The Importance of Being Earnest

Brian Bedford as Lady Bracknell

The currently celebrated Roundabout Theatre Company production of The Importance of Being Earnest directed by and starring Brian Bedford as Lady Bracknell, which will shortly come to a close, was the first Broadway production of the Oscar Wilde chestnut since 1977 at Circle in the Square. Then it was Elizabeth Wilson as Lady Bracknell, Mary Louise Wilson as Miss Prism, John Glover as Algernon and James Valentine as John. That production was something of an event as the play hadn’t been seen on Broadway since 1947 with John Gielgud as John––a production that ended a long era of regular revivals. There were seven of them between the US debut in 1895 at the Empire Theater and 1947. Two of the more notable actors playing John were Henry Miller in 1902 (more famous now as the former name of the Stephen Sondheim Theater) and Clifton Webb in 1939. The many others filling out those long ago casts are names that have faded away, but for those who caught the current production it will be difficult to ever forget Brian Bedford’s transformation into Lady Bracknell. This casting was, in a way, a kind of stunt, but it was not treated as camp (even if this is Oscar Wilde). Mr. Bedford’s performance was pure character acting and utterly believable. If you didn’t know Lady Bracknell was being played by a man you would swear the person was a woman. Even when knowing the facts, the character was instantly believable from the moment Lady Bracknell made her entrance.

The top rate cast included David Furr as John, Jayne Houdyshell as Miss Prisim, Jessie Austrian as Gwendolen, Charlotte Parry as Cecily and Santino Fontana as Algernon. However, on the night I caught the show it was old friend Richard Gallagher going on for Algernon. He has been covering both John and Algernon and even has had to go on for both characters in the same week. When I mentioned to my house manager friends Steve Ryan and Zipporah Agusvivas that I was there especially to see Richard go on as Algernon they lit up and expressed how impressed they had been to watch him through the run jumping back and forth between the two characters. This was Richard’s Broadway debut and although he was an understudy, he had plenty of opportunity to trod the boards as both leading male characters. His friends, who sat in the audience in happy support, had known his past decade in New York forging a career playing odd out of town dates, Fringe theater productions, readings and a lot of office temp work inbetween it all, so it was a great joy to see him finally on a Broadway stage. In fact, during the run of “Earnest,” Richard kept going in to his long term temp job to insure that it would still be there for him when the show closed. He knows as well as anyone that there may not be a next Broadway show and then again the world can turn on a dime.

Adding to the whimsy of the delightful production was Desmond Heeley’s Victorian pop-up book sets and colorful detailed costumes. The flat painted look of the 19th Century was augmented with aspects of dimension and all three settings were full of interesting detail, yet subdued in a pallet that allowed the more vibrant costumes to pop and visually fuel the characters with an energy the cast more than matched in person. This production will come to a close on June 26th, but it was filmed and shown in movie theaters this past month, so here’s hoping a DVD release or TV showing is in the future. Although the play is produced continuously all over the world, it is rare on Broadway and you would be hard-pressed to see it done so beautifully all the way around.

The Language Archive

Lingologist George (Matt Letscher) is studied in numerous languages, but somehow he can’t communicate with his wife (Heidi Schreck), so she leaves him. On a whim she takes over a bakery and lives happily ever after making the most wonderful bread. Meanwhile, George is having an awful time dealing with the end of his marriage. The one person he has to confide in is Emma (Betty Gilpin), his assistant at his Language Archive. She has always been in love with George and upon finding out that he is single, Emma spends her portion of the play working herself up to telling him so. Enter into the mix Jane Houdyshell and John Horton as a European couple, Alta and Resten, who happen to speak a dying language. George hopes to record them in conversation, but they are in the middle of an argument and so will only argue in English. They say their language doesn’t have anger in it, so they have to speak English––the perfect language for expressing anger. Although their relationship seems strained at first, we find out that they have continued to love each other deeply for decades and will die together. What happens between George and Emma is secondary to the idea of exploring how love manifests itself in different forms and surprising ways. Julia Cho’s play makes a singular fascinating idea, when at one point George is at his saddest, he reaches out for a hug from Emma. As she hugs him, she is the happiest she has ever been. Here the ultimate sadness and the ultimate joy hold each other––two people as one––whole for a moment.

This is a play where the characters sometimes talk to the audience––narrating––even asking for audience participation. This is a play where two of the small cast play the chorus––filling in all the little characters that come along to facilitate the plot. This is a play with a unit set by Neil Patel, that serves all purposes. Mark Brokaw directed this play of quirks and odd rhythms by simply giving over to it. There isn’t much of a story there and the idea is straight forward and simple, but the telling of it is complicated. Yet there is enough there, what with Jane Houdyshell and John Horton popping in and out as different entertaining characters to expand the little story into a full two act evening. And there is a sweetness that pervades the story that gives a feel good warmth by the final curtain. This Roundabout Theatre Company production is not a monumental play, but it has loads of charm and that may be enough to make it last through the years.

BRIEF ENCOUNTER on BROADWAY

After a US and UK tour, including last year’s stop at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn, Noel Coward’s BRIEF ENCOUNTER from Director/Adaptor Emma Rice and England’s Kneehigh Theatre is now on Broadway. By staging the film BRIEF ENCOUNTER, the seriousness of the story is lost and in place is a good dose of comedy. This is perfectly fine, for this very creative and original production has made its own world and rules. Added into the mix are projections by Gemma Carrington and Jon Driscoll and original songs by Stu Baker to Noel Coward’s lyrics. This was not a musical per se, but characters did break into songs which revealed character. Other songs were used to serenade the action. The ensemble of actors could all sing and play multiple instruments. The British cast is back, save for two singing characters now being played by Americans. Damon Daunno, plays multiple instruments and sings with a unique and pleasant voice throughout the show. Gabriel Ebert, a near replica of the original “Stanley,” Daniel Canham, was not as dynamic, but crooned with charm. The story follows the accidental meeting and short lived love affair of Laura and Alec. Hannah Yelland as Laura, played the comic style while simultaneously bringing forth the sadness and real dramatic conflict required of the role. Tristan Sturrock, who has been a regular actor with Kneehigh Theatre for the past twenty years made an admirable Alec, managing those 1930s overly romantic lines with passion and credibility––not to mention a humble and sweet singing voice. Although, the intimacy of their performances is lost is the larger Studio 54, making the comedy of the production the dominating element over the pathos.

Taking place in an English train station refreshment cafe and populated by the variety of workers typical of such a place, the story showed various couplings in the early stages of romance. But, the central couple is misguidedly embarking on a romance for they are each married with young children. They meet on Thursdays over a period of several weeks, falling in love quickly and feeling guilty about their relationship, but unable to let go of it until Alec is offered a job that will take him to Africa. The romance awakens these two people––perhaps jolting them into change that will open up their futures to greater things. The relationship has its place and purpose after all and although it is an adulterous one, it is hard to not sympathize with their situation. One thing that makes it easier to accept is that Coward wisely does not introduce us to Alec’s wife and children, so we have no affection for them. Laura’s family is seen, but here the children are clever puppets and the husband (Joseph Alessi) is depicted as a kindly bore, uninterested in Laura’s life outside the home, unconcerned with how his children are parented and mostly concerned with his crossword puzzles. We sort want her to escape such an unexciting world––at least we can’t blame her when she meets her enthusiastic doctor.

The production was as much the star as any one actor in it. The projections say that this play was once a movie (rather well known at that) and that although that movie will be lovingly honored, it will also be torn apart, re-imagined, and explored in new ways. Laura and Alec start their first scene from the audience, as if they were at the movies. On a screen there is, we are told, a movie called “Brief Encounter” showing. Laura’s husband walks into the frame, looks out to the audience and calls for Laura to come back. Eventually she leaves Alec in the audience and literally steps into the movie screen, transforming into a projected image. Her world is a black and white movie––she is stuck in the frame. Off screen is the train station cafe, Alec and a bright and colorful world. The story is as compelling in this new stage adaptation as it is a film. The production is innovative, endlessly creative, musically enchanting, sad and quite hilarious all at once. BRIEF ENCOUNTER still ranks as one of the top ten best productions I’ve seen in New York in the past ten years––a highlight of the decade.

The Glass Menagerie

It wasn’t so long ago that THE GLASS MENAGERIE was on Broadway (2005 to be exact) with Jessica Lang. I was mesmerized by that production, as imperfect as it was. Something about Jessica Lang was magical and the poetry of the play really shined. This time, in a new Roundabout production Off Broadway, the casting of the kids was preferable and the durable Judith Ivey was perfectly admirable as Amanda, but the extra something magical was missing. Director Gordon Edelstein made his mark on the production by having “Tom” typing and reading out his speeches as if he were composing the play before us. Now he was “Tom” as in Tennessee Williams. He was also gay. Actually, this production showed me for the first time how much of what Tom says indicates that he is gay––it wasn’t just Patch Darragh’s line readings, though he clearly played the role as if the character were harboring the dark secret. Knowing the playwright’s history, this seems like a no-brainer, but I promise you that no Tom before now that I have seen explored this character as troubled by his homosexuality. Usually Tom is simply burdened by his duty to take care of his mother and disabled sister since the father figure left home and this has seemed problematic enough. Now there was an extra layer and Tom’s lines have never made more sense. Keira Keeley, a frail looking girl, played Laura beautifully with a quirky vocal tick that enhanced her peculiarity. Michael Mosely was the “Gentleman Caller,” Jim, and lived up to the description given by the other characters before he shows up. He bounced with the energy of a go-getter, his own biggest fan, but the only character of the play who is not delusional. Mr. Mosely’s gusto and genuine charm made the revelation of his impending marriage all the more heartbreaking for Laura when her dreams are dashed. I usually love set designer Michael Yeargan, but the simplicity of his set made it seem like he was under too much of a budget crunch rather than looking like something executed with completion. Any community theater could have managed it. Although, the back wall of the tenement flat was actually a scrim, so that Judith Ivey could suddenly appear as if a ghost from the past. This play is over sixty years old now and it has lost none of its power. If in another five years we get another New York revival of this classic, it will be equally as welcome