Veganizing "Friends": Rachel's Birthday Flanby Randi / September 6, 2013
Lights up on Washington Heights
Up at the break of day
I wake up and I got this little punk I gotta chase away
Pop the grate at the crack of dawn
Sing while I wipe down the awning
Hey y’all, Good morning!
Up at the break of day
I wake up and I got this little punk I gotta chase away
Pop the grate at the crack of dawn
Sing while I wipe down the awning
Hey y’all, Good morning!
So begins “In The Heights”, the 2008 Tony-winning Broadway musical, gingerly but decisively setting the scene and bringing the audience into its world. It’s a bold open for this groundbreaking show, since many audience members are surprised by the nakedness – the main character, Usnavi, is talking directly to us, rapping to very little music, and it’s a bit startling. But by the time the music builds and more characters join in verse, you’re there with them in Washington Heights. It’s one of those opening numbers that actually gives you chills, if done well.
Luckily, the new production at Philadelphia’s Walnut Street Theatre (WST) is indeed done well. With a cast of mainly Latino actors (thank goodness), this regional production of “In The Heights” impressed me in many ways, and almost made me stop thinking about the Broadway production.
The show tells the story of a tight-knit community in the Washington Heights-section of way-northern Manhattan, in a neighborhood primarily composed of Dominican immigrants. Those in the neighborhood all work hard and struggle to make ends meet, but they would do anything for their friends and neighbors, who are more like family. The local abuela is the neighborhood abuela, and when one of them suffers, they all suffer.
“In the heights
I flip the lights
And start my day
There are fights
And endless debts
And bills to pay”
“In The Heights”, written by the dream team of Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegria Hudes, was a game changer when it debuted, like “Rent” was in its day. The style reflected modern times, with a score of rap and hip-hop, subverting what we took for granted about musical theatre while also paying tribute to it. If you were lucky enough to see the show on Broadway, especially with Miranda in the lead role, you know how hard it is to forget that experience, and the magic Miranda brought to it.
While I reminisced about Miranda’s unlimited charisma and talent a few times, the Walnut Street’s Usnavi, Perry Young, took over the role with aplomb. You miss some lines, as few people can spit out so many words as clearly as Miranda, but Young did an impressive job overall with the challenging role.
A few actors in the WST cast stunned me with their superb performances. Two supporting male characters, Benny and Sonny, respectively provide heart and comedy in the show, and it’s really important to cast actors who understand their characters’ sometimes unpleasant behavior. Rhett George as Benny was one of my favorite parts of this production, with his gorgeous voice and likability. You root for him even when he’s being kind of a jerk. Matthew J. Harris as Sonny was hilarious, and a few of his lines elicited the most laughter from the audience, thanks to his great comedic timing. The adorable Robin de Jesus played Sonny in the Broadway production, and while I love Robin, I don’t remember loving his Sonny as much as I did Harris’s.
While I reminisced about Miranda’s unlimited charisma and talent a few times, the Walnut Street’s Usnavi, Perry Young, took over the role with aplomb. You miss some lines, as few people can spit out so many words as clearly as Miranda, but Young did an impressive job overall with the challenging role.
A few actors in the WST cast stunned me with their superb performances. Two supporting male characters, Benny and Sonny, respectively provide heart and comedy in the show, and it’s really important to cast actors who understand their characters’ sometimes unpleasant behavior. Rhett George as Benny was one of my favorite parts of this production, with his gorgeous voice and likability. You root for him even when he’s being kind of a jerk. Matthew J. Harris as Sonny was hilarious, and a few of his lines elicited the most laughter from the audience, thanks to his great comedic timing. The adorable Robin de Jesus played Sonny in the Broadway production, and while I love Robin, I don’t remember loving his Sonny as much as I did Harris’s.
The wonderful set, plus heads in front of me (you can’t take pictures in the theatre; I had to be surreptitious!).
Rayanne Gonzales as Abuela Claudia was another standout, fully bringing the audience along on her character’s emotional arc. By the second act’s plot development, you feel, as the other characters do, as if she’s your abuela. My other favorite female character in this production was Nina, the smart girl who made it out of the barrio, played by Julia Hunter apparently in her professional debut. She is giving some performance as her debut! The Broadway cast featured the wonderful Mandy Gonzalez as Nina, and while you cannot really compare the two, I think Julia’s innocent take on the role affected me more.
One actor that stood out to me in a negative way was in the role of Daniela, because every time I looked at her she seemed to be making the same face – a big, wide-eyed smile. It just seemed off. Maybe this was the one case when original Broadway performer, the incredible Andrea Burns, was too much on my mind, but I think it’s at least in part a misstep in direction.
The real gripe I have with this production, that I wish they would work on ASAP, was that the sound seemed off! For a show that won the Tony for Best Orchestrations, the orchestrations for this production sometimes got in the way, and sometimes were lacking. For example, my favorite musical number in the show, “96,000”, features the characters taking turns in the first half rapping about what they’d do if they won the lottery, and then in the second half the backbeat builds behind the verses and then the full chorus belts into song. This climax gives legitimate chills even on the cast recording. However, in the WST production, I didn’t even realize this section had started until the song was over. You couldn’t hear the beat, you couldn’t hear Usnavi’s continued rap, and you somehow couldn’t hear the entire ensemble of the show singing the chorus. There are some serious sound issues if twenty-odd people singing the same thing couldn’t break through this strange din of confusion.
Even with these issues, the WST production is solid and definitely recommended. The overwhelmingly white, senior audience seemed to enjoy every moment of it, which pleased me to no end. “In The Heights” is a fresh, thrillingly modern show, enjoyed by anyone and everyone, and the WST is doing some fabulous work.
One actor that stood out to me in a negative way was in the role of Daniela, because every time I looked at her she seemed to be making the same face – a big, wide-eyed smile. It just seemed off. Maybe this was the one case when original Broadway performer, the incredible Andrea Burns, was too much on my mind, but I think it’s at least in part a misstep in direction.
The real gripe I have with this production, that I wish they would work on ASAP, was that the sound seemed off! For a show that won the Tony for Best Orchestrations, the orchestrations for this production sometimes got in the way, and sometimes were lacking. For example, my favorite musical number in the show, “96,000”, features the characters taking turns in the first half rapping about what they’d do if they won the lottery, and then in the second half the backbeat builds behind the verses and then the full chorus belts into song. This climax gives legitimate chills even on the cast recording. However, in the WST production, I didn’t even realize this section had started until the song was over. You couldn’t hear the beat, you couldn’t hear Usnavi’s continued rap, and you somehow couldn’t hear the entire ensemble of the show singing the chorus. There are some serious sound issues if twenty-odd people singing the same thing couldn’t break through this strange din of confusion.
Even with these issues, the WST production is solid and definitely recommended. The overwhelmingly white, senior audience seemed to enjoy every moment of it, which pleased me to no end. “In The Heights” is a fresh, thrillingly modern show, enjoyed by anyone and everyone, and the WST is doing some fabulous work.
Correction: The original version of this review named Karen Olivo as the original Nina, when it was Mandy Gonzalez. No more writing at midnight!
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Anything ANYthing ANYTHING GOOOOES at the Barbican is Pure Silly Joy
In 2011, the absolute ledge Sutton Foster gave us the definitive Reno Sweeney in the definitive production of Anything Goes, directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall in a way that warned anyone who tried to do it differently in the future to buzz off, Bambadjan. Heeding that warning, I imagine this is what happened to get this production back in action: the peeps at the Barbican were like ‘we want a new production of Anything Goes!’ and everyone was like ‘you can’t beat the 2011 Broadway revival!’ and the Barbican was like ‘so let’s just do that one!’ and everyone was like ‘ok cool but it really needs Sutton Foster too’ and Barbs was like ‘ok let’s get her!’ and everyone was like ‘can she still do it it’s been 10 years’ and Barbs was like ‘let’s ask’ and Sutton and the rest of the conscious world was like ‘of course she can still do it and probably better than ever she’s Sutton Foster for chrissakes!’ and I was like OH MY GOOD GOD I GET TO SEE MY FAVORITE THING AGAIN!!!!!!!!!! /end scene. (Yes I know it was originally supposed to be Megan Mullally and Sutton came in last minute but Megan would have been more of a Patti LuPone Reno and we cannot go back to those tapless days.)
Now I realize if you search ‘this is my favorite thing!’ in the search box at the top of this site, almost every single post of the thousands I’ve written will come up (barring everything from Mongolia and Mamet) but this is truly one of my faves. By ‘this’ of course I mean Marshall’s incredible, jaw-droppingly amazing 10-minute tap extravaganza of the title song that ends Act I. Me and Jonathan Groff are literally the same person (not literally (or figuratively (we just have this in common) and our love of Lin)) because we were both so obsessed with this number that we learned the whole darn thing, step-by-step, day-by-day, hilarious-Sutton-inflection-by-hilarious-Sutton-inflection.
Literally all of this is chiselled in my mind grapes forever. Okay so I can’t actually DO it, mind you, but I KNOW it, okay.
No matter what the rest of the show is, no matter who the rest of this London cast was going to be, I was in. I was going to see Sutton do this again. I remember every time I saw it on Broadway sitting in shocked excited silence as the curtain came down at intermission, which you KNOW is huge because you know I had to pee. So even though it is still a pandemic, which no one at the Barbican seems to realize, I was going to double mask and double down on seeing my favorite tap number of all time.
Even if the rest of the show was garbage and the rest of the cast was weak, it would still be worth it because that number is just as strong as ever. But fortunately the rest of the show is just as good (mostly) and the rest of the cast is wonderful (mostly).
Before we saw this production, husbo asked me what Anything Goes was about, and even though I know it so well, I really didn’t know how to answer besides to say it’s a lot of silly fun and lots of tapping and that’s all that matters.’ And he was like ‘come on’ and I was like ‘okay it’s like a cruise ship and there’s all these characters like gangsters and fake priests and rich old ladies and a boring debutante and Yale men and Richard you’re a Yale man and your father was a Yale man well we want Rory to be whatever kind of man she wants..I’ve gotten off track.’
The Barbican production was funnier than I remember, truly. ‘Anything Goes’ is a classic Cole Porter romp in which Sutton Foster is a famous New York singer (true!) who loves men, and loves-ish one in particular, her good friend who for some reason doesn’t want to marry her (not believable!) but wants instead to marry the most boring drip of a socialite girl named Hope (also not believable! men hate boring!) who is engaged to a rich British man who seems boring but actually isn’t, but Hope and her mom need his money so they aren’t ruined. So there’s like a sort of love triangle in there among the endless comic antics, but it doesn’t truly matter because you’re just laughing the whole time (except when Hope sings). The physical comedy of this production is endlessly hysterical, and the hundo p Porteresque double entendres and asides and references squeezed into every inch of the show are hilarious (and risque!!) as ever. And no matter how often you see this show, you are still (well I am) surprised at just how many classic Porter songs it features. Of course the title song, and the close second-best number ‘Blow Gabriel Blow’, but also “I Get a Kick Out of You’, ‘Delovely’ (I always forget Delovely!), ‘You’re the Top’, so many! At the Barbican, I found ‘You’re the Top’ even funnier and more enjoyable than ever, poss/prob because Sutton has become so much more comfortable and can mine all the humor possible. Her jovial Billy Crocker, Samuel Edwards, was a great match for her and the two were having an obvious blast with the endless Dad joke lyrics of this song. I love this song because I can never remember any of the actual lyrics. When I sing it it’s like, “You’re the Rockford Peaches, that kid from Beaches…you’re cellophane” or “There’s something startin’/It’s John McMartin…you’re cellophane.” That cellophane lyric really sticks. I don’t like that Sutton still has the harmony on the final line because her voice cuts through EVERYTHING so you mainly hear her kind of weird harmony sounding like the leading vocal instead of the melody line but WHO CARES.
Although the 2011 cast (I will never stop regaling this perfect production, sorry) was definitive (that’s the word of the day/show) cannot be beat — you had muhfucking Joel Grey, Jessica Walter (RIPYAL), Colin Donnell, John McMartin (it wasn’t just random before!), Adam Godley, all absolute perfection — this cast was very enjoyable. It’s not definitive in every single way like the prevs were because that’s not possible, but the all did a fine job. I think the show’s pacing would be improved by cutting the gd blue bird song in Act II – if you don’t have Joel Grey doing it there’s no reason to suffer through it (even with Joel it was a stretch!). Haydn Oakley as Lord Oakleigh (omg is that why they hired him??) was good fun but Adam Godley was just a bit more silly and joyous (and made that ‘gypsy in me’ song funnier…which btw they REALLY need to update. Just change it to Spanish or something instead of Gypsy; it’s already totally a Spanish dance). And Hope was fine, perfectly serviceable but not a standout. I am spoiled by how perfect Laura Osnes (RIP) (she’s not dead just dead to me) was in the role, because come on — a beautiful and angelic-sounding but dull as dishwater debutante with zero character development or depth who just has to sound lovely and move gracefully and be as deep as a sheet of looseleaf? OSNES TO A TEE!
It really doesn’t matter what little qualms I have because it’s the best, it’s so much fun, it’s de-lovely. Marshall’s production is a joy to watch. It’s still way too long – like 2 hours 45 which is kind of pushing the rompness of a romp – but it’s hard to know what hilarious bits you could possibly live without (just kidding it’s the blue bird song and the THREATS TO THE DOG, OVVIAMENTE). Sutton has now left, because she has to go be Marion the Librarian on Broadway and I hope prove to everyone (including me) that she actually will be right for that part, and Rachel York has filled her shoes. I guess Rachel can tap? Awesome. Regardless, so fun, so joy, so wow. Loves it.
What is NOT FUN or joy or wow is the Barbican’s compleeeete laaaaack of caring that we are still in a pandemic. This was by far the worst showing for masks/caring we had ever seen (until this past weekend’s show; look out for a post on that later this week). They recommend that people wear masks, but unless and until staffers actually enforce an actual mask mandate, no one is going to wear one. I really wish that ushers would a) be visible anywhere and b) legit kick people out if you can see their noses. I honestly would volunteer my time to do the kicking out. Ugh it was really bad. I especially loved the unmasked family with two teens (too young to be vaxed at that time!) coughing the entire time. I’m not going to say RIP for the third time in this post but you know I’m thinking it. DO BETTER, BARBICAN AND EVERY LONDON THEATRE.
Home, I’m Darling at the Duke of York: London’s Best New (ish) Play of 2019
It’s Theatre Thursday! Today we are talking about Home, I’m Darling, which is currently playing on theWest End at the Duke of York theatre.
If this picture looks familiar to you, it’s for a good reason: we looked at the new play Home, I’m Darling only five months ago, when it played London’s National Theatre. Further confusing the rules about what constitutes West End and what doesn’t (and more confusingly, since shows at the National are sometimes eligible for Olivier Awards, what the fork the Olivier eligibility is), this play that I absolutely adored last time around has transferred to the official West End. Funnily enough, I saw the very last performance of this show at the National, and I didn’t realize until the interval that I was at the very first preview performance of this West End run, so even though they were five months apart, I saw back-to-back performances. Usually I would frown upon any public critique of a first preview, since they are supposed to be used for making changes. But I have nothing but praise for this show, so I don’t think they’ll mind. Despite a few changes from the last go round, the show was just as I remembered, except tighter and maybe even more enjoyable.
Home, I’m Darling, the pitch perfect comedy from Laura Wade, is the story of Judy (Katherine Parkinson, perfect as ever) and Johnny (Richard Harrington), a married couple who decides to fully immerse themselves in the ‘50s lifestyle they admire by having Judy stop work to become a housewife. Judy is devoted to cleaning the house with era-appropriate methods, cooking era-appropriate meals, wearing era-appropriate clothes (the costumes are still amazing) and generally letting her husband lead the way. While the concept could easily become cartoony, or fail to connect if audiences (like me) think ‘that’s a bad move, Judy’, the play delves into all the issues around this kind of lifestyle and all the problems people would encounter whether they are fully on board or not, making the story much more thought-provoking and interesting than it’s (incredible) candy-colored set would have you initially guess. Doing this in such a masterful way means the whole ‘50s thing is kind of just a framing device for analyzing a typical marriage and the problems couples face after a certain amount of time. I can’t think of another modern play that explores the intricacies of the relationship between husband and wife in such a compelling way while remaining as entertaining and funny.
As ever, Katherine Parkinson gives a star performance, with every decision and movement the property of Judy, even, I believe, the intriguing tone of her voice and manner of delivery. But my real surprise here was Harrington, who didn’t strike me the last time through as Parkinson did. With the passage of time, he has really come to understand Johnny and make his decisions much more convincing and understandable. Together, the two are flawless.
Excitingly, the rest of the cast is mostly changed, and all the newcomers were giving spot-on performances at the first performance. Judy’s mother, now played by Susan Brown, continues to be the persuasive voice of reason, at least to me, in her quest to end this game of her daughter’s that is wasting her potential. It’s a small role, though the mother does get some great monologues, but Brown makes her presence felt so strongly and does so much with what she has that she seems a much bigger character.
I was upset at first to see that Judy’s friend Fran was recast, because at the National, Fran was played by the only actor of color in the whole cast (Kathryn Drysdale). Being a woman of color gave Fran’s interest in following Judy’s lead as a ‘50s-style housewife even more depth, and could have been enhanced to show her assessment of the role. But the new Fran, Siubhan Harrison, really is fantastic. I’ve only seen her in musicals before, so I was impressed by her performance in this straight play. My absolute favorite small moment of the whole show came from her: when Fran and her husband Marcus (still an entertaining scumbag!) are at Judy and Johnny’s house having tea, and Judy brings out her ridiculous achievement of a cake (which Marcus proclaims the best he has ever had), Judy cuts herself a piece and I noticed she shoved the rest of her slice of the ‘interesting’ cake that Fran brought back onto the serving tray. As everyone kept talking and the focus was elsewhere, Fran looked downward for a second and seemed embarrassed. I found this moment incredible, doing so much in literally one second when we’re not even supposed to be looking at Fran.
Yet everything in this play feels this detailed, from the delightful set (and that Act II change, wonderful) to the accurate costumes to the never-ending ballet of food. I mentioned last time that I’ve never seen so much food in a play before. I think we see Judy preparing all three of Johnny’s daily meals (plus snacks and drinks and dessert) for every day we see. I don’t know how they keep it all straight (and I really hope it doesn’t all go to waste). But every aspect of the play had to be this precise to keep up with the writing, which is engaging and unpredictably captivating. Home, I’m Darling is such an unexpected gem that I can’t help but love.
INFORMATION
Every single other piece about this show annoyingly repeats “for 11 weeks only” so I will give you the actual end date: April 13. Was that so hard, everyone else?
After the run on the West End, the show will be touring the UK, with dates in Bath, Salford, and back to its Welsh home of Theatre Clwyd which no I have no idea how to pronounce, it’s probably like Smith or something.
The show is 2 hours 30 minutes with one interval. Like all West End theatres, the Duke of York is in need of a refurb, especially when it comes to the bathrooms – if you sit in the front right stalls, the closest ladies room is up the stairs in the mezzanine, which is very, very stupid.
It’s Theatre Thursday! Today we are talking about Home, I’m Darling, which is currently playing on theWest End at the Duke of York theatre.
If this picture looks familiar to you, it’s for a good reason: we looked at the new play Home, I’m Darling only five months ago, when it played London’s National Theatre. Further confusing the rules about what constitutes West End and what doesn’t (and more confusingly, since shows at the National are sometimes eligible for Olivier Awards, what the fork the Olivier eligibility is), this play that I absolutely adored last time around has transferred to the official West End. Funnily enough, I saw the very last performance of this show at the National, and I didn’t realize until the interval that I was at the very first preview performance of this West End run, so even though they were five months apart, I saw back-to-back performances. Usually I would frown upon any public critique of a first preview, since they are supposed to be used for making changes. But I have nothing but praise for this show, so I don’t think they’ll mind. Despite a few changes from the last go round, the show was just as I remembered, except tighter and maybe even more enjoyable.
Home, I’m Darling, the pitch perfect comedy from Laura Wade, is the story of Judy (Katherine Parkinson, perfect as ever) and Johnny (Richard Harrington), a married couple who decides to fully immerse themselves in the ‘50s lifestyle they admire by having Judy stop work to become a housewife. Judy is devoted to cleaning the house with era-appropriate methods, cooking era-appropriate meals, wearing era-appropriate clothes (the costumes are still amazing) and generally letting her husband lead the way. While the concept could easily become cartoony, or fail to connect if audiences (like me) think ‘that’s a bad move, Judy’, the play delves into all the issues around this kind of lifestyle and all the problems people would encounter whether they are fully on board or not, making the story much more thought-provoking and interesting than it’s (incredible) candy-colored set would have you initially guess. Doing this in such a masterful way means the whole ‘50s thing is kind of just a framing device for analyzing a typical marriage and the problems couples face after a certain amount of time. I can’t think of another modern play that explores the intricacies of the relationship between husband and wife in such a compelling way while remaining as entertaining and funny.
As ever, Katherine Parkinson gives a star performance, with every decision and movement the property of Judy, even, I believe, the intriguing tone of her voice and manner of delivery. But my real surprise here was Harrington, who didn’t strike me the last time through as Parkinson did. With the passage of time, he has really come to understand Johnny and make his decisions much more convincing and understandable. Together, the two are flawless.
Excitingly, the rest of the cast is mostly changed, and all the newcomers were giving spot-on performances at the first performance. Judy’s mother, now played by Susan Brown, continues to be the persuasive voice of reason, at least to me, in her quest to end this game of her daughter’s that is wasting her potential. It’s a small role, though the mother does get some great monologues, but Brown makes her presence felt so strongly and does so much with what she has that she seems a much bigger character.
I was upset at first to see that Judy’s friend Fran was recast, because at the National, Fran was played by the only actor of color in the whole cast (Kathryn Drysdale). Being a woman of color gave Fran’s interest in following Judy’s lead as a ‘50s-style housewife even more depth, and could have been enhanced to show her assessment of the role. But the new Fran, Siubhan Harrison, really is fantastic. I’ve only seen her in musicals before, so I was impressed by her performance in this straight play. My absolute favorite small moment of the whole show came from her: when Fran and her husband Marcus (still an entertaining scumbag!) are at Judy and Johnny’s house having tea, and Judy brings out her ridiculous achievement of a cake (which Marcus proclaims the best he has ever had), Judy cuts herself a piece and I noticed she shoved the rest of her slice of the ‘interesting’ cake that Fran brought back onto the serving tray. As everyone kept talking and the focus was elsewhere, Fran looked downward for a second and seemed embarrassed. I found this moment incredible, doing so much in literally one second when we’re not even supposed to be looking at Fran.
Yet everything in this play feels this detailed, from the delightful set (and that Act II change, wonderful) to the accurate costumes to the never-ending ballet of food. I mentioned last time that I’ve never seen so much food in a play before. I think we see Judy preparing all three of Johnny’s daily meals (plus snacks and drinks and dessert) for every day we see. I don’t know how they keep it all straight (and I really hope it doesn’t all go to waste). But every aspect of the play had to be this precise to keep up with the writing, which is engaging and unpredictably captivating. Home, I’m Darling is such an unexpected gem that I can’t help but love.
INFORMATION
Every single other piece about this show annoyingly repeats “for 11 weeks only” so I will give you the actual end date: April 13. Was that so hard, everyone else?
After the run on the West End, the show will be touring the UK, with dates in Bath, Salford, and back to its Welsh home of Theatre Clwyd which no I have no idea how to pronounce, it’s probably like Smith or something.
The show is 2 hours 30 minutes with one interval. Like all West End theatres, the Duke of York is in need of a refurb, especially when it comes to the bathrooms – if you sit in the front right stalls, the closest ladies room is up the stairs in the mezzanine, which is very, very stupid.
