It's curtains for four shows

Today marks the final performance for two Broadway plays I loved, Joe Turner's Come and Gone and reasons to be pretty; along with a third I enjoyed very much, Exit the King.

I took a pass on the fourth show that's closing, Guys and Dolls. I really want to see this musical on stage someday but with lackluster reviews and a cast that didn't excite me well, I guess I'll have to wait for the next revival. According to Playbill, the producers are planning a national tour for 2010-2011, so maybe I'll catch up with it then.

Of course, like most Broadway plays these days, Joe Turner, produced by Lincoln Center Theater, and Exit the King were limited runs. Reasons to be pretty, a transfer from off-Broadway's MCC Theater with some cast changes, was open-ended.

Lincoln Center's Bernard Gersten told The New York Times that a presidential visit and a Tony for cast member Roger Robinson for Best Featured Actor in a Play weren't enough to justify an extension. “We ran the risk of extending and playing to half-empty houses."

It's too bad Exit the King couldn't have extended on the heels of Geoffrey Rush winning a Tony for Best Actor in a Play. As a dying monarch who isn't ready to leave life's stage he gives an amazing performance that's part comedy, part tragedy. Maybe Rush simply had other commitments that precluded it.

But I feel especially bad that August Wilson's Joe Turner and Neil LaBute's reasons to be pretty failed to find bigger audiences. Even though they're very different they were two of the most enjoyable experiences I've had on Broadway this season and I thought both casts were wonderful.

Joe Turner is a compelling story about the lives of African-Americans at the beginning of the 2oth century that had me enthralled for close to three hours. Reasons to be pretty's story of four working-class twentysomethings had me laughing hysterically and cheering for its hero.

I'm not sure what, if anything, could have been done to draw more people to these plays.

I was looking at ibdb.com, and it seem as if the only August Wilson play to run for more than a year on Broadway was Fences, from 1987 to 1988. Most closed far short of a year. And while LaBute has a long list of off-Broadway credits, this was the first of his plays to make it to Broadway.

I know all the arguments - Broadway depends on tourists, who want to see musicals or stars they recognize from movies or tv. But that doesn't mean it's not sad all the same.

reasons to be pretty

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

Usually when I read about a new show coming to Broadway I'm at least a little bit intrigued. But when I heard about reasons to be pretty, by Neil LaBute, I was not interested. I knew that some of his work, like In the Company of Men, included male characters who treated women badly and I didn't think I'd enjoy his plays.

But several of my fellow bloggers and theatergoing friends who saw reasons to be pretty enjoyed it and I respect their opinons. On Saturday evening, several of us were gathered at Angus McIndoe for a preshow dinner and I mentioned that I didn't yet have a ticket to see anything the next day.

So everyone at the table (including me) wrote down on a slip of paper what they thought I should see. We put all the slips in a glass and I picked out reasons to be pretty. (Turns out it got two votes.)

On Sunday morning, I stood in the play line and bought my first half-price ticket at the TKTS booth - fourth row orchestra on the aisle - for reasons to be pretty at the Lyceum Theatre. And I am so glad I did. What a terrific play, what a terrific cast. I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed it. I'm so sorry it's closing on Sunday.

Now, this story of four young, working-class characters might not be everyone's taste. There's a lot of profanity. I know we've become desensitized to the f-word. But realistically, do people swear that much in everyday life? And I couldn't quite believe a very public argument that occurs in a very public place.

Still, LaBute has some very witty lines. And while the behavior he depicts is pretty reprehensible and extreme at times, it rings true to life. Characters in this play say things that are hurtful but they're things I've definitely heard people say. There's also a lot of humor and I laughed - a lot.

Reasons to be pretty is often described as a play about our obsession with physical beauty. And an offhand remark that Thomas Sadoski's Greg makes about the looks of his girlfriend Steph (played by Marin Ireland) sets the action off in an explosive fashion that's both brutal and hilarious.

But rather than a story about physical beauty, I think of it more as Greg's coming-of-age story. Sadoski, who received a Tony nomination along with Ireland, is so adorable and likable as Greg, who moves giant cartons around a Costco-like warehouse at night to earn a living. Ireland is wonderful as a spitfire of a woman who's maybe acting irrationally but clearly feels hurt.

Rounding out the cast are Steven Pasquale as Kent, Greg's rougher-edged coworker; and Piper Perabo, as Carly, Kent's wife, who works with the men as a security guard. In real life, I'm sure Pasquale is a doll but he's so good playing a reprehensible character. And Perabo's Carly is very sweet - the kind of woman who makes you think, what is she doing with him?

But what I loved the most about reasons to be pretty is the way Greg evolves throughout the play. He begins to see his future and the people around him in a different way. He becomes more confident. And watching him change, come into his own, is a thrilling experience. Sadoski is so good - he wins your heart and you truly feel for him and cheer him on.

So I'm woman enough to admit that I was wrong about Neil LaBute - he's written a young, sensitive male character who treats women very well. I hope we get a sequel because I'd like to know what happens to Greg. I'm betting he'll make an excellent husband and father.