IT TAKES TWO
In Love Jerry, at NYMF, Harris Doran and Donna Lynne Champlin stunned with the intensity and truthfulness of their emotionally raw performances. In The Four Of Us, Michael Esper and Gideon Banner created credible close-friend chemistry as two writers, one successful and the other struggling. The performances by Hanna Cheek and Paul Thureen in Hostage Song were especially remarkable for how much emotion each conveyed while blindfolded, the audience unable to see their eyes. Faith Prince and Tom Wopat gave unforgettable kitchen sink drama performances in the underappreciated chamber musical A Catered Affair. Fearlessness in acting was redefined in Blasted by Reed Birney and Marin Ireland, who should get medals of courage for getting through the harrowing chain of events in Sarah Kane’s play night after night.
SINGULAR SENSATIONS
Two of the best performances I saw this year were in solo plays at the Fringe Festival. In his adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates’ Zombie, Bill Connington chillingly emphasized the ordinary in his depiction of a deeply disturbed serial rapist-murderer. In The Amish Project, playwright-performer Jessica Dickey vividly and brilliantly depicted several characters involved in, or affected by, a shooting at an Amish schoolhouse. Although The Grand Inquisitor is technically not a solo show since a second, silent actor is always present on stage, I’m nonetheless including Bruce Myers‘ commanding and intense performance here. In the first solo musical of the three that comprised Inner Voices, Victoria Clark’s performance was both dramatically rich and musically stunning.
STAR TURNS
Ellen Burstyn didn’t sound a single false note in her heartbreaking performance in The Little Flower of East Orange. I gasped out loud during The Conscientious Objector at one of the most affecting moments in John Cullum’s performance as Lyndon B. Johnson. James Earl Jones made a thrilling, unique Big Daddy in the criminally undervalued revival of Cat On A Hot Tin Roof. Richard Griffiths‘ performance in Equus is heavy with inner anguish and is love it or hate it; I’m firmly of the former opinion. Lynn Redgrave was captivating in Grace. One of the few bright spots in the cynical, detestable revival of The Seagull was the absorbing lead performance by Kristin Scott Thomas. What a pleasure to have Sandy Duncan back on stage this year, bringing zip and pizazz to the Encores! production of No, No, Nanette.
STANDING OUT IN AN OUTSTANDING CROWD
Matt Rauch’s aggressive, in-your-face performance in Edward The Second was one of the highlights not only of the show but of any show this year. Of the many much-praised performances in South Pacific, Danny Burstein’s was the most interesting, freshly conceived, and believable. Mary McCormack’s side-splitting turn in Boeing Boeing made her the stand out in the show’s original cast. Jacqueline van Biene made a wonderful, fascinating Viola in Twelfth Night. Elizabeth Marvel was tops of the many great actresses in Top Girls. As the aging matriach in Wig Out!, Nathan Lee Graham brought dignity and humanity to a role that could have been pure pathos in lesser hands.
MORE FROM MUSICALS
If there’s one compelling reason to see the current revival of Pal Joey it’s Martha Plimpton, who adds musical theatre comedienne to her already long list of on-stage accomplishments. Billy Elliot is blessed to have Hayden Gwynne reprising her role from London; hers is easily the most grounded and vivid performance in the show. Will Swenson’s deliciously excessive turn as a spoiled rock star in Rock Of Ages was a hoot from start to finish; Brian Charles Rooney was just as much wicked fun in Bedbugs! this year at NYMF. Besides sensational dancing, Tony Yazbeck brought a puppy dog innocence to the role of Gaby in On The Town.
AND FINALLY…
Elsie de Brauw was mesmerizing in Ivo van Hove’s adaptation of Cassavettes’ Opening Night. At the Fringe this year, I was knocked out by the steely intensity in William Jackson Harper’s performance in Good Pictures. Kristin Griffith found exactly the right satiric tone for her performance as Nixon’s tape-erasing secretary in Stretch (a fantasia). Paul Sparks excelled once again this year, this time in Lady.
on Feb 16th, 2009 at 6:08 pm
[...] Theatre Row. I had the pleasure of chatting with Bill Connington, who wrote the adaptation and who (brilliantly) performs [...]