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12/16/2015Theater: Solid Sam Shepard, Half-Baked "Barbecue" And Muddled "Old Times" | Evernote Web
https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=60767042-875e-4657-902e-45e1ad65276b&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&1/6Theater: Solid Sam Shepard, Half-Baked "Barbecue"And Muddled "Old Times"Theater: Solid Sam Shepard, Half-Baked "Barbecue" And Muddled"Old Times"FOOL FOR LOVE ** 1/2 out of **** BARBECUE ** 1/2 out of **** OLD TIMES ** out of ****FOOL FOR LOVE ** 1/2 out of **** MANHATTAN THEATRE CLUB AT SAMUEL J. FRIEDMAN THEATREI've spent my entire adult life watching the stock of playwright Sam Shepard fall. He was at his peak in the1980s, with that iconic trade paperback of seven plays sporting his handsome mug on the cover.That compilation was just a blip on the radar for Shepard. He starred in the landmark film Days of Heaven in1978. He won the Pulitzer Prize for his play Buried Child in 1979. He received an Oscar nomination for his greatwork in 1983's The Right Stuff, a masterpiece by any measure. He co-wrote the Palme d'Or winner Paris, Texasin 1984, the same year that collection of plays became a fixture in bookstores around the world. No wonder hemade the cover of Newsweek in 1986.The plays kept coming: about one every three years since Seven Plays was published 31 years ago. But cruellyfor someone so acclaimed and clearly devoted to his craft, they haven't become part of the repertory yet, notreally. Buried Child played Broadway for two months in 1996. A praised revival of arguably his best play TrueWest had a five month run in 2000 and received three Tony nominations. And now this revival of Fool For Lovewith Nina Arianda and Sam Rockwell. One play on Broadway in 1996, another in 2000 and now (finally) anotherin 2015. Shepard's new work has been seen at various venues Off Broadway to little success.What do I think of Shepard as a playwright? How would I know? I haven't had a chance to see his best workperformed by committed actors. (No wonder Signature devoted a season to Shepard back in 1996. For all theirgood work, it's a pity they don't continue that tradition.) So it's a pleasure to see four excellent actors tackle1983's Fool For Love. And it's a disappointment to say that on my first viewing, it feels like a flawed work thathas not dated well.The set-up is simple: May (Arianda) is slumped over, sitting on the edge of a bed in a dumpy hotel room. Thecowboy Eddie (Rockwell) is in a corner, taking a break from what is clearly an exhausting battle of wills. Off tothe side (In the room? Outside? Metaphorically watching from above?) is an Old Man (Gordon Joseph Weiss).At first May clings to Eddie, then she pushes him away. She claws at him; he threatens her. She orders him togo then begs him to stay. He insists on leaving and then remains. The Old Man watches.They're fools for love, obviously, and it's fun to watch. The tension is real (along with the humor) as we try andfigure out who is toying with whom and whether they belong together and if being together will mean morebattling or actual, genuine happiness. It feels meaty and real and while hardly revelatory is certainly satisfying,thanks to talent like Rockwell (sneakily charming as always) and Arianda (who is thoroughly at home and notflashy for a single moment despite the acclaim of recent years that might have sent anyone less grounded flyingoff into space).
12/16/2015Theater: Solid Sam Shepard, Half-Baked "Barbecue" And Muddled "Old Times" | Evernote Web
https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=60767042-875e-4657-902e-45e1ad65276b&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&2/6Eddie has blown back into town and wants to -- maybe -- take May away with him. More tension arises for thison-again off-again couple with the arrival of May's date for the evening, a hapless local fellow (Tom Pelphrey)who just wants to take her out to a movie. Instead he becomes trapped in their game of truth-telling about whatis really tearing them apart. Director Daniel Aukin has molded the cast into an excellent ensemble: his two leadsare marvelous; Weiss is spot-on and Pelphrey was for me a revelation, wonderfully funny and dim-witted whileholding his own onstage with two powerhouses, all with a minimum of dialogue. The tech elements were alsostrong, though I could have done without two visual and sonic flourishes (once at the beginning and once at theclimax) that called too much attention to themselves.But the play? It revolves around the revelation that this couple is related. They fooled around in high school onlyto discover that Eddie's father knocked up May's mother. Once upon a time, such was the stuff of Greektragedy. Today it fails to shock (What? No gender confusion?). And once that twist was made clear, the playbecame less and less compelling. Perhaps I was too quick to credit this production. Certainly in retrospect Ididn't sense the seeds of despair that should be driving it. Eddie's violence didn't seem the frustrated violence ofone unexpectedly in love with his half-sister, just your run-of-the-mill violence. May's fickle attitude towardsEddie seemed powered only by his wandering attention, not by the turmoil of a love that dare not speak -- oreven think -- its name.And where in all this naturalistic fatalism does the rather fantastic off-stage character of The Countess fit in? Anutty rich woman who shoots up hotel rooms and sets fire to trucks hardly squares with a simmering taleaspiring to Sophoclean despair. I felt confusion over the big outburst of the Old Man and just a sense of anti-climax when Eddie and May kiss ferociously at the end. Since they already kissed earlier, the tension for aphysical release was already dissipated. Sure, the first time we didn't know they were siblings, but what mighthave felt transgressive and powerful at the finale had already been undermined by the play itself.Shepard is a terrific actor, an admirable artist and devoted to theater. I want to be a fool for his work -- I haveever since buying that collection back in college with student loan money I should have saved for food. I justwish I had more chances to judge his work where it belongs: on stage. Surely this showcase for four actors (andTrue West, which was catnip for the late Philip Seymour Hoffman and John C. Reilly) is proof he's worthy ofmore attention. It may reveal flaws but that's better than not being seen at all.BARBECUE ** 1/2 out of **** PUBLIC THEATEREveryone's faith in playwright Robert O'Hara is thoroughly justified. He's whip-smart, funny, provocative and hasa gift for entertaining. (I'll take entertaining over deep thoughts any day.) I didn't go over the moon like some withBooty Candy, but that often hilarious look at growing up gay was bursting with inventiveness, to say the least.Barbecue may be a little more flawed but it confirms O'Hara as a playwright you don't want to miss. It seemsonly a matter of time before he hits one out of the park.A park, actually is the setting for his new play Barbecue. A family is gathered not to grill some meat but toconfront one of their siblings, the out of control Barbara. Calling Barbara out of control is really saying somethingsince all the other adults in this family boast a roll call of addictions and pathologies: alcohol, marijuana, meth(maybe), pills (certainly), busted relationships and dead-end jobs are all on the menu.Barbara may not be quite ready for an intervention. Will she really cotton to the idea of heading to Alaska foryoga and group therapy? But if she gets out of hand -- a distinct possibility since razors-hidden-in-the-mouth isone ploy they worry about -- well, they've always got the rope, duct tape and Taser to fall back on.So there you have it. A flawed play with a strong first act, a sputtering second act, a good cast and solid techelements (especially the costumes by Paul Tazewell and the hair and wigs by Leah J. Loukas which worktogether in ways subtle and clever to keep it funny but real). O'Hara tosses a lot of plates in the air and -- while
12/16/2015Theater: Solid Sam Shepard, Half-Baked "Barbecue" And Muddled "Old Times" | Evernote Web
https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=60767042-875e-4657-902e-45e1ad65276b&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&3/6many of them crash -- it's invigorating to watch. Barbecue employs some big switches (just like Fool For Love,which has a big reveal as well). As in Shepard's play, the Big Reveal is not terribly interesting and makes whatcame before it less interesting in retrospect. Meta playfulness is irresistible for a playwright with an unbridledimagination. But the discipline of rules and genre and structure (rather than always tearing that structure down)can be just what is needed to give that imagination focus. Here's hoping O'Hara works to use his distinctivevoice in a context less freewheeling just to see what happens. I can't recommend Barbecue as strongly as BootyCandy. But if you're in New York City and a regular theater goer, O'Hara is clearly a talent you want to watchdevelop. By all means go.SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERTSPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERTWhy are you still reading? I said spoiler alert! If you have any ability to see the play, walk away please. ButBarbecue and its flaws are impossible to discuss without spoiling the multiple tricks that O'Hara plays with us.Literally impossible. So the first half of my review is for anyone who might go see it. Now for posterity, let'sactually discuss the damn thing. Truly, it's no fun to even KNOW there's a spoiler much less dissect it. But whatcan one do? Not talk about the new play by a clearly bursting at the seams talent like O'Hara? So you've beenamply warned.The first big reveal is an absolute corker. The family -- led by the redoubtable Becky Ann Baker of Freaks &Geeks -- has discussed all possibilities while they wait nervously for Barbara. A violent, hilarious peak isreached when the lights go to black, the show pauses very briefly and then the lights come up and the actionbegins again...but the entire white cast has been replaced by black actors clearly playing the same characters inthe same scene. It's head-spinning, unexpected and marvelously effective in super-charging the action.The rest of the first act continues this by transitioning back and forth several times between the two sets ofactors. A play about white trash has now become a play about black people held down economically. Or is it thata play that didn't seem to be about race now really is about race? Or maybe it's not race but class that we'redealing with? And why am I laughing more with the ensemble of black actors? You immediately question yourown prejudices. Am I trained to be embarrassed or less amused by white trash since they reflect poorly on me, awhite man? Or am I seductively encouraged to laugh at black folk as a subtle form of racism that reinforcesracial stereotypes perpetuated by white society?Naturally, I decided I wasn't racist (no one ever decides they are racist, do they?) and that the black cast was infact stronger across the board. However, I was also aware of a heightened reality present when the black castwas performing. Their roles and jokes were broader and bigger -- it was meant to be funnier. I think. Or I'm just ajerk. This was a rich vein O'Hara had opened and it was fully worth exploring for an entire play. Unfortunately...SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERTSPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERTOkay, there's another Big Reveal. In truth, a great work should be able to survive knowing about the "twist." Youcan enjoy and appreciate it even if you know something the original audience didn't. (It's a sled.) Still, it'scertainly more fun not knowing, if possible. So if you're in NYC and might go to the show and kept reading pastthe first Spoiler Alert, for heaven's sake, stop now! On the other hand, you'll find out why the play that started outso strongly became so muddled.After the switching between casts, act one climaxed with yet another switch. As the black cast was on stage,suddenly Barbara (Tamberla Perry) shouted out "Cut!" and the stage was swarmed by cameramen and soundguys and PAs and all the other folk on a film crew. The audience, already blindsided by the brilliant ploy ofswapping out casts, exploded in mirth. So this is being filmed? I assumed it was reality TV we'd be spoofing, butin fact act two revealed that we were watching the actual events of an intervention (later made famous by
12/16/2015Theater: Solid Sam Shepard, Half-Baked "Barbecue" And Muddled "Old Times" | Evernote Web
https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=60767042-875e-4657-902e-45e1ad65276b&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&4/6Barbara's best-selling triumph-over-addiction memoir) interspersed with a cast of black actors filming it for amovie.Act Two goes way, way down hill as we jump back a little and watch a world famous Whitney Houston-typesinger and actress (played by Perry) meet with the "real" Barbara (Samantha Soule) in that same park. The self-absorbed diva is searching for authentic details and deciding whether to make the movie we've watched her filmthroughout act one. The energy and inventiveness disappears and the play slowly loses steam as it plods to aclose.Perry's diva is a boring stereotype that also makes no sense: she's from the ghetto but puts on a fake Britishaccent? When authenticity is the coin of the realm in the pop world and not one she'd run from? We're supposedto seesaw back and forth as we watch these two women search for power over the other. The movie starblathers on and occasionally reveals how little Barbara means to her. Revelations pile up, each one lessmeaningful and interesting than the last: the memoir is faked, the diva is an addict, one or both of them is alesbian and so on.While act one juxtaposed "real" people with cinematic portrayals that were exaggerated, in act two all we get are"real" people who seem a lot more fake than everyone in act one. Potentially the most powerful scene -- whenthe diva demands the clean Barbara do some crystal meth -- becomes a throw-away moment when clearly itshould have been the manipulative pivot of the entire act. How far will a diva go to demonstrate power or gain anOscar worthy project? How far will a recovering addict go to cash in? And does dignity even come into theequation? Everything here is less interesting, including the performances of the two women since theircharacters become more cardboard by the second.It's very confusing. On the one hand, O'Hara clearly has a fertile imagination. On the other hand, he had anabsolutely brilliant concept -- switching between an all black and all white cast -- that was plenty for an entireplay. It should have been the sole "trick" in the show, one that was worthy of exploring deeply and imaginatively.I feel almost cheated that this clever and potentially penetrating gambit was squandered. On the other (other?)hand, he came up with that idea, didn't he?OLD TIMES ** out of **** ROUNDABOUT THEATRE COMPANY AT AMERICAN AIRLINES THEATREThe soufflé did not rise. Truly, what else can one say about a production of Harold Pinter that doesn't work? Onecan see a decent production of Oscar Wilde or Horton Foote, a good performance here and there and all ofit...okay, But Pinter (and Brecht and that ilk)? Their work is so ambiguous and off kilter that either it clicks or itdoesn't. This one most assuredly doesn't. That isn't to say your experience at Pinter is either euphoric ornightmarish. Far from it. The three actors are to varying degrees solid, the production is certainly enjoyably risk-taking (at least visually) and unlike some truly off the rails productions that flop entirely, it's hardly an endurancetest. But does it rise? Does it breathe? Sadly, no.This is the first time I've seen Pinter's Old Times so I have nothing to compare it to, no way to know what powerplays and intriguing shifts in balance can take place when it's done well. Deely (Clive Owen) and Kate (KellyReilly) are at home. I use the term "home" loosely, since the set by Christine Jones depicts a striking vortexlooming over them at all times while a giant slab of ice is a stand-in for a door or perhaps a window. A tadabstract, but hardly out of place for the oft-surreal Pinter. They banter about a dinner guest soon to arrive. Anna(Eve Best) is an old friend of Kate, though Kate clarifies by saying Anna was and is her only friend. She has noother friends, not really.Typically for Pinter, they are fencing with words. Anna arrives and a sexy, provocative presence she is indeed.Anna and Deely seem to be battling each other for supremacy; they're trying to prove which one of them is moreimportant, more crucial to Kate (or at least the person Kate has become)? Inevitably, the somewhat passive
12/16/2015Theater: Solid Sam Shepard, Half-Baked "Barbecue" And Muddled "Old Times" | Evernote Web
https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=60767042-875e-4657-902e-45e1ad65276b&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&5/6Kate will make her own move for domination before all is said and done.Reilly is the least satisfying here and Best the most. Owen is very solidly in the middle, proving himself a strongand promising stage presence, fully at home and ready to play. One must point the finger at director DouglasHodge. Whatever music is to be found in this Pinter play remains unheard. Whatever drama, mostly unseen.Whatever sense the scenic design and the vaguely period costumes of Constance Hoffman might have madeunexplained. Whatever impact the modest visual and sonic pow of key moments delivered by Thom Yorke(music), Japhy Weideman (lighting) and sound (Clive Goodwin) unfelt.I really have no idea what Pinter is up to in this play. But I'm certain Hodge and his team haven't figured it outeither.THEATER OF 2015Honeymoon In Vegas ** The Woodsman *** Constellations ** 1/2 Taylor Mac's A 24 Decade History Of Popular Music 1930s-1950s ** 1/2 Let The Right One In ** Da no rating A Month In The Country ** 1/2 Parade in Concert at Lincoln Center ** 1/2 Hamilton at the Public *** The World Of Extreme Happiness ** 1/2 Broadway By The Year 1915-1940 ** Verite * 1/2 Fabulous! * The Mystery Of Love & Sex ** An Octoroon at Polonsky Shakespeare Center *** 1/2 Fish In The Dark * The Audience *** Josephine And I *** Posterity * 1/2 The Hunchback Of Notre Dame ** Lonesome Traveler ** On The Twentieth Century *** Radio City Music Hall's New York Spring Spectacular ** 1/2 The Heidi Chronicles * The Tallest Tree In The Forest * 1/2 Broadway By The Year: 1941-1965 *** Twelfth Night by Bedlam *** What You Will by Bedlam *** 1/2 Wolf Hall Parts I and II ** 1/2 Skylight *** Nellie McKay at 54 Below *** Ludic Proxy ** 1/2 It Shoulda Been You ** Finding Neverland ** 1/2 Hamlet w Peter Sarsgaard at CSC no stars The King And I ***
https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=60767042-875e-4657-902e-45e1ad65276b&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&1/6Theater: Solid Sam Shepard, Half-Baked "Barbecue"And Muddled "Old Times"Theater: Solid Sam Shepard, Half-Baked "Barbecue" And Muddled"Old Times"FOOL FOR LOVE ** 1/2 out of **** BARBECUE ** 1/2 out of **** OLD TIMES ** out of ****FOOL FOR LOVE ** 1/2 out of **** MANHATTAN THEATRE CLUB AT SAMUEL J. FRIEDMAN THEATREI've spent my entire adult life watching the stock of playwright Sam Shepard fall. He was at his peak in the1980s, with that iconic trade paperback of seven plays sporting his handsome mug on the cover.That compilation was just a blip on the radar for Shepard. He starred in the landmark film Days of Heaven in1978. He won the Pulitzer Prize for his play Buried Child in 1979. He received an Oscar nomination for his greatwork in 1983's The Right Stuff, a masterpiece by any measure. He co-wrote the Palme d'Or winner Paris, Texasin 1984, the same year that collection of plays became a fixture in bookstores around the world. No wonder hemade the cover of Newsweek in 1986.The plays kept coming: about one every three years since Seven Plays was published 31 years ago. But cruellyfor someone so acclaimed and clearly devoted to his craft, they haven't become part of the repertory yet, notreally. Buried Child played Broadway for two months in 1996. A praised revival of arguably his best play TrueWest had a five month run in 2000 and received three Tony nominations. And now this revival of Fool For Lovewith Nina Arianda and Sam Rockwell. One play on Broadway in 1996, another in 2000 and now (finally) anotherin 2015. Shepard's new work has been seen at various venues Off Broadway to little success.What do I think of Shepard as a playwright? How would I know? I haven't had a chance to see his best workperformed by committed actors. (No wonder Signature devoted a season to Shepard back in 1996. For all theirgood work, it's a pity they don't continue that tradition.) So it's a pleasure to see four excellent actors tackle1983's Fool For Love. And it's a disappointment to say that on my first viewing, it feels like a flawed work thathas not dated well.The set-up is simple: May (Arianda) is slumped over, sitting on the edge of a bed in a dumpy hotel room. Thecowboy Eddie (Rockwell) is in a corner, taking a break from what is clearly an exhausting battle of wills. Off tothe side (In the room? Outside? Metaphorically watching from above?) is an Old Man (Gordon Joseph Weiss).At first May clings to Eddie, then she pushes him away. She claws at him; he threatens her. She orders him togo then begs him to stay. He insists on leaving and then remains. The Old Man watches.They're fools for love, obviously, and it's fun to watch. The tension is real (along with the humor) as we try andfigure out who is toying with whom and whether they belong together and if being together will mean morebattling or actual, genuine happiness. It feels meaty and real and while hardly revelatory is certainly satisfying,thanks to talent like Rockwell (sneakily charming as always) and Arianda (who is thoroughly at home and notflashy for a single moment despite the acclaim of recent years that might have sent anyone less grounded flyingoff into space).
12/16/2015Theater: Solid Sam Shepard, Half-Baked "Barbecue" And Muddled "Old Times" | Evernote Web
https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=60767042-875e-4657-902e-45e1ad65276b&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&2/6Eddie has blown back into town and wants to -- maybe -- take May away with him. More tension arises for thison-again off-again couple with the arrival of May's date for the evening, a hapless local fellow (Tom Pelphrey)who just wants to take her out to a movie. Instead he becomes trapped in their game of truth-telling about whatis really tearing them apart. Director Daniel Aukin has molded the cast into an excellent ensemble: his two leadsare marvelous; Weiss is spot-on and Pelphrey was for me a revelation, wonderfully funny and dim-witted whileholding his own onstage with two powerhouses, all with a minimum of dialogue. The tech elements were alsostrong, though I could have done without two visual and sonic flourishes (once at the beginning and once at theclimax) that called too much attention to themselves.But the play? It revolves around the revelation that this couple is related. They fooled around in high school onlyto discover that Eddie's father knocked up May's mother. Once upon a time, such was the stuff of Greektragedy. Today it fails to shock (What? No gender confusion?). And once that twist was made clear, the playbecame less and less compelling. Perhaps I was too quick to credit this production. Certainly in retrospect Ididn't sense the seeds of despair that should be driving it. Eddie's violence didn't seem the frustrated violence ofone unexpectedly in love with his half-sister, just your run-of-the-mill violence. May's fickle attitude towardsEddie seemed powered only by his wandering attention, not by the turmoil of a love that dare not speak -- oreven think -- its name.And where in all this naturalistic fatalism does the rather fantastic off-stage character of The Countess fit in? Anutty rich woman who shoots up hotel rooms and sets fire to trucks hardly squares with a simmering taleaspiring to Sophoclean despair. I felt confusion over the big outburst of the Old Man and just a sense of anti-climax when Eddie and May kiss ferociously at the end. Since they already kissed earlier, the tension for aphysical release was already dissipated. Sure, the first time we didn't know they were siblings, but what mighthave felt transgressive and powerful at the finale had already been undermined by the play itself.Shepard is a terrific actor, an admirable artist and devoted to theater. I want to be a fool for his work -- I haveever since buying that collection back in college with student loan money I should have saved for food. I justwish I had more chances to judge his work where it belongs: on stage. Surely this showcase for four actors (andTrue West, which was catnip for the late Philip Seymour Hoffman and John C. Reilly) is proof he's worthy ofmore attention. It may reveal flaws but that's better than not being seen at all.BARBECUE ** 1/2 out of **** PUBLIC THEATEREveryone's faith in playwright Robert O'Hara is thoroughly justified. He's whip-smart, funny, provocative and hasa gift for entertaining. (I'll take entertaining over deep thoughts any day.) I didn't go over the moon like some withBooty Candy, but that often hilarious look at growing up gay was bursting with inventiveness, to say the least.Barbecue may be a little more flawed but it confirms O'Hara as a playwright you don't want to miss. It seemsonly a matter of time before he hits one out of the park.A park, actually is the setting for his new play Barbecue. A family is gathered not to grill some meat but toconfront one of their siblings, the out of control Barbara. Calling Barbara out of control is really saying somethingsince all the other adults in this family boast a roll call of addictions and pathologies: alcohol, marijuana, meth(maybe), pills (certainly), busted relationships and dead-end jobs are all on the menu.Barbara may not be quite ready for an intervention. Will she really cotton to the idea of heading to Alaska foryoga and group therapy? But if she gets out of hand -- a distinct possibility since razors-hidden-in-the-mouth isone ploy they worry about -- well, they've always got the rope, duct tape and Taser to fall back on.So there you have it. A flawed play with a strong first act, a sputtering second act, a good cast and solid techelements (especially the costumes by Paul Tazewell and the hair and wigs by Leah J. Loukas which worktogether in ways subtle and clever to keep it funny but real). O'Hara tosses a lot of plates in the air and -- while
12/16/2015Theater: Solid Sam Shepard, Half-Baked "Barbecue" And Muddled "Old Times" | Evernote Web
https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=60767042-875e-4657-902e-45e1ad65276b&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&3/6many of them crash -- it's invigorating to watch. Barbecue employs some big switches (just like Fool For Love,which has a big reveal as well). As in Shepard's play, the Big Reveal is not terribly interesting and makes whatcame before it less interesting in retrospect. Meta playfulness is irresistible for a playwright with an unbridledimagination. But the discipline of rules and genre and structure (rather than always tearing that structure down)can be just what is needed to give that imagination focus. Here's hoping O'Hara works to use his distinctivevoice in a context less freewheeling just to see what happens. I can't recommend Barbecue as strongly as BootyCandy. But if you're in New York City and a regular theater goer, O'Hara is clearly a talent you want to watchdevelop. By all means go.SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERTSPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERTWhy are you still reading? I said spoiler alert! If you have any ability to see the play, walk away please. ButBarbecue and its flaws are impossible to discuss without spoiling the multiple tricks that O'Hara plays with us.Literally impossible. So the first half of my review is for anyone who might go see it. Now for posterity, let'sactually discuss the damn thing. Truly, it's no fun to even KNOW there's a spoiler much less dissect it. But whatcan one do? Not talk about the new play by a clearly bursting at the seams talent like O'Hara? So you've beenamply warned.The first big reveal is an absolute corker. The family -- led by the redoubtable Becky Ann Baker of Freaks &Geeks -- has discussed all possibilities while they wait nervously for Barbara. A violent, hilarious peak isreached when the lights go to black, the show pauses very briefly and then the lights come up and the actionbegins again...but the entire white cast has been replaced by black actors clearly playing the same characters inthe same scene. It's head-spinning, unexpected and marvelously effective in super-charging the action.The rest of the first act continues this by transitioning back and forth several times between the two sets ofactors. A play about white trash has now become a play about black people held down economically. Or is it thata play that didn't seem to be about race now really is about race? Or maybe it's not race but class that we'redealing with? And why am I laughing more with the ensemble of black actors? You immediately question yourown prejudices. Am I trained to be embarrassed or less amused by white trash since they reflect poorly on me, awhite man? Or am I seductively encouraged to laugh at black folk as a subtle form of racism that reinforcesracial stereotypes perpetuated by white society?Naturally, I decided I wasn't racist (no one ever decides they are racist, do they?) and that the black cast was infact stronger across the board. However, I was also aware of a heightened reality present when the black castwas performing. Their roles and jokes were broader and bigger -- it was meant to be funnier. I think. Or I'm just ajerk. This was a rich vein O'Hara had opened and it was fully worth exploring for an entire play. Unfortunately...SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERTSPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERTOkay, there's another Big Reveal. In truth, a great work should be able to survive knowing about the "twist." Youcan enjoy and appreciate it even if you know something the original audience didn't. (It's a sled.) Still, it'scertainly more fun not knowing, if possible. So if you're in NYC and might go to the show and kept reading pastthe first Spoiler Alert, for heaven's sake, stop now! On the other hand, you'll find out why the play that started outso strongly became so muddled.After the switching between casts, act one climaxed with yet another switch. As the black cast was on stage,suddenly Barbara (Tamberla Perry) shouted out "Cut!" and the stage was swarmed by cameramen and soundguys and PAs and all the other folk on a film crew. The audience, already blindsided by the brilliant ploy ofswapping out casts, exploded in mirth. So this is being filmed? I assumed it was reality TV we'd be spoofing, butin fact act two revealed that we were watching the actual events of an intervention (later made famous by
12/16/2015Theater: Solid Sam Shepard, Half-Baked "Barbecue" And Muddled "Old Times" | Evernote Web
https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=60767042-875e-4657-902e-45e1ad65276b&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&4/6Barbara's best-selling triumph-over-addiction memoir) interspersed with a cast of black actors filming it for amovie.Act Two goes way, way down hill as we jump back a little and watch a world famous Whitney Houston-typesinger and actress (played by Perry) meet with the "real" Barbara (Samantha Soule) in that same park. The self-absorbed diva is searching for authentic details and deciding whether to make the movie we've watched her filmthroughout act one. The energy and inventiveness disappears and the play slowly loses steam as it plods to aclose.Perry's diva is a boring stereotype that also makes no sense: she's from the ghetto but puts on a fake Britishaccent? When authenticity is the coin of the realm in the pop world and not one she'd run from? We're supposedto seesaw back and forth as we watch these two women search for power over the other. The movie starblathers on and occasionally reveals how little Barbara means to her. Revelations pile up, each one lessmeaningful and interesting than the last: the memoir is faked, the diva is an addict, one or both of them is alesbian and so on.While act one juxtaposed "real" people with cinematic portrayals that were exaggerated, in act two all we get are"real" people who seem a lot more fake than everyone in act one. Potentially the most powerful scene -- whenthe diva demands the clean Barbara do some crystal meth -- becomes a throw-away moment when clearly itshould have been the manipulative pivot of the entire act. How far will a diva go to demonstrate power or gain anOscar worthy project? How far will a recovering addict go to cash in? And does dignity even come into theequation? Everything here is less interesting, including the performances of the two women since theircharacters become more cardboard by the second.It's very confusing. On the one hand, O'Hara clearly has a fertile imagination. On the other hand, he had anabsolutely brilliant concept -- switching between an all black and all white cast -- that was plenty for an entireplay. It should have been the sole "trick" in the show, one that was worthy of exploring deeply and imaginatively.I feel almost cheated that this clever and potentially penetrating gambit was squandered. On the other (other?)hand, he came up with that idea, didn't he?OLD TIMES ** out of **** ROUNDABOUT THEATRE COMPANY AT AMERICAN AIRLINES THEATREThe soufflé did not rise. Truly, what else can one say about a production of Harold Pinter that doesn't work? Onecan see a decent production of Oscar Wilde or Horton Foote, a good performance here and there and all ofit...okay, But Pinter (and Brecht and that ilk)? Their work is so ambiguous and off kilter that either it clicks or itdoesn't. This one most assuredly doesn't. That isn't to say your experience at Pinter is either euphoric ornightmarish. Far from it. The three actors are to varying degrees solid, the production is certainly enjoyably risk-taking (at least visually) and unlike some truly off the rails productions that flop entirely, it's hardly an endurancetest. But does it rise? Does it breathe? Sadly, no.This is the first time I've seen Pinter's Old Times so I have nothing to compare it to, no way to know what powerplays and intriguing shifts in balance can take place when it's done well. Deely (Clive Owen) and Kate (KellyReilly) are at home. I use the term "home" loosely, since the set by Christine Jones depicts a striking vortexlooming over them at all times while a giant slab of ice is a stand-in for a door or perhaps a window. A tadabstract, but hardly out of place for the oft-surreal Pinter. They banter about a dinner guest soon to arrive. Anna(Eve Best) is an old friend of Kate, though Kate clarifies by saying Anna was and is her only friend. She has noother friends, not really.Typically for Pinter, they are fencing with words. Anna arrives and a sexy, provocative presence she is indeed.Anna and Deely seem to be battling each other for supremacy; they're trying to prove which one of them is moreimportant, more crucial to Kate (or at least the person Kate has become)? Inevitably, the somewhat passive
12/16/2015Theater: Solid Sam Shepard, Half-Baked "Barbecue" And Muddled "Old Times" | Evernote Web
https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=60767042-875e-4657-902e-45e1ad65276b&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&5/6Kate will make her own move for domination before all is said and done.Reilly is the least satisfying here and Best the most. Owen is very solidly in the middle, proving himself a strongand promising stage presence, fully at home and ready to play. One must point the finger at director DouglasHodge. Whatever music is to be found in this Pinter play remains unheard. Whatever drama, mostly unseen.Whatever sense the scenic design and the vaguely period costumes of Constance Hoffman might have madeunexplained. Whatever impact the modest visual and sonic pow of key moments delivered by Thom Yorke(music), Japhy Weideman (lighting) and sound (Clive Goodwin) unfelt.I really have no idea what Pinter is up to in this play. But I'm certain Hodge and his team haven't figured it outeither.THEATER OF 2015Honeymoon In Vegas ** The Woodsman *** Constellations ** 1/2 Taylor Mac's A 24 Decade History Of Popular Music 1930s-1950s ** 1/2 Let The Right One In ** Da no rating A Month In The Country ** 1/2 Parade in Concert at Lincoln Center ** 1/2 Hamilton at the Public *** The World Of Extreme Happiness ** 1/2 Broadway By The Year 1915-1940 ** Verite * 1/2 Fabulous! * The Mystery Of Love & Sex ** An Octoroon at Polonsky Shakespeare Center *** 1/2 Fish In The Dark * The Audience *** Josephine And I *** Posterity * 1/2 The Hunchback Of Notre Dame ** Lonesome Traveler ** On The Twentieth Century *** Radio City Music Hall's New York Spring Spectacular ** 1/2 The Heidi Chronicles * The Tallest Tree In The Forest * 1/2 Broadway By The Year: 1941-1965 *** Twelfth Night by Bedlam *** What You Will by Bedlam *** 1/2 Wolf Hall Parts I and II ** 1/2 Skylight *** Nellie McKay at 54 Below *** Ludic Proxy ** 1/2 It Shoulda Been You ** Finding Neverland ** 1/2 Hamlet w Peter Sarsgaard at CSC no stars The King And I ***