Candide

Candide, at Boston's Huntington Theatre Company
Gratuitous Violins rating: ***1/2 out of ****

I know that everyone goes to the theatre with their own expectations but for me, above all, I love a good story.

And Candide, at the Huntington Theatre Company, is an exuberant, inventive and melodic story about a young man's adventure-filled journey through life. There are so many twists and turns, memorable characters and shifting locations that I was enthralled.

Plus the score, by Leonard Bernstein, is glorious. I listened to the overture while I was driving to work and I had it in my head all day. Maybe it's the trombones and trumpets that give it a little added pizzazz but it's a thrilling piece of music. I even detected a few notes that sounded like West Side Story!

Geoff Packard is very appealing in the title role - youthful, eager and a bit naive. He's living in luxury on the estate of a baron in Westphalia when he gets a little too friendly with the baron's daughter, Cunegonde, a sweet and feisty Lauren Molina. As as a result, he's thrust out of paradise into the harshness of the real world.

But Candide perseveres - through war, an earthquake, a shipwreck. He travels from Europe to the jungles of South America, to real places and imaginary ones. He finds and loses Cunegonde more than once. All of this sorely tests the optimistic philosophy imparted by his tutor, Dr. Pangloss, that everything happens for the best in this best of all possible worlds.

Now you might think that all of this would be a bit dreary - there's a scene set during the Inquisition with the line "what a day for an auto-da-fe." But director Mary Zimmerman, who penned a new adaptation of Voltaire's 18th century satire, brings out the humor and sharpens the wit. She also keeps things moving. I never felt it dragged over the 3-hour length.

The supporting cast is terrific, too.

Cheryl Stern was perfect as the Old Lady who may be descended from Polish royalty but now, down on her luck, casts her lot with Cunegonde and Candide. Her solo number, "I Am Easily Assimilated," in which she regales them with her very involved life story, was hilarious. Eric Lochtefeld was great as Cunegonde's snobbish and slimy brother Maximilian. And Larry Yando's Pangloss was a wonderful sendup of academia.

Daniel Ostling's set design also plays a big role in highlighting the theatricality of the work.

When Candide is banished from the baron's home, he finds himself in a large wood-paneled room without any apparent entrance or exit. Then doors and windows open, characters appear, furniture is moved in and out. It's a stunning transition. Molina sings one of the musical's best-known songs, "Glitter and Be Gay," stepping out of a bathtub. My favorite touch was a flock of small, woolly red sheep that Candide stumbles upon.

Apparently, Candide, an operetta first performed in 1956, has always been considered something of a problem child. The Huntington program credits the book to Hugh Wheeler and the lyrics to Richard Wilbur with additional lyrics by, among others, Stephen Sondheim, Lillian Hellman and Dorothy Parker.

I can't say how this Candide stacks up against all others since this was the first time I'd seen it or even heard the music. But Zimmerman's production, which premiered at Chicago's Goodman Theatre with some of the same principal cast, worked for me.

In the end, Packard's Candide is more worldly, less naive. He's been on a rollicking, moving, often difficult and immensely entertaining journey.

The Huntington's less than perfect pitch

Last night I received a call from a very pleasant young woman representing Boston's Huntington Theatre Company. She noted that I'd attended a performance of Fences and asked what I thought. I told her I really enjoyed it.

She said that was great and then proceeded to inform me that the production was going to Broadway, with only one cast change as far as she knew - the addition of Denzel Washington. She encouraged me to try and see the play again in New York.

Then she started to make a pitch for a donation. (Not to finance the "Broadway transfer," which would have been cool, but for the Huntington's very worthy education program.)

I once spent a couple of months selling subscriptions to The Boston Globe over the phone. (Not very successfully, I might add.) I know how hard it is, so I don't blame this person. Maybe she works on commission and isn't a theatre fan and doesn't even live in Massachusetts.

But I haven't seen the Huntington mentioned in association with the Broadway revival that begins previews April 14 at the Cort Theatre. As far as I know, this isn't a transfer but an entirely separate production with different producers and cast, headed by Washington and Viola Davis.

Maybe there's some connection I don't know about but as far as I can tell, the only thing the Boston and New York Fences have in common is that it's the same play and the same director, Kenny Leon.

What bothers me is that the same thing happened the last time I got a call from the Huntington, just a few months ago. The young woman on the phone tried to tell me that Becky Shaw, which the theatre is presenting in the spring, was a Broadway play. I know it's an off-Broadway play.

Now, I love the Huntington. I've seen several shows there and I've enjoyed each one of them and I'll definitely go again.

I know nonprofits are hurting and it's difficult to raise money. Broadway sounds better than off Broadway and Denzel Washington sounds more impressive than John Beasley (who actually was very impressive at the Huntington in the role Washington will be playing.)

But this is getting annoying.

So here's a some advice for any theatre company that might call me in the future: if you want me to consider donating money or becoming a season subscriber, please be honest when you make your pitch. Because I was not born yesterday.

The sad thing is, the Huntington does great work. It doesn't need to embellish its record.

Saying goodbye to The 39 Steps

I can't believe it's time to say goodbye to The 39 Steps on Broadway.

This plucky little British comedy had a great two-year run, far longer than anyone would have predicted when it began previews on Jan. 4, 2008.

And it's a play that will always occupy a special place in my theatergoing experience because it was the show that launched my blog.

The first Gratuitous Violins post was a review of The 39 Steps at Boston's Huntington Theatre Company, where it had a pre-New York engagement.

After Boston, The 39 Steps came to Broadway's American Airlines Theatre under the auspices of the nonprofit Roundabout Theatre Company. The play transferred to the Cort and later the Helen Hayes, its final home, for an open-ended commercial run.

Well, that run ends today after 771 performances, making it the longest-running play on Broadway in seven years.

I had a chance to see The 39 Steps on Broadway last summer, my first time taking it in since Boston. Arnie Burton, one of two actors who plays multiple roles, was still in the cast.

And it was still immensely entertaining - a witty and inventive retelling of Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 movie about a man caught up in an international spy ring. It's hard to believe you could do so much with four actors, a few props and lots of imagination.

There's been talk of moving the show off-Broadway, like the producers of Avenue Q did after the musical closed at the Golden Theatre. But there's no official word yet. Still, The 39 Steps will live on somewhere - if not in New York than on tour and in regional productions.

Wintertime theatergoing

The weather outside can be frightful so I'll probably be staying close to home for my theatergoing during the first few months of 2010. But there are shows I'm looking forward to seeing without having to venture too far:

Dead Man's Cell Phone, at Trinity Repertory Company. I saw Sarah Ruhl's The Clean House at Trinity Rep a few years ago and I really enjoyed the quirky characters and story she created. Just from the title, this play sounds intriguing.

The Glass Menagerie, at the Gamm Theatre. I've never seen a Tennessee Williams play on stage and I feel like he's one of those classic American playwrights whose work I should know. So hopefully this will be a good introduction.

Xanadu, at the Providence Performing Arts Center. I missed this musical on Broadway and from everything I've read, it sounded like fun. Plus, the action takes place in a roller disco so the actors will be on skates. Perfect for a winter afternoon.

Comic Potential, at the 2nd Story Theatre. I've never been to this theatre but an Alan Ayckbourn play might just be the push I need. I loved The Norman Conquests on Broadway last year and I'm eager to sample some more of his work.

Becky Shaw, at the Huntington Theatre Company. Gina Gionfriddo's comedy about a blind date that goes awry was a Pulitzer Prize finalist and garnered good reviews in New York, where it was directed by Peter DuBois. He's bringing it to Boston in his capacity as the Huntington's artistic director.

Dreamgirls, at the Colonial Theatre. I liked the movie and now I'm curious to see this musical about the rise of a 1960s Motown girl group on stage, where it began. I'm thinking there's something special about hearing a live version of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going.''

Two musicals I'm probably going to skip are 101 Dalmations and Beauty and the Beast at PPAC. After a performance of Annie in May attended by children who were way too young to be there, I'm really not in the mood.

Fences

Gratuitous Violins rating: ***1/2 out of ****

It's 1957 in Fences, the Pulitzer Prize-winning sixth chapter of August Wilson's 10-play cycle chronicling 20th century African-American life. This was the year nine black students integrated Little Rock's Central High School and Hank Aaron's home run clinched the pennant for the Milwaukee Braves.

Change is coming but in this compelling production at Boston's Huntington Theatre Company, directed by Kenny Leon, Wilson shows us how difficult it can be to break with the past.

As Troy Maxson, the play's main character, John Beasley is a commanding presence. He's a burly 53-year-old Pittsburgh garbage collector whose life experiences have made him hard and bitter. He can be funny and loving and cruel and thoughtless. He drinks too much and fools around but he has a deep sense of obligation toward his family.

And the supporting cast is equally terrific, including Crystal Fox, powerful in an understated way as Maxson's long-suffering wife, Rose, who tries to keep her family together; Warner Miller as his teenage son Cory, yearning for his father's approval; a very sweet Bill Nunn as his brother Gabriel, who suffered a head wound in World War II and believes he's the angel Gabriel; Brandon J. Dirden as his freewheeling older son Lyons; and Eugene Lee as Maxson's easygoing buddy Jim Bono, who often tries to talk some sense into his friend.

This is my second August Wilson play. I saw Joe Turner's Come and Gone, set in 1911, on Broadway in June. While I enjoyed that one a little more - it seemed to move a bit faster - Troy Maxson is one of the most complex and interesting of Wilson's characters that I've seen so far.

Maxson once played baseball in the Negro League but missed out on the game's integration, a fact that's central to this story. He angrily denies Cory a chance to meet with a college football recruiter because "the white man ain't gonna let you get nowhere with that football noway."

At first, I couldn't understand why the son of a sharecropper wouldn't be thrilled at the prospect of his son winning a scholarship. But this was a time when a college degree was no guarantee of success for a black man in America, when black men were only allowed to work on the backs of garbage trucks in Pittsburgh, not drive them. (And even when they finally do get to drive them, it can be lonely up front.)

Even the set design, by Marjorie Bradley Kellogg, a two-story brick house set in the back of an alley, with a small dirt yard, gives the impression that this is a closed-off, separate world.

Behind Maxson's anger, his harshness, is a desire to protect his son in the only way he knows how, the only way he can imagine. He wants Cory to learn a trade - building houses or fixing cars, "that way you have something can't nobody take away from you."

In some ways, this is a story about a generational shift. To men of Maxson's generation who came through the Great Depression, the purpose of work was to provide for your family. Whether or not you liked your job didn't enter into the equation.

Near the end of the play, Rose tells Cory: "Your daddy wanted you to be everything he wasn't ... and at the same time he tried to make you into everything he was. I don't know if he was right or wrong ... but I do know he meant to do more good than he meant to do harm."

Wilson is an absorbing storyteller who explores African-American history without seeming forced or preachy. Maxson isn't a one-dimensional tyrant or a stereotypical "angry black man." As the play went on, layers were added and I understood more of what made him so unique, so flawed, so human.

The Huntington had a long relationship with Wilson, who died of liver cancer in 2005. In the theatre's Limelight magazine, there's a list of the plays in the century cycle and the season each was staged - except one, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, set in 1920s Chicago, which is "upcoming."

You know I'll be there.

Meanwhile, you've got one week left to see Fences, which closes Oct. 11.

Today, Fences at the Huntington

My 2009-2010 theatergoing season kicks off today with a trip to Boston for August Wilson's Fences, at the Huntington Theatre Company.

I saw my first August Wilson play, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, on Broadway in May and I loved it. There's just something about the characters, the storytelling, that I found so compelling. It really drew me in.

Like most of the plays in Wilson's Century Cycle chronicling African-American life, Fences takes place in Pittsburgh. But the story is set in 1957, some 46 years after after Joe Turner's Come and Gone.

Written in 1983 and awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, it tells the story of a former Negro leagues baseball player named Troy Maxson and his family.

The director is Kenny Leon, who worked with Wilson on many of his plays. I didn't realize that the Huntington, too, had a lengthy partnership with the playwright, up until his death in 2005. Here's an interview with Leon from The Boston Globe.

And here's a behind-the-scenes look at the production:



Unusual for me, I've actually tried to exercise some restraint and stay away from the reviews. But from what little I've read, this production is getting some terrific buzz and I'm really excited about seeing it.

The odds catch up with The 39 Steps

Broadway shows come and go but this one is a little more personal for me than most. The 39 Steps is responsible for my becoming a theatre blogger and it was the subject of my very first Gratuitous Violins post.

So when I heard that the play is closing Jan. 10, I was disappointed. I saw the British import at Boston's Huntington Theatre Company in September 2007, during its pre-Broadway run. And I loved it just as much when I saw it on Broadway in July 2009 at the Helen Hayes Theatre.

But nothing lasts forever on Broadway, except possibly The Phantom of the Opera. And I knew that the nonprofit Second Stage Theatre announced in July 2008 that it was acquiring the Helen Hayes as a venue for contemporary American drama.

Plus, this little play, which began previews in January 2008, beat the odds. It changed theatres twice, transferring from a nonprofit to a commercial run to become the longest-running Broadway play in seven years. That's not bad for a production with no recognizable actors, based on a movie few theatergoers have seen.

In July, I got my ticket at the Times Square TKTS booth and apparently a lot of other people went the discount route, too. The 39 Steps was playing to 60.7 percent capacity last week at the 597-seat Helen Hayes, Broadway's smallest house, with an average ticket price of $64.34.

But I have to give the producers credit for trying different ways to get people into the theatre, including hosting talkbacks, an Alfred Hitchcock lookalike contest, a scavenger hunt based on The Amazing Race and posting clues on Twitter about tickets hidden at various spots in midtown Manhattan.

I've written before about how the play, with its four-person cast and a few props, uses wit and inventiveness to retell the story of the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock movie about a man caught up in a spy ring. I've seen far more elaborate shows that didn't thrill me and or make me laugh nearly as much.

For a brief period over the summer, as this New York Times article notes, The 39 Steps was the only play on Broadway. Arnie Burton, who's been with the production since Boston, called it "an homage to the theatre. It's a valentine to that kind of creativity and imagination, of doing so much with so little."

There's still time to see The 39 Steps on Broadway. Discounted tickets are available through Playbill.com.

The national tour has already been at the La Jolla Playhouse and moves to the Seattle Repertory Theatre from Sept. 25 to Oct. 24. Although the tour "officially" kicks off in November at the Shubert Theatre in New Haven. Here's the schedule.

In his review from La Jolla, Los Angeles Times critic Charles McNulty said that the play "sets out to prove that anything movies can do, theater can do less expensively and more hilariously." I definitely agree.

My must-see fall shows, regional edition

Fall preview season is just the greatest time of year. Every tv series is a possible hit, every book a potential bestseller and there's no shortage of promising performances on stage and screen. I get kind of giddy anticipating it all.

When it comes to theatre, I want to see everything but sadly, unlike books, movies and tv shows, that's not practical. So here are the plays and musicals in my area that I don't want to miss and have a realistic chance of being able to see. This might not be everyone's list, but it's mine.

I already have my ticket for The Huntington Theatre Company's production of August Wilson's Fences. After loving Joe Turner's Come and Gone, I'm excited about seeing another chapter in Wilson's cycle chronicling African-American life in the 20th century, this one set in the 1950s. (Also, the Huntington has set up a great Web site for the play, with links to podcasts, articles, interviews and sketches for the set design. Every theatre company should do it this way.)

I'm also interested in Shooting Star at Trinity Repertory Company. The two-hander is by Steven Dietz, a new playwright for me. Plus, it's a "smart romantic comedy," one of my favorite genres. And it features Kurt Rhoads and Nance Williamson, husband and wife actors who've won praise for their work with the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival. It'll be nice to see some new faces at Trinity Rep.

I never had a chance to see Avenue Q on Broadway and it closes Sunday. But I've certainly heard a lot about this rather raunchy, supposedly hilarious puppet show over the years. I'm looking forward to catching up with the tour at the Providence Performing Arts Center, just to see what snatched the 2004 Best Musical Tony from my beloved Wicked.

On the other hand, Rent isn't new to me. I saw it at PPAC in 2008. But the tour is returning to Providence this fall with Broadway's original Mark and Roger - Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal. Rent was a groundbreaking musical in so many ways and to be able to see it with two of its original actors is a unique opportunity.

Speaking of Wicked, the musical returns to PPAC for a month in December. I saw the show on tour in 2007 and just fell in love with it. So you know I'll be there - and I hope you will, too.

Cast announced for Huntington's Fences

Boston's Huntington Theatre Company opens its 2009-2010 season next month with a production of August Wilson's Fences and I'm really looking forward to it.

I saw my first play by the late Tony and Pulitzer winner in May, the Broadway revival of Joe Turner's Come and Gone, and I loved it. I love how Wilson combines African-American history with a compelling story and characters in a way that never seems forced or preachy.

This week, the Huntington announced the cast for Fences, which begins previews on Sept. 11 and runs through Oct. 11. The play will be directed by Kenny Leon, who's helmed two of Wilson's works on Broadway as well as the recent revival of A Raisin in the Sun.

I'm only familiar with one of the actors - Bill Nunn, whom I've seen in movies. But that's okay, except for Ernie Hudson I didn't know any of the actors in Joe Turner either.

Luckily, I have the Internets to help provide a little background.

The play, which takes place in 1957 in Pittsburgh, tells the story of Troy Maxson, a former Negro League baseball player whose dreams were thwarted by racism. Maxson's frustration with the way his life has turned out impacts his family, especially his son Cory, a budding football star.

Included in the cast are John Beasley as Troy, Crystal Fox as his wife, Rose, Warner Miller as Cory, Bill Nunn as Troy's brother, Gabriel, and Brandon J. Dirden as Lyons, Troy's son by a previous marriage.

Beasley played Troy Maxson in March 2008 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., which held staged readings of all 10 plays in Wilson's Century Cycle chronicling African-American life in the 20th century.

Here's a review from Elyse Gardner in USA Today. Maxson, she writes, "is one of the greatest tragic heroes written for the stage, and John Beasley is marvelous in the part, by turns hilarious, infuriating and heartbreaking."

Update: More background on the cast, from the Huntington's blog.

The 39 Steps

Gratuitous Violins rating: ***1/2 out of ****

It's been nearly two years since I saw and raved about The 39 Steps at Boston's Huntington Theatre Company, during it's pre-Broadway warm-up.

I was so enthusiastic in an e-mail to Steve on Broadway that he encouraged me, as he'd done many times before, to start a blog. I'd always declined, thinking I didn't have anything to say, but this time I took the plunge. And my review became the first-ever Gratuitous Violins post.

So naturally, I've always had a soft spot for this plucky little British comedy. As the play moved from its limited Roundabout Theatre Company engagement to an open-ended run, I've followed its fortunes and always hoped that someday, I'd have a chance to revisit it on Broadway.

Well during my last trip I had a free Sunday afternoon and at about 20 minutes before curtain time, I walked up to the TKTS booth in Times Square to buy a half-price ticket. I'm so glad I did because The 39 Steps is just as funny and witty and inventive as I remembered it from Boston.

The story, adapted by Patrick Barlow, is an absolutely faithful and hilarious retelling of Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 black and white film about a man who finds himself caught up in an international spy ring. And it includes many clever shoutouts to the master of suspense.

Sean Mahon plays Richard Hannay, a suave, self-assured 1930s-type hero. And the lovely Jill Paice (from Curtains!) handles all the female roles, including a secret agent and a woman who gets involved with Hannay quite against her will.

Through some very quick changes, two other actors - Arnie Burton, who was in the show in Boston, and at my performance, Cameron Folmar, play all of the other characters - lots of them. And they are terrific. They play a big role in making The 39 Steps so much fun to watch.

One of the things I love about The 39 Steps is that it's so theatrical - with only four actors, minimal props and no fancy special effects, it relies a great deal on the imagination of the audience. I love how it does so much with so little. It's one of the most unique shows I've seen.

And not only does it re-create the Hitchcock movie, it re-creates the style and feel of the movie. It's like seeing a 1930s thriller on stage, only with a playful yet respectful nudge and a wink that you don't get from the original.

The show won two Tony awards, for Mic Pool's sound design and Kevin Adams' lighting. The first time, I was straining a bit to hear from the back of the orchestra. But in the 589-seat Helen Hayes Theatre, I could hear everything and I was really impressed with the range of sounds Pool has to create and how much they contributed to my enjoyment of the play.

In my earlier review, I questioned whether you'd get as much out of The 39 Steps if you hadn't seen the movie. But I think it does hold up well on its own. The couple sitting next to me hadn't seen the movie and they were laughing just as hard as I was.

There's always so much new to see on Broadway, not to mention off-Broadway, that I rarely get a chance to see a show I loved for the second time. I'm so glad I had that chance with The 39 Steps. And, if I ever have the opportunity, I'd even see it a third time.

Huntington lines up an all-American season

I've been waiting for Boston's Huntington Theatre Company to complete its schedule for next season and the final two shows have been announced: Craig Lucas' Prelude to a Kiss and Arthur Miller's All My Sons.

They join the previously announced productions of August Wilson's Fences; Maureen McGovern's A Long and Winding Road; Paula Vogel's A Civil War Christmas; Lydia Diamond's Stick Fly; and Gina Gionfriddo's Becky Shaw.

Both All My Sons and Prelude to a Kiss have had recent Broadway revivals. Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to see either one, so hopefully I can catch up. (I have seen the movie of Prelude to a Kiss, with Meg Ryan and Alec Baldwin, and I thought it was kind of sweet.)

I know British director Simon McBurney came under some criticism for his interpretation of All My Sons. The Huntington production is being helmed by David Esbjornson, who collaborated with Miller at the end of the playwright's life, so this will probably be a more faithful presentation.

I'm also interested in seeing Fences, because it's a classic. And Becky Shaw, which was directed off Broadway by Peter DuBois, the Huntington's artistic director, garnered rave reviews. It was also a finalist for this year's Pulitzer Prize for Drama, which described it as "A jarring comedy that examines family and romantic relationships with a lacerating wit while eschewing easy answers and pat resolutions."

Apparently, this is the first season in the Huntington's 27-year history to be comprised entirely of American plays. It does seem like a nice mixture of diverse voices and themes and different periods in American history.

DuBois said, "Arthur Miller and Craig Lucas felt like the right two voices to complete a season designed to reflect a compelling range of American writing. From classics and contemporary masters to new voices, each play explores diverse viewpoints of the American experience."

Following Kevin Spacey's every tweet

Kevin Spacey was in Boston and I missed him. Darn it! If only I'd known that he was Twittering, or Tweeting, on Twitter. I could have followed his Twits, or his Tweets. (In a respectful, non-stalkerish way, of course.)

At first I wasn't sure whether it was the real Kevin Spacey or the fake Kevin Spacey, because I know that does happen.

Apparently, some celebrities use ghostwriters for their 140-character messages. There's a great comment from NBA star Shaquille O'Neal, who does his own Twittering. He told The New York Times: "It’s so few characters. If you need a ghostwriter for that, I feel sorry for you.”

I think it really is Kevin, or at least someone who works for him. There are lots of Tweets about the Broadway revival of Alan Ayckbourn's trilogy The Norman Conquests, which began previews this week at Circle in the Square. It's a transfer from The Old Vic Theatre in London, where Kevin is the artistic director.

He also mentions that he saw Two Men of Florence at the Huntington Theatre Company in Boston. He really was there. I have proof! I found a photo on the Huntington's blog. Nice to know that he's getting out and seeing some shows.

(That's Kevin, looking dashing in his leather jacket and cap, with the cast, playwright Richard Goodwin and Goodwin's wife, historian Doris Kearns Goodwin.)

It was kind of hard to follow the messages at first, because I guess other people - "followers" - can leave comments on your Twitter stream. But eventually I figured out which ones were from Kevin:

"Old Vic production of trilogy NORMAN CONQUESTS starts perf at Circle in Square on 50th in NYC. Wonderful, dir by Matt Warchus. Go. Go. Go!"

"Saw Two Men of Florence by R Goodwin in Boston at Huntington. Great. Go only 3 more perf. Ed Hall directs fabulous."

"Got up on stage last night at The Box sang 'Just a Gigolo' for Philip Green and wife who opened TopShop/NYC. Simon Cowell asked for encore!"

"I can assure everyone who is wondering if this is really me that it is. No ghosts here. Put up photos to prove. Lets just believe. Okay?"

Okay, I believe!

Huntington Theatre Company's new season

I haven't written anything yet about the Huntington Theatre Company's 2009-10 season. Unfortunately, I can't get to Boston as often as I'd like, but the Huntington is a great place to see a show.

As an added attraction, it's right down the street from my former stomping grounds, aka where I went to college. So a visit to the old neighborhood is always fun.

There are still a couple holes in the schedule but here's what artistic director Peter DuBois has announced so far:

Fences, by August Wilson, Boston University Theatre, Sept. 11 - Oct. 11
A Long and Winding Road, a musical journey with pop icon Maureen McGovern, Wimberly Theatre, Oct. 9 - Nov. 15
A Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration, by Paula Vogel, Boston University Theatre, Nov. 13 - Dec. 13,
Becky Shaw, by Gina Gionfriddo, Boston University Theatre, Jan. 8 - Feb. 7, 2010
Stick Fly, by Lydia Diamond, Wimberly Theatre, March 26 - May 1, 2010

I'm most excited about Fences, directed by Kenny Leon. I haven't seen any of August Wilson's plays on stage yet. This one, the sixth in Wilson's 10-play cycle chronicling African-American life in the 20th century, received the Tony and the Pulitzer Prize and I think it's considered among his best works.

There are still two more plays to be announced and DuBois told The Boston Globe that he's planning a multiyer focus on American comedy, so maybe that's a hint about what's coming.

"One thing I discovered over the past couple of years directing comedy is that the human experience is often illuminated in comedy in the most surprising ways," DuBois says.

"I don't know of any other major theater in the country that's stepping back and saying let's create a festival environment around American comedy, and let's really ask the questions of what's the difference between American and European comedy styles, what characterizes it, and go all the way back to the '20s and '30s."

A little getting to the show drama

It nearly happened to me. Yesterday, when I went to Boston for the matinee of How Shakespeare Won the West, I was almost one of those people who can't get to the theatre on time and are forced to stumble around in the dark to reach their seat, inconveniencing everyone sitting around them. I shudder to think how close I came.

Let me begin at the beginning. I took an 11:30 bus to Boston, which should have gotten me there at 12:30, plenty of time to take the T to the Huntington Theatre, get something to eat and be in my seat by 2 p.m. I've done this before and it's always worked out perfectly. (I could drive, but it's been many, many years since I've driven into Boston and the bus is more relaxing - when it's on time.)

Little did I know that my bus would be 15 minutes late leaving Providence, make an unscheduled stop downtown to pick up more passengers before proceeding to Boston and then encounter highway traffic on a Sunday afternoon. I didn't arrive at Boston's South Station until about 1 p.m. I thought about taking a cab at that point, but what if I got stuck in traffic? I figured the subway was safer.

Okay, fine, if I made my connections promptly, I might still have time for lunch before the show. Wrong! First there was the wait at South Station for a Red Line train to Park Street, then there was a wait at Park Street for an "E" Green Line train to Symphony, the closest stop. (It's some kind of law of nature that the subway line you're waiting for will be the last one to come. I should have remembered that from college.)

As the minutes ticked by, I'd given up hopes for a sandwich and ate my emergency Nature Valley maple granola bar. It would have to do. At this point, the time was closing in on 1:30 and I was getting extremely panicky that I'd miss the beginning of the show, never mind lunch. I hate, absolutely hate, feeling rushed and I hate coming in late to anything - a movie, a tv show, a meeting.

Finally, the train came at about 1:35 and we inch our way to my stop - Boylston, Arlington, Copley, Prudential and finally, Symphony. It was excruciating. I frantically pushed past my fellow riders, then bounded up the steps and out of the station. Luckily, the Huntington is practically across the street. I made it to the theatre at about 1:50 p.m. - 10 minutes to spare and still time to visit the ladies room. Whew, that was a lot closer than I like to cut it.

Now, if you remember, last week I wrote about getting a reduced-price ticket at BosTix, except I wasn't sure where I'd be sitting. Well, it turns out what I suspected was true - I was in the first row of the balcony, on the aisle. And it was fine. I don't think I would have enjoyed the show any more if I'd paid $77.50 for an orchestra seat instead of $32.50 for the balcony. In fact, I think I enjoyed it more knowing that I paid less. Still, I do like being close to the action.

But it wasn't actually the "best available" seat in the house that BosTix promised me. There were entire rows of empty seats in front of me in the mezzanine. I could have moved down but I could see fine, so why bother?

Afterward, I asked a Huntington staff member about my seat assignment was told that "best available" means best available out of the seats that BosTix purchases, not the best available unfilled seat in the entire theatre. Oh, now they tell me.

One other thing bothered me. My ticket stub showed a face value of $26, less than I paid. I checked the Huntington's Web site to see how much the seat would have cost if I'd paid full price, and it would have been $50. So I still saved. But I don't understand the discrepancy. I've e-mailed customer service at BosTix and I'll report back on what I find out.

So, all in all, a good day but not as relaxed as I was expecting. After the show, it was another mad dash back to South Station and a sandwich from Cosi at the food court before heading home.

Now, I have more sympathy for those theatergoers who, through no fault of their own and despite their best - even heroic - efforts, arrive late for the show. I nearly was one of them.

Update 9-23: I got a reply today from customer service at BosTix.

The price on your ticket is the reimbursement price for the theatre, meaning that amount is what the Huntington received for each ticket. The box office uses the tickets for financial purposes and no one paid the price on your ticket for the show.

The seats that you received were the seats allotted to our ArtsBoston patrons. The full price of the seats you sat in were $60. We were only able to sell $60 tickets to our patrons which meant the seats would be in a certain area. Each box office allocates a section for our patrons, which is why on the main show page the text shows: "SEATING: Reserved".

The term "best available" on our site refers to our specific allotment, not the best available in the whole theatre. Our ticketing system only allows us to use the term "best available".

How Shakespeare Won the West

Gratuitous Violin rating: *** out of ****

Playwright Richard Nelson name checks a lot of Shakespeare in How Shakespeare Won the West. And just like the Bard's works, Nelson gives his audience at Boston's Huntington Theatre Company a little history, a little comedy, a little tragedy - all rolled into one not always tidy package.

How Shakespeare Won the West, directed by Jonathan Moscone, is the first production under the leadership of the Huntington's new artistic director, Peter DuBois, who comes to Boston from New York's Public Theater.

The play follows a ragtag troupe of New York actors as they make their way to California in 1848. They dream of earning fame and making a fortune by putting on Shakespeare before audiences of extremely erudite gold miners. Nelson got the idea after reading an obituary for historian Helene Wickham Koon, who wrote a book called How Shakespeare Won the West, a study of Shakespearean productions during the Gold Rush.

The action opens in a New York City tavern, where Antje Ellerman's simple, unadorned wooden set looks like it could have come out of a Hollywood Western or a production of The Iceman Cometh. Thing start out very slowly. For the first 10 minutes or so, a few actors come on stage and talk to each other quietly or read. I couldn't figure out whether the play had begun or not. But I guess it hadn't, because we still hadn't heard the turn off your cell phone announcement.

Eventually, Buck Buchanan, an aspiring actor, played by Erik Lochtefeld, comes in. He's soon regaling everyone with stories of traveling troupes performing before wildly enthusiastic audiences in California Gold Rush country. The rough-edged miners are so knowledgeable about Shakespeare, they shout out the lines along with the actors and shower them with bags of gold dust in appreciation.

Soon enough, actor-turned-saloon-keeper Thomas Jefferson Calhoun, played by Boston theatre stalwart Will LeBow, his wife Alice, a former actress, played by Mary Beth Fisher, and their daughter Susan, an aspiring ingenue, played very sweetly and eagerly by Sarah Nealis, are putting together a company to bring Shakespeare to the culture-starved masses.

This part - where the Calhouns are searching for the right performers for their troupe - is very funny and it's probably my favorite section of the play. Sure, they're kind of stock types, but they're done well, with great humor - including the alcoholic, philandering leading man, the character actor, the comic relief, the ingenue, the child star.

I liked LeBow and Fisher as journeymen performers who've given up treading the boards but not their dreams of stardom. The rest of the cast is good, too. Jeremiah Kissel starts out very funny as a pretend British thespian, then turns unexpectedly poignant. Kelly Hutchinson is great as the hooker with a heart of gold. Chris Henry Coffey is suitably self-important as the leading man with the drinking problem and Susannah Schulman is affecting as his long-suffering wife, who's also a leading lady. Joe Tapper adds some nice comic relief as a childhood friend of Susan's and a wannabe performer.

Nealis and Schulman have a truly hilarious scene as child actors who perform snippets of Shakespeare. But there are so many characters in this play, no one really gets a chance to stand out. It's one of those love letters to the theatre. And I think the actors in this company should be a bit over the top and larger than life. But too often, they just fade into the background.

My problem with How Shakespeare Won the West actually begins when the troupe leaves New York. I guess I hadn't realized how much of the story would be about the journey, rather than the destination. It takes them almost the whole play to get to California, and I have to admit that at times, my mind began to wander. That's not good in a play that's only 1 hour and 40 minutes long.

Then, there's a point in the action when what had been a very funny play takes a tragic turn. It changes the whole tone and it kind of threw me. I don't mind comedy and tragedy in the same play, but this transition seemed kind of abrupt. Things had been pretty lighthearted until then, but afterward, they become very serious. The play stopped being as funny as it had been. Don't get me wrong, there's still a lot of humor, but it almost seemed like a different play.

All sorts of disasters befall this troupe of actors - and some of them seem like things that would really have happened on the journey west. But some of them seem, well, more unbelievable. For example, Abraham Lincoln and Buffalo Bill show up. (Not at the same time, though.) And in a bizarre scene, the actors are kidnapped by a group of bigoted religious zealots. I don't mind a witty, incisive satire of organized religion, but this just seemed like a bit of a cheap shot.

Nelson is trying to be insightful about the power of theatre in general - and Shakespeare in particular - to speak to disparate audiences. Along the way, he's trying to say something about the resiliency of the pioneers, religious intolerance, homophobia and the treatment of Native Americans. And I might even be leaving something out. To some extent, he succeeds. In one nice scene, a Native American chief is riveted by the group's performance of King Lear.

Unfortunately, while there were some truly comic moments, there weren't enough of them. And the tragedy and history sometimes felt forced. Also, at first the miners don't exactly greet the troupe with open arms, which somewhat undercuts Nelson's premise that they're so eager for high-class entertainment.

I think Nelson has stuffed a lot of ideas and characters into a relatively short amount of time - and that may be why, for me, the journey at the heart of How Shakespeare Won the West wasn't as fulfilling as I'd hoped it would be.

Seat selection drama

They say anything can happen on stage - that's one of the thrills of watching a performance unfold live, right in front of you. Well, I decided to add some seat-selection drama to the mix.

I just bought a ticket for the Sunday matinee of How Shakespeare Won the West, at the Huntington Theatre Company in Boston. Usually, I go online and get the best available seat in the center orchestra. (I like to be as close as possible). But when the best available seat came up in Row A for $77.50, I did pause.

Yeah, I could afford it, and I've spent that much on a couple of shows at the Huntington. Plus, I routinely pay over $100 apiece for Broadway tickets. But I don't go to New York very often and my traveling dates aren't very flexible. When I do go, I know the shows I want to see and I don't want to take any chances on a lottery or just drop by the TKTS booth to see what's available at a reduced price. It's my vacation, you know?

(Not that I'm adverse to getting a discount ticket for a Broadway show, of course, especially as my New York trips become more than a once-in-a-lifetime thing. I did buy a reduced-price ticket once through Playbill. It was for Passing Strange, which, sadly, could have used the full price. I got a great seat for about $60 in the Belasco Theatre's intimate orchestra section.)

But when I see a show in Providence or Boston and my dates are more flexible, I do like to hunt around for a discount. For shows at Trinity Repertory Company, I routinely get the $15 rush ticket, available at the box office a couple hours before the show. It's a great deal - Trinity's two theatres are both pretty small, so you get a good seat no matter where you sit.

And something about that $77.50 just rankled me. I'd noticed a link for BosTix on Hub Arts, a Boston-based arts and culture blog. I decided what the heck, I'll try it. I always thought that you could only buy same-day, half-price tickets and you actually had to go to a BosTix booth to get them. But it turns out that for some shows, you can go online and buy tickets in advance.

So I registered and got a ticket for How Shakespeare Won the West for $32.50 - less than half price! The rub is, I have no idea where I'll be sitting. I guess I have to print out the ticket confirmation e-mail and bring it with me to the theatre.

My ticket is supposed to be "best available." So if there's one seat left in the orchestra section, do I get it? (And really, isn't there always that one seat left?) Or will I be relegated to the "best available" in the mezzanine or balcony? I don't know. It adds a little bit of drama to the drama of the play. I'll report back after the show. The Huntington isn't an especially huge place and I figure my seat can't be that bad.

Not every performance of every show is available at BosTix. I could only find one performance on sale for Follies at Boston's Lyric Stage Company, and it wasn't on a day when I could go. I may have to pay full price for that one.

But I'll keep looking around. I know Theatermania and Goldstar have discount theatre tickets for Boston shows. I haven't used either one of them yet, so I'm not exactly sure how they work. Along with BosTix, they may be a good alternatives to simply logging in online and saying, give me the most expensive ticket you have.

So, I may regret my decision come Sunday, but for today, I feel like a savvy theatre shopper.

Theatre in my backyard

To welcome its new artistic director, Peter DuBois, and to celebrate its 27th season, Boston's Huntington Theatre Company is holding a special reduced-price ticket sale Aug. 19.

For that day only, you can buy $27 tickets for select performances of the first three shows of the 2008-2009 season: How Shakespeare Won the West, Boleros for the Disenchanted, and Rock 'n' Roll. Tickets will be available online from 9 a.m. to midnight, and by phone and in person from noon to 6 p.m.

I'm really looking forward to Richard Nelson's play How Shakespeare Won the West, which runs from Sept. 5 to Oct. 5. It's about a troupe of New York actors who seek fame and fortune during the Gold Rush. Between that and my upcoming trip to the Guthrie Theater for the musical Little House on the Prairie, I'm definitely in pioneer mode.

According to Playbill, the cast will be headed by Will LeBow as Thomas Jefferson Calhoun, the head of the pioneering acting troupe; Mary Beth Fisher as Alice Calhoun, his wife; and Jeremiah Kissel as Edward Oldfield, a "utility player" who masquerades as a renowned British actor, despite actually being from Albany, New York.

I haven't heard of any of those performers, although I think LeBow is a well known Boston stage actor and director from his association with Shear Madness, the American Repertory Theater and the Huntington. Here's a profile from 1995.

It's hard to believe that I lived in Boston for five years and made it to the theatre a grand total of - once. (That I can remember). I saw A Chorus Line on tour during my freshman year of college. I didn't get back to Boston to see a show until decades later - when I took in a performance of Blue Man Group. (Very strange and once was definitely enough).

Okay, that's my short history of Boston theatergoing. Anyway, I'm making up for it now. In the past couple of years I've seen Parade at SpeakEasy Stage and the national tours of Sweeney Todd and The Drowsy Chaperone. I took a road trip to the Huntington twice last season, for The 39 Steps and She Loves Me, and I loved both of them.

So, there's much more to look forward to this season, including tours of Chazz Palminteri's one-man show A Bronx Tale and Dame Edna. In May, SpeakEasy is putting on Jerry Springer - The Opera. (Recommended for mature audiences. How exciting!) Also, I'll be adding a new theatre to my list when I see the legendary musical Follies at The Lyric Stage Company.

While I love going to Broadway, it's also been fun to discover what's available in my own backyard.

She Loves Me

Gratuitous Violins rating: ***1/2 out of ****

I loved it! Seriously though, anyone who reads this blog knows that I couldn't possibly stop at a three-word review.

She Loves Me is about two squabbling coworkers in a perfume shop in 1934 Budapest who don't realize that they've fallen in love as pen pals after finding each other through a newspaper Lonely Hearts column. It started out as a 1937 play, Parfumerie, by Miklos Lazlo, and has had several incarnations, including a 1940 movie, The Shop Around the Corner, with Jimmy Stewart, the 1963 Broadway musical, and most recently, the 1998 movie You've Got Mail, starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.

This production, at Boston's Huntington Theatre Company, is sweet and charming. It has memorable performances, some terrific musical numbers that are wonderfully staged, and a score by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, of Fiddler on the Roof fame, that's by turns funny and poignant.

Brooks Ashmanskas, an adorable teddy bear of a man, is sales clerk Georg Howack, who's confident on the job, but insecure where love is concerned. He's a wonderfully expressive, physical performer, especially in "Tonight at Eight," as he eagerly awaits the first meeting with his pen pal, and in the title tune. The sight of Ashmanskas singing and dancing his way across a bare stage bathed in royal blue in "She Loves Me" was truly delightful. He made Georg funny, but also very sympathetic.

And Kate Baldwin, as Georg's coworker, Amalia Balash, is spirited and spunky, with a breathtaking voice. I got choked up when she sang "Dear Friend" at the end of Act I, waiting patiently in a cafe to meet her pen pal. Then, in Act II, there's a great scene between Georg and Amalia in her apartment, capped by Baldwin's singing about the joy of the "Vanilla Ice Cream" that Georg has brought her. Like Ashmanskas with "She Loves Me," Baldwin really brought that song to life, and she has a nice comic touch, too.

Granted, it was a little hard to believe that the lovely, vivacious Baldwin is "plain," which is how Amalia is described. And as Georg, Ashmanskas isn't really the "tyrant" that Amalia calls him as at one point. Georg seems reserved and set in his ways. Amalia is much more outgoing and adventurous. Still, I believed them as two people looking for love, and I can see how they would complement each other. I think it's kind of sweet and romantic that they fell in love through their letters.

As the other store clerks, Troy Britton Johnson, Jessica Stone and Mark Nelson are all memorable, and they each get their own star turn. (Hard to believe that this tiny shop needed so many sales clerks, but it does seem to be a busy place!) Johnson, the original Robert Martin in The Drowsy Chaperone, was perfect playing a similar character, the smooth-talking ladies man Steven Kodaly. Stone was hilarious as the quirky Ilona Ritter, Kodaly's long-suffering girlfriend. And Nelson is very believable as the meek, married-with-children Ladislav Sipos, who's just trying to keep his head down at work and keep his job.

(Stone, by the way, is married to Christopher Fitzgerald, a Tony nominee for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his role as Igor in Young Frankenstein.)

Of all the supporting roles, I especially enjoyed Jeremy Beck as Arpad, the eager bicycle delivery boy who harbors ambitions of becoming a clerk at the perfume shop. He was so endearing, especially in his number, "Try Me." I'm a big fan of Hairspray, so it was thrilling to see Dick Latessa, a Tony winner as the original Wilbur Turnblad, play Mr. Maraczek, the crusty perfume shop owner.

This is the final production from Huntington artistic director Nicholas Martin, who's leaving to run the Williamstown Theatre Festival. And after She Loves Me closes in Boston, on June 15, it moves to Williamstown, for performances from June 27 to July 12.

Martin's included some nice touches, including a 13-piece orchestra suspended on a platform above the stage. (I think I've seen orchestras just about everywhere now - onstage, above the stage, below the stage, in alcoves on either side of the stage). James Noone's scenic design has a dreamy, storybook quality. I loved the way he showed the change of seasons, and his perfume shop is small, neat and exquisite.

There's also some great choreography by Denis Jones, most notably in a cafe scene where Amalia waits for her pen pal. The snobbish head waiter played by Mark Vietor and the accident-prone busboy, played by Jason Babinsky, were lots of fun to watch. (Although the cafe, dark and decked out in lots of plush red velvet, seemed like an odd spot for a first meeting.) I also loved the way the frenzied activity in the perfume shop was choreographed in a very busy "Twelve Days to Christmas." Jones, who has worked with Jerry Mitchell on Legally Blonde and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, also directs and choreographs the Broadway Bares fundraiser for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

My only regret is, I wish that Joe Masteroff's book had included more scenes between Ashmanskas and Baldwin's characters. They were offstage for a few extended periods. As much as I enjoyed the cafe scene and the side stories involving the other sales clerks and Mr. Maraczek, I wanted Georg and Amalia back. But that's a pretty minor point in a totally enjoyable musical. In the end, I couldn't help but leave She Loves Me smiling.

Huntington Theatre Company

I'm trying to spread my theatre wings a little bit beyond Broadway, like to my own backyard. Last year, I saw three shows in Boston: the pre-Broadway tryout of The 39 Steps, the New England premier of Parade and Sweeney Todd on tour. This weekend, I'm going back to see The Drowsy Chaperone on tour, and I'm considering a return trip when the Huntington Theatre Company presents the musical She Loves Me.

This week, the Huntington, which has a new artistic director, Peter DuBois, announced its 2008-2009 lineup. Here are the shows that I'm most interested in seeing:

First is the world premier of Richard Nelson's play How Shakespeare Won the West, from Sept. 5 to Oct. 5. Here's the description: a "funny, heartbreaking, and highly theatrical look at a troupe of 19th century actors who cross the U.S. to perform Shakespeare for entertainment-starved panhandlers caught up in the Gold Rush." Based on a true story, DuBois calls it “a celebration of ambition and the human spirit. Richard has written a love letter to the theatre with his latest play.” I'm not familiar with Nelson's work, but as an American history buff, I'm kind of intrigued by the prospect of mixing Shakespeare and the Gold Rush.

From Jan. 9 to Feb. 8, the Huntington will present Emlyn Williams' 1938 play The Corn is Green, starring Kate Burton and her son, Morgan Ritchie. "Burton plays idealistic and hardnosed schoolteacher Miss Moffat, who arrives in a poverty-stricken Welsh coal-mining town to open the community’s first school. She takes illiterate school bully Morgan (played by Burton’s son, Morgan Ritchie) under her wing and points him toward a brighter future in this funny, life-affirming tale." Burton and Dylan Baker are pictured above from last summer, when the play was presented at the Williamstown Theater Festival and got a good review from New York Times critic Charles Isherwood, among others. If you read my post about Billy Elliot, you know this is right up my alley, or down my mine shaft.

Finally, from May 15 to June 14, there'll be a production of The Pirates of Penzance, described as "a raucous and rowdy Caribbean update of the musical comedy classic – complete with swordfights, sex appeal, and all the beloved Gilbert and Sullivan songs." According to DuBois, “Gilbert and Sullivan were sophisticated political satirists – the Jon Stewarts of their time – and this new re-imagining is a joyous conclusion to our season!” I loved the movie version of the 1981-1982 Broadway revival that starred Kevin Kline and Linda Ronstadt. (I'm pretty sure I still have the soundtrack album). And a rowdy Caribbean update sounds like fun.