“Hamilton” A Perfect 10 that won 11

As a theater lover and blogger who has been obsessed over the tragedy that has been our electoral year, Hamilton has given me a gift. Thank you Brandon Victor Dixon. Your eloquence brought (joy-filled) tears to my eyes.

Here to protect and serve, the cast of Hamilton steps up to petition an elected official on behalf of the dissenting 50%.

In response to Brandon Victor Dixon’s curtain plea to VP-Elect Mike Pence, the future president @realDonaldTrump took to Twitter to rage against the show. Here’s the (free) speech the Donald found so objectionable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWlwrUFiuUw

As is his wont, the PE created storm in a teacup. Here’s the Trump response, although we know that the Tweeter-In-Chief (as I have heard him called) did not just Tweet once about this issue: https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/799972624713420804

Mike Pence, for the record, thought that the cast was simply exercising a Constitutionally guaranteed privilege of citizenship.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/20/politics/mike-pence-hamilton-message-trump/

Our Theater Blog: TandBOnTheAisle

Alexander Hamilton was this country’s first banker-in-chief, a job which the young revolutionary fulfilled with the same brilliance and passion of all his endeavors. We commemorate him on our ten dollar bill, but are largely unaware of his contributions to his country of choice –yes, he was, like so many of us, an immigrant.

Alexander Hamilton’s life played out on the broad stage of a nascent United States.

Lin-Manuel Miranda has put him center-stage in the radically new bio-musical, Hamilton, which recently transferred from the Public to the Richard Rodgers in an open run.

Daveed Diggs, Okieriete Onaodowan, Anthony Ramos, and Lin-Manuel Miranda in Hamilton Photo © Joan Marcus

The trip uptown from Astor Place has only given Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton a bigger stage on which to play out its amazing history of the founding of the United States. The stage at the Richard Rodgers should be familiar to Lin-Manuel Miranda…

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His Trump(ets) Red Blare

Before he became the President-Elect, Trump was still a blowhard and a bully. Now he has the ultimate “bully pulpit” from which to trumpet his ideas and plans and build more of his own empire. As he would tweet, SAD.

His ego was truly stroked when Taiwan called to congratulate him. Not content with taking the call against US interests and precedents, DJT had to tweet about it. (New developments: December 2, 2016.)

Believe me when I tell you he can certainly blow his own horn. In fact, he’s famous for it, but when the man with the yellow face and huge ego comes out, give him a trumpets-blaring welcome. …

Source: His Trump(ets) Red Blare

Ring, ring, ring…

Little annoyances in the theater loom large because of the sense of confinement we have sitting next to strangers. Cell phones are not LITTLE but they are annoyances!

News from the annoyance front: Impolite theater-goers of the umpteenth degree spotted recently at a matinee of The Cherry Orchard were talking quite loudly. When asked to sush, the response was “Other people are talking.” The other people in question were the characters on stage, I swear.

It’s All American History, Isn’t It?

Black history month gives us one month a year to look at the role of African-Americans in the story of our past. Let’s face it, that still leaves us 12 months to keep the perspective white. I…

Source: It’s All American History, Isn’t It?

I confess that it probably isn’t and that is the fault of the bias of our curriculae.

Breaker/Breaker- Coffee Breaker

While disappointed that you are not giving your input on a favorite coffee destination, the Join the Convo: Where do You Get your Morning Joe? continues. Feel free to chime in with your own best lo…

Source: Breaker/Breaker- Coffee Breaker

The path to great coffee is long and winding, especially in a big city and New York is a very BIG city, so we find ourselves going hither and yon to new little shops. Our travels recently took us to a little “artisanal” spot near the School of Visual Arts, called Gila’s (23rd Street) Nosh.

Here your tastebuds travel to Israel, with a breakfast of eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce (far more delicious than it reads.) Try the Upside Down Coffee (medium is recommended) as your morning jolt.

Legacies of war

Jon Hoche, Raymond Lee, Paco Tolson (center), Jennifer Ikeda, and Samantha Quan. Photo © Carol Rosegg

History can sometimes revel in a very personal dynamic.

For instance, those of us who lived through and joined in protests against the Vietnam War may not share the viewpoint of the main character in Qui Nguyen’s Vietgone, currently playing at MTC’s City Center Stage I through December 4th.

Quang (Raymond Lee) was a pilot in the South Vietnamese armed forces. He was trained in the United States. He saw the North Vietnamese as a genuine threat to life and liberty and welcomed the help of American soldiers in the struggle.

Vietgone is a fast-paced kind-of-multi-media excursion into the hero’s and heroine’s, Tong (Jennifer Ikeda), survival. They meet at a state-side refugee camp where Tong and her mother (Samantha Quan, in a number of roles) have come after the fall of Saigon.

The piece is, and isn’t, narrated by the Playwright (Paco Tolson, also playing several people), who is commemorating his parents’ story. There are rapped love songs, (original music by Shane Rettig) motorcycles, a roadtrip, and a bromance– all trappings to some extent of the era portrayed in the plot.

For the most part, Vietgone is entertaining, interesting, unusual in structure, and well presented. There is room for some cuts here and there. The cast, under May Adrales’ direction, and staging, with scenic designs by Tim Mackabee and projection design by Jared Mezzocchi, are excellent.

In other subscription house news from our household:

Roundabout’s Love, Love, Love (reviewed earlier and playing through 12/18) can make us feel guilty first for Brexit and now Trump as it portrays boomers resting in reactionary comfort.

Over at Studio 54 througfh January 15, 2017, Roundabout has mounted a vehicle for nostalgia. Holiday Inn, with no irony whatsoever, cries out for Mickey and Judy. It is well-served by the cast on hand, however, and a pleasantly tuneful production makes for a great afternoon at the movies, er theater.Bryce Pinkham and Corbin Bleu are the friends and dancing partners, along with Megan Sikora, and Lora Lee Gayer who lead the ensemble in song and dance.

Heisenberg
Georgie- Mary-Louise Parker and Alex– Denis Arndt;
Set Designer Mark Wendland; Costume Designer Michael Krass;
Lighting Designer Austin R. Smith;
Original Music and Sound Designer David Van Tieghem. Photo © Joan Marcus

MTC gives us Heisenberg at its Broadway venue, the Friedman Theatre through December 11th. Why Heisenberg? The play, so well-acted by Denis Arndt and Mary-Louise Parker as to have one puzzling over the quantum physics of it name, is an enjoyable two-hander. It’s gimmicky staging notwithstanding, the dynamic of the drama is captivating. Heisenberg is a sweet-crazy story, written by Simon Stephens, the pen behind The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Heisenberg was a transfer from Off-Off, and as such had some buzziness surrounding it.Director Mark Brokaw elicits strong performances from both his actors. Parker, who unleashes the odd-ball in her character in little bursts, is fun to watch.Arndt’s charm reveals how a pent-up man can suddenly be both impetuous and child-like. So, back to the title: Heisenberg has an underlying if small principle of uncertainty that you will likely enjoy.

Kid friendly

Exposing our children (or grandchildren) to theater and dance could really be a year-round endeavor. Nonetheless, many of us choose to show them the grand repertories of kid-friendly shows over the holidays.

NYCB is not alone in mounting a lavish Nutcracker from November through December, but it is a go-to for lots of parents. ABT has yet to release dates for its Nutcracker spectacle, another rousing destination for families. (Those of you in New Jersey can enjoy the American Repertory Ballet’s version.)

Another newer tradition for some people is Peter & The Wolf at the Guggenheim’s Works & Process series which kicks off in early December.Brad Lubman leads Ensemble Signal in Sergei Prokofiev’s score.  Renowned fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi narrates, directs, designs the set and costumes. Mizrahi’s special cast performs choreography by John Heginbotham, at which the familiar characters come to life in the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Peter B. Lewis Theater for ten performances.

Other holiday specials are all around the town. One, at the Axis Theatre, is from the Grimm canon and starts on December 2nd. Seven in One Blow, or the Brave Little Kid written and directed by Randy Sharp is in its 15th year of production.

<p><a href=”https://vimeo.com/87891224″>Axis Company (a Meet the Theatre film)</a> from <a href=”https://vimeo.com/tdf”>Theatre Development Fund (tdf)</a> on <a href=”https://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a&gt;.</p>

Children’s theater gets the year-long treatment at The New Victory Theater. For November in their New 42nd Street studios, the company hosts something called Paper Dreams for 2-5 year olds, and on the mainstage for an older crowd, a magic show, Jason Bishop: Straight Up Magic. New Victory productions will charm adults as much as they do  youngsters.

Symphony Space on the upper west side has a series called Just Kidding that offers all-year programming for the younger crowd. There are hootenanies and game shows, puppets, plays and all manner of story-telling for them to enjoy almost every week. For the holidays, they have Just Kidding: National Dance Institute: The Celebration Team! with 100 kids dancing on November 19th and  Puppetkabob: The Snowflake Man on December 17th among other programs. November 13th brings the LIVE Trivia show for the whole family, called the Big Family Quiz Thing.

Also check out the Theater at the 14th Y for children’s fare. This December, for a limited run, there’s Hanna and the Moonlit Dress, based on the beloved Israeli book Hanna’s Sabbath Dress by Itzhak Schweiger-Dmi’el and is adapted for the stage by Ronit Muszkatblit and Yoav Gal.

There’s so much holiday fare for you and your children but we share only a select few things here. 

Vox Populi

This election year is reality TV, or, perhaps, unreality theater, unscripted and unwelcome in so many ways. The circus atmosphere in no way diminishes the importance of the choice we make on November 8th:

(c) Tamara Beck

The people have spoken. Who says no one listens to you. You said you did not want professional politicians running the country.  Congratulations. The tea party congress has consistently acted most …

Some of us are saying, this can’t be happening. Others are pleased to see it unfold as it has.

Source: Vox Populi

 

All Alone

Well-written, well-played and ultimately, well, annoying, Adam Bock’s A Life has gotten great reviews from almost everyone. We are the dessenting few.

There is a banality in our daily lives that we want to hide behind long narratives of what we’ve done, and how we feel. We desperately want the ordinary to be extraordinary.

A Life by Adam Bock at
Playwrights Horizons
Directed by Anne Kaufman
Starring David Hyde Pierce (pictured) and with Marinda Anderson,
Brad Heberlee, Nedra McClyde, Lynne McCollough. Photo © Joan Marcus

In A Life, Adam Bock’s new play at Playwrights Horizons through November 27th, the characters find it hard to connect.

Nate (David Hyde Pierce) delivers a long and (at least in my lights) tedious monologue, centering on relationships and the astrological that charts them. It’s a tribute to his talent and timing that he can hold our attention for as long as he does.

Bock engages the audience, although perhaps engage is too strong a word, involves the audience, first in

A Life by Adam Bock at Playwrights Horizons. Directed by Anne Kaufman. Starring David Hyde Pierce and with Marinda Anderson, Brad Heberlee, Nedra McClyde, Lynne McCollough. Photo © Joan Marcus

Nate’s soliloquy and then when his sister Lori (Lynne McCullough) thanks us all for coming. It is an irony that she is grateful that Nate had so many friends in his life, since the theme in A Life seems to be his isolation.

A Life by Adam Bock at Playwrights Horizons. Directed by Anne Kaufman. Starring David Hyde Pierce and with Marinda Anderson, Brad Heberlee, Nedra McClyde, Lynne McCollough. Photo © Joan Marcus

Of all the friends Nate narrates about, we meet only one in A Life.  Nate shares a coffee and man-gazing with his best friend is Curtis (Brad Heberlee) at a shop near his apartment.

Laura Jellinek’s active set pivots from one scene to another with deliberate drama. Anne Kaufman’s direction cannot keep the pace on this slow moving 85-minutes fast enough to keep the drama from sagging under its own weight.

To learn more about A Life, and for tickets, please visit the PH website.