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Presents:

s the go-to source for the very best of New York City living, Resident Magazine aims to bring its readers into the heart and soul of what makes this city the best place on earth. Of course, there are countless reasons New York is the epicenter of it all—from the food and fashion to the culture and people—but there’s one thing that makes New York truly one-of-a-kind: Theater.

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Whether Broadway or Off-Broadway (or Off-Off Broadway!), the theater in New York City is undeniably the best. It brings together the most talented people in the world and creates a living, breathing testament to the impact of art on our lives. As New Yorkers, we are so lucky to have access to the greatest theater, each and every day.

At Resident, we want to help our readers take advantage of this. We aim to present them with interviews, features, reviews, and cover stories that bring them intimate inside access into the theater world, getting them behind the curtain and onto the stage, engaging them and helping them to share our love of the theater. We continue to bring them conversations with Broadway’s newest, brightest, and best, and hope to inspire our readers to take full advantage of what we know to be the finest theater in all the world.

Inside, you’ll find a small example of some of the ways in which we’ve brought our love of the theater to our readers.

After all, there’s no business like show business!

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Renée’s New York H

aving performed on the city’s stages for over a decade, Renée is as New York as they come. And while she spends her nights at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in the heart of the theater district, home is where her heart is—“I'm in love,” she says, “with my neighborhood, South Harlem.”

Now lovingly referred to as Manhattan’s “Gold Coast,” the area is a hotbed of new dining, nightlife, entertainment, and culture.

“Everything I love about New York City is here in this neighborhood,” Renée points out. “There are students, families, international residents and visitors, people who’ve lived in Harlem for generations. The restaurants are diverse and awesome. It’s got everything I love.”

So what are some of the neighborhood’s many gems?

Sundae Sermon

“A big, awesome house music party,” says Renee, this free, familyfriendly extravaganza in St. Nicholas Park features DJs and live music, and its mission, according to the organizers, is “to support the spirit and strengthen the Harlem community by providing a platform to promote environmental, educational and recreational family friendly activities in a healthy, casual communal environment. sundaesermon.com

Bier International

Bier International is a favorite among New Yorkers—and not just the Harlem locals. It’s a beer garden with great outdoor seating, and feels as friendly and communal as the neighborhood itself. bierinternational.com

The Studio Museum in Harlem

We love this art-filled, modern space, dedicated to making fine art accessible while capturing the heart and soul of the neighborhood. studiomuseum.org

August 2015 Resident • 63

Curtain Call Exciting Off-Broadway Offerings This Fall

By Barry Bassis

For some of the most innovative and exciting theater, Off-Broadway beckons this season: 1. Eclipsed The Public Theater is presenting the New York premiere of “Eclipsed” by playwright/ actress Dani Gurira, directed by Liesl Tommy.

Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o will star.

The drama is set in Liberia during the civil war in 2003. The central characters are four women held captive by the insurgents fighting President Charles Taylor. They are all “wives” of the rebel leader and refer to themselves

I, he volunteered in the Royal Army Medical Corps, and died in the Battle of Loos in 1915, when he was only 29.

“The New Morality” is a satirical comedy set on a houseboat on the Thames in 1911 during an exceptionally hot summer. The husband on one houseboat begins paying too much attention to the wife of his neighbor. This sets off a chain of events that disturbs the serenity of the riverboat community. The play was not performed during Chapin’s lifetime.

“The New Morality” is running until October 11. Christian Campbell

3. Antigone at BAM

Lupita Nyong’o, Courtesy Alexi Lubomirski for Lancôme

by number, indicating their place in the female hierarchy. Number 1 (Helena) is the first to be captured and number 4 is a 15-year old girl (to whom Helena has given shelter and tries to protect from the inevitable sexual slavery). Their behavior ranges from solidarity with their peers to joining in the rampant violence.

Belgian director Ivo van Hove has two productions headed to New York from London.

Broadway audiences will be able to catch his Olivier Award-winning “A View from the Bridge.”

As part of 2015 Next Wave Festival, BAM will present van Hove’s production of Sophocles’ “Antigone,” which ran at London’s Barbican Theater. The text is a new translation by Anne

The Mint Theater has a distinguished record of finding forgotten plays and giving them sparkling productions.

The fall season is beginning with “The New Morality” by Harold Chapin, directed by Jonathan Bank (the Mint’s artistic director).

Chapin was born in Brooklyn in 1886, but at age three his actress mother brought him to England, where he became an actor at age 7, and later a stage manager and playwright. At the beginning of World War

“Antigone” will be running at BAM’s Harvey Theater from September 24 to October 4.

4. Lazarus How about one more Ivo van Hove production?

New York Theatre Workshop will present a new musical, “Lazarus,” inspired by “The Man Who Fell to Earth.” David Bowie starred in the movie. The lead role of the alien in the stage version will be played by Michael C. Hall. Bowie has composed new songs for the show and re-arranged some of his earlier pieces. The book is by Enda Walsh.

“Lazarus” starts previews on November 18 and opens on December 7.

5. Ripcord Manhattan Theatre Club is about to present its sixth collaboration with David LindsayAbaire. “Ripcord,” his latest comedy, will be directed by David Hyde Pierce.

“Ripcord” is set in the Bristol Place Assisted Living Facility. Abby (Holland Taylor) has one of the nicer rooms, but is saddled with a new roommate, Marilyn (Marylouise Burke). They embark on a deadly turf battle.

“Eclipsed” is running from September 29 November 8.

2. The New Morality

citizenship as the ultimate virtue. This is more than a mere difference of opinion; the two are headed for a fatal clash. The production is performed in modern dress.

Antigone, Photo by Jan Versweyveld

Carson, and the title role is played by Juliette Binoche, who last appeared at BAM in a dance duet piece “In-I” with choreographer Akram Khan.

“Antigone” is one of those irresistible forceimmovable object confrontations. King Kreon decrees that Antigone’s dead brother Polyneikes should not be buried because he was a traitor.

Antigone and Kreon debate their opposing views: She says she was “born to share in love, not hatred” while he places good

This sounds like a throwback to LindsayAbaire’s earlier absurdist comedies (which, like many of his works, starred Marylouise Burke). With the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Rabbit Hole,” he moved into serious drama (about a family suffering the loss of its young child) and followed that with the sensitive “Good People.”

Previews for “Ripcord” begin on Tuesday, September 29, with opening set for Tuesday, October 20.

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¥BEST!OF!NEW!YORKÔ

TEAL WICKS

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Finding Neverland’s Star Talks Broadway and Beyond

By Pamela Jacobs and Olia Golovkina Grammy Award and three Tonys. She then claimed the role in the San Francisco production, and in 2011, made the big move to Broadway.

In 2013, while playing the role of Emma Carew in Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical on Broadway, Wicks was described as “outstanding and captivating” and “supremely memorable,” and multiple reviews said Wicks “stole the show.”

Throughout her career, the word “enchanting” has been used to describe her, both on stage and off. We agree.

We got the chance to sit down with the talented singer and performer and discuss her path to Broadway, as well as her career’s future. We found a charismatic, approachable, kind person who, no doubt, is headed for even bigger things.

Olia Golovkina: What do you like most about your character [Mary Barrie]?

Teal Wicks: What I am enjoying the

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ames Matthew Barrie is a disappointed writer whose latest play is a disaster. Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, a widow who recently lost her husband to cancer, is the single mother of four boys. The six meet one day at Kensington Gardens in London. They play. They create their own magical realm. Months later, Barrie puts on a play unlike any other; the story of Peter Pan, or the Boy Who Would Not Grow Up goes on to ripple through households, permeating folklore around the world.

Today, the real people who inspired Barrie’s

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masterpiece come alive on stage in Broadway’s Finding Neverland.

The musical, directed by Tony Award-winner Diane Paulus, stars Matthew Morrison as James Barrie, while Laura Michelle Kelly plays Sylvia Davies. They are joined on stage by Carolee Carmello, Anthony Warlow, and Teal Wicks—the actress behind Mary Ansell Barrie, James Barrie’s socialite wife. Wicks emerged on the Los Angeles musical theater scene in 2008 as Elphaba in Wicked—the show that has won over 100 international awards, including the

most is that she’s very different from me.

She’s more of, I think, a character than I’ve ever played. She’s cool, she’s kind of cold, she’s kind of snobby. He [her husband James Barrie] is trying to find himself, and she acts very much like a wall that he is constantly hitting against. It was sort of a test for me, as an actor. I mean, I always like to say that I find something of the characters within myself, or try to insert something endearing or relatable and real about the characters, and I found that with her. I think what she does is justified, but on the surface, she is definitely the most character-y, mean lady that I’ve ever played.

Pamela Jacobs:

You originated this role on Broadway; it was a movie before it was turned into a Broadway show. Did you watch the movie and take some of the way it was played, or do you approach it as

TW:

TW: Well, I loved the movie when it first

PJ: You do seem like a really down-to-earth person.

TW:

I try to be. It’s important; I sometimes worry though. It’s like, I wonder if I was a little more of a diva, what that would do, [laughs] if that would give me a little bit more ‘street cred’ in the theater world. to be a Broadway star?

OG: And you knew the Peter Pan story?

TW: I always wanted to. I fell in love with it TW: Yes, I looove Peter Pan. I say it’s my when I was little. I took dance, and my parents favorite fairy tale.

OG: Is it different now, now that you’re in the

TW: Yeah, when I saw it before I just loved

PJ: I know that the show [Finding Neverland]

pinnacle of theater. Was it for you always? Like, ‘If I make it to Broadway, I’ve made it’?

TW: Yeah, [laughs] that’s what I always have to keep reminding myself, because now that’s my job.

PJ: Do you always want to stay in theater?

TW: I would love to do other things. I’ve

done a little bit of TV [The Good Wife, Elementary, etc.]. I would love to do film, or at least try film. I don’t know if I would love it or if I would hate it; it’s a different world. It has its own timelines and rules and the way it’s shot, so it would be interesting to work on a film to see how different that is.

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the fantasy of it all. I wanted to fly, I wanted to hang out with pirates and mermaids and Indians on this magical island where there are fairies. And now, being older, and now knowing more of where the idea for Peter Pan came from—from this man who was still kind of like a child himself, but forced to live in an obviously very mature, very strict social world—I mean Peter Pan is the essence of being carefree, being a child—now it’s probably going to make me cry more than it would make me laugh and dance. Cry in the happy-nostalgia way.

PJ: And to me, Broadway seems like it’s the

And when asked whether Broadway stars really do visit theater classics like Sardi’s (234 West 44th Street), Teal says that she has definitely been there: “Sardi’s has this great Actor Lunch that’s in-between shows. You can go and get a discount on their menu.” Plus, the bar offers delicious cocktails with complimentary bar snacks. “I’m addicted to bar snacks,” laughs Wicks. And it seems that the rumors are indeed correct, because it’s at Sardi’s that she reports running into Angela Lansbury: “That was really cool. I was like, ‘Oh! Hi, hello, lovely to meet you.’ She was very sweet—very British and very sweet.” She smiles, then adds, “It was one of those, ‘Do I say something? Do I say something? I should say that. I mean, I’m an actress. We do the same thing. We probably know the same people. So this is fine.’”

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[Finding Neverland] production? Do you have a different opinion of the actual [Peter Pan] story?

always took me to the theater and to any sort of live performance, and I fell in love with the stage. When I realized that that was a career path, I knew that was what I wanted.

For a good dinner in the Theater District, Teal Wicks enjoys Bocca di Bacco (635 Ninth Avenue) for its selection of delicious Italian dishes, including antipasti, cured meats, cheeses, pastas, and large plates. She also loved The Marshal (628 Tenth Avenue)—a cozy farm-to-table restaurant. “I love farm-totable,” says Wicks, “another thing being from California, of course.”

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OG: Did you always know that you were going

First off: Coffee. “Coffee is a little bit of a problem for me,” jokes Wicks. Her designated coffee stop is Frisson Espresso (326 West 47th Street): “That’s kind of like my go-to coffee place. I have a punch card that probably about every two weeks I get free coffee.” Wicks also frequents Blue Bottle Coffee at the Gotham Market (600 11th Avenue). “I’ve lived in San Francisco for a little bit, and I fell in love with Blue Bottle Coffee,” she confesses; the California-based chain of cafés “reminds me of the Ferry Building in San Francisco.”

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came out, and I didn’t really remember the wife [Mary Barrie] role all that much, but when I auditioned for the show, I didn’t want to watch the movie again. I knew that it’s the same story, but it’s told in a different way. I remember the movie being beautiful. I also remember it being really sad. And our show—it’s a Broadway musical, so you have to have the ups and fun songs, and dancy songs, and then the ballads, and there’s a lot more humor in it, because you want to make the audiences laugh, and then make them cry. So I just knew that it was going to be different.

So where does this New Yorker go once the curtain drops? “I’ve been in New York for almost ten years,” says Wicks, “and I still could not tell you my favorite restaurant.” She is, of course, referring to the wide variety of food options—in Manhattan alone—that make New York the rare city it is. But since we were seated in a coffee shop in the Theater District, Wicks was nice enough to share her favorites in this neck of the (urban) woods.

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completely separate?

Yes, I think so. One thing I absolutely love, no matter what happens with the show, is the company of people. We are like a little family. Everybody has really great souls, really lovely hearts, and came into the show with lots of passion and really appreciating the show and everybody involved. And that was really special. I mean, in the theater community, there’s a lot of great people, and for the most part, in every production you become like a little family, but this is one of the few shows that everybody, across the board, is on that same level. And I think that actually has to do with our director, Diane [Paulus]. She seeks out talent and intellect, but I think she also found people that all clicked together. And I don’t really know how she did that.

Teal Wicks’ New York

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is the only one on Broadway that has a female director-choreographer team, plus there is a large female cast, so it’s really female-driven.

Do you sense that? Does it have a feeling of female comradery?

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By Olia Golovkina

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Broadway’s••Jersey Boys •

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The Men Who Were the Four Seasons:

Matt Bogart, Joseph Leo Bwarie, Quinn VanAntwerp, and Richard H. Blake.

Photo by Joan Marcus.

WHAT’S HOT family

So ends “Who Loves You,” the hit by the Four Seasons performed by Broadway’s Jersey Boys: Richard Blake, Matt Bogart, Joseph Bwarie, and Quinn VanAntwerp—the actor counterparts to the real-life band members Tommy DeVito, Nick Massi, Frankie Valli, and Bob Gaudio, respectively. They are joined on stage by female singers and players of various instruments as the four wade through life from mediocrity to notoriety and back to mediocrity. The story materializes through the songs that led the New Jersey natives to stardom—“Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Walk Like A Man,” “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” and “December, 1963

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our men in suits stand center stage as the last line of an upbeat melody—“who loves you pretty baby”—becomes a chorus of male voices caught on a high octave. The next beat hits and the voices rise higher, to a note seemingly unreachable with human vocal chords. Then both lights and music simultaneously go out. But the pause is brief: the roar of the audience rises almost instantaneously.

(Oh What A Night)”—and to the band’s eventual collapse.

The show, directed by two-time Tony award winner Des McAnuff and choreographed by Sergio Trujillo, with book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, music by Bob Gaudio, and lyrics

by Bob Crewe, has been running on Broadway for several years, yet acclaim has not ceased.

“Too good to be true!” hails New York Post.

“The crowd goes wild,” says the New York Times,

The company of Jersey Boys.

Photo by Joan Marcus.

“I’m talking about the real crowd at the August Wilson Theatre, who seem to have forgotten what year it is or how old they are…and everything that had led up to that curtain call feels as real and vivid as the sting of your hands clapping together.”

For a performance as visual as it is auditory, as soulful as it is upbeat, don’t miss Jersey Boys, now playing at the August Wilson Theatre.

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Finding Neverland A Musical Tale of How Peter Became Pan

By Elizabeth Darwen

F

inding Neverland, Broadway’s new smash-hit musical and winner of Broadway.com’s Audience Choice Award for Favorite New Musical, is currently playing at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. Since beginning performances in March, the production has established itself as one of Broadway’s must-see hits.

Starring Tony Award-nominee Matthew Morrison ( Glee , South Pacific ), Anthony Warlow (Annie), Olivier Award-winner Laura Michelle Kelly (Mary Poppins), and Resident’s “Best of New York”-pick Teal Wicks, and based on the Academy Award-winning movie by the same name, Finding Neverland follows playwright J.M. Barrie as he summons the courage to become the writer—and the man—he yearns to be.

Barrie finds the inspiration he’s been missing when he meets the beautiful widow Sylvia and her four young sons: Jack, George, Michael, and Peter. Delighted by the boys’ hilarious escapades, Barrie conjures the magical world of Neverland and writes a play unlike any the high-society London theatergoers have ever seen. It’s a tremendous risk, but as Barrie himself has discovered— when you believe, you can fly.

Directed by Tony Award-winner Diane Paulus (Pippin, Hair), with music and lyrics by Gary Barlow (Take That) and Grammy-winner Eliot Kennedy, book by Olivier Award-nominee James Graham, and choreography by Emmy Award-winner Mia Michaels (So You Think You Can Dance, Cirque du Soleil’s Delirium), this new musical, packed with mesmerizing visuals, irresistible songs, and plenty of laughs, is a timeless story about the power of imagination—and spectacular proof that you never really have to grow up.

Upon its opening, Entertainment Weekly proclaimed Finding Neverland “pixie-dusted perfection,” and added it to the magazine’s coveted “Must List.” “Touching and beautiful,” hailed the Daily News , while USA Today cheered, “Finding Neverland flies!” Vogue exclaimed, “Fabulous stage magic that you’ll remember for years to come!” WABC’s Sandy Kenyon raved, “A crowd-pleaser of the kind that’s too rare on Broadway these days.” And NPR called Finding Neverland “Magnificent!

Far-and-away the best musical of the season.

Finding Neverland should be found by everyone as soon as possible!”

For more information FindingNeverlandTheMusical.com

October 2015 Resident • 67

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Daddy Long Legs & Spring Awakening

By Barry Bassis Theatre (daddylonglegsmusical.com).

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In Frank Wedekind’s Spring Awakening, the teenagers are kept in deliberate ignorance of sex and suppressed by their overbearing teachers. First performed in 1906, the controversial play depicts both heterosexual and homosexual acts, child abuse, suicide, and abortion. In 2006, it was faithfully adapted into an award-winning rock musical with music

by Duncan Sheik and a book and lyrics by Steven Sater.

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he American novelist Jean Webster (18761916) and the German playwright Frank Wedekind (1864-1918) were both critical of their societies, but their works were polar opposites. Webster exuded a sunny personality while Wedekind’s plays were invariably dark and filled with death. Currently, both have musical versions of their creations that are worth seeing.

Daddy Long Legs, Webster’s 1912 novel, was adapted into a play by the author and has been the source of four movies: A silent in 1919 starring Mary Pickford, a 1931 talkie starring Janet Gaynor, a 1935 Shirley Temple adaptation titled Curly Top, and a 1955 musical starring Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron.

of Jerusha’s mind when she is exposed to a liberal education. Right from the start, she shows a writer’s talent, which is presumably why Jervis, for the first time, gave a scholarship to a girl.

She is a keen observer of wit and progressive in her views, supporting women’s suffrage and reform of orphanages, two causes Webster championed.

As Jerusha, Megan McGinnis is charming and sings like an angel and Paul Alexander Nolan manages to make the somewhat irritating Jervis more tolerable. Paul Gordon’s music and lyrics are appealing and Caird’s direction graceful.

This is highly recommended as family entertainment.

“Daddy Long Legs” is running at the Davenport

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Now, John Caird, best known as the co-adapter and director of Les Misérables, has brought to the intimate Davenport Theater a jewel of a musical, Daddy Long Legs.

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Jerusha Abbott is the oldest orphan in a dreary asylum, when she learns that a trustee will provide funds to send her to college. She doesn’t know the man’s identity—he calls himself John Smith—and his only requirement is that she send him one letter each month. He doesn’t correspond directly with her and she imagines he is an old man.

In fact, he is the young, good looking, and wealthy Jervis Pendleton. He is charmed by her letters and meets her through a schoolmate of hers who happens to be his relative, without revealing to Jerusha that he is her benefactor.

The main appeal of the story is the blossoming

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Megan McGinnis and Paul Alexander Nolan in Daddy long Legs Photo by Jeremy Daniel

The cast of Spring Awakening Photo by Joan Marcus

Now, Deaf West Theater has brought to Broadway a remarkable revival of the show, with pairs of actors, one hearing and one deaf, playing key roles. For example, Sandra Mae Frank (who is deaf) plays Wendla Bergmann, using sign language, while Katie Boeck sings and speaks the part. This is done for other characters as well. For example, Moritz Stiefel is portrayed by the deaf Daniel N. Durant and the hearing Alex Boniello.

Even some of the hearing actors sign their lines, occasionally with the words appearing on a blackboard. The signing fits in with the energetic choreography by Spencer Liff. The gorgeous score has never sounded better.

The adult figures are played by a distinguished group: Academy Award-winner Marlee Matlin, Camryn Manheim, the mellifluous voiced Patrick Page, and Russell Harvard.

Imaginatively directed by Michael Arden, Spring Awakening is a triumph. It is running through Jan. 24 at the Brooks Atkinson Theater (springawakening.com).

NEW SHOWS THE THEATER SEASON TAKES OFF: FIVE ON THE BOARDS

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By Barry Bassis

James Earl Jones and Cicely Tyson in The Gin Game.

Photo by Joan Marcus.

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he revival of The Gin Game at the Golden Theater is one production that theater lovers should not miss. The 1978 Pulitzer Prize-winning two-character play by D.L. Coburn is set on the back porch of a dilapidated nursing home. The two elderly characters, Weller Martin and Fonsia Dorsey, are basically discarded like the junk surrounding them. To pass the time, Weller offers to teach Fonsia to play gin rummy. Much of the humor is contained in their repartee as she turns the tables on him. The underlying sadness of their situation is revealed in the course of their games. That these subtle performances are being given by Jones at 84 and Tyson at 90 is amazing.

Leonard Foglia’s direction is praiseworthy.

On Your Feet!, the bio of Gloria and Emilio Estevan at the Marquis Theatre, is a singing and dancing treat, with a pulsating score by the Estevans and lively choreography by Sergio Trujillo.

The script by Alexander Dinelaris travels through some well-trodden paths: The artists finding their sound and then struggling to find an audience.

The twist here is that their fight was not to be pigeonholed into the Spanish language market and the script also deals with the plight of Cuban immigrants. Gloria’s father is first shown as a soldier in the U.S. Army and later bedridden with a terminal disease. Most of the drama in the second act deals with the traffic accident that almost ended Gloria’s career. Ana Villafane was born to play Gloria. Josh Segarra is credible as Emilio, though Elisio Roman as Gloria’s father has a better singing voice. Andrea Burns is superb as Gloria’s mother. Mark this down as another hit for director Jerry Mitchell.

Emile Zola’s novel Therese Raquin was a forerunner of those steamy James Cain adultery/murder stories, such as Double Indemnity and The Postman Always Rings Twice. Like those works, Zola’s cries out for a film noir approach. Unfortunately, the Roundabout’s production at Studio 54, directed by Evan Cabnet from Helen Edmundson‘s script, looks and sounds like “Masterpiece Theater,” complete with British accents. Beowulf Borrit’s set and Keith Parham‘s lighting are beautiful, as is the leading lady, Keira Knightley, but–despite her obvious talent–this is the wrong vehicle. A heavy breathing melodrama, it often evokes titters at inappropriate moments. Nevertheless, as

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the husband/victim’s mother, Judith Light creates another indelible portrait.

Trip of Love is a singing and dancing valentine to the 60s, the turbulent time of assassinations, the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, and the British Invasion (okay, the last one was peaceful). The results are mixed, ranging from great songs to some duds. At least there’s no script into which the musical numbers are dropped. Director/choreographer/creator James Walski does better with the trivial material (like a witty takeoff on beach blanket movies) than with the meaningful songs. His worst idea is having the excellent Laurie Wells sing Jacques Brel’s “Ne Me Quitte Pas” while two men in back of her are stripping to their underwear. After that, the guys put on uniforms, as if the Vietnam War is the reason they are leaving. (Is it a menage-a-trois? At least that’s French).

The other standout in the cast is Dionne Figgins, who sings and dances a hot version of “These Boots are Made for Walkin.’”

Keira Knightley and Judith Light in Therese Raquin.

Photo by Joan Marcus.

At the beginning of Sylvia, a middle-aged man named Greg (Matthew Broderick) finds a cute blonde in Central Park and brings her home, to the dismay of his wife Kate. The title character is played by Annaleigh Ashford and she is a dog, albeit one that often speaks to the audience and sometimes to the characters on stage. Much of the time she acts like a canine, causing embarrassment, as when she buries her nose in a visitor’s crotch. While her doggy ways irritate Kate, Greg becomes obsessed with the animal. In fact, his professional life and marriage both seem at risk. Versatile Robert Sella plays a man, a woman, and a marriage counselor of indeterminate gender. Julie White is fine in the un-showy role of Kate and Broderick is still in his Leo Bloom mode. A.R. Gurney’s script and Daniel Sullivan’s direction provide a steady stream of laughs. Ashford won a Tony last season and may be a contender again with her delightful doggy act.

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Shakespeare with a Twist

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ontinuing its wildly popular run, OffBroadway’s Drunk Shakespeare is guaranteed to make any night this holiday season intoxicatingly fun.

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Directed by David Hudson and produced by Scott Griffin, Drunk Shakespeare features a group of rotating actors (Alison Wien, Brandon Carter, Caitlin Morris, Josh Hyman, Josh Sauerman, Julia Giolzetti, Michael Amendola, Monique Sanchez, Tim Haber, Whit Leyenberger, and Adam Thomas Smith) who are at once classically-trained and completely inebriated. Each night, one of these performers downs at least five shots of whiskey before performing a Shakespeare play with the remaining (and sober) cast members. To up the ante, on Friday and Saturday nights a late show features a second performance by said whiskey drinker—meaning more drinking and

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more unexpected hilarity.

This drunken spontaneity occurs in The Lounge, a cozy hidden venue in the Theater District with over 9,000 books covering the walls, allowing audience members to bring a book and take one home. The middle of the space is a beautiful red stage entirely made up of books, and there’s a bar built into an 11-foot bookcase. This is the perfect must-see place to bring someone special for a holiday night out.

For those audience members looking for an extra-special (and sauced) evening, for $500 an audience member can become king of the night. The king receives a bottle of Moet & Chandon Champagne, handmade chocolates, caviar, two premium cocktails, and executive decision-making powers throughout the performance. If someone hasn’t purchased this

royal package by the time the show begins, they auction it off to the highest bidder.

With its completely unique brand of entertainment, an anything-can-happen vibe, and actors so talented Shakespeare himself would approve, this show is the perfect choice for a carefree and laughter-filled evening, and is a great idea for a holiday date night. Instead of choosing between being cultured and being hammered, here you get a little bit of both.

(FYI: The Lounge does not condone excessive drinking, and follows the health of their actors throughout the performance.)

For more information drunkshakespeare.com

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ARTs & CULTURE

The Illusionists •

••

By Olia Golovkina

BUZZ

LAST WORD

CAN’T MISS

REAL ESTATE

Yu Ho-Jin - The Manipulator

S

Adam Trent - The Futurist

James More - The Deceptionist

The Cast of The Illusionists

Raymond Crowe - The Unusualist

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Dan Sperry - The Anti-Conjurer

wine & dine

Broadway Like You’ve Never Seen It Before

tarting November 19th, there’s a new show on Broadway, and it doesn’t include a complex story line or piercing vocals— in fact, nothing at all that is typically associated with a Broadway performance. Think instead visual paradoxes, hair-rising illusions, and stunts that take adrenaline levels to new highs.

The Anti-Conjuror (Dan Sperry) specializes in shock illusions, and he has appeared on America’s Got Talent, FOX’s World Magic Awards, and TLC’s Cake Boss. The Deceptionist (James More) easily fools with his high-speed trickery; he has performed live for several large audiences, including Britain’s Got Talent. The Unusualist (Raymond Crowe) is a trained mime, ventriloquist, shadow puppeteer, and comedian who was a grand finalist on Australia’s Got Talent, while the Daredevil (Jonathan Goodwin) is a martial artist, archer, knife thrower, free

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ATURE

family

FASHION & BEAUTY

WHAT’S HOT

Returning to New York since its debut last year, when it broke box office records and was heralded as a “high-tech magic extravaganza” by the New York Times, the Illusionists, directed and choreographed by Neil Dorward, is a collaboration by the world’s most talented and best deceiving.

& WELLNESS

EscAPES

We’re talking, of course, about the Illusionists.

diver, free climber, and escape artist previously featured on 60 Minutes and Jimmy Kimmel Live!. The Manipulator (Yu Ho-Jin)—named 2014 Magician of the Year by the Academy of Magical Arts—will artistically make objects disappear before your eyes, and the Trickster (Jeff Hobson)—the “Host of Las Vegas”—will make you laugh, then return your definitely-notmissing watch. Finally, the Futurist (Adam Trent)—who has previously appeared on the Disney Channel, Travel Channel, and SyFy Network—will bring magic into the new age through the use of technology and dynamic media.

This one-of-a-kind spectacle is “jaw-dropping” (New York Daily News), “awesome! A solid ten!”

(NY1), and “Houdini times seven” (TheWrap).

The Daily Telegraph, Sydney says, “It’s deliciously, self-knowingly over the top and brain-bendingly spectacular—genuinely satisfying family entertainment that should not be missed.” And Australian Stage shouts, “Incredible, astounding, amusing, mystifying, perplexing, and challenging—all in all this is a magical, mystery tour de force. Be prepared to be amazed!”

Catch the magic at the Neil Simon Theater this holiday season, but hurry. The curtain closes

Jonathan Goodwin - The Daredevil

for good on January 3, 2016.

Spotlight on ComedianMagician Jeff Hobson With his title as “Host of Las Vegas,” his various television and live performances—including appearances on HBO, Showtime’s Comedy Club Network, and Fox Family’s Masters of Illusion among others, and entertainment for several Fortune 500 companies—Jeff Hobson has clearly been recognized as a master in his craft.

He amazes audiences with his ability to make objects dissolve into thin air, but he wins them over with his sharp and inclusive humor, his demeanor on stage. And this quality gives Hobson a unique comedian-magician angle for the winning combination.

We got the chance to speak with Hobson about his favorite onstage illusions, his humble beginnings, and the future of entertainment.

Here’s what he had to say.

Olia Golovkina: Do you see yourself as more of a comedian or a magician?

D

JH: Well, I saw a magician when I was very young and I decided right then, ‘You know what? That’s what I want to do for the rest of my life,’ and I never looked back. I’ve just been living a dream. Heck, I don’t even know what else to do! I think if I didn’t do my magic or comedy, I’d probably be homeless.

OG: Wow. So what drives you?

JH: Being an only child, I grew up fast, and I knew that the life that my family had I didn’t want to have for myself. The 80’s came around, where Detroit sort of lost its prestige as the auto-maker, and I could tell that the city was quite depressed, my family was quite depressed, and so I delved into magic as an escapism…I just took it upon myself and practiced every

OG: What was the name of the magician that you saw?

JH: His name was Wally Wilson and he was a Detroit police officer who went to schools and performed a magic show with the message of safety involved for the kids…well, I saw this guy [when I was young]–I didn’t know who it was, I didn’t know his name, didn’t remember anything—then in later years I was friends with this magician…and I didn’t put the two and two together that he was the same guy…it’s just a weird thing. I knew the guy but didn’t know that was the guy who started me on my magic career. And I wish I would have known and did my math and figured it out and thanked him before he died.

JH: Well it was a natural progression of things because, to educate magicians at the time when I was a child, you couldn’t just look on the internet, obviously, you had to find books that were buried in libraries. And, ironically, magic is the second-most written-about hobby in the world—hobby in the professional world, Jeff Hobson - The Trickster second only to photography—but the books on magic are 95 percent underground, and they’re self-published, privately-published, and passed around in the day, three to four hours a day after school, and trade. So I started reading these books and next thing, one show leads to another, and next next thing, when I was 11 I did my first show. I thing, I’m 15 years on the Vegas strip and now charged ten cents per person. [Laughs] I made on Broadway for my second season. a dollar ten that day, I had to split it with my partner, who I wanted to do the show with, so OG: So being part of [an ensemble] production we both made, you know, 55 cents, that was like the Illusionists versus doing your own show, do you like one over the other? a big deal.

JH: Sure, sure. And then at age 12 I got offered five dollars to do a birthday party…one show led to the next show, then I started doing family shows and birthday parties and family events

OG: Is there one trick or one magic performance that you would never want to divulge any information about?

JH: Well, the best thing that I believe I’m skillful at—and I’m probably best known for after the curtain comes down—is my ability to steal people’s belongings and then give it back to them afterwards. Being from Detroit, I’m just a natural thief [laughs]…especially stealing people’s watches. And there’s nothing better for me. My entertainment, when I perform, is to look at people’s faces with their jaw dropped and eyes bulging and the shock that they see me give their watch back and they didn’t know it was missing.

I just love that. I just relish it. It doesn’t get better than that, every night.

OG: And for you, do you see yourself going in a new direction [with your magic] in the future?

OG: So you went to his show and you started doing [magic] on your own and then eventually you started doing your own shows?

OG: That is a big deal! The first profits!

as opposed to doing my own one-man thing.

And it’s less pressure when there’s more people in a show…When you’re doing a one-man show, you’re it for an hour plus, for an hour and a half. And you have to be on constantly so it’s a little more difficult.

JH: Actually, because we [magicians] all know each other, it’s a family thing. It’s fun to be backstage. We’ll have poker games after the late show. Some nights we’ll get together as a family, we’ll go out to breakfast together…so I do prefer going with other people I suppose,

JH: I am the last of the baby boomers. The baby boomers just started to retire just in the past few years, and they’re going to be continuing to retire for the next twenty or so. And I believe that there is a huge gap in what is now the entertainment industry for those baby boomers…in the past few years more channels opened up on television that show retro-television… because I think a lot of people realize that entertainment was classic at a certain point in time, when we had Johnny Carson and those sorts of things. And a lot of people— those baby boomers—are now missing that nostalgia…so if I had to say, I would love to do television, and I would love to do something retro for the boomers, and I think I’d be good at it. So that would probably be my goal I think. That or writing my own one-man show for Broadway and traveling in the theater circuit.

OG: About the Illusionists , is there something that you could tell our readers— something that they would never guess about the show—that they would see if they attend the performance?

JH: Well, I’ll tell you this…when we were on Broadway last time, we got feedback pretty often saying, ‘We had no idea. This is so much better than what we expected. We weren’t expecting all of this type of magic. We were expecting the old-fashioned girl-in-the-boxcut-in-half sort of thing,’ but we don’t even do anything like that…so I would say: Expect the unexpected.

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ARTs & CULTURE

OG: Okay, so where did the magic come in?

for the next two years. And by the time I was 16 I was traveling around the United States and doing shows. So by the time I graduated high school I was actually making more money than my father.

HOME

Jeff Hobson: I suppose I was a class clown since I could remember. As a young child I always wanted to get the laughs and do the jokes, and then eventually I learned magic a few years after that. I guess I’m a natural-born clown and then magician second.

WHAT’S HOT

TERROR, TERROR,COMEDY, COMEDY,TRAGED TRAGE

Misery Misery,,Dames Damesat atSea Sea,,Al A

FEATURE

family

By Barry Bassis

Misery Stephen King’s novel Misery was adapted into a movie by William Goldman, who has now created a stage version (at the Broadhurst Theatre). The plot concerns a popular writer named Paul Sheldon, who is held captive by his self-proclaimed “number one fan,” Annie Wilkes. After a car accident, his legs are broken and he finds himself bed-ridden in Wilkes’s remote house. Audiences are drawn in by Bruce Willis, but it’s Laurie Metcalf as his deranged admirer who delivers the goods. (The same thing happened in the 1990 movie, for which Kathy Bates won the Oscar.) Leon Addison Brown is likeable as the local sheriff. Misery (directed by Will Frears) has some funny lines and quite a bit of violence. The best element may be David Korins’s revolving set.

Dames at Sea Dames at Sea is the little musical that could.

It opened off-off-Broadway in 1966 and introduced theatergoers to the teenaged Bernadette Peters. The show has been presented around the world—an entertaining British cast recording from 1969 has recently been issued

by Sony’s Masterworks Broadway. The musical has finally made it to Broadway, and while it’s a modest production, the cast is loaded with talent. The idea of Dames at Sea is to parody a 1930’s musical, like 42nd Street. So here the young lady gets off the bus and within minutes is cast in a show and meets her beau.

By the time of the opening, which takes place on a ship, she has been promoted to star. The songs by Jim Wise (music) and George Haimsohn and Robin Miller (lyrics) are also a pastiche of pop music of the era. The cast sings well, but the dancing, choreographed by Randy Skinner, is spectacular. As the ingénue, Eloise Kropp is a charmer. The rest of the cast is also tops: Cary Tedder as her boyfriend, Danny Gardner as his fellow sailor, Lesli Margherita as the resident diva, Mara Davi as an experienced chorus girl, and John Bolton in two very different roles. Kudos to orchestrator Jonathan Tunick and set designer Anna Louizos.

48 • Resident January 2016

WHAT’S HOT

EDY, EDY,AND AND JUST JUST PLAIN PLAIN FUN FUN

Allegiance Allegiance,,and andRipcord Ripcord

cover

Allegiance

REAL ESTATE

Allegiance (at Longacre Theatre) is the ambitious musical that deals with one of our nation’s gravest human rights violations: The internment of 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II. George Takei (Hikaru Sulu in the Star Trek series) plays a double role—as an elderly retired U.S. soldier and, in a flashback, as his grandfather. Adding to the impact is the fact that Takei and his family were among those imprisoned in the camps. Lea Salonga cancelled at the performance I attended, but her understudy Elena Wang was terrific, with a lovely singing voice. The show presents the schism between those Japanese Americans who insisted on joining the army and those who protested. (Telly Leung and Michael K. Lee are excellent as the two protagonists.) Jay Kuo’s songs are sometimes stirring and occasionally witty. The book by Kuo, Marc Acito, and Lorenzo Thione and the direction by Stafford Arima are somewhat uneven, but this is a show that moves and enlightens audiences.

LAST WORD

Ripcord

January 2016 Resident • 49

HOME

David Lindsay-Abaire’s Ripcord at Manhattan Theater Club is a return to the surrealistic comedies he wrote at the beginning of his career, before he won a Pulitzer Prize for the drama Rabbit Hole. Two women sharing a room in a nursing home become mortal enemies and play both funny and cruel tricks on one another. Directed by David Hyde Pierce with Marylouise Burke and Holland Taylor as the roommates, Ripcord has its ups and downs.

As nursing home shows go, stick with The Gin Game.

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