Khiva, Uzbekistan: More Ancient Sandy Sights and Historyby Randi / January 3, 2018
It’s Theatre Thursday y’all! Today we are talking about Hamilton: An American Musical now at London’s Victoria Palace Theatre until probably the end of time!
BUM BUM BA DA BUM BUM BUM OO-OO-OOH. Hamilton may not have an overture, as few modern shows do, but you really can’t beat those opening notes for getting your blood pumping and your excitement levels through the roof. I was pretty calm in the weeks leading up to seeing the new London production of Hammertime. Maybe because we bought our tickets literally a year ago so my excitement waned after the first few months; maybe I couldn’t be excited because I was too nervous that the delay in opening (our tickets were now the week of opening instead of weeks after it) was due to quality concerns and not just because the theatre refurbishment wasn’t ready; maybe it’s because I saw the original cast and didn’t have high hopes for how London would measure up or maybe I was just worried that British accents would seep through. (American accents are notoriously bad here. I feel probably how british people feel watching Broadway actors do british accents.) Regardless of the reason, I was trying to be chill aquafaba and not get my hopes up too much. It’s just another show, right? But those opening notes, man alive, I DARE you to try to stay calm when they thump through. It’s impossible and I immediately smiled the biggest smile I ever have smiled and let myself be as excited as I ought to have been. It’s not just another show; we all know that by now. It had the fastest transfer to the West End ever (and had two tours start in the meantime) for a reason. It is the best, and no matter what issues this production has, it’s still the best thing over here.
The energy in that audience was palpable, with everyone on the edge of their seats, ready to be enraptured and just so ready. I have never felt that level of energy buzzing in an audience before. It’s obvious that almost everyone in there had been listening to the original cast album for years now and was so pumped to hear the incredible music live. So that was an amazing thing to witness and feel and then those openings notes, hot damn, I was so in. And then right away, I was able to take a deep breath and relax my nerves a little, because two very important things happened. One, despite that insanely high energy level, this audience stopped their chatter and cheering when the music began (I really feared that the fame of Hamilton would bring ‘last-performance-of-a-show’ levels of rude cheering) AND they didn’t cheer when Alexander Hamilton makes his entrance or let said whoops and hollers deafen the rest of his lines. That was the one super annoying thing that always happened on Broadway when composer/genius Lin-Manuel Miranda played the title character: Every time Burr said “what’s your name man” and Lin came out for the first time and said “Alexander Hamilton”, the audience would go nuts and I would Hulk out and scream DO YOU MIND but no one could hear me over all the cheering. (I will never in my life understand why people pay money to see shows or concerts and then prefer to hear their own voices over the people they came to see.) So I was nervous that that would happen here, but I guess that happened in New York because it was Lin, the hometown hero, acting in the incredible thing he wrote, so it was like in recognition of how amazing the musical was and how amazing it was to see the composer acting in it. I didn’t get to see Javier Munoz in the role so I don’t know if it happened on Broadway for him too, but I am pretty secure in guessing that that cheering was for seeing the composer perform his own work, as that’s pretty incredible and rare. (Hilariously, the only other times I can think of that happening all happened at once, history-wise: Sara Bareilles in Waitress and Dave Malloy in The Great Comet.) Oh for sure this audience whooped and cheered like crazy, crazier than I’ve ever heard in London, and after every single song, which is unheard of. But it always waited until the last note of the song was finished. Thank god for british restraint.
The second important thing that let me unhunch my shoulders just a tad was that Giles Terera, as Aaron Burr, made clear right off the bat that he has the best enunciation I ever heard. It’s so clear and perfect without sounding forced and without sacrificing any of the musicality. I worried before about whether the 2 or 3 people who don’t know all the words would be able to follow what’s going on, but luckily Giles’s impeccable diction made his rapping as clear as day. True, it also helps that many parts of the show are an almost-unobservable touch slower than they are in the USA, but while this sucks, it’s not a huge deal if it helps the slower british brains stay with it. (Get it that’s a joke because they’re brains aren’t slower so like wtf (that’s a why not a what) is this necessary?)
The second important thing that let me unhunch my shoulders just a tad was that Giles Terera, as Aaron Burr, made clear right off the bat that he has the best enunciation I ever heard. It’s so clear and perfect without sounding forced and without sacrificing any of the musicality. I worried before about whether the 2 or 3 people who don’t know all the words would be able to follow what’s going on, but luckily Giles’s impeccable diction made his rapping as clear as day. True, it also helps that many parts of the show are an almost-unobservable touch slower than they are in the USA, but while this sucks, it’s not a huge deal if it helps the slower british brains stay with it. (Get it that’s a joke because they’re brains aren’t slower so like wtf (that’s a why not a what) is this necessary?)
Speaking of British brains, one of the most enjoyable aspects of this production was simply noticing what parts got more laughs, or less response, than lines in New York. Like, even though everyone absolutely adores King George, the audience responded even more to the line “When you’re gone, I’ll go mad” because they were like “oh how positively brillliant, he does indeed go mad! huhhah!” And there was a definite murmur of recognition when Alexander sings “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow creeps in this petty pace from day to day”, because everyone in England knows every line of Shakespeare, apparently, and they did NOT need for him to clarify in the next line that he was talking about Macbeth. These people knew.
So anyway, back to the start, we know that Burr is going to be fantastic from the start, or at least we know he will be understandable. What about the rest? The meeting of the three friends – Hercules Mulligan, Lafayette, and John Laurens – is one of my favorite parts, and all three were pretty strong in that first scene. As John Laurens, Cleve September (I know it’s like a Tori Amos or Fiona Apple song, an erma name) looks scarily similar to the original cast’s Anthony Ramos, and I really don’t think that’s just me being racist. He really gave off the same vibe and had such a similar face that I was like yesss this is good. He did a great job as Laurens and then in the second act as Phillip. As usual, the sight of a grown ass man playing a nine-year-old boy was lovably hysterical as always, and then of course heartbreaking. He was solid the whole show. As for the second and most joyful member of the gang, Lafayette had to go in a completely different direction from the og cast, and rightly so, because no one can ever touch Daveed Diggs. He was the breakout star from the show and created such an iconic performance that to try to emulate it would be foolish. Instead, Jason Pennycooke gave Lafayette a whole new vibe. First of all I think he is half the size of Daveed, which gives him a little bit of an impish spirit, which worked. He uses his size well and creates this mischievous sort of rascal in both Lafayette and Jefferson (of course in different ways). His French accent was great, probably because all British people can speak French, and his physicality added a lot of fun to the portrayal. It helps that he is a professional choreographer too, so he can really effectively use movement to his advantage. His “What’d I Miss” was hilarious, mostly because of his hysterical dancing, even if I didn’t really buy his Jefferson as the villain. Not that he’s the villain, but he’s put forward as such so we can love Alexander. Here, it was much clearer that Alexander was ruining stuff for himself.
As for Hercules Mulligan (the part I would be the best at except for I’m a white and a girl), this brings up the thing that makes me maddest about this production, the theatre, whatever cotton-headed ninny muggins are running this thing up in here. I am furious. Hercules and Madison are played by Tarinn Callender, who I’m looking at in the programme and this isn’t the guy we saw. At our performance, Hercules/Madison was played by Aaron Lee Lambert. Now, yeah, I didn’t know he was the understudy, he was great. Lambert really was a fantastic Mulligan and aside from resembling the actor playing George Washington a little too much, which caused confusion, I was fully on board with him. So I’m angry (furious, really) because nowhere in the entire theatre was any mention of Lambert made. On Broadway, you have to announce an understudy in two of three ways: by a slip in the playbill, by a posting at the box office/entrance of the theatre, and/or by making an announcement after the lights go down. There was nothing here – no slips in anyone’s programmes, no announcement made, no sign or posting of any sort anywhere in the theatre. Do you know how I found out? From Lambert’s personal twitter account. The show’s official twitter didn’t even say anything! This is not okay, guys. This is unacceptable for a professional theatre production. This guy did an amazing job, and yet he doesn’t get to have anyone in the audience recognize his efforts? Not even know or hear his name? Understudies deserve acclaim too! It’s so unfair to him to not have anyone even know that it was him up there. At least Kathy Seldon was going to get a line in the credits! I asked the show’s twitter about it but they didn’t respond because they are too busy being terrible.
At least that is the fault of minor players, people running the theatre or box office and doing a shit job of it. At least the production itself is wonderful and, apparently, their bench runs deep.
Now where was I. Oh okay, we met the boys, next we meet the girls – the Schuyler Sisters! I heard the (super annoying) girls behind me go ‘this one is my favorite!!!’ and although I wished ill upon them for talking, they were right. This number is super fun, even if the talent feels the slightest bit less exciting than you hope. My favorite part was seriously Christine Allado’s “and Peggy”, because even with that one-second line, she made it her own and she made it funny. Rachel John’s Angelica was pretty strong, but there was a spark missing. And Rachelle Ann Go’s Eliza was the weakest part of the production for me. She’s an incredible vocalist but her enunciation was the exact opposite of Giles’s, and her energy just seemed weirdly off. This song should be pure thrilling fun and it was just like normal levels of fun.
So yeah, I am really nitpicking here, because to most people everything here would look absolutely perfect. And it was one of the best productions I’ve seen in London. But when you can cast anyone in the entire world for these roles, I expect them to be the best in the world. Luckily, things were looking up in Duloc with the introduction of Michael Jibson and Obioma Ugoala. Jibson came on as King George III, and the audience was in stitches from the moment he took his first step. I usually consider George’s three songs very funny, but more like palate cleansers, to take a breath before the next incredible song comes up. But in this production, his songs were a highlight. Equally so for Ugoala’s George Washington (I guess the Georges were the standouts in this show!). Because of Daveed Diggs and how perfect his casting was, usually Lafayette/Jefferson outshines the rest of the supporting men. But here, I thought Washington prevailed as the most impressive supporting male character. Against all odds, I would award him the supporting actor Olivier for his work here. It’s not that he’s better than Chris Jackson, or that his voice is as great (it is great though), it’s that the whole dynamic of the group is changed here, so that Washington is the one who stood out. At least to me. His gravelly voice has this imposing, commanding essence to it that Washington needs to establish his dominance over the others, and it worked so well. Yay for greatness!
So you’re probably like hellooooo what’s this show called, you haven’t even talked about Alexander yet! I know. Jamael Westman was very strong as Ham, but I’m still conflicted. His first big moment centers around how he’s ‘young, scrappy, and hungry’, but Jamael’s Alexander didn’t seem that at all. He seemed very decisive, very mature, contained, sure of himself. It was a completely different take (which you really have to do when originating the role in a new production) and definitely valid, but I don’t know if it was my favorite move. The sparkle wasn’t there, the drive to do anything to be successful and to work as hard as possible, the tendency to make enemies sometimes. The scrappiness. Instead, it seemed like he didn’t even have to try, that his intelligence just came to him, that his endless words poured out of him without any effort. I’m sure that’s a compelling take for some, but I missed that roguish spirit, the one driven by impulse and guts. The one that made it more believable that he had a deep love for Angelica and the one that led to his affair. As for the former, Rachel’s performance of ‘Satisfied’ more than made up for any other issues I had with her performance. Sure I didn’t really see her love for Alexander in the rest of the show, but that number was sheer perfection. As for the latter, Christine did a great job with ‘Say No To This’, but it seemed like a lesser role than it has in the past. I think what wins that song is the money note, and it wasn’t as exhilarating as it should have been.
Another single song that lifted my overall impression of a performer was Rachelle’s ‘Burn’. She didn’t really do it for me, dawg, not for me, in this show but her performance of ‘Burn’ was killer. I wish that intensity and certainty of character was present in other scenes. Honestly, more than anything, this production made me appreciate Phillipa Soo. She did so much to create a full-bodied, completely realized depiction of Eliza, and it made it seem like Eliza was a bigger role than it actually is, which is why she was nominated in the lead actress category instead of featured, like many thought she should have been. It’s because of what she did with the role, elevating it from how it’s written. Rachelle is great, she really is, but Eliza seemed much more like a featured role. Considering how good her ‘Burn’ was, I think she will only improve – as everyone will – the longer they live with these characters. I am super excited to see them in a few months and see how far they go. I know I go on and on about how perfect the original cast was (they were though), but people forget that before Broadway they had at least a full year living with their characters and developing every inch of the portrayals at the Public and in rehearsals between productions. The London cast started previews at like the end of November. That’s less than two months. I really think it’s just because they are still new, and all the kinks will be worked out and all the weaknesses will be gone soon. (Why they didn’t have a longer rehearsal period though is beyond me (it’s not, it’s because they’d make the same extraordinary amounts of money regardless.))
But aside from the people who need more time, the person I’m most excited to see again is Giles as Burr. He really was the best part of this production. His wide-eyed calculating yet decorous nature is based in calm tension, and you are just waiting for that flame to erupt. It happens so slowly and so surely. I think his ‘Wait For It’ will improve with the slow-burning fire of emotion that it needs, but his showstopper ‘The Room Where it Happens’ was incredible. Oh man, I was so in.
I’m not really talking about the actual show because I doubt anyone reading this is unfamiliar with it. Also you can read my first review from a few years ago here, which talks more about the actual story and score. But there were three changes to the libretto, at least three that I noticed. First, in “Take a Break”, after Eliza says “Angelica tell this man, John Adams spends the summer with his family”, instead of saying “Angelica tell my wife, John Adams doesn’t have a real job anyway”, they changed it to “Angelica tell my wife, vice-president is not a real job anyway.” A minor detail that does make a lot of sense, considering Brits don’t know who John Adams was and so wouldn’t know that his job was vice president and that that’s the job that Alexander is mocking. But when most of the audience knows the words and most have since learned about the parts they didn’t understand, I think it is more jarring than helpful. Similarly with the other two changes: In ‘The Room Where it Happens’, when Madison says “Well I propose the Potomac”, they changed it to a more generic line that I don’t remember exactly but there’s no mention of Potomac. And, at the end, before the duel, Burr said “Then stand, Alexander. Jersey, dawn” instead of “Weehawken, dawn.” Now, with both of these location name changes, they make a ton of sense on paper because Brits don’t know Weehawken or the Potomac. But it’s weird because most people have learned what Weehawken and the Potomac are since listening to the album. After the show, all I heard leaving the building was people with British accents talking about the changes: “did you notice they didn’t see Weekhawken!” and things like that. Overall it’s not a big deal, and it doesn’t really affect anything, but when you have literally the most famous show and score ever, I don’t think catering to the local land’s knowledge is necessary. When I don’t understand things about British history in the many, many such shows to play in the USA, I either look them up afterwards or it just doesn’t matter for my enjoyment of the show, you know?
Obviously these are incredibly minor quibbles. These changes are slight; the cast will improve with time, and the ensemble’s dancing with get tighter. Oh yeah, at times the choreography felt a tiny bit sloppy, but again that’s because of the very short time they’ve been working on this so far. It will get better and tighter, I’m sure. Really, the only thing that I noticed in a slightly negative way that I don’t think can improve, is that the choreography gets too busy in the second act. This has some of my favorite choreography, it really does (especially ‘Yorktown’ and ‘The Room Where it Happens’, but I hate to say that later in the second act, I noticed how busy it remains at all times. It’s like Blanks was operating at 110% every moment and wanted to fill in every second, every nook and cranny with intricate movement. And it’s all gorgeous and intelligent, but sometimes it’s just too much. I never noticed that before.
But it doesn’t matter, nothing I said matters because this is still for sure the best musical, insanely genius with endless great songs where any one of the songs would be any other show’s best song and yet here they all are in one space. This show could be performed by children in a smelly basement and it would still be awesome to watch because the material is so unbelievably strong. I’m being overly critical with this production because that’s all you can criticize, the production, when the material itself is unassailable. And, with all the money in the world behind it, all the power of being the best show in the world attracting the best talent in the world, it should be perfection. It’s not right now, but it’s wonderful and I think very quickly it will progress more and more towards perfection.
INFORMATION
The theatre refurbishment is lovely, if confusing. It’s like a maze and I couldn’t ever remember which bathroom I used but it didn’t matter because there are tons of them. There are two merchandise shops as well, and they have different stuff than in New York! Like a tree ornament! Whee so fun.
I’m not going to let up on their lack of understudy policy so hopefully they will make positive changes in that regard.
STAGE DOOR
It was forking freezing, and they don’t have barricades. People just made a line on the main road, which is crowded because it’s right across from Victoria station! Pretty stupid! They need to get barricades for the fans to stand behind because it’s going to get crazier as the weather gets warmer, and really they need to move it away from the main road because regular people were pushing their way down and they could have endangered our precious actors. A few people came out, which was more than I expected considering it was a matinee and it was so cold, so yay.
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An Incredible Oooooklahoma! Like You’ve Never Seen Before
It’s Theatre Thursday! Today’s show is the 2019 Broadway revival of Oklahoma!, which saddest of the sads will close this Sunday, January 19, because of injustice/small theatres/probably Scott Rudin.
You don’t really get many musical theatre fans putting Oklahoma! in their lists of all-time favorite shows. Sure it’s Rodgers & Hammerstein and it’s a classic, but it’s also old-fashioned and kind of meh, a story about farmers loving their corn and their hoedowns and going a-flirtin’ and a-courtin’ and a-bakin’ and all. Or is it? People tend to forget that Oklahoma features legitimate darkness, maybe because it’s usually still treated with a shiny happy gloss while you sing about the surrey with the fringe on top and the good ol’ boys of America. But the current Broadway revival of Oklahoma from director Daniel Fish breaks down the show to its dark, disturbing core, in a truly soul-rattling production that feels more poignant and relevant to modern America than anything written this year.
With the minimalist set design and style (and a lot of guns) and nothing to distract you, this revival of Oklahoma lets everything hang out for you to see in its starkest, realest form. The lines and the lyrics are the same, but how Fish presents it and how the perfect cast performs it manages to turn the show from something cheery and cheesy into something incredibly complex and dark, and even knowing the story and the lyrics, I was concentrating too hard to remember to breathe at times.
The love story at the center is more complicated than ever. The cheerful and fun-loving Curly, as played by the superb Damon Daunno, has an air of unpredictability hidden in his good-natured cheeriness, reflected also in his wandering voice, which can easily go from folksy and relaxed to as strong and moving as anything you hear on Broadway. When he opens the show with “Oh What a Beautiful Morning”, my first thought was that I wanted to wake up every day to this rendition, of a song I usually skip! His Curly is still playful, but he’s so clearly the popular kid, a lad in every sense, fun-loving and ‘nice’ but hiding an edge, untrustworthy at a party. The object of his affection, Laurey, is the great Rebecca Naomi Jones, whose flirting and joking around with Curly seems to be based in legitimate confusion about what she actually wants. Her relationship with Jud, the villain who is obsessed with her, is also much more complicated: it doesn’t seem as fully unrequited as it usually is said to be. It’s unclear whether she’s actually attracted to Jud too or whether she’s just terrified into being nice to him, or both, but either way it’s now fascinating instead of casually explained by his wickedness.
Jud, played by Patrick Vaill, is the part of this revival that haunts me. His performance is the toned down yet even more convincing version of Joaquin’s Joker origin story. Everything that makes Jud Fry the villain is done in a way that makes you simultaneously pity him, understand him, and fear him, and he could easily be any mediocre white guy yelling at the internet from his basement while living smaller than he wants to. The part of the show that I usually hate, “Poor Jud is Dead”, was made riveting and tense, as a live video camera projects just Jud’s face in night-vision as he listens to Curly pleasantly torment him. This scene was the most incredible Ivo Van Hove directing I’ve ever seen, much better than when Ivo tries it. Vaill’s subtle emotional reactions – all in his eyes – during this scene were stunning, and made everything about his story so upsetting and so relevant. The original ending, with Jud threatening the lives of Curly and Laurie and ending up, um, “falling on his knife”, now leaves nothing to the imagination about the chain of events but everything up for discussion regarding what’s right and wrong about it.
Laurey’s Aunt Eller, usually somewhat comic, is in Mary Testa’s hands funny but formidable, and her performance after the much-changed climax was as menacing as anything. The real comic relief comes from Ali Stroker’s Ado Annie, James Davis’s Will Parker, and Will Brill’s Ali Hakim, all wonderful, but it’s Ali Stroker who steals the show every time she’s onstage and more than earns last year’s Tony Award. Comparing her version of “I Cain’t Say No” to the movie version, it’s like two completely different songs. She’s worth the Broadway prices alone to see her own that stage.
Every second of this production is exquisite, every beat, every choice felt essential – except the Dream Ballet. I really wanted to like it since I’ve heard so many people have the same review, but I didn’t think it worked at all. It’s a good idea to modernize it as a classic ballet would have felt out of place in this raw production, but I didn’t feel it accomplished anything. The original Dream Ballet is famous for showing that dance can actually further the plot in musical theatre and help tell the story rather than simply be accompaniment, but I didn’t find that to be the case here. Maybe because it didn’t seem like it was actually ‘dancing’, it was like ‘purposeful walking around’.
But aside from that, this revival is perfection. They’ve managed to make something so familiar into something so new, significant, and so chilling. Oklahoma! might not be on my list of favorite shows, but this particular production is one of the most genius things I’ve ever seen.
INFORMATION
Oklahoma! ends its run at the Circle in the Square in NYC on Sunday, January 19.
There’s not a bad seat in the house (it’s in the round, with the back wall closed off). The CITS toilet situation is annoying – downstairs for everyone. They need a new water filling system; the elementary school style water fountain would require you to Andy Dwyer it to actually get anything out of it.
VEGAN ALERT: they serve vegan chili at intermission!!! I do not think the cornbread is vegan but CHILI, MY LITTLE CHILI BABIES! YOU PUT THE PEEPS IN THE CHILI POT AND EAT THEM BOTH UP YOU PUT THE PEEPS IN THE CHILI POT AND ADD THE M&MS! COME ON! DIP YOU PAWS IN MY CHILI! SCOOP YOUR LITTLE MITTENS RIGHT IN THE STEW!
The Inheritance Part 2: A Fine and Fitting Conclusion to A Masterpiece
It’s Theatre Thursday! Today’s show is Part 2 of The Inheritance, playing along with Part 1 until January 19 at London’s Noel Coward Theatre..
Before I saw Part 1 of The Inheritance, I had been putting off seeing the show for a very long time because I couldn’t imagine that it was worth the serious time investment: two separate theatre visits of 3 ½ hours each. I said stupid things like ‘if I’m going to see a superlong two-part show it’s going to be Angels in America’ and ‘but they’re not even singing!’ As we learned a few weeks ago, I was hella wrong, because I found Part 1 to be one of the most gripping, moving, full-blooded shows I’ve ever seen. In the few weeks I had between seeing Part 1 and Part 2, I again wished I could put off seeing the second half, but now for incredibly different reasons: I didn’t want to be finished with this story or have to say goodbye to these characters. Spending so much time with this play, the story became part of my mind the way a book does, the way dedicating so much personal time to a book results in it becoming a part of you. I didn’t want it to end. And I was simultaneously scared of how it would end, because this play isn’t exactly a romp. But even though Part 2 is not as great – after the glorious perfection that was Part 1, no second half could really ever measure up – it’s still riveting and emotional and, ultimately and most importantly, satisfying.
Before I saw Part 1 of The Inheritance, I had been putting off seeing the show for a very long time because I couldn’t imagine that it was worth the serious time investment: two separate theatre visits of 3 ½ hours each. I said stupid things like ‘if I’m going to see a superlong two-part show it’s going to be Angels in America’ and ‘but they’re not even singing!’ As we learned a few weeks ago, I was hella wrong, because I found Part 1 to be one of the most gripping, moving, full-blooded shows I’ve ever seen. In the few weeks I had between seeing Part 1 and Part 2, I again wished I could put off seeing the second half, but now for incredibly different reasons: I didn’t want to be finished with this story or have to say goodbye to these characters. Spending so much time with this play, the story became part of my mind the way a book does, the way dedicating so much personal time to a book results in it becoming a part of you. I didn’t want it to end. And I was simultaneously scared of how it would end, because this play isn’t exactly a romp. But even though Part 2 is not as great – after the glorious perfection that was Part 1, no second half could really ever measure up – it’s still riveting and emotional and, ultimately and most importantly, satisfying.
The simple-seeming title, The Inheritance, was relevant to several aspects of Part 1 – the inheritance as in a last will & testament, as in what you receive from ancestors, as in what you get from and what you owe to those who came before you in certain struggles. Part 2 develops that even more, as the play is also about what you get personally from your own family and your upbringing, what you can do with what you’re given and what you can’t fix, what you’ve inherited that might ruin you. Every aspect of what the title encompasses finds a way to break your heart, and even though the emotional reach doesn’t have the same breadth as Part 1, it retains its depth.
The main questions I had from Part 1 were, whether Eric would ever find out the truth about the house; whether he would take over the house’s spiritual purpose of providing a refuge for gay men with nowhere else to turn; and whether Eric would actually continue this relationship with Henry, the real estate billionaire who doesn’t seem to care about anything but himself. Part 1 ends with Eric finally seeing Walter’s country house and feeling the history of the place just as Walter thought he would, in a beautiful tearjerker of a scene that seemed to go on too long but also should never have ended. It created a sense of peace and importance. Part 2 opens with the exact opposite sensibility, an abrupt flip to coldness and ignorance of the house’s tranquil beauty, as Henry Wilcox (John Benjamin Hickey) tells Eric Glass (Kyle Soller) they’re ready to leave only minutes after they’ve arrived. The painful change served as a reminder that these stories aren’t going to work out easily or happily or how I wanted them to. You yearn with Eric to stay and find out more about what has happened there, and in the bigger picture you want Eric to decide that this life of helpfulness that Walter had found in the house is the kind of life he’s meant for, and that Henry’s lack of awareness in this regard shows why he’s wrong for him. Of course, that wouldn’t happen in the first scene, and so he follows Henry back to the city, even though you’re like, dude, why are you spending time with this jabronie?? But it effectively reminds you that these stories are probably not going to go how you wish they would.
The jabronieness of Henry Wilcox is amplified in the first major part of the play, and the most upsetting, when Eric has all his friends over to Henry’s $30 million house in the Village for brunch. I don’t know what he was expecting to happen, but when you bring a bunch of liberal gay men to the house of a billionaire Republican, things are gonna get ugly. In Part 1, it was hinted at that Henry was an R-word when he said he didn’t think the direction of U.S. politics was so bad, and that seemed bad enough for me. But here, they go full out and have Henry talk openly about supporting Trump because he supports what’s ‘best for the market’ and probably loves him some tax breaks because all a billionaire needs is more money. This whole long scene, I felt like Chidi with the stomachaches. Jasper, Eric’s most politically active friend, tries to talk some sense into Henry, but it’s a lost cause and the frustration I felt in my belly exploded onstage as Jasper lost his cool in the ensuing argument. Sure Jasper was wrong for fighting with Henry in his own home, I guess that’s rude, but is it as rude as someone actively making the world worse? I think not. Just go out on the sidewalk and fight the monster. This scene was well done, with Henry at least offering the arguments that aren’t ‘because I hate everyone who isn’t a white man’, and showing how Eric’s sense of morality is disappearing as he spends more time in the billionaire’s world. But it was so frustrating to have to listen to any republican apologists and to think about the diaper genie during my theatre time. Ughh the frustration at Eric for standing by this patently immoral man made me long for the craziness of Toby.
And then we get hours of craziness from Toby (Andrew Burnap)! Like I said before, if Burnap doesn’t win an Olivier and a Tony, then the awards truly don’t mean anything. We already know awards don’t mean anything but they REALLY won’t extra extra. Toby tries to feel something and escape his problems not by getting direly needed therapy or rehab, but by partying on Fire Island with the prostitute Leo (played by the same actor who plays Adam, Samuel H. Levine). The Fire Island club scenes are literally my nightmare, with all the unce unce unce music and the flashing lights and just all the noise, guys, can we keep it down. I was surprised that the focus seemed to switch from the role of Adam in Part 1 to the role of Leo in Part 2, with Adam barely in it anymore, but the actor doubling shows how important both men were for Toby in different ways. Leo’s character was fascinating and heartbreaking, and while Toby still wins the prize for Most in terms of both of those things, the ways they help and hurt each other made both characters more compelling.
Leo gets some of the most spellbinding reveals in Part 2, from the riveting wedding appearance and all the multitudes that can be said by saying just one word, to the ending when we come back to the framing device and it all makes sense. But it’s Toby this time around whose heart you worry about the most, whereas in Part 1 I was concerned most with Eric’s well-being. Eric, though misguided with Henry, shows he can remain standing on his own two feet when things get hard. Toby, on the other hand, is fragile, and even though someone who can be so horrible to others and to himself can seem tough and resilient, he’s really the one most in need of help. I find myself still worrying about Toby and heartbroken at his strife, and mad at playwright Matthew Lopez, Boy Genius, for causing him so much sadness. Oh Toby.
Interestingly, one of the aspects of Part 2 we were most keenly aware of was not the presence of something but the absence: we missed Walter (Paul Hilton). It’s remarkable how he managed to create such a warm, wise, beloved character in Part 1, so much that his absence was deeply felt, creating in our minds a semblance of what Eric and Henry must have been going through. We grieved with them.
Amid all the anxiety I had about Part 2 and where the various stories would go, I had excitement for one specific aspect: to see Vanessa Redgrave onstage. And while I mean no disrespect to this living legend, they should cut her entire part out for Broadway. They won’t, because you can’t fire Vanessa Redgrave, but they should. It’s the same exact situation as with Meryl Streep in “Mary Poppins Returns” – sure she’s a g-d ledge and you’re lucky to have her in your thing, but neither her character nor her scenes do anything to augment rather than detract from the story you’ve built. It didn’t serve the story well, and although she shares some emotional moments as she talks about her past, they weren’t anything novel and so it wasn’t enough to outweigh their feeling out of place in this play. Shame.
There’s so much I want to talk about and cry about and rant about, but I’ll avoid any more spoilers in case some of you decide to see The Inheritance when it opens on Br’dway. Suffice it to say, the total work was one of the best theatrical events ever, and I’m so glad I finally got to experience it. As my last show of 2018, it was fitting to end a stupendous year of theatre with this masterpiece.
INFORMATION
Trying to rush this show on TodayTix is pretty much impossible – they’re gone in a matter of seconds, not minutes. Luckily, the grand circle (that’s the second mezzanine) is still as good a view as the royal circle (that’s the first mezzanine) and slightly cheaper, so affordable tickets are still to be had. Although this Part is five minutes longer than Part 1, there is only one full intermission and one 5 minute ‘pause’, whereas Part 1 had two full intermissions. However, the pause is more than long enough for a sprint to the bathroom if you sit on the correct side – house right (stage left) is closest to the women’s. YOU’RE WELCOME.
The main questions I had from Part 1 were, whether Eric would ever find out the truth about the house; whether he would take over the house’s spiritual purpose of providing a refuge for gay men with nowhere else to turn; and whether Eric would actually continue this relationship with Henry, the real estate billionaire who doesn’t seem to care about anything but himself. Part 1 ends with Eric finally seeing Walter’s country house and feeling the history of the place just as Walter thought he would, in a beautiful tearjerker of a scene that seemed to go on too long but also should never have ended. It created a sense of peace and importance. Part 2 opens with the exact opposite sensibility, an abrupt flip to coldness and ignorance of the house’s tranquil beauty, as Henry Wilcox (John Benjamin Hickey) tells Eric Glass (Kyle Soller) they’re ready to leave only minutes after they’ve arrived. The painful change served as a reminder that these stories aren’t going to work out easily or happily or how I wanted them to. You yearn with Eric to stay and find out more about what has happened there, and in the bigger picture you want Eric to decide that this life of helpfulness that Walter had found in the house is the kind of life he’s meant for, and that Henry’s lack of awareness in this regard shows why he’s wrong for him. Of course, that wouldn’t happen in the first scene, and so he follows Henry back to the city, even though you’re like, dude, why are you spending time with this jabronie?? But it effectively reminds you that these stories are probably not going to go how you wish they would.
The jabronieness of Henry Wilcox is amplified in the first major part of the play, and the most upsetting, when Eric has all his friends over to Henry’s $30 million house in the Village for brunch. I don’t know what he was expecting to happen, but when you bring a bunch of liberal gay men to the house of a billionaire Republican, things are gonna get ugly. In Part 1, it was hinted at that Henry was an R-word when he said he didn’t think the direction of U.S. politics was so bad, and that seemed bad enough for me. But here, they go full out and have Henry talk openly about supporting Trump because he supports what’s ‘best for the market’ and probably loves him some tax breaks because all a billionaire needs is more money. This whole long scene, I felt like Chidi with the stomachaches. Jasper, Eric’s most politically active friend, tries to talk some sense into Henry, but it’s a lost cause and the frustration I felt in my belly exploded onstage as Jasper lost his cool in the ensuing argument. Sure Jasper was wrong for fighting with Henry in his own home, I guess that’s rude, but is it as rude as someone actively making the world worse? I think not. Just go out on the sidewalk and fight the monster. This scene was well done, with Henry at least offering the arguments that aren’t ‘because I hate everyone who isn’t a white man’, and showing how Eric’s sense of morality is disappearing as he spends more time in the billionaire’s world. But it was so frustrating to have to listen to any republican apologists and to think about the diaper genie during my theatre time. Ughh the frustration at Eric for standing by this patently immoral man made me long for the craziness of Toby.
And then we get hours of craziness from Toby (Andrew Burnap)! Like I said before, if Burnap doesn’t win an Olivier and a Tony, then the awards truly don’t mean anything. We already know awards don’t mean anything but they REALLY won’t extra extra. Toby tries to feel something and escape his problems not by getting direly needed therapy or rehab, but by partying on Fire Island with the prostitute Leo (played by the same actor who plays Adam, Samuel H. Levine). The Fire Island club scenes are literally my nightmare, with all the unce unce unce music and the flashing lights and just all the noise, guys, can we keep it down. I was surprised that the focus seemed to switch from the role of Adam in Part 1 to the role of Leo in Part 2, with Adam barely in it anymore, but the actor doubling shows how important both men were for Toby in different ways. Leo’s character was fascinating and heartbreaking, and while Toby still wins the prize for Most in terms of both of those things, the ways they help and hurt each other made both characters more compelling.
Leo gets some of the most spellbinding reveals in Part 2, from the riveting wedding appearance and all the multitudes that can be said by saying just one word, to the ending when we come back to the framing device and it all makes sense. But it’s Toby this time around whose heart you worry about the most, whereas in Part 1 I was concerned most with Eric’s well-being. Eric, though misguided with Henry, shows he can remain standing on his own two feet when things get hard. Toby, on the other hand, is fragile, and even though someone who can be so horrible to others and to himself can seem tough and resilient, he’s really the one most in need of help. I find myself still worrying about Toby and heartbroken at his strife, and mad at playwright Matthew Lopez, Boy Genius, for causing him so much sadness. Oh Toby.
Interestingly, one of the aspects of Part 2 we were most keenly aware of was not the presence of something but the absence: we missed Walter (Paul Hilton). It’s remarkable how he managed to create such a warm, wise, beloved character in Part 1, so much that his absence was deeply felt, creating in our minds a semblance of what Eric and Henry must have been going through. We grieved with them.
Amid all the anxiety I had about Part 2 and where the various stories would go, I had excitement for one specific aspect: to see Vanessa Redgrave onstage. And while I mean no disrespect to this living legend, they should cut her entire part out for Broadway. They won’t, because you can’t fire Vanessa Redgrave, but they should. It’s the same exact situation as with Meryl Streep in “Mary Poppins Returns” – sure she’s a g-d ledge and you’re lucky to have her in your thing, but neither her character nor her scenes do anything to augment rather than detract from the story you’ve built. It didn’t serve the story well, and although she shares some emotional moments as she talks about her past, they weren’t anything novel and so it wasn’t enough to outweigh their feeling out of place in this play. Shame.
There’s so much I want to talk about and cry about and rant about, but I’ll avoid any more spoilers in case some of you decide to see The Inheritance when it opens on Br’dway. Suffice it to say, the total work was one of the best theatrical events ever, and I’m so glad I finally got to experience it. As my last show of 2018, it was fitting to end a stupendous year of theatre with this masterpiece.
INFORMATION
Trying to rush this show on TodayTix is pretty much impossible – they’re gone in a matter of seconds, not minutes. Luckily, the grand circle (that’s the second mezzanine) is still as good a view as the royal circle (that’s the first mezzanine) and slightly cheaper, so affordable tickets are still to be had. Although this Part is five minutes longer than Part 1, there is only one full intermission and one 5 minute ‘pause’, whereas Part 1 had two full intermissions. However, the pause is more than long enough for a sprint to the bathroom if you sit on the correct side – house right (stage left) is closest to the women’s. YOU’RE WELCOME.
