The uncertainty of the presidential election next week, far scarier than Halloween, has colored many events this week – certainly the “appalling” decision by two major newspapers to stop making presidential endorsements (just as the editorial pages of both were about to endorse Kamala Harris), but also closer to home. The decision of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York to crack down on the Connelly Theater (see details below) seems suspiciously timed.
Even closer: The theater this week seemed all about…the threats to democracy. That’s straightforward in a show like “We Live in Cairo,” which is about the Arab Spring and its aftermath. But it’s odder for me to have reacted to “Franklinland,” which mixes the factual with the fanciful about Benjamin Franklin, by wondering whether it reflects a trend toward misinformation, and to have witnessed the constant cheering by the young audience members at “Romeo + Juliet” and wondering whether they’re even going to vote.
Early voting has begun, and will continue through November 3. Election Day is November 5. The poll site is different for early voting than on Election Day, and the hours of operation differ.
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Photos above: Juliana Margulies in “Left on Tenth,” Rachel Ziegler and Kit Connor in “Romeo + Juliet,” both of which opened this past week; Casey Likes in “Back to the Future,” which announced a closing date.
Nicole Scherzinger in “Sunset Blvd,” the I Vote sticker, the troll in “Circle Jerk,” which was performed at Connelly Theater, now suspending operations
Krysta Rodriguez, the only star of the TV series “Smash” that will be in the Broadway musical “Smash”; Thomas Jay Ryan in “Franklinland”; Ali Louis-Bourzgui in “We Live in Cairo”
The Week in New York Theater Reviews
This is a Romeo and Juliet aimed unapologetically at Gen Z: Its two stars, fan-magnets Kit Connor and Rachel Zegler, are both recent teens….My inner English teacher is grateful to director Sam Gold for drawing a younger crowd (voluntarily, eagerly!) to Shakespeare. The production sometimes thrilled my outer theatergoer too. Sometimes, but not always. There are downsides to Gold’s presenting the tale of star-crossed lovers primarily through youthful energy. This is most apparent after intermission, when the action turns to quiet gravity and grief, and Shakespeare’s words matter more. The cast’s relative lack of stage experience is manifest in a flattening of both the poetry and the tragedy.
This second Broadway revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s overblown 1994 musical melodrama…is helmed by the fashionable British director Jamie Lloyd in his signature style…ostentatiously minimalist, vividly colorless. “Sunset Boulevard”…would not be my first choice for a revival. This is the context in which I concede how adeptly this production pulls off many of its effects – technically, visually, in the movement of the cast — even as I don’t understand why they have undertaken to do so. I especially acknowledge how much the intense performance by Nicole Scherzinger, the former lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls, has proven to be catnip for Broadway diva worshippers, even as the character she’s portraying now makes no sense (if it ever did.)
Left on Tenth,” which Delia Ephron has adapted for the stage from her best-selling memoir about death, second love, and survival, stars beloved TV star Julianna Margulies; it’s put together by Tony winning talents like director Susan Stroman and scenic designer Beowulf Boritt, it even features not just one but two adorable dogs. These are all reasons why theatergoers might be drawn to it – especially fans of Margulies, who is returning to Broadway after 18 years, and of Ephron, who is making her Broadway playwriting debut at age 80.
But “Left on Tenth” didn’t work for me. The problems I have with the production are not, I don’t think, primarily a matter of taste. Ephron’s memoir just didn’t translate well to the stage.
The Arab Spring, a wave of demonstrations by citizens demanding democracy in some dozen countries in the Middle East and North Africa, now seems like distant history. But the uprisings were a fresh memory a decade ago when the brothers Patrick Lazour and Daniel Lazour began writing this musical about the youth-led revolution of 2011 in Egypt.
“We Live in Cairo” has a Middle Eastern-inflected score, a smattering of lyrics in Arabic, a director (Taibi Magar) who is Egyptian-American, and an all-Arab-American cast, including Ali Louis-Bourzgui, fresh from his much-acclaimed starring role in the Broadway revival of “The Who’s Tommy.” But the musical also gives off a strong “Rent” vibe – almost an homage to Jonathan Larson’s 1996 musical — with the musical sound predominantly anthemic pop-rock or folk; a talented ensemble portraying a scrappy, energetic group of young adults, most of them aspiring artists, whether musician, muralist, photographer; and even a set design awash in graffiti art.
The playwright has chosen to create a play about Benjamin Franklin that mixes the factual with the fanciful. As a result, I found “Franklinland” neither reliable history nor steady entertainment, even while the production is served well by a talented three-member cast and a meticulous design team.
The Week in New York Theater News
The Connelly Theater, an East Village home for such edgy shows as the Pulitzer finalist Circle Jerk and the SheNYC festival, has suspended operations after its landlord, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, has started denying the space to any shows with content contrary to Catholic doctrine. The theater’s longtime general manager, Josh Luxenberg, resigned, because the crackdown by the Church “puts me in the untenable position of becoming a censor rather than an advocate of artistic freedom.” (NYTimes)
“Smash,” a backstage musical about the making of a Marilyn Monroe musical called “Bombshell,” will open at Broadway’s Imperial Theater on April 10, a long-teased meta theatrical moment for a show inspired by the TV series of the same name that ran in 2012 and 2013. Details and a look back at the series.
“Back to the Future” will play its final Broadway performance on Sunday, January 5, 2025. It opened August 3, 2023.
More casting for Sondheim’s Old Friends, which opens April 8 at MTC’s Samuel J. Friedman Theater: Joining Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga will be Jasmine Forsberg, Kate Jennings Grant, David Harris, Bonnie Langford, Beth Leavel, Gavin Lee, Ryan McCartan, Jason Pennycooke,Joanna Riding, Jeremy Secomb, Maria Wirries, and Daniel Yearwood. The company will also include Kevin Earley, Paige Faure, Alexa Lopez, and Peter Neureuther. The final co-star will be announced soon.
NSYNC’s Joey Fantine will return to Broadway for the first time in two decades, to portray Lance in “& Juliet,” singing songs by frequent NSYNC collaborator Max Martin
“Defying Gravity: The Curtain Rises on Wicked” will be broadcast on Nov. 19 at 10 p.m. EST. The hour-long event will feature the film’s stars Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang and Marissa Bode
Michael Urie gets a portrait at Sardi’s that actually looks like him.
In Memoriam
Sandi Durell, 84, founder of Theater Pizzazz
