Best of Off Broadway Blog, News, New York, Tickets, Plays, Musicals

For Lovers Only Welcomes Gia McGlone

Off-Broadway's For Lovers Only (Love Songs...Nothing But Love Songs) will welcome Gia McGlone, from the New York Musical Theatre Festival production of BlackfootNotes,July 20th at New World Stages.

McGlone, who has been seen in touring and regional productions including, Aida, Beehive, Little Shop of Horrors and Dora the Explorer Live, will take the place of Monica L. Patton. She will join Glenn Seven Allen, Dominique Plaisant, Trisha Rapier, and Kevin Vortmann to complete the cast of For Lovers Only.

For Lovers Only press notes state that the show, "presents a dazzling array of love songs from pop to Puccini, from Broadway and around the world, interspersed through a fast-paced evening." For Lovers Only is directed and choreographed by Christopher Scott. Ken Lundie serves as musical director.

New World Stages is located at 340 West 50th Street (between Eighth and Ninth Avenues). For tickets visit telecharge.com.

Vanities the Musical Opens Off-Broadway Today 7/16

 Today is the official opening for Vanities, a new musical based on the play of the same name by Jack Heifner. Vanities will perform at Second Stage Theatre and features Lauren Kennedy, Sarah Stiles and Anneliese van der Pol.

Vanities has been previewing since July 2nd and runs through August 9th. Heifner also wrote the book for this musical adaptation with music and lyrics by Kirshenbaum. The show is under the direction of Judith Ivey with musical staging by Dan Knechtges.

Previously expected to make a Broadway debut at the Lyceum Theatre, Vanities management postponed the engagement due to economical concerns. 

According to press notes, Vanities, the musical, "spans the turbulent '60s through the late '80s and explores how important friends are as one faces life's defining moments: growing up, getting older and getting over it." 

TheatreWorks in Palo Alto, CA originally staged Vanities in 2006, the musical went on to be showcased at the 2006 National Alliance for Musical Theatre Festival of New Musicals and also appeared at Pasadena Playhouse in August 2008.

The creative team consists of Anna Louizos (set), Joe Aulisi (costume), Paul Miller (lighting), and Tony Meola (sound). Bryan Perri serves as musical director, vocal arrangements are by Carmel Dean, and orchestrations are by Lynne Shankel.

Tickets to Vanities at Second Stage Theatre (307 W 43rd St, off 8th Ave) are available on BestOfOffBroadway.com.

Purchase Discount Tickets for Vanities on BestOfOffBroadway.com

Hudson Guild Theatre Presents Igrejas' Miss Mary Dugan

Off-Broadway's Hudson Guild Theater will present Manuel Igrejas' Miss Mary Dugan: A Play in Two Scenes.

The show will perform July 14 and 15 at 8 PM in connection with The Fresh Fruit Festival. Director, David Hilder, leads a cast that includes Dan Ettinger and Craig Fox.

Press notes from the show state: "Miss Mary Dugan (aka Joe Azzopardi) lives in Cedar Chips, New Jersey, a pretty little town that he calls the West Hollywood of the East Coast. With his fabulous parties, Mary Dugan is the center of social life of gay Cedar Chips. Despite being the hostess with the most-ess, Dugan hasn’t had much luck with men, and many of his nights are spent alone with porn, Doritos and Stoli.He has a crush on the good-looking, mysterious guy next door. He lives next door to a funeral parlor. A chance encounter in the parking lot with Kevin, the object of his affection, throws him for a loop. It forces him to ask: what does he really want — his fantasy or the prospect of getting to know his hunky neighbor in real time?"

The Hudson Guild Theater is located in Manhattan at 441 West 26th Street. Tickets (at $18) are available by calling (212) 352-3101 or (866) 811-8411.

Visit www.freshfruitfestival.com for more information.

Lucy Thurber's Monstrosity Opens Today 7/9/09

 Lucy Thurber's Monstrosity, presented by 13P starts its limited engagement at the Connelly Theatre July 9th. The production will run until July 19.

Lear deBessonet directs the piece which is described as "a dark, epic tale of singing teenage fascists, magic, war, and love — a disturbing retelling of the hero's tale with a girl as the hero and an unheroic ending."

Monstrosity's cast includes Carlo Alban (References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot), Reyna de Courcy (The Secret Agenda of Trees), Frank De Julio, J.D. Goldblatt (Les Miserables), Andy Grotelueschen, Ben Hollandsworth (From Up Here), D.J. Mendel, Robert Saietta, Samantha Soule (The Philanthropist), Kristina Valada-Viars (August: Osage County), Michael Warner (The Language of Trees) and The Teen Army.

Set design is by Peter Ksander, costume design is by Emily Rebholz, lighting design is by Justin Townsend, sound design is by M.L. Dogg and movement is by Tracy Bersley.

Thurber's other works include Bottom of the World, Don Quixote, Where We're Born, Ashville, Scarcity, Killers and Other Family and Stay. She also teaches playwriting at Sarah Lawrence College.

Director, Lear deBessonet is also working on On the Levee with playwright Marcus Gardley and composer Todd Almond for Yale Repertory Theatre. She also worked with Thurber during a staging of  Don Quixote in Philadelphia.

Tickets are onsale by phone at (866) 811-4111 or online at MonstrositythePlay. The Connelly Theatre is located at 220 E 4th St.

REVIEW: The Toxic Avenger

“He was 98 pounds of solid nerd until he became the Toxic Avenger!”

Known to many as the cult-classic horror film in the 1980’s, The Toxic Avenger fumes its way onto the stage in an uproar of musical and comedic delight.  The audience is hooked and actively engaged from the moment they stumble to their seats in the roomy, modern theatre at off-Broadway’s New World Stages – all the way to  the outrageous finale.

The story remains the same as Lloyd Kaufman presented it thirty years ago. Melvin Ferd III, played by Nick Cordero, is a scrawny nerd deeply interested in rescuing New Jersey from the toxic sludge polluting the town of Tromaville. With the help of his beloved, the beautiful, blind librarian Sarah, he discovers a money-laundering plot. This eventually gets him dumped into a barrel of toxic waste, and turns him into the hideously deformed “Big Green Freak” dubbed the Toxic Avenger.

The Sight-free Sarah, excellently played by Celina Carvajal, falls in love with the monster and desperately tries to seduce him despite his best efforts of deflection. Her comic  timing makes her character one of the most captivating to watch. Not to be outdone, Nancy Opel manages to hilariously juggle three characters (a nun, Ma Ferd, and Mayor Babs Belgoody) and, at one point, actually conducts a duet with herself!

The two other actors, named “Black Dude” and “White Dude,” as played by Nicholas Rodriguez and Jonathon Root, were a fantastic backbone to the play. Taking on many roles, including cops, scientists, doctors, a folk singer, high school bullies, women, and flamboyant hair dressers, these two actors carried the narrative as well as inspiring most of the laughter in the play.

The music is side-splitting and upbeat, and the dialogue is witty and fluent. The Toxic Avenger pokes fun at the Superhero genre with fabulous vocal talent and comedic timing. It is a must-see off-Broadway event.

- Alyssa Lettman

For more information or tickets to The Toxic Avenger Off-Broadway, click here.

The Glass Menagerie Cast Will Include Darragh, Keeley

After announcing that Judith Ivey (two-time Tony Award winner) will repeat her well-received Long Wharf Theatre performance as Amanda Wingfield in Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie in Manhattan, the Roundabout Theatre Company has released news that Patch Darrah and Keira Keeley will also transfer from the Long Warf Theatre production, as Tom and Laura, respectively.

Roundabout Theatre Company together with Long Wharf Theatre will present Gordon Edelstein's recent Long Wharf production atLaura Pels Theatre off-broadway. Previews will start March 5th, 2010, and the show will officially open  March 24th.

Press notes describe the production by stating, "In this fresh interpretation of Williams' haunting memory play,Tom Wingfield (Patch Darragh) sits writing in a hotel room, trying to forge his past into art. Soon Tom's space is overtaken by the cramped apartment he once shared with his mother Amanda (Judith Ivey), his beloved sister Laura (Keira Keeley) and unrequited dreams as fragile as Laura's collection of tiny glass animals. There, Tom relives the Gentleman Caller's visit – the night that changed his family forever."

The design team includes two-time Tony winner Michael Yeargan (sets), two-time Tony winner Martin Pakledinaz (costumes), two-time Tony winner Jennifer Tipton (lights) and David Budries (sound).

 The Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, CT opened this production of Menagerie on May 20th.

Peformance times are scheduled as the following: Tuesday-Saturday at 7:30 PM with Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2 PM.

Tickets begin sale early next year by phone at Roundabout Ticket Services at (212) 719-1300, online at www.roundabouttheatre.org or at the Laura Pels Theatre at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre box office (111 W 46th St).

24 Hour Plays Off-Broadway with Hairspray's Nikki Blonsky

Every year The 24 Hour Plays Off-Broadway, features six new plays all written within a day's span.  This years event will be hosted July 13 at the Atlantic Theater.

24 Plays Off-Broadway will feature the talents of Laura Breckenridge ("Gossip Girl"), Joey Slotnick ("Nip/Tuck"), Julie Halston (Hairspray, "Sex and the City"), Patrick Heusinger (Next Fall, "Gossip Girl"), Max Casella ("The Sopranos"), and Russell Jones (Ruined) will perform with the At Play ensemble in this annual Off Broadway theatrical production.

Nikki Blonsky, who was famously plucked from relative obscurity to play Tracy Turnblad in the film version of "Hairspray," will host the event.  

In press notes, the speedy process of The 24 Hour Plays, "begins at 9 PM the night prior to the performance. The group of theatre, film and television artists, which includes playwrights, directors, actors and designers, meet and are briefed on the upcoming 24 hours. The writers are then left to create a ten-minute play overnight. In the morning, the directors read the scripts and then the actors are called for 8 AM. Everyone rehearses throughout the day. Doors open at 7:45 PM, and curtain rises at 8 PM and there it is: six shows, all in a day's work."

The producing team consist of Lindsay Bowen, Kurt Gardner, Philip Naude and The 24 Hour Plays creator Tina Fallon.

The Atlantic Theater is located in Manhattan at 48 West 20th Street. For tickets call (212) 868-4444 or visit www.smarttix.com. For more information go to www.atplayproductions.com.

REVIEW: Naked Boys Singing! Off Broadway

The title of this off-Broadway show is a simple and complex one. At first glance, it tells the audience everything that they need to know. Like a nude theatrical equivalent of the seminal Samuel L. Jackson masterwork, "Snakes on a Plane." However, the idea of... well... naked boys singing onstage is doubtlessly going to turn off the more prudish members of the theatergoing public.

This is a shame, as it’s also lots of fun.

Ultimately, what makes the show work is how natural things feel once the show gains its footing. The first number, “Gratuitous Nudity” is a standard show tune, somewhat forgettable but pleasant enough to mark our entry into the world of naked-male-crooning. This first song not only brings the men out in all of their uncovered glory, but immediately has them doing all of the things a bachelorette party (of which there were two the night I was present) could possibly want.

Throughout the evening, the able performers somehow manage to come close to pushing the envelope without ever doing anything that would cross the line into pornography. Even a song like "Perky Little Pornstar" has an oddly sweet and wholesome feel.

Naked Boys Singing is certainly not for the Disney crowd, but the title will keep them away anyway, leaving plenty of seats available for degenerates like me. The show is a beautiful example of what Off-Broadway should do. It pushes limits, opens minds, presents interesting ideas and scenarios, and does it on a budget that seems to border on about fifteen dollars above nonexistent. To lamely twist an old phrase, no shirt, no shoes, no problem.

By Ivan Rushfield

Click here for tickets and information for Naked Boys Singing!

REVIEW: Don’t Leave It All to Your Children! Off Broadway

“Growing old ain’t for sissies,” Bette Davis sassily quipped. This charming off-Broadway revue, welcoming Baby Boomers into the ranks of Senior Citizenry, walks the delicate tightrope between nostalgia and joie de vivre in the face of wrinkles, grandchildren, and bypass surgery.

Saul Ilson , the mastermind behind the musical comedy revue Don’t Leave it All to Your Children, has  over 40 years writing for the likes of Billy Crystal, Bill Cosby and the Smothers Brothers Hour. The show’s  90 minutes of skits and songs are fast-paced and reminiscent of both The Smothers Brothers and Rowan and Martin’s “Laugh-In.”

The four showbiz veterans who star in the show are poster children for an energetic, optimistic old age.  Particularly zesty was Barbara Minkus (remember her in “Love American Style?”) In strong youthful voice she reminds us to hold on to “old memories” and “young hopes.” Later, in a song entitled “A Singles Cruise,” she sings about dozens of aging ladies competing for the handful of male passengers. Marcia Rodd (a Tony nominee for Shelter) instructs her peers in the song “March In the Parade” not to “sit at home and ferment.” Both ladies sound and look terrific. No fermenting here.

Steve Rossi (of “Allen & Rossi” fame) has a star-turn reminiscing about his many appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show. Ronnie Schell, who’s had a long career in everything from stand-up comedy to television to cartoon voice-overs, is the off-Broadway reincarnation of Johnny Carson in his delivery of one-liners: “If you connect the age spots on this hand, they spell ‘Old Fart’,” or, “Hugh Hefner still has a different woman every night…they’re called nurses.”

The show promises to give baby boomers “a taste of what they have to look forward to.” Although some of the cultural references either went over my 50-something head or were more appropriate for my parents’ generation, the mostly 70-something audience members at the intimate off-Broadway Actors Temple Theatre enjoyed themselves thoroughly. For those of us who are not in the same “vibe” or age group, we  can still enjoy the energy, talent, laughs, and good will of the spirited performances and writing in Don’t Leave It All To Your Children.

By Wendy Sanderson

Click here for information and tickets for Don't Leave It All To Your Children!

REVIEW: Danny and Sylvia: The Danny Kaye Musical

Hy Juter and Edmund Gayes present an incredible portrayal of love and time-tested devotion in off-Broadway’s Danny and Sylvia: The Danny Kaye Musical. The audience is carried on a biographical progression from rock-bottom in the streets of Paris to the big-time in Hollywood for comedic performer Danny Kaye. However, all of his success is clearly credited to the tireless talent of his partner and wife, Sylvia Fine.

Brian Childers flawlessly achieves the reincarnation of Danny Kaye in his high-energy fluency and physical commitment to the role. Brilliantly transitioning between each major stage in Kaye’s life with over-the-top performances of Kaye’s most popular songs, Childers energetic interpretations made it impossible not to join in on the familiar songs. He not only captured the character in song and dance, but also used the play’s sporadic narrative to engage the audience and add depth to what we already know about the famous showman.

Playing Sylvia Fine, Kaye’s steadfast and loving wife, Kimberly Faye Greenberg shone as the playful yet disciplined backbone to Danny Kaye’s funnyman routines. Fine was also the creator of some of his most renowned material.

Danny and Sylvia combines strong dialogue with all these favorite and familiar songs elegantly woven throughout the play to best convey the emotions and trials of Danny Kaye’s career. By the finale it is clear why, through the love and devotion of this time-tried duo, the world quickly embraced the tongue-twister master and all-around performer that was Danny Kaye. Danny and Sylvia: The Danny Kaye Musical is a great evening off-Broadway and will have you singing those fabulous Danny Kaye songs for weeks to come.

- Alyssa Lettman

Click here for more information or to buy tickets for Danny and Sylvia.