20 Seconds (c) Jeremy Daniel
Theater: 20 Seconds
At the Pershing Square Signature Center
We New Yorkers are usually allergic to sincerity, especially when it is packaged in our usually highbrow art. So, if you feel a heartfelt play meant to be inspiring may not be for you, please skip to the next review. Ok, now that they’re gone, let me introduce the rest of you to Thomas Sweitzer, who has brought his one-man show, 20 Seconds, to New York. This is his life story, focusing on his child and teen years in suburban Pennsylvania in the 1970s and 80s. (Lindsay Fuori’s set, representing his childhood home, feels a bit too wholesome and quaint.) When the play starts, a youthful 50-year-old man enters, playing a teenage version of himself, when he is asked by a teacher to tell a story from his past. He naturally starts talking about his mother’s meatballs. Those innocuous, homemade meatballs turn out to be an important touchstone throughout Sweitzer’s life as he begins to narrate a much darker story, playing a dozen or so characters, including his parents, classmates and other colorful people that crossed his path. Sweitzer’s story is, unfortunately not a unique one, as he mainly focuses on his toxic home life in which he and his loving (but usually ailing) mother had to deal with unpredictable and often violent outbursts from his mentally unstable father. Like most autobiographical plays, Sweitzer is performing an exorcism as he presents in vivid detail, some of the more gruesome episodes perpetrated by his father (usually when drunk) in his rage and anger (usually at the expense of his mother).
20 Seconds (c) Jeremy Daniel
Thankfully, young Tommy has an outlet, which he finds through a kindly Sunday school teacher with the Dickensian name of Erdean Grissinger, and that outlet was music. Where the story goes from there gets even more grim, although we know there will ultimately be a light at the end of this horrific tunnel (that’s where the inspiring part comes in). You can read about Sweitzer’s current life and his occupation before seeing the play. I didn’t know anything about him, and I would suggest, if you can, to let it be a surprise as well. Most people would say they would do and go through everything in their past again because it all leads them to where they are now. I’m not sure Sweitzer would agree but knowing he not only survived but is thriving and helping others, leads me to believe he was always destined to be a healer. This play, with sensitive but unblinking direction by Jeremy Scott Blaustein, is Thomas Sweitzer’s crucible, and it’s a fascinating and ultimately, rewarding journey.
Here Lies Love (c) Billy Bustamante, Matthew Murphy, Evan Zimmerman
Theater: Here Lies Love
On Broadway at the Broadway Theatre
Here Lies Love is David Byrne and Fatboy Slim’s mostly all-sung bio-musical about Imelda Marcos (Arielle Jacobs), the wife of President Ferdinand Marcos (Jose Llana), who ruled (is dictatored a word?) The Philippines from 1965 to 1986, before fleeing to America for sanctuary. The musical focuses on Imelda’s formative years, from growing up as a poor teenager in Tacloban to competing in the Miss Philippines Beauty Pageant. Imelda also had a love affair with the young, politically ambitious Benigno Aquino (Conrad Ricamora) before moving on to the more politically powerful Ferdinand Marcos. From there, the Marcos’ reign as essentially tyrannical rulers of The Philippines takes hold (“They’re our Jackie and John,” goes a lyric in “Sugartime Baby”), as they wield their political power and clout on the world stage before an eventual political upheaval ends their reign. The musical’s obvious inspiration is Evita in which Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice focus on the life of Argentinean First Lady Eva Peron instead of President Juan. And while Imelda is obviously the more compelling figure here (although they omit the whole “closets filled with shoes” business), David Byrne and Fatboy Slim sort of jump over the middle years when the young first lady, somehow portrayed as a victim and a pawn, turns into the ruthless narcissist we know from the tabloids.
Here Lies Love (c) Billy Bustamante, Matthew Murphy, Evan Zimmerman
To distract us from this narrative hiccup, director Alex Timbers, like he did in his off-Broadway production at The Public Theater in 2013, envelops the-willing-to-participate audience into the action of the play by having set designer David Korins rip out the entire orchestra of the Broadway Theatre and have the majority of the audience stand and bop along with story, which is mostly played on moving platforms. And with the invaluable choreography of Annie-B Parson, an eager DJ in the corner and an overworked drum machine, the songs are infectious and pop earworms, especially the title song. And the all-Filipino cast is a joy to watch with Jacobs relishing the once-in-a-lifetime role as Imelda. Costume designer Clint Ramos bathes Ferdinand in dark colors while Aquino is in a crisp white suit, which both actors (especially the charismatic Ricamora) successfully lean into in their committed performance. Although David Byrne and Fatboy Slim certainly don’t endorse Imelda, but by dint of having her at the center of their musical, the show can’t help but sympathize with her narrative. Shakespeare made sure we knew his Richard III is a villain, but he’s still at the heart of one of his most celebrated plays. Who has the last laugh there?
Back to the Future (c) Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman
Theater: Back to the Future
On Broadway at the Winter Garden Theater
Wait, Doc, are you telling me they built a TIME MACHINE into a musical? And it’s now on Broadway? It was inevitable. The VHS and DVD aisles of the long-gone Blockbusters video stores have essentially been the library stacks for Broadway producers to mine musical material for decades now, so they would sooner or later land on the seminal movie of my 80s upbringing: Back to the Future. The story has an irresistible premise: Marty McFly (Casey Likes) is a high school student in 1985 who is magically transported back in time to 1955 where he meets the younger versions of his parents. But my main question was how the heck will they translate the special effects aspects of the story, mostly embodied by a DeLorean? With technical advancements in stage magic and an invaluable assist from the projections, my worries were assuaged. The problem, it turns out, is the nonstop machinations of the plot sort of overshadow the heart of the story of a young man’s understanding of his parents through the prism of their teen years. Casey Likes, who was so charming in Almost Famous last season, certainly makes an endearing Marty (he’s successfully channeling Michael J. Fox’s spirit but gives more of a Nick Jonas energy). But director John Rando makes him run around the stage from one scene to another so quickly that his onstage scenes with his parents (human gumby Hugh Coles and amiable Liana Hunt) feel more like rest bits for him to catch his breath.
Back to the Future (c) Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman
Maybe because their scenes are longer and plot heavy, Likes has more chemistry with Roger Bart as Doc Brown, who essentially steals the show from everyone except the DeLorean. The songs from the film’s score composer Alan Silverstri and Glen Ballard are fun, especially their pastiche songs for 1955, but the show is so overstuffed already, did we really need a big production dream sequence song called “21st Century” at the start of Act Two? I wish book writer Bob Gale (adapting the screenplay he co-wrote with Robert Zemeckis) pared the story even more to focus on the character’s inner life rather than just hitting all the plot points (thankfully the problematic Libyan storyline is long gone). With all these reservations, I have to admit I still enjoyed the musical just for the pure chutzpah of the show’s creators to make the show as coherent and snappy as it turned out. The show takes such effort to get Marty to 1955 that it forgot to enjoy that unique situation, opting immediately on getting him back to the future.
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