The Seeing Place Theater is quickly becoming one of my favorite off-Broadway companies. They always select excellent plays that reflect elements of the world in which we live. In The Maids and Measure for Measure, Brandon Walker and Erin Cronican have chosen stories about women living in societies that do not grant them the power of choosing their own destiny or the credibility their voice deserves.
The Maids
The play opens with the maids in the midst of their role play, and it takes a moment to catch on with their game. There a few things that make it difficult to catch onto the absurd tone of the piece. The first is that the pacing is a bit slow in challenging places. Christine Redhead heightens the energy of the scene and visibly generates a reaction from Erin Cronican and Gaia Visnar. After her exit, Ms. Cronican and Ms. Visnar explode into a world where they are the best of scene partners. They turn the tables on each other with ease and the love/hate that is unique to a pair of sisters.
This delightful absurd French play by Jean Genet centers on two maids who engage in the ceremony of roleplaying the murder of their employer. Claire (Gaia Visnar) and Solange (Erin Cronican) are sisters and maids for Madame (Christine Redhead). They dislike their employment and loathe their employer, who both dotes on them and insults them in the same breath. Written in an era that glorifies criminals, Claire and Solange revel in their sadomasochistic fantasy, and yet they are not brave enough to make it reality.
The sound design by Brandon Walker feels too obviously ominous at first, but once the absurd tone of the work sinks in, it is absolutely appropriate. Erin Cronican’s costumes fit the setting and also stand apart from the scenic design in color.
Photo by Russ Rowland.
As a director, Ms. Cronican makes excellent use of the layout of Mike Mroch’s scenic design. The scenic elements are spaced out well in the Paradise Factory’s small black box theatre and the colors help to convey the era in which the play takes place. Additionally, the same scenic elements serve Measure for Measure incredibly well. Every single element is designed to serve both plays. The difference between the productions is the placement of set pieces and set dressing. No material is wasted in this repertory production.
Measure for Measure
In this Shakespeare’s lesser produced works, the injustices of a corrupt system are revealed through cunning manipulation. The Duke (Brandon Walker) leaves Angelo (William Ketter) and Escalus (Jared Mason Murray) in charge of the city while he pretends to be away. Angelo immediately enforces a law that sentences Claudio (Robin Friend) to death. Claudio’s friend, Lucio (Rusty Flounders) appeals to Isabella (Sabrina Schlegel-Mejia), Claudio’s sister, to plead with Angelo. Of course, Angelo takes his best to take advantage of Isabella’s position, while other similar injustices are being revealed regarding secondary characters like Mistress Overdone and Mariana (Candice Oden). Disguised as a Friar, the Duke sets in motion several tricks that will, in the end, reveal to all the corrupt behavior so that the Duke himself can condemn it.
All of the actors have a keen sense of delivering Shakespeare’s verse which makes this production incredibly enjoyable. The actors who excel at this are Rusty Flounders (who honestly is so good, he actually creeps me out) Jared Mason Murray and William Ketter. Brandon Walker (who directs as well) is in a league of his own because he excels at the dialogue and displays intentional and bold physicality.
Additionally, the play is presented through a lens that makes The Duke the manufacturer of events – which means that Brandon Walker is arranging the set pieces during scene transitions. This lens is made more obvious through the active use of The Prince by Machiavelli. This well-divined storytelling device places emphasis on the Duke, which moves the audience away from the female voices in the play. I cannot decide if this device works against the desired theme (highlighting the lack of female voices) or if it further proves the point.
My two primary criticisms of the piece are this: If an accent is unnecessary, don’t add one; and if you want an actress to portray a strong minded woman, then she needs to embody that. Sabrina Schlegel-Mejia delivers Isabella’s strong minded monologues with strength of voice yet her physical gestures and posture is that of an uncertain teenager.
Rusty Flounders and Robin Friend
Photo by Russ Rowland
William Ketter
Photo by Russ Rowland
The design element that interacts with the action of the play the most here is the lighting design by Eve Bandi. Every scene and section of the stage has its own particular color and shape. Shadows also play a large role in the production, which is fitting for such a corrupt world.
Despite all of the serious elements that arise in these two productions, the not-so-subtle humor of The Maids and the more (sometimes) subtle humor of Measure for Measure are more than enough to remind me that there is always something to laugh about.
I encourage support for The Seeing Place Theater because their mission is simple and clear, and evidence demonstrates their achievement of it.
The Maids, Measure for Measure, The Seeing Place Theater, Paradise Factory, 64 East 4th Street. Closes April 14th. Tickets at http://seeingplacetheater.com/
My guest absolutely loved Asi Wind’s Inner Circle pre, but if you have been to Speakeasy Magick at The McKittrick Hotel, much of what is here will seem repetitive, though still amazing.
Asi, is good looking, charming, amusing and has a wonderful slight of hand. The Gym at the Judson has been designed and lit by Adam Blumenthal to make the space warm and inviting. The space only has 100 seats so you are up-close and personal.
Before the show starts audience members are asked to write their names and initial on a blank card with red or black sharpie’s. These are the cards he uses as his deck, so that each night the show is personalize.
Wind is a wonderful storyteller and loves his craft. He is infectious about his passion and in so brings his audience in. Each trick is celebrated as he builds his momentum. You will have seen most of these tricks before, if you have been to The McKittrick, but Asi makes it fun and exciting.
My guest could not wait to bring her grandson and throughly enjoyed the show. That alone made the performance special.
Asi Wind’s Inner Circle: Gym at Judson, 243 Thompson Street, until May 28th.
Broadway
Theatre News: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Bad Cinderella, John Kander, KPOP and The Rewards of Being Frank
A Statement From Andrew Lloyd Webber
I am absolutely devastated to say that my eldest son Nick is critically ill.
As my friends and family know, he has been fighting gastric cancer for the last 18 months and Nick is now hospitalised.
I therefore have not been able to attend the recent previews of Bad Cinderella and as things stand, I will not be able to cheer on its wonderful cast, crew and orchestra on Opening Night this Thursday.
We are all praying that Nick will turn the corner. He is bravely fighting with his indomitable humour, but at the moment my place is with him and the family.
Opening Night Performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new musical Bad Cinderella is Thursday, March 23, 2023 at Imperial Theatre, 249 W 45th Street.
Red Carpet arrivals of celebrity guests including Afyia Bennett, Senator Barbara Boxer, Alex Brightman, Tory Burch, Kandi Burruss, Jordan E. Cooper, Erin Dana Lichy, Lamar Dawson, Machine Dazzle, Bethenny Frankel, Mandy Gonzalez, Amber Gray, Jae Gurley, Amber Iman, Ashley Longshore, Carson Kressley, Judy Kuhn, Loosey LaDuca, Luann de Lesseps, Marcia Marcia Marcia, Martyna Majok, Ingrid Michaelson, Andy Mientus, Minnie Mills, Pablo Montalban, Justin Peck, Wendell Pierce, Zac Posen, T. Oliver Reid, Krysta Rodriguez, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Sylvester Stallone, Elizabeth Stanley, Alex Timbers, Tommy Tune, Tanairi Sade Vasquez, Ana Villafane, Anna Wintour and the cast and creative team of Bad Cinderella including Andrew Lloyd Webber, Linedy Genao, Carolee Carmello, Grace McLean, Jordan Dobson, Sami Gayle, Morgan Higgins, Cameron Loyal, Christina Acosta Robinson, Savy Jackson, Mike Baerga, Raymond Baynard, Lauren Boyd, Tristen Buettel, Alyssa Carol, Gary Cooper, Kaleigh Cronin, Josh Drake, Ben Lanham, Angel Lozada, Mariah Lyttle, Robin Masella, Sarah Meahl, Michael Milkanin, Chloe Nadon-Enriquez, Christian Probst, Larkin Reilly, Julio Rey, Lily Rose, J Savage, Dave Schoonover, Tregony Shepherd, Paige Smallwood, Lucas Thompson, Alena Watters and more.
John Kander celebrates his 96th birthday on Saturday, March 18, six days before New York, New York, his 16th original Broadway musical begins performances at the St. James Theatre., giving him the distinction of being the oldest composer to open a new musical on Broadway. To honor the legendary composer Susan Stroman, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Colton Ryan, Anna Uzele and the cast and creative team of New York, New York surprised John Kander with a Big-Apple-sized rendition of “Happy Birthday.” You can watch the video here.
A titan of the American Theatre, John Kander made his Broadway debut as the rehearsal pianist for the original production of Gypsy starring Ethel Merman in 1951. The first Kander & Ebb musical, Flora The Red Menace, debuted in 1965 and starred Liza Minnelli in a Tony-winning performance. What followed was a string of legendary musicals including Chicago, Cabaret, Steel Pier, Curtains, The Visit and The Scottsboro Boys, all culminating in this new musical set in post-war New York, inspired by the 1977 Martin Scorsese film of the same name, which features the iconic song “New York, New York.” New York, New York marks the 15th Kander & Ebb musical to open on Broadway.
New York, New York marks the first new John Kander & Fred Ebb musical to open on Broadway since 2015’s The Visit, which was nominated for 5 Tony Awards including Best Musical. The legendary duo is also currently represented on Broadway with Chicago, which holds the distinction of being the longest-running American musical in Broadway history.
New York, New York stars Colton Ryan (Girl From The North Country, Hulu’s “The Girl From Plainville”) as Jimmy Doyle, Anna Uzele (Six, Apple TV+’s “Dear Edward”) as Francine Evans, Clyde Alves (On The Town) as Tommy Caggiano, John Clay III (Choir Boy) as Jesse Webb, Janet Dacal (In The Heights) as Sofia Diaz, Ben Davis (Dear Evan Hansen) as Gordon Kendrick, Oliver Prose as Alex Mann (Broadway Debut), Angel Sigala (Broadway Debut) as Mateo Diaz, and Tony Award nominee Emily Skinner (Side Show) as Madame Veltri. The ensemble includes Wendi Bergamini, Allison Blackwell, Giovanni Bonaventura, Jim Borstelmann, Lauren Carr, Mike Cefalo, Bryan J. Cortés, Kristine Covillo, Gabriella Enriquez, Haley Fish, Ashley Blair Fitzgerald, Richard Gatta, Stephen Hanna, Naomi Kakuk, Akina Kitazawa, Ian Liberto, Kevin Ligon, Leo Moctezuma, Aaron Nicholas Patterson, Dayna Marie Quincy, Julian Ramos, Drew Redington, Benjamin Rivera, Vanessa Sears, Davis Wayne, Jeff Williams, Darius Wright. New York, New York begins performances Friday, March 24, 2023 and officially opens Wednesday, April 26, 2023 at Broadway’s St. James Theatre (246 West 44th Street).
Featuring music and lyrics by Tony, Emmy & Grammy Award winners and Academy Award nominees John Kander & Fred Ebb (Chicago, Cabaret), written by Tony Award nominee David Thompson (The Scottsboro Boys, Steel Pier), co-written by Sharon Washington (Audible’s Feeding The Dragon) and featuring additional lyrics by Pulitzer, Tony, Emmy & Grammy Award winner and Academy Award nominee Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton, In The Heights), New York, New York will be directed and choreographed by five-time Tony Award winner Susan Stroman (The Producers, The Scottsboro Boys).
It is 1946, the war is over, and a resurgent New York is beginning to rebuild. As steel beams swing overhead, a collection of artists has dreams as big and diverse as the city itself.
Among them is New York native Jimmy Doyle, a brilliant but disillusioned musician looking for his “major chord” in life: music, money, love. The odds are against him getting all three until he meets Francine Evans, a young singer just off the bus from Philly, who is destined for greatness. If they can make it there, they can make it anywhere.
Tickets for New York, New York are now on-sale at www.NewYorkNewYorkBroadway.com. Tickets start at $59.
This new musical is inspired by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Motion Picture New York, New York written by Earl M. Rauch.
Sony Masterworks Broadway, along with producers Tim Forbes and Joey Parnes, share new track “Super Star” from KPOP – Original Broadway Cast Recording – listen here. Featuring vocals from chart-topping Korean songstress and show lead Luna as well as the show’s talented cast of performers, “Superstar” is the second track to debut from the album, which arrives digitally on Monday, May 8 and on CD Friday, May 12. “Super Star” premieres today alongside an accompanying video featuring Luna – watch here.
Available for preorder and presave now, KPOP – Original Broadway Cast Recording was produced by Helen Park, Matt Stein, and Harvey Mason jr.(NCT 127, Red Velvet), and features music, lyrics, music production and arrangements by Park and music and lyrics by Max Vernon. The first-ever Broadway musical to celebrate Korean culture with Korean, Korean-American, and API representation on and off-stage, the album features a star-studded cast of performers from the world of K-pop, including chart-topping superstar and lead Luna, BoHyung (from the K-pop group SPICA and half of the duo KEEMBO), Min (from the K-pop group Miss A), Kevin Woo (from the K-pop group U-KISS), and more.
The Rewards of Being Frank, currently running through March 26, 2023 at the Mezzanine Theatre at ART/New York Theatres (502 West 53rd Street), is now available for streaming, also through March 26 only. The World Premiere play, written by Alice Scovell, is a sequel to Oscar Wilde’s immortal 1895 comedy, The Importance of Being Earnest. The Rewards of Being Frank is a co-production of New York Classical Theatre (Stephen Burdman, Founding Artistic Director, Matthieu Chapman, Literary Director) and Cincinnati Shakespeare Company (Brian Isaac Phillips, Producing Artistic Director). Mr. Burdman directs. The streaming version of The Rewards of Being Frank is available for a donation of $10 or higher. You can watch the recording as often as you wish and at any time. The link will expire at 10:00 pm on Sunday, March 26, 2023. To order, or for more information, please visit: https://ci.ovationtix.com/35099/store/donations/49755 The cast for The Rewards of Being Frank feature Moboluwaji Ademide Akintilo (New York Classical’s The Importance of Being Earnest (Two Ways), Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream) as Frank, James Evans (The McKittrick Hotel’s The Woman in Black) as Algernon, Kelly Mengelkoch (Cincinnati Shakespeare Company) as Gwendolyn, Tora Nogami Alexander (The Acting Company’s Twelfth Night) as Cecily, Jeremy Dubin (Cincinnati Shakespeare Company) as Ernest, and Christine Pedi(Broadway’s Chicago, Talk Radio, Off-Broadway’s Forbidden Broadway) as Lady Bracknell. Oscar Wilde’s much-loved The Importance of Being Earnest receives a hilarious sequel in this world premiere. Set seven years after Wilde’s play, see what happens to our characters when they meet Frank. After all, the only thing more Important than being Earnest, is being Frank! Performances are Tuesday-Sunday at 7:00 PM with matinees on Wednesdays at 2:00 PM. Running time is two hours including intermission. Tickets are available on the NY Classical website. Advance reservations are $35 per seat. These reservations are refundable—in cash, at the theatre—following each regular performance.* All NY Classical programs are free and open to the public. Pending seating availability, FREE admission will be available beginning one hour before curtain, on a first-come, first-served basis.
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