Saying goodbye to 2010

Another year of blogging draws to a close. My posts on Gratuitous Violins declined rather dramatically beginning in April. I didn't get to the theatre much for the first six months of 2010 so I felt like I had less to say.

Plus I spent more time on Twitter, where I really enjoy being part of a running conversation with theatre fans from all over. Blogging can be kind of solitary. And besides, sometimes all you really need is 140 characters.

Despite a slow start, I did see some terrific plays and musicals this year. I was thinking how many of them had strong endings. And endings, like beginnings, are tough to get just right.

Since this is my final post of the year, I'll mention some of them. (I've been vague enough that I don't think there are any plot spoilers):

• The last couple minutes of Lend Me A Tenor, where the cast re-created the entire hilarious plot at warp speed.

• A tender moment between Albin and Georges in La Cage aux Folles, made all the more poignant because it was something they didn't do in the original production.

• The last line in A Free Man of Color and the final moments of The Scottsboro Boys were so compelling for what they said about the tortuous history of race in America.
  

• A perfect image of Laura Linney's photographer character in Time Stands Still.
  

• A sweet family portrait at the end of Elling that made me smile.
  

• When David Hyde Pierce's character in La Bete, the principled playwright Elomire, exits the stage.
  

• The very fun concert after the curtain call for Brief Encounter. Don't stop believin'!
  
  

Overall, 2010 was a good year. I saw lots of friends during my three trips to New York and met new ones. I visited Washington, D.C., one of my favorite cities, for the first time in a long time and reconnected with people I hadn't seen in years.

I made it to a couple more wonderful New York City museums for the first time: the Whitney and the Jewish Museum. And I learned an important lesson: you can't always judge a sandwich by its picture in a magazine.

To everyone who read my blog, left a comment, followed me on Twitter, friended me on Facebook, sent me an e-mail, joined me for lunch, brunch, dinner or a show during the past year, thank-you for the gift of your time and your friendship.

Best wishes for a happy, healthy and adventure-filled 2011!

My favorite theatre of 2010

Listing my favorite shows of the year is tough because even if I don't totally love a play or musical there's always something I want to mention, like a strong performance or a moment that really moved me.

But out of the 27 plays and musicals I saw in 2010, these stood out:

Brief Encounter - Roundabout Theatre Company at Studio 54

Brief Encounter was the most captivating theatre I saw all year. It was whimsical, magical, romantic.

Britain's Kneehigh Theatre Company adapted the 1945 film Brief Encounter, based on a Noel Coward play about a married man and woman who begin an affair after a chance meeting in a train station.

Hannah Yelland and Tristan Sturrock were enchanting as the couple, reminding me how sexy those old movies could be without the actors taking off all their clothes and jumping into bed.

I felt like I was watching an old black-and-white movie onstage - visually heightened by some imaginative effects and with all the boring parts left out. And those effects, along with Coward's music used throughout, enhanced the story. They never threatened to overwhelm it.

Brief Encounter runs through Jan. 2.

The Scottsboro Boys, Lyceum Theatre

Stunning would have to be the word I'd use to describe this final musical from John Kander and the late Fred Ebb. It was the most compelling theatre I saw all year and I thought the score was haunting.

The story of nine black teenagers falsely accused of rape in 1930s Alabama is told through a minstrel show, illuminating the era's racism in a way I found chillingly effective. Here, the white characters were lampooned while the African-Americans were treated with respect.

The Scottsboro Boys was musical theatre that made me think. With a superb ensemble led by Joshua Henry, I thought it was profoundly moving and immensely entertaining in the best sense of the word. It deserved a longer run on Broadway.

La Cage aux Folles, Longacre Theatre

My favorite new score of the year - well new to me anyway - was La Cage aux Folles. Hearing Jerry Herman's gorgeous songs for the first time - stirring, heartfelt, playful and utterly romantic - was unforgettable.

Based on the French film, it's about two men, partners in a nightclub and in life, who have raised a son. They now face a dilemma with his impending marriage to the daughter of a right-wing politician.

I saw Chris Hoch, Kelsey Grammer's understudy, as nightclub owner Georges and he was wonderful. He had great chemistry with the equally wonderful Tony-winner Douglas Hodge as the drag performer Albin. I was moved to tears watching them.

With warmth and wit, this musical goes to true meaning of family values: the love we show each other, the sacrifices we make.

La Cage aux Folles is an open-ended run.

La Bete, Music Box Theatre

I was nervous going into La Bete. I was afraid the play, written in rhyme and taking place in 17th-century France, would be musty and hard to comprehend. Well, this was the most pleasant surprise of the year for me. I was enthralled.

Mark Rylance as Valere, a bufoonish street performer, and David Hyde Pierce as Elomire, a principled playwright, were terrific, which I figured they would be. What surprised me is how much I truly enjoyed David Hirson's play. It was hilarious, thoughtful and entirely accessible.

As Valere and Elomire competed for the patronage of Joanna Lumley's princess, La Bete raised questions about artistic integrity and the debasement of popular culture that struck a chord. While I was laughing so hard, it gave me so much to think about.

La Bete runs through Jan. 9.

Mistakes Were Made, Barrow Street Theatre

As a would-be Broadway producer, Michael Shannon is giving a virtuoso performance in Mistakes Were Made. I've never seen anything quite like it.

Craig Wright's frenzied satire comes to New York from Chicago's A Red Orchid Theatre. In 95 minutes, it takes us through a day in the life of Felix Artifex, a producer who's desperately trying to mount a play on Broadway about the French Revolution.

Shannon's Felix is on the phone almost nonstop. He must talk to nearly a dozen different people, including a movie star he's wooing, the playwright, a potential investor and several people associated with the movement of sheep through a Middle Eastern country.

What's remarkable is how adeptly Shannon handles all of this. Every caller gets a different approach, a different tone of voice. I swear he had me believing there was someone else on the other end of the phone every time.

Mistakes Were Made runs through Feb. 27.

Fela!, Eugene O'Neill Theatre

Thanks to an amazing performance from Kevin Mambo, this musical turned out to be one of the most exhilarating experiences I had all year.

Mambo was incredible as the late Nigerian musician and political activist Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. He was mesmerizing, making Fela a terrific storyteller and showman and truly evoking the charismatic part of his personality. Ok, maybe it doesn't tell his entire story but I did get some insight into his life and influences, what made him such a revered figure.

I loved the way Fela! meshed politics, history and personal narrative with the pulsating sound of Afrobeat. It was original and unique. The music and dancing was pretty much nonstop for 2 1/2 hours and I was into it the whole time.

Fela! runs through Jan. 2.

A Bronx Tale, Providence Performing Arts Center

Even though Chazz Palminteri has been performing the autobiographical A Bronx Tale for 20 years, and the events belong to his childhood, he makes them seem as fresh as if they had just happened yesterday.

Palminteri paints a vivid portrait of growing up in New York City in the 1960s. He portrays 18 people in this solo show, including an assortment of mobsters, his bus driver father and two versions of himself - an impressionable 9-year-old and a streetwise 17-year-old.

It's a masterful performance, the way he depicts these characters and their various idiosyncrasies with a change in his tone of voice, an expression, the way he moves around onstage. He makes them all distinct and memorable.

The Glass Menagerie, Gamm Theatre

I'm so glad I had a chance to see this classic play onstage for the first time.

I knew the shorthand for The Glass Menagerie: domineering mother, artistic son, unstable daughter, gentleman caller. But watching Tennessee Williams' play about a troubled family made me realize how little I really knew about it.

Diana Buirski brought out Laura's frailty; Marc Dante Mancini made me understand how trapped Tom felt; and Wendy Overly as their mother, Amanda, truly was a fading Southern beauty living in the past.

Williams crafted his characters with such care that I felt for what each one was going thorough in this intimate, absorbing production.

It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, at Trinity Rep

I wasn't sure what It's a Wonderful Life would be without Jimmy Stewart and the rest of the cast from the movie. Well onstage, it's pretty wonderful, too.

Joe Landry's adaptation is presented as a Christmas Eve 1949 radio broadcast. There's a minimal set and cast - five actors play multiple roles - but the story retains its charm and pull.

Fred Sullivan Jr. was so endearing as George Bailey, a man who's always put the needs of his friends, family and community over his own.

It's a Wonderful Life is a moving portrait of small-town American life. Maybe it's because I was sitting so close - in the front row, in a small theatre, but I was struck by how much the story resonated and how emotional it was to watch. In the end, there were tears in my eyes.

It's a Wonderful Life runs through Jan. 2.

"I Am What I Am"

I was excited earlier this week to read about the 22-track La Cage Aux Folles revival CD from PS Classics, which will be released Sept. 28. It comes with an extensive booklet that includes an essay by La Cage book writer Harvey Fierstein and - most exciting - lyrics!

Until then, my iPod is happily stuck on the original Broadway cast recording, released in 1983. (Yes, I'm playing it over and over again. Oh, that full orchestra.)

This week, I also listened to a Masterworks Broadway podcast with composer Jerry Herman, who recounts breaking new ground with La Cage aux Folles:

"We knew that we were dealing with a subject that had never been attempted, a musical about about two men who loved each other and who had spent most of their lives together running a little cabaret in the south of France. And I loved the story, I loved what it had to say. I thought it was both funny and touching at the same time."

Herman also talked about writing the song that has become the heart of the musical: "I Am What I Am."

It's a powerful, empowering anthem sung by the drag performer Albin, who learns that the son he raised with his partner, Georges, doesn't want him present at a family event.

Albin is, of course, terribly hurt and "I Am What I Am," which ends the first act, is his response. What I appreciate is that it's not a plea for mere tolerance - he sings "I don't want praise, I don't want pity" but a statement about living your life openly, learning to love yourself.

George Hearn, the original Albin on Broadway, won a Tony Award for his portrayal. Herman said, "I am never not moved when I hear George Hearn's interpretation of that song."

I feel the same way.

My 2009-2010 Broadway season

Even though the Tony Awards were two months ago, I didn't wrap up my 2009-2010 Broadway season until the middle of July.

Sadly, I couldn't get to New York City in the spring, so I missed A View from the Bridge, Red and Fences. (Curse you, limited runs!)

But I made it to the short-lived revival of Brighton Beach Memoirs, I heard Angela Lansbury sing in A Little Night Music and I finally saw Wicked in all its Broadway glory, with Rondi Reed as Madame Morrible.

Looking back, the shows that made the biggest impact were ones with strong personal stories: Brighton Beach Memoirs and Superior Donuts, La Cage aux Folles and Fela!

Laurie Metcalf in Brighton Beach Memoirs, Douglas Hodge in La Cage aux Folles and Jon Michael Hill in Superior Donuts could easily have descended into stereotypes: overprotective Jewish mother, flamboyant drag performer, wisecracking young black male. But they imbued those characters with such depth and humanity that they rose above caricature and captured my heart.

La Cage aux Folles entered my pantheon of favorite musicals. I loved Jerry Herman's songs so much that I got the original Broadway cast recording, which I've been listening to nonstop. The revival CD will be released Sept. 28 and I can't wait to have both of them on my iPod.

I noticed more audience participation on Broadway this season - batting beach balls at La Cage, swiveling my hips during Fela! and missing the waxed fruit that came flying into the audience during Lend Me A Tenor. While the trend could become overdone, so far I've enjoyed it!

I also crossed five theatres off my list, making my first visits to the Gershwin, Longacre, Lunt-Fontanne, Nederlander and Schoenfeld. Only seven more to go before I've seen a show in every Broadway house.

Among the theatres I've yet to enter is the Majestic, home to The Phantom of the Opera, which I've never seen. If the sequel, Love Never Dies, comes to New York next spring perhaps I'll make it a double feature.

La Cage aux Folles

La Cage Aux Folles, at the Longacre Theatre on Broadway.
Gratuitous Violins rating: **** out of ****

While I knew the plot of La Cage aux Folles going in, until this Tony-winning Broadway revival I'd never seen the show on stage.

So Jerry Herman's unforgettable score was new. Combine that with tender, sensitive performances from Chris Hoch as Georges, owner of a St. Tropez nightclub, and Tony winner Douglas Hodge as the drag queen Albin, his life partner. Add a book by Harvey Fierstein that's humorous but never loses sight of the human element. Toss in some fun, athletic Cagelles.

What you get is a musical that captured my heart. With warmth and wit, La Cage aux Folles gets to the true meaning of family values: the love we show each other, the sacrifices we make.

In their 20 years together Georges and Albin have raised a son, Jean-Michel, the product of Georges' one-night stand. He's engaged to the daughter of the conservative Monsieur Dindon, head of the Tradition, Family and Morality Party. And when he brings his future in-laws home for dinner, he doesn't want the flamboyant Albin to be there.

Hodge, who transferred with this production from London's Menier Chocolate Factory, plays Albin as dramatic and insecure. He's an aging actor surrounded by the younger and more agile drag performers. He's a parent terribly hurt by the son he adores. The attempts to make him appear more "masculine" were funny but also heartbreaking.

Hoch, on in place of the vacationing Kelsey Grammer, was terrific. His Georges is steady and patient - a perfect counterpart and soulmate to Albin. He's wonderfully expressive: hilarious as he coaxes Albin out of his dressing room, stern as he reminds Jean-Michel of all the things Albin has done for the family. And he has a deep, beautiful singing voice.

Herman's songs illuminate the lives of these two men and their love for each other so well - an emotional "Look Over There" that Georges sings to his son, Albin's anthemic "I Am What I Am," the poignant "Song on the Sand" when Georges serenades Albin, and a stirring "The Best of Times."

There were times when I was moved to tears, including the scene at an outdoor cafe when Georges tries to hold Albin's hand, only to be warned away because someone is watching. The brief moment when they finally touch made me think about my friends who are gay and lesbian and how guarded they have to be with their affection in public.

From what I've read, this La Cage aux Folles takes place in a nightclub that's more rundown, with fewer dancers than in previous productions. It worked fine for me. I have rarely had as much fun sitting in my seat as I did when the Cagelles started tossing giant beach balls into the audience, which we swatted back onto the stage.

I liked the supporting cast, too: A.J. Shively in his Broadway debut as Jean-Michel plays a young man more misguided than mean-spirited. Robin De Jesus provided great comic relief as Jacob, the butler/maid devoted to Albin, who dreams of being a performer.

Fred Applegate was effective as the blustery, narrow-minded Monsieur Dindon. Yes, Dindon is a stereotypical bad guy but the hurtful things he says are mild in comparison with the bigotry of real-life antigay groups.

And talk about morality - contrast the way he browbeats his wife and daughter with Georges and Albin, who go through a charade, pretend to be people they're not, in order to make their son happy. When they affirm who they are, simply and with dignity, I wanted to cheer.

Last week I wrote about Grammer's absence and I questioned whether Hoch, who's younger, would be believable as Georges. Well, he won me over from the first scene until after the curtain call, when he put his arm around Hodge's waist and they walked offstage together.

All I can say is, bravo.

At the stage door, upstairs in the bar

I'll be posting reviews of the shows I saw in New York City but first, I have some memorable stage door experiences to share. Well okay, one of them was an upstairs in the bar experience.

First, I introduced myself to Saycon Sengbloh, whom I've written about before, after seeing her in the vibrant and powerful Fela! To my surprise, she recognized my blog!

Saycon occupies a treasured place in my theatergoing experience. She went on in the role of Celie, as the understudy for Fantasia, when I saw The Color Purple. It was the first show my dear friend and brother Steve On Broadway and I saw together, on the day we finally met in person.

After signing my Playbill, and sending regards to Steve, she graciously took me onto the stage at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, which was thrilling. After years of being an understudy, I'm so happy that she's had a chance to create a role on Broadway.

I saw La Cage aux Folles Saturday afternoon and it won my heart completely. But neither Douglas Hodge nor Chris Hoch, who was filling in for Kelsey Grammer, came out after the matinee. (Although lots of other actors and the fabulous Cagelles did.)

On Saturday night, I went to the hilarious Lend Me a Tenor a few blocks away at the Music Box. That stage door was quite an experience.

Did you know that teenage girls go wild for Justin Bartha? Neither did I. But about 25 of them swarmed him for a group photo. It was incredible. (Well, he is cute.)

Since La Cage is a little bit longer than Tenor, I raced back up to the Longacre but everyone had left. Then a woman standing in front of the theatre told me that the cast was in the restaurant next door.

Now, I don't normally run after actors in restaurants. Really, I don't. But I was so taken with La Cage aux Folles. Plus, after writing about Kelsey Grammer's absence, I felt that I owed Chris Hoch a mea culpa.

A waitress told me everyone was upstairs in the bar. One of the Cagelles (Sean Patrick Doyle, I think) recognized me. He said Chris wasn't there but Douglas was, and introduced me. (I asked him to please pass along my compliments to Chris on a terrific performance.)

Well, Douglas Hodge could not have been nicer - incredibly generous with his time after a two-show day.

He signed my Playbill, apologized for not coming to the stage door after the matinee and spent a few minutes chatting with me.

Stupidly, I forgot to congratulate him on winning the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. So, congratulations!

A bait and switch from La Cage aux Folles?

What do you do when the actor you came to see is out of the show? And are the producers obligated to tell you about the absence of a "name above the title" performer before you buy a ticket?

I'm asking those questions because apparently I won't be seeing Kelsey Grammer as Georges in the Broadway revival of La Cage aux Folles this weekend. Grammer's understudy, Chris Hoch, posted on Facebook that he'd be performing Wednesday through Sunday.

I found out about it Saturday night, on the Broadway World message board, and contacted Telecharge to confirm. They checked with the Longacre Theatre, which wasn't aware of any absences. I called back this morning and was told that yes, indeed, Kelsey Grammer will be out.

Hoch posted his message on Thursday. That means producers Sonia Friedman, David Babani and Barry and Fran Weissler used Kelsey Grammer's name to sell tickets knowing full well the Cheers and Frasier star would not be appearing.

I know there are no ironclad guarantees. Actors get sick, they have emergencies. I had a wonderful experience seeing Saycon Sengbloh go on for Fantasia in The Color Purple.

But as soon as the producers of La Cage knew about this absence, they should have informed the ticket-buying public. I asked the Telecharge representative why there was no notice online and he said there should have been.) Update: After my call, a note was added.

In contrast, the producers of A Little Night Music made it very clear far in advance the weeks that Catherine Zeta-Jones was going to be out.

We all know that nearly 65 percent of tickets to Broadway shows are purchased by tourists, people like me who plan our trips far in advance, often pay full price and can't return for a second chance.

I was lucky. Most people won't find out about Grammer's absence until they get to the theatre. And by then, it'll be too late to change plans.

In this case, while it would have been nice to see Kelsey Grammer he's not a make or break for me. The question mark is Hoch. I'm sure he's a fine actor but I'm worried that at 34, he's too young to be believable as a man with a grown son.

While I could get a refund, I don't know when I can make another trip to Broadway. I'd still like to see the musical and Tony winner Douglas Hodge as Albin. Telecharge says as far as they know, he's in.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed and I'll be stopping by the theatre a little early just to make sure.

Update: I've posted my review of La Cage aux Folles - I loved it. Both Chris Hoch and Douglas Hodge were terrific. They make such a lovely couple! Hoch was giving 110 percent and I'd see him on stage again anytime. You can hear him, and other performers, talk about what it's like to be a Broadway understudy in this NPR story.

Revivals and revivals and revivals

The New York Times has a great spring/summer theatre preview today. What caught my attention was an article examining why familiar plays and musicals are being revived more frequently on Broadway.

Two of this season's revivals mentioned in the story are the musical La Cage aux Folles, which begins previews April 6 and the play A View from the Bridge, which runs through April 4.

I thought these comments were very sobering:

“One reason the wait time is getting shorter is that there are fewer and fewer great plays,” said Sonia Friedman, the London-based producer of La Cage aux Folles. "Many plays written in the last 10 to 15 years are on a smaller scale or too tied in to the zeitgeist.''

"Anthony LaPaglia, who won a Tony Award in the last View From the Bridge and stars this spring in Lend Me a Tenor (previously on Broadway 20 years ago), concurred: 'The talent pool is very thin, the generations of writers who stayed with theater has passed. Now they get the call for Hollywood and are gone.' "

Okay, maybe there's a kernel of truth. I don't doubt that the lure of Hollywood is a strong one. It always has been. Both William Faulkner and F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote for the movies. Shakespeare would have, too, if he'd had the chance.

Certainly, writers who concentrate on movies today would have been writing for the stage a couple generations ago. But I think Friedman's and LaPaglia's comments seem awfully dismissive of the current crop of playwrights.

What we ought to do is encourage writers to move among genres, like Martin McDonagh, who started in theatre, won an Oscar and is back on Broadway this spring with A Behanding Spokane.