Jill Bari Steinberg - Part III

After introducing you to Evan Nasteff yesterday, today we're back for Part 3 of our interview with Jill Bari Steinberg. I guess we're testing your ability to multi-task. I'd know for sure what we're doing but I'm too confused. Anyway, in case you need reminding, Jill Bari is appearing this weekend and next in Kimberly Akimbo, the quirky comedy that is attracting new fans every day. Kimberly is produced by Cadence Theatre Company in partnership with Barksdale's Theatre Gym. Following unanimously rave reviews, its final five performances are as follows: Saturday Oct 29 @ 8 pm, Tuesday Nov 1 @ 7 pm, Thursday Nov 3 @ 8 pm, Friday Nov 4 @ 8 pm, Saturday Nov 5 @ 8 pm. We hope you'll join us for the fun!

Q - Hi Jill Bari. We're glad to have you back. Sorry we had to bump Part 3 of your interview so we could sneak in a little promo for Becky's New Car?

A - Is that what that Evan the Bartender thing was all about?

Q - Well, sort of.

A - Yuuuch. (a Yiddish noise that sounds like a shoulder shrug) I did like his joke about the top hat. (deep, dirty chuckle)

Q - Anyway, Kimberly Akimbo concerns a dysfunctional family, and your character is a major part of the dysfunction. What does this family have to say to us? Why should we spend two hours with them?

A - “What dysfunction? I’m just trying to get to Miami . I don’t understand the question. Do you have a spare $20?” – That’s what Debra would say. I have yet to meet a family that was dysfunction-free. For that reason alone people should like this play. Either they will recognize themselves, recognize their family members, they will be happy they're not as crazy as the Levacos, or probably a little of all the above. Through the Levaco’s dysfunction there is a real positive message about living life.

Q - Speaking of living life, how did you meet Steve and how does he deal with your theatre habit?

A - I met Steve because of theatre. I was in a Firehouse show and the stage manager, Kathleen Boyle, had a birthday so we took her to a place she liked called Chuggers. I had never been there. Steve's band was playing a gig there and then we got married. It only took 8 years. As a musician he understands being an artist and has only ever supported me and encouraged me. He was even in Hedwig with me at the Firehouse. He was great!

Q - Barksdale strives to be a major national theatre. Does Richmond need a major national theatre, or would our community's artists and audiences be just as well served if all the theatres were of a smaller size?

A - I think the more theatre the better, that being said I do prefer quality over quantity, that being said many smaller theatres in Richmond put out great quality shows, that being said...oh, I don't know what I'm saying anymore. These questions are too hard.

It would be great if Barksdale was a major national theatre. They already are in my mind. And it would be great for our city if Barksdale gained even more national attention.

Q - All of us at Barksdale believe we benefit from constructive suggestions. If you could change one thing at Barksdale, what would it be?

A - A year ago I would have said please bring back Theatre Gym but that's what you just did! Now I wish only for calm seas and smooth sailing, financially speaking. And I know that's not easy.

Q - What's the weirdest audition experience you've ever had?

A - Years ago I was at an audition and I was in a packed room full of actors I didn't know. I read the scene and the director asked me to read it again. That was all he said – “Read it again." I don't like auditioning in front of crowds of other actors. Auditions are hard enough and that is a lot of pressure, especially in a room full of strangers. So I was already not feeling very confident and I had only been cast in two plays in Richmond at that point and didn't know a lot of people but I read it again anyway. The director looked at me and said loud enough so everyone could hear, "When I asked you to read it again I meant with more personality, not less." I must have looked like someone punched me in the gut. I just walked out. Now that I have been in this city so long I always make it a point to introduce myself to the new guys at the auditions if I can. I remember that feeling of being sort of an outsider and it sucked.

I have never had an experience like that since then and I never auditioned for that director again. But I hope he saw The Syringa Tree.

Coincidentally that was also the day I won a Phoebe Award for A View from The Bridge. After I left that horrible audition I ran into my friend Paul James in the lobby and he said “Congratulations, Jill Bari!” I looked at him like he had two heads and said “What do you mean, Congratulations? I was just humiliated in that audition!” He just smiled and said “You just won a Phoebe.”

It ended up being a pretty good day after all.

(Photo captions: top - hosting the first RTCC Awards, with Duke Lafoon and Vicki McLeod; middle - appearing in The Laramie Project with Theatre IV; bottom - her legendary performance in The Syringa Tree)

Two Wonderful Broadway Productions

Posted by Bruce Miller
I thought I'd write two last blog posts about Hannah's and my recent trip to NYC--this one covering the first two of the five shows we saw.

I know many of you may think we're insane to tackle five productions in three days. Of course, you're right. If we were in the city longer, or more frequently, we'd be happy to spread out the good times so that each show could steep a bit before it was time for us to gulp down the next.

Unfortunately we don't have that luxury. As it is, not only do we crowd five shows into too short a stay, we also leave town with five or ten shows we're eager, but unable, to fit in.

This trip, we flew into JFK on Friday morning, took the E train into Manhattan, shouted "Martha Newell" as our feet hit Broadway, and had lunch at Europa Cafe, a nice, simple and moderately-priced chain restaurant at the corner of Broadway and 53rd. We had an early check-in at the Edison, then made it to the ticket line by 3.

On most days, the TKTS booth in Times Square has one loooong line for musicals, and a very short line for plays. We wanted to see the revival of Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge, so we stood in the "Play Only" line for about 3 minutes before making to the window and buying our tickets for that evening's 8 pm performance--50% off.

A View from the Bridge is considered by many to be the last (and perhaps the least) of Miller's masterworks: All My Sons (1946), Death of a Salesman (1949), The Crucible (1953), A View from the Bridge (1956). But I'll go see a lesser Miller masterwork any day of the week.

This production starred Liev Schreiber and Scarlett Johansson. under Gregory Mosher's direction. Hannah and I both enjoyed the production a lot. Being a presumptuous nitpicker, I'd have to say that Liev Schreiber never quite let loose enough as Eddie Carbone, at least for my taste. The narrator, wonderfully played by Michael Christopher (playwright of The Shadow Box) says that he admired Eddie because he "let himself be completely known" (or some phrase very close to that). Eddie is a character of great Italian passion. To be honest, I thought Liev Schreiber always maintained a little bit of masculine reserve, never truly revealing that passion. But maybe that's just me.

Scarlett Johansson was understated and actually very good--not at all the starlet one might expect. In fact, the entire cast was terrific and both Hannah and I recommend the show without reservation.
On Saturday, we saw the matinee of A Little Night Music, for which we had purchased tickets in advance. Night Music is a sold out hit, and there's no chance it will be on the TKTS line anytime soon.

As I mentioned before, we both loved the production. If you want a broader take on Night Music, watch the "Word of Mouth" reviews on Broadway.com. Two of the three intelligent theatregoers loved the show as we did. The script, score and production left the third theatregoer cold.

Truth be told, the script and score are somewhat esoteric, and will not be to everyone's liking. I'm not trying to be pompous, but I'll go out on a limb and say that Night Music is a "thinking man's" musical.

If you are a reader, if you enjoy Masterpiece Theatre, if you look forward to seeing plays as well as musicals, if you enjoy language, then I think it likely that you'll love A Little Night Music.

If you would choose to see Hairspray, Nunsense, or Joseph...Dreamcoat for the third time rather than venture out to the revival of Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge, then Night Music may not be your cup of tea.

Regarding this production, anyone and everyone should go if for no other reason than to see Angela Lansbury in a career-defining performance. Granted, I saw and loved Lansbury as Mame, as Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd, and as Mama Rose in her revival of Gypsy (my favorite Gypsy, by the way). Her Night Music character, Madame Armfeldt, is a former courtesan approaching the end of her days. She observes the wild romantic antics of the other characters from a distance, recalling the artfulness of past romances, regretting the wantonness of "modern" society.

"Where is style, where is skill, where is forethought," she sings. This from an extraordinary actress who has personified style, skill and forethought throughout a nearly 60 year career. Not only is her current performance close to perfection, the resonance that her mere presence on stage adds to the proceedings turns this into a history-making moment that no theatre lover should miss.

Catherine Zeta-Jones, as Desiree, actually holds her own among exalted company. Now I'm sounding pompous again. Who the heck am I to even comment on great stars like Liev Schreiber and Catherine Zeta-Jones? I'll just say this. Her star power is undeniable. Her acting, singing and movement impress. Her's is a Desiree with whom it is easy to fall in love.

Personally, I think she's a little too young and gorgeous for a character whom I believe should be a bit closer to a turning point in life when she feels that her most attractive days will soon be behind her. Personally, she'll never erase my memory of the luminous Glynis Johns. Having said that, I enjoyed and respected her performance, and felt she contributed to the overall wonder of the show.

Trevor Nunn, who I think is a brilliant director, urges at least two of the supporting characters to be a little too broad, again, in my humble opinion. To me the characters are simple, but they are directed in this production also to be a bit buffoonish. Again, that is nitpicking.

I missed the eloquence and heightened formality of the grand dinner in Act II of the original production. When Henrik purposefully shatters his glass, it has less of an impact when it happens at a picnic on the lawn.

Also I missed the full orchestra of the original, but only to any measurable extent on A Weekend in the Country, the rousing finale to Act I.

What I LOVED was the spirit of the piece, and the production's commitment to the depth of a story which can easily be treated as frivolous fluff. I found it moving, thoughtful, and filled with romance and delight. Again, Hannah and I recommend it without reservation.

Soon I'll be back to talk about Ragtime, God of Carnage and Time Stands Still.

--Bruce Miller

My Favorite Musical

Posted by Bruce Miller
Ask anyone who knows me to name my favorite musical and they will say A Little Night Music. It's held the number one spot, with no serious competition, since that spring night in 1973 when I sat on the first row of the mezzanine, slightly house right of center, swept away by the original production and the original cast.

I was 22 years old. This, I thought, is what Broadway is all about.

The images that were burned into my psyche that evening will last, I hope, my lifetime. Glynis Johns, sitting alone on her white bed in that red dress singing Send in the Clowns absolutely broke my heart. And what followed on stage thereafter not only repaired my lovelorn passions, it all sent me out into the balmy night on a song, feeling wiser and deeper than I had felt when I walked into that theatre expecting only the opportunity to see a show.

I thought the entire cast, the direction and the design were exceptional. Mostly, the script, music and lyrics connected more deeply with my soul than any other musical before or since.

When I heard that Night Music was being revived on Broadway this season with Catherine Zeta-Jones as Desiree and Angela Lansbury as her mother, I really wanted to go. Most particularly, I really wanted to take my daughter Hannah, the other theatre LOVER in my family. (Terrie and Curt put up with my passion for the stage, and faithfully attend play after play, but they have passions of their own that far outweigh theatre.)

This past weekend, Hannah and I spent four days and three nights seeing five Broadway shows, including A Little Night Music. I have no time to write about the trip or the show this morning, but let me say this. We both LOVED the revival.

Watching this very different production, I completely remembered everything that once captured my heart. Best of all, Hannah left the theatre saying this was now her favorite Broadway production. And meaning it. And she's seen a lot.

I look forward to writing more later, about the revival of Night Music, and our other visits to A View from the Bridge, Ragtime, God of Carnage and the new Donald Margulies play, Time Stands Still.

I'll also write about our visits with Barksdale/Theatre IV friends Zak Resnick, Mark Ludden, Hunter Herdlicka (starring as Henrik in A Little Night Music) Corey Bradley (making his Broadway debut in the ensemble of Ragtime, which closed on Sunday), and Lizzie Holland.

--Bruce Miller