My review of “August : Osage County”
Yup, we’re still in New York City, and still seeing plays. We saw August : Osage County yesterday afternoon. This was Meg’s top pick for the weekend. Great pick !!For August, Meg was able to get a student ticket, but unfortunately, I had to pay full price. No super-cheap rush tickets like we got for Boeing Boeing.
August : Osage County has a neat story. It was actually first produced in Chicago at the Steppenwolf theatre. It was so successful there, that they picked up the whole production, actors and all, and moved it to Broadway ! And it’s doing fantastic. In fact, it’s up for a Tony nomination for Best Play.
I was a little leery, since it’s a three act play, complete with two intermissions, that runs for a full three and half hours ! But you know what, it was fantastic ! The acting was brilliant across the board, which is saying something since there’s about 12 people in the cast.
In short, it’s the story of a dysfunctional family from Oklahoma, wrestling with the untimely disappearance of the patriarch of the clan. From there, I’m going to let you discover the story yourself ! But if this thing actually wins the Tony for Best Play, tickets are going to be impossible to get.
My review of “Boeing Boeing” in NYC
We are up in New York city this weekend, and thoroughly enjoying the fantastic weather ! It’s absolutely beautiful. In fact, I’m sitting outside as I write this review, enjoying 75 degree weather in Bryant Park. BTW, Bryant Park has free Wi-Fi, and nice tables. A terrific place to work.We saw Boeing Boeing on Saturday night. Meg is teaching me great things about seeing shows for cheap in New York city. Some theaters sell “rush” tickets a few hours before each show. Boeing Boeing was my top pick for the weekend, and believe it or not, we were able to get $20 tickets ! They were in a small box, very close to the stage. In fact, we were so close that we couldn’t see the extreme edge of stage left, but still for $20, they were great !
Boeing Boeing was my top pick because it stars Bradley Whitford, of West Wing fame. He played Josh Lyman in West Wing. Imagine my surprise when Whitford was the weakest element of the show. I mean, he was OK, but was far from brilliant.
In contrast, Robert, played by Mark Rylance, was absolutely fantastic. He was so comfortable in his role, and his comedic timing was brilliant ! He easily carried the show.
If you’re in New York, and you’re looking for something easy and fun to watch, more like a sitcom than a play, then Boeing Boeing is just what you’re looking for. No heavy dialogue, no musical numbers, just plain laugh-out-loud fun.
Oh yeah, it’s nominated for a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play.
My review of “Les Mis” at the Walnut Street Theatre
I saw the opening performance of Les Mis at the Walnut Street Theatre this past Wednesday night ! Wow, what a show ! I’ m sure that big shows with expensive sets can be pretty intimidating for a regional theatre to produce; however, I think the Walnut really stepped up to the challenge, and hit a home run.Thought, I must admit, that during the 1st act, I wasn’t so sure. I’d seen Les Mis once before, and during the intermission, Meg asked me what I thought of the show so far…. “Well,” I said, “I thought it was a bigger show.. I just remember it being… bigger”. Boy, in the 2nd act, they really delivered, and it was indeed bigger ! The set construction dudes must have REALLY had their hands full for this one !
Anyway, should you go see it ? Absolutely ! It’s a classic, and pretty easy to follow, though, you might want to read a short summary of the play before you go. There are a few things that are a tad tough to figure out. Like just who are they trying to barricade out of the city, anyway ? I still haven’t figured that one out.
This is a LONG production run (4 months, into August), but from what I hear, tickets are going really, really fast. If you’re thinking about seeing it, buy tickets now. Go to the Walnut’s website to buy tickets.
Rowing in the Dad Vail Regatta
I raced in the Dad Vail Regatta this past weekend !! Unfortunately, we didn’t do quite as well as we’d hoped, but still had a great time ! Check out the video. We’re in the 3rd race, in Lane 5 (farthest from the shore).Click Here to see the Dad Vail Video
Oh, and a big thanks to Meg for filming the race for us !!
My Review of “Romeo & Juliet” at the PSF
I saw Romeo and Juliet at the Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival last night. First things first : I’m very grateful to the PSF for working so hard over the last 11 years to bring Shakespeare to the Philadelphia area. Like many other people, I often struggle with Shakespeare, but each year, I find that I get more and more out of it. Over the last four years, I’ve seen Taming of the Shrew, Julius Caesar, The Condensed Works of William Shakespeare, and now Romeo and Juliet. The PSF is just a wonderful opportunity for local folks like myself hone their skills as a Shakespeare audience. Oh yeah, one more big shout out to Dave Liegeot for talking me into going each year !!Now, about last night’s production. It’s been quite a few years since I saw R&J, and forgot just how much depth there is to the story. I think PSF did a wonderful job capturing and exploring that depth, and in the end, I was incredibly moved by the tragedy. To me, that’s the first and last criteria for a terrific show.
Romeo (David Raphaely) did a great job. I think he portrayed the love-struck character really well, without taking it too far, and going off the deep end with it. Romeo was believable from front to back. He’s just a kid knocked on his heels by love at first sight.
I was a little bit confused by the portrayal of Juliet by Melissa Dunphy. I believe Melissa hails from Australia, and she brought her native accent to the stage in playing Juliet. I’m not sure whether she’s just still working on her American accent, or if playing Juliet with an Australian accent was a conscious choice, but either way, it was distracting for me. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with an Australian accent, in fact I quite like it; however, it was inconsistent with the rest of the cast, and it kept bringing me out of the story. Outside of that, I think her portrayal was quite good.
Within the rest of the cast, Damon Bonetti’s portrayal of Mercutio was my favorite. He made some really big choices with the character, and it was just plain entertaining each time he walked on the stage.
If you want to see it, you’ve got two more weeks. Been thinking about boning up your Shakespeare ? Then Romeo & Juliet is for you ! By it’s very popularity, it’s an easy story to follow, which helps immensely when trying to understand the language. Hop to it, and make the plunge !
My Review of “Othello” at the Lantern Theater Company
Nobody said Shakespeare was easy, right ? Well, it ain’t all that hard either. You see, early in the play, I thought I didn’t understand what was happening, but then I stopped trying so hard to figure it out, and realized that I already had ! Sure, the language was tough, and there were times that I just couldn’t understand the dialog, but they zipped by soon enough, and by paying attention to the interaction between characters, it all became clear !You might be like me, and didn’t know the gist of Othello, so here goes : It’s the story of a young military man (Iago) who gets passed over for promotion. Feeling slighted, and rather bitter, he goes a rampage of subterfuge, misleading and misguiding all those around him. His true aim is the destruction of the romance between his commander, Othello, who is a Moor (i.e. a black man), and his new wife, a young, fair (white) maiden. I won’t give a way the ending, because it’s definitely worth checking out.
As for the production, I thought it was very, very good. Pete Pryor did a really stellar job as Iago. I also liked Frank X as Othello, though I do think he peaked a bit too early. His portrayal seems a bit too tormented in the middle of the play, but for the end, seems entirely appropiate.
And best of all ? I now understand why the game pieces in the Othello board game are black and white !
It closes on Sunday, so you better hurry. Be prepared, it’s a 3 hour play.
My Review of “Picnic” at the Montgomery Theatre
I continued to be wow’ed by the productions at the small Montgomery Theater in Souderton, and Picnic is no exceptoin. This is a pretty old script, but the cast did a wonderful job of breathing new life into it. Speaking of the cast. They say that 90% of the work for a new production is casting the play, and Tom Quinn did a stellar job. And it was no small task because this is a huge cast ! Especially for a small space. I don’t know how they did it, but the large cast really comes together. At some points, all 11 people are running around stage at the same time, but somehow it works beautifully.Now I’m the first to admit that I see more theatre than the average “Joe”, and being entertained is hugely important. I’m rather Type A, and no matter how good the play, I usually find myself looking at my watch at least once during the show. Not this time. Not once.
Big Disclaimer : My girl is in this show (http://www.meghanheimbecker)… I try to not let this sway my opinion… In fact, she’s kissing other boys during this show, so’d you think it would actually sway my opinion against the show. No so… like I said, hugely entertaining (except for the kissing part :) Definitely go so this… Particulary if you’ve never been to a small theatre.
My review of “The Piano Lesson” at the Arden Theatre
I saw “The Piano Lesson” at the Arden Theatre last week. My friend, Yaegel Welch, was in the show. Yaegel is absolutely amazing on stage. Go see him. Period.Yaegel played opposite Meg last year in My Children, My Africa. It was a huge play that took you on this epic, amazing journey of discovery through South African Apartheid. Piano Lesson was just as good, but a bit lighter on it’s feet.
It was the story a black family in the 1940’s, wrestling with how to handle their one family heirloom, a piano… The brother wants to sell it, and the sister keep it. It was amazing how in course of the story you find yourself rooting for both of them. Very good story, very well portrayed, and totally worth your time… though be warned, it runs a bit longer than average… about 3 hours.
My review of “The Odd Couple” at the Walnut Street Theatre
The whole family went to see The Odd Couple at the Walnut Street Theatre this past Saturday. Everybody came along… My sister and her husband, Meg, and Mom and Dad.In short, I thought the casting could have been a little better, but I really enjoyed the show. I have a strong memory of the TV Show (the one starring Tony Randall), but I don’t think I’ve ever seen the original movie (starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau). I guess the play is much closer in plot to the original movie… OK, it’s probably the other way around. I guess the movie was based on the stage play (also starring Lemmon and Matthau). But still, try as I might, I couldn’t get Tony Randall as Felix out of my head ! I think Tony Randall did a great job playing Felix… He somehow managed to create this middle-age neat-nick, without going too far, and making him gay. Well, in the Walnut’s version, they didn’t pull off Felix as well… He came off gay, and I don’t think they meant him too.
But, outside of that foible, I enjoyed myself. Great lines, big laughs, a good time. It’s a simple, fun play, and you needn’t understand Shakespeare to have a good time. Some people may scoff at me, but you know, sometimes when I go to the theatre, I don’t really want to be challenged…. I just want to have a good time… This is one of those play. A good time.
And it was packed !! In fact, on the way in to the lobby, Meg says to me “I just love it. All these people could be doing almost anything with their time, and they choose live theatre.” She’s right, Philadelphia has a great theatre scene, and people know it. Get out there and enjoy it !