Written in 1936 by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, You Can’t Take it with You brings the Vanderhof extended family of crazies, all colorful semi-artises doing their thing, to Broadway’s Longacre Theater. In the Sycamore family, everyone follows his bliss, but each bliss flies in a different direction. Yet they all end up in a kind of chaotic unity. There is definitely something lovable about this group anchored by Grandpa Martin Vanderhof (James Earl Jones) whose cheery philosophy is, "Life is kind of beautiful if you let it come to you."
It's a logic that works for Grandpa. Years ago, he quit his job when it became a daily grind. He now enjoys his life with his family, his pet snakes and attending commencement ceremonies. His daughter, Penny, played with daffy charm by Kristine Nielson (Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike), has kept busy writing plays when a typewriter somehow arrived on their doorstep. Her husband, Paul (Mark-Linn Baker) works in the basement proudly creating firecrackers with Mr. DePinna (Patrick Kerr), who used to deliver ice until he decided to join the family. Their firecrackers may explode at any inopportune moment, day or night.
Penny and Paul have two daughters. Essie is a candy maker whose bliss is really ballet. Played with wide-eyed insouciance by Annaleigh Ashford (Kinky Boots), Essie spends an impressive amount of time en pointe, scooting across the room with a pas de chat and every movement ending with a graceful révérence. Her supportive husband, Ed (Will Brill), accompanies her on the xylophone (listen to his rendition of "Beethoven's Ninth Symphony"), and she studies dance with a Russian émigré, fiery Boris Kolenkhov, played with exuberance by Reg Rogers. In contrast, her sister, Alice, is practical. Played by Rose Byrne (TV's “Damages”), who reveals a winning comedy flair, Alice has an office job and is dating the boss's son, Tony Kirby (Frank Kranz). She loves her family and is torn over the upcoming get-together with the Vanderhof mélange and their fancy-free dining habits, versus her boyfriend's conservative mother and father (Byron Jennings, Johanna Day). Since the Kirbys "accidentally" arrive a day early, the meeting is everything Alice worried about and more, a riotous scene performed by this immaculate cast in its zany circus of never-ending laughs, nonsense and sentiment. Secondary characters add subplots to the hilarity. The maid, Rheba (Crystal Dickinson) and her boyfriend Donald (Marc Damon Johnson) work at the Vanderhof home and are part of the family, joining everyone at the dining table. Karl Kenzler, as Henderson, an IRS tax collector, tells Grandpa that he owes the government a lot of money. Grandpa knows that. He is against paying taxes and therefore, he doesn't. The comical Julie Halston steps in as Gay Wellington, a nutsy actress invited to read Penny's play until too much wine puts her flat on her back. Finally, there is Kolenkhov's friend from the old country, Russian Grand Duchess Olga, cousin to the Czar. She is now a waitress at Child's ("42nd Street," she says, proudly) and gamely steps in to save the evening with her blintzes. Elizabeth Ashley is on the mark as the Duchess, blending regal grandeur with a grounded earthiness.
Director Scott Ellis (The Roundabout’s Harvey) conducts these goofy characters with the ease of "Ain't We Got Fun," always keeping in mind their basic goodness and likeability. You almost want to join this family who appreciates you just as you are.
David Rockwell's set is eye catching, revolving from an outside view to the interior living room, showing every inch crammed with eclectic memorabilia. Jane Greenwood keeps costumes authentic with wigs by Tom Watson. Donald Holder's lighting, John Weston's sound, and Jason Robert Brown's incidental music all add to the four-star quality of this production. A sparkling twist during the Great Depression, You Can’t Take It with You became a successful play, won a Pulitzer Prize in 1937, and scored as a film with Lionel Barrymore and James Stewart. Now, with this crackling staging, it proves again that Grandpa had it right when he said "Life's pretty simple if you just relax."
