All's Well That Ends Well

A few nights I got to see the other show playing at Shakespeare in the Park this summer, All's Well That Ends Well. Since they're doing both shows in repertory, most of the actors perform in both casts. Two of the actors who played supporting roles in Measure for Measure, for example, were the leads in All's Well. It was very impressive - not only are the actors talented performers in one show, they're talented in two, that play alternating nights! Many of them have to play different types of roles in each respective show, and are not typecast into specific characters. Some, however, are - the jester/fool character is played by the same actor in both shows.

We happened to win tickets for the night of the Shakespeare in the Park Gala, so most audience members were sauntered into the theater from a fancy shmancy outdoor dinner party on the lawn behind the theater. These were people who either donated money to the Public Theater (read: bought tickets) or work for the corporations who sponsor Shakespeare in the Park. We, however, were sitting up in the back with the other people who had won tickets in the virtual lottery, but it was nonetheless a great show. Before the show there was a recorded message from Lily Rabe, the lead in last year's Measure for Measure, which is currently playing at the Roundabout Theater, who thanked all of the sponsors sitting there that night. The cast also did a few extra bows in thanks to the special audience. Once again, it was a perfect summer's night, not cloudy, not humid, not hot, not cold. Perfect weather for Shakespeare al fresco!

Measure for Measure

My absolute favorite New York summertime tradition is Shakespeare in the Park. Every summer, the Public Theater produces two plays at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park FOR FREE. The caveat is that you have to wait hours and hours and hours in a line that snakes through the park (which, if the weather is nice, is usually a really fun experience in itself) UNLESS you win tickets in the virtual lottery. Which I did, yesterday!

Usually there are two plays performed with separate ones (roughly a month each), but starting last year, they've done two Shakespeare shows in repertory, which means that they have the same casts (or almost the same casts) for two different shows, which then alternate throughout the two-month run. Last year's season consisted of The Merchant of Venice (with Al Pacino) and A Winter's Tale. The production of Merchant of Venice went to Broadway after its summer run in the park, and was nominated for several Tony Awards. This year's shows are All's Well That Ends Well and Measure for Measure, which we saw last night.

I thought it was a great production, and I also enjoyed it a lot because I was in a production of Measure for Measure my senior year of high school. I had forgotten a lot of the plot since then, but it all came back to me as I was watching it performed in the park. Hopefully I'll get the opportunity to see All's Well That Ends Well too!

Sister Act on Broadway

Last week I got to see my best friend since 8th grade dance on a Broadway stage, which she's been dreaming of since she was a little bumpkin in ballet shoes in Sparta, NJ. She plays a nun and a 70s backup singer (or "fantasy dancer") in Sister Act on Broadway, playing at the Broadway Theater on the corner of 53rd & Broadway. And she was FABULOUS!

Lael has already been on The View twice, since Whoopi Goldberg is producing the show. Here are her two appearances - in the first she's a nun, and in the second, she's a fantasy dancer:

Also up for Tony Awards this season, I had the chance to see Anything Goes and Catch Me If You Can. I was in a production of Anything Goes in middle school, and really, it's just the kind of good old-fashioned musical you can't help but love, and Roundabout did a great production .Catch Me was good, some parts better than others...and some actors better than others. But the 1960s song-and-dance numbers were very entertaining and the two leading male actors were great. We'll see how they all fare at the Tony's on June 12th.

Time Stands Still

This afternoon I saw the final performance of Time Stands Still on Broadway. It was a four person show, starring Laura Linney, Cristina Ricci, Brian d'Arcy James, and Eric Bogosian. The cast was, of course, outstanding. I knew Laura Linney would be amazing, which is the reason I wanted to see the show, but Cristina Ricci was better than I expected. She had some of the most comedic moments of the play. And despite being a serious play, it did have some very funny moments. This is the NYTimes review summary of the play:

Sarah Goodwin, the complicated woman at the heart of “Time Stands Still,” seems to thrive on conflict, at least professionally. A photojournalist who covers wars and global strife, she keeps chaos at arm’s length by trapping it in the camera lens, exerting a fierce control over moments of horror by fixing them in time. But the flux of Sarah’s own life cannot be manipulated so easily, as she learns with growing sorrow in this thoughtful drama by Donald Margulies that stars Laura Linney and Brian d’Arcy James, giving performances of complementary sensitivity and richness. “Time Stands Still,” which opened in a flawless Manhattan Theater Club production directed by Daniel Sullivan, is handily Mr. Margulies’s finest play since the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Dinner With Friends.” Like that keenly observed drama about the growing pains of adulthood, the new play explores the relationship between two couples at a crucial juncture in their lives, when the desire to move forward clashes with the instinct to stay comfortably — or even uncomfortably — in place. — Charles Isherwood


The play itself was very moving, as was the curtain call at the end. I don't think I've ever been to a closing night performance on Broadway before - the director came onstage to take a bow, and the applause went on for a long time. It's a shame it closed because it was a really outstanding show. I don't see straight plays all that often, so I'm very glad I got to see it before it closed.

Twelfth Night in Central Park

Last Tuesday, I finally got to see the Shakespeare in the Park production of Twelfth Night. Because of my work schedule, Tuesdays are the only days I can wait in line for tickets, and so far every Tuesday in June has been rainy. But the weather seems to be improving, and we lucked out last week. It was a gorgeous day to wait in the park for tickets, and it didn't rain at all in the evening, which was a concern because it's an outdoor theater.

We aimed to get to the park at 6am, but we didn't make it until 6:30am due to a confusion about which trains were running. There was already a long line when we got there, but we were at a good place in line, and didn't have to worry about whether or not we'd get tickets. We brought chairs to sit on and I was able to break away from the line for a quick Starbucks run, so we were nice and caffeinated. Some people were there with blankets, sleeping bags, pillows, and coolers. People really settle in because they know they'll be in line for hours - the tickets are given away at 1pm. (We also brought a decent stash of food along.) They're free, so it's worth the wait. By 9am the line had wrapped around the Central Park reservoir, but a few hours later when I took a walk to look at the line it didn't go that far, since they had already sent all the people home who were too far back to get tickets.

Security is really intense in line. They told us that you had to wait in line the entire time (except for trips to the bathroom and the concession stand by the theater) and that not only could no one join your party, but you couldn't switch out your place in line with anyone else either. A little before 1pm, they actually asked the line of people if they had seen anyone cutting or switching out, and that now was the time to tell them. If someone had been turned in, their whole group of people would have to leave the line. It was really intimidating, but no one where we were had any complaints, probably since everyone knew they were far enough in the front to get a ticket. (My mom had actually switched out with her student teacher, Amanda, around 8am, and I was a little worried that someone would report us, but we weren't getting any more tickets, since each person can get two for free.) It was interesting because I think the line consists mostly of New Yorkers, since tourists probably won't want to waste an entire morning waiting in line for tickets. And I imagine that New Yorkers get pretty worked up about Shakespeare in the Park tickets, were someone to cut the line.

It was a beautiful day in the park to wait for tickets, even though a bird pooped on my hand and a bug flew into Amanda's eye. After we got the tickets, I was able to go home and nap for a bit. There was a huge thunderstorm between 5:30 and 7pm, but by 8pm the skies were clear again. The outdoor theater was beautiful, and watching Shakespeare outside in the middle of the park was wonderful. The set was entirely green astroturf with trees and flowers, so it felt like we were sitting in the middle of a park, not a theater.

The show was one of the best Shakespeare productions I've ever seen. It was flawlessly directed, and the Shakespearean English was made very understandable. I'm pretty familiar with Twelfth Night, but there were some jokes and physical comedy that I had never caught before when reading the play. Anne Hathaway played Viola, and Audra McDonald and Raul Esparza were also in the production, as well as some other theater and Shakespeare in the Park veterans. The music was one of the most unusual parts of the show - they had a "symphonic rock band" named Hem onstage in costume playing period music, and at points the actors sang as well. It complemented the plot, as well as the setting, very well.

I couldn't believe that I had never been to a Shakespeare in the Park show before, and as soon as it was over I wanted to see it again. Now I want to try to go to every performance, especially since they're free. The waiting in line isn't even that bad - in fact, it was fun to be in the park in the morning, people-watching and dog-watching.



These are two NYTimes articles about the show:
The Three Sisters of 'Twelfth Night'
I Love You, You're Perfect. You're A Girl?

It closes July 12th, but if you get a chance this week, go see this show! You won't regret it.

August: Osage County

Yesterday I went to see August: Osage County with the drama department. It won the Tony Award for Best Play last year, so I've been wanting to see it for a while, but hadn't gotten the
chance, so I was happy I could tag along on the group trip. The play was fantastic. It's a dark comedy, it's three acts and runs for 3 hours and 20 minutes, including two 10-minute intermissions. Wikipedia describes it as dealing with "such issues as drug abuse,alcoholism, suicide, death, family dysfunction, sexual harassment, pedophilia, aging, generational change, racism, incest, infidelity, and ultimately love."

So yeah, not exactly light stuff, but for such dark subject matter, it was surprisingly funny, and for such a long play, it moved very well. It didn't drag at all, and I became so into the characters that I wanted to keep watching their (albeit quite crappy) lives. The actors were fabulous, and the set was outstanding. It was a three-story, open-faced house, like a gigantic dollhouse, and the ground floor extended further than the rest of the house onto the front part of the stage. It was so intricate and detailed that we just wanted to walk around the stage exploring the set! If you get a chance, I would definitely recommend seeing this show - even if it takes up a good part of the day. Despite the dark subject matter, it's an interesting commentary on family life and society, and won't ruin your day, I promise.

Madama Butterfly

Crystal chandeliers in the lobby of the Met

Once every semester, the Italian Department makes a trip to the Metropolitan Opera House to see an opera by an Italian composer. Last night, we went to see Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini. I actually got standing room tickets in October 2007 for this production, which was new for the 2006-2007 season, but I enjoyed it so much more the second time. Seeing it from the back of the orchestra is actually not as good as seeing it from the back of the highest level (where we were last night), because the overhang cuts off the top of the stage when you see it from the standing room section on the lower level. In this particular production, the use of lighting and costuming, with very minimal sets, is extremely impressive, and I enjoyed it a lot more when I could see the entire stage.

One unique thing about the new production of Madama Butterfly at the Met is their use of Bunraku puppetry, a traditional form of Japanese puppetry executed only by highly trained professionals. Butterfly's son, for example, which used to be a non-speaking role played by a young child actor, has been replaced by a Bunraku puppet and three puppeteers, partially disguised by their all-black costumes.

Crystal chandeliers in the theater

This was definitely one of the most visually innovative operas I've seen. The combination of costumes, lighting, and set pieces that involved traditional Japanese elements - like a flock of paper birds on sticks held and controlled by members of the ensemble - blended together perfectly to transport the audience to Japan at the beginning of the 20th century. Everything was figurative, and very few elements were literal, but it was easy to suspend disbelief and be convinced by everything onstage. And of course, the music by Puccini never fails to make an impression.

Photo from metoperafamily.org