The Wanderers Play Review

Marriage is hard. It requires compromise, understanding, and sensitivity to your spouse/significant other’s flaws.

The new play, The Wanderers, by Anna Ziegler follows two Jewish couples (one semi-secular and one religious) and a movie star. Abe (Eddie Kaye Thomas) and Sophie (Sarah Cooper) are married and have two children. Both are writers. But while Abe is successful, Sophie’s career is floundering.

Esther (Lucy Freyer) and Schmuli (Dave Klasko) start out as Hasidic newlyweds. Though all seems well in the beginning, they start to emotionally drift from one another. Schmuli is happy to continue with the traditions that he grew up with. But Esther is eager to expand her world.

The narrative is brought together by an email correspondence that Abe has with actress Julia Cheever (Katie Holmes). Though it starts innocently enough, their relationship becomes deeper than expected.

Set in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg, this play is fantastic. Though these characters live in a specific neighborhood and live a specific lifestyle, their stories are universal. It’s about trying to find yourself and knowing that in doing so, you may have to break with everything and everyone you love.

What the playwright does especially well is to humanize the character. With antisemitism on the rise, it is easy to create a 2D stereotype. By making them human, she (hopefully) opens the door to a conversation about what we all have in common. She also brings (much-needed) attention to Jews of color, who are often ignored or pushed aside.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely.

The Wanderers are playing at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre Laura Pels theater in New York City until April 2. Check the website for tickets and showtimes.

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A Doll’s House Play Review

Some of the most important works of our era last because they speak to the issues in our world that we continue to struggle with.

Recently, a new revival of Henrik Ibsen‘s A Doll’s House opened on Broadway. The play stars Jessica Chastain as Nora Helmer and Arian Moayed as her husband, Torvald. Though he loves her, he does not exactly respect her.

When Torvald accepts an offer of a new job (and a larger salary), it seems that their financial troubles are in the rearview mirror. But a secret from her past and a decision she made to save his life have come back to bite her in the ass.

It is amazing to me that this play was written when modern feminism was in its infancy and by a cisgender man who could have easily created a tragic character ( a la Anna Karenina).

Instead, Nora goes on a journey of emotional discovery that is complicated, disturbing, and revealing. In Chastain’s hands, you understand her want to be loved and her eventual desperation to find herself away from the labels she was raised to believe were normal.

Written by playwright Amy Herzog and told on a bare stage with the actors wearing modern clothing and moving around a circular slow-moving stage, the emphasis is on the story. In doing so, it reminds me the audience of not only the power of this story but that it is also sadly still relevant in 2023.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely.

A Doll’s House is playing at the Hudson theater until June 4th, 2023. Check the websites for tickets and showtimes.

P.S. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Women’s History Month.

Death of a Salesman Play Review

Ageism is defined as discrimination based on one’s age. In today’s world, it is usually used against those who have been around for a few years.

The new revival of Arthur Miller‘s Death of a Salesman is playing at the Hudson Theatre in New York City. Stepping into the iconic roles of Willy and Linda Loman are Wendell Pierce and Sharon D Clarke. For decades, Willy has earned a living and supported his family as a salesman. But he is not a young man anymore and it is starting to show.

Linda has been his rock. Strong, outspoken, sensible, and passionate, she is a loving wife and supportive mother of their two sons Biff (Khris Davis) and Happy (McKinley Belcher III). The narrative moves between the past and the present, telling the story of Willy’s slow downfall. This is represented by the memory (or the ghost) of his late 0lder brother Ben (André De Shields).

Though it is obvious that Willy is no longer the man he once was, he still believes that there are possibilities for a better life.

Wow. Wow. Wow. Did I say wow?

I’ve seen several adaptations of this play. This one is the most powerful yet. The specific choice of casting black actors as the Loman family amplifies the ideal of the American dream and how hard it is to reach it.

Pierce is flawless. Clarke is powerful. Backing them up, De Shields, Davis, and Belcher pull their weight in miraculous ways. They had the audience in the palm of their hands. I would not be surprised if this show did very well come award season. It is absolutely one of the best Broadway shows I have seen in a very long time.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely. Run, don’t walk to see this play. It will be an experience that will live with you forever.

Death of a Salesman is playing at the Hudson Theatre in New York City until 1/15/23. Check the website for showtimes and tickets.

POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive Play Review

Women have always done the behind-the-scenes work. But while the men get the accolades, the women are ignored and their work is minimized.

The new Broadway play, POTUS, by Selina Fillinger, puts the spotlight on seven women who are the real power behind the throne. Or, in this case, the President of the United States. The story starts when during an event, POTUS (who is only seen from the waist down) refers to Margaret, aka FLOTUS (Vanessa Williams) via a word I will not repeat on this blog.

Harriet (Julie White) is the chief of staff who is trying to keep the resulting chaos at bay. Jean (Suzy Nakamura) is the press secretary who is doing everything she can to answer the barrage of questions. Stephanie (Rachel Dratch) is the mousy secretary trying to boost her confidence.

Chris (Lilli Cooper) is the journalist balancing work and motherhood (complete with breast pumps). Bernadette (Lea Delaria) is POTUS’s wayward sister with a not-so-clean past. Dusty (Julianne Hough) is a young lady who might be POTUS’s sidepiece.

Together, these women must tamp down on the scandal and save the leader of the free world.

The best way to describe the play is a feminist political farcical screwball comedy. All of the performers are at the top of their game. The physical gags provoke nothing short of gut-busting laughter. Woven into the comedy are issues that are, unfortunately, still too prevalent, even in 2022.

It is one of the funniest plays that I have seen in a long time. I would, in fact, see it again, if it had not already closed.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely. If it goes on tour at some point, I highly recommend that you run, not walk to the box office.

POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive closed in New York City on August 14th.

Birthday Candles Play Review

It’s amazing how quickly life goes by. One minute you’re a teenager with your whole future ahead of you. The next thing you know, you are holding your first grandchild.

This is the premise of the new Broadway play, Birthday Candles. Written by Noah Haidle, it tells the story of Ernestine (Debra Messing). The audience initially meets her as a starry-eyed seventeen-year-old and then follows her throughout the years, ending when she is one hundred and seven. As she goes through the various stages of life, she bakes a cake for each birthday. Among those who come in and out of Ernestine’s life is Enrico Colantoni (Just Shoot Me), who plays her long-time neighbor, and John Earl Jelks, who plays both her husband and grandson.

I’ve been a fan of Messing since Will & Grace. She was the reason I wanted to see the play. I was impressed with not just her performance, but the performances of all of the actors. Instead of aging via prosthetics and makeup, they rely on posture, changes in costumes, props, and wigs. It is a magnificent narrative and a treatise on life, family, and relationships.

My only problem is that the end of the play could have been cut down a little bit. Other than that, it is a piece of theater that is remarkable and worth every second.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely. It is also 90 minutes without an intermission.

Birthday Candles is playing at the American Airlines Theater in New York City until May 29th, 2022. Check the website for tickets and showtimes.

The Glass Menagerie- Timeless

There is a reason that Tennessee Williams is one of the most brilliant playwrights of the 20th century. His characters are so human, full of the same experiences, joys and mistakes that we all go through in life.

This weekend, I saw a revival of The Glass Menagerie starring Cherry Jones.

The Glass Menagerie is the story of a family living in the midwest during the 1930’s. Amanda Wingfield  is a single mother living with her adult children, Tom (Zachary Quinto) and Laura (Celia Keenan-Bolger).  Tom is working at a local factory and frequently argues with his mother. Laura is walks with a limp and only socializes with her mother and brother, suffering from anxiety attacks if she has to socialize with anyone else.

Amanda is determined to bring in gentleman callers for her daughter and fondly remembers her youth and the gentleman callers she used to entertain.  When Tom bring in a gentleman caller (Brian J Smith) home for dinner, a slim chance of happiness and marital bliss appears for Laura, only for it to be smashed into tiny pieces by the end of the play.

Tennessee Williams is one of my favorite playwrights. I love Streetcar Named Desire, it’s one of the most brilliant plays ever written, Blanche Bubois is hands down one of the great characters ever created.  The same themes of reality vs. fantasy, the dream like memories of the past vs. the rough and not so nice present appear in both plays.

Cherry Jones is a wonder in this part. I saw her a few years ago in Mrs. Warren’s Profession. She blew me away then and she blew me away this weekend. Zachary Quinto and Celia Keenan-Bolger as her children seem on stage as if they are really siblings, instead of actors pretending to be siblings. Brian J Smith as the gentleman caller gives the audience hope that Laura may find the happiness that both she and her mother want to have.

The play closes on February 23rd. If you have the opportunity to get tickets, I highly recommend this show.

Not So Assembled- The Assembled Parties Review

Earlier this year, noted playright Richard Greenberg introduced audiences to his new play “The Assembled Parties“.

The play takes place in a 14 room apartment on Central Park West belonging on the Bascovs, a secular Jewish family. Julie (Jessica Hecht) is married to Ben (Jonathan Walker). They have two sons, 20 something Scott (Jake Silberman) and preschooler Timmmy (Jake Silbermann as the adult Timmy and Alex Dreier as the young Timmy).

Its Christmas Day, invited for dinner is Scott’s friend, Jeff (Jeremy Shamos), Ben’s sister Faye (Judith Light), her husband Mort (Mark Blum) and their daughter Shelley (Lauren Blumenfeld). The first act is set in 1980, the second act is set in 2000.

Vying for the best and funniest lines are Hecht and Light. In the second act, Shamos is the steady head in between these two women.

The cast is very good and very funny. I cannot say the same for the play.

The plot is thin, the departure of several characters within the second act is barely explained. By the end of the play I found myself asking questions that were unanswered by the final curtain call.

Not one of the better plays I have seen.

Talley’s Folley Review

Talley’s Folley is a one act, two character play set in Lebanon Missouri, 1944 in a dilapidated Victoria era boathouse. Written by the late Lanford Wilson, it is about an immigrant attempting to rekindle a romance with a woman fighting her own insecurities.

It is in short, one of the most brillant, simplest, well done plays I have ever seen.

Salley Talley (Sarah Paulson) is the daughter of an old money Missouri family. At age 31, she is presently single with little hope of marriage. Matt Friedman (Danny Burstein) is 42 and a Jewish refugee from Hitler’s Europe. They had a brief romance the year before, Matt has returned to Lebanon to extend the relationship.

Their chemistry is just palpable. These are two damaged people, finding a refuge from their pasts in each other.

I didnt expect this play to be as brillant as it is, but it blew me away. Good writing, whether it is a book, a movie or a play stays with you, this play will stay with me for a long time.