March Theater Wrap-Up

Gaaaa! March went by so quickly and I already have a chart, list and calendar out trying to schedule the dozen or so shows I want to see in April. Topping the list is The Normal Heart followed by return trips to La Cage aux Folles and Angels in America.


The month started with a very pleasant surprise - Anything Goes. I am not a musical revival person - I like a good rock musical, a play with a solid gay subplot or something new and risky. I attended a preview performance half-heartedly and was blown away. The cast had something like 26 people and the show included a tap number featuring the whole cast. This was old school musical theater and it was really excellent. The set was beautiful and detailed, as were the costumes. Acting and direction were great. Anything Goes is what people expect from Broadway and is well worth the ticket price.

I confess that I went to see Good People because it got excellent reviews and lots of Tony buzz. Between Manhattan Theatre Club's 30 under 30 discount program and those new, plush seats at the Friedman my afternoon was well spent. I grew up in a suburb of Boston, and the women in Good People were like characters out of my childhood. As a special education teacher, I also appreciated the burden placed on a single mother raising a child with a disability. When plays are somber and serious, they need to have some very funny lines, which Good People certainly did. The second act went on a bit too long and made me uncomfortable, and I found their Boston accents to be grating (they should have hired my Nana to teach them how to talk), but all in all it was a good play.

I finally got to see HAIR (on tour in Boston), but you can read all about that trip with the family here.

Let Me Ascertain You: Pretty Filthy by The Civilians - I believe a New Yorker needs to have a method to narrow down all of the theater selections, or just all of the entertainment options, so I have some strict rules. If it says "The Civilians" or "Michael Friedman" then I go. The Civilians are an investigative theater company. One of their current projects is about the porn industry. Their work is usually pretty outrageous and the craziest part is that it isn't fiction. They do a lot of research and interviews, and use that material to create scripts and songs. They performed a concert at Joe's Pub of their porn industry songs, and it was fantastic. I brought a friend who was a Joe's Pub virgin. She didn't know what she was getting into, and really, I couldn't have brought most people because the material was graphic, but it was very, very funny.

SWAN!!! This reading of a version of Black Swan written by Jack Ferver was hysterical, and I haven't seen the movie. Above I mentioned my policy of narrowing down theater opportunities - I also see anything that Randy Harrison is in (though as I type this, I am missing his performance at Our Hit Parade, and I am very bitter about it). So Harrison played a few characters; Ferver wrote the script and he played Lily. The standout star was Jenn Harris, who was just hysterical as Nina. The guys in the reading were clearly having a great time trying to make each other laugh. Lots of gender bending, crude humor and a woman who can hold her own with four men made for a very entertaining evening. It was my first time at PS 122, but not my first time at a performance of a reading written by Jack Ferver. I can't wait until he does another one.

Last, but not least, I made a return visit to see Peter and the Starcatcher at New York Theatre Workshop. I really believe it's one of the best shows running in New York right now, and due to a scheduling snafu, Dara couldn't come with me the first time around. Knowing the plot this time, I was able to just enjoy the excellent directing and simple effects. I missed Christian Borle as Black Stache, but the leading men in my heart continued to be Arnie Burton and Greg Hildreth. They make a handsome couple. 

Priscilla Is My Spider-Man

Overheard leaving Priscilla Queen of the Desert:  "It made me feel dirty."  "I need to go read a dictionary now." "That was worse than Elling."

Oh wait, that was just my partner, and favorite theater date, Dara. I try to protect her by only taking her to shows she will like, so she has been spoiled by a lot of great theater,  but sometimes I fail, like with Priscilla (and Elling).

I have been excited for the spring Broadway season to open. The two shows I was most looking forward to were The Book of Mormon and Priscilla Queen of the Desert. What a disappointment this Priscilla was. I knew it would be a jukebox musical; I knew it would be something my mother would like. My expectations were within reason, though - drag queens on a road trip, campy and fun. But fun at the expense of quality turns out to not be fun.

I blame the book. Normally you can sum up a play or musical in one line. "It's about families." "It's about war." "It's about politics." Priscilla doesn't have a coherent plot. It is not about friendship between three men. It is not about a gay man reconnecting with his wife and son. It is not about homophobia encountered in rural areas. It's not about the many challenges faced by transsexuals. These storylines are all touched on, but never fleshed out. What is this musical supposed to be about?

We New Yorkers are tired of jukebox musicals, but the tourists love them. At least in Mamma Mia! the ABBA songs correspond with the story, but in Priscilla songs just come up after six lines of pointless dialogue. Too much time has passed with Nick Adams in shorts and a tank top. Let's dress him up and make him sing again. The concept of songs advancing the plot is irrelevant when there is no plot.

The one thing that I loved was when the drag queens' bus was vandalized. The phrase, "Fuck off Faggots" had been spray painted in huge letters across the bus. The audience had been eating this musical up, and they collectively gasped when the bus was revealed and remained quiet. The shock was effective and felt by everyone in the theater. Getting the audience to care about these characters and witness them become targets of hate was significant. It was an important reminder that life as a gay man isn't all "It's Raining Men." The vandalized bus remained on the stage for many minutes as the show continued. It was the only poignant moment of the entire two and a half hours.

Nick Adams and Will Swenson are pretty, but that's not enough to carry this show, because all they do is get dressed up and look pretty (sometimes with an Australian accent, sometimes without). We know Swenson can act and Adams can dance - why not let them do that for a bit, see where it takes the show? Tony Sheldon, however, was exceptional and completely passed as a woman. The media likes to give more attention to heterosexual men who pull off such feats, so I doubt Sheldon will get the credit he deserves. He plays Bernadette with grace and fluidity. If only more of the book had dealt with Bernadette's past and future romances . . .

The costumes were fabulous, as were the many quick changes. There wasn't a set. Literally. The inside of the bus was moderately interesting, but the rest of the stage was pretty bare. Something is wrong with the world when shows such as Scottsboro Boys and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson close, while fluff like Priscilla opens. I don't even think my mother would like it that much.

In short, Priscilla is my Spider-Man. You know what I mean.