Lion King, The
New Amsterdam Theater (moved to Minskoff Theater)

Although the play, in this case, is most definitely not the thing, The Lion King is a must-see event -- actually two must-see events. The first event, the one that immediately knocks your socks off, is the absolutely glorious restoration of the historic (1903) New Amsterdam Theater ("the jewel of 42nd Street"). This is the theater that Broadway producer Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. made famous with his Follies extravaganzas from 1913 to 1927.

Simon Saltzman
Date Reviewed:
February 1998
Ragtime
Ford Center for the Performing Arts

Ragtime, one of the most ambitious musicals of our time, has all the makings of a classic. If it falls just a little short of greatness, it isn't because everyone involved in turning E.L. Doctorow's best-selling 1975 novel into a stunning, affecting and imposing musical hasn't done their job to the fullest. At its best, which is much of the time, Ragtime is as impressively propelled by its compelling interwoven dramas as it is by its splendid visual and musical texture.

Simon Saltzman
Date Reviewed:
February 1998
Cymbeline
McCarter Theater

Shakespeare's absurd and goofy Cymbeline doesn't show up very often. There was a commendably decent staging by the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival in 1981, and an amusingly indecent staging by JoAnne Akalaitis for the New York Shakespeare Festival in 1989. This production that Mark Lamos originally directed for the Hartford Stage and has modified for the larger McCarter stage, marks only the third time I've seen the play. As Cymbeline continues to prove itself too outrageous for its own good, I am grateful for the eight to nine-year intervals.

Simon Saltzman
Date Reviewed:
January 1998
Ragtime
Ford Center for the Performing Arts

Big and serious and rich and graceful and worthy. Apply any adjective to the new musical Ragtime and you won't be too far off. With a score by Ahrens and Flaherty (My Favorite Year, Once On This Island), and an adapted book by Terrence McNally, Ragtime wants to be both epic social history and powerful personal drama.

David Lefkowitz
Date Reviewed:
January 1998
Lion King, The
New Amsterdam Theater (moved to Minskoff Theater)

Everything you've heard about the first five minutes of The Lion King is true. When a golden sun rises on Richard Hudson's orange set, when birds on poles flitter about the audience's heads, when lion-masked actors prowl and wooden antelopes lope across the stage, when giant papier-mache'-style elephants galumph down the aisle—all this to the unforgettable voice of Tsidii Le Loka, her face painted up as an African mask—the only rational response is to cry a little and wonder at the glories of life and art.

David Lefkowitz
Date Reviewed:
November 1997
Scarlet Pimpernel, The
Minskoff Theater

The Scarlet Pimpernel, Frank (Jekyll And Hyde) Wildhorn's lush, romantic swashbuckler is an epic production, with absolutely no expense spared. This show has it all -- colorful sets, dynamic lighting, lavish costumes, powerful orchestrations, and even crystal chandeliers -- but what really makes this musical worthwhile is the stunning performances of Christine Andreas.

Ellis Nassour
Date Reviewed:
November 1997
Blue Man Group
Briar Street Theater

There's a reason people who've seen Blue Man Group balk at describing it to anyone who hasn't. It's not that the event was witnessed in a state of intoxication -- though the show does bear a passing resemblance to the best of the psychedelic happenings of the Sixties -- nor is it sadistic glee at contributing to the unenlightened's suspense. It's that there's so much and so many kinds of everything that even as you're watching, you want to see it again: huge, turbo-hydraulic waterspouting thingmawhatsits. Smartass printout signs issuing orders to the audience.

Mary Shen Barnidge
Date Reviewed:
October 1997
Les Miserables
Imperial Theater

Of Broadway's musical mega-blockbusters, two of the longest running -- Les Miserables and Miss Saigon -- share several things in common: poignant, heart-wrenching stories, gorgeous melodies, multi-million dollar budgets, awe-inspiring spectacle, numerous awards, Tony nominations and awards galore, and an executive producer who believes every performance should be a repeat of opening night.

Ellis Nassour
Date Reviewed:
October 1997
Lion King, The
New Amsterdam Theater (moved to Minskoff Theater)

If there was a "Prize of the Century for Innovation, Imagination, and Costume Design," Julie Taymor, the director and designer of Disney's Broadway production, The Lion King, would win hands down. The extent of Taymor's contribution to The Lion King is so overwhelming, it eclipses almost all other aspects of this lively production. Where else can you find elephants, rhinos, a pride of lions, crocodiles, wildebeests, racing gazelle, antelopes sauntering down the aisles, giraffes onstage, and all types of colorfully-plumed birds flying about a theater?

Ellis Nassour
Date Reviewed:
October 1997
Miss Saigon
Broadway Theater

Of Broadway's musical mega-blockbusters, two of the longest running -- Les Miserables and Miss Saigon -- share several things in common: poignant, heart-wrenching stories, gorgeous melodies, multi-million dollar budgets, awe-inspiring spectacle, numerous awards, Tony nominations and awards galore, and an executive producer who believes every performance should be a repeat of opening night. Miss Saigon, in its fourth year at the Broadway Theater, is the new "kid" on the block.

Ellis Nassour
Date Reviewed:
October 1997
How I Learned To Drive
Century Center Theater

Paula Vogel is a playwright who doesn't shrink from issues, as is quite evident in her Off-Broadway hit, How I Learned To Drive, now in an open-ended run at the new Century Theatre in New York City. The much acclaimed work, which among other honors took the 1997 Drama Desk Award for Best Play, is a politically incorrect -- as well as sexually-themed and controversial -- comedy. The much underrated Bruce Davison, who through the years has proven as at home on-stage as he is on-screen, shines as Peck.

Ellis Nassour
Date Reviewed:
October 1997
Phantom Of The Opera, The
Majestic Theater

Credit Andrew Lloyd Webber with creating -- from initial concept to the composing -- what has grown to become a timeless masterpiece in The Phantom Of The Opera, which in January celebrated a milestone on Broadway with its 10th Anniversary. And credit the creative team -- director Harold Prince, musical director David Caddick, designer Maria Bjornson, and lyricists Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe for a mesmerizing production. But especially credit the musical staging by choreographer Gillian Lynne!

Ellis Nassour
Date Reviewed:
October 1997
Les Miserables
Imperial Theater

Among my other weaknesses as a reviewer, I have a blind spot for musicals. I usually enjoy musicals that other critics trash, while I underestimate shows that they, and audiences, thoroughly embrace.

David Lefkowitz
Date Reviewed:
October 1997
Cats
Winter Garden Theater

On June 19, 1997, Cats becomes one for the history books -- and you remember how dull history books were. Up and down Shubert Alley, theater in-crowds were gnashing their teeth as Cats surpassed the beloved Chorus Line to become the longest running Broadway show in history (6,138 performances). A third look at the feline phenomenon showed Cats to be what it's always been: incredibly innovative in costume and design, surprisingly successful in theatricalizing an impossible concept (shaping a commercial musical out of T.S.

David Lefkowitz
Date Reviewed:
June 1997
Forever Tango
Walter Kerr Theater

In the case of Luis Bravo's Forever Tango at the Walter Kerr Theater, it takes 16 to tango. And, boy, can they! One might think, if you've seen one tango, you've seen them all. Well, you ain't seen nothing yet (as they say, down Argentine way); there are vibrant surprises in store at Forever Tango. The tango is a traditional dance, dominated by specific steps and moves (always below the waist), and there are many traditional elements in Forever Tango. It's the not so traditional ones that bring shouts of the show's creator's name -- Bravo!

Ellis Nassour
Date Reviewed:
June 1997
Jekyll And Hyde
Plymouth Theater

Throughout its seven-year trip to Broadway, Jekyll & Hyde has become the musical critics love to hate. They bash the Frank Wildhorn-Leslie Bricusse show for its rudimentary lyrics, pop-music sensationalism and episodic structure. Valid as the gripes may be, these complainers end up focusing on a few gawky trees and missing the dark, inviting forest. There really is no need for a new version of Robert Louis Stevenson's story of good battling evil -- except to give an actor a juicy role and an audience a thrilling ride.

David Lefkowitz
Date Reviewed:
May 1997
Bed And Sofa
Goldman Theater of Morris Cafritz Center

Last season I was privileged to see the production of  this "silent movie opera" at New York's Vineyard Theater. I was so impressed I hesitated to attend the inaugural production at the Morris Cafritz Center for the Arts in Washington's lavishly renovated Jewish Community Center. No need for faint heart. Artistic Director Hoeflich has directed an exquisite show.

Barbara Gross
Date Reviewed:
January 1997
Cigarettes And Chocolate
Olney Theater Center

The cold winter that has gripped Washington is not more biting than the voice of the Potomac Theater Project, back with works designed to illuminate "the nightmares and hoaxes by which we live." These never-say-die radicals have earned a loyal audience, who for nearly a decade followed the peripatetic troupe from space to space. As of 1995, when Co-Producer Jim Petosa was named Artistic Director of the Olney Theater, PTP had a home. The three producers, each of whom directs one play per season, have opted to stage their shows in unconventional locations on Olney's grounds.

Barbara Gross
Date Reviewed:
January 1997
Closet Land
Olney Theater Center

The advisory posted in the lobby stated "Absolutely no children will be admitted." Midway through the show, I wished I qualified, so I could be home safely watching the game. Closet Land is hard on spectators and apparently painful for the actors as well, since the curtain call found them with wet eyes and tense faces. Within the intimate space, there was no escaping the intensity of the brutal interrogation withstood by the Woman (a delicately lovely Shannon Parks) from her tormentor, the Man (Paul Morella, malevolently alternating between good and bad cop).

Barbara Gross
Date Reviewed:
January 1997
Cryptogram, The
Studio Theater

The Cryptogram was Artistic Director Zinoman's non-sugar plum entry into the Christmas season. I'm not certain which I found more depressing - the flu that kept me from attending opening night, or this tragic story of family dysfunction.

Barbara Gross
Date Reviewed:
January 1997
Antony and Cleopatra
Shakespeare Theater - Lansburgh

When the Romans entered, wearing high boots and World War II uniforms, I wasn't certain whether I was watching Antony and Cleopatra or the stage version of "Casablanca." If it had been the second, there might at least have been some hope of romance. Sparks. Chemistry. All of which are necessary to understand why Antony would, as Scarus said, have "kissed away kingdoms and provinces" for love of his Egyptian queen. All of which are absent between Helen Carey as Cleopatra and Tom Hewitt as Antony, who declaim rather than enact their passion.

Barbara Gross
Date Reviewed:
December 1996
Damn Yankees
Kennedy Center

I have never been a fan of Jerry Lewis, but as Applegate in Damn Yankees, he gives a devil of a performance. On opening night at the Kennedy Center, the audience gave him his due - a cheering, standing ovation. As with legend Carol Channing in Hello, Dolly!, this was as much a tribute to the grit and determination of the artist (starring in his first Broadway role at the age of 70) as to his talent.

Barbara Gross
Date Reviewed:
December 1996
Chicago
Ambassador Theater

It's hard to tell which aspect of Chicago makes us feel more nostalgic, the look of Bob Fosse's rhythmic, pelvic choreography; the ricky-ticky jazziness of its archetypal Kander and Ebb score; or simply the fact that in 1975, when Chicago first hit Broadway, America wasn't yet ready to believe that a cold-blooded murderer with a good lawyer could get away with everything. Now Chicago's cynicism feels almost quaint. We don't need to be told the media attacks every scandal in a feeding frenzy and then drops the carcass when another meal appears.

David Lefkowitz
Date Reviewed:
November 1996
Boys in the Band, The
Lucille Lortel Theater

Happy and gay. Which is not the same as gay and happy -- two words that, at least in theater terms, can be as far apart as Pat Buchanan and tolerance. It was 1968, before AIDS, before Torch Song Trilogy, before Stonewall -- and Mart Crowley’s The Boys in the Band hit the New York theater scene. For a thousand performances at off-Broadway’s Theater Four, seven gay characters gathered at Michael’s New York apartment to celebrate the birthday of their outrageous mutual friend, Harold.

David Lefkowitz
Date Reviewed:
August 1996
I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change
Westside Theater - Upstairs

Once upon a time, long, long ago in the American theater, boys met girls instead of boys. These boys and girls -- back then we called them "couples" -- would flirt, fight, and sing about everything in witty couplets. It was all very quaint and familiar, mildly pandering to cliches but generally honest -- and invariably hopeful -- about the nature of twosomes. Since boy/girl musicals have little place on the Rialto these days, we've had to settle for a spate of musical revues, most of them about the singles scene.

David Lefkowitz
Date Reviewed:
August 1996
Rent
Nederlander Theater

It was the year's Cinderella story -- with a tragic turn: Rent, an off-off-Broadway rock musical with no "stars" and a virtually unknown author, moves to Broadway, wins the Pulitzer, garners rave reviews, standing o's and more awards, and does so only weeks after said composer/lyricist dies of a brain aneurysm at age 35. Little wonder Rent is considered this year's musical phenomenon, a little engine that not only could but electrified as it hurtled along.

David Lefkowitz
Date Reviewed:
May 1996
Buried Child
Brooks Atkinson Theater

Odd, but whereas the dread and loathing of A Delicate Balance (which also won the Pulitzer Prize at its premiere) makes me shrug my shoulders and wonder whether its meaninglessness is worth the effort, Buried Child, Sam Shepard’s 1979 essay on familial rot, tickles my funnybone and keeps me engrossed up to the final, famous image.

David Lefkowitz
Date Reviewed:
May 1996
Big: The Musical
Shubert Theater

It’s big...and it’s good. For a while now my colleagues and I have been complaining about the dearth of imagination on Broadway, wherein new musicals -- which used to rely on novels for their storylines -- now turn to the movies for their ideas.

David Lefkowitz
Date Reviewed:
May 1996
By the Sea, By the Sea, By the Beautiful Sea
City Center - Stage 1

I just got back from Miami Beach and its justifiably famous seashore, but even there the sands aren’t as white and inviting as the sand on Michael McGarty’s set for By the Sea, By the Sea, By the Beautiful Sea. McGarty even gives us a starlit night backdrop to complete the picture of an idyllic beachscape where three unrelated one-acts, all directed by Leonard Foglia, all featuring Timothy Carhart, Lee Brock, and Mary Beth Fisher, take place.

David Lefkowitz
Date Reviewed:
May 1996
Arts and Leisure
Playwrights Horizons

It’s just as well Steve Tesich’s latest drama at Playwrights Horizons isn’t any good; if it were, it would probably put me in therapy for a decade. Arts & Leisure is an externalized, interior monologue for a theater critic.

David Lefkowitz
Date Reviewed:
May 1996
Bring in `Da Noise, Bring in `Da Funk
Ambassador Theater

What better way to tap into the roots of black American history than with tap itself, a dance form that affords freedom in its movement, anger in its staccato, sadness in its sweeps, and hope in its rhythms? The conceit for Bring in `Da Noise, Bring in `Da Funk weds a potent theme -- the 300-year journey from slave ships to street corners -- with choreographed numbers that incorporate tap into slice-of-life vignettes.

David Lefkowitz
Date Reviewed:
April 1996
Beauty and the Beast
Palace Theater

[Reviewed at the Palace Theater] If it's "a tale as old as time," why does it need amplification loud enough to stop a clock? That's an exaggeration, but the first act of Beauty and the Beast, a stage adaptation of the Disney film musical, barrels out at us in waves of tinny sound, the performers fighting the overmiked orchestra just to be heard. Perhaps sound designer T. Richard Fitzgerald and director Robert Jess Roth want to create a wall of aural packaging to drown out an audience with more than a few youngsters in it.

David Lefkowitz
Date Reviewed:
April 1996
Fantasticks, The
Sullivan Street Playhouse

Three was not the charm when I returned for a third visit to New York's only 36-year-old current musical, The Fantasticks, still ensconced in the Sullivan Street Playhouse, still packing in crowds of young teens and seniors with long memories. It's about a boy and a girl, of course, and the two fathers who keep them apart with the express interest of getting them together. Papas Hucklebee and Bellomy hire a dashing bandito to aid their scheme, which works brilliantly -- except "happily ever after" isn't always what it seems.

David Lefkowitz
Date Reviewed:
March 1996
Distant Fires
Stamford Theater Works

Distant Fires deals with black and white issues derived from sharply drawn characters, not polemic. Danger and hopelessness hang over the construction crew -- five men at work atop a ten-story building in Ocean City, Maryland, in the heat of the summer. On a marvel of a set, the actors speak their lines, quite eloquently, while actually pouring and spreading cement, actually recreating the duties of laborers. Three of the workers are black.

Rosalind Friedman
Date Reviewed:
February 1996
Annie Get Your Gun
Drury Lane Theater

The plot resolution -- the heroine deliberately losing a contest for love of a man who won't have her any other way -- presents problems for our egalitarian society, but Irving Berlin's score for Annie Get Your Gun remains irresistible. And once the Drury Lane ensemble demonstrate that they can sell "No Business Like Show Business" as if it were written only yesterday, we have full confidence they can pull off the rest. And they do.

Mary Shen Barnidge
Date Reviewed:
January 1996
Blithering Heights: The Improvised English Gothic Romance
Ivanhoe Theater

Blithering Heights is another of the full-length improv offerings by The Free Associates, this one in the style of the Bronte Sisters. The evening I watched, they worked with audience suggestions to come up with heroine Catherine Milton, in love with Hunter, a man whose family business was secretly running a bordello. The family who take care of Catherine (by turning her into a servant and convincing her she was ugly and going bald) try to keep her from meeting the hero by locking her in the cellar.

Effie Mihopoulos
Date Reviewed:
January 1996
Caine Mutiny Court Martial, The
A Red Orchid Theater

When is the overthrow of authority justified, what is the responsibility of the individual to blow the whistle, and who profits -- always, who profits? Herman Wouk posed those questions in 1950 within the microcosm of a court-martial trial for a mutiny aboard an American warship. The 1954 movie version drowned any possible controversy in a flood of spectacle and sentimentality, but director Wilson Milam and an all-star ensemble or intensely committed actors delve into the ambiguities of the original material.

Mary Shen Barnidge
Date Reviewed:
January 1996
Four Dogs and a Bone
Actors Theater of San Francisco

At the Actors Theatre of San Francisco, John Patrick Shanley's viper-tongued, dramatic indictment of Hollywood, Four Dogs And A Bone, receives an expert mounting from director Louis Parnell. This cautionary tale about the stratagems and mayhem of making feature films shows serious artistes from the East trying to make it in L.A. Not only has the producer gone over budget, he's under-insured the production. Curvaceous Brenda puts the moves on him to increase her part, while aging, libidinous Colette puts the moves on the writer.

Larry Myers
Date Reviewed:
January 1996
Gaslight
Stage Door Theater

Patrick Hamilton's classic 1939 potboiler receives a first-rate, Broadway-quality production at American Conservatory's Stage Door Theater. The talky thriller, made into a popular movie with Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer, became the prototype for our contemporary psychological drama, paving the way for such saw-horse vehicles as The Shrike, The Little Foxes and, of course, The Heiress. The term "gaslighting" was coined after the original production, meaning "convincing someone what they see isn't there."

Larry Myers
Date Reviewed:
January 1996
Father, The
Roundabout Theater

Take away a man's last vestige of pride and identity, Strindberg seems to say, and you drive him headlong into madness. Such is the direct thematic line of The Father, a psychodrama that still shocks and agitates nearly 110 years after its first publication. Beset by the women in his house, each of whom has a different approach to raising his daughter, Captain Adolf finds solace in the male hierarchy of his military duties.

David Lefkowitz
Date Reviewed:
January 1996

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