January Theater Wrap Up

January was off to a bleak start with the closing of my favorite Broadway show, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. Actually lots of Broadway shows closed and only one opened this month. It seemed like Broadway would wait until the end of February or even March to begin previews for the next season, and much of off-Broadway followed suit.

After a week of moping I found myself attending the first preview of The New York Idea put on my Atlantic Theater Company. This story takes place in 1906, a young divorced woman finds her self engaged again to a man of NYC high society. What stuck me most about the play was how feminist it was for its time. In addition to being divorced, the protagonist bet on horse races and made all of her own decisions. Another woman in the play lived alone and was very comfortable with her sexuality. There were definitely some laughs to be had and the acting was good, but the story wasn't terribly compelling.

The Whipping Man at Manhattan Theatre Club tells the story of a Confederate soldier who returns home at the end of the Civil War to found his home abandoned except for two of the family's slaves (who are now free men). What initially attracted me to the play was that the slaves were Jewish, because they had grown up in this Jewish home. This turned out to be especially poignant as the three men celebrated Passover. The story of the Jews becoming free paralleled the story of the slaves becoming free. Let me be clear, this is not a fun show. I left the theater feeling awful. But great theater makes us feel, and The Whipping Man is great theater. At one point, I had to close my eyes and cover my ears. It was disturbing, but the American history of slavery is disturbing and we should all have to face that. This is an important, powerful play and I highly recommend it.

Shakespeare's Cymbeline, produced by Fiasco Theater, closed its limited run on January 30. I hope that I don't lose my theater credibility when I admit that I'm not a huge Shakespeare fan. Nothing against the guy, but I like new plays and musicals. The production of Cymbeline was very bare bones, but easy to follow. The cast played multiple characters, and only used minor costume modifications (a crown for the king, glasses for the doctor) to indicate their change in character, but it worked. Cast members played music between scenes and there were a few songs sung. A particular bluegrass number stood out as exceptional and unexpected. The plot involved a number of lies or misunderstandings among characters, all which became clear at the end. It made for a very funny, satisfying ending. All in all, it was a very sweet production. I look forward to seeing Fiasco Theater's next project.


Roundabout's production of Tennessee Williams' The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore, starring Olympia Dukakis, tells the story of a dying old woman and the man who appears at the end of many dying rich women's lives. Dukakis was awe inspiring, as expected. Her character was in the last days of her life, alternating between being in pain and being drugged on pain killers. She would switch from being a total bitch, to being a seductress as her mood (or meds) changed. The supporting characters were not as thoroughly sketched, however. When I leave a show that deals with somber material I want to feel totally devastated (like I did after The Whipping Man or Next Fall), but The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore was just sad. Life is too short and trying to write memoirs can't begin to make up for losing it. Still, seeing Dukakis on stage felt like a once in a lifetime experience (she will always be Mrs. Madrigal to me).


I am a teacher, and just like the children do, I often go to sleep praying for a snow day. We have had a few close calls this winter on Tuesday nights. Ahh, a Wednesday matinee with a snow discount would be so nice, I think to myself falling asleep. Last week it was actually a Wednesday night when we were expecting snow. For the first time, I wore my pajamas inside out, which one of colleagues swears will get us a snowday, and it worked. I was thrilled to have Thursday off from school, but, alas, it's not a matinee day. Or so I thought. I am a TDF member and I checked to see what shows were available to see that afternoon. Much to my surprise, Pearl Theater Company's The Misanthrope was playing at 2:30. I quickly checked StageGrade and saw that The Misanthrope received good reviews and I booked my ticket. This play was written by Moliere in the seventeenth century and has since been translated to English. I found the rhyming prose to be tedious, but there were cute jokes made at the expense of some of the characters and they were funnier in rhyme. The costumes were lovely, especially the women's. The set and lighting were overly simple. I don't find European courtships in 1600's to be especially interesting. The acting was quite good, but the story a bit cheeky.


Finally, I saw Camp Wanatachi  at La Mama Experimental Theater Club. Everyone loves a good camp play in the summer, but they're even better in the depths of winter. Camp Wanatachi Camp Wanatachi so memorable. The songs were great rock songs with full orchestration and young actresses who could really sing (Broadway and national tour credits). The lighting was also impressive and reminiscent of a rock show at times. Camp Wanatachi runs through February 6. 


January gave me hope for the rest of 2011. I haven't seen a Broadway show in four weeks, but my calendar (and mind) have been full of great theater. Cymbeline is closed, but I suggest getting your tickets to see
The Whipping Man and Camp Wanatachi. There couldn't be two more different shows, but they are both wonderful.

Must See: Camp Wanatachi

Last April the Off Broadway Alliance held a seminar entitled, "New Directions for Gay Theatre." Actors and creative team members from The Temperamentals, Yank!, and The Kid were on the panel. There were probably five women in the full Snapple Theater. During the Q&A portion one of the women asked, "Where are the lesbian plays?" And of course, the men answered something about the lack of material from playwrights. I'm sure I wasn't the only woman dissatisfied with that answer.

This weekend I saw Camp Wanatachi at La Mama Experimental Theater Club in the East Village. The story is about girls at a Christian summer camp. One of the girls is struggling with having a crush on one of the other girls. The characters are only fourteen years old and played (I think) by actual teenagers.

We wanted lesbian storylines in theatre, but it is the fact that these girls are so young that makes this show feel revolutionary. Even on television we are seeing more high school gay boy characters (Kurt on Glee, Justin on Ugly Betty), but we see lesbians as more college aged, surely for the straight male tv audiences.

The quality of this production was exceptional. The lead actresses, Marissa O'Donnell and Krystina Alabado, had huge, beautiful voices, fit for a Broadway stage. I marveled at how rarely in small downtown theaters we see hear excellent voices in musicals, but both of these young women have extensive resumes (O'Donnell appeared on Broadway in Shrek and Alabado was in the national tour of Spring Awakening). The composer and lyricist, Natalie Elizabeth Weiss, provided rocking songs and this production has full orchestration. For a small production, the show was very well rounded.

Camp Wanatachi had its funny jokes about Christian extremists, but it was really a coming of age story. Anyone who has had a summer romance will appreciate it, but lesbians who have memories of being at all girls summer camps will find it especially nostalgic. To show young lesbians represented in this musical gives a stage presence to a whole demographic that has been neglected. I can only hope that we see a further incarnation of Camp Wanatachi in the future, hopefully in a bigger venue with a longer run. In the meantime, get to La Mama by Sunday, February 6.

The Whipping Man at MTC

Broadway is effectively closed and the off-Broadway season is just beginning to heat up with previews. I've been sampling around to try and find what will be hot this Spring, and one show has stood out.


The Whipping Man at Manhattan Theatre Club tells the story of a Confederate soldier who returns home at the end of the Civil War to found his home abandoned except for two of the family's slaves (who are now free men). What initially attracted me to the play was that the slaves were Jewish, because they were owned by Jews. I had never heard of Jewish slaves, but in this context it made sense, and I wondered if it was common. Their religious beliefs turned out to be especially poignant as the three men celebrated Passover together. The story of the Jews becoming free paralleled the story of the slaves becoming free. As the play progressed, family secrets were revealed and painful memories were brought back. The men had to reevaluate their relationships and assess just how free they really were.

Let me be clear, this is not a fun show. I left the theater feeling awful. But great theater makes us feel, and The Whipping Man is great theater. At one point, I had to close my eyes and cover my ears. It was disturbing, but the American history of slavery is disturbing and we should all have to face that. This is an important, powerful play and I highly recommend it.