Word of the Week - SQUALL

Posted by Hannah Miller
This week’s theatre artist is the internationally renowned, Academy Award-winning film actress MERYL STREEP. This past Sunday, June 22, she celebrated her 59th birthday. Prior to her success in Hollywood, she was a highly acclaimed 26-year-old newcomer on Broadway. She thrilled her first NYC audience at Lincoln Center in the 1975 revival of the classic backstage comedy, Trelawny of the ‘Wells’.

Her Word of the Week is SQUALL, a verb she uttered and ably demonstrated during the 47 performances of her auspicious stage debut on the Great White Way.

Born with the given name Mary Louise, Streep’s first love was music. She made her vocal debut as a child singing O Holy Night in flawless French, perhaps foretelling her acclaimed ability to master any dialect. At an early age, she made plans to become an opera star and started vocal training at age 12.

As a student, she excelled academically but lacked confidence in social settings. This changed when she received a standing ovation as Marian the Librarian in her high school production of The Music Man. It was then that she “stopped feeling dorky” and was able to think of herself as a genuine performer. With new found self-assurance, she continued to act in many high school productions and ended up being named Homecoming Queen her senior year.

She studied theatre and English at Vassar, graduating in 1971. Wanting to continue her education, she enrolled in the Yale School of Drama and appeared in over 30 productions at Yale Repertory Theatre. She graduated with an MFA in theatre in 1975.

Her first big break came when she joined Joseph Papp’s New York Shakespeare Festival. Here, she had the opportunity to appear on Broadway not only in Trelawny of the ‘Wells’, but also, two months after Trelawny closed, in a double-bill of Tennessee Williams’ 27 Wagons Full of Cotton (pictured to the right) and Arthur Miller’s A Memory of Two Mondays. Her roles in these two plays couldn’t have been more different. Critics commended her versatility, and she was nominated for the 1976 Tony Award as Best Featured Actress.

She made her television debut in 1977 in Secret Service, a filming of her next Broadway production, launching her extremely successful career in Hollywood. (Secret Service is a Civil War era spy story set in Richmond. Theatre IV produced the stage version of Secret Service in the Empire in the early 90s.) In 1978, Streep won an Emmy Award for her performance in Holocaust, a miniseries.

Moving on to the big screen, Streep played small but memorable parts in Julia (appearing with Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave) and The Deer Hunter (appearing with Robert DeNiro). For The Deer Hunter, she earned her first of 14 Oscar nominations. She’s won twice. Subsequent film and television projects have included Woody Allen’s Manhattan (1979), Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), Sophie’s Choice (1982), Out of Africa (1985), The Hours (2002), Angels in America (2003 - and yes, that's Meryl in one of her Angels roles pictured above and to the left), The Devil Wears Prada (2006), Mamma Mia! (now playing), Doubt (opening later this year), and 47 other productions.

First produced in 1898, Trelawny of the ‘Wells’ is a comedy about how English theatre changed during the 1860s, leaving behind over-the-top melodramas and farces in favor of more realistic “cup and saucer” dramas, paving the path for Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw. During the final three decades of the 19th Century and the first three decades of the 20th, Sir Arthur Wing Pinero, author of Trelawny and many other hit plays, was among London’s five most successful and popular playwrights. He was a leader in bringing realism to popularity in England, and is best known today for his two masterworks, Trelawny and The Second Mrs. Tanqueray.

Near the end of Trelawny, Streep’s character Imogen (an actress and aspiring producer) speaks this line in the play within the play: “Miss Harrington, bring your work indoors and hear me SQUALL,” an allusion to the melodramatic acting style being lovingly satirized.

Until scanning through Trelawny, I had always thought of a SQUALL as a storm. When appearing as a noun, that’s exactly what it is—“a sudden strong wind or short violent storm.” However, when used as a verb, SQUALL refers to a human action or trait that is storm-like. Its definition is “to scream or cry loudly and harshly.”

Whether squalling, whispering or murmuring gently in a newly mastered accent, Meryl Streep is believed by many to be the finest film actress of her generation. It would be wonderful to see her return once again to her Broadway roots. Until then, we can seek out the NYC performances of her look-alike daughter, actress Mamie Gummer (pictured to the right), who recently made her Broadway debut in the Roundabout’s revival of Les Liaisons Dangereuses.

--Hannah Miller

With 13 Plays Opening, Several are Hits!

Posted by Bruce Miller
The prevailing image of Broadway will always be the big musical. But within the last four months, 80% of the openings were straight plays instead of tuners. Yesterday we considered the thirteen non-musicals that opened or began previews on Broadway between Labor Day and Christmas 2007. By my accounting, that’s the largest number of non-musicals to open during Broadway’s Fall Season since 1980-81, when 18 plays debuted during the same time period.

But quantity, as we know, is not everything. If the fourteen plays are mostly turkeys, then who cares how many of them opened. From my survey of the reviews, several of the plays appear to be critical successes, and are still running to large and appreciative houses. I'm sorry to say that I've yet to see any of them personally.

The season started off a little iffy, but has been gaining considerable steam.

Mauritius, pictured to the left, was the first play to begin previews last September. It's also the only one of the thirteen to be penned by a woman playwright. After some significant Off Broadway and regional theatre success, Theresa Rebeck, whose day jobs have included staff writer for NYPD Blue, made her Broadway debut with this comic thriller about a pair of very rare stamps, the two estranged sisters who inherit them, and the three tough men who want them. Among the mostly favorable reviews, the NY Times loved the production and paid respect to Rebeck’s “homage” to David Mamet’s American Buffalo, only with “added estrogen.” Longtime Barksdale family members Tom and Carlene Bass saw the show early in its run and loved it. Mauritius closed on Nov 25, a victim, at least in part, of the strike.

George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, pictured to the right, began previews one day after Mauritius. It's certainly not a new play—it’s among world theatre’s most beloved classics. Therefore much of the attention received by the production focused on the Broadway debut of Hollywood actress Claire Danes as Eliza Doolittle. Several reviewers were charmed by her, but more—including the NY Times—were less impressed. Moreover, the Henry Higgins of Jefferson Mays earned a lot of ink that was, for the most part, unfavorable. Nonetheless, the show completed its announced limited engagement and closed on Dec 16.

As if to disprove that cliché that says “the third time’s the charm,” the third show to open this fall was a third less-than-successful effort. The Ritz by Terrance McNally, pictured to the left, was a revival of an early gay-themed farce from the mid-70s. It ran for an unfortunate 69 performances, directed by Joe Mantello no less. The reviews were mostly negative, and the word of mouth was terrible for everyone except leading lady Rosie Perez, who emerged unscathed.

And here’s where things started to pick up. The fourth show to open was A Bronx Tale, written by and starring Chazz Palminteri, pictured to the right. The show originated Off Broadway in the late 80s and catapulted Mr. Palminteri into a film career, most notably appearing, unforgettably, in Woody Allen’s Bullets Over Broadway. At age 55, Mr. Palminteri has now revived his 90-minute one man show about growing up in the thrall of crime bosses and a hard working father. From all accounts, he continues to knock ‘em all dead, critics and audiences alike, in this highly acclaimed crowd pleaser.

Next up – Cyrano de Bergerac, starring Kevin Kline (pictured to the left) and TV star Jennifer Garner. The great news is that all participants seem to be winning hearts in an attractive production that is packing ‘em in. Kevin Kline, not for the first time, is being called “world class,” and Jennifer Garner is almost universally coming out on top of the list of Hollywood starlets who have recently tried their hand at Broadway (Julia Roberts, Amanda Peet, Claire Danes). Even the NY Times gave the leads and the show a rave.

The Farnsworth Invention, pictured to the right, began previews on Oct 15 and its opening was delayed by the strike until Dec 3. But it’s still running and drawing crowds, even after mixed reviews. I’ll admit, I'm a huge fan of Aaron Sorkin, the writer of not only Farnsworth but also Sports Night, The West Wing and the recently cancelled Studio 60. I’ll probably love this show about the invention of television, and I’m rooting for it. The NY Times gave the show a less than enthusiastic review, comparing it to a wonderfully produced school science project. Everyone seems to admire the acting and directing, it’s Sorkin’s writing that’s earning mixed notices.

Well, I’ve made it through six of the record-breaking fourteen shows. We’ll discuss the remaining seven—including at least one super-hit—tomorrow.

--Bruce Miller

Did Broadway Just Make History...or What?

Posted by Bruce Miller

Is it just me, or is Autumn 2007 going to go down in the record books as one of the most promising four-month periods for non-musicals on Broadway in the last several decades?

First of all, there was the issue of quantity—the subject of today’s blog post. We exited Labor Day with the promise of thirteen (count ‘em) plays slotted for a fall opening, and four musicals. When was the last time since the 70s that you saw a ratio like that?

The worthy entries in order of originally scheduled (pre-strike) first performance were:

Sept 13 - Mauritius, a new play by Theresa Rebeck, produced by the Manhattan Theatre Club;

Sept 14 - Pygmalion, pictured above and to the right, a revival of the classic by George Bernard Shaw, produced by Roundabout Theatre Company and starring no lesser lights than Claire Danes, Jefferson Mays and Boyd Gaines;

Also on Sept 14 – a revival of The Ritz by Terrance McNally, also produced by the Roundabout;

Oct 4 – A Bronx Tale, pictured above and to the left, a somewhat revived, somewhat new play written by and starring Chazz Palminteri, directed by Jerry Zaks;

Oct 12 – Cyrano de Bergerac, pictured to the right, a revival of the classic by Edmond Rostand (didn’t you love the Barksdale production?) starring Kevin Kline, Jennifer Garner and Daniel Sunjata;

Oct 15 – The Farnsworth Invention, pictured below, another brand new play by my favorite TV writer, Aaron Sorkin, about—what else—the beginning of television, starring Hank Azaria and Jimmi Simpson, directed by Des McAnuff;
Oct 19 – Rock ’n’ Roll, pictured to the left, a brainy transfer of a brand new play from London, by perhaps the world’s greatest living English-speaking writer, Tom Stoppard, directed by Trevor Nunn;

Oct 30 – August: Osage County, pictured to the right, the first of the two brand new plays named after months of the year, this one spawned at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre, by Tracy Letts;

Also on Oct 30 – The Seafarer, another brand new play by the prolific Irish playwright Conor McPherson;

Nov 1 – Cymbeline by William Shakespeare, starring Michael Cerveris and Phylicia Rashad;

Nov 8 – Is He Dead?, pictured below, the world premiere of a newly discovered play by Mark Twain, adapted by David Ives, starring Norbert Leo Butz (when you’ve got a name like that you’d better be funny), and directed by Michael Blakemore;
Nov 23 – a revival of The Homecoming by Nobel Prize winning playwright Harold Pinter (all right, some will argue that he’s the greatest living English-speaking playwright, and David Mamet fans, wait your turn), starring Eve Best, Raul Esparza, Michael McKean and Ian McShane;

and last but not least, Dec 20 – November, by David Mamet (yes, some will argue that he's… and Edward Albee fans, you’ll have to wait until his 80th birthday in March to make your case), starring Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf, directed by Joe Mantello.

Now that’s a Fall Season that any true-blue theatre aficionado would salivate over. Then of course came the strike, which shuffled some of the dates. And as the plays opened, the assessments of quality were varied, to say the least.

But any way you measure it, it was a Fall Season to make you stand up and cheer. Tomorrow, we’ll talk about quality, which will give us even more to cheer about—and look forward to as we plan our winter/spring NYC theatre weekends.

--Bruce Miller