Dramas are outshining musicals this season on and off-Broadway, with Roundabout's Twelve Angry Men and Manhattan Theater Club's Doubt the only plays receiving our highest five jacks
recommendation.
A scene from Twelve Angry Men
Twelve Angry Men: five jacks
Twelve Angry Men, at the American Airlines Theater, is exceptionally well directed by Scott Ellis and offers an exceptionally well-cast ensemble of recognizable character actors, all of whom delivers perfectly tuned
performances. Boyd Gaines, as the lone holdout voting not guilty in a 1954 murder trial, is appropriately low key but a commanding presence, as the deliberations bring out both the best and worst human qualities. The script remains surprisingly contemporary and relevant. Although a jury comprised exclusively
of white males speaks volumes about mid-Twentieth Century America, the personal and societal issues they confront are strikingly similar to those that continue to plague our legal system. In fact, the ability of twelve angry white men to battle their own biases to fairly judge the life or death of a deprived
young black man accused of murder, stands in stark contrast to the jury system today, when so many pre-determined ethnic and societal stereotypes interfere with true justice. Twelve Angry Men remains a strong reminder of the injustice built into the jury system even today. Gaines should be a shoo-in for a
Best Actor nomination, with Supporting Actor nods deserved for several others in the cast, most notably Philip Bosco, James Rebhorn, John Pankow, Robert Clohessy and Tom Aldredge. Bosco again proves he's one of Broadway's finest performers.
Doubt: five jacks
John Patrick Shanley is gaining deserved recognition as one of America's finest modern playwrights, and Doubt, at City Center's Second Stage, is among his best works, and quite possibly his best. The simple staging
in the principal's office and adjacent garden of a Catholic grade school in 1964 provides the backdrop for a very modern story about expected pederasty in the priesthood. Each of the four actors offers a deeply evoked and
rich performance, full of nuance, emotion and conflict. Cherry Jones is incomparable as a rigidly controlling nun who runs her school with an iron grip, but who meets her match when she elects to confront a popular priest who she believes is molesting a 12-year old student -- who also happens to be the
school's first Black child. Brian F. O'Byrne manages to be both charismatic and despicable in the role of the priest, and his monologue sermons force us to confront both the demons of the church as well as our own. Shanley pulls no punches in attacking the Catholic Church's institutional response to
suspected pederasty, yet Doubt focuses our attention mostly on the characters and their personal and theological issues. It is a theatrical event not to be missed.
A Second Hand Memory: four jacks
As a veteran Woody Allen fan who has continued to appreciate even his most critically dismissed work, I had high hopes for A Second Hand Memory, his most recent off-Broadway offering at the Atlantic Theater
Company. With sets by Allen's long time collaborator Santo Loquasto and performances by "The Soprano's" Dominic Chianese and the excellent Michael McKean, A Second Hand Memory is Allen's most fully evolved play since "Play It Again, Sam" in 1972 and "Don't Drink the Water" in 1969. His two
one-act playlets performed under the umbrella title "Writer's Block" in 2003 were good, but A Second Hand Memory takes Allen's work to a new level of ironic situational drama. Those expecting Allen's unique strand of humor will be disappointed, but A Second Hand Memory proves Allen is once
again expanding his incomparable talent and working -- albeit on a small stage -- toward an inevitable return to Broadway-quality productions.
700 Sundays: four jacks
Billy Crystal only had 700 Sundays with his dad before his dad died suddenly of a heart attack. Billy shares several of those Sundays, and many other experiences from his fascinating life in this autobiographical one-man
show. It's really two separate plays. The first act is full of typical Crystal humor, anecdotes, and stories full of pathos. But the second act takes a turn toward the melodramatic, focusing on Billy's difficulties in
dealing with the deaths of his dad and mom and the bittersweet realities he has faced as a teen and adult. Crystal and I are exactly the same age, so the timeline of his experiences and memories matched mine, year for year, making the story-telling especially relevant and poignant. The unexpected sadness of the
second act add to the depth and richness of Crystal as someone we can relate to, but it detracts from the theater experience for those expecting two hours rich with Crystal comedy. Go, but be prepared.
BROOKLYN The Musical: one jack
Tourists jumped up to give this low rent version of "Rent" a standing ovation, but anyone with a modicum of theatrical sophistication will leave the Plymouth Theater wondering how investors could have supported this
incredibly unworthy addition to the Broadway scene. The music is unmemorable; the performances, while enthusiastic, are static and uninspired. There are only five performers in this low budget mess, acting out a "sidewalk fairy tale" as a story within a story. No matter how hard the actors
may try, they can't overcome the weakness of the music, lyrics and story. Yet, those who may go to a Broadway musical only once or twice in their lives seem to enjoy the experience, so if there are no other tickets
available for visiting relatives, find two-fers and they won't be overly disappointed.
NEW & WORTH SEEING
BROADWAY
Dame Edna: Back with a Vengeance
Music Box
Democracy
Brooks Atkinson
Laugh Whore ("Sex and the City's" Mario Cantone in a one-man comedy)
Cort
OFF-BROADWAY
Belle Epoque
Lincoln Center Theater
Fat Pig
Lucille Lortel
A Number
New York Theater Workshop
The Rivals (thru 1/23)
Vivian Beaumont
Sailor's Song
Labyrinth Theater Company
ON THE HORIZON & NOTEWORTHY
BROADWAY
Good Vibrations (30 Songs by the Beach Boys)
Eugene O'Neill
Opens January 27
Little Women: The Musical
Virginia
Opens January 23
Brooklyn Boy (Adam Arkin & Polly Draper)
Biltmore
Opens February 3
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (with John Lithgow)
Imperial
Opens March 3
Monty Python's Spamalot (Musical based on "Monty Python & the Holy Grail and potentially the hit of the season)
Shubert
Opens March 17
All Shook Up (Musical Comedy inspired by and featuring songs of Elvis Presley and loosely based on Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream.")
Palace
Opens March 24
Sweet Charity (Revival from Neil Simon, Cy Coleman and Bob Fosse, based on Fellini's "Nights of Cabiria;" with Christina Applegate)
Opens April 21
Also Coming in 2005:A Street Car Named Desire, After the Night and Music, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Glengarry Glen Ross, Julius Caesar, On Golden Pond, Steel Magnolias, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Jack Myers Entertainment Report's entertainment rating system is based on a maximum of five jacks and a minimum of zero jacks. 0 = awful; 1 = pretty bad; 2 = okay but don't go out of your way to see it; 3 = reasonably good but not special; 4 = very good and worth paying attention to; 5 = exceptional. Opinions are based on my own likes, dislikes and preferences.
