-dancing galore captures the ideas and spirit of Jerome Robbins, whose idea prompted this vehicle featuring Leonard Bernstein’s music, with book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. The mood is vintage and proper but, alas, seems dated and tired.
PEOPLE ‘N’ PLACES
Ran into attorney Jeff Portnoy and wife Sandy at the new Whitney Museum in the Meatpacking District. Jeff is chairman of the Manoa Valley Theatre board and a member of the University of Hawaii’s Board of Regents. Their favorite showwas "Something Rotten," and they were en route to a Bermuda holiday. …
And Matt Pennaz, MVT president and senior project manager of the Kobayashi Group (and a sometime actor), showed up with wife Kirstin at the New York Hilton Midtown’s Executive Lounge.They loved the Tony-winning drama "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time." …
Diamond Head Theatre’s artistic director, John Rampage, also was visiting, catching up with former Shooting Stars member Alex Pevecs, who is in the cast of "Something Rotten." At "The King and I" he renewed ties with ex-DHT actor-director-choreographer Greg Zane, who is assistant choreographer of "King." …
Penn and Teller, soon opening a limited engagement at the Marquis Theatre, were at the same matinee of "Curious Incident" that I attended.And at anevening performance of "On the Town," Teller was in a row in front of me and "Fun Home’s" Michael Cerveris was across the aisle.
