“Lungs” is Smoking!

New Rep’s newest production, “Lungs,” by Duncan Macmillan, rocks the black box with laughter and emotion.  Hilarious and heartfelt, the show took the opening night crowd from confusion (what does the title mean?) to glee to sighs of pain, empathy, and understanding.  The show is, above all else, wickedly smart and painfully honest.  It gives voice to the weird things that might pass through so many of our minds, but that we rarely speak aloud.  “Lungs” will especially resonate with anyone over-educated who harbors a guilty liberal conscience regarding the environment – which makes the Boston area a good town for its production!

Macmillan’s witty dialogue – or, often, contrasting (and sometimes overlapping) monologues – is accompanied by some terrific acting.  It seems as if the parts were written for these two actors, especially Liz Hayes as W.  Both are New Rep veterans, having appeared (and distinguished themselves) in recent shows, including “The Kite Runner” (for Nael Nacer) and “Collected Stories” (for Hayes).  I had seen and liked them in both of these previously, but thought that this new production showcases their talents in surprising and unique ways.

“Lungs” is directed with aplomb by Bridget O’Leary, who keeps the pace at a near-dizzying level, and whose sense of humor is evident throughout.  Kudos also to the set designer, whose hands were mostly tied by the playwright’s directive that there be no set!  You’ll just have to see the show to see how the clever Jen Rock got around this proscription.  And I wholeheartedly recommend that you do!

~ Shauna Shames, New Rep Reviewer

"Marry Me a Little" Brightens the Season

We’re in that dreary, flavorless period between the 12^th day of Christmas and Valentine’s Day. Sigh. But if you need a truffle, a trifle, a delightful hour, see New Rep’s production of “Marry Me A Little.” The evening’s entertainment (more of a musical revue than a play) is a pastiche of Stephen Sondheim “discards,” songs written for various musicals and cut out for a variety of reasons having nothing to do with their quality.

The four characters live in separate compartments on the ingeniously designed set, décor reflecting their various stages of life. The experienced older woman makes dinner in her well-equipped kitchen. The established architect in his chilly minimalist dining room fiddles on his laptop, spreads out a set of plans, drinks. The young violinist practices and dreams in her small room which still carries the flavor of her childhood – bear on pillow, polka-dotted sheets. A young man of indeterminate profession gazes at his reflection in the mirror, preens and paces around the room that will remind you of your younger brother’s first apartment, making occasional half-hearted attempts to at least confine the clothes (dirty? clean?) carpeting the floor to a single pile.  

Their characters are designated simply Woman 1 and 2 and Man 1 and 2. Though the externals of their lives are defined by the spaces they inhabit, the inner identity shifts and is redefined as they transition from song to song, sometimes a solo, sometimes in duet, dreaming of relationships, some gay, and some straight. What they have in common is the tentative, fumbling longing and uncertainty, so typical of Sondheim. We see ourselves in their oh-so-human frailty and isolation and we smile at them and at ourselves. They dream of love and companionship without surrender or risk. Marry me – a little. Love me – but not too much.  Only at the end do they venture out into the world and risk a real encounter.

All four singer/actors had voices well-suited to musical comedy. Erica Spyres, Woman 1, sings with a bright, clear soprano, perfect for our ingénue. In the role of Woman 2 Aimee Doherty reveals a voice which is more powerful and well-suited to her more mature role. Brad Daniel Peloquin, Man 2, reveals his classical training in the exceptional sweetness of his tenor as the sophisticated architect, while Phil Taylor, Man 1, convincingly sings the confusion, vanity and ambition of the younger man.

Todd C. Gordon and David McGrory, who provide accompaniment from pianos on opposite sides of the stage, play with spirit and provide secure grounding for the whole production. And we loved the way Spyres’s violin practice was integrated into the accompaniment for other singers.  (Talented girl!)

A bonbon of an evening, yes, but reflective and sweet-natured and thoughtful. Well worth a midwinter drive to Watertown.

~ Johanna Ettin & Shauna Shames, New Rep Reviewers

Sondheim at New Rep

--Victoria Petrosino, New Rep Reviewer

New Rep’s production of “Marry Me a Little” provides an intimate glance into the private lives and elaborate dreams of a series of NYC apartment-dwellers.  The show features songs cut from other Stephen Sondheim productions woven into a charming musical.  Traditionally staged to tell the story of two NYC individuals at home on a Saturday night, New Rep widens the appeal to illustrate four individuals for all combinations of passions and disappointments.  The effort is particularly successful in adding some weight to the diminutive 75 minute production.

Scenic designer Erik Diaz envisions an ambitious set with four separate apartments, a fire escape with city views, and two smaller brick-walled rooms for the pianists.  Each apartment is elaborately decorated and helps to provide a few much-needed clues about the occupant, since the dialogue-free play yields little actual story.  For the most part, each character remains in the separate apartment (even while singing duets), highlighting that although several share the same longings, they are separated by timidity or circumstance.  Small moments of intimacy come from knocking on the walls or stomping on the floor to quiet the neighbors.

The live music (Erica Spyres also plays the violin) and apartment scenes create a cozy environment for the audience.  We watch the characters arrive home, unpack groceries, drink wine, get ready for bed, and leave again the next day.  The coziness partially offsets the lack of a story, but for me, the production overall lacked substance.  The music was excellent, the singers were all talented, but the impression left by each song was too fleeting.  Maybe that is the beauty of the production.  Each character leaves an ephemeral impression in the life of another.

A Little Sondheim Music

by Frank Furnari, New Rep Review

Marry Me A Little presents a great, short (75 minutes with no intermission) evening of Sondheim music that is bound to delight Sondheim fans.  The numbers are uninterrupted by dialogue or a story line like other Sondheim reviews – the focus here is on the songs and the stories told through them.  The numbers, except for the title song are all ones that did not make it into other Sondheim musicals; so they may not be familiar to many.  One may not normally want to hear songs that didn’t make it into a musical, but this is Sondheim, so even the ones that didn’t make the cut are still great numbers.   New Rep’s production is a little different than traditional productions in that it is a cast of four – two men, two women rather the normal one man, one woman.  This allows the production to have three couples, one straight, one gay, one lesbian (this change was blessed by Sondheim) to reflect today’s reality.

Director Ilyse Robbins assembles a strong cast for this production of both New Rep favorites, Aimee Doherty, Brad Daniel Peloquin who was in New Rep’s Moby Dick, as well as two new faces to the New Rep stage – Erica Spyres and Phil Tayler.  Each of the actors delivers a great performance and has a few moments to really shine. 

This reviewer is a little conflicted about this production – there are some things that worked and others that weren’t as strong for me.  Of the things that really worked was the fact that each actor always had stuff to do even if it wasn’t their number.  Since the actors are on stage for the entire production, it really gives you the sense that you’re looking into each person’s apartment as they’re living their lives.  It added a nice layer to the performance.  The part that didn’t work so well for me was the staging - except for a few moments in the show, the actors were never physically together when singing their songs.  To me, it never really established the couples. The rest of the production, however, is very solid.  I’ve heard many of the songs before, but I’ve never seen a production of this piece before.

Musically, the show is very tight, there are two pianos on either side of the stage and one of the actors, Erica Spyres plays violin in a few of the numbers from her apartment.  Even though they are all separated, the musicians and the singers are always in perfect sync.  Speaking of the singers, they are all very good and while they were wearing microphones, it seemed as if they weren’t being used.  The mics was often not needed, but it would have been useful in the numbers when all the actors are singing as they weren’t well balanced since some were closer to the audience than others. 

All of the technical parts of the production were flawless.  Erik D. Diaz’s bi-level set beautifully depicted four New York City apartments, each with its own distinct style.  Joe Stallone’s properties design made them all feel like they had been lived in for some time.  Christopher Ostrom’s lighting design and David Reiffel’s sound design added additional layers to the production, greater enhancing the reality on stage. 

“Fully Committed” a Wicked Holiday Delight!

Holiday fare can often be hackneyed, vapid, or sickly sweet; luckily, New Rep’s production of Fully Committed is the perfect antidote.  Sitting in the audience, the relief of my fellow theatregoers was palpable, as we laughed, groaned, and gasped in delight at the wicked and wry script from Becky Mode and the astonishing performance(s) from Gabriel Kuttner. 

The show is a fast-paced send-up of the weird, wonderful, horrible, and quirky characters to be found in the world of high-class dining in New York City.  The story follows a day in the life of typically-nice Midwestern struggling actor (Sam), who is (mistakenly) solely responsible for the reservations department at a fancy eatery in Manhattan.  Kuttner, who gives us a likable and understandable put-upon Sam, also plays the dozens of horrid or bizarre customers trying to get a table, along with the slightly-sadistic chef and four or five of the other restaurant staff.  His ability to switch personalities in the blink of an eye – what accent work! – is breathtaking, and often blindingly funny.  His antics often reduced the audience to helpless laughter, but he never paused for the entire 75-minute show, mirroring the situation of poor Sam, who can’t even take a break for a quick lunch.

The director (Bridget Kathleen O’Leary) and sound designer (Bill Barclay) also deserve particular mention.  The timing of the sound cues was near-perfect, which can’t have been easy in a show that must include several hundred telephone rings and intercom buzzes.  All in all, this is New Rep at its best; excellent acting, design, and direction, coupled with an edge of dark humor.  I cannot recommend this show highly enough.  It unfortunately only plays until Dec. 30, so be sure to get your tickets soon!

~ Shauna Shames, New Rep Reviewer

“Holiday Memories” this Holiday Season

--Victoria Petrosino, New Rep Reviewer

New Rep’s “Holiday Memories” retells two of Truman Capote’s short stories “The Thanksgiving Visitor” and “A Christmas Memory.”  Both are semi-autobiographical accounts of Capote growing up in Alabama, focusing on the rituals of a family preparing for the holidays: dreaming of Thanksgiving turkeys, collecting pecans for fruitcakes, and finding the perfect tree.  Though some of the traditions are antiquated (such as a trip to the local bootlegger to buy whiskey), the language of the stories is poetic and immersive and the setting fully captures the spirit of the holidays.

Jon Savage’s scene design creates a warm, well-worn setting for the production.  Tools, empty picture frames, flannel shirts, and books are collected almost randomly on wooden shelves along the sides of the stage.  The result is a background that is at once familiar and isolating.  All of the objects give a contained, shut-away impression that suits the nature of the stories: they are familiar and present, but only memories.

Similar to New Rep’s season opener “The Kite Runner,” Russell Vandenbrouke’s stage version of the Capote stories uses an older narrator to re-live the events of his youth; however, “Holiday Memories” uses this structure more successfully.  Marc Carver as Truman Capote brings introspection and sincere reflection to the events of his childhood.  In the second act story “A Christmas Memory,” he looks back on Miss Sook’s (Adrianne Krstansky) fruitcake ritual and remembers how they saved all year and labored for days to send the cakes to relative strangers, such as the bus driver who waved at them or to passing missionaries.  He reflects: “Is it because my friend is shy with everyone except strangers that these strangers, and merest acquaintances, seem to us our truest friends? I think yes.” This rumination gives the narrator purpose in the story-telling experience.

Holiday traditions are deceptively unique.  New Rep’s “Holiday Memories” is an interesting glimpse into the traditions of another generation, but everyone can find something familiar and relatable in the cast and setting of the production.

Treasured Holiday Memories

by Frank Furnari, New Rep Reviewer 

Holiday Memories presents us with two, somewhat autobiographical glimpses at Truman Capote's childhood, offering an entertaining evening of holiday fare.  The evening is broken up into two acts, the first is "The Thanksgiving Visitor" where we see Buddy/Truman as a boy around 7, who doesn't fit in with the other children and his best friend is Sook, a relative in her 60s.  While Buddy does not have many friends his age, the town bully torments him frequently.  One Thanksgiving, Sook takes it upon herself to invite the bully over for Thanksgiving dinner and what transpires over dinner is not what you might expect.  The second half is "A Christmas Memory" where we again see Buddy and Sook, but now it is fruitcake weather, Sook's annual tradition of making fruitcakes for many people including the President.  The process of getting and paying for the ingredients as well as the interactions between the two are very touching.  

The stage version by Russell Vandenbrouke has both the young Buddy (Michael John Ciszewski) and older Truman (Marc Carver) on stage at the same time.  Truman serves both as the older Buddy as well as the narrator, however since the play centers around the young Buddy, the character of Truman doesn't add much to the story – one expects Truman to have a few scenes as an adult, but other than a brief moment we don't get that.  Aside from that, it is a well-written and engaging play.  Adrianne Krstansky is wonderful as Sook; she embodies the shy, childlike nature of Sook without making her into a caricature.  Michael John Ciszewski, a sophomore at BU, is great as Buddy imbuing the role with the sensitivity and a childlike -yet wise beyond his years quality and expression.   

The set designed by Jon Savage was an intricate work of art itself.  The house gives the sense of a family who doesn’t have much money, but is resourceful - taking items from a variety of places and repurposing them.  It was very cool to see the way things would just flip out from the wall to reveal a bed or a shelf of fruitcakes.  Behind the house was a scrim with an area for actors (which wasn't always used effectively).  Behind that was a screen where additional scenery was projected (schoolhouse, kitchen) which gave the production a storybook feel with the images used, adding memory/storybook feel.  

Holiday Memories is not your typical holiday fare, but that's a good thing for those who may not want to see Christmas Carol yet again.  It is a look back at holidays of years past, but not through rose-colored glasses.  While not sugar coating the memories, it is still very enjoyable and may even make you feel nostalgic about your own holiday memories.