All's Well That Ends Well at the American Shakespeare Center

Girl, he's just not that into you.

The American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Virginia's third offering this 25th anniversary season is William Shakespeare' All's Well That Ends Well. This comedy is, as director Ralph Alan Cohen states in his director's notes, one of two plays in which Shakespeare seems to tell the audience how to feel about the play. Famously labeled over the centuries as a problem play, All's Well That Ends Well is a mature comedy that really posits that happily ever after is not always as happy as it seems. The acting company brings out all the comedy, romance and rich characterizations that Shakespeare created, but when all is said and done, the ending of this play is a troubling one. By choosing to not make changes to that ending to make it more satisfying, Dr. Cohen and his cast are presenting this play as Shakespeare intended. It is an evening of theater in which you may well find yourself pondering the outcome for quite some time.

The Countess of Rossillion is recently widowed and her son Bertram accedes to his father's title. Still a very young man he is made a ward of the King of France and his summoned to court. Helena, the daughter of the Countess' famed physician, also recently deceased, pines for Bertram knowing that as a poor physician's daughter she cannot hope to marry the far above her station Count. The King of France is deathly ill and has given up all hope of a cure. Helena decides to travel to the French court to cure the King using one of her father's famous remedies. The King agrees to undergo the treatment, but if Helena fails she will die. If she succeeds she may choose any of the unmarried men at court for her husband.

Helena succeeds and chooses Bertram. Bertram protests against the marriage even though the King grants Helena a rich dowry. They are married and Bertram swears that he will not consider Helena his wife unless she gets his father's ring from his finger and his pregnant with his child. Encouraged by his follower, the boastful Parolles, Bertram flees France for the war in Florence. Helena decides to follow him. There are tricks and twists before Helena gets her happy ending.

There are many delightful secondary characters in this play and it is through them that the majority of the very funny comedy ensues.  The fusty old lord LaFew, wittly portrayed by Rene Thornton, Jr. matches wits with the Countess' clown, LaVatch, endearingly cute with wonderfully crisp delivery of his many, many puns by Gregory Jon Phelps. Benjamin Curns is a perfect flamboyant, cowardly braggart as Parolles. His many foibles and follies that lead to a very funny comeuppance for his character is a major highlight of the production.

Allison Glenzer is the calm, rational center as the wise Countess. Emily Brown is sweet and sly as Diana, the object of Bertram's lust in Florence. Tracie Thomason threads a careful path between being a pining lovelorn girl and a strong virtuous heroine, managing not to trespass into stalker territory. Her performance makes you believe that Helena deserves to win her love, although given what she's in love with, we still question her choice.

Dylan Paul has one of the more difficult leading man roles in Shakespeare's comedies. Face it, Bertram is a jerk. Fortunately, Dr. Cohen has his cast emphasize the many times that Shakespeare calls Bertram young and a boy. For in the text, it is clear that Bertram is a very immature young man. He is not yet, of age having been made a ward of the court. His behavior towards his forced marriage is one of the rash and the foolish and his willingness to be advised by the blowhard Parolles also shows just how immature Bertram is. Mr. Paul's Bertram still comes off as quite the charmer. It is easy to see why Helena falls in love and Diana is partly dazzled by him. Yet, it is the unpleasant aspects of Bertram's behavior that show how Mr. Bertram carefully navigates this difficult role. In the end, Helena wins him, and Mr. Paul shows appropriate remorse and love towards Ms. Thomason's Helena. The question becomes does the audience believe that all is well in the end.

William Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well is being performed at the American Shakespeare Center's Blackfriar's Playhouse in Staunton, Virginia through November 29, 2013. It is being performed during the summer season in repertory with Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and Bob Carlton's Return to the Forbidden Planet. In the Fall these productions will be joined by Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida and Oliver Goldsmith's She Stoops To Conquer. For tickets and other performance information please visit www.americanshakespearecenter.com

Spin in the SigLab at Signature Theatre Virginia

Signature Theatre is giving audiences the chance to see the birth of a new musical through their SigLab program. For a very reasonable price of $30 a ticket it is possible to see this very good production of a promising new work before it travels to South Korea for its next incarnation.

Yes, South Korea. Spin, based on the South Korean Film whose English title translates to Speedy Scandal, is a fun confection of musical theatre just perfect for a summer date night. The staging is minimal, reusing the set from the recently closed production of Company. With a very witty book by Brian Hill and music and lyrics by Neil Bartram, there are  a few places where the script could use some tweaking. This is to be expected in a brand new play. The creators are best known for their very short lived Broadway show, The Story of My Life. It's easier to predict a much longer life for Spin.

Evan Peterson was once the lead singer of a popular boy band. He struck out on his own and his solo career tanked. Evan now hosts an early morning music contest show. His rival, Richard Riddle, is the local gossip reporter looking for a juicy scandal to bring him fame. A popular caller to the program is Makalo, a young woman searching for her father. Evan discovers he's Makalo's father when she shows up on his doorstep with a grandson in tow. To force a connection, Makalo becomes a contestant on the show. When a viral video brings the local show national exposure Evan faces a dilemma.  Will he ride the exposure to revive his own career or acknowledge his new found family. Meanwhile, Richard is sniffing around trying to expose Evan's secret for his own personal gain.

Spin is filled with a lot of fun characters and the small ensemble under the direction of Eric Schaeffer makes them fully realized human beings.  The studio chorus not only provides the typical background singers for the tv show within the show, they also act as a all-knowing chorus commenting hilariously at certain points in the story.

Young Holden Browne is sweet and adorable as the grandson Jesse. Stephen Russell Murray starts out rather ominously as the potential internet stalker, Danny, who turns into a slightly creepy yet sweet love interest for Makalo. Erin Driscoll does her best with the only normal person in the story, the teacher Allison Reynolds.

Our villain comes very close to stealing the show. Bobby Smith as Richard Riddle is a slimeball through and through. Yet he wins cheers not jeers when he opens act two with the great production number, "Everybody Loves a Scandal." If this production is Helen Hayes eligible, do not be surprised to see Mr. Smith remembered come nomination time.

Carolyn Cole has become a welcome staple of Signature productions since she played Tracy in Hairspray. Here she gets to show off her amazing rock and roll belt as Makalo. Yet, under her emotional armor there is a vulnerable young woman desperate to connect with the father she never knew and Ms. Cole is compelling in both the comedic scenes and the heartbreaking emotional core of the story. Highlights include her biting delivery of the song, "All I Wanted From You." On a gentler note the trio "Little Frog"sung by Ms. Cole, James Gardiner's Evan and Jamie Eacker's Latrissa Washington is a sweet little gem about family connection.

Another long time Signature veteran tackles the boy singer who doesn't want to grow up Evan Peterson. At first you may feel that James Gardiner is too young to play a grandfather. The script provides the clues to the math. These are teenage pregnancies  Evan sleeps with Makalo's mother when he was 15, Makalo is 22 and has a 6 year old son. That makes Evan at the most 38. So, while it seems implausible making the character a grandpa in his late 30's leads to some very funny moments, especially when he trains his grandson to be his wingman. Mr. Gardiner embodies the devil-may-care playboy yet he taps a great inner strength to pull off the yearning to really belong to a family that Evan hides so well.

Spin is being performed in The Max theatre at Signature Theatre through July 27, 2013. It is being produced in association with OD Company. For tickets and other performance information please visit www.signature-theatre.org.

For a great article on the origin and development of this show please read The Washington Post theatre critic Peter Marks article at http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/taking-a-korean-film-out-for-a-spin/2013/07/11/c8c4cc32-e982-11e2-818e-aa29e855f3ab_story.html

Return To The Forbidden Planet at The American Shakespeare Center

Welcome aboard the Intergalactic Spaceship Albatross. Captain Tempest and the Damage Control Crew invite you to accompany them on a routine survey mission. Who is the mysterious, yet strong as nails new Science Officer? Why does she abandon the crew at the first sign of trouble? Can Bosun Arras (all around good guy), the Navigation Officer (knows where they are going) and Cookie the lovelorn ship's cook help Captain Tempest as their ship hurtles towards the mysterious Planet D'lliria? What of the long-lost scientist Dr. Prospero missing for years after his wife Gloria sent him into hyperspace not knowing their precocious baby daughter Miranda was stuck on board the shuttlecraft? Will the Albatross survive the asteroid field and the strange creatures that threaten the ship? Will Dr. Prospero succeed in creating the world-changing secret formula he's strived to perfect for the past several years? Will Captain Tempest resist the charms of the nubile Miranda? Will Cookie fight the Captain for Miranda's love? Is the Damage Control Crew the greatest rock and roll band in the history of Staunton, Virginia? For answers to these questions rush right down to the American Shakespeare Center where rock and roll has taken over the Blackfriars' Playhouse.

Return to the Forbidden Planet, written by Bob Carlton, takes the classic 1956 science fiction film, Forbidden Planet, loosely based on William Shakespeare's The Tempest, adds dialogue from several of Shakespeare's plays and sonnets (and a bit of Christopher Marlowe sprinkled on top), then throws in a jukebox full of 50's and 60's rock and roll classics to create a really fun evening that will leave your ribs aching from laughing, your hands sore from clapping along and a smile that comes from seeing a show that just exists to give you a great time. The plot is very silly and the talented repertory company is clearing enjoying embracing their over-the-top characters, letting their hair down and having a blast showing off their vast musical skills.

If you are familiar with how the American Shakespeare Center stages Shakespeare plays you will know that members of the company are talented musicians and singers who perform music before each performance and during the intermission. Music Director Chris Johnston has taken the twelve actors and made a great acoustic rock and roll band out of them. They all get their moments to shine musically and what a breath of fresh air to attend professional musical theater and not have the actors miked so they can be heard over the music. By choosing to go acoustic Mr. Johnston and Artistic Director Jim Warren create a balance between the instruments and the voices that makes the audience engage more closely with the actors.

Every character is perfectly cast. Dylan Paul is handsome and dashing as Captain Tempest, although its very clear to the audience that he's really, well, not too bright (it's a good thing he's pretty). He's well matched by his leading lady the sweet teenager-in-love Emily Brown as Miranda. Her protective father, the brilliant mad scientist played by Rene Thornton, Jr. shows that he's perfectly comfortable taking the lead on one his  rock numbers.

It takes a special person to don the faithful robot Ariel's very shiny skates and John Harrell comes very close to stealing the show just with his first entrance. Lee Fitzpatrick as the mysterious Science Officer plays buttoned-up and no-nonsense sensibility, just as a highly qualified scientist should.  Ms. Fitzpatrick lets her hair down joining in the rock-and-roll madness once her character's secrets are revealed. The real scene stealer is Gregory Jon Phelps as the lovelorn Cookie. Tormented by unrequited love, Mr. Phelps delivers his heart not on his sleeve, but with his mad saxophone skills. Many a young lady in the audience could be heard sighing every time Cookie gets his heart broken.

Jim Warren clearly had fun directing this show and with the help of the aforementioned Mr. Johnston's music direction, Stephanie Holladay Earl's classic rock dance choreography and Erin M. West's mod space uniforms, the American Shakespeare Center is transformed into a rock-and-roll palace. If you are looking for Shakespeare with a twist, Return to the Forbidden Planet is Shakespeare as a malt shop sundae with your sweetheart after school.

Bob Carlton's Return to the Forbidden Planet is being performed in repertory as part of the 25th anniversary summer season at the American Shakespeare Center with William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and Alls Well That Ends Well through December 1, 2013. In September Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida and Oliver Goldsmith's She Stoops To Conquer will join these shows in repertory. For tickets and other performance information please visit www.americanshakespearecenter.com.

Parental advisory: Return to the Forbidden Planet contains very little that parents would find objectionable. There is, however, one utterance of a common four-letter word as part of a joke and it is briefly repeated.

Romeo and Juliet at the American Shakespeare Center

The American Shakespeare Center kicks off its 25th anniversary season with that well-known staple of Shakespeare companies and high school curriculums Romeo and Juliet. Artistic Director Jim Warren stages a Romeo and Juliet that, as he states in his director's notes, mines every compelling moment in this story. As Mr. Warren comments there is no right side in this deadly feud.  The kids aren't right and the parents aren't wrong, and most importantly, by striving to strike a balance in this story of more woe, it is very clear that everyone is making their decisions, however rashly and quickly, because they truly believe that are doing it for the right reasons.

All of the elements are present in what has become known as the American Shakespeare Center's performance style. There is universal lighting, the audience can sit upon the stage and there is ample interaction between actors and audience. Yet, no matter how many times you have read the play or seen a production of Romeo and Juliet this production will contain surprises for even the most seasoned Shakespearean theatre-goer.

Unlike other productions, minor characters are not cut or consolidated with other characters to give a better known character a larger part.  So, when, for example,  Romeo's cousin Benvolio vanishes from the story after Act III, Scene 1, he stays vanished from the story. Cousin Capulet shows up to dance at Capulet's ball. The entire comedic role of the servant Peter is intact. Most surprising, the prologue to the  balcony scene is enacted here.

A very strong artistic team assists Mr. Warren and his ensemble of actors in bringing the world of Romeo and Juliet to life. Costume designer Erin M. West creates contemporary ensembles that seem right for this Verona and a color scheme that helps the audience keep track of whom belongs to which feuding family or the royal family as soon as that character enters the stage. Stephanie Holladay Earl has choreographs a jolly bit of fun for the dance at the Capulet ball. Benjamin Curns creates heart-stopping fight choreography that is both beautiful to watch and, when called for, astonishing in its brutality.

Tracie Thomason and Dylan Paul are charming, youthful, brash and impulsive as the star-crossed lovers. They easily mine the comedy in their impulsive first meeting and the anguish when their love story provides the catalyst for the horrendous tragedy that follows. Rene Thornton, Jr. shows a surprising deep love for his daughter Juliet that many other Lord Capulets lack. When he turns from doting father to outrage at his daughter's willful disobedience the audience is just as taken aback at his rage. Lee Fitzpatrick is a colder Lady Capulet, yet behind her reserve, there is a passionate side that she lets the audience see when her beloved family members die. John Harrell seems a preening peacock as the hotheaded Tybalt, his proud facade barely containing his rage.

There are three revelatory performances in this outstanding ensemble and they are all three, long time American Shakespeare Center vets. Gregory Jon Phelps turns Mercutio into such a lovable rogue that we genuinely feel the loss of his character at his untimely death. Mr. Phelps takes one of the best known poetry speeches, the famed Queen Mab speech, and mines it for every bawdy, comic image and joke and wrings laughter and groans from the audience. For once the speech feels like the natural teasing of a love-sick friend, rather than simply a recitation of beautiful poetry.

There is a tradition at the American Shakespeare Center of cross gender casting. As is well known, in Shakespeare's day, all of the women's roles would have been played by men. The American Shakespeare Center uses that tradition upon occasion and also gives women the opportunity to portray men's roles as well. Allison Glenzer takes on the role of Friar Lawrence in this production. Ms. Glenzer takes the role of Friar Lawrence and has him react in ways that the adults in the audience probably would do in similar circumstances. Lawrence's chastising of Romeo for falling in and out of love so quickly establishes Lawrence as that authority figure that teenagers can trust and Ms. Glenzer easily earns the trust of the audience as well.

Juliet's Nurse is one of the great female comic roles in all of Shakespeare. In the hands of Benjamin Curns the Nurse is a towering terror of a mother bear to her precious Juliet. Yet, there is a gentle warmth to Mr. Curns particularly when the Nurse must counsel Juliet in the aftermath of Romeo's banishment. Whenever an actor takes on a female role there is an initial bit of tittering from the audience. With Mr. Curns that initial "egad, it's a man" quickly vanishes as he gives us a complex woman, Juliet's true mother, who loves her charge fiercely.

William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is being performed as part of the American Shakespeare Center's 25th Anniversary summer season through November 30, 2013. It is being performed in repertory with Shakespeare's Alls Well That Ends Well and Bob Carlton's Return To The Forbidden Planet.  In September it will be joined in repertory by Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida and Oliver Goldsmith's She Stoops To Conquer. For tickets and other performance information please visit www.americanshakespearecenter.com.

Anything Goes National Tour at the Kennedy Center

There is something refreshing about a revival of a musical, first produced in 1934, that is presented exactly as it was intended. Anything Goes is a wonderful piece of fluff musical comedy that has memorable characters, jokes that have actual punch lines, rousing choreography and, most importantly the incomparable score by Cole Porter. Roundabout Theatre Company's 2011 revival deservedly won the Tony Award for Revival of a Musical that season. The touring production preserves the high quality of the original revival giving audiences across the country the opportunity to see the same great show New York audiences saw.

Anything Goes is another one of those shows that has constantly had its libretto tweaked, including before the original 1934 production opened on Broadway. It also has had tunes added and subtracted from Mr. Porter's vast output, which Mr. Porter did himself in many other shows. This production preserves mostly the script update from the 1987 Lincoln Center revival which followed the basic premise from the 1934 production. The advantages of that script include making the central love story seem more plausible and fleshing out two supporting characters so that they develop into vibrant members of this wacky cast of characters.

Billy Crocker, who works on Wall Street for  the wealthy lush Elisha Whitney, laments that he can't find Hope Harcourt, a girl he spent a memorable night with just a few weeks ago. His pal, nightclub singer and evangelist, Reno Sweeney mentions that Hope is sailing to England on the S.S. American. Hope is marrying Sir Evelyn Oakleigh in order to save her mother's dire financial situation. Billy goes to the ship launch to find Hope. Traveling on board is the gangster, Moonface Martin and his moll, Erma. They await the arrival of their partner, Public Enemy Number One Snake-Eyes Johnson. When Snake-Eyes doesn't show, Billy takes his ticket and passport. Meanwhile the Captain of the ship laments that he doesn't have any real celebrities on board the ship, which disappoints his passengers. When Billy is discovered, the ship is thrilled to have their celebrity, but Hope is not. There is a lot of mad-cap scenarios before we achieve a rather silly happily-ever-after for everyone.

The ship design is based on the original scenic design by Derek McLane. Its' three stories are filled to the brim by director and choreographer Kathleen Marshall's terrific old-school dancing. Yes, this is a show that has real dancing in the choreography whether it is the Astaire-Rogers style romantic ballroom moves that accompany Billy and Hope's duets or the rousing tap that accompanies the title tune. Martin Pakledinaz' 1930's costumes perfectly complete the period setting.

If there is anything detrimental about the production it is minor. One is technical. As with all professional Broadway and touring production this cast is miked for sound. In the Kennedy Center Opera House it really sounds miked as opposed to simply enhancing the actors' voices. The other problem is with the script. It does contain two stereotyped characters in the Chinese Christian converts. Fortunately their names were updated in the 1987 revival to something less offensive and the actors playing the parts do not adopt a stereotypical Chinese dialect.

Despite these minor issues let the touring cast present for you this infectious revival. Sandra Shipley, as the overbearing Mrs. Evangeline Harcourt is channeling the great Margaret Dumont in her best comic pomposity. Paired with the unabashed lush Elisha Whitney, Dennis Kelly clearly relishes his comic moments. Joyce Chittuck as the man-hungry gangster's moll, Erma brings the house down when accompanied by the sailor boys in her big number "Buddy Beware."Fred Applegate has immense comic timing and do not be surprised if Public Enemy Number 13 brings tears from laughter to your eyes in "Be Like the Blue Bird."

Edward Staudenmayer's Lord Evelyn Oakleigh is more than an upper-class British twit. By giving the character the song "The Gypsy in Me", Mr. Staudenmayer cuts loose showing Evie's animal magnetism. His fate at the end of the show makes much more sense with this additional aspect to his character.Alex Finke has a clear, beautiful soprano and comes across as genuine as the ingenue Hope. Josh Franklin has much more of a classic leading man vibe than some of the more cad-like Billy Crockers of earlier scripts. He has a marvelous voice and well-matches his love interest in their duets and his friendship with the true leading lady, Reno Sweeney.

Rachel York is a tall glass of cool water. Her lanky, sensuous frame and legs that go on to tomorrow are perfect for our nightclub evangelist. She's a swift-talking dame that belts Porter's tunes vibrantly. Her dancing skills burn up the stage floor. She surely converts the audience to the religion of musical comedy.

Roundabout Theatre Company's production of Anything Goes is playing in the Kennedy Center's Opera House through July 7, 2013. For tickets and other performance information please visit www.kennedy-center.org. For additional tour dates please visit www.anythinggoesontour.com.

Celebrating the Lives of Artists We've Lost

Whenever a famous performing artist or celebrity dies, there is the inevitable sadness that accompanies the announcement of their passing. In recent weeks, four people who made an impact in their artistic field died. All of them lived into their 90's. I would like to suggest that instead of mourning their loss we should celebrate their longevity and rejoice in the contributions they made to their art.

Deanna Durbin - 1921-2013 - 91.  Miss Durbin was a brilliant coloratura singer when she was signed by MGM at the age of 13. She was paired with another 13-year-old, Judy Garland, in a one-reel short, "Every Sunday"in which she sang classical music and Miss Garland sang swing. Shortly afterwards her contract was not renewed.  Signed by Universal she became a popular star in her first film, "Three Smart Girls."  However, she became disillusioned by Hollywood when she became typecast as the girl who solved problems for the grown-ups in her life. In 1949, she married her third husband, French director Charles David, who had directed her in one of her few more adult roles in "Lady on a Train." She retired to France, raised her children and rarely gave interviews for the rest of her life. Miss Durbin was a brilliant singer and actress, who when frustrated by the constraints of Hollywood stereotyping found a way for a happily-ever-after in the French countryside.

Frederick Franklin - 1914-2013 - 98.  Mr. Franklin was a British-born ballet dancer who made an impact on the world of classical dance throughout his life.  He not only was a dancer and choreographer, but also the founder of several dance companies. In his later life he became the crucial preserver of the original choreography of "Giselle," which he staged for Dance Theatre of Harlem in an updated setting in the Creole culture of Louisiana. He also memorably remounted Michel Fokine's 1910 "Scheherazade"on DTH. I had the privilege of seeing the production at the Kennedy Center. It was announced before the curtain rose that Mr. Franklin would substitute that night in the role of the Chief Eunuch. I distinctly remember the audience members around me saying "Who is Freddy Franklin?" My response was elation as I knew exactly who he was.  Into his 90's Mr. Franklin continued to dance. I once again had the privilege of seeing him dance the role of Friar Lawrence in Romeo and Juliet with American Ballet Theatre. Mr. Franklin was a treasure to the classical ballet world.

Ray Harryhausen - 1920-2013 - 92. Mr. Harryhausen was the most brilliant stop motion special effects artist working in film. There will never be another artist like him, yet his influence on modern film special effects remains. From the famous skeleton fight in "Jason and the Argonauts" to the many dinosaurs he animated for such films as "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms" and "One Million Years, B.C." to the original, and in my opinion vastly superior, 1981 "Clash of the Titans," Mr. Harryhausen's painstaking frame-by-frame work was sheer genius.  His development of the Dynamation technique  allowed his creations to appear as though they were a natural part of the story, whether walking behind trees or fighting the actors. Mr. Harryhausen's work led to a well deserved Academy Award for technical achievement in 1992. If it existed in real life, I'd say we all head to "Monsters, Inc.'s" Harryhausen restaurant to give Mr. Harryhausen a proper wake.

Merrill Brockway - 1923-2013 - 90.  Mr. Brockway was responsible for producing the PBS series "Dance in America" which brought dance by the leading companies in the United States to a broadcast audience. He also produced "Camera 3" a half-hour program broadcast on CBS on Sunday mornings from 1967- 1975 that was devoted to culture. Taking a cue from Fred Astaire films and the advice of George Balanchine  "Dance in America" was known for showing the dancers in full-body shots. Without him, many people outside of New York and the major touring cities might not have had a chance to see the works of such amazing choreographers as Balanchine, Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, Agnes de Mille, Jerome Robbins, Twyla Tharp, etc., etc. etc. Mr. Brockway received two Emmy Awards and two awards from the Directors' Guild of America. Bravo and thank you.

As a postscript, I'd like to add one more person to this list. She didn't make it to her 90's, but, in my opinion, her contributions to her art, deserve the same accolades.

Jeanne Cooper - 1928-2013 - 84. Miss Cooper is the last of the Soap Opera grande dames. It is true that there are many actors in daytime drama that are superstars, but Miss Cooper was the last one of her character type.  The longest serving member of the cast of "The Young and the Restless," Miss Cooper began her tenure six months into the show's run in 1973. She played Katherine Shepherd Reynolds Chancellor Thurston Sterling Murphy, the wealthy older woman who was in a triangle with the younger, poorer Jill Foster and her then-husband, Philip Chancellor.  Over the decades, Miss Cooper was rarely on the back burner portraying story lines that involved  alcoholism, kidnappings and her many, many marriages.  In other words, par for the course. What made Miss Cooper so enduring was her willingness to incorporate events in her own life into Katherine's story. Most famously this included the actress' facelift, shown on camera in 1984. Miss Cooper was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Daytime Emmy Award in 2004. She then, deservedly, won the Outstanding Performance by a Leading Actress in a Daytime Drama Emmy in 2008.  She was 80 when she won.  Outside the word of daytime drama, she was best known as the mother of actor Corbin Bernsen. To her fans she will always be the irreplaceable Mrs. Chancellor.

May all these artists rest in peace knowing that their impact on the world of the performing arts will endure.

Breakfast at Tiffany's at the Cort Theatre --- What Went Wrong

I am dropping the third person "writing a review" persona on this post.  I saw Breakfast at Tiffany's on Sunday, April 14, 2013. The show closed one week later on April 21, 2013.  This will serve as a critique of the script and the production rather than a more traditional review.  As the show has closed I will reveal several plot points that in other circumstances would be considered spoilers.

Truman Capote wrote his novella in 1958.  Set in the middle of the second World War it is the narrated tale of Holly Golightly, a teenage girl from a poor, rural background, who ran away first to Hollywood and then to New York, where she makes a living as an entertaining companion to wealthy men.  Mr. Capote preferred that Holly not be seen as a call girl or prostitute, but as an American Geisha. Made into a very popular film in 1961 that updated the setting to the then present day, and gave the narrator and Holly a bittersweet romance and a happily ever after, the film version has become the iconic version of the story, preserved in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.  Audrey Hepburn is forever Holly, although she was not really what Capote intended. (He famously wanted Marilyn Monroe to play the part).

Theatrically the novella has been adapted several times, most notably in a mid-60's Broadway musical that closed after only four performances.  The current attempts to dramatize the story led to a script by Samuel Adamson for a 2009 production at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in London and the now closed 2013 Broadway production with a script by Richard Greenberg.  So, what went wrong with the latest adaptation?  Why couldn't Game of Thrones actress Emilia Clarke sell enough tickets to keep the show going through awards season?

Mr. Greenberg's script is reminiscent of Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie in its structure.  It is a memory play recalled by the narrator (Cory Michael Smith), named Fred by Holly and Joe the bartender (George Wendt).  Joe and Fred have always wondered what happened to Holly when she vanished in 1944 and a photograph from present day Africa gives the men hope that she is alive and well.  Flashing back to 1943, Fred, an aspiring writer, moves into a tiny brownstone apartment.  One night, a young woman crawls into his room through the fire escape. Holly Golightly is fleeing one of her clients.  The two strike up a friendship, with Fred developing a crush on Holly.

We are introduced to several characters, including tenants of the brownstone including Holly's former Hollywood agent, her suitors and a rival. When I watched the Broadway production I was struck by the number of secondary and tertiary characters played by the ensemble of twelve actors.  Here is where the first problem with the script occurs.  Hardly any of these secondary characters is fleshed out into a three-dimensional human being.  We don't care about her wealthy suitor Rusty Trawler and when he up and marries Holly's friend and rival Mag Wildwood, there isn't enough dramatic tension for the audience to sympathize with Holly's emotional fury at Mag's betrayal.  The same occurs during her romance with the diplomat Jose.  Even Joe the bartender, who from his appearance in the opening scene leads you to believe that he will play an important supportive role to the two leading characters, barely makes an appearance in the rest of the show.  If Mr. Greenberg had reduced the number of Capote's characters so that the important ones to the story could have a more meaningful existence than the play might have been a more compelling drama.

The narrator, who never reveals his real name, seems to be content to be known by the name bestowed upon him by Holly in honor of her beloved brother. Fred is a bit of an enigma.  He is not the gigolo portrayed by George Peppard in the 1961 film.  Capote hints that he is homosexual and the play does show him being propositioned by a potential employer and being fired from his magazine job for seeking bathroom encounters with men.  But, this comes off in the play as superficial.  We are never allowed to see what makes Fred really tick.  His romance with Holly, when it happens, doesn't have the emotional punch that it should.  Mr. Smith was perfectly adequate given the limitations of the script.

This leads us to Holly.  As portrayed by Emilia Clarke she had the right youthful look and the actress was absolutely stunning in Colleen Atwood's 1940's costumes.  Yet, something was off.  She does not have the problem that Audrey Hepburn had of being too sophisticated to pull off the country hick from Texas masquerading as a posh good time girl.   Ms. Clarke can play a wide range of emotions, simply witness her character's arc from child bride to warrior queen on Game of Thrones. As Holly Golightly Ms. Clarke is missing Holly's barrier of steel that she has built to hide her rather horrific past.  Holly, real name Lula Mae Barnes, was sexually abused as a child (she mentions that anything before the age of 13 doesn't count).  She was married to the much older Doc at the age of 14 and she walked away from her Texas home.  When Doc shows up in New York City to bring her home, Holly jumps into bed with him.  It is a rather disturbing scene.  Murphy Guyer, who played Doc in the production, was folksy and sympathetic as was Buddy Ebsen in the film.  There should be an uncomfortable reaction by the audience to this distasteful revelation about Holly's past.  Like all of Holly's disturbing lifestyle revelations being a child bride just seems another part of the mystery to check off rather than an giving us any deeper understanding about the life Holly fled and is trying to hide.

Ms. Clarke is a very good actress, and she had both a devil-may-care attitude on the surface and genuine vulnerability when the script called for it.  Yet, she just didn't have the art of being the real phony that Holly is described as being  by her former agent, Sid Arbuck.  Given the material, Ms. Clarke was also less likely to attract the fans of Game of Thrones which, coupled with the lukewarm reviews doomed this production to an early demise.

This script and production had potential.  What it would have benefited from were a few regional theater outings where the scripts shortcomings could have been addressed.  Perhaps it or the West End script will get additional outings and the right version of Truman Capote's story will finally get its proper due.